“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margeret Mead

I have always felt it was my repsonsibility to make the world a better place, but I never thought my passion would lead me to working with such incredible people in China. I am so fortunate to have the best job in the world were I can work in China for 3 months and still have a pay check. I am very blessed!

 

Xuan Zheng and Amy Hebert Knopf

My journey to China is to compete phase two of a research project that is part of the Harkin Institute Fellowship with Dr. Xuan Zheng. Last year during phase one of the project, Dr. Zheng traveled to the United States and visited six schools for the deaf completing observations and interviews. This fall I am completing a parallel study in China. After my observations and interviews are complete we will write a series of comparison analysis articles as well as a text book. I am being hosted by Chongqing Normal University as a visiting researcher, but will be traveling to various parts of China to complete school visits.

 

My home for the next few months

I left Minneapolis on September 2, 2018 at 11am and arrived on the morning of September 3, 2018 at about 1:00am. One of Dr. Zheng’s students met me at the airport, Liu. We took at taxi to the Shapingba district of Chonagqing which considered central Chongqing . When we arrived it was dark and the streets were empty. The night air felt warm and humid. Dr. Zheng arranged for me to spend the night in an apartment owned by her parents. The apartment building is part of a suite of buildings with a gated entrance and my room was located on the 10th floor of building 1. The apartment was small, but very tidy and had just the space I needed to work. The two small bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen and living room held modest, simple furniture with lots of windows. After figuring out how to turn on the lights and air conditioner I settled in and went to bed. My body was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. I had been traveling for more than 24 hours. For the most part my flights went well except for the hour I sat on the tarmac at the Shanghai airport because of bad weather. I was doubtful I would be able to sleep because I was over tired and since the mattresses in China are very different from the United States. However, as soon as my thoughts drifted to home and family, sleep came very easy.

I must agree…it was hot even for a cajun girl!

I woke up at about 8am with the morning sun glaring into my bedroom window. Even though I had only slept about 5 1/2 hours I felt rested. Liu and I got dressed and left the apartment to conduct our first few items of business, getting a transit card and a bank card. As soon as I opened the apartment door I knew it was going to be a lot hotter weather than I originally anticipated. The hallway to the elevator was stifling. I couldn’t wait to get outdside for fresh air but as soon as I walked outside the building the morning sun felt  humid and it fell on me like a heavy blanket. In a strange way the heat was comforting and reminded me of home, my real home, New Orleans.

Why does iced coffee taste better in China?!?

We walked a couple blocks to the transit station where I purchased a card for 25 CNY thats about $4 U.S. dollars. That was just for the card, I then had to load it with currency in order to use it for travel. I loaded 20 CNY on the card and we got on a train from Weidianyuan station and headed to Shapingba station to find a bank. Well…and a Starbucks! It was about 9:30am and I was in dire need of coffee! The train was packed so tightly it felt as if we were standing nose to nose, but at least it was cool. After about 15 minutes we arrived in Shapingba and found ICBC (I’m not completely sure what the acronym means, but it is a Bank of China.  We were there for about an hour trying to open an account so that the university could give me money to pay for my expenses. The bank was at a loss of how to open the account without a Chinese phone number. Finally, the bank was able to open an account but warned I would not be able to purchase anything through the phone. Thats fine with me…I can’t read any of the Chinese websites anyway. After going to the bank, we stopped a few places looking for a wifi broadband card but could not find one. I did find a cute red shoulder bag so I bought that instead. 

Chinese and English lesson…with Liu!

We headed to the train to go back to the apartment for a little rest before flying out to Zhengzhou. The train ride back was less crowded and after a few stops I was even able to find a seat. The route seemed easy and I think I could take the train on my own if I wanted to venture out alone. The Weidianyuan area around the apartment building has a few blocks of local restaurants and shoppes. We stopped in at one local restaurant and I ordered dumplings to go. We went back to the apartment and ate our dinner (Liu does not say lunch…which again feels like New Orleans….we say breakfast, dinner and supper) and Liu practiced her English and I practiced my Chinese. She is much better at speaking English than I am at Chinese. After eating we both took some time to do some work. 

I think the first few hours were successful. Next stop…Xuan!