Since deciding to come to China I have heard of so many people that have taught abroad and loved it; they found the experience to be fun, fulfilling and all that jazz. And then there are the few I've heard of that were absolutely miserable. I think that in part these people were miserable because they didn't do anything to change it.
I've posted about these things before, but the longer I'm here, especially in Tanggu, the more I realize how much each of them impacts how I feel. Getting out of the house, human contact and some sort of semblance of independence are so important. I had a rough day earlier this week and was feeling really isolated, so it got me thinking on this track again.
The way my working in Tanggu is structured really does not set me up for happy assimilation into the culture and lifestyle here. With my tutoring schedule, the only days I have to leave my apartment building are Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, otherwise all of my teaching is done in an apartment two floors below mine that I use as a classroom. Not having to get out of the building means I do not have to come into contact with people at all, outside of my TA and my students, unless I actively go looking to meet them. And the Chinese are not like Americans, you can't just go sit at a bar by yourself and leave at the end of the night with a bunch of new friends (most of the time), they don't talk to people they don't know. Finally, usually I leave, my TA comes with me. She orders for me in restaurants, tells cab drivers where to go, etc. I don't have to do anything for myself.
The other day it was raining and cold out, my tutoring session outside of the building got cancelled, my TA didn't want to go anywhere to grab food, I didn't feel like going out alone and the guy I met at the Irish bar last week (the only non work related person I know here) didn't answer my text, so I was going a little stir crazy. The next day I got up, went walking for a couple hours; I stopped and got lunch alone, walked to the supermarket and did my grocery shopping alone and took a cab home and was able to tell the driver where I needed to go by myself. I felt exponentially better than the day before. I left my apartment, interacted with new people and could function on my own.
This was also pretty important for me, because my TA left on Wednesday, and she wasn't supposed to be coming back. She was only here on a one month internship and she needed return to
university to take her TEM8 (Test for English Majors- Grade 8) and
finish class to graduate this spring. Turns out my boss talking her into coming back early next week and staying with me until I leave Tanggu in the next week or two, but the idea of being completely alone was somewhat daunting.
The day I got out by myself actually got even better at night. My TA wanted to get out of the house for dinner, which is extremely rare. We went to a Korean BBQ place, which turns out is a similar concept to hotpot. There is a cooking surface in the middle of the table and tons of different foods and sauces set up buffet style that you go grab and cook yourself. You pay a set price and then you're in; it also includes unlimited beer. I would definitely call this another adventure food situation. None of the food is labeled, in English or Chinese, you just get whatever looks interesting and hope you like it. My favorite thing was very ropey and I was sure it had to have been intestines or something of that nature. It's best to just not think about it!
After that, the guy I met at the Irish bar last week that teaches across the street from me texted that he was at the Irish bar again, so I went to go meet him (sans TA) and had a great time there. I met an Irish Engineer and an American guy starting a business here that actually lives about 30 minutes' drive from my parents in the States. They were excited about my "debut" in Tanggu, so naturally shots ensued, and we even got some of the Chinese that work there to hang out with us too. Yay for new friends :)
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