Leaving on a Jet Plane

I did it! I am in China, and not once have I lay down in the middle of the crowds and asked the world to swallow me whole. I take this as a good sign. In fact, I haven’t cried once since my arrival in China (and if you’ve read my former blogs, you know this is a pretty incredible feat). I just spent my first night in a hotel, which is pretty nice and in the States would cost at least $100 for a night, and I paid the equivalent of $32. Booyah! Although, everything seems so cheap and it feels like fake money, so I better change my outlook and spending habits pretty quickly or I’m going to head back with no money to my name. So after an 11 hour flight, taxi rides, train rides, and walks through the rain and lighting, here are my quick first impressions/observations/lessons learned in China:
1. The squat toilets were not a myth. I should have been peeing in the woods more often for practice. I’ve got to learn to control the splashing or my entire salary will be spent on laundry detergent. Gross.
2. I better get rid of my space issues, and quickly. Personal space bubbles do not exist here. If there is enough space for one person, it is being occupied by three people.
3. Being polite will not get you anywhere except pissed off. Barging to the front of the line and pushing and shoving to get where you need to go is not rude, it’s a survival tactic.
4. When riding in a car, just close your eyes and trust that you will come out alive. Get rid of your reliance on blinkers, crosswalks, the courtesy wave, or anything that could be considered considerate driving.
5. People stare. I like to think it is because I’m fascinating and they can just tell I have an interesting soul, not because I’m white. I ended up smiling at people which elicited multiple responses. Some smiled back and then giggled to themselves, and others looked at me as if I were a farm animal that just started busting out break dancing. Whatever, for the most part people have been incredibly nice to me. Multiple people stepped forward to help the struggling white girl who clearly over packed with her enormous suitcases. I could get used to it.
So, basically, these are the quick “mini lessons” I’ve gathered from my journey from the airport to Shijiazhuang. Not a hell of a lot to go on yet, but enough to give me a taste of what I’m in for. To be honest, I really thought I’d be panicking by now, and maybe I’m just sleep deprived, but the initial terror has not set in. I already know I’m going miss my family, friends, and Barrett, but I think I’ll be alright. To quote a wise person, me, if you get too comfortable, you’re not challenging yourself, and it’s good to go get scared shitless. So here’s to crapping myself out of fear. Here goes nothing.