Before I came to China last August to work as an English teacher in Wuhan, I had never lived in an Asian country before. I had therefore very little idea about what to realistically1 expect from China, although I was exposed to Chinese culture at a very early age. Twenty years ago, when I was still a small child, my mother's father tried to teach me to count in Cantonese2 and to write some Chinese characters3. A little older, I watched Bruce Li4 Kung Fu films and a TV series imported from China about the Adventures of the Monkey King5. As a child, China and Chinese culture seemed to me, to be very interesting, somehow mysterious6 and magical. These early impressions always stayed with me, so as I approached the end of my degree this year, I began daydreaming about where I could go to gather fresh experience and learn about a new culture. China was of course the natural choice.
My first three months in Wuhan have been eventful and interesting. I have had to adjust not only to a new country, but also to a city much larger than any place I have ever lived in before —my hometown in England, called Basildon, has a population of around 130,000 compared to seven million in Wuhan! I had read about the heat and humidity7 in Wuhan, and wondered if I could cope with such hot weather. On top of this, I had to consider whether my stomach would be able to get used to eating Chinese food all the time, after 28 years of eating Western food. I had never worked as a teacher before, so would I actually be up to the job? Most importantly, when I arrived here, I could not speak any Chinese at all, so I was very concerned about the ‘language barrier’8. I wondered how I would communicate with local people if I needed something urgently9, if I got lost or some emergency10 occurred. Of course I have had to face all these challenges, but I need not have worried so much. Yes, communication has sometimes been problematic. I did have some stomach trouble and got lost a few times in this huge city with so much traffic and so many people. However, with the help of local people, my colleagues11 and students at school, I have been able to learn some Wuhan Chinese, and enjoy my adventure.
The greatest difference between Wuhan and a European city, such as London or Frankfurt12 for example, is that there are much fewer foreigners in Wuhan. It is said that there is at least one person from every country in the World living in London. On the day I flew to China, when I took the London underground train to Heathrow Airport, there were Asian, African, Latin American, and European faces everywhere. When I arrived in Wuhan, I did not see another foreigner for nearly a week. I felt very out of place and the local peoples' curiosity at my presence made me feel uncomfortable at first - people staring and pointing at me, and watching my every move. This feeling changed as I quickly learned that the people of Wuhan are very friendly. Strangers approach13 me in the street, just to shake my hand and practice a few words of English; people want to know who I am, where I am from, and most importantly, whether I can eat with chopsticks!14
A good friend of mine, a foreigner who has lived in China for several years, once told me that, “Shanghai is China's future, Beijing is China's past, and Wuhan is China's present”. Wuhan is a city under development, with many projects improving the quality of life in many areas, involving cooperation15 between Chinese and foreign experts. On October 1st, for China's National Day celebrations, I was invited to a banquet to celebrate the contributions16 that foreign people have made to the city of Wuhan and the whole of Hubei Province. I saw many foreigners from all over the world collect awards for their services in engineering, medicine and education. I felt pleased that in some way, as a teacher I can also make a small contribution to China's future
1． realistically advj． 现实地，实际地
2． Cantonese n． 广东话
3． character n． 符号 Chinese Character 汉字
4． Bruce Li 即功夫影星李小龙
5． the Adventures of Monkey King 《西游记》
6． mysterious adj． 神秘的
7． humidity n． 湿度
8． barrier n． 障碍
9． urgently adv． 紧急地，迫切地
10． emergency n． 紧急事件，紧急情况
11． colleague n． 同事
12． Frankfurt n． 法兰克福（德国城市名）
13． approach v． 接近，靠近
14． chopsticks n． 筷子
15． cooperation n． 合作
16． contribution n． 贡献