So since I last wrote to you all on the plane, I arrived in China after a gruelling thirty-hour journey.  The plane trip to China, looking back now over my first month here, seems to be an accurate reflection of the procedures in Weifang. Let me explain. 

Upon arriving in Beijing there was no one there to tell us where to go, who to talk to, or how long we would have to wait for transport. We waited at the entrance to the airport for almost two hours, along with about forty other Air China passengers and only one employee, who didn’t speak much English, was attempting to organize all of us. After boarding a bus and driving for over an hour (because the driver did not know where the hotel was), we arrived at a hotel and had to wait for one person to check in forty people. We slept for about two hours before heading back downstairs to eat and board the bus to take us back to the airport. It turns out that the hotel was only twenty minutes away! Thankfully, the rest of our journey proceeded without any more problems and we arrived safely in Weifang. It seems like organization and planning are not priorities for businesses in China! 

Upon arriving at our apartment complex I was expecting the worst after hearing how small the apartments were. I was pleasantly surprised. My apartment that I share with Joscelyne is huge, though sparsely furnished. This is especially true since both of the legs of my glass kitchen table became unglued and the entire table fell onto my lap. And yes, it hurt. I’ve found that the quality of the products sold here leaves much to be desired unless you want to pay an arm and a leg. It may be worth paying though, as I would like to keep my legs from being crushed by a slab of glass again. 

It is not all bad though, I don’t want to give you that impression. My work as a Development Coordinator is interesting. I teach English one day a week to elementary students and work on developing and marketing new English curriculum and programs. I also help coordinate and manage the hiring of new foreign employees. My job also entails creating new procedures and forms, as the company is only a few years old and is still growing. I assist in specific projects which include preparing brochures as well as organizing forums and conferences.