Fengyu Lake at Jishou University
Hello, fellow Steemians! I am now in Shanghai and a few hours away from boarding a 787 bound for the USA. It will bring to a close my nine-year sojourn in western Hunan province as a university English teacher.
If all goes to plan, I will return in late August to teach at another university in Henan province, where the top age for foreign teachers is still 64. I had to leave my previous gig because Hunan had lowered the upper limit to 60.
[By the way, Hunan 湖南 means "south of the lake", in particular Dongting Lake, which is part of the Yangtze River watershed. Henan 河南 means "south of the river," in particular the Yellow River. Hubei province lies between Hunan and Henan.]
The last four weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, and a tornado of emotions, as I had to simultaneously do a shit-ton of work to close out the semester and prepare for my moving to Zhengzhou, and say goodbye to my friends and my many students.
I learned of my aging out on June 2, and my residence permit expires Friday, so you can imagine the pressure I was under. Last night at the hotel was the first time I had had a full 8 hours of sleep in a week!
When I first arrived in Changsha back in 2008, it was pouring rain and I got soaked as I trudged to the railway station for a long overnight trip to Jishou, my home for the last nine years. Departure was much less grueling, if more expensive. I paid a little extra money (600 RMB = US$88) for a carpool service directly to the Changsha airport, a five-hour ride. Try as I might, I could not distill everything I wanted to take the USA to one checked bag, so I bought a second suitcase for US$32 at the local supermarket. Each bag weighs 22 kg (48 pounds) now, and I also have a backpack and camera bag as carry-ons. Managing all those bags on my own on the train and Changsha metro system was not very appealing, so the carpool was well worth the expense.
Two of my friends -- Jerry, a teacher, and Cora, a student -- helped my carry the bags down from my 4th-floor flat and we drove in Jerry's car the short distance to the pickup point on campus. It was just as classes were changing, so as we waited, there were a stream of my students wanting to say goodbye to me one last time. We all managed not to burst out in tears.
Driving away from Jishou, I felt excited, sad, and exhausted. Though I plan to return to visit, I will never again teach here, and I will only come as a guest, not a resident. I had to say goodbye to the rolling hills and green mountains of the Wuling Range, which provide Jishou relatively clean air and water.
Changsha city. Orange Island is in the foreground. Source: http://cs.jiwu.com
I had the same feelings as we drove through Changsha, a city of 9 million which is hardly as picturesque as Jishou. While Changsha is "just another Chinese provincial capital" I have spent many days there over these years, and oddly I've grown fond of it. Late night snacks there are ace!
At the airport, I had to pay excess baggage fees, since the domestic flight to Shanghai only allows one bag under 20 kg. So, I had to part with another 352 yuan (about $US52).
Normally I travel with only one checked bag, as I hate dealing with tons of luggage while traveling. This time, however, I was bringing back stuff to the USA for keeps. Shipping it was prohibitively expensive -- 274 RMB for one small box -- so I bit the bullet and packed my keepsakes -- and last minute farewell gifts -- in my luggage. By that measure, $52 was a bargain.
I have blogged extensively about my time in Jishou on my WordPress blog. My time there was meaningful and memorable in many ways, professionally and personally, and I will treasure those memories -- even the unhappy ones -- forever. I was truly fortunate in finding that position, and I hope my next one will be as rewarding.
Stay tuned for further developments! Thanks for reading this!