The travels of Justin

For months I’ve been in the dark about many critical issues, including when school starts. It always seemed like the strangest thing to be unknown by a school. Sure, I understand that the Chinese language courses for foreigners are operated much differently than degree courses, and approrpriately so, but I still couldn’t understand why no one had an answer. The closest thing to a clear target starting date was ‘near the end of September — maybe around the 20^th.’ Chinese people are famous for last minute events, and so it was on Friday night at 5:30pm I get invited to a 6pm dinner at a nearby hotel that would lift some of the fog surrounding these questions.

You can imagine my surprise when I was dining with heads of the International College at Nanchang University (NanDa 南昌大学) and I’m told that a decision was made to hold a meeting for foreign students 3-days later on the Monday. At the meeting, we’d have the chance to meet our classmates, and possibly learn when class will actually begin. At this point the start of classes sounds like progress, and I find it interesting to know at least some of my future classmates already in Nanchang. Since I arrived here months ago I’ve been asking to be introduced to some of my future classmates so we can get to know each other and share discoveries about the local area. With the exception of some Americans I had approached in a restaurant (”Do you study at NanDa?”), the International Department has always maintained that other foreign students wouldn’t arrive until closer to class starting. I’ve since learned, other foreign students have been here for several weeks (at minimum), with a few people having already spent 1.5 years in Nanchang.

Saturday night rolls around and I get a text message from my new American friends saying that they’ve heard class might be starting on Tuesday. Class on Tuesday? We’ll wait for the Monday meeting to know for sure, but this sounds good. Alright! Great! By this stage, I’m itching to start my lessons. The novelty of being in a foreign country has worn off a lot from my year in Tianjin. My studies in Tianjin were in English and did not include a language component so now it can be frustrating to be locked out of simple things just because I don’t have a rudimentary command of the language. Studying in class will be much more effective than trying to study on my own in my quiet apartment, but I can’t understand why I’m (1) hearing about class dates much earlier than expected, and (2) why I’m hearing about them through unofficial channels. I keep asking myself, if they want to attract foreign students to Nanchang, wouldn’t the class start date be considered as critical information? I can only assume that some approximate date had given to the other students since everyone is already here. I guess I didn’t get the memo.

“Umm… yeah. I’m just going to go ahead and get you another copy of the memo.” -Bill Lumbergh, Office Space

I was looking forward to this important Monday meeting, and decided that regardless of it’s outcome, I would at the very least be able to say I enjoyed an excellent breakfast of slightly overooked pancakes, eggs, and toast. Well, it is now Monday night and the meeting was a good one. Once we found the meeting room, 40 or so students sat themselves around a giant boardroom table with giant fake flower centrepieces adding colour to the room. The chair of the meeting had the understandable problem of picking a language to speak. We have people from Niger, West Africa (country unspecified), Mexico, USA, Canada (me!), Russia, Korea, and Japan. Do you use Chinese? Most people present understand a bit of Chinese, but most (certainly including me) can’t understand a full meeting in the language. What about English? Everyone who doesn’t speak English natively at least has some English training; however, nothing beats the clairity of your native tongue. Everything was spoken in several languages in turn: first Chinese to set the tone, then English for almost everybody, with some French and Korean used to clairify.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, class will not start. Instead, we’ll meet at 9 AM and take a trip the new campus of NanDa, on the outskirts of the city, to familiarize ourselves with the school’s third and biggest campus.

We were told class is expected to start either Thursday or Friday. It sounds like we’ll be starting with a review of phonetics while the teachers assess our ability. Then they’ll divide everyone into classes and make a plan.

After months of waiting, it has begun.

“That’s China of the 1980’s,” says the man sharing my train compartment as the train slows to enter Nanchang City (南昌市). Easily spotting the red maple leaf I met Mr. Yan, a Nanchang student who spent 3-months in TRU as an enchange student and was kind enough to be my first contact at 6 AM in an unfamiliar city train station. We weaved through the crowd of hungry taxis and hopped into one at an easy exit point where we could set off for the school campus.

I was taken to the north campus of Nanchang University (南昌大学) and quickly learned that if I needed a taxi to bring me home, I’d better know the difference between the 3 possible campus locations: north campus (北区), south campus (南区), and the new campus (前湖校区). Like most schools at this time of year, the place is practically deserted compared to how it will look during the school year. While we stood outside a dormitory waiting for my administrative contact to arrive I preformed an impromtu dance number for the local workers in a dismal attempt to stop the aggressive mosquitoes who were feasting on my legs. It seemed like this was going to be my home for the summer, but then it became clear that the officials here in China who are handling my exchage neglected to register me with the university registrar.

Snce I am not a registered student, I cannot live in a dorm, so I’m staying in a hotel on campus. My new friends carefully selected the place from an advertisement on a bulletin board as we walked purposfully toward the dorms bent on finding a suitable temporary solution. Taking nothing for granted, I carefully inspected the 3-beds in my room, the air conditioner, and then walked down the hall to the public bathrooms and showers to be certain I was willing to live with this place. It wasn’t until my first evening that I took my first shower and discovered there is no hot or cold water; instead, there is a valve on the wall that, when opened, releases water from an open pipe eminating from the wall above my head. The water is cool, but not cold, and is welcome after a day in the Nanchang summer heat although winter visitors might have a different story to share.

Breakfast on the morning of my arrival was also memorable, because it was so horrible. My friends around the world have always said how amazingly open to different food. My mouth waters equally whether I’m dining at Thai, Indian, Chinese, Korean, or any other nation’s food that I’ve enjoyed in my lifetime. With this indifferent attitude, I approached the lone open window at the NanDa (the local term for Nanchang University, 南大) cafeteria at 7 AM and indifferently ordered a variety of Baozi (包子) — a steamed bun with filling. Somehow my friend enjoyed the delicious meat baozi, while my tastebuds were twice accosted by a spicy pickled vegetable (bean?) and a third filled with a square of white granulated sugar. In the spirit of friendship I concealed my discomfort to my hosts who certainly were not responsible for my bad choice. Rest assured, dear readers (and potential travellers), the spicy food here is actually very delicious and the style is noticably different from Tianjin. My dinner on my first day was also memorable because the restaurant, CBC (China Best Chicken), is almost a total carbon-copy of KFC, and has even registered a trademark for their brand name.

I’m safe and having quite the adventure already.

I left Dalian a few days ago to meet a train traveling from Beijing to Nanchang. I learned that — for reasons beyond my understanding — it is impossible to buy a train ticket for a Beijing train from anywhere outside the capital. A friend who happend to be visiting Beijing purchased the ticket for me, but made a mistake when telling me what time it departed the Beijing train station; thus, at 4 PM on the 14^th I learned that my 6 PM train had actually left at 2 PM. Luckily for me, some friends have opened their house so I can avoid hotel costs so I’m not totally stranded. In a stroke of good timing, Thompson Rivers University has asked me to represent the school at an education expo in Beijing this weekend where I’ll tell people about my experience and help answer questions about our fantastic university. On the 24^th I’ll finally catch a train to Nanchang to renew my visa, find an apartment, and make myself at home for the coming year.

Even though I’ve now been living in China for almost a whole year, my Chinese language skills are painfully limited, because I’ve been studying business classes taught in English instead of learning Mandarin. A year in Nanchang to study Chinese language will bring many challenges and opportunities, but there is a question that I always have to answer: why Nanchang?

I can understand why foreigners might ask me this question when cities like Shanghai and Beijing are famous names even to someone who might not be able to find China on a map; however, Nanchang provokes a surprising reaction from my Chinese friends. Several people have offered me jobs to stay in Tianjin so I don’t learn the “bad pronounciation” in southern China. Other people fear that because the province is the poorest &mash; or at least it’s one of the poorest — in China, I will be terribly uncomfortable and cannot possibly enjoy living there. To these nay sayers I say this: maybe you are right.

However, the partnership between TRU and Nanchang University is brand new so I will be the first representative student from TRU to test it, just as I was the first to participate in the joint program at the Tianjin University of Technolgy (天津理工大学). I guess you could say that, for me, it’s exciting to blaze a new trail for future exchange students to learn about our different cultures so we can understand each other and find common ground.

I too was worried about the strong accent of a southern province affecting my future in China and I spoke to an American friend, Michael, that I met in Tianjin. Michael completed his MBA in Tianjin on an exchange program and now lives in Guangzhou with his wife. They told me about a friend who has studied Mandarin in places far from the capital. We all agree that understanding the official standard pronounciation is vital to communicating across this vast country; however, despite being based on the Beijing accent, every region has their own way of modifying the sound — Beijing included. To communicate effectively in any part of China, one has to learn the official language and the regional changes. I have friends in Tianjin who have been to Nanchang and say they couldn’t understand anyone, so this problem will obviously confront me regardless where I study. I only hope I can learn the standard accent in the classroom, and local accent on the street and one day have the linguistic skills to talk with my friends no matter what part of this very interesting country they hail from.

When it comes to being uncomfortable and living without the amenities from home I would say that it’s true that some foreigners can’t seem to survive without a 5-star hotel. I don’t care — I came here to learn about the real China. One cannot understand the whole of China by experiencing a single city, so I consider this a great opportunity to know a very different part of the country that sounds a bit neglected by everyone except the writers at Newsweek International.

In fact, some of the photos I’ve seen of Nanchang show that it’s a beautiful city with a lot to discover, which makes me surprised when I’m confronted with people telling me to go somewhere else.

So who knows what is in store for me this year. Whatever happens, it’s certain shaping up to be another exciting year.

I’ve just wrapped up a week in Dalian (大连市) and I can tell you it’s been nice. Staying with friends, I’ve had access to the internet long enough to upload a lot of photos that have been waiting for such an occassion. Here’s a view from the 29^th floor apartment I’ve been staying:

Dalian skyline

It’s reputation as a beautiful city is accurate with lush green trees lining every street. The seafood reputation comes from being surrounded by water on three sides and you can find an endless strip of fresh-seafood bbq in the downtown core. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was the variety of foreign foods here. My hometown of Vancouver, Canada has restaurants serving food from all over the globe, but the university district of Tianjin offers very little foreign food compared to what I am used to. Two of the most memorable meals I’ve enjoyed here have been Japanese teppanyaki with and Korean hwe (회) which is Korean-style sashimi.

Teppanyaki in Dalian

In a couple hours I’ll be heading back to Tianjin to meet Ryan for his last day in China. In two days he’ll board a plane and return to Kamloops while I board another train for Nanchang (南昌市). The lucky guy has been travelling around south-western China for a couple weeks with our friends and I’ve heard that seeing the China outside Tianjin has really changed his perspective of the country — I can’t wait to get some of his travel stories. In Nanchang, I need to renew my visa and find an apartment. The staff at Nanchang University have been very friendly and helpful so far, which gives me much to look forward too.

Happy Canada Day!

I just finished school yesterday. It’s so amazing… my first school year in China. Not my last. Some great times and some very difficult challenges.

The last month of school has been very intense which is why I haven’t been writting. Tomorrow, I’ll be doing a voice-over for an advertisement at the Tianjin TV station. When I get home, I have to pack my bags and prepare some shipments to friends and family in Canada. In two days I expect to leave Tianjin and head to Dalian (related: Google map of Dalian), a city reputed for it’s seafood, clean air, and nature. I had hoped to vacation in Dalian with some friends, but things can change quickly.

In order to renew my visa for another year I will have to travel to Nanchang (南昌市). (related: Google map of Nanchang) Unfortunately the local immigration office says it is unable to process my visa renewal here in Tianjin and that it must be renewed in a local office near the school—Nanchang University (南昌大学). I’ll have to give up my plans to teach English and visit with friends, but c’est la vie (a French expression meaning “it is life”).

At least I’m not getting chased by bears. I’m chatting online with my friend Steve and suddenly he had to go to fend off 2-bears. Apparantly it’s the same bears that seiged his camp for 5-hours last night. We all have our challenges.

Thanks for your support everyone! Thank you to my new friends in China! Thank you to TRU and TUT for your support!

Last night I got to see a small punk concert in Beijing. I’m not a big punk fan, but it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the bands and the atmosphere. Leaving the club I experienced my first Beijing sandstorm. Nothing exciting really. It was just strong winds with sand blowing in your eyes, mouth, hair, etc. I’ve heard a lot about them, but we haven’t had anything like that in Tianjin.

[Part 1 is here: Danger on Campus]

Today was pretty uneventful, but that’s only if you measure it by Chinese standards. This morning I mingled in the morning crowd for safety as I went to a print shop to print some homework out to hand-in. I was startled by a large group of students with shovels examining the holes. I’ll guess there were 20 students, but the crowd moves fast around the hot zone so I couldn’t look too closely. It seemed like they were examining the holes, and possibly trying to fill them with dirt. For a creature that apparently can burrow tunnels of such a great size, I’m not sure what effect filling the holes may have, but I’ll reserve judgment for the time being. I also saw a backhoe parked nearby, so this seems to be a serious initiative. I will attempt to get pictures tomorrow if I can get close enough.

There was a report of a short girl being taken down into the tunnels, but it turns out to have been a mistake. I’ve been told her boyfriend was supposed to meet her at her dorm which is located near to the hot zone. When she wasn’t there to meet him, he may have leapt to the conclusion that she’d been abducted by the creature. Friends are saying that he forgot that his watch is set 10-minutes early to avoid being late for appointments and he probably only missed his girlfriend by moments. Despite the “business as usual” attitude, everyone is taking the threat very seriously. Is it possible their story only has a happy ending in order to calm to student body? This whole situation is just beyond anything in my experience.

The only real news I have to report tonight is a suggestion I received from a contact high-up in the student union. This person, whose identity I must conceal, has suggested it might not be a gopher; instead, it might be some creature related to the pangolin. This certainly might explain the strong foul smell in the air that I had assumed had to do with the spring cleaning of sewers that is also currently being conducted around Tianjin and the school. If you, like me, have no idea what a pangolin is, you may want to read a description of a pangolin from Answers.com. Obviously what we have on campus isn’t a normal pangolin. Some friends have suggested there may have been some mutation and have connected this animal to a recent explosion of a chemical plant in northeast China.

Stay tuned…

In a strange twist of events today, one of my friends in the student union took special care to warn me and Ryan to be careful when walking around campus for the next week or so. They say we shouldn’t be alarmed and that if we walk in the centre of the roads, and only walk during the peak daylight times, our risk of injury should be greatly reduced. Why all the fuss? I took my camera out to document what has really put a shroud of fear over the student body.

Gopher holes two-feet in diameter

Apparently some kind of rare giant Chinese gopher makes an appearance every few years in the North-Eastern provinces of China. I’m told it’s very strange for such a beast to break the surface in such a densly populated area, but no one is taking any chances. Fact or fiction, there are many stories abound of the giant Chinese gopher taking small children into it’s complex tunnel system never to be heard from again.

More mysterious holes

It all seems a little far-fetched to me, but it’s hard to go against the cooling feeling of fear that shrouds the campus. At English Corner — a weekly meeting place for students to practice their English speaking and listening skills — I’ve heard many stories about them, but even most students dismissed the stories as fiction until these giant tunnels appeared on campus. Despite all this, my classmates and fellow students seem determined to show they are unafraid of walking around their the school grounds. Perhaps the manditory military training they are required to complete when they begin university gives them the courage. Whatever it is, these students are determinded to show that, around here, it’s just “business as usual”.

Business as Usual

An internet outage this morning was initially blamed on the animal chewing through the school’s high-tech underground fibre-optic communication network. I have my own theory. I think it’s much more plausable that one of the ancient servers providing internet access on campus got a blue-screen. My theory may not be correct, but the speed of the internet on campus has been measured as “next-to-useless” by some network experts formerly studying here ruling out the existance of an advanced underground communication network. We know these problems are limited to the school because we’ve seen that internet access at the dorms for foreigners — a new building that is just across the street from the school — does not filter through the school’s main hub and thus can get normal high-speed internet and enable them to use amenities we cannot, such as MSN chat or computer-based phone systems (like Skype) that allow people to make long distance calls home without spending the equivilent of one week’s food budget to make a 1.5 hour long-distance phone call.

In the meantime, I promise to be safe and report to you, my loyal readers, any details and further reports as they become available.

On Thursday, Ryan and I went to the post office to see if any of our packages had arrived; both of us have been waiting for longer than we can remember for boxes from our families. China Post was very clear that unless we have a piece of paper with some kind of tracking/inventory number on it, they can’t check their shelves for it, despite my previous experience which directly contradicts this.

With amazing timing, a slip was delivered to our dorm Friday late-afternoon which happened to notify us of a package for Ryan at the school post office. We decided backup was in order, so we brought a friend with us. We walk into the small office and, while Ryan’s trying to get his package, I spot a large envelope clearly marked by Canada Post and addressed to me! By the time Ryan and our friend finish talking with the worker, we learned several things:

1. The slip we received that afternoon was labelled incorrectly: it was for me, not Ryan
2. The envelope I found collecting dust on the shelf was unrelated to the slips of paper. I have to wonder if I would have ever received my package despite the clear address — including dorm building, house number and even room number.
3. The office gave us a second piece of paper, because (apparently) both Ryan and I had each received a package — unrelated to the envelope I discovered — but had only notified us about the one for me (that had been mislabelled as if it was for Ryan).
4. Our packages are not at the school post office with all the other packages. That makes too much sense!

Instead, we had to take a 10-minute bus ride to the bigger China Post outlet where we had visited the day before and been refused. We hand our slips to the person behind the counter who yells to one person in the back room, who yells to someone else, who in turn yells to a man in his 30’s who bustles out to examine our slips. He disappears for a moment and returns with a box for each of us.

I thought I was just tagging along with Ryan as he picks up his mail and I end up getting an envelope and parcel in the process. China Post never ceases to astonish me, but at least the packages seem to arrive. Poor Ryan missed his last package when they delivered the notification slip to him one day after they returned the package to Canada because it sat for so long without being picked up.

What a great week. We get back from Shanghai after an absolutely fantastic trip and we find the local grocery store has a sale on a camping BBQ with coal — RMB$50 (CAD$7). I don’t remember the last time I made my own burger patties, but I swear they were the best burgers I’ve eaten in a very, very long time. After pancakes for breakfast, only one thing could have made this a perfect night.

So delicious!!

(Inspired by “Friday B&B” at Dust My Broom)