every breath you take, every move you make ...

i'll be watching you.

i think i'm officially blocked from blogger. this pains me tremendously, as i rely on many of your blogs to catch a glimpse into your worlds ... and to see the faces i miss. apparently, i can post (my opinions are not influential), but i can't read (as i have a malleable mind and could do some damage armed with the right information?). so, i apologize now for the strange formatting that i won't be able to see, but i'll keep the posts coming. i'm so sd-6.

yesterday was full and strange. we started with a medical exam that consisted of being led (with others) from white room to white room. each one w/ a new face to do a new exam, and check a box on the piece of paper we carried with us. i felt like a 'made in china' toy going through inspection. 'officially defective, and dangerous for children. release!'

highlights included chad closing the door on his needle phobia when he successfully navigated the worst blood draw process this veteran has seen, and the ultrasound lady laughing out loud when looking at his insides. what did she see? we will never know.

we spent the day eating in western restaurants, paying $10 for sparkling water, and cursing our ignorance. we found a western grocery store ... rice milk (yes, tricia) was $7. the same stuff that whole paycheck charges $2 for.

and then, things went downhill fast w/ a trip to ikea. just when you thought ikea couldn't get any worse. over stimulation ... sweat. like mice in a cage. by the time we left we needed supervision in the cab (see previous post). only to get home and realize we have to go back.

not it.

today was my first day at work. it was really a humbling experience to be treated so so graciously. the office is small (27 people), and the culture feels much like old avenue a. it is very collaborative, and there is a good creative energy there. if i continue to learn at the same pace as i did today... at the end of 6mos i will be a genius. it is more likely i collapse at day 7.

i visited kerri at nike, and had my first starbucks in the center of the expat world.

i also had my first traditional shanghaiese food at lunch. royce (my boss and the managing director at e-crusade) ordered everything sans gluten :) it was delicious. and oily. i learned the history behind chopsticks - with many smaller regions within china, sharing food meant friendship. a knife and fork could be used to hurt each other, so chopsticks were used to signify peace. with chopsticks, the table is safe for friends. they are often given as wedding gifts as well, to symbolize 2 joining to work together as one.

we have a few words down in mandarin: hello, check/bill, thank you. you know, the haus basics for eating. tomorrow we'll work on: 'woah! you just almost hit 17 people and there aren't seatbelts in this car!' ... or, 'there was my apartment! if you make a u-turn there is a little drive way you can pull into on the right.'

'or, i'll walk. i wanted to anyway.'