First Day at Work

(written on Tuesday, but forgot to post until just now) We all survived our first day at work, and everyone in the office was really nice. We all 4 went into different studios, myself going to studio 2. The first half of the day was mostly getting set up with the computers and equipment and the second half I started drawing some sections for a large streetscape/urban design project a bit south of Beijing. The studio took me out to lunch which was quite an experience. Up until that point, I would say that we had been eating some authentic Chinese food, but it was always things that appealed to us from the menu. This time I didn't have that liberty, so it was whatever the folks from the studio ordered. The custom here is for one person to do all the ordering for the entire table, and everyone shares in all the dishes that are spun around on a huge 'lazy susan'. The first round of food brought out consisted of nothing that looked familiar at all. The chicken feet were recognizable, but not familiar. I did end up eating one, much to my surprise, and now feel confident that I can try just about anything, even if I don't necessarily like it. At the end of the day the studio threw a little party for us out in the lobby with candy and soda. We each had to give a little talk about ourselves, and I decided to try out my Mandarin with a little "wa bu hwue shwa po tong kwa". That simply means, "I don't speak Mandarin", but they were all really impressed and it got a round of applause. Everyone here is very impressed when we are able to say anything at all in Mandarin or even that we know how to use chopsticks. That about rounded out the day other than coming home and everyone sharing their experiences for the first day of work and eating peanut butter and jelly in order to give our stomachs the comfort of digesting something familiar.