shell.breakage

I like Jinan much better than Kaifeng. It's overwhelming in the best possible way. The food is simpry dericious; I see blue skies and a billion young faces. After arriving via sleeper train, I basically spent the whole day exploring. I didn't get much rest on the train, so I was pretty pooped by dinnertime. I went out and bought some necessities for my room. It's hard to control spending since everything is cheap, but I'm well aware that these little expenses rack up really fast. I'm in love with my room, even though it smells like rancid sewage. (I bought some Glade air freshener, it was MUCH NEEDED.) Last night, the four of us (Matt, Andrew, Emily and I) wandered downstairs to see if we could meet some other international students. Everybody was huddled in their groups; I overheard loud German coming from one corner and some heavily accented English from another corner (must've been either British or Irish, I couldn't really tell.) Strange how everybody sticks to their groups, even though I can't blame them- as fun as meeting strangers is, it's really awkward the first few days. Classes start up on the 7th. I need to register some time in the next few days, but lately my days have been filled with random outings, exploring campus, and gathering food and other necessities. 

I'm really tempted to say hello to some of the other students, but most of the looks I get are stand-offish, "not going to talk to you if you come say hi" kind of faces. I guess I just kind of feel like a recluse, which is a pity. For once in a long time, I feel super-insecure and awkward from being stared at. Luckily, I haven't quite hit the "homesickness" state... yet. 

It's all good, though. 

Tonight, we Americans have plotted the ultimate way to win over our foreign friends.

We'll see how things go. I hope we have enough ping pong balls.

Currently Listening To: Mairead: The Von Bondies