Chinese New Year: A Poem

Grandma's lovin' that mahjong

On the night of New Year, all was loud in the home.
The adults played Mahjong and children were left to roam.

Tangyuan

While Ma cooked tangyuan and the sky began to glow,
we had just settled down to watch the CCTV New Year's show.

Fireworks. Lots and lots of fireworks.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but songs for great China and a happy, healthy new year.

They cooked the veggies just for me. I felt so high-maintenance.

After the traditions, they still played mahjong
and the lawai was given a bed to sleep on.

I've heard rumors of these beds.
This was my first time actually sleeping on one.

Adding this to the list of unexpected places she's slept,
she reflected on her year and good memories she's kept.

Memories of family, and friends, and the city, Monterey.
Looking forward to this year, this month, and a new day.

The next day, had the worst smog I've seen in China so far.
You can almost see the skyscrapers 2 blocks away.

 

Masochist

“In the U.S., certainly you’re going to learn things every time you walk out of the door, but it won’t be as painful.” – Corrie Robb, US State Department

IST, In-Service Training, is something that most PC China volunteers look forward to. IST is a reunion with our training group, the group that became a small family over the summer. It also marks the last time until our Close-of-Service conference that people in every region will be in one location.

HUGS!

It comes after the completion of one semester. For many volunteers, that semester has included first Thanksgivings/Hanukkahs/Christmases/New Years away from home. At this point, we’ve been in China a full 6 months. Almost 7.

My belly hurt and this was the only position that made it feel bearable.
Instead of asking questions, Jon joined me.

Apart from the reunion aspect, we are also given time and guidance in processing our experiences and evaluating our teaching. We are taught, like all good teachers grow to instinctively do, to evaluate, revise, and reevaluate.

We also had some guest speakers from the embassy. Ambassador Gary Locke came to say a final farewell, as he has resigned from his ambassador post because his daughter wanted to spend her senior year in Seattle. Corrie Robb was another guest speaker. He has studied Chinese history and culture for years and he says that he is only beginning to understand bits and pieces. He spoke early in the week and his lecture gave me so much to think about.

Every time I learn new facts about Chinese history and culture, I have to revise my previous thoughts. Revise. I feel like I’ve been constantly revising my ideas.

I’ve been reading a book by Peter Hessler about China: Oracle Bones. Revise.

I recommend it.

Other sessions I attended were titled “Women in China” and “Current Events in China.” Revise.

One common theme that is constantly reiterated when learning about China is the long Chinese History. This history is divided by different dynasties, but unlike the Romans, Ottomans, and Byzantines and other empires in Western history, China views each dynasty as part of one long, continuing history. With each new dynasty, came a massive death toll.

This picture is taken from Understanding China through Comics  by Jing Liu.
Can you imagine 95 million people dying? How about 71% of the population dying?

China has multiple ethnic groups, as I’ve mentioned before. Han people are the majority, yet there has only been one Han dynasty. All others were ruled by minority groups and outsiders. China’s long history is filled with invasion from outside forces. The Opium War didn’t help skepticism towards foreigners at all.

Revise. These two pieces of history have given me so much to chew on the past few weeks. Revise. And this is only the tip of iceberg.

We see the world through lenses. These lenses are built through our experiences and stories we’ve been taught or told. It is not comfortable to build new lenses, to be in a state of constant revision. I’m finding that I thrive on this discomfort. I feel more patient. I feel more sympathetic. Say what you want, but I like the pain.

Sanya: The Hawaii of China

Let me tell you, after a month or two of cold and fog, sun is priceless.

Once upon a time, a group of foreigners boarded a plane in Chongqing. With dreams of beaches and sunshine in our heads, we arrived in Sanya. The airport bathroom was crowded with people stripping off layers of long underwear.

I had thought that Chinese tour groups were only something for foreigners in a foreign land.I’m so naïve.

But we are foreigners in a foreign land.
It makes sense.

 From the moment we arrived, I was part of a tour group. Those of you who have traveled with me probably know how I felt about that one. The other foreigners in my group were even less enthusiastic than me. Our poor guide.

Cindy, our guide, was so patient and so kind with our rowdy bunch. 
Herding cats is not extreme enough to explain how difficult it must have been for her.

Cindy took us around Sanya.

She took us to the beach.
Note all the umbrellas.

She took us to Monkey Island.
We saw many things, but no monkeys.

We went scuba diving.

We climbed trees.

Everything was beautiful, but something was off. All of the parks we visited looked like they had been built within the past 10 years. It was like being in Disney Land without the rides. Except one day we were told that we would hike a mountain and the vehicle we rode to the top of the mountain. That was a little like a ride.

Maybe it's because Sanya is a typical tourist destination. Maybe it's because we were part of a tour group. It is going to be a mission of mine in this new year to find real bits of China. 

One evening in Sanya we went for a walk. We drank coconut water at a corner stand and then stumbled upon an outdoor night market. This felt real. Maybe even tourist cities have realness woven in. Maybe reality only comes out at night. Maybe I need to be more observant and take a deeper look at all things. 

Question the madness.
Group upon group was filing through this endless maze, without asking questions.
We were rebels, after the first minute.

Personal Hygiene

When I was a kid, my dad used to let my brother and me race to see who could take the quickest shower. At the time, it seemed like a really good game. It was so much fun that I still remember it. Looking back, I see that he probably just didn’t want us to waste so much time. He’s also pretty cheap, so he likely viewed it as an added bonus that we were using less water.

Showers over the years have become more mundane. You hop in, get clean, and hop out. Sometimes you might even get distracted and sing a song or two or, in my case, add to a to-do list. China has changed me into the child I once was. Two days ago, I showered in 3.25 minutes. Yesterday I got it down to 3.

I tried to find a picture of my bathroom to give you a visual.
I could only find this picture of the dead bird on my shower window.
I'll take a picture as soon as I'm back in Beibei.

You might be wondering, “Why, Keri Ann, would you be interested in such a short shower?” Well, my friend, let me tell you about a little thing called warmth. This is something that I do not get to experience much of any more. On the bright side, it has turned showers into the competitive adventure they once were.

I begin my almost-daily ritual by going for a run. This heats up my body. If I’m not sweating, then I don’t get to go home. I run until I’m stripping off layers. Once I have achieved this body temperature, I quickly run home as to not lose it. I walk through my door and immediately remove any remaining clothing. If I have forgotten to close my curtains then I say a quick prayer that my neighbors do not happen to be looking in my windows at this precise moment.

I then step onto one tile. If I do not move my feet then that specific spot on the tile heats up and I can feel my feet again. I turn on the water. If it is freezing, then I turn it off and turn it on again. My water heater usually takes a few tries to actually turn on. Once the tepid water touches my outstretched hand, the race begins. Quick rinse, suds, body wash, final rinse. My hands move so fast that I frequently feel like I’m wasting my time teaching when I should really be honing my ninja skills.

I need more of this.

Once the water is turned off, and I’m wrapped in my towel, I strategically take one step with my left foot, being sure to only touch the ground with the font part of my foot. I learned this from my cat. Then I swing open the door and stretch my right leg just long enough to reach my slipper. I then slide my left foot into its slipper and stop the clock.

Dad should be proud.