It's all in the neighborhood.

What is in a neighborhood? Well, get away from American suburbia and you will find a totally different lifestyle.


At first, when the eggs, the milk, and the fruits and vegetables - yes, a few fruits and vegetables did exist in my fridge before Lara came - went bad after 3 days, I was super frustrated. Of course on the one hand that means there aren't so many preservatives and other stuff in my food, but on the other hand I have to go to the store every 3 days, which I find to be very annoying and time consuming. It's just not the American way. Americans go to the store for real grocery shopping once every week or two.


But eating food without preservatives has more than one healthy benefit. It develops relationships. While living in Li Ren, I got to know my local fruit lady, water lady, electronics guy, coffee shop (of course), pet store, and noodle restaurant. Typically there is a one on every block for every neighborhood.


Relationships are SO important in China, and I think many other countries that don't have suburban sprawl. It is easy to be frustrated especially in China I think, because there is no courtesy, no sense of caring, especially on the streets. I think it's because there are SO many people, the Chinese are very cold towards anyone who is not an immediate friend. But take the time to get to know your local block, and you will have instant friendly faces to enjoy on the way to work. I imagine myself like Belle in Beauty and the Beast during the opening song, greeting each shop owner as I walk by.


I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the chance to do the extra trips around my neighborhood, and of course now that I have moved, I live in a new neighborhood. I was becoming quite frustrated with the rudeness of China, so I took a jaunt in my old neighborhood after I got hit by the car. The electronics guy took my computer to a friend and had it back in less than 24 hours. The owner of the pet store knows I can read and write better than I can speak Mandarin, so while I talked to one of his assistants, he sat next to me as a scribe and wrote down everything that was said, to make sure I understood. The fruit lady likes to follow me around the store and make sure that I pick unbruised fruit. And the water lady is a little grouchy, but she still knows me :) China is so much more welcoming when I am waved at and greeted. Instead of the typical staring, glaring, sometimes even backing away, or even the guards not permitting me into my new apartment complex because "no foreigners have ever lived here".


This is one thing that was not even on our school board's radar I think when they had us all moved. The sense of community that the foreign teachers have developed on that block around the school.Maybe if I were staying an extra year, I would make the extra effort on my new block to meet the new fruit lady, the new water guy, and the new coffee shop. But that is the evil of traveling. All good relationships must come to an end. It's already heartbreaking to say goodbye to the community, even adopted family that I have made here. It's like the long goodbye. I do not want to get to know the new ones, and I am not yet ready to say goodbye to the old ones. Stuck in limbo here in Beilun ...