Taking the Train Inland

July 4, 11:03am
OLD ENTRY FINALLY UPLOADED

So I'm currently on the 7 hour train ride from Shanghai to Zhengzhou. Let's back up a little bit.

We took a nice air conditioned, private bus (for the 18 of us Americans) to the hotel. Shanghai, from what we saw from the bus, was really interesting. It was completely covered in smog and the air was really thick. Coming in on the plane, it was actually hard to see the ground because of the amount of pollution (and I'm sure partially because of the humidity).

Yeah, a side note about the humidity. There is only one good way I can think of to really illustrate how absurdly humid it is. Before dinner, I ran across the street with a new friend to the local super store (like a Meijer, I would say, but Asian style) to get a few things. I wanted to take a picture of the lights of our hotel against the dark sky—it looked phenomenal—but I couldn't. As soon as it was exposed, the lens fogged up immediately. And this was at night, when the sky was completely dark!!

Yesterday we had a few hours to wander around, so we took a stroll through a local park and perused a few blocks of shops (they were all chains—we weren't near the city center so we didn't have much “authentic Shanghai” type stuff). The park was really nice: it felt a little bit like a smaller central park with much less vegetation. But there were water, bridges, pretty trees, etc. There was one particularly interesting section of the park. At first glance, we thought it was a play structure for kids, but as we got closer we saw dozens of men (mostly older), some with their shirts off. We realized it wasn't a jungle gym at all, but an outdoor workout area! It was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. All of the “equipment” seemed to work on flexibility and fluidity rather than endurance (in other words, nothing was weighted). One of my friends wanted to try something (even though everyone else using the stuff were male—we just use the excuse of being stupid Americans and let our curiosity take over), so she tried using these two pedals that swing back and forth for your feet. We thought it would be like an elliptical machine, but there was so little weight resistance that her feet went flying and she did something like a splits in the air before she lost her balance. I don't think the older man using the one next to her appreciated it very much. Anyway, when we came back from our hour-long stroll, we were all completely soaked with sweat. Sweat dripping off our faces, sweat stuck in our hair... how excellent.

There are 12 of us from Ireland, and they arrived in time for dinner. We went out to a nice place for our first real Chinese restaurant, and I really enjoyed it. Being vegetarian proved not to be an issue at all (for that meal, anyway). We'll see how it goes. At dinner, we sat at three big, round tables and it was the first time we really got a chance to interact with the new arrivals from Ireland. They were all very nice and dinner was fun. We were all jetlagged, though, and I think it showed. Still, both groups—the Irish and the Americans—were clearly intrigued by the other. Ok, well, maybe the Americans were a bit more intrigued by the Irish. What can I say... it’s all about the accent. :)

Anyway, so after a good night's sleep (the first one after our 30 hour journey from Denver to Shanghai), we got up quite early this morning to make the 7:28am train out of Shanghai. The train station was an experience. It was hot (hopefully you've picked up by now that yes, in fact, China in the summer is not cool), with large amounts of people and commotion and chaos. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but that could've just been because it was fairly early in the morning when we got there (6:45ish). Walking quickly and going up and down and all over the place in my walking boot, rolling my suitcase caused a bit of anxiety, but it ended up being completely fine.

So now we're on the train. People have been so incredibly social, friendly, and just genuinely curious about one another. As soon as we got on the train, we turned the seats so that we sit in blocks of four or six, rather than two or three facing forward. Just the fact that literally everyone did that shows how open people are to talking with other people—American and not—on the trip. So far I haven't had any problems understanding most of what the Irish say. I could go on more about what discussion on the train was like, but this entry is getting a bit long. I will say, though, that I am embarrassed that I know less about the details of the upcoming US presidential election than many of the Irish do. I feel like such the typical ignorant American. Actually, in many ways I think I am.

Opposite from me on the train to Zhengzhou. From left to right we have Brian, Adam, and Tucker (America), Michelle and Orla (Ireland), and Samantha (America).

On a side note, the scenery on the train has been interesting, but so far not as interesting as I thought it would be. The city sprawl went on and on and on. We're just now getting to the countryside, which has little rolling mountains and unique architecture. What struck me most about Shanghai was how, in the outer areas, high rise apartment complexes stood literally right up against little, slummy houses with no windows and fallen roofs. I didn't expect poverty to be in such stark contrast to affluence right in the middle of the city, as it appeared to be.

Now people are starting to take out their computers and notebooks and talk about the lesson plans they've done and the activities that they're planning to do. I feel under-prepared. I think everyone does, but still. You all know me: I do not like feeling under-prepared for things. After I finish writing this entry (which is in word, by the way, and will be copy/pasted into blogspot later), I am going to work on my plans. It is difficult, because we still don't know exactly which ages we'll be teaching. Actually, we still don't know which city we'll be in, either. We'll get that information when we get off the train in Zhengzhou, where we'll have a late lunch and get our school assignments. Then, someone from each school will come to pick us up. I wonder where I'll be. It's weird because that little decision is going to completely determine what the trip is going to be like. I may be with just one other of my new friends; I may be with 9 others. I may be in a little sleepy town; I may be in a city with millions of people. Time shall tell.

Anyway, so yes, lesson plans. It's hard because at this point there's still so much unknown. Even just the number of kids in the class makes a huge difference in terms of the style of the classroom. But still, I do need to get more done. I have four days done, but they're really disjointed. I need to come up with weeklong themes or something… I think having units is a much better idea, and I just don’t have that right now. I have a lot of good ideas (I know, I know, so very modest), but organizing them so that they are really effective is an entirely different story. Maybe I'm overanalyzing this and just need to realize that not everything is going to reach its full potential and because I've never taught before, there will be a decent amount of rolling with the punches, so to speak.

On this train ride, though, the fact that I am going to be a foreign language teacher in China is finally becoming a reality. I'm really excited. It gives the dynamic of the trip such a different feeling. We're not just tourists, and when I fully grasp that it's really empowering. Um, and nerve-wracking.

Ok, more later.