Living in Lin'an

After a crazy week of traveling, moving into my apartment and starting a new job, I am finally starting to settle into the place that I will be calling home for the next year, Lin'an, Zhejiang, China. Living in Lin'an is different. Lin'an is nothing like Xiamen. It is nothing like I had expected - in good ways and in bad ways. It has taken a lot of adapting. But things are going well. I still have moments where my homesickness turns into an ache that makes me want to cry and throw up all at the same time (especially when I find a cockroach in my kitchen and my dad isn't there to kill it) but it's getting better (and I like to think that being able to kill cockroaches without my dad is a sign that I just might make it through this adulthood thing). Even though this week has not been easy, I would be lying if I said that every moment, even the hard ones, wasn't worth it. Even on the days where I just want to crawl back in to my squishy American bed and drink pepsi and eat food with a fork, something happens that makes me remember why I'm here, why I love this country and how incredibly blessed I am to be living here this year.

For Example: My second day of work at the Bo Shi Kai school in Lin'an was one of those days where I just wanted to not be in China. I was tired. The first day of teaching had not gone very well. I was not looking forward to another day of crashing and burning in front of 120 grade 2 students and it was hot. It was so hot. We are talking like 92 degrees with 88% humidity at 7:20 in the morning. And we walk to work. 40 minutes. We walk 40 minutes to get to our school (if you're feeling aggressive, you could probably do it in 30...but Carly and I are not morning people so it takes us 40). It's a beautiful walk but in the early morning when you're dripping with sweat and you're exhausted before your day has even started, it doesn't seem as beautiful. (Also, a giant stink bug dropped on my head and I DO NOT like bugs...especially when they drop from trees). The traffic was crazy ( because it always is in China). People were staring (because we are foreigners, everyone stares. And takes your picture. Small children turn to their parents and yell "Mama! WEIGUOREN!" (Mama, FOREIGNERS). Teenagers shout every English word they can think of at you. Old women try to speak to you in Chinese and then chuckle to each other and say "Ta men ting bu dong" (they don't understand). Today, someone rolled their window and stuck their head out to watch us as they drove by, that's just how it is...after a while, you stop noticing and sometimes everyone involved gets a good laugh out of it. Sometimes you even become friends with them!).

I knew that this was what China was like. I had been expecting these exact things to happen (except for the giant stink bug, I had not been anticipating that) but no amount of mental preparation could have saved me that morning. I was just not in the mood for any of it.

When I got to school, the kids had already arrived and were just about to start their day. Every morning before school starts, the kids line up in the court yard to do their morning stretches, sing the Chinese anthem and raise the Chinese flag. They were just starting to line up when I got there and as I was walking past a group of students on my way to the English office, they all started screaming and jumping up and down. "Laoshi, laoshiiiiiiii" (teacher, teacher). "Baileyyyyyyy, helllllloooooo" "It's nice to meet you!" "I like blueeeeee". They were waving and jumping and running up to shake my hand. They were like little beams of joy and light. And it was contagious.

Just when I had been thinking that a year was too long, that I was in over my head and that Dunkin Donuts REALLY needs to come to China (that is a thought that will never change) these little faces served as reminders of what this year is all about. They reminded me of all the good and wonderful things that had made me want to come back to China in the first place and the joy that there is even in the midst of all of the difficulties that come with living here. They are such sweet, happy little people and I am so excited to spend the year getting to know them (and hopefully teaching them more things to say to English speakers then just "I like blue.")