5/14/10 - Really Studious Mosquitoes!

So the past couple nights, I haven’t been able to sleep very well. It’s a mix of jet lag coupled with the merciless mosquitoes. However last night, I slept like a baby. I got back from the lab around 8:30 and just straight up passed out on my bed and slept 12 hours (so awesome!). Something that I’m not used to is the work ethic over here. The grad students in the lab practically live there. Some of them come at 9am and don’t leave til past midnight, sometimes past 2am. Hell, even the mosquitoes have more work ethic here. They’re always on the move. You try to shoo them away, and they’re constantly buzzing around and pestering you. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if I looked like a leper when I got back. It’s been 3 days and I’ve been bitten like 30 times already. Do the math and I’m getting 10 bites a day and they take a week to go away so I’ll be constantly maintaining like 70 bites on my body. Hot stuff. A particularly cheerful grad student in my lab has taken it upon himself to show me all the good places to eat. We're becoming such good friends. Food really bridges the language barrier. Every day around 6ish, everyone leaves for dinner and he tells me he’s taking me to the night market to check out some new dish. Yesterday, we went to the best place in the city for fried dumplings. Let me just say that I was in heaven. Ten enormous dumplings, golden brown and fried to perfection with some slightly spiced up soy sauce, all for under $2. I just might go there every night from now on. If I had a last meal on earth, I’d eat probably there (or maybe Andiamo’s for some rice balls). I also met with the landlord of the apartment I’ve been looking at. It’s a small single (even though it’s definitely bigger than my room back home) and I’d be paying around $150 a month for it. The bed is oddly dimensioned though so I’ll have to buy new sheets that fit. I believe my dad and I are going to sign the lease tonight so I can move in tomorrow! :)