August 22-26

This really isn't a picture of much. It was a slow camera day and I really liked the wall of that building. This was taken at the Bao'An (another district of Shenzhen) beer garden, a place we have deemed as one of our hang outs. All the Chinese play this dice game (some know it as Pirate's Dice) while they drink. So we have all learned how to play and go to the beer garden to join in and have some fun.


This is probably my favorite part of Shenzhen so far. It is the beach in Yantian (a district of the city). There are two main beaches - a private and public one. This is the public and it is scattered with these crazy angel statues. Our coordinator said we're meeting at the red angel and we had no idea what she was talking about until we got there and saw for ourselves. The beach is beautiful and the water is basically bath temperature + salt. I've already been twice in the last week, even though it takes two and a half hours to get there. The mountains also surround the water, it is a place of paradise.


This is my room. It's very similar to one of our residence hall rooms. My kitchen consists of a microwave and a hot plate that is on the floor between those pieces of furniture. Out that glass door you can see my washing machine and the door to my bathroom. The bathrooms in China consist of a toilet and a shower head that sprays water all over your toilet every time you use it. To the left, out of the picture, is my closet and my desk. It is plenty of space for me and I have made it home :) Plus I'm on the seventh floor and right downstairs on the first is the cafeteria where I get free meals three times a day - it's great.


This is downtown Nanshan, the district I am in.


This was the first day that we moved into our new schools. I got assigned to a Senior High School in Xili, Nanshan, Shenzhen. I am at a school where there is another person from my program which has been really nice. There was a large banquet where we all got to meet our contact teachers. Everyone received large bouquets of flowers. Ours was one of the most impressive.