Summer in Southern China: “I can see clearly now the rain has gone…..”

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Summertime and the weather is hot… Any more songs I can throw in for good measure? As you can tell, the weather has finally turned from the freak wet weather we had in April, and although this is now the ‘official’ rainy season, it seems to have brought mostly sunshine and heat along with it. When it does rain, thankfully it only lasts for a few hours rather than for days on end, and brings with it some pretty spectacular thunder and lightning shows (it's like Singapore on steroids). Temperatures are on average about 35 degrees so surely we can finally ditch our pasty white skin and look exotic and tanned again?? We do get some strange looks from the locals though who have an adverse fear of anything to do with sun, so while we are out basking ourselves in the glorious sunshine, they are hidden away inside with their AC until darkness descends lol. As one of our friends commented the other day, sunshine is like their kryptonite. This mentality does have its pros and cons- the pros are that the park and any other attractions are always empty during the day so you get the best spots and it’s nice and quiet, and the cons are that finding sunscreen is a major mission, little outdoor cafes do not exist and the swimming pools don’t open until it's almost dark.

The produce in the shops is once again changing and the aisles are now full with juicy peaches, plums, grapes, lychees and HUGE watermelons whilst oranges, strawberries and small apples have all but disappeared. We totally get the idea of 'buying seasonal produce' now, it makes so much sense. And during April/May there’s lots of products on sale called Zong Zi for the Dragon Boat festival at the end of the month. Zong Zi are little triangle bamboo leaf parcels filled most commonly with rice and vegetables or meat, but you can also get sweet versions too.

So the last public holiday we get to experience whilst here is the Dragon Boat Festival at the end of May. It’s basically the equivalent of the Oxford Boat race (but with cooler boats and possibly more sunshine), and is the biggest and most popular in the Guandong Province due to the fact the area has the biggest network of small rivers meandering throughout the region. There are several races taking place and our nearest one to us is at the far end of Shungfeng Park, about 15 minutes from our house. Thankfully the festival falls on our day off, so we are able to go and spend the day relaxing and not having to rush off to lessons. On the day of the race, it is glorious sunshine and about 37 degrees. It’s great for us but not so great for the poor men in the boats who have to paddle for about 10 miles up and down the river. It’s also not so great for our Chinese friend Kingsley who has kindly invited us along to hang out with him and his friends for the day. The problem is we want to stand in the sunshine and make the most of it, whereas he and his friends want to stay in the shade. He doesn’t want to be rude though so braves it out standing in the mid-day heat. We keep asking him if he’s alright to which he says he is, but we can tell he is struggling when we turn around and see huge beads of sweat having their own mini boat race down his face seeing who can get to the bottom of his chin the fastest. In the end we compromise and find a place where we can stand in the sunshine while he can hang back and stand in the shade of the trees so everyone is happy. Getting a spot at the front isn’t an issue as everyone else is also trying to get under the shades of darkness. We actually become more of a spectating event than the boat race at some points as locals stare at us at how crazy we are for being in the sunshine (and also because apparently we have horns coming out of our head and are breathing fire. I swear that is beginning to drive me mad- constantly being looked at like we are some kind of creature from afar- did no one ever tell them it is rude to stare??? No, but they did tell them it’s ok to spit on the pavement. Ok, mini rant over lol). Once the race is over with one team the sure winner by miles and miles, we say goodbye to our friend and decide on a plan of action. Number 1) ice-cream. Number 2) Sunbathing and a lazy walk along the river. Aah, the simple pleasures in life are sometimes the greatest.

June continues to get hotter and hotter with the most extreme humidity I have ever felt so far. It's like someone painting you with sweat as soon as you step outside. Of course we don’t consider that though when we have our weekly run in 30 degrees of heat - It’s like our own version of bikram jogging. At least we can go for a swim afterwards and cool down a little bit, even if we have to wait until 7pm at night to do so. One day we find out about a waterpark near Guangzhou, which our good friends Mat and Flower take us to, and it's amazing for once to actually be in a swimming pool whilst the sun is still shining.

The water park is pretty sweet, although slightly frustrating in that Chinese way where no one communicates with anyone else and there doesn’t seem to be any set coordination or plan on how to run the rides. So even though the park isn’t ridiculously busy, we still have to wait about 45 minutes to get on a ride as they don’t use their common sense and manage the queues efficiently. And they just seem to close a ride at certain points of the day but without telling anyone. But at the same time, some of the best rides I have been on in a water park. One thing I find amusing is the fact that 99% of the people in the park are wearing lifejackets. It’s a crazy sight to see in the wave pools which are only as deep as about 4 foot of water. Apparantly many Chinese people can’t swim, and we’re certainly starting to see for ourselves.

Finally at the end of June, the time comes for us to finish our last week of term- something that has seen so far away but is now upon us. I’d love to say I’m gutted and I’m really going to miss it, but em… I can’t! Well, that’s not entirely true, I will definitely miss many of the children, but it has been a hard slog at times, especially due to the huge difference in cultures (sit me down and ask me about it and I will gladly inform you about the chinese education system if you’re interested lol) and the language barrier. At times I have been known to curse under my breath in class, or be completely astonished by some of the children’s mentalities. Anyway, I could write a whole other blog on that! But all in all it was really nice to see the kids get their final merits and wave them off. And hearing the children pronounce certain words such as glue ('ga-loo') and girl ('gurrrr-il') in a very Scottish accent will be our lasting legacy lol.

We have 2 weeks of freedom at the beginning of July (like being out on day release but then knowing you have to go back to your cell) before summer camp begins, so we use the time to have one last visit to Hong Kong (might as well seeing as its only 3 hours from us) and having a few drinks with our mates before some of them head home for summer. In a way we’d rather just start the summer camp straight away instead of have a holiday, as all it does is tease us into thinking we’re finished when we’re not. But never mind, only a few more weeks left to go.

Summer camp begins as quickly as our holiday ends, and although our enthusiasm for another 3 weeks of teaching is not exactly brimming over, we put our heads down and get stuck in. We have to contend with completely new teaching assistants (including one who speaks as much English as we do Cantonese and another one called Pizza), 92% humidity and the lack of decent TV programmes on BBC iplayer (it’s hard to get drawn into the excitement of the commonwealth games when you’re over 10000 miles from home and really you just want to watch Corrie).

Once again we reach our final week and the countdown begins… We start comparing everything to ‘this time next week’ which is a very happy feeling. However, we also feel slightly apprehensive at leaving a place we’ve come to mostly love and sometimes hate. I know it’s cliché, but we will be sad to leave and I think a few tears will be shed as we climb aboard that green and purple bus bound for the airport. And for months afterwards we are going to be those annoying travellers who compare everything to China saying “when we were in China…” or “it’s so different in China….” and generally flaunting our worldliness over everyone :p

Despite a lot of uncertainties and panic over coming here, and a few times thinking “what the hell are we doing here??” (even up until last month we were still saying that!), we’ve loved our year in China and have learned and seen so many awesome things. Even though we only live 3 hours from Hong Kong, there’s such a huge disparity between the way Cantonese people live their lives there from the people who live here in the Guandong province. Although parts of China are becoming a lot more Westernised and capitalist, many parts are still underdeveloped and very communist in their thinking. Our little area seems to be torn between its traditional roots and the draw of the West. There are more and more Starbucks and McDonalds popping up (even an H&M!), but behind those you can still see little traditional houses where people still walk down the street with their straw hats on, families sit outside open air houses on stools eating noodles, while others ride past selling fruit or raw meat from the back of their wooden carts. In our fancy new modern apartment complex, there are still little old ladies hanging their duvets and spices out to dry in the sun while they walk backwards slapping their wrists. To quote from a friend, it’s like they woke up one day with all this money and don’t know what to do with it. Whilst the people and the area are constantly evolving, and they are building beautiful fancy hotels on every corner with all the latest mod cons, and businessmen drive around in ferraris, the builders still carry bricks in buckets balanced on their shoulders, and cut pieces of wood on the ground whilst wearing flip flops with a cigarette hanging from their mouth. Women ride mopeds with oven gloves on their hands and their kids balanced between their legs whilst a bus beeps its horn to get out of the way on the newly laid road.

Some people, especially younger ones are beginning to learn English and become more interested in western things, but there is still a huge lack of people like this. Not that that’s wrong! Diversity is what makes the world more interesting, but for us living here has made it difficult to understand what’s going on sometimes, and more difficult to communicate with people when you really want to. And sometimes you just want to be able to pop to the shops and pick up a tacky gossip magazine (Nikki), a can of irn bru (Greg) and a sausage roll (both!).

We’ve noticed that with progress still comes oppression and people’s mentalities and daily routines still seem to be heavily influenced by the Government. It seems they are allowing locals to enjoy some perks of the Western life, but only to a certain extent - not too much! Some points in question: 1) TV and internet are still very closely monitored and they block any information they deem as not ‘appropriate’ for people to see, this includes social media websites, you tube, google and strangely amazon.co.uk. 2) There are rules for everything and you musn’t question them, simply follow them. It’s okay to spit in the street or kill a dog to eat it, but please do not walk that way into a shop when the entrance is actually over there thank you very much. 3) Children at school are only taught what they think is important (i.e- anything to do with China and nothing to do with the outside world- “was there a world war?” I hear them ask, and “Where and what is Spain? Who’s David Beckham???”). 4) If you want to travel to another country, Chinese nationals often need to go through a complicated visa process and even then it isn’t always guaranteed. And many countries they can only visit if they are with a guided tour (for fear that anyone should dare leave for good???).

I don’t know if things will ever change completely but I’d love to come back and see the country in 20 years time…

My final thoughts are on a positive note and involve the people of China, of which we have been lucky to meet and befriend many. Perhaps I should admit that my feelings towards this nationality haven’t always been the most positive due to some unfavourable past experiences, and we did wonder if going to China would be a wise idea as a result! But what I’ve learned is that one person from a country is not a true representation of every single person that lives there, and often in an unfamiliar environment people do act differently. And let’s face it, you always get some asshole regardless of what nationality they are!!! I’ve been bowled over by the hospitality of people here and how much most people do try and communicate even if only through hand signals or a smile. Take the aforementioned baker who gives us free cakes and who has recently started to learn numbers and basic phrases in english so he can communicate with us, or our neighbour who through hand signals and our basic Mandarin manages to have a conversation (sort of) with us and always greets us with a big smile. And then there’s our teaching assistants who we’ve become great friends with, and various other students and their parents who have been kind enough to buy us leaving gifts to remember China by. In fact last week alone we were given traditional presents from 5 different friends (they obviously don’t consider how we’re going to transport 2 foot high ceramic statues back home in our suitcase).

As our journey ends another’s will just be starting so I’ll end on these words of advice for anyone looking to live in this beautiful, crazy and contradictory land

- Bring your own forms of entertainment as you won’t expect to find bowling alleys, newsagents or cinemas on every corner, and many websites are not accessible

- Make an effort to learn at the very least, some basic phrases in the local language, especially hello and thank you (and knowing the word for frog in Cantonese somehow always makes the locals crack up)

- Be open to trying new local food. Yes this is a given but even for someone like me who thought I was quite adventurous learned that I was actually turning my nose up to some things without even trying them. Chicken feet don’t taste that bad, hot pot is amazing in winter, drunken goose is very flavoursome and the vegetables are the freshest and most amazing things I have ever eaten.

- Remember to stop every now and again and take in the sights and smells. They’ll stay with you forever. Take lots of photos!

- Accept and embrace the difference in culture, otherwise it may drive you crazy!

- Don’t panic if after a few weeks you still feel totally lost and that you’ll never make friends/find food you like/work out where the shops are. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone is terrifying and there is always a period of adjustment. But it does get easier, and remember, we’ve all been there. You should be proud you’ve not taken the easy route J

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