Right now, it's about 3 AM, and I have just finished packing. Later today, I will be flying to the province of Yunnan for a 2-week field trip as part of my class on Chinese Ethnic Groups. Of the 55 official minority ethnic groups in China, at least half of them can be found in Yunnan. All I know is that at times I will be at very high altitudes, and there will be a few periods where we'll be roughing it with no access to showers or washing machines. I'll also be staying with a Tibetan family for part of the time. I can't wait! I've heard that Yunnan is a spectacular place, and it should be interesting to see both how minority peoples live in China, as well as how the government is profiting off of their lifestyles for tourism. My goal is to find a yak to ride. Anyways, don't expect another update for a few weeks.
My trip last weekend to Henan province was amazing. First, we went to Shaolin to check out the kung fu monks. The performance was spectacular. We saw a guy throw a tack through a piece of glass and pop a balloon on the other side. Another monk also bent two long spears... with his throat. Evidently it's related to the ability to concentrate one's "qi" (more on this later) into a specific area of the body. After the show we went to a martial arts school and got a free kung fu lesson, whereupon I made the discovery that I am not destined to be a famous kung fu action star. It's really hard! During weapons training, though, I did learn how to twirl a large stick very effectively - or at least, well enough not to hit myself in the face. One of my classmates who has had a few years of boxing experience also went head-to-head with a student who has pretty much been learning how to kickbox his whole life. The match lasted about a minute and a half, whereupon my friend decided he had had enough of being punched in the face. I got the whole thing on tape - by my calculation, he managed to get in a grand total of two punches. There was also a kid of around 3-years old who was practicing his moves. He could kick higher than his head. I can barely kick past a 45-degree angle without hurting myself. There's nothing like kung fu to make you feel like an out-of-shape American slob.
After the martial arts school, we explored the Shaolin temple complex itself, as well as the Dagobah Forest. The Dagobah Forest is filled with dozens of "dagobahs", which are tall and narrow pagoda-like structures underneath which the monks are buried. The taller the dagobah, the higher ranking the monk. Also, we learned that if any of the "windows" of a dagobah are open, that means that there are multiple bodies buried underneath, perhaps children. It was somewhat morbid, to say the least.
After that it was off to the city of Kaifeng, where we visited the huge Pagoda. There's not much to say except to say it was a really tall, narrow pagoda. Nothing tremendously exciting, though there was a decent view from a few of the windows near the top.
Lastly, we went to the city of Luoyang where we visited the famous Longmen Grottoes (aka: Dragon's Gate Grottoes). It was stunning. They were carved over a thousand years ago by a workforce of more than 800,000 men. There are over 100,000 Buddhist stone carvings and images contained. I can't really describe it - you'll just have to look at the pictures once my Internet connection lasts long enough to upload them (network service has been hit-and-miss lately).
Later on, I went with some friends to get a massage (or two) at the most famous massage parlor in the city. Five dollars was enough for an hour and a half - it doesn't get much better than that. I hadn't realized how massage was related to Eastern medicine until now. Here's the lowdown: Chinese medicine (and eastern medicine in general) deals a lot with the body's "qi." The way I understand it, your qi is your body's energy and life force. Many forms of martial arts (such as Tai Qi) and meditation involve trying to achieve a harmonious, balanced qi, or learning to control it. For example, if you channeled all of your qi into your head, you could easily smash a steel board with your forehead (which I have witnessed). Anyways, different eastern practices (acupuncture, for example) involve curing ailments by manipulating and aiding the flow of qi throughout the body. Take my massage. My masseuse spent a couple minutes just massaging my big toe. The big toe is evidently along the same qi pathway as the head, and she said that it would help me sleep better. I didn't sleep that well on the train ride back, but the following night I slept like a baby. Also, the girl next to me had been feeling sick. Her masseuse started massaging her feet and then said, "Your stomach hasn't been well, has it?" Plus, my RA has been extremely ill. Yesterday she went to see a Chinese doctor who proceeded to take her pulse in her left wrist, examine her tongue, take her pulse in her right wrist, and then promptly conclude, "Yeah, I can tell you're having intestinal problems." I don't know how qi works, all I know is that there appears to be some truth to it, and it's pretty cool. Maybe western doctors could learn something from the East, and all become proficient in the art of foot massage.
That's all of the main stuff that's been going on. Expect my next post to be filled with info about minority groups, rural life, and the taste of yak cheese.
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