Summer is so near. I didn't realize how much I miss the sunshine until one day.. it peeped through the clouds :)
It is time for a study break. I will probably be posting quite a lot in the next few days because it will be a nice way to vent as a study break and probably in the next few months to update on my "summer in walla walla".
So, I clearly failed at finishing my blog about my journey to China. I will post my "impressions of China" that I had to write for the class and a few of my favorite photos.
Summer is so near, I can just barely grasp it. Yesterday was my first day (well, half day) out in the field in Wallowa Gap for my internship over the summer. I am so lucky to work out there, as it is absolutely gorgeous. For the most part, I was and will be on my hands and knees counting and analyzing grass. But everything around me, the nature, the sky, the animals is so gorgeous and I am so entrenched in the nature that I forget about all my worries. I am definitely romanticizing this a bit, but I miss being out there. Sometimes, actually a lot of the time, I feel somewhat trapped inside the Whitman bubble, constantly being busy doing something, planning something, or studying for something.
But before I can relax, I have my last week of finals to get through. 4 tests in two days, back to back. I can.. do it. It is going to be a stressful week with practically all my time in the library, but I will be done on Saturday.. in 6 days!
Around this same time that I am done, my big brother will be graduating from Berkeley! I am so incredibly proud of him and I wish him the best. It is hard knowing that I will not be there to see him graduate, and also knowing that I will not be able to be with my family at that time.
And, as promised.. The last of China below!
Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an.
Had to be done. At the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. SO ESSITED!
Incense near the temples.
One of the most precious girls in Xinjiang.
A man we talked to in Tuyoq Village in Turpan.
Raisins.
Raisins upclose. Regions like Turpan are well known for their dried raisins.
At a Muslim mosque in Xinjiang.
My new Chinese friend that I met!
Camels!
Pretending to be camels
My favorite meal on the trip. MSG? Yep! These are hand strung noodles and veggies.
Impressions
of the Silk Roads
The two weeks that I was traveling in China for
the History and Ethnobiology of the Silk Roads field trip were two of the most
enriching and enjoyable weeks I have ever experienced. I did not expect to
learn and experience so much about the Silk Roads, China, the world, and myself
in the time that I was traveling.
Learning
about the Silk Roads in the classroom and seeing its influence in China
firsthand are two very different learning experiences. Visiting and
experiencing different aspects of places along the Silk Roads is the most
enriching way to learn about its history and ethnobiology. Prior to the trip,
it found it hard to conceptualize the significance, as well as the difference
between certain regions, peoples, and goods traded along the Silk Roads.
However, I am now able to make connections between what I learn both inside and
outside of the classroom, and I better understand its significance to the
people and the products that traveled along them. Because of this trip, I
gained a greater appreciation and understanding for those who traveled the
difficult and vast terrain of the desert and mountains. Often, I even imagined
myself as a traveling merchant trekking through the harsh sand dunes,
mountains, and desert.
To
be completely honest, I did not know much about China before this trip, except
for information I learned in the lecture class. I did not realize how large and
diverse China actually is, and I did not even know that minority groups, such
as the Uyghurs, existed. Thus, it is hard to simplify and generalize Chinese
culture and people, as China is actually made up of several different ethnic
groups with their own subcultures.
While in Xi’an, which is dominantly Han, I observed that the people have
certain distinctive characteristics different from those generally rooted in
Americans. For example, they have an amazing sense of hospitality, kindness,
and patience. I am not saying that Americans do not demonstrate hospitality,
kindness, and patience, but that these characteristics seem to be rooted in the
Chinese culture. Despite our group’s lateness, the Chinese students at the
Northwestern Polytechnic University were very patient and understanding when we
met them, and they were still open and friendly toward their visitors. Later
that night, when we did not ask for coffee at the first lecture, the host
served us all with the utmost kindness. Additionally, in the town square behind
the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, I observed that it had a very peaceful and calm
environment, as people were strolling along the pathways, sitting on benches,
and enjoying the company of their family and friends. My idea of the China was
significantly influenced by this trip, as I was able to learn firsthand about
its diverse culture and people.
Seeing the way people live in a China has also broadened my perspective
of the world. Prior to this trip, I have never been to another country in which
the culture, way of life, and language is vastly different than that I know of.
After visiting China, I learned much about the reality of inequality, as I have
heard much about it, but have never actually seen it. Through my observations
in China, I have learned more about this issue and why it persists in the
world.
Nevertheless, I have also learned that even though the world is a large,
diverse place filled with all kinds of people with unique stories and
perspectives of the world, everyone is not actually so different from one
another. When I met the Chinese students, I learned that they enjoy much of the
same things and also struggle through much the same issues that I do. Though we
all grow up in different environments that shape our perspectives and attitudes
of the world, we also all share similar human experiences. This trip to China
has not only broadened my knowledge about the world, but it has also allowed me
to evaluate my own life and see where I fit in the greater context of the
world.
Lastly, I also learned a significant amount about myself on this trip.
One of the reasons I wanted to go to China was to learn about my family’s
Chinese origin and how it has shaped me today. During this trip, I learned a
little about the culture that my grandfather grew up in. I can clearly connect my grandfather’s
hospitality, genuine manner, and lighthearted way of going about life to the
values and culture I observed of the Han Chinese.
Throughout the trip, I also discovered my love for stories. I heard
stories about the lives of the students at the university, the Han people, the
Uyghur people, the heroes and warriors in legends, the important figures in
Chinese history, and even my fellow Whitman students and professors on this
trip. I am fascinated by the way each person on this earth has a different
story, and each story is somehow connected to another.
I also realized my love for simplicity, my appreciation for the earth,
and my desire to live a content and meaningful life while on this trip. When I
walked through Tuyoq Village, I was fascinated by the simplistic and
sustainable way people lived. This rural village served as strike contrast to
life in the city, as they lived in a more remote area with little access to the
material “comforts” of life. The people were by no means wealthy, but they
seemed very content, humble, and genuine. I would love learn the stories of the
people who live here, as well as experience what life is like for them.
Furthermore, by constantly reflecting in my journal, I began to notice
the way I absorb information and experiences. I learned that I tend to
experience and enjoy things through my senses rather than through intuition. In
addition, when writing my reflections, I learned that I like to describe how I
feel at the exact moment and the environment around me, so I can recreate the
entirety of a certain experience.
I do not think that I would have ever had such an enriching and wonderful
experience in China without going on this specific trip, as many aspects like
the dynamics of the group, the background knowledge of the history and
ethnobiology of many aspects along the Silk Road, the knowledge and guidance of
Professor Dobson and Professor Dott, the informational tour guides, and the
diversity of sites the group went to were utterly unique. What I learned on
this trip about the Silk Roads, China, the world, and myself was an extremely
eye opening to my experience as a Whitman student.
