I am doing well and am now so settled that I am finding it hard to fill my time. Part of it is intentional and has to do with enjoying time to myself after being so busy, and part of it has to do with not having a schedule yet. Plus, it doesn’t help that the weather is 33C and so humid that after being outside for 30mins it looks like I have been rained on. So for the past week, my days usually involve an air-conditioned café and my journal, a walk in the park, a trip to my campus for tests or collecting books and what not, and a venture to the market to buy food for dinner.
The highlights of my days are walking through LuXun Park and playing badminton. Walking through the park is wonderful. Not only is it a beautiful place filled with greenery, traditional architecture and a pond, it is designed so that you can actually find a little corner to yourself and not be disturbed. I also came upon the badminton courts in the park while strolling around and the next day I bought myself a racket and decided to go pay.
The first time I went to play, I stood awkwardly at the edge of the courts, with my racket out, hoping…no, knowing that I would draw some kind of attention and that the locals would want to test out the foreigner to see if she would be any good. Low and behold, at the end of a game one of the players motioned for me to come and join him. With a huge smile on my face, I jump on the court, ready to give it my best shot.
The other players gathered around, smiling, smoking, and cracking jokes, expecting a foreign girl to barely be able to hit the birdie over the net. The man made his first hit and a nice exchange entails until, BAM! I smash the birdie and make it in. My opponent smiles, chuckles and gives me a look of “oh, now then, we have a good player over here”, as the rest of the watchers laugh and convey that they are impressed. From then on, everyone wants to play with me. So everyday, I have been going back and have played with both new and regular players, advanced and beginners. Who would have thought that playing badminton in high school would have proven to be incredibly useful in connecting with locals? Thanks Gary!
Yesterday was particularly great. I went up to an older man and invited him to play. He accepted and before I knew it he was coaching me on how to hold the racket, improve my backhand and drilling me back and forth on the court. Then I was invited to play a doubles match and although I think we lost, there was lots of laughter, smiles and yells conveying “oh, no”, and “ugh! Just missed!” and so on. Before I knew it I had played for 2 and half hours and boy, did I feel great.
After I am finished playing, it takes about 20 mins to walk back from the park to my apartment. It is a great time to observe people and to reflect on my day and process my experiences. Here are some of things that I have noticed and have wanted to share with you.
Be pushy but don’t get pushed over.
Shanghai drivers are crazy and I often wonder if street signs, cross walks or lights mean anything to them. In some cultures, pedestrians have priority, but not in China. Vehicles tend to own the road. At first, I obeyed the street laws like a good Swiss and waited for cars to go by and for my turn to cross. I quickly realized that I would never get to the other side that way. Then I decided to assert myself and walk across the road without waiting just to see what would happen. Cars still did not stop. They slowed down and avoided me, but if I didn’t move, I would have been run over. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just blindly walk across the street, but all I am saying is that I have learned to cross whenever I can and to look both directions at all times, no matter where I am or what the street light says.
People hit themselves?
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that the Chinese are either Christian Flagellants or they believe life is a performance. Everywhere I look, there are people hitting themselves either with their hands or against something, or they are clapping. As it turns out, it actually has to do with health and strength. Although I am not sure, I believe that tapping your muscles makes blood rush to whatever area you are tapping. If done softly enough it can relax the muscles. If it’s done hard enough, I think it can also build strength and force the muscles to contract in response to the harsh slap. But like I said, I don’t know for sure. Maybe they really are masochists?
Don’t confuse a chest bag for a girlfriend.
Everywhere I turn, there are young Chinese couples standing, no, hanging on each other. I guess PDK (Public displays of kissing) is still not totally accepted in China. So the youth try to compensate for it by hugging and mimicking Raggedy-Ann dolls. What I mean by hugging is the girls wrapping their arms around the guys neck and practically hanging off of him as they wait to cross the road or for the subway. If you squint, they look like large, pink, frilly front bags.
Chopsticks are great for picky eaters.
(My family will get a kick out of this one). I wish I had grown up with chopsticks. Picking out mushrooms and icky little spices and herbs would have been much easier, less time consuming, more efficient and would have attracted less attention. I have certainly become less picky now, but I still come across some things that I am not so found of and boy, it is satisfying to pick them out without making a mess. :)
That’s all the updates I have for now. As you can read, I am still doing well and continue to learn, observe, and absorb everyday and I am happy to have the time to process it all. My classes start on Monday, which I am very excited about, and my job at the University starts next Thursday. I am teaching an oral English class to freshman in college. Intimidating? Yah. Will definitely let you know how that goes.
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