China Highlights

I've just spent 10 incredible days in China. It was amazing and incredible. I saw three entirely different mountain ranges (guilin, hau shan, and the great wall)--all beautiful. I saw the many faces of China, a very interesting people, from southern Guangzhou to northern Beijing. Check out my journey on the globe or internet. This was my route. Phnom Penh - Guangzhou (airplane) - Guilin (train) - Yang Shuo - Guilin (bus) - Xi'an (train) - Mt. Hau Shan - Xi'an (bus) - Beijing (train) - Phnom Penh (airplane). It was amazing and eye-opening. It's a big World.






My favorite--in the courtyard of the Forbidden City, Beijing.



A man in the muslim quarter of Xi'an.



A guard in front of the Forbidden City, Beijing



A Mongolian peddler on the Great Wall. I bargained with her to let me take her picture and then bought her postcards--Y5 (65 cents).



Our boat driver on the Li Jiang (Li River) near Guilin en route to Yang Shuo.



On Mt. Hua Shan.



From the train window, Guanzhou to Guilin.



At the foot of the abrupt mountains of Yang Shuo after a morning of climbing with my Chinese climbing guide, Alex. (5.8,5.9,5.9 lead, 5.10a, 5.10b)



Sunset above Yang Shuo.



After taking a picture, this man wanted to see it. He was sitting under a wall on a pile of trash. He had food in his teeth and made sounds as he smiled. I showed him my camera then left. Then I stopped and went back to ask (with motions) if I could take his picture. He agreed and smiled. We clasped hands and I walked away, both of us beaming.



Fun on the Great Wall, Jinshanling to Simatai, near Beijing.

Moto?
On the way to the airport with my moto taxi driver, I asked him to stop at Phsar Mong Ang so I could get some bread to keep me alive in the vast unknown of China. I was a bit flustered from just waking up an hour later than planned, grabbing my stuff, and getting on the first moto at the corner. While the man I've bought from before was bagging my two baguettes I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. Then I gratefully took my bread and jumped on the nearest moto. Half asleep, I remember some chatter in Khmer. Evidently, I had gotten on the wrong moto. Ha ha. That was fun; a great way to start my trip. I got to the airport and checked in with plenty of time.

Implied Dialogue
I got a taxi after the Sparrow Quartet Concert; the subway had long since closed. I got in and together we figured out with my map how to get to where I wanted to go. After a few quiet moments of thinking and knowing he wouldn't understand, I said, "I just heard a really great concert!" He looked at me. I nodded, "Yeah, it was really good." It was silent again; I just had to tell him. And maybe he figured out what I meant.

profile pal

I glance across the sea of dark buildings to an island that rises out of the mass. There, the outline of an unfinished structure frames the shape of a man. I smile to think I have akin who also enjoys the peace and solitude of a sunset as the day closes. Although this may be the one thing we share, I feel nearer this silhouette than anyone in Phnom Penh. Presuming we have even more similarities, I wonder if he sees me too and thinks the same (in Khmer). As the lights of the city flicker on, the form of my friend faintly fades until he is no longer visible for all the light.

to town

oct.29
i had a delightful evening not grading today. when finished with my after school math class, and finding that my pupil was not there for english tutoring, i biked home. i changed into street clothes and headed downtown. i had a miserable time earlier alternating between my three dry-erase markers, trying to persuade one of them to write the information i had to share with the class. so, i just had to go to town and find new ones. but today, i decided not to take a moped taxi. it's really not that far, so i biked.

eventually, i got to sorya mall (i didn't exactly take the most direct route). there i witnessed the stark contrasts of cambodian society and the large gap in wealth. just four days ago and less than a few hours away, there are people who live and work in open rice fields and sleep above their animals, the most valuable things they own. children run around naked and others are clad in rags, kramas, or sorongs. there at sorya mall there are 5 escalators and 6 levels of western culture for sale below a large glass dome. asians and foreigners walk around in their newest hip clothes. i picked up 3 pirated computer programs for $2 each and a dvd of amalie, a master of cinematography. i simply asked the man where each was and he knew their exact location out of the many shelves. at lucky grocery, i got some much needed groceries. i tried to find a set of silverware for my new home, but couldn't find a complete trio. i bought a kitchen knife instead of a butter knife.

next, i half looked for the right way home and half looked for a school supplies store. eventually i found both. i got more than enough markers (i don't want to run out again), some pens, paper, and enough folders for each class. the best part of riding around for hours was passing a boy on his bicycle. i passed him going opposite ways on the same side of the busy street. we met eyes and smiled. after a while, i decided i was not going the way i wanted and turned around. riding along, i looked up to the smiling face of the same boy on his bicycle--both going opposite ways again but on the other side of the street. that's the best.

another time when turning around (almost home), i was able to buy a dragon fruit AND a pomegranate for 1900 reil. i usually get gypped in the fruit department, so i felt pretty good about myself getting two fruits for less than 50 cents! "yeah, that's more like it," i said as i rode off. thus, i got all but one thing on my list--a tuner for my violin student. i think i did pretty good.

finally, i found myself back in my neighborhood and stopped (for a quick look) in the internet shop. i told myself i'd leave by 9...then 10. well, i didn't leave until 11, but i had a fulfilling time writing and arranging words and mending the lines of communication with my friends around the world.

i had a certain satisfaction as i turned onto my bumpy 'street' and looked up at the bright moon. it had been a while since i had seen it. a trail of yapping guard dogs went up behind me. the bags and goods jostled in the full basket of my inherited rickety green women's bike as i rode through the puddles and over unseen rocks in the dark.

and here i am writing my thoughts once again. no sleeping or grading is being done. nor will i be able to wake up for the sunrise. but i feel much better and my long vacation to town will get me through the next half of the week. breakfast will taste much better as well, even if i have to get the peanut butter out with a kitchen knife.

biking home

mid-sept.
I have just retied the lines that connect me to home and those I love. I'm riding along the straight road from the internet shop towards the large radio tower and my home. It blinks red in the dark. The weather is perfect. The hot sun has long since gone down. A light drizzle spots my clothes and cools my face. It took me a while to learn on my rickety old woman's bike, but I can now ride without hands. I'm singing. My hands are free to wave and move to the rhythm. My flat back tire bumps along, trying to stay on beat. Thump, thump, thump... Motos pass on my left and some turn 'round to look at me. People eating late out by the street on my right stare as I pass. Maybe it's because I'm riding handless, but more likely it's because I stand out as a foreigner. I don't care either way. The music is good and I'm having fun.