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Arriving in Jingmen, Hubei
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Jingmen, Hubei central district
Greetings again readers. I'm sorry for not writing more articles recently but have been busy with my paying position and planning a return to China for more teaching and traveling. I'll try and do more in the next few weeks.
Arrival in Jingmen
Once you've experienced the train from Guangzhou to Jingmen, or any other city for that fact, the first time will always be memorable, especially if you've seldom traveled by train. Along the way, you'll have several stops and an occasional wait for passing trains at wait locations. I remember passing a train full of soldiers heading south. As I was standing in the smoking platform our trains stopped along side each other and several Chinese soldiers saluted me. I returned the gesture.
Now, arriving at the Jingmen station brought mixed emotions. I was eager to see what my new home city would look like. I had been told that it was a small city of about 35,000. I had been living in Lemoore, California which has a population of just over 21,000 so I thought it would be no problem and that only cultural learning would be my biggest hurdle. In fact, as I arrived and my hosts greeted me at the station, I learned that Jingmen was a small city, in Chinese terms. Actually, the population of Jingmen is over 350,000. The Chinese have translation difficulties in tens to hundreds of thousands. I discovered this as we were driving from the train station and I was noticing the numbers of tall buildings along the way.
My hosts, the headmaster of WenFeng Middle School, the English teacher translator, a gate keeper and an aid, took my luggage and placed it in the trunk of their school car and we drove to my assigned apartment just outside the main gate to the school. I was immediately invited to lunch, so unpacking was not to be done at that time. My apartment was quite spacious, although somewhat old. It did have all the needed rooms of course and was equipped with telephone, computer and a western toilet.
Now, my hosts took me to a nearby restaurant for lunch and a welcoming gathering of several teachers and school officials. It seemed I was already going to be quite welcomed. In my preparation before coming to China, I had read that it's important to be gracious to the hosts and not refuse any offer of their hospitality. So, I was prepared for a good meal and whatever else they were about to place on me. I was told that I wouldn't be teaching for three days, so I was already given some free time to unpack and explore the area until my first teaching day.
Bijou
As we all sat down at the dining table, the headmaster, Mr. Zhang, asked if I liked wine. Oh, coming from California and having sampled many of the 'wine countries' varietals I was eager in anticipation of sampling some Chinese wine. Of course, I graciously accepted the headmaster's offer, having not wanting to upset anyone my first hours in Jingmen, and I was immediately given a whiskey shaped pint bottle of “Bijou” Chinese wine. It was clear, no color, and as I opened the cap, I could immediately smell a strong “white lightning” aroma. I thought how strange that the wine had no color and very limited aroma. It actually smelled like strong spirits.
Well, I was given a small milk glass, having expecting a real “wine” glass, and told to pour my wine about ¾ full into the glass. I did, and then smelled the liquid as if to catch the fine aroma of a bouquet not yet experienced in the western world. Upon smelling the wine, I thought back to the time when I was a distiller for Sierra Wine Corporation after the crush season was over. The aroma's are quite similar.
My hosts all poured their wine accordingly into their glasses. Mr. Zhang and Luis Yao, my supervisor, raised their glasses to the middle of the table and said “gambei” meaning “cheers” and all the luncher's, including myself clanked glasses repeating the toast. They all looked my direction and Mr. Yao said, “Tom, that means, bottoms up” with a smile. I had a distinct feeling that I was in for quite a moment upon complying with their request. So, in accordance with the customs and expectations of guests, I began the swallowing of this ¾ glass of “wine” upon which I felt immediate heat burning through my throat and into my stomach. It felt like all my internal organs were on fire. After I completed the “bottoms up” I was given a rousing cheer and grateful smiles by all with a “welcome to Jingmen” overture.
It took only a matter of minutes for the bijuo to make it's impression on my mind. I was ever so thankful that our meal was being served as I needed something in my stomach to help offset the extreme heat I was internally experiencing. They were all seemingly enjoying the lunch with me as I answered many questions about American life and about my background and family.
After lunch, I was thankfully escorted back to my apartment and told that I'll be picked up for supper later on and that I should get some rest. Oh, thank God, I was able to find my bed in a few moments. I “crashed” very quickly while letting my new home spin around me. My hosts, shockingly were returning to the school for teaching and other duties, which really surprised me. I told them that if a teacher or administrator returned to the school after drinking there'd be server consequences.
China was indeed different.
For more info: tompurvis51@hotmail.com
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