Too busy to be lonely

I wander what it would be like to be in another city in China. Perhaps a more rural one. A less westernised one. Further North. Further South. It’s probably my weekend trip away that has sparked this interest and curiosity.

I’ve sort of realised that, as much as I truly LOVE Shanghai, I have experienced Shanghai quite thoroughly now. I’ve lived in four different locations, worked in three different schools and explored a lot. I’m still loving life here, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve developed this desire to explore and live in a part of China, that is so natural, surrounded by mountains, nature, rivers, lakes… and I know it exists.

I sort of want to challenge myself. Live in a part of China where there is no “escape” from Chinese… if you know what I mean? Shanghai is amazing because, in my eyes, it is an amazing blend of West and East. Mix China and the West together and you get Shanghai. Hong Kong is a similar mix, but slightly more West poured into the mixture. In my opinion anyway.

Living in Shanghai you not only have local culture, but you have an amazing night live, city life, skyscrapers, rooftop bars, “ladies nights” and all sorts of events happening all the time. You just have to check the SmartShanghai app each day to see the amounts of events and occurrences.

Over the weekend, I mainly met EXPAT’s living in Chengdu and Yunnan. They all said to me Shanghai is expensive and doesn’t appeal to them. I must say, I’ve only lived in Shanghai and for us coming from England; it certainly is contrastingly cheap. But, I’ve now come to realise that there are other EVEN MORE cheaper places in China; which have so much other things to offer. I guess, in regards to teaching and working anyway, Shanghai pays the best.

Anyway, I guess it isn’t always about the money. It’s about what you get out of it at the end. On Sunday, when exploring Yibin, Jonatan, Sally, Mike and I asked eachother; “Could you live here for a year?” Mike’s immediate response was, “I’d need some laowai friends for sure”, Jonatan said “Yes, he could” especially now that he’d found a fairly decent cup of coffee, Sally said she could but with difficulty and I just thought about it. Eventually, my thoughts confirmed to me that I could and I wanted to.

It would be tough, I know it, but so rewarding. Such a beautiful, natural experience. Chinese food every day. Tea instead of coffee. KTV and exercise instead of drinking and clubbing. Games of chess and Chinese checkers. Hiking and exploring instead of bowling and cinema. Don’t get me wrong certain things are available across China; but to really embrace the culture there are certain things that are not popular everywhere. In my opinion anyway.

I guess one of the biggest things that I heard on the weekend that has stuck in my mind was in regards to learning Chinese. One guy, who lives in Kunming, Yunnan, said to me that where he lives he has learned Chinese so fast, because he really had to. It’s true to be honest. In Shanghai you CAN get by without learning Chinese.

I think Shanghai is amazing for your first year in China. It’s the perfect combination to gradually get you into CHINA. But after staying in Shanghai for just one year, it’s never really enough. Which was the case for me. But then… you can get to this point, like I am now, in which you have managed to broaden your horizon away from Shanghai. You feel this deep urge, and subtle calmness, that you are ready to embrace another part of China. It’s a shame really, that I have told myself I HAVE to go back to England next year to do my PGCE; and get qualified as a History Teacher. It’s a shame because. I feel myself falling more and more in love with China. Not just Shanghai. But China.