My Mushroom Friend

Thanks to everybody who’s been commenting. It’s very comforting to hear from you!

Pictures.  Yes, photos would be good.  I don’t have a real camera yet, but it’s on my wish list.  I have a web cam, but obviously that’s tethered to the laptop.  And it doesn’t offer the greatest picture.  So, I’ll try to get a camera soon so you can see all the things in my new world here.

Yesterday I spoke with a woman in the school office that thought it would be better for me to apply for a year visa. Of course, that’s what I wanted in the first place but the first woman I talked to was adament that I could only apply for a 5 month. That’s how it works around here. The bureaucracy can be very flexible if you get the right person. So anyway, this is good news, but it requires a physical exam at a certain hospital. Yes, she tells me, they will draw blood. And where is it? Oh, take the number 52 bus almost to the airport (20 minutes away) and get off at the World Market. Then she gives me a business card with a tiny map on it. I can’t read it at all, except for the hours.

I thought I was doomed (It’s just too far to go alone!), but my roommate offered to take me!  Thank you, Mogu!  That’s her nickname really.  It means mushroom.  She’s a mushroom because her hair is cut in a bob and her friends think she looks like a mushroom. So, the silly girl is going to help me out.  I’m so grateful.

We had dinner together this evening with her friend, Ting Ting.  It was my first real meal outside the cafeteria and with such pleasant company.  Between their broken English and my (very) broken Chinese we made conversation.  Ocassionally they would consult in Korean — funny how different it sounds.  They taught me some new vocab and corrected my bad pronunciation.  Likewise, they would ask me how to say things in English, and we would puzzle it out.  All in all, a success!

Well, I have so much more to say, but I really have to study.  Too much English in my head!