Hey United. I'd just like to thank you so very much for losing my bag. Then again as the song famously goes they also break guitars, so I suppose it's not too much of a stretch. Still, if I knew how to say "Go to hell" in Mandarin I would.

Well, my first day in Hangzhou and I've done and got myself lost. I must have walked past each landmark I recognized three times. One smartass street vendor kept saying "Hello!" each time I went past. He was selling "iPod Shuffle MP4" for about $25 US. Even had the Apple logo on them. "Not sure if knockoff or just that cheap" seems to be my new motto.

Anyway, my roommate is a Brit named David, super classy guy. I'm finding myself speaking more like him the more time I spend with him. I think it's because since everything looks different, I find it easier to see that object as a "rubbish bin" and not a trash can.

I also got a chance to meet the head cheese, Kyle. Great guy from Vancouver who pretty much said goodbye to the west years ago - even has a wife here. He took me out to lunch right around the corner from school. Had some Pepper Chicken, Seaweed, and aged tofu with Apple soda. The aged tofu is as bad as it sounds. In fact, I'm not even going to capitalize you, tofu. Maybe that will teach you to not taste like a sock next time. The apple soda was great though - basically apple flavored Surge.

This place definitely has the Asian vibe, in that if a car can fit somewhere, you are obligated to try and do so. Also you're pretty much a rockstar for looking western. Speaking of rockstars, my coworker Sophia says that they basically don't exist here. She's never been to any live music show, or had Indian food. She's also never been on a plane, but at least the first two I can correct.

Funny picture for this post is something that we all could use: