Out With The Old, In With The Older

Let's begin at the best place to do so, the beginning.

China was never on my radar. I mean never. I was always much more interested in Europe and anything to do with the Mediterranean area, Asia just seemed so...foreign. So when some recruiters came to my school during my freshman year at college, really the only thing that caught my interest was the possibility of a year in China where I could actually make money, instead of bleeding it out like a normal trip overseas. 

Fast forward a few years and I'm boarding a 14.5 hour flight to land in a country that is literally as far away from home as I can go without becoming an astronaut. 

I've been here exactly five weeks and a day as of this post, and it's been an experience that is hard to put in to words, so I'll just do some quick summing up and let you fill in the rest with your imagination.

First. It's old...

Thousands of years of history tends to do that to a country.

I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac. They didn't taxi us to the airport itself, we had to ride a bus to get there. Then I almost got hit by a car because traffic laws haven't been invented yet, and finally I passed not one, not two, but six rice paddies that were inside the city limits of Wuhan. 

If you go outside of Wuhan it looks almost like something out of a Normal Rockwell painting (if he was Chinese). I went on a trip to Hongcun and saw a group of ladies washing their clothing in the river because on of the villages we visited didn't have electricity. 

Yes, I felt creepy taking this picture.

My apartment even has a less nostalgic version of the milk man. Because the water isn't safe to drink, we have to have our water delivered in twenty gallon barrels once a week. 

Across the street from my school is an old market where you can go haggle the price of pretty much anything you could ever want, including hand made picture frames and guitars. Then, once I'm done haggling I can head over to eat some food prepared in front of me that definitely wouldn't pass health regulations....in the 1920's. But it tastes great!

Second. It's new...

My first week here I visited the Optics Valley Center of Wuhan. For those of you who follow tennis, this is where the Wuhan Open was held just a few days ago. I totally would have gone, but for some reason I couldn't afford the $7,000 ticket. 

Sorry...it's hard to fit a city block in on picture.
This is just the entrance....

The Optics Valley is best described as the lovechild of Times Square, seven shopping malls, and a quaint European hamlet. Seriously. 

I walked inside and was completely blown away. This place is a shopping mall that takes up an entire city block and ranges from 3 story to six story buildings. It even has an entire French version of Wal-Mart called Carrefour packed inside. The longest walking street in the world winds its way through the bottom section and boasts a German, Italian, and Spanish street. It's incredible. 

Third. It's never what you expect...

I saw an enormous Cathedral one day and thought, wow! I didn't expect to see this here. So I decided to go take a look inside. It was essentially a giant movie theater where you can get married. I was a little disappointed. 

Because "gothic" and "china" are synonyms right?

Then we thought we'd go visit a tiny little Buddhist Temple. Outside was small and unassuming. The entrance fee was 10 RMB ($1.60). It turned out to be a sprawling complex that took us 2 or three hours to explore, including a tower built in the 1200's that you could climb up, if you don't mind practicing your best midget impersonation (the ceilings were really low).

This is where I perfected the art of wishing I knew Kung Fu

Fourth. (Last one, I promise) It's an adventure...

8 hour bus rides with no air conditioning. 

Discovering that the store only takes cash and there isn't an ATM in sight.

Needing to use the bathroom and painfully remembering that China has a BYOTP policy. (bring your own toilet paper).

Standing in the rain and having every cab driver pass you by because they figure they can't understand you.

Teaching a class of "advanced" students, only to realize on day one that they know as much english as you know Chinese.

Spending an entire day at Carrefour (a.k.a. french Wal-Mart) because 10 Million people plus 1 Carrefour equals lines that rival disney world. 

The first time I saw something
that wasn't my hand.
So. Much. Fog. 

Waking up every morning and realizing...I'm actually in China!

Meeting someone new and having dinner at their home that same night. 

Standing on a mountain shrouded in fog when the wind changes directions and suddenly you glimpse a solitary mountain peak rising from the mist.

Honestly, It's been a blast so far. 

I promise the next post won't be so long, it was my fault for waiting a month to write. Apparently a lot can happen in that time. 

Until next time. Zai Jian!