Could I live There?

A while back those of you on my email list received a jubilant message that proclaimed I have tenure. Dean Tu has offered me an open-ended contract to teach at this school. Specifically his words were: “You can stay here as long as you want.”

Naturally I am ecstatic at having a measure of job security. In spite of my vagabond pretentions I am well aware that the job market is tight the world over. Even ESL teachers, as high a demand as there are for them have to compete and struggle for a good position. In other institutions I would have to work much harder, maybe even a whole forty hours a week! I would not have the great position and the perks I have with this school. Having just moved into this brand new apartment that does feel like home, and now that I am familiar with this city I would hate to have to move on so soon. And, I’ve become attached. To Gary, Mask, Tony, Evan… I have many friends here. To Sam, to the other English teachers and especially to the kids.

Getting real for a moment: I have health issues in Wuhan. My hair falls out at an alarming rate because the air is so dry and I have to pop Benadryl sometimes three times a day in order to breathe. I am comfortable here but maybe it is not the best place for me to be. Eventually I will have to consider moving on. Besides, I have to remember my goal of vagabonding around. That is supposed to mean no roots.

In this entry I will revisit all of the cities I’ve been to so far since moving to China. I’ll make a list of good and bad things and decide: CILT (could I live there)?

Starting with Wuhan: There are some things to see and do. Centrally located; it is easy to visit other cities from here. Enough foreigner commodities and enough foreigners to satisfy. Easy to navigate. Food is not necessarily good but I do like a few indigenous dishes. People are friendly. The climate is not too extreme but the air is rough, causing breathing problems. Winters tend to be harsh. My current job is a gravy train. CILT: irrelevant. I live here already.

Xi’an: there is plenty to do and see, good shopping and a lot of ‘foreigner’ commodities. The people there are friendly, it is easy to get around and I have lots of friends there. Indigenous food is fantastic. On the downside, temps tend to be rough, and it is not centrally located. CILT: YES! In spite of the cold temps and the Western location, I have dreamt about living in Xi’an since the first time I visited that city.

Yi Chang: Its main claim to fame is Three Gorges dam. Being so close to such great bodies of water the temps are iffy and the weather is usually damp. The food is delicious and it is an easy city to navigate. The people are very friendly. There are not many foreigner commodities and not much to do. CILT: If I had to, but I’d rather not.

Xi Shui: No major claim to fame, not much in the way of foreigner commodities and, for that matter not many foreigners. It is a semirural area demonstrating little progress. The people were friendly but reserved; I suspect if I had gone there on my own I would have met with a lot of resistance. The food is OK but not particularly remarkable. It is not easy to navigate; no major infrastructure (although there are buses). CILT: No. I would feel too isolated.

Chengdu: A very cosmopolitan city with plenty to do and see. Lots of foreigner commodities and a fair amount of culture. Food, what I tasted of it was very spicy. The weather was great and the people were friendly. Easy to navigate. CILT: probably. Well… yes. Wouldn’t mind it at all.

Chong Qing: Cosmopolitan in the extreme, with the people exhibiting a competitive, nouveau-riche feel. They were not necessarily friendly. There is plenty to do and see, and plenty of foreigner commodities. For that matter, there were plenty of foreigners. Indigenous food is good. The layout is complex and, I suspect not easy to navigate in spite of the ample buses rumbling around. CILT: no. I did not like the way this city felt.

Shenzhen: nice climate and friendly people, enough foreigner commodities. Easy to navigate, but not much to see or do. Its main claim to fame is being close to Hong Kong. No indigenous food to speak of and no indigenous culture. The outlying neighborhoods tend to be kind of rough and there is an air of… desperation? Hopelessness? Not a traditional city. CILT? No. Wouldn’t want to.

Nanjing: Old timey, established feel with few major commercial centers, plenty of foreigner commodities and plenty of foreigners, easy to navigate. More than enough to see and do. Some construction but not to the point that the city is cloaked in dust. Climate is about like Wuhan but the air is substantially cleaner. The people are not very friendly but the men are handsome (I am female, after all!) I don’t have any idea what the food might be like. CILT: yes. Second place after Xi’an.

Hong Hu Bai Miao: tiny village with only one school. No foreigner concessions and no other foreigners. Only a few small shops, selling daily goods. Easy to navigate only because it consists of one road, running north/south. Remote in the extreme; difficult to get to and even harder to leave. No restaurants; the only indigenous food I sampled was at individual homes (very tasty). CILT: no. Too small and too rural.

Shi Shou: Small town with no foreigner concessions. Only one school, but it does have an English program. People are friendly and the food is delicious. One small commercial center. Not much to see or do. Not easy to navigate. CILT: no. too small and remote.

Beijing: Very large and fast paced. Weather is disagreeable. There is plenty to see and do, plenty of foreigner commodities and plenty of foreigners. Lots of employment opportunities too. Fairly easy to navigate. Not well located for vagabonding. CILT: no. It is too large and too fast for me.

So there you have it. I would not mind staying in Wuhan for its central location, the friends I’ve made and the job security I have. If not for the health issues I might well make this my pied a terre and just vagabond from here.

Xi’an and Nanjing are closely tied for first place, followed by Chengdu. The other places were nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

I intend to return to Nanjing this spring, when the weather breaks. I’d like to get a feel for it ‘under normal operating conditions’ and not in holiday mode. Also, it would be nice to explore some of those landmarks and memorials I saw from the bus windows. For climate alone it might win out over Xi’an.

Nah, Xi’an is still the city of my dreams.