Our first Chinese meal...

Although we are in Beijing right now, the last few days up to coming here were hectic - but really rewarding. We packed up from Shanghai and took the train to DanYang, got our luggage headed towards our new city, checked into our new hotel, saw our apartment, signed our teaching contracts, took a trip to the local police station, and finally had our first authentic Chinese lunch and although we were still in the same clothes we had been wearing for three days (our luggage has not arrived from Shanghai). Overall it has been a great experience.

The school sent over a driver to pick us up at our new hotel, and we met the V.P and the Dean of Foreign Affairs, along with another host from their sister school, which is less than 10 minutes away. Ms. ChenYoung, along with everyone was glad to see us and we took another tour of my campus, had our passports copied, and then they escorted us up to see our apartment. Teaching contracts always include either an apartment, or a housing allowance, along with other benefits such as internet access, paid utilities, etc. Along with a monthly salary, travel allowance, medical allowance, and having to teach only 3 - 4 forty minute classes a day - teaching in another country can be a really great adventure. However, Jenn and I had seen the outside of the teacher's dorms and placated each other by saying not to get our hopes up, and as we walked up the five flights of stairs to the top, we were already breathless by the time we walked in the front door. But it was so much better than we expected! A two bedroom apartment with two queen beds, plenty of storage space, small kitchen but with a gas stove, microwave, all cooking utensils, bottled water service, western bathroom and shower, dining room, two patios, a computer, tv and dvd player - and hard wood floors throughout. With some rearranging we could be very comfortable here for a year - no problem! Our spirits soaring, Mr. Chen said it was time for lunch.

Eating is so important here they make it a bigger deal than we do in the states, or elsewhere actually. Since nobody eats alone, bigger restaurants are designed as banquet halls, with separate rooms for their guests. For example, our hotel has one floor dedicated to dining and there are probably over 30 rooms complete with table service for eight (always round so you can share all of the food dishes) and some tables are bigger of course. Two servers start serving your room but we have had as many as six coming and going and the door is always closed for privacy. These small rooms fill with the smells of food along with the haze of cigarette smoke too as everybody in this country seems to smoke incessantly. It is all very enjoyable once you get used to it and as we sat down for lunch, Jenn and I explained that we love this country and want to eat like the Chinese eat. They ordered for us, of course, because nothing was in English, but they were very polite and asked us everything we liked, but nothing about what we didn't like.

The first courses came quickly; a large bowl of cold water filled with very small, unpeeled shrimps. Then a bowl of tofu, both noodles and clumps in a brown sauce. Next came the pork meatballs as big as tennis balls. Then came the beef chops, sliced thin with the bone still in, slathered in a black bean sauce followed by two pots of green vegetables, bok choy and what they call Chinese collard greens. The next dish was a whole fish, split down the middle into two pieces, each with a gaping eye and surprisingly long teeth. We tried some of everything and I think I enjoyed the food more than Jenn, but she was polite and managed what she could. There was hot water, and cold tea, and a warm wine unique to this city that the locals are very proud of - I thought it was delicious and everyone had a nip or two as we toasted each other throughout the meal.

The conversation was not strained at all, we were honest about our quest for adventure here in China and our need to see the real country instead of what the media presents and the V.P, Mr. Wong, told us about his travels to North Carolina, our driver did not speak a word of English but seemed to laugh at the appropriate times and they translated for him whenever he wanted to tell us something. Mr. Chen had recently been to Australia for two months, and Ms. ChenYoung spent more time than was deserved teaching us several quick Mandarin sayings for our further survival. Hau! became our most widely used word the rest of the day (it means very good!). Most of the talk centered around the upcoming Chinese New Year, they were all set for a vacation starting tomorrow. The Chinese are known for getting to know the person long before they even mention business, and we talked very little about our work for the school. Travels, expectations, light politics (they are very excited about our new President), history, etc. And as Mr. Wong explained the differences in when the courses come in a Chinese meal we weren't too surprised when noodles and rice came to the table at the end of our meal - "to fill the empty pockets in our stomachs" we were told with a laugh. Everyone made toasts to our new relationship, our driver smoked the entire time but offered everyone a cig each time he lit up, and I felt that for the short time we had known our hosts we could sincerely say "Xin Yiang Hau!" which means Happy New Year! and we had made some friends.

More paperwork followed, then a ride over the city police station where our passports were documented, then back to the school where contracts were signed in both Chinese and English, revisions were made, and by the end of the day our driver dropped us off at the hotel and we were beat, but proud of ourselves. With this sort of adventure comes situations that are completely unknown moments before, but we are in the deep end of the pool now, and swimming as fast as possible. We are scheduled to move our luggage into the apartment when we desire and don't need to be back at the school until the 5th of February.

We were surprised when we got a phone call the next morning at 9am asking us not to eat breakfast and that the driver would be there shortly to take us over to another city for a full medical examination! As we jumped out of bed and put on the same clothes again for the third day - we gave each other a kiss and repeated our mantra, "It's all part of the adventure."