I figure I might as well start this post with some observations about China, particularly Chinese driving/traffic habits, and how they might differ from those in the U.S.
1. If there are two marked lanes in the road, it is perfectly okay to create a third one.
2. Drivers will do anything in their power to get a right on red.
3. The bus lanes would be very convenient if they did not also double as the motorcycle lanes.
4. I wouldn't mind the motorcycles if they obeyed red lights.
5. In the U.S. only taxis need to be waved down, however in China buses do as well.
6. In the U.S. buses typically come to a complete stop before opening their doors and picking up passengers, however this is not the case in China.
7. Three year-olds sit on their parents laps/stand up in front of the seats while in a moving car, let alone use a car seat.
8. As one might assume after reading the first seven points, the fact that I wear a seatbelt in cars is considered weird
9. Taxis don't stop for anybody.
10. If a taxi driver feels it necessary, he can pick up as many passengers as he wants while you are still in the vehicle.
11. In the U.S., pedestrians typically have the right of way while in a crosswalk, especially with a green light; in China, everybody has the right of way.
12. Yes, the shoulder on a highway is an open lane too, especially during traffic jams.
13. Instead of painting lines on the road, the Chinese government will frequently go out of their way to build nicely furnished underground tunnels manned by a 24 hour security guard, rather than draw a crosswalk.
14. Many western manufactured cars, and always taxis lack seat belts (where could they possibly have gone?)
15. Generally the sidewalk in the U.S. is there for pedestrians to walk on, not to build large numbers of parking lots and associated roads on top of it.
16. Despite all these observations, I have never seen a single accident (not one!).
I can offer many more similar observations on various other categories if one wishes.
Anyway, this week has been particularly interesting, with many unique happenings both inside and outside of school.
On Monday, my classmates and I went to a local tea house near school, where we watched a Chinese tea ceremony that consisted of pouring many different types of tea, including green, oolong, pu'er and black. Aside from the pu'er, which both smelled and tasted of lox, the others flavors tasted the same to me, but I have never been one to discern different tea flavors, never having a strong craving for the beverage. After commenting on the taste of pu'er, I learned that aside from the three students in the room from New York, nobody knew what lox was! This was a very surprising observation, as I consistently forget how much of the American lifestyle I have been used to does not even exist in other parts of the northeast. The ceremony itself was also very interesting, with different pots and means of cleaning the teacups for every flavor of tea, as well as a specific means of tasting it (you are supposed to taste the tea three times, downing it on the third). There were also some delicious sweet pecans, pumpkin cakes, and vegetable 包子 to go along with the drinks.
On Tuesday, despite the heat, I took a bus back to 大兴善 temple to complete my interviews for my final project, which is on the various Buddhist and Daoist temples in Xi'an. This ended up less of a formal interview, and more asking many casual questions to many people, presented to whichever temple-goer was willing to answer, and they yielded some interesting answers indeed. I learned that one man comes to the temple not because he is Buddhist, but because he is Chinese, and would be willing to go to a Daoist temple if he wishes. I also learned of the purpose of the many sheets of paper workers can always be seen folding in a special manner on the temple steps (first one must pay for them, then they are burned in the incense vats as offerings to the dead). Buddhists can also purchase tiny Buddhas found in large towers filled with tiny Buddhas, and write their names underneath them as good luck charms. These are also found at every temple, but until now, I had no idea of what their purpose might be. I also had a nice chat with a taxi driver on the way back, who was one of the friendlier drivers I have met in the city, which was a nice break after waiting 20 minutes for a bus that never came.
On Wednesday, we were presented with an interesting culture class, which was quite a lot of fun as well. After spending the previous day learning about Chinese clothing throughout the many Chinese dynasties, we got a chance to actually try on the clothing we had learned about. Out of all the many ancient Chinese costumes, with one for seemingly every royal official, I donned some Shang Dynasty court adviser robes, and posed with my classmates for some very unique pictures. After this, we took a bus to the Yellow River Soup Kitchen, the first soup kitchen in China to partake in some community service. The soup kitchen is the first in China, and is located behind an old 19th century cathedral, the first in Xi'an, which was constructed by missionaries over a century ago. This was one of the many great syncretic structures in Xi'an, since so many religions converge here in this one city. I had some great conversations with various church members about life as a Christian in Xi'an, and they asked me certain questions about Jewish culture in the United States. The teachers that accompanied us were also very curious, and asked us many questions about Christian culture, since it is a culture they know nothing about (this was their first time in a church). After the church visit, we learned that the soup kitchen did not open for another hour, but learned a lot about the kitchen from a very interesting British man that founded the soup kitchen eight years ago. We were all given an invitation to return and volunteer, which I hope to do in the next two weeks.
On Thursday, after a delicious dumpling making session in the cafeteria (they actually had vegetarian filling!), I went with two of my classmates, who also are very interested in the Chinese language and history to 大雁塔, or the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Despite living so close to it, and the pagoda being one of China's most famous tourist attractions, I had not yet gone inside. The pagoda plays a significant role in Chinese Buddhism, as well as general history, since it was built for keeping the translated sutras of Xuanzang, a very famous Chinese monk, who during the Tang Dynasty went to India to bring back sutras, or Buddhists texts, and translate them into Chinese. The pagoda therefore, is surrounded by an equally famous museum-temple, named daciensi. This also had many famous relics and murals depicting Xuanzang's life, and wood and jade carved scenes from the life of the Buddha. After exploring the temple, we decided to ascend the pagoda. Although the pagoda today, at only seven stories might not seem that impressive, it is an amazing structure, considering it was built around 1500 years ago, and is so incredibly well preserved, with a great view from the top. The names of the construction workers that helped build the temple are still inscribed on steles at the pagoda's base.
Friday consisted of another Friday trip with all the American students to 大唐芙蓉园, or Tang Paradise, a park that happens to be located across the street from my host family's house. Tickets, however are 120元, so I had not yet entered. The park is one of China's largest tourism projects, featuring many 1:1 replicas of various Tang Dynasty palaces and structures around a lake. I found it to be a very nice and fancy park, but a little overrated, considering the buildings and structures there marketed as authentic were clearly not authentic at all. I enjoyed talking with the tour guide, though about various aspects of China's Tang Dynasty history, especially over a model of Tang Dynasty era Xi'an. It was here I learned the orgin of the Chinese word 东西, dongxi, or things, literally meaning east-west. This is because during the Tang Dynasty, in Xi'an, there originally was an eastern and western market, located on opposite sides of the city, where almost every item could be purchased. Therefore, when somebody wished to purchase an item, they could go to the eastern and western markets to purchase 东西。The park also featured some very cool lion and gymnastics shows. Afterward, I left to go home, and went on another trip to Qujiang's southern lake park, this time with my host siblings, and spent most of the time there playing with my small host brother Maomao, who was swimming in a very large inflatable pool set up in the park.
The weekend consisted of another exciting excursion. On Thursday I was told that the next day we would be leaving on a two day overnight to some nearby mountains due to the heat. We ended up leaving Saturday, but that should give a good indication of how bad advance notices are in China. On Saturday morning, we left early to pick up my host mother's parents, who would be accompanying us on our trip. We then drove an hour to a nearby national park, past hundreds of inns to our inns. The inns were very Chinese, meaning they probably would not suffice as a hotel in the United States, but in China work just fine. I very much enjoyed this inn dynamic, with food eaten on tables outside baked next to you in their kitchen, and a large number of families living together in a few rooms surrounding a courtyard. We went down to a river frequently, and I watched a lot of TV and played a lot of cards with my host siblings, which taught me many new Chinese words. The next day, we all took a rickety cable car up part of the mountain. Here my host parents stopped, due to the three year old that was with us, but my host siblings and I continued. We managed to reach the top of the highest peak after two and a half hours of climbing, a climb that turned into a rock scramble after a while, with no trail in sight. This climbing gave way, however to a majestic peak over 3,000 meters above sea level, where we could see hundreds of surrounding Shaanxi mountains. Many Tibetan prayer flags were also strung around the peak for unclear reasons, making the view especially peaceful. Afterward, we climbed another 2.5 hours down to eat dinner and return home. My host family was consistently amazed that I was able to climb so fast, frequently having to wait for my host siblings, especially after having skipped lunch that day to go climb. After another inn dinner, we climbed into the car and returned home.
Running out of good closings,
Ben Weinstein