Bridging the Gap: 2010-2011 in China: New Places, New Faces

Greetings from Xi'an, China!

After many sleepless nights, lots of coffee, and hand-copying several thousand characters, I finished my language program in Hangzhou. While it had its strengths and weaknesses, overall it went very well. Aside from just giving me time to adjust and acclimate before beginning my actual grant, I managed to practice a lot of Chinese, increase my vocabulary, learn how to write Chinese essays, and even do some networking. But perhaps most importantly, I'm slowly developing an "ear" for Mandarin. I've always had trouble with tones, but I'm slowly starting to hear them--actually hear them. That's not to say that my tones are flawless (not even close), but they're slowly seeping in. There truly is a musicality to this language that I'm growing to appreciate. Call it a love-hate relationship.

"Wow, you must be fluent by now!" False. In fact, I strongly dislike that word since I find it to be utterly arbitrary. The fact that I spent a lot of time in Hangzhou with Fulbrighters that speak beautiful Mandarin is enough to keep me in my rightful place. But that being said, I can now say that I am very proficient. I catch myself thinking in Chinese, and have even started dreaming in Chinese as well. That being said, I have a lot of room for improvement, and hope to make the most of these next 10 months.

Although I was both excited and nervous to move to Xi'an alone, so far things are going very well. I stumbled upon a great real-estate agent, and managed to sign my lease today. Being a foreigner and only wanting to sign a 6-month lease meant that I met a lot of resistance and discrimination. However, I managed to convince my now-landlord that I wasn't going to rip apart her apartment like her previous German tenant. The entire ordeal was both stressful and comical. Since they couldn't get me a bilingual lease, I brought my advisor along to help me navigate the proceedings. I watched her, my landlord, and my realtor take turns yelling at each other in rapid-fire Chinese while expressing their mutual-distrust, before reconciling in good humor. Three hours later, papers were signed and keys were handed over. I've paid rent, changed the locks, and registered with the police, so I can finally rest at ease

So far, I'm very impressed with how warm and friendly people are in Xi'an. First and foremost, my advisor is a dream come true. She's warm and loving, and extremely generous with both her time and her resources--research or otherwise. My first day in town she had me over to her apartment for tea, gave me suggestions on places to live, and also listed potential museums to visit, resources to use, and people to talk to. She's even offered to let me lecture at the university, which I'm going to seriously consider. I know I got extremely lucky with her, and I cannot even begin to express my gratitude.

My realtor is another example. I just happened to stumble upon one of his properties online, and he's spent the past 4 days taking me around and patiently showing me places. And yes, that's his job. However, its not his job to help me call a locksmith and cleaner, take me to the bank and police station, or help me figure out how to set up my internet--all after I paid his realtor fee. He's told me not to be shy about calling whenever I have questions. He seems very sincere, so hopefully he won't regret the offer. I'm 100% going to take him up on it.

I've also made friends with one of the guards at my apartment complex. He's a cute little man in an oversized uniform, who greets me with a genuine smile every time I pass by. I chatted with him the first time I came to look at apartments, and easily recognized me when I came back today. It'll be nice to see a friendly face when come home.

I even bumped into a college-student with his mom in Walmart when I was buying my bedding, and we had a friendly exchange. I swapped contact info with him, so perhaps it will amount to something.They insisted on helping me get to the bus station with my big comforter and sending me off. Being able to break the language barrier really opens so many doors.

So I find myself here, a lone Jew on Christmas Eve. And yet, I don't feel lonely. Like many of my tribesmen, I will be going out for Chinese food tonight. And the small place down the street with the friendly owner has the best Kung-Pao chicken I've ever eaten.

Merry Christmas to you all, and a Happy New Year!

For funsies, I'm attaching photos of the big snow we had in Hangzhou in last week--yes, this is extremely out of the ordinary.