Day to Day Living

I am beginning to work myself into a bit of a routine. I finally have a steady work and study schedule neither of which have been fully implemented yet.

Almost every day I walk 15 minutes to my school. The walk to work is always either entertaining or frustrating. It all depends on my mood that morning. I'll explain why.

Linyi and it's surrounding counties boasts a population of 10,000,000 people. At last count there are 50 foreigners living in Linyi. Of those 50 foreigners I believe I am the only Black person. Now I did meet a young woman from South Africa my first night here but she could easily "pass" as she was of some sort of mixed descent so I'm not counting her.

I have caused near accidents simply by walkng down the street. People stop and stare. Drivers oogle and smile. Bike riders too nearly run into pedestrians or cars trying to get a glimpse at me. I am so different and don't look like anything that has been seen by many of the residents in real life. This is so shocking to me, a girl who hails from from Miami where EVERYBODY looks different and diversity is so prevalent.

In many ways I am alone here but I still don't feel lonely. Maybe because it's been such a short time or maybe because I make sure to call my mother often or maybe it's because I try to keep up a constant schedule of feeding my mind with important things that remind me of my family, my love for them and their love for me. Maybe it's a combination of all things.

Though not always at the same time every day I do get in all of my studying and I am learning quite a bit. In fact, this morning I got in some studying and realized that I can't wait until I meet some of my friends so that I can share with them all that I've learned. I have a fire in my belly and it's not "la duzi". ;-) I can't wait until I can get to work!