Erasing the Sun

China is changing and evolving by the second, and I along with it.

I came to China in the summer of 2006 after spending a year out of college at a miserable job and losing myself and my dreams in the process. Hey, nothing like moving to the other side of the world to reignite some sparks and passion for life, right?

I don’t care how many articles you’ve read, or how much history you’ve studied, unless you have actually lived in China you have little idea what the country is like. China, as I have quickly learned, is a country that must be experienced through the senses. My home in China, the city of Changsha, is a place where the air can be both tasted as well as smelled. On a good day the air is thick and sweet with hints of durian and cigarette smoke being gently puffed nearby. Even the ground is abuzz with both noise and feeling as seven million people rush through the crowded streets oblivious to everything but their immediate goal.

One day, during my first month in China, I emerged from my hotel around noon to find the entire sky colored burnt sienna. The pollution was so heavy you could see it rolling through the streets like fog. I looked up and found myself staring at a dimly glowing orb high above. It was the sun, and it had been nearly completely blotted out by the slew of carcinogens permeating the air. It looked as if it was smoldering; like a fire torn between flicking out or igniting into something larger and more powerful. I have never before looked directly at the sun at the height of daytime, and I doubt if I ever will again, but it was stunning. For a few hours that day China had erased the sun.

The city of Changsha has its own unique sounds, sights, and rhythms, all of it rushing by at the speed of dreams. It is leagues apart from everything I had expected or prepared for when planning to move here, and, often, despite my best efforts, it often defies written description. It might seem pointless then to write a blog about my experiences living here, and in truth, I could never hope to succinctly pen what it means to live in modern-day China as an American expat. Further, I can’t claim to know or describe what life in the whole of China is like. I am witness to only a small part of China, mostly life in and around Changsha, and I only hope to give a small glance at some of the things I find most interesting, share some stories, and maybe, shed a bit of light on what my life here is really like. I hope you enjoy this blog and whatever insight or humor it may occasionally offer. Please feel free to leave questions and comments!