#43 Teaching at Taizhou Teachers College, China (..off to Beijing, maybe!)

The extra-ordinary has become the ordinary, and the adjustment to life in China is no longer so shocking.

Visitors come to China not to find luxurious indulgence or a serene retreat, but as Janet Carmisky explains in one of her essays: "We go to China because we want to be surprised, to access the inaccessible, to ponder the opposite, to observe the alternate, and to go home perhaps understanding more about where all we've seen fits in the larger scheme of things. We come to China to observe our reactions to China. Will its otherness perplex, irritate, or humble us? Will the variances delight or frustrate us? Will it be the subtleties or the extremes that touch us most memorably?"

A trip to China is above all a feast for the powers of observation. Am I really seeing what I think I'm seeing and how close can I come in guessing?? China is not a tourist attraction, created in response to a need for leisure, as would be Disney World or Lincoln Road or Ocean Drive on Miami Beach. China is an ancient and powerful and living nation that, while caring that the outside world respects it, is not so concerned if outsiders appreciate it, since it has already existed for over 5,000 years. China continues to re-invent itself, yet goes on with being China.

The first 7 weeks have passed quickly, I am more familiar with my surroundings, and have few problems finding my way. The language is the most restraining barrier, but with international body language (especially with my body) I seem to be making some sense. It does provide a few laughs.

My first haircut went quite "noticed" by the rest of the pedestrians, many of whom stopped to watch this new "entertainment" in Taizhou: The almost-bald Westerner getting a few gray hair trimmed. This is not a place for the self-conscious, and all activities are open to public scrutiniy, to excited and active discussions.

As they stare, I'm sure they are wondering aloud, why I would even bother to have these few strands of hair touched, and some motion, that keeping them longer, I can layer them, and make it appear as having more hair. I have had similar advice from my students at CGHS. Others gesture, to have what remains simply shaved to a shine, and they would buff it. :-)

The young man who worked on my fragile and precious hair was proud to have me as a customer, and he took his time to make sure, that each strand had its due attention. After some 45 minutes, even I started to believe I had more of a crop than I do. The experience cost me 5 Yuan or 60 Cent. The cost is not based on the amount of hair on the floor!! ALL men are charged the same, and a tip was refused.

He motioned me to return often. I think our 45 minutes of "theater" was good business for his shop, and the fluffs of gray hair on the floor have now become relics.

Arthur has been planning a visit to Beijing for the past weeks, and we are leaving tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19th, via overnight train at 6:30 p.m. China time. That will be 6:30 a.m. the same day EST.
It will be my first time on a train in China, and no doubt will sizzle with many new observations.

It is my first visit to the capitol city, and the exitement is embolding frequent stomach-butterflies. My friend Sue has just shown me the slide show of her visit to Beijing only days before, and that has added to their intensity. It is said that, Beijing is filled with " Spectacular-isms". Aspiring to be one of the premier capitols of the world, the city has become the showcase for the 2008 Summer Olylmpics.

To have the slightest idea of what will await us, I have been reading as much as possible. I know the senses will be tested to their limits in this one of a kind world-city. If there is anything to be learned from reading or hearing about China, it is that, neither reading nor hearing will prepare for what is about to happen.

We are to represent Taizhou Teachers College at an International College Fair held in Beijing. It will offer a venue to enter into professional and personal contacts away from the fan-fare of jossling tourists, as well as perspectives of bi-lateral exchange in education between China and English Speaking Countries, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.

Time will permit quite sufficient elbowing with the populace and the tourists in the heat of the summer, but
I am prepared for a banquet to dazzle all the senses. Depending on internet connections at hotels, I'll offer as many photos and commentaries as possoble, either during the stay or shortly after.

IN ADDITION, my gooooood friend Arthur has made it possible to take one of the great journeys by train to the "roof of the world." "It is quite likely", he says! ( The Chinese people have a difficult time committing themselves). That is far better than their "maybe", and it comes as close to saying "yes" as one might expect from a Chinese citizen.

Should the trip happen, the newly opened train-journey from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet will take us some 48 hrs and climb higher ( 700 miles of the journey is above 12,000 feet) than any other railroad, offering its passengers Oxygen en route. Hundreds of miles of track is build on top of perma-frost.

In a previous journal of July 1st, I made comment on my fascination and love for railroads. It is transportation I prefer over trucks and busses, which cause damaging pollution and have killed thousands of regional, wild animals on their way, carrying their products and passengers to the West of China.

At the moment it is difficult for me to preach controversy. Informed people are aware that debate is taking place, and the merits and benefits of such a train are openly discussed; but it is difficult to preach controversy, as our own Western Expansion and our eventual Union as the United States occurred at the expense of great Native Nations, and anyone else in the way.

History is alive with stories on the importance of connecting an emerging America via the railroad. It caused catastrophic struggles over the lands and their development, and all with deadly regard to the wildlife and the natural beauty of a pristine land.

Regardless of the controversies, I am personally and deeply grateful for the opportunity to visit a place revered by the world, as is Rome and the Holy Land; and when reviewing the other options, preferably by train. Above all I do it, because of a continuing desire to learn and understand, and leave judgment to the others, each believing to be more and better informed.

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