First Day in China

*ANNOUNCER'S VOICE*  When last we saw our hero, he was in Seattle, about to board a plane bound for the Orient.  Since then, we've heard only a short signal to indicate that he was safe, but now we are getting word that he will be broadcasting a more detailed message.  Stay tuned.

First of all, I don't know quite where to begin.  The Korean Air flight from Seattle to Seoul was uneventful.  Better than Japan Airlines, but not quite as good as Singapore Air.  Still, nothing to complain about.

In Seoul, I had to go through a security screening again, even though I never left the international terminal.  I expected that, since the same thing happened in Tokyo the last time I flew internationally.  What I didn't expect was the very slow throughput at the checkpoint.  That, combined with the relatively short layover, didn't leave me any time to post from the Incheon airport, but I made it through OK.  They did confiscate my scissors in Incheon, which was OK, because that was an expendable pair that I carried on in case I needed them for my knitting project on the long flight.

On the flight from Seoul to Shanghai, I had to fill out an entry card, including my intended address in China.  Well, I didn't know the address.  The only thing I had was a DHL envelope from my school, with the origin address written in Chinese.  In desperation, I turned to the man sitting next to me, who was clearly Chinese, and I asked him to help me.  I explained my situation as well as I could, and he wrote the address for me from the envelope.  At customs, they asked about it, and I said I had a friend fill it out.  That was true enough, and it worked.  Thank God!

Near the airport exit was a teacher and driver holding up a very visible sign with my name on it.  The car ride took about two hours, but I had food and water, I was just really tired.  They wanted to go for a meal, but I had already eaten two dinners (once from SEA-ICN and once from ICN-PVG), and just needed to sleep, so they took me straight to my apartment.  This will be my home until further notice.  The following morning (Saturday), I woke up early, and was able to take some pictures before my 10:00 pickup.

This is what I see when I first come inside.

My kitchen.  It does have a hood, and the school also got me a rice cooker.

My kitchen table.  The shirt is hanging on the chair indicating that I had yet to purchase clothes hangers.  (Note the laptop podium that my dad helped me make.  It works well when I can use it, which is rarely.)

My desk and water cooler.   I have since moved the TV to the floor, making the desk more useful.

My bed.  Apparently the mattress is built in, and the bottom sheet (flat) is not tucked in, but just laid over.  There is a slipcover for the summer-weight quilt, which makes things easier.  The pillowcases are designed for both appearance and use.

My clothing storage.  This is before I bought a few hangers.

This is what the wall outlets look like.  The multiple shapes accept Chinese, American, even Korean  plugs.  (Some plugs wired for a specific appliance have only the lower three-hole grouping shown here.)

This gang of switches controls the bathroom fan, the sink light, the bathroom light, and the water heater.  Trial and error will tell you which one.

This is my only sink.  It does have a good mirror, and it is big enough to wash my small pots and pans, although it's a bit hard to rinse the cutting board.  (To the right is the door to the bathroom.)

While unpacking, I found this NOI inside my smaller bag.  TSA apparently saw something on the X-ray that made them suspicious.  It must have been the knitting needles.

Since I woke up early, I had plenty of time to kill before my promised ride.  I needed some Chinese money, and someone had mentioned a bank across the street from my apartment.  So, I walked around to the front of the apartment, and this is what I saw: 

Dogs sleeping unmolested between the motorbikes.  I never found out who (if anyone) they belong to, but they're not dangerous.

There are a lot of motorbikes here.  Mostly e-bikes, but some gas-powered motorcycles too.

A local police patrol station, and a pile of trash.  (Note:  this is not the police station where I went to register my residence.)

This same notice was posted on two different signs.
(The phrase "Lost in Translation" comes to mind.)

And here, on the street-facing side of my apartment complex, is a China Merchants Bank.  (The "24" indicates 24-7 access to the ATM.)

This bank was open on Saturday, so I went in, and was able to exchange some dollars for Chinese yuan.  Later, I was advised to use Bank of China, of which there are two branches in my neighborhood, one open on Saturday, the other open on Sunday.  Not sure why, about anything.  There seem to be lot of banks in my neighborhood.  Not sure why that is, either.

When I was picked up by the driver and another teacher (this time with a toddler in tow), they offered to take me to the bank.  I explained that I'd already changed my money; so, we went to the police station.  On the way there I saw several things I'd never seen before, like three people riding one motorbike, but the only decent shot I managed to get was this one.

A Trike-Mounted Street Sweeper

Apparently the Chinese government employs these people to ride a trike to their assigned stretch of street or sidewalk, and sweep it.  I can't imagine how filthy the city would be if they didn't.

Here's what the police station looked like:

Chinese Police Station

I didn't have to go in, but I did.  The Chinese teacher handled the entire transaction.  And here's something I tried to get a picture of earlier, but couldn't:

Tricycle Pickup

Apparently, if you have a moderate amount of cargo to haul in China, this is what you get.  Enclosed-cab four-wheel pickups are very rare here (I've seen one), and most small-cargo appears to be hauled with vehicles like this.  There are smaller electric versions as well.  They have large trucks for heavy hauling, of course.

After the police station, we went to the school.  The driver took us to his office, which apparently is shared by the custodial staff.  He apparently keeps birds:

Don't know what to say about that.  I got the tour of the school, what they could show me, since most of the doors were locked.  We were met by Jane, and then we went out to eat.  Food was good, but I can't tell you what most of it was, or show you pictures.  I can report that most dishes were served with personal chopsticks out of the communal bowls, with the exception of soups and rice dishes.  I can also report that Jane complemented my chopstick skills, which I knew would be useful here.

After lunch, the teacher with the toddler (who apparently had no alternative childcare) took me shopping at a place called Carrefour, in a large four-level shopping mall.  Carrefour is a hypermart, which apparently is like Home Plus in Korea.  That is, it has multiple levels, one of which was like Target, another was like a supermarket.  Specially designed escalators and shopping-cart wheels allowed you to take your cart between levels efficiently.  There, I got some essentials like laundry detergent, rice, oats, and a few vegetables.  (I also got sugar, salt, peanut oil, and soy sauce, but passed on the MSG.)  The school bought a rice cooker for me, and I headed back to the apartment.  With leftovers and my microwave, I had a decent meal, but it was hard to stay awake until a normal bedtime, so I went to bed early.

Prayer Requests

First of all, praise God for a safe and NV-free trip!  Also, praise God for a mostly uneventful passage through inspections, customs, and residence registration.

One of my biggest concerns is money; that is, having enough to live on until my first paycheck.  My first trip to Carrefour cost over 200 yuan.  Please pray that I will be able to stretch my meagre funds until payday without resorting to extreme measures.

That's all for today.  More later about my explorations, settling in, and, of course, the teaching.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.