First days

China has been incredible and I've only been here for 2 days!  I got up yesterday and did some emailing.  While sending emails, I received a phone call in my room.  I answered and the person started speaking to me in Mandarin (understandable).  In my VERY broken Mandarin, I asked, "do you speak English?"  She paused... then continued on.  I asked again, and she hung up on me.  Oops.  Maybe she didn't speak English or maybe she meant to call someone else.

Later I went out to explore.  It was REALLY hot (although everyone claims that it was cool yesterday and I have to look forward to more oppressive heat and humidity in the coming days) and I went to a small store to buy some water (after hitting up the ATM of course).  The woman said the price (well, I'm assuming that's what she said since my Mandarin is lacking) and I just paid with 100 rmb (that's all I had anyways).  She gave me my change and then gave me the receipt and took the time to point out the price that I paid so that I knew that she gave me the correct change.  I was really impressed with her honestly and how nice she was since it was apparent I didn't speak Mandarin.

I walked around some more and eventually decided I had to go back to my hotel to cool off before I went to the Shanghai Cancer Institute for the first time (although I knew where it was from my earlier walk).  I called one of the students that picked me up from the airport to see if he could let me in (I wasn't sure how a conversation with the security guards would go.  Probably something like, "hello, um... do you speak English?  No?  ...")  While I was waiting outside, a security guard from the apartments across the way came over.  I said hello and apparently, I say hello in Mandarin very well, because then he started talking to me very quickly about something.  I obviously looked confused and he asked me if I didn't understand.  I at least understood that and was able to tell him that "indeed I did not understand."  Then he left.  I feel so helpless!  I really need to work on my language abilities because I do not like not being able to communicate with people!  And it's really my responsibility to learn since I moved to a country that speaks Mandarin.

Anyways, I finally went inside to the Shanghai Cancer Institute (SCI) and met my new boss.  He is really nice and gave me a tour of the offices.  I will be sitting in a side building (which by the way was built for very short people.  I have to bend down to go through each doorway and I'm really not very tall!) with Honglan, my research twin.  She wasn't in since it is still the summer holiday.  I sat and talked to my boss for awhile and then he let me go back to the hotel to rest so that I would be ready for dinner.  I told him that I would first stop and get a SIM card for the cell phone that the previous scholar left for me (SO nice of her since now I didn't have to buy a phone).  He had one of the students go with me to do my translation.  I got a SIM card (which was priced based on the luck of the number or something like that.  Since I've never had a lucky number that I know of... I just got the cheap one).

Then I rested up for dinner... which was totally necessary. Both the students who picked me up from the airport, my boss, and another student came out to dinner with me.  And then we ate SO MUCH!  I swear they just kept bringing more and more and more and more and more.  Until I was going to explode!  And I'm not very adept with chopsticks (I only use them for sushi... and sushi is easy!!!) but I refused to get a fork.  I will learn to use chopsticks like a master!!!!!!  Soon, I will be catching flies with chopsticks... just you wait!  After the meal, I asked the students if they eat like that usually for dinner, and they said that they usually eat more.  It's possible that I will be morbidly obese by the time I return especially if I keep eating like that!

After dinner, my boss asked the students to take me to the nearby park and the mall.  This city is truly incredible.  Literally 5 blocks from the SCI, there is a huge shopping area (not just a mall, but a ton of shops... and a mall... and a park) with lights and everything... very reminiscent of NYC (now I can say that since I finally got to go see NYC with Ryan!).  And... this mall area isn't even discussed in my Shanghai travel book... I think I will probably never run out of things to do here!

Then, the students dropped me off (they're taking such good care of me) and I fell right asleep.  I guess I'm a little more jetlagged than I thought.  I woke up really early and tried to force myself to keep sleeping, but alas, I'm awake.  Today I'm going to start looking at apartments with the students, so hopefully I find something quickly and can move in soon!