Early Rising

Last night I went to Mad Max, a western-style bar liked by foreign teachers in the area. As soon as I walked in it was reverse culture shock. After going a week without seeing any foreigners, I was amazed at twenty foreign teachers all in one place. The bar was fun and it was nice to chat with other people in similiar situations, and while everyone had their stories, so far no one has encountered the cockroach/bed bug combo during the first week. I like to think of myself as a pioneer in dealing with high stress situations (flying for 18 years then given an infested living space... I'm doing my part for science). Overall, it was great to meet some other teachers in my area and I'm looking forward to more outings and stories.

Also, I've realized that no matter what time I go to bed at night (2am, 3am, 4am), the construction across the street always starts at 7am. And unfortunately it appears to be the framework for a very large structure, so this could be months. Ahhh. deep breaths!