First two weeks in China

Well the past two weeks have probably been the craziest two weeks of my life. To start off, Chicago to Shanghai was a long long long 14 hours. The poor guy next to me had to get up 12 times to accommodate my small peanut of a bladder. My principal was waiting at the airport to greet me. I knew pretty much just from shaking his hand that he would be an awesome person to work with. Very laid back and great sense of humor. We sent straight to my apartment. I have dark hard wood floors and 2 bedrooms. And the best part is I live alone! I have a king size bed that is swallowed by the size of my huge bedroom. Even though the metro station is across the street from my apartment complex, it takes me about 15 minutes to walk there because my complex is really a compound and I live in the very back.
The next morning we started our 2 1/2 week orientation. The first couple of days were spent getting things for our apartments and getting oriented with the city. After a week of shopping at IKEA we began actual work and getting ready for the students who arrive Wednesday. This is when my highs and lows began. I have never experienced anything like this. One day I am happy as can be. Living in one of the coolest cities in the world, soaking up everything, meeting tons of people who will be friends for the rest of my life. Then the next day I am in tears and ready to get on a plane because the course load I am teaching is terrifying. Not feeling settled is staring to take its toll. But each day gets better and better.
Despite my school being almost all teaching couples, there are a couple of cool single people. (all girls) My school is extremely social. There is always someone going somewhere, and someone having a party or organizing an outing. I have learned that sometimes you just have to say no.