50 Shades: Ningbo, China!

Ningbo has been my third China expat home, arriving over three and a half years ago, it's been a lot! Off my blogging and sightseeing radar unlike my times spent in both Wuhan and Beijing, I wanted to see which four pivotal places that stuck throughout those forming days after my February 2023 post-Pandemic arrival! This city became my first China base, that's pure growth! 

I had déjà vu, big time! A full circle moment? Yes, I had left a hotel in Beijing during the early days of the Pandemic to then return to another hotel three years later but in Ningbo! Arriving back into China after a mammoth three year entrapment in the United Kingdom wasn't on my 2020-2023 bucket list, not a chance! The journey back to China had taken longer than necessary, flying into Ningbo Airport was a non-starter because those post-Pandemic flights saw me arriving into Shanghai Pudong! I was much out of the loop as I checked into my 'ATOUR' hotel opposite from Yinzhou's Wanda Plaza, I didn't have a Chinese mobile number at that tender moment! The staff helped me connect to the internet with their local numbers, I needed those digits because certain practices had changed since my pre-COVID life in China. Exhausted wasn't the word but connectivity was the only thing on my mind! HR put me in contact with a fellow foreigner who hooked me up with the necessary proxies. Was I out of my depth? Maybe?! 

A grain pillow? I was going through it, I had the worst sleep with culture shock after shock going through my mind! I had arrived back into a country I thought I knew, it was going to be an adjustment period for sure, I would be fine! My pre-loaded proxies didn't work in that location, it threw me off because staying connected with those sites is life! Looking out of that hotel window, I did think to myself about my determination to return, Ningbo felt really real! Getting business taken care of, I was able to slot slowly back into life, Ningbo felt progressively normal to me. I still didn't have any place to live, that would come in time, my prospective employer would hold the key to that apartment choice. I now eat my words because a grain pillow is my go-to choice, also that hotel brand is my absolute favourite for the clean lines and plush finishings. Wanda Plaza held that 'China Mobile' key to my digital portal to my restarted life in China! The CNY holiday needed to end, I wanted to see those streets more alive, it was quiet. Enough, said! 

I had sat tight for three years, sticking with the opportunity bestowed to me back in 2019 was a no-brainer. Three and a bit years since February 2023, my time at this educational organisation took a lot to get started! I stayed in-touch throughout the Pandemic with weekly and monthly email updates to ensure that I knew exactly what was going on with the ever-changing situation. My time getting to know the students during that first semester was the tonic that I needed, being back within that classroom environment felt a million miles away from my Beijing Montessori situation but learning about 'EC-STEM' was what I needed! With each semester, new challenges have presented themselves, such developments have been learning experiences that I will always cherish. Having gainful employment was what I needed, I had not wanted to enter the world of work in the United Kingdom all that much. Ningbo afforded me the chance to return to education, engage with young learners and a dynamic institution. Time sure flies, NB! 

Ningbo working life at the beginning was a lot, a change or shock to my system, both actually but I wasn't mad! I had watched the opening of this campus from home in England, many developments had taken place as China redefined its stance regarding the Pandemic. I won't ever forget seeing the campus reopening to students in September 2020, it wasn't my time to be there and I trusted in the process further. Starting that spring season in February 2023 in Ningbo at that educational organisation felt right, timing had taken its course and the future had been decided for me. I had a strong feeling that the wait would be worth it, that stood as the case as I settled into teaching life once again. Embarking on such a journey sure had its own adjustment period, taking one step in front of the other, I was able to make sense of my role and almost brush off the time that I was absent from that educational life. Working life became normal to me as the season progressed, being the new teacher in the school faded away quickly. 

The hotel mentioned before had been booked for seven nights, I had no intention staying there for any longer than three nights. After completing my work permit-related health check, I headed out around Yinzhou with a property agent. I saw several apartments, one or two looked interesting but others weren't for me. Landlords acted like they wanted my rent money with deposit included but they were unwilling to make cosmetic changes to those rental properties. I had faith but if truth be told, I just wanted a place to make a home, it had been a long time since I had lived independently. My face said it all, my anxiety was sensed and phone calls were made to an alternative agent. Within a very short space of time, I had been ushered to the development that overlooked the previously presented educational organisation. I liked what I saw, in fact I loved what I saw! I had been showed around two loft style apartments with the quickness, no modifications would need to be made in those houses! Oh, Ningbo came through! 

I got to know 'Wal-Mart' as I had one afternoon to semi-furnish my first apartment in that building. I knew that I would need to be cautious with that keypad number because a shady situation saw me changing that frequency with the quickness! Two apartments in total, both of them saw me retreat but never withdraw from life, I utilised Ningbo as my base, as a place I could travel from and back to. I never felt any need to pound the pavements, sightseeing like previous China eras didn't seem important to me. My apartment/flat gave me the perfect place to rest and recharge from work, life and anything that required my energy or spirit! I stand here with no malice nor opportunity wasted, that 'grown up' rental grounded me, centring life around a constant place of security. Although, a surprise 7 hour move to an apartment on a lower floor on the day of my 2024 summer holiday wasn't in my wheelhouse! Never a dull moment, a balcony stands as a non-negotiable condition for the future! A loft life for me! Ningbo knew so!  

Places of interest clocked across Ningbo have even brief, I've stayed focussed and grounded without plans to run around the city. Aside from working hard and making the most of my rent money, I found myself at 'Ningbo Second Hospital' several times during those first throws of Ningbo life. The first time was an experience like no other, I had only ever gone to the hospital once before in Wuhan years before, that was for an intentional x-ray not due to illness. During 2023, a springtime eye infection saw me get to know the 'International Department'. Expedited services and English speaking staff have been on hand for me but it has been nothing short of a challenge to keep it accurate. I have become my own doctor, checking medical journals and consulting advice sites for suggested remedies for ailments. September 2023 saw me conclude a series of strong intravenous infusions due to a severe leg infection. Calling the shots with my recovery plan, the doctors agreed to my suggested course of treatment. Oh, the nerve I needed! 

Battling off those bouts of intense sickness bugs and flus, I have a feeling that I have seen the last of that hospital. No medical degree I have, it was the only place I found myself going to when the needed arose. I kept life sedentary in Ningbo with a lack of places visited by choice, the hospital became one of those first snapped places in my photo album! From insomnia to ear aches, I remember leaving my phone on the doctor's desk during a rather trying time! Those tablets knocked me right out, they fixed my lack of sleep, sending me into the deepest slumber! '宁波第二医院/Ningbo Second Hospital', a place not made for a day out but through illness, select experiences have been made akin to visiting a busy thoroughfare or avenue! Ningbo hasn't been shady, I just needed to get used to life back in China after three years away. Getting to revisit such places that formed my third expat stop in China has shaped me, it has readied me for the future. Hotels, classrooms, apartments and hospital orders, no moment has been dull! 

Ningbo... You're Not Shady! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure