My Time in China

After being in China three weeks, I'm really starting to feel settled. There have been a few times where I have felt homesick, but nothing too bad as of yet. I just love it here so much and am enjoying everything about China. My classes are going really well--I have class every day, normally starting at 8 in the morning with either Chinese class or Contemporary Society (politics & economics) and running until about 3 in the afternoon. I have a pretty decent amount of time to go to a nearby restaurant and get lunch, and after class I am free for the rest of the day. I do have quite a bit of homework, but I also have time to go to English Corner, which we are strongly encouraged to go to.

English Corner meets twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday nights, and is where anyone who wants to (not just university students) come and gather at this statue and everyone practices English by having conversations. The Chinese are always very eager to talk with anyone who is a native ENglish speaker, so I never have a shortage of people wanting to talk with me. Most of the people are very good--I don't have much trouble understanding them, and they're just trying to work on their grammar and vocabulary. THere are others that it is a little harder, but it's fun to talk to all different levels. (I am a future English teacher, after all). :-)

This week is the Chinese New Year. New Year's Eve is Wednesday, February 6th and the first day of the year of the rat is Thursday the 7th. It's so exciting! The vendors on the streets have had their stands set up since we've gotten here selling new year's decorations. There are new year's lanterns hanging everywhere, and a festival of lanterns (supposedly the biggest in China) is held in Xiamen starting on the 9th and going to the 22nd. I'm planning on going this Sunday with my new friend Sisi who I met at the three selfs church that I've gone to twice now (this is the church that is registered with the government and is perfectly legal).

For the new year, my group will be travelling to Quanzhou, which is a city in the same province as Xiamen and is about two hours away. There will be more activities here, so we will have more to do for the celebration. We are going to stay for a few days (Wednesday-Friday) and will visit a Buddhist temple, a mosque, and the Maritime Museum (which shows all of the ships and stuff because Fujian province is a coastal province). It should be pretty interesting and will be a nice chance to have a break from classes and get away for a vacation. We will be staying in a hotel, which will be nice, as my room is not heated in my dorm at Xiamen.

The weather here was nice for the first few days, but then steadily turned into clouds and rain. It doesn't get any colder than the 40s, but that is pretty chilly when you don't have heat in your room or in most of the classrooms. I'm learning to wear a lot of layers, though and its okay. It's supposed to warm up a little bit next week, which will be nice. It is technically the rainy season right now, though.

I've been learning that things here in Fujian province are so open and modern compared to what I have heard about China. Everything is very free and even unregulated in many aspects, especially in regards to religion.

One thing that I've learned to love about China is the traffic and crossing road situation. Basically, the rules are, if you think you can make it without getting hit, then you can go for it. Crosswalks are virtually useless, as people can and do cross the roads at any place and time. Vehicles do not slow down for pedestrians, but will honk and flash their lights if they think you might be pushing your luck. The bus drivers are the worst. They careen down the roads, changing in and out of lanes, and sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road. If you're lucky enough to get a seat on the bus, good for you. Otherwise, you can enjoy the ride holding onto the overhead bar and riding it out. I've determined that if I could keep my balance without holding onto the bar of a Chinese bus, I would probably have a chance at being one of the best surfers in the world. :-) Another fun part of riding the bus is how many people can fit on one bus. Normally, there are a reasonable number of people on the bus, but there are always those times that you are packed person to person and wonder how anyone else could possibly fit on. Yet the bus keeps stopping, people keep getting on, and somehow you all fit. It's pretty fun.

I've enjoyed experimenting with new restaurants and foods. I still have yet to try something that I don't like. The closest I've had to disliking food was this seafood thing (some sort of squid-creature maybe?) that I had at an early New Year's party on Sunday night. It wasn't that it tasted bad, it was just that it was kind of squishy with tentacles in it and wasn't my favorite. I also had New Year's cake though (made of rice, fried in egg) and it was so good. I hope I get more tomorrow on New Year's Eve. :-)

So, all in all, I'm still doing really well. I'm healthy, eating well, getting around to classes and different places in the city, and learning new Chinese words every day. Sometimes its frustrating because I want to have a conversation and practice my Chinese with people, but my vocabulary is still very limited and even if I could ask them questions I probably wouldn't understand their answers. Oh, well. I've only been here three weeks. There's still hope that I can have a good conversation by the end of my three months.

Thanks for being faithful readers, even when I haven't been writing very often!