A Not-Quite Retraction and Beauty Galore

A few people have complained that it's been several days since my last post, which wasn't exactly filled with happy thoughts. I often find that I require time to think things over, but am usually too impatient to give myself said time. I want to talk about a few things that I think should be addressed.

I was talking to Crysty about the experience so far, and after scanning a few people's blogs, we came to the conclusion that we were both frustrated that people were posting things that painted a picture of China that was largely unfair and inaccurate. The tricky thing about what we're doing right now is that, whether we like it or not, our views of China are going to impact other people's views of China. You, dear reader, are subject to my own incomplete and biased perceptions, and what I say about this experience will in some way affect the way you understand China and the Chinese. After complaining about other people, I laid in bed for a while thinking about myself. I sort of went on a tirade in my last post about a feeling I was having based on an experience that I can't (and nor can anyone) ever fully understand. What I said was true in that it was the way that I felt, but I think it's only fair to this country that I've come to love to consider that there are many other ways of looking at what I experienced in that village.

Surely, as Americans, we understand the power of image and the importance of image-making. Why then does it seem that China's frame of reference is so distant from our own? I was reminded when walking through the village of a passage from Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place, where she discusses the visit of Princess Margaret to Antigua while Kincaid was a little girl. All the buildings that the Princess would visit were stripped and rebuilt. The beach on which she sunned herself was cleaned and the locals were evacuated. The highway on which her coach traveled was paved and rebuilt, while the other highways, beaches, and buildings remained in disrepair. "Surely this is wrong," I thought, as I passed villagers who'd stopped their work to stare. Days later, I'm realizing that maybe it isn't as wrong as I thought, and who am I anyway to judge?

That said, I want to express that I have been impressed and thrilled by China and by its people. This country is a magnificent one, with people who seem genuinely interested in my well-being. It is a country of confusion right now. Torn between the past and the present, its citizens struggle with their desires in the face of tradition. Journalists walk a fine line, hoping to inform the public and remain in good standing with the party. The party itself is struggling to understand its place in a world that inevitably must change. All of this struggle, disarray, and growth is now in the international spotlight as the Olympics near. In my willingness to criticize the journalists here for what seems to be a lack of journalistic integrity, I overlooked what was lacking in my own reporting. Journalistic integrity is the responsibility to uncover the truth while considering every point of view in order to determine the most feasible option. Through my hasty denouncement of what had occurred at the village, I was doing the very thing I'm struggling to accept in China.

After a frustrating day at the village, I experienced two thrilling and positive days. It's a two-to-one ratio at this point, and I think it's important to remember that. On Saturday, we went to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. I have pictures up on Ofoto, so comment on this post if you haven't seen them yet and would like to. It was insanely hot and crowded, but it was an incredible experience nonetheless. The Great Wall really IS great. The sheer size of it blew my mind, and in order to climb it, you must tread up extremely steep slopes. It was fantastic. The Ming Tombs were on extremely pretty land, but the Tomb itself wasn't totally impressive. It was very cool to see an Emperor's throne, and to see the goods with which he was buried, but it was at the end of a pretty long day and most of us were tired.

Sunday was my favorite day so far. We went to the Summer Palace, the Winter Palace, and the PEKING OPERA. The Summer Palace was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Again, there are a lot of photos on Ofoto so let me know if you want access. The Palace itself is awe-inspiring, and it's right on water. We rented a boat and went out to see it from a distance. While we were on the boat, a Chinese couple asked to take a picture of me with a fan, so I posed a few times. Afterward, I wanted a photo with both of them, but the wife only wanted a picture of me with her husband. This explains my new Facebook photo. Soon a crowd had developed and other people were taking my picture. It was really funny and a great experience. Crysty and Jim and I decided to have a little photo shoot with our newly acquired props (fans and a parasol) by a river on the grounds of the Summer Palace. During this photo shoot, a few Chinese women wanted our picture also. I think it's great that they are as curious about us as we are about them. It's a humbling experience, oddly enough, because you remember that your experience is not "the norm." We had lunch at the Summer Palace and it was tasty and beautiful!

The Winter Palace is entirely ruins, because it was burned down by the Europeans. It was a cool experience, but I was shocked that they just let people walk all over the ruins. It felt awkward and wrong to just be wandering around a field with broken columns and stairs scattered about. After that, we had dinner and went to the Peking Opera. Some people fell asleep during the Opera, but I was completely riveted. It was SO beautiful. The sets were dream-worthy, and the costumes and make-up were the definition of intense. I made friends with an older Chinese couple sitting next to me, who seemed happy to see that I was enjoying it so much. The music was so different from anything I was used to hearing, and everything was incredibly stylized. It was an interesting mix of drama and dance. The women's voices were all cartoonishly high, and it was such a lovely thing to see.

On Monday, we ended up taking a trip to the U.S. Embassy and then having drinks at a hotel nearby. I had a burger there too, which was exactly what I needed. The hotel liked us so much that they invited us to a sunset champagne sipping ceremony, which was fun. Afterward, a group of us went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was just like any other Hard Rock, minus the live music. From there we wandered down the street to an Irish pub called Durty Nellie's (yes, Durty). It was the best pub I've been to. We had drinks, played darts, played pool, had the place to ourselves, and had a dance party to the same nine Michael Jackson, U2 and Bob Dylan songs. It was a great (and strange) taste of home. I got to bed around 2:00 and woke up at 5:00 for my first day at work. :) Lovely.

Work was interesting, but we ended up not doing much of anything. The people who I'm working for don't arrive in Beijing until July 25th, so I won't be doing anything until at least then. I might take a trip to Shanghai or elsewhere. We'll see!

I did a little bit of wandering around and shopping today, and ended up buying a great dress for the equivalent of about $15. It would easily cost upwards of $60 if we were in the States. Some people are going to play ping pong now, but I think I'm going to hang out and do some reading instead. Later, we're going to a bar called "Propaganda" that is mostly an ex-pat hangout, with a 70 yuan cover charge ($10), and free drinks after that. I'm going with a large group, so don't worry about my safety. :)

That's it! What a long update! Congratulations and thank you for reading the whole thing!

More to come pending an adventure to an English bookstore and the Forbidden City tomorrow...