Dispatches from China: Settling in and the Unsettling

By Hector Flores AKA @chicanochino, NewsTaco

Arriving in Guangzhou after a delayed flight from LA to Hong Kong, my nerves are shot. I can only think and hope for a school representative holding a sign that has my name printed on it. I have never had that experience, akin to being a celeb, holding out hope that this may be my 15 minutes of fame. It’s not to be. After going through customs and coming out on the Chinese side, there is no one there to greet me.

I walk around a bit and suddenly it dawns on me that my school liaison and I have no clue what we each look like. Everyone seems to cast a curious look in my direction yet no one follows through with an affirming question or comment. If my nerves appeared rattled before, they are frayed now. “Be calm.” I tell myself. I have a backup plan that involves my Amex card and the nearest hotel.

“How did I end up on the other side of the world with no ride?” I ask myself, “if I was inOregon, I could easily call some homies and have a ride within 15 minutes!” I assure myself that Ramon, Anthony and any of the Rodriguez boys would drop what ever it was they were doing at that moment and come to my aid. Real amigazos!

Suddenly, a sparkling girl with long hair and a charming smile comes up to me and asks if I am the guy who claims to represent himself as Hector Flores. It takes a minute to register and I make a meek attempt to answer by uttering “uuuuhhhh”. “Great, lets get going, we have a van waiting for you!” – total confusion is apparent in both languages!

We jet off through the countryside near the airport and into Guangzhou proper. Cranes, traffic and smog are immediately visible as the Chinese rush into modern prosperity. We cruise along on a gleaming new super high way full of luxury automobiles: BMW’s, Mercedes, and Lexus. There are also brands I don’t recognize and a plethora of vehicles that have no business being on a major free way. I can hardly speak ill of it, since as a child I would ride in the back of my father’s pick up with no seatbelt or safety gear.

It’s nearly afternoon when we arrive to our school and I am taken to our Foreign Affairs Office and given an outline of the rest of the day. It is immediately apparent that no second of my time will be wasted in a concerted effort to get me settled in as soon as possible. The efficiency and no-nonsense attitude of the staff is apparent. The officers in this office, specially designed to meet the needs of the foreign staff, have recognizable names. Dorthy. Heather. Maggie. I ask, “don’t you have a Chinese name? Everyone seems to have an English name.” Their response is logical and pragmatic, “Most foreigners can’t remember our Chinese names so we adopt English names. It’s for the best.” Well, I can’t argue there, us Chicanos seem to do the same! Anyone have a tia Estefanía become Stephanie?

Next update: my apartment, community and fideo chino!

Hector Flores is a writer, producer and entrepreneur finding his way through the modern maze that is China. After reading Rudolfo Anaya’s travel memoir “A Chicano in China”, he was inspired to blog, tweet and post on his own adventures as a curious chicano in China. Mr. Flores blogs and posts at www.chicanochino.com, tweets @chicanochino and can be reached at chicanochino@live.com.