First Days in Zhuhai, China

We arrived at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, China at 6:00 AM after a 12 hour flight from New Zealand.  Thanks to two pages of printed Chinese characters from Zhou Mi (Paul’s cooperating teacher), we were able to buy two bus tickets for Zhuhai at the airport and then get off at the right stop in Zhuhai.

  

We were met at the station by Mi and a driver from Jinan University.  Mi took us to our apartment, several miles from campus.  The apartment is on the 2^nd floor, one of four eleven-story apartment buildings occupied by university staff and guests.  The apartment is large, with two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a dining room, a living room, and a kitchen.  It is furnished, though we’ve had to add a few kitchen items (like a can opener). We found instructions for our toaster – truly an international toaster.  The instructions are in 15 languages: English, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Latvian, Romanian, Croatian, Czech, Slovakian, Ukrainian, and of course Chinese, plus four more languages we can’t figure out.  We are on the edge of the growing city with lots of tall apartment buildings surrounding us and more being built.  Local people have planted gardens in the back of our complex.

Our apartment building in Jinan Gardens

It feels like we are the only westerners in town (a town of 1.5 million), as we have received lots of looks as we explore our neighborhood.  We’ve only heard a bit of English, and that has mostly been at the university.  There are apparently a significant number of expatriates around given the restaurant reviews we read online, but they must be in different areas.

We were given a tour of the university the Monday after we arrived, and Paul has met with faculty and staff in the Computer Science department.  He has a large guest office with fine wooden chairs for visitors and a view over the university and the city.  The university has about 8000 students, and is quite large - it even has its own lake and pagoda.

View from Paul's office at Jinan University

 

On Sunday Mi took us to have photos taken so we can be registered with the police (“look this way, don’t smile” was indicated), apparently so that the police know who we are in case we get into trouble.  The photos were taken at a child’s photo studio; Mi took us there as the cost is less for the university.  We waited patiently, with babies and little girls in party dresses.

Life here can be challenging at times.  Finding out exactly when the campus shuttle bus leaves and where it leaves from took us several conversations and one missed bus.  Some computer applications are blocked, and some web pages come up in Chinese (fortunately, most can be translated automatically.)  Overall, life is quite vibrant and interesting here, and we look forward to exploring more of the city.