jetlag and lost bags and china oh my

sooo i made it to harbin, one of my bags didn't. when i left portland i had a huge hiking backpack i just bought, and an overweight suitcase. you would think they might have trouble transferring the suitcase, but it was my backpack that got lost. apparently they found it, it didn't leave new york, and its on its way today or tomorrow. it was quite the adventure trying to explain to them at the airpoet that i lost one of my bags (in beijing they told me it would be in harbin, in harbin i think i ocnfused them all because i couldnt find the plane ticket from beijing to harbin so they were just lost.). while i was in the office trying to sort out my bag, the foreign affairs person assigned to pick me up and show me around (Kelly), was outside waiting to pick me up... and i couldnt tell her i was there without going back through security. awesome. eventually she figured it out and when they realized i had no idea what i was doing, they let her come in and get me out of there.

im currently living in a hotel a fifteen minute walk from campus. the english dept diretor insists that i need to get my rest before i move into the dorms, but i personally would much rather be around other people, not by myself so much. the jetlag is awful, i have slept about six hours since i got here on wednesday night (its friday morning). this morning we figured out that my family can actually call me, i just can't call them, but i can send texts, so if i text them they can call me back. it was a relief to talk to them, since the hotel doesn't have internet and i was feelin kinda lonely.

right now i'm at the english department of the university, i've just met some of the other english teachers (they're all chinese), and this afternoon i'll have lunch with the university president and the other new foreign teachers, i think a couple japanese teachers and a russian teacher.

my one achievement for yesterday was getting through the language barrier to get myself an adapter for my lappy so i could watch dvds. i had to draw a picture of the outlet on a piece of paper and tell them what i wanted like a billion times, but i finally got it right. this afternoon i'm going on a quest for a fan and some benadryl to make me go to sleep so i stop feeling so gross. yayyy drug induced sleep!

it might be next week before i get another post in since i don't have internet of my own until i move. i can't get a clear answer other than they want me to rest as to why i can't jutst move in, but once i get there i should have internets all of the times. here's hoping.

zaijian for now :)