Just Past the Horizon

Between lesson planning, exercise (which I have been doing a lot of), and hanging with the other western teachers, I've been trying to distill my experiences so far into a single word.

I think that word is overwhelming.

Now, don't think that I'm feeling discouraged. I'm actually in high spirits today. But the word stands. As someone who enjoys the routine when it comes to doing a job I haven't had anything so far that resembles one. But as each day passes, I feel more comfortable. (or perhaps I've just been jogging and weight lifting so much that I'm too tired to feel stressed out. heh, heh) I'll try to tell you a little about my time here now that I've got a couple of weeks of Chinese residence under my belt.

Where to begin? I guess I'll start with my mornings.

So far, I only work two days a week, Thursday and Friday. Every other day of the week I can get up any hour I want and do whatever I want. Usually, my first morning activity is to go for a jog (or go to the weight room, I alternate). For starters, it's been a great way to burn off stress, and second, I've been using my jogs to explore the university campus. A lake lies about a hundred feet from my apartment building. There is a brick path that lines it for two or three miles, so I usually go for a jog on that. It's not as crowded during the day as the streets of the campus. As far as urban China goes, the path is scenic. Trees and grass line it every step of the way. Little Chinese men in straw hats sit on the bank amongst the lotus flowers and fish with great big fishing poles. I'm talking fifteen feet long. Some of them have stools that they take out into the water and perch on. It's also amusing to try and sneak up on Chinese couples (while jogging) that are cuddling or making out. This is especially easy to do at night.

There are a few neat landmarks that line the path. The first is a paved stone circle with some sort of huge metal ball in the center mutating into a pair of bird wings. (maybe?) I think that marks the center of campus, but I'm not really sure. There's an important building (likely the ministry of propaganda) that lies a few hundred feet beyond it. One day when I was getting close to the ball and wings I saw a couple cows grazing in the nearby grass (which is about knee to waist high at times). Those, no doubt, belong to the agricultural department.

A quarter of a mile past that is this neat open air stone building that serves as a cover for the path for about twenty feet. The floor of the building raises up a foot off the path and provides a smooth (read dangerous) surface to jog on. The building doesn't have any walls, only columns that hold the roof up. The roof itself is triangular and made of plaster and stone. On one of the columns is a poster of Santa Claus. I suspect that its a wanted poster, but I can't read Chinese. (likely Santa failed to pay the tax for wearing red last year.) This doesn't seem to have deflated Santa's spirits as he is still smiling and waving merely in the picture.

I want to get up early enough one morning to sit on one of the squat stone benches inside it and watch the sun come up.

Further down the path, probably another quarter of a mile, there is another paved stone circle. This is one of the cooler monuments on campus so far. One side of the circle contains seven stone pillars that rise along the circle's edge. They go up seven feet or so, and are about a foot thick. Carved into them are images of dragons, demons, birds, and other things I can't identify, all done in the Chinese style. On the other side of the circle is a large square monument with a half sphere mounted on top. held in/over the sphere is what I'm guessing is a depiction of an old school Chinese coin that is bigger than my torso. The whole thing is covered in Chinese characters, some still visible, others worn down to obscurity.

The last thing on the trail is the golf college, which, in China, is a monument unto itself. Apparently, its one of the few in the entire province, not to mention the country as a whole. For now, the college is basically a driving range with a few holes that the students can practice on, but I'm told they will be expanding it in the future.

The golf college is usually the place where I stop, turn around, and walk back to my apartment. Today was the first day that I ran all the way there. It hasn't been easy. Some mornings the smog is thick enough that you can barely see across the lake. The lake isn't really that wide either.

*Sigh*

I'd like to continue to ramble about all the things that have gone on so far, but I'm getting a little antsy about my lesson plans. I'll go get those done, and then maybe I'll get on again and do another post. Maybe I'll do one tomorrow. Who knows.

That's all for now.

Signing off.

Derek