ChinaTeacher

Well, after 4 fun-filled weeks in Canada and the United States, I have arrived in Hangzhou, safe, sound and exhausted! In retrospect, I tried to cram far too much into this holiday. I left China on June 1st and spent the first week in Vancouver, visiting friends and ex-employers (never burn your bridges!), followed by a flight to Charlotte, NC to visit/surprise my nieces who I haven’t seen for 4 years! The girls are 10 and 13 years old now, and already starting to act like young ladies (well, not ALL the time!). 6 days later, I boarded a bus headed to Atlanta to visit my youngest brother, his wife and newborn baby girl. Once all my ‘auntie’ duties were completed, I flew up to Edmonton to see my middle brother and his wife. That’s right; I have three brothers! Sidetrips to Banff and Canmore were added to my visit to Edmonton – I can’t believe how developed Canmore has become – real estate prices already surpass the average person’s reach. My last week in Canada was spent in Vancouver, visiting with friends and meeting with my bank, financial advisor, etc. to set things up for another two years in Asia. I really don’t want to pack it in until everything on my Asia travel  wishlist is checked off!

My teaching contract with my English School finished on May 31, 2006 so I won’t be working again until September (when i start teaching at University here in Hangzhou). That’s 3 months! This is the longest break I have ever had (since before starting primary school!). I wish I could say I will be relaxing during this time, but as soon as I finish unpacking from Canada, I need to start packing up my apartment. I’m moving to the university campus next week, and then I head off to Cambodia the week after. I will be so sick of packing by then!

Up until now, my blog generally has portrayed only the ‘positive’ aspects of living in China. As a result, most people think my life here is pretty easy. Well, let me give you an idea of how frustrating things can get sometimes – now remember, this is just a small example:

I needed milk the other day, and thought I’d pick up a small carton for my coffee while I was at KFC (yes, KFC has infiltrated China, big time!). I ordered one milk from the guy at the cash. I received a cup of hot milk. I said, no, I want cold milk. The next thing I know, some guy is hanging over the ice machine, filling a glass with ice cubes to go with the hot milk. I asked them to please cancel my order, and apologized profusely of course.

Most problems are very small, but over time these small frustrations build up to a frenzy and some of us actually ‘freak out’ once our patience is tried to the limit. It usually happens at a time when you feel you’ve been living overseas long enough to feel a certain amount of confidence and, yes, arrogance.  It is always then, that the next difficulty hits, and you’re promptly knocked back on your heels and reminded that, yes, you’re living in a developing country, and don’t you dare forget that. This can be quite a humbling experience sometimes, and serves as a lesson for ‘control freaks’ like me!