First day and a half!!

It is 8:22pm on Wednesday January 7th 2009

I left at 8:30pm Sunday the 4th. I arrived 12:30pm Tuesday the 6th. (9:30pm monday the 5th az time) 25 hours travel. That was a pain. Then we got picked up and I met some of the other foreigners. 2 from Germany, 2 from France, 1 from Korea. We then drove back through the city to our school. I have some pictures of the airports, they were amazing. I will post them soon. I then went into my room alone and sorted out everything. Today was orientation stuff and now is dinner soon and then sleep again. (this is very discombobulated, I am piecing different parts together.)

I have only been here 30ish hours but it feels like a week! So much has gone on and I have met so many people! I am having such as an amazing time. The people I have met are so so nice and wonderful. I have eaten some crazy food. and I have seen some amazing sights already. The language barrier is tough but I can manage most of the time because lots of people at least speak broken english. I am learning phrases, such as "Nay ho ma" which is "How are you?" and "Why D Ma" Which is "What's up?" And also "Sik go fa may yah" which is "Have you eaten (rice) yet?" Kind of a common saying asking someones well being. Also "soy" (pronounced lower and with an emphasis on the 'o') which is water, and "cha" which is tea.

I got a volleyball, a pillow, sheets, a towel, and a candybar. Essentials.

First meal was crazy! Full fish with scales and head that i ate, many different mushrooms, shrimp, raw meat then cooked on our table in a bowl. You order this special meal, and they bring a stove top and a huge bowl with water in it. Then you can order any food you want to go in it. Fish, meat, vegetables, tofu, squid, anything. And then you cook it in the water by holding it in with your chopsticks or letting it boil. As much as you want at a pretty nice sit down restaurant for HK$68 which is around $8.50. It was intense.

There are many american international students, which is upsetting. A group of them were just going to go eat, and it made me uneasy, so i said no thanks. I don't like how I had already been casually put in and associated w/ the american group (I know why i had, i just don't like it). The koreans, and the germans were hanging out together too, it's separated. That is one of the things i said I don't want it to be like, country segregation. I just have to keep making an effort not to.

I have a lot more on my mind but I am very hungry. I am going to go eat. Miss and love you all.

I will post again soon.

-Sam