Life on a distant, Chinese island

by Micayla Costa (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown China

I read the description of a beautiful, tropical island... in China.. and knew I had to take the job offer to teach English there. As I arrived to the airport it was a tiny two airplane area and I stepped down the steps with a plane full of Chinese tourists, and knew I was in to be the odd one out. I looked around at the distant hills, at the palm trees and the massive blue sea. The place was Sanya City, complete with modern luxury vacation apartments and full of mopeds running along the street. I talked to my new co-worker as he drove me to my new apartment, and he said "Welcome to South China, life is slower here and Sanya is its own world." What I found was an island dominated by Russian tourists and Chinese locals. The signs were not English/Chinese but Russian/Chinese. I realized who the island catered to, and for the first time being a native English speaker was irrelevant. After awhile, I met the locals and made friends with some Russians, and we explored the island together. We got rides from random friends on mopeds, and attended some Chinese dinners with co-workers to learn more about the cultural norms in the country. We would shop in the mall and see the Asian marketed clothing trends. With shorter dresses, skirts, hats (of course to block the sun), and high boots--- it made my jeans and shorts and sun dresses from the USA in comparison feel very outdated like from a previous time period. That was it about China and this island... it was a hybrid of what the future of tropical vacations will one day be like... and it was fascinating to experience it. In this new, high-tech city that more resembled Vietnam than China. We experienced a pedicure with fish biting our feet, the local market with thousands of different fruits from the dragon fruit to the guava to mysterious ones never tried before. I had a mango a day quite literally. We explored the massive clubs and found a music scene different from the western world. The clubs were all luxurious and brand new, catering to the wealthy vacationers. The Russians would order bottles after bottles and dance until 5 AM. The Chinese were more laid back and would enjoy a table, cigars and pleasant chatter and observing the other party-goers. The music was a mix of EDM and popular Russian party music. Again, it was odd to be the only American in these instances, but I found I loved it. I became accustomed to hanging out with the Russians and spending some time with the Chinese friends. The local friends were excited to show me hikes in the hills to old temples to new ones. we celebrated the Autumn Festival and seeing the buildings light up with phrases. We hiked to a hill and watched the parades on the streets. I found a culture proud of their heritage, but also eager to embrace the new trends. Eager to embrace modernity and in this island world.. eager to be Russian-friendly. It was a strange world, but one that I am so happy to have been allowed entrance.