I'm here and I'm well. It's been a busy week so far. We arrived late Friday night with minimal
difficulty. Customs was unexpectedly easy, and that was a welcomed relief! We spent the better part of
the weekend shopping and setting up our appartments. They're furnished, but lacking in some basic essentials.
Initially it was kind of disappointing to see the poor condition of our appartments, but after a few days of
intense bleaching and scrubbing, they're starting to feel livable. Because of the humid climate, mold is a big
issue. And since I have the privilage of living on the first floor, so are cockroaches! But with regular maintenance
it'll be fine. Pictures are coming, I'm just experiencing a little technical difficulty right now.
The culture shock has been practically non-existant, I feel quite comfortable here already. I'm learning a lot of vocabulary already and
although it's not easy I'm finding Manderin to be a very interesting language. The people here are really nice and
I've already become pretty good friends with some of the other teachers. We have our share of characters among the group, but they all look
like good people to work with so far. I'm surprised by the diverse demographics we have though. Most of us new teachers are first years, straight
out of faculty. There is a fair number of retirement or near-retirement age teachers here as well, but the bulk of the teachers are in their 30's
40's who are here with their spouse and all their kids. We have probably at least 20 children of teachers living here with us. So we're a wide and
varied group, but we've gelled pretty quick and it's looking to be an excellent year!