Posted by elvina on November 30th, 2010 — Posted in china, life in guangzhou, travel
Tags: guangzhou
Since I’ve lived in Guangzhou (only four months) there have been major transformations. All for the… Asian Games. We have become accustomed to explaining every mystery in the city with “must be because of the Asian Games.” Some are quite noticeable changes – the TV tower, demolished old architecture, extension of the subway to the airport, the list goes on.
Certainly the city looks better than when I arrived and when I visited in January or April. Sounds like it was quite different here a year ago. I found an old article on the how the San Francisco based architects designed many of the transformations. In it, Guangzhou is billed as the third largest city in China (it doesn’t say, but I assume after Beijing and Shanghai) and a sustainable and livable city.
Posted by elvina on October 20th, 2010 — Posted in china, life
Tags: about me, guangzhou, homesickness, wonderings
When I was home this summer, everything was strangely familiar. It was a comforting feeling. No wonder a place is a called “home” for a reason. My parents’ house is pretty much the same, my friends are just the same, the streets look the same as I last saw them. The first time I left for China, I was heartbroken to leave my New York. My one and only home, I was so sad to leave it, and even made a list of things to do and see before I left. As I learned during my visit last summer, almost everything is still there, and I was reassured of that again this time.
So although I only had a few short weeks at home, I was not as afraid or sad as I was the first time. Especially since this time, I said goodbye to Suzhou, a place I will probably never live in again, but I know that New York is a place I can and will always return to.
I had always been eager to spend time working and living in China. I was sad to learn that Suzhou wasn’t the kind of place I was looking for. But what I was sad to leave behind were some incredible friendships and relationships there. Right now, I am facing another new adventure, I think of it as China: Chapter II. I am now living in Guangzhou. In a short time, I feel much more connected to Guangzhou than I ever felt in Suzhou. Maybe it’s the fact that my father’s family is from here, maybe it’s the fact that I know the dialect (Cantonese), maybe it’s the warmer Southern culture. I don’t know. In Guangzhou, I’m happy to wander the city, go to a nearby museum, hike up a mountain, go to a pretty impressive import store, or meander through Chinese medicine markets.
I feel at home. Whatever the reason for that feeling is, I’ll gladly add Guangzhou to the exclusive list that New York is on: Places I Call Home.
There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all
- The Beatles’ “In My Life”
1 Comment
Posted by elvina on September 13th, 2010 — Posted in Uncategorized
Testing, the Chinese Way
Posted by elvina on July 26th, 2010 — Posted in life
Tags: my life in china, wonderings
I know that right now it’s still the middle of the summer for most of you. But believe it or not, I am heading back at this very moment. Yes, I am on a 4 hour layover. Granted, I have over a week of orientation, meetings, and set-up time, but we start school on August 11. So I realized it is yet that time again, time for me to decide my New (school) Year’s Resolutions for the school year of 2010-11.
First I’m going to have a quick refresher of what I decided to do last year
1. Be less negative.
I think that I have been…
2. Get to the gym.
I didn’t go very much at the beginning of the school year, then did a huge burst of it in the late middle of the year. But then when my membership expired (around May?) I decided not to renew because I was leaving Suzhou soon. I told myself I’d run outside in lieu of that but could never wake up early enough.
3. Save money / spend less.
I think I did. Finances are happy now.
4. Cook more / eat more healthily.
I tried and I believe I did pretty well. It’s easy to want to order in on a bad day. Overall, I think I cut down on restaurant food considerably.
5. Learn more Chinese (character recognition)
Unfortunately, I didn’t do a lot of studying and didn’t take lessons but I think I have improved a lot. Just noticing when I travel and need to read signs, and also the fact that I can read and reply to texts in Chinese. I will try to learn more – and now I also need to practice my Cantonese pronunciation. It’s in my head, just doesn’t come out of my mouth right!
6. Keep in better touch with friends and family back home.
I think this one was… FAIL! As a poor excuse, the firewalling of Facebook has caused me to drop off a lot of correspondence. It sometimes is just too busy to write email! I tried on the phone but people aren’t often free in the morning (best time given my time difference) My friends forget to check my Flickr and Blog, which is where most of the updates about me are.
So for this year….
1. Exercise – I have found that there are dance studios in GZ. Finally!
2. Consume less. This is both for the environment and to save money.
3. Continue to cook more / eat more healthily
4. Continue to learn more Chinese
5. Keep in better touch with friends and family back home
6. Write more and read more. I used to carry around a little notebook and jot things down. Similarly I always had a book to read during any kind of time spent commuting or waiting in line. I have forgotten to that in recent years in the interest of traveling light.
2 Comments
Posted by elvina on July 25th, 2010 — Posted in life
Tags: updates
While I was having lunch, my phone rang – the caller ID showed an 800 number. I was very confused but answered. It was a recording telling me that my flight had been canceled! It even ended with “We apologize for the inconvenience. Goodbye.” No further information.
I immediately call United to find out and was put on hold for 40 minutes. Thankfully I was re-routed to an early flight. All is good now, but I vow never to fly United again.
* note: Since I have become terrible at keeping in touch with people, I’ve decided to write brief updates here, as they import to Facebook. Think of them as long status updates 
1 Comment
Recently said…