Yangshuo

I've always been surprised that I was drawn to China. I have been known to breeze past Asian-inspired food, history, art, decor etc...even when I knew that I'd be coming here, I was quickly bored when Mom wanted to linger in the Asian Art wing of the Met during our NYC vacation. I worried when I arrived about how I would decorate my apartment using only Chinese prints and fabrics.

After trips to both the massive Three Gorges and now to the karst scenery of Yangshuo, that boredom has passed. When you see the limestone peaks that protrude straight up out of the ground with no warning, you know that only Chinese art can come close to capturing the grandeur. I am hesitant to post pictures because they simply will not do the scenery justice.

Seeing the peaks reminded me of the earthquake scene from The Land Before Time, when cliffs spike forth out of the ground to the sound of cymbal crashes and screeching violins. I don't quite remember much of the film, but looking at Yangshuo, I felt sure that something like that must have happened here.

There were several moments of awe and wonder that struck Fawn and I--both relatively measured and even cynical girls--during our trip. The first occurred sometime between 5 and 7:30 Thursday morning, as we rode the bus from Guilin to Yangshuo. The sun began to lighten the sky slowly until, glancing out the window, we could see the peaks set in dark against the sky. Is was as if, boom!, we were in another world. The previous one of Wuhan haze and industrial filth and cramming and tight trains and cigarette smoke melted away and this new one was edged with green topped cliffs and clear rivers and warm sunshine.

The second major "wow" moment came on the Yu Long River. We floated through the scenery filmed in the movie The Painted Veil and that also appears on the back of China's 20 yuan bill. All of a sudden, a collective gasp went up from the boat. I hate to admit it, but I think that I may have grabbed Fawn's hand in my rapturous state. There, as we rounded a bend in the river, was a massive yellow moon emerging from behind one of the peaks. It was still low and heavy in the sky and looked close enough to touch from the pinnacle of the nearest peak. We shot pictures but none of them show the awesomeness of that moon. I've never seen it that large--it inspired me to do a quick Google to see if the moon is actually larger in China. I never did find out, but for now, I'm saying that it is!

As for the rest of the week, we perfected our bargaining skills on Xie Jie, the main strip of Yangshuo that overflows with kitschy Chinese souvenirs; we enjoyed relatively well-done Western Food, including hamburgers, pizza and the best Sunday brunch that I've had in a long time; we made friends with travelers from Beijing, Greece, Scotland, Germany and Canada; we rented bikes and rode through "Faamas Weeliges" (we pronounce them as Farmers' Villages") and climbed mountains, even following the footsteps of our "king" Richard Nixon, who visited here on his historic journey to the East; we burned permanent memories of our time in China into our wrists (just wait for pictures!); we shared our overly analytical observations of life and people and ourselves with each other; we took naps and slept in; we posed for the obligatory photos with Chinese children and middle-aged men; we met Fawn's incredible friend John who works in an orphanage here; we ate some more; shopped some more; and had a great, relaxing time.

Fawn is leaving for America in less than two weeks and I can't really express how bummed I am about that. She was a perfect traveling mate--smart and obsessed with figuring people out, incredibly hilarious, a ham in front of the camera, filled with spiritual depth and intuition, and just one of those really fun and spirited people who are perfect to spend a full day, or several full days, with. We're hoping that she'll return to China in a semester or two...but we'll have to see what His plans end up being for her, so I'm trying not to pout or try too hard to persuade her to stay. For now, I'm going to miss having a travel buddy who I know I'm compatible with.

I'll post photos as soon as Fawn and I do the exchange--and hopefully will even have video coverage for the true fans out there. Coming Soon! If you click on Fawn's blog--she'll probably have her account posted pretty soon--so you can read her version of the week! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Running from Thanksgiving

There are things that we don't do here. We don't talk about the food that we miss. We don't reminisce over family traditions, our favorite ways to relax on a Sunday afternoon or the best place to find a wide open highway to speed down in your car. Ok...by "we," I mean "I."

It's just a mistake. You start thinking about home--and before you know it, you're crying in a McDonalds as you order a Big Mac (hasn't happened to me yet--but could). Instead, you focus on life NOW, here, in China. And life here is fabulous. It's magical. It's new. It's vibrant. It's thrilling!

And then Thanksgiving comes and smacks you in the face. Everyone at home is preparing for time with family, great food and the comfort of yearly/generational traditions. And suddenly it's a little harder to remember how much I love it here. And suddenly I feel that maybe my family needs me to be home. And suddenly I miss turkey--and my family doesn't even EAT turkey on Thanksgiving--we don't like it that much, so we grill steaks instead!

So--I'm practicing the age old avoidance tactic of denial! Fawn and I are leaving tomorrow afternoon for Yangshuo, where we will spend 4 days among the stunning limestone karst peaks and rice fields along the Li River. Yangshuo is an international backpacking colony near Guilin (it's in the South of China--so it should be fairly warmish). We will live fabulous lives in China and completely forget all that we are missing at home. There are plenty of foreigners gathering in Wuhan to celebrate Thanksgiving together, but I think that since nothing can compare to real home, we might as well make use of the time off from teaching (our schools give us Tgiving and Friday off in deference to our culture).

I'll be sure to take plenty of pics to share when I return! If you want to get an idea of what we'll be seeing, type "yangshuo" into Google Image Search and feel incredibly jealous of me while you eat turkey and watch the Cowboys. I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Until my next post, here are some pics from the past month or so for your enjoyment!

A student gave me these slippers and I wear them almost everyday now--the apt floors get really cold!

"Here, feel it kick.."

Just kidding--the backpack is filled with all those sweet potatoes for the mashed sweet potatoes that Fawn and I made for our last Wuhani gathering.

Me and the D's (one of my PhD classes--we spent a Saturday afternoon touring a bunch of empty buildings--it was when I got to know many of them)

"I've got JOY like a fountain" with Adam on a Tuesday evening Celebration meeting

Ok--these pics will need an explanation! One afternoon, Adam, Jeremy and I were invited to go to a National Day Celebration with the Governor of the Hubei Province. On the way--I was informed that I'd be receiving an award! A former teacher of our university was being honored, but since she had already left the country, I accepted the award on her behalf.

I've been here 2 months and already have been honored by the Governor.

"I'd like to thank the Academy..."

From Honors to Lizards:

This darling creature was IN MY APARTMENT! I'm not even going to try to be cool about this--I freaked out. I live on the 5th floor! How did a lizard/newt/salamander get into my apartment??? I screamed when I saw it and Adam, man that he is, stomped on the thing. It was awful--his first stomp didn't do the job (man that he is)--so he had to keep stomping to put it out of its misery. Hopefully, no animal rights activists are reading right now! To be fair, I may have yelled for Adam to kill it---but seriously, a girl can't be held responsible for her shrieks when there are lizards in her apartment.

Descriptive Paragraphs

My English Writing class was assigned two paragraphs a few weeks ago. They were to pick one object and write an objective description with one paragraph--using facts only. Then they were to write a subjective description of that object--sharing how they feel about the object, memories, associations etc...

These didn't really follow the directions, but I thought they were beautiful anyway. I have a few poets in my class--it's a shame that our activities have nothing to do with creative writing. I'm supposed to prepare them to write academic/professional articles for publication in scientific/agricultural journals. But still, the poets work their way into the class, it seems. Here you go (typed in original grammar):

Monkey

As we know, monkey should live in the forests, but I saw it in the street. It was a small ,brown and ferocious monkey. There was a rope tied around its neck. Many people were playing with it . They gave it a bottle of water but the bottle’s cap was shut tightly . The monkey wanted to drink, however couldn’t get. So he shouted and jumped , and the around people were laughing aloud.
Saw it. I think the monkey is lovely but pitiful. It’s only a toy of the people and a tool of making monkey. They had lost their natural personality. That says the monkeys are no longer monkeys.


A landscape painting

There was a landscape painting in my bedroom and it was a beautiful picture. Mountains, sea and sky made up into a fresh scene. The painting was full of blue and green colour. Of course, that’s the colour of life. So many sea gulls circled in the air, and it looked as if they were enjoyed liberty.
If I was the gull, good feeling would come out soon. As opened my eyes slowly and looked around, I had noticed where the light come into my room. After then listened carfully to see if there were any new sounds surroundding me. Suddently, I filled with my body and sensed the freshess in the air. Yes, it’s a bright day ,and also it’s a new beginning for my life.

Odds and Ends

Many apologies for the delay in posting--sometimes it's just the day-to-day and more important to live life than write about it. My thoughts are scattered these days--it probably means that I'm avoiding laundry or some other responsibility...

So here's what's been happening lately:

Halloween--This was a fun holiday to share with my students. I dressed up like a witch for each class and handed out candy--we watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and looked at pics of Halloweens past that my mom was gracious enough to email me. Sometimes you forget how charmed American life is--and then you explain that as a child you dressed up as princesses and angels (and all the other stuff) and went to every house in your neighborhood til you had a bag bulging full of candy. I think my students had fun.

Yichang Girls Retreat--Sisters from all over Hubei gathered in Yichang (5 hours from here by bus) last weekend for a few days of fellowship, conversation and Celebration. We focused on "Becoming Virtuous Women" like the one in Prov 31. I was the guest speaker Friday night and shared a lesson on "The Ideal Woman"--which I am OBVIOUSLY more than qualified to discuss! Hahaha! Seriously, there were about 50 girls in all from Enshi, Shiyan, Wuhan, Yichang, Danjankou etc...and I am amazed at the organization, creativity and patience of Beth and Amy in Yichang--who hosted the weekend. I think everyone had a really uplifting time. Many Thanks to Him for that!

Living History--As I've been getting closer to my students, I'm beginning to hear fascinating stories of their lives during the past decades. My PhD's are a treasure chest of information--one student shared his story of living for 3 years as a child in caves in the mountains--his family had been rich landowners and his grandfather fought on the wrong side of the civil war--so when the government changed, they were in danger. They hid out for 3 years and then lived in a shack for 10 years after. Another student had a grandfather who was a teacher during the CR, so when the students rose up against the authorities--he was attacked. He had a mental breakdown during that time (common for many during the CR), and he never quite recovered. He passed away a few weeks ago.

This is all very cryptic, I know....I can only share bits and pieces online. All this is just to say, read up on Chinese History of the past 60 years or so. It blows my mind--and now that I have people who are sharing with me their stories, I can't get it out of my head. I'll tell you all the rest when I come home to visit or something!

Celebrating Single Men--tomorrow China celebrates National Single Men Festival (this is how my students translated it--not sure if that's the actual title). It's every Nov. 11--so it's on 11/11, get it! It is the day when all of China's single men join together for a big meal and lots of alcohol to celebrate their bachelorhood. Why would this be a national holiday? Hmmm....maybe it's to make up for the fact that due to a certain period of history, there is an age bracket of youngish people with 50 million more men than women! (Again, these are my students numbers, Lonely Planet says 23 million) It's called the "bachelor bomb." Guess they should have thought that through before they drowned all those baby girls, huh. So I guess this is China's way of saying, "oh, we're sorry we killed off all your potential wives as babies. Have a drink, on us....not really, it's on you." I've been warned not to eat alone tomorrow night--all that alcohol and machismo could be a little taxing.

Sooo...that's everything for now. Things continue to be generally wonderful...sure, there are days when all I want is a Jersey Mike's sub sandwich and days when I wonder how Effective I'm being at my Purpose...but as a whole, this is all just a good fit for me. I love my new friends, I love the Connections that keep happening, I love seeing how BIG my Father is. I can't imagine anything better.

That said, I love and miss all of you at home like crazy. I am Lifting you Up all the time. Have a Happy Bachelor's Day!

Façade

As a Waigoren living in China, you quickly learn that there is one necessity needed on all outings into the city that is as important to a year-long tourist as a good pair of walking shoes or travel-sized hand sanitizer--it is a state of mind, perhaps an apathy, a distance or just indifference to the visual chaos surrounding you. Step outside the apartment gate and the entire world, on some days, can seem to attack your eyes. Indecipherable characters, graphics that in no way relate to their advertised product (why is a fat man with a baseball bat on the packaging to my chocolate cookies?), building after overcrowded building spilling out into tiny alleyways that have no directional rhyme or reason, face after strange face staring at you on the bus, on the street, in the market, everywhere....it can be a bit much for two little eyes to take in all at once. Especially if you haven't had your coffee or coca-cola fix in a while.

If you don't keep your wits about you, it can feel as if you're standing on a street corner with the whole world spinning around you in a distorted panorama of funhouse-mirror swirls. There's a panic that can arise deep in your chest, a lump in your throat, a pain against the base of your skull that is caused by nothing other than looking down a street and seeing absolutely nothing familiar to the eyes. Your eyes dart from one image to the next in rapid succession--searching in vain for something they can identify--anything that, when they shoot it to the brain, will return a response of a word, a definition, a memory, an understanding. When they do come across that something--they seize on the image, soaking it in, proud to show off the awesome one-two punch of the visual-cognitive process that we so often ignore.

It's what we call "a sight for sore eyes."

And it was in search of such a sight that I hopped off my bus two miles ahead of my stop several days ago. Weeks before, a wayward taxi brought me home via an obscure route--much to my annoyance at the time. The meter was already 7 kwai more than usual and I was seething at the delay when all of a sudden--my eyes were arrested by an entire row of familiar looking stores outside my window. And these weren't the chinese-attempting-to-seem-western-enough-to-be-trendy stores that fill the shopping areas of Hankou (the downtownish part of Wuhan), these were real Western stores. Sure, I didn't recognize the names--but they looked like anything you'd see in Nashville along West End Blvd--cute little independent shops and restaurants that have a great 'walk in off the street' vibe.

There was a Joe's Bar, Sylvia's Patisserie, a Cleaners, Red Rose Beauty Salon, a Mocha Coffee, Sports Goods, Stationer, and Le Lotus Bleu Bar and Restaurant. They had decorated storefront windows and individual entrances. The store signs used simple, elegant fonts and clean imagery--no Chinese characters. A boardwalk path and iron park benches completed the ambiance. My heart lept while my eyes tried to soak it all in as we sped past.

It seemed I had found an oasis. But I tried to temper the rush of excitement and discoverer's pride with a hard dose of cynicism. After all, there are over 50 Americans in Wuhan through our program, and they instantly shared with us the Western get-aways that exist throughout the city--Mr Mais coffeeshop that serves great tacos and lattes, Giano's American/Italian restaurant, Aloha Hawaiian restaurant, Metro, Wal-Mart, and Carrefour shopping plexes etc... It was unlikely that they would not have already found this place. Plus, there are plenty of places in Wuhan that pose as Western-style restaurants or shopping areas but are as American as Wendy's mandarin salad bowl combos are Chinese.

So when I had some free time on a Friday evening and couldn't stomach going an inch further on my sardine-crammed bus, I squeezed my way off the bus and began walking toward what I was hoping would be my western Mecca. It was a lovely fall night and my path took me down a tree-lined street that ran alongside one of Wuhan's many lakes. I could see my destination on the other side of the lake, the storefronts casting a golden glow on the water. I daydreamed of Joe's Bar being run by a friendly American grandfather type, serving sub sandwiches to ex-pats who just wanted a place "where everybody knows your name." After a brisk 25 minute walk, I was there.

My eyes felt that same relief of gazing at something known, familiar, definable. They rested on the shops and I felt peaceful. My pace slowed to a stroll--I wanted to savor this discovery. I ambled up to the first shop, the Patisserie--the door was locked, it must have closed for the evening. No matter--I'll just look in the window, I thought. But no, it turns out the windows were more like display cases--there was a wall that closed them off to the rest of the store. I moved down the street.

Store after store--locked. Window after window--enclosed. It was only 6:30--but Joe's was dark. Hmmm--I guess I'll have to come back during the daytime. Then I looked closer.

At Christmas time in the States--department stores decorate their shelves with Christmas presents. Do you remember as a child the first time you realized that they weren't real? Underneath the shiny wrapping and curled ribbon was a styrofoam cube. Or in the bakery section of Kroger, did you ever dare that one time to stick your finger into the icing of the displayed wedding cake, only to rub plastic? For the sports fans--you know the way you felt when you heard of Sammy Sosa's corked bat, or McGuire's steroid use (I don't know what I'm talking about here)? For music fans--when you found out that Milli Vanilli was lip-syncing...

I was prepared for the possibility that these stores would use a Western look to market their Chinese product. I was not prepared for blatant fraud.

It took a few seconds for it to all sink in. My oasis, my beautiful, urban shopping street was a sham. The doors led to nothing. There was nothing but a hard concrete wall behind those window displays. Nothing. Taking a step back, both literally and mentally, I looked around and began to piece things together. The background of the street, which I had ignored until this point came into sharp focus. There it was--I was standing in front of a high-class apartment complex called Le Park...the elaborate entrance to which was made to resemble a typical street in the US or Europe.

I felt like I had been slapped in the face. My eyes were suddenly stinging with tears. I was hurt, silly and a little ashamed. Why would they do this to me? I had believed in this place--I had hoped in it. Why had I let myself be fooled? How could they justify this?

And then I got mad. How dare they! The fakes, the liars, the cheats! I wanted to spraypaint SHAM! and CHARLATAN! and other more un-printable words in graffiti across their elegant sans serif store signs. I wanted to start an LA-style riot and throw bricks through the windows. I felt duped, hosed and swindled. And I wanted revenge.

Ohhhhhh....China.

There's a quote from somewhere that I've always remembered: "What happens to the broken-hearted? They move on, baby." And of course, so did I. I turned around and made my walk back along the lake until I could hail a taxi to bring me home. And in reality, I suppose that I'm glad that globalism hasn't spread its tentacles all over my city with Western enclaves at every corner. I suppose that I like going for blocks without seeing anything reminiscent of home. I suppose that this is something that I actually moved to China to experience. I suppose.

Once back on campus, I went to a street-restaurant and ordered chao fan (fried rice) for dinner. The cook is an older, white haired man who likes to hear me try to speak Chinese. He always says enthusiastically "ok! ok! ok!" when I order. And this time--he remembered my name.

Finally posting pics--Yangtze River Cruise

I thought I'd finally share some images from my travels through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze! Hope you enjoy!

Our cruise ship, the Yun Xiu. We spent most of our time on the top deck (after paying 30 yuan for the privilege--ahhh, holiday inflation). Our cabin was on the second level.
Posing at the front of the ship--right after doing a fine rendition of "My heart will go on."
Notice the house beneath the cliffs
V is for Victory--what you don't see in this pic is all the Chinese behind the camera taking pics of us. From left to right: Rachel, Virginia and me.
check out the ancient stairs leading to the cave:

Creepy night vision of a temple we visited--unfortunately, most of the inside has been rebuilt--everything in China is a replica of something that was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. I think this front gate was authentic though.

A suspended coffin:
The whole crew on our Sheenong Stream excursion: Rachel and Justin, me and Virginia


A riverside town: the 175 M sign indicates how high the river will rise once the Three Gorges Dam (the largest in the world) completely closes its gates. We are so grateful to have seen the Gorges before it's all underwater.

If you want to see all my pics from the trip (there are some really good ones, I promise!) just click on this link to see my facebook photo album!

http://lipscomb.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023416&l=edbaf&id=147800610

In Autumn the air smells like sweet potatoes.

Vendors sit at street corners, they line alleyways, they gather in store entrances with their blackened metal trash cans. Inside you can see the warming glow of coals and hear the slight crackle of potato skins. One roasted sweet potato is 1.5 yuan. They hand the steaming bundle to you in a thin plastic bag and it almost burns your hand. You peel away the skin--free to toss the peels on the ground like peanut shells at Logans. At the market, you must watch your step like a cartoon character looking out for banana peels. You eat the potato like you would an apple--use the bag to protect against stickiness, hold it in both hands to stay warm. If it's late in the evening, you bring one home and mash it with honey and black sugar for dessert.


The communist party must announce the arrival of Autumn. All the world is summer; the days are hot, the girls wear short sleeves, the buses blow air conditioning. Then SWITCH!...FALL. In one day--corn appears for the first time in the market, sweet candied apples are sold on skewers, the wind blows cold, the sky turns misty and you shiver in your bed. Bright dresses are replaced with muted sweaters, wool blankets fill store shelves that once held room fans and ice trays.


With the first glimpse of what 'cold' means in Wuhan, we are all preparing to nest. I bought coffee mugs, oatmeal and hot water bottles...Jeremy bought a couch and area rug...today I might try to find some large comfy chairs. We are watching the shelves every day for electric blankets to appear for sale. If winter descends with the same suddenness as autumn, we want to be ready.


It is with this season change that I'm seeing a new difference between my US life and my China life. A life of transitions from thermostat-controlled apartments to a heated/cooled car to a thermostat-controlled office, back to car, stop at heated grocery store on way home, back to apartment....didn't leave much room for noticing the seasons. Nor did having a produce section that supplied any fruit or vegetable I could want all year round. Here, I eat what is in season while I can and feel the elements walking and biking around campus, in the unheated classroom, at the busstop, walking around the city, shopping at the outdoor market--pretty much everywhere except the two rooms of my apartment that have heating/cooling units.


As much as I love this country, I still find myself creating little tricks to escape when needed. I watch my DVDs of Friends every now and then. Bruce Springsteen plays almost constantly on my iTunes (his new album, Magic, is PERFECT. I can't stop listening to it. Here's a great review of it from NYT). I keep Oreos, coke and peanut butter stocked in the kitchen.


I suppose that snug in my little American haven, I just might make it through the long Chinese winter.