Adjusting to Village Life

The strangest thing about returning to England is that it feels as if I never left: maybe I haven't been long enough in China yet! A post-Brexit Britain is just the same as the one I left last year and life in my small village is more or less the same as before, different faces maybe, but the same lifestyle.

 It feels easy to slip into the old routine of village pubs, local walks and meals out: I should say the odd meal out but since seeing Sarah for the first time in a year I've been somewhat indulgent with this and have been out for a meal about 5 times so far. Reception from the locals friendly most of the time, with a little curiosity, which stimulates conversation! The weather is fine which is very welcome in contrast to China's humidity.

I feel I have missed the landscape, gently rolling hills, green fields and trees, the smallness and intimacy of it all! Never has England seemed so charming!

COMING HOME

I travel to Beijing and stay at the Beijing Traditional Hotel for one night, then at the Dragon King Hostel which is very good and inexpensive, if a little run down. It is a very popular backpacker hostel and has an excellent bar with good cheap Western-style food and an excellent breakfast. While in Beijing I spend some time around the Lama Temple area and Houhai where I do some gift shopping for the family. I've already bought some fans, copies of Chairman Mao's quotations, and I have some yellow rice wine which I have placed in flasks. This was a gift from the owner of the little restaurant in the old town in Baoding which I often go to. Apparently it made by some villagers in the mountains.

During my time here I go into Huxleys and fall into conversation with an androgynous young Chinese (who I eventually find is female) and we have such a good time together we exchange contact details and hope to meet up again. She calls herself Phantom and is a worker in communications but wants to become a photographer. Her English is excellent and it turns out she has studied in the Netherlands.

I spend a few days in Beijing and at last have to make a very early start to the airport. This time I'm on a BA jumbo to London. I use the airport express to get there which is an extension of the Beijing underground network. I have a light lunch of dumplings in the departure lounge after checking in.

The flight is long and tedious, and slightly less comfortable than Air China as there seems to be less leg room. I feel they have squashed extra seats into the planes. However at length I can see the familar landscape of my homeland far below. It is a wonderful feeling.

I stay in Whitechapel in one of the halls of residence for the universities. It's basic but cheap especually for London. On the first night I'm too tired to eat anything so settle for an ear;y night. The next day I pick up my train ticket for Newark Station from King's Cross.

Nothing is ever what we expect it to be. When I get to London it feels like an extension of  China, as it has that same feeling of  being somehow other than English. However it is so much quieter than China, with, outside the centre, less people. I go back to the Prospect of Whitby, the pub I visited when I left for China, and have my first real English meal, pie and mash.

I feel full of anxiety as I get ready to catch the train back to  Nottinghamshire and see Sarah for the first time. We send each other constant messages. When I call from London to say I’ve made it safely she is highly emotional.

I watch the English countryside roll past the train as I travel north with delight and increasing anticipation.

On the platform at Newark Northgate Station I see Sarah for the first time in nearly a year. We hold each other in our arms for several minutes and she is quite tearful. It is a tender moment and we decide to make the most of our time together. The first thing we do, as arranged is go to a village pub for fish and chips with mushy peas!  As it’s a Friday what could be more appropriate?

The one thing I didn’t expect to find on coming back is that it feels as if I haven’t been away and the whole thing was a dream!  I have to go online and look through all my blog entries to persuade myself anything that happened over the last year was real!

There are numerous family gatherings planned over the next week and of course this is as it should be!

Something I have been looking forward to is roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding!

And of course time with Sarah! This is so precious now!

MORE BAODING LIFE

My time is now taken up mostly with preparations to leave, and making sure everything is completed with regard to assessments for this year. The weather is quite tropical  at times, with intense heat, humidity and heavy storms. I try to relax in the evening with a beer in the street cafes. There is a general air of the area beginning to close down as a slow migration of wheeled suitcases begins, and some of the shacks in the shanty town on the edge of the campus begin to close for the summer. The Blade Runner - esque feeling of the area persists, however. 

VISA UPDATE

The visa arrives on July 4^th, as optimistically predicted and I’m delighted to tell my family I’ll be home as expected!

HEALTH CONCERNS 2

I went for the medical to obtain my visa to come back to China in June, however 3 days later I found out I’d failed it: it seems there was some problem which at the time is unspecified. My line manager Ian calls me to explain and suggests another hospital visit to obtain a second opinion with Iris, our new admin lady. Worried about the possible implications of this, I talk to  Iris and she agrees to take me to the hospital at 7.20 the next morning. I have a friend on standby in case Iris can’t make it, as she has family matters to deal with as well.

As it turns out I am only too glad she comes,  as we have to organise a new ultrasound scan, blood tests, and ultimately  a CAT-scan, to find out where we are at in terms of visa applications. She fights battle after battle with the hospital staff  to expedite all this and I sometimes despair of success, but she comes through every time.

During the CAT-scan an odd feeling comes over me; it is a sense of privilege similar to that which I get when I’m on a plane about to take off. It’s strange and illogical, but on the other hand I am in a foreign land and have jumped the queue to get this treatment.

We discover there is some liver problem but we cannot get to the bottom of it yet. In the end a senior consultant writes us a diagnosis: the process by which we obtained this is too long-winded to describe adequately here. It’s 3pm by the time we leave and we’ve been there since 8am.

I have to wait until Monday when the admin office lady can go back to the visa centre. When Iris calls me later on Monday afternoon my heart is in my mouth. When she tells me we’ve made it, I’m overjoyed! The second year is then assured: all we need to do is to make sure we can get the visa processed in time. I have to get this investigated in England when I get back. Plan B was going to be processing the visa in the UK.

SAYING GOODBYE FOR THE SUMMER

I will miss the friends I have made among the Chinese, so arrange to see them before I leave. On Thursday I go out with the English department of Baoding University who are great fun and won't let me buy anything! Tons of food, a few beers and a good laugh!

After this on Friday I meet some of my other friends for dinner one last time. However all being well I'll see them in September! I also go to KTV and make a fool of myself as usual, then again who cares? Nobody really seems to mind my terrible caterwauling, but in the morning I always vow to give it up!

NOTES ON CHINA: TRANSPORT

Transport in China can be fascinating. When I first visited in 1997 cars were quite rare and Chinese locals moved house on a bike! Most cars that you did see were either limos or taxis. Now cars are everywhere. Here are a few notes based on my experience so far:

AIR: International flights are the same as to any other major country and I've experienced few problems if any. Internal flights however, I've avoided as they are by reputation chaotic and I'm unsure about how safe they are. No-one's told me any particular horror stories, but there is a reputation of repeated delays.

RAIL: By far the best and most popular way to get around mainland China. Trains are fast, relatively inexpensive, highly punctual and reliable, comfortable and safe. The bad news is, China has the busiest rail network in the world so you have to book your tickets as soon as you can!

(Next year hoping to go to Guilin and Yangshuo)

SUBWAY: These exist only in major cities at present, but again are cheap, fast, reliable, easy to use and safe. However most of the time they are hopelessly overcrowded, so don't expect a seat! Pushing in to get on board is customary so just join in the throng!

BUS: Like the subway, cheap and reliable but again expect to be crammed in like sardines! Bus drivers rarely refuse to take passengers even when the bus has them pressing against the windows!

CAR: Chinese drivers hover precariously between caution and irresponsibility. They often drive very large motors and tend to drive along crowded hutong expecting the throngs to part like the Red Sea, which they never do. Leaning on the horn is constant, so you tend to hear the kind of noise that previously you only heard in disaster films! Road rules are confusing, for example a red light only covers half the street, so you may find yourself crossing when the green WALK light is on only to find yourself dodging trucks, taxis and bikes!

TAXI: Taxis are everywhere, and easy to flag down. Make sure they use the meter however. In big cities this is not a problem, in more provincial areas use your judgement carefully!

MINI-TAXIS (Bun-Bun) These little red 3-wheeled carts can be fun and cheap for short journeys, the drivers are usually very courteous. (Like most Chinese people) However they can be a bit slow. They are great for getting around the hutong, but don't attempt a cross-city drive in one. You sometimes find people will wave at you on the street as well!

ELECTRIC BIKE: The most dangerous things on Chinese roads! These little scooters are fast, silent and driven with utter recklessness bordering on Death-Race 2000-esque perverseness. Keep your wits about you when on the road, as they don't always use their horns so you need 360-degree vision. These are a menace so when you see them be extra cautious!

BICYCLE: A bit like walking a tightrope without a safety net. Bikes are still extremely popular in China. You can ride quite safely however as long as you take your time, maintain caution, (if in doubt, wait) and develop the habit of regularly looking behind you to see what's coming!

WALKING: The safest way to get around except when you cross the road, which requires military precision! Tips:

• Always wait until the walk sign (an image of a walking man) is green.
• Be cautious, the turning lane will still be open so it is NEVER completely safe!
• Cross a lane at a time
• Take your time.
• Watch the counter on the walk sign, it will tell you how many seconds you have!
• Always keep looking around you!