Woke up at 4:30 am.\u00a0 First thought was hunger and where to get food.\u00a0 Judy is taking stock of the apartment and how we\u2019re going to organize our stuff. After showering and getting my bearings in the apartment, I headed out to find breakfast.\u00a0 I walked out of the apartment building and out the gate of the complex (two guards on duty at all times).\u00a0 Walked several block with no sign of food, then found a street vendor deep-frying dough.\u00a0 It had some kind of vegetables in it.\u00a0 My interpretation \u2013 a vegetable doughnut (sans sugar).\u00a0 I bought two for around $1.50, and headed back toward the apartment.\u00a0 Walked past the gate and continued passed some closed up shops (5:30 am).\u00a0 Found another street cook with a little different shape, but the same product.\u00a0 Bought two and wandered into a small shop with essentials for sale.\u00a0 Bought some large water bottles and even found some diet coke.\u00a0 Headed back to the apartment.\u00a0 Judy was up and full-scale unpacking is taking place.\u00a0 We enjoyed our sugarless doughnuts and water.<\/p>\n
Unpacking our luggage is an arduous task.\u00a0 Judy knows where she wants it, so I try to help, but mostly get in the way.\u00a0 I try to figure out how to set up our computers and all our electronics.\u00a0 Contacted our housing agent, Lisa, and scheduled internet installation for later in the day (yes, the same day, not sometime next week).<\/p>\n
Around 11:00 am we get hungry again, so I went out on another walk.\u00a0 Found a McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Starbucks, and a Pizza Hut.\u00a0 They were part of a huge mall (Capitol Mall), 5 floors up and 2 basement floors below.\u00a0 Grabbed some McDonalds and headed back home.\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s about a 10 minute walk, maybe \u00bd mile?\u00a0 Enjoyed the chance to relax a little and eat.<\/p>\n
Internet guys (looked like teenagers) arrived around 2:15.\u00a0 Don\u2019t understand English, and we had fun trying to communicate.\u00a0 It took forever for them to understand that the Apple Wireless Extreme wasn\u2019t a router.\u00a0 Finally, after much gesturing and phone calls, another guy walks in with a router, and we finally get hooked up.\u00a0 Cost is 1080y (yuan) for internet for a year, and the router was 300y.\u00a0 Exchange rate is $1 = 6y, so I divide everything by 6 to get a dollar equivalent.\u00a0 Translation \u2013 internet was $180 for a year, and the router was $50.\u00a0 Felt kinda weird paying four teenagers 1380y cash, but it all seems ok, according to our agent.\u00a0 Internet is running and we\u2019re feeling like we\u2019re back in touch with the world.<\/p>\n
I trekked back to the mall for dinner \u2013 Pizza Hut.\u00a0 They have a full menu with many items, burgers, dinner plates, etc.\u00a0 I order pizza and decided to try my Visa card.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 I spent so much time making sure all of our bank cards would work before we left, and now I can\u2019t use my Visa?\u00a0 I\u2019m irritated!\u00a0 I pull out the cash, and head home for dinner.\u00a0 We eat and spend the rest of the night unpacking and making lists for what food and household items we need at the store the next day.\u00a0 I also spent an hour on the phone with Chase Bank and after speaking with several different levels of management, finally solved the access problems with our banking cards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Woke up at 4:30 am.\u00a0 First thought was hunger and where to get food.\u00a0 Judy is taking stock of the apartment and how we\u2019re going to organize our stuff. After showering and getting my bearings in the apartment, I headed … Continue reading