I remember the last few days prior to leaving Australia. Scuttling about Adelaide. Organising (sometimes) trivial and last minute things. Things like updating my Ipod. Printing tickets. Thinking, will this visa ever arrive? In the most lame and corny way known to human kind, one of the most fundamental things I did in those small amount of days was to decide my travel quote. The one which would begin my journal, the opening page. The concept behind the next 6 months.
'The aim of travel lies not in seeing new landscapes but rather in acquiring new eyes.'
I don't think I have read it quite enough since I arrived in this country, those almost two months ago. Despite China's developing nation status, it is quite modern and beautiful and industrialised. The cities I have inhabitated are large and bustling, they have a culture, but not one I have taken enough notice of. Instead I have been buying fanciful things and just floating about, oblivious to all that is surrounding me. Being stripped of your surroundings, friends, family, routine, my closet full of clothing, that fridge of western cuisine. Take all of these things away and you are left with something unknown, undefined, a mystery, a sphinx- a direct experience.
'Such an experience makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience. It is not always comfortable but it is always invigorating.'
I can sense I am constantly changing here, in small and ambiguous ways. I am seeing things that simply don't exist in Australia, whether they be in the customs, the food or geography. I love it. I love that I tried scorpion and I love the people that I have met, I love that all of them are older, which I interpret as them having experienced more. I have this thirst for their stories, and some of them are quite incredible.
Oonagh O'Hare has just experienced and seen so much. She is one of them people that inspire you to do more, to be more compassionate. She lived in Russia, working at an orphanage, then later lived in South Africa working as a volunteer in a HIV/AIDS hospice. She has a passion in psychology and an abundance of knowledge on the topic, which one would hope after a University degree on said topic.
Vaishale Hatel is another one, she has filled her entire passport with Visa stamps, which impressed me greatly. She is English, with Indian parents and taught herself Hindi by watching Bollywood films as a child. She constantly suggests books for me to read, which when I arrive back in Australia will be on the top of my to do list.
My Australian cohorts are no different; Emily Clarke and Molly Wilkinson. You can definitely notice a distinction between Australian attitudes and behaviorisms and of those from abroad, there is just this general level of relaxedness. I enjoy it immensely. Both of these human beings are extremely intelligent, I mean when Emily speaks Chinese to the locals, at restaurants, the Shenyang North Train Station- it's just so sexy. And Molly, here lies a woman that knows her literature. I love her sleeping habits and her ability to sleep anywhere, a comment to be taken literally. If it wasn't seen as creepy and potentially illegal, I would video her waking up. Such a blessed soul.
My friend Bob told me to be a sponge here in China, and that I am being. I am absorbing all that I can. I have learnt about Irish history, a bit about India- a depthy brief on the Caste system and divisions with Pakistan, American politics (I LOVE POLITICS), Swedish politics, English politics, ideologies, rights. The Chinese language, Mandarin. It's a tough one. I think I have picked up quite a lot. My teacher, Jessica, at my school, she's swell and exceeds the scheduled 2 hours per week of teaching. I have picked up a lot of functional language! Oh, how words are useless right now. For describing this exact moment, I am utterly content.
I shall be endeavouring to Inner Mongolia later this week, and Beijing again. To celebrate National Day in Tiannemen Square, apparently millions converge there for the holiday. It should be amazing. *It will be amazing. It is my hope I will have the time to write Part Two prior to October 1st. Keep posted and just keep on keeping on.
Tyler.
No comments:
Post a Comment