Zhuhai

Many friends back home have asked me exactly where in China we are spending these five months.  Okay - a short geography lesson.  Zhuhai is located in the southern part of the Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong and Macao.  It is on the western bank of the Pearl River estuary and is adjacent to the South China Sea, which borders Hong Kong and Shenzhen to the east and Macao to the south.  The name, Zhuhai, means Pearl Sea – as it is the point where the Pearl River flows in the South Sea.

The city is known for its long, beautiful coastline, abundant palm trees and relatively low population density.  It has two nicknames: the city for lovers and the city of a hundred islands.   It is really hard for me to get a grasp of the size of the city.  The land area covers about 1,700 square km, and the sea area covers close to 6,000 square km.  Included in this area are 146 islands alluded to in its nickname. With a population of 1.3 million, it is considered a “small city” in China. 

The area has been inhabited for thousands of years but until the 1970’s it was a group of fishing villages with a population of about 100,000.  In 1980 it was identified as one of the first “Special Economic Zones” in China.  This designation, given by the central government, gives the area special economic policies and more flexible government measures making it easier and more attractive for international business. 

While the city has grown immensely in the last years, it is still a very clean city with a lot of green space.  There are very few international tourists here but it is known as tourist spot for individuals from other parts of China.

The weather in Zhuhai is sub-tropical.  It varies from about 10C/50F degrees in winter (now!) to 35C/95F degrees in the summer.  I realize to my Minnesota friends and family, 50 degrees might sound balmy – but you need to realize that most places do not have heat.  Including most of classrooms on the campus of UIC (Students and faculty leave their coats on during class, and offices open into outdoor hallways) and more significantly – our apartment.  It warms up during the day some, but it is REALLY chilly in the evening.  I just pretend it is like camping.  I wear multiple layers of clothing around the house, and multiple layers when I go to sleep.  (Josh just informed me he could see his breath in his bedroom.  See?  Just like camping.)

We live in a very nice complex of apartments called “Horizon Cove” or “Hai Yi Wan Pan.”  This was one of the first things we learned to say in Chinese, since most taxi or bus drivers do not speak English.  There are many, many employees of UIC in this complex, and the college provides a shuttle bus to campus at 7:25am, 8:00am, 8:40am and a return bus that leaves from campus at 4:30pm, 5:40pm, 7:00pm.  If I need to travel back and forth at any time in between the scheduled shuttle service, there are two city bus lines that work.  So for me getting to school is quite easy. 

For Josh getting to school is a little more complicated.  He is attending an international school that is on the complete opposite end of Zhuhai, near the border to Macao.  He takes a bus for about 40 minutes then walks swiftly for about a half mile, arriving at school about five minutes after the start time, which, considering the logistics is acceptable to the powers that be.  Making it all worthwhile is the fact he really likes the school and has already made a number of friends there.  Actually, the groundwork for those friendships had already been established.  A family from Gustavus was here during the 2009/2010 school year and their son, Nathan, went to QSI.  Nathan had stayed in close communication with his QSI friends and told them when Josh would be arriving.  Josh immediately adopted Nathan’s friends, and they seem to have adopted him.

I too have met wonderful people at UIC and really enjoyed the students in my general education “Story” class.  In many ways it is very hard to believe we have only been here five days. 

One funny story then I need to call it a night.  This morning I took the bus with Josh to make sure he got off at the right stop and to personally make the trek from the bus stop to the school.  I had a very nice conversation with the principal and an administrative assistant then walked back to the main street to wait for a city bus to ride back to campus.  While waiting for the bus, I noticed someone across the street take out a camera and take a photo in my direction.  I thought of all the times I have seen someone unusual – such as a very elderly person with amazing lines on their face, or someone with really colorful clothing, and I have wanted to snap their photo.  This was the first time I was really aware of the fact that I was the novelty.  I think I best get used to it.