New City

Hello readers,

To those who have been checking in on me and noticing a lack of new posts, I am sorry. It is not easy to get online in my new home, but I have made progress and I hope to be up and running soon.

Anyway, I have made it to my final destination...finally! Dandong, Liaoning, China. It is strange to think that I am halfway around the world from everyone I have held close for my entire life. Every morning when I wake up there is still a moment where I think that I am just in another apartment in some US city. Then the sounds and smells of China remind me that I am, in fact, a stranger in a strange land.

The past couple of days have been spent getting to know my surroundings a little bit. The first day I was here I spent a majority of my time walking around the city. Most of my time was spent on the water front, peering across the river into North Korea. It is strange to think that I am so close to a country that is completely closed to me. If I wanted to, and I don't, I could easily swim across, but somehow I don't think it would be very easy for me to blend in with the locals.

After about an hour of walking along the river front I took a turn into the city at a random cross street. Needless to say, I got myself good and lost a couple times. Fortunately the city is relatively small and I found my way back to the school with little problem.

My apartment is nice. I thought that I would be sharing it with a roomate, but I come to find out that that is not the case. I don't know whether I am relieved or bummed about not having a roomate, but it is what it is and I suppose it doesn't really matter.

Well, I am tying up the computer in the teachers' lounge so I am going to keep this post short. I will write again soon with some pictures and videos of my first couple days in China.

Keep checking in,
Henry (Hank) Young