China Travel 2.0

To survive any length of time in china means to be flexible. Whether you are living here, or just touring around for a couple of weeks, you will find you must be flexible.    —–Megan Eaves

Megan Eaves-enjoying the view of Bamboo Sea

She never knew she will write a book about China when she first time came to China as part of a one-month summer English and cultural exchange program. but aparently, China attracted her easily. the question is-why? and what make her to write this book? please follow the interview of Megan Eaves.

1 Please tell us where are you from and when you arrived in China? What are you doing now?

I was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the U.S. I first came to China in 2004 when I was studying Chinese at the University of New Mexico. My Chinese professor was also the CEO of the American Chinese Civic Exchange, and I did two summer camp programs in China with them. In 2006, I moved to China full-time, living in a small city in Zhejiang Province where I taught high school English for a year and a half. I loved living in China, but wanted to get my Master’s degree, so I went to Ireland to study. Finally, myself and my partner are back in China since March this year, teaching and enjoying the amazing food and wonderful people!

2 Please describe what your feelings were when you touched down in China for the 1st time? What’s the difference between your image of China before coming here and the real life in China.

Before I came to China, I only had a few conceptions from Chinese class and movies. Arriving here for the first time was completely surreal. Though I had travelled quite a bit before, being in China was like walking through a dream sequence! Everything looked and felt so exotic. My first night in Shanghai with our teaching group, I just kept blinking my eyes and feeling like, “Wow, I am really here. I’m really in China!” It was amazing.

For me, the thing that was most shocking was the amount of noise and sights and sounds. Even though I knew in my head that China was a huge country, I didn’t expect it to be so busy! Everywhere you go, there are lots of people on the street or in the shops, cars honking and mopeds whizzing by. It’s just not like that in my hometown.

3 You wrote a book about China. Tell us more info about the book and what made you write a book like this? What kind of people would be interested in this book?

My book is called “This Is China: A Guidebook for Teachers, Backpackers and Other Lunatics.” I suppose the title says it all… this is a handbook for daily living, working and teaching in China, and it also provides special advice about how to get around the country, how to Travel here and how to figure out the basics of Chinese cuisine. The inspiration for the book came one day when I was sitting on a very bumpy bus. I noticed that all the Chinese people had gone right to sleep, even though the bus was so bumpy and there was a loud action movie on the TV screen. “Someone should prepare foreigners for this,” I thought and I literally wrote out the chapter titles right then.

Anyone from a Western country coming to China can benefit from reading this book, because it is really a look at the sometimes shocking differences between Chinese culture and Western cultures. A lot of books have been written on this topic throughout the years; the difference is that mine is focused mostly on basic daily life (like how to go into the Bank of China and make a withdrawal or order qincai from the local restaurant) and with a splash of humor. When you are adjusting to culture shock, it is easy to focus only on the negative things. One thing I have learned from many years living abroad is that you have to have a good sense of humor to survive. I hope to pass that along to my readers so that they can really enjoy their time in China.

4 Please tell us more back story behind the book. What’s the most interesting story/interesting person you ever encountered in China? What kinds of problems with the culture gap do you face even now that you can’t find the answer to?

Oh wow! I have had so many strange and wonderful encounters in China it would be impossible to choose just one. I would say that the people who have had the most impact on me as a person have always been my students. So many students have approached me with warm spirits, welcoming me into their homes or offering me small but meaningful tokens and taking an interest in who I am. Their truly wonderful attitudes toward me are what keeps me going even on the hard days.

In terms of the culture gap, to be honest, I feel like there is something new everyday – even now, after so much time that I’ve spent here. Sometimes I will make a huge language error and feel totally embarrassed, or other days I just feel like China is so noisy and overwhelming! Then there are days like today, when I have an amazing dinner on the street, surrounded by wonderful friends and tasty beer and fantastic smells, that I just feel completely at home. So it comes and goes.

5 You call yourself an interculturalist. Please tell us, what’s the image of Chinese culture in your mind? And what is the biggest difference from the Western culture?

To my mind, if there is one thing that I would say defines Chinese culture, it is a sense of group identity. Chinese people are really collective people – they look out for one another and take care not to embarrass each other or lose face. Strangers are perfectly happy to chat to one another or help each other, even when they’ve never met before! And I sense that Chinese people prefer to spend time together in groups, rather than be by themselves. This aspect of Chinese culture both confuses me and makes me feel really safe. And I believe it is this aspect that is most different between many Western cultures and Chinese culture. Especially Americans, who are so very independent and prefer to spend time alone and figure things out on their own. Very different from Chinese.

6 West to east, Asia to China, do you think China is the future? Why?

This is a trick question! Haha. Of course, I think China is a big part of the future, and it is why I took the time to start learning Chinese language in the first place. Economically, China is more and more a cornerstone in the world today, but I also believe that each country will have its part to play in the future. It is important that the big countries in the world, such as China and America, can work together somehow to combat the challenges we face, such as climate change and the global economy. We don’t live in a world of isolation anymore. I see China looking to that future and investing in understanding Western ideas. Though, I think the West has a long way to come in understanding China ,and I hope, with my book and my work here, I can be in a small way part of that.

Lets take a glimpse of  the book. only the index. sorry for that. For more info about the book and Megan, please open her website.

The Cover of This Is China

Chapter 1 – The Compulsory Stuff
Fact Files
Social Stuff: TIC!
Chapter 2 – Before You Go
Finding a Job
Getting Out
Packing
Chapter 3 – Arrival & Daily Life
Culture Shock
Logistics
Daily Living
Chapter 4 – On Being an FT
What to Expect
Teaching Game Plan
Exams & Grading
Recommendations & Materials
Resources
Chapter 5 – The Official Stuff
Signing Your Contract
In the Classroom
Strange Occurrences
Outside Tutoring
Chapter 6 – Food, Dining & Going Out
Chinese Food Basics
Dining Culture & The Banquet
Eating the Unusual
In a Restaurant
In the Kitchen
Going to the Market
Specialties
Chapter 7 – Cheap Thrills
Western bars & pubs
Chinese bars & discos
Karaoke (KTV)
Chapter 8 – Laowai Health
Health Exam
Common Ailments
Dentists
Sexual Health
Chapter 9 – Becoming a Travel Junkie
Public Transport
Where to Stay
Public Holidays
Sightseeing
Top 10 Must-Visit Places
Top 10 Super Cool, Road-Less-Traveled Ideas
Travel Tips & Tricks
Chapter 10 – Laowai Dictionary
On pinyin
On grammar & tones
Basic Necessities
Keys to the Middle Kingdom