“Xiamen fever” by Maria Malakhova
My name is Maria Malakhova, I am from Siberia, Russia. I have been in Xiamen for almost 8 years.
On the way home for a break, I stopped in Beijing for a day to visit the Great Wall, so I didn’t have to answer questions like “How come you haven’t seen the Great Wall?!”
It was random how I learned about Xiamen. About 10 years ago my mom met a lady on a plane, they had a chat and it happened so that her daughter was studying in Xiamen University at the time. 2 years later I myself was on a plane headed to Xiamen to study Chinese in Xiamen University.
Xiamen is very different from my hometown. In my hometown half of the year is winter, In Xiamen half of the year is summer. When I first arrived I felt like I’d melt. Now, after almost 8 years, I can wear jeans and a long sleeve when it’s +30, haha.
In the very beginning it felt like another planet. I remember the shock that I was given chopsticks to eat soup. Soup! With chopsticks! 疯狂了。Also, very quickly I realized that the Chinese food I tried at home was not Chinese at all. Supermarkets were full of strange stuff that I’d never seen before and I was on a constant hunt for salty bread and any kind of cheese. Speaking of Chinese cuisine, there is one thing I regret deeply. In the very first year somebody invited me to a small hotpot place. That was the first time I tried hotpot, probably was Sichuan style because it was CRAZY spicy – my tongue went numb instantly and I cried my eyes out. So, naturally, I swore off ever, ever, ever having it again. It wasn’t until 6 years later that I tried it again when a friend had a birthday party at Hai Di Lao, and I couldn’t believe I was missing out on that goodness for so long!
First time in Gulangyu. Sasha, my bridge to Xiamen, brought me there in the very first few days.
Learning Chinese was a pickle too. I’d feel like I’ve learned already some basics and can communicate the simplest things, but more often than not communication wouldn’t go smooth. Once my flip flop broke right on the street, luckily I quickly spotted a street vendor that was selling shoes. So I hopped over there, pointed to my flip flops and said I wanted to buy 拖鞋. Well, evidently I didn’t say 拖鞋, because the lady looked back at me puzzled asking “鸵谢? 没有啦! ” My jaw dropped – there was a dozen of 拖鞋 right in front of me! I repeated “我要拓写” She goes again “没有” I looked at her in utter disbelief, having no clue what was happening, then at 拖鞋 right next to us, and used my both hands to point at them while practically screaming out of desperation “有! 有妥歇! 拖鞋!” Suddenly, her eyes widen, she nods her head, “啊啊啊, 拖鞋, 拖鞋 有”.
Xinping Village Guilin, mt. Laozhai, on the same trip with Sjoe. Loved that view so much, went back twice – when my mom and best friends visited.
I didn’t even notice how Xiamen became my home. One time I went to my hometown and surprisingly soon felt like I wanted to go “home”, to Xiamen. Everything that once was so strange and exotic became so familiar and even routine that nothing can surprise me anymore. So I like to remind myself “Hey, you live in China!” and then I go out pretending to be a tourist, taking photos of everything I see and trying new food.
I know so many people that came for one year or two, and stayed for 10 and more. Xiamen can be really captivating. I believe it has to do with the incredible local community and lush green nature. It’s a rather small island, so it may seem like you know almost everyone and everything, yet there is always something else to discover, amazing spots and people.
First travel in China. Me and my classmate Sjoe in Yangshuo, Guilin on the winter break. We look at each other puzzled while the lady is trying to tell us something…
My life pretty much can be divided into two parts – Before and After Xiamen. The After Xiamen part is far more adventurous and fulfilling and I feel so blessed for this experience.
My hometown is called Krasnoyarsk. It’s a city in Siberia that was built near the river and is surrounded by mountains and forests. There is an amazing national park on the city outskirts, with a beautiful forest and unusual rock formations that look magical in winter. It’s a rather cold place, in winter the temperature can drop to -40 degree Celsius. Contrary to what many believe, there is summer, but it’s definitely short though, like 2 months of good weather. As a kid I loved winter, because there was always lots of snow and we could do a lot of fun stuff like sliding down the hill or digging a tunnel in the snowdrifts.
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