Language, culture and anonymity, a jumble of ideas and feelings

I had my first feelings of "oh, i'm going to miss this when I leave" about China. It is difficult to be here, and taxing, and frustrating, and a sort of silent erosion of energy as my head tries to take in so much, but there is something really wonderful about it too. Because I (we) look so different, there is something kind of anonymous about being here. On the one hand, everyone stares with either curiousity or disgust, or on the other completely ignores us as they do everything else. It is very much a big city culture in the way that no one looks to the side or behind them when traveling, only concerned with moving forward, in both actual and metaphorical ways. Not being able to fully understand the language also helps with this, because then I can only be concerned with what I'm doing and where I'm going out of an ignorance that I'm not used to. But, on the other hand, and China is full of these Fiddler on the Roof-a la-Tevye moments, there is a lot that can be and is communicated completely without language, as long as I keep an open mind and open eyes. It helps too that I'm learning more and more every day, even just about the tones in which people communicate different things. I find that if I look at and pay close attention to what someone is trying to tell me, I can mostly understand their meaning though their actual words hold no symbology for me. Surprisingly too, the small education I have in Chinese language (Mandarin) through OCOM has served me well, as I can communicate (in a serious american accent no matter how hard I try) things like colors and sometimes foods, and since coming I have learned my numbers, and several ways to say things like "yes, no, that is correct, good, hello, goodbye, please take me to..., pain, soreness and no pain", all handy things when you are needling people in a foreign language. But in trying to understand what is being said and what is happening around me, my brain is in complete overdrive and it's hard to relax without sleeping, if that makes sense. Once I stop, I completely stop, but even my dreams are vivid. Hearing well-spoken english is probably one of the most comforting things that will happen during my day, as much as I hate to admit it. Right now for example, I have the only english TV channel on even though they've been discussing the launch of the 3rd Chinese space mission (the first one where they will leave the ship and walk on the moon--I assume it's the moon) for about 2 hours now and I kind of hate the glow of the television.
But even so, there is a certain amount of settling in that is happening that makes me excited about my next trip to S. Korea. There, I am excited to learn the language for real and become accustomed to people, places and things, all those nouns that can make you feel as if you are at home.

Tomorrow is our last day at the clinic and with the Dr. we have been at for 2 weeks (it's been 2 weeks already!?!). Then it is on to HuangShan (Yellow Mountain) for 3 nights and 4 days, and then 5 days off during which I'll stay in Nanjing and explore some more of the city.

Last night a couple friends and I took a small trip to the Confucious temple and the Fuzimiao market, where haggling is more fun than the shopping. I got a beautiful "successful acupuncturist" jacket, as Christine calls it, and a wall scroll of Kuan Yin. We didn't go into the temple because it was a little late, but I plan on going back to go inside the temple as well as take a boat ride on the Qinhua river.

Alright, thanks for reading my ramble if you got this far. I'm excited to go home and understand more of what's going on around me, and see all you lovely people.