Water, Water
We had been told to be wary of the water supply in China. The tap water was not safe to drink, and everyone seemed to rely on bottled water for consumption and only used the tap water for showering, washing dishes, and clothes. We even went so far as to use bottled water when brushing our teeth. Although later I got brave enough to use tap water for my tea, after it was boiled, of course. The bottled water was supplied to us free by the college, but we had to arrange our own delivery. Usually I just carried the twenty-litre bottle from the hostel to the apartment and up the stairs. Any time one of our students saw me carrying a bottle, they were horrified and insisted on carrying it for me. A teacher, especially one of my advanced age, should not be doing manual chores.
We started to notice that, on occasion, our taps would not produce any water. It was usually of no consequence, as this happened just as we were leaving for work and the water was flowing once we returned from work.
One morning, we elected to sleep in, instead of going for a run. We had been on one of our excursions the night before and felt we needed rest and did our run at eight o'clock rather than at five. When we started to get ready for work, there was no water—for showering, or for shaving. I was able to clean up and shave using the bottled water, but it was a nuisance and I didn't really feel clean. I then realized another indispensable reason for having running water—the toilet. We couldn't flush the toilet without running water.
We had a full day of teaching and extracurricular activities and didn't get home until midnight. Not feeling like showering that late at night, we left it until morning, sleeping in again. The next morning the taps did produce water. That is, until I stepped in the shower. The water stopped the moment I got my hair full of soap. More improvising to prepare for work, but we were starting to feel pretty ripe without our normal hygiene.
We never did get the full story on what was happening, but the water situation seemed to be connected to an upcoming holiday and maintenance. During this period, the water was only turned on from midevening until seven in the morning and was turned off for the rest of the day. Some months later, we actually lost our running water for several days.
We learned to keep some pails full of water as well as a large plastic garbage-like container in the bathroom. At a minimum we could use this for flushing the toilet and filling basins for cleaning up.
We also found that we were at the mercy of the powers-that-be for our other utilities such as heat and power. Constant reminders that we were, in fact, in a foreign country.
Alumni Contact
As a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business, I have access to one of the largest alumni lists in Canada. Everyone with an MBA from Ivey feels connected, even if you have never met them before. I had browsed my contact database before moving to China and could only find people in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong—none in Shenyang. These places were too far from us to be of any use, so I just forgot about it. Then one day while living in Shenyang, I did another search of the alumni database and I found a name in Shenyang. Using our contact system, I sent an e-mail and got a quick response.
Max Li had graduated with an MBA from Ivey a few years earlier and had obtained citizenship in Canada. He, his wife, and their four-year-old son, Albert, who was born in Montreal, returned to their native China, where he had found work with a German manufacturing company with plants in Shenyang.
This contact proved to be a great benefit to both of us. Max and his wife found someone to keep them connected with their new homeland of Canada, and I found someone in the business community who could provide a great link for the school. We became friends and socialized whenever we could.
Max and his wife, Sharon, had an interesting background. They were both students at Beijing University in 1989 when the civil unrest started. They weren't married at the time, but they were dating and together became part of the students protesting for civil rights in China. On the day they had planned on taking the bus down to Tiananmen Square to march with their fellow students, someone shouted to them just before they boarded the bus, "Go back! They are killing people there."
Max was detained by police for a period of time, but was released when he agreed to finish his nearly completed studies and leave the country. They immigrated to Canada and received their Canadian citizenship after marrying there. Their son was born in Canada.
Max, Sharon and Albert
Although they moved back to China many years later for employment, they viewed this as just temporary, until they could return to Canada, which was now their home in their hearts. They spoke with such passionate pride of Canada that they seemed more Canadian than we were.