MELODY TIENYUN

“how many descendants do you have in China?” -liaison from the school

I don’t have any descendants, but my contact in China asked me if I had any descendants in China, to which I responded, “Yes I have a few descendants from China, my grandfather and grandmother on my dad’s side, and my grandfather on my mom’s side.”

I said farewell to the family at LAX for a year once more. This time I was actually the one leaving–unlike in 2015 when my visa delay resulted in my mother flying to London before I did. 
People who heard I was going to China to teach English asked me basic questions: 

• Where are you going?
• When are you leaving?
• How long is it for?
• What grade will you be teaching?
• Where will you live?

​​The answer I always gave was, “I don’t know,” because I honestly didn’t. I booked my flight a few days before I flew and still didn’t know where exactly I would be living, when I’d begin teaching…I was still in the dark about most details, except what the school and city were called, Xiangsi Yasi Experimental School in Jishou city. I flew into Changsha Monday the 28th but had no idea where I was going after landing. Luckily, T-mobile’s unlimited 2G data saved the day (international plans are a must). The program director of Lanhu Cultural Exchange Center, the agency through which I found this job, drove me to the hotel where I stayed for one night, next to the hospital for my medical examination (necessary for my residence permit). 

At the hospital, Chinese people crowded at the front of the desk to secure their place in the queue or make known their concerns. When I couldn’t hear one of the nurses, she didn’t try to ask if I needed help or where I needed to go–she only shouted louder, “COME UP TO THE FRONT!” I quickly got a blood test, peed in a cup, then made my way to a general check-up for weight, blood pressure, ultrasound, and x-ray all within an hour.
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​​Exhausted, jet lagged, and hungry, I got to the bus stop-with another stranger the school had sent to escort me to the school (where was this school)? The ride lasted 6 hours with one break in the middle; all I saw was green for miles. 
I made it to Jishou 吉首 and looked for my next contact, someone from the school who was shocked I could speak and understand Mandarin. I figured I was the first foreign teacher who could and was also the only one of Chinese descent. At this point, I still had no clue what my housing situation was going to be, and arrived at the school to discover that I was living in the boys’ dormitories! 

I came with no grand expectations and to keep an open mind, but I knew I was in for some more surprises. After all, it’s what I signed up for.