I haven't written for a few weeks, and for that I am sorry. I really wanted to make sure I wrote at least once a week but things have been a bit crazy here. Wo shi hen lei (I am very tired), but at least my Chinese is improving. So let's do a quick recap:
Apart from that it hasn't been very eventful, a few massages here, some swimming there, and a whole lot of time spent with the kid. He's off to Miami now, which I hope he actually learns from. He could use a good dose of manners. I've finally started to settle in here, the city doesn't seem so scary anymore. I guess it just takes some time. Maybe in another few months I'll actually start to feel like I belong in the city that never sleeps.
- I found some bars and clubs worth going to here. An Irish pub named Paddy Fields is almost identical to a real European pub . Plus they are always playing rugby or soccer games, which is nice. There are a few foreign clubs that are quite fun, Nova in the downtown area is my favorite. Then there's the Party Pier, which is a little out of the way (across the river) but it's pretty unique. It has a bunch of different bars all along this, strip I guess, surrounding this warehouse. It's good if you want to go to a bunch of places, and it's right on the water so the view is fabulous. Also, the clubs here are usually open until daylight, so you can stay out all night if that's what you want.
- I finally have a good Chinese friend. Chinese people are so nice, but they are also very shy and not a lot of them know English very well. But it's definitely a must to have someone close to you that knows the area and speaks the language. I've gotten lost a lot less.
- The weather is shaping up to be atrocious. I hear people complaining of how hot it is in Canada or the US and I just want to slap them. They know not of discomfort. You walk outside and two minutes later you are covered in a sheet of sweat. I sweat just washing the dishes because of the open window.
- I've found an ice skating rink in the city! It's on the fifth floor of this Grandview Mall plaza. It's actually my new favorite place because they have everything there. They even have a Papa John's pizzeria. I'm planning to test out the ice rink someday next week.
Apart from that it hasn't been very eventful, a few massages here, some swimming there, and a whole lot of time spent with the kid. He's off to Miami now, which I hope he actually learns from. He could use a good dose of manners. I've finally started to settle in here, the city doesn't seem so scary anymore. I guess it just takes some time. Maybe in another few months I'll actually start to feel like I belong in the city that never sleeps.
Roller Coaster crashes
Yesterday we went to an amusement park, and by we I mean Kiki, his aunt and her boy Charlie, Charlie’s aunt and myself. Kiki was the only person who could speak English, and he would never translate anything for me, I would have to ask him a bunch of times. So I spent the day in silence. Normally I love going to amusement parks- I like going on the massive scary roller coasters. But I got to go on none, because I was stuck following Kiki and the rest around. I went on one ride, it was this water boat one where essentially they try and get you as wet as possible. But it was fun because you had water cannons yourself, and could shoot the passerby’s. They could also shoot you though, with strategically placed water guns. Even though you get one of those plastic ran slicks, I came out drenched. The only part of me that was dry was the section from my stomach to just above my knees because I was keeled over trying not to get hit in the face. That was fun. It was a good thing it was sunny and hot out so I was dry by the time we headed home.
I can honestly say that day was a waste of my time, but I would have been angrier if I had to pay for it myself, which I didn’t. I couldn’t even eat all day because for lunch they got the grossest food they could have. Squid legs, sheep, and chicken arms (not wings because these were huuuuge suckers) on sticks and some sort of other fish that I couldn’t recognize. So yay me, I got to walk around in the blazing heat completely famished. At least I had water.
All in all I think this is my least favorite day of all. I could have been nice and cool at home reading Game of Thrones and eating all the delicious fruit I wanted.
I was also starred at by every single person that passed by. There was a lot of open mouthed awe, pointing, and picture taking. I don’t care if you want to take my picture but the least you could do is ask. I’m getting quite tired of people taking pictures on the metro, in the streets, while I’m talking to someone. At least if you ask I can make sure I look decent and not like I just lost a fight with a blow dryer. A few people have asked for photos though, three came up to me yesterday and asked so of course I said yes. A few have come up to me on the street. To me that doesn’t seem like a big deal, people would ask this kind of thing at home all the time, but because of Chinese culture coming up to a stranger and openly asking that or talking to them is weird. So they stare- because that isn’t weird at all. Funny though, especially when they are walking and then they bump into someone but try so hard to look all cool about it so you don’t think they’re an idiot. Hours of amusement.
At least the holidays are almost over, just today and then it’s back to normal. They plan so much into one day it’s hard to keep up. I never thought I’d be glad to start school, but actually having something to do and work on will be nice.
I can honestly say that day was a waste of my time, but I would have been angrier if I had to pay for it myself, which I didn’t. I couldn’t even eat all day because for lunch they got the grossest food they could have. Squid legs, sheep, and chicken arms (not wings because these were huuuuge suckers) on sticks and some sort of other fish that I couldn’t recognize. So yay me, I got to walk around in the blazing heat completely famished. At least I had water.
All in all I think this is my least favorite day of all. I could have been nice and cool at home reading Game of Thrones and eating all the delicious fruit I wanted.
I was also starred at by every single person that passed by. There was a lot of open mouthed awe, pointing, and picture taking. I don’t care if you want to take my picture but the least you could do is ask. I’m getting quite tired of people taking pictures on the metro, in the streets, while I’m talking to someone. At least if you ask I can make sure I look decent and not like I just lost a fight with a blow dryer. A few people have asked for photos though, three came up to me yesterday and asked so of course I said yes. A few have come up to me on the street. To me that doesn’t seem like a big deal, people would ask this kind of thing at home all the time, but because of Chinese culture coming up to a stranger and openly asking that or talking to them is weird. So they stare- because that isn’t weird at all. Funny though, especially when they are walking and then they bump into someone but try so hard to look all cool about it so you don’t think they’re an idiot. Hours of amusement.
At least the holidays are almost over, just today and then it’s back to normal. They plan so much into one day it’s hard to keep up. I never thought I’d be glad to start school, but actually having something to do and work on will be nice.
Cold feet
Today was a long day; an exciting day. I woke up with nothing to do, except skype with a friend (who never ended up being online anyways… You know who you are), but by the time I got home at 7:30pm I was absolutely exhausted. I could have gone to a sleepover with some other au pairs, but tonight I will sleep soundly in my own bed. Or at least the sad excuse that they seem to think is a bed here.
A friend asked me to come out and walk around with him today, so of course I said yes. After meeting him at the office, what was supposed to be walking around, turned into missioning to some other part of the city to meet two other friends for lunch. You see, I had come pretty late because my bus decided to just not show up. I dubbed it the invisible bus, because it’s supposed to come every 5 minutes or so, but it refused to show itself until a good half hour had passed. It knew I was in a hurry. I digress, we met the girls at this Italian place I forget the name of. But it was delicious, we all got pizza, I miss pizza, and it was surprisingly good. And cheap! In total my meal cost 26 yuan, which is roughly $4. In a good restaurant at home, it would be 5 or 6 times more expensive.
After lunch we went to meet a brand new friend from England, and then headed on over to an arcade to act like little children for awhile. I even won a stuffy from one of those claw machines! I was so excited, and it was only my second try! It was so much fun just running around and goofing off, I forgot what it’s like to just be a kid sometimes. Oh, and the stereotype that Asians are good at Dance Dance Revolution, is completely accurate. They even do actual dance moves and hand gestures, it’s ridiculous. It’s also common that people will just stand around and watch you play a game, especially if you’re not terrible at it (unlike me).
After the arcade, and the disbursement of some of our group members, I was taken shopping. The shops on the streets are much different than those in a mall. There are people in the streets yelling and waving signs to catch your attention, and stores of every kind. Street vendors selling eggs steeped in tea (sounds weird but they are supposed to be delicious), fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit in giant baskets, and every food you could imagine. The amount of food places here is beyond explanation. It’s surreal. There’s even this restaurant chain called Kungfu, with a picture of what looks to be jet li in fighting stance.
We walked through the rain and wind and sun, for hours. The spoils: two purses, for a combined of 40 yuan ($6) and of course tired feet. Then trying to find a cab was treacherous. We were standing in the rain for what seemed like forever until we ended up taking a ‘black cab’, an underground taxi. Normally I would never set foot in one, they say they’re dangerous (ha!), but it was our only way home. That cab took us to Juan’s where I had to take another cab to my place. That was even worse because I was standing almost in between lanes, waiting in the near dark for a good 45 minutes until finally I found a free cab, which in turn past my house by several blocks and I had to walk back in the rain.
So today there was some good and some bad. I got to hang out with friends, and really enjoy myself for the first time since coming here. I miss being able to just hang out with friends. I miss the ease of it, the talking, laughing, the friendship. The fact that I can talk about everything, and they get it because they’re going through the same thing. But I also wasted a lot of time, got lost and am extremely tired.
Today was a busy, busy day.
A friend asked me to come out and walk around with him today, so of course I said yes. After meeting him at the office, what was supposed to be walking around, turned into missioning to some other part of the city to meet two other friends for lunch. You see, I had come pretty late because my bus decided to just not show up. I dubbed it the invisible bus, because it’s supposed to come every 5 minutes or so, but it refused to show itself until a good half hour had passed. It knew I was in a hurry. I digress, we met the girls at this Italian place I forget the name of. But it was delicious, we all got pizza, I miss pizza, and it was surprisingly good. And cheap! In total my meal cost 26 yuan, which is roughly $4. In a good restaurant at home, it would be 5 or 6 times more expensive.
After lunch we went to meet a brand new friend from England, and then headed on over to an arcade to act like little children for awhile. I even won a stuffy from one of those claw machines! I was so excited, and it was only my second try! It was so much fun just running around and goofing off, I forgot what it’s like to just be a kid sometimes. Oh, and the stereotype that Asians are good at Dance Dance Revolution, is completely accurate. They even do actual dance moves and hand gestures, it’s ridiculous. It’s also common that people will just stand around and watch you play a game, especially if you’re not terrible at it (unlike me).
After the arcade, and the disbursement of some of our group members, I was taken shopping. The shops on the streets are much different than those in a mall. There are people in the streets yelling and waving signs to catch your attention, and stores of every kind. Street vendors selling eggs steeped in tea (sounds weird but they are supposed to be delicious), fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit in giant baskets, and every food you could imagine. The amount of food places here is beyond explanation. It’s surreal. There’s even this restaurant chain called Kungfu, with a picture of what looks to be jet li in fighting stance.
We walked through the rain and wind and sun, for hours. The spoils: two purses, for a combined of 40 yuan ($6) and of course tired feet. Then trying to find a cab was treacherous. We were standing in the rain for what seemed like forever until we ended up taking a ‘black cab’, an underground taxi. Normally I would never set foot in one, they say they’re dangerous (ha!), but it was our only way home. That cab took us to Juan’s where I had to take another cab to my place. That was even worse because I was standing almost in between lanes, waiting in the near dark for a good 45 minutes until finally I found a free cab, which in turn past my house by several blocks and I had to walk back in the rain.
So today there was some good and some bad. I got to hang out with friends, and really enjoy myself for the first time since coming here. I miss being able to just hang out with friends. I miss the ease of it, the talking, laughing, the friendship. The fact that I can talk about everything, and they get it because they’re going through the same thing. But I also wasted a lot of time, got lost and am extremely tired.
Today was a busy, busy day.
Sheep meat and shrimp eyes
Tonight, the family took me to dinner in the country. Or what they call the country and I still call the city. We went to a beautiful seafood restaurant right on the shore of one of the rivers. The view at night was magnificent. We even sat on the patio, so we go the full view and a nice breeze. I guess the patio is more like the roof since it was upstairs.
It was a different kind of eating experience. They have these huge round tables, and one the middle is a sort of round spinny plate. Yes, I should definitely win an award for descriptive writing. Anyhoo, they kept bringing us plates and plates of food. Whole fish, shrimp with faces, crab in noodles, goose, some other sort of slimy fish (my guess is eel of something), fried green beans, bread (their bread always has some sort of pork or beef filling), raw salmon chunks, and the list goes on. It was a feast, and an expensive one at that. I don’t know why they always order so much here, even though they eat like elephants, they still never finish everything. I surprised myself by being adventurous and tried every dish. Except the chicken feet, I’m not there yet (nor will I ever be). But I had the goose, and a crab pincers and raw salmon! I never even liked raw salmon on my sushi. But this was.. completely different. It was so fresh I swear it twitched and it was amazing. Real Cantonese food.
I’m very happy I was adventurous enough tonight because I haven’t liked the food we’ve been eating for the past week. It’s all from their local town, hot pot, and they put weird meat in it like sheep. They put it in raw and let it boil for like a minute. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t constitute that as cooked. So I’ve been on an all veggie/rice diet. It’s good, but it’s not very filling. But, I don’t want to complain, they are so nice and welcoming, the least I can do is go without some food for awhile. I may just make a trip to the grocery store in the morning and hoard as much fruit as I can.
It was a different kind of eating experience. They have these huge round tables, and one the middle is a sort of round spinny plate. Yes, I should definitely win an award for descriptive writing. Anyhoo, they kept bringing us plates and plates of food. Whole fish, shrimp with faces, crab in noodles, goose, some other sort of slimy fish (my guess is eel of something), fried green beans, bread (their bread always has some sort of pork or beef filling), raw salmon chunks, and the list goes on. It was a feast, and an expensive one at that. I don’t know why they always order so much here, even though they eat like elephants, they still never finish everything. I surprised myself by being adventurous and tried every dish. Except the chicken feet, I’m not there yet (nor will I ever be). But I had the goose, and a crab pincers and raw salmon! I never even liked raw salmon on my sushi. But this was.. completely different. It was so fresh I swear it twitched and it was amazing. Real Cantonese food.
I’m very happy I was adventurous enough tonight because I haven’t liked the food we’ve been eating for the past week. It’s all from their local town, hot pot, and they put weird meat in it like sheep. They put it in raw and let it boil for like a minute. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t constitute that as cooked. So I’ve been on an all veggie/rice diet. It’s good, but it’s not very filling. But, I don’t want to complain, they are so nice and welcoming, the least I can do is go without some food for awhile. I may just make a trip to the grocery store in the morning and hoard as much fruit as I can.
Ramon noodle hair
Sunday, a day of peace. People here do not seem to agree. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that everything is as busy Sunday as it is Saturday. Stores open at 9, people are out and about doing errands and shopping. No one goes to church. China is actually viewed as an atheist state. No religion. No Holy Day to hold them back. This might be one of the reasons their economy is soaring.
Although it’s unfair to say no religion. Most people here are Buddhist, in my opinion the best kind of religion because it is no religion at all. It’s spirituality, becoming the best person you can be and then helping others do the same. No God to pray to. No rule book (except Buddhist principles that are more like guidelines for good health). No temple. Just you, facing your demons. Makes sense to me.
I met the dad Danny for the first time. He doesn’t speak any English. Regardless he seems very nice. Faraway, perhaps, but that’s what father figures are usually like. Hopefully I can learn some Chinese and be able to converse with him more, supposedly he’s also funny- but I don’t get it.
We had a traditional hot pot from their home town. It included lovely sheep meat, as well as pig knuckles and ears, pork snouts and a variety of other things I refused to eat. I went to bed hungry because the only safe thing was the rice and the veggies. Today made up for it though because we had dumplings for breakfast (that I made last night with the mom Sofia and Ching, I’m pretty good at it too!) and vegetable fried rice for lunch! I don’t really know if you can call it vegetarian though, it had pork mixed in like everything else. I think they use pork more than we use butter. Nothing here is vegetarian. I feel like if you asked for something, they’d give it to you with pork. They don’t know the concept here.
I also had my hair compared to noodles by Kiki. Yes, thank you, I am aware it is curly, I really didn’t need you to point out that it resembles insta-food. Just a day in the life.
Although it’s unfair to say no religion. Most people here are Buddhist, in my opinion the best kind of religion because it is no religion at all. It’s spirituality, becoming the best person you can be and then helping others do the same. No God to pray to. No rule book (except Buddhist principles that are more like guidelines for good health). No temple. Just you, facing your demons. Makes sense to me.
I met the dad Danny for the first time. He doesn’t speak any English. Regardless he seems very nice. Faraway, perhaps, but that’s what father figures are usually like. Hopefully I can learn some Chinese and be able to converse with him more, supposedly he’s also funny- but I don’t get it.
We had a traditional hot pot from their home town. It included lovely sheep meat, as well as pig knuckles and ears, pork snouts and a variety of other things I refused to eat. I went to bed hungry because the only safe thing was the rice and the veggies. Today made up for it though because we had dumplings for breakfast (that I made last night with the mom Sofia and Ching, I’m pretty good at it too!) and vegetable fried rice for lunch! I don’t really know if you can call it vegetarian though, it had pork mixed in like everything else. I think they use pork more than we use butter. Nothing here is vegetarian. I feel like if you asked for something, they’d give it to you with pork. They don’t know the concept here.
I also had my hair compared to noodles by Kiki. Yes, thank you, I am aware it is curly, I really didn’t need you to point out that it resembles insta-food. Just a day in the life.
Dolphin tricks
Today we went to the Zoo. I swear I could live there. When I saw the tigers I almost had to physically restrain myself from jumping the fence and going to pet them. Probably not the greatest first instinct.
Although I love them, I forgot how caged they keep the animals there. I felt so bad for some of the tigers, they were three to a pen. They got along fine though, or seemingly so. I can’t say the same for some of the dolphins. After the aquatic show, which was amazing but short, I stayed to take a picture with one of the dolphins. But when the first boy went up to see the dolphin lying on the platform, one of the other animals came and attacked the first one. They proceeded to have a high speed chase through the water. I think they were just tired and throwing a hissy fit. I mean, if I had to perform the same tricks four times a day every day, I’d be pissed too. They calmed down after they got their treats. For an instant, I thought they were about to go all Free Willy on me. I can only see that ending badly.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see a lot of the animals because the sea creatures took up most of our time. Which is a bummer because I don’t even like fish. I did get my finger sucked on by koi fish though. Little known fact: they drink milk. Surprised me too, but you could feed them in a bottle, that’s why they try and bite your fingers off. Now, unlike me who was taken by surprise, you know this before you stick your hand in a koi fish pond. We also won some fish playing games. I only won one, I don’t really like carnival games, but Kiki played a bunch and came home with 16 new ones. Our aquarium is now so full, we had to add an extension. My fish is white and orange, I named him Diablo, after one devilish fish we used to have back home. That sucker just would not die.
For dinner we ate at the, locally famous, restaurant 1920. It’s the only German restaurant in the city, and very expensive. Maybe not for us, dinner for three costs about $50 CAD, but that’s a lot compared to the usual $5. Living expenses are ridiculously low here. The food was surprisingly native, of course mixed with the odd pig foot for local cuisine. It was absolutely delicious.
Something to know about how they eat here, no one orders their own plate of food. You order a bunch of stuff, put it in the middle and share. Cantonese style is usually a saucy meat and vegetable mix over rice. Ching and I made curry the other day that was amazing. And I normally hate curry.
Well this has turned into a very long blog post. One last thing to know is that the streets come alive at night here. It isn’t unusual to see families with little children walking around at 11pm. And the bright neon lights everywhere just add to the constant sense of festivities.
Big city, bright lights.
Although I love them, I forgot how caged they keep the animals there. I felt so bad for some of the tigers, they were three to a pen. They got along fine though, or seemingly so. I can’t say the same for some of the dolphins. After the aquatic show, which was amazing but short, I stayed to take a picture with one of the dolphins. But when the first boy went up to see the dolphin lying on the platform, one of the other animals came and attacked the first one. They proceeded to have a high speed chase through the water. I think they were just tired and throwing a hissy fit. I mean, if I had to perform the same tricks four times a day every day, I’d be pissed too. They calmed down after they got their treats. For an instant, I thought they were about to go all Free Willy on me. I can only see that ending badly.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see a lot of the animals because the sea creatures took up most of our time. Which is a bummer because I don’t even like fish. I did get my finger sucked on by koi fish though. Little known fact: they drink milk. Surprised me too, but you could feed them in a bottle, that’s why they try and bite your fingers off. Now, unlike me who was taken by surprise, you know this before you stick your hand in a koi fish pond. We also won some fish playing games. I only won one, I don’t really like carnival games, but Kiki played a bunch and came home with 16 new ones. Our aquarium is now so full, we had to add an extension. My fish is white and orange, I named him Diablo, after one devilish fish we used to have back home. That sucker just would not die.
For dinner we ate at the, locally famous, restaurant 1920. It’s the only German restaurant in the city, and very expensive. Maybe not for us, dinner for three costs about $50 CAD, but that’s a lot compared to the usual $5. Living expenses are ridiculously low here. The food was surprisingly native, of course mixed with the odd pig foot for local cuisine. It was absolutely delicious.
Something to know about how they eat here, no one orders their own plate of food. You order a bunch of stuff, put it in the middle and share. Cantonese style is usually a saucy meat and vegetable mix over rice. Ching and I made curry the other day that was amazing. And I normally hate curry.
Well this has turned into a very long blog post. One last thing to know is that the streets come alive at night here. It isn’t unusual to see families with little children walking around at 11pm. And the bright neon lights everywhere just add to the constant sense of festivities.
Big city, bright lights.
Turtle Racing and Bubbletea
Wow, my second post already. I wonder if there’s a limit to how much you can post at a time.
Today, I went shopping with Gabby, an au pair from Hungary. We get along great, which is why I am sad that she’s almost done her contract here. A lot of the au pairs are. I guess I came at a really random time. I met the majority of them a few days ago. Luckily they’re all pretty awesome. And if any of them happen upon this blog, you’re my favorite!
Surprisingly I’m the only one who speaks English natively, 5 of them are from Latin America! Not a single other Canadian to share fond ice skating memories and watch the Stanley Cup with.
But I digress! Lately it’s been raining buckets… Or rather tubs. Luckily it lets up a bit when I leave the house. Magic rain powers? I hope so! I got to see, yet another, mall. This one though was underground and led into the subway station. It was pretty sick. I bought my first things from the grocery store, thankfully Gabby knows more Chinese than I do, so she was my translator. When we were done we went to this café called RBT (they say rabbit). It is very hard to find a café where you can just sit and talk for awhile, everything here is just take and go. Instead of coffee (because despite the rain it was still bloody warm) we got smoothies. I guess they’re as close to bubble tea as I’ll get. Except the tapioca balls were much more delicious.
I also went bread shopping with Chi, the housekeeper. She doesn’t speak any English so communication is very strained. But we figure it out, and it’s so nice that she’s trying instead of just giving up and leaving me all by my lonesome. It took us 10 minutes last night to figure out she was asking me if I wanted to come grocery shopping. I think I’m getting really good at miming. If my law career fails at least I have a back up now!
Oh! And I found out we have turtles! I never saw them because they're hidden. Now I have something to do in my spare time. So if you're in the area, hit me up for some illegal turtle racing. We may be here for awhile though because they don't know how to take direction. I'll let you guess what I named them! ... ... ... Raphael and Donatello. Raphael is the one who decided to have a mood swing and not come out of his shell for a photo.
Today, I went shopping with Gabby, an au pair from Hungary. We get along great, which is why I am sad that she’s almost done her contract here. A lot of the au pairs are. I guess I came at a really random time. I met the majority of them a few days ago. Luckily they’re all pretty awesome. And if any of them happen upon this blog, you’re my favorite!
Surprisingly I’m the only one who speaks English natively, 5 of them are from Latin America! Not a single other Canadian to share fond ice skating memories and watch the Stanley Cup with.
But I digress! Lately it’s been raining buckets… Or rather tubs. Luckily it lets up a bit when I leave the house. Magic rain powers? I hope so! I got to see, yet another, mall. This one though was underground and led into the subway station. It was pretty sick. I bought my first things from the grocery store, thankfully Gabby knows more Chinese than I do, so she was my translator. When we were done we went to this café called RBT (they say rabbit). It is very hard to find a café where you can just sit and talk for awhile, everything here is just take and go. Instead of coffee (because despite the rain it was still bloody warm) we got smoothies. I guess they’re as close to bubble tea as I’ll get. Except the tapioca balls were much more delicious.
I also went bread shopping with Chi, the housekeeper. She doesn’t speak any English so communication is very strained. But we figure it out, and it’s so nice that she’s trying instead of just giving up and leaving me all by my lonesome. It took us 10 minutes last night to figure out she was asking me if I wanted to come grocery shopping. I think I’m getting really good at miming. If my law career fails at least I have a back up now!
Oh! And I found out we have turtles! I never saw them because they're hidden. Now I have something to do in my spare time. So if you're in the area, hit me up for some illegal turtle racing. We may be here for awhile though because they don't know how to take direction. I'll let you guess what I named them! ... ... ... Raphael and Donatello. Raphael is the one who decided to have a mood swing and not come out of his shell for a photo.
Welcome to Guangzhou, and have a nice life
ad·ven·ture [ad-ven-cher] noun
An exciting or very unusual experience.
This definition seems pretty accurate to me, mostly because
I, myself, thought this idea was crazy. Why I thought it would be a good idea
to go to a foreign country, where I don’t speak their native language, and stay
there for a year, is much beyond my knowledge. But here I am, Day 3 of starting
my job as an au pair in China.
The first thing I noticed is how ridiculously hot it is. You
see, I am from Canada, which means most of my year is fairly cold. Then I come
here, to the south of China, and all of a sudden I feel like I’m on vacation in
Mexico or the Caribbean. There are palm trees, tall green trees, ones that look
like banana trees, and so many different kinds of birds and animals I can’t
name. There are also monkeys in the park outside my window. At least I’m
telling myself they are monkeys because I don’ want to think about what else
could make those sounds.
The second thing I noticed was how many people there are. I
know, you’re thinking “duh, it’s the most populated place on earth, have you
been living under a rock?” I know the statistics, but it still doesn’t prepare
you for how many people are just out and about walking around all day. Streets
and malls are packed. Out of all my travels I have never seen this many people
and cars and buses; not in New York City, and not even in Paris. It’s hard to
breathe without being face to face with some random stranger. All of which, by
the way, stare. Like it’s their day job.
Despite all this culture-shock-value stuff, I seem to be
settling in well. Hopefully this lasts.
An exciting or very unusual experience.
This definition seems pretty accurate to me, mostly because
I, myself, thought this idea was crazy. Why I thought it would be a good idea
to go to a foreign country, where I don’t speak their native language, and stay
there for a year, is much beyond my knowledge. But here I am, Day 3 of starting
my job as an au pair in China.
The first thing I noticed is how ridiculously hot it is. You
see, I am from Canada, which means most of my year is fairly cold. Then I come
here, to the south of China, and all of a sudden I feel like I’m on vacation in
Mexico or the Caribbean. There are palm trees, tall green trees, ones that look
like banana trees, and so many different kinds of birds and animals I can’t
name. There are also monkeys in the park outside my window. At least I’m
telling myself they are monkeys because I don’ want to think about what else
could make those sounds.
The second thing I noticed was how many people there are. I
know, you’re thinking “duh, it’s the most populated place on earth, have you
been living under a rock?” I know the statistics, but it still doesn’t prepare
you for how many people are just out and about walking around all day. Streets
and malls are packed. Out of all my travels I have never seen this many people
and cars and buses; not in New York City, and not even in Paris. It’s hard to
breathe without being face to face with some random stranger. All of which, by
the way, stare. Like it’s their day job.
Despite all this culture-shock-value stuff, I seem to be
settling in well. Hopefully this lasts.