Hard to believe it's been over two weeks since I was last on here. Alot has happened since I last wrote, so I'll try and catch you up in a few sentences. We took the trip to Shanxi, had a humbling dinner in a dying village, saw some of the scars a planned economy left on the countryside, and watched how people far tougher than me make a satisfying living in rough conditions. Think Steinbeck. A couple of death-defying experiences, inlcuding an all-male sauna, and a drunk driver on the sidewalk with a sense of humour. I sprained my ankle a little bit on the mountain, so after getting down and then climbing to a Buddhist monastary the next day- like I would miss that- I have been trying to take it a little slower. This has not gone as planned. Since returning I have gone to a Chinese rock/rap concert, which is surprisingly similar to one in the U.S. until they throw food on you, 798 Art District, the "Paris of the East", where artists from all over the world now congregate and shock viewers, and the Laoshe Teahouse, made famous by the playwright Lao She, who drowned himself during the Cultural Revolution. His memory is honored by kung fu demonstrations and bottomless green tea.
Also, I will be teaching English for a few hours each week for the rest of the semester, so I visited the Party Development and Education Center, newly refurbished with Communist Party funds, it looks really nice. There is a giant hammer and sickle in every room. We met the group we will be working for, and after they offered us liquor in the teacher's lounge (it's gonna be a good volunteer experience) they showed us around and told us about volunteering in the Olympics. Excited about learning how to teach English, and I would be in their CCTV commercial fliming this Friday, but the academic program I am with is leaving town Thursday to Sunday, to Henan province. I have no idea what for yet. Followed a week of hard Chinese study with a trip to one of Beijing's top 10 nightclubs. It was alright. Am now in the phase of travel where my curiosity about the new city is deepening while I'm starting to miss a couple things about Houston. Food and people mostly, though a bed that doesn't have mold growing in it would also be a welcome relief. Still alot to see here, many palaces, gates, museums, terra-cotta soldiers, oppressed territories, all of which should be seen in a lifetime, if only in silent tribute to what people can do.
Finally, I am now writing a travel column for the Rice Standard, so check that out from time to time if you enjoy bad writing. Word of the day: Jiáxiaozi - fake boy / lesbian
