Ok wrapping up orientation:
The last day consisted of our usual survival language lessons. Then met with our lesson planning classes, and went to a debriefing by Kelvin, our ever cheerful and wonderful program coordinator. I wish I had gotten a picture with him. We went over departure times for the next morning, and some other info.
Lunch rolled around about 12:30 and there was an optional walking tour of the city. I believe it went to the art street area, and I'm a little ashamed to say I opted for a nap instead of seeing the city. I hate to waste an opportunity like that, but jetlag was still getting the best of me, and the busy week was taking its toll. The nap was wonderful if it counts for anything.
That night we had a fancy group dinner at the hotel. I couldn't tell you what my favorite dish was, but there was a lot of deliciousness. After dinner we had the good fortune to experience a magic show by Felice (who was placed in Baoding with me, actually, at a different school). It was awesome, as I've come to expect from her.
By this time in the week, my clothing and other bag contents had basically taken over my hotel room (still no roommate). So i had a fun time gathering them, refolding everything, and squeezing it all back in to my bags to head to the airport at 9 the next morning.
The Airport
We flew into PVD (Pudong) at the beginning of this adventure, but now we were leaving from Hongqiao. We left our lovely assistant (CIEE staff member Tom) to check in, and met our first obstacle. We were quite a sight, the 8 of us foreigners (4 for Baoding, 4 for Beijing on the same flight to Beijing) with our luggage stacked high on our carts, and the confusion clear on our faces. We get to the counter together, and are told that 1 bag is permitted, and under 20kg at that. Ha. With some fabulous leader-ing by Mar, and about $100 (US) per person, we were past the obstacle and heading for our gate. Everything else went smoothly.
Hello Beijing, Goodbye Beijing!
A quick flight later (2-3 hrs maybe) we arrived, collected our bags without incident (i know! amazing!), and were off. Jesse (the other CIEE student assigned to my school) and I met our contact (who spoke no English but had our names on a sign) and became separated from the group without a good bye (there were a few sniffles when i suddenly had to come to terms with the real world, rather than the Shanghai fantasy land). Luckily, they are close enough in Beijing that we will visit, so I won't worry about that too much. Then we got into a van and started the 3 hour drive to Baoding.
It was hot (no AC in the car), it was humid, it was smoggy, and man was I exhausted. But we got there.
Baoding!
It was around 6 when we arrived in our new home and met our Waiban (foreign affairs office contact) Li Yanhong, and were shown to our rooms. I think they were a little stunned by the amount of crap we (ok... I) had brought.
We dumped our stuff, and were led to the dining hall. I was told (at least from what I understood through my delirium and the language barrier) that I needed to eat because the next morning I was leaving for the capital of Hebei province to redo all of my medical examinations, and I had to fast from that night until the blood was drawn. I was less than excited. We grabbed food (they had the cook keep some food warm in the dining hall from us, even though dinner was over.)
Left to my own devices that night, I freaked out. I wrote out a lot of what I was feeling:
"the word of the day is overwhelming. so beyond overwhelming. i didn't even realize how strongly i am attached to my routines. how bizarre it feels to step into a situation where i cannot communicate effectively, have no transportation, no freedom, no idea of the rules. no familiarity. i have everything i need, and much more. i have a roof, a bed, air conditioning, a water cooler, a small fridge. perhaps most comforting, i have a fellow american who can share my complete sense of helplessness, and i have the internet. i'm not cut off, i just feel like i am.
i wish i could take a picture and show you what my glasses looked like at the end of the day. i haven't touched them, but they are grimy and dirty, as is the rest of me. i need a shower, but im just not ready to delve into the world of chinese showers. not to say there's anything wrong with them, i just need the time to process a few other glaring oddities and curveballs first. plus i just used my only towel to mop up the water that keeps inexplicably pooling under the fridge. note: chinese showers involve a bathroom with a drain in the floor, and a shower hose. there is no separate area for showering and using the toilet, in fact they can now be done simultaneously. and with the help of the bathroom mirror, i hear the typical male chinese shower occupant can shave as well, completing the trifecta of 's's (shit, shave and shower). every man's dream?" For the record: the shower was totally fine. The water was delightfully hot, and the water pressure was surprisingly good. It's still a little strange though, and i haven't mastered the art of not getting everything on the bathroom counter soaked. and 
no cabinets or anything. Ok back to what i wrote the other day:
"i discovered a brand of chinese snack crackers that taste exactly like ritz bits.
i have a curfew of 10pm.
i'm not used to the noises (the toilet -- unfamiliar in itself -- is constantly running, the water heater is gurgling, the water cooler bubbling, the building creaks and footsteps put me on edge), the smells, the sights, the feel of being constantly dirty, or the interactions. i have it so much better than any local in my position (teaching); higher salary, better accomodations (and free), but i still am craving the comforts of home.
i feel as though i have so many obstacles to deal with tomorrow. getting a calendar. asking what age i'm teaching. getting text books and creating a lesson plan. finding somewhere (with the help of my FAO/ Waiban) to print passport pictures. finding meals. navigating campus. putting money on my meal card. figuring out where the bugs that keep falling on me are coming from. buying trashbags, cleaning supplies, dishes, a pillowcase without blood stains (at least they provided the one set), and so much more. groceries -- a whole other obstacle. i dont know what most produce sold here is, much less how to prepare it. i dont know what the kitchen situation is. i have to go to the capital of the province by train to go to a major hospital to redo all the medical evaluations i enjoyed doing so much a couple months ago. bloodwork, x rays, ekg, chest xray. all of which i already provided and paid for, now i get to pay for it again. our waiban is also resistant to sending someone with us. i dont know how she expects us to successfully get to the city (a place i don't even know the name of right now) alone. she asked us if we would prefer an escort, to which we pretty emphatically confirmed. she hemmed and hawed, and said we'll discuss it later, which is the closest to a straight no i've ever received from the chinese. note: saving face is so important in this culture. they will not come out and say no to anything. protip: never ask for directions. it is completely useless. even if the individual has no idea what you're talking about, or where said place is, they will enthusiastically tell you exactly which direction to head in to save face.
so far we've met nobody that speaks english fluently. our waiban has very good english, but there are still major communication gaps at times. it will be impossible for me not to improve my chinese.
it is so hot and muggy and the smog was terrible. i think it will begin cooling down soon. i suppose i was mislead about Baoding being a "health city". maybe tomorrow will be more clear. drove through a lot of agriculture to get here. didn't see much if any of the city. so many questions still. a lot of anxiety, and lot of emotion.
arrived and immediately met the waiban, took our bags to our rooms (fifth floor of the foreign experts building.) we are next to each other which is nice. then were told about needing to redo medical crap, but we couldnt do it tomorrow because we didnt bring 8 passport photos (waiban was frustrated) but we were never told to. we had no previous contact with the school. then she collected our passports, took us to the dining hall to grab some food which i still haven't touched but didn't look too bad. rice and a dish with green beans and maybe tofu, and a couple other options. they kept it open for us which was nice, and said that we needed to load our meal cards with money for next time, but this one was free. then brough the food back (overflowing little plastic to go container which has already made a mess that i have nothing to use to clean up. i need trash bags. brought the food to the rooms but then had to go put a deposit and buy a bottle of water for the water cooler. enjoyed carrying that sucker up 5 flights of stairs (ok i only carried it 3 floors then jesse took it).
the computer teacher (another asian woman. everyone we've met or seen so far has been an asian woman mid 20s ish except the waiban who is closer to 40 i'd say) came to hook up our internet. maybe she had never encountered linux because she was a bit baffled. that took a little work but it got sorted thankfully, and yay internet.
so so much. sensory overload. emotional overload. "
Anyway wow I have a lot to say, and I have to head to classes now, so I will finish and be up to date (!) hopefully by tonight.
The last day consisted of our usual survival language lessons. Then met with our lesson planning classes, and went to a debriefing by Kelvin, our ever cheerful and wonderful program coordinator. I wish I had gotten a picture with him. We went over departure times for the next morning, and some other info.
Lunch rolled around about 12:30 and there was an optional walking tour of the city. I believe it went to the art street area, and I'm a little ashamed to say I opted for a nap instead of seeing the city. I hate to waste an opportunity like that, but jetlag was still getting the best of me, and the busy week was taking its toll. The nap was wonderful if it counts for anything.
That night we had a fancy group dinner at the hotel. I couldn't tell you what my favorite dish was, but there was a lot of deliciousness. After dinner we had the good fortune to experience a magic show by Felice (who was placed in Baoding with me, actually, at a different school). It was awesome, as I've come to expect from her.
By this time in the week, my clothing and other bag contents had basically taken over my hotel room (still no roommate). So i had a fun time gathering them, refolding everything, and squeezing it all back in to my bags to head to the airport at 9 the next morning.
The Airport
We flew into PVD (Pudong) at the beginning of this adventure, but now we were leaving from Hongqiao. We left our lovely assistant (CIEE staff member Tom) to check in, and met our first obstacle. We were quite a sight, the 8 of us foreigners (4 for Baoding, 4 for Beijing on the same flight to Beijing) with our luggage stacked high on our carts, and the confusion clear on our faces. We get to the counter together, and are told that 1 bag is permitted, and under 20kg at that. Ha. With some fabulous leader-ing by Mar, and about $100 (US) per person, we were past the obstacle and heading for our gate. Everything else went smoothly.
Hello Beijing, Goodbye Beijing!
 |
| first view of Baoding: somewhat underhwelming |
Baoding!
It was around 6 when we arrived in our new home and met our Waiban (foreign affairs office contact) Li Yanhong, and were shown to our rooms. I think they were a little stunned by the amount of crap we (ok... I) had brought.
We dumped our stuff, and were led to the dining hall. I was told (at least from what I understood through my delirium and the language barrier) that I needed to eat because the next morning I was leaving for the capital of Hebei province to redo all of my medical examinations, and I had to fast from that night until the blood was drawn. I was less than excited. We grabbed food (they had the cook keep some food warm in the dining hall from us, even though dinner was over.)
 |
| the water cooler was really unexpected and awesome =] |
"the word of the day is overwhelming. so beyond overwhelming. i didn't even realize how strongly i am attached to my routines. how bizarre it feels to step into a situation where i cannot communicate effectively, have no transportation, no freedom, no idea of the rules. no familiarity. i have everything i need, and much more. i have a roof, a bed, air conditioning, a water cooler, a small fridge. perhaps most comforting, i have a fellow american who can share my complete sense of helplessness, and i have the internet. i'm not cut off, i just feel like i am.
 |
| bedroom -- sorry it's so messy |
no cabinets or anything. Ok back to what i wrote the other day:"i discovered a brand of chinese snack crackers that taste exactly like ritz bits.
i have a curfew of 10pm.
 |
| the bathroom! |
i feel as though i have so many obstacles to deal with tomorrow. getting a calendar. asking what age i'm teaching. getting text books and creating a lesson plan. finding somewhere (with the help of my FAO/ Waiban) to print passport pictures. finding meals. navigating campus. putting money on my meal card. figuring out where the bugs that keep falling on me are coming from. buying trashbags, cleaning supplies, dishes, a pillowcase without blood stains (at least they provided the one set), and so much more. groceries -- a whole other obstacle. i dont know what most produce sold here is, much less how to prepare it. i dont know what the kitchen situation is. i have to go to the capital of the province by train to go to a major hospital to redo all the medical evaluations i enjoyed doing so much a couple months ago. bloodwork, x rays, ekg, chest xray. all of which i already provided and paid for, now i get to pay for it again. our waiban is also resistant to sending someone with us. i dont know how she expects us to successfully get to the city (a place i don't even know the name of right now) alone. she asked us if we would prefer an escort, to which we pretty emphatically confirmed. she hemmed and hawed, and said we'll discuss it later, which is the closest to a straight no i've ever received from the chinese. note: saving face is so important in this culture. they will not come out and say no to anything. protip: never ask for directions. it is completely useless. even if the individual has no idea what you're talking about, or where said place is, they will enthusiastically tell you exactly which direction to head in to save face.
so far we've met nobody that speaks english fluently. our waiban has very good english, but there are still major communication gaps at times. it will be impossible for me not to improve my chinese.
it is so hot and muggy and the smog was terrible. i think it will begin cooling down soon. i suppose i was mislead about Baoding being a "health city". maybe tomorrow will be more clear. drove through a lot of agriculture to get here. didn't see much if any of the city. so many questions still. a lot of anxiety, and lot of emotion.
arrived and immediately met the waiban, took our bags to our rooms (fifth floor of the foreign experts building.) we are next to each other which is nice. then were told about needing to redo medical crap, but we couldnt do it tomorrow because we didnt bring 8 passport photos (waiban was frustrated) but we were never told to. we had no previous contact with the school. then she collected our passports, took us to the dining hall to grab some food which i still haven't touched but didn't look too bad. rice and a dish with green beans and maybe tofu, and a couple other options. they kept it open for us which was nice, and said that we needed to load our meal cards with money for next time, but this one was free. then brough the food back (overflowing little plastic to go container which has already made a mess that i have nothing to use to clean up. i need trash bags. brought the food to the rooms but then had to go put a deposit and buy a bottle of water for the water cooler. enjoyed carrying that sucker up 5 flights of stairs (ok i only carried it 3 floors then jesse took it).
the computer teacher (another asian woman. everyone we've met or seen so far has been an asian woman mid 20s ish except the waiban who is closer to 40 i'd say) came to hook up our internet. maybe she had never encountered linux because she was a bit baffled. that took a little work but it got sorted thankfully, and yay internet.
so so much. sensory overload. emotional overload. "
Anyway wow I have a lot to say, and I have to head to classes now, so I will finish and be up to date (!) hopefully by tonight.
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