Brain dead

I was so excited to post my photos that I completely forgot to write about my first day at work! So here's that update.  I got into my apt around 2am and after a quick 4 hour nap it was light out and I was on a bus headed to work.  The bus leaves at 6:45 am and it's about an hour long commute to the international center.  Along the way I learned a few things about driving in China, like there aren't really rules when it comes to driving in China.  No one really stays in their lane if it means that they can squeeze through two cars and get in front of the.  It was also really entertaining that when we got to a traffic jam, people honk their horns while they are stopped even if there is no way that the person in front of them could possibly move.  Drivers drive through crosswalks even if the crosswalk is signaling that people can cross and even if it has people in it.  It's a bit scary but also quite entertaining if you are in a bus.  The bigger your vehicle, the better chance you have of winning the chicken fight when driving in the lane of on coming traffic.  The quote that comes to mind, "Do whatever it takes to get ahead."
Once I got to campus I was off to the dining hall for a quick breakfast.  Keep in mind I have no clue where I am supposed to go and what I am supposed to do.  All I was told the minute I landed was, "Your roommate is Joanna and we will see you at school tomorrow to show you around." Luckily Joanna left me a note in my room telling me when the bus leaves and all that good stuff.  So I finish breakfast and Joanna and a few other American teachers show me to the main office.  They had to leave because they were already running late for the class they were supposed to be proctoring for the placement tests.  I met some people and they showed me to the counseling office, though not the one I will be in permanently.  My desk isn't ready yet.  I met three counselors who share the office I'm temporarily in, who fortunately speak some English.  Two of them are actually studying Japanese as well so maybe I can brush up on that too!
Throughout the morning students came and went. From my understanding, there is no system set in place for when students can come into the office for help.  They just come and go whenever.  They have been trying to get a system in place for two years but nothing has worked. Also new this year (besides me) is the fact that the counselors are responsible for MANUALLY inputting grades to create transcripts.  The teachers submit the grades to the counselors and the counselors create a word document for each student.  That's the transcript.  All morning students have been coming in and filling out forms to request transcripts. Unfortunately I'm unable to help them with that since I don't have access to the system where all the word documents are stored. So all morning I listened to them speak in Mandarin and attempted to learn some.
Around 11:30 I was quickly and rather abruptly pulled out of the office for lunch.  I had 20 minutes to eat and then I was on another bus with 9 other people to run errands.  I went to the police station to get a residence permit, the bank to get an account, and the phone store to get a SIM card. After the bank almost all the Chinese teachers went home but my counseling colleague from the UK and I wanted to explore the city for a bit. Sophie (known to us as mama), a bilingual teacher offered to hang out with us.  She took us to town square where there were statues of famous Chinese people, springs, parks, and so much more!  I can't wait until I have more time to hang out there more.  Then she took us to the mall (the name of which I cannot pronounce for the life of me). We ended up eating at Greedy Bear Mini Hot Pot.  It was AMAZING! After dinner we walked around the mall square, which was overwhelmingly beautiful and just littered with activities.  See the pictures in the other post. Another place I cannot wait to spend more time in. Around 9pm Sophie got Giles and I into a cab and told him where to take us.  It was such a great first day in the city.
Today I am back in the office and waiting for my instructions as to what I should be doing... a handbook and schedule would be LOVELY! But I'm learning to go with the flow. In the mean time, it's practice practice practice... my Mandarin that is.  I will be sure to update you as more happens (and I'm sure more will happen).  Until then... Laters!