Train Wreck

Sorry for the delay in posting...long, busy week.

Work has been very time consuming. My workload is much heavier now that I seem to be getting the hang of this thing. My prep time is substantial. It's a lot tougher to prepare for a one-hour session that thought it would be. Lately I've been doing 2 or 3 a night.

Tonight is our Halloween party. Since I am the "low man on the totem pole", I have to wear a costume and act like an idiot in front of the kids for about 3 hours tonight. It should be fun and a nice break from my classes.

I thought I found the perfect apartment the other day. Before I had a chance to tell the guy that I wanted it, someone else snatched it out from under me...ugh. The demand for apartments here is incredible. Ads for nice apartments rarely last for more than a day or two.

There was a train wreck yeaterday. A train derailed about an hour south of the city. It really screwed up the schedule. As a result, I was late for work. No worries, about half of the staff takes the same train so it screwed everyone up. The trains here are notoriously unstable. According to the local newspaper, there have been 8 accidents since June. About 2 hours after this latest incident the head of the agency that regulates the trains resigned. He took the blame for the atrocious record.

It's been raining virtually every day. The hot season is over. It's been remarkably cool here this month. It would be perfect except for the constant rain. I regret not bringing a fleece with me. Clothes here are pretty expensive.

I have to pick up my resident visa and work permit on Friday. Once I do that, I am official, legal resident of The Republic of China!