Adventures in Guangzhou!

After being treated to breakfast by singapore pia-er James Young (thanks James!), my roomate Steven and I got back on a plane for a quick 4 hour jaunt up to China. I expected mountains of paperwork and annoying lines to get through customs, but everything actually went off without a hitch. I could be mistaken, but it seems like they couldn't have cared less.

So first impressions:
*Guangzhou is just about as hot/humid/dirty/loud/busy/big as I expected. This is not necessarily a good thing, but I was prepared for it so it wasn't a total shocker.
*I fully expected everyone to stop and stare as I walked around, but it hasn't been too bad. There is definitely a decent amount of gawking going on, but I don't think I'm turning heads as much as I expected. That being said, I have only seen about 4 or 5 caucasians here (compared to the thousands of Chinese) and they were all tourists at a museum that didn't speak English.
*Things here are very different (duh). Going to the supermarket today was quite an eye-opener. How exactly does one prepare starfish? Snakes? I have no idea.

So far I have managed to avoid the inevitable and have not gotten food sickness yet. Steven and I both know that it's only a matter of time though and I would almost prefer that it happen now as opposed to later. It's frustrating eating and drinking, all the while thinking, "I wonder if this'll make me ill." I've been trying to follow the travel clinic's rule of no-fruits-or-vegetables-that-don't-have-a-skin-you-can-peel-off, but I also have no control over what goes into food at a restaurant. It also gets to the point where I don't feel like being paranoid for an entire year so we'll see how long it lasts. For lunch today I had an amazing veal dish as well as these cucumbers covered in some un-identifiable sauce that was pretty darn tasty. So far so good.

I didn't know what to expect with my apartment, given the multitude of disastrous stories that I heard about last year, however things seem like they're in good shape. My bed is super hard but I think maybe that's standard over here. We have yet to figure out how to get hot water so I took a very quick shower this morning. VERY quick. I have yet to use the "eastern" toilet (a.k.a. hole in the floor), though I'm sure once I do I will devote an entire post to the experience. We are lucky enough to have a solid library of old books left by former pia-ers, so I should be sufficiently amused for a while. I never got around to reading "I, Claudius" before, but this just might be the year!

So far the biggest difference I have noticed is with smells. Besides the chinese writing everywhere, I could be in any big city... except for the new smells. Walking on the street, going through the supermarket, passing by restaurants, and exploring campus has all brought about brand new scents (or should I say odors?). Now if only I could pinpoint the slightly unpleasant one in my apartment, I would be a full step happier...

That's about it for now. I've been so busy and have already experienced so much that it's tough to remember everything. It's time to go search out my dinner, but I'm sure I will post again soon.