Nimen hao
Well folks, as you probably know, I am in Weihai, China for a year as a "Foreign Expert", aka English teacher/professor. I arrived via Beijing on September 1 after more than 24 hours of travel and 50 hours without sleep (always pack early so that you can actually sleep the night before!), and I begin teaching on September 5. This blog will hopefully serve to keep you informed of any happenings in my life, and also provide you access to pictures and to any funny anecdotes or observations.
Since arriving, I have had very little time to rest. Actually, I have, but I have already found ways to keep myself busy. I've met several nice people already who I think will become great friends this year, and my Chinese is slowly coming back to me after a 5 month hiatus. (Yeah, those plans for studying Chinese after the GRE didn't quite pan out). I think it will be much easier to learn Chinese than it was to learn German in Germany, for very few Chinese speak enough English (at least here) for it to be of much help. I am excited about the prospect of learning more and becoming more integrated in the Weihai community. Weihai is a city of about 2.5 million people, so nothing special for China. It is between Beijing and Sanghai on the eastern coast, in Shandong Province on the little peninsula that sticks out towards Korea.
Anyhow, as a Foreign Expert, I am living in a one-bedroom apartment in the Foreign Experts Building. There are a couple of Americans and a lot of Koreans, as Korea is just across a relatively small body of water, and a ferry away, from Weihai. Until September 2 there was also a cool family from New Zealand, but they have since moved out, though I have spent some time getting to know them. My apartment is much nicer than a dorm room, and for that I am thankful. I have my own bathroom, living room with television, and kitchen, though I plan to cook very little as eating out is so inexpensive, not to mention better. In the 3 or 4 days since I have been here, I have spent only about 20 dollars, and I have eaten out almost every meal and also bought many one-time purchases like 8 passport photos, kitchen supplies, and bathroom and laundry supplies. While I am not being paid much by American standards (think 300 or so a month), this salary does allow me to live here without worrying and does provide some means for travel.
Already I have noticed a few aspects of Chinese life that are clearly different from those in America. While the pollution in America is bad, here it is unbelievable. When I arrived in Beijing, though there were few clouds, the visibility was probably less than two miles. It is much better here in Weihai, but still probably worse than Atlanta, which is one of the worst places in the States. Also, the concept of privacy is much different here, or completely lacking, as you will read in my narration of my visit to the doctor. At times people stare on the streets, though this is not too bad and not nearly as bad as I have read in other accounts about China. It appears to be mostly curiosity, and once you show that you know some Chinese, they smile and reply "hello".
One of the most obvious values seems to relate to speed, though this does not always translate to efficiency. This can be observed in several aspects of Chinese life. For instance, building and construction projects abound in Weihai and I imagine in most other parts of China; the one across the street begins at 6am, as I notice every morning.
This is also evident in the driving behavior in China. Though there do seem to be some rules, they appear to be closer to recommendations. On the way from the airport to Weihai, I noticed on several occasions that the signs painted on the street were facing the opposite direction (i.e. we were driving in the wrong lane). This seems to be ok as long as you honk your horn enough to alert other people that this is what you are going to do. Also, if oncoming traffic has already blocked access to the road onto which you wish to turn, it is ok to start turning before the hypothetical turning lane and drive on the wrong side of the road for an extended amount of time.
Perhaps the best example in driving is in regard to the pedestrian crosswalks. These seem to have little importance or significance other than the slight advantage offered by the old "Safety in numbers" adage. Drivers can approach crosswalks by either a) honking their horn to indicate that they are not going to change their trajectory or b) swerve out of the way of the pedestrian. In no case would the driver c) actually stop for the pedestrian. While an interesting sight to observe, it becomes slightly less fun when you are the pedestrian.
Finally, I was forced to observe the desire for speed (without the accompanying efficiency) this morning as I endured the mandatory "full body examination". They certainly didn't miss anything on me. While the standard blood work, blood pressure, eye, weight, height exams were administered, so too were the chest X-ray, thing where they put the electrodes on your chest, and sonogram (can guys get pregnant here?). Anyhow, each procedure takes place in a room where as many as 10 or 20 additional people wait to have the same procedure done. That is, instead of having a separate waiting room, the procedure takes place n the waiting room. Some of these procedures already naturally invasive of one's privacy, but adding lots of strangers to the mix multiplies this effect exponentially. While it would be just as fast to have people wait outside the room in a line (this concept is also foreign), everyone just crowds into the room, thinking it will enable them to get through the procedure more quickly. It doesn't.
Despite all of these things, my time here so far has been better than I could have imagined. Yesterday I spent half a day at the beach and went sailing and saw the biggest jellyfish I'd ever seen (the head was at least 5 feet in diameter and the arms were at least 10 or 15 feet long). It probably would have killed me had I jumped off the boat (one actually did kill a child last year). I've also spent some time wandering around the campus and the area around it, and I have had great food with great people.
I will be posting a few pictures as soon as I take some, of my apartment and the university. Stay tuned.
Since arriving, I have had very little time to rest. Actually, I have, but I have already found ways to keep myself busy. I've met several nice people already who I think will become great friends this year, and my Chinese is slowly coming back to me after a 5 month hiatus. (Yeah, those plans for studying Chinese after the GRE didn't quite pan out). I think it will be much easier to learn Chinese than it was to learn German in Germany, for very few Chinese speak enough English (at least here) for it to be of much help. I am excited about the prospect of learning more and becoming more integrated in the Weihai community. Weihai is a city of about 2.5 million people, so nothing special for China. It is between Beijing and Sanghai on the eastern coast, in Shandong Province on the little peninsula that sticks out towards Korea.
Anyhow, as a Foreign Expert, I am living in a one-bedroom apartment in the Foreign Experts Building. There are a couple of Americans and a lot of Koreans, as Korea is just across a relatively small body of water, and a ferry away, from Weihai. Until September 2 there was also a cool family from New Zealand, but they have since moved out, though I have spent some time getting to know them. My apartment is much nicer than a dorm room, and for that I am thankful. I have my own bathroom, living room with television, and kitchen, though I plan to cook very little as eating out is so inexpensive, not to mention better. In the 3 or 4 days since I have been here, I have spent only about 20 dollars, and I have eaten out almost every meal and also bought many one-time purchases like 8 passport photos, kitchen supplies, and bathroom and laundry supplies. While I am not being paid much by American standards (think 300 or so a month), this salary does allow me to live here without worrying and does provide some means for travel.
Already I have noticed a few aspects of Chinese life that are clearly different from those in America. While the pollution in America is bad, here it is unbelievable. When I arrived in Beijing, though there were few clouds, the visibility was probably less than two miles. It is much better here in Weihai, but still probably worse than Atlanta, which is one of the worst places in the States. Also, the concept of privacy is much different here, or completely lacking, as you will read in my narration of my visit to the doctor. At times people stare on the streets, though this is not too bad and not nearly as bad as I have read in other accounts about China. It appears to be mostly curiosity, and once you show that you know some Chinese, they smile and reply "hello".
One of the most obvious values seems to relate to speed, though this does not always translate to efficiency. This can be observed in several aspects of Chinese life. For instance, building and construction projects abound in Weihai and I imagine in most other parts of China; the one across the street begins at 6am, as I notice every morning.
This is also evident in the driving behavior in China. Though there do seem to be some rules, they appear to be closer to recommendations. On the way from the airport to Weihai, I noticed on several occasions that the signs painted on the street were facing the opposite direction (i.e. we were driving in the wrong lane). This seems to be ok as long as you honk your horn enough to alert other people that this is what you are going to do. Also, if oncoming traffic has already blocked access to the road onto which you wish to turn, it is ok to start turning before the hypothetical turning lane and drive on the wrong side of the road for an extended amount of time.
Perhaps the best example in driving is in regard to the pedestrian crosswalks. These seem to have little importance or significance other than the slight advantage offered by the old "Safety in numbers" adage. Drivers can approach crosswalks by either a) honking their horn to indicate that they are not going to change their trajectory or b) swerve out of the way of the pedestrian. In no case would the driver c) actually stop for the pedestrian. While an interesting sight to observe, it becomes slightly less fun when you are the pedestrian.
Finally, I was forced to observe the desire for speed (without the accompanying efficiency) this morning as I endured the mandatory "full body examination". They certainly didn't miss anything on me. While the standard blood work, blood pressure, eye, weight, height exams were administered, so too were the chest X-ray, thing where they put the electrodes on your chest, and sonogram (can guys get pregnant here?). Anyhow, each procedure takes place in a room where as many as 10 or 20 additional people wait to have the same procedure done. That is, instead of having a separate waiting room, the procedure takes place n the waiting room. Some of these procedures already naturally invasive of one's privacy, but adding lots of strangers to the mix multiplies this effect exponentially. While it would be just as fast to have people wait outside the room in a line (this concept is also foreign), everyone just crowds into the room, thinking it will enable them to get through the procedure more quickly. It doesn't.
Despite all of these things, my time here so far has been better than I could have imagined. Yesterday I spent half a day at the beach and went sailing and saw the biggest jellyfish I'd ever seen (the head was at least 5 feet in diameter and the arms were at least 10 or 15 feet long). It probably would have killed me had I jumped off the boat (one actually did kill a child last year). I've also spent some time wandering around the campus and the area around it, and I have had great food with great people.
I will be posting a few pictures as soon as I take some, of my apartment and the university. Stay tuned.
posted by Mysteries of The Orient at 7:24 PM
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