So before I go traveling I have about a month of doing nothing. The first few weeks flew by, with lunch and dinner appointments, friends birthdays (In Shanghai and elsewhere), and hangouts with students and friends.
But now everyone has gone back home, all the foreign teachers have left for traveling and I had my last trip to Hangzhou because I want to sequester myself away in my room and get some writing done before I too take off.
My school is like a wasteland. The usually crowded buses are virtual empty, the bustling west gate area is almost entirely shut down (and places that are still open are operating limited services, only a few dishes, or stores that don’t restock for a month or longer).
But in the rest of China the world is gearing up for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and things are as crazy, loud and active as America the weeks leading up to Christmas. All major train and bus stations are packed, stores are a riot of red with banners and decorations, and the streets are filled with shoppers stocking up for the holiday.
So when I need to go downtown to buy something I go from my very quiet, peaceful university to the insanity of a country with a billion plus people going ready for their biggest holiday. It’s quite a contrast and one that I’m finding jarring.
Solitude and Craziness
Oh I remember the spring festival time. But I have never experienced the quiet and nearly ghost-like places your university seems to have transformed into.
Whether I went to a Kungfu school over Chinese New Year or later I went home to my Chinese in-laws, but I always had the pleasure to experience China’s trains during Spring Festival. Something I don’t recommend.
You should enjoy the quiet and peace as long as you can 🙂
I know, maybe it seems strange that ANYWHERE in China is quiet during spring festival time, but a campus is the place to find peace and solitude. It’s so bad that yesterday I went to get a milk tea with pearls and they didn’t have any pearls! I’m guessing they are closing today or tomorrow.