I was up with the construction workers this morning, excited to be heading off to my first day of school. The anticipation of starting something new made me ignore the stomach cramps, and pass them off to nerves.

Arriving at the university with ten minutes to spare, I realized I should have given myself more time. The yard outside the foreign language department was a mess of 外国人 all politely pushing to see the classroom placement list.

Things were organized in typical Chinese fashion. A sort of chaotic mess that leaves you feeling like you should…