On Vacation

Today I actually set an alarm and got up before 9. At first I was rather annoyed, and then I remembered how different cities are in the morning, and how much I like them. Not a lot of stores were open and when I passed people on the street, part of me thought, "Ah, another morning person!"



The reason I was up early was to go to the Tianzhe temple, in the west hill suburbs of Beijing. I think this came about after sharing with a Chinese friend that I wanted to travel somewhere, but being told that it's apparently impossible to get tickets BACK to Beijing if you go far away right now.
So I think my friend arranged for us to go on a mini trip to the temple. I'm beginning to realize more and more how little I actually understand this culture and how often I think I know what is being said when I really don't.

Thank goodness for me there isn't as much of that strict polite propriety nonsense you find in some other cultures.

(Suburban sculpture.)



Driving from the very edge of Beijing to the temple, it was the first time I saw green since coming to China. I hadn't realized how much I missed the natural world being constantly surrounded by man's ego. I felt such solace and joy gazing on the mountains. And also wonder, observing the terraced corn fields, twisted rock, and nuclear power plants side by side.


Tainzhe Buddhist temple was built in 307 CE and the saying goes "First there was Tianzhe and then there was Beijing."

China is officially an atheistic country. While crossing a bridge between a cave and a temple house, two in our lot started talking about religion and monks and decided that being a monk was just like being anything else; it was a profession. Against my better intelligence, I've always kind of liked religions and spirituality. Even having just watched the Zeitgeist section on it, I was still a bit taken aback when the boys in our group found a secluded place to smoke, even though there were signs everywhere forbidding it, and left the stubbed butts where they fell.



(Giant incense coils.)

It was rather cold and windy at the temple to start, but also quite lovely. Many people had come to pay respects for the New Year; there was much incense lighting, money spending, and bowing. I had a most pleasant time walking through the beautiful temple grounds being an assiduous English teacher, (Say it again. No, again. Apple! Good!) and receiving equally scrupulous Chinese instruction. I discovered that there really are more than four or even five tones to Mandarin, if you count the neutral and you pay attention. This has been very helpful.

I also convinced some of the people I was with that one boy in our party had taught me an extremely rude word, when in fact I learned it a long time ago from some girlfriends. They all had a good time teasing him and he became thoroughly embarrassed but by the end of the day had remembered when and why he'd taught it to me and why it was O.K. So that was fun, and again I find myself grateful for humor that transcends culture.


Also today I ate some of the fruit skewer things that I always thought were tomatoes. It turns out they are Chinese Hawthorns and delicious. Much better than the cow's lung, squid tentacles, and in-translatable white animal pieces in our hot-pot lunch.