Ok, I thought I would try and think of 10 things I have learnt to do whilst living in China, that I wasn't able to do before living here. These things are a mixture of fairly trivial things to life changing things, I'll try list them in some kind of order
10) O.k maybe I can't catch a fly with them (though I haven't tried) but I am pretty adapt at using chopsticks now. I can pick up even some of the most difficult things like Soup Baozi, Jaozi, Noodles (in hotpot, very difficult), toasted peanuts....I think just about anything now.
9)I've overcome my fear of eating most dishes here now without fear that they will kill me, except the fish. I just can't handle the amount of bones in the river fish here, I cant enjoy it all.
8) Still on the subject of food, I'm no longer afraid of "La"(Spicy hot). I have always enjoyed a bit of hot, spicy food, but nothing prepared me for what I encountered on my arrival in Yichang. Even the K.F.C and McDonalds are spicy. In fact my "la" endurance level is now higher than some of my Chinese Yichanger friends.
7)My fear of hospitals and in particular Chinese hospitals, well I can't say has totally gone, but is certainly 95% of the way there. In fact I much prefer some procedures done here in Yichang than Australia now. It's quicker, cheaper, in some cases like MRI the machine, is much more people friendly and the doctors have a very matter of fact attitude.
6) I can hold basic conversations in Chinese. Whilst you may think, so you should be able to after 3 years there, believe me, Chinese is very very hard to get a grasp on. I must also mention here that I've learnt big time about cultural differences and the effort involved in understanding misunderstandings.
5)With the improvement in my Chinese I can now do some tasks which in my own country are absolutely nothing tasks but here become a "great wall" to climb over, such as....Ring the water delivery man when I need to order new bottles of water, catch a taxi, tell him where I want to go and where I want to stop,order food at restaurant, fast food shop and school dining room, top up phone cards, bus cards etc, ask for products I can't find in the supermarket, find my way to different parts of the city on numerous buses, get around the airports and find my flights...must be more things but can't think of them now.
4) Learn not to judge. It is true that you can't always tell a book by it's cover and I've learn't that both ways around here, so, you really can't judge.What seems bad can actually be good. I've been in situations here (especially when I first arrived) that were scary and seemed like the end of the world, those things turned out to be the best things that have ever happened to me. At the end of a week when you are sick and tired of being stared at by everyone in the street and that one person on the bus gazing at you pushes you over the edge....the amount of times I've broken... and glared at them with my best "keep looking at me and I will punch you in the nose look" only to be met with suddenly a warm friendly smile. How easy it is to misunderstand, not only people but also a country!
3)It's a small world (even if it feels like sometimes China is an entirely different planet). The internet I guess is majorly responsible, but I really don't feel the distance with my home country like I did when I travelled 10 or so years ago.Video calls, cheap phone calls, sms, text, email, social networks all keep my family and friends close.
2)I can do and be whatever I want. I can move to another country, learn another language, love, enjoy life, face challenges and grow from them.
1)Let Go, I believe to a great, great extent I have learned to let go. It is impossible to control anything living here. Everything is in a constant state of flux. Work days and times change in the blink of an eye, the restaurant you ate breakfast the day before is gone the following morning, the ferry suddenly stops running for a few months and do the people here question anything....NO...they just go along with life. Living here has taught me to let go of the control over people, situations and things and I believe I'm a much better person now for it.
Thanks China, I'm sure you will keep me on my learning path :-)
