Squatting is the undoubtedly most comfortable way to sit.

Recently I have been regularly asked the question 'what on earth where you doing in China?' much more than I had anticipated. Having applied for the three week Chinese language and culture program completely on a whim without really giving it a second thought, two months later I received an email stating that I had been given a place on the mandarin and Chinese culture course at Nanjing University, China. Flights booked within the seven day deadline, I had now committed myself to a 40 hour mandarin course with people I had never met in a country that I had never even thought about visiting.

When travelling and visiting new places, I much prefer to spend extended periods of time in one area in order to take in and understand as much about the people and culture as possible. Naturally, one can not do this with every place in the world in a lifetime and so I ended up limiting my preferred travel destinations to European countries. China had always been a completely strange and foreign land and I was happy keeping it that way.

I didn't expect to enjoy the trip so much. Well I didn't really know what to expect but I definitely did not expect wanting to extend my stay for as long as possible at the end (and that's not just because I wanted to have as much noodles and bubble tea as possible). In a city where the sound of the ice-cream van is really the street cleaning truck, where it's acceptable to sleep at any time of day on any surface and squatting is apparently the most comfortable way to sit (I still fall backwards every time I try), I slowly started to appreciate and really enjoy this new culture that I found myself in.

There is a beauty to the Chinese language that I had never appreciated or understood until I was lucky enough to spend these three weeks intensely studying the language and Chinese culture at Nanjing University. The language is simply structured without unnecessary changing of verb endings and it uses only words that are absolutely vital to the meaning of the phrase. I was won over by traditional Chinese philosophy, which points to the heart being able to think as well as the mind, although the debates during the lessons were intense with medics never ceasing to use science to prove otherwise and our lecturer suggesting that science is just another religion, which sparked even more discussions!
For a country with such a long history, it was sad to see and feel how much of it had been destroyed. Their "oldest" temples were buildings that had been rebuilt during the 20th century in tourist areas where we saw the expected authentic Chinese architecture which in actual fact had the feeling of a film set and had lost the 'sense' of history you often find when, for example, walking into an old church or castle in Europe.

I felt we were either treated like royalty or aliens. Outside of the olympics, which started while we were there, we were some of very few tourists, which resulted in constant stares (particularly at our height) and requests for photographs together - it was amazing to see that taking a photo with someone could make them so happy and excited. It's also hard to appreciate just how much people there are cut off from the western world - though attempts to show otherwise didn't go unnoticed with an abundance of western style shopping departments and brands. When we asked our favourite noodle lady to take a photo of us it seemed like she had never held a camera in her life...and this resulted in a very, very, very close-up picture of our faces.

The sheer number of people was also incredible. If you consider that London has a population of 8.5 million, Nanjing (which is just one of a group of big cities in China) has a population which matches that, not including 'urban' areas. So many people meant so many vehicles on very wide roads and with all their crazy driving - criss-crossing lanes and fitting entire families on one scooter - we still never saw a single accident!

Regretfully, my 40-hour mandarin course didn't mean that I was able to really converse with local people so I couldn't get a real sense of how it is to live in China without western influences, and anyone that could speak english well enough to explain to me had been educated in 'the West' so their view was slightly obscured to those who had never left the country and who, I feel, would have given a more realistic picture of daily life.

Back in the UK, I'm surprised to realise I really miss China. Upon my return I would hear people speaking mandarin and feel like I could pick up the odd words and at least understand the structure of the language while my stomach would be begging me for one more bubble tea and noodle lunch from our favourite street food lady. Maybe I'll be back sooner than I thought.

Unexplained abundance of watermelons on every corner

Word of advice: approach this beverage step by step

Buddhist incense

A man transfixed by his kite 

Two types of Chinese dumplings - the bigger ones are often eaten for breakfast

So so many lights

Outdoor dining

Casual corner store snack

Life Goes On

Three days before my 21st birthday and I present to you another apologetic introduction for another late blog post which has actually been written in my mind for a while now but for which I hadn't found time to sit down and transfer to a medium that can be easily accessed by everybody else. The ends of events and periods in our life are always the busiest times as you suddenly realise that the finish line is fast approaching and yet you don't feel that you've done everything you wanted or needed to do. The title, meant to be the reasoning behind this delay, reflects my current pace of life which is rolling along faster than I would like as I try to profit as much as possible from a few weeks in Canada before running off to China for a month - A Russian Abroad part 3 if you will. From Bristol and Bologna to Canada and China (let's ignore Toulouse for the sake of example) maybe I should continue my traveling alphabetically so the next place I visit needs to begin with a D - an A-Z of A Russian Abroad...we'll see.

There are parts of culture that you really can only really experience by living with and going out with french students: the term 'fatigué' would normally be used as an adjective to describe someone who is tired. I can now never used that word without thinking of my flatmates using it more as an insult to describe someone who is a bit boring and a drag to hang out with - my flatmates would jokingly (I hope) ask me if I was 'fatiguée' that day... Going to a club for an end of year gala evening and seeing professors there with the students until five in the morning was a surreal experience. Don't they have a bedtime? And through exams, deadlines, and a flatmate's friend breaking up with his girlfriend I also discovered that red wine, bread and cheese really is the cure for everything.

Although I left Toulouse 2 weeks ago now and the last 9 months are a blur which could have easily been a dream, some last minutes thoughts have been lingering on my mind. I'm often asked if I feel english considering I've lived in England for most of my life or if I feel russian or canadian. I can definitely relate to english culture and the way of life but in the end of the day I still feel canadian and russian given my close attachments to my roots. However, as a good friend of mine said to me the other day 'sometimes I'd just rather spend my time with english people'. Fair enough. Is it the language, culture or way of talking to people that means that no matter how many interesting foreigners you might meet, at the end of the day, you sometimes just prefer to spend time with people from your own country where you've grown up? Yet even in Canada I find I miss english humour which is often lost on people here and I often have to repeat what I say, tweaking my accent so that people can understand me.

At the end of June I played in a concert just outside of Toulouse in a town called Mazères. I noticed that there were many older people wandering around the streets and then realised that in Toulouse I rarely see them. Toulouse seems to attract the younger generation - students, recent graduates and young families - which fuels the city's constant energy and then, when it gets too much, people leave to see out their twilight years in a peaceful, idyllic, french, countryside town.
Interestingly enough it was while doing research for my french essay about 'l'identité toulousaine' that I fell in love the city - about two weeks before I was due to leave. Quite a change from the indifference I felt towards it when I first arrived and was missing Italy. Talking to so many 'toulousains' meant I realised what a great city it is and the strong relationship people have with the history, culture and youthful dynamic of the city. Better late than never I suppose.

Anyway, life does go on. All good things must come to an end and now is the time to see if all the promises to visit and skype every week hold out. Canada has seen me doing yoga three times a week, cutting down trees, driving a tractor and swimming in the ocean every evening - a complete yet welcome contrast to intense, european city-life - and pre-departure reading about China is due to start any day now. What do I miss the most? Good italian coffee, long lunch breaks, fresh baguettes, italian ice-cream, french cheese and red wine (see above), italian hand gestures, La Garonne (the river in Toulouse), and french paperwork. (The last one is obviously a joke).

A big thank you to people who have read through my Erasmus experience with me - it's been an absolute pleasure.

Lots of love,

xxx 

Testing out my new camera

Spontaneous weekend to Florence and Bologna

Outdoor orchestra concert at Mazères