5 Days NO internet!

5 Days NO internet! Harbin, China

Harbin, China- March 2, 2013

Its been 5 WHOLE DAYS without internet connection! ….It’s like a 3 day fast from food for me! …I read alot and explored the surroundings alot and moved and made our apartment more homey….I moved into my very first apartment on Tuesday!! YaY Me! It took forever to get the wifi up and working since its an older building but thankfully its up!…The bed I have here is bigger than my twin size at home!..I dont know what to do with all this space…I have my own room which is the biggest in the apartment =) And a nice kitchen. No oven though =( So I cannot make brownies (poo).

First of all, when we first moved in I asked “what floor do we live on?” and she says “oh, 3rd floor”. MIND YOU—3rd floor equals 6 flights of stairs! So i had to carry 2 of my 50 pound suitcases up 6 flights of stairs! I was no longer cold! and my arms were sore the next day!! I was soo pooped that night! It was ridiculous. Now after 5 days, I’m starting to get used to walking up 6 flights of icey stairs a day! It’s all pretty dirty around here. I dunno why there isnt a better means of disposal of garbage. I’m really perplexed by the fact that its okay to leave garbage on the floor? (somethings just never will make sense)…Like the wads of spit that men fling from their mouths anywhere at anytime!! (Its soooo cold that it freezes!) I’m trying not to lose my couth out here! [I do not like anything less then feminine] -_- The walkways to get to the apartments are usually not the best looking but once you walk into the apartments they are very nice! Hard wood floors, new appliances etc…

Anyways, when we first moved in the place was a MESS! Because the snow is melting outside and there is mud everywhere, that first day as the moving guys were moving in our furniture and putting together the washing machine, water heater etc… the boot marks were disgusting. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE WEAR SHOES in THE HOUSE!. That was my first rule I made in here..like I’m gonna clean the floor but there is no shoes in the apartment! GOOD..we all bought lil asian slippers =) haha. We had a bit of minor dysfunctions with the apartment the first couple of days but its getting sooo much better now! They bought us a rice cooker and a wok and some chopsticks to eat with! yay! I went to see the movie Hobbit this pass week 3D. Its about $10USD and its in English with Chinese subtitles! love it! You get to choose your seat so we had reserved seats when we arrived to the theater. I went shopping a couple of times and its good to shop here because there are underground malls everywhere and MOST places you can bargain and get your things cheaper. But we have to remember to bring our own bags because most places charge extra for bags or don’t have any at all. I usually spend about $3USD in food per day and I got to the store and grab things for the apartment and spend about $5USD. Its pretty cool. If you want major name brand things they are usually the same price as in the US. But I’m not big on many name brands. (Plus there’s an H&M and WalMart). I’ve tried Pizza Hut here and its kind of like a restaurant here! Its a big eatery with waiters and stuff–I’d prefer to eat the Chinese food! I found some really great vegetarian cuisine up here! Whew! =)

Also,I have been observing lessons all week and getting prepped for my first lesson on Monday. I will be taking over 8 classes next week of children aged 4- 10 years old =) Soooo cute!

It’s weird living in a place that most people don’t understand me! I can say whatever I want and they wont even take a double look. hm? The students though are very hardworking and competitive…That is what really drives them to do better! Plus the only child rule helps there parents to push them harder because that’s the parents like only lifeline to live vicariously through. I’m really excited to start teaching! I’m slowly picking up the language. I probably wont come back fluent in Chinese but I will definitely know enough to survive and have a conversation. I will probably study more once I get back home because it is such a challenging language! i love it!

#harbin #China #solotraveler #Medinah #Travel