Blogs from Wuhan, Hubei, China, Asia - page 4

Chapter One Giant Steps At 5.30am on Thursday the 6th of September my frog alarm went off. That was it, the day that had taken so long to arrive that it no longer felt real. Even now, fifteen long hours later and somewhere unknown between Amsterdam and Guangzhou I’m still unsure what I’m actually doing on the plane. Despite planning this since February the nerves and emotions have now taken over and created a fear of the unknown which I am currently hurtling towards at 33,000 feet. So, why China? Good question. I have just been given some darn good noodles but I’m genuinely unsure ‘why China?’ Hopefully soon I will be able to answer this question with a more satisfying response! At a glance, China is a relatively safe country and from other travelers, mainly ... read more

One of my students, Jimmy, invited me out on an excursion to his hometown of Chibi Saturday. Chibi City is an hour drive from Wuhan...most of the drive is actually through Wuhan, since the city of Wuhan seems endless. Chibi City is known for two things: the site of a major battle between the Southern and Northern Kingdom of China in the 3rd Century AD; and Qibu Lake made famous by a popular TV program filmed years ago there by CCTV, the Chinese government TV company. The Chibi City tourism website promises: In Chibi city, you can enjoy the comfortable of transportation for driving a car you can reach most of place, and the traffic is extremely convenient. A few words about the battle that put Chibi on the map. In 218 AD, China was split ... read more

I've noticed two changes on campus since my previous visit: More cars and more foreign students. Last year, the biggest risk to bike riders were the campus shuttles that speed up and down the main road between the east and west campus and between my hotel and my classroom as well as other bicyclists. Now, cars zip along the road in greater numbers, generally disregarding pedestrians and bicyclists. What's surprising is the number of BMW's and Mercedes included in the mis. China's "soft diplomacy" has led to a significant increase in foreign students on campus. China gives full scholarships and stipends to graduate students, primarily from Africa and the Middle East. In addition to more classes taught in English, restaurants to serve this growing student population have popped up, with several Muslim restaurants opening. That's increased ... read more

Arrived back in Wuhan, Chinaone week ago after almost 24 hours of travel from SFO. This marks my 3rdvisit to Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) to teach English to doctoral candidates. I’m now well settled into the Hong Jia Hotel on campus. The Hong Jia promises “Dazzling Place, People's Attention..From quiet and comfortable rooms to sleep lying.The little drops of life, nuance of every show quality of service." I don't know where that hotel is (or even what that means!) but it must be located at some other HUST in some other city in some other China. My room is more Motel 6ish, but with a flat screen TV that only gets 5 different versions of CCTV, the Chinese version of BBC. One is in English, but basically repeats the same 2 hours of ... read more

NI Hao! So here is my first post all the way from CHINA! The weather is hot and humid to say the least, although am so far unsure as to whether the mentioned climate will result in desired tan! The journey literally flew by (no pun intended…) and nineteen hours in the air seemed much less as I made the most of my final instalment of Western TV. On arriving in Wuhan, I was met by Crystal, the representative from our school, who offered myself and Aleks a warm welcome! In fact, the local people here all seem very friendly. Children have waved and said ‘Hello!’ in the streets with one woman even welcoming us to China! It seems all very weird, especially as I have adopted a celebrity-like status without having to do much but ... read more