After what were a high-impact first 3 weeks, it finally feels like I've hit cruising altitude here in Hangzhou. I had my fair share of difficulties getting into the groove of life here, cause there's no questioning that this summer was as low-stress, low-impact, low-responsibility as you could make it. But of course having little to no responsibilities - as awesome as that is - makes one weary pretty quickly, which reminds me of a quote I read recently.
~Quick note on how I came across this quote: It comes from the enlightening quote included at the end of every e-mail from the A.Word.A.Day daily that my dad signed me up for as soon as I got an e-mail address (probably been getting these for more than 6 years now) - so Dad, here's proof that I actually read them... or that I don't ignore all of them... take your pick~
"Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is." Now, this is not to say the workload here has rendered me "serene," but I certainly feel like almost nothing I do here is a waste of time, and there is something I find pleasurable about that. That is, aside from the stress that comes with having so much work you don't have time to waste. Stay tuned for a later post entitled "Serenity Now" in which I counterintuitively reach a higher state of consciousness/peacefulness, thanks to the buttload of responsibilities I have.
So this post is about finally finding that balance between my school-related responsibilities and the things I actually want to do. It's still pretty one-sided, but it's gradually getting better. Last weekend, a group of about 14 of us made our way to Sanqingshan Mountain Range. About 5 hours by train outside of Hangzhou, it was my and my group's first big excursion outside of Hangzhou. I could spend a whole post describing the scenery, but that would be a waste of time when I could more easily direct you to my online album http://picasaweb.google.
. It was a pretty surreal experience, and the closest thing I could compare it to is the floating mountains of Pandora in Avatar. Yeah, I had to use a fictitious, hovering mountain range as an adequate analogy - it was just that cool. I could not come up with a better way to "escape" the pressure and confines of the earlier week than to literally escape that academic environment and drink in a purely physical and visceral and sensory cocktail. Couldn't have devised a better way to recharge, and much props to my friends for putting the plan together. I honestly wasn't quite sure to expect before going, as a result of the language barrier: the only details I was clear on were how long the train ride was, the name of the place we were going, the general landscape, and who was going. I had no idea we'd be camping outside, that we'd be bringing all our own food (which is why I only stocked up on oreos, biscuits, and other not-really-adequate-as-a-meal snacks), and that the hike up the mountain would be around 7 hours. Those were all, however, pretty welcome surprises. And hey, it's not every day you get to go on an excursion and have almost no idea what to expect, so I have to appreciate it at least for that novelty.
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Though every non-academic experience wasn't as balls to the wall cool as that one, it's still been extremely pleasurable. Since my last post, I...
+Went bowling with a small group. Although I was real excited to see how "strange and different" a Chinese bowling alley would be, it was all pretty much the same: goofy shoes, bowling aliases, slippery floors, and I still suck.
+Taught taps (the jump-in-the-air-and-catch-and-
+Played a good two and a half hours of half-court 4-on-4 with the same kids and finally got to meet some Chinese kids from outside my program, and man was that nice. Didn't have any lengthy conversations with them on the court, but who needs conversation when you can share the euphoria of competitive sport? I seriously missed that feeling of connecting with others through competition (as light-hearted as it was) and was glad to get to experience it again. I did not, however, miss the post-game feeling of a broken, out of shape body. There isn't an inch of my body that feels comfortable at this point.
+After ballin, got to engage in a hearty conversation about the impotence of the Chinese national soccer team with Wei Feng and a new friend whose English name is Space (if you say his Chinese name, Si Pei, 10 times fast it starts to sound like "space"... I have a new appreciation for unconventional English names. As weird as they may seem at first, they've usually got some legitimate background. That said, I can't imagine my roommate, Joker, being named anything else.). The overall consensus - after I dismissed their assertion that Chinese aren't strong or fast enough - is that China needs a Yao Ming of soccer to popularize the sport. That's how China's national basketball team got off the ground, and it's pretty reasonable to think that's how soccer will gain some traction in Cina. My next project is going to the soccer fields on campus and joining some pick-up games there.
+Talking with Space was a really nice experience - apart from coming across as an extremely gentle, soft-spoken kid, he was a pretty engaging conversationalist. I especially liked his assertion that, since he hadn't signed a contract to not speak English, he could use English in our conversations. So far, I hadn't met someone so willing to use English after hearing what my situation is here, especially as I tried my hardest to keep using Chinese, and the experience was refreshing. It was also the first time I can recall that I got giddy when a guy asked me for my phone number. Tehehe!
+I'm also glad to know that some things transcend cultures, some things that members of the same generation can both enjoy no matter if they're born in New Jersey or Ningbo. Something that proves that - no matter how different our lifestyles, no matter how drastically different our values may be - that we are all, deep down inside, essentially the same. I, of course, refer to midnight drunk-munchie runs to Mickey D's. Nothing makes you feel at home quite like getting trashed and poisoning yourself with America's finest. There's something beautiful about it.
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Now that I've thoroughly procrastinated on this Sunday afternoon, it's time to get to work. As with last time, I heartily welcome any and all e-mails, requests, salutations, etc. My access to Facebook is much more limited than I thought it would be, so the best way to contact me is via e-mail (dengel29@gmail.com). Even the comments section of this blog isn't easy for me to access, so if you want to contact me directly please use the e-mail.
I'm trying to upload pictures, though I'm having serious issues with Picasa: Google's poor excuse for a picture-editing software/web upload application. I'm thinking of changing venues, but I currently DO have some pictures up, so you can check out what has inexplicably actually made it onto the interwebs here: http://picasaweb.google.
Till next time y'all.
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