China V -Headed Home Tomorrow

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 1^st half of your life, and then you take care of your parents during the 2^nd 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.