Winding Down in China...and a Trip to Pattaya

Lotus pond at sunset. (One of Dave's masterpieces.)

Life continues here in China through that different set of eyes I grow when I know something is temporary.

Of course, everything is temporary.

But what I mean is this: I've decided not to renew my contract. We'll be leaving China in less than 2 months.

My gaze lingers a little bit longer on the lotus pond, on the grandpa doing tai chi, on the kids playing basketball, on the innumerable cute babies and glowing pregnant women. Have I mentioned there's a baby boom here?

Nanning at night

And the things that bother me are easier to let go. The occasional cockroach. The water leaking through the wall in the guest room. Not being able to access certain websites because my VPN's not working. The way a "simple" trip to the bank inevitably takes an hour, or two. Soon...not my problem!

In the larger scheme, those things don't really matter anyway. Nomadic life constantly schools me. It reminds me what matters most. For example:


Friends from China, Singapore, Russia, the U.S. and England.

People. And by that, I mean love.

It's incredible to think about how less than a year ago, I didn't even know these people were walking the Earth. And now we've shared many wonderful experiences, such as Dave's surprise birthday party. Paul and Mike played guitars. Daria, keyboard. Ricky, flute. And I debuted on ukulele, playing "Heart of Gold" while Tina (our Chinese "daughter") and her friend (my yoga student) Jennifer did a dance.

One of Dave's most treasured relationships here is with Lee, the 11-year-old he tutors twice a week.

Lee is whip-smart. He wants to go to university in America. Dave's pretty sure their relationship will continue. Of course that's how we feel about Tina, too. When I told her we were leaving, she broke out into tears. And then I did. It's going to be rough saying goodbye in July, but I will make sure it's more like "until we meet again." Because we will. I want to bring her to Mexico to visit us when she graduates. And if she gets married, I don't care where we are or what we are doing, we will be at her wedding.


Eating Korean food (bibimbop) in China, one of our favorite restaurants near campus.

One of our goals in coming to China was to explore S.E. Asia. Ten months in, and we've been fortunate to experience Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.  My holidays and the incredibly cheap Air Asia flights have made it possible. Our most recent trip was to Pattaya, Thailand. We'd been warned about Pattaya's sleaze factor. However, Dave did the research and discovered an area just outside the main part of Pattaya called Jomtien, which turned out to be perfect for us.


Heaven = a foot massage on the beach.

Our hotel was in a gay area, which felt comfortable and fun. I loved the flamboyant greeting we received from a front desk clerk as we walked in.

One of the two pools at Agate Boutique Hotel that has rooms at about 35 bucks a night.

At the beach, we chatted with some guys from England who come regularly to Jomtien. I also noticed a young Russian couple; one of the guys had this tattoo on his chest: "Only God can judge me." Especially poignant given what has been happening to queer people in Chechnya.

We spent time wandering around Jomtien's charming streets, happening across some great finds, like Sketchbook Art Café...

...and street carts selling all kinds of treats.


fruit cart

We love Thai food. And like most of S.E. Asia, the tropical fruit is amazing. Dave went crazy for the pad see ew, a dish of thick noodles, veggies and a savory sauce. However, after all this time in China, I'm a bit noodled-and-riced out. Which was why I was thrilled by the many choices of relatively inexpensive and delicious Western food in Jomtien. I ate Caesar salads galore and vanilla soft-serves in waffle cones. We also found a place that made amazing meat and fruit pies.

 

Walking Street before things really get going.

One evening we ventured into downtown Pattaya. To get there, we braved a hop-on taxi: a truck where people pile onto bench seats in the truck-bed or hang off the back as overflow, which was what Dave had to do. Every time the truck jerked to a stop, I thought he might go flying off. Fortunately, he has a strong grip.

We spent a few hours moseying up and down infamous Walking Street, which is a raucous array of crazy sights and sounds. It's like Vegas on acid, without the overt gambling. We passed mostly bars, restaurants, bar girls, a few people in wild costumes, and the occasional guy trying to get us to see a Ping-Pong-vagina show. We'd heard there was some good live music on the strip, but at 8:30 p.m., no bands were yet playing. And we were ready to go back to the relative peace and quiet of Jomtien.

 

Dave dove the Hardeep WWII wreck.

One day we took a diving and snorkel tour to the Samae San islands, about 45 minutes south of Pattaya. The experience affirmed and intensified my love for Thailand.



snorkeling

Speaking of which...in September, I will be co-hosting a writing retreat on Koh Phangan. It's an incredible place, and that's no hyperbole. Neither is our title: Write Your Story in Paradise. I know "paradise" is a well-worn phrase, but The Sanctuary resort where we are holding the event fits the bill, in my humble opinion. The experience promises to be transformational. If you'd like to join us, check out our Facebook page.

In the meantime, I will do my best to relish our remaining time in China. We may have a lot of plans ahead of us, but this moment is where it's at. It's all we really have.

teaching yoga in China

Goodbye and Thank You, China

Semester is over!

These past few hot and rainy weeks in Nanning, we've been preparing to leave. I have finished final exams, and most of our stuff--from lamps and cushions to blender and bikes--has new owners. Our friends will come to retrieve those things and say goodbye Friday morning before we head out to the airport.

Ten months we've been in China. It's the longest we've lived in one abode since launching our nomadic life 4 years ago. Life here has been charming and challenging. Sweet and soul-stretching. Exciting and unnerving.

campus lotus pond

If we were planning to stay here longer, I would embark on an immersion course in the language. The little bit of language study Dave and I did before coming wasn't nearly enough. At first it wasn't a problem. I am teaching in a university program that focuses on English, so we were surrounded by English-speaking Chinese people and ex-pats. Also, I made liberal use of my translation app.



You never know what you'll see when you're taking a stroll.

However, to be able to deeply connect to people--and to move around with ease--knowing more Chinese feels crucial. It got old relying on others to do some of the simplest things for us, like order take-out or buy a ticket to the movies.

Another challenge has been the food. While at first I fell in love with it, if I never see another dumpling, noodle or rice dish in my life I don't care! There is not enough variety in the diet for my taste. Well...there is variety if you're willing to eat mystery meat, duck feet, and organs. As Lee, Dave's 11-year-old tutee said, the Chinese eat everything.

Farmer's market butcher: you know it's fresh when...

We did enjoy our outings to the campus farmers market, a great place to buy fresh eggs, fruit and veggies at cheap prices. And we have found a few restaurants we like a lot...although our absolutely favorite one just closed down, perhaps a sign that our leave-taking is good timing.

The "egg lady" kindly posed for a picture.

Another sign may be the state of our apartment. It's a beautiful place with large rooms and bay windows (albeit barred) that look out over a lotus pond. And the ease of the 5-minute walk to class cannot be understated. However, Dave has named our bathroom "Little Shop of Horrors" because unidentified goop seeps from the ceiling down the walls. Sometimes we hear rats scurrying up there. And now when you run the water in the sink, it leaks onto the floor. Also, for months, water has been seeping through a wall in the office space. A maintenance crew came to look at it a few times, but apparently there is no remedy.

E-bike wackiness

This acceptance of things that my Western, middle-class culture might not endure has been part of the challenge and charm of China. There's a laid-back quality that's appealing. You even see it in the traffic. It might look chaotic, but generally people go quite slowly and weave around each other like a choreographed dance. That e-bike might be cutting off a bike or pedestrian, but everyone just sways one way or the other and doesn't change their pace. One move like that in California, and someone is likely to pull out a middle finger, if not a gun.

They take the afternoon siesta seriously here.

Today (Sunday) I was notified of a graduation ceremony Tuesday morning I'm required to attend. Two days notification of a major event would send many people I know into a tizzy. Here, two days is quite a bit of advance notice. I can't say I always go with the flow, but China has been teaching me to notice when I don't and what that says about me.

Popular in China!

Teaching in China has reached extremes of charm and challenge. The challenges have come with the bureaucratic minutia that I've alluded to in other entries and won't rehash here. Another challenge has been preparing lessons that build enough background knowledge of American culture so students can understand the material. In the course of teaching the book and film Wild, for example, I introduced the students to Adrienne Rich, Jerry Garcia, "therapist," Pacific Crest Trail, Minnesota, the term "beacon" as a light and a metaphor for a guidepost, and a few of Simon and Garfunkel's songs. There are always moments when I have to decide if I'm going to introduce a new term, drill down on one idea, or keep moving forward.

Whose name is whose?

For the most part, the students have been very patient with me! And I with them. We learn a lot from each other. And the notion that Chinese students are not "creative," I can now say with assurance, is bunk. They wrote some of the most wonderful poetry and memoir pieces. They created videos, sang songs, played music, and shared their visual art.

The student-created class magazine.

It's not that Chinese students aren't creative. It's that their middle school and high school years are drenched in study, with an eye to getting a good score on the gao kow, the 9-hour college entrance exam. Not many are encouraged in creative pursuits. But the human spirit being what it is, the students retain the impulse to create, to express their unique voices.

Students love these wacky phone apps!

Some admitted to me that they would like to pursue dancing, singing, acting and other arts but that their parents insisted they major in Economics or Engineering. I told these students that everyone has extra time: "Some play video games. Some play sports. You can use that time to write or dance or whatever it is you love." I gave the example of Khaled Hosseini who wrote The Kite Runner while working as a doctor, and William Carlos Williams who was also a doctor and a well-known poet.

One student last semester told me he wanted to be a filmmaker but his parents were making him become an accountant. After offering him the both/and spiel, I emphasized how lucky he is that today's technology makes filmmaking easier and cheaper than ever before. A few weeks ago, he sped up to me on his e-bike proclaiming, "Kate! Kate! I want to tell you, I'm making a movie! A full-length film. My friends and I wrote the screenplay." His eyes were alive with joy. If that's a mark I leave behind, what more could I ask?

Tina and me with smoothies, post-yoga.

China has left its mark on me, an impact that I probably won't fully process for a while. The biggest one has been my connection with Tina, our student assistant whom--as you know if you've been reading this blog--has become like a daughter to us. Leaving her is going to be rough. We have asked her to join us next month for a week in Bali. I'm praying her parents will allow it so we will squeeze out a bit more time together.

Dave and I would have loved to have traveled more in China while we were here. However, my breaks fell on Chinese holidays, which would mean traveling with crowds of millions. Also, there was the language issue as well as the fact that traveling in China is more expensive than traveling in S.E. Asia, which is deliriously cheap.

On my last break we slipped away for a few days to a resort in Malaysia.

Sepang, Malaysia

When we embarked on our experiment of living nomadically, I could not have foreseen all the incredible things we've experienced this year. Now we are headed for 2 months of travel in Indonesia and a month in Thailand, where I will run a writing retreat.

Thank you, China. I have a feeling we will return one day to explore more of what you have to offer.

 

 

Indonesia Part 1: Gili Islands and Amed

Cooling off the horse in Gili Trawangan

Flying out of Nanning, China--where we'd lived for a year--was familiar since we'd traveled a lot during my breaks at the university. Yet it was surreal, knowing we weren't returning. At least not in the near future. Our first stop (after an overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur) was the magical Gili islands. Let me cut to the chase: Of all the places I've traveled, this is one I want to return to one day.

Because there are no motor vehicles, on the three Gilis (Trawangan, Air and Meno) you get around on foot, bike, and small horse-drawn carriages.


We spent half a day riding bikes around the whole island, stopping at will for swimming and food.

On Gili T, we woke each morning to the haunting call to prayer blasting on a loudspeaker and fell asleep each night to the heartbeat of distant party music. This compelling juxtaposition of religious devotion and secular indulgence was evident throughout Indonesia.

Shrooms are as available as fresh fish.

One morning at breakfast in our comfy family-owned B&B, I heard a young couple speaking English with American accents. Most travelers we'd encountered in the past year in S.E. Asia were Europeans, Indians, and Australians. And of course in China, we met few Americans. I couldn't help myself. I had to ask them where they were from. Chicagoites, Danielle and Evan were on their honeymoon.

Danielle and me

The four of us spent the day on a boat that took us to three snorkel spots. In most places in S.E. Asia it's almost the same price (and much more comfortable) to hire your own boat than to take one with lots of other tourists.

Snorkeling, we saw lots of healthy, multicolored coral and fish--and best of all, turtles. One day Dave and I snorkeled off the beach on Gili T and were instantly surrounded by five or six large turtles. It's sublime floating in warm, quiet water with these prehistoric creatures.

That day, we had lunch on Gili Air, which is known for being quieter than Gili T. (In the Sasak language, "air" means "water" and "gili" means island.) I loved Gili Air's maze-like streets.

As in many places throughout S.E. Asia, on Gili T there was a lively night market with foods that looked (and were) delicious--and a few that frankly frightened me. Those were mostly along the line of insects. Another similarity to many places we'd been, including China, was the adorable babies.

We had made our plan to spend two months in Indonesia before we'd discovered that Americans are granted one-month visas upon entering the country. We asked around about extending our visas and were told to see the "guy with the mustache" at a travel booth on the main, dusty road. Dealing with bureaucracy everywhere is a challenge--and even more so in a place where the rules seem, well...flexible, and you don't know the language or the culture. Handing over cash and your passport to "the guy with the mustache" is a pure act of faith.

the ferry

To finalize the visa extensions, we took a crammed ferry (more like a fishing boat) to Lombok's passport and immigration office. We'd been told the ferry would leave "about" 9 a.m. It finally took off at 10:30. Hanging out on a beach with a coconut isn't the worst way to wait for a ride.

To get to the Gilis, we took a boat from Sanur (south of Padangbai).

We had vague instructions about how to meet up with the guy who would drive us from the pier to a an inland city. We'd thought we'd already paid for the transport, but the driver insisted we hadn't...so maybe we got bilked a few bucks. I re-reminded myself that a few dollars is not a big deal for us but probably is for him.

The rest of the visa-procuring experience went relatively smoothly. And our driver showed us around a little, including taking us to see this pretty mosque:

and monkeys in the mountains.

monkey junk

We could have easily spent another week or two on the Gilis. But it was time to move on. Our morning fast-boat ride out to the Gilis had been extremely rough, with waves crashing over the boat. That happens periodically. It's the government, not the boat owners, who decide when the seas become too unsafe--and after our ride over, the boats had been cancelled for a few days. (We were incredibly lucky to not have to deal with delays or cancellations of boats, planes or buses during our three months of post-China travel...which included 16 flights.)

Our ride from the Gilis to Amed--the easternmost point of Bali--was bumpy but not as rough as the ride out. Disembarking from the boat meant stepping from a wobbly boat onto an even wobblier, floating, slippery "pier" with no handrails that was being buffeted by large waves. Our S.E. Asia mantra: There is no OSHA here.

Blue Star Bungalows...right on the beach.

We stayed a week at the Blue Star Bungalows in Amed on Jemeluk Beach. Iluh, the owner, told me I could remember her name with the acronym, "I Love You, Honey."

And I did--love her, her small hotel, and Amed. Iluh told us that tourism didn't come to Amed until relatively recently. When her husband was growing up there, everyone was poor. No one had electricity and most kids didn't go to school. Things were changing but still, children wandered the beaches, trying to sell bracelets and other small items to tourists. Iluh suggested we buy only from adults and give kids school supplies instead. So we bought colorful pens for the children.

cuties

The kids try to hook you with the few words of English they know, starting with, "Hi, what's your name?" One girl, probably around eight years old, came by day after day as I sat on the beach. One day when she asked me my name, I pouted and said, "Really? You don't remember?" She smiled. I invited her to sit with me. She pulled out a little notebook and asked me to write down my name. We spent half an hour together in an impromptu English lesson, writing new words accompanied by pictures, her little hand perched on my thigh. I have been teaching for many years, and this was one of my favorite teaching moments of all time.

 

Jemeluk Bay

It's incredible to be able to walk right out into the water on Blue Star's beach and experience world-class snorkeling. Evenings, we ambled into the little town for dinner. We shared a few meals with a wonderful German couple we met. He's a filmmaker, she runs an NGO that promotes equality for women in developing nations.

nueu freunde

Meeting new people is one of the greatest pleasures of traveling. It's also sweet to travel with longtime friends...which is what we did when we left Amed to see more of Indonesia. I write about that next...stay tuned!
 

First Month in China

Flowering lotus pond and campus seen from our living room window.

I asked Dave what three things he'd tell people about our experience in China. He said:

1. It's more organized and less chaotic than anticipated.
2. The food is amazing.
3. And so are the people.

A month in, I agree. But the first week didn't quite feel like that. It was shocking to walk into our campus apartment and see cockroaches crawling over the dead carcasses of their brethren, a rotting hole under the kitchen sink, black crud on the floor of the bathroom, stains streaking the walls. Etcetera.

After cleaning like crazy people, we fell into bed that night--feeling like we'd dropped onto a concrete sidewalk. I missed my memory foam mattress like never before. The cushion-less wood furniture in the living room was just as unyielding.

With the help of some new friends, we were able to buy cushions and pads. And the Dean came over to show us how to use the washing machine--although he wasn't sure about a few settings and laughingly said he usually doesn't do the laundry.

Dave rustled up some light blue paint and transformed our living room. The bedroom will be next.



A man of action.

Once things were clean and comfy, I began to appreciate the spaciousness of our place. And it has two bedrooms--one of which we use as an office and guest room (hint, hint).

 

comfy

Living on campus is great. With its food courts and canteens, two farmers' markets, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, many apartments and dorms, it's like a city within a city. Everyone who works for the university--students, faculty, and staff--lives here, including retired employees. There are people of all ages around, including elderly and children. And on campus are schools (from preschool through middle school) for the kids.

The Chinese love exercise. On my way to class in the mornings (a five-minute walk), I see retired people playing volleyball and badminton. There are big sports fields here where people play on the equipment, kick balls around, practice Kung Fu, walk, jog, stretch.

In the evenings, groups of (mostly women) gather to "square dance"--which is more like line dancing to a boom box that's blasting anything from traditional Chinese music to pop songs.

Dancing like mama.

Soon I'm going to join one of the dancing groups. People tell me the women will show you the steps. They may laugh, but it's all in good fun.

People also ride bikes and motorbikes everywhere, which adds to the feeling that China = movement. All motorbikes here, by law, are electric. This has the pleasant effect of keeping down air and noise pollution. Some days are hazy here, but for the most part, it's pretty clean and green.

campus

just outside campus

We are in Nanning, in the southeast--just 100 miles from the Vietnam border. Yes, there's an active vibe here--but also a laid-back one. I was surprised to discover that siesta isn't just for Spanish-speaking countries; it's a thing here, too. From noon to 2 p.m.-ish, campus offices close down as do many businesses. I'm beginning to get into the afternoon peace and quiet. I even nap now and then, not my usual forte.

I'm finding I need the rest. My body and mind are adjusting to my new job: teaching creative writing, literature, and yoga to college kids. For three years, "going to work" has meant editing books in my yoga pants. It's been an adjustment putting on real clothes and being "on" in the morning.

Class on the American Memoir

For the most part, the students are eager, kind, and thoughtful. "Class discussion" isn't what I'm used to; they don't like to talk unless called upon. However, when I structure discussion and activities using my bag of tricks (such as letting them write or talk out ideas with a partner before talking to the whole class), they get into it. They also love games and role playing.

With Charles, the son of our new French friends
who are here for the husband's postdoc.

My colleagues have been great, sharing information with us, showing us around and inviting us over. For mid-Autumn festival, we went to a mooncake-making party at the home of Li Ji (an administrative assistant) and Sophie (who runs a campus preschool).

Li Ji playing a song for the kids.

 

Weighing the dough and rolling into balls, mooncake-making preparation.

We were also invited to a mid-Autumn festival meal, where everyone participated in making pork dumplings. All the food was delicious--except the snake, which according to Dave was too spicy. I couldn't get past the fact that it still had the skin on. More suitable for boots than appetizers, if you ask me.

Soup, greens, two kinds of chicken, dumplings and snake.

After dinner, Peter made us tea at his special tea table. A connoisseur, he pulled out many little packets of tea, some of which had been aged for years. We sipped and compared ala wine tasting.

Everywhere we go, the food is fantastic (and cheap). We are especially fond of Nanning's dumplings and noodles.


Fat noodles with bits of fried pork.

 We're happy to have discovered a music scene. Paul (from Liverpool) and Ricky (from Singapore) play at an ex-pat bar on the weekends--and they have opened a café called the Ukulele Club, where they plan to run music and literary events.

At the Queen's Head.

Walking around the parks, you can hear lots of music, too. Much of it's from boom boxes, but sometimes you stumble across live instruments.

People's Park

One of the greatest joys for us has been getting to know Tina, our student assistant. She has helped us with so many things, from getting wifi and opening a bank account, to shopping for specific items, to translating labels so we can figure out if we bought, say, toothpaste or hemorrhoid cream!

 

We gave Tina one of the mooncakes we made.

She's extremely bright and capable. We've spent so much time with her that she's beginning to feel like our adopted daughter.

You've probably noticed that most of the Chinese people I've been talking about have English names. Many choose to use one with foreigners, a name that is similar to their Chinese name. I'm taking Mandarin lessons and hoping that once I learn to speak it well enough I'll be able to call them by their Chinese names. And maybe I'll have them use mine: 凱特 (Kǎi tè).

I feel like I have a million more things to say about China, even though it's been only a month. Stay tuned.