Some thoughts so far

So in the attempt to create more, smaller posts I decided to separate my narrative posts from my observation ones. They're still both pretty long, though. Here's some thoughts on life in general so far:

--Living somewhere without language. This has been less of an issue than you would imagine. I think the key thing is to have somebody who’s literate and fluent and is on your side. It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand them either, just that they’re there to rescue you if you screw up and point you around if you need guidance. Otherwise, most day-to-day activities can be accomplished without words at all. In most cases—stores, banks, restaurants—both parties know the ritual well enough that you don’t need to explain anything. That’s sort of cool, actually. The one big problem with being mute is feeling isolated, which I’m not enjoying very much at all. But I think that kind of comes with the territory, and writing this blog helps with it. Why I’m eager for lessons to start.

--Along the lines of being lonely, I’ve had a lot of awkward encounters with other waiguo ren (‘outside country people’). There are quite a few who hang around the school building, and a fair number were at the temple today. I’m never quite sure how to act: on the one hand, I came to Kunming in part because I wanted to avoid the huge numbers of Westerners who go to places like Beijing and Shanghai (admittedly, I didn’t take this as far as I could have, since Kunming is still sort of a destination or at least a transfer point for lots of nearby destinations. That’s why I’m in this beautiful place instead of some polluted, stifling city in the interior), but on the other, some company would be nice right now! Though if the only thing we have in common is that we both stand out like sore thumbs, is that enough? For the moment I’ve sort of settled on a nod, somewhat more pronounced than what I give to Chinese people but not exactly a loving embrace. I still haven’t had a real exchange with any of them, which I think needs to end soon. But I suspect they’re having the same thoughts I am, because they’re not exactly jumping out at me either, and several of the ones I’ve seen speak pretty good Chinese (I assume, sigh).

--People here speak English. Not great English—they’d be discriminated against at home—but understandable, coherent English. I think almost every single person under about 30 is totally capable of carrying a conversation with me, with some effort but still. I was at the temple this afternoon, probably the single most non-Western place I’ve ever been, and a girl comes up and starts talking: “ Do you know why we have all the fish and turtles in the pond? It’s to symbolize long life.” NOT great for the self-esteem. And actually I’m realizing that I’m pretty lucky that my host parents don’t speak it; if I were staying with a college student I doubt I’d have learned anything up till now.

--As of this evening, I've been in China for exactly one week. That seems like the biggest understatement ever. It feels like I've been in Kunming alone for at least 2-3 weeks, with maybe 10 days more in Shanghai. Wish I could learn to adjust my perceptions like this at Swat!