I arrived in Suzhou on Wednesday evening with little hiccup (not including the 6 hours before my flight when I found out my ticket was cancelled and needed to be reinstated by my Chinese travel agent). They brought me to a fabulous hotel that has white robes and a bath tub-my dream. It became quickly apparent that getting by with only English would be significantly more difficult than it was in Mussoorie. I tried to call the front desk to ask which internet network I was supposed to connect to. No one knew what I was saying. My travel buddy got on the phone, and he told me they'd call me in two minutes. I was skeptical, but in two minutes, two men showed up at my door and plugged in my router. Problem solved. Within an hour, I was back on the grid and ready to tell the world I was safe and sound.
On Thursday, I went apartment hunting. I felt like I was on House Hunters International. There was an apartment that I had been shown a couple months ago that I was interested in, and they had been holding it for me. I looked at four different apartments. One was brand new and very IKEA'ed, but it was surrounded by construction. I was also concerned with the newness of it all-everything that wasn't right would be discovered by me. I saw a couple other buildings with great views, but they just seemed very plain or had weird features that weren't visually pleasing. My second choice was an apartment on the 29th floor of a building, and it had a bath tub. In the end, I choose the one that I had seen a couple months ago. It has some sort of geothermal temperature control, and it is 71 degrees year round. After freezing in Mussoorie for three winters, I felt like it was an obvious choice.
Today, I have orientation ALL DAY! I went for a short jog this morning, and I did not get lost. I got waved at by a local-totally blending in! I'm definitely ready to see my new school and meet my new, hopefully, best friends. AND ANWER IS COMING!!!
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| House Hunters International |
On Thursday, I went apartment hunting. I felt like I was on House Hunters International. There was an apartment that I had been shown a couple months ago that I was interested in, and they had been holding it for me. I looked at four different apartments. One was brand new and very IKEA'ed, but it was surrounded by construction. I was also concerned with the newness of it all-everything that wasn't right would be discovered by me. I saw a couple other buildings with great views, but they just seemed very plain or had weird features that weren't visually pleasing. My second choice was an apartment on the 29th floor of a building, and it had a bath tub. In the end, I choose the one that I had seen a couple months ago. It has some sort of geothermal temperature control, and it is 71 degrees year round. After freezing in Mussoorie for three winters, I felt like it was an obvious choice.
Today, I have orientation ALL DAY! I went for a short jog this morning, and I did not get lost. I got waved at by a local-totally blending in! I'm definitely ready to see my new school and meet my new, hopefully, best friends. AND ANWER IS COMING!!!
