Still Random

So, Shanghai. I don't plan to spend much time writing about my experiences in Shanghai because, so far, it really seems to be the least relevant part of my travel here and I'm not a big city person anyway. And Shanghai is freakin' big!

There were approximately 30 of us in the training, mostly Americans, but not all. We had daily Chinese classes in the morning, plus discussions and lectures with experienced teachers in the afternoons. The training was laid back and helpful. We also got to travel around Shanghai and see touristy places such as The Expo and The Bund. The Expo was a kind of showcase for countries from all around the world. Each country had its own pavilion and inside the pavilions were pictures, films, artwork, whatever the people of that country had chosen to represent themselves with. The Czech pavilion was covered in hockey pucks. The Irish pavilion showed a lot of films of famous Irish actors and singers. Each pavilion was different. I found the idea of The Expo interesting, but honestly, I didn't like it. It was unbelievably crowded and hotter than hell that day.

Our trainers took us to some excellent Shanghai restaraunts and that was undoubtedly my favorite part of the training. I often say that I didn't like Shanghai, but if I have anything good to say about it, it's this, "Shanghai is full of great food."

So overall, the training orientation seemed like a mix of learning about what we were in store for and being a Shanghai tourist. My favorite part was meeting all the other people who, like me, had been crazy enough to come to China and try their hands at English as a Second Language teaching. I met a lot of really cool people, but we only had about 6 days together and it just seemed impossible to get to know everyone within that timeframe. I made a few close friends there and quite a few acquaintances, some of whom I'm still in touch with. I have, unfortunately, not been in contact with others. I'm working to change that.

While I was in Shanghai I remember feeling like I was in some kind of a Limbo. I certainly wasn't in the states, but I certainly wasn't in my small Chinese city in which I'd spend the next year. I'm glad that I've experienced Shanghai for a short time and maybe someday I'll write more about it, but now I want to leave Shanghai and move on to the city where I've begun to develop a nice little life for myself.

Kaili.

Kaili is too small to have an airport. The closest airport is in Guiyang which is the closest "big city." Pint sized compared to Shanghai. I got off the plane and was immediately greeted by a smiling Chinese girl with glasses. This was Wudan. She introduced herself by her English name, Tina, and then took me to the airport KFC. Yes, they have Kentucky Fried Chicken in China. At least, they have it in the "big cities." I reiterate, the first thing that happenned in Guiyang was that a pretty smiling girl bought me fried chicken. I was in a good mood.

The drive to Kaili took about 3 hours. Wudan's friends drove us there. I asked a few questions, but after a while it appeared obvious to me that she was tired. I found out later about her chaotic work schedule. She fell asleep and that was fine with me. I didn't need conversation. All I needed was to continue looking out the windows at the amazing mountainscapes outside. I'm from a mountainous state and I love mountains but these aint exactly the Appalachians. They have a whole different appearance to them. Not like any mountains I've seen before. The closest thing I can compare them to are the fjords of southern Norway, but they don't have the great outcrops of rocks that the fjords have and these mountains aren't as rounded off. Most of them are fairly small, heavily ferned and bushed, with very steep slopes. It' fairly common to see a rather impoverished looking house on the side or base of a mountain around here. And if you see the house there, look for the rice paddy. It's never far away.

So now I'm officially in Kaili. Good. I made it. Again. So I'll let the suspense build for a while and go watch TV. I'll write again soon. Good night.