Brain Stew

My first couple of posts have looked to give you an idea of the things I am seeing and experiencing. Yes I know you would all like to see pictures. I will get myself a camera as soon as possible. Also as soon as I figure out how to use the postal service here, I will be sending presents to you all (except Andre and Pierre who I will see in the coming months). I think I’m heading in to Dalian for a shopping trip today, so I’ll see if I can find an electronics store. However I would like to instead share some thoughts with you this morning. By the way, I just had the sweetest water melon ever for breakfast.

It occurs to me that this experience will likely be more than an adventure. It seems to me that living among a group of people, with whom I do not share a common culture, language ability or experience cannot help but affect my train of thought for the rest of my life.

While the China that I have seen in the last couple of days does not reflect the destitution that Dad has seen in his travels through India, or even quality of life that he has described to me as the standard for the people of Jamaica, China is also certainly not Canada. Most of the buildings look as though they were built in the early 70’s. They tend to be dingy in appearance, and washed out in color. All signs and billboards are faded so as to be less clear than I am sure they were meant to be. Bright tones have been traded by way of sun and wind to become overly dominated by shades of muted blue and grey. At first while driving through the city, seeing these old looking building stretching up toward the sky at identical heights, as though an invisible layer were placed in the sky at which construction must stop, I wondered how old they really were. When examining the newer building going up though, they have the same look. Even during construction they have a washed out look of a building that has been minimally repaired and maintained for decades. I suppose the majority of Chinese have simply not had the affluent luxury of becoming expectant of impeccable aesthetics.
As eye catching as many of the differences here are, I have found even more striking how similar people tend to be. A girl crying at the airport in Narita looks the same as a girls crying at the beach in the Miramichi. A young couple walking the streets of Dalian look no different than my grade 12’s Peace River. The laughter of old friends selling vegetables at the Jinshutan market sounds like Dre and I. Facial expressions are rather universal. In fact, for each of us to occupy the privileged places that we all do (and I assure you everyone reading the post is ridiculously privileged), seems to me to be little more than a series of winning cosmic lottery tickets. I’ll expand on this idea another time, but that’s a project all on its own.

I do not know where the road I have chosen will lead me. I might return to Canada in a couple of years, but it also seems no less likely to me that might be in Switzerland or somewhere in Africa. When a person puts themselves into a drastically novel situation, they must either insulate and isolate themselves from their surroundings, or expand and contract to make sense of things. I see no possibility of taking the former route, and so find it next to impossible to tell how my priorities and desires will shift in the coming years.
I can say that I look forward to expanding my understanding of people. I look forward to the unknown and the challenges, struggles and adventure that come with taking the road less travelled.

It’s is striking how fast the world can change around a person, family or nation. Nothing is certain or unshakable in this world but the laws of physics. I imagine the following passage as being taken from the mind of Napoleon, once proclaimed to be the Emperor of France, and future ruler of the world. Ending his days as a prisoner.

I used to rule the world, seize and rise when I gave the word
Now In the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice, feel the fear in my enemies’ eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing “now the old king is dead, long live the king”
One minute I held the key, the next the world is closed on me
And I discovered my castle stands upon pillars of salt

It sounds kind of depressing, but our history is full of many stories of great triumph. There have been many people with happy endings as well. However, stagnancy is short lived. Change is inevitable. So we may as well be agents for the kind of change we want to see. All change is possible, but for the will to make it so.

I love you all dearly

Daniel Mark Andrew Standring (Adventurer)


P.S. - This post was written yesterday. I ran into a trip on my way to the campus.... I'll have to tell you that story later. I have a medical to report to in 10 minutes.


;p