Nicole's Post

My Time With Natasha

The first 24 hours of my “China experience” was spent in the Beijing airport. I was rather concerned when Natasha first informed me I would have to sleep on a bench with my luggage. “Oh, Don’t worry, I’ve done it a million times. Just try to get as much shut eye as you can.”

It wasn’t as bad as I would have thought, but the thought of sleeping on benches, “a million times” sounds terrible. The toughness that Natasha and others whom travel as much as her impresses me.

When I finally saw Natasha’s smiling face and waiving hand I couldn’t help the joy in my heart from appearing on my face. My sister, gone for months, was now in front of me.

It was strange for me to acclimate to the idea that Natasha didn’t know the area like the back of her hand. In my mind she had been in China for over 3 months. However the reality was that the first 3 months were spent in Hong Kong leaving her with only two weeks in China before I arrived. It was kind of cool to get to know the city with her.

I came to China fully expecting a third world country- like Uganda, which I went to last summer. While many would still say that China is underdeveloped, I don’t think it is in the cities. I felt constantly surrounded by technology, and some systems like their roadways seem even more thought out than those in America. There are things … like smells coming up through the drains and children peeing on the streets that make Chinese cities feel less developed, but still I was rather impressed. I say the cities were exceptionally developed, but the villages aren’t nearly so.

We went out of town for two days to visit an orphanage for disabled children. The disparity between the city and this rural area were astounding. It was almost surprising how similar the area was to Uganda. At first it was rather hard to play with and be with the kids, because we didn’t speak their language, and we didn’t know if there were limitations to handling them with respect to their disabilities. By the end of the first day however, the kids warmed and making funny noises was good enough communication for them.

When I think about it, we are truly blessed to speak a language that much of the world also speaks. Natasha made some Chinese friends from “English Corner” a place where people come to practice their English. We went out with these girls a couple times while I stayed with Natasha. They are so sweet and nice. Except for a few con taxi men, the benevolence of the Chinese people is refreshing. Natasha is studying Chinese but without our friends’ English we wouldn’t be able to have those relationships at all.

We went to a restaurant called Hot Pot on one occasion to eat with 4 other girls. It was an interesting meal, but I have to say I enjoyed watching our food boil in the soupy ‘hot pot’ more than eating it. I loved a lot of the Chinese food that I had, but I found some of it too foreign to my tongue. A lot of the meat was very similar to American Chinese food- I found our “Orange Chicken” from Panda Express very similar to their “Sweat and Sour Chicken.” However there was a potato dish I enjoyed that would probably undergo serious ‘Americanization’ before it was served at Panda.

I think Natasha has gotten a speedy start to making good friends and impacting their lives. While I have often been tired while traveling, Natasha has stricken up numerous conversations that became salty. I now leave China having witnessed that her life here will be anything but a waste.

Late as Usual

So I had said I would update this every two weeks and a little over one month later I am finally getting to it. Thank you for all your patience. My last month has been surprisingly eventful. A little stressful, but a lot of fun.
My first week was chill with only me and one other family here. Then the second week all the other families started coming back from the states, as well as my roommate. That week was spent adjusting and preparing because the following week my sister came for a visit, as well as a group of 14 ppl (two of which stayed in our house). During the two weeks my sister was here we did quite a lot. We helped a family move, I got a job for a couple hours on the weekend, we hit the tourist sites, hung with some of the friends I've made, went to an orphanage for two days, hit up Beijing and explored the city. For all who would like a movie update, while Nicole was here we made a short video of my life in China and you can contact her to see it (if you don't know her contact info, just ask me).
I won't go into detail on our time here cuz I had Nicole write out a little bit about her impression of China, so you can read that to get a newbies perspective.
Although I do want to share some funny moments that have happened to me personally. The first was while I was at the airport waiting for Nicole to come in (that was a whole stinking event on it's own terms), so while I was waiting a man came over and sat next to me. Most Chinese don't speak English so I wasn't expecting anything. But he started speaking to me (in English) and I found out he was a professor here in the city and travels a lot and that's why he was at the airport. One thing to know about Chinese culture is teachers are very respected. So if a professor or teacher says anything you think is wrong or disagree with its usually better not to say anything because it would be incredibly rude and disrespectful. Well as our conversation goes Professor Zhong says to me, "You are very handsome, like a boy". (He was referring to my short hair.) All I could say was "Thank you!" Then he continues to insult me, "You look so young, what are you in middle school? Maybe 11 years old." He says with a smile on my face. haha, I politely laugh and then decide to turn the conversation on him which keeps him occupied until Nicole arrived. Thank you Prof. Zhong, yes I am pretty attractive, call it handsome if you will.
The second story was while Nicole was here, we went out to eat lunch with some Chinese Friends and afterward we were walking around waiting for a taxi/bus. One thing you should know about Chinese Culture is it is not insulting to call some one fat, heavy, big, or even a pig. It is what it is. So you all probably know I am overweight, I admit it. To the Chinese though I am a very fat, extremely fat. So my friend turns to me and says, "Natasha I want to gain weight. Do you have any advice for me?" Take a moment to let that sink in. Wow. There is a first time for everything and that is the first time anyone has asked me for advice on how to gain weight. I told her eat a lot and try to move as little as possible, sense I happen to be the expert here obviously!
Hope these stories made you laugh. That is all they are intended for! I really like all the people Ive met and have been able to hang out with so far and I am really starting to feel at home here. I will try to stay on top of my updates from here on out.
Peace.