Ｌｉｖｉｎｇ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｈｅａｒｔ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ

Ａｌｙｓｓａ　Ｃａｒｌｓｏｎ

February 2006 was a new beginning for me. I had just arrived in Quzhou. I was in a new country, about to begin a new job, and eager to make new friends. I had agreed to stay for six months rather than for a year because I wasnt sure how I would adapt to all this newness. I had never done something like this before, and I was nervous. It was especially nerve-wracking to embark on this adventure all by myself. I had been to China before, but that had been a completely different situation: then, I had been a student in Beijing, living with a large group of fellow Americans. A year and a half later, there I was, alone in tiny Quzhou, teaching English.

Arriving in Quzhou, I found that almost nothing was the same as it was in my hometown, Red Wing. The first, most obvious thing that struck me was the weather. It seemed so warm, and there was no snow on the ground. (This was a difference I got used to immediately.) Then there was the food: everything was so spicy! (I liked this, too.) Most shocking to me was the school. Most of the students at No. 2 Middle School board at school. Also, I couldnt believe how big the school was. It was close to the size of my university! I was sure Id get lost. And I was in for an even bigger surprise once I started teaching. In most American high schools, a big class has 30 students, so I felt slightly overwhelmed when nearly 60 kids crowded into my classroom.

With all these differences, a part of me thought I would never get used to living here. However, after just a few weeks this part was silenced, and I began to take for granted all the things that had shocked me before. It turned out that I actually could find my way around my school. I liked eating rice so often. I met my neighbors, and most importantly, I made lots of friends.

Making friends was what I was most worried about before I left for China. I dont speak Chinese, and in a city as small as Quzhou, I thought that nobody would be able to speak much English. I also thought that I would be the only foreigner here. I was afraid that I was in for a very lonely six months.

In fact, I ended up making friends almost immediately. The first friends I made were other English teachers at my school, including two other foreign teachers. As I became more comfortable in Quzhou, though, and started going out more, I met businessmen, policemen, other teachers, more foreigners, and other assorted friends-of-friends. And I was very pleased to discover that many people here really did speak English well, or were trying very hard to learn.

There are many reasons I came back to Quzhou this year, but those people—my friends—are the biggest. As my time in Quzhou went by, I grew closer and closer to the people I met; some of them I considered closer friends than some in America whom Id known for years. I was amazed at how quickly I became attached to my friends. Even though wed grown up in extremely different circumstances, we had so much in common. We could talk about the same things as I talked about with my friends at home: silly topics like music and films, and serious ones like religion and politics. There were some things we disagreed upon, and a few topics we wouldnt discuss at all, but overall, our views on the world really werent so different.

My friends also made “real” China accessible to me. By not speaking Chinese, my ability to interact with most people was limited. But through my friends (and their willingness to act as my interpreter), I was introduced to tiny restaurants, with delicious foods I never would have discovered on my own; I traveled to small villages in the countryside to experience a whole new way of life; I heard fascinating stories from equally fascinating people; and, just as important to me, I paid far less at shops than I would have had I been left alone with my poor bargaining skills. A whole new world was opened up to me, one that I would have had trouble seeing by myself.

I grew very attached to my lifestyle, as well as the people in it. So, leaving was very difficult for me. I couldnt bear the idea that maybe I would never see this again. When I returned to America after my six months were up, I had a lot of conflicting feelings at first. It was great to reunite with my friends and family and do all the things Id missed while, I was away, but I was also really depressed about leaving all my other friends in China, not sure when Id get the chance to see them again. I was also somewhat frustrated at not being able to truly convey what Id experienced here.

When I was invited to return to Quzhou, I jumped at the chance. I decided without hesitation that this time, Id stay a whole year. Ive already been back for over two months, and the time has flown by, as Im sure it will continue to do until I leave.

China is always changing. This keeps it interesting, as there is always something new to do or try or see. In the same regard, it can be annoying when you grow to love a place, and a week later, its gone and is already being replaced by something else. In the year I stayed in America, Quzhou changed so much. There are so many new shops and restaurants. But however much the streets have changed, the friendliness of the people has remained. I come from a city of approximately 16,000 people. While Quzhous population is many times that number, it is also a small town, at least by Chinese standards. At first I was overwhelmed by how many people there were here, but as time has passed I really have begun to feel like this is a small town. It is a fact that I appreciate in many ways. Im a regular visitor at several shops and restaurants, and Im known there. And nearly every time I go out, I see someone I know. This makes me feel like I really live in Quzhou, that Im not just a long-term visitor.

Once, China was almost entirely closed to the outside world. Today, millions of foreigners visit each year. But coming to China on vacation is an entirely different experience. A tourist will see the major sights in the major cities: the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terra-Cotta Warriors in Xian, and the Bund in Shanghai. They stay in fancy hotels and eat in shiny, clean restaurants. They will stay with their tour group, and wont venture out to try anything else. Exposure to the “real” China might be limited to a quick tour of some of Beijings hutongs. Then, when they go home, they tell their friends that theyve seen China. Well, this may be true, but they havent really experienced it.

China is a very big, very old country with a culture very different from Western culture. It is not a culture you can understand just by looking at it from the windows of a tour bus. Chinese culture is best seen by living it: eating where the locals eat (and eating what they eat), doing what the locals do, and shopping where the locals shop. Its most important to talk to and interact with these locals. That is what most tourists miss.

There are definitely some things that I miss about America. I miss my friends and family, of course, but I also miss the diversity, and being able to eat a different countrys food every night, and going to the library to get a book whenever Im bored. I really miss walking down the street without being stared at, and not feeling like Im constantly being watched. But overall, these are just minor annoyances. When I came to Quzhou the first time, I felt I was given a once in a lifetime opportunity. But when I met the people here, I couldnt stand to let it be that way. I knew that I had to get back somehow. Coming back has really been a once in a lifetime chance. But again, I think I wont be able to stay away once I leave. I will always consider Quzhou a second home, and I hope I will be back again and again over the years. I know that Quzhou will continue to change, to grow and develop, but Im sure that the heart of Quzhou—its people—will stay the same.□