Culture Shock

I am not going to tell you about my trip over here because the details might be deemed too horrific for small children and I have no censor for my blog. I have been in China for one day now and have experience one culture shock after another.

It started in Beijing, where I connected between my flight from LA and Shenyang. I went into the ladies restroom and there was a row of stalls, as usual, but on the front of them they had a picture of a toilet...all but one...it had a long oval shape with a footprint on either side. When a woman came out of it, I saw an oval shaped porcelain basin in the ground, which I am assuming you are supposed to squat over as you do your business. Since I'm not all that confidant in my squat-and-pee skills, I waited for a toilet.

In Shenyang, I was met by a couple of representatives from the school who were driving me to Anshan (about 2 1/2 hours). They laughed at me as I buckled my seat belt but, having been to Russia, I knew what was coming and I wanted to be prepared just in case. Sure enough, the Chinese use the lines on the road as a mere suggestion...even the ones that are dividing you from the traffic coming in the opposite direction. Besides cars, the road is shared by cyclists, horse-drawn carts, and men sweeping the highway with brooms made of bundled branches.

As we drove, I was struck by the poverty that I saw. The "cities" we passed were nothing more than run-down, abandoned buildings. Other than the road, there was no concrete for sidewalks or parking lots, just dirt, scrub brush, and litter. I began to get a little worried about my living conditions. The visions I had were of a slightly more developed, if not somewhat behind the times, location.

The exterior of my apartment building is in just as bad of condition as I feared. I'm pretty sure I'm on par with the ghettos of DC. The interior is larger than I would have expected and it is not all bad (the floors are bamboo, which looks nice) but there are some things that I'm going to have a hard time adjusting to, in particular, the shower. My "shower" is a shower head attached to the wall in the corner of the bathroom, about 3 feet from the toilet and there is a drain but the floor does not slant into it so the water is not encouraged in that direction. So, basically, every time I take a shower, I'm going to soak my bathroom floor. The washer and spinner (its not quite a dryer) also make a sort-of dividing wall between the toilet and the sink. Anyway, when I had a look at the apartment, I was all-in-all feeling kind of depressed.

I was invited to have lunch with the head master of the school (they call him the grand master), the director of studies and a few other people. The lunch was held in a private room with a large round table and a lazy susan in the middle. Six or seven dishes were placed on the lazy susan, and we all used our chopsticks and ate directly from the dishes (we had only small saucers of our own). The food was very good, and I was even brave enough to try the fish, which was a WHOLE pan-fried fish, even though I'm not really fond of eating things if I can tell what it looked like when it was alive. During the lunch, the people at the table toasted me several times and told me how thankful they were that I had come. I was incredibly humbled and it has made my living conditions easier to bare. After all, this is meant to be an adventure and an experience. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards before you can move forward.

I Have Arrived

I have arrived in Anshan and will tell you all about the "adventure" I had getting here but before I make a huge long post, I want to make sure this can go through...I was told there might be problems with censorship.

T Minus 10 Days

I was commenting to someone the other day that getting ready to move to China feels a lot like making final arrangements after my death. What was I going to do with my car? Who was going to take care of my cat? Don't forget to cancel health insurance and phone service. Its been pretty bizarre.

I have my visa to get into China (not exactly cheap) and my one-way plane ticket. I will be leaving on the 24th and 24 hours later, I will land in Shenyang, which is the capital of the Liaoning province.

I have been asked some questions that I figured I would put up here today in an interview format.

Q: China?! Why would you want to go to China?
A: There are many reasons but one of the biggies is that Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language in the world based on first-language speakers. China also has a booming economy so predictions are that it will be right up there with English in the future of business-languages. So, China needs English teachers, and soon, America will need Mandarin teachers.

Q: How did you get this job?
A: It was actually very easy. I did a good 'ol google search and browsed the results. I decided to go directly through the Chinese rather than through an American (or international) company because I don't have a TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) certification and I didn't want to spend a couple thousand dollars and a few months to get one. I have been happy with the organization I chose (see the link on the left for more information). My contact has been helpful and the process has been easy.

Q: Are you scared?
A: No. I am not afraid for my safety but I know it will be difficult to be in a place so different from what I'm used to. I also know that the hardest part will be being away from family and friends.

Q: Do you speak Chinese?
A: I only remember a little of the Mandarin I learned but I will receive 2-6 hours a week of instruction while I'm there so I'm sure I'll learn it fast. Most of the Chinese study English all through school so I imagine I will be able to communicate the basics until my Mandarin improves.

Q: Can I visit you?
A: Yes! I will have my own apartment and I will keep an open door for anyone who can make it out to visit.