Let the Adventure Begin!

This photo was taken in the river town of Xitang 40min outside of Beijing. 

Getting Here: 

With five suitcases, a full heart and a 'fake it til I make it' attitude, I began this journey to the Far East. (My heartstrings pulled harder than in my past experiences of pond leaping as I am leaving a wonderful

Mom, Dad, Andy, Peeps and I at Wolf Lake before my Departure. 

community of friends and family that I have built and reunited with over the past four years of moving back home.) Still, China had so many opportunities for me waiting that I simply could not say 'no' to, so one foot in front of the other I trudged slowly toward China.

    I say 'trudge' because that is exactly how this venture started. I arrived two and half hours early to the airport (with girl-scout like preparedness) only to find the plane was delayed forty minutes due to a late arrival at the gate. Unfortunately, my layover was exactly forty minutes in Chicago to catch my flight to Shanghai, which made the first leg of my trip a heart racing and catastrophizing venture. I requested to be let off the plane earlier then the rest of the passengers as insurance I would not miss my connecting flight. Still, I needed to fully sprint for twenty mins to get to my plane before the gates closed. Thank goodness I was rollerskating all summer,  otherwise, I would have never made it! I kept hearing " Pollman, if you are in the airport, please report to your gate for departure." on the loudspeaker.

          I arrived at the gate heaving and all kinds of out of sorts. They whisked one of my carry-ons away due to lack of overhead compartment space and I was sure I would never see it again. We were off into the air with unusual punctuality and I did my best to calm my heart rate and get my wits about me. We were not too long into the air when the dreaded announcement of 'Is there a doctor or medical professional aboard? If so please see your flight attendant." And about forty mins later we were told that due to a medical emergency we would be turning the plane around to return to Chicago. (Of course, I am sympathetic to the woman with the health issue, but it did, however, put a wrench in 300 or so other passengers travel plans)

The notice from United regarding our flight. 

         We returned to the gate, we  sat on the plane for awhile, and were updated with vague announcements like 'We are refueling now, getting a new crew, working on scheduling, thirty mins, forty mins, fifty mins until departure.. " Finally, they said, "We will now have to ask you to exit the plane and rebound once our on-call crew has arrived." After that, everything took FOREVER. We were on a four hour estimated later departure, and even that took a LONG time! I just kept breathing through the whole thing remembering it is a choice to be impatient and miserable. But, finally, finally, seven hours after our departure time we were able to get off the ground.

Upon Arrival: 

My first view of Shanghai is a perfect reflection of my brain at the time!

      Thankfully, I was able to sleep through most of the trip which was a gift from the universe as I NEVER can sleep well on planes. We finally arrived in Shanghai almost around 9pm and I began the long single-file, hazy, mazy haul through baggage claims, customs lines and immigration forms which had caused me some mounting anxiety as I was worried that I would not properly declare some of the items I brought with me: spices, protein powder, medicine, etc.. I had read nightmare stories of people's luggage being rifled through with scrutiny only to have a fork confiscated without explanation.. so I was prepared for the worst and hoping for the less than worse as I approached baggage claim turnstile. Low and behold, all of my luggage was there! Phew! Now I just had to get through the rumored and dreaded customs 'Items to declare' line. As I approached the counter, there was obviously a merchant in front of me with a complicated amount of forms and items to negotiate. The customs officer looked over the man's shoulder at me in an irritated fashion. He gave me a look like 'What do you want, Lady?' I said stuttering and in a confusing manner 'I have some things I think i'm supposed to declare, I'm not sure... I want to, to make sure..." He replied impatiently, "What things?" I listed timidly the random items I believed were to be of note. He scoffed at me mid-note and swatted me away in the direction of the 'nothing to declare' line. I was relieved and feeling a little silly about agonizing over my packing, but in the end, better to be safe than sorry!

       I exited the arrival gate to be met by a slew of people standing awaiting passengers holding signs for pickup. I scanned the crowd to find the sign bearing my name "Amy Pollman" with the logo underneath Peking University, Experimental School. Hallelujah, magically the school was there nine hours later than my original arrival time! A very kind Chinese English teacher named Candace and her driver was there to transport me to my new home. We then traveled for an hour by car through the dark and sleepy landscape of Shanghai. It was mysterious and dreamlike to me.

Into Jiaxing: 

View from my apartment window. 

We went briefly to the school to pick up another teacher, who then took me to my apartment. I could see the façade of the beautiful and impressing gate in the tradition of Buddhist temples with two large marble lion statues flanked on each side. (I shall post pictures later of this) and I was relieved to see that indeed the school existed as represented online. (One never knows with these things : ) From there it was a short drive to my apartment that is within a gated complex which houses several high-rise apartment buildings. (This is how most people live in China.)

      This complex is being built and occupied quickly and

View from my bedroom nook. 

there is an element of in-progressness wherever you look. (For example my elevator is rather unfinished and likens itself to the sophistication of a plywood box. It makes me happy to know I live on the second floor and not the 20th : )  We enter and I am happy to report that the apartment is very much the place they asked me if I would like. It is simple and has a bit of an IKEA feel. Very functional with more charm then I have seen in most utilitarian apartments of this nature.

Main room of apartment. 

       In the apartment, the school had prepared a 'welcome kit' which boxed some bare essentials for getting settled in China. This was a most welcomed finding after my exhausting trip halfway around the world. My transport staff quickly departed and I set to work to get my bed made and showered before toppling like a tall tree into my bed at approximately 2am.. just a mere 22 hours before I had begun my journey from door to door.

My First Day in China:     

        I was feeling that a good night sleep would be all I would need and mentioned to my co-teacher and HR staff that

Where the toppling occurred. 

I would be making my way to the school the next day. Imagine my surprise when I awoke and looked at my clock to find it to be 3pm in the afternoon!! Now, those of you that know me know, I NEVER sleep to this hour. The mere thought of this is ridiculous, so imagine my all in out shock to find that I had gone comatose for that long of a time. I suppose I needed it! I was groggy and had the vertigo sensation of still being on the plane as I wobbled to my feet. I had a couple of messages from the school which was of concern due to my silence, but it was of known consequence and they understood, it is a long journey!

Example of using Google Translate. 

        Abruptly after my eyes were open, some AC installation men arrived to install a large AC unit into the main room of my apartment. This is where I encountered my first of many countless language barrier bewilderments. Thankfully, this time around I have the tools of Google translate. (see image) With this magical APP, people from all over the world may converse without too much difficulty. (This technology was not available last time I was in Asia, and I'm telling you, it is a game changer! )
 As quickly as they came, they went and I had AC in all the rooms of my apartment.

Gated entrance to my complex. Pronounced 'Taeshin"

        *Side Note: The weather in Jiaxing is tropical and a climate that I figure is similar to coastal North Carolina. AC is essential and I have been told to prepare for a cold winter with out conventional heating that I am accustomed too. (Stay tuned) I can see many lush garden life with quaint and copious rivers and tributaries that flow throughout the city. It makes for a pleasant and bustling city to experience. It feels safe and is a rather perfect introduction to the culture of China. It feels very similar in many ways to South Korea, but to my surprise is cleaner, and slower paced then the Suncheon I remember, that being said it is still quick and it is very much a 'on your toes' sort of move about!

Here is Emma standing with one of her amazing oil paintings.
She photographs and paints her students. 

Meeting Emma and Jiaxing: 

  My co-teacher Emma (she is the Chinese art teacher I am working most closely with) had arranged to pick me up and take me to dinner and shopping for anything I may need for my apartment. I feel very lucky to have such a warm and welcoming co-teacher to help me with adjusting to my life and position here in China. When I walked out of my apartment to find her, I realized I had absolutely no idea where I was! I had gotten in so late and in such a state of fog, that I had no indicator of where I was to go or where she might be. Being in the interior of a complex of buildings, instructions such as "I will be at the east gate." can be of great confusion. No sooner had I exited the building as eyes had begun to find me in the crowd with surprise and awe. I am not Chinese after all and this is an unusual site in my small(er) town of 4.1 Million! As I was totally lost and my inner compass spinning around in a direction of 'I have no idea, really', I just decided to approach the nearest Chinese person and point to the location on my phone where Emma said she would be waiting. (How did we ever do this without technology!) I then sort of hot potato-ed my way across the complex center till I found someone that spoke English (kind-of) We walked together as she tried to help me find Emma. Meanwhile, Emma was frantically trying to find me. She was sending me messages of 'stay put, I will find you.' of which I did not see until I had moved several corners around the complex! Thankfully there is a GPS function of WeChat that you can track where you are so someone in my position can be found by someone in Emma's position. I heard someone at an intersection magically cry out "Amy, stay there! I will come and get you!" (She had parked between lanes that separated the motor-bike lane from the car lane. ) and was running toward me with an umbrella as it had started raining slightly. I was never so relieved to see someone!

Emma creating a sand painting (more on that later)

        We entered the car and I met Hannah, another teacher who has a big smile and wore a wooden fish around her neck that I later learned was a vestige of her Doterra Essential oils! (Shout out, Mom) Slowly we trekked for about forty mins to the other side of the city to go to a 'traditional Jiaxing restaurant' and shopped in a store called the metro. (I would liken it to an underground Meijers) We parked in an underground parking garage and headed to the elevator to go to the top floor where the most lovely restaurant was waiting. Emma ordered and indicated she had chosen dishes indicative to Shanghai and Jiaxing.

My first meal of China! Delicious as promised! 

Emma's English is fairly good. We struggle sometimes and use patience with each other. It is better for us both because we always go over vocabulary as we are talking in Chinese and in English. (It only motivates me further to learn Chinese, which I am studying as much as I can stand at this point)

    After our bellies were full, we went shopping. It was a huge and busy market; with it came bustling noise from every way: so much to look at, listen to and take in. Texures, colors, sounds, bright lights, and products everywhere! It was all a bit overwhelming. In every department, there was an attendant who helped you with the area they worked in. I had one very fervent woman insisted on following us through the store all the way to the parking lot to be sure I got the proper items in my apartment! She even gave me a set of chopsticks as a welcome gift which is an unusual experience in a store of this stature!

We made the slow journey home through traffic lights while abruptly cutting off cars and scooters carrying people, children, furniture and other agriculture. We passed many doorways of businesses serving steaming food with red and yellow lighted signs in a script that will be lost on me for some time.

Families and friends hovered over their bowls of rice and carefully composed each bite with their chopsticks. Shops selling trinkets which toppled out onto the sidewalk were dotted amongst the bamboo tree-lined streets. Motorbikes revved, cars honked, the crickets hummed almost alien-like. I returned home in a bit of a deeper fog, unsure if I had not dreamed or hallucinated this whole experience but alas when pinched myself I was still in China, so this seems real enough to me for now. : )

Next time on adventures in China: Amy gets poked and prodded (or Health Checked), finds the bus and orders her first dumplings all by herself (kinda)