my first week!

Yes, its true, I am posting two posts in one day! Hailey, please be proud of me:)

I thought while I was sitting down writing that I might as well write about my adventures thus far. After I landed in Shanghai I jumped into a cab and headed to my friend Cheryl's house. I was super excited because I understood the cab driver when he asked where I was going in Chinese! Yay! I still have a little bit stored in my brain somewhere!  So I sat nervously in the back of the cab wondering if he was going to take me to the right place. Even if he didn't I really wouldn't know because I had never been to Cheryl's place so I had no idea what it looked like. Also, to add to the nerves and the intensity of this story, I had no cell phone. Last year when I came my blackberry worked and just charged me international fees. But this time around my chinese cell phone wouldnt turn on and my american cell phone said that it couldnt find service. Guess it couldnt handle that much roaming. If I got dropped off at the wrong place I wouldnt be able to call anyone to help me and if I was dropped off at the right place but got lost in the complex I wouldnt be able to call Cheryl to have her come find me. So after the long cab ride I arrive at the apartment complex. The address seemed to match the one Cheryl gave me but who knows when there are streets with the same name in China but just pronounced with different tones. The cab driver dropped me off infront of building two, unloaded all my luggage and drove away. I proceded to the door and rang 502, Cheryl's apartment and got no reply. I rang several more times and still go no response. I still kept my cool and decided to go to the front gate and ask for a phone. Now you must understand that most apartment complexes in China have "security". This is a highly exaggerated word for what it really is. The "security" is a whimpy gate, always half open anyways, and a chubby or frail older man sitting in a little room watching tv. I could out run these guards even with a recently repaired ACL. So I hauled all of my luggage to this "security" check point and asked the guard for a phone. At first he just stared at me and then he just shewed me away with his had and mumbled some Chinese to me. Every complex  also has chairs in the entrance set out for old people to gather and soak up the humidity during the day or converse about their oh-so-busy days in the evening. This is where I camped out for the next 45 minutes siting in an awkward language-barrier-filled silence with the guard. I just set my suitcases beside me, leaned back on my backpack and kicked my feet up in my rain boots on my suitcases. I did arrive quite a bit earlier than I expected so I thought that maybe Cheryl just wasn't home yet. And if she wasnt back there in 45 minutes I would get back in a cab and go to my school and wake up Uncle Marty who lives there. Luckily Cheryl just not being home was the case. She strolled through the gates and I was saved. oh, by the way this all took place between 10:15-11:15 pm :) nothing like feeling stranded late at night in China!
That was now a little over a week ago and my time since I arrived has been spent trying to beat the jet lag, starting school and finding an apartment so I could give Cheryl her floor back(where I have been sleeping! haha). After doing a lot of research online and going to see several apartments I have FINALLY found one. I decided to stay close to my school instead of live in the cool and hip area I lived last time. Rent is way cheaper out here and it will force me to practice my Chinese since my place is not in an area with a lot of expats.
As I said earlier I have returned to school. The first day of school was last Thursday(and I returned on Tuesday, talk about being thrown into the swing of things!). It took me a few days to get back into the groove of teaching but I am starting to love it again. Unfortunately I didn't get ALL of my classes from last year, ended up with only one:( But I know that I will love these kids just like I loved my kids last year. And my class that I did get were my little babies from last year so I get to see them all grown up! They are so tall now! Another plus is that my old kids are still at the same schools so I have gotten to see some of them in the hallways.  Its actually really funny to see my kids from last year because they are extremely confused when they see me. I am sure they thought I was dying from my leg injury or something!
And now everything is slowly getting back to normal. I sign my lease for my apartment on Friday and can move in right away! I am so excited to have my own place and to be able to unpack my stuff and decorate it all cute. A huge Ikea trip is a must right when I get paid! I will work on getting pictures of my new kids, old kids and my new place and post them sometime soon!

ps. I miss all of you so much and love you heaps and heaps!

Round one: China Round two: ME!!

After my return to the states I had several people scold me for quitting my blog。 so I solemnly swear that I will keep up with my blog this time around! Not just for everyone at home but for myself as well. I realized how fun it would be to be able to go back and read about everything that I did and experienced during this adventure. And since I am horrible at writing in a journal I am going to use my blog as a way to document my adventures:)
As most people know I had to return to the states 3 months early last school year and I was definitely not ready to leave this city, me new friends or my babies. Once I returned home I was torn between getting a big girl job or returning here to finish up my adventure. After job hunting for a few months and not finding anything I began to seriously consider returning to Shanghai. It wasn't until I skyped with a friend that I met here and she told me about everyone that was returning to China and how four of our friends were going to be living together that I made my final decision to return. After that conversation I broke down crying because I was so jealous that they not only got to stay and make these plans but they were returning for another year. I also realized how many opportunities I didn't take advantage of while I was here. I knew that since I was so upset about this and felt like I didn't live life to the fullest over here, that I needed to do whatever it took to get back to where my heart still was...Shanghai! So I literally did whatever it took to get back here. I moved up to Reno, lived with friends and worked six days a week to save money to get back here. I was stressed about money, getting everything ready and getting my visa on time. It took a lot of patience working with my company over here to get the correct documentation for a work visa and in the end I wasn't able to get the right paper work so four weeks before I left I just applied for a tourist visa. It was only about a week before my departure that I received my visa.  This was a huge reminder about how it is living and working in China! Everything is complicated and they like to spring things on you last minute. But I can say with everything in me that it was worth all the stress. Even after I got here and realized how many things I forgot because I only had a few days to prepare and pack, I know that this is where I am supposed to be once again. As the title of the post is titled "Round one;China  Round two: ME!!!", I am not going to let China defeat me this time! I am praying, and asking everyone at home to pray, that I make it through this round physically in one piece. No more torn ligaments or any other kind of injury!