My Guangzhou Sleepover

After arriving to the Wuhan airport with just over an hour to spare, I checked into my China Southern flight to Guangzhou with no incident and proceeded to wait around the airport for my flight to take off. It was delayed almost an hour. Finally we arrive in Guangzhou at around 5:25 pm, with my connection leaving at 7:10 pm - I thought to myself, I've been in and out of customs and Immigration in Chicago in under 45 minutes, I can definitely navigate through Guangzhou with almost 2 hours. Not the case.

Me and my two 31kg bags approached the China Southern check-in counter at 6:15 after waiting in the queue, collecting my bags, locating the international terminal, and getting into the correct China Southern line. After putting one bag on the scale, she tells me that I have to pay per Kilo that I'm over, 400 yuan for the bag. We go back and forth about paying for the bag for about 7 -8 minutes with me showing her my connection information for the US and explaining that I didn't pay extra from Wuhan and that she was being ridiculous. She starts trying to tell me that I have to pay for my bags, and I clearly argue that there was no precedent. At that point she starts to ignore me and all of my questions. So I yell, full on, "WO WEN NI YIGE WENTI!!" (I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!) To this she looks shocked and starts rambling in Chinese.

I call for a manger who speaks English and after talking to him, I agree to pay 400 yuan and assume that since both bags weigh the same, I owe 800 yuan. The woman laughs. "You have two bags?? How much? Weigh other bag!" So I put the other bag on the scale and she starts punching the numbers into the calculator and giggles, then shows the girl beside her and the manger and the three of them laugh together. Clearly, I'm pissed so I ask how much I owe and I find out that to get the two bags to Singapore (both under 32 kg) it will cost me 3000 yuan
($400) since my limit is only 20 kg because my connection to the US is not the same day.

At this point I freak out, yell at them that I don't have that kind of money and will need a minute to figure out where I can get it from. I pull out my cellphone and locate my calling card just in time for her to be like "it's 6:25, check in is closed. You cannot get on this flight, you must proceed to the other counter by section J to change your flight to the next one to Singapore: Tomorrow at the same time." Upon hearing this, there was clearly swearing under my breath followed by crying once I realized I'd be stuck in China for another night. After calling everyone in my family to get help, i got everything settled and checking into the airport hotel fro the night.

The hotel was the best part of the whole ordeal. I settled into my room, took a bath, drank a free drink at the bar downstairs and slept on a pillow-top mattress until the Western breakfast in the morning. The next day, I made it safely onto my flight to Singapore after arriving 3 hours early to the check-in gate and kissing good-bye to $400 on the emergency credit card.

Zai Jian!

I know that I am way behind on posts and that I still need to cover everything since Hong Kong, but I thought I'd take a minute to describe my surprise at leaving Wuhan tomorrow. Leaving China is a bit like coming to China: I don't have a crazed anticipation for my departure the way I did when going to and from London to study abroad. Instead, I feel as though I have packed up my stuff and will return shortly. I'm not sure if it's because my China adventure has been bookended by Singapore or if I am truly that nonchalant about the whole experience.

This summer was genuinely life changing. Without my triumphs and tribulations in Wuhan, I never would have fully understood my (somewhat distant) ancestral ties to China, and I could have blindly signed onto a position with a company in a Chinese city that I simply am not ready to take on. My eyes have been opened to a new side of the regal, studious and petite people of mainland China, a side that is over looked in movies and is essentially illegal in Singapore. This side of the population is rude, uneducated, ignorant, unsanitary and a number of other adjectives which don't highlight all of the positive attributes of the population. On the other hand, the AIESECers and my students and coworkers at New Oriental are some of the most genuine, interesting, and open-hearted people that I have ever met. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart that I have been given this chance to get a taste of my homeland, but the reality of it all is that I ache for a taste of All-American apple pie.

Americaland

As Americans, we clearly flock to every Western establishment in China whether the Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks or the Wuhanese, non-Chinese pieces of home. Jolie, my boss, hangs out with lots of Americans (which is how her English came to be practically spotless), so she told us where to find both pizza and coffee early on.

The pizza place, Giano's, is centrally located a few blocks from the main New Oriental School building and serves pretty decent food. Granted, since the ingredients are hard to find, the pizzas are a bit on the pricey side, but when you crave pepperoni, you need pepperoni. I haven't been since July 4th when the place was filled to the brim with homesick Americans, but Angie and Erin are regulars. They go once or twice a week and devour french fries, sandwiches and pizzas after class.

Mr. Mai's Coffeehouse and Language Club

The real American place where I like to hang out is a coffeehouse and language club that is owned by an American Christian couple from Louisiana, David and Faith McNab (the "Mais"). They came to China on a church trip years ago and decided that they had made enough money from their successful careers as a stockbroker and a nurse that they wanted to give back. They had initially wanted to start a charity organization, but the government blocked it, so instead they started the coffeehouses where all profits go towards helping local children in hospitals. The locations each offer culture nights once a week and encourage patrons to mix and mingle to improve their language skills. Mostly it's foreigners helping locals with their English, but occasionally you hear the uncertain tones of Mandarin wafting from the tables.They serve everything from apple pie and cappuccinos to tacos and milk tea with free wireless internet bundled into the deal. Sure the prices are higher than other places around Wuhan, but you are also helping a kid pay his medical bills with your latte.

David and Faith

When we're homesick, you'll find us at Giano's or Mr. Mai's, and sometimes at one for lunch and at the other for dinner!