There’s nothing quite like sitting down to some tea after a productive day. Guiyang saw sun and blue sky today for the first time in over a month and the whole city seemed uplifted. The scooter ride to work had less honking than normal and it seemed that anyone who was able to, spent their day outside, soaking in the vitamin D! Thursdays are my ‘get stuff done day’ though, so I spent most of my day indoors cleaning the teacher’s office, chatting with my fabulous coworkers and then teaching my wonderful kindergarten students whom I love very much!
This little monkeys are my heroes 🙂 Not only are they a tonne of fun, but they are incredibly sweet too. I went into a coughing fit today in class and little Sufei (the cutie in the middle) came over and put her hand on my arm and asked “Marie, are you ok?”. Teaching is just so…….rewarding!!!
What is this sudden shift in mood, you might be asking yourself? My last few posts have been centered around how I’ve been ‘getting through’ this part of living overseas. October and the first half of November were tough. Culture shock, finding my ‘place’ at work and being constantly sick had definitely been putting a damper on my mood. Dave is my rock, but even the best couples get nippy with each other when stresses run high for long periods of time, so we decided to do what we do best: travel! What better way to improve moods and remind us WHY we’re here! So Monday morning (I teach all day Saturdays and Sundays so my days off are Monday and Tuesday) we packed up, hopped onto a train and headed down to Zhenyuan Ancient Village!
Zhenyuan is located in the eastern part of Guizhou province. This is roughly the route we took by train to get there. The trip took just over 4 hours but the scenery was beautiful and time fly by
We arrived shortly after noon, and caught a taxi to the old part of town, where our hotel was located. After a few minutes of waiting to check in, a woman arrived to show us to our room. I took out my passport so that she could match my reservation but she just laughed and told me that ‘she knew’ (as it turns out, not many Lao Wai visit this town).
The road where our hotel was located.
She lead us outside and down an alley, to a locked door. She called for someone who was cleaning his mop in the river, and he came and unlocked it for us. As it turned out, he was the hotel’s owner. He had just finished cleaning our room (which was spotless!) and he came up to welcome us to the hotel. He spoke roughly 10 words of English, but he’d gone ahead and written down several things for Lao Wai to do in the town in English. Judging by the way it’s written, he probably copied it down from something he translated in Google, but it was such a thoughtful thing to do and it really impressed us because China isn’t exactly famous for its customer service.
He’d memorized it as well, so he could point to thinks when we asked questions.Dave, sitting on our room’s balcony, overlooking the riverA little girl being taught how to row a boat by her grandfather. This was happening right under our balcony 🙂
After planning out our days in Zhenyuan with him, we sat down and had some lunch at a local restaurant and then set off to explore the town a little. I can’t really say we did anything terribly exciting, but there were so many beautiful things to see that it all felt like such an adventure! Zhenyuan is a 2000 year old town, and the buildings have been built and rebuilt in the Miao minority style. We wandered down cobblestone streets and eventually found our way to the busier part of town, where citizens there work, go to school and shop. It was such a beautiful mix of old and new.
One of many stone archways in Zhenyuan. This one led to an area where several tour boats (built in traditional Miao style) were docked for the evening.A wooden tour boatA woman loading up her horse with gravel. She was one of several people we saw with horses in downtown Old Zhenyuan, where taxis also cruise the roadsThis bridge was the object of many of my photos. It connects the north and south ends of town, which are divided by the Wuyang RiverOne of several pagodas in Zhenyuan
After our stroll in the afternoon, we head back to the hotel for a much needed nap. After all, what is a vacation if you don’t get to rest a little?? The view that greeted us as we left our room to find supper was incredible. I’ve told my family and friends more than once that China, at nighttime, is too beautiful to really explain. Here are some photos to back that up.
The view from our balconyThe same bridge at nightThe same pagoda we walked by during the afternoon, lit up for the night. All the red lights on the right are lanterns and the blue lights are of the boardwalk along the riverFishermen’s boats under the bridge
For supper, we enjoyed one of Guizhou’s most popular dishes: Sour Fish Soup. It came with an assortment of vegetables, tofu and of course, rice! We enjoyed Chinese beer, a spectacular view and fantastic food. I’d recommend this restaurant to anyone…if for no other reason than the location!!
Our view during dinnerOur waiter was kind enough to take a photo while our food was being prepared 🙂Too much food for 2 people to eat!
After this feast, we head back to the hotel, taking the North side of the river back. We got up close to the Green Dragon Cave (which is actually a temple..not a cave), and got to see the pagoda to the west of our apartment lit up. No pictures could ever really capture the beauty we saw in Zhenyuan Monday night, but I think my camera did alright in showing what it was like 🙂
An up close photo of the templeThe west pagoda. Behind it, is a mountain. Guizhou is famous for its rugged countryside, and its mountains are stunning.A close-up of the same pagodaWe met fishermen all along the path back to our hotel. I thought of my dad every time I heard a line hit the water 🙂
Stay tuned for part 2! I always think I can fit it all into one post, but I want to share so many pictures so I always run out of time! I suppose I’ll have to get my butt back online soon to tell you about our Wuyang River cruise and our lovely afternoon walking along an ancient wall 🙂
The last week has been fantastic! The atmosphere at the school has been far more positive this week, we got out of the city last weekend and had a mini adventure and today, I got to hang out with an adorable kitten at my favorite restaurant:)
Meet Romeo…the sweet kitten that Kevin and Loman took in a few weeks ago. He’s a confident boy now, and he spent most of supper today curled up in my lap, purring. Talk about comfort for the soul!!!
But I think the biggest thing that’s made this week awesome, is the little bit of extra money we’re making tomorrow doing overtime for the school. We save this money so that we can treat ourselves to some of the little things we miss from back home. Of course, we can’t find everything we miss from Canada in Guiyang, but the things we can find are always a big deal. A chocolate bar can make up for missing some of the things you can’t buy on Tao Bao or at Carrefour…
Seeing our Maple turn red in the fall, for example… I miss that!
We officially hit Month 3 in Guiyang on November 15th (My brother’s birthday!), and the end of this first quarter abroad is notorious among travelers for being when you really begin to miss things. I’ve mentioned some of those things in previous posts, but today I’d like to focus on the things we HAVE managed to find in Guiyang, that have made our stay here a little less ‘homesicky’.
If you listen very closely, you can hear the cushion on this chair whispering ‘I’m pointless…I’m pointless..’. We still have not discovered comfort in China, to my dismay…
1. Western Stores
I’ve mentioned in past posts that Guiyang is home to several North American food chains, such as Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, KFC and Mcdonalds. But we’ve also found some western stores that have made our stay here easier. Walmart is common here, and Guiyang now has 4 locations. Walmart has come in handy for household items, such as: spray bottles (couldn’t find one anywhere else…), soft pillow cases (the ones that we originally had actually hurt my face), drain cleaner and stationary supplies. Carrefour is a weekly lifesaver as well. We were able to find everything we needed there when we left for China while our luggage stayed in Vancouver. Carrefour also has a fantastic ‘foreign foods’ section, that sells Cuban rum, Perrier sparkling water and salty popcorn.
We also found these babies in the import section last week. Too bad we didn’t find them 2 months ago…could have saved my mom sending me a box full of them from Canada!!! lol!!!
And there are even many western clothing stores here! H&M was a lifesaver during our first week in Guiyang. The biggest problem I had when our luggage went missing, was that I had no clothes. I’d been smart enough to pack some deodorant, my tooth brush and dental floss in my carry on…but I only had 2 pairs of tights and 3 shirts (that did not work with tights!) with me, so when I had to start work the next day, I would have been screwed if it weren’t for H&M. Women in China are tiny, so finding clothing that fit my Canadian Curves was a huge deal. I’ve since learned that China’s gained weight (probably from all the western fast food that’s popped up in the last 8 years), and it isn’t as much of a problem to find clothes that fit now, but at the time I had no idea where else to go, so it was a relief to find a familiar store, with familiar clothes.
2. Coffee: The Nectar of Life
Oohhhh..you beautiful beast, you!!
There are many small cafes in Guiyang that make excellent coffee; definitely more than there were 8 years ago in Xiamen. There are times when my monthly Venti Caramel Machiato with an extra shot of espresso is my reason for living, and although I’d love to have this wonderful liquid more often, it’s monthly for a reason…coffee costs the same here as it does in Canada. That’s ok, for someone who’s making a Canadian salary, but for me…well, I just can’t justify it. So coffee is one of those things that we do rarely, and only when we’ve stuck to our budget for a while. Don’t get me wrong…I’m paid well here in Guiyang…but we are trying to save our pennies (or jiao, rather) so that we can do as much traveling as possible, so daily coffee is out of the question. But we do treat ourselves when we can!
Today’s Caramel Machiato at Void Cafe. PS…Denara…if I go broke, it’s ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!! (She got me hooked about 4 years ago on these things…)
Any time I work overtime I save my money for coffee. No matter how crummy my week has been…1 whiff of that delicious espresso and it all fades away. We actually spent 4 hours at Void Cafe today, here in Zhong Tian. We sipped our coffees and I corrected my students tests. It’s funny how such a seemingly boring day can be such an amazing one. Plus…correcting tests is always more entertaining than I expect it to be…
It would appear than in order to empty the trash, a Cheshire Cat must first be found….(it was suppose to be ‘trash can’
3. Online Shopping
I’m not sure how many people in Canada are aware of Alibaba, or it’s extremely popular shopping site, Tao Bao…but for us…it’s a life saver. Last week was China’s ‘Single’s Day’. Some students in Beijing decided to name November 11th (11.11) singles day, so that people who have no significant other can feel justified to buy something for themselves one day a year. Of course, online shopping companies turned this holiday into a money making monster and this year’s Single’s Day broke records. Over 80 billion RMB was made on Tao Bao and other Alibaba sites, and I have to admit, we took part in that great feat.
This was a postal sorting sight the day after 11.11 in 2012. The real accomplishment here is that I’ve received any of the things I actually ordered! Some items came in 2 days after they were ordered. China’s a neat place…
Online shopping is a huge industry worldwide, and it’s easy to see why. You can shop from the comfort of your living room and you can find almost anything you could possibly need online. And you don’t even need to lug all your items home…they come right to your doorstep!! But online shopping is even more awesome for Lao Wei living in China. Here’s a breakdown of why Tao Bao is a lifesaver for the expat:
One of the items we bought was a foot warmer for Dave. There’s no indoor heating in Guiyang, so while he’s at home, working on the computer all day, his feet get very cold…even with slippers and an area rug to help. But to find a foot warmer in China isn’t as easy as just going to the store and getting one! First, you need to find a store that sells them. This isn’t always easy, as was proven during the month it took us to find a spray bottle in Guiyang. Then you need to find the right product IN the store. Once more…it might seem simple from where you’re sitting, but in China, finding the right product is an ordeal. The packaging on most items is in Chinese so you have to base everything off of the picture on the box . When looking for something of good quality (that’s actually going to warm your feet without catching fire), you can’t even rely on brands here, because all of the brands in China are foreign to us.
This is almost the exact footwarmer we ended up buying. And this is what kind of information you’re given on the box….not overly helpful..
Buying things online is just SO…MUCH…EASIER. For starters, you can punch what you’re looking for into Google translate, and search websites in Chinese. Then, Google Chrome translates the entire page for you so you can find out the wattage and other important stuff, and even check reviews online from other buyers. Best of all though, is that you don’t have to deal with a Chinese sales person trying to help you. They try so hard to be helpful, but they hardly ever speak any English (retail doesn’t pay well here either, so if you speak English, you’re most likely working somewhere that ISN’T a store…), so they talk to you in Mandarin…constantly…no matter how many times you tell them that you don’t understand. It gets very frustrating, and I often end up walking out of stores as a result. On Tao Bao…I don’t have to worry about that!
My absolute favorite thing ever, is when a sales rep or waitress is trying to tell us something in Mandarin and we tell them they don’t understand. Then they pull out a notepad and start writing it out in Chinese, thinking that maybe we’ll understand THAT! It happens all the time…I’m unclear on the logic…
And when Google Translate or Chrome fail you, it’s easy to bring your laptop over to someone at the school and ask for help. The Chinese staff at Interlingua are great, and they are always happy to help translate if we need. One girl in particular, Lumi, has helped me on several occasions. Just this morning she called a number that had been calling me all morning to find out what they needed (It was about a tao bao delivery haha!). Today is her day off, but she was happy to help. So I try very hard not to abuse that help and I can tell you this: It is much nicer to bring your laptop over to Lumi while she is at work, than it is to have her play translator via cell phone on a Monday afternoon!!
She may seem sweet, but Lumi is kinda terrifying when she gets angry! So far I’ve been lucky and have never been on the receiving end of her rage. I’d like to keep it that way, so I shall keep translation requests via telephone to a bare minimum!!
So there you have it folks; 3 of the things that make our lives in China easier. Now I need to head to bed because I’ve gotta make some coffee money first thing tomorrow morning!!! Goodnight, my lovely friends!!!
After spending the last hour or so organizing our Christmas presents for loved ones back home, it’s time to sit down and visit my good old neglected blog. I’ve been wanting to write all week, but I always try to write when I’m feeling positive. Unfortunately, I haven’t been feeling too positive as of late. But thinking about it today, I realized that my blog is suppose to be story about Adventure and Growth. And maybe some of my readers would like to hear about the bumps we’ve had during our first 3 months in Guiyang.
I think this picture shows it best. Adjusting to a new culture is such a crazy mix of emotions!!
Culture shock can be rough. According to the text books, the worst stage is when the honeymoon is over, usually around the 3rd month. Things aren’t exciting anymore, and although your routine keeps you sane, you sort of resent the routine because it means the adventure is over (well, on the surface anyway). Around month three, you begin to notice the little things that annoy you about the new culture you find yourself in.
Like rat poop…in your desk and on the school’s bookshelves. That’s getting REALLY annoying…
Aside from the small annoyances I’ve been feeling, I’ve been missing certain things from home too. Some days I just want to hop on a plane and go hug my nieces. Some days I want to close my eyes and wake up with Hobbes wrapped around my head. I miss his purr. Most days though, it’s the little things I miss. A comfortable place to read, a soft bed with soft sheets, good hairspray…
Our couch. This is an improvement from the couch in the old apartment, which had no cushions. The back isn’t angled at all, and the cushions don’t really help much, so 20 minutes after sitting down, your bum is completely numb. I miss comfort
What’s made my last month difficult though, isn’t the culture shock or home sickness. These are things I expected. I knew that I ‘d get sick of hearing people spit. I knew that the beds were hard, and I cherished my last nights in Canada accordingly. I even knew that Skype could never replace a hug from Ellie, or seeing Addyson crawl towards me the first time. What’s made it difficult is the amount of negativity I’m surrounded by at work.
The school where I work has a lot of great things going for it. I work with some REALLY awesome people. The visa process was also done properly and the owner here takes great pride in her 100% legit team of teachers. Last month, 19 Lao Wei were deported for having the wrong visas in Guiyang, so to work for a company where those legalities are taken seriously is a HUGE win for any teacher.
The foreign staff at the school where I workLexie and I hiding behind a counter at the Halloween party. We stayed hidden and jumped out at the kids as they entered the cafeteria 🙂My wonderful TA Talia and I. She is really great. I never need to ask for things twice and she’s always there when I need someone to translate for a parent. She’s also super sweet and so nice to my students 🙂
But Z Visas and great coworkers aren’t always enough. When your work atmosphere is a negative one, it can be hard to overcome that negativity, no matter how hard you try. When you are overseas, missing your nieces and worrying about a friend’s health, that negativity is magnified a hundred fold. When you do your very best, coming in early to make sure the Halloween party is a success and staying late so that each of your students’ parents feel heard, you expect a certain degree of gratitude from your boss. But in China, that’s not how things are always run.
One of the haunted houses I came in to finish on my day off. I can’t complain too much, seeing as how I love arts and crafts 🙂
China is all about ‘saving face’. When I got a flat tire on the scooter, and the thing fell over as I tried to get it to a fence where I could lock it up, nobody helped me. This wasn’t because they were mean people. This was because they didn’t want me to ‘lose face’. Similarly, tipping isn’t a norm in China. To tip a waitress implies that the owner of the restaurant doesn’t pay him/her enough. This makes the owner ‘lose face’. This is also why verbal appreciation doesn’t come naturally to many people in China. Your paycheck is the ‘thank you’ you receive for doing your job. Anything more than that is to imply that you NEED your staff, which means you aren’t in control of your business. This makes the owner lose face. I think a lot of the negativity where I work is due to that culture norm.
Apologies are hard to come by here…
But there’s more to it than just that. If I simply not being thanked for going above and beyond, I wouldn’t be struggling like I am. I work for a Chinese woman. It’s harder for women to ‘make it’ here, in the business world. The culture is very sexist and women here are basically dolls; they wear high heals and are always dressed to the nines. A teacher who used to work at the school summed up China with the 3 Hs: Honks, Horks and Heels. The men in China are a whole different story though. There is a very clear difference in expectations where the sexes are concerned. Women are dolls. Period. They aren’t suppose to be much more than that…
Even Police Women wear skirts! Appearance here is so important for women, that I worked with a girl who had been rejected from a Chinese airline when she applied for a job as a flight attendant. The reason: her ears stick out too far from her head.
So for my boss to have made it to where she has, running a VERY successful English School, I know that she’s had to work HARD! I respect that about her, I really do. But her success also means that she has to be taken seriously ALL THE TIME. Even in Canada this is still a bit of an issue. My 5 years as a retail manager taught me that women are not treated the same way that men are. My boss didn’t shake my hand, like he shook the boys’. He’d go in for a hug…and I am NOT a hugger. I had to be better than the boys to be noticed, and my boss has to deal with that same sexism in a country where equality is even more of an issue.
Rule with an iron fist, ladies…
So when someone at work steps out of line, or doesn’t do what they’re suppose to do, I know that my boss has to yell louder to be heard. I know that she thinks that the only way she can be taken seriously, is to be serious all the time. This creates a very negative atmosphere. To only ever hear the bad (because saying the good can mean losing face) and to be jumped on for every small misdemeanor (even the ones you didn’t realize were a faux pas until it was too late…) becomes exhausting. Add the fact that the honeymoon phase is over, and it’s a pretty raw deal.
I’m sure not…
So why don’t I just pack up and move home, you might ask? Well, there are two reasons.
I am able to recognize that many of these issues I’m having at work are due to cultural differences. I recognize that my boss isn’t just a bad person. So much gets lost in translation here, and so many other things get mixed up because we have different expectations of what the boss/employee relationship is suppose to be. At the end of the day though, KNOWING THIS is what gets me through.
To help you understand my second reason, I need to tell a little back story here…
In 2006, when I left Xiamen, it wasn’t on my own terms. I was working for a school where the visas were not legit, and I was caught working with that bad visa. After 5 days at the immigration bureau, signing papers and answering questions in an interrogation room, I was handed back my passport with a big red stamp across my visa: REQUESTED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY WITHIN 5 DAYS. It was heartbreaking. I was kicked out of a country that I’d learned to love so much.
When I returned home, my family and friends couldn’t understand why I missed China so much, after I’d been treated so badly here. People couldn’t see why I’d want to return to the cockroaches and language barriers and uncomfortable beds. But the thing is…once you’re back home for good…you miss everything about your life overseas; cockroaches, deportation and all!
Knowing that one day I’m going to miss every moment of this helps a lot. In a few years, I’m going to look back at my time in Guiyang and see how these bad days shaped me into the person I’m going to become. We’re all growing after all…we’re all becoming new versions of ourselves. My most important goal in life is to make sure that my next ‘version’ is an upgrade from the last.
Marie V.28.4 – The ‘in control’ edition
So I’ll take these experiences in stride. Hopefully, the school will begin to see me for the teacher that I am: a hard working, caring and dedicated educator who wants what’s best for her students above all else. And if that doesn’t happen, well, I’m all about growth and moving forward. The best thing about Marie V.28.4 is that she’s been in these situations before. My experience and my determination will get me through any rough patch that shows its ugly face 🙂
I got this tattoo as a grad gift to myself. In spite of how terribly painful it was to have done, I love what it means to me. Grow, no matter what is trying to keep you down. Oh and of course, I’m a musical junkie 🙂
I haven’t forgotten to write about my last few days of holidays! They’ll be coming soon, I promise!
It’s a green-tea-drinking, guitar-music-playing and blogging type of night! After a fabulous day off spent scooting around Guiyang with Dave, I’ve decided to postpone my final piece of the National Holiday Saga for a night when I have less recent events that need telling. So today, I shall write about Guiyang, the city where I am living 365 days of my life.
Guizhou Province is the poorest province in all of China. People who know about Guizhou province don’t have very fond opinions of the place, and while we were on vacation we received quite a few negative reactions from Chinese people when we told them where we live. However, the majority of westerns have no idea where Guizhou even is. It’s sort of like Saskatchewan in Canada…internationally, it isn’t very well known, and within the country, nobody really wants to talk about it!
For the kind people who are following my blog, but who may not know of the lesser known prairie provinces in Canada, THIS is Saskatchwan. They are really only known for two things: flat, endless fields and an insane obsession with their CFL team, the Roughriders. We drove through there last summer and passed towns named “Elbow” and “Eyebrow”. We kept waiting to see if we’d find ‘armpit’ but we sort of already felt like we were there 😛 Just joking my Sask peeps! Your province in lovely!
We live in the capital of Guizhou province: Guiyang. And although it definitely has it’s flaws, we feel safe here and I most definitely never scoff at it’s scenery. Guizhou may not be as rich as Xiamen city , or as scenic as Guangxi province but the scenery here is so ruggedly beautiful.
A minority village nestled in the mountains of Guizhou province.This was the view from our living room window in our last apartment. Guiyang has basically been carved into the mountains. Today we scooted through 3 tunnels as we explored the city. If a mountain is in the way of progress…they carve a hole into it
Still, Guiyang does have its flaws.
It’s an up and coming city…In the last 6 months, there’s been a huge influx of western restaurants and stores. As of now, Guiyang has many KFC and Dairy Queen locations, a Burger King, a Starbucks, 3 Walmarts (with another being built), a Carrefour (a French Grocery store chain) and most recently, a Subway (it opened here last week). There are even western clothing stores in Guiyang, such as H&M and designer stores like Diesel and Calvin Klein. Guiyang is moving up in the world! The only problem is that many of the citizens of Guiyang haven’t caught up to their city’s progress!
Imagine living in a city where everybody is ‘new money’. They’ve gone from dog, to eating Beijing Kao Ya (Peking Duck) and gone from taking overfilled buses, to driving BMWs. It’s a pretty interesting place…
I know that Guiyang will eventually be fabulous in all ways, but the city is currently very lacking in the sanitation department. Parents allow their children to urinate in the streets (they sometimes hold them over sewers so they can relieve themselves…but often it’s done on the sidewalk), and people spit constantly. It’s not pleasant to hear, and it’s not pleasant to see on the ground. Walking in Guiyang is a fun little game…you need to watch where you’re going, but at the same time, you need to have your eyes on the sidewalk so that you can dodge spit, urine and loose or uneven tiles in the ground. How so many women here walk around in 3 inch heals is beyond me…the sidewalks are an obstacle course!!
A normal sight in Guiyang. I saw it in Xiamen too, but NEVER to the extent it’s done here. It also happens indoors. One of my coworkers scolded a mother for allowing her child to pee on the mall floor, when the bathrooms were within eyesight.Although spitting is banned in Hong Kong, it is commonplace in Guiyang. Littering is also a problem because trash cans were only set up around the city a few years ago. Many people aren’t used to having to throw their waste in bins and find it inconvenient to have to do so.
Surprisingly, there aren’t many cockroaches in Guiyang. When we first moved into our new apartment, they were a HUGE problem, but since we got the place cleaned up we haven’t seen a single one. Rats, on the other hand, are an issue. The school is infested. My desk often has poop in it, and I find myself constantly wiping everything down with sanitary wipes. We find chew marks in our books and we sometimes see them running along the pipes above the teacher’s office. Worst of all, I can often hear them moving around in the walls behind my desk. Lexie and I will just look over at one another and shudder at the sound.
If rats were all this cute, it wouldn’t be a problem. I can’t imagine Remy pooping on my notepad, or chewing threw the La Jia stash (the spicy condiment that has replaced my love for salt) that I keep in my desk.
And Guiyang’s lack of sanitation isn’t its only problem. The queue situation isn’t quite as bad as it was in 2006, (the main issue in Xiamen was that queues didn’t even exist…), but still, people often cut in line. Just today, I had a women cut in front of me at Carrefour. She had a cart full of items, and all I had was a bottle of MeiJiu in hand but still, as soon as I looked away, she pushed her way past me. The smug grin she gave me after made me so angry I wanted to backhanded her. But the Canadian in me took over and I just gave her a passive aggressive dirty look instead.
Annnnnd took a picture of the back of her head, so that I could blog about her later.
But there is something even worse than urine on the streets, or people cutting in front of me at Carrefour. Traffic in Guiyang is insanity. The infrastructure here is so bad that it makes Winnipeg’s streets look logical, but even THAT isn’t the worst of it! People here have absolutely no regard for other drivers on the road, to the point where signaling isn’t done (EVER!) and instead of doing shoulder checks, everyone just honks to let others know that they are there. Guiyang is a LOUD city!
Can you feel my road rage from across the ocean?
Just today, we saw someone make a U turn from the far right lane of a busy 6 lane road. I should add, that this U turn was NOT made at an intersection. We were driving in the lane to his left and had to swerve and slam on the breaks to avoid T boning him. Did he look scared or regretful, you might ask? Nope! He just kept driving. I’m not even sure he realized that there were other vehicles on the road, or that a beautiful white scooter had nearly been injured due to his insane expectations of what driving should be.
This is our scooter. She’s swell 🙂
So why, you might be wondering, am I still living in this city? Why do I continue to work in a rat infested building and continue to navigate horribly designed streets under fear of sudden insanity brought on by road rage? Well…that’s the thing. Amidst all this craziness, we both find ourselves happier than either of us have ever been.
These are two very happy people standing on the corner of a busy intersection, waiting for the light to turn green.This is Dave, happily holding up a statue of Chairman Mao.Me, happily hanging out on the back of the scooter, a few minutes before Mr. Brilliant did his world class moronic U turn
There are so many things here that contribute to this happiness. The food is a big one…everything here is flavored with an abundance of spice. The only bland food I’ve had has been when Chinese cooks try to prepare dishes for the western palette. Hot Pot is especially delicious and we’ve found several restaurants that have really made living here a tasty and fantastic experience.
Our favorite restaurant in Zhong Tian Hua Yuan (the closed community where we live) happens to be a Hot Pot restaurant near the bus loop. The dish is incredibly spicy and just gets tastier as you make your way through the mealThis is what it looks like when we are done. I’m planning a whole post on local food, so I’ll explain more about how Hot Pot is done then 🙂
Even better than the food at this restaurant, are the people who work there. Their restaurant is always clean and well maintained, and the staff work very hard. The owners, Kevin and LoMan, greet us by name every time we arrive. They are two of the nicest people we’ve met here and I hope our friendship grows. I always told everyone back home that the two things I missed the most about China were the People and the Food. At our hot pot place, we get the best of both 🙂
Kevin and Loman. They are so nice to each other! Most couples here aren’t overly romantic but these two are adorable.I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. This kitten strolled into their restaurant 4 days ago, looking for a home. They took him in and he’s already made himself very comfortable 🙂
But honestly, I think even more than the people and the food, what makes me so happy here is how much I LIVE!! Every day is an adventure…every adventure is a challenge. Whether we are trying to mail post cards or trying to find some western ingredient for a dish we are craving…every moment of our lives here is interesting. Seeing the way people drive here is interesting. The cultural norms here, that are so drastically different from our own….are interesting! We went to Walmart today to look for a Halloween Costume for Dave, and saw the funniest things. We saw strange meat, and asked what it was. The woman replied that it is rotisserie rabbit. You can also find stools at Walmart, that have the middle section cut out. These are built this way so that they can be placed over squatter toilets so that you can sit comfortable instead of crouching, while trying not to get pee on yourself!
Roasted ducks hanging at WalmartSmoked pork fat, sitting in a wooden crate.
So I suppose what I’m trying to say here, is that I love my life. I love that everything is difficult. I love that I’ve learned so many new words in the last 3 months. I love how exciting it is to say something in Mandarin and have the other person understand what I’m saying! I love how the people here can be so amazing! Our waitress at the hot pot place didn’t speak a word of English when we first started going there. Now, she has a friend teaching her so that she can ask us simple things in English, even though we know how to ask for them in Mandarin.
I love how I’m building meaningful friendships here. I’ll never be able to talk about those rats with anyone like I can with Lexie!! I’ll never be able to stand on a street corner in the rain and rant about work and students and craziness like I can with her, because she’s going through the same things I am!
I love what I’m discovering about myself, and what Dave and I are discovering about our relationship. We are learning what we are like under the most stressful circumstances, and I’ve gotta say…I am SO happy to be here with someone I love so much!!
Another day is coming to an end here in Guiyang. On Wednesdays I teach 2 kindergarten level classes; one at 5:30pm and one at 7:00pm (each are an hour long). I can’t say I enjoyed teaching these groups for the first few weeks. I’ve never been particularly fond of teaching kindergarten (I find it’s more nose wiping than it is teaching), but these students have come a long way in the 9 weeks that I’ve been their teacher. Their behavior has improved greatly and they learn new words every class. In the last two months I’ve taught them 10 occupations (policeman, doctor, mailman etc…), 12 locations (library, park, hospital), how to use 5 pronouns properly (he, she, it, I and you) and I’ve even taught them a couple of phrases (Where does the policeman go? He goes to the police station!). More importantly though, these students have been building the confidence that is SO necessary when learning a new language. I had parent teacher interviews this weekend, and one parent made my day. He told me that he’s noticed a HUGE improvement in his son’s confidence since I began teaching them this semester. Jason even approached a Lao Wei while on vacation and struck up a conversation with them. His father was so impressed that he asked if I could stay in Guiyang forever. This…my friends…is why I’ve spent the last 8 years of my life telling you all how much I miss teaching.
My first class of the week! They can be pretty rowdy…but I have to admit they’re a lot of fun.The little girl in the front came in today with a monkey on her sweater. She gave me a big smile and pointed to it. I always call them my funny little monkeys. She apparently understood!!! I love that kid so much!!!
No matter how much I love teaching though, holidays are pretty grand as well! The last 3 days of our National Holiday in China were spent in Xiamen city where we drank tea, shopped to our hearts’ content and enjoyed the hot sun.
Our first stop on Thursday October 2nd, was Zhong Shan Gong Yuan. Our hostel was located right next door to this large park, so when we got outside our first day, we walked through the park to get to our bus stop. ZhongShan Gong Yuen is famous for its pristine condition, it’s beautiful palm trees and it’s lovely man-made creeks, where you can rent a paddle boat and enjoy the views from the water.
The entrance to Zhong Shan Gong YuanRetirees playing mahjong and card games in the park. I think this would be a lovely place to spend my retirement!!Well kept gardens and lawns. Lots of trees shading us from the hot October sunAnother beautiful path. There are plenty of benches, where you can enjoy the view, read a book or take a break from the crowds after a busy day of shopping on Zhong Shan RoadNice little bridge and a paddle boat. We never had time to rent one, but I’ve always been impressed at how clean they keep this water. Very unusual for China!
After a peaceful walk through the park, we head downtown so I could show Dave all the places where I lived and worked back in 2005/2006. We didn’t find any of the restaurants or tea shops where I spent my time then but we did find a new tea shop where we sat for over an hour, trying different leaves and chatting (as best we could) with the owners. We left with two very nice red teas, and head for ZhongShan Lu…the shopping street of Xiamen.
Fujian is famous for its tea. This is an Oolang Tea Plant harvest, just out side Xiamen. Tea is taken VERY seriously in Xiamen. In Guiyang, we’ve walked into several shops and had nobody even look up at us. In Xiamen, we walked into each shop, and within 30 seconds, we were being served tea each time. Tea tasting was one of my favorite pass times in Amoy City
Zhongshan Lu is interesting in several ways. First, it should be noted that it is a pedestrian street. The lack of cars means it’s much safer to weave in and out of shops, and it’s no problem to run to the other side of the street if something catches your eye. Zhongshan Lu is also interesting because you can find both designer brands as well as knock offs, all within feet of one another. There are more stores than you could possibly visit in a day, and it’s a struggle just to pick and choose which ones to stop and see. Finally, Zhongshan Lu comes to life at night. We were there during a major holiday, so this was especially true during our visit. For as far as you can see, there are people walking from stores to street vendors, and from tea houses to restaurants. There’s an abundance of strange foods to try, and often, there are shows put on as well. I saw some neat puppet shows years ago, and this trip, we saw some street performers and a photography show.
The view behind us on Zhongshan Lu that nightThe view ahead
I do have to say that my favorite part of ZhongShan Lu though isn’t the shopping or the way the buildings are lit up at night. My favorite part of Xiamen night life is the food! We had various dishes from street vendors both on the main road, and off onto side streets. We ate some fantastic dumplings at a small wooden table with pink plastic stools. The location left something to be desired perhaps, but the food was delish! We also got something similar to popcorn chicken while we were there. The key to eating street food is to eat where the locals eat. We weren’t worried about buying meat from this street cart because she was running out before the stuff she brought from her freezer had had time to thaw!
I never got a picture at the time (I don’t like having my camera out when it’s that crowded…always scared someone’s going to snatch it!) but this is a street similar to the one where we ate supper on Zhong Shan Lu
My favorite street food dish that night happened to be crab. Whole crabs are coated in a batter and deep fried on a skewer. People huddle around garbage cans to eat the meat and throw out the shells, so we joined them after ordering a skewer to share. Of course, we soon realized, standing over that garbage can, that we were as much of a tourist attraction as the street itself. People started flashing pictures of us eating this (rather messy) crab on a stick, so we decided to finish our delicious snack back at the hostel, which was only about a 15 minute walk away.
We took a quick picture as we were getting away from the crowds, because I wanted to be able to show you the crab! I could have eaten 3 skewers myself! haha!
Now, this wouldn’t be a blog written by Marie Willman, if it didn’t have a cute animal story or two, so here’s one from this day that we spent in Xiamen:
Back at the hostel, we sat down at an outdoor table to enjoy our crab and put down our numerous bags for a while, before heading up to our room. Two minutes after sitting down, we heard frantic meowing and saw a white ball of fur charging toward us. This cat had been somewhere on the grounds and smelled our food. He came running, hoping that we’d share. Of course, Dave and I are total softies when it comes to animals, so we began throwing him scraps. Before we knew it, the meal was gone, but our friend stayed. He took a bath (as cats tend to do after a delicious meal) and curled up on one of the empty chairs at our table. He looked healthy, so I went over to pet him and sure enough, he was purring up a storm. I miss my “Hobbsiecat” so much…and it was so great to meet a furry friend in Xiamen. I saw him the following day and he came running over and rubbed up against me. Cats in China aren’t usually friendly (because people in China aren’t usually very friendly to cats), so for this guy to come up and give me some loving was pretty cool!!
He got downright cozy with us! Shameless, Mr. Kitty!! As you should be 🙂Also, here’s a picture of Hobbes because I miss him and happen to think that everybody should see his face now and then…I know he brightens my day, so I hope he brightens yours too 🙂
The rest of our night was spent sitting in the hostel bar, sipping beer and talking to fellow travelers, as well as our bartender, Wesley. We sat there for hours, eating BBQ and relaxing after a long day in the hot Xiamen sun. Hostels aren’t always the nicest places to stay, but I’ve always met interesting people at them, and I always look forward to my next hostel experience as a result 🙂
The hostel where we stayed our two nights on Xiamen IslandBBQ as it’s done in Xiamen. They do something similar in Guiyang, but they deep fry everything before throwing it on the grill (to save time, I suppose). It isn’t nearly as good. I was so happy to have Dave try proper Chinese barbecue, as I’d always enjoyed it. He agreed…it’s much better this way!!
Next time, I’ll be writing about our adventures at the South Temple and on Gulang Island!
I have to admit, I’m a tad overwhelmed by this blogging thing. I suppose I’m old school; I enjoy paper and a good pen. But it IS 2014, and it’s time I catch up to the rest of the world. After hours of customizing my theme, and tweeking the color of my font (because that is what is important, after all!), here I am! I’ve created this blog in the hopes that I can share this “Asia Experience” with all of you. I hope you will enjoy my stories (both the tragedies and the comedies) as much as I will enjoy telling them!
