I Should Mention That...

Chinese milk is a concern for many here, and the scope of the problem does appear to be widening, but I never really developed a taste for their dairy, so I am as yet unaffected.

I still have to boil water, though. Which is kind of a pain.

Updates Abound

Many people in the US have asked me since I arrived almost a month ago, “Are you having fun?” It’s a perfectly legitimate question, but I’ve had some difficulty coming up with an answer. If I had to give a definitive response, I’d say yes. Life would be pretty miserable if I weren’t having any fun at all, and one can find some kind of entertainment pretty much anywhere.

But living in a developing, non-Western country comes with its own set of challenges. You can certainly have a lot of fun in Wuhan, but it takes a little work. You can get to VOX, a bar with lots of live music, decent drinks, and a few other foreigners, but you have to know enough of the Chinese language and currency to be able to catch a cab. You can share a photographic slice of American life with your class, but you have to figure out which button will turn on the projector and which will lower the screen. You can share five Chinese dishes and beers among five people for around three dollars per person, but you have to make sure that none of those dishes will kill you before you even get the check. (By the way, if you’re in a restaurant and want the check, or really anything at all, you have to yell out the Chinese equivalent of “waitress!”)

A few words about the city. It’s huge—the population is about three times that of Chicago—and divided into three boroughs: Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou. The name “Wu Han” is actually a blending of the three. I’ve been told that I live in the hottest place in the country during the summer, one of China’s “furnaces,” which explains why I’m always sweating outside. It’s not uncommon to see shirtless men on the street or in a shop. Fortunately, I hear the city does get pretty cold in the winter. Parts of it are beautiful, and parts of it smell of rancid tofu and other things. Parts of it are new, and parts are falling apart. It seems as though, for all the construction that goes on, everything that gets built immediately begins its slow descent into disrepair. On the plus side, the campus is nice.

As far as teaching goes, it’s been going pretty well. I believe the title of my class is simply “Oral English.” I teach in the English Department, which means only majors, so I can understand them. There’s nothing that I’m required to teach, and no book with which to teach it. I’m simply supposed to stand in front of a class for ninety minutes and speak, and hope that they’ll respond in kind. I’m responsible for all of the course topics and activities, and we mostly spend our time talking about our respective cultures. The differences make for good discussions.

On to the food. I’ve been eating mostly Chinese food, and yes, they do just call it food here. The level of spiciness varies depending on which province you’re in. Being in Hubei, the food has a little kick to it, but nothing unbearable. There are many familiar dishes here, things like fried rice and beef with vegetables and sweet ‘n sour chicken, but there are a few that I have yet to identify. Also, they use a vast array of spices. Luckily, my friend Cori, back for a second year in Wuhan, knows a lot of quality eateries. She also knows where to find meat on a stick. You can find weird versions of American things, such as Coca Cola, which they call, “ke kou ke le.” There's a meaning behind it, but I can only remember the transliteration. Since there’s no good way of brining proper names into Chinese, they sometimes use existing characters to approximate the sound, just as I've used Roman letters to approximate theirs.

Out to dinner in the Ximen (Westgate) area:

I get asked if there are other Americans, or at least other foreigners, here in Wuhan. As far as I know, the five Augustana grads are the only Americans teaching at CCNU. There are many other foreigners, but a lot of them don’t speak English. Needless to say, the other teachers and I spend a fair amount of time together. On weekends, we try to explore, as well as hang out at places like VOX, where you can meet people from all over, from Wisconsin to Nepal. Most are here as students or teachers.

VOX Bar, a dog watching pool, and foosball with Snow (a cheap beer):

That about wraps this one up. I'm going to go make a lesson plan. Later.

An Afternoon in the Life

Here are some pictures of campus and greater Wuhan. My trip takes you up the road, past the Math Building(?), up the street to the English Building (where I teach), through the halls, into a classroom, back out, through the North Gate of the school (where brass letters say "Huazhong Normal University"), down the street, up a pedestrian bridge, and finally to the grocery store, called "Heartmart" by the Americans, simply because of the logo you see in the penultimate picture. That entrance may look harmless, but the smell of rotten tofu is overpowering.

As always, if anyone has any questions about China, feel free to ask. More pictures to come.

Forgot I Still Have to Work

Did I tell you I started teaching? Well, I did. I don't really know how, but I can always figure it out. So far, it's been a lot of me talking, and I'm not sure exactly what about. Basically, whatever random fact about America pops into my head. Then, I ask them to tell me about China. After several seconds of silence, I move on to something else.

The students are certainly better at learning than I am at teaching. They're an eager bunch, if a little shy. I'm doing my best to look like I know what I'm doing. Listening to my own voice is all well and good, but I kind of know how to speak already. They...not so much. I'm working on getting them to talk about sports and culture and not politics, which I gather is strange, since most classes are lecture-based. I gotta go try and plan some sort of lesson for the morning class. I guess tomorrow I'll write the "after" entry.

I'll try to post more pictures of classroom and campus. Here are a couple taken from inside our office in the English Building.

Wai-Guo-Ren Apartments

I've been meaning to talk about the area of Wuhan (and the smaller segment, Wuchang), as well as the CCNU campus, but the internet's been down a few days. So here goes. I'll say that, now that I'm settled in and less dazed, I'm having a good time. Found a few restaurants and grocery stores already (with a little help from our friends). There seem to be two distinct classes of business in Wuhan: the more established stores occupying buildings and selling things at or above retail, and the back-alley shops and food stands, which offer a more competitive price. So far, I've spent a lot of time in the bigger grocery stores, where I can find what I need all in the same place. I found Dr. Pepper, which was cool. Buying anything takes some doin', since I don't really speak Chinese. Lots of gesturing.

They also have expensive American joints like McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks, but the phrase "tall coffee" probably means nothing to them. I wish I had more pictures of the city to show, but I guess that'll have to wait a bit. It looks a lot like any big city, but without the white people. And when I say that there are no traffic laws, I mean that there are, but people mostly drive and park wherever they want. Drivers and pedestrians have this unspoken agreement to not collide with one another. It's quite an elaborate dance. Also, there's a lot of honking.

As for Central China Normal U. (HuaZhong ShiFan DaXue), the campus has some nice places to walk around. It's good and sprawling. I'll post pictures of it soon. For now, you'll have to be content with checking out the requested pics of the apartment, which has an actual name, but I don't know it offhand. Wai guo ren just means foreigner.

The Gate. Unlocked during the day.

The Hut of Shifu (master), the gatekeeper.

The courtyard area, where people decided to park.

The entrance, with signage.

Third floor; front door.

Bedroom.

Living room. Fridge, microwave, TV (with Chinese channels).

Kitchen.

Fridge. The juice is closer to tang. The milk is closer to cream.

The ridiculous, old-school alarm clock I was forced to buy because I couldn't find digital.

Picture of me posting pictures.

Chinese Stole My Sanitizer

Hi. This is the first real post. Sitting in my apartment in Wuhan. The lighting in here is a little oppressive, as the Chinese seemingly don't value fancy fixtures. But then the Chinese don't value a lot of things, such as courtesy, efficiency, traffic laws, etc. Then again, I'm not really in a position to judge. I've only been in the country long enough to grab a couple of meals and go grocery shopping (which was quite the crapshoot, since you sort of have to assume that what you're buying really is what the crazy Chinese label suggests).

Above is a sign from the supermarket, the first in what I hope will be a long line of hilarious lessons in Chinglish. From here, I went down a ramped escalator, where the store solicited my patronage with the syntactical nightmare, "WELCOME HERE. HOPE YOUR HAPPY PURCHASE." I appreciate the sentiment, so I think I'll shop there again.

Going back a little bit, the three flights I took to get here were interesting. I think they add up to about 18 hours. Tokyo was 12 and sunny the whole way due to the plane's heliosynchronicity, which is a word I just made up. By the time I arrived, it was at least a day later, so I must've lost 12 hours of my life somewhere in there. I'm told I'll get it back on the return trip.

The airports were all very nice, and it turns out that airports and airplanes are all pretty much the same. To quote Bon Jovi, "only the names will change." The international terminal at Beijing Airport was really new, and there were still many olympic banners. I included a picture of some stuff from the Tokyo snack shop--pocky, with which some people back home are familiar, and koala yummies, which, I hope, everyone will remember. If you don't, you missed out.

Other things that stand out about the trip:

The Japanese guy next to me on the plane, who must've had narcolepsy, mono, or a combination of the two, because he slept the whole way, even while he was eating.

The cab driver in Beijing, who ignored all traffic lights, signs, and concerns for anyone's safety. It was amazing. I don't think he even realized the roads were marked.

The hotel shower, which was a glorified hose on the wall and, once used, flooded the bathroom with freezing cold water. There was no tub, no divider, just a drain that didn't drain.

The Beijing Airport security personnel, who seized my backpack repeatedly and nearly caused me to miss my flight. Apparently, they don't know what deodorant and hand sanitizer are, which explains why China is dirty.

My shorts, which caught on a door jamb on the way to lunch and ripped like tissue paper. Don't worry, I have another pair. Somewhere in Wuhan, there is a restaurant staff that thinks it's fashionable in America to wear shorts with gaping holes.

My shower curtain, which looked from the packaging to be polka-dotted, but is actually covered in blonde women assuming various poses. Also, I have a Mickey Mouse towel.

That's about all I feel like writing for now. I'm gonna go figure out the important things to know about China before I talk more. It's very strange, though. Very, very different. And a whole lot more real now than it was standing in O'Hare. Right up until the end, I tried to ignore it, minimalize it, brush it off. My way of coping, I suppose. There are probably better, more reassuring ways of going about it. But if I'm bad at saying goodbye, it's because, in my head, I'll be back in no time.

This is a Test Post

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