We're not in Shanghai anymore

I arrived in Hechuan last night and just got my internet up and running. Lots to share, so I apologize for the long post...

Hechuan is a pretty poor city. It is on the outskirts of Chongqing, one of the largest cities in China. Chongqing has been pegged as the next city to modernize to the standards of Beijing and Shanghai, although it is about ten-fifteen years behind. China views Chongqing as the gateway to connect Eastern China with the West and its resources. My "waiban" (foreign helper) explained to me that when you talk about Chongqing, you say it is Three H’s: Hot (both the heat and the women apparently), Hilly, and Humid. Chongqing’s nicknames include the “Mountain City” and one of the “Furnaces of China.” It was a sweltering 99 degrees when I got here yesterday and will apparently stay that way through September.

Hechuan itself is a mixture of farmlands and rapid development, as I can tell just from the view outside my bedroom window. Right below me is a house that hosts a chicken pen, cats, and a few other animals on its porch, and a few hundred meters beyond that are six different skyscrapers in various stages of construction. While I didn’t really notice the pollution in Shanghai, it is hard to miss here. I can only make out the outlines of most buildings and hills in the distance, and the sun seems to be in a perpetual haze.

My apartment, while still slightly cleaner than the Frisbee House, leaves a lot to be desired. There are lots of holes in the wall and tiles, and my washing machine looks like it was hit by a nuclear bomb (I kid you not, wait until I can post photos.) I have a TV that I can’t figure out since the remote control is in Chinese, and a welcoming party of one cockroach who has so far evaded the broom I keep swinging at him. Nothing that hopefully a bunch of throw rugs, wall hangings, and lysol can’t fix.

When I got out of the airport in Chongqing, I was met by my college’s waiban Elvia. She is a young teacher in the English department who volunteered a few years ago to help coordinate the foreign teachers in order to improve her English. She is wonderful, and informed me that once I got in we were going to dinner with some officials at the school to welcome me.

After dropping my luggage off, we met up with Mr. Deng, the head of human resources; the dean of the English department; Mr. Yan and his assistant, who as far as I can tell are in charge of the logistics of my stay with the Chinese government; an art teacher at the school; Justin, the other foreign teacher from Maryland, and his Chinese girlfriend.

As only half the table spoke varying degrees of English, most of the meal was in Chinese and involved lots of gesturing and toasting. I quickly learned it is a Chinese tradition to frequently toast other people at the table. As you do this you clink glasses (or bowls in our case) and try to lower your glass below theirs as a form of respect. Beer was flowing and after many of these toasts, Mr. Yan asked Elvia how to say something in English and then turned to me and pronounced, “Drunk!” while gesturing to his increasingly red face.

The food was delicious and plentiful. However, as has been the case for most of my stay in China, I didn’t know half of what I was putting in my mouth. I had been warned how spicy Sichuanese food is, and experienced this firsthand when I accidentally ate a peanut dish that had whole red peppers in it. My mouth felt like I had licked a fire poker and my eyes were watering for the next ten minutes to the amusement of the Chinese at the table. Mr. Deng took it upon himself after that to pick out all of the non-spicy food and put it on my plate. I think this was also in reaction to him observing my lack of chopstick skills. I felt obligated to try everything he put on my plate, so as a consequence I am 75% sure I ate chicken feet at one point.

Overall, the meal was wonderful and incredible welcoming. Even though I couldn’t understand most of the conversation, I did understand the congenial and humorous atmosphere. On to a Chinese hospital tomorrow for my physical examination...