First Day at office followed by shopping!!

I went to the office today to have a meeting with the dean and the other teacher, so I could figure out what was happening and to be able to make a lesson plan for the morning. The day seemed to drag on and nothing seemed to be accomplished. I don't think I am any closer to knowing what I am going to be doing in the morning than I did when I first started!

At lunch time, one of the people in charge (I am really not sure what his job is) asked me for my passport. Luckily I had it with me as no one told me to make sure I had it today (though they did say that when you leave the house you need to have it). He made photocopies and then took me to get my picture taken. First head on, then facing left, then facing right, no smiling; it was definitely a mug shot sitting....maybe I was being arrested and didn't know it. Afterward he took me out for lunch. When we got back to the office, he told me that I needed to go get blood tests done tomorrow. Apparently these need to be done every 6 months. The other teacher told me that blood is very important here, even on the gym membership cards they have the person's blood type.

After a long day of work, with some moments of joking, we headed home to get ready to go to the store! This store is like a Target in that it has every type of thing that you may want, even if the exact thing you want isn't available there. I was at the store for approximately 2 hours, and all I got was an ice cream cone that I didn't even pay for!!

It definitely wasn't waisted time, though, that is for sure. As I walked through the store, I observed what was available and the approximate price. I learned that I made a mistake in buying my razor and shaving cream and bringing it here as the same brands here are the same or cheaper! The familiar brand shampoo is also here, though for slightly higher prices. As we walked down the toothpaste aisle, I noticed kinds I have never seen before; Colgate has flavors! Have you ever thought you would see chocolate toothpaste? Or how about enjoying the taste of cola while protecting your teeth in the process? Of course there were also flavors like vanilla and such as well. I was just overcome with absolute joy and horror as the ramifications of such products overtook me.

Of course it wasn't much different with the jalapeño Pringles or the ketchup potato chips. The grape vinegar and brown vinegar were new to me as well. One thing one must make sure they do when shopping here, it is to look at the expiration dates. It seems that the store is not going to do this, and they attempt to sell spoiled food as if it were still good. There was bread that had turned green, some meat that had passed its expiration date, and some cheese that had turned a funcky color as well. These were all good things for me to learn when I had no money to pay for any of this.

Well, tomorrow is another day, and on this day I will finally see my students for the first time. Hopefully I don't make too big of an idiot of myself, and I am able to settle in quite quickly.