East Meets West?

Wednesday, October 1st marked one of the major holidays in China, National Day. It is China's version of the US' Fourth of July and marks the birth of the People's Republic of China in 1949. National Day is part of what they call a "Golden Week" here: Although the 1st of October is the official public holiday, it's pretty much the rule that most professional people will get most (if not all) of the week off from work (Incidentally, the Golden Week was largely created to promote domestic tourism). However, unlike the US, you don't just "get" the week off. Instead, you just move the weekends around to get the maximum number of consecutive days off. So we had to work the weekend prior plus the Monday of Golden week, in order to "earn" days off for the remainder of the week. It is a different concept for us, but it works for the people here.

With the time off, we took the opportunity to travel south to Hong Kong. We thought this break would be an ideal time to go for a couple of reasons: First, our Chinese is still not stellar, and we'd heard that English is widely spoken in Hong Kong. Second, National Day is one of the biggest travel holidays in China, and many of the country's most popular tourist attractions are jam-packed with throngs of domestic tourists. While Hong Kong is now controlled by China, it is still considered an "international" trip from mainland China, and it is actually pretty difficult for Chinese citizens to travel to Hong Kong. So, we hoped to avoid the huge crowds (seen in the pictures below, which were not taken by us) converging on Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.

(National Holidays = Huge crowds)

I think the decision to go to Hong Kong was a good one -- the city was amazing! It is a thriving, international city with a busy harbour, green mountains, and excellent beaches. We had a blast taking a tram to the top of Victoria Peak to catch the views of the city at night; exploring the island's numerous beaches; enjoying the incredible National Day fireworks display (after all, China developed fireworks, eh? - they even had The Chinese characters for "China" in fire works); and escaping the rush of the "big city" by boating out to a nearby island, Lamma, where there is no automobile traffic at all. We also took a day-trip to nearby Macau, a former Portuguese colony which is also now owned by China.

The view of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

The view of the sun setting over Victoria Peak from Deepwater Bay Beach


National Day fireworks over Victoria Harbor


Lamma Island


Ruins of St. Paul's Church in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. Originally built in the 1600's, this church was a pillar of Christianity in Asia. It was destroyed by fire in the 1800's, and this is all that remains.

Casino Lisboa Macau: One reason why Macau is considered the "Las Vegas of Asia"

However, I think that an American traveling to Hong Kong expecting to see "China" might be a bit disappointed. Before going to Hong Kong, we'd heard it was a great example of eastern and western cultures meeting in one place -- a Chinese city with a western flair due to the British influence there. After seeing Hong Kong, I don't know if "east meets west" is an accurate description. To me, it seemed more as if the "west came to the east, took it over, and turned it into the west." Hong Kong reminded us a lot of New York, London, or Sydney -- all great cities, but not Chinese. Still, after living in China for over 2 months now, we have to admit that we enjoyed this aspect of Hong Kong. Coming from a place where it is perfectly acceptable to cut in line, spit wherever and whenever you want, and have your diaper-less children go to the bathroom in the middle of the sidewalk, it was kind of nice to see signs instructing people to form a line for the bus and not spit on the sidewalk! We were a little surprised that we experienced a bit of "reverse" culture shock when we first arrived in Hong Kong. It took us about a day to adjust to seeing Starbucks on every corner and the fact that we weren't the only white people in town, but after that we felt right at home :).

Oh chocolate cake & ice cream, how we have missed you!

I think that coming to Hong Kong after adjusting to life in mainland China gave us a totally different perspective, though. It was really interesting to see how influential western culture has been on Hong Kong. There were 2 instances where the western influence on the city really struck us. In our home city of Zhuzhou (population: 4 million), you don't really have a choice when you go out to eat -- you get Chinese food. In Hong Kong, the options are endless: Indian, Lebanese, Korean, you name it, they've got it. there was even a Canadian restaurant there, and I didn't even realize there was such a thing as "Canadian Food." Anyway, we went out for Italian food one night in Hong Kong. We were virtually the only foreigners in the restaurant. But all the locals were speaking fluent English with perfect British accents! At one point, the waitress brought out a big chocolate birthday cake to a table of Chinese Hong Kongers. They then began to sing "Happy Birthday" in English. The fact that this group of Chinese friends chose to celebrate a birthday by going out for Italian food and speak to each other in English was interesting to us.

The second instance where the western influence really struck us was at another Italian restaurant (what can we say - we were really craving Italian food!). At the table to our right was the Consul General of Finland to Hong Kong. To our left was a Croatian fashion model (who happened to live up the street) and the Italian chef of the restaurant we were eating at. It was so strange to us that in the middle of this "Asian" city, these two European men from very different backgrounds were neighbors. We listened as they spoke to each other - in English - about the American economy! Wow, I don't think any other city in China is quite like Hong Kong: On the mainland China side of the border nobody drinks coffee. On the Hong Kong side, the locals lounge in Starbucks with Lattes and scones.

Outdoor dining at an italian restaurant. In the background underneath the umbrella are our Croatian model and Italian chef friends.

As always, getting to-and-from our destination was the most difficult part of the trip. Sometimes, I think the Chinese train system's primary purpose is to make life difficult for people. To buy our ticket to Shenzhen (the border city next to Hong Kong), we went to the train station at 8:00am the first morning that tickets went on sale (a whopping 5 days before the train was supposed to leave - I swear I don't understand how anyone plans a vacation here!). We were the 3rd in line, but of course they were already "sold out" of the Hard Sleeper tickets we wanted. How does that happen??? All they had were the super expensive Soft Sleeper tickets or the ultra cheap Standing Room Only tickets. Not wanting to spend 10+ hours on an overnight train without a seat, we went for the soft sleeper tickets. They were a little more expensive than normal due to the holiday, and cost about 25% of our monthly stipend (Wow!).

Soft Sleeper seats on the way there. These are so expensive because they are more private and have a door.

The train ride down to the Hong Kong border in Shenzhen was fine (as it should have been considering how much we paid). Of course, since you can only buy train tickets 5 days in advance and we wanted to come home 6 days after our train left for Shenzhen, we left home with no return tickets. However, our overnight train would arrive in Shenzhen at 7:30am the next morning - 5 days before we wanted to come home. So, we figured we'd be in great shape to be first in line for a return ticket home. Nope. When we got to the front of the line and asked for Hard Sleeper tickets for any of the 7 trains returning to Zhuzhou on our chosen day, we were told that none were available. In fact, there were no sleepers OR seats of any kind! If we wanted to get home, we would be stuck with Standing tickets for the 10+ hour overnight train ride home. We felt that we had no choice, and we bought the tickets. Throughout our stay in Hong Kong, we tried in vain to find a way to get better seats. We were "luckier" than some of our friends who were not able to get train tickets at all -- even through a travel agent. Our friends ended up having to pay for a flight home (which we looked into but declined to purchase after learning that the last minute plane tickets would cost about 1/2 of our monthly stipend. So, we ended up getting on the train without official seats. We'd hoped that we might be able to pay for an "upgrade" to better seats that weren't occupied. but no luck there either -- the train was jam-packed and there were no seats or beds to be had. We were lucky to get a spot on the stairs, which was "sort-of" like a seat.

That train ride home was quite an experience . . a miserable experience. Our train left Shenzhen at 9:45pm and did not arrive in Zhuzhou until 8am the next day. Although this was an overnight train, they did not turn the lights off in the non-sleeping cars (this is common), which would have made it difficult to sleep even if we'd had seats. What made things worse was the crowded , dirty, smelly environment in our car. Virtually every inch of the floor space was occupied by one of our fellow seat-less travelers. In the constant battle for space, we hesitated to leave our spots for fear that someone might take ours. Throughout the night, various train attendants would wade through the sea of people trying to sell us things that we didn't want - a spinning top that lit up and played music, a useless little blue flashlight, etc. Who wants to buy that stuff at 2am? They were mildly entertaining in their attempts to sell their stuff. One of the attendants demonstrated how the blue flashlight could be used to detect counterfeit money. I guess it was kind of like a late-night infomercial Live on our train!

By the end of the night the train was a dirty, smelly mess. Passengers would throw cans of beer and used paper products on the floor. Other passengers decided that it was okay to smoke on the train, despite the signs suggesting otherwise. Let's not forget the "it's okay to spit anything, anywhere" motto in China either. One mother decided that it wasn't necessary for her 4 year old son to wait in line for the restroom to open up. He could just go in the trash can! Of course, his aim was not that great, and he ended up going mostly on the floor. Yes, these are all on the same floor that we were "sleeping" on.

It was also interesting to see how people tried to sleep on the train. Some people laid down newspaper on the floor and curled up into a ball on top of it. Others leaned up against the wall, stairs, or door of the train. My first strategy was to bend over and put my head over my knees to shield the light. That didn't work so I ended up lying somewhat on my back using my backpack as a pillow. Tiffany curled up on the (dirty) floor -- without newspaper. She's been sick ever since we got off the train.

Fellow seatless passengers trying to sleep.


David trying to sleep. My favorite is the guy in the back leaning against the door.

After a rough night we eventually made it home to Zhuzhou. I must say, our mattress (which is basically made out of plywood) has never felt better! After that experience, we decided that for extra-long trips we are best off just flying, no matter the cost. Still, I've gotta say that it was interesting to see the way so many Chinese people (who can't afford a "sleeper" ticket) travel. They were in the same boat as us and didn't seem to complain too much, if at all. Maybe it is just the Chinese way of "putting on a happy face" regardless of how bad the situation.

The hard part for an American to wrap their head around, is that it is not about having the money, or being first in line. We had both - more money and were first in line. It's about guanxi - knowing someone. I suppose this is what happens when the major mode of transportation is also a monopoly - it breeds corruption. The locals either take the ticket or no ticket and don't think about it again. Meanwhile us "entitled" Americans are stewing over how it's not "fair" that we were there first in line and we were willing to pay more - a better ticket should have been ours. The Chinese may get a ticket this time, and if not, perhaps they'll get one next time. They chock it up to a large population, and maybe that is some of it. But I don't think they spend much time thinking about fairness or what they are entitled to. On our first trip, I had a train seat and was bothered by the standers lurking for any moment to steal my seat when I headed off to the bathroom. I was irritated because I had made the effort to show up to the train station early and had paid more money; therefore, I deserved the seat. If they'd wanted a seat they should have paid more or showed up early, too! Now, I realize that first trip was my lucky time. Our next time, we were not so lucky. I will be much more understanding of the people standing, staring longingly at my seat the next time (if there is a next time) I'm on that train. No fairness, just luck and guanxi.

We're now back at home, somewhat recovered from the trip. We're excited to settle back into a routine here and become more a part of the local community. There is a large orphanage here that we'd like to volunteer at. We're also excited to try Tai-Chi and ballroom dancing (Chinese style).

After a long train ride home, we made it back to Zhuzhou. Nothing will make you feel more at home than a guy carrying chicken feet home on the back of his motorcycle, right?

We hope you're all doing well. Thank you for your comments and emails - we really enjoy keeping in touch and hearing from you all helps keep us sane!

Talk to you again soon!

Love,

David and Tiffany

UPDATE: Regarding our earlier post "A Day in the Life of a Chinese Student," here is an interesting perspective on the structure our students are subject to straight from the horse's mouth -- A student at our school. This is from the blog of the other American teacher at our school who teaches the Senior students (It starts about the 3rd paragraph down). Their schedule is slightly different from our Junior students', but it's pretty close.