Adventures and Impacts

I know I'm a bit behind on posting - as I write this, I'm already sitting in my apartment in Buenos Aires! Our last two weeks in China were full of more trips and activities, in addition to our classes and time spent learning about Chinese culture and society. I feel like I'm very much still processing my time there which is making this post more challenging to write.

I'll start by going through the highlights of our last two weeks: the trips, the sights, and the extra adventures. We spent the majority of our second week in China on a trip to Xi'an, a city in central China. Before leaving Beijing, we stopped at the Olympic park to see the stadiums. They are already starting construction on new facilities for the upcoming winter Olympics. Silas and I even climbed up inside the rings! Once again, we traveled by overnight train, except this time we all made it with no issues at the station! I was glad to have another opportunity to take the train, since trains are my absolute favorite way to travel. I woke up a little earlier than many and was able to sit at the table by the window and journal for awhile. As I watched the scenery go by, the train speakers actually started playing a playlist of classical music, and I felt like I was in some BBC movie. It was wonderful.

Upon arriving in Xi'an we visited the city wall and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The wall surrounds the inner city and has been rebuilt multiple times since its original construction in ancient times. The pagoda at the Da'cien temple complex was built by Xuanzang, the monk who brought Buddhism to China. Our tour guide led us through the carved jade murals within the temple that showed the story of his life and then we were able to wander the complex on our own. As I walked through the gardens, I witnessed a beautiful exchange between a monk and a construction worker. The monk, clad in orange robes and bearing the truest smile I have ever seen, tapped the man repairing a set of stairs on the shoulder. The worker turned, and the monk handed him a perfectly round orange and smiled even wider. The worker bowed to the monk, and went back to his task. I feel quite lucky to have been able to bear witness to this simple moment of human caring.

1. The Arrow Tower on the city wall. 2-3. Views of the Pagoda

The next day in Xi'an we visited the Terra-Cotta warriors! They did not disappoint. There are three pits that you can visit, and the first one is the largest - much bigger than a football field. In this first pit I was able to see the impressive lines of warriors that grace the fronts of postcards, but there was so much more to see that I was not expecting. For example, I learned that all the warriors you see are reconstructed from fragments. Behind the lines of full warriors, you are able to see the areas of the pit that are still being excavated where there are broken warriors covering the ground. In one of the sections, I saw the little archaeologists desk that got me extremely excited for my future career. I want somewhere like this to be my office someday! You could also see the open restoration lab where the fragmented warriors are put back together. Every single warrior has an individual face as well, which makes the look of the army all together so much more lifelike.

In the evening we went to the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an for dinner and shopping. The streets are all lit up and packed with street food vendors. I wanted to eat everything! Alas, my stomach can only hold so much, so I had a delicious "Chinese hamburger" (mutton sandwich with veggies and chili sauce), a crispy spiraled potato, and some rolled matcha ice cream for dessert. After we ate, a group of us wandered through the section of craft and souvenir shops before going back to our hotel. There were hardly any tourists there, and it was awesome to explore an area of the city where we were amongst primarily local people.

1. A view of the main street in the Muslim quarter. 2. The bell tower of Xi'an by night. 3. Pomegranate juice being squeezed.

During our last week in Beijing, we were mostly focused on class and finishing our final papers. However, we had a few extra excursions despite the increase in homework! On Tuesday we had a martial arts class on the track at CNU. Our teacher started the class with some tai chi to warm up, and then he taught us some ken-do moves, a martial art that uses bamboo sticks to fight. Then on Wednesday we visited a community center that has an English language program for the elderly where we were able to talk with some of the students to help them practice. Many students also gave short presentations in English and sang songs! Once again we were unexpectedly called upon to perform as well, and I am happy to report that we sounded much better than in Tanzania! On our final day we met up with our buddies once more for a visit to the Temple of Heaven, another beautiful temple complex from the Ming Dynasty. I was so glad for the chance to see Maggie and Cindy one more time before we left for Argentina.

1. Our final pose from martial arts class. 2. A group photo with Annie and Sarah, the women I talked to at the community center. 3-5. Some fun pics from the Temple of Heaven!

I haven't talked a lot on this blog about what we were actually learning in class this month. Our Political Economy class was taught by David Moser, a professor who is originally from the United States but has lived in China since the 1980's. It was great to have him as our lecturer, because not only has he lived through so much recent Chinese history, he is also free to speak honestly about the government as a foreigner. One of the biggest pieces of culture shock I experienced while being in China is the amount of censorship that people experience both in print media and on the internet. I had to download a VPN (virtual private network) to access sites like Google, Youtube, and many other sites that I take for granted in my day-to-day life.

In class we had a very emotional day where we talked about the Tiananmen Square massacre, and I was shocked to learn that because of the censorship and taboo surrounding this historical event, it is entirely possible for a young person in China to not know that it happened at all. Even though there are still people for whom Tiananmen is within living memory, the government has locked down the information surrounding the massacre so much that it is simply never talked about. Additionally, critiquing the government is simply not possible for people living in China. As a U.S. citizen, I have been raised with the belief that I can and should critique my government as I see fit, so it was difference to be in a place where that was so far out of the realm of reality. At one of our school visits, we talked to a student named James who spoke basically perfect English. However, the one word he did not understand was the word "protest."

My experience in China has made me think a lot about democracy. One of the biggest areas in which the Chinese government is in some ways better than the U.S. government is its efficiency. When there is only one party, it is very easy to get things done quickly and keep the country stable. However, despite the benefits of this one party system that I can see in China first-hand, I still believe that the lack of agency on the part of citizens is problematic. Also, I should note: I say this not as some assertion of Western superiority, but as an examination of my own culture and values after my experiences in China. With this knowledge in mind, the Hong Kong protests that are underway right now are even more scary to consider. The protests right now are so similar to Tiananmen Square - they are primarily led by young people, there is not a clear leader, and there is not one clear set of demands. I've been following the news updates, and the situation has only increased in violence. I truly don't know how this is going to end, and I am truly worried that it won't end well. Still, I have to hope that things will be different this time.

That being said, I am so grateful for the chance to actually spend a meaningful amount of time in China. The opportunity to examine both their government, and my own, critically is something I will always be grateful for, and I feel like I understand China so much more complexly than the narrative that we are fed in the news media. China is a country that is often portrayed as a robotic antithesis to the West, but that is so far from the truth. Amid the many cultural differences and governmental regulations that people experience in China, I experienced so much friendliness, compassion, and joy. I am glad for the ability to go home and have meaningful discussions with people about what China is actually like. I'm super excited to be enjoying the warm weather of Argentina, but Beijing will always remain a special place for me, one that I am sad to leave behind.

Thanks for reading!

-GMH