Living in China, while amazing, can also be incredibly exhausting! As darling and adorable as most of our students are, all seven of us have our moments where our students have almost brought us to tears. Sometimes they
can be so unruly and uncontrollable that they really can ruin your entire day. So in celebration of our one month anniversary of teaching, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice weekend get away! We chose the city of Shenyang for a few reasons. Firstly, it was a "short" six hour train ride from us. Secondly, it was a fairly large city with some pretty interesting and historically significant attractions. Shenyang is actually one the the most important hubs of Northeast China, and we all needed a change
of a pace from Tongliao. Wikipedia describes Shenyang as " the economical, cultural, communication, trade and commercial hub of the Northeastern region of China; it is also a major industrial and cultural city with historical importance. Shenyang is located at the center of the Northeast Asian economic ring and Bohai economic ring, so it has important strategic status. With its advantageous geographical position, Shenyang has tremendous absorbing, radiating and driving force to the whole country and even Northeast Asia." (Just in case you were curious!) Thirdly, and perhaps m
ost selfishly, we'd heard there were quite a few American amenities, such as Italian food, McDonalds etc. As delicious as the food we've been eating for the last month has been, I severely miss my Italian pasta dishes.We boarded the train for Shenyang early Saturday morning around 7:30. We lucked out and got hard sleepers. S
eeing as how we are now train experts, the trip actually seemed to pass very quickly. One of the most entaining parts of taking the train is that anyone who can speak even the slightest bit of English sees this as their opportunity to get a little practice in. We quickly made friends with one of the conductors, which naturally sparked the interest of many other passengers and train employers. Bringing out our phrase books, 
we probably spent an hour picking and choosing words, struggling with our pronunciation and being playfully laughed at by everyone around us.
eeing as how we are now train experts, the trip actually seemed to pass very quickly. One of the most entaining parts of taking the train is that anyone who can speak even the slightest bit of English sees this as their opportunity to get a little practice in. We quickly made friends with one of the conductors, which naturally sparked the interest of many other passengers and train employers. Bringing out our phrase books, 
we probably spent an hour picking and choosing words, struggling with our pronunciation and being playfully laughed at by everyone around us. We arrived in Shenyang around 2:00 in the afternoon and were almost immediately harassed by what seemed like an 
endless number of taxi drivers, all looking to screw over the first Western looking tourist they saw. We wisely made our way into the city, away from the train station and grabbed a cab, and headed to our hotel, The Trader's Hotel. When we entered the hotel our jaws dropped. I had possibly just entered the nicest hotel I've ever set foot in in my entire life. We quickly checked in, and for the first time in nearly a month I was rewarded with a hot shower! We spent the remainder of the day exploring what Shenyang had to offer. Compared to Tongliao, Shenyang was a city of an entirely different nature. At times I felt like I was standing in Manahtten. The city was colorful, bustling, and vibrant and felt very much like Boston or New York. There were multiple Western chains such as Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Wal-Mart.
endless number of taxi drivers, all looking to screw over the first Western looking tourist they saw. We wisely made our way into the city, away from the train station and grabbed a cab, and headed to our hotel, The Trader's Hotel. When we entered the hotel our jaws dropped. I had possibly just entered the nicest hotel I've ever set foot in in my entire life. We quickly checked in, and for the first time in nearly a month I was rewarded with a hot shower! We spent the remainder of the day exploring what Shenyang had to offer. Compared to Tongliao, Shenyang was a city of an entirely different nature. At times I felt like I was standing in Manahtten. The city was colorful, bustling, and vibrant and felt very much like Boston or New York. There were multiple Western chains such as Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Wal-Mart. 
Shenyang is famous for such attractions as the Imperial Palace which was built in the 1600s and which is second in size next to the Forbidden City in Beijing. There are many tombs, such as the North Tomb and mausoleums that pay tribute to China's past. For some reason though, these attractions seemed dwarfed by the large glass buildings and skyscrapers throughout the city and I was almost disappointed by what I saw. It actually seemed a bit sad, and representative of a lot of China's larger city's whose rich history is being swept up, and in some instances overlooked, in a almost frantic necessity to modernize and modernize quickly. It has really made me rethink my opinions on historical preservation in America, particularly in Providence and Boston.
That night we all dressed up and headed out for our first non-Chinese meal in quite some time. After scouring the city for a while we found our Italian restaurant tucked aw
ay on the second floor of a random hotel. I have never appreciated my grand-mothers cooking as much as I do right now and this restaurant was a definite reminder of that. The remainder of the night we spent exploring the night life of Shenyang. We started out at a trendy nightclub where we met our first white people since we arrived in China! They were from Russia and working in Shenyang for a few months. We exchanged contact information with them and they offered to let us stay with them if we should choose to travel to Russia! A few of our girls were also sketchily hit on by some German men. After the lounge we stumbled across an Irish style bar complete with Guinness and other American beers. We met a few more people here who suggested we try a local disco, which is basically another na
me for a nightclub. We met multiple people throughout the rest of the night from all over the world. We met some guys from South Africa, many more Russians, and some Australians, as well as countless Chinese. As were were all dancing in the blinking strobe lights, it really hit me. I was with people from all different corners of the world. None of us spoke the same language but it didn't matter. We were all having fun, dancing, drinking and laughing. It made me realize that people from all over the world are basically the same. There are obvious differences in culture, language, and religion, but people are people everywhere you go. There was something comforting about that that evening. I felt part of a bigger picture. Even though I was thousands miles away from home, I felt like I was exactly where I should be. People have asked me countless times, why China? Moments like these are precisely why China. They are moments where I truly feel like I can see the big picture, and I can appreciate life from the point of view of people that are both similar and completely different from myself in a thousand ways.
ay on the second floor of a random hotel. I have never appreciated my grand-mothers cooking as much as I do right now and this restaurant was a definite reminder of that. The remainder of the night we spent exploring the night life of Shenyang. We started out at a trendy nightclub where we met our first white people since we arrived in China! They were from Russia and working in Shenyang for a few months. We exchanged contact information with them and they offered to let us stay with them if we should choose to travel to Russia! A few of our girls were also sketchily hit on by some German men. After the lounge we stumbled across an Irish style bar complete with Guinness and other American beers. We met a few more people here who suggested we try a local disco, which is basically another na
me for a nightclub. We met multiple people throughout the rest of the night from all over the world. We met some guys from South Africa, many more Russians, and some Australians, as well as countless Chinese. As were were all dancing in the blinking strobe lights, it really hit me. I was with people from all different corners of the world. None of us spoke the same language but it didn't matter. We were all having fun, dancing, drinking and laughing. It made me realize that people from all over the world are basically the same. There are obvious differences in culture, language, and religion, but people are people everywhere you go. There was something comforting about that that evening. I felt part of a bigger picture. Even though I was thousands miles away from home, I felt like I was exactly where I should be. People have asked me countless times, why China? Moments like these are precisely why China. They are moments where I truly feel like I can see the big picture, and I can appreciate life from the point of view of people that are both similar and completely different from myself in a thousand ways. The next m
orning we boarded the train back to Tongliao. Unfortunately, when buying the train tickets, they sold out of sleepers and three of our crew had to take hard seaters. Being the gentlemen we are, the three guys volunteered. The train ride was suprisingly enjoyable as we listened to our Ipods, read, and made small talk with the locals. We actually sat next to a young boy who was apparently trying to show off his English counting. "One, two, san, ser, wu, six..." he counted in a phrase we've coined as Chinglish! 5 hours, and a sore back later, we pulled into our familiar train station in Tongliao. Ian looked at me and said "We're home!" I thought about that for a minute and agreed. We were home. For the first time in a month, I was home.
orning we boarded the train back to Tongliao. Unfortunately, when buying the train tickets, they sold out of sleepers and three of our crew had to take hard seaters. Being the gentlemen we are, the three guys volunteered. The train ride was suprisingly enjoyable as we listened to our Ipods, read, and made small talk with the locals. We actually sat next to a young boy who was apparently trying to show off his English counting. "One, two, san, ser, wu, six..." he counted in a phrase we've coined as Chinglish! 5 hours, and a sore back later, we pulled into our familiar train station in Tongliao. Ian looked at me and said "We're home!" I thought about that for a minute and agreed. We were home. For the first time in a month, I was home.*** Additional note: In other recent news:
- I recently found an American gym in Tongliao!
- Chicken pox is being spread around the primary school at a rapid rate which has resulted in many of my students becoming sick. Thank god I've already had chicken pox.
1 comment:
Anthony, your stories makes me feel like I am there with you. You can really tell a good story! I can't wait to read more about your adventures!! Be safe!
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