But, when I returned to the US from my Beijing study abroad escapade, I submitted one of my photos to a photo contest at my school (American University). And I WON - 1st place. Here is that photo, "Break Time for Shanxi Worker":
I have begun an application to Hess Educational Organization to teach English in Taiwan beginning this August. I would love to go but, if I get a job in DC, I will probably stay here and save up some money/build credentials before I put on my traveling hat again. I will keep you updated.
Sorry for that if it was read by anyone. I've settled. Home is right for me now. No more whimpering and wishing for China. DC is what I am going to make of it - long nights of learning, long days of opening jaws with the good folks. There's drop-dead appeal in that and I can't turn my schnoz up simply because the Chinafolk aren't hangin around. Though there are those who I wish were going to be here this semester, my hopes hang high for the likes of old and new friends.
School. School will once again be the carnival of abundant readings, writings, raised hands, lost sleep, lapses of comprehension, caffeine highs, and demanding professors. But you know what? I love it. That is what I live for. I'm going to pull everything I can out of the next five months. It's going to be a hell of a lot.
A return to China is somewhere in the near future, maybe even as soon as this summer, though I haven't presented that idea to anyone yet. Except for right now. I would be surprised if my wanting to return so soon surprises anyone.
There won't be another post until I make final plans for my next trip. Thank you for reading! 新年快乐！再见！
I have been horribly busy lately. Or maybe I've just been so caught up in myself that I haven't been able to take the time and explain what I'm feeling. There has been a lot of school work, many discussions on the nature of human behavior, and getting to know Chinese friends. There hasn't been much time for venturing out lately, except on the weekend nights. Beijing has a great nightlife. There are so many international young people out and about. We're all here to get a piece of China's future, or something like that.
Sunday, I am leaving Beijing for a two week tour through China. It will include Lhasa, Guilin, Xi'an, and some other places that I cannot remember of the top of my head. I am sure I will take a ridiculous amount of pictures. This tour will probably blow my mind.
After that, I will be leaving China. I'm pretty melancholy about it. I know that one of the best adventures of my life is coming to a close. China is my future, that I know for sure. I will be back, but nothing will be like my first time here.
I feel like I am going to have more culture shock on my return to the States than when i arrived in Beijing. I know that when I step outside of the Dulles airport, I'm going to take the biggest breath I can. Oh clean air, I've forgotten what you taste like.
My Chinese final exam is tomorrow. I have to go study for that. Bye for now!
I doubt that I will ever stop dressing up for Halloween. The idea of everyone I know dressing up in fantasy garb plays to my natural admiration of the unreal. If you know me well, you know that in middle school I devoured the entire Anne Rice vampire chronicles. As silly as anyone else may think it is, I still love daydreaming about unreal creatures and concepts. This is why I, not only as an American, but as a lover of fantastically unreal things, participated in Halloween in Beijing. This year, I sided with my friend Michaela in that dressing up as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascots would be real tight. I was Beibei, the blue water creature. There was no tricking or treating involved, but we did go out for nighttime festivities and to strut our Olympic spirit on dance floors around town.
Last Tuesday before Halloween, my Chinese teacher took my class to a genuine old-style Chinese tea house. We didn't just sit there drinking tea and talking nonsense, there was a show for us. It was so entertaining that when the show was over after two hours of not moving, I wished that I could see more. I saw a Beijing opera piece, a Sichuan opera piece, acrobats, and Kung Fu among other acts. I probably drank more than my body weight in tea that night as my cup was constantly refilled. I will definitely be going back. For a snippet of what Beijing opera sounds like, play the video below. I'll warn you, this will not be a treat to the Western ear. When I first hear this style of opera it reminded of everything singing isn't supposed to sound like. Now, I like it and it is especially entertaining to think that the voice is a man's and that he is dressed in drag. Women are not allowed in traditional Beijing opera. All parts are played by men. (Other videos can be found in the At the Tea House gallery)
Saturday, went to the Lama Temple with a small group of people and strolled around in the intoxicating fall scenery. Even in Beijing, Fall is my favorite season. On the temple grounds, we were not allowed to take pictures inside of any of the halls, so all of my pictures are of the outside. The temple still functions as a temple outside of being a tourist attraction. Like the other Buddhist destinations that I have visited here, there are incense being lit and burned all around.
Putting the pieces of today's adventure together took a long time and I didn't end up getting out of my room until about 12. Once I was outside though, I knew the day would be rewarding. Campus hustled and bustled with students and teachers darting to lunch. Outside of campus, bus 307 to Wudaokou subway came right as I reached the bus stop and when I got on, there was a beautiful, happy Chinese toddler beaming his tiny-toothed smile my way. I made it to my destination, Qianmen, in what seemed like two seconds. Tiananmen Square to the left of me, Qianmen hutongs to the right, Beijing was looking as charming as ever.
I walked and walked not really knowing where I was going but knowing that I was going somewhere, maybe in the right direction? So I ended up exactly where I should have been going only to find out that the Beijing Underground was closed due to massive reconstruction all over Qianmen. Beijing Underground, picture a massive Cold War era system of underground tunnels, bomb shelters, movie theaters, a granary and all. Supposedly the underground runs throughout the entire city, but most of it is still closed off and secured. I was not actually disappointed by the departure from my original plan. I just strolled around the neighborhood taking in a completely new side of Beijing. It was more than pleasant.
After and hour of exploring, I decided to walk over to the National Museum of China. Before I could get there, a Chinese stranger-friend stopped me on Tiananmen Square. "Where was I from?", he asked timidly. "How long had I been in Beijing?", "Where did I study Chinese?" He told me that the National Museum of China was closed for renovation (like everything else in Beijing). The conversation would have crawled along awkwardly for minutes unless his friends hadn't come over to ask for pictures. I was happy to stand for six pictures, one with him and each of his five friends. As a thank you gift they gave me a necklace with a Mao Zedong charm. Now that's a keepsake. When I leave China, I am going to miss people staring at me, whispering about me, and asking to take pictures with me. I've never felt so interesting.
Beijing has felt amazingly like home lately. Is it hearing Elton John's "Rocket Man" blast out of loud speakers facing a court full of young Chinese kids playing b-ball? Is it sights of the absurd resulting from a city with extremely wealthy people and an equal number of poor that is keeping me deep in thought and therefore entertained? I don't know; I can't really place it. This is my first time out of America. I feel like I need to get to know Beijing down to the dirt on the road. Not really, but I am extremely anxious to know a lot more than what I know now and there simply isn't enough opportunity in these 3 and 1/2 months. Today, I am in my room studying for my Chinese midterm on Friday, looking for an internship, and reading. Last week, I was writing a paper. Maybe next week will bring little extra free time. What I need is to do a long stay here. If it weren't for being totally removed from everyone that I care about, I could see myself living here for a few years.
From what I saw of the small towns ing Shanxi Province they are a giant mess of industry and construction. This isn't to say that I didn't have a great time there. Surprisingly, the dulled, coal-polluted sky and homes in utter disrepair were much more interesting than a beautiful pastoral scene could ever have been. I am anxious to see what more of China looks like. It is a huge country, I can't expect every small town to look like Shanxi's small towns, but that's what comes to mind when I think about it. In December I will get two weeks full of more China, including Tibet!
In addition to the daily rural scenes, my program took us to several very pretty places. In Pingyao, all of the buildings are in the traditional courtyard style. It is one of only three preserved Chinese towns and resembles what most people think of when they imagine Chinese architecture. We left Pingyao for Taiyuan and visited Jinci temple the next day.
The temple, which should appropriately be called a massive garden is host to several hundred years of imperial architecture dating back to the seventh century A.D. There are beautiful Chinese buildings placed all around. The site has served as a Buddhist and Daoist center during respective times. From there we left for Datong.
We stayed in a very ritzy four-star hotel there. Oddly enough, eating at this four-star hotel is where six of my friends came down with food poisoning. Somehow, I missed the trend. On a lighter note, Datong is famous for its Buddhist grottoes. There are over 20,000 statues and 20-something caves carved out of the mountainside. No materials-other than paint, carving tools, and 40,000 men-were brought in to make up the sculptures. What I mean it, they are made up entirely of the mountain and yes, it is way cooler than Mt Rushmore. You can see from my pictures that the pieces run from small to gigantic imitations of Buddha and even some Hindu deities (which really confused me). The site dates back to 420 A.D.
Shanxi was an eye-opener, but I was still very happy to come back to Beijing. After spending 17+ hours on a bus within four days, I was thrilled to be stationary for a while.
My feet are always cold. I tell people astrology's a joke, but pay it mind anyways. I hate being lambasted. I love the word lambasted. I have left the country just once and it was to China. I wish I made time to create a garden. Bonsai trees are beautiful. I love when paintings make use of an abundance of colors. I especially like blue, green, and purple.
