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Published: November 9th 2007
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For those interested, I'd just like to go about a quick and mildly comprehensive of my experience here in Guizhou, China. Without delving too deeply into the personal reactions, observations, etc...I would just like to share with you some phenomena and general occurrences.
Since completing the summer English language training program in August, I decided not to return to Tsinghua University in Beijing, for many reasons that I will simply summarise by stating that the language environment simply does not match that offered here in the South (despite the South's doubtless influence on my standard Mandarin accent). My English has temporarily gone down the tubes. A good example of late is an occasion in which I forgot the English word "harmony," but could say it in Chinese and explain it in turn...this sad turn ended with a Chinese friend telling me the English word. But this is not without reason or balance. Even though my Chinese is still roughly mediocre, bordering kindergarten-level at best, several facets of my life here have come together to rapidly improve my communicative language abilities; first is the local environment, which consists of basically no foreigners other than myself. The few foreigners that I have run into on an amount of occasions I can count with about a hand and a half's worth of fingers, I simply do not interact with; most English down here is poor, which means that I don't have the opportunity to communicate in my first mother tongue. This means everyday presents itself as a challenge, and thus forces me to learn as I move, every step and every word. Therefore, there is no shortage of context for my language learning, which does actually, believe it or not, include a little bit of "formal" education every now and then, and when I say education I mean meeting in a cafe or lounge with my teachers (1 on 1) for about 4ish hours and chatting, with occasional written assignments. As a result, my formal Chinese has really lagged behind, but I have become a functioning local.
The second and equally helpful facet of my life here in Guizhou is the opportunity I have been given to serve as a real-time interpretor. I have served on several extended trips into Southeast and Northwest Guizhou as a Chinese-English/English-Chinese interpretor. I interpreted for a Professor Zhang and a husband and wife powerhouse duo of international experts, the Italian Michele and Federica, and also between the latter two and villagers abound. This work falls under the efforts of the Guizhou Rural Tourism Development and Preservation Center's current UNWTO (World Trade Organisation) massive loan application project, geared at simultaneous development and preservation of roughly 10+ villages in the province. Michele served as an expert architect and conservationist, and his wife/partner Federica examined handicrafts and women's artworks, heritage, etc...both with the aims of development and conservation (with a stress on the latter). I have learned a lot from them, and seen much of the stresses, tensions, and inertia in the development/NGO world, but also the positives borne of patience and persistence. I have served as a cultural/lingual bridge between the heads and workers of government offices here and these experts; it is challenging work, but a lot fun; it certainly has kept me on my toes. This opportunity has given me the chance to be embedded in this world for a short period, from beginning to near completion (the completion part is slow work), as well as to witness firsthand the beauties and cultural wonders that this place's many different peoples have to offer and to share. This place is truly rich in culture, but not the kind that most may be familiar with, given the widespread poverty and seemingly complete lack of sanitation and health standards (not something I'm terribly worried about or concerned with, as I'm sure those of you who know me can attest to!). This place is steeped in that hidden kind of richness, stashed away in thick layers of forest/jungle and Karst -marked landscape, it's full of histories, stories, and traditions still waiting to be discovered.
I've experienced many things here in Guizhou, too many to list here and now, so I am sorry if you began reading this sentence with the hope of finding out these specifics!
I've had many changes of mind and heart here in Guizhou, including a change in academic focus to something that I've always harboured interest in--Anthropology, and a return to painting and drawing more regularly.
Anywho, it's getting on, and I've blathered on extensively. I think this is a decent enough rough sketch of my life of late. Hope you enjoyed it!
MAP/LOCALE NOTES:
just absolutely guessing at the relative directions of the places in southeast Guizhou that were visited, seen, and stayed in, including off-the-map little hamlets and relatively developed regions. been mostly through southeast Guizhou, but also through the northwest recently.
A Summary of Place Names(other than 贵阳Guiyang):
黔东南Southeast Guizhou: -凯里Kaili -台江Taijiang -雷山Leishan -雷公山Leigongshan -施洞Shidong -巴拉河Balahe -既刀Jidao -郎德Langde -肇兴Zhaoxing -堂安Tang'an -溶江Rongjiang -从江Congjiang -岜沙Basha -黎平Liping -剑河Jianhe (old and new) -展溜Zhanliu (not on any map, whatsoever)
黔西/黔西北West/Northwestt: -余庆Yuqing -誓秉Shibing -顿堡-Tunpu (Dunbao) -毕节Bijie -赫章Hezhang -韭菜平Jiucaiping
and other countless passed-through villages and roadside towns. i'm sure that some names are missing, but at this point, this is all that comes to mind without reference. devin.
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Iris
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yo again
Haha that's exactly how i feel about tagalog. Everytime I talk it's like fill-in-the-blanks. Pero pagpursigihin mo iyan, maliit kung kaibigan