In the beginning...

I’ve already been in Changsha for more than a week and a half. For those of you who have claimed you’ll come visit me at some point, my trip took about 17 hours. It didn't feel as long as I remember, but I was very drained by the time I arrived in Changsha. I just don’t want you to be caught off guard J.

As I found my way to the Changsha terminal in the Beijing airport, it was pretty obvious that I was leaving the internationalized atmosphere of Beijing and heading to a city with a very different feel. On the most basic level, I was the only non-Chinese person at the gate. In addition, there was definitely less English in this domestic flight area than there had been elsewhere in the airport. This was all predictable, I suppose, and was exactly what I had been hoping for in my new experience, but it was pretty interesting to actually see and feel the change happen.

When I arrived, I hopped into a cab and gave the driver the directions to Drew and Rachel’s house (friends who have lived in Changsha for the last four years). I had quite a bit of difficulty understanding the cab driver (his accent was pretty thick), but I didn't have too much difficulty communicating what I needed from him. Drew met us at the front gate of Central South University (CSU) and helped us find their apartment. By the time I arrived, I fully understood why the girl sitting next to me on the plane called Changsha one of China's four "ovens." It’s not much an exaggeration to say that I've never been so happy in my life to enter a room with air conditioning. We said a quick hello, then I took a shower and went to bed.

The next day, Drew went to work, and Rachel and I went to the open-air market with the little Addingtons [Titus, Jonathon (called 初初Chu1chu1), and Michael (called迈迈 Mai4mai4)]. We also went to the Foreign Student Office so I could register with the police. I ended up having to come back later with some more paperwork, and they were able to assign me to my dorm room a little earlier than I had expected. One of the other foreign students (from Vietnam) took me to the dorm buildings, helped me check in, and showed me my room.

With Drew and Rachel’s advice and guidance, I've spent most of my time here thus far trying to get myself organized moving my stuff into my dorm room (aided by 杨聪, one of Drew and Rachel’s friends), buying stuff from the market, opening bank accounts (one for the Foreign Student Office to use to deposit my living allowance and one that actually has good service), getting a Chinese cell phone number, getting internet hooked up in my room, buying a hot water card and a laundry card, etc. Drew and Rachel have been kind enough to feed me quite frequently since I arrived. Thankfully, Rachel can cook well, and I even got some tastes of home I hadn't expected to find in Changsha.

One of my biggest takeaways so far in the short time I've been here came as a result of checking in to the Foreign Student Office. I found it strange that every time they referred to me, they used both my name and my nationality. In some respects, those are two of the easiest ways to identify the various foreign students who are here, but it felt like they were using my nationality more like a signal than simply as an identifying characteristic. Rachel suggested that they probably give me preference in things like dorm room assignment a) because I’m from a developed country and went to a university recognized by people in China and b) as a “saving face” mechanism. I've since met a guy from England and mentioned how weird it felt to receive special treatment. He told me he was used to it by now and has received many free drinks in the bars he’s visited over the last couple years because he's a foreigner. I’d consider this pure hospitality except not all nationalities are treated in the same way. I've definitely had a privileged life with not much more than what has popularly become known as “first world problems” (I apologize for the lack of political correctness). However, this is the first time in my life I can remember where I was conspicuously singled out and treated differently because of where I come from. Though I realize that many people have a much keener understanding of how an individual’s background impacts the way they are treated by others (usually in a negative way), this experience of mine has made me think a little bit deeper than I have before what that really means. It makes me feel like I’m an accomplice to injustice, and I can’t say it makes me feel very comfortable. Just something for remember in the coming years…

A couple days after I checked in, I waltzed out of my dorm room to find out that I was 10 minutes late for a foreigner physical that I hadn't been told was happening. The bus was running late, so I was still able to make it on, but I was definitely thrown off a bit. When we got to the physical examination facility (yes, there is a facility that exists wholly for this purpose), I was quickly educated on many differences between the way the medical system works in China and the way it works in the United States. First, as they took all of my information, they displayed it on a screen facing the people who were lined up quite closely behind me. So much for HIPAA. First was a blood test. I have to say that they were very efficient, but I was surprised when they handed me my empty blood tubes and told me to get in another line to have my blood drawn. I don’t know very much about how the medical field works, but it seems to me that letting the patient walk away with their blood test tubes is not the best way to insure the integrity of the test. I then had to do an eye test, have my weight taken, have an ultrasound, an EKG, and a chest x-ray. Privacy was definitely not the emphasis. People were brought into the rooms for these various tests five or so people at a time. Women had a curtain pulled for them while the tests were conducted but us guys did not. I could live with all of this since I’m not personally that sensitive about my medical information, but it was interesting to note the differences from what I would have expected in the United States. Oh, and I saved the best two observations for last! Right as I was getting over the fact that there was an open-air rack at an unstaffed window where people were supposed to place their non-lidded urine samples, the man in front of me lit a cigarette and started smoking. I found the whole experience pretty enlightening, and it made me chuckle a bit.

Last Saturday, I did a short hike with the Addington family and some of their friends. Changsha has a fireworks show every week, and we wanted to watch it from the mountain behind CSU. The hike was pretty nice, and the company was even better. The view from the mountain allowed me to get a slightly clearer picture of what the city looks like. The exteriors of Chinese buildings have a lot more lights than American buildings, so that added to the effect. On Sunday, I went with Drew and Rachel to one of Changsha’s three-self churches (the state-sanctioned ones). I really enjoyed it, but I understood VERY little of what they said. It’s now one of my many personal goals to be able to understand a service before I leave China.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t had much of an opportunity to meet and make friends with many foreign students. Since classes still haven’t started, people are left to their own devices to meet one another, and I've found that people have a very strong propensity to gravitate toward others who share their language, culture, etc. This being said, I have met someone from Ghana, two people from the UK, one person from Russia, someone from Laos, and a couple people from Vietnam. I’m very optimistic that it will be easier to break down walls once classes begin and we see one another on a more regular basis. One of Drew and Rachel’s Chinese friends has also been very helpful to me navigating pieces of my transition, and I've met a couple other Chinese students as well. They invited me to play basketball once it stops raining, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to hang out with them, even if playing costs me a fair bit of my ego when all is said and done.

I will meet with my classmates and adviser next Saturday, September 14^th. We will get our class schedules then and begin our classes the following week! 

I’ll post some pictures of CSU and my dorm room when I have the opportunity.

Cheers!