Chinatown.

Nanjing, China: My new home. It’s kinda crazy that it’s been a little more than a week since I’ve been here but it’s growing on me. It started off with 3 lonnngg flights, 24+ hours of sleep deprivation, and bu hao (not good) airplane food. Luckily, we made it to our hotel a little past 1am and had an amazing nights sleep. The next few days were kind of a blur. It was spent Britton going to orientation, finding an apartment (pictures soon to come), deep cleaning our “already cleaned apartment”, and getting acquainted with city life. I feel like a live in a Chinatown NYC. After living in Taiwan last summer, I thought it was going to be essentially the same and although they do have a lot of similar aspects, it feels completely different.

Let’s start with the differences….well the people here don’t seem to be as friendly as they were in Taiwan. The Taiwanese loved Americans and we would get the VIP treatment wherever we went. It is quite the opposite here. Unless you have an American baby, you ain’t getting anywhere with these people. Just kidding they aren’t that bad but it is quite difficult to get a taxi to stop for you. Another difference is their water. You have to use purified water for everything here, even brushing your teeth.  I have forgotten this once or twice so let’s cross our fingers that I don’t get sick.  There’s been a few times where I’ve cringed at the places we ate and I have somewhat returned to my vegetarian ways but I see it as being cultured and being grateful for America’s standards.

China has a lot of awesome things about it too. EVERYTHING here is dirt cheap. It is unbelievable. Where can you go in America and get two bowls of noodles and two Fantas for under $3? It’s crazy how your mind set changes too.  I’ve caught myself saying that $5 is expensive for a meal. This is the same girl that used to say $9 Costa Vida meals is a good deal. Also, you can get anywhere in the city with a taxi for under $3 bones. I am loving it. Also, the food is soo soo good. I guess you’d expect Chinese food to be good in China right;)

But overall, it has been an awesome experience. It has made me realize how important the gospel is and how lucky I am as an American to enjoy the freedoms that I have. I am excited to learn more about the people here and to spend the next year living their way of life. This past week I’ve been terrible at taking pictures so please enjoy my lack of pictures, which sum up China in a nutshell: Ping pong and oriental buildings.