Welcome to China.

Welcome to China. This was what I told myself many times over the course of this one day, in varying degrees of sincerity or sarcasm. China, land of dichotomies.

After my medical exam (for work and residence permit) this morning in a Guilin hospital which didn’t have toilet paper or soap in the bathroom, I came back to Yangshuo, said goodbye to Juno, and packed my things into a car with a driver who spoke no English. The four-hour drive to Yongzhou was a time for reflection but I didn’t yet know enough to anticipate.

I sit here in a four-bedroom apartment, possibly twice the size of my apartment back in Canada. It has tiled floors, dark wood doors and the bedroom is fully outfitted, the bed with a beautiful bedspread. On planks of wood. No mattress, just a few cushy blankets and wood. There are lights in the apartment but also some wires where lights should be. When I got here, all the doors were covered in sticky protective plastic.

It’s warmer here in Yongzhou (about 6 degrees) than it was in Edmonton when I left (about -15). However, I am typing with fingers that are stiff and discoloured with cold. No place in China has central heating! Fortunately my bedroom has an air conditioner which also works as a heater, so at least this room should be warm enough to sleep in.

My FAO (Foreign Affairs Officer, foreign teacher liaison basically), Lily, warned me to shut my door instantly when I enter my apartment because apparently Chinese people will be very nosy about my life and that is a bad thing. Then she left and I realized this apartment furnished with dishes, a tv, and everything I need to live does not have any towels. After my day I definitely need a shower! Lily is gone (this is a good thing—she is very high-energy! I needed some chill/cry time), I don’t have her phone number, and anyway I don’t have a phone yet.

So, I decide to visit the neighbour I’d caught a glimpse of in the hallway. She looked nice and I’d waved at her in the instant before Lily’d shut the door earlier. The barrier to this visit is that I speak virtually no Chinese yet, and I understand even less. So I get out my trusty and already well-worn Mandarin phrase book, and I write down the pinyin pronunciation for the sentences I am trying out:

Ni hao. (Hello.)

Wo jiao Jackie. (My name is Jackie.)

Ni jiao shenme mingzi? (What’s your name?)

Xinghui. (Nice to meet you.)

Dui bu qi ruguo tai chi dao. (Sorry if it’s too late.) (Note, this is likely totally wrong as I just cobbled together the words and as yet have no concept of sentence structure.)

Wo bu you mao jin. (I don’t have a towel.)

Qing wo neng jie yi mao jin ma? (Please, may I borrow a towel?)

I screw up my courage, figure out how my front door opens and closes (trickier than it sounds, I assure you), and knock on my neighbours’ door, armed with script and book. The girl opens the door cautiously, then says excitedly, “Hello! Come in, come in!!”

Confused but soldiering on, I whip out my script and attempt the first few sentences, which past introductions, she totally doesn’t understand. Meanwhile she and her mother usher me in enthusiastically, “Sit down! Come in! This is my mother, we are so glad to meet you!!” The mother rushes to the kitchen and comes back frantically dumping candies into a bowl. They motion rapidly and the girl continues, “Sit down! Sit down!!”

I pause to realize her English is far better than my Chinese. I take one of the urged candies in the midst of my young neighbour (Judy)’s obvious excitement. Then I apologize three ways, explain my situation in English and ask for a towel, which is the only word she doesn’t understand. Here my script finally comes in handy (mao jin, in case you ever need to know), and they rush off and return with two small, cute towels which they give to me happily. Then I am allowed to return to my apartment, along with more profuse welcomes and exhortations to come over and visit again. In turn I offer my profuse, embarrassed thanks and the same in return, and manage to get my (unlocked) front door open in under 5 minutes.

I have solved my first real Chinese problem. (Buckland coddled me pretty good for the week of orientation.) After having left my first Chinese friends in Yangshuo this afternoon, I have made my first Yongzhou friends. I am in my first Chinese apartment, for good and bad. Sketchy gas connection (to be inspected tomorrow)? Maybe. Echoing apartment which is freezing cold everywhere? Definitely. Warm in my heart? Finally.