Getting to China wasn’t easy. From the filling of the application form to the numerous interviews till the impossible visa process, going to China seemed like an ordeal, like it was in the old times. Remember how our grandparents used to emphasize distance by quoting China? Right. Anyway, after some pretty tedious trips to the visa offices and the last minute ticket mishap, I finally found myself at Beijing Capital International Airport. Phew. Passing through immigration, I met my ‘Buddy’. ‘Buddies’ are assigned to newly arrived EPs to make sure they are settled in well and that they are taken care of. Of course, in China, I needed a ‘Buddy’ to even ask for the directions to the toilet, because the language problem is…well, it is horrible.
My ‘Buddy’ turned out to be this cute Freshie girl, very warm and very talkative. We boarded a bus and went to Renmin University, my hosting LC. Even though it was a very big university, I came to learn that it was in fact, one of the smaller ones in China. I met Monica, my Co-coordinator in Beijing, and the one who had taken my rather shaky interview over Skype, who gave me a big welcoming hug. We sat and ate at the University café, and I came across my first ever authentic Chinese food. Chinese food in China is very different from Chinese food in Pakistan. There are actually two types of Chinese food…the Sichuan kind and the other kind. Sichuan food comes from the province Sichuan, and it is beyond belief spicy, not to mention oily too. The other kind of Chinese food is the usual…raw veggies, boiled rice, some sweet-ish gravy etc. So next time you head for Golden Wok or Hsin Huang, know that what you are eating is distinctly Pakistani. I was not particularly in favor of Chinese food, sometimes due to fear of an upset stomach and mostly due to the fact that it was simply awful!
After lunch, we went to look for apartments for me to settle down in. I found one across the street from the university, along with another girl from Brazil. So it was me, her and four other people sharing a wing. The Brazilian girl was also part of both of my project teams also. We got along very well from the start. I felt a bit relaxed, because I knew that at least there was someone to talk to when I got homesick.
The next morning when we entered the classroom full of noisy children, I felt a little pang of fear. I did not feel ready at all to be a teacher, much less a counselor! Standing in front of an expectant class full of unbelievable cute Chinese kids, I told them my name and where I came from. They didn’t know, so I drew a map and they started clapping! After the pre-planned lecture on stress management, which I presented as part of a dramatic performance by a couple of us EPs so the kinds could get the gist properly, I had about ten minutes left before the class had to end. The children asked me to sing a song for them in Urdu. However, a better idea sprang to my mind and I called upon one of the kids to tell me her name. After that, I wrote her name in Urdu on the blackboard behind me, much to the awe of many of them upon seeing the Urdu script. They immediately started shouting out all their names and I had to write all of them. Seeing them copy down their names in my language was heart warming, to say the least.
Another incident which took place was when I finished my lecture with a class in one particular school, I was asked to dance a traditional dance for the kids in exchange for one of them to perform one of their dances. After a very hesitant performance of the ‘Luddi’ (Bhangra would have been a better –but embarrassing- choice), I was about to pick up my bag and head out. Standing in front of me by the door was the whole class holding out pieces of paper- They wanted my autograph! And until and unless I didn’t sign my name on scraps of paper in the color of ink of every kid’s own choice, I wasn’t allowed to leave!
I spent a very exciting day at the Forbidden City, which is in the middle of Beijing. I went with a bunch of other EPs, and even though it was a very hot day, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Palace is enormous, and there are parts which are literally flecked with real gold. We went to the innermost part, where most tourists do not go as it costs a bit, but it was completely worth it as there were many artifacts and some of the Emperor’s personal quarters were open to public. It was almost magical, to be inside a room, where an Emperor planned his entire Kingdom.
At the end of the MCWC project, we were all invited to a dinner and certificate distribution ceremony hosted by AIESEC RUC. I thought it would be a formal affair, little did I know. It turned out to be a fun filled festive atmosphere in which each of us had to do sing a song or do something related to our culture while waiting for our dinner. Watching African dances, I was wondering what I should do. Breaking out in a loud ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’, I felt quite happy when the Indians on the table joined in after hearing a verse or two!
Going to China and not going to the Great Wall is like…well, it is unheard of. However, I was almost about to commit this huge mistake because I thought it would be another one of those over-rated tourist destinations, overpriced and altogether unnecessary. My project members asked me to come and so I dragged along. Woah! The Great Wall is rightfully called one of the Seven Wonders. Its size is magnificent, not to mention extremely tiring! Climbing more than 3000 steps is not exactly a small task, you know. The views from the wall were breath-taking, and even though the climb was steep, I was very glad I had come. Panting and puffing as we reached the highest point of the particular stretch of the Great Wall we were climbing, we got ourselves ‘Meddles’ for climbing the Great Wall, with our names carved and everything. Climbing back down was tedious, but as an experience, it could be possibly one of the best ones in my life!
Another enjoyable experience was attending the Shanghai World Expo. Since we had a couple of days plus the weekend off due to a public holiday, my project team members and I decided to go and visit the Expo. It was an amazing experience as we were able to see all kinds of cultures around the world in one place. Shanghai is a lot more modern than Beijing, and it had lots of places to go shopping. That was the high point of Shanghai for me!
Even though the weeks were tiring, as we had to get up early and travel a lot to get to places around Beijing, the weekends were almost always fun. There were many evenings filled with lots of good food, good company and entertainment. The Football World Cup added to the excitement as almost all restaurants were packed with people and there were decorations everywhere, altogether creating a very lively and festive atmosphere. Chilling out in trendy areas like Wudaoko and Hou Hai, and going to a restaurant which serves spiced scorpions and pickled centipedes…made my evenings extremely interesting and fun. I thought I would be homesick a lot, but I didn’t experience homesickness at all, because of all the fantastic people I met and the memories I made with them.
Ravale Mohydin
