The travels of Justin

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!

In 9-months Tianjin has become a familiar place for me, just as Kamloops did in my single year of living there. From the cosy dorm at TUT, it’s hard to imagine the amazing growth that this city will experience over the next 5-years. With its population of 10-million people (about 1/3 the population of Canada), Tianjin is often referred to as a “second-tier” city to distinguish it against the most famous cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Dan Harris at the China Law blog gives an excellent introduction for the uninitiated of the changes that await investors and opportunity-seekers (including future TRU study-abroad students) in a great article featuring Tianjin:

• Tianjin, China — Second Tier City With A Bright Future

And it looks like Airbus is looking at putting their first non-European factory in Tianjin: “Tianjin, China — Flying High.“

The roof tiles just collapsed in the internet bar I’m using. It’s not a building collapse, just the tiles. Everyone looks okay, but it was pretty shocking. Crazy!

Roof collapse

I was just talking about how lovely this internet bar is a few days ago.

Is “good morning” China’s favourite greeting… even in the evening?

One of the TRU teachers visiting Tianjin has discovered how common this greeting seems to be. A few months ago I learned this for myself.
When walking into most restaurants and other businesses, sometimes a worker will say a polite and respectful Chinese greeting that, if you are not listening carefully, sounds a lot like the English words, “good morning.”

My British friend who understood the Chinese expression had a good laugh at me when I politely replied, “good morning,” while walking home one winter morning. Apparently I’m not the only one who has fallen into this trap. LOL!

Upon returning to school, I started a new class: Managerial Economics. My teacher has come from TRU in Canada to teach my class in China. The thing I enjoy best is not that the teacher is a native English speaker. Everyone assumes that language is the biggest thing, but I am enjoying a little bit of time where the teacher doesn’t care about me any more than any other student. Don’t get me wrong, it’s never been a big deal to be singled out in class as the only foreigner, but it’s nice to blend in for a change. We have lectures 5-days a week. The sememinar is every Friday and gives students a chance to practice application of the theories. It’s been made clear to me that I should not go to the seminars because the teachers want to speak only in Chinese. It means I don’t get regular support for the material, which is a bit challenging at first, but I think it’ll work out. I really enjoy the subject of the course and have enjoyed being kept very busy.

Since I haven’t written in a while, I wanted to share something that caught my eye from the China Daily newspaper. They have a section for news “from widely read Chinese media” that often is a mix of funny, sad, and interesting stories. Today I wanted to share a couple stories from the May 11^th edition. First, to any of my friends who are complaining that the Canadian job market is tough (assuming you’re outside Alberta, of course), just be glad you’re not competing against the crazy family in this morbid tale:

Mum hires help to cut off competitor’s legs

To help her daughter secure a job, a mother hired gangsters to cut off a competitor’s legs in Fuyang in Anhui province.

The daughter surnamed Gao and the victim surnamed Li are graduating students from the same college. They both applied for a teaching position in a local school in April.

After a paper examination and an interview, Li was the top candidate, and Gao came in the second. Since there was only one position available, Gao’s mum employed three gangsters to cut off Li’s legs on April 25.

All five suspects were arrested last week. The case is in progress.

Anhui Business News

In other great news from home, some people found the first ever wild bear who is a cross-breed between a polar bear and a grizzley bear. You might expect a punchline to follow, but National Geographic online has the story about how the discovery was made tragically after the animal has been shot and killed.

And before I forget… I want space kimchi!

I’m back from Korea and really enjoyed my short visit there. The most surprising thing for me was that Seoul reminded me of my home in Canada. I visited two (of three) Certainly with differences, but I liked it a lot.

School in Tianjin has resumed, but with a twist now. My program is a joint-program between TUT (China) and TRU (Canada) and it’s not just students who get to go on exchange. Several teachers from TRU have come to China to teach our classes and it’s been fun to see some friendly faces I haven’t seen in a long time. I’ve started taking Managerial Economics and it seems to be an application of microeconomic principles. I’ve put my extra-curriculur language studies on temporary hold while I focus on school; for those of you who are new to my webstite I’ll be moving to Nanchang, Jiangxi in September to study Mandarin.

I’m still not certain if I will be required to return to Canada this summer. Going home for a visit would be a mixed blessing. Of course I miss my friends and family, but I’m not a rich man and could use that airfare money to take care of other expenses.

The internet connection in my dorm has been unreliable and slow all year, but it’s been totally not working since I returned from Korea. It just means it takes a special trip to the smoke-filled internet bar to catch up on email and my website. I really don’t like the internet bars in the local area and normally try to avoid them. In Canada, most teachers won’t even accept handwritten homework, but that’s the norm at my school in China; thus, students who come here are playing video games and smoking packs of cigarettes at a time. The environment isn’t very welcoming for working on a thoughtful essay. I’ve heard about some places that are very nice, but it seems they’re all far from my school. Playing video games after class is a very common activity for my classmates and guys like me simply are not the ideal customer for the owners of this place.

Tianjin is now a long swim away. The ferry to Incheon, Korea was great. The seas were calm and the economy class beds comfortable. In Tianjin, the pollution combined with clouds (that may be related to the sandstorms) made visiblity very limited, but the size of the port is really amazing to see. It seemed to go on forever with ship after ship carrying stacks of cargo to and from all over the world. The newest 5-year plan of the Chinese Communist Party includes a plan to double the size of the Tianjin port. I can hardly imagine it.

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The ferry was an interesting language transition. The passengers spoke Chinese, Korean, or both. Even though I couldn’t understand what people were saying while I sat in the restaurant eating Kim Chi, I could always just ask in Chinese and start up a conversation. My limited volcabulary means the conversations are short, but it’s great to communicate. Tonight, I was asked by a Korean friend what I study, and I instintively responded in Chinese — such is the habit of mixing langues.

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Seoul looks very beautiful and even reminds me a bit of home; the trees are green and the sky is blue, but there are no big mountains and I can’t read the signs.

The first 7-days of May is a major labour holiday in China. Of the 3 courses I’m taking this semester, the first has just finished and the next will begin after the holiday. In a few hours I depart from Tianjin to my next destination: Seoul, South Korea. The ferry takes more than 24-hours from Tianjin to Incheon and then I’ll probably bus to Seoul. I’ll get 5-days in Korea before returning to finish class.