first impressions

I'm officially in China!! Can you believe it?!

apartment

I share an apartment with six girls (don't worry, we have two bathrooms) and there are six more girls in the apartment upstairs. They're all great and everyone is getting along fine! HAIR EVERYWHERE. Our apartment is also freeeeeezing. We put our coats on to go inside and take them off when we go out- I'm not kidding. There are three things that the Chinese refuse to use and I will never understand why: 1)Dryers- everyone hangs their underwear out their windows for the world to see! 2) Forks- chopsticks have been a struggle but I'm starting to get the hang of it and will come back a pro. 3) Heaters- every building is at least ten degrees colder than outside... Maybe this will make more sense in the summer? Anyway we live on the outskirts of Zhongshan which is pronounced Jongshanne. We live in a really nice/wealthy area that has a lot of gated communities. There are tons of shops and restaurants on the streets surrounding us. Tons of convenient stores and several kids clothing stores for some reason... Gwen, get ready. I can't wait to go shopping! Everything is insanely cheap- I love it!

food

I am pleasantly surprised!! And thank goodness! The food we eat at school is actually quite good although I'm still getting used to eating noodles for breakfast. In China they don't have drinks with their meals... that's another thing I don't understand. Oh and no napkins. I'm a mess after every meal. As far as American-ish food they have quite a bit! A lot of soda- Coke, Sprite, Orange Soda, etc. They also have Ritz Crackers, Oreos, Snickers, Dove chocolate, and ice cream! So far I've seen McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, and 711 but haven't been to them yet. So don't worry, I'm eating plenty :)

Me and Gretchen eating our first meal in China at the Kaiyin school! (She doesn't like rice...)

surroundings: 

CHINA IS BEAUTIFUL. So beautiful. I feel like I'm in a rain forest. So many trees, plants, and flowers. Everything here is well kept- it's a landscapers HEAVEN. No weeds! My city has lots of parks/public gardens that are gorgeous. The one in the pictures below is right across the street from our school. Everything is very decorated from Chinese New Year and everything is lit up at night. 

the people

We are straight up celebrities here. People will try to sneak pictures of us all the time and when we pose and smile they freak out and we get swarmed with cameras and people- especially when we're in the city. Yesterday at the park there was a huge group of Chinese students about high school age taking a group picture in their matching uniforms and they asked us to get in the picture- they were SO excited! Later while we were waiting for the bus an old lady with three teeth started talking to us and all we could understand was "sing!" so I started singing the first song that popped into my head and it happened to be One Direction. So we sang The Best Song Ever on the streets of China and attracted quite a crowd. I've never seen a bigger toothless smile! 

traffic

Yes, traffic deserves its own section. Because it's wild. I'm 90% sure there are no traffic laws. No speed limit. No signalling. People usually don't even drive in a lane. It's just a free-for-all and crossing the street is like playing Frogger. You just go when there's a gap. And if only one direction of traffic is clear you wait in the middle of the road until the next direction clears. And this is not just on neighborhood streets-like BUSY streets in the middle of the city! So if I get hit by a car a couple times don't be too surprised. Just kidding mom... I'm careful :) Volkswagen's are everywhere. I miss my car. 

Still can't believe I'm actually in China. But I love it!!