still in a hotel....

Well, it has been one week since I left the US. What do I have to say about my experience? It is quite an experience! Fact of life: things don't always go as planned. When I first got here I expected to be in a hotel for a couple of days, have the school help me find an apartment, get some teacher training, and settle into my new life here. It has been a week and I am still at the hotel. It’s right across the street from the school and super convenient, the only unfortunate part is that I am paying for the hotel myself. It's only $31 a day, and it's a nice hotel, but it adds up. When moving to a new city it takes time to get acclimated and learn the ropes. So when trying to decide what neighborhood to live in, I'm at a bit of a loss. Luckily I have some really great people at the school that have been extremely helpful! One of the guys took me for a walk after class and gave me tons of pointers and helpful advice. It was great and I was so appreciative. He then said to me "you know, it's a small foreigners circle and we all try and take care/look out for one another". I really am feeling that, which is such an amazing gift. 

I've met another Californian at the school that is also looking for an apartment. She is new to Hangzhou, but has lived in China for about 6 years. We've decided to look for an apartment together. It will be nice to live with someone that can help me with simple things that aren’t so simple for a foreigner, like going to the grocery store! We met with a real estate agent today and brought our assistant Dayna from the school to help us translate. Tomorrow we will meet with another agent that speaks English! This will be a HUGE help. Two more nights at the hotel is my limit, and then I will stay with another teacher from my school. I'm hoping we can find a place in less than a week (fingers crossed). I am just feeling so unsettled... Adapting to the culture and my job will take time, and living out of a suitcase/hotel makes me a little anxious. 

The school really doesn’t train much, which is really difficult. I like structure and knowing what is required of me, and there really isn’t much of that. Also, I have never taught before. With adults it is much easier, because they are at the conversational level, and I’m somewhat good at making conversation. With the kids it is about keeping them entertained and happy. I’m struggling, because I don’t have a bag of games and fun/simple activities for them. I keep telling myself it will take a bit of time, and to just be patient. But I feel as if I am failing by not succeeding super quickly.

In time I know it will all work out. Right now I am just missing home and the simplicity/comfort of my life. But as I’m sure somebody once said: If it scares the hell out of you, it’s worth doing.