Today is Lantern Festival in China, the last day of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). Fireworks have been going off non-stop for the past 4 hours. It's crazy! I think of how St. John's barely manages 10 minutes of fireworks on NYE... while here in Changzhou, they've been setting them off for hours and at multiple locations!
So... I was a little hasty in my initial assessment of Changzhou. It turns out that I am in the older, more downtrodden part - though the hotel where I'm living (yes, a hotel, though the University operates the floor I'm on) outshines its surroundings. Today, I went to the city centre to get a cell phone and pick up some supplies for my apartment. Downtown is more modern and more aesthetically pleasing. There are many stores, including Wal-Mart, Tesco and boutique clothing stores that are nicer than anything we have at home. I'm happy to see some stores (i.e., H&M, Etam) that I got to know and love in Europe!
Later this week I'll check out Changzhou's Tianning Temple and pagoda - the tallest pagoda in China.
Go West Young Man
11 years ago
Amy, some scholars say the cultural assimilation process begins with the 'honeymoon' period, the 'reality check', 'culture shock', then 'adaptation and assimilation' then 'final acculturation' when someone is so steeped in it they accept both cultures as being their own. It looks like you whizzed through the reality check and culture shock sages and are in a zone I dont think they defined ie between culture shock(which still shows up sometimes) and early stages of appreciation of differences. Good going Id say...whats it been? 12 days...
ReplyDeleteYes! First impressions are deceiving, especially in China! Having lived and worked there for several years, it's going to be a pleasure reading your blog. I also did the ESL gig in Beijing for a couple of years.
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