Southern China Rules

During a three week break earlier this year in the spring, I was able to travel a bit and even do some rock climbing in Yangshuo, Guanxi province. I met up with a couple of friends on their way back to Xining from Thailand and we stayed in the beautiful karst mountain area surrounding the Li River. It was a nice time to relax after the brutal winter on the Tibetan Plateau of temps reaching up to 15 below. I was able to see a different side of China where it was more Han Chinese and got to experience a different part of culture. The Yangshuo Cooking School offered two day classes where I learned to cook the cuisine of some of the local foods and flavors just on a farm where the ingredients were grown. On my rest days from climbing, I recovered by having a massage and learning Chinese caligraphy. It was difficult to take a bad photo of the area because the scenery was amazing in every direction. The limestone cliffs were full of undeveloped climbs and there are thousands of areas still waiting to be discovered. This could very well be the next Tonsai Beach in world destinations for climbing.

Long Time, No Blog

The blog site was not accessible for a very long time, I guess. I recently checked to see if I could get on and it looks like it's up again. So, I will post while I can. Who knows how long it will be up again until it's ex-nayed?

Well, since May 2007 much has happened. I managed to get a great job at a local private school to teach kids English and have been on a year contract. They've provided amazing housing with rent and utilities paid for. A total Godsend. I helped develop the concept, menu, and design of Casamia Italian Restaurant and also helped train breakfast cooks at Tibetan Grounds Coffee Cafe in the Lete Youth Hostel. It may seem that I am destined to Westernize Xining one restaurant at a time, but I just wanna be able to eat pizza and drink coffee. I volunteered all my services on those projects to help out friends trying to make a bit of money.

Somehow, I managed to always be in English speaking environments (being a teacher and all) and have learned to speak very little Chinese. That and just being lazy to sit with tutors or study books. Although I lack in vocab, what I know now I can speak very well and I am able to get by to the point where locals actually think I am Chinese. But two sentences into a conversation and they quickly learn that I am just another foreigner who can't speak the language.

The foreign community here in Xining is surprisingly deep with families of blonde-headed children and individuals studying or doing some kind of research or environmental project on the plateau. I have a pretty tight group of friends and I am thankful to have that to keep me sane at times. I discovered how 'not Asian' I really am living here in Western China. In fact, I rarely eat Chinese foods. Not unless I feel too lazy to cook.

Many of my local friends are Tibetan and speak English, of course. Most of my Tibetan friends have more time on their hands to hang out mainly because full-time jobs are harder to come by or they are employed by foreigners who actually don't make them work 7 days a week like most Chinese employers. I've spent some quality times with certain Tibetan friends and they have become like brothers to me. They've taught me lots about the culture, city, and lifestyle. I find them to be very hospitable and endearing, though most have such unforgiveness in their hearts towards the Chinese government. But I believe that there are great opportunities for them here in Xining and much that they could do to improve their quality of life, if they so choose that path.