Winter will end

We are in the depths of Winter.  Snow on the ground and quite cold.  If this city had a population of millions during the Tang dynasty I wonder how they felt about the weather.
Two nights ago I was invited to a University to speak to an auditorium full of students about Canadian culture - typical adventure.  There was a half English/half Chinese conversation on the phone about how they would give me a ride there.  At 6:00 I was waiting at the arranged location. No ride.  Phone call - could I take a taxi?  There were many taxis, all occupied.  Eventually I got on the back of a motorcycle.  More phone calls - my driver said he knew the destination, but obviously did not.  Cold dark ride, weaving in and out of traffic.  Every time we drew alongside another motorcycle he would ask directions. Finally we arrived at an unlikely looking building and I paid him too much (must remember to carry change). Wrong building.  Luckily there was a helpful security guard who called my contact and then put me in a taxi.  Needless to say, all this strained my little Mandarin to the limit.
So I arrived quite late.  There were a couple of hundred students watching a young black guy doing some extraordinary Hip-hop moves; turned out he was a student from Zambia.  I have become very comfortable talking to Chinese University students.  Most of them understand a bit of English and I had my Powerpoint slides for them to look at.  The slides have photos of my students, family and BC scenery.  Most interesting was the questions they asked.  They asked about Canadian immigration policy, guns in the USA, oil, pollution, economics and learning English.
The more I get to know students the more evident it becomes how their education is distorted by the Gaokao (Tests they must take to determine University placement)  If you get a high mark you can go to a better university. Talked with a Geography teacher who explained that he has to teach Chinese names for world geography even though the names are useless outside of China (Vancouver is called 'Wen ge hua').  But they need to produce the answer that will give them a mark on the test.  Any teacher who doesn't understand the evils of high stakes testing should have a look at the Gaokao.
I'm struggling with my text Toastmasters' speech which is about how I loved Yoyo and then lost her to the sea in Thailand.  Luckily I have the help of Sophia who is not only a beautiful young woman who speaks English, but also wise beyond her years.  I keep thinking how much I would have fallen in love with her if I were only 20 years younger.
Why do I get these daily flashes of insight, as if the truths of existence were almost within my grasp if I could only succeed in paying attention for more than 30 seconds at a time.  On some level. all the sensory input and passing thoughts take place in a context that is entirely unaffected by them,  This is not coldness or insensitivity.  On the contrary, in the wider context everything is experienced with complete compassion.  It is non-attachment that allows the caring to flow.  I think I am in Toastmasters not to learn to speak in public, but to learn to listen to others.

The variety of types of delicious food amazes me.

                                                                                                                                   
The lady on the right is an instructor of the
Gu zheng (Chinese zither)

Sickness

Broke a record of over a year without sickness.  I don’t even remember when I last had a cold.  It’s very humbling.  The body just doesn’t feel right and I am assaulted by the idea that I will never get better.  So I walk down the street protected by layers of clothing, a toque and a face mask.  It’s like being on an alien planet where the air is too toxic to breathe.  As I look down the lines of traffic the buildings on either side start to blur in the smog until, a few hundred yards away, they disappear altogether.  Then, tonight, I went to a meeting where all the people were so warm and encouraging of one another

Xi’an is distinguished in Winter by an almost complete absence of the tranquilizing influence of nature.  The trees are dead, there are few birds.  Most of the open spaces are paved with cement and there is dust everywhere.  The people have little in the environment that can give joy, unless you count the giant posters advertising brand name products.  I suppose it’s not surprizing that many of them seem to think the only worthwhile activities are making money and spending it. 

What redeems it all is the qualities of the people.  Most of the people I know are kind, hard-working and cheerful.  It’s as if they realize that what they have in this world, their most significant asset, is each other.  People are the primary resource of China.  The qualities I see most abundantly around me are patience, co-operation, generosity, optimism and kindness.  I know I am generalizing, but after 4 months here I feel myself entitled to have opinions based on what I have observed.  Most people appear to work very hard for long hours under conditions that no western person would tolerate.  And they don’t complain about it.  It makes sense not to complain if there’s nothing you can do about it, but so many Western people lack that kind of uncommon sense.

It is said that whatever kind of suffering you face, you must endure it.  Suffering will show you its real nature.  As I recover from the sickness I wonder if I have been able to learn the lessons it teaches.  Where is the true value in my life?  Is my peace of mind so fragile that it can be demolished by a cough and a runny nose?

Before leaving my apartment I run through the checklist: wallet, phone, keys, cough candies, toque, scarf, face mask, transit card, tissues, book, glasses.   Exterior conditions – cold, smoggy.  OK time to enter the airlock.