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!

Thanksgiving and beyond

My ever present slow internet connection is not inspiring me to blog as regularly as I’d like. It’s either that or life here has settled into such a normal routine that there doesn’t seem to be anything worth writing about. What am I saying? Though I may have established a routine, nothing is normal.

Let me catch you up on past events:

My weekend in Tianshui was fantastic! After spending nearly two months in Lanzhou, it was nice to get out of the city. Kari and I spent a relaxing weekend in the small city with Emily. We shopped, ate delicious hot pot, watched Pride and Prejudice, and even did a little bit of hiking. When I returned home, I felt rejuvenated, which is exactly what I needed to get me through the rest of the semester.

Thanksgiving weekend was next on the agenda. Cayce (and me, sort of) hosted our Thanksgiving get together the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I forgot to get a head count, but over 20 of us crammed ourselves into Cayce’s apartment for a nearly traditional feast. We had everything except the turkey, though the deep-fried chickens served as an adequate substitute. Before dinner, a few of us played a game of football in our school’s courtyard until the guards stopped the game, insisting that where we were playing wasn’t a playground. While it lasted, it was great. The students who walked by our game looked amused that so many waiguoren (foreigners) assembled in the center of campus to play such an alien game. The irony, of course, is that the ball we used, mailed to one of the other volunteers from home, was Made in China. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and this was only the second time I spent it away from my family, but even though I was far from home, away from my family, and deprived of my dad’s sweet potato pies, this was one of the best Thankgivings I’ve ever had.

December’s been hectic. Between finishing classes, the anticipation of Christmas and New Year’s, and becoming familiar with my life here in China, time is passing quickly. This week the majority of my classes finish, and then my last one will finish Christmas week. And then the semester break begins (I’m still working on those plans).

Though it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas as far as the weather is concerned, it doesn’t really seem like Christmas is a week away. A few store fronts have pictures of Santa, Christmas trees, and various Christmas-themed decorations, but there’s something strange about not being bombarded with Christmas songs everywhere I go or feeling the stress of last-minute Christmas shopping. Nonetheless, I’m excited about the holiday. It helps that my students are borderline obsessed with the idea of Christmas. And I’ll have plenty of opportunities to celebrate, as each night this coming weekend is booked with a Christmas party.

Not much else going on here. I’m looking forward to my nearly two-month break when I can finally do a little traveling!