Bread, Eggs, and Frozen Pizza

Dear Dad and Mom, I'm still staying temporarily at someone else's apartment, but in another day or two I'll be moving into my own place. My apartment is completely unfurnished, so I'll have to buy everything myself: a bed, a table, a chair, and all the other essentials. I may also need to get a phone.¹ I've been in Austin for over ten days now, but because of my living situation, I haven't really been able to cook proper meals yet. Most days I just eat bread, eggs, and frozen pizza, or make some instant noodles with vegetables. Sometimes I grab a burger for lunch on campus. Burgers usually cost about a dollar each, but drinks cost more than you'd think, so a typical fast-food meal ends up costing around three dollars. For me, that's a pretty expensive lunch. The fall semester officially begins on August 30th. I expect it will be quite busy. I'll be taking three classes. On top of that, I'll be working as a teaching assistant (TA), earning a monthly stipend of $1,067. However, I still have to pay for my own health insurance, and tuition and fees for the fall semester alone came to $1,457.97. Before I could start working directly with students as a TA, I had to pass an oral English exam, and I just barely did. Hai took the same exam last year and failed. He retook it this year and received a conditional pass, which means he has to take an English course this semester. The department has already assigned me to a class, and tomorrow I'm going to apply for office space. These past few days have been especially busy, mostly because I had to attend the International TA Orientation. It lasted four straight days and just wrapped up yesterday. The program was basically a workshop for international students on how to be an effective teaching assistant. Among the international students, Indians make up the largest group, followed by students from Taiwan, South Korea, and Mainland China. I emailed Chun² the day before yesterday. Tomorrow I'll check to see whether she's replied. Tong 08/27/95 Yesterday I moved into the new apartment. The address is: 5106 N. LAMAR #257 Austin, TX 78751 U.S.A. You can use this address to write to me from now on. It's a two-bedroom apartment, and I'm sharing it with another Chinese student. Around here, it's pretty much the norm for Chinese students to room together. My share of the rent is $250 a month. The apartment is considered inexpensive by Austin standards. The tenants are mostly Mexican and Chinese. It has air conditioning, which we leave running day and night, though I'm not particularly thrilled with the loud hum. Hot water is available around the clock, and not just in the shower. Every faucet has two knobs, one for cold water and one for hot water. The floors are carpeted, though the carpet isn't the highest quality. Every bedroom has a large built-in closet. These conditions aren't considered luxurious in America, but if you placed this apartment in China, it would be considered quite nice, wouldn't it? Yesterday I bought a large table from a neighbor for $15. It's in pretty good shape. But since I still don't have a chair, I'm actually standing as I write this letter to you. At night, I simply spread a bedsheet on the carpet and sleep there. Chun still hasn't replied to my email. I'm not sure whether she never received it or simply has no way to respond. I need to write her a proper letter today. Classes begin tomorrow. I hope life settles into a groove once things get going. Tong 08/29/95 P.S. I was surprised to discover that people don't take midday naps here.³ I even have a class that runs straight from noon to 1:30 p.m. P.P.S. I'll deposit the money in the bank in a couple of days, so don't worry about it.