Today marks the one month anniversary of my arrival in China. Although it is out of sequence, I thought it would be appropriate to take time to review these last 30 days. What have I learned? What have I done? How far do I have to go before being able to be self-sufficient in Chinese society? This will again be a 3-parter, as there are 3 distinct areas of observation to be discussed. This first one concerns general observations.
My job: I do not think I am the be-all and end-all of teaching English. I do think I have a long way to go before I can say I’m good at this job. This is one of those things that will come with experience so I’m not beating myself up too terribly about it. I am more impressed with my progress gaining my students’ trust than I am about my teaching ability. Or maybe they are just naturally trusting? Besides, with no benchmarks to evaluate my teaching, how do I even know I’m a good teacher?
Getting around: I am now old hat at getting around town now that I have figured out the bus system. If I’m looking for a specific destination – say Wal-Mart, I simply look it up online and get an address. Then, I plug that address into a website I found that tells me which bus to take, complete with transfers. If I have no specific destination but want to bum around anyway, I simply go to the train station, a main transportation hub, jump on any given bus and see where it takes me. I have bought a bus schedule that tells me which bus goes where and where it stops in between; with the few characters I can read I can generally muddle my way through. Recently I’ve figured out how to interpret the bus itineraries so that now when I’m at a bus stop I am not totally clueless about which way a bus runs and what side of the street I should be on. Getting home is the inverse of going out: this is a very logical bus system; if a given bus runs up the street it also runs down the street. If all else fails, I know/understand enough Chinese to ask someone where bus #??? (whichever bus I’m looking for) stops, or which bus goes back to the train station. I can always get myself home from the train station! Extra bonus points: I’ve not gotten lost or stranded yet!
Reloading the bus pass: As in certain cities in America, Chinese cities have a bus pass system. Purchasing a pass costs 20yuan, and then you ‘preload’ it with a certain amount of money. Each bus has a ‘speedpass’ type card reader that you wave your bus pass in front of and it not only deducts the current ride’s fare but also tells you how much is left on your card. It is cheaper to ride busses with a bus pass – each boarding costs 1.2 to 1.8yuan no matter how far you travel, depending on which bus you ride. If you pay cash for your bus ride, each boarding costs a flat 2yuan. Minimal savings I grant you, but we’ll discuss this topic in the next post. For now, I have ridden so many busses that I have depleted the 30yuan that my bus card was pre-loaded with and must wait for someone to come back to campus to show me how to recharge it.
Grocery shopping: I can now grocery shop for myself with a minimum of pain and embarrassment. I’m still a bit clueless about vegetables and how to use them, but fruit and eggs are a cinch. Same for the occasional piece of meat I might buy to flavor my assays into cooking. The sauces and condiments are still a little difficult, so for now I stick with cooking simple dishes flavored with soy sauce, cooking wine and that odd chicken seasoning that the Chinese use instead of salt. Also, I’ve had enough visibility in the local stores that the merchants help me and do not try to up their prices. I’ve got Sam to thank for that for that last part.
In the kitchen: I’ve figured out how to use my electronic hot plate as well as my washing machine (you’ll remember that the legends for both appliances are strictly in Chinese). I am able to fix simple meals, and to that end have bought a new wok because the old one’s bottom was warped. I’ve learned that I have to wipe down my countertops (and other horizontal surfaces) every day as grit and dirt blows in constantly. I’ve also learned to not leave water in the kettle overnight unless I want silica-flavored tea in the morning.
Postal/Bank protocol: I know virtually nothing about how to conduct business at either one of these establishments. I know that only Construction Bank of China can exchange currency, and then only select, larger branches. I have yet to step foot in a Chinese Post office and couldn’t tell you how to buy a stamp or mail a letter. I’m seriously going to have to get on learning that. On the other hand, I know that receiving a package is an exercise: the postmen do not deliver packages, couriers do. They do not come on campus, they call your cell phone and ask you to meet them at the front gate of the school to pick up your package. I do not know if they expect a tip, but from my one encounter with this procedure, I get the feeling they do.
Health: My stomach has stabilized and gotten conditioned to the food and the environment. As long as I stay with Chinese food, I do not have to reach for any Tagamet. If I gobble Western food such as KFC or the dreaded McDonald’s, I will swell up and bloat.
There is less of me than there was when I first came here. I don’t think Montezuma is exclusively responsible for that; Chinese food being oddly filling even in small amounts, I am not compelled to eat as much as I was eating in the States, or eat as fast. Another reason for the slow eating is chopsticks: it is difficult to shovel food in your mouth with two thin pieces of bamboo -–unless you tilt the bowl to your mouth and use the chopsticks to rake food in.
I’m pretty much done with my forays into Chinese junk food aisles. None of it tastes very good even though some of it may bear familiar brand names, and it is very expensive. More on this in the next post as well.
The final reason I believe my girth is shrinking: climbing stairs. Each of my classes are on the 5th floor or above, so at least twice a week I am climbing 5 to six flights of stairs. And, I walk all over campus and if I’m not on campus, I’m walking all over town.
My size 12s, which were admittedly snug when I got here are now comfortably loose. If I keep this up, I might actually be able to wear thermal underwear beneath them come winter!
Waste: I find I am rather wasteful, especially in the kitchen and where money is concerned. I’ll address money in the next post, so for now, let’s discuss kitchen waste. Rice is an excellent case in point: I will generally cook 2 cups of rice at a time – about enough for 4 meals. However, due to improper storage or simply deciding the street vendor fare is more appealing for my next few meals than cooking for myself, the cooked rice will go bad and I have to throw it out. Granted, rice is not terribly expensive, but it is terribly wasteful of me to just let all that rice go to waste, right? This is a habit that I carried over from my life in the States. I’ve got to do better.
These are general observations. Have I forgotten anything? Do you have any questions? If not, the next two posts will deal with more specific issues. BEWARE!
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