Another Holiday

Today is the third day of the third month on the solar calendar. Apparently it's the day that you eat boiled eggs. Our dear gate-keeper's wife made sure that I got in on the tradition. Yesterday, she told me that I should come at noon today and she would have a small dish prepared for me. So, today at noon, I brought over a spoon, and some banana bread for Tang Aiyi (Aunt). She uncovered the mysterious soup and took out some of the green herbs that were stewing within. The main ingredients of the soup were 3 boiled eggs, a handful of dried dates, sugar, and some herbs. She told me that she also put some medicine in the soup, but she didn't tell me what kind of medicine it was.

Horses

A few week-ends ago, I posted some pictures of the kites. I forgot to mention that there were also horses out on this day. I don't know what the horses were for. I think you could probably pay money and ride them.

Classmates

Here's a picture of my classmates during a break. I love my classmates. We have a very positive atmosphere in our class. I don't know if I've been in such a diverse, dynamic and encouraging classroom setting before. The people in this picture are either Indonesian, Korean, or Japanese. Can you guess who is from where?

Friends

A few weeks ago, the weather was great. My Chinese friend and I walked to an island here in Changsha. The island is not officially opened yet, so it's free. The rumor is that as soon as the island officially opens in May, the ticket price will be 100 kuai.

Footbath

3/07/09: The past few nights, when I’ve walked by our gate keepers little room, I notice that his friend, who is also the maintenance man for our apartment complex, is giving himself a foot bath in a big orange bucket. I have seen this situation among other men as well…especially men who seem to be in the service industry. I’m not sure why I find this foot bath so interesting…maybe it’s because I feel like it’s a pretty intimate thing to be giving yourself a foot bath in public.

I had this experience once last winter when Hunan had “the snow disaster” as our students called it. I had traveled on the train from Hengyang to Changsha. There was no heat, and it felt like only wood planks separated my feet from the cold, winter winds as our train zipped along the rural terrain. By the time I got to my friends’ house in Changsha, my feet were numb. As soon as my friend greeted me, I asked if I could please soak my feet in their bathtub before going to have supper together.

I think foot baths are more popular here in the winter, because one’s feet get so cold that warm water is the only way to get the blood circulating again. On a related note, our Chinese teacher, told us that Changsha is known for having great foot massages. He said that there is a joke that Beijing is the face of China, but Changsha is the foot of China. I have seen several of these foot massage places here in Changsha. For only 10 kuai, you can have your feet soaked, rubbed, clipped, etc. And, the foot rubs here are not exclusive to the feet. Usually during a foot massage, the masseuse also gives you a back, arm, and leg massage.

Picture

This picture is from the "party" our school gave the foreign students. Does it look like a party? Yeah--it's not really. It should be called a welcome performance instead of a welcome party.

Diversion

This past week, I've had some social event going on every single night. Needless to say, I'm tired.
Right now, it's a Friday night, and I'm curled up with a few books, a notebook, and my computer. It's only 9:00, and my eyes are already at half-mast. I don't know why I went so hard this week, but I think it might be related to this idea of staying busy so I won't have to think about deeper life issues. I was reading some from Blaise Pascal's Pensees. I think his idea about diversions is mostly correct. He writes, "Diversion: Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things(37)." He goes on to explain, "The only good thing for men therefore is to be diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their mind off it, or by some novel and agreeable passion which keeps them busy, like gambling, hunting, some absorbing show, in short by what is called diversion" (38).

In my case, I'm not so easily diverted by gambling or hunting, but I simply cannot figure out how not to be so busy, and I'm already well into my 20's. Especially recently, I've been packing as much as possible into a day. Sure, I feel tired and exhausted by noon, but I also feel unable to back out of anything previously arranged. I think I'm for sure running from something, but I'm just not sure what.

About the same

The other day, I went with one of my American teacher friends to get a back massage in one of the special and reputeable massage places in Changsha. This company has a lot of blind massage workers who are trained in how to use pressure points and massage techniques to help you their patient with sickness, pulled muscles, headaches, etc. Usually, I go with my foreign friend who is really fluent in Chinese, and I'm the one who listens to her chat it up with the massage people. But this time, I was with a different friend who is an English teacher and not fluent in Chinese, so I had the upper hand on the Chinese level. It was pretty cool to be in this position and I surprised even myself on the amount of topics I was able to discuss with the blind massage workers. I told them all about Mexican food, South Dakota weather, studying Chinese, etc. They also shared their experiences of having a foreign friend from Canada and they wanted to know about the economic crisis in America. At one point, the massage person who was giving my friend the massage said something about her being a little fat. Then, he reached over to feel my arm as well and said, "cha bu duo" which means "about the same" as in we had about the same fatness. I know that we my friend and I are not fat. . .we are normal sized and healthy. The Hunan people in comparison, are just really small, especially the Hunan women. You know how they say some women are shaped like an apple or a pear, well I would compare most of the Hunan women to a stick or a cactus.

The secret teller

Have you ever met one of those people who always seems to be telling a secret to the other person they are talking to? You know the type: they are always kind of saying something under their breath, and either tilting their head down, or using their hand to shield their lip movement from the broader public. Their eyes are intense and there would appear to be a serious urgency in their message.

I often feel a little paranoid around these people when I see them in the corner relaying some secret information to their friend. I wonder what or who they are talking about. But, then I think back to previous conversations that I have had with this same secret teller, and realize that the information he / she was sharing was really pretty ordinary and unexciting. Something like, "I heard the weather forecast is supposed to be bad tomorrow," or "I got this purse for only 20 bucks on a spring clearance sale." And, they were saying this information in the same secretive way, speaking barely loud enough that I could hear them and looking around with shifty eyes making sure no one was eavesdropping. At the time, I probably felt special that I was the receiver of exclusive information and intense attention. But, when I realize that it's a general communication principle for this person, it takes away some of the specialness.

It's quite puzzling why people interact in this way. Maybe it's carried over from childhood when everything seemed more exciting when it was told as a secret. Or maybe this person previously had a really stressful and high security job. In my opinion, I think it's a little strange, and it makes other people paranoid, i.e. myself. I also think that secret tellers might unknowingly exclude other people from joining in a riveting conversation about the weather or the great sales.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Today was beautiful. Apparently, flying kites is all the rage right now. It looked like a kite flying carnival out there.

China Day

I woke up, keenly aware
That this day was different.
Not a drop of rain to be heard
and the sun already gaining strength for the day.
The air, fresh and strong, breezing through my window.

I want to walk until my legs fall off
I can't get enough Of China today.
Of fluffy comforters draped over bushes and cars.
Of dads, sons, and grandpas flying rental kites.
Of freshman students excitedly biking in packs along the river.
Of snacks on sticks and fried food smells
Of old men fishing from the recently replenished river

In many ways, I feel like I've stepped back 5 decades.
And yet, I can't get enough of China today.

Traffic Jam

On this small street, all it took was one over-sized vehicle to slow down the flow.

A busy street in Changsha

Get it fresh!

The other day,I happened to notice how incredibly different a busy street in China feels than a busy street in America. This particular street has a lot of small Chinese shops and fresh produce stops. I love it how the lady is not at all phased by the fish in front of her nose as she slurps her noodles.

Welcoming Party

In only two weeks, we have an exciting event here on our campus. It's the semester Welcoming Party for new students. The welcoming party, ironically enough, happens about one month after we have all been studying at the University. Also, the main event of the "party" is the foreign students performing some small act or song on stage while the others watch from auditorium like seating. This is clearly unlike any party I have gone to in the States. I'm not sure if I will perform anything or not this semester. Then again, I might contribute to the party, by being a chair warmer in the auditorium.

Chinese Birthday Cake

This is a picture of my team-mate Rachel with a Chinese Birthday Cake. I'd like to point out a few qualities of the Chinese Birthday cake.

Chinese Birthday cakes are wonderful in appearance. They look like a slice out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Factory. The cakes are made with a fluffy and airy sponge like middle, and beautiful frill frill flowers and frosting on the outside. You might notice that it looks a little bit like a wedding cake with the pink detail work on the side. . . this is double pretty for you. I might add that the cake itself is not that good, although the frosting is quite enjoyable. Another positive point about the cakes here: I can eat a piece of Chinese cake and not notice it at all in comparison to the way I feel after eating a piece of rich, dense American cake.