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Abby Paras is a new sophomore at AISG, joining us in late September from Moscow.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airplane was the heat. When you move from a place like Moscow, Russia, where 23 degrees (C) is considered hot, to a place like Guangzhou, where, on average in the fall, the temperature is 32 degrees, you’re bound to notice the change. We landed at about 11 at night, but I was wide awake. As we walked from the airplane to the airport, I felt the heat sticking to me. We had to get our dog, who was making a scene in the airport. She was barking and howling so loudly that we heard her all the way from baggage claim. I found it very funny that people were taking pictures and videos of her like she was an attraction. We met up with our social sponsor (the person assigned by the U.S. consulate to show us around), who led us to our driver.
As we cruised along the dark road, I expected it to be empty. I was wrong. This is my first time truly living in a big city. In Russia, I lived just outside it. The streets here were crowded, even at 1:00 in the morning. It took us about 45 minutes to get to our apartments, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I was expecting something cramped and crowded; however, it was much larger and much more spacious than I expected. We spent the rest of the early morning unpacking, then went to sleep at 3:30 am. I was not used to the pollution here. While I had heard about it, I hadn’t really experienced bad pollution like there is here. It took me a few days to get used to the air, but before that, I had trouble breathing. Another thing I was not used to was the city sounds. I could hear trucks and cars honking from my window, with loud shouts and music playing. It was hard at first to go to sleep, but eventually, I got used to it.
I moved to Guangzhou less than a month ago. My family used to live in Moscow, Russia, but we had to leave early. The US embassy allowed us to transfer here instead. The move was hard. We only had a week to pack up, and we had to be out of the country within a week. It was stressful because while packing up, I was trying to find time to spend with my friends, some of who were still on vacation. By the time we left, I was ready to say good-bye. While I miss Russia, I have had some wonderful experiences in Guangzhou. We spent the first three days here exploring our neighborhood. We went shopping for our groceries at the market near us and eventually went out to the mall, Happy Valley. In some ways, it felt like Russia, except we didn’t need to take the metro to get to the city.
We went out to eat at some of the restaurants near us and tried a new dumpling place as well. I was just getting settled and relaxed when my parents dropped the bomb on me: I was starting school the next day. I spent about 2 and 1/2 days in Guangzhou before starting school. I was starting early so I could go on China Trips. I was upset at first, but China Trips turned out to be the perfect opportunity to make friends and bond with my peers. Since we were forced to do everything together, we were also forced to get to know each other. I made some amazing friends on China Trips, which really helped me adjust and settle in.
One of the hardest things about moving here was the jet lag. After we left Moscow, we went to visit the U.S. for a few weeks. While not enough time for me to get used to the heat, it was plenty of time for me to adjust to the time zone. Moving here was a twelve hour time difference from the U.S, so I wanted to sleep when I should’ve been awake. I wanted to be awake when I should’ve been asleep. It took a while to get used to everything, because I would fall asleep at 5:00 pm and wake up at 3:00 am.
While there were some hard things about moving here, there were a lot of good things too. My favorite thing about China so far is my neighborhood. I love how close it is to everything, and how there are many restaurants and shops nearby. I also love how some of my friends live there, so we were able to hang out during the break.I had to get used to apartment living, but it was a pretty quick transition. Another thing I really like is the school. AISG is my second international school, and I can’t help but compare it. I love how we get free periods instead of working all day, and I like how open the campus is. The food is okay, but it is nice how we get a short free period before lunch. The people here were so kind and helpful on my first days, and there was no shortage of people to befriend. While it wasn’t exactly what I expected, I am very pleased with what the school and my neighborhood have to offer.
Overall, my experience so far in China has been good. I love the food, the school, the people, the neighborhood, and I have gotten used to the air and the heat. I am very excited about the new things I will experience, the new people I will meet, and the new places I will visit.
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