This is the center

Hello friends and family!

I am in China--land of noodles and bicycles and tea!

This will be my simple introduction into the land of blogging, but rest assured there's more to come. For now, I will tell you I'm living on the eleventh floor of the Central University for Nationalities International Student House, sharing a bedroom, bathroom, and living room with the other girl from my program. 

We have about a week of orientation activities before beginning classes next Monday, which means the mornings have been filled wandering the streets in our little clump and the afternoons spent desperately trying to stay awake and beat the jet lag. So far it's pretty casual, but it sounds like once classes start there will be a fair amount of work. I'm excited (in a painfully nerdy way) for the readings in our various classes and for the repetitious character practice. We'll take language placement exams on Friday.

Alright, dear people. I realize this is brief, unpoetic, and without pictures. Really it is just to let you know I'm here, full, and warm.

So much love,

Makenzie