My First Six Months in China

January 1st marks my six month anniversary in China. It’s been a crazy six months and one I probably can’t quite process yet. There’s a lot going on here I haven’t written about—things that have shaped my experience here dramatically. The first semester for me was all about adjustment: how to live, how to eat, how to use squat toilets, how to teach, how to get around. Now that I understand life here a little more, I'm going to utilize my time better--I guess that's my New Year's resolution. Though there are hard days and hard weeks, I can honestly say that I’m having the time of my life. Here’s what I know (or don’t know) after six months in China:

~ I’ve come to hate the word “Hello.” Not a day goes by that I don’t hear some stranger yell “HELLLOOOO!!!!!” to me from across the street. I’m learning how to ignore it and am trying not to get annoyed by it, but this is difficult to do, though the iPod helps. One of the first things I teach my students is how to greet someone in English, using any alternative to “hello.” So when they see me, they usually say “hi,” “how’s it going?,” “what’s up?,” “hey!,” etc. I like it better that way.

~ Being a celebrity of sorts definitely has its drawbacks (the constant hellos and stares), but I can’t deny that it also has its advantages (getting a table at a crowed restaurant, finding a seat on a standing-room only train, not often having to pay for a meal, etc). But still, I don’t envy the famous. It’s hard to be on 24/7. And as PCVs, that’s what is expected of us.

~ For the most part, the Chinese people are very friendly. I understand this anytime I’m with a student, the teachers in my department, or the local vendors in my neighborhood. I’ve already talked about the men from my favorite noodle shop who know me by name, but there’s a hair salon I pass often, and one of the stylists will run out of the store to wave hello to me. For some reason, this attention never bothers me. Maybe it’s his pierced bottom lip or his crazy hair. That reminds me, I need to get a picture with him.

~ Chinese food, real Chinese food, is amazing. And there’s still a lot I haven’t tried. Before I came to China there were only three foods I craved: burritos, cheeseburgers, and pizza. Now that I’ve been living in China, there’s a fourth: shao kao (bbq street food). I go to two different places regularly, and at each place they know just how I like it.

~ Learning Chinese is proving to be difficult, though I attribute most of this to my laziness. Beginning next week, the plan is to study a minimum of two hours a day, and by the end of winter break, to be up to four. I meet with my tutor once a week for 1 1/2 hours, but next semester I'd like to increase the hours, since I'm not using anywhere near the money I can for it. I'm also getting a guitar this weekend and will begin to learn Chinese songs, as a way to learn the language. Cayce tells me it’ll improve drastically once I travel and get out of my English-speaking bubble.

~ Privacy is mistaken for loneliness and there’s not a question that can’t be asked. The other week a student asked me: “Are you lonely?” “No,” I responded, “why do you ask?” “Oh, I heard that you were lonely.” I’m not. I’m also often asked how much money I make and asked on a weekly basis if I have a boyfriend. When I say no, the question is followed up by another: “Would you like to have a Chinese boyfriend?”

~ Even though I’ve lived here half of a year, people are still amazed I can eat with chopsticks. Never mind that I used them all the time at home to eat Chinese, Japanese, or Korean foods.

~ I must cherish the small victories: understanding Chinese, being understood when I speak Chinese, conquering my performance fears, finally mastering a tai ji move I’ve spent weeks learning, increasing my bowling average, successfully paying my cell phone bill, cooking, my students’ smiles and laughter, receiving the dish I intended to order, not locking myself out of my apartment, etc.

~ Understand that I’m experiencing things I would have never been able to in the U.S.: learning a rare form of tai ji from a retired master, being a momentary rock star, recording a song to be aired on the radio, walking into a room being greeting by applause and the click of camera phones, living with a Chinese family (for a brief two months), being followed around the local market by seven employees just to buy some crackers, etc.

~ The last six months would not have been what they are without the other PCVs I’ve met. I really do feel like I they’re family. So to my fellow Gansuren (Cayce, Kristen, Kari, Devon, Emily, Niffy, Thomas, Pierce, Simon, Ben B., Derek, Thad, Michelle, Stephen, Danielle, John, Erin, Nikki, Matt, Ben H., Katie, Melissa, and Clayton. And though they aren’t PCVs, Sharon, my Australian mate, and UK Ben deserve mentions as well), I can only say, however inadequately, thank you.

Most of us at Thanksgiving

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!