Back "home"

Hefei, capital of Anhui province

I’m extremely content to be back in our apartment in Anqing. Our two and a half week absence has been a turning point for us and I’m thrilled to start the final semester of our year here. 


We spent the past four days in Hefei visiting some friends and attending a National Committee on U.S.-China Relations conference. During the meeting, we discussed a whole range of topics, from teaching techniques to reverse culture shock and it was fun to reconnect with everyone in our group. I enjoyed exchanging teaching strategies, swapping stories, and learning about how the others are adjusting to life as ex-pats in China. 


After the meeting, when we returned to the hotel to check out and depart, we discovered that the power was out. We had to climb ten floors in the DARK (none of the “emergency” lights were functioning ) to retrieve our luggage. Fortunately, Jean-Jacques had his cellphone with him, so we used the light to illuminate the way as we trudged up and down the stairs. 


A friend helped us get to the bus station in Hefei. Jean-Jacques was brave and bought tickets for us to Anqing while I guarded the luggage. We weren’t entirely sure when the bus would leave, but we were directed to an area where we waited for a few minutes before boarding a large bus. The ride took about two hours and we almost disembarked a bit early (we couldn’t understand the loudspeaker announcement, so it was a bit confusing), but we made it to the tiny bus station in Anqing. 

This evening, Jean-Jacques was generous and snagged us dinner while I hung up a load of laundry to dry; we have a number of dirty clothes from the trip, so it will take some time to run all the necessary loads of laundry.


I feel refreshed by our trip(s) and am thrilled to be back in Anqing. At this point, it feels like a "home away from home" and I'm so thankful that we're able to spend our year in this city. It's the perfect size for us -- small enough to easily walk many places, but large enough so that we’re able to locate some western amenities. It feels manageable, whereas Beijing, Shanghai, or even Hefei feel overwhelming to us. (I'd better stop writing because I'm starting to sound like Goldilocks!)


Hugs to all!