My
graduate speaking class has been great this semester since it is by far the
most relaxed. I enjoy my American Lit and Writing classes, but they are nothing
compared to the environment in the speaking course. I have the same six
students in the speaking course from one of my literature courses, and they are
certainly a good bunch of students. Usually we just do activities: a lot of
role-playing such as zombie apocalypse/desert survival or activities like the
lying game (come up with two truths and one lie, and the others have to guess
which is the lie), and for our class this past week we played texas hold ‘em
and blackjack since our last two weeks of class will be exam preparation…wanted
to give them something nice to remember me by. Regarding the homework, I don’t
like to assign too much since these students have plenty of other homework from
their large assortment of classes. There are only two kinds of assignments for
this class: preparation for speeches and bringing in a BBC article. The BBC
article happens quite often and it is a fairly straightforward, simple task; I
have them print out an article of interest off of BBC and then they bring it
in, read it to the class, and discuss key points. Normally, they will bring in
something interesting and it will be engaging for the whole class. One article
in particular caught my fancy the other week and the link is as follows:
The
idea of truly getting lost is an intriguing one, since the act of not knowing
where you are is something we tend to avoid at all costs, especially those like
me who always want to be in control of their surrounding environment. Going
back to my very first blogpost about China, it was about this very feeling of
anxiously looking for the right direction:
Crazy
how quick things can change in a little over a year’s time (and my
understanding of Chinese culture…thinking before being left-handed would be
seen as weird because they train children to use their right hand and instead
being left-handed and wearing glasses automatically makes me intelligent and
artistic…if only). It is also funny reading the beginning where I talk about my
first impressions of Rik (my former boss, who left my previous school and works
at the same university as I do now, just in a different department), and now
knowing what a low-life scumbag he is (how naïve and fresh off the boat, I
was).
I
remember being a child when exploration was key in my everyday life. My sister,
Jacob and I used to discover new worlds in our backyard as our imagination ran
vivid in the scenery. I recall my grandmother bringing me along on car rides to
the grocery store because she knew I would certainly find the way there
everytime. I can still picture road trips with my family to Grammy’s house and
telling dad the turns to take on backroads through the memory of venturing
through them so many times before. By the time I got my driver’s license, I
needed my gps plugged into my car to tell me directions for any place I needed
to go. Even if it was a location I had been many times before, if it was more
than 30 minutes from my home, I did not feel comfortable finding it without the
gps instructing me on the exact route I outta take. Within just a decade, I’ve
gone from a steadfast seeker of worlds to a mere copycat of his technological
puppet master. Tis a pity, but the truth can be a cruel mistress at times…or
so, it goes.
I
was speaking with a friend back home the other day about the process of
writing. We both agreed that sometimes the hardest part of writing is the
motivation since there is always the voice in the back of our heads that say
our time could be devoted to something…more practical, for lack of a better word.
I confessed the greatest way to inspire writing was travelling, and not only
travelling to faraway lands as I did with my venture out here in China world,
but also taking alternative routes to get to places and keep a watchful eye on
the landscape living around you. It is one thing to preach how to write and
another taking those words to hurt, so I took my own advice and put it to the
test.
On
the way to DnD night this past Wednesday, I stayed on the bus for an extra stop
and got off at Qingniwa bride across the street from the luxurious Pavilion
mall (note: Malls in China are actually sweet, because they are typically home
to some fabulous restaurants, such as BlueFrog and Lenbachs in this case, a bar
with epic burgers and a fancy German restaurant respectively). I had been to
Pavilion quite a few times, but I had never walked the street behind it. If I
had gotten off the bus a stop earlier, it would have taken me 25 minutes to get
to my mate’s place, so I figured account another 10-15 minutes into the
equation for my arrival time: 6:55 pm. It seemed a simple task because the
surrounding area was mostly familiar to me, but walking down the street for a
few minutes, I quickly got lost and had no clue where I was going. DnD wouldn’t
start until well past 7 pm, so I discarded anxieties and kept moving forward
keeping an open eye at anything I passed during this journey. There really wasn’t
much to see, the same old landscape that encompasses the majority of the Dalian
scene, but I was completely dumbfounded by the fact that none of what I was
seeing was familiar, considering the close proximity of the area to locations I
had traveled time and time again. I knew that just a few minutes north of me,
was the path I would take to walk to my old job, but this road I was currently
on was something I had never strolled on prior. Furthermore, everything seemed deserted
except of course the roads, since Chinese roads - apart from the countryside -
are always crowded with cars for miles and miles. I truly felt like I was
strolling through the ol’ North Carolinian ghetto as I stepped hastily by
abandoned buildings and people in shaggy clothing. I kept my eyes open and
everything seemed desolate, except the train tracks to my right where a train
passed me by in a split moment during the journey. I came across a sign that
read “Renmin guangchang (People’s Square) 1 km to the left” so I knew that
meant I outta turn left since my destination was near there. Sure enough, I
came to where I was looking for within the next ten minutes walking down a
narrow backstreet, eventually coming across huanghe lu which I knew I outta
take a right on to get to my destination. And sure enough, there it was in a
matter of minutes.
This
experience isn’t much as a solitary experiment, because at the end of the day,
I didn’t observe much during my journey from Qingniwa Bridge to my mate’s
house. However, the lesson learned is an important one that I hope to utilize during
the extensive time I am off between fall and spring semester. This lesson, one
that we can all learn from, is taking a fucking chance to try a new route, or
even a new way of thinking, without the aide of some crutch, to insure we don’t
fall or choose the wrong way. I could’ve
easily gotten lost on this journey, even with finding the right way, it took me
an extra 30 minutes to walk to my mate’s flat when from the position I started
at, should’ve only taken an extra 10 minutes if I chose the correct route. And
there is the lesson: who am I to say what the correct route is? I arrived at my
destination by the end, and even if I hadn’t, I arrived somewhere by my journey’s
finish and that is a task well worth celebrating. I haven’t done it much, but I
am hoping to spend more time adventuring through Dalian (with no technological
aid, because I’ve explore the city a good deal but always with a mate or
knowing exactly where I’m going) into parts of the city for no reason other
than just venturing. We spend so much time molding ourselves into these goal-oriented
robots, that we forget life is not simply obtaining achievements and trophies,
but rather discovering new ways to do things, and discovering new surroundings around
us previously unknown. I hope to write to you all in the next few weeks of a
journey that involves me getting on a bus I’ve never been on before, getting
off five stops later, walking until I find another bus I’ve never been on,
getting on it until five stops later, walking yet again until another bus I’ve
never stepped foot on for yet another five stops, and then when I get off at
this final stop, explore the world around me and see what it has to offer. We
got comfortable with doing the same old thing from day to day, and even though
I traveled half way across the world to China, I have also fallen victim to
this unfortunate phenomenon of seeking nestled shelter wherever I see, when
really I should be embracing life for the various wonders I have yet to
embrace. Merry XXXmas, and a happy new beer.
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