长白山: Part 3

The Changbai Chronicles, as continued from a previous post.

After arriving at Antu and being directed to the long-distance bus station by a friendly shopkeeper, Barney and I were ecstatic to see an empty bus with the word Erdaobaihe written across its window in huge characters. We went up to the official hovering by the entrance and asked where to buy a ticket for the bus. He gave us a funny look, walked over to a nearby throng of people, came back and said, "没有票了 méi yǒu piào le (there are no more tickets)." He then told us that the next bus to Erdaobaihe was leaving at 5:30 the next morning.

长白山: Part 2

The Changbai Chronicles, as continued from part two.

After Barney and I arrived at Yanji Train station, we immediately went to the 售票处 shòu piào chù (ticket office) to buy our tickets for the return journey. We could have possibly bought them earlier, but we still weren't sure about the transportation situation waiting for us at our destination, nor were we totally set on our timetable. But, with transportation looking good and a timetable decided upon, we were ready to buy our tickets for the twenty-four hour return in two days' time.

Unfortunately, China was not ready to sell them to us. The ticket agent informed us that there were no beds for the day we wanted to leave - there were seats, but who wants to sit for twenty-four hours? - nor were there beds for the day after OR the day after that. The earliest we could leave was September 4th, which put me in Nanjing on September 5th, the day after I was supposed to have registered. Awesome.

长白山: Part 1

As explained in my previous post, my friend Barney* and I had planned an excursion to 长白山 cháng bái shān, or "Eternally White Mountain," to begin our year in China. Our itinerary was to be as follows:

8/29     Leave Beijing Train Station on the K215 bound for Tumen
8/30     Arrive at 延吉 Yánjí, take the long-distance bus to 二道白河 Èrdàobáihé, check in at the hostel
8/31     Visit Changbai Mountain
9/1       Check out from the hostel, take the bus from Erdaobaihe to Yanji, board the K216 to Beijing
9/2       Arrive in Beijing
9/3       Take the bullet train to Nanjing from Beijing (me alone)

Arriving

Well, I'm here.

After a tolerable flight across the Pacific, I'm back in Beijing for the fourth time in two years. The pollution is worse than I remember it, which is kind of disturbing because I didn't think it could get any worse. The city, of course, is still just as insane as I expected. Luckily this time I'm a little more comfortable wielding Chinese on the fly, so when the taxi driver couldn't find my hostel, I was able to jump out of the taxi and ask a hotel security guard for directions, and when the hostel receptionist started to make things complicated, I could talk my way through it without having to pull out my translator. I know these sound like pretty small issues, but for me the resolution of each of these issues was still a victory in my mind. They validated my progress in adapting to China and using Chinese. But the biggest validation - in terms of my Chinese progress - came today at the Beijing Train Station.

Leaving

In less than an hour I'll be hopping on a plane to take me to Vancouver and eventually Beijing. It's funny how nonchalant I managed to be these past few weeks about the fact that I'm moving to China for a few years. But now that it's down to the final hour, I admit I'm freaking out a little bit.

You see, since I've been to China a few times now, I know a lot more this time about what I'm getting myself into. Good (or any) customer service, constant central air conditioning, normal toilets, familiar food, and orderly lines are about to become serious luxuries. I'm going to be frustrated by some experience at least once a day. And I'm going to miss so many people who mean the world to me.

So now I'm wondering to myself, why in the world am I leaving? Why leave the country, the culture, and the people that I love so much?

From North to South

To my loyal followers (and any new friends!):

Sorry for leaving everyone in suspense, but I didn't want to make an announcement until all the loose ends were tied. Now that the absolutely final confirmation has arrived, I can tell you all that I will be spending the next academic year at Nanjing University in Nanjing, China.

Nanjing University

That Great Firewall of China...

Hello everyone, I am still alive, still doing relatively well, and still in China. Unfortunately, the place where my internship is located has very unstable internet, which makes it virtually impossible to use my Yale VPN and get around the GFW (Great Firewall).

I don't know how long this connection will last, so a few brief updates:

1. I am loving my internship here. It has exposed me to so many sides of Chinese culture that I would never have seen otherwise.

2. I have been teaching English to two classes of small children (5-6 year olds and 7 year olds), many of which compete for the title of "Most Adorable Little Kid Ever."

3. I am grudgingly learning more about traditional Confucian thought from the teachers here, while trying to demystify certain aspects of Western culture (particularly Christianity).

4. I am almost definitely coming back to China after graduation.

5. I may be going to see Guilin!! (I am all sorts of excited)

6a. I have been an unwilling vegetarian for about 80% of my time here, since the meals are all provided and the Academy is strictly vegetarian.

6b. I actually quite enjoy their take on vegetarianism. The food is surprisingly quite good, and unsurprisingly quite good for your body.

7. My Chinese has improved like crazy. It's amazing.

I will try to provide updates when at all possible, but a full summary of my experiences might have to wait for my return to the States.

Wish me luck!