Tuesday, June 20, 2006
xiamen
i spent a little time recently moving most of my junk across the hot dank belly of china here to xiamen. leaving kunming was a sad thing, for that city had really grown on me. there is a substantial foreigner population there if you need to see some people who can speak english or can speak the same type of crappy chinese that you yourself speak. also there are just friendly people there in general, interested in getting out into the beautiful landscape of yunnan to do a little hiking. i had fun there.
but, nonetheless, i packed up and moved out, dragging a big suitcase and strapping two bags across my front and back. trained to guiling first. left some stuff in a hostel there and bussed down to yangshuo, which was infinitely better. rocks jutting out of the landscape, a broad river flowing through, and misty mornings, sunny afternoons, speckled with twenty minute watery deluges. it was really fun. i boated down the river a bit and skipt stones on an outcropping in the middle of the Li. i rented a bike later and biked down an obstensibly unending road through hill-ensconced villages, following the river as far as my legs would take me. which was pretty far. as soon as i got tired of my one direction, i turned around and headed back, meeting some brits who were a bit lost, not that i knew exactly where i was. i helped them find a ferry across and went with them to a little village across the way (fuli)and then biked my way back up to yangshuo while they took a bus (they'd been biking since ten in the morning and one of their bikes broke halfway through. i'd only been on since one.) i'm not sure how much i sweated these past couple days, but it would probably fill a fish tank. and by fish i mean sharks. and by sharks i mean that one humpback whale in star trek 4? where they had a huge tank inside the romulan/klingon ship that held it in place and the whole ship creaked when they brought that much water on board. THAT's how much i sweated. enough water to habituate a whale.
but everyone else was/is sweating too, so it's cool. in the hot sense.
i then went back to guilin, grabbed my crap and got on a sleeper bus to guangzhou (canton.) the sleeper bus was.. fun? i was shunted to the back of the bus where there were four other people and myself sleeping longways, side to side, armpit to armpit, for the entire 14 hour or so ride. i was polite and kept my arms to myself, but the guys to my right and left basically humped me all the way to guangzhou. i had knees in my crotch, elbows in my face, and feet hooking my own. without a girlfriend recently, this is probably the most intimate i've been with another person in a long while. but, all that being said, it was pretty comfortable, if not a little bit on the warm side. close and comfy. i kept slipping down a bit as the bus would suddenly stop and then having to inch myself back up to my former position, as the seat was annoyingly enough reclined to make this possible. moreover, i think we were seated above the busses engine, cuz everytime i tried to shift the blanket beneath me, a blast of warm air would jet through the cracks and make me feel dizzy. quite cozy, indeed. needless to say, i got off the bus to stretch at every possible moment. which was twice.
guangzhou was a big city. it had an ikea, which i waltzed through, remarking to myself that it was the same stuff i saw in shanghai a year ago, but still cute and oddly impractical. but then i don't have a home of my own yet, so i never see a use for any of that kind of shtuff. i sat in a mcdonalds, mainly for the sitdown toilet the opportunity afforded, and saw a bevy of black guys that mildly shocked me. it has been a while since i've seen that many dark-skinned people in one group. you usually see one or two on their own passing through china. i had a couple friends in kunming that were black, and one in shanghai, but black people in china are fairly scarce. not surprising, as one of my friends in kunming was attacked on the street at night by a crazy homeless person, and my friend in shanghai was a foot taller than me and a hundred pounds heavier, so he never had any problems. but really, chinese people NEED to be introduced more to black people than just watching NBA basketball and peeking into fashion magazines. there is a lack of knowledge about african and other black cultures in the world that borders on fear and paranoia. and too many young people here are playing violent video games brought over from america that are teaching them that all black people in the states are violent, sex-crazed drug dealers. such a lack of reliable information here for the populace. just the other day a teacher told me that she couldn't go bungee jumping because her doctor told her her eyes would pop out if she did, because of the shape of her eyes. if that isn't the most ridiculous urban myth i've ever heard... well, i guess there must be more ridiculous ones, i just don't pay them much heed usually. but this teacher was utterly convinced. odd
so yeah, i just got in to xiamen yesterday and am getting set up at the university here. beautiful place. reminds me of gainesville in its heat and lushness and general student atmosphere. i've got some friends i'm hanging out with who i met in kunming, so i'm not alone. i've yet to find a clean looking beach, but they're out there. i'm just going to check out this city for a while, while the school processes my application and helps me get a visa. then i'll get on a plane to the states, planning for the 11th of july right now. and then return back here for septemeber classes. xiamen is an easy prospect, a smaller city. i'm more worried about the prospect of going back to the states. that'll be odd to the point of fear and paranoia as well. i'll be freakin. and not because of the black people either. more because of the prices and the weird social customs i'll encounter. my camera will be snapping constantly, even more so than in china.
i've done my best lately to miss out on the soccer fever here in china, not staying up late nights and watching the crazy teams and their crazy footwork. tho i did see argentina, and that was amazing. not many people can move a soccer ball like they can. i was impressed. but that's about my only impression on the cup, except for watching some koreans chanting crazily at a bar in kunming, the night before i left. they managed to make a cheer out of anything. all were wearing red and all were wild to the point of fear and paranoia. someone said GO TOGO in the back and everyone turned with icy stares. a joke, but not funny, i guess. organized sports bring out the best in people.
well, i should go out and enjoy the sunny afternoon. maybe find a worthwhile beach.
i'll try to add another post before i go back and then post counterposts from the american perspective. i'm hoping i'll notice things about america that only a chinese person might notice, and then be able to bring back those interesting facts here to share with the rest. going to america is less about going home than going away for a while to get a change of culture. i'll let you know what i find.
e
but, nonetheless, i packed up and moved out, dragging a big suitcase and strapping two bags across my front and back. trained to guiling first. left some stuff in a hostel there and bussed down to yangshuo, which was infinitely better. rocks jutting out of the landscape, a broad river flowing through, and misty mornings, sunny afternoons, speckled with twenty minute watery deluges. it was really fun. i boated down the river a bit and skipt stones on an outcropping in the middle of the Li. i rented a bike later and biked down an obstensibly unending road through hill-ensconced villages, following the river as far as my legs would take me. which was pretty far. as soon as i got tired of my one direction, i turned around and headed back, meeting some brits who were a bit lost, not that i knew exactly where i was. i helped them find a ferry across and went with them to a little village across the way (fuli)and then biked my way back up to yangshuo while they took a bus (they'd been biking since ten in the morning and one of their bikes broke halfway through. i'd only been on since one.) i'm not sure how much i sweated these past couple days, but it would probably fill a fish tank. and by fish i mean sharks. and by sharks i mean that one humpback whale in star trek 4? where they had a huge tank inside the romulan/klingon ship that held it in place and the whole ship creaked when they brought that much water on board. THAT's how much i sweated. enough water to habituate a whale.
but everyone else was/is sweating too, so it's cool. in the hot sense.
i then went back to guilin, grabbed my crap and got on a sleeper bus to guangzhou (canton.) the sleeper bus was.. fun? i was shunted to the back of the bus where there were four other people and myself sleeping longways, side to side, armpit to armpit, for the entire 14 hour or so ride. i was polite and kept my arms to myself, but the guys to my right and left basically humped me all the way to guangzhou. i had knees in my crotch, elbows in my face, and feet hooking my own. without a girlfriend recently, this is probably the most intimate i've been with another person in a long while. but, all that being said, it was pretty comfortable, if not a little bit on the warm side. close and comfy. i kept slipping down a bit as the bus would suddenly stop and then having to inch myself back up to my former position, as the seat was annoyingly enough reclined to make this possible. moreover, i think we were seated above the busses engine, cuz everytime i tried to shift the blanket beneath me, a blast of warm air would jet through the cracks and make me feel dizzy. quite cozy, indeed. needless to say, i got off the bus to stretch at every possible moment. which was twice.
guangzhou was a big city. it had an ikea, which i waltzed through, remarking to myself that it was the same stuff i saw in shanghai a year ago, but still cute and oddly impractical. but then i don't have a home of my own yet, so i never see a use for any of that kind of shtuff. i sat in a mcdonalds, mainly for the sitdown toilet the opportunity afforded, and saw a bevy of black guys that mildly shocked me. it has been a while since i've seen that many dark-skinned people in one group. you usually see one or two on their own passing through china. i had a couple friends in kunming that were black, and one in shanghai, but black people in china are fairly scarce. not surprising, as one of my friends in kunming was attacked on the street at night by a crazy homeless person, and my friend in shanghai was a foot taller than me and a hundred pounds heavier, so he never had any problems. but really, chinese people NEED to be introduced more to black people than just watching NBA basketball and peeking into fashion magazines. there is a lack of knowledge about african and other black cultures in the world that borders on fear and paranoia. and too many young people here are playing violent video games brought over from america that are teaching them that all black people in the states are violent, sex-crazed drug dealers. such a lack of reliable information here for the populace. just the other day a teacher told me that she couldn't go bungee jumping because her doctor told her her eyes would pop out if she did, because of the shape of her eyes. if that isn't the most ridiculous urban myth i've ever heard... well, i guess there must be more ridiculous ones, i just don't pay them much heed usually. but this teacher was utterly convinced. odd
so yeah, i just got in to xiamen yesterday and am getting set up at the university here. beautiful place. reminds me of gainesville in its heat and lushness and general student atmosphere. i've got some friends i'm hanging out with who i met in kunming, so i'm not alone. i've yet to find a clean looking beach, but they're out there. i'm just going to check out this city for a while, while the school processes my application and helps me get a visa. then i'll get on a plane to the states, planning for the 11th of july right now. and then return back here for septemeber classes. xiamen is an easy prospect, a smaller city. i'm more worried about the prospect of going back to the states. that'll be odd to the point of fear and paranoia as well. i'll be freakin. and not because of the black people either. more because of the prices and the weird social customs i'll encounter. my camera will be snapping constantly, even more so than in china.
i've done my best lately to miss out on the soccer fever here in china, not staying up late nights and watching the crazy teams and their crazy footwork. tho i did see argentina, and that was amazing. not many people can move a soccer ball like they can. i was impressed. but that's about my only impression on the cup, except for watching some koreans chanting crazily at a bar in kunming, the night before i left. they managed to make a cheer out of anything. all were wearing red and all were wild to the point of fear and paranoia. someone said GO TOGO in the back and everyone turned with icy stares. a joke, but not funny, i guess. organized sports bring out the best in people.
well, i should go out and enjoy the sunny afternoon. maybe find a worthwhile beach.
i'll try to add another post before i go back and then post counterposts from the american perspective. i'm hoping i'll notice things about america that only a chinese person might notice, and then be able to bring back those interesting facts here to share with the rest. going to america is less about going home than going away for a while to get a change of culture. i'll let you know what i find.
e
