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| My class pet/biggest trouble maker, Scotty |
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| Bliss at the top of Shi Zhu Shan in FuQing |
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| Kung Fu lessons, every thursday morning |
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| the great wall of china, and some of the greatest girls in the world |
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| moto bike |
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| good times at KTV! |
When I decided to drop everything and move to China, I didn't realize how much my entire life would change....
I never thought that I would be sitting here in a comfortable home in America, surfing the internet with no delay, a belly full of healthy and delicous food, a soft and comfortable matress to sleep on, a hot shower to use at any hour of the day, and be wishing that I were back to living in an impoverished state in a rural city in China. The thought of yearning to live in a smoggy, second hand smoke breathing, knockoff purse haggling, cold chicken foot eating, frogger-esqe street crossing, nude transiant wandering, uncomprehensible language speaking, freezing, sweltering, chubby cheek rice eating environment sounds totally insane. As a matter of fact, I think it is totally insane. Which is precisely why I love it so much.
I can't even begin to describe the impression this place can make on a person. It's not exactly the most comfortable living circumstances in the world (Envision 100 % humidity, occasional hot water, and sleeping on box springs...), but it is without a doubt, the most special and amazing place I have ever visited in my life. I sit here reminiscing about the four short months I lived in Fuqing, China and can't help but think it was all one of my bizarre dreams (see previous blog). My thoughts are turned to nights of freezing humidity, huddled between nine other girls that I've only recently met but feel like my sisters. We are under fleece blankets that leave fuzzy fluff balls all over our clothes. We are eating pop-corn, a rare and precious commodity, we are watching the famous super star Jay Chou playing masterfully on his piano and watching his love story unfold before our eyes. We miss our friends and families in America, but we would not trade this time for anything.
I am dreaming of 8 naughty chinese children. Scotty, Benny, Sparky, Jet, Trevor, Ollie, Will, and Daisy. Instead of practicing sentence structure and drilling them on their BMC's, I teach them an excerpt frrom a Missy Elliot song and teach them how to shake their tiny little booties while singing Hey! Hey! Hey! I'm what's happenin'! Their chinese accents only add to the performance. I teach them to say "this sucks!" They teach me what da pi gu means (big ass, as they so adoringly called me). And every day at the end of class, I'd excuse them one by one, give them a kiss on their dirty little cheeks and made them say, 'I love you teacher Riley'. Some of the first words I taught them will be some of the last words I forget.
I am remembering being on what seemed to be an everlasting train ride to the Yellow Mountains. Breaking every rule of Chinese society and sleeping on the train floor where the loogies are hocked and the babies pee only to be woken by my hair being stuck in the mop of a train attendant. Unarguably the most disgusting transportation of my life and undeniably one of the most worthwhile trips to be made.
I'm reflecting on finding our way through the streets of Fuqing. 3 Chinese on a motorcycle in the city is no problem, 1 chinese (driver) and 2 Americans is another story. Better still is 1 rickshaw, 1 ancienct Chinese driver, and 10 Americans piled in the back. The rickshaw is moving about 4 miles per hour and creating a major traffic jam, accompanied by chorus of car horns. An emergency red light on the dash indicates the pain we are inflicting on the rickshaw, but that sweet little man driving us just keeps on grinning. What a gentleman.
There are so many moments just like these that I reflect upon on a regular basis. Those four months were the best of my life. I was just so at peace with myself and my surroundings and the whole world. Everyday I just felt happy. I wasn't wishing I were somewhere else or trying to hurry up and pass the time to get to the next thing I wanted to do. I lived in every single moment in that place.
Someday I will achieve that nirvana again.
