The Coolest Guide EVER

China has put a block on blogs. This entry comes to you via an email to northern Ontario, Canada. Truly an international edition. M & D

If you are reading this then I managed to penetrate the Great Firewall again. My irregular access to blogger.com has created a backlog of topics that I want to write about; viewing the preserved body of Mao, hiking and camping on the Great Wall, the wonders of real Chinese cooking, expat life in Beijing, and our adventure getting a Kyrgyz visa. All of these topics are interesting (to me at least), but what I really want to share is how happy I am to be traveling with an expert in Chinese language, history, culture, and food. Jessica has been studying the many facets of Chinese civilization for over 12 years, including three years of living, working, and studying in China, which means I am incredibly lucky to have her as a personal tour guide through this immense and complex country.

As I wrote in my previous post, it can be difficult to travel in China due to the seemingly insurmountable language barrier. Jess is not only fluent in Mandarin, but she is also aware of cultural and social contexts of communication. This knowledge is just as important as linguistic skill in order to have successful conversation with people in China. Rather than feel intimidated by her level of immersion in a culture that is completely alien to me, I feel immersed myself because Jess has done an excellent job of sharing her skills and knowledge. She makes sure to include me in all daily interactions, such as negotiations with taxi drivers and jokes from waiters in restaurants, by translating to and for me. Her experience as an educator shines through when we are traveling – she is able to teach about profound cultural beliefs and practices from the most mundane conversations and activities. I could be here for a year on my own and not learn as much as I have in the past three weeks with Jess as a translator and guide.

A perfect example of how traveling with Jessica has opened a window into the Chinese way of thinking happened on the train from Beijing to Qinghai. There wasn't another foreigner, or anyone who spoke English, nearby (probably since we saved a few bucks by getting a cheap “hard seat” section) so we immediately were at the center of attention for many people. Then Jess spoke Chinese to our neighbor. Half of the train crowded around in awe to hear the white woman who can speak Chinese. The old man she spoke to was very interested in the US and what life is like there, how much bread costs, and why people pay so much to go to Harvard. The conversation eventually added a few more participants and before we knew it, we were discussing human rights, gun control, and economic inequity. It was so interesting to learn about what ordinary Chinese think of the US and of their own nation's position in the world. I had a number of similar conversations in Yangshuo with English students, but they are invariably wealthy, young, and progressive, so it was much more interesting to be able to communicate, albeit indirectly, with a regular Chinese person.

Hopefully I'll get time to write more in depth about the other topics I mentioned in the near future, but until then, here is the abbreviated highlight reel of the past week;

− On my last day in Beijing I went to Tiananmen Square and joined the procession past Mao Ze Dong's preserved corpse. A very weird experience; paying respects to a dead communist leader who killed millions in his revolution against capitalism in a thoroughly modern and increasingly wealthy city.
− Jess and I spent two days hiking on a completely wild and undeveloped section of the Great Wall just a few hours outside of Beijing. We camped the first night in a signal tour built in the 1300's and spent the second night in a village family home where we ate the best fresh trout I've ever tasted. Yes, that includes in Montana.
− I have learned to fully appreciate Chinese cuisine after many feasts in Beijing with all of Jess' friends who really know how and what to eat. Although the fancier meals were delicious and memorable, it is really the cheap street food which made the biggest impression. For fifty cents you can get a Jian Bing spicy, savory, egg-y pancake with cilantro and green onion. Don't knock it 'till you tried it.
− In Beijing we stayed with Jess' wonderfully accommodating friend Lucy who is a Chinese/English translator from England. We also spent lots of time with other people who Jess knows from her time in China. It was a really interesting window into what life is like for foreigners who decide to make Beijing their home.
− Kyrgyzstan, here we come. We spent more time than I would like to admit searching for the Kyrgyz embassy, which apparently has followed the Kyrgyz nomadic tradition by moving bi-annually. Long story short: we have our one month tourist visas and we will be traveling over the Irkeshtam Pass across the Tien Shen mountains from Xinjiang to Kyrgyzstan on June 15!!!!!

I am having technical difficulties posting pictures, but I should be able to get the up from Kyrgyzstan if not sooner. The next two weeks we are staying in a Tibetan village in the Qinghai province with a host family to relax, hike, and enjoy the slow pace of Chinese rural life. Then, off to the Western frontier of China to experience the Muslim/Turkic side of the country before we enter Kyrgyzstan. It is hard to believe that I will be back in Missouri in less than two months! I am anxious to get home, but it is important to live in the present . . .