It's pretty later here, I'm with an American teacher - Brian - who's helped me get into the office after hours thanks to a security guard he's friendly with so he can watch NFL and I can tell you guy's what a great time I've had these first three days.
We've had a few teething problems with the flat, namely no hot water with the shower and the toilet didn't work. At first the cold showers were a God-send given the stifling heat but the novelty's worne off quickly, maybe after three minutes. Fortunately it's been fixed. The toilet is sort of fixed. It wouldn't flush, or rather it did flush, but the water just came flowing out he back rather than discretely going down whichever pipes toilet water is supposed to. We've had it fixed a few times now, this afternoon it the workmen just stuffed the back with cement and I think, in my by now expert opinion, it'll be ok once that has dried. We've been laughing and joking about it with the other laowai - foreigners - who've got/ had many similar apartment problems and the best answer we've got so far is "Chinese finishing - near enough is good enough". There's a lovely Chinese lady (speaks zero English, rabbits on in Chinese at 100mph knowing full well that we can't speak a word) who's helped us out and it should be totally sorted by the morning.
Speaking of not speaking Chinese, lots of the teachers here have been in ZZ, or China at least, for a year or more, and aren't fluent in the language. I find this odd as when they say that they speak enough to survive, I find that they understand to the same level as, for example, Mubai understands French. Sorry to pick on you Mubai xx. I can tell that getting fluent in a year is nigh on impossible, but I'm going to find a tutor soon, or do a language exchange with a student or three, and am already speaking as much as possible.
Today we had lunch with some of the teachers in one of the three big cafeterias on campus. The food's great. Really great, right up my street. A big plate of chow mien - noodles yeah, spicy - costs about 40 pence. Cheap as chips. Except they don't have chips. Although there are McDo and KFC in the city. Not been yet. Afterwards we took a taxi (40 mins, £2.20) to a fabric bazaar in ZZ to buy rugs and mats for the flat. We've got a great colour scheme - basically, if something's a colour, any colour, we'll have it. You should see the flat - I'll add new photos soon, you wouldn't know my mother's an interior designer whose website has 3'000 internet adverts a week :)
Found a great little coffee shop called Coffeemaster that serves decent Americano, albeit at Starbucks UK prices. It has wireless - that's from where I Skyped you Dad from my iPod. Tomorrow, which is actually today here as it's gone midnight now, we're going to a 'Plant and Technology Market'. Only in China could these to be at the same place, eh? I want to get more greenery for the flat, like in Durham, as I read it's good feng shui. Also there are rumours that the internet is ready now but they don't have cables, or it might be tomorrow, or in three days - I'm going to buy a cable and possibly a router, which'll be maybe £5 and see what happens.
I was once told, in Morocco as it happens, that I 'haggle like a Frenchman' - Sally you may know what this means, I'm taking it as a compliment and that's totally the way in China. Whatever they ask for in the fabric bazaar, plant market etc., offer half then barter up. Often they'll have none of it, but we're definitely being charged a premium for being white, so it seems unfair to pay the asking price. Hatty, I think you'll love the silks in the bazaar. There are also tailors who'll make anything you ask for (in some of the worst fabrics I've ever seen, worse that the crap they sell in Mill House that we had to pretend to be interested in when Mubai took/dragged us there). It can take a week for them to make the garment though so if you order something when you're here, perhaps I'll have to send it to you.
Got a Chinese number, I'll email it if you don't all have it by now.
Having an ace time, all very exciting, so much to take in.
xx