The Move to Wuhan

The original plan was for me to train in Beijing for three weeks and then move to the city of Wuhan, where my permanent home will be.  However, after a week into training, the Beijing location decided to go ahead and send me to Wuhan.  There is a national holiday coming up and the Beijing location was going to have a whole week off.  However, in Wuhan, we will only have two extra days off, so I went ahead and came here.  I was kind of disappointed, because I didn’t get to explore Beijing at all really.  I was working nonstop the whole time I was there.  However, I moved forward with a positive attitude and knowing that I will return during the year and see some of the sites! 

Working in Beijing was crazy.  I grew up in a small town, so nearly getting ran over every day was not something I was used to.  Pedestrians here have no right away, so you are literally dodging traffic.  Beijing is like New York on crack…!  However, I did enjoy my quick stay there and meeting everyone that I did.   

I have now been in Wuhan for two full days…and I already love it!  Wuhan isn’t as big as Beijing, but it is still a very large city.  However, I love my walk to work much better than in Beijing.  I only have to cross the road once, and it really isn’t a bad intersection.  The walk is so much more peaceful than in Beijing.  Also, the people in Beijing were always in such a hurry.  Here in Wuhan, people are much calmer and relaxed.   

Americans aren’t as common in Wuhan as they are in Beijing, so we do get a lot more stares, but that doesn’t bother me.  Many times, we will get a smile and a hello along with the stare.  The Chinese here love to practice what English they do know.  Also, we pass a middle school on the way to work, to lunch, and back home.  There are always kids in the streets, because at lunch, they are free to leave and go to the stores on the street.  They think we are so funny, and they love to walk behind us and giggle.  Sometimes, they will even work up the courage to say hello…and then I hit them back with a goofy look and a NIIIIII HAOOOOOO (hello in Chinese) and they run away giggling!  I love it! 

Also, it is part of their culture for girls that are friends to walk down the street holding hands, or if you are sitting next to a friend, have a foot touching or a knee touching your friend.  This makes it so easy to be here without family.  The tenderness and caring just radiates from all the girls I work with.  They love to hear about my culture, and they really love it when we ask questions about their culture.  I love teaching, but I love in-between classes just as much!  This is the time when I get to be silly and fun with the two Chinese assistants we have.  Candy and Pat…such sweet girls.  

I will put pictures up soon of the new place I’m living in and the new assistants I’m working with!

First Day in Beijing

My first day in China has been sensory overload! The smells and sounds are all so different here!  Even the plane ride here felt as if I was already in China.  There were only a few Americans on the huge plane.  The culture is amazingly different from ours.  Even the smallest things, such as waiting in line is done so differently than in the States.  

I got here around midnight, and a Chinese assistant from Romp N’ Roll, named Ashley, picked me up at the airport.  She was super sweet!  My roommate Rebecca only had to go to work for a couple of hours, so when she got back we went out to get some of the basics.

For lunch I jumped right in and order some rice with all kinds of crazy vegetables in it!  The smell of the food courts here are insane.  It is hard to describe…almost like an overwhelming smell of all kinds of Chinese sauces put together.  Anyways, my rice was very spicy and it was a huge portion.  However, I couldn’t finish it all because I ran out of water.  Oh yeah…and so by the way, it is completely okay to take outside drinks inside some restaurants around here.  

After lunch, I bought some fruit and snacks for the room from the market.  Then, we were both ready for a nap.  After our nap we went back out and bought a power strip for my computer and dinner.  I had to buy a completely new blow dryer and straightner, because even with a converter here, my blow dryer and straightner will blow up.  The markets here are like mazes.  There is not circular or square motion.  The market actually turned and twisted all kinds of ways.  Without Rebecca, I would have completely gotten lost in there!    

Anyways, tomorrow I start work and full days at work until Monday!  Check out some of the pics below!    

This guy was hanging out in the garden below our apartments.  I'm not sure what he is doing, but it looked neat.

 My new way of drying clothes!

 One of the views from the apartment.

 My room in Beijing.

 My bed in Beijing

 Our washing machine in the kitchen! 

These little guys are so yummy!

Squat Toilet Galore!

Here I am…the final count down!  I leave tomorrow to train in Virginia until Wednesday.  Then, I am home for four days and leave for good.  My boss, Luyin, sent me 54 Fall songs to learn prior to leaving.  I am about halfway through and driving everyone crazy singing them! Also, Luyin told me that the center in Changchun wouldn’t be open when I get there, so I will be working in a city called Wuhan.  I’m not sure if this will end up being my permanent home, or if I will eventually end up moving to the center in Changchun. 

Wuhan is located in central China and is not nearly as “Westernized” as Beijing, Shanghai, or Changchun.  Take a look at Wuhan below.

One amazing tourist spot in Wuhan is the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower:

Legend has it that in Wuchang (wǔ chāng 武昌), there used to be a wine shop opened by a young man named Xin. One day, a Taoist priest, in gratitude for free wine, drew a magic crane on the wall of the shop and instructed it to dance whenever it heard clapping. Thousands of people came to see the spectacle and the wine shop was always full of guests. After 10 years, the Taoist priest revisited the wine shop. He played the flute and then rode on the crane to the sky. In memory of the supernatural encounter and the priest, the Xins built a tower and named it Yellow Crane Tower.

According to records, the tower was first built in 223 A.D during the Three Kingdoms.

Destroyed many times in successive dynasties, the tower was rebuilt time and again until 100 years ago when it was, for the last time, reduced to ashes. The present tower is a complete reconstruction and is the result of four years of work beginning in 1981. Where the old tower was only 15 meters wide, the ground floor of the new structure was increased to 20 meters wide. The tower, 51.4 meters high, is five-storied with yellow tiles and red pillars, overlapping ridges and interlocking eaves, more magnificent than the old one.

Needless to say, I am very excited about seeing the tower!

Before I end my blog for today, let me share another adventure waiting for me….another American girl that worked in Wuhan, prior to moving to Beijing, said that my apartment will have a squat toilet.  Now, I’m not sure if you are aware of what a squat toilet is….but I am just going to refer to it as the THIGH MASTER! Check it out:



Squat toilets are actually very common in China, and in their culture, our toilets are actually seen as unsanitary.  In more Westernized cities, you can find our traditional toilets, but in Wuhan…it is difficult to come across.  Hopefully, it won’t take me too long to master the squat toilet.  All I know is my thighs will be amazing when I get home!

Until next time friends!  7 more days!