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Published: February 5th 2013
Happy almost New Years! Chinese New Years at least. : ) Well, I’m a few weeks into my vacation and honestly it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve last worked. I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this! So anyway, my first trip so far was to Guangzhou to visit some foreigner friends. I got to talk with people who fluently knew English, eat some pizza and other western foods, and just enjoy each day without rushing. I made it so I got to have a plan for each day without being too busy.
I arrived in Guangzhou on the 19 of January and was greeted by a couple who helped me navigate the metro from the airport to the campus area where they stay, which is far south. It took an hour and a half one way, so I was very encouraged that they not only spent the extra money, but really took their own time to come and get me so I wouldn’t get lost. They also surprised me with an encouragement date my first night. It turned out to be a quintuple date with four pairs of us hanging out and eating good food all night.
I actually had a Chinese student as my date and he was very nice. His English almost sounds British and we had fun getting to know each other and both being bad at a dancing video game on the X-box.
The next day was pretty much a hang out day. We got together at a friend’s house to hear a message and after that we just stayed… and stayed… and ate and stayed some more. It was really cool because I feel I can be isolated in Nanchang. Sometimes it’s my own fault, but sometimes it just because no one is there. It actually felt pretty overwhelming at some points, and I had to hide away for a bit to get myself under control again. It was great though because after hearing the message we had lunch, and then there was talking, and games and then I actually stayed because the person who brought me there left and I didn’t know how to get back, but it was still a good time to meet more people and hear some awesome stories.
On Monday I actually got to encourage someone else other than myself. It turned out that someone
was getting married and I offered my help which was gratefully taken up. I spent most of the morning cutting fabric and talking with the mother-in-laws as we cut ribbons and sheets for the hall decorations. After a while when there was nothing to do I took a walk around the inner part of the island. On the island that we stayed on, there are three main roads; the inner, the middle and the outer which of course all have Chinese names that I can’t pronounce or remember. The inner circle is a perfect 40 minute walk full of beautiful trees, buildings and even a lake which holds its own attractions. I wandered around for a good hour and a half before going back to Ellyn’s where I was just in time to help make sugar cookies in the shapes of birds and hippos (the engaged couple got some strange nicknames and let’s leave it at that).
On Wednesday I was invited out by Monica who had heard I had nothing to do and wanted to fix that. : ) She took me out to downtown Guangzhou and showed me some older buildings, like a 1902 church and original
communist building, and the shopping area. We spent hours walking and walking, but it so worth it to see a part of the city that many people probably just look over. At night we also were able to get together with some other friends and hang out again and did the talking/eating thing again. ^_^
The 24
th was pretty much spent by myself. I enjoyed it though and ended up taking two biking trips; one in the middle circle and one in the outer. It was a good time just exercising and reflecting on what I’ve been doing since I’ve come to China. It’s only been a few months since I started living in China, but a lot has happened, and in a way a lot has not happened. I didn’t have many goals when coming here, but I feel now that I’m more established I need to make plans and not let myself drift. I don’t know what the future holds, but that shouldn’t stop me from making most of what I have in the here and now. That’s one thing I’m very grateful for during this vacation, the time to calm down, focus and understand where I’m
at now.
On Friday I realized I hadn’t gotten a wedding present for Danielle and Adrian yet. I asked around and it turned out that the couple really needed some lighting and cooking wear, so I got instructions the night before on how to get to the nearest big store (IKEA) and made my way there. So, if anyone knows me and my memory you know it takes me a second to forget what you just told me. If that. So on Friday as I’m in the Metro I’m thinking “…. Uh… which stop did she say to get off of?” Thankfully I remembered generally where on the map JeLaine had pointed to to get off at so I picked one of the stations I thought she had suggested and then attempted to make my way to IKEA. I had really been hoping for big signs saying THIS WAY, but in the end all I can say is thank God for Google maps. It pinpointed where I was and after I typed in IKEA I just followed the little arrow that said “go this way stupid.” The rest of my trip was thankfully uneventful, but I have to say
it’s moments when I’m carrying 10-20 lb items on the bus or in the metro that I really miss having a car.
Saturday was the big day of the wedding. I was grateful to once again help as JeLaine had to transport the wedding cake from the apartment I was staying at to the wedding venue. Once there we generally just did busy work making things look nice and organizing all the last minute stuff. It was really cool that the wedding was in a preserved village. The whole island used to be made up of villages, but the government tore most of them down to build up the colleges. The area where the wedding was had plenty of traditional buildings, shops and food where you could wander and experience a piece from the past. The wedding and reception both went smoothly and before we knew it, it was time to leave and head home. Not that anyone did. I hooked up with another teacher who is considering moving to Nanchang. He’s attached to Guangzhou, but has a feeling that there could be good things happening up north as well. We took time to see the village since neither
of us were sure we’d get to return and then met up with most of the other wedding party at a restaurant where ate until we didn’t want to move.
On Monday and Tuesday I had two very special treats. I had more Chinese friends decide that they wanted to take me out to see more Guangzhou sites. Justina first took me to see the business sector of downtown called New Town. It had several beautiful buildings, like the museum, the library, the opera house and the tower which seems like it’s just a tourist attraction. She also took me to see her campus which held a lot of natural beauty despite being so far into the city. At night, we met up with some others who were visiting a friend in the hospital. We didn’t stay long, but it was cool that we got to encourage a brother and hopefully his 2 week hospital stay will fly by. Amy, my sometimes roommate decided to take me to the Redtury. It’s an awesome area that was on old factory facility. Someone transformed all the old buildings into cafes, stores and of course displays for all kinds of art. It
was a lot of fun to wander around and best of all it was free!
On my last day Amy and Shoa-een took me to an exhibition at the Opera House. They were showing works from Coco Chanel and Picasso. There were a lot of interesting displays and even though I don’t usually appreciate Picasso’s work, it was interesting to hear more about his life and how it intertwined with someone as equally famous.
So that was my trip to Guangzhou. I won’t even get started on Hong Kong cause goodness knows that’s a whole nother story. On closing I’d like to thank those who’ve been praying for me and my family during this past week. It hit me pretty hard when I got the message my grandmother died on Wedneday and I had actually postponed my trip to China the first time because of a sick family member and I knew I wouldn’t want to be away from home when it got worse. My Aunt Marion didn’t last as long as we’d hoped she would so I made the decision to come anyway since I still had time to apply. At this point I want nothing more
than to be with my family, though I know if I go I’ll never want to come back to China. I pray daily for all my family and have to remind myself that having regrets won’t help anyone or change anything. So thanks all for your kind words and thoughts and FB and until next time take care and GB.
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Jen W
non-member comment
nice
Hey Carla! This is so wonderful! It never occurs to me that there are less populated areas in China (I know, ignorance on my part). But these pics look so tranquil! I am totally envious of your bike rides around the island and under those big trees. sigh. Guess I'm stuck with all this snow and freezing temps! Keep posting, my friend! Love you! Jen