New Life.

Foreigners here are few and spoken English is equally sparse. Zhengzhou may be the capital of Henan province and a bustling city of 5 million, but by China's standards that's a small drop in the bucket. So, I thought I'd share this funny tidbit that was included in my guidebook for new teachers at HMC (Henan Marshal Cooperative). "So much of being out here is great, the cliche once-in-a-lifetime kind of experiences, but some of your time out here really will be hard. I'd say it's important to not deceive yourself and admit when life is difficult. Talk to your friends and family, talk to the other teachers, get some Ben and Jerry's (that was a cruel joke--there is no Ben and Jerry's)." Or real cheese for that matter.

Zhengzhou (ZZ) certainly isn't Shanghai. More observations to come and details about our first dinner out in ZZ, a "western place" of Brazilian bbq with cow tongue (something I've already had in Iowa) and Chinese waiters dressed in German folk attire. Time for dinner!