Life in China, Thus Far ...

Hi friends!

So, we've been in Wuxi for about five days now, and I have been falling in love with my new life here. I've been gaining a sense of independence and control that comes with spending more time in a place, and I'm really looking forward to continuing that trend over the next few months. It feels so good to be settled, to be getting into a routine, and to finally start immersing myself in China. The little tasks that wouldn't be difficult at home are big accomplishments here, and it's been fun to overcome these hurdles, one by one.

Two days ago, Jones and I went to purchase the SIM cards that we will need for our phones. At first we weren't even sure if we were at the right place, but we managed to communicate what we wanted, and a cute little staff member who was giving people numbers to be helped was eager to assist us. She directed us to the other staff member, who helped us pick out our phone numbers (I've heard that Chinese are sometimes very supersticious about what numbers they get), our calling plans, and filled out our paperwork for us. From my understanding, we'll just get to reload our cards when our minutes and / or our texts run out. It took a lot longer than I expected, but probably because we were both struggling to speak each other's languages. So far, it seems as though very few people speak English here, which is forcing me to rely on my Chinese more than I expected to, I guess. It's still really frustrating at times, and I know I should be practicing more than I am, but I think that getting out and about and being forced to come up with words will prove to be really beneficial.

We made it through our SIM card experience with success, and then turned our attention to some of the shops on campus, where they sell some cheap clothes and stuff. (For the record, I got my first pair of leggings ... I know I'm behind the times, but this was my introduction to the world of fashion that I have ignored for the last four years ... ) Our shopping spree continued into the next day. Jones and I decided to make a day trip for the markets in Shanghai! We were excited about the opportunity to take the bus and the train by ourselves, which we did with no problems. When got there, we had some trouble finding a taxi and getting them to know what market we wanted to go to, but we eventually found the place.

WHAT SENSORY OVERLOAD! Holy moly. I'd never been to a market like this before; it was unlike anything I'd ever seen! You want a purse? Well, you've got about 500,000 right down this row. Are you looking for high heels? Come to this quadrant of the market. You'll see some of the craziest shoes you can imagine - but they might not come in your size, just to warn you. (A woman stared, with open mouth, at my feet when I asked for my size eight ...) How 'bout wallets? Belts? Jewlery? Jeans? Shirts? Blouses? Tights? Makeup? Products upon products upon products ... I actually couldn't believe it. It made buying anything really, really difficult because of the sheer number of options that were before you. Literally any style you could think of was there, anything you could ever want for your wardrobe. And we were only in a tiny section of the market! There was so much that we didn't see. We spent probably two hours looking for just purses! (I did snag a great big bag, though :) ) I also got a pair of knee-high boots, a pair of flat sandals, a blouse, a sweater, a hair dryer, some eye shadow, a belt, lunch, and a train ticket back - all for about $80, which isn't bad for a shop-till-you-literally-drop kind of day. I hope to take anyone who visits me to this market. It will overwhelm you. Our next mission is to find out what the shopping in Wuxi is like. We imagine that there will be big markets, but perhaps not to the same scale. We'll see!

After all the wonders of yesterday, today I hope to take it easy for a bit. I plan on uploading pictures from our trip and posting some if I can, and then tonight a bunch of the teachers are getting together for a dinner and a night in Wuxi. I'm very pumped, as everyone we've met so far has been simply awesome. It's like summer camp or freshman year in college; everyone is cool and just wants to make friends! Yay, fun. :)

Till then, I've complied some of my observations about the craziness that is China. I'm sure I'll come up with many more in the next few weeks and months, but this will start me out:

Here are some things that I like about China:

• The hospitality and respect that many give to guests / foreigners. Case and point: Hao's uncle, who speaks no English at all and could not communicate with us, not only rented a van so that he could pick us up from the airport when we first got in, but he also took a day off of work so that he could drive us to our university when we returned. He paid for all the gas, bought us lunch, and did nearly all of the lugging of our luggage up six-seven flights of stairs. What incredible kindess! Also, a friend of Hao's, who also didn't speak English and couldn't communicate with us, took the other two shopping when we first got here, and then took us all out for a delicious meal. It's just amazing that even in spite of communication barriers, people are so willing to go completely out of their way to make us feel welcome.
• Warm water served at every restuarant (rather than glasses of cold water). Hao says it's good for the kidneys, or something. He has lots of theories about Chinese medicine, but I just like that that means I can drink it!
• That you can take a 15 minute taxi ride in downtown Shanghai for about 25 yuan ($4). Split between a group, this is highly convenient. Plus, the taxis are metered, so you're pretty much not going to get ripped off. And, many taxi drivers here seem to be exceptionally friendly. It's awesome.
• Communal eating. You can get such a wide variety of dishes for so cheap, and then you all share them. It's a nice tradition, I think. (No more eating-one-dish-on-the-cheap-and-feeling-so-bored-with-it, as in India!)
• The excellent rail system! I can go pretty much anywhere by train here. The whole country is connected, and it's so cheap.

Here are some things I find funny about China:

• The fact that when you go to a China Mobile store (just imagine an ATT or US Cellular store in your head ... it's kind of like that), they don't sell phones. They sell only SIM cards. Is it because they know you're just going to buy a brightly colored phone on the street for 10 USD? Probably.
• With the abundance of knockoff goods, I wonder why anyone here bothers to buy "the real thing." (But they do.) Why should I spent $1000 USD on a designer handbag, when I can get an excellent imitation for $15?
• Not just that women wear high heeled shoes all the time, but that they most often wear them with ankle-high nylons. I don't care if it helps blisters, this is not a good look.
• That blondes draw so much attention here. Many, many people approach us asking if they can take photos with us. (Katrina gets it the worst, since she is the most blonde.) They tell us our hair and our eyes are beautiful (there's an obbession in Asia with "double eye-lids" - some girls even have surgeries done so that they can have eyelids ...). Jones had a friend who apparently, while teaching in China, contemplating dying her hair brown so that she wouldn't get so much attention all the time!
• English translations in general (see engrish.com ... a guilty pleasure ...), but especially the giberish that is on the shirts that are popular among young Chinese girls. I should start writing these things down.

Here are some things that confuse me about China:

• How there can be one street with 10 stores selling the same crap: kleenex, gross packaged snacks, plastic strainers and buckets, ramen noodles, and cheap purses. Is it because there's no Target around? How are these stores all making profits? Where do they get all their plastic crap from?
• Where do they get their real / fake Uggs, Converse, Raybands, Northface, Gucci, etc. stuff?!? If these things aren't real - how do they get such good imitations? This blows my mind.

Here are some things that I don't like about China:

• Why, with a country as technologically advanced, they can't figure out how to sell their train tickets online. Remember that I loved the rail network? Well, you can't buy your train tickets anywhere else except the station that you are departing from, and if you get there too late and the train is filled - well, your loss.
• NO QUES! (Que. Gosh. Who am I turning into? In American-speak, I used to use the word - LINE.) There aren't lines here. When they call boarding for something, EVERYONE gets up at once and feels the need to push and shove everyone in their sight to get an edge over a person. It doesn't matter if you're 80 years old (an elderly women kept hitting me and Jones in the back with her large bag the other day at the train station, trying to get ahead of us) or a large burly man - you WILL try to get to the front of the mass of people. Calm down everyone, and form a line. It's also very customary for people to just skip you when you're waiting in line. Whether you're ordering ice cream at McDonald's, trying to catch a taxi, or buying train tickets at the station - you have to stand your ground so that no one gets in.
• The people that hoard you at the markets, trying to get you to buy their fake (or real?!) products. They sometimes act really nice. For instance, when we asked the info desk at the market in SH where we could buy cell phones, a man swooped in to help us find the right stores. After taking us through all the weaving isles of a consumer's paradise, he sprung on us that he had a shop, and wanted us to look at his ... whatever he was selling. Later, upon asking where we could find a bathroom, a woman swooped in, super chatty and friendly, just like the man, and showed us the bathrooms (though we could have found them by ourselves after getting directions). She waited for us, and then tried to get us to come to her store. That's not as annoying to me, though, as when they follow you, stalking you around for minutes after you reject them, trying to get you to come. After awhile, it's hard to stay polite. I also hate when they grab your arm, trying to get your attention. I do not act kindly to that. I realize they're just trying to make a living, but if I said no the first time, I won't be changing my mind.

So, it's a crazy place ... but I'm so glad to be here! I hope to update again once I start my classes; I'm sure that will be another remarkable experience!