A Kiwi Cellist in China

The life & times, ups & downs, of a Kiwi / Australian cellist in Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Culture Shock

Yesterday, at 7am, I left Australia invincible. I boarded the plane endowed with a mental fortitude and adventurous spirit worthy of Shaw or Polo. Other than the slight pang of leaving my beautiful girlfriend, Colleen, to fend for herself in the murderous streets of Melbourne, I was thoroughly prepared. I had my cello, two translation books, my passport, and a Kilo of finest Brazilian coffee. What could possibly go wrong?!
Yet somehow, by 10pm Shenzhen time, I found myself huddled in the corner of my new lodgings feeling utterly lost, incredibly lonely, completely dejected, and altogether sorry-for-myself. How could this have happened? At what stage did the famed Kiwi thirst for adventure and travel leave me? I not sure I know the answer, although part of it can be ascribed to one thing: Chinese Accommodation.

Having been promised a 2-3 bedroom unit complete with all furnishings; couch, TV, Kitchen, bathroom, I was somewhat surprised at the unit I found myself in. Yes there were three bedrooms (at least I think so - one is locked and apparently off-limits), but certain other things were markedly absent. Namely the TV, Kitchen, phone and almost everything else. What I have is three beds, one set of sheets, two air-conditioning units, and that's about it. For a first taste of life with the Shenzhen Symphony this wasn't a good start. I was assured that this was temporary accommodation although exactly how temporary they wouldn't say...

So, in the mean time I can console myself with lots of practice (I wont be rehearsing with the orchestra until later this week when they start work on Brahms 4), my all consuming quest for a quasi-decent coffee (since I don't have a stove and cant prepare the stuff I brought over), and the ongoing process of getting to know my musician colleagues, which so far include 3 beer-guzzling Australians, a Russian Double Bass player who calls me "brother" and is insisting on cutting a CD with me, and a Turkish Bassoonist who broke his hand in a friendly fist fight last night...

Posted By charlesbrooks at 1:06 PM 0 comments

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