Xiamen amazingness

It is late Thursday afternoon and I have arrived back in Nanchang after the most wonderful visit south to Xiamen. I am used to being in underdeveloped, rather backwater places in China, like Ningxia and Nanchang, so to spend a few days in the "second most liveable city in China" was like a breath of fresh air, literally.

On Saturday night some of my other teammates, Jonathan, Aaron, Shannon, and I, plus Andy, a guy from another team in Nanchang, left on a 17 hour train ride bound for the Pacific Ocean south of us. It was a rather uneventful trip, and we arrived in Xiamen around noon on Sunday.

At first we just walked around half in amazement, half in shock. We couldn't figure out this city. Where we really in China still? It felt more like a balmy South American city or South Florida than southern China. But there were lots of Chinese people, so we knew we must somehow still be in China.

Xiamen was one of China's original "special economic zones," meaning that it attracted a lot of foreign investment and economic opportunities earlier and more successfully than most Chinese cities. So the place is bustling with fashionable people, nice cars, and a million skyscrapers. The weather is also extremely suitable for human beings and civilization, as it is at the same latitude as Miami, apparently. However, there was a noticeable presence of numerous street beggars scattered throughout all this glitz and glam and balminess.

People all seemed to take a lot of pride in their city. The pace was much more leisurely, and there were a lot of elderly people strolling around the beaches and palm tree-lined neighborhoods. The city was also extremely clean, and the buildings didn't look they were going to collapse any second on you. The warm sunshine shone quite brightly in the fresh air for all the days we were there. It was nice to clear my lungs and let my whole body thaw out from Nanchang.

Anyway, we got out of the train station and found our hotel that I had made reservations for. But, alas, the place didn't have a computer system or a booking system, really. They said they didn't have our reservation, even though I paid a $25 deposit, which is now in some black hole somewhere in the universe. And they didn't have any rooms available. We all stayed patient, even though there was a huge communication gap. Eventually we were referred to a hostel, the Easy Inn, up the road. It turned out to be cheaper and nicer, so that was resolved well.

For the rest of the day, we walked around Xiamen just gaping at things and relishing in the warm air in the middle of winter. It also felt easier to breathe, not just because of the better air, but because most people had seen foreigners before. We only ever saw a couple dozen of other foreigners, but they weren't such a rarity in Xiamen. Thus, nobody watched my every move. Nor did I hear people calling out "Hellloooooo!" every six seconds, like in Nanchang. It was rather relaxing. :)

We discovered a six story bookstore, which actually had some English books. I ended up buying an English-Chinese dictionary and the one Jane Austen book I have yet to read. Then for dinner my old friend from Topeka, Sam, met up with us. He has been teaching at a middle school in Xiamen since October as an independent teacher. It was pretty fun to hang out with him on the other side of the world. Plus, he is practically fluent in Chinese and knew a lot of Xiamen.

On Monday, we went to the beautiful campus of Xia Da, which is Xiamen's famous university. I couldn't have ever imagined a more gorgeous campus. There were pretty lakes, nicely constructed buildings, brightly colored flowers, and gigantic old trees. I thought I'd faint from the pure heavenliness of it.

Then that afternoon we took a ferry over to Gulangyu, which is a very famous island. It was even more gorgeous than the rest of Xiamen, and the weather was perfect. There were narrow lanes of old buildings, with an abundance of parks, houses, and museums. Cars aren't allowed on the island, so people ran up and down the streets carrying everything on their shoulders or in carts. You could also see the skyline of Xiamen and surrounding mountains. And the beach was a wonderful sight to behold. We just made a circuit of the island all afternoon, and I couldn't have been happier.

On Tuesday we wandered around the streets near Xia Da again, and walked near a Buddhist temple. We didn't go inside, though. I have visited a few temples and now I'm not very enthusiastic about going into those dark places.

After lunch we went to a couple's apartment, who are friends of Sam's. The husband is French-Canadian and the wife is Chinese, who has her P.h.D. and teaches at Xia Da, one of the best universities in China. They are both believers and they have the cutest, chubbiest baby ever. So they had invited us for tea, and we sat and chatted for nearly 3 hours. It was so restful and enjoyable.

Wednesday was my last day in Xiamen. Jonathan, Aaron, and Shannon left at 6 a.m. on a plane bound for Nanjing, so Andy and I hung out some of the morning. We mostly just walked around neighborhoods. Then I spotted a hair place and impulsivley decided to get my hair cut. That is a rather risky move in China, even if you know Chinese or have a translator. Your hair might come out in an afro, or maybe looking like string cheese, but I felt like Xiamen was a safer bet than Nanchang.

The eager salon staff immediately switched the upbeat Chinese music to pop music from the West. A tiny man with a lot of confidence wheeled his little hair-cutting suitcase over to me. Another guy handed me a cup of hot water. Then the only Chinese I could manage to communicate was "haircut" and cut "a little." I left the rest up to the flamboyant hair stylist.

Thankfully, it turned out decently. Never have I had such perfectly coiffed hair. He spent what seemed like an eternity cutting and blow drying my hair. The other staff stood around my hair murmuring about this work of art, which was "piao liang!" (beautiful), etc. But I did indeed feel very glamorous after I got my little 40 kuai ($6) make-over.

After lunch, Andy headed on a train for Guangzhou, so I was the only one remaining in Xiamen from the original group. So then Sam and I hung out, and just walked even further into the neighborhoods. We also walked through the most amazing park ever, which seemed to gush with sunshine, green lushness, and vivid colors. Later we visited his school and ate ice-cream near this lake or canal or something near the school. The place was lined with beautiful palm trees, chirping birds, and happy looking people. It was almost too good to be true.

Then around 6, I went into the train station for the journey back to Nanchang by myself. Since it is getting near Spring Festival, it was a little chaotic. I found the correct waiting room at the station, which was filled to the brim with hundreds of people. When they opened the doors for the train platform, there was such a surge, I had a fleeting thought that I would get trampled. People wheeling suitcases or balancing gigantic bags on a pole on their shoulders almost made me fall over. Then some fierce-looking men in uniforms blew whistles and screamed into bullhorns for people to keep order. For some reason, I was rather scared not only by the commotion, but by the sudden realization that I was all alone. Later, I remembered I wasn't really alone, but sometimes that's difficult to remember in the midst of a confusing situation.

Anyway, I survived the 17 hour train trip back to Nanchang without much incident. It was a tad bit nice to feel like I've come home, even though it is freezing cold, the streets are dirty, the people look underfed, and the sky and buildings are perpetually gray. And I'm trying not to begrudge Nanchang as I sit here at my desk with my feet in a bowl of lukewarm water, since my feet like to get frostnip, despite wool socks. But this is where I've been called for now, so I can feel joy even when I'm not surrounded by warmth and physical beauty, as I was in Xiamen.

All in all, my trip to Xiamen was very near perfect. I was warm and well, and I felt revived. It has also motivated me to continue strong in my work here, which is where He wants me for now.