Yes, obviously there are challenges that come from the move to a foreign country: language, culture, transportation, food, purchasing, etc. All of these challenges can be overcome with varying degrees of ease. One aspect that is really giving me a hard time though, is the air pollution.
I am trying to direct my thoughts to focus on positives and healing thoughts, rather than focus on how bad I feel: the fact that my lungs are healthy and strong (after all, I've been a runner most of my life), the fact that my lungs will adjust and clear out all the pollutants, and the truth that I need to give my self and my body time to adjust (as my friends and co-teachers here keep reminding me!) The air will continue to clear during spring and summer, while my lungs and body learn not only to purge the pollutants but defend against them. For me, I must hold fiercely to the thought that the feelings and reactions I am currently having will NOT last forever. I do tend to forever-ize circumstances, especially if they are negative or if I bring fearful thoughts into the equation. Luckily, I am surrounded mostly by positive and supportive people who are encouraging me to rest and take it easy; who remind me of the unavoidable adjustment period, and my work schedule allows plenty of time for rest. I will be okay, if I remember that I will be, and that this period of not-feeling-good will pass. I also need to remember to give myself permission to take it easy, and allow myself time to adjust to life in China in all areas. I want to focus on the good parts, of which there are so many! After all, everything is pretty good here in China; the only down side really, honestly, is the air pollution! And once again, the government is making huge strides to reduce it! I will count on the rest of the year being better, and next year as well. Right now, I will focus on rest, hydration, allowing myself to take it easy, and all the good aspects I am experiencing... more on that coming up!
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One of the aspects of travel and living abroad that I LOVE is rummaging around foreign (to me) grocery stores! As a former Chef, I still love looking at ingredients and food stuffs; I find what non-American cultures eat incredibly interesting, amazing, and not uncommonly completely unknown and new to me! It's so fun!
That said, I spent yesterday (literally, 4 hours) in Ito Yokado, our local Japanese supermarket chain. And it was definitely super! Three floors of overwhelming super-ness! ...After wending my way through the store two nights ago after the movie, getting lost, and finally having a store clerk walk me to the exit (!), I was determined to return and conquer Ito! Fighting! (Don't have Hangul keyboard so I can't translate that properly.) Ito is connected to a multi-story mall that contains the cinema where me and a group of new friends went to see Black Panther Friday night. I was sure I could follow P.'s simple directions to exit the mall and walk through Ito to the street that would lead me home, a short two blocks away. I was wrong! It took me a while to navigate the mall's escalators, which were nowhere near eachother going down or up! Then, I became confused by the entrance of Ito (a separate entrance on every level), because I couldn't see the "grocery" floor, and knew that floor led me to the street. So, up and down, down and up, around and around...finally! Found the grocery level, but could not find the damn exit. It was amusing at first, but then, I just wanted to go home after a long week! This wonderful clerk who spoke a bit of English escorted me personally to the exit and I walked home, relieved, exasperated, and feeling like a bit of a dolt! Next time, I will allow my friends to walk me exactly where I need to go until I am truly familiar with my surroundings. Perhaps being too independent is not a strength in all situations. I am so used to doing everything on my own that I do notice my tendentiousness (sorry, that's one of my fav words LOL! Have to use it when I can!)... Please click on "Read More" link to the right... Ok, had my first big challenge of the week last night; the challenge that comes from not being able to speak the local language, not being able to reach any English-speaking help, and thus, feeling powerless, afraid, and anxious. Not to worry, it was not an emergency, but resulted in a lot of frustration and heightened anxiety, and was too reminscent of some experiences that happened in Korea. When my mind started racing about all the negative results and bringing forth memories of times I was alone and helpless in Korea, I started to feel upset.
Basically, my power went out. Long story short, it was restored within 30 minutes, after much hand-gesturing and the help--big help-- of our complex's maintenance man. But the experience made me decide to prioritize buying a new phone that can work on 4G so I have service outside my damn apartment, and getting more info immediately on what utility bills need to be paid when. More on this first true challenge in Chengdu later! For now, I have power, literally and physically/emotionally/mentally, and I will focus on that! :-)) ... with Chengdu, that is!
... and my new school! ... and my coworkers! ... and the ease and modernity of life here in China! Down the elevator from my 18th floor flat, a delightful walk over garden stones, underneath shapely trees shyly offering buds to Spring, and past a calming pond, a short set of stairs leads to an underground shop in my complex where I order WiFi service. Within an hour, the service man knocks. He does his magic, and I have WiFi and cable. He kindly follows my gestures and shows me how to work the flatscreen controls and even my heater. Next is the order for bottled water, to refill my 5-gallon system. The future procedure will be to text the water service and wait; they arrive within 15 minutes. Today, my relocation assistant, Yan, sets an appointment, and they arrive. On time. I discover a problem with my shower, and maintenance is called. The response to my query of whether they will come the following day or next week is a perplexed grin from Yan and "No, we will wait, they will come now." And within 10 minutes, another knock. "Oh my! [Thank the gods] we are not in Kansas anymore, Toto!" Much of this happens on Sunday, too! WiFi costs 199rmb per month. Bottled water is 22rmb, including delivery and machine maintenance. Monthly cell service is 80rmb, which includes a new SIM. 100rmb=$15 for perspective. Transactions occur via text on WeChat, which is linked to your bank account. Text the water company, the fee is paid electronically the dude shows up with a 5-gallon bottle and takes away the empty bottle. 15 minutes and $3 later. There is so much more, too much more; it's all a jumble in my brain as I am still slightly time-zone-change-zombified (It's Wednesday, I woke up at 3:30 :-)) I don't know which amazes me the most: the friendliness of the locals, the modernity that surpasses the US in every way, the ease and speed of services, the helpfulness of my co-teachers, the physical beauty of my new school... there is too much to appreciate! Strangers walk past, openly stare (I stick out slightly;-)), but offer a smile to match mine and greeting "Nihao!" The stares do not appear rude or intrusive, but openly inquisitive and surprised--as though I am a new species of zebra with purple stripes, or a Unicorn! LOLOLOL! (Of course, I am!) I can't get over how friendly everyone is, I mean, not every single person, but 90+ percent of all ages and genders! This is a way of relating I have sorely missed. Texas has changed over the years, and people no longer meet your eyes on the street: when passing someone, I seek eye contact, and most avert their eyes to their phone or elsewhere and only respond with a greeting if I shock them out of their self-imposed box with a "hello". This experience was magnified in Austin, no longer a friendly city in a friendly state. I experienced the same in Korea, where it was rare to be met with eye contact and a smiling greeting on the street. But here, Chengdu, oh my Shangri-La! I am bombarded by wave after wave of connection and welcome and friendliness, so much that I feel a sense of happiness rise from walking down the street! My apartment is amazing, though I am not settled nor comfortable yet (It's only Day 3, G!). Although it was relatively clean, I want it spotless and new, to match my desire to start fresh and new. My amazing co-teacher, P. --oh, I must tell you about how much she has done for me and helped me and guided me and wlecomed me and befriended me-- referred her cleaning service to me, so I will get a deep clean on Sunday. Can you guess how much it will cost? No, you cannot, because it is too unbeleiveable. The woman I connected with, after inquiring as to the size of my apartment and what I needed, quoted my a price of 40rmb per hour, with a minumum of 5 hours required. Sounds right to me! Those are hours of my time that I don't have to spend cleaning, since I am transitioning and every day is new with new challenges and new duties at school, and so much to do...5 hours at 40rmb is $30US. Yep, you heard it, $30US. This is why P has the cleaning service come every week or two, and her apartment only needs maintenance cleaning of an hour or two! OMG Like I said, Shangri-La!!! I have a huge (to me) two bedroom flat, with wood floors, an enclosed balcony, and laundry room with washer. The flat came furnished with a king-size in the master bedroom and a full-size in the guestroom, a flat screen TV, and pretty much everything I need except kitchenware and decor. If I was penurious, I would need to buy nothing except cookware, dishes, and towels and such. But there is an IKEA four miles north, and my friend will be sending me my artwork in the future, and I will soon learn the magic of ordering everything from WeChat off TaoBao, so I will have this lovely flat personalized soon! Speaking of ordering online: Chinese and foreigners living in China buy so much online. All bills, services, and fees are paid via apps, food and groceries that are delivered to your door at a specified time and day (on time!) are ordered via apps, taxis and bike rentals are paid through you bank account connected with WeChat... pretty much everything is done via WeChat or apps! I (finally, thank you all the gods) can rid myself of this POS iPhone, because all of China is on 4-5G, so my phone, even with new SIM, doesn't connect to the Net very well out of the house or away from a WiFi signal, so I get to buy a new truly smart phone - either an excellent Chinese brand, or a Samsung. (You know I hate this iPhone and wanted a Samsung in the first place, so "having" to buy a new phone is more like a gift!) My co-workers try to convince me to get the Chinese brand, it is less expensive than a Samsung, so I will try to be open-minded and not such a Korea-loyalist, LOL! I am in China after all, so it is time to become a China-Loyalist, which becomes easier every day, with each interaction! (I still sarangae daehan minguk!) And bikes... oh you should see the people on bikes... more bike riders than drivers! There are rental bikes everyewhere! You rent one, and leave it on the sidewalk. No hyperbole when I say everywhere! And the traffic congestion on the bike lanes is high during peak times, LOL! I heard the far-off music again, and went to my bedroom window. The beat is not really from afar, although it seems muted fas it swims up from so far below my window in the sky. It sings up to me as through water, blurred, humming. The ajjumas* are dancing again. I watch them sway and try to pick out the strings being plucked. Or is it the sound of a flute that that floats up through the turbid currents? It fills me with a sense of happiness to watch them; my gaze turns toward the city as I relax into the beat. I sense of peaceful vibrations flowing to me from the city. I look out and I see life: happy life. That is the vibe that washes toward me in my window so high above; waves of "good vibes" gently frothing the shore of my soul.
It feels good to be here. It feels right. The city sends me an energy of delight and welcome and contentment--an energy lacking in the small city in which I previously resided. I am grateful for this welcoming and content-filled energy that I feel from the lights that dance along, with or without music. **"Ajumma" is Hangul (Korean) for mature woman, older woman, middle-aged or above woman. My mind still revert to Hangul when I can't find a word I seek, even though the Chinese culture is extremely different from Korean. It’s Monday, March 5th and yesterday was a rather drowsy blur, so I’ll start by stating that today is my first day. Today is my first day of school; today is my first day after a full-night’s, same time zone, sleep; today is the day I get to do more paperwork and errands related to obtaining my resident work visa (the “real thing”), such as going to the hospital for medical tests (oh goodee!); today is the day I meet my kids and fellow teachers for the first time; and today is the day I might feel a bit normal since I’m not in a time-zone-change-induced stupor. Not to mention a nice shower since I haven’t taken one since France.
I arrived to little fanfare except the drumroll of my excited heart, landing on China soil for the first time ever at 5:36am. Little external fanfare but much ease in processing through customs and getting my baggage. It felt like a small airport for such a large metropolis, although apparently Chengdu is still considered “country” in many respects. Reflection, June 14, 2018, 3 months later... see next post... |
Having......gallivanted across Paris, I have made it to Chengdu! As of 2021, I am headed back to China, this time to Shanghai! Archives
March 2021
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