A Day with Sunflower

If I had to choose a favorite student, I think I would choose Sunflower. She’s in class 363, which to be honest, isn’t the easiest of all classes! Despite the fact that her class lacks an interest in learning English, she is constantly trying her best, and she without a doubt improved her spoken English as well as her confidence in speaking in the past 10-months. For the past few months she has been trying to find a time where we were both free, she wanted me to come to her hometown for lunch. She lives around an hour and a half from Rongjiawan, and around 40-minutes from Yueyang. This past Monday she finally arranged for me to come to her family’s home for lunch. In true Chinese fashion, lunch turned into a day-long affair, causing me to be late for my afternoon plans. Even after 11-months, I still haven’t learned that when a student invites you to hang-out, you shouldn’t plan anything else for that day.

We had a traditional, and quite delicious, Chinese lunch with her parents. Her father speaks a little English, but her mother only speaks Chinese, despite the language barrier, I of course felt more than welcome in their home. When it came time for me to leave, my purse was filled with fruit and other types of snacks. After lunch, Sunflower and I visited Junshan island, the largest island in the Dongting Lake. The ferry costs 20 RMB round-trip and is about 40-minutes from Yueyang. The ferry takes around 35-minutes to get to the island, and the entrance fee is an additional 60 RMB. According to Sunflower, the island is typically visited by lovers, and here I was visiting it with my 16-year-old student. The island itself it really beautiful, the minute I stepped off the ferry I was met with a wave of jasmine, which is much different than the typical aromas of China. While walking around, we saw a variety of different birds, trees, flowers, etc. I think the island is under environmental protection by the Chinese government, because it really was one of the cleanest places I have visited in China. The weather was typical for Hunan: hot, humid, and sticky. But, we still had an enjoyable time walking around the island, and it gave her the opportunity to ask me quite a few personal questions. The questions ranged from my love life to the type of feminine hygiene products that Western women use. At times the questions even turned political, Taiwan and Hong Kong are always interesting subjects to discuss with my students in private.

As much as I love teaching in the classroom, I truly enjoy teaching one-on-one the most. I especially enjoy the times where I have the opportunity to just hang out with my students and get to know them more. Their free-time is so limited, and I consider it an honor that on a rare occasion where she could have been playing computer games and chatting with her friends on QQ , she chose to practice her English and show me a hidden gem of Yueyang County. I look forward to keeping in touch with her and monitoring her progress during my second year in China, she is one of the many examples of why teaching in China is such a rewarding experience.

Waiguoren in Xi’an

While the Senior 3 students at schools across China settled in to take the most important exam of their life, Mariah and I boarded a 17-hour overnight train to Xi’an. Xi’an has been the number one destination for me to visit since coming to China, as a semi-major history buff, I couldn’t spend 11-months in this country and not see the famed Terracotta Warriors. I had originally planned to make the trip alone, but Mariah clearly isn’t sick of my constant presence in her apartment or life, so she came along for the ride!

Tuesday: We arrived right before noon, quickly found our hostel, checked-in, dropped our bags and headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather. Although Xi’an is hotter in terms of degrees, there is almost 0% humidity, making it much more enjoyable than the 80% humidity in Yueyang. Neither Mariah or I have done much souvenir shopping in the past 11-months, so one of the sole purposes of this trip was to load up on semi-tacky traditional Chinese souvenirs that no Chinese person has in their homes. In the midst of looking for souvenirs, I discovered a Dunkin’ Donuts! Words cannot describe how much I miss this place. I just wish Lebron James face wasn’t dead center in the photo. All-in-all, Tuesday was the perfect day to acclimate ourselves to a new city, we had perfect weather, delicious coffee, plenty of shopping, and the day ended with an ice-cold draft beer.

Wednesday: Mariah and I woke up early to see the Terracotta Warriors. I had that feeling in my stomach that I had the first time I knew I was going to see the Colosseum. I was excited, but also nervous that it would be a disappointment. The warriors are around an hour bus ride from the city center of Xi’an, but the site is easily accessed by taking the 306 tourist bus that leaves from right in front of the train station, it only costs 7 RMB. The warriors themselves are expensive to see. It costs around 150 RMB without a student ID, but with a student ID they can be seen for 75 RMB.

Much to my dismay, the warriors were pretty disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I think its impressive that these were built beginning in 246 BC, but the three pits themselves aren’t very interactive and there is a serious lack of information. There aren’t many placards explaining the history behind each pit, which I think is to encourage people to hire an overpriced tour guide. But, even those people at our hostel who had done an organized tour remarked that the site was “underwhelming”. Pit #1 is the most impressive of the three, which means if you start with this pit then head to the much smaller and less impressive pits, 2 and 3, you will most likely be in for a let down. Thankfully, I had read the Lonely Planet description prior to heading to the site, and they recommended that the pits be done in reverse order, start with Pit #3, then Pit #2, and finally Pit #1. We had anticipated spending the entire day touring the site, but in actuality, we only spent around three-hours.

After leaving the site, we headed back into Xi’an for more souvenir shopping. Upon returning to our hostel, we met Brendan and Ben in our dorm room. They are currently in the midst of cycling Shanghai, China to Dublin, Ireland. I seriously recommend checking out their blog, they’re really cool guys and they are cycling for a good cause. We headed out to dinner with them, which turned into beers at some sketchy hole-in-the-wall bar, which then turned into dancing at a Chinese club. My head was quickly fogging from all the beer and the multiple shots of Jack Daniels, so I really can’t offer much insight into what happened after the dancing, but apparently we grabbed more food then I passed out in my dorm bed.

Thursday: I awoke around noon to people checking into our dorm room and Brendan holding a bottle of water near my dorm bed (God love him). I peeked into Mariah’s bed, and all that could be said was “American Breakfast?”. Three new people had checked into our dorm room, Lorraine, Jack, and Aaron. Lorraine was traveling by herself, but Jack and Aaron were foreign teachers from Mongolia, after quickly bonding we all headed downstairs for some late-breakfast. After a much-needed hungover breakfast, Lorraine joined Mariah and I for a walk around the Muslim Quarters in Xi’an. The best part of staying in hostels, besides the extremely cheap prices, are the people you meet. Lorraine was absolutely amazing to hang out with, the way in which she quickly blended into our lives made it feel like we had known her for much longer than a few hours.  Teaching her to count to ten in Chinese was one of the most fun parts of the day, and she picked it up in record-breaking time. Pretty soon thereafter she was bargaining for her own souvenirs, using tai gui le and bu yao.

Despite the fact that Mariah and I had to awake early the next day, we stayed up drinking cheap draft beers and swapping travel stories and jokes with a number of people staying in our hostel. The one thing about being a foreign teacher or spending a significant time traveling in China is that for the most part everyone has a similar experience. We may all live in separate parts of this vast country, but we all enjoy similar foods (what foreigner doesn’t like qie zi?), complain about the lack of coffee and the weak beer. Whether you live in Shanghai, Sichuan, or Mongolia, there is a story that another foreigner living and/or traveling in China can identify with. It becomes a way to bridge the gap between the different countries we come from, because whether we’re from the USA, UK, Australia, Norway, etc. we identify with each others experiences here.

Friday: Since coming to China I have become especially fond of the outdoors, especially hiking. Before coming to Xi’an I read through my Lonely Planet China book, and came across Hua Shan, a mountain about two-hours from the city. There is a tourist bus that leaves from in front of the train station, next to the bus that takes your to the Terracotta Warriors, it cost 22 RMB. The mountain itself costs 180 RMB without a student ID, but with a student ID it will cost you 90 RMB. If you hike Hua Shan I recommend bringing water and snacks, or be prepared to be subjected to astronomical tourist prices.

Mariah and I awoke early to catch the 8am bus to Hua Shan, which means that it of course left at 8:45am. The total hike time from the bottom of the mountain to the top is 8-hours, but with a limited amount of time we hiked to North Peak, which took us about 3-hours. Typical for a China hike, we found some of the steepest stairs that I have ever seen. Not only were they steep, but they were thin and high. Some of the stairs were barely wide enough for half of my foot. At certain points, you were forced to crawl with your hands up the stairs. The views were most definitely worth it though. So was the sun that Mariah and I had been craving. At the top of North Peak, we took the Australian-made cable car back down to the mountain, just in time to catch the last bus back into Xi’an. The last bus leaves at 5:00 PM, but Chris, a Norwegian we met in our hostel, told us that the fast train can be taken to Hua Shan which would allow one to hike from the bottom to the top, and still come back to the city in one-day.

After a rather rigorous day, we settled into the hostel cafe and ordered the largest pizza they had and two draft beers. Mariah and I demolished this pizza in 5-minutes, it was impressive if I do say so myself. A huge group of people from the hostel were headed to the Xi’an bar street, so we joined in on that group. We met Emily and Dan, they are on a 6-month gap before they begin medical school in the UK. After enjoying a few over priced beers, we headed back to the crowded hostel bar, where they have every beer that I have missed drinking in the past 11-months, including Delirium and Hoegarden. If anything, our trip in Xi’an was a healthy mix of too much exercise matched with too much drinking.

Saturday: Somehow it was already our last day in Xi’an. After sleeping in to recover from the night before, we all headed down for breakfast and smoothies. If you come to Xi’an there is shop, Smoothie King, that makes the best smoothies you will find in China. It’s located by the South Gate of the City Walls, and we were on average drinking 3-4 smoothies each day. They were that good.

We only had one touristy thing left to do, and that was to bike ride along the City Walls. There are bikes for hire on the City Walls, it costs 40 RMB for 2-hours, you have to leave a deposit of 100-200 RMB depending on the number of people you are with. The walls are about 14 kilometers around, and it’s most complete City Wall to have survived in China. It’s also the largest ancient military defensive system in the world. It was one of my favorite things we did in Xi’an. In total, 9 of us went for the bike ride together, and by the looks of us together you would have thought we have known each other for longer than a few days.

After the bike ride and a quick lunch, we headed back to the hostel where we exchanged emails, hugs, and promises to visit one another at some point. Then, it was time for Mariah and I to board another 17-hour train ride back to Yueyang. It was one of the most enjoyable trips I have had in China in the past 11-months.

ShuYuan Hostel: If you ever visit Xi’an I highly recommend staying at ShuYuan International Youth Party Hostel. I can’t say enough good things about this hostel, it’s one of the best I have ever stayed at. It’s located right next to the city walls and the South Gate entrance. There is an amazing cafe that serves up some of the best Western food I have eaten in China. There is also a bar located downstairs, that has a variety of International beers for decent prices. The night we visited the bar it was packed full of people, both those local to Xi’an and travelers alike. Around the corner from the hostel is Smoothie King, which again has some of the best smoothies I have had since I was in Thailand. The hostel also has one of the cutest (and fattest) golden retrievers, Terra. He/She is very friendly, and more than willing to finish off any food you can’t!

Beer, Crawfish, and Cigarettes

After almost a year in China you notice that you have begun to develop patterns. There is that one particular women you like to buy your vegetables from at the wet market, that one old man who makes your chou mi fan just right, and of course, the man who you buy your beer from. These people that help you with what most people would consider mundane tasks, never seem to forget that you like you coffee with yi dian dian milk, and that whenever you buy a bottle of water you prefer the big size. It also means, that when you walk down the street you are met with ni hao and/or hello’s from these people that you buy your respective goods from. Sometimes these encounters end when you fork over your hard earned volunteer money, but other times a simple transaction begins a new friendship and a new adventure.

The street that Mariah lives on transforms into a place for late-night eats when the sun goes down. Each restaurant will set up tables and plastic chairs on the sidewalk regardless of how cold it is out, and people will sit, eat, and socialize their night away. Mariah and I were on our way home from SoHo bar when we asked the taxi to stop a little further away from the Yueyang Foreign Language School gate, we wanted to stop and purchase some fruit before calling it a night. When we walked past the convenience store where we normally buy our beer, we noticed the man had a table set up in front of his shop. Next store to his shop is a restaurant, so he had simply commandeered one of their tables so that he could enjoy a Friday night with his friends while he continued to sell beer, cigarettes, and other household goods. As we passed by the table, they immediately asked if he wanted to sit down and join them. We looked at each other, thought about it for a second, and before we knew it the men were dragging over two more pink plastic chairs. When we sat down, they immediately poured us beer and shouted ganbei, in turn I offered each man a cigarette.

The next hour or so would continue on like this, the man to the left of me would pour me a shot of beer, then he would shout ganbei. In a slight attempt to maintain my sobriety I would take a sip from the shot after our ganbei, but this never satisfied my bully. He would tap his glass, then point to my glass in an attempt to bully me into finishing my shot. I, of course, would oblige his request. The intentions of the table were clear, let’s intoxicate the waiguoren. Of course, the ganbei tango only intensified as our time at the table progressed. The man who owns the convenience store would notice a friendly face walking by our table and insist that they drink beer with us. More shots of beer and baijui were poured, and more cigarettes were distributed.

No gathering in China is complete without food. Immediately after we sat down menus were brought over, despite the fact that these men were halfway through their dinner. There were already crawfish on the table, and as soon as my bowl was unwrapped from its fresh plastic they were being plucked from the communal dish and put into my bowl. For the past month or so, Mariah and I have witnessed the local restaurants on her street clean and cut the crawfish for the nightly rush, but we still didn’t have a clue how to eat them ourselves. Personally, I think crawfish require more effort than the little meat inside of them is worth, but, it’s rude in China to turn up your nose at any dish on the table, so we observed how everyone else was eating them then gave it a try ourselves. Everything was going along nicely, until lajiao was mysteriously flicked into Mariah’s eye. Lajiao burns the tongue to all ends, so those of you who have tried it can only imagine how it feels in the eye. After repeated calls for shui, the owner brought over a bucket of water so Mariah could flush out her eye. As soon as the pain subsided, he brought us each over a pack of cigarettes from his store as a gift. I’m not sure how a pack of cigarettes can cure lajiao in the eye, but the gesture was much appreciated. One hour later, feigning exhaustion, we excused ourselves from the table. During this hour, Mariah and I acquired two long stem red roses, two packs of China cigarettes, and a table of new friends. We also took one too many shots of beer…

These encounters are one of the reason I love China so much. One minute you are walking down the street, and the next you are seated at a dinner table, drinking beers, and learning to eat crawfish. Even after one year, the randomness and the acts of kindness that China throws at you never ceases to amaze me. During orientation in August, we were advised to say yes as often as we could to new experiences, and it’s something I have never regretted doing. Whether the invitation is spur of the moment from the man that I purchase my odds and ends from, or it’s a well-planned dinner with my favorite student, I make it a point to find time in my schedule to accommodate them. At the end of my first year in China, I will be walking away with a number of new Chinese friends and an armful of stories to share with my friends and family back home.

WorldTeach China Superlatives

After we all voted, my roommate from orientation, Lisa, put together this awesome slideshow with the final results!

CCTV Star of Outlook English Talent Competition

Last term, I was asked to participate in a press conference on CCTV. Despite the fact that I am 100% uncomfortable being on television, I accepted the opportunity as a new adventure. At this press conference, I was introduced to a Chinese woman whose English name is Bay. She speaks impeccable English, and actually spent some time studying in Rhode Island at Johnson & Wales. Ever since that first meeting, it seems that she has put me on speed dial as the go-to Foreign judge for all the English competitions in Yueyang County. In the past month alone I have served as a judge for six different competitions!

This particular string of competitions has been for the CCTV Star of Outlook English Talent Competition. Each contest we select the best students and they continue on to the next level of the competition. Last Sunday, I judged the final round for Yueyang County, the top students from this contest will continue on to the next round in Changsha, and from there they will go to Beijing.

All in all, I judged three competitions in Yueyang city, but the other three were in rural towns spread throughout the county. Despite the fact that I have been exhausted on most weekends, these competitions have allowed me to see the most talented English speakers in Yueyang County. I have also had the privilege of seeing students dance, draw, sing, and play a variety of musical instruments in an effort to increase their scores. It has also introduced me to a number of Chinese teachers who teach English. At one point, I had a discussion with a woman about the pollution in the town we were serving as judges in. She wasn’t afraid to tell me that the factories in the town had caused such severe pollution that the air constantly had a putrid smell to it, the elderly people in the town were all fighting different forms of cancer, and, the food and water was seriously polluted. Of course, she told me this after I ate lunch here…

The final competition I served as a judge in put me in a less than desirable position. I teach at the senior level typically, as a result I asked to judge primary students in all the competitions. I didn’t want serve as a judge to my own students and feel pressured to mark them higher than those students I was not familiar with. Of course, during the final, and most important round I judged middle school through university students. When the time came to announce the winners, it appeared that myself and the two other judges had tied a number of students. Instead of being asked to deliberate our decisions in private, we were asked to publicly choose which student we felt was the best. The resulting tantrums and tears from the faces of students unknown to me made me feel like the Grinch who stole their chances of being stars on CCTV. Of course this level of uncomfortability was amplified when I saw that a Senior 2 student from my school was tied with another student. As if these decisions had not been difficult enough, this student that she was tied with had English abilities that far exceeded her own. In an effort to remain impartial, I voted for the student I thought had the best spoken English, which was not the student from my school.

Two days later, I was returning to my apartment after class when I found a note taped to my door. The note was from the student I had voted against, and she was less than pleased with my final decision. In the end, I decided not to approach this student and confront her with the harsh words she wrote me. In China, these competitions are zero sum, and I imagine that her parents and teachers reprimanded her for not working harder to deserve first place. I also know that many students are promised money, iPhones, iPads, and other expensive gifts as a reward for winning these competitions, which has caused me to feel even worst about my final decision. But, if I had chosen her over the more-deserving contestant, I would have been depriving another student of the same glory and rewards that she had clearly worked hard to obtain. Either way it wasn’t a positive-sum game, regardless of who won, someone else would have to lose. Although the decision wasn’t easy, it was only fair that the most deserving student went home to a stack of 100RMB notes or a brand new iPhone. I may not always like it, but that’s life, and most importantly, it’s China.

WorldTeach EOS Conference

It amazes me that 10-months ago to the day, I boarded a plane at LAX that was bound for China. During that first month in China, I went through highs, lows, and a number of in-betweens with 40 other people who were grappling with the same thing, give or take a few issues. After we each left for our respective sites, most of us continued to stay in contact with one another and serve as a resource to each other. Whether a volunteer needed help planning a lesson, communicating with a liaison, or simply choosing a place to travel to, there was always someone who was willing to lend a hand or a word of advice. So, when we met in Changsha last weekend for the WorldTeach End-of-Service, despite the happy ‘WE DID IT!’ feel to the weekend, I couldn’t help but feeling nostalgic about the past year we spent together. When I joined WorldTeach, I didn’t know a single person I would be serving as a volunteer with, 10-months later I am leaving with 40 friends and colleagues who I will never forget.

For the most part, every issue we ran into was met with a respective “This is China” or “It’s China”. It seemed to help dull the frustration or the pain that the situation we were in caused. As we each move on to our next adventure, whether that adventure be in China or somewhere else, I hope we all continue to remember that despite the problems that life throws at us, a simple “This is China” may not solve the situation we’re in, but it will remind us of the situations we conquered and withstood during our year volunteering in Hunan province. All the best to my fellow WTers, and a special thank you to our Field Director and Assistant Field Director, Teresa and Michaela, you both did an amazing job!

Photo Cred: Patty Bruns

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I have been asking myself, and everyone I know, this question for the past month. Should I stay in China? OR Should I move back to the States and try to find a job? For a few weeks, I was pretty convinced I was going to move back to Boston. My classes were a nightmare, my school wasn’t offering me any solutions, and I had a pipe burst in my kitchen causing a HUGE mess. It was enough to cause me to curl up under the covers with Grey’s Anatomy and a bowl of fried noodles. Things are finally looking up again though. My classes are back to normal, I have judged 5 speech competitions in the past month, and the sun has been making daily appearances through the smog.

Maybe to the people who read this blog, my dilemma seems ridiculous. Who wouldn’t want to spend another year living abroad? It’s an amazing opportunity to continue to learn Mandarin while immersed in Chinese culture. It also gives me the ability to continue my travels through Southeast Asia. But, it also means another year of missed holidays, birthdays, and the like. It will mean a continued strain on some of my friendships, and if you know me well, you know that my friends mean the world to me. Most importantly, I need to think about how another year teaching ESL in China will reflect on my resume. These are the things that are clouding my decision making process.

If I had a job offer in the States, maybe, this would be an easy decision. But, the fact of the matter is, I have actively applied to every job that I qualify for, and I haven’t been successful. On the other hand, I have two job offers in China. The public school that I tutor at on the weekends offered me a position alongside my best friend here. I know that the two of us together could do great things for this small foreign language school. But, I also was offered a teaching position in Shanghai. It’s with EF English First, which is apart of EF Education First, an amazing company that I would love to work for in the future. This job offer complicates my decision making process even more.

So, should I stay or should I go? It’s a question that I have no choice but to answer by Friday. Stay tuned for the answer, because one things for sure, I have no idea what that answer will be!

Two Weekenders Venture to Hong Kong: Part Two

I remember back in October I told someone that I had no interest in traveling to Hong Kong. At the time, I think I was in the mindset that Hong Kong was like any other international city I have traveled to: Western cuisine, tall buildings, and a Starbucks on every corner. Not exactly what I came to China in search for. That is until I gave up Western cuisine, tall buildings, and a Starbucks on every corner did I begin to actually miss all of these things. So, Becky and I headed to HK in search of shopping, eating, and real caffeinated beverages.

We stayed in a new hostel in Causeway Bay, one of the larger shopping districts in Hong Kong, the name was Yessin @ Causeway Bay and I highly recommend it. Although our room had 21-beds, it was spotless and the showers were really nice, a rarity in hostels. It was also within walking distance to a Forever 21 and it was across the street from a Starbucks, which means it could have been infested with roaches and I would have still looked on the upside!

At first glance, Hong Kong can overwhelm even the most savvy traveler. The sidewalks are narrow and crammed with people, the buildings are tall and covered in an array of neon signage, and crossing the street can be an adventure in itself. BUT, the Metro is quite possibly the easiest and most comprehensive one I have ever used. It will take you anywhere in the city you want or need to go. English is in wide use, and travelers have the choice to stay within their comfort zone and eat the Western food they are accustomed to, or they can push the boundaries with some traditional Hong Kong fare.

Becky and I spent the entire first day we were in Hong Kong simply getting accustomed to the different parts of the city. We spent hours shopping in Causeway Bay before heading to Kowloon for burgers, Jameson, and Hoegarden at an Irish Pub. From there, we walked along Victoria Harbour, soaking in the Hong Kong skyline before we took the famed Star Ferry back across to Hong Kong island. Then, it was a night filled with aimlessly walking the streets until we finally managed to find ourselves in SoHo eating Mexican food and drinking Patron margaritas at Taco Loco. Guacamole has never tasted so good. Ben & Jerry’s is also quite enjoyable after a few margaritas!

The next day, our last full day, we vowed to be better tourists and see the sites that Hong Kong has to offer. We awoke early to meet Kevin, a University teacher from Zhangjiajie, then headed to the top of Lantau Island to view the Big Buddha. It’s the world’s largest outdoor seated Buddha statue, which can be reached after climbing a quick 260 steps. There is also a beautiful monastery at the top of the island. Sadly, the hot and humid weather had caused some seriously thick fog and mist, which meant that we only really saw a faint outline of the Buddha and the monastery, but even the faint outline was amazing.

We had made plans to meet an additional World Teach volunteer, Garrick, but our lack of ability to keep track of time meant that we missed him by about an hour. But, we continued to head to the top of the Bank of China building in Hong Kong, which offers some pretty great views of the back of the Hong Kong Island skyline and Kowloon. After that, it was more beer at another Irish pub complete with piled nachos that would have shown Beer Works up. We were searching for another bar to grab drinks at before dinner when we stumbled into a bar called “Castro’s”, yes, as in FIDEL CASTRO. The bar was like a bad scene straight out of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. Dinner that night was awesome, we went to an authentic Indian restaurant, absolutely delicious. The night wouldn’t have been complete if we didn’t take the Star Ferry back across Victoria Harbour to see the skyline lit up in neon lights.

The next morning I was on my own. Becky headed back to Zhangjiajie early, and I didn’t have to leave until after lunch. I took the historic Peak Tram up Victoria Peak and was able to enjoy some great views, despite the fog. I didn’t have enough time to walk down, but I guess that gives me an excuse to escape back to Hong Kong in the future. After that, it was back to the Mainland for me, and then back to Hunan.

My attraction to Hong Kong now has to do with the escape it offers. Even though a person may love China, it doesn’t mean that they don’t miss certain things about living State side. Traveling to Hong Kong offers anyone living on the Mainland a mini-escape back to the United States without having to actually travel to the United States. When I returned to Rongjiawan, I was speaking to a few of the other volunteers who have recently been to Hong Kong, and they commented on the mini-culture shock you experience when you return back to Mainland China. It’s true, even when you spend only 4-days in Hong Kong, it’s so remarkably like being back in the States that when you return back to the Mainland you start to notice things that maybe you had become numb to in the past. If I stay in China next year, I can definitely see myself coming back to Hong Kong, even if it’s only to drink a Patron margaritas and eat guacamole.

Two Weekenders Venture to Hong Kong: Part One

劳动节 or Chinese Labor Day, is celebrated with a three day break, even though the actual holiday falls on May 1st. I spent the week leading up to 劳动节 trying to decide where in China I should travel to, I knew it would have to be a destination that didn’t require a number of hours spent either on a train or bus because I only had 4-days. Plus, the weather in China is rapidly warming, as a result the trains and buses feel as if you have been placed in an oven for roasting. Who wants to spend 27-hours crammed into a train that is 90 degrees? Not me…

One of the many things I love about having a support system of fellow foreign teachers and friends in China is that one minute you are rapidly typing away on your MacBook, and the next minute you are flipping through your Lonely Planet: China travel book planning a weekend in Hong Kong. My conversation with Becky went more or less like this:

Becky: “Have you been to Hong Kong?”

Me: “Not yet!”

Becky: “OH! Wanna go to HK together?”

Me: “OH! That would be really fun! YES!!”

And from there, it was as easy as purchasing our train tickets to Shenzhen and booking a hostel to stay at while we were in HK. We decided to take the fast train because it takes approximately 3-hours, in comparison with the slow train that takes around 13-hours. From Shenzhen, getting into Hong Kong is as easy as taking the MTR to customs, then from customs taking the MTR into HK. Quick. Easy. Painless.

Our fast train left from Changsha, so I booked a train ticket Yueyang to the slow station in Changsha. From the slow station in Changsha, you can take a 45-minute taxi to the fast train station. I arrived at the train station in Yueyang around 45-minutes prior to my train leaving. But, when I arrived at the train station I did not see my train number listed on the board. Confused, I approached a train attendant and pointed to the number on my ticket and the departure time. They began to laugh and pointed at the time on my train ticket. I glanced down at the time in confusion, and for a split second my mind went completely blank. “SHIT!” China uses a 24-hour clock, like much of the rest of the world. Everything I own is set to a 24-hour clock, so this isn’t a mistake I typically make, but apparently I bought a ticket for 2:36 AM, instead of a ticket for 14:36. Frantically, I began to run through all the transportation options to Changsha in my head. Seeing the frantic look on my face, a man approached me and asked where I was going, I told him Changsha, and he pointed to the ticket window and said fast train. I completely forgot that Yueyang had a fast train, which would have been the smarter decision in the first place, considering my train to Shenzhen was leaving FROM the fast train station in Changsha. I like to consider myself to be an intelligent person, but sometimes I really am a dumbass.

After 30 stressed out minutes, I was finally in a taxi on my way to the fast train in Yueyang. This would turn out to be hour 1 of my 12-hour journey from Yueyang to our hostel in Hong Kong. Let the adventure continue!

Dreams Will Come True, Won’t They?

On Saturday I was asked to help judge a speech competition in Yueyang. Last term, I served as a judge at my own school and I remembered how fun it was, so after rearranging a few of my Saturday private lessons I happily accepted the challenge. Why is judging a speech competition for Junior and Senior students such a challenge in China? There were so many students participating in the speech competition that they recruited 9 judges. The 9 judges were split up into 3 groups of 3. Each group was given their own classroom, where they served as judges from 9am-Noon, and from 2pm-5pm. Each student was only allowed to speak for 60-seconds. These are the experiences where I am reminded of how many people there truly are in this country.

The topic of the speech competition was “Dreams Will Come True”. When you are sitting for three hours straight, listening to speeches by students in matching uniforms, only the REALLY good ones stick out. Here are some examples of the the best speeches I heard:

• I had at least 30 students say that there dream was to be a singer. But, one boy in particular had so much enthusiasm when he spoke, I couldn’t help but smile at him. He was literally jumping up and down while giving his speech. At the end of the speech, I asked him what type of music he liked. He named a Chinese singer who I hadn’t heard of, so I asked if he could sing one of their songs. He sang the ENTIRE song for us, and truth be told his voice was amazing. Talk about reaching for the stars.
• All my students are stick thin, boys and girls. So, when a boy walks into a class and he’s a big guy, you pay attention. He also walked into the classroom holding a violin, another reason to perk up. He began his speech by playing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” on his violin, and he played it really well! From there, he spoke about how his dreams had changed from wanting to be a musician, to an actor, to a translator. He spoke in perfectly clear and enunciated British English. That would have been enough for me to give him top points, but then he started talking about how Jack motivated Rose to pursue her dreams in the movie Titanic. I am such a sucker for anything relating to the movie Titanic…
• Directly after the boy who sang his heart out, we judged a girl who spoke about her dream to be a dancer. She spoke about music like some people speak about the people they are in love with. She was shy though, and extremely nervous! But, we still asked if she would dance for us at the end of her speech. When she started to dance, all the shyness just melted away. I wish this had been a talent competition, not an English competition, it would have been so much more entertaining!
• There were a few more students who really caught my eye. One student told me she wanted to be an architect when she grew up. I immediately thought of one of my good friends who is going to University of Texas for graduate school! Out of all the students I heard, she was the only one who said that she wanted to be an architect when she grew up.
• I saw another student whose English was quite good. But, I can’t remember what she spoke about because when she was done the judge to the right of me started to ask her questions. He told her that her clothes weren’t fashionable enough and that she should wear make-up if she makes it to the next round. This sounds innocent enough, but we judged students who were ALL in jeans, sneakers, and school issued track jackets. They aren’t allowed to dress fashionably while in school. Chinese girls also aren’t even allowed to wear make-up until they are at least 18-years old. Even then, most Chinese girls will never wear make-up. The best part: when he asked her to wear make-up she looked him straight in the eye and said “I don’t think I need make-up”. Get it girl!
• Most of the students that we judged were nervous. They were so nervous that they stuttered, forgot their speeches, one girl even cried outside the classroom before she had to come in. One girl who forgot her lines completely clearly had great spoken English, so the judge to the right of me decided to ask her a few questions. The question he asked this girl literally left me speechless, a VERY rare occasion for an outspoken Bostonian girl. He looked at the girl and asked “Do you consider yourself to be a beautiful girl?”, he followed up this question with “Do many boys pursue you at school?”. The girl understood the question, and the embarrassed look on her face made me livid. In China it is seriously against the rules to date in both high school and University. Of course, it happens, but if your teachers or the school officials find out you are in a relationship, they will quite literally smack you upside the head. I’ve seen it happen! I have become a relatively passive person living in China, there are some things that are cultural, and as a result it is not your place to dictate how parents and/or teachers treat the students. But, this was something that I could not let slide. I looked at him, told him the questions were inappropriate and that she was too young to be asked or answer those types of questions. Not to mention, they were completely irrelevant to the competition. Creep!

The only thing that really struck me, outside of the students who spoke impeccable English, was the number of students who told me that they no longer had time to dream because their days were filled with studying. Those students who were dreaming of the days when they would not have to study from sunrise until bedtime were conscious of the fact that their current dreams lacked the color that their childhood dreams had once had. We had one student look directly at us and ask “Do you have a dream that you are pursuing?”. All I could think of was that my dreams are a little bit unclear at the moment. I have dreams, really big dreams, but those dreams aren’t as colorful as they were smack dab in the middle of my college career. One year post-college, the realism of student loans looming above my head, I have had to reassess the feasibility and accessibility of my dreams. But, for the sake of my students (and my mental stability), I will continue to believe that even our most outlandish dreams will come true. If we don’t have a dream, then what else is there to strive towards?