Checking In

This is the notice you’ve all been waiting for. I’m in China alive and well.

My first day was spent in settling in to my new place—unpacking, meeting the team, touring campus, and, of course, the obligatory Walmart run. Concerned about jetlag (which I seem to have largely escaped, probably with the help of my out of control schedule prior to leaving the US) and wary of overwhelming us on our first day, the leadership left plenty of time for rest and most of the activities were designed to gently introduce us to our new home.

Our authentic Chinese lunch of dumplings, cold vegetables, beef, and sausage was a little taste of the future. The forks for those of us desperate enough for food to swallow our pride and drop our chopsticks and the American dishes at our potluck dinner minimized the culinary stress.

We begin our training today at 1500 hours. After a day and a half of slow advances, I’m ready to begin learning what I’m supposed to be teaching in two weeks. And, just for the record, we don’t use military time here as a rule. I just felt like it because I do things like that. As you know.

Thanks so much to each of you for your thoughts on my behalf, and for those of you who went the extra mile and reduced the financial burden of the trip. I trust I’ll be able to show on here why you did it.