First Days in China

I left Dallas around 8:30 a.m., had short layovers in Phoenix and San Francisco, spent a night in Beijing, and eventually 36 hrs after departure I arrived in Guilin. A guy was standing at the exit of the Guilin airport with a white sheet of paper reading "Welcome Tony Montgomery." He was a taxi driver that the school hired to pick me up and take the 2 hr drive back to Yangshuo. Not a single word was exchanged on the ride. I tried talking to him a little at the airport, but the only English I heard him say was 'wait' when he left to retrieve the car from the parking lot. Here's a picture I took from the cab.

My driver dropped me off at the school where I met Odar, the owner and principal. He showed me around, introduced me to some students, faculty, and staff, and let me rest temporarily in one of his hostel rooms. We ate a late lunch at "best noodle shop in all of Yangshuo" as Odar calls it, my first actual meal in China. After I moved my things into my actual apartment, Rocky, a student, helped me obtain a cell phone and dinner...

We then met with Douglas, another student, and went to a West Street to Kaya for drinks.

Day 2 was a little more exciting. My sleep pattern was still a little jacked up so I only got a couple of hours the night before. I met Odar, had breakfast, and spent the rest of the morning doing paperwork and teacher orientation/training. I had dinner that evening at the school, family style Chinese for only 3.5 yuan, and went out with a few students, Eric, Robin, and Vincent, to Kaya again. We had street food later, consisiting of a little of everything and every body part. Here are pictures of my school and the street it's on...

Day 3, Wednesday, I started off by observing a couple of classes. Had lunch at the school, did some walking around and getting to know Yangshuo, then went out for a class dinner at City in City. 14 of us went, sat at one large round table with a spinning center, and ordered 12 entrees. I walked around Yangshuo for the rest of the night learning Chinese with 4 of my students. Wo bu huei ying yu - I don't speak English. Dibuchi, ni hen piao liang - Excuse me, you are very beautiful. And all of their Chinese names...Eric- Li Xian Guang, Robin- Liu Wen Bin, Vincent- Wu Yan Xian, and Dimple- Wan Tan. Here's a picture on West Street...