Do it in Chengdu. This is the path and motto Dan and I have chosen. After always opting for the unexpected and ditching established plans for newfound ones, I have found that taking that fork in the road you hadn't seen a couple of feet back in the road and somehow stumble upon mysteriously is more often than not rewarding and full of welcome surprises.
Being offered free room and board at the Sunshine International Youth Hostel in Sanya where we originally were staying as guests in exchange for daily English lessons was one of those forks in the road I happened upon. Deciding to stay was a pleasant walk down this forked road, my eyes constantly peeled for new sights and passerbys. After 1 month at this hostel, I can confidently say that the stroll was well worth it. I have made my very first friends in China at this hostel, both foreign and native, and I was surprised how sad I was to leave my temporary home in Sanya.
There were so many unique and silly experiences I encountered on my 1-month stay that come with traveling and random plans. If I hadn't decided to nest for a little bit at the Sunshine Hostel I wouldn't have been able to dance my ass off at the barbeque party that ended up with Jason lighting up a pyramid of mixed drinks on fire while everyone danced with glow sticks in their hands. I also wouldn't have been able to enjoy my first Chinese Valentine's Day when the hostel set up a game night for couples to play.
The first game (well, icebreaker) included a version of “Hot Potato” in which we passed around a Tigger stuffed animal until the music stopped, at which point the person holding Tigger would have to pop a balloon containing a dare written on a small slip of blue paper. I ended up piggy-backing Kevin while running in a circle, watching Mio kiss a table 5 times, smacking Lao Mu's butt (he had to go around the circle and have everyone do this to him), listening to Lao Mu sing in an admittedly very nice voice, laughing at Sylvia who had to pole dance on Kevin (everyone knew Kevin had a crush on her), and watching a guest get his head flicked by everyone in the circle. There were a couple of other games such as a version of Charades, but a verbal kind. By the very end, Dan and I, Alice and Damien, and a Chinese couple were tied to win... The winner would get a special 4-course Valentine's Day dinner (dishes that are uncommon in China-- mashed potatoes, cream of mushroom soup, black pepper chicken, vegetable salad, mango pudding with raspberry puree, veggies wrapped in bacon, and garlic bread) and lychee margaritas. They had me at mashed potatoes. The prospect of such a dinner fueled my competitiveness. For the finals, each couple had to come up with an impromptu 3 minute show whether it be dancing, singing, or whatever. It was a close match. Damien and Alice wooed the crowd with some MJ-imitation dances, juggling, and mock boxing. The Chinese couple did a martial arts skit. Dan and I took the prize though with our matching horsehair cowboy hats, the Macarena, and YES the only freeze I know how to do. The meal was fucking awesome, worth every embarrassing dance, butt-balloon maneuvering, and penguin imitation. It was all worth it for the mashed potatoes.
The days were just as much fun as the nights when we would lay out on the beach and I would attempt day by day to surf, secretly afraid a shark would chomp on my dangling legs. If I had continued any longer, I would've ended up swallowing the ocean whole in failed attempts and nosedives. I love living close to the beach where going for a quick swim in the ocean is always an option and you can feel the sun seeping through your skin, warming up your insides like a fire warms cold hands.
On our last day in Sanya, Dan and I spent the afternoon shopping for gifts for the staff and eating Korean with Damien and Alice for lunch. For dinner, we pigged out at our favorite street barbeque where they make the best grilled veggies, fish, and noodles. A meal can be as cheap as $3. Back at the hostel, some guests, staff, Jason, Dan and I started the night off with a power hour, my first successful one in China and Alice and Damien's first ever. Jason insisted Dan and I could drink beers for free all night since it was our farewell party. He even made us B-52s which were a little intimidating to drink because they were on fire and we had to use straws which went right through the flames! I could've done mine faster... Once we got through that the night ended up with dancing (of course), a Chinese game called “007”, free Sambuca shots, a late night swim/surf session in the ocean, ramen, and free dumplings. Perfect. Free dumplings or not, it wouldn't have been the same without the people that made the hostel what it was, and what it meant to me. Each staff member and guest at the hostel were always so kind (Ina made sure to give me constant medicine when I was sick), so curious (Jason always asking about the American way of saying things), so cute (Mio's way of saying “OH MY GOD”), so funny (Damien's sense of humor and his exchanges with Alice), and so damn memorable (holing up with everyone during the 5 hour blackout during the typhoon). I've had a lot of once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Sanya, the kind that make you feel alive; it was a wonderful introduction to my life here in China, and the potential of friendships and the unlimited kindness of some special Chinese.
Sitting here in Chengdu I can't help but wonder what everyone is doing back at the Sunshine hostel. Kevin is probably up for the night shift. The people in the 8 person room are probably sweating their body weight since the AC is broken. Alice and Damien are probably awake because of the snoring man in their room. At the same time I'm more than excited to start my life here in Chengdu. By life I mean my settled life. Before this I was roaming around China, exploring its nook and crannies, but now in Chengdu it's time to settle down and work out my life here. That means a job, an apartment, a cellphone, a new bank account possibly, yadda yadda.
There's one thing I've really learned from Sanya though, and traveling in general. I'm continuously reminded of this particular lesson the more I travel: you can never judge a book by its cover. People will amaze you, people will anger you, people will make you laugh or cry, and people will surprise you, but they won't be able to do any of those things if you don't give them a chance first. We've all been told this time and time again in our lives, but we're human and we forget sometimes, and we see someone and we automatically make a judgment. It's like a reflex, you can't help it. People are too complex for a quick judgment without context and conversation. We're not that simple, and because of that we deserve more. I've always been working on this, and I truly think I've gotten better, but there are times when I slip. There are specific people I think of who I know I judged too quickly in Sanya, but I'm too embarrassed to write about it here in fear they will eventually read it and figure out it's them. Once I gave them 10 minutes though, I quickly found that I was wrong about them. All I have are apologies, an apology for thinking I knew who they were and what they were about, when in reality I didn't know the first thing about them. I short-changed them. Traveling and meeting new people is quite humbling in this aspect. Like I always say, everybody's got a story.
great lesson.
ReplyDelete