An American Girl with a Backpack

Greetings everyone!

I would first like to extend my apologies for being absent during my time overseas. Due to Chinese government shackles I was not able to access my blog account, even with a secured website that allows me to use the internet like the rest of the world. Either way, I apologize.

As most of you know, I am now back in the states. Before coming home, I embarked on a month long adventure through South East Asia and Bali. Needless to say, this was the best time of my life...

When I first arrived in China, I had an extra large suitcase and a backpack filled mostly filled with goods I was told I could not purchase in China.  After the year, I accumulated a lot more stuff, some useful, most useless. So, after cut-throat spring cleaning I managed to cut down my possessions to one backpack, a carry-on and excitement in my veins.

First stop: Hanoi, Vietnam.

A Foreigner in a Foreign Country

Something I've had to come to the realization is that I am a foreigner. In Chinese, I am also called "Lao Wei" which literally means "alien" or "one who does not belong".  This can be a very derogatory term but somehow it fits perfectly. It is next to impossible to be anonymous as a woman with curly red hair and big green eyes. Now, living in a city of close to 9 million people, one might assume there are people from all walks of life sauntering the streets of Ningbo.  However, the foreign population in Ningbo is only 10,000.  No matter where I go, I get stares; staring is an understatement, I get full on gapes of the mouth, especially from the older generation. These stares are never out of distaste or disgust but of sheer curiosity. Some of the thoughts they seem to have are, "What the hell is she doing here?" "Where is she from?" and I have literally heard, "Why would you leave such a great country like America to come to China?". While these stares were very uncomfortable at first (because I grew up in a country where it's very rude to stare), as the days turned into nights I've learned to accept my fate as an outsider. No matter how much Chinese I learn or how much I know about the country, I will never blend in...and somehow that's OK.

Unfortunately, in China, it is very hard for Chinese citizens to leave the country for travel or work. They need two things: lots of money and the ability to speak English (and these don't necessarily guarantee you a visa). Because of this barrier in allowing the Chinese travel, I will never judge Chinese tourists for taking pictures of absolutely everything they see because these pictures are their only gateway into another life.

Apartment shots

Some pics of my apartment: the view from the kitchen and the living room/kitchen area

Adventures through the China Medical System

The first few days here were a blur. Sabrina, our welfare officer, took Shegun (a teacher from LA that came the day after me) and me all over the city to take passport pictures, look at apartments and meet some of the other teachers, but nothing, I mean nothing, will compare to the health check I had to complete before they can issue a work visa. 

The "hospital", I use this term lightly, because it felt more like a federal building than a hospital. Everything was starch white and all the workers had a stoic and unfriendly demeanor to them. We checked in at the front desk and were quickly summoned to the first room. Two nurses stood behind a glass window like the DMV. Sabrina ushered us each in front of a nurse and my arm was grabbed out from under the glass window and without even looking for the vein, they jabbed my inner elbow with a needle. She neither said anything nor looked at me during this exchange. After filling up two viles of my blood, she placed a cotton ball on the hole she created and gestured for me to squeeze it tightly. Apparently AIDS and STD's have been a concerning problem in China so they made it a law to test every foreigner that arrives in China. She then handed me a plastic cup and a plastic tube. Again, through gestures only, I came to the realization that I was to pee in the cup and then pour a set amount into the tube myself. The sanitary aspect of this portion was apparently of no concern to the nurses. I rounded the corner to the bathroom to assume a western style toilet awaited my arrival. I was sorely mistaken. Lo and behold, an Asian squatter toilet was etched into the ground. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of toilet, it's exactly what the name suggests, a place to squat and relieve yourself, like camping. But I was not camping, I was at a hospital being forced to pour my own urine from one receptacle to another like some sort of science experiment. I gave the nurse my flask of urine and off Shegun, Sabrina and I went.  

At this point, I thought for sure the health examination was complete, but I was beyond wrong. With our paperwork in hand, Sabrina bobbed and weaved her way down an outdoor hallway to another room. The nurse was patiently sitting at her desk and quickly stood up when I entered the room. She took my height, weight, body temperature and blood pressure. 

Within moments, I was running to keep up with Sabrina as she signaled me into the next room; an eye exam. Again, with little to no verbal commands, the doctor flashed some lights into my eyes and pointed to the chair sitting across from the other doctor. He handed me a stick to cover my left eye. Now, eye exams are nothing foreign to me, but in America the reading board typically consists of series of random letters. The reading pane in China is made up of what seemed like a series of E's turned every which way. He pointed to a line and I struggled to understand exactly what it was that I was to be reading. All I could come up with was, "E? 3?". He looked at me with disappointment because I was clearly not fulfilling this task properly. Then, through broken English, he spit out the words, "left, right, upside down". Of course, how could I have been so ignorant?  After the confusion was cleared up, I passed the test with flying colors. 

Like an assembly line we were on to the next room. Here, a quick teeth check was followed by what seemed like an examination of my head shape. The next room was a little more cozy, as there was a window and plants lined up against the wall. The nurse gestured for me to lay down on the bed next to a large TV. She pantomimed for me to lift up my shirt.  By this point, I was beginning to get exhausted from the constant unknowns that awaited me but I tried to hold in any emotions I may have had. I did as I was told and laid down on the sterile brown bed. With ice cold hands, she began with a breast examination. After that was the ultrasound. Something tells me that with the "one-child" policy in China, they don't want surprise foreigners coming in two's. She squeezed jelly onto the wand and jabbed it into my ribs, stomach and lower abdomen. Once she was finished, she threw some tissues at me and I wiped away the thick layer of gel that lined my stomach , lowered my shirt and carried on with the poking, prodding and pushing. 

Every examination up until this point I have experienced at some point in my life, but never all in one sitting. To be honest, I was starting to feel violated  but what awaited for me behind door number seven was beyond anything I expected. As we climbed a set of stairs I noticed a sign that said "Gynecology  - Floor 2". My body instantly seized up because I was not going to allow them anywhere near my lady bits, I didn't care if it meant deportation back to America, I wasn't going to do it. I dodged a bullet because we  bypassed that floor and continued onto floor 3.

As I approached the nurse in the next room, again, I was summoned to lift my shirt and lay down on a brown cot. Lying next to her were swarms of cords with little contraptions on the end that looked like flying saucers. With my chest exposed, she began to clamp the snake-like mechanisms to various parts of my body; breasts, stomach and lower abdomen. She fiddled around with some buttons as I lie there like Sigourney Weaver in Alien, my beady eyes dodging every which way trying to figure out what the hell was going on. After what felt like hours of assuming  I was going to be electrocuted, she pulled the suction cups off of my body which left small welts all over my body (that's a little dramatic -- they vanished after a few minutes).  I lowered my shirt and with shaky legs left the room not understanding how this whole endeavor could get any stranger. When I walked out of the room, my face of sheer confusion and horror was clearly communicated to Shegun, who was up next in the execution room. All that came out of my mouth was, "I don't know what the hell that was but good luck". He swallowed and slowly entered the room to face his own fate. Later on, I was told it was an EKG, which tests the heart but somehow something so routine seems so foreign when you're outside your comfort zone.

At this point, you must be wondering, "Jesus Hannah, when does it end?" Well, to that, I tell you there is just one more door. The doctor behind door number 8 was a very smiley, short and warm man. He was the first and last one to greet me with any form of kindness. He was also the only one to treat me like a human rather than a lab rat. He escorted me to  wall with a large dashed cross in the middle. He modeled how I should stand which was chest to the wall, neck turned to the left and my cheek pressed against the wall. My hands and arms were spread out at my side. With a smile, he gave me the "stay" gesture one might use to train their dog; a little demeaning but he got his point across. He backed out of my line of sight and I heard a door slam. Except for a square of light that flooded over me, the room was completely black. Like a criminal on the show COPS, I held this position for about 30 seconds while he x-rayed my entire body. He flicked the lights on but I stayed in the same position so as not to disrupt any further cavity searches that might ensue. He tapped me on the shoulder and I quickly released myself from the wall.  I craned my neck to relieve the tension that had built up from the previous 45 minutes of testing. Still smiling, he ushered me out of the room where Sabrina and Shegun waited. 

Mission accomplished: dignity stripped.

My arrival

My apologies for the long awaited posts but I haven't been able to access my blog on top of being extremely busy. But here goes!

When I arrived in Shanghai at 5:30 pm, I was told I would be picked up by the school. As soon as I stepped off the plane, groggy, sweaty and dirty I patiently waited for the two suitcases that held the next year of my life. Anxiety swam through my blood system while I waited. With two layovers, it was hard not to think my luggage will end up in Fiji. My mind was quickly put at ease as my bags slowly approached me on the carousel. Part one: complete. I made it through customs. Part two: complete. Up next, meet the owner of my school. Part three: not complete. He was nowhere to be seen. I paced up and down the isle of people holding name signs." Hannah Simpson" was nowhere. Now, I've done enough traveling in my life to anticipate things not going exactly as planned. Panic would have been the first choice of emotion, but I knew it would do me no good. I waited on the side assuming he was just running late. People to the left and right of me were graciously greeted by various car drivers, businessmen and other school owners. There was an entourage of L.A. Lakers on my flight so swarms of Chinese fans and photographers crowded around the basketball players. I rolled my eyes, not because of the fans, but because I knew the basketball players would have a play to go tonight. By 6:30, panic started to set in. The airport didn't have Wi-Fi, but I was able to use a computer at the information desk. I logged into Gmail and was relieved to see that my manager was online. He informed me that the owner got his car broken into on his way to get me. Relief washed over me, not because he was robbed, but because I had actually not been forgotten.
The most unfortunate part is my dream of being greeted with a gold-plated sign with my name on it was not granted...

Ni Hao from LAX

Greeting all,

I realize many have expressed concern for my lack of postings lately, but life has been more than crazy. In hindsight, I now realize that the slew of redundant questions (not that I am complaining!) could have been avoided had I just posted them online for all to view.

I'm currently in LAX, awaiting to board my 14 hour flight to Shanghai. Fortunately, I managed to put myself in a coma during the last two flights, so I hope I can manage some sleep on the next one.

I'm sitting at the gate, and I have literally heard nothing but the Chinese language (some of which I actually understand!). This is a nice welcome into what I will be hearing and learning for the next year.

When I land in Shanghai, the owner of the school is going to greet me with a name plaque, which, in all honesty, I've always wanted to encounter. I imagine him in a nice three piece suit, aviator sunglasses and a sweet hat, but I think I will be sorely disappointed. Either way, I might secretly feel like a part of the CIA (stay tuned!).

I'm reading a book called "Coming Home Crazy". It's a series of essays by a Minnesota native (Bill Holm) about his time living and teaching in China. I can't imagine what the people next to me thought as one minute I was laughing out loud and the next minute I began sobbing like a baby.

Having been to Asia a couple times (albeit for no longer than a month at a time and never by myself), I feel like I have a tiny grasp on the culture, however, there is still a lot I need to learn...and none of those lessons can come from a book. A quote from "Coming Home Crazy" that I'm going to keep in mind the moment I step off the plane on Asian soil is this:

"In Asia, you either lose your inner moorings, start to sink, go some kind of crazy, [but] just let it happen, or you will leave sooner than you expected and not learn anything"

I know this future journey is going to be anything but easy but as Holm puts it, you can never truly learn if you're never challenged. As sad as it's been to say goodbye to my current comfort zone, I need to fully embrace an UNcomfortable zone so that I can really see what I'm made of (which I'm hoping beyond hope is steel!)

T minus 27 days

Well, the decision has been made, the flight has been book (I leave August 26th) and I anxiously await my invitation papers from China so that I can confidently get my work visa. To say that I'm excited is an understatement, to say that I'm nervous doesn't give my feelings justice but to say that I know this is exactly where I need to be is completely correct. This journey hasn't been an easy one. My original plan was to teach abroad after I graduated from UMD in 2007, but through a series of life events and hesitations, I never went through with it. I think when I was in the moment I had regrets in my decisions, especially when I promised myself I would. But looking back, I honestly don't think I was ready for such an adventure. My choice to stay in MN all these years brought me to grad school at Hamline University, a job at Community of Peace Academy and the knowledge that teaching truly is my calling. I don't think I would have figured that out had I not stayed in Minnesota. And now I'm here, grasping the door handle to a new adventure; one that I've dreamt of for years.

I will be living in a city called Ningbo. It's just South of Shanghai on the Eastern coastline. I will be teaching a school called Shane English and it sounds fantastic. Run by Western management, I will recieve full training, my own classroom (and TA!), quite a substantial salary and the opportunity to meet amazing students from another country. I look forward to the chance to create a learning environment for my students that is both educational and fun. Hopefully the schooling I've recieved at Hamline will set me up to be a successful 1st year teacher.  

As I amp myself up for this journey, there are a few things I anticipate I will miss a lot while I'm away:

- Family and friends

- Megan, Caitie, Maddie and Emily's weddings (and probably more--as well as babies)

- Snow on Christmas

- Cheese (a rarity in China)

- My iphone

- Community of Peace Academy and my amazing family there

- Belive it or not ... school work

I'm sure many more things will be added to this list the moment I step off the plane, BUT there will also be many amazing things that I will gain and I can't wait to find out what they are...

I'm going to keep updating my blog throughout the year with pictures and stories, so keep checking back! (It probably won't be very exciting until the beginning of September)

Hannah