Around the World in 115 Days: 21 March 2011 (Monday) China

Changsha!

So we took an overnight train from Beijing to Changsha, which was quite fun, and surprisingly restful. The bunks were three beds high and the space was just small enough that it was easy to monkey-maneuver around the whole car. Once in Changsha we were very warmly (and blatantly) welcomed at the university where we will have classes, and matched with our Chinese host families.

My new home-stay partner and I are staying with a family that lives a ways south of the city in a beautiful new house. The father works in the graduate department at our host university, the mother as a nurse in the largest hospital in the city, and the daughter is a design student finishing her undergraduate degree. They are very sweet and have been stuffing us with delicious Chinese food.

A little about Changsha, it's a city of about 6 million people in the south-central portion of China, just south of the Yangtze River. Mao was born nearby, in Shaoshan. Changsha played a pivotal role for him as he was polishing himself mentally and physically during the revolution, so there are quite a few Mao statues all over the place. Changsha is known to Chinese tourists as an entertainment destination, and there are plenty of karaoke shops, bars, and love hotels in the downtown area.

This past weekend our host sister Fei took us out to meet some of her friends, climb Mt. Yuelu, the most famous mountain in the area (just behind the university), do some shopping, and go to a movie. I realized at some point during the movie, a silly American action flick, that this is exactly what I love about this program -- living a normal life in every country we visit. Hanging out with friends, quietly (or not-so-quietly) having a good time, I just love knowing that there are certain things that happen everywhere, aspects of life that can be fulfilling and are almost universal wherever in the world you happen to be.

Pictures -- Central South University in Changsha