Life ongoing...

A blog entry started on Sunday:

I walked all over Dalian today, from the light rail station to the Pole Aquarium. This is a long walk. I really enjoyed it. The weather is crisp and sunny. Cool, clear and bright like the perfect fall day. It felt good to strike off on my own for the day and the walking was refreshing. I liked seeing the animals at the Pole Aquarium, it is a nice enough place, but I felt like there were slightly too many animals in each tank. The tanks weren’t too small mind you, just seemed a bit too full. And the fish and animals seemed a bit complacent.

Funny thing is, I have always loved going to aquariums, and today I felt a little I’ll at ease there. Like something was different and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I kept trying to compare this aquariums to ones I have been to in the past, and other than the silly love music that seems to permeate every Chinese establishment, everything seemed to be the exact same. Then it occurred to me that the fish don’t think in English, they probably think in Chinese! Ah! This is the problem! I can’t understand them because they move, look, and think differently! Chinese fish. Hmm, maybe a little crazy, but I am convinced that this is the difference. Heh heh.

Tuesday:

Well, the stories really have not been coming so fast and furious now, I know. I have had a quiet two weeks. I have been avoiding the shopping establishments, staying in at night (except for Friday night bowling which is in full swing with 15 of us Americans showing up for our five person team- a riot, and we have one for two weeks now.) The only result I can see from hunkering down is I am getting dangerously close to having to use that scary Chinese tooth paste offered by the hotel as I squeeze every last molecule of the good American toothpaste out of the tube. OK, OK, maybe I’ll go to the grocery store tonight.

Anyway, my point is, living in one place can be very much like living in any other place, you go to work, you eat your meals, you do your chores, and go quietly about your life. I have been studying a lot of Chinese, reading books, visiting with friends, and taking long walks. I feel peaceful and content with my life. A little lonely at times. But good. Happy.

In three weeks I am going to Beijing for a weekend with Sidney and Leslie. It is a surprise birthday party for a good friend of theirs who lives there, Xiao Wei. He has never had a birthday party in his entire life, coming from a small village, poor family in the south of China. (I think he is turning 24 or 25? Chinese ages are so confusing because they go by the lunar cycle meaning not the same day each year and they include gestation as one year...??) Anyway, we are going to surprise him with a big party, all out cake and icecream and party hats and lots of presents. So my faithful readers, don’t tell, OK?
Plus, I'll get to see a little of Beijing as well, the Hutong, a great Saturday Market... it is an hour flight from here.

And after that, I am off to Thailand. Then I will have to spend the entire month of January blogging about my experiences there.