Intro to Xiamen...

Well, I have arrived, the plane ride was long, and hectic, but I got here. Upon arrival I was swept into a cab by my assistant. The cab, which was blocked by traffic in front immediately drove onto the sidewalk nearly hitting a policeman and some pedestrians, neither flinched at all. The cab then wove in and out of traffic for the 20 minute ride, nearly getting crushed by numerous semi's and buses. I just closed my eyes. This is what traffic is like in Xiamen, and my current near death count is at 13. Xiamen is a very prestigious university in China as my assistant told me, and it shows, the campus is huge, and really nice, with palm trees, a lake, and the ocean near by. They have around 35,000 students on two campuses. It's been an adventure just walking around. The last few days have been fun, I am here with Ben Harper, and Steve Johnson from SJU, and we have slowly discovered some pretty cool people and places. I am however, not proud to admit that my first meal in China was McDonald's, mainly because it was easy to just point at the menu. But I am proud to say that my new favorite place to eat has a plethora o duck carcasses hanging in the window. The duck there is amazing, and we have dubbed the place Daffy's. I am also not happy to admit that I went to Wal-Mart yesterday. As we walked through it, everyone would stop and stare into our carts, and mainly I think at Tony the Tiger on the frosted flakes boxes, I think we were the only two people to ever buy that cereal there. It was massive, and had multiple levels, it took Harper and I like 30 minutes just to find a way out, and another 20 minutes to get a cab to bring the groceries back, we had to fight off plenty of other people in order to get the cab.

The first week we got here is Chinese National Day, which means that everyone has the week off. The streets are packed with people and many chinese take vacation and visit Xiamen. The adjustment hasn't been too bad, my only complaint is the beds are like sleeping on 2x4's covered in sheets. But I guess my chubby American backside has grown weak the past few years with a pillow-top bed and I think I'll live. Other than that, it is hot, us westerners are easy enough to pick out of a crowd, and it only makes it easier when we are the only people drenched in sweat. I am glad I brought a lot of T-shirts as I sweat through a couple a day.

Thanks for al the emails, they help whenever I get a twang of homesickness.


Well, thats all I got for now, I'll keep enjoying my week paid vacation, hope everything is as good for you, wherever you are.