Since he was working on a U.S. government project, Ken had to work lots of hours while we were in China. It was difficult at first because we were newly married and of course wanted to spend as much time together as possible. One thing we did together was take language lessons. Three nights a week, we went to Guang Ming Hotel after dinner and attended a language school. Our class consisted of four people, including the two of us. The other students were an American and a German. The class was small enough that everyone got their fill of attention from the instructor and of being singled out to recite things like I want to buy a kilo of apples. This is my water. How much is that blue shirt? And, the most important Chinese phrase to know is “That’s too expensive, give me friend price.” Grammar rules are relatively simple in Mandarin since the verbs don’t get conjugated and nouns don’t have gender.
We had plenty of good times in China. Yet, there were times when I wanted nothing to do with anything Chinese. Sometimes I grew weary of the crud that constantly hung in the air, the ongoing struggle to communicate with locals who spoke very little English and questionable sanitation practices in public places. Whatever you’ve heard about public restrooms in China I’m just about certain does not do the real thing any justice. Most public restrooms there simply have to be seen (and smelled) to be believed. You cannot drink the tap water and shower water is extremely hard, leaving heavy mineral deposits in your hair. A good conditioner is a necessity. Some days I felt very isolated and extremely homesick. On those days, I closed the curtains, closed my eyes and listened to national public radio on the Web while I pretended to be back in the States. Even while I was missing home where I could drink from the tap, walk on the lakefront and breathe pretty consistently fresh air, I must admit that I never, ever felt concern about being a victim of crime in China. Criminals in China are typically dealt with swiftly and often severely.
