Old Things, New Things, Revisited Things

• Being a foreigner, in spite of my darker hair color (I thought darker hair would help me assimilate better among all of the dark heads bobbing down the sidewalk and across campus).
• Campus, even though all of its buildings are painted reddish-brown with white trim instead of the tired, faded yellow of last scholastic year.
• Traffic
  
• Huge crushes of people
• Weird but good things to snack on.
• Food
• Sam
• No need to rehash any of these things. If you’ve been following this blog from its inception, you know all about them. If you’re just joining us, welcome. Please go back and read about this journey from the beginning, even though it comprises of some 200 entries. Go ahead. We’ll wait for you.
• New Things:
• People are wearing hats and clothing with the ‘Made in China’ logo prominently displayed on them. It must be a new fashion statement. On my short outing today I saw no fewer than 4 people wearing garb that advertised ‘Made in China’ in letters 3 inches tall. It seems someone here may have discovered irony.
• Some buses have changed their routes and some buses have changed their fares. Bus 906, the bane of bus riders of any line all along that route, no longer runs (it stopped before I left in July). Bus 907, which used to have a long route now has taken over bus 906’s shorter route and charges 3Yuan per boarding instead of 2Yuan. The fare card reader no longer works, indicating that it is no longer a government-endorsed bus route, and there is no conductor to collect fares. That makes for a huge crush to get on the bus. Nothing new about that.
• There are fewer street vendors around campus, and those that remain come out later in the day. Battercake Man no longer serves breakfast or lunch, and Breakfast Sandwich Girl is now Dinner Sandwich Girl exclusively. However, Steamed Bun Woman remains. Unfortunately her counterpart, Fried Bread Man does not come on the scene until lunchtime. (See New Man on Snack Street entry published 5/11 to revisit all of these characters). The new man on Snack Street, with his heavenly concoctions, is gone altogether. That severely limits my food choices, especially as I am not cooking anything because my apartment is all packed up and I don’t intend to unpack everything just to have to repack it all in a few weeks when I move.
• The English Department has relocated. Whereas all of the department heads used to have offices in the main administrative building across the park from the building my apartment is located in, the English Department (and several others) have relocated to the new development area behind Teaching Building 5, where the new Teacher’s Apartments are being built. A lot of the teachers are disgruntled about that move because going to conduct business at the admin office now involves a trek clean across campus and into the muddy, dusty, dirty construction zone. It is brutally hot in Wuhan right now. Later this year it will be chillingly wet and even later it will be miserably cold. Presumably by next year, that move will pay off though. The entire department will be located on that end of campus: all of the classes will be taught in Building 5, all of the teachers will live in the new apartments and the Admin offices will be located between the department living and working areas. Doesn’t sound too bad.
• Lighter hair color. Whereas I’ve chosen a darker hair color to endure this year with so I don’t have to run around with embarrassingly blond, flaming hair, many Chinese have chosen to go shockingly blond, to the point that, when I see their hair I peer underneath the bangs and expect to see a foreigner. Strangely enough, it is mostly young males who are transforming themselves so radically. Their female counterparts still go for the demure look, changing their hair color at most to the gentle brown shade mine currently is. Females tend to display their plumage more in their wardrobe, but that is nothing new.
• Revisited Things:
• Students. Last year’s freshmen are my this year’s sophomores. It is great to see them all again, mainly because I have the two good groups I started with last year, not the groups that I took over from Victor after Winter Break. They are as happy to see me as I am to see them. They are as receptive to my teachings as I am to their concerns. This is going to be a great semester.
• Friends. Not just in Administration or among the teachers, who now nod and smile at me as I cross campus or roam the classrooms, but also the sophomores that I taught last year who have moved on. They are taking Japanese this year and no longer have to study English. Nevertheless we continue a barrage of text messages. It seems I will not be at a loss for dining companions for the next few weeks. Bailey, anyone? Can you say Chinese Mommy and Dash?
• Construction crews. After traversing America on a Greyhound bus – make that several buses, and watching road crews labor in the heat of day clad in safety garb from head to toe, I am again amazed to see construction workers here laboring ‘round the clock, shirtless, in flimsy footwear (read: flip flops) and with no safety gear as the bus I’m riding lumbers past them. Thankfully, most of the buses here are air conditioned. It makes me feel bad for the barely-clad construction workers whose time is spent in the elements – brutal sunshine and unrelenting heat.
• Brutal sunshine and unrelenting heat. This is a nod to my Texas Partners/friends, who swelter for the dubious honor of nearly breaking a record that was set back in1980 for the longest streak of over 100 degree Fahrenheit days. They almost made it while I was Stateside, and now they are working toward that record again. Not that this is a concerted effort on the part of my Texas Partners/friends. They have no choice but to put up with weather conditions, just like we here must put up with what Mother Nature dishes out. At least in Texas, air conditioning is commonplace. In China, not so much. I’ve not turned on my A/C units since I’ve been back, but then again my apartment stays relatively cool. A fan is necessary, though. However, as you know from previous posts, air conditioning is not the norm in Southern China. So, whereas I am relatively comfortable with no A/C but have the option to use it, many Chinese do not have such an option and are not comfortable. I feel for them, but can’t help but think of the solidarity that could exist between them and my Texas Podners/Friends.
• The Street. Some businesses have folded, most notably that delightful chicken restaurant I used to patronize when I wanted American-style fast food. New businesses have taken their place, and others have redesigned their stores. But essentially The Street remains The Street: a slice of life in China, with grandparents walking their offspring’s offspring, and young parents carrying vegetables home from the farmer’s market a quarter-mile away after their day in the greater city. Students flood The Street after classes and illegal vendors throw their tarps down at sunset to display their wares and make a few sales. Everyone strolls The Street, come sundown. It is an anachronism in a burgeoning city that strives for modernity and a timeless picture of a doomed way of life. It is the way to my home, literally and figuratively.
• My rediscovered ability to speak Chinese. In America I hardly had any use for my Mandarin skills. They rusted a bit, creaking uncomfortably upon my return here. Since this week has passed I find that, not only have I not forgotten my ability to speak Chinese but I’ve discovered with delight that I understand more Chinese than I did before I left here. How did that happen?
• With these past 3 entries, you are now up to speed on how I found things my first week back in Wuhan. This weekend the school will welcome the freshmen to campus. For a play-by-play of that event, please see The Freshmen are Coming entry, posted October of last year. I didn’t really do it justice because I was suffering so from Montezuma’s Family Reunion (posted last year in September) as well as depression. No such issues this year, so this time around I will take pictures and post them as an entry. That will not only give you a visual of what I have the pleasure of experiencing again, but also show you our campus’ face lift.
• As for the next many entries of this blog, I want to finish my findings and reflections of my trip across America while sprinkling noteworthy mentions of life in China here and there. Especially now, back in China, my America experiences take on a special weight and meaning. Maybe not for you, my dear Readers and fellow travelers, but for me. Read on and find out why.