Jenni làoshī (teacher) and the case of the Chinese Medicine

Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini... (mine is leopard print!) 

After the first week of getting to know the school and the staff, I was invited to join my fellow teachers for a day in a spa at the local Hot Springs. I was happy for a chance to explore what was bound to be a new Chinese cultural experience! My guide, Maggie, is the managing head teacher who organizes the class timetables and manages the teaching staff. A lovely girl, though a bit shy - and I soon found out why!

One doesn't have to live in China to know that most Chinese people are small. Tiny. Incredibly petite. It's not a myth! I did some reading before arriving to China and some blogs from Westerners who have lived in China for a while were saying that Chinese are very blunt about commenting on people's weight - and that one shouldn't be offended if that happens, since it's not meant to be offensive. As I'm not a small girl, but more of a very voluptuous, full-figured type, I was completely mentally prepared for all the comments about my size. And they never came about! I was surprised when the people I met everywhere were complementing me on my beauty! Teachers, students, strangers on the streets or in shops - a lot of times people stop and ask someone to translate to me how beautiful I look. To be honest it still happens on daily basis, so after a while I wondered if people are just so polite that they feel obliged to complement me to make me feel better! Nonetheless it has been obviously very nice and I am by no means complaining :D

When I was asked to join the ladies to the local spa I was very happy to go along - though I did wonder whether my two piece bikini would be a shock... But I checked with my guide, Maggie, who assured that it was OK. She asked me to help buy her a bikini as she had never bought one before! I was happy to help out and off shopping we went. Maggie had previously confessed to me that her weight is a sensitive thing for her, as for a Chinese girl she is considered fat. I couldn't help but laugh out loud, as she is perfectly average weight (for a Westerner, anyway) and I thought she might be just joking. She was not. I soon found out for myself as I noticed how other girls commented on her weight regularly. As Maggie is fairly smaller than I am, I asked her whether she feels more comfortable now that I am there, as I'm definitely much bigger than she is and so there is less pressure. She told me it doesn't matter because I'm a Westerner and beautiful, hence people don't judge my weight.
So as I entered the spa in my bikini with a group of ladies, indeed no one ever mentioned my size. I did see them poking Maggie's belly though. This to me was so sad - yet I didn't know how to react. Ever since that day I have made it my mission to boost Maggie's self-confidence. I'd like to think she feels better already.

As for the Hot Springs itself, it was a lovely day! They had plenty of outdoor pools and most of them were some sort of "Chinese Medicine" - meaning that they had various healing properties. We soaked in a pink flower bath, a greenish herb bath and various other lovely, hot baths that magically rejuvenated me throughout the day. After a good couple of hours soaking we had a picnic, and I'm sure some of you wonder what's in a Chinese picnic basket! I can tell you now that it consists of crackers and biscuits, fresh and dried fruits, toast, vacuum packed mushrooms and sausages, cupcakes and other baked goodies, tea and instant noodles! An abundance of snack food which left us all very full and satisfied. After lunch it's traditional to go to a heated resting area that has these stone slabs where you can lie down and have a snooze or watch some TV. First you can put on a complimentary Chinese pyjama - wish I could insert a picture of me wearing it! When I saw the hard stone slabs I thought they can't be comfortable at all to rest on, but I was completely wrong - as they are a little declined and heated, and also include a head rest, they are quite comfy indeed. After a little snooze I felt like a million dollars and ready for a sauna. Yup, they had one! The sauna was not as hot as what I'm used to, but it was relaxing and topped off my day at the spa. :)

 
But no good deed ever goes unpunished: the next day my throat was very sore and I had a dry cough. My friends gave me "Chinese medicine", dried root of some plant, which was to be made to tea and drank hot. Unfortunately the cough persisted and I felt even more miserable within days. One morning I felt horrible, feverish and unable to go on. Sadly the Chinese medicine had failed me. My assistant and our school's doctor were lovely and took me to a hospital where I was very quickly examined, tested and given plenty of drugs. As miserable as I felt, at least I had plenty of comfort from the fact that there were people taking care of me: I have no idea how I would've managed by myself!

And this is where the Chinese hospitality really kicked in - though at first it did not seem that way. From the hospital my assistant took me back home to rest but she seemed to assume with a certainty that I would have my afternoon classes.. I was somewhat flabbergasted: did these people expect me to show up no matter what and perform like a trained monkey? I was too sick to think and I told her that I definitely am not up to working. She asked me whether I would work the next day. I told her that for now I was shivering with fever, so I highly doubt it. I felt extremely anxious: "they don't care if I'm sick", was the thought running in my head. Luckily I was proved wrong; the calls, the 'get better soon' messages and visits from people bringing me food, medicine and comfort were overwhelming! I was told that my well-being and comfort was their top priority, so I should take the rest of the week off and get better. Phew, what a sigh of relief I gave. I realised that like anywhere in the world, people have a unique way of expressing themselves and the language barrier might have given me the initial expression that "they don't care".

As it took me a few days to get better, I was touched how caring people really were: the amount of love and care I received came as a happy surprise! During lunch break my colleagues brought me food and after work there was always someone bringing me dinner - how sweet was that! As a bonus I genuinely feel like my falling ill was a blessing in disguise as I got to know our school's doctor very well and we have become very close friends since then. We have a big language barrier between us, but as she speaks little English and I'm learning Chinese, the rest we fill with body language, smiles and a Chinese to English translator App ;) I feel like I've made a very special friend - and the thought of it was definitely something that helped me get better and not fall into the depths of gloom when bedridden for days.

So I've tried Chinese medicine now in many forms: the rejuvenating hot pools, healing traditional medicine, modern drugs and most important of all: the Chinese hospitality :)

And luckily enough I got better just in time for Christmas! But that shall wait til the next blog :)

Shèngdàn jié kuàilè!

Merry Christmas!

Nín hǎo: hello, China!

Drop toilets, horrid pollution, gazillion people everywhere, language barrier...

...And yet I'm smiling as I'm being driven around Beijing after landing to China very early on a Saturday morning. It's a brand new adventure and it feels great! I don't care about the jet lag and not sleeping for over a day: you can't peel off the smile from my face :)

I got a teaching job in China through a recruitment agency and at this stage I'm very happy I used a middle-man as I have no clue how I would survive myself in China without local guides! I like to think of my self as an experienced traveler, or a Citizen of the World as one of my good friends so eloquently puts it, but being here in China is definitely something new, strange and even potentially difficult! To me it feels like 99% of people don't really speak English in Beijing, so it has me somewhat worried about the coming year: I'm going to be working in a "small city" of 10 million people, where definitely even less people speak English compared to Beijing! Yikes! I realise my decision to learn Chinese has been a good one - although as I land in China I can only say "hello" in Mandarin Chinese... Luckily enough Chinese people are super friendly and at this stage me knowing even this greeting, it brings a smile to their faces!

After the initial "wow, I'm here" moment passes and the day is turning too long due to my serious sleep deprivation, I begin to feel the culture shock: I start seeing the pollution, herds of people, dirt, unhygienic conditions and my worst fear, the drop toilet. The loud traffic is banging in my ears and I'm somewhat sad that I can't communicate with anyone other than my guides all day. Although there is a language barrier, most Chinese people are very welcoming and lovely.
As we take an evening flight to my "little city" I'm exhausted after the big day but arriving to my new home city in the province of Henan is a lovely experience: my contact person from the school, Cathy, is there waiting with the head teacher from the school along with my driver. They show me to my new home, a very spacious studio apartment in the heart of the city. I'm very tired but happy as I crawl to my comfy, big, soft bed that night :)

The next few days I'm getting used to my new city and the Chinese way of life. I'm dumbstruck how a lot of things seem strangely difficult due to the fact that I'm a white foreigner, for instance: there is only one bank in the entire city which accepts to open a new bank account for me. Most of the people in my city have NEVER seen a white person, so I get stared at, wherever I go. I take a taxi and as I get in the driver and the lady customer start laughing their heads off: so I ask my guide what they're laughing about, and she replies to me "they've never seen a Westerner before, they think you're ridiculously white!". During another taxi ride a lady yanks my hair and my guide is very apologetic when she explains to me that "she just wanted to know if it's your real hair, as she doesn't believe anyone could be that blond naturally". It's all good fun for me and I laugh at all of them! As I'm a novelty item for the locals, they are a novelty to me.
As I thirsted for more action I decided to go shopping by myself for a few necessities. The ladies at the supermarket were an absolute delight! They talked to me in Chinese and I to them in English, and as we realised we weren't getting anywhere, I started miming my way through my shopping list! Such laughs I inspired! And I'm pleased to say I got everything on my list and made my way home feeling like the ultimate survivor :D Needless to say the ladies in the shop still remember me.

I feel like my first week in China wouldn't have been as special if there hadn't been the children. I'm working in a kindergarten & a language center for kids, so my first week was spent meeting all the kids (plus fellow teachers) and getting to know them - and vice versa. The first day I spent at the kindergarten was something I will always remember: the look on the childrens' faces, at first very shy but so very curious about the strange looking white girl! Whereas in the beginning the children were too timid to even say "hello" as the morning passed and I walked to the playground I was the star attraction! It's hard to describe the feeling and atmosphere that day...all these cute little Chinese kids running around at my feet, holding my hand, touching my hair in awe, staring at my face, bombing me with billions of questions! It was some of the best fun I've had in a long time - I do believe there were happy tears that day :)
Getting to know the children has been fantastic: they are mostly very well behaved and absolutely adorable! They seem very attached to me already and I get daily hugs, kisses and affection from them, which really makes my day - every single day :)

Not only the children have made me feel welcome: I can't praise enough the people I've met so far! Though only a couple of people speak English, I have been so warmly welcomed and made feel like this is a home away from home. I am by nature a very happy, positive and an easygoing person, and the locals here have thrown praise at me due to it. It's wonderful walking to your work place and have all these lovely, smiling people hug you and look after you! Let's hope they won't get bored with me during this year ;)

Ah, and I can't finish the tale of my first week without mentioning the food! Because it is fantastic! The Chinese kitchen has a lot of variety and though I've eaten so much delicious food in here already, there is still so much to explore... They have soups, fried dishes, steamed dishes, the Chinese bread (filled or plain), buns, pancakes (salty or sweet), nuts, berries, and what-nots... So far the only thing that has put me off food-wise has been a chicken leg in a soup bowl. Claws and all. Other than that, the food has been superiorly yummy :P

That's it for now. My next post will include stories of my trip to local hot springs!

Zaijian! (bye!)

Before I forget....

This blog has been a long time in the making...

...but finally here it goes!

Hi! My name's Jenni and I'm a traveler.

I left my home in the Northern Europe some 4+ years ago to simply go and try backpacking in Australia. Very simply I wanted to see how I feel about "real" traveling. With '"real" traveling' I mean not just taking a week or two's holidays to unwind, but getting out of the rat race for a while and living on the road. It's been four and a half years now since I started and I can definitely say with a 100% certainty that it was the best thing I ever did!

Not to bore you too much with the past years of my travels, I'll just briefly tell you about my background. I was a perfectly average tax paying citizen with a home, a job, a boyfriend (every now and again), heaps of friends and what you might possibly call a very happy life. I was indeed happy and content, but for years I had this inkling that I wanted something more; something I couldn't really put my finger on... When my friend suggested we'd go backpacking in Australia for a year things suddenly clicked and in a second everything made sense: I wanted to travel! I ended up quitting my job, shutting down my one-person business, selling everything I had from furniture to excess clothing, and buying a one-way ticket to the other side of the globe! I did not want to have any reason to come back home if traveling was to be what I really wanted to do. After a few months on the road I knew that it was indeed what I wanted to do. It was scary and exciting all at once!

I spent almost four years in Australia and New Zealand, which were incredible: I worked in many different areas doing various jobs and lived the authentic life as a somewhat local in a few places. I had the time of my life! My first  year in New Zealand I was lucky enough to be sponsored, meaning that a company I worked for offered to vouch for me so I could stay in the country with a proper work visa and work for them full time for long term. That experience changed things for me and I realized the endless possibilities life had to offer: I could actually travel around the world working, not only with working holiday visa schemes, but having a proper career and working as a professional. Teaching English had been in the back burner for a while at that stage, and at that stage things fell into their rightful places. Not only in my head but in real life too: I did a year of full time "proper" work and then traveled a few countries before making my way towards the next step: getting the English teaching certificate.

Only a couple of months ago I did a short CELTA course and graduated as an English teacher in Ireland! That's a different story though, but it brings me to my current adventure: China. After graduating I was searching for different job options and China was the most appealing one at hand: great perks, fairly decent money and most importantly it's a great, brand new adventure!

To cut it short: a lot of people throughout the years told me that I should write a travel blog. I shrugged and smiled but thought to myself that I wouldn't have the time nor the interest really. But as I've realized time and travels go by so fast, I would like to share and remember these stories more. Before I forget.

So welcome to a fraction of my life: my travel blog! I will share the most exciting, scariest, ugliest, most beautiful and heart warming events throughout my journey. Before I forget.

Next time I'll share in on my first week in China - I dare to say it'll be fairly entertaining! :)

J