I find it difficult to connect with most Chinese. Not a whole lot of playful gestures, or small talk on their part to reciprocate my curiosity. It seems that often enough they give off a stark contrast from the other locals I encountered in Russia and Mongolia. At Silk Street, a goods market in Beijing, the 18 and 19 year old sales girls use high pressure tactics as they cling to their calculators, punching in new prices. "You buy! 25 yuan... 22... 20!.. Why you difficult!?.. I hope you die!" Another example is the story that is all over the news about 2 year old Wang Yui. She was run over by two vans in Guangzhou and ignored by over a dozen people. They all walked, biked, or drove by the bleeding body of a toddler for well over five minutes until a woman finally pulled her out of the road. I was told that the Chinese are divided into two social groups: family and close friends, and everybody else.
I did make a few friends over a game of dice in a bar. They were some young twenty-somethings on vacation. After the bar we moved up to the roof top of their hotel and talked about traveling, dating, and working. They had the same wants as me, but one of them said "But it's different for you." We didn't get much deeper than that.
Of course the history here is staggering. So many dynasties, wars, eras, and figures. The one thing that seems to unite it all unlike European history or American history is that their is keen interest on preserving China as a civilization. The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters, the everyday tools that are used, and the folk music are a few of the ancient relics in contemporary Chinese society.
The most impressive part of China is in the Guilin providence. For hundreds of miles, thousands of karst towers stretch out well beyond the boarders of China. For me it's like walking on another world. This is supposed to be the crescendo of the trip and it doesn't not fall flat. For six days Ken and I climbed the limestone pillars in Yangshuo.
Climbing makes sense to me, and I'm glad I've been up there as much as I have been. I will encourage you to get some gear, get some knowledge, get a friend, and start climbing something. You won't be disappointed.
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So, the trip has been over for almost a month and a half and I'm finally getting around to finishing this last blog post. As you can guess Ken got the rope untangled (because he is "wicked awesome") and we lived to climb another day. The above thoughts and experiences have been sitting in my edit box this whole time, waiting for me to return and finally publish them. Today is that day.
I didn't leave China behind the way I left Mongolia and Russia. I met someone, and I've was keeping in touch with them since I'd returned to the states. It was great, and it only reaffirms my belief that no matter where a trip takes you, there's always someone there that you can connect with. That trip was amazing. And I miss it, but time to move on to the next phase of existence.
I arrived in Beijing a few days before my flight on the midnight train. When I exited I found myself walking through a dark tunnel with other passengers. Among them were a father and a son. While walking behind the two I noticed what the little boy had printed on the back of his coat. It said "Exit through a dark tunnel." I can't remember a moment in my life being so coincidental, and I thought it was a fitting reminder of what part of this trip was about. In my China journal I wrote about the coincidence and said that "the moments of my life have never been so blatantly narrated... I like to think I've been paying attention to those moments over the last few months without the aid of these reminders." So, I suppose living in the present matters to me... but I still like to think about the past every now and then. It's been great.
¡Salud from Miami!
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