I am Luzhou bound! The news is in; as of Thursday, September 1st, I will be headed to Luzhou, located on the Yangtze River in Eastern Sichuan Province. Here's the scoop: My school is Luzhou Medical College, and I'll be teaching Oral English, American/Western Culture and English Literature to first-third year students. The up-sides: I'll be the first PCV at my site, ever. Pollution levels appear to be low, and rumor has it, the sun shines in Luzhou! The campus that I'll live on is at the base of Mount Zhongshan. I am situated in the center of a triangle of cities with PCVs in them, so my opportunities for a little collegial bonding are never more than an hour away. The potential down-sides: no internet in my apartment, which is described as a single room, with a balcony and shared kitchen. I don't think I'll be able to afford internet service. While this may be more in line with the PC aesthetic, I cannot help but feel a bit of disappointment after my two months of relative luxury. I have no fondness for internet bars, but will try to keep blogging consistently. It is an outlet for my daily stories, so I think I'll have good motivation to keep writing. Oddly, the thing that probably most worries me is having a shared kitchen. I've looked forward to being able to make my own food for two months--I'm curious to see what kind of set-up this will be.

One thing that is both a positive and negative about my placement is my lack of a sitemate. In the future-forecasted reality that existed in my head, I'd always imagined having one of my colleagues with me, if not on my department, then at least at my school. I am the only PCV in my province without a sitemate. Now I'm just readjusting my expectations. I look forward to the challenge of doing this on my own, and if I'm really desperate for fellow Westerners, it isn't too tough to get to my friends. Also, rumor has it that there are two other foreign teachers at my school.

I am really excited about my placement (we got the news about our sites while playing hot potato in a big circle, which eased people's nervousness a bit). When I found out, I gave my program manager a big hug of thanks, as they really tried to match me with a site that fit my preferences. The rest is up to me, to make a positive experience out of this adventure.

So, that's it. I know where I'll be living for the next two years--that's not something I've been able to say for a long time. My new address follows, and is also in my profile. Keep the letters, etc, coming! Check out my school's English-version website, the link is below. Until next time...

http://www.lzmc.edu.cn/lzmcnew/english/brief.htm

Mary Bortscheller
Foreign Affairs Office
Luzhou Medical College
Luzhou, Sichuan
China 646000