Thursday 8 September

Today we had a successful trip into Fuzhou as we needed a medical for our residence visa.

Medical exam and then to the campus police to sort residence permission. As we came out it was the end of morning lectures (11.30 am) and time for lunch (officially 12.20 – 2pm). Throngs of students head out for the canteen.

Meal times

Meals, as well as the meal times, are very different to what we’re used to. First lectures are at 8 so breakfast is before that. Lunch starts at about 11.30 and supper at 4 pm. We try to go half an hour later to avoid the throngs, but you can’t be too late as the food does run out.

About 4-6 students share a dorm which consists of a large room, shower room and toilet. There is no cooking in the dorms but the students apparently ‘make a plan’. However, in my opinion, there is really little point in cooking yourself as each meal we’ve had so far cost between the equivalent of R10 and R15. Our favorite canteens are those where you select your own individual plates of food. That way I can avoid the rice that most people have with every meal.

Walking along next to the lake.

There are 4 man-made lakes on campus that feed off the nearby river. In summer a large portion of the lakes are covered by beautiful lotus flowers but unfortunately  their summer flowering season is near an end.

Banking

Be warned that if you go to China banking isn’t easy. We’ve opened China bank accounts but wanted some extra cash – not possible. Our cards don’t work here as you need a 6 digit code and if you put in the wrong code more than 3 times, your card is blocked FOREVER! South Africa might give you the go ahead to use your Banking card in China but…. that’s as good as giving you the go ahead to use your card on the North Pole.

Apparently overseas credit cards can only be used in the big shopping malls. We still need to make a trip to the city to test that.

Friday 9 September

I have a cold – running nose and a cough. I think it’s the adjustment to this very hot climate an we had the aircon on too low. So I went to see the doctor at the hospital on campus. This was organized by the international office who, I might add, are amazingly caring towards their foreign teaching staff. Thank goodness we had our student assistant to help us. A little bit different to my experience of visiting my doctor in Westville. Registration, deposit 100 yuan (R210) and off to see the doctor in Room 103. Walk in, sit down and the door is left open. There’s actually another desk for another doctor so privacy is really non-existent. I convinced the doctor to give me meds for 3 days rather than 2. Let’s see… Drink lots of warm water and don’t eat ‘hot’ foods. I don’t think ‘hot’ refers to the temperature of the food or the spiciness but rather a food’s ying and yang qualities. Our student is going to collect my change from the consultation (which includes medication) after lunch (11.30 – 2) – lunch time is also siesta time – time for a little nap!

Something that always strikes me in the East is the lack of maintenance of the public area in the apartment blocks. It’s okay to leave your washing drying on the pavement because nobody is going to steal it. The stairwells could do with a good scrub and a coat of paint but someone would need to be employed to do this job and it seems they’re not.

Also… I have to ask whether our standards dropping? Ironing shirts? Forget it!  A bit of  humidity smooths out any wrinkles. We take off our shoes as we enter our apartment so we don’t have to sweep so often. I’m sure this list will grow over time.

Today we’ve been here a week. All for now
Karin