The middle of the world

As we drove through the lush countryside SW of Xi'an it occurred to me that each field, with an industrious farmer working away at the soil, has seen thousands of years of continuous cultivation.  As we entered the Qinling Mountains which due to their central location, figure prominently in much of Chinese history.  I feel very welcome here, as if the universe has decided this is the place I should be for a while.

Xia'an has a palpable thirst for English language teachers.  Mostly, what they get is young foreigners who want a little adventure, to make some money, meet Chinese girls and drink
a lot of beer.  I have nothing against this, but what they do NOT get is experienced teachers who are native English speakers.  There's something about being needed that is very appealing when one is retired.  They won't pay me much, but that's not my purpose.  Actually, after a while, I could probably make good money doing private tutoring, but my main purpose is to learn Chinese, help people to improve their English and explore the mysteries of China.
All the berries, mountainous countryside, and natural beauty are an unexpected bonus.  The lower right picture of a hostel is not precisely where I stayed but it is similar.  There's a huge tendency in Xi'an to celebrate the past by creating environments that look ancient.  They are actually built recently, but the details are quite authentic.

 I appreciate the atmosphere and the respect for the past which gives everything here a unique flavour.  The photo below captures the feeling of the wall in the late afternoon.  I imagine soldiers of the Qing dynasty patrolling its length, bored out of their skulls while absolutely nothing happens.  In the mid 1700s the Chinese Empire was vast and unassailable.  Xi'an occupies a position in the middle of China; China, to the guards on the wall, was the middle of the world.

 Where is it all going now?  Where am I going?  Have I learned anything in the past five months?  How about this: in the exploration of extraordinary sights and experiences it turns out that it is the people, not the places, which are important to me. Not too surprising really, but if you look at tourist brochures they routinely suggest the opposite.  I always photograph places, out of respect for the privacy of the inhabitants, but a building is just a building; a view is just a view.  I appreciated the berries in the mountains, but

 more than that I enjoyed the delight with which other people enjoyed them (left).
At one point we came to a place for viewing monkeys.  The monkeys were fun, but at a certain distance away.  They were not easy to photograph.  So the Chinese tourists (well of course they're all Chinese - the waiguoren do not get to a place like this) decided they would take photos of me.  They put their children in the photos too.  Its a very typical situation and proceeds with a lot of warmth and humour on both sides.  What struck me is that they are seeing the same thing that I see, only from the other side.  People are interesting.  Making contact with people who are different is VERY interesting.  I think this point may possibly lie at the root of my passion for studying Chinese.  We know intuitively that underlying the vast diversity of humanity we are one world.

You can sense the life force all around you - in everything - but in people it finds its most available expression.  Are we all one family?  Is the 'I' that animates you any different from the 'I' which animates me?  Does one see one's self in another oneself?  When the realization hits you, in a flash at times, there is an upsurge of joy.  Someone asked me how I can travel so far by myself.  In China I never feel alone.