Wrapping it up

It is about 8 weeks until the end of the semester… which means the end of China! Is it possible? Have we really been here for almost three years? It’s inconceivable.After all we came here for one year, right? This thought is causing me to weigh up and mull over (and various other verbs) all that has happened over this time and try to make some kind of sense of it all.I don’t really fancy my chances so I decided to just consider it this way- Things I will miss and things I won’t about China.I apologize right up front if this post is going to be a bit rambly but you have probably gathered that it’s an emotional time.We don’t really know where we are even going in June and we don’t know how we will feel about being back home either.

SO here goes: Things I definitely will miss about China.

1.Being able to go down and get really tasty cheap and varied foods at any hour of the day or night for practically free.We also have a small grocery store guy under our building.The store is manned by a grocery man (whom we have nicknamed Coconut Head), his wife two daughters and occasionally his father-in-law.( or maybe his father I am not sure).They are lovely and always welcome us.We sometimes just walk through the store to get home and say hi. Will try to photograph them before we leave.

2.People smiling and saying hello on the street as if we are royalty (I know some laowei don’t like this but I kinda do)

3.Chinese babies.-Don’t know why they are just amazing

Awesome baby

4.Feeling free- we have few responsibilities here.Nobody cares what we do, where we go, or how we dress.We feel liberated because of being outsiders.I know it’s different when you are home.You have to worry about bills, the news, what’s going on with family, and you are constantly bombarded with the current affairs, politics etc.Here we don’t understand the news, we don’t read the papers or watch TV.I know it’s a bit escapist but it’s very liberating and I would like to be able to do it at home but I know it’s not feasible.

5.Hooking up with all kinds of people- here just by virtue of the fact that you are an outsider,it is really easy to become friends with all kinds of people,both Chinese and foreigners.You just say hello and then you find yourself going for dinner,hanging out with them or even going away for the weekend with them.Nobody cares where you are from or how old you are.Last weekend we had a couchsurfer lady from Boston staying with us for a week.WE went to dinner at a Vegetarian restaurant with her and there were 25 other couchsurfers there,some from here but some from France,Brazil,Malaysia,Singapore and elsewhere.IT’s fun- you just eat,chat say good bye and move on.

6.Our job- I use this word loosely.The job is completely undemanding and relaxing.I have already mentioned how lovely the students are.They send us messages saying how great we are all the time.They are polite and charming.Yesterday at our Public Speaking Class a couple of kids came up at the end to tell us how much they enjoy the class.It’s just so great.And the campus was looking splendid today as I walked to work.Working 8-10 hours a week in that situation is hardly taxing.There is no driving as we go by school bus.We don’t have to sweat about finding a parking space.We don’t have a lot of paperwork to do.We don’t have staff meetings- we just teach,chat to the students and go.There is little preparation for Oral English class.SO all in all, that’s a big draw to this place.

Campus was looking gorgeous this morning

Tiny Love Restaurant on Campus

Now for things I definitely will NOT miss about being here:

1The spitting thing- I have mentioned it before and there is no getting round it.They do it , we don’t.End of story

2.The pavements (sidewalks for my US buddies)- I don’t think I mentioned this but I fell down a couple of weeks ago and sprained my ankle.Now I know this is something that can happen anywhere.But the likelihood of it happening in China is pretty high.THe pavements are woeful and they seem to get broken,cracked ,etc very fast.Even a short while after you see a pavement has been laid it gets all messed up.They are continually digging everything up and building everywhere and walking down the street can be hazardous.

Likewise there are often strange things (hooks,bits of metal etc) protruding here and there.They are digging up our neighbourhood for some reason and it never finishes.China is just one huge building site.It also means the street is dusty and gravelly most of the time.

3.Fireworks- I never was a big fan of these not Guy Fawkes Night ,not Independence Day ,not any time.But I particularly don’t appreciate Chinese fireworks at all hours of the day and night, come rain come shine.And especially not 5am on a Sunday morning.

4.No bread- much as I love Chinese food there are some things I miss from home.Good whole meal bread for one.Good fresh milk is another.WE buy German longlife kind of milk and I really dislike it.There are other Western foods we have found at the store downtown but sometimes you just want a nice fresh salad with some massive chunks of Feta cheese and black olives on it,right?

I know I will miss jiaozi,baozi, gong bao ji ding and so on once I get home,but that’s life I suppose.

5,Being illiterate- now I know I said that I enjoy not reading the newspapers but that doesn’t mean I want to feel like an idiot.And naturally living here and NOT being part of everything means that I do feel like a total idiot much of the time.The upside is as I said,no meetings,no news,no involvement.But this is exactly the problem.We do have a limited amount of Chinese,so conversations can only go so far.WE have really given up trying to get any further.So this means we have no clue what is going on sometimes,and of course we can’t read the notices posted in the lobby of our apartment block.So we are illiterates.

Sorry that the last two posts are a bit philosophical.Hopefully when we travel to Laos and/or Thailand and Yunnan it will get back to its usual travel-blogginess.Comments welcome.

I could go on but I think I need to muse it all over a bit more.

So that will do for today.

 

The Transience of Expat Life- A Musing

When you live abroad (wherever that is) you find that things are constantly shifting.People are constantly coming and going.Many people come here for a short while and they move on.We came to China 3 years ago and we have moved to another city,leaving behind people we met,had a great time with and then said goodbye to.In Lin’an we made some great friends,but at the end of the year we had to say goodbye to them as we moved on to Xiamen, not knowing if we would see them again.Some we have managed to stay in contact with,some we have seen – one colleague came to live here, our “Chinese daughter” Ting and her boyfriend Computer Boy came down here last year in May for the holiday , and we chat a lot on Skype,but staying in contact is hard, and it’s certainly not the same as when she dropped by our apartment for supper most days.

Ting and Computer Boy on their visit to Xiamen University

When we arrived in Xiamen we made a wonderful friend called Ivy who helped us out many times reading stuff in Chinese and showing us around town.But she got another job up in Tianjin and went there.I can chat to her on WeChat but it’s not the same as hanging out together in a new coffee bar in Xiamen or going together to a party…I can’t blame her.She got a great job and she said that “Northern boys are better than the ones here”.. so bye bye Ivy.

Lovely Ivy at one of our favourite Xiamen Coffee bars.

So all the time we meet people,have a great time with them and then say goodbye.Many expats actually prefer this lifestyle.They want the casualness of life here,the lack of obligation,the “no strings attached” side to it.And it does have its appeal.WE always know that new people will be coming.There is a 5 year rule in China that after 5 years you are supposed to move to a new school.It is sometimes enforced and sometimes not.In some areas you cannot teach after 60 or 65 (retirement age for Chinese is 50 for women and 55 for men) so every year we are wondering who will not be invited back.Of course there are always people looking to move to a new area or to return home too.Last year we said goodbye to Renee and Barry our dear friends from Hawaii.James and his wife Wenxia went back to Canada,Karen and Lazar and their daughters back to Australia,Jonathan and Allie and their daughters to El Paso, and so it goes on.You meet people you have fun you move on.WE even have people who “do a runner” and disappear into the night for various reasons.No goodbyes there!

Friends from Lin’an Diana,Barry,Renee and Patrick

At this time of year the situation is pretty complicated.The universities are looking to renew contracts with some teachers and fire others.Many teachers have not given the school a reply whether they intend to stay or not.Some are undecided whether to move schools.Others are going home.They school may wish to fire some teachers but don’t know yet how many they will need as other teachers have not replied about renewing the contract.So of course we know we are going to be saying goodbye again this summer to many people,and that is all part of the nomadic life we have been leading.It’s great to meet lots of new people but sometimes it’s hard knowing that our paths may not cross again.But then, we kind of like the dynamic aspect of it too.It’s all par for the course when you move around a lot.What do you think? Would that kind of lifestyle flummox you? Or are you up for meeting people,getting friendly and then letting go?Feel free to comment!

Wonderful colleagues from Lin’an-Ted,Ding,Teresa and “Chinese Mark”