Nanjing - Day 13

And to imagine we thought we were immersed before.
Yesterday was the beginning of NEU China 2011 homestay, and easily the start of simultaneously the most fulfilling and difficult part of our trip: assimilation. After being picked up by Mr. Yan, his wife Ms. Jiang, and their daughter Helen yesterday and being treated like royalty for dinner and exploration of Nanjing’s key attractions, the old adage of Chinese as generous hosts proved itself many times over. It is for good reason that Chinese tradition holds guests to a gift-giving ritual on arrival – ideally, something to eat, something to drink, and something to use – as it has become clear that my host ayi and shushu, or aunt and uncle, are truly giving of themselves in my time here so far. After opening their home up to me yesterday and facilitating my most restful night in China so far, today we returned to absorbing Nanjing city and Chinese daily life, starting with a delicious homemade breakfast – a rarity for us – mixing both east and west with sweet dumplings alongside homemade strawberry jelly. Then, after dodging the well-fed neighborhood cats – affectionately called二胖 and 小黑 (second fattest and little black) – it was off to the Nanjing Museum. We drove past the still proudly standing city walls, covered in many decades worth of ivy, and lost track of time in the museum looking at the beautiful traditionally created Chinese art, using either water and Chinese ink or thin yarn brocade, alongside historic jade and metal relics. It certainly wasn’t the usual NYC MoMA I’m so used to, much to its credit.
 After we met the quota of culture for the day, we stopped by a local restaurant for a traditional “light” Chinese lunch of soup and dumplings, as well as a rice ball and red bean paste mix my Jiang ayi knew I’d love. With hunger satisfied, Helen and I were invited to visit the city center, the underground shopping complex named Fashion Lady and its adjacent Western-style mall while ayi and shushu went to pick up the grandparents for a family dinner yet to happen tonight. While we strolled the outright endless shopping areas and chatted, in my broken Chinese and Helen’s impressively fluent Chinese, the difficulty of what we’re doing here – attempting to exist at least somewhat naturally in everyday Chinese society – really began to dawn on me. Haggling in Chinese came naturally to me. The social graces - don’t lick your fingers, don’t shout, and definitely don’t walk around the home in shoes – also didn’t prove much of a challenge in understanding. However, to attempt to not just communicate with a Chinese family, which is hard enough, but to establish a relationship and create a bond seems insurmountable. The thought alone was enough to give me homesickness. Admittedly, the language isn’t getting much easier, but as legitimately frightening as our positions are, thrown almost haphazardly into Chinese life, it is strangely comforting to think that my ayi and shushu are probably just as nervous themselves. After all, that’s how I know I’m in good hands.

- Michael G.