September 5th’s word: Train wreck.

We were to fly from Hong Kong to Guanzhou to Guilin. From there, be picked up by the vice-president of the school and be driven to the school.

We ate breakfast at Café du Coral, where Tyler experienced sharing a table with a stranger for the first time. We checked out of the hostel. We sat on the 2nd story of the bus on the trip to the airport. We got to our gate. There, by some off chance, we saw 1 girl and 2 guys who looked like they may just be the other three teachers in our group. I asked the girl if her name was Nelly and, by golly, it was. So even better! We were finally able to meet up with them.

In fact, everything was spectacular until we reached Guilin. The woman supposed to pick us up, thought we would be landing at the international gate, but we, instead, arrived at the domestic one. Had I been able to read the signs, letting me know there was an international gate, I would have looked for her there. After a couple hours of waiting at the airport, a debacle with a No-English ATM, a business center, several failed phone calls, the sweetest airline lobby assistant named Angie (who helped me each time I returned with a quizzical/lost expression and told me I was beautiful), a 45 minute bus ride, and a 10 minute walk, we ended up at a hotel.

Luckily everything was settled in the morning. So I suppose the day wasn’t completely lost...just a few hours of us wondering if we were even in the right city, and if we are, what on earth should we do?

Now to the fun stuff:
In the bathroom at the airport, I entered a stall to find, not a toilet, but a hole in the ground. It was a very nice hole, though. I was ready to use it, but the door would not shut; so I went across the bathroom, where I found western toilets. I dig those, so I sat down and got to business, which is about the time I realized there was no toilet paper to be found. Hands truly are useful. Too much?

I played with a Japanese boy (maybe 14 mos.) at the Guanzhou airport. I almost stole him.

Tyler is starting to feel better and people here definitely don’t ignore him. We are stared at everywhere we go in Xing’an. Many people in this town have never seen a western person before. I am considered very beautiful here, especially because I have light skin and blue eyes. I can see myself getting used to all the compliments.

The food here is delicious, although there are not enough words in the English language to express how much I miss Tex-Mex. If I lose any weight over here, which I may because we walk everywhere and have no cheese, I am looking forward to gaining it all back at Chuy’s. I will say that food here is inexpensive, delicious, and there are so many fruits and veggies that we have never even seen before. We enjoy trying them all, even if we dislike them.

Last night, we ate dinner in the dining hall after a tour of the school. The basketball team was in there and made sure we sat with them. They are huge basketball fans here and love Kobe Bryant. They wondered how we learned to use chopsticks and I wondered how Tyler was making it through his meal. Why? He ordered fish. Why would that creep me out? Because his bowl was filled with rice, veggies, and entire minnows. He ate brains and eyes, zombie style. Back to the b-ball team, one boy was infatuated with us, so he bought us watermelon and had his picture taken with us.

The students go to school from 6:25 am- 12pm. After their lunch break, they return to class at 2-5:45. After the dinner break, they go to class again from 7-10. Talk about discipline! (They live on campus.)

Every hour, there is a pound of firecrackers set off next to our building, which is then followed by tones from trombones and odd looking trumpets. At first, we thought it was the school band and that people just set off fireworks for fun. Turns out, there are two funerals occurring on either side of our building. The family and friends stay outside of the deceased’s home for days, eating, mourning, and making as much noise as possible. Video of a procession at http://betheeespics.shutterfly.com/

The apartment is nice and spacious. The beds...well, imagine the toughest mattress you’ve ever slept on. Now imagine that was taken away and replaced with slats of wood. That’s pretty much exactly what we’re on. I have put every sheet and comforter on the bed and I still feel like The Princess and the Pea. I am grateful that we have beds, though. The kitchen and bathroom are unique, but luckily, I was blessed with a rockin’ sense of humor, so I am experiencing everything with laughter. I don’t know how much I’ll be laughing in the winter though. I’ll make sure to post photos and a video of the school and apartment soon.

Traffic here is a free-for-all. People pay attention to the lights, but staying in your lane or turning onto the street and into traffic is totally acceptable. I don’t know how drivers or pedestrians survive.

Today, Annie allowed us to watch her teach a class. The students oohed, aahed, and clapped for us. We truly are a spectacle, but they are so sweet. We start teaching on Thursday and are nervous as all get out. Wish us luck!