Impressions

Most of this blog post is from a short piece of writing I had to do for SIT about my impressions of China so far, except this version has photos.

I arrived in Kunming on Friday feeling a little bit self-conscious about the fact that everyone around me looked Asian and spoke Chinese. I felt very much engulfed in a sea of people and yet entirely disconnected from them. I walked through the baggage area, trying to follow the crowd and hoping I would be able to tell which baggage belt I should go to.

Feeling out of my depth, however, is something I have found a giddy excitement in. Many things are unfamiliar to me in China, but this is exactly what has attracted me to this particular place at this particular time. More importantly, the feeling of being disconnected from the people here has been fading quickly with every day, as I meet people here on an individual basis and get to know about their lives (moreover, remembering some of the Chinese I had forgotten over the summer has also helped).

For instance, there are the little old ladies from Liuyi village, who are living examples of the practice of foot binding that I had read so much about at Wheaton College, and yet stand apart from those historical texts because they are not solely women whose feet are bound, but women who work, dance, and find companionship among one another.

(women with bound feet in Liuyi)

(women with bound feet dancing)

There are also the people from Tonghai, like the musician we ate with, whom I could not communicate with directly, but found amusing. And Albert, who invited us to see and talk to the children at his English school, then took us out that night to friend’s party where we (kind of) learned Chinese dances and then in turn tried to teach American dances like “Twist and Shout,” and “Cotton Eye Joe”. Finally, Albert took us to a bar with a Chinese alternative rock band that covered “You Are My Sunshine,” which is now definitely my favorite version of that song.

(street in Tonghai)

(old men playing chinese chess on Xiu Shan)

(little kids at Albert's school playing chinese chess)

Even simply attempting to converse with strangers in shops–to buy a cell phone (albeit with the help of one of the other students, Lexi), get a meal, or find an outlet adapter–has helped me feel less like an outsider and made me more aware of my own capabilities. I came to China with the confidence I could figure out my way, but without a complete realization of the extent of my abilities, which I now feel a little more aware of. However, I am also recognizing more and more how I have only just begun to test myself, particularly in consideration of the Independent Study Project (ISP), which I have the impression will be just as rewarding as it is difficult.

In conjunction with the unfamiliarity of China, there is the comforting familiarity of being in a group of American students, the absence of whom during the ISP will probably be somewhat testing. Yet, despite their familiar mannerisms and distinct American accents, our group is also interesting and diverse. We have music lovers, a linguistics enthusiast, anthropologists, sociologists, basketball players, a water polo player, Texans, East Coasters, advanced mandarin speakers, somewhat less advanced speakers, and people who understand next to nothing. I may have only known the other students for less than a week, but I know our group is filled with very capable, interesting, and creative people.

(in order, from left: Kalyn, Richard, David, Ellie, Jake, Lucas)

As a whole, China is a peculiar mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar. In the past week, I’ve been to both a Wal-Mart and a Carrefour, both of which are basically reminders of home yet are entirely different. After all, China is very much connected to the world I just left (I only have to look at the “Made in China” stickers and tags back home to understand that) and yet still completely different in immediately obvious ways (like language, food, and architecture) and other ways that will perhaps take a little bit longer to notice.

(on temple Xiu Shan)

(LOL. In a Buddhist Temple.)