It's All About the Guanxi: Changzhou

Guanxi definition: the interplay of a complex network of personal and social relationships. It can be understood in terms of it not being just what you know, but also whom you know. This is still a central concept in Chinese society.

Staying with Wen's family in Changzhou was a great experience - her parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew all live in the same apartment. Learning the little intricacies of Chinese lifestyle was fun - slippers, drinking hot water, how insanely spoiled kids are (thanks to the one-child policy, I presume?), showering at night, the food, etc. I spent most of my time with Wen's mom (a professional Chinese opera singer/actress) who speaks the Shanghai dialect. Combine that with my terrible Chinese and it could have led to disaster. Luckily with patience and hand gestures we were able to have (limited) conversations.

I also spent some time with friends of my dad and Wen's, discussing possibilities of an import/export business - we'll see if anything comes of it - I know absolutely nothing about business, not to mention starting one.  One of the friends introduced me to a TCM doctor in Changzhou, and I got to spend some time shadowing her at a hospital and asked loads of questions.  The biggest difference between acupuncture in China and the US? PAIN. The acupuncture I watched was nothing like the pleasant and relaxing experiences I've had back home.  Other than that, I spent my time in Changzhou taking long walks, eating dumplings, volunteering at an English learning center, and watching terrible Chinese soap-opera.

Also thanks to guanxi, I was able to get a train ticket to Beijing in this crazy Chinese New Year travel period (I'm just one of the 230 million people currently traveling, mostly by train) thanks to Wen's family's connections with a police-officer. Corrupt? Maybe.

Maybe it's because I can speak a little of the language, or because I'm a Lao Wai (foreigner) girl traveling alone, but people have been extremely helpful. Thanks to the TCM doctor I met on the bus in Huaihua who helped me pick out cold medicine, bought me lunch, and made sure I made it on the train safely. Thanks to the woman I met on the train who helped me navigate Shanghai's metro system, also bought me lunch, and called Wen's family for me to give them details about when my train to Changzhou would be arriving. It's these little things - the kindness of strangers (and friends and family) that has really made my trip amazing.