A day in the life of an expat in China

It's the sound of the school children shouting e,er,san,si,wu,.... (1,2,3,4,5) while doing their morning exercises at 8:00 that wakes me up every morning. I lace up my running shoes and head out the door for my morning jog along the river. I join the other locals in their morning exercise routines - walking backwards, hitting themselves, thai chi, and other exercises they do to promote the flow of life force, qi.  

Chinese opera at the park 

Groups of ladies gracefully spinning around with a Chinese fan or umbrella in hand, couples playing badminton on the sidewalk, the sound of laughing toddlers running along the river with their grandparents (the caretakers) walking closely behind, and the elderly men playing Mahjong.  Everywhere along this river people are active in one way or another- It is enough to make me feel inspired. After a short jog and a stretch under a cherry blossom tree, I return to my apartment where I spend the morning cleaning, writing, researching, reading, etc.

men playing Mahjong

For lunch, I make fanqie chao dan, tomato eggs with a spicy Chinese sauce over a bed of rice, one of the easier Chinese dishes to prepare.  Later in the day I head into work for my hour and a half long lesson. I join another man in the elevator who has a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth. And 2 elderly, their eyes glued to my white skin and large eyes. I put on my pollution mask and I watch the numbers count down to 1. I hop on my electric scooter and join the thousands of others, likely coming home from work. Passing by restaurants full of people digging their chopsticks into a greasy bowl of noodles, slurping up every last bit. Passing by the illegal street vendors selling black market goods or stolen items. Constuction workers still working in the same place since I arrived in Kunming. 

The streets of Kunming

 Passing by homeless on the street, the cardboard box which protects them from the rain. A lady holding her malnourished baby in one hand and the other outstretched begging for some change. A man in a business suit, texting on his Iphone 5, ignorantly passing by. People pushing fruit carts. Others handing out flyers. I try not to let all these sites distract me from the road. When I finally get to the school, I feel like I won a game - of successfully avoiding every obstacle in my way - not hitting anyone or anything, and not getting hit by anyone.

My prescholiol students

I head up the 5 flights of stairs, in this 6 story building without an elevator.  I walk into my class of 5 years old who greet me with, "hello my beautiful teacher," something that I taught them the previous week. Any worry, concern, or doubt I had slips out of my mind the second I enter that classroom. In that moment I remember what it's like to be a kid again, so worry-free and enthusiastic about life. Children don't judge, or criticize you. They don't tell you what you need to do, or what you are doing wrong. They are so imaginative, curious, and cheerful about life's simple pleasures. It's simple; if you love them they will love you back.

 No matter what it is, as long as you are excited about it, they will be too.  I am their English teacher, but these kids are my teacher as well. They have reminded me of many valuable life lessons that so many of us often forget as we enter adulthood; the struggles and pressures from work and life that distract us from just "being." We often let the stress and anxieties pile up in our mind, leaving us constantly thinking and worrying more and living less. "Sometimes we think too much and feel too little." - Charlie Chaplin

My kindergarden students best attempt at Happy Birthday - It's the thought that counts :)

 For that hour and a half, I leave my ego at the door, and I am a child again. My children help me remember to breathe, to stop worrying, to let go, to laugh often, and enjoy life's simple pleasures; like a game of Freeze Dance or Ring Around the Rosey.

  On my way home, I resist the temptation to stop and buy shakoa, bbq food aka, "mystery meat on a stick." This is a picture i took of a shakoa, in Beijing selling all sorts of things; spiders, snakes, caterpillars, scorpions, and even sheep testicles (the man made my family and I fully aware of this as he shouted "SHEEP TESTICLES [likely the only English he knows) as we walked by.) There is a saying in China that the Chinese will eat anything with 4 legs except a table, and anything that flies that isn't an airplane.

mystery meat on a stick

Still full of energy from the lesson, I walk the 6 flights of stairs up to my apartment... where my best friend, Jimmy awaits me ready to share a cup of tea and stories from the day....

No matter what kind of day it was, good or bad... thoughts still like to take over and race through my mind... I remember to let them go.... and breathe..... I release it all and drift into golden slumbers.

 Tomorrow is always a new day... a day with no mistakes yet..Tomorrow is waiting for us... a day with more strength and lessons learned. A day to start over- a fresh opportunity to make it better.

Happy Spring! Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers!!

USA bound = 3 weeks!