A Little Reality

Yesterday was National Day. It's big here. You should look it up. The rest of the week is also a holiday. It's one of China's Golden Weeks, or so my sixty second glance at wikipedia told me!

Admittedly, I have not done much research about the country I find myself living in. Information overload has been significant. There is so much to learn! By the time I arrived I was already physically and emotionally exhausted from the whirlwind of getting here; it was more than enough to figure out daily living and an entirely new job!

It still is.

The exhaustion of the first three weeks was unbelievable. I suddenly felt old. Really, really old. I'd look in the mirror and swear my complexion had a gray tint to it! I've mentioned the pollution and smells. That has, by far, been the toughest to get used to. It is better now that it's not as hot and sticky. I'm told the worst pollution time comes during winter and that Beijing is much worse.

I. Cannot. Even. Fathom.

 EVERYONE in Colorado is posting fall pics & I miss it

Remember how I went rock climbing the first couple weeks I was here? I haven't been back. In fact, I've barely been able to work out. Do you know why? My feet have been bruised. For the life of me, I don't understand it other than the floors here seem a different sort of hard. I was talking with a new friend someone from Denver connected me with and he said the exact same thing! Okay. So maybe I'm not just imagining this craziness.

Many people talk about the spitting this culture does and how gross it is. It is true; it's nasty. I cringe every time I hear it. BUT, now I understand why. Whatever is in the air gets into your system and you just do what you've gotta do to be able to clear your throat! Another teacher who is new this year said she found herself making that awful spitting noise on the way to work the other day. I'm glad to say I've only done it in the privacy of my own bathroom...for now!

The first month I had a few days where I thought:  I've got this. I can see myself really liking it here!

Then I got sick.

THEN I went to work and had umpteen three year olds snotting, sneezing, and coughing. One of the girls hawked a loogie onto the carpet the kids sit on. You KNOW it's gross when my Chinese co-teacher nearly throws up from watching what just happened.

This past Tuesday was the first day in ten days that I finally felt well. People have told me horror stories of others from the states who are always sick here due to the air. It was beginning to scare me! I got an air purifier for my apartment, each night I put essential oils in my diffusor, and I have been drastically upping my supplement supply that was supposed to last me for three months. (It's okay, I met someone last night who knows of a good Chinese herbal store; I am totally a fan of Chinese medicine. It's just a matter of finding the right places and people who know about it.)

The day after I felt better? I came home to the worst sewage stench in my bathroom. It was dreadful. When you have your nose to the toilet and drains trying to determine where the smell is coming from, you know you are desperate.

Thankfully I remembered someone had left me some sort of cleaning supplies that had pictures of drains and toilets on it! I started throwing the powder down every drain, pretending I knew what I was doing. I took the box to work the next day to have Sara interpret it for me.

By the time I got home and the smell was gone. Apparently it's a normal experience here. So, until next time...

For those who have been saying it looks like I'm loving China? There's just a little bit of the reality. It doesn't mean I am not liking it here. It doesn't mean I am liking it here either. I find solace in world travelers who have told me of all the places they've been, China was the toughest culture. One teacher here said, "For your first overseas experience, if you can survive in China you will survive anywhere!" 

Well okay then! 

I am thankful I'm here for sure. Thankful I'm on this journey and glad I'm experiencing newness. I like change. A lot. It kind of goes with the whole "Accidentally Never Bored" thing. 

My change for the rest of this Golden Week? I'm going to be chillaxing at a health spa beach resort in Thailand. I even opted for their purity detox program. Because I'm totally a Boulder hippie when it comes to holistic therapies. The weather, it turns out, is supposed to be stormy. I suppose if that's the case then I'll just have to get more massages. Shucks.