Where are we?

For my 3 weeks in Beijing, I'm living with several friends in a neighborhood in the suburbs.  I've found a couple aspects of our housing complex quite interesting.

1) Gas, water, and electricity all are charged on separate cards.  This means that, when any of these start to run low (or run out), in the house, the resident must go to a place in the center of the neighborhood with the specific card (whether gas, water, or electricity) and "charge" the card by paying money to have credit put on it.  It's like gas, water, and electricity credit.

2)  At least once a month the electricity and water for the entire neighborhood is cut off.  This is because one person did not pay their bill.  Neighbors go and yell at each other until the bill is paid and the water and electricity is restored. We were here to experience one of these days.

Oh man, it's just so NOT America.

On the bright side, "our" house has pretty grape vines and an apricot tree.

The Power of the Suburb

Maybe this post will be somewhat controversial. I had friends at Moody would scoffed at living in the suburbs like it was for the weak at heart.  Let me admit now, then: I am the weak of heart.

For these 3 weeks, as I study in Beijing, some of my Wuhan friends and I are staying at a lovely house in the suburbs.  The center where I'm taking classes is also in the suburbs.  I never knew how much the city wore down on me until I stepped away.  To wake up to the sound of birds or even weird cat howls is a great improvement to honking horns, poorly functioning ancient vehicles, construction, and people hocking loud spitballs out their windows.  On one of our rides to another part of the city, I contemplated why this is.

I think there's something one has to close off or become hard to while living in the city. If one lets it all in, it will grate and annoy.  It takes a lot of energy to close all that off.  Outside the city, especially in the country, there's a release.  You can open up because what's there is beauty and peace.

So I guess I discovered why I don't like cities.  

Changes

Some people really like change.  Honestly, I don't know if I know myself enough to know whether I like change or not.  I think I like it except for right before it happens.  Now, I haven't been all around the world, but I think China may be one place that change happens faster than anywhere else.  After three years in Wuhan, I want to document some changes in life since my first year here.

1) Suburb--city: I live in the least developed of 3 parts of Wuhan.  Up until this year, the area I live in and the school have been almost in a suburb-like area.  There hasn't been much traffic and I used to be able to look out my window at an open field where people would grow veggies.  I don't have a before and after photo, but I do have this photo of what is used to be like across from my apartment. In fact, my first year I went there to dig up soil to try to grow veggies on my deck (which was an ultimate FAIL, but the way). For the now photo, just imagine huge buildings, probably 20 floors high, in the construction phase, with waving dark green nets on them that make them look like death.
Speaking of death, as traffic increases, it gets more and more difficult to maneuver my way to school on my bike. Sometimes it feels like a video game.

2) Prices:  I know prices have changed all around the world, but for some reason the change seems more dramatic here.  Our favorite milk tea place's price has risen 50% (ok, that just means 2RMB to 3RMB, but nonetheless). Milk has risen probably 20% since my first year.  Crazy!

3) Availability: I now live no more than 20 minutes from a Subway (the restaurant).  In the next year, we will also have a Starbucks. The grocery store now has liquid detergent.

All this to say, I'm starting to feel like I actually live in a big city... Change.  Some of it I like, but some I don't.