Beijing Bound - Part 1

I have started teaching and will write about that in my next entry… suffice to say for now that it’s going very well. Much better than expected, to my delight :-) I’m really starting to like Changzhou and the University campus, which is like a little town unto itself…. But again, more on that later.

For now I’ll focus on my brief Beijing sojourn. I left Changzhou on Friday to fly to Beijing for interviews with two MBA programs – Chicago Booth and Georgetown. I’ve already been accepted to George Washington University, but I’d love to have a choice. I felt very “international” – a Canadian interviewing in China for MBA programs in the US. And that’s the only thing I’ll say here about my interviews…. this blog isn’t about my quest to get into business school.

Before leaving for Beijing I grabbed lunch on campus. It's possible to live on 10 to 15 RMB per day here. On campus I can get a full meal for 5 RMB, or about $1 CDN. In the little mom and pop restaurant, there’s a curling game on TV. Wow – what timing! China is playing Canada. I learn later that it’s the final game to determine the gold medal winner in a women’s curling championship. Funny. In this tiny, cold restaurant (where I’m bundled up in my coat, as I am in all buildings on campus, except the hotel), I never would have expected to find a tiny piece of Canada. I haven’t gone through major culture shock here, but I have to say, there was something about watching the end of that game – seeing the maple leafs on their uniforms, hearing some in the crowd chant “let’s go Canada, let’s go!” and knowing that I was the only one in that restaurant who wanted them to win – that gave me a tiny pang of homesickness. I’m getting used to looking different from everyone else, to not understanding what’s being said around me – but that was a sharp reminder of the differences. Patriotism is a strange thing… our attachment to arbitrarily determined borders.

Incidentally: Canada lost.

After lunch, I met Teddy at the hotel and he took me to the airport shuttle bus terminal. There’s actually an airport in Changzhou, albeit a very small one. I’ve decided that Teddy’s name suits him perfectly. He’s teddy bearlike in his manner, not appearance (so no worries Teddy – because I know you’re reading this!). He has this protective way about him when it comes to the foreign teachers. Anything goes wrong, Teddy is on it. We lose our heat for a few days, Teddy’s on the hotel’s case. I have to go to the Changzhou airport, Teddy takes me to the shuttle bus station, though I make it clear he doesn’t have to – this doesn’t have anything to do with the school. Teddy waited with me for the shuttle and even made sure I got on the bus okay. It’s gotten to the point that if something goes wrong, my first instinct is to call Teddy. I show up in Beijing and the taxi driver doesn’t understand where my hotel is (though I showed him the address in pinyin Chinese), and my first thought is to call Teddy and get him to explain it. Which really didn’t make any sense as I was in Beijing and Teddy hasn’t been to Beijing in years.

The last few days have been a bit of a step back into the western world. I’m glad I was posted in Changzhou. It’s too easy to live like a westerner in Shanghai and Beijing – and incredibly easy when you’re staying at a business class hotel in Beijing. When I arrive in the Beijing airport I notice three things: (1) western toilets (yeah!); (2) a Starbucks; and (3) other white people. It’s funny how quickly you develop a radar for spotting other foreigners when you’re living in a small (relatively speaking) Chinese city. And not just other Caucasians – anyone who isn’t Asian. A flash of blond hair – I caught it! The decidedly western way of walking that’s more like a strut… I notice it immediately. I take a taxi to my hotel (after finally calling the hotel and getting them to provide directions) and things get even more international. The China World Hotel is very opulent. I wouldn’t be staying here if it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted to be in the same location as my interviews. I’m struck by the sheer number of staff in the lobby. They even have someone to push the button on the elevator for you! Since arriving in China, I’ve noticed the large numbers of employees in most businesses. I went to one little boutique store in Changzhou where the staff must have outnumbered shoppers by 2:1. There are sometimes a couple of steps to a transaction that you’d expect could be done in one step; i.e., with one person. I wonder whether this is inevitable in a country that has more than 20 percent of the world’s population…. and I wonder what the future holds for China if the world economic situation doesn’t turn around soon.

China World Hotel - the lady close to the centre of the photo directs you to reception

To backtrack a little, I had a good conversation in the airport shuttle bus with a young man who was returning to Guangzhou where he’s a student. I was impressed that he had the confidence to talk to me in English. You don’t find that much in Changzhou. He’d heard me talking to Teddy in the waiting area. I ended up sitting next to him on the bus and he struck up a conversation with me. When I told him I love to travel, he asked me the following question, which gave me pause (and I’m paraphrasing): Don’t you think it’s important to know the language of the country you’re going to? I wondered whether I’m one of those ignorant English speakers who just presumes English will be spoken wherever she goes. I thought about it for a moment and told him that I don’t expect anyone to be able to speak English to me in Changzhou. It’s my problem that I don’t understand. I have to do my best with shopping, eating, etc. But I did add that in a business context, I do expect people to be able to speak English. It is the language of international business. What language do an Italian and a Chinese person use to speak to each other? I expect people in airports, major hotels – any organization that has contact with international business travelers – to know English. But I don’t think I’m the stereotypical globetrotting English speaker who just talks louder when people don’t understand.

However, I am the stereotypical English speaker who’s not fluent in any other language. That has to change and I’ve been reminded of that in doing my MBA interviews.

When I arrived in Beijing I had dinner with a friend who I haven’t seen in 6 or 7 years. “Calvin” did his MBA at MUN. I can’t say that when we parted in St. John’s that I ever expected I’d see him again – and on his home turf at that! He and a friend took me to one of Beijing’s most famous restaurants for Peking Duck. We have duck, goat, a few salads, soup made from duck and Chinese wine. Delicious! I’m reminded of why I want an international business career….

Preparing Peking Duck

Dinner with friends

When I got back to the hotel, a funny thing happened. Within about 5 minutes, I felt like I had a cold. I suddenly had a bad case of the sniffles. I know what this is now – pollution sickness. When I showed up in Changzhou, I came down with a cold. Some said it was really pollution sickness that mimics a cold. I adapted to the terrible air in Changzhou. Then I flew to Beijing where the air is even worse. I’ve read that every day in Beijing is the equivalent of smoking 70 cigarettes (like the cigarette smoke you’re breathing in all public places isn’t bad enough).

I get up on Saturday morning to prepare for my interviews. I had one at 2 pm and the other at 6 pm. I go the hotel restaurant for lunch and once again put one foot back in my own culture. Club sandwiches on the menu! Rolls! The Chinese don’t eat much bread. Toast is almost unheard of. In the mornings I don’t have toast – I have bread with peanut butter and jam on it. I’ve yet to even see a toaster for sale in Changzhou, though Dan tells me Steve, the Chinese English teacher, has one. In the hotel restaurant, I gorge myself on bread, opt for the knife and fork, and make no apologies for it! I’m eating plenty of rice and noodles in Changzhou and will surely be an expert on the use of chopsticks by the time I return.

My hotel is in the business district, so there’s not much to see. Not that I had much time anyway. My interviews, including preparation, take up most of Saturday. I have a well-deserved drink in the hotel bar (Aria) on Saturday evening. If I closed my eyes, I could be in any piano bar in North America. There’s live jazz music – a pianist and singer. The woman has an amazing voice and sings “Moon River”…. Ahh, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, my favourite movie :-)