Tea Time (Day 21)
Today we visited a stoneware company in
Wuxi that is famous for manufacturing teapots. They mine the stone locally in
five natural colors; red, gold, purple. black, and green (which is the rarest
of the five). The teapots are handmade and then fired at 1200 degrees. They are
specially designed for smooth pouring, properly fitting lids, and no drip
spouts. Only one type of tea should be brewed in a pot since the tea
accumulates overtime and coats the inside of the pot; this enhances the flavor
of the tea. The pots should only be cleaned with water; never soap or any
chemicals since this will strip the pot of that coating.
The Chinese word for teapot, ‘fu,’ also
means good fortune. The bigger the teapot, the more luck and good fortune that
are to be had. As a result, we all touched the giant teapot in the lobby of the
teapot museum. The Chinese character for tea is made up of characters for
people, plants, and flowers. This signifies that people are surrounded by nature
and that they should be harmonious with it.
A farmer who was sitting under a tea
tree one day first discovered tea. As he was eating his lunch, some tealeaves
fell into his cup. After drinking the water, he discovered that it tasted
different, in a good way. After that he researched tea; how to make and its
properties.
There are many different types of teas
including black, green, and oolong; each with their own medicinal properties.
Green is the most popular in China. Oolong tea stands for dragon emperor and should
be drunk in three sips; one for happiness, one for longevity, and one for good
fortune. When holding a teacup, one should grasp the upper portion of the cup with
their thumb and pointer. The middle finger supports the bottom of the cup.
Females should drink with their ring and pinky finger out for beauty, while
males tuck these two fingers in to symbolize power.
Heaven on Earth (Day 22)
The Eastern cities of Suzhou and
Hangzhou are two of the most beautiful ones in China. They are so nice, that they
are considered places of Heaven on earth. While the official language of China
is Mandarin, each city has its own distinct dialect. The dialect of Suzhou is
very soft and pleasant to the ear. It is
said that a person would rather hear a couple fighting on the streets of Suzhou
than listen to the Beijing Opera. Suzhou is also well known for it’s attractive
girls. Due to the wet climate, they tend to have beautiful skin.
Further, Suzhou is also famous for its lovely
gardens. Rich and important people, such as the emperor and high-ranking
government officials, tend to have gardens. Gardening is considered an artisan
skill in China. ‘The art of gardening’ takes time to master, but once it has
been, the artisan can create elaborate designs and garden areas. Today we
visited the Administrator’s Garden. One gardening technique we observed was the
use of obstruction. A gardener will purposefully add things, such as rock
formations, to ‘block’ pathways. This encourages the visitor to walk around
more and do further exploring, as opposed to following a straight pathway.
Another technique employed was the use of the background/distance into the
garden scenery. One particular view within the garden opened up to and incorporated
a distant Chinese tower. A third technique was the use of hidden walls. The
garden must be enclosed, but it is done cleverly. The walls are designed in
such a way so as not to be obvious and as to make the garden seem larger. The
structures within the garden are also built purposefully. Since Suzhou is such
a wet city, corridors were built to connect all the buildings. These corridors
were built to be two-sided –one side for the host to use, and one side for the
servants to use.
Romeo and Juliet (Day 23)
Yesterday after dinner we went to a
theme park where we watched a live performance show. During the show they dance
reenacted a Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. This story is one of the five
classic stories all Chinese read and learn about when they are young; this one
is the most popular among girls –for obvious reasons. In China, it is said then
when a creature lives to be 1,000 years old it gains powers to transform into
human form. These monsters can then cause havoc. It is the job of the monks to
keep these creatures at bay. In the story, a white snake and a green snake gain
this ability and transform into beautiful women. They meet a guy at West Lake and
both him and the white snake fall in love. The monks, believing that the snakes
are bad, chase after the girls/snakes to destroy them. In the story though, the
snakes are good and only want to live happily with the man. The white snake
tries to fight back by flooding the temple. Eventually the white snake is
caught and imprisoned by the monks. Before this happens though, she has a son
with the man. The young boy grows up and finally saves him mom from the monk by
destroying the pagoda she’s entrapped in. The white snake is reunited with her
son and husband and they live happily ever after.
Relationships in China (Day 24)
China is a collectivist culture.
People’s thoughts and behaviors are centered on the group (family, friends, the
country), rather than the individual. This mindset has been evident in the
relationship interactions I’ve witnessed here.
The family unit is very strong here in
China. Once married, couples will often remain living with their in-laws. Here
you are taken care of by your parents during the 1st half of your
life, and then you take care of your parents during the 2nd half of
your life. You will often see parents and their son or daughter walking around.
Often grandparents will be along or will take their grandchild out too. Parents
seem to be very loving and doting towards their children. While both Americans
and Chinese love their children, I feel like the Chinese display their fondness
more openly than do Americans in public. The children here essentially become
the central point of the family. I’ve witnessed both Moms and daughters dressed
alike too. I’ve also noticed that many advertisements show the typical family
all happy in their commercials.
Couples are also very doting in public
here as well. You will see many couples walking around holding hands and
hugging one another. The same is true of close friends. Females will often walk
hand-in-hand or with locked arms. Males tend to also be more “touchy-feely”
than in America and show a greater closeness with one another.
Gone in the Blink of an Eye (Day 25)
Today was our last day in China. I feel
like I’ve been here so long, and yet for no time at all. It’s a bittersweet
feeling right now. I’ve immensely enjoyed my time here in China and am sad to
be leaving the exoticism of it. At the same time, I’m looking forward to the
comfort and familiarity of home; friends, family, tap water, not washing
clothes by hand, and knowing what sort of food I’m sticking in my mouth. While
here, I’ve met some great people and made new friends –both American and
Chinese. It will be weird returning to the U.S. after a month of ‘isolation’
from everything back home. I am not current on any news, have not used my cell
phone once, and have barely touched social media (even despite it being a big
part of my planned career path). Overall, this has been one of the most
enriching experiences of my life and I would highly recommend similar travel to
everyone. While here, I’ve learned so many things. Not just things solely
related to China, but life lessons that can be applied daily in my life too.
I already wrote a blog post on not
taking things for granted, so I won’t rehash that here, even though that is one
of the major things I got out of this trip. Another big thing I’ve learned on
this trip though is patience. This has popped up in a couple of ways. With
cities containing populations way larger than the entire state of Minnesota
(not even mentioning my home state of Alaska), people are everywhere. That
means that getting places and doing things isn’t always the quickest. I’ve
learned to accept the inevitable slowness and have gained an understanding of
what it takes to live in such a crowded culture. It does no good whatsoever to
get worked up or cranky about it. Things go so much smoother and everyone is
much happier when you keep a positive attitude. Further, I’ve definitely gained
a greater appreciation for patience stemming from the language barrier here.
The Chinese have been so accommodating with us Americans and our inability to
speak Chinese. They do their best to comprehend our measly hand gestures and
try their hardest to make their message clear back.
Another thing I’ve taken to heart while
here in China is to always give something a try. There’s a phrase currently
popular in the states known as YOLO –you only live once. We jokingly suggested one
night that the theme of our trip should be YOCO –you only China once. Well, the
joke kind of stuck and whenever we go to try something we wouldn’t normally, we
always say YOCO first. I honestly believe that this mentality is good to have.
It is something we should bring back to the states with us. Just because something
is different, foreign, unknown, or possibly looks/smells bad, does not mean
that you should instantly dismiss it. Instead you should give it a try and
truly find out what it’s like.