Linyi is the "small" city in Shandong province that I am going to be living and working in. Linyi means next to yi river and shandong means west of the mountain. I was especially excited to hear that its only a few hours from the Yellow Sea and a few famous mountains in China are also nearby. Its pretty much the halfway point between Shanghai and Beijing. Sam had warned me that it is very small, however I don't think we measure things the same. Linyi has a population of around 5 million in the city center alone! I guess thats small in comparison to Beijing, but I'm not worried about being cut off from civilization.
I arrived in Linyi about a week ago and it was a difficult transition to say the least.
When I first arrived I wasn't even sure someone would be there to pick me up. The airport is the smallest one I've ever seen! (Shanghai boasts 2 enormous airports) So I stepped off the plane into the cold rain with only my backpack. I had sent the rest of my luggage from Beijing early so that I wouldn't have to take it to Shanghai and it would be in Linyi well before I arrived (a good idea if china was on any sort of time schedule) Just as I feared my luggage didn't come for 3 days after I got there, making it 5 days late.
So as you can imagine I was pretty stressed about that, but atleast someone picked me up and brought me back to campus. It was late and I was starving and freezing. I was told the early bird gets the worm and shown to my room. My immediate reaction was that it was some sort of run down cheap motel room. UGH.
So I was introduced to 3 of the assistant administrators of the office of foreign affairs whom live on the same floor and they comforted me by telling me it would get better. They had faced the same sort of panic upon arriving. I didn't feel much better. I actually freaked out pretty bad. I was seriously considering going home, but even considering my situation I'm not ready to leave China.
My friend Liang from Beijing happened to be on holiday and went home to his hometown in Jiangsu province (which is just south of Shandong).
Linyi borders Jiangsu and Liang's 2 best friends live in Linyi. He knew I was going to Linyi and was very concerned and wanted me to meet his friends. He had already contacted them and after texting him that I was in Linyi, he had one of his friends call me.
I was out for coffee with the american administrators Gabe, Phil, and Bo and 2 Russian pianists when i got the call. I handed the phone to the waiter and had him explain to Liang's friend where we were.
Hui ge speaks english really well but he had brought his cousin who spoke english even better. Hui ge is tall and slim and has high cheekbones and wise eyes. I don't have any pictures yet but Im sure I will eventually. We explained to him my situation and how scared I felt about my visa. He told me that if I wanted to go back to Beijing to fly home that he could help me get a train ticket. I also found out that his father is a teacher and he lives on the other side of the same campus that I live. We then got to listen to the Russian couple play piano. The man plays jazz and his wife plays classical piano. This really cheered me up. thank you russians…i cant recall their names at the moment.
Later I went back to my room, which was so depressing. I didn't have internet and it seemed so dirty. The next couple days I waited for my luggage and weighed my options.
Then Liang announced that he was coming to Linyi that evening. Hui ge and Liang's other friend Ni Zhonghua picked me up and we all went to the bus station (which is the biggest one I've ever seen!) We finally met up with Liang and his friend Galette and went out to eat at a really nice restaurant. Liang repeatedly told me that if I had any problems his 2 friends would help me. I believe him too. I get the sense that relationships mean so much here. Just because I am a friend of Liang, his friends really would do anything they could to help me. This made me feel better. After the feast, we went to a KTV where pretty much just Liang and Hui gu sang there hearts out. It was fun. And yes Colleen…Liang sang Dou jiang You tiao and devoted it to me! lol.
The next day I woke up early expecting that I would hear from the guys and sure enough they texted me around 9 to meet them at the front gate. Liang, Ni Zhonghua, and Galette met me and wanted to go to Mcdonalds for breakfast. Hui Ge couldn't come because he had to work. I chose pancakes because the breakfast sandwiches look weird.
After breakfast we walked through rennin guanchang (people's square) and took pictures.
Then we went to this science and technology office and met some guys that took us to a science museum. It was really fun. We were like little kids lol.
Then we went to some courts next to the river to play basketball. I watched and took pictures…
Then we went to hot pot ... it was soo good. I didn't realize how much I LOVE seafood Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery. Imagine fresh shrimp, fish, crab, shredded beef, herbs, dove eggs, and all sorts of foods being dumped into a large pot of boiling spices.
After that one of the business guys, Yong gu, took us to a really cute quiet place for drinks. We had red wine mixed with sprite which is actually really tasty. It was a nice time. I sat quiet and tried to understand what was being said and occasionally Liang would translate for me. A very good day in Linyi.
The next morning we went out for breakfast and said goodbye to Liang and Galette who were leaving at noon. After we said good bye, Hui ge took me to get a Linyi phone number. I had decided to stay for one semester. I have to come home in January to renew my visa anyways. I know I will be returning to China, I feel strongly about that too.
I went back to my room and made a list that included cleaning supplies and a bamboo cover for my bed. Then I took a taxi to the main market in Linyi which is under people's square called Da Ren Fa. I bought all sorts of things to brighten up my place and also as much food as I could carry. Ok food. Now that my chinese friends have left i feel like my diet will change significantly. Seriously, chinese people want you to eat and they take you out and wont let you pay. Its all good food too. But now, because I don't know the good places to eat and I cant really cook(I don't have a kitchen! grrrrr) I will be eating simple foods. The last few days I have been living off of fruit and yogurt. The real yogurt here is so good. I also found natural peanut butter and wheat bread at Da Ren Fa. cool! and i found a bubble tea place nearby and the first thing I tried turned out to be awesome. Its coconut milk tea with mini bubbles. And early in the morning they sell dou jiang and you tiao right across the street from campus!
I also bought some frames…I have been wanting a pair since Beijing. yea?
I can't wait to find out where I will be teaching. There are 3 campus locations so I will most likely be taking a bus every morning. I am also considering buying a used bike to get around. Linyi doesn't have a subway system :(
Finally more foreign teachers are arriving. I was beginning to get so irritated with people staring at me. There are so few foreign people in this city that I unfortunately stand out. The good thing though is that its easy to make friends because people love to practice their english. Yesterday Ni zhonghua called me to meet him and his friend for tea. He practiced english and I got to practice chinese. Also I was treated with chinese flower tea which is really tasty. Most restaurants have watered down hot tea, but teahouses like the one that we went to have really good tea. I'm officially hooked. I pretty much still fit the stereotype my chinese friends have of americans though because I like black coffee and basketball.
I only wish I had followed the NBA before coming here though. The NBA is all the rage and I know nothing! They think its weird that I can play basketball yet don't follow the NBA. Its harder to watch games here too so they really don't understand why I didn't follow the NBA when I was in the U.S. where its very easy to watch.
More on Linyi soon…I start teaching in a week!!?
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