Dec 12/ 08- Being Back Home

Being Back @ Home Korea
December 12, 2008

It's been five days since I got out of China, and a recent email from Emily captures my sentiments rather accurately:
"Home still feels pretty familiar. But at the same time, I kind of feel like I'm acting my life here, not really living it; the whole thing is just surreal." (sorry I did not ask for author's permission before printing this- and Emiliy I will respond to you soon sorry- been hectic lately:)
Since getting back home on Monday night, I've been spending the last few days with Zoe and Kyuri looking around various palaces, temples, galleries and other tourist places (another yak on this coming soon) and after Zoe left yesterday morning, went out with my Korean friends for a night. Perhaps it's the fact that I was still with two Dragons alums and visiting tourist sites (with a Lonely Planet for Korea in my hand), but as Emily wrote, I cannot get over how both familiar and surreal living at home feels.
Zoe was joking about how her stay in Korea was a kind of "an extension of the Dragons program. I feel like I'm doing an urban homestay at a minority village," (thanks Zoe, I'm just another Chinese minority :p ) and Kyuri couldn't stop repeating in her singy voice: "JY, I can't get over the fact that we're done with the Dragons." I responded that we're done with the Dragons and it's time to start new life, but I'm realizing I'm having difficulties moving on myself as well.
I never experienced that much of a culture shock when I arrived in China, since Chinese culture is not too different from the Korean one and I've already been to China numerous times. So although I'm right at home culturally back home, similar culture also has downsides of everything I do here in Korea being a reminder of my Dragons experience in China.
Living in a forest of apartments with everybody looking almost identical to Han Chinese, I feel like I'm in another Chinese metropolitan city. Xian for some reason felt like Seoul- its city wall and old architecture spread throughout the city- I don't know why but Tang Dynasty architecture seems close to Korea's Choseon architecture despite five centuries between them. Seoul's a little warmer than Beijing, but the crazy traffic and the Lonely Planet's sad-but-true description of Seoul as a city of 'hypercapitalism with 10 million employees dedicated to the pursuit of a capital accumulation, conscpicuous consumption and social, educational and corporate ladder climbing' tell me that these two cities are not that different.
Perhaps I felt Seoul's crazy competitiveness more because all my friends I met last night just went through the gruelling college process, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to get back into this competitive spirit from being on the Dragons program. I loved how chill our group was. We didn't get a chance to do a lot of lessons we were plannin on doing, and we cut out a lot from our itinerary, but we went by the Chinese spirit of 'manmanlai' and it was a pleasant trip.
Sitting under the overwhelming city lights in a cafe, I missed the simplicity and stillness of Baibicun, Qinghai Tibetan village (sorry forgot the name- love the chief though), and Tashkorgan. And returning home, I've also realized that while the Dragons exposed me to some new cultures and ideas, it has also insulated me from others. As I was driving back from the airport, I felt the brunt of the financial crisis by how dark and gloomy the city was. (Still pretty bright according to Zoe but Seoul's usually a really colorful city). Mom explained that because Korean Won (currency) is worth practically nothing right now, the city was doing everything it could do save money and many of the buildings and bridges had their lights off or dimmed down.
Mom also told me that my family had lost significant money in mutual funds after the crisis and told me to start working as a SAT or other academic tutor for wealthy Korean kids studying in the US. Ideally, I would like to be teaching underpriviledged kids like the Tibetan ones we met in Qinghai, but when I need to make my own spending money myself, I cannot resist the temptation of making $50/hour teaching rich kids over more needy kids.
As I'm about to start making money, I'm also reminded of the teenage workers in China I met. It was a weird experience getting a message from a fellow 18 year old at one of the massage shops and it upset me to see so many kids and teenagers working at street shops. Adolescents should be studying and dreaming for a better future. As youths, I always thought it was our right to not worry about making money for our next meal or the roof above us, but realized on the trip that this was not the case for so many kids we saw in China.
Talking about money, I'm sad to confess that the low-budget thing did not quite get on the plane with me and now I'm back on my expensive and unsustainable (I don't know about financially but definitely environmetnally) lifestyle. Yesterday, after hanging out with my friends, I could not be bothered to walk 25 minutes back home and tried to find a taxi (which was unsuccessful unfortunately so I walked.. :( I spent a lot of money visiting various tourist sites (almost always on taxis) and eating whatever I wanted regardless of the price. Kyuri has started keeping track of everything she spends money on, but I'm too lazy to do that myself. Should I live on a tighter budget now that I've experienced eating the same rice and one vegetable dish three times a day and seen how great the income disparity is first hand? What should I take away from my encounter with poverty? Sense of guilt? Priviledge? I'm still planning on spending as much money as I did before travelling around the world for the rest of the year, but should that plan change?
Another more thing I've been struggling with has been loneliness. I felt a little less of this when Zoe was staying with me and I was hanging out with Kyuri, but with both of them now back home, I've been feeling rather empty. It was great to see my family and old Korean Korean friends (as well as Korean-American friends whom I'd be seeing very soon as they go on break), but it's not the same without my Dragons crew. Even as I was eating Chinese food a few nights ago, I couldn't help but be reminiscent of crazy rambunctious dirty talks we've enjoyed over a few of our last suppers and the food doesn't take as good without Ikia, Emily, Jess and Kyuri going into their own lands.
As I'm working on booking my Round-the-world ticket right now, I'm torn between my adrenaline rush for adventure and fear of being lonely. I'm rather unstable emotionally and depended a lot on the group for support, and whom am i gonna lean on now and to whom am i gonna complain? I think a lot aloud and release my emotions and frustrations through talking, and everyone on the trip had been such great listeners. Who's gonna cover up my mistakes, make sure I'm not too dumb so don't kill myself, and who's gonna forgive me now? I had blown quite signifcant sum of our group fund, and I would have had very difficult time forgiving myself had the group not been so supportive of me. I'm still grateful to Lear for having a smile on in Kashgar as he boarded the train one minute before its departure because of the missing passports (which somehow was in my bag), and the group sent me to Xian at extra costs even though I lost some money trying to secure train tickets. Although I'm seeing some friends in India, New Zealand and hopefully Zoe in Europe, I will be spending significant portion of my time solo and am I ready for this? Dragons taught me how to travel solo safely, but I don't know if I'm ready mentally. At some points during the trip, (such as the 7 hour meeting), I was so frustrated at the group because of our inefficiency as a big group that I wished I were travelling alone. But when I was alone in Xian, while watching the amazin terra cotta warriors, seeing these clay figures have so many friends, I missed the group so much and had very fine Mark not been there, I would have been pretty seriously depressed. (btw, another yak on Xian later)
And I'm also delighted that my mom has already begun the culture of hospitatliy even before I arrived back home (well, she has been an amazingly kind woman all her life- but my mom's too lazy to read this Yak in English so I guess there isn't much point in flattering her... ). I had made Couchsurfing account and put my house up for visitors to crash (oh, you Dragons alums are always welcome btw- dragons alums get a special Cloudland experience if they come to my house- esp. you Chris), and without telling me, Mom had already signed up my house for international students home stay every weekend and last Saturday, we got a Jordanian Ph.D student who delightfully surprised my conservative dad who came back from work and was shocked to find that a Muslim woman wearing black head cover is staying the night at my house. In twenty minutes, I'm going to pick up a 19-year-old Japanese student and 21 year old Chinese student which I'm excited to spend the weekend with.
Gotta get pretty & ready for my guests for now, but more yaks coming soon.
Miss you guys all. A Lot.

Dec 1/ 08: (Late) Thanks to the Uigyurs

(Late) Thanks to the Uigyurs
December 01, 2008

As it's thanksgiving holiday season, it'd be appropriate to give thanks for all our adventure so far and this year, i'd like to dedicate special thanks to the wonderful Uigyur brothers I met in Xinjiang who helped me appreciate my own Korean culture (and also to the Tibetan family in Qinghai but this yak will be a different one coming soon). "What the h*** am I doing here in the middle of nowhere?" was the thought that occurred to me on one of my runs in Kashgar. Compared to the rest of group, I did not feel that strongly about coming to Xinjiang, and I was a little frustrated that we are spending so much of our limited time and resources in the extreme western parts of China that did not even feel like China. As a Korean, I associated much more with the Han people than the central-Asian-looking Uigyurs.
When I arrived in Urumqi, the Xinjiang's most populated city, it felt to me that the city lacked character. Apart from the fact that it was the city furtherest away from water in the world, there seemed to be little history and it just felt like another large Chinese city. Althouh the Big Bazaar was really cool, the Bazaar was an isolated place in a typical big Han city.When we got on the 23-hour sleeper train to Kashgar, I was really confused as to why I was getting on the train. I wanted to go East where people who looked like me lived, not away into the wilderness which used to be called the "Land of Death" during the Silk Road years because of its hostile environment. Nevertheless, as I interacted more and more with the Uigyurs, I realized the little Korean boy who has lived in English speaking countries for the past 8 years has a lot in common with the Uigyurs than it seems on the surface. Through our meals Uigyurs such as Aji and Hassan, I realized that I face the same challenges that the Uigyurs do in terms of cultural identity.
Most Uigyurs, who are Muslims and speak Uigyur, face serious economic and political disadvantages and the only way for them to get to higher positions in society is to assimilate into the Han culture. For Uigyurs to attend university, they need to spend two years first just to improve their Mandarin and although all the education up to high school can be taught in Uigyur or Mandarin, any education beyond is in Mandarin.
I had left Korea eight years ago and all my education has been in English from then. Although I have been priviledged to have received one of the most elite education in the world, that came at a great cultural loss. I can not even tell what the major traditional Korean holidays are, as I have been spending most of my year abroad. Most of the material I have read in recent years are in English, and my Korean friends have been increasingly making fun of my deteriorating Korean ability. Although I regularly read the New York Times, I hardly ever read up on Korean news and I have no idea what's going on in Korea right now. Apart from the fact that my family is in Korea, I do not feel particularly attached to my homeland, and do not know where I would be spending my adult years.
I had never been particularly proud of my Korean heritage and never felt like I was missing out much by studying abroad, but going to the Uigyur dance completely changed my perspective. Hassan asked us if we wanted to go to the Uigyur dance with him, and Jess, Kyuri and I accepted the offer and went to a Uigyur dance club. I was surprised to find that they did not play Western or Han music, but were playing Uigyur music and even the young people were dancing in Uigyur style. In Korea, most of the Korean pop songs were all western style and the dances were imitated version of the Western dance, but the Uigyurs used their traditional instruments and danced in their traditional circular manner. Although culture usually flows from higher economic powers to the lower ones, Uigyurs were fighting hard to preserve their culture.
Although they faced severe inequalities because of their Uigyur heritage, they were celebrating their culture and all the Uigyur friends we met proudly announced that they were Uigyurs. Despite disadvantages with choosing Uigyur over Chinesein early education，most Uigyur people we met chose Uigyur as their language of education up to college。 In contrast, I had almost unlimited potential as a Korean (the current UN secretary general is a Korean and Korea has several companies in the world Fortune 500 such as Samsung and LG) and I was always complaining about having to serve in the Korean military. I had a proud 5000 year history and seeing such exotic looking Uigyurs being part China, it amazed me that Korea had somehow remained a separate country from China. Although sandwiched between superpowers China and Japan, as well as Russia and the US in the recent years, Korea has kept its autonomy and today managed to become the world's thirteenth largest economy. In addition，Koreans are excellent story tellers，shown by the ubiquitous popularity of Korean movies and TV dramas in China。
As we discussed teaching English to the Tibetan community after leaving Xinjiang, I had reservations about teaching them English. Although learning English allowed me to be a powerful global player, I had missed out on so much Korean culture from fourth grade until now.
My plan for the rest of my gap year had been getting a round-the-world ticket and travelling various parts of the world, but Uigyurs made me consider understanding my own land first. Now I'd like to spend some of my gap year learning and experiencing various aspects of Korea, and I'd also like to study-abroad (?) in Korea during my college years.
ps: To finish with the thanksgiving theme, thanks so much to everybody who read this and to every member of the 2008 China Fall semester group whom I love. Thanks so much for letting me see Xian and already I miss you guys.

Nov 08/ 08- Praying with the Uigyurs

Praying with the Uigyurs
November 08, 2008

Before I start this yak, I should first thank my friends and instructors who allowed me to have this amazing experience while they were finding a hostel/hostel to stay for the night.
After leaving Urumqi in the morning, we arrived at the oasis Silk Road town of Turpan at around two. One of the reasons I wanted to come to Xinjiang was to immerse myself in the Muslim culture, and I had really wanted to attend the Muslim Friday service, which is the equivalent of the Christian Sunday service. Although Muslims pray five times a day, their Friday service is their only communal service and I had really wanted to be part of this.
As soon as we got off the bus, I asked the nearest hotel's front desk about the mosques nearby and the front desk lady told me there was one service at the Emin Minerat starting at 2. So while the group was having lunch, I skipped my meal to go to the Emin Minerat (Su-gong-ta), which was about ten minutes away from the center of the town. It was already 2:10 when I took the taxi, but my restless mind was a little soothed by the surrounding grape fields and large poplar trees lining the road running through the old town. Emin Minerat, the biggest one of its kind in China, was two-hundred-year-old brick (outside) and wood (inside) structure with intricate geometric flower pattern on it and had served as the center of the own two centuries ago.
I must have looked a little ridiculous running towards the minerat with my two massive bagpacks on back and front, but I quickly purchased the ticket, dropped off my bags, and entered the mosque. It was 2:25 when I arrived at the mosque, and all the men (no women are allowed to participate in the service) were gathered around the imam at the front. I took a seat at the back row and sat listening. I was a little bored as I sat there listening to the language I don't understand, but I was also very self conscious wearing a navy and white Northface jacket and gray sports sweatpants surrounded by Uigyur men (there were no Han people either and I stood out as Uigyur people look more Middle eastern-central Asian) all dressed in similar dark robes and suits. But I soon got over this difference (I don't know if my fellow worshipers did because some of them couldn't stop staring at me) and as I watched some worshipers perform prostrating rituals when they entered, it got me thinking about my own spirituality.
Although I had attended church almost every Sunday at home and at school, I had been off God for almost two months as it was hard to find a nearby church. Immersed in a new culture, I had spent very little time reflecting on my own spirituality. Our earlier travels in Yunnan where we visited a large Tibetan monastery had triggered my existential crisis and thirst for meaning, and I had finished a short book on Buddha. But that was brief and I was busy preoccupied with trying to improve my Chinese language, and better understand the culture, tea and TCM.
As the imam ended his sermon and another man started singing/ reciting a prayer (maybe a Quaranic passage but I couldn't tell), I began to ponder upon the nature of my own relationship with the divine. What did God mean to me? the Creator? Sustainer? Provider? Preserver? (In Hinduism these would be separate gods) the prime mover? the ultimate,? qi? infinite? light? father? At the time, all these words felt empty and distant, which scared me a little. Although I am never certain about anything, I had always had room for the ineffable and the mysterious, but did God mean nothing to me now?
Then my musing was interrupted by the guy next to me handing me a white basket-like weaving. I thought it was like an offering time and having left my wallet in my bag outside, I handed the basket to the old man sitting next to me. The old man smiled, and put the basket on my head, which made me realize that everybody around me had little hats on their heads and I remembered learning from my Islam class back at school that it was rude to expose one's head at the mosque. My heart jumped again and warm sensation spread throughout my body as I felt like I was welcomed into this Muslim community.
Then the next part of the service took me by surprise, as everybody stood up from their seats simultaneously and started performing repeatedly prostrating rituals. I did not know what to do. I was brought up in a very devout conservative Christian family (unfortunately bordering on fundamentalism) and although I was a lot more liberal and tolerant than my parents, I thought I was going to be an observer in the service, not a participant. I had thought I had sat at the back but as there were quite a large number of Muslims who trickled in late, I was surrounded by the worshippers and already standing out with my Han-like appearance and western clothing, I felt compelled to imitate what the people arounding me were doing.
Then a miracle (well, a small one) occurred as I was following their ritual. Those words that a while ago seemed meaningless to me began to make sense and become true. Perhaps I did have a relationship with God, and I became ecstatic. I had always thought the mind to affect and control the behavior, but it was amazing to experience how behavior and mind (or soul) were two way streets.
After the service, I walked out on the little garden next to the minerat. Despite the joy of glimpsing the sublime, I felt a little like a kid who broke a window playing baseball. Some of my friends and family would think I had gone whoring after foreign gods. But as I looked at the various shade of poplar trees ranging from yellow to red (which reminded me a little of the gorgeous New England fall), I realized I had followed my heart and had done the right thing. Like these trees with varying shades of colors manifesting the nutrients they absorbed from the same earth, different religions for me were various expressions of the same truth.
As I walked out of the minerat, I noticed numerous groups of Han tourists drifting in with rambunctious music blasting where other Han people were selling souvenirs. I even saw a Han man who danced right at the face of the Uigyur man walking out after the service- 'Show some respect, these people just came out of their most holy time of the week,' I thought and I wanted to throw something at the Han guy and the stereo but didn't have anything to throw in my pocket.
I also had a chance to talk to some young Uigyur man and I was surprised to discover that they don't usually let tourists, non-Uigyurs and non-muslims in during the service hours. I clearly looked non-Uigyur, touristy and non-Muslim with my massive bag packs but why did they let me in to worship with them? I would never find out, but I just felt grateful (to both these people and some guy above the clouds) and I owed these spiritual brothers one for their hospitality.
PS: As I told them I was Korean, these muslim brothers told me about their love of the Korean drama. As I dwelled upon the fact that all across from Beijing to Kunming to even this distant Uigyurland (Marco Polo's name for Xinjiang) - the entire China - was crazy about Korean dramas, I suddenly felt incredibly proud to be a Korean (I am currently struggling with my Korean nationality) and wanted to read more Korean literature and history. Apparently, we Koreans are pretty good story tellers as Korean dramas and movies are also extremely popular in Japan. My friend's dad had told me that the fact that Japanese people were uneasy about expressing their emotions made Korean dramas so popular in Japan, but I couldn't figure out why the Korean dramas appealed to the Chinese people so much. Perhaps another ISP before I leave.

Oct 17/ 08 Rice, Kids & Solo

Rice, Kids & Solo
October 17, 2008

After climbing over terraces after terraces of rice, we finally arrived at the Bai Bi Cun village from Kaili, a Miao village of 1000 families that we deemed too Westernized and touristy for our taste. Bai Bi Cun was a lot smaller Miao village with a population of a little over 100 families, and it was certainly lot more isolated and less touristy than Kaili.
Compared to Kaili where everyone seemed to be engaged in the tourist sector such as providing their homes as hostels and selling Miao crafts, people of the Bai Bi village led a much more rural lifestyle. Most of the families we saw were farmers, growing rice and a few vegetables, and many men worked with wood constructing houses.
Their self-sufficiency was amazing, as they produced all their food and wood, but the only downside was that Charlie and I ate the same food of lettuce soup, rice and pork fat every meal. (No kidding, from breakfast to dinner, every meal was the same except pork fat turned to fried eggs and sadly, protein eventually disappeared from the diet so we ended up eating just rice and lettuce- it's a priviledge have protein on your table and to be eating different food every meal- but then Miao people are also blessed to be eating super local and organic.)
While stalking some friends who were going fishing with their host family, Charlie and I ran into middle-aged man and woman working on the field, and when we offered to help, they gladly accepted. Because we could not work at the wet rice terraces because of Japanese Encephalitis, Charlie and I helped out at a dry rice field from 5:30-6 thrashing rice into a bucket (a lot of fun). To our surprise, we were offered to have dinner with the people we were working with- we had only worked with them for half an hour and they took us strangers to their houses giving us water and tower to clean ourselves, and even offering us a meal. Although we could not accept the offer because we had to get back for dinner at our own house, it was a good illustration of Miao hospitality that we experienced.
The highlight of my stay was the kids. There was an elementary school right in front of my homestaying house, and I spent a lot of time playing with the kids day and night. We had a fake-fight using the broomsticks which made me feel like a Jedi dodging a sea of kids who eventually pinned me down on the ground like a giant wave- (a friend fortunately saved me), running away and hiding from a drunk man who touched and kissed Charlie on the neck, and singing and dancing. These kids were so so innocent but also mischievous, as they loved to hit our butts and we even had to go on an exile into the mountains when we couldn't keep up with their energy. Nevertheless, several of them also invited us to come to their homes an hour walk away.
On our second day at the village, we also had a chance to go out and do a solo. The night before, we had a lesson on class, priviledge, and social responsibility, and as I looked down on the layered rice terraces along the mountain, I couldn't help but notice the class differences that I felt between the villagers and myself. I'm not the one to judge whose life is higher up on the mountain- I may have more materiali and physical resources and more diverse exposure to this vast world, but they seemed to have a very tight-knit community and simple lifestyle free of all the excess of capitalism that often nauseates me.
Although the rice terraces appear independent of each other, they were actually connected by the water flowing down from the top, and similarly, my life and the lives of these villagers that are seemingly unrelated are actually linked by sharing the same planet. The carbon that I put in the air at home affected the climate of this distant village whose existence I was not even aware of until three days ago.
The view from the top terrace was certainly ba little better than that from the bottom, but I was happy with my view from the lower rice terrace, and butterflies came to the bottom terrace just as it did to the top.
I wish I have a chance to visit this village again, and see that the amazing landscape of stacked rice terraces, the mystic cloud that perched over the rice patties, and the smiles of the Miao kids have remained the same.

Oct 10/ 08- New Family & Jazz

New Family & Jazz
October 10, 2008

Two days ago, I repeated what I had done three weeks ago: moving into a new family. I was beginning to get nervous on my last day, as I wanted the transition to be smooth and prevent my old homestaying family from losing face. Fortunately, Lear did a wonderful job with the old family and on our last night, I treated them to a Korean dinner (my fourth Korean meal in the past two days-I explored all four restaurants around Yunda) and my dad treated me to a full Japanese-style massage at a nearby massage shop.
I liked the old family a lot and they were kind to me and the baby could not have been cuter, but it was hard living with a family that had a baby and I wanted more interaction with the family. It upset me to hear stories of my friends who went on adventures and weddings etc with their families.
My new family was also the owner of the teashop I was studying at, and I was excited to have a chance to learn more about tea. The family picked me up at the tea house, and although Lear had told me that my homestaying bro was a 10-year old, the kid actually turned out to be 8. He was extremely energetic and did Kung-fu on the waitresses, which was cute. We rode a taxi back home, and he told me about my astrological sign and showed me the work he does at school. I helped him with his English homework, and as I was pluralizing a set of words, I became reminiscent of learning English for the first time myself. After his homework, he challenged me to a game of Go (badook as it's called in Korean), which also reminded me of my childhood obsession with Go. (I used to watch Go Channel all the time and spend hours at the local Go place playing against friends and adults). Although I trampled my brother quite easily while half playing and half reading, he challenged me again the next day which showed his indomitable spirit. :)
My eight year old brother (Wang Fei) was also extremely good-hearted. I don't know how but my stuff just snowballed after I got to China and I was carrying my backpack, giant trekking bag and another even bigger bag to carry all my things. My brother grabbed the biggest bag that was twice his size and tried to carry it up all the way to the 6th floor house himself. When I went to the internet cafe later that night (to yak obviously..:) and he wasn't allowed in because it was too late, he even offered to wait outside for an hour while I go online.
Unfortunately, I have not had as much interaction with the parents as I have with my brother. My homestaying parents work from 8am to 7pm (my mom) and 9am to midnight (my dad) and I very occasionally see them. (I almost never see my homestaying dad). But my dad's a former teacher-turned-entrepreneur who started an English school and tea cafe that I hope to start too so I look forward to having a chance to talk to him.
My HIGHLIGHT with the new homestay so far: We live in the northwest edge of Kunming where the World Horticultural Expo Garden and many car dealerships are. Last night, I was on my way home when I heard African drumming sound in front of Audi dealership. When I went in to check it out, I saw that there was a jazz trio (turned out to be a band from Argentina) playing and a heck of a good (hotel quality) food waiting for me. It seemed like the Audi dealership just opened up or they just released a new car or something, and I wasn't one to miss the opportunity to free ride on corporate-sponsored good food and music (as everyone knows, as a bassist I LOVE JAZZ- everybody else calls it elevator music but Lear and a few others appreciate my passion).
So I went back home and got my little bro and we watched a sick concert eating sicknasty food. Unfortunately, the audience didn't know how to appreciate jazz and didn't clap after each solo. When I gave them an applause after each solo, the bass player gave me a special nod and smile with his head and we connected. They played bunch of standards I used to play (Autumn Leaves, Girl from Ipanema, Fly me to the Moon, Summertime etc) and I hit a 10 on the w-scale (wellbeing).

October 10, 2008- Golden Weekend Part I

Golden Weekend Part I
October 10, 2008

I haven't yak-ked in a while but had so much going on recently.

Last Friday, Zoe and her family kindly offered to take me with them on their 2-day trip to Chengjiang, Yixi and the surrounding areas.
I met them 10am in the morning. They were leaving from their grandparent's house, which was convenient as they lived 2 minute away from the program house. We drove for about an hour and half, and arrived at a town where we had lunch at Wei Wei (Zoe's 16-year-old Chinese sister, she's incredibly good at rubics cube)'s aunt's place. After lunch, we headed to a lake where it was packed because it was golden week. We couldn't find a place to park for a while, but eventually got out onto the beach.

It was probably my first time swimming at a beach in October (except probably in New Zealand where the seasons are flipped). It was a small, artificial golden beach. There was a small beautiful island in the middle with some traditional structures on it. To get to the island, we rented a boat and got on a 10-seater bicycling boat. We were in the same boat with five other Chinese men and women in their late twenties and thirties, but we were slow to get started as we needed to push the boat off the beach initially and nobody bothered to do it. So Zoe and I got off the boat into the water and showed them how to get a boat started.

However, they were kind enough to let me sit at the back where I could steer the boat. They told us that since they had already been to the lake numerous times, we could go wherever we want which was very generous. When we got close to the island, Zoe, Wei Wei and I jumped off the boat and swam towards the lake. The water was very refreshing and we also clung on to the boats to help us navigate in water.

After we got back from the island, we chilled at the beach for a while. Zoe read as usual and Wei Wei and I built a castle with tunnels through it ("toad houses" in Korean as I used to call them when I was little) and were in the middle of digging a canal from the ocean to the castle to build a water city like Venice when we had to leave. It even had a Great Wall and trenches to stop rising tides but we didn't have time to see my golden city come to completion. There were also some guys playing beach soccer but I couldn't join them because they were leaving.

We then headed for dinner at a restaurant, and Wei Wei's dad was clearly displeased. Wei Wei told us that he had probably lost money while playing Ma-zhang with his friends, and as Wei wei told us Chinese people sometimes bet as much as 600 RMB ($100) per round, I could feel his pain. It was also interesting to see him use his lighter to set fire on bai jiu (white liquor?) to help him with his hand that was injured from running into a door or something. Wei Wei's dad loved to talk and he'd lecture on for hours to all of us. He didn't speak standard Mandarin (putonghua) and when we asked Wei Wei what his dad was talking about, Wei Wei said 'college.'

We had some of Wei Wei's family friends at the dinner, one of whom was a 14-year old boy whom both Zoe and I agreed looked more like 10. Mark had told me that because Chinese kids live sheltered lives with few chances to develop their independence, they often mature about two years slower than American kids and for many of the Chinese kids I met, this immaturity was even manifest in their physical appearance.

This boy followed us to our hotel, and I was asked to room with him. When I asked where he lived, however, I discovered that he lived 5 minutes away from the hotel. His parents were staying home, but they had paid for a night at hotel just so his son could practice his English with me, which reminded me of all those eager Chinese high schoolers and college students at the English corner night at the Green Lake Park.

Luckily, for me, the boy fell asleep by midnight and I could enjoy some quiet reading time.

Oct 1/ 08 Health & Neighborhood Part II

Health & Neighborhood Part II
October 01, 2008

Like the Wall St investors who risked more than they could handle, I gambled with my health recently by buying and eating whatever looked good on the street. Like the greedy investors whose appetite seemed boundless, I also ate more than I could handle, because everything was so cheap. And now, my health failed, keeping me inside the house sleeping on and off all day.
Last night I had gone on a midnight run to celebrate our no-school day for October 1 Chinese Founding Day inside the apartment complex, underdressed in just t-shirt and shorts although the weather was gettiing chillly. Afterwards, I ate the pizza bread I had bought earlier and finished off with ice cream. And the night before, I thought my body had become immune to street food by now and bought some street food (mostly sticks with meat or vegetable on them) after my evening run.
For whatever the reason, I had to go to the bathroom right before I went to bed (around 3am), woke up some time in the morning to go again, and had to go twice after I woke up. I had finally hit the dreaded one. My head and stomach were hurting like the last time I had high-altitude sickness, and all I could was lie in bed with occasional readings.
Nevertheless, the house was not a suitable place to sleep in the afternoon, as my baby brother was crying for more than an hour in the living room as I was trying to rest in my room. My homestaying mom was trying to potty-train my baby brother, and it seemed like the the concept of going to the bathroom discretionately was hard to master. Chinese walls are thin and sound travels easily, and I just walked outside in hopes of finding a place of peace.
I remembered passing by a massage place nearby, and headed there. Althogh I loved getting massaged, it was too expensive in Korea and the US and I had very few chances to get it- but it was 25 yuan ($3-4) for an hour here! I laid down, and for an hour, all my head and stomach pains disappeared. Then graciously, the massage place let me sleep there for a while to rest after the message, and I could find some peace for an hour.
(Actually, there were still drilling sounds coming from somewhere nearby- it seems like noise pollution is quite a big issue here in China, as even when we did Yoga at the 24th floor in the middle of the city, we could still hear the sound of honking and shouting below. The Yoga was impossible by the way, and all the guys (the worst was me) struggled while the girls seemed a little bit more graceful.)
Then I woke up and unfortuantely, the head and stomach aches were back, and I hobbled out the door looking for a new place to rest. I was on my way back home in the hopes that the potty training was done and the baby brother (Huo che) would be asleep, but I found another distraction from my pain on my way back.
I heard the sound of an instrument close to a classical guitar, but a little bit more metallic, and when I followed the sound, I ran into an old man playing a traditional chinese instrument similar to ukelele. I watched him for a while, and afterwards asked him if I could play around with it for a while, as I play the bass guitar. The old man kindly accepted, and I played around with the ukelele while we talked. He was a 58-year old math teacher who was visiting his daughter in the apartment complex, and he asked me various questions about me which I gladly answered.
It was a pleasant conversation, and after we parted, I ran into another young guy playing flute-like instrument. Chinese people love music, and I remembered the Green Lake Park which was filled with melodies from various instruments ranging from Chinese traditional ones to saxophone, guitar and the human voice.
Now I'm back home eating baby food for dinner (called zhou- it's basically a rice in some hot soup with very little vegetables and meat), and hopefully a day of atonement for greed eating very little (as this is Jewish season of repentment) would help me feel better tomorrow.
Love to home and friends although I doubt my English-phobic parents read this.

Sept 27/08- Chickens & the neighborhood

Chickens & the Neighborhood
September 27, 2008

'Get on a random bus and get lost,' although this was the guideline from our instructors for our first weekend on our own, I decided to check out my own neighborhood first before I ventured out to mi lu (get lost) else where.
About an hour north of the Kunming city center, the residential area I live in is an endless domino of apartments after apartments surrounded by various shops on the first floor. There are four gates out of the apartment complex at each direction, and the gates are guarded by a few military soldiers which can be a little intimidating although I ran into a 17-year-old soldier today.
So while my homestaying mom and baby brother were taking their daily afternoon nap, I walked out of the apartment complex and headed to the street where all the street vendors were. (In order to get there, I had to cross a 12-lane road and crossing roads in China is terrible- it's a game of jay-walking and 'dodge cars for your life' with very few traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.)
I was welcomed into the street by a line of motor cyclists, who were apparently taxi drivers waiting for customers.
And then I passed ubiquitous fried potato sellers (Chinese people really seem to love potatoes) and people playing mazhang, cards or daqi (Chinese chess). It was rather amusing seeing more than ten old men gathered around the daqi board, all shouting advices and even moving pieces back and forth. I couldn't even tell who the two people playing were.
And then I turned a corner and there was a market square, filled with people selling fruits, vegetables, clothes, snacks etc under the large unbrellas. At the back of the market, I encoutnered a bunch of meat-selling shops, and what I saw made me reconsider vegetarianism.
Last summer, I had tried becoming a vegetarian for environmental and ethical reasons. I knew eating lower the food chain was more sustainable and did not want to kill animals for my pleasure, but the meat was too good and my experiment only lasted a month and half. I had heard horror stories about mistreatment of animals in factory farms in the US, but the plight of animals in China did not seem to be any better.
Alive chickens and ducks were stuffed into a tiny cage, and they were so crowded that some animals could not even find a place to put their feet down on the ground and had to sit on top of the other animals. Right beside the cages were the skinned animals, who had retained their live shape and were chopped according to the orders. I wondered what went through the live ducks' minds when they saw their skinned mates. There was fresh blood and feathers on the floor behind the counter, and I saw the meat-seller take out a chicken from the cage, which cried for its life and tried to run free. The butcher broke its neck, and cut its throat. The head stayed on, the oozing blood was gathered into a container, and the body was thrown into a large basket, in which the chicken continued to move about fanatically and cry for a few seconds. At the shop next door, the sellers were skinning the duck and dipping them in a black tarry stuff to clean them .
The butchers all seemed like kind people and none of the passers-by or shoppers seemed as repulsed as I was. Maybe it's just another cultural barrier I have to clear, but I could not watch for much longer.
On the brighter side, I also saw what may hopefully be a more sustainable future for the urban areas around the world. Surrounding the residential villas were farmlands and I saw numerous people working on the field. Although my attempt to talk to the person harvesting totally failed, it was nice to see urbanites being self-sufficient and eating super-local.
Off to run for more exploration around my neighborhood.

Sept 22/08- Learning to Empathize

Learning to Empathize
September 22, 2008

For as long as I can remember, I've never been sick and I only occasionally went to the health center to skip classes.

But while trekking in the Nujiang Valley, I realized that I should not take my health for granted, and I was miserable. The street food and the high altitude (around 3500m) were too much for me, and my p-scale plummeted while my heart and brain screamed in pain. (Thankfully, I did not get them at the same time but one after another).

Despite my physical breakdown, I am very grateful for these difficulties (only in retrospect obviously :). I had a chance to truly emphasize with other members of our group who were having p-scale problems and had high altitude sickness.

Before I had to frequent bathrooms, I did not understand why low p-scale seemed so tired and snappy all the time. And before I went down with high altitude sickness, I was hiking at the front pushing the pace and slightly getting annoyed at the fact that we were moving so slow.

Fortunately, I'm back in good health now, and I also feel stronger in my ability to empathize.

Thanks to all for being so supportive when I was weak.

Two Heads are Better than One- Sept 11/ 2008

Two heads are better than one
by Jun Youb Lee
Student
September 11, 2008

When I first signed up for the Dragons China semester, I thought everybody would be fluent in Chinese and not having studied Chinese for the last two years, thougth I'd struggle to keep up with them. But to my surprise, almost everybody in the group had studied another language in high school (And Emily likes to sing songs in French) and I turned out to be the person with the most Chinese experience, having studied Chinese for four years between middle school and high school and visited the country three years ago.

On top of this, my first role turned out to be the 'translator'(*1) which meant I was in charge of doing all the talking between the Chinese people and our group. So naturally, until everybody caught up in Chinese, I took a leadership role in speaking part of our excursions among ourselves (students only) and even had to order Chinese dishes in a restaurant that did not speak English nor had English menu.

Yesterday, we embarked on our first challenging group activity and John, Ikia and I were in a group with five tasks to accomplish. (*2) We breezed through the first four, and my little Chinese skills came in handy and I was doing the most of the asking and directing although I should also acknowledge my group members' spotting skills. But the last task turned out to be the most difficult. We had to get the Green Lake Hotel's business card and we realized we did not know how to say "Green Lake" in Chinese. I knew green was 'lu' (u with two dots on top) and lake was 'hu.' But everybody I asked told me there was no such hotel. Frustrated, I went to the nearest hotel and tried to ask for 'luhu' 'binguan' (hotel)- but even the hotel could not help us (I suspected that the hotel did not want to lose customers to its competitors but the xiaojie (lady) at the front desk seemed genuine.)

So we went out the door and I did not know what to do, planning on just looking for a way back home and hoping to find the hotel by luck. And then came my savior Ikia, who handed me the business card she picked up at the last hotel. I was puzzled, as she also saw that the last hotel was not Green Lake. But then she showed me that there are locations of the major nearby attractions on the card, which included the Green lake Hotel. And fortunately, there was also 'Green Lake Hotel' written in Chinese below, which she suggested we use to navigate by showing the Chinese characters to the Chinese people. And soon we found our way to the hotel and we finished first among the groups that did not use the map.

Today lunch, (I guess technically yesterday since it's 12:30am now) we were given 50 yuan for lunch (around $7~8 US) and we had to feed 9 people. We were on our way to the Green Lake park when we ran into a restaurant that everybody agreed to go to. And having successfully ordered Chinese dishes last time, the group just told me to order whatever I wanted without consulting the group. So I tried to get 9 dishes and fully exploit our given money, and ended up ordering 9 fried rices of different kinds. I thought I smartly finished ordering the dishes again, but when the plates came out, it was not quite what we (or more I) expected. Each fried rice was huge, and we were forced to have a 'rice party.' Although we gave one rice dish to a homeless person who begged us for money and therefore only had to deal with 8 plates, I felt slightly sorry for the group as eating rice became more of a chore after a few plates.

Then afterwards, we went to the Yunnan Daxue (Yunnan Univ- "Yunda") to practice asking some questions in Chinese to the Yunda students. We were grouped into pairs and given several questions to ask. I was with Kyuri, and I doubted I would learn much being with Kyuri (or anybody) as I felt more confident in Chinese than most of the group did. After the first interview, we decided to split off and wander on our own. And although I liked the freedom of talking about whatever I wanted, I was scared to bother Yunda students who seemed to be in the middle of intense studying or talking to others about important matters. I sauntered around aimlessly and soon found Kyuri sitting with two Chinese female students, and thanks to Kyuri, I got to hang out with them.

I'm excited to see what the nine heads here are capable of achieving.

*1= For parents and friends- we all had different roles such as the 'leader', 'alarm clock (time keeper),' 'sweeper' (cleaner and last minute check person), treasurer, and 'waterboy' (who turned out to be a Zoe, which was a fitting job for her due to her extreme passion for hydration)

*2= This activity explained in other yaks