Recent Travels: Dehang + Fenghuang

Over the national May holiday, Shane, Shobana and I traveled to western Hunan to 2 beautiful areas.  The first and more scenic and mountainous Dehang, and the second lively yet relaxing river town of Fenghuang.  It was a fast-paced trip with 2 sleeper trains, 4 bus rides and lots of walking, but I left Xiangxi feeling satisfied and rejuvenated.

Here's a quick rundown of what we did...

Dehang

Morning: arrived in Dehang after sleeper train #1, hiked to the Liusha Waterfall, hiked behind waterfall and got completely soaked, hiked back to village for a hearty lunch of local dishes
Afternoon: hiked through mountains and rice paddies and eventually up a mountain to the Tianwen Tai (literal translation: heaven-asking platform) for an amazing, birds eye view of the karsts, took a bus to the newly constructed Aizhi Bridge (one of the highest bridges in the world), returned to village
Evening: traveled to Fenghuang

Fenghuang

Evening: walked around the streets of Fenghuang and experienced the nightlife
Morning: indulged in a western brunch and then took a boat ride down the river that flows through Fenghuang
Afternoon: lazed around the town, took hundreds of pictures and eventually made our way to the train station for sleeper train #2

Mr. Guo

On my train ride back from Shanghai back to Hengshan, I met a wonderful new friend.  We were on a sleeper train and he had the bed directly across from me.  The minute I saw him, I could tell he was blind.  He had a cane, and someone help him locate his bed.  After he settled came the obligatory train introductions when everyone finds out where everyone else (read: the foreigner) is going.

He asked me where I was going, I responded in Chinese, and then to my surprise, he responded back in perfect English.  I was absolutely shocked because it is very rare for someone of his age (69) to be able to speak English.  His English was special.  It wasn't the usual choppy and blunt English of my students and even the Chinese English teachers at my school.  His English was fluid, poetic and completely mesmerizing.  He spoke slowly and thoughtfully.

Originally from Shanghai, he was traveling with his brother to visit Hunan including Shaoshan (Mao Zedong's birthplace), Zhangjiajie and Changsha.  He wanted to experience the mountains in Zhangjiajie.  I remember him saying, with conviction, that although he will inevitably trip or fall down, he will keep climbing until he reaches the top.  I think that is when I started to get choked up.

He had the most beautiful life philosophies and attitude.  He said the future is full of uncertainty so we need to make the most of today.  That felt cliché to type, but for some reason when he said it, it was as if I was hearing that piece of advice for the first time.  I found it especially touching considering my current job search.  I'm finding it hard to live in the present, but Mr. Guo gave me a great reminder.

This small post doesn't do Mr. Guo justice, but I wanted to pay him a little tribute.  After dinner he took out an orange, peeled it, gave me half and said, "In the same way we are sharing in friendship, let's share this orange."  I consider meeting him a gift from the universe.

Trip to Shanghai

A couple weeks ago I took a short trip to Shanghai to visit my host family.  The last time we saw each other had been over a year ago.  It was a wonderful trip and felt just like old times- big group meals, playing with my little sister when she was supposed to be studying, lots of family pictures.

There was one thing that was different and that was our ability to communicate with each other.  The last time I saw my host family, my Mandarin skills were still rather basic.  Thanks to living in Beijing for a year and IES' intensive Chinese classes, my Chinese has improved and that opened a whole new door of communication with my Chinese family.  What a fun discovery, it was like we were getting to know each all over again.  I learned more about my family's history (my host mother lived in Yunnan, one of my favorite provinces in China, for over 10 years!) and I was able to tell them more about my life in Hunan.  We've never been closer.  I'm not sure when I will see them again, and that made saying goodbye very difficult, but I'm so grateful for this time we could spend together.

Below are some pictures from a little trip I took with my host mother and little sister to a huge flower garden in Shanghai...

Chinese girls are tough.

I'm back on the blogosphere after a brief hiatus including a trip home over the winter holiday and the start of spring semester.  My time in the states was wonderful and solidified my decision to repatriate this summer.  China has been good to me and I will be back.

With the end in sight, I plan on making the most of these last couple months.  I want to leave with no regrets.

Goal #1: Play soccer with students during lunch.

Word on the street was that a lunchtime soccer crew had formed and I wanted in.  I was never able to find my basketball groove, so in an effort to connect with more students outside the classroom, I figured why not give soccer a try.

I walked down to the field and noticed three girls watching on the sidelines.  They told me they desperately wanted to play, but the boys said no because the girls were not good enough.  While gender inequality in sports is not a new phenomenon, especially among Chinese schoolchildren, I was peeved nonetheless.  I was also intimidated.

I caught fellow foreign teacher Shane's attention for backup and he waved us onto the field.  The girls took this encouragement and ran with it, literally, right into the heat of the action.

Right off the bat one girl got hit in the face with the soccer ball (just the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time).  While the boys kept on playing unperturbed, the rest of the female representation and I rushed to our injured teammate.  We checked for blood and popped her glasses' lens back into place.  The girl took a moment to collect herself and then immediately resumed her self-appointed offensive position.  Another girl later scored an epic goal.  The third proved she could outrun almost anyone on the field.  I won't speak to my abysmal performance as I was completely out of my league.

I know Amnesty International won't be knocking on my door with this post, but in our little countryside community, despite being unwanted, these girls stood up against gender norms and totally kicked ass.  I'm humbled and inspired by their attitudes.  I was ready to flip the boys the bird, and these girls just wanted to have fun.  Later in the game two more girls joined.  In the end, we all had a blast.

Future goals include pwning at ping pong (my true calling in the sports world), a Shanghai visit to see my old host family, and (if timing permits) a half marathon in Inner Mongolia.

Country vs. City

Every week Shane, Shobana and I meet with a group of Chinese English teachers to help them practice their English.  We usually have an informal conversation, lasting around 45 minutes, about anything ranging from teaching methods to hobbies to the Hukou (household registration) system.  What's really great about these meetings is they are mutually beneficial- we help the teachers practice their spoken English, they teach us about China.

One meeting we discussed China's countryside and the many changes it has undergone within the past decade.  You hear so much about migrant workers leaving the countryside to find work in cities.  Prior to moving to Hunan, I had the naive notion that everyone dreams of someday moving to the big city for a better life.  Hearing the perspective of families making a decent living in the countryside has, in many ways, rocked my world.  Most of the teachers are middle-aged women who are married and have children.  Among this segment of the population the feeling seems universal, at least at OYY: people prefer to live in the countryside.

They say life in the countryside has more freedom, physical and otherwise.  There is more space for families to build their own homes.  The greater space also means less restrictions, particularly with fireworks, which play a large role in life in China.  We hear fireworks on a semi-daily basis.  The teachers told us people set off fireworks for everything- happy things, sad things, mundane things.  Nothing is too trite for fireworks.  Perhaps when I finish this blog post that has remained unfinished for several months now, I will set off a few fireworks of my own.

The pace of life here is also special.  The pace is slower, so there is more time for deep and meaningful conversations.  This is something the women specifically mentioned.  In the city, you are busy, always on the go.  When people come home after work, they enter their apartments and are in for the night.  Here interactions extend beyond the work hours.  People often dance or sing karaoke together late into the evening.  During holidays everyone remains near or at the school, because all their families live here too.  Relationships are different, everything is shared.  I love how all the teachers call each other sisters.

Apparently even the laws have changed to accommodate people living in the countryside so they can enjoy more rights such as medical insurance.  This is something I will research more on my own.

I loved living in Beijing, but I'm also enjoying country living.  The biggest difference I have experience so far is greeting.  Here, I greet people.  They greet me.  We greet each other.  The greeting of random strangers you pass on the street would not happen in Beijing.  As a result I feel welcomed here, even loved.  I need to give the countryside more credit.  People are happy here, as am I.

New Year's Day dinner with a student and her family

Christmas in Hunan

Christmas this year was everything an expat could want... stressful and exciting work that served as an excellent distraction from home and family, and relaxation time spent with good friends.

The evening of Christmas Eve was OYY's 2012 Christmas Talent Show Extravaganza.  A show Shobana, Shane and I had been planning for weeks.  It is one of OYY's biggest events of the year and is traditionally planned, coordinated and run entirely by the foreign teachers.  As a lover of planning, I was in hog heaven.

Some highlights from the show:

• We started off with several rounds of auditions to decide the performers and hosts for the show.  The student talent was amazing!
• Against some of their wills, we mandated an English teacher group performance of Jingle Bells to be performed at the show.  I think that number received the most applause.
• Shobana, Shane and I practiced and memorized our own song performance in Chinese.  We came in second for applause.
• We rented excellent quality light and sound equipment from a local business to up the ante in performance quality.  The men were incredible to work with- easygoing and interactive with the students.  Without prompting, they started a Gangnam Style dance party after the show with blasting music and flashing lights.  Major points for them.
• Our wonderful team of student helpers assisted us with decorations, performer prizes, raffle prizes and gifts for judges.  They also helped run crowd control the day of the show- probably the hardest job of all.
• We ran a dress rehearsal a couple nights before the show to work out any kinks- some things went wonderfully, some things went terribly.  Thank goodness for practice.
• The biggest challenge of all was ticket distribution.  We had a limited amount of tickets to distribute and an unlimited amount of interest.  During the weeks leading up to the show, students would approach us and beg for a ticket to the show.  We tried to make student selection as fair as possible, but broken hearts were unavoidable.  I made my classes extra fun the week of the show to keep my students feeling loved and happy.
• I must admit during the show I was on a major power trip.  It was awesome having complete control over such a big event.  Even more than the power trip, what I really enjoyed were the student transformations.  Before performances, students would be terrified.  Afterward, they would walk off stage with the biggest smiles.  Now that was awesome.

Here are some pictures from the show:

The light and sound equipment we rented for the show

We had a full house

Some of the performes

My excited Junior 1 students

My Junior 1 boys- they got second place!

The greatest helpers in the world

Christmas Day:

Shobana, Shane and I slept in until lunch, when we met the school administration for a big meal at the school cafeteria.  The admin men were pounding back the Chinese alcohol and we held our own with beer.  The three of us then ventured to Xintang's very own sauna.  Yes, a sauna.  It is new and has two rooms, complete with heated walls and floor.  We brought snacks and cards and camped out in a room for a couple hours, enjoying the peace and heat.  Afterward we made it back to campus in time to have a Christmas dinner with my wonderful Chinese tutor and her family.  They made special local dishes for us, dishes we had never tried before.  The school principal joined us as well.  To conclude our day of eating and relaxing, we watched a Christmas classic, Home Alone 2.

Merry Christmas family and friends!