A Pile of Neuroses and then Some

Well I went from a low point of boredom yesterday, shut in by the largest rainfall in Hangzhou in recent history due to a typhoon, to a day full of many ups and downs and fears and excitements, and several choice blonde moments.

This morning I got to talk to a couple of close friends I haven’t talked to since getting here (High point).

Then I set about figuring out how to buy plane tickets for my upcoming fall break. It seems I couldn’t use the phone service because they don’t take credit cards and a trip to the bank was just as much trouble, so I went to a ticket office in town. They organized my flights, asked for my information, and I discovered I’d of course neglected to bring my passport (Blonde moment). Luckily I was able to conjure the passport number out of nowhere on only the second try (the first try I switched two numbers). When it came time to pay, they insisted they only took Chinese credit cards. Flummoxed, I asked if there was a Bank of China (the bank I knew I could get money from) nearby. They smiled and pointed me down the road. The problem with asking Chinese people for help is that they will always gladly and helpfully answer you, whether or not they actually know the answer. I walked down a street containing I think every bank EXCEPT Bank of China, finally trying one of the bigger ones on a whim. It worked, and as the guy had said I needed 3450, I took out 3500 and went back. Of course he’d really said 3750. This was a slur of speech I’d never encountered before: four and seven should NOT sound alike, but he definitely said “qi” which should have an “ee”, with the “i” sound from “si” (“eh”) and lisped, so it came out like “tseh”. I had in total in my purse 3700. Irritated beyond belief and with no one actually at fault besides my carelessness, I trudged back to the bank to get more money, thinking all the while, of course, of the inferior exchange rate, and fighting back tears of frustration and proclaiming my hatred of China, all the while chastising myself because, after all, I was buying the tickets I wanted (Low point). Later Jeremy insisted that he’s used credit cards before there, and there really should be no problem (Lower point).

This afternoon I had my calligraphy class, and while I am still woefully behind the rest of the class, I am definitely enjoying the class. Today, our instructor demonstrated some writing for us. He wrote in five different styles, for each one choosing an appropriate thing to write. The oldest form was written on fan-shaped paper, and had a four-character phrase encouraging studying one thing to perfection. The somewhat looser style was a long poem that he said was slightly ironic in meaning. The more modern, expressionistic style was a single, bold “dragon”. Afterward he let each of us take one for our own. I liked them all, and ended up with the dragon, which while it doesn’t have as significant a meaning, is very asymmetrical and artistic, and I think I’ll like having it on my wall (High point).

Afterward I set off with a few friends on an errand I’d been considering at a distance for some time: buying an electric bike. By the way, I’ve edited a previous entry mentioning said bikes so that no one can try to use it to call me a hypocrite. The bike I bought looks more like a bike and less like a motorcycle, so it is lighter and theoretically can be mailed home. This forms the basis for my decision to buy it, plus the fact that it will definitely help me get out into the city more in a less structured manner, post “I’m bored and it looks like I’ll stay that way” rut. Of course most people who know me know I suddenly become a neurotic mess when I buy myself things that aren’t frequent and repeating purchases (and even sometimes then), so though I knew I’d regret not buying the bike, and that I would love having it to use, the second I started writing the paperwork I started having what felt like a miniature panic attack of “what did I get myself into?” (Low point). Xueqin had done more research than I had, and especially since I knew I was going to buy the bike but hadn’t told myself yet I felt unprepared for the buying process. She walked me through it, and I took deep breaths. By the time I got ten feet down the road, all that was gone (High point). The bike runs smoothly, and though it’s pickup isn’t great it can get up to about 18 mph, plus it has pedals. I love it and I’m not even sad I didn’t buy one sooner: I’m really glad that I now really know the bus system, and now have to learn the city from another angle. We rode back (with our friend riding on the back in true Chinese form), locked up our bikes, and then I threw out some packing material and the keys to my two locks (Blonde moment).

We had an evening meeting, which was neither high nor low but definitely thought provoking, as among other things we discussed a certain lax attitude toward the language pledge among a large portion of our group. It’s true that a lot of people use English as their default language away from classes, and though I don’t particularly care what other people speak, it’s a little weird to go out with a big group and suddenly realize that everyone is speaking English. Especially when these are not people you’re particularly close with, it’s a bit strange and I end up tending to just not talk at all. So the meeting ended with a new conviction in the language pledge, and I went back to my room and discovered my keys were missing (Low point), went to the downstairs trash can, found one set right off, then removed everything from both bins before finding the other (High point).