Getting down to business

This has been my first trip to China and although I come from India, not all that far away, I must admit I held a certain romanticized view and (possibly skewed) understanding of the Far East. Being a student of the Mandarin language in the United States does not do much to correct these views. Yes, the language is soaked through with the flavour of the Chinese culture. But during the first two years of study of the language, the depth of access to these inbuilt stores of knowledge is not very deep and we land up playing up the stereotypes- get together and make jiaozis or get together and eat moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

But since I have gotten to China I feel like I have not only a deeper knowledge of the language but also gained a perspective on the nuances of everyday life of the people of Hangzhou; where jiaozis aren’t anything extraordinary and the Mid-Autumn Festival comes by pretty inconsequentially once in year.

Other than physically being in China, I have consciously tried to deepen my understanding of the elements of culture and history embedded in the language. Language is slower to evolve than culture is and being around those who have lived the language for their whole lives often gives one an interesting insight, without them necessarily being aware of it. I have taken to a deeper interest in chengyus (4 character sayings) For example, the chengyu 入木三分 (rumusanfen) which translates roughly to – “to enter three-tenths of an inch into timber.” This chengyu refers to the penetrating analysis of a situation or thing. It originates from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD) where a famous calligrapher by the name of 王羲之(Wang Xizhi) was so beautiful, bold and vigorous that once a carpenter found that the ink of the characters he had once written on a plank had soaked almost one centimeter into it.

This last month and a half in Hangzhou has no doubt helped to shake up the most fundamental of these previously romanticized ideas of a vast culture. China is a huge country and of course the culture of each region tends to be an amalgamation of the local, national, political and western influences. These cultural nuances most tangibly manifest themselves in the language or the food of the region. I enjoy finding out these small differences. Whether it be the slight difference in taste in between the Shanghai 小笼包 (xiaolongbao) specialty dumplings and those you get here in Hangzhou or whether it be picking up on the Beijing accent and special North China characteristics when Tao Laoshi speaks as opposed to Qiu Laoshi’s Southern accent.

Before coming to China, I was looking forward to being as little like a tourist as possible and getting into a routine like any other college kid would here at the Zhejiang University of Technology. I would say that I have definitely gotten into a routine, but I feel that it isn’t much like that of the other students at the college, it seems more rigorous, but our roommates have given us a valuable insight into what it is really like for a regular student at the college.
I can imagine that this program without the roommates would be very different that what it is now and we would be losing out on so much of experiencing the student culture here at Hangzhou. It is actually very interesting to witness how our lives and what we are used to and comfortable doing has merged with that of our roommates. This makes sure we don’t get too comfortable with our own habits and are really experiencing living everyday with a Chinese roommate. When picking places to travel, or places to eat or trying to get a new perspective on something that I am writing about in an essay for class or even figured out what all the buttons on the washing machine mean; my roommate and other roommates in the program have always been around to help us cross the bridge between living here as a tourist and really living here.

Being a pseudo-Hangzhouren thus far has truly been a joy. The Hangzhou research class and the Business Chinese class has definitely helped me gain insight into the lives of the people here, the history of the city and the intricate weave of Zhejiang culture represented here. It is great to have the opportunity to attend class on Hangzhou food and then eat 东坡肉(dongporou) or learn about Walmart’s progress in China and then investigate what you have learnt at a nearby Walmart’s for next week’s essay.

The neighbourhood surrounding the university has been as vibrant and alive as ever. As mentioned earlier, literally every second building hosts a restaurant, many of which boast cheap and delicious food from all over the country. It has been quite an experience getting to know which ones we like better than others and becoming regulars at some of them. There is a new pizza place near the West Gate that serves some real good spaghetti, though the English translations on the menu are particularly great- anyone up for some “Italy face allocated bacon butter juice”? Building relationships with waiters and the managers at houmen, the bubble tea place and with the take-out folk has been a strong contributor to my immersion in Hangzhou life.

Lately I have made two weekend trips to Shanghai and although it is just an hour and a half away, it is very different from Hangzhou. With Pudong, Nanjing Road and the Bund; it is a beautiful and massive city that never sleeps and I yet feel that I have much more to see and do in Shanghai and I look forward to going back one day soon. I entered myself into a 1 kilogram burger (plus fries) eating competition; had to get it all down before 10 minutes were up, and with 9 minutes and 47 seconds I left the restaurant with a picture of myself on the restaurant hall-of-fame wall and the uncomfortable feeling like I was close to throwing up. This weekend we are off on a 10 day adventure to the Yunan province (Kunming and Shangrila) and then onwards to Hongkong. I can't wait.