jvd213inBeijing2008

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. . . . It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”

January 6, 2008: 6:20 am

Chinese word of the day:
Xie xie (pronounced “Tse tse”) – Thank you

Greetings from China!! Your favorite ex-pat is safe and sound, and although I haven’t yet been able to reach anyone in the States, I’m typing in this first blog entry on my laptop from the warmth and comfort of my awesome couch in my brand new [badass] Wang Jian apartment. I’m sure over the course of the year that this “blog” will take on a life of its own, and become as much a love letter to you friends and family back home as it is to the country and people I now reside with, but for now, I’m just going to pour out the happenings of my travel here, and my first full day and night in China. Hope you guys enjoy keeping up with me, and hopefully my writings and ramblings will give you an opportunity to be here with me in spirit, as much as you are all here with me in heart and mind. I’m hoping to get down and see the sunrise within the hour, so I’ll probably be as concise with my descriptions as possible. On to the good stuff…

My flight to L.A. from RDU was quick and painless, and I was fortunate enough to have a small row all to myself. I realized quickly that my travel plan was going to be as far-fetched as my as my ideas of what to expect when I got here, when I woke up groggily at the end of the five-and-a-half hour trip. I arrived at LAX at approximately 10:15 pm PT, and had about two hours until my departure to Beijing. Bundled up in my sweater, scarf, and trenchcoat, I was literally drenched by the time I had gotten to the airport’s far terminal, where the plane to China would depart.

After a second round of going through security (no strip searches this time!), I had a seat beside a pretty American girl named Jennifer, who was on her way back to Beijing from her Christmas visit to the States. She explained that she was a writer, and had been living in Beijing for almost four years, and kindly offered me her business card (which, by the way, was the most beautiful business card I’ve ever seen), and told me that should any problems arise upon my arrival, she would gladly meet me to help me out.

Needless to say, my luck had run out by the time I boarded the [Air China] plane, and I was uncomfortably stuffed between two Chinese men, who actually ended up being very friendly and talkative. I tried my best to make it through the (I’m guessing) the newest “Harry Potter” film, but by the one hour mark I had simply had enough (I still don’t understand the appeal to that series). I spent a few hours listening to Evanesence and Green Day before finally falling back asleep, and when I awoke, we were about half-way to our destination. The remaining time I spent reading my book, “Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow”, and watching a Japanese film on my laptop called “Cashern”, which I had picked up before I left.

When I finally arrived at the airport, I was blown away when my two massive suitcases were the very first two to roll off the baggage claim, and I hastily made my way through Customs, which was virtually non-existent, except for passing along an “Arrival card” to claim my belongings. A driver was waiting for me as soon as I exited the terminal, and I was more than happy to see the blue sign that he was holding, which read, “World Link Education welcomes Jared Davis.”

The drive to my neighborhood was an experience in itself, and much like my experience in Germany and Switzerland, the driver sped down the highway at speeds close to 100 mph. I was a little freaked out at first, but my excitement and wonder quickly took over, and I was more interested in peering through the thick morning fog at my new home. It took less than twenty minutes to arrive at the apartment, where my driver walked me all the way up to my building, and guided me up to the 27th floor. It took a few minutes to wake my roommate, since it was, of course, about 6:30 am, and the sun had not yet risen. Finally, he rose to greet me at the door, and the driver disappeared before I could offer even a “Thank you.”

When I got inside the apartment, I was almost speechless, as this is, without a doubt, the nicest apartment I’ve ever stayed in. You’ll just have to see the pictures once I’ve posted, because it’s really just too nice for me to describe. I’m sure my father will be jealous when he sees that our plasma wall-television is as big as his own!!

I could tell immediately that I had lucked out yet again with my roomate, a British muslim named Shebaz (just Baz, for short), from Manchester, and we talked soccer and booze and religion for a short while before I headed for the shower. Initially, I thought that I should get some sleep, but the excitement was just too overwhelming, so after we shot the shit for an hour or so, we ventured down to the massive street market that was bustling just below our building. There, I made my first purchase, a pair of cool leather gloves, which only cost 20 RMB, just a little more than two American dollars. We walked around for about an hour, reveling in our amazement, and checking out all the small stands, which were manned by shouting Chinese men and women. There were terrific-looking vegetables of every variety, and I was most impressed with the selection of seafood, much of which was still alive, swimming around in icy buckets of water.

By this time, both of us were starving, so we went back up to the apartment to give my World Link “buddy”, Aaron (a really smart kid from Miami) a call to ask if he could recommend somewhere or something to eat. He informed me that he had been sick for the previous two days and had been going completely stir-crazy, so he would be happy to pop by in about an hour and show us around the “hood”.

While waiting for him to arrive, the jetlag really started to kick in, and by the time he showed up, I was contemplating going on to bed, but since my stomach was growling loud enough to keep my awake, we decided to accompany him down to a small restaurant, where we had some hot tea and two of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had. We started with a steaming pile of fried potatoes, and I ordered an incredible meal with spicy pork over rice, which was chock full of spicy peanuts, peppers and vegetables. After washing everything down with a huge shared beer (only 2 RMB), we made our way over to a little store where we purchased hangers for our clothes, a few trash cans for the apartment, and a converter for my laptop, which I didn’t yet realize that I didn’t even need.

After that, I informed the guys that I was about to fall asleep in the spot where I stood, so I made my way back to the apartment to take a nap for about four or five hours. When I woke up, Baz was in the living room talking with a couple of visitors, Owen and Marie Elena, two other teachers in the program, who had stopped by to extend a warm “ni hao”. I was really surprised when the (very cute) girl told me that she, too, was from [Wilmington] North Carolina, and we exchanged stories for a few minutes before they took their leave. Baz and I then went down to the little convenience store on the first floor, and I got a few Cokes and bottles of water, and of course, two huge bottles of beer (which come in about 30 ounce bottles, here). We came back up, watched another movie that I had brought on the laptop, and by the end of first beer, I was ready for bed again. I laid down around 9:30, and by 9:31 I was deep asleep, having wild dreams about zombies and cemeteries, likely inspired by the graphic novel I’ve been writing.

This morning (Sunday, the 6th), I woke up around 5:45 am (no, seriously, I did) and enjoyed a warm cup of coco, while I watched the morning news on our only English TV channel. After a steaming hot shower, I sat down with you, and well… that’s it, I suppose.

From our living room window, with a view you could only imagine, it appears as if the sun might be starting to break, so I’m going to close and run down into the icy morning to try and catch the daybreak. I’m terribly sorry that I haven’t been able to communicate home as of yet, but I’m sure by tomorrow I’ll be able to drop everyone a line. In closing, all I can say is this – I love you all – more, in fact, than you could ever know, and oftentimes, more than my foolish pride will allow me to say - and thank you all for your support for me in this bizarre, beautiful, and surreal endeavor. You are with me always, and hopefully, these “shoots” will continue to keep us close over the next twelve months. Gotta run, so, “zaijian”, and talk soon!!

January 7, 2008: 6:45 pm

Chinese word of the day:
piaoliang – beautiful

So, if it’s true, that before you die, your life flashes before your eyes, the last 48 hours will appear as prominently as any other memory of my first 27 years. Unfortunately, I’m still pretty jetlagged and adjusting to the immense time change, but whereas my body is tired and achy and ready to shut down, my mind is racing and my heart is beating… perhaps, like never before.

Baz and I laid pretty low last night, staying in and drinking a few beers and a bottle of “Great Wall Cabernet”. We watched another one of the movies I picked up before I left, a really smart horror film called “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon”, and grubbed on our tasty leftovers from earlier in the day. I tried to go to bed around 11:00, but my mind was so full of excitement (and my mattress is hard a freakin’ brick), so I tossed and turned for quite a while before Sleep was finally kind enough to take me over.

I woke up at 4:00 am, thinking it was close to morning, and was too uncomfortable and sore to get back to sleep, so I moved out to the couch to watch some CCTV, which was showing a special about the Peking Opera (we’re going to one on Saturday night), until I finally passed back out an hour later. When Baz woke up around 7:00, I got back up again, and I ate an apple and a bowl of the Weetabix cereal he had brought over from the UK. We went over to catch the shuttle bus about 9:30, and met the other “newbie”, a really sweet and pretty girl from Melbourne, Australia, named Jasmin.

As soon as we arrived at the school, we were met by our orientation director, a young and constantly smiling Chinese girl, Kristy, and headed out to start our very long day. Our first stop was the Bank of China, where we waited in line for half an hour or so to open up our bank accounts. It only took 15 RMB (which I now know the proper name for, “kuai”) to open up my account, and we headed back to the RLE building to meet the program director, Jacqui, who I was afraid was going to hate me for bugging her to death prior to my arrival. Thankfully, she was extremely nice, and didn’t seem to hold my persistence against me. We met some of the other teachers at the school, another one of which was from North Carolina, who, funny enough, grew up in Concord and went to school at UNC-W. Who the hell would’ve thought that I would move half way around the world to meet a bunch of kids from good ol’ North Crack-o-lac?!

From the school, us and two other newer teachers, and also one new student, another Auzzy, went with Jacqui over to a really nice nearby restaurant, where we feasted on Peking duck and a variety of other incredible foods, which I wouldn’t dare try to name by name. After a few beers and a belly full of goodness, we traveled about 20 minutes across the city to the SOS building, where we were given a tour of the medical facilities that will be available to us during our stay. Surprisingly enough, most of the doctors at the facility were ex-pats themselves, and I went to the pharmacy to purchase some Melotonin, which I desperately hope will help give me a full night’s sleep this evening.

After this, we headed over to the local police station, where we registered for our residences, something everyone in China, even the natives, are forced to do. Somewhere in the midst of all the running around (the events of the day are beginning to run together a bit in my sleep deprived mind), we went by the China Mobile store to purchase our cell phones and Chinese sim cards, which all together was about 500 RMB (less than $60!!).

After the day’s activities were completed, a little before 4 o’clock, Jacqui walked us over to an overly expensive Western grocer called “Jenny Lou’s”, where we snagged a few brand-name necessities: some mac and cheese, tea for Baz, and some breakfast stuff to have at the apartment for the morning tummy grumbles. I went next door to the Starbucks and grabbed a cup of coffee (which I had been fiending like a crackhead for), and then we headed over to “Tom’s”, the greatest store in the history of mankind, where we bought a stack of DVD’s, including a unreleased David Lynch boxset (that included “Lost Highway”!!) and seasons 1-3 of “House”. (Baz just put on “I am Legend” as I’m typing (no, it’s not a bootleg – well, I suppose it is, but not of the shaky camera in the back of a theater variety), and we also picked up a few others that are out at U.S. theaters now, or haven’t even been released yet on disc in the States (maybe I won’t have to miss seeing “Cloverfield” afterall!).

After that, we trekked around a bit more, and I made Baz and Jasmin pose with me for a couple of pictures (I took a slew today, but mostly of buildings and some of the insanely beautiful architecture in the heart of the city). From there, we hailed out first cab (just like in NYC), and made our way back to the neighborhood, which we found out from another teacher is also know as “Little Korea”.

I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like much. I only wish my sorry and brief descriptions could do it justice, but you just simply can’t imagine how incredible and overwhelming everything is. From the people, to the food, to all the sights and sounds, and the all unbelievably cheap prices, for the first time in a very long while, life has becoming exciting again. It’s good to feel alive.

As much as I love and miss you all (and I must say, I do, now - more than ever), I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I finally made a decision that I can be proud of. Ha!! Can you believe that? Jared Vaughan Davis has finally made a good decision, after a long, long, history of making mostly the dumb ones.

Through effort and dignity, can one achieve true happiness?

I hope so.

I believe so.

Even if I don’t know what it is yet, I sense some purpose has finally found me.

Everything is new here. Everything is different. Everything - is beautiful.