फ़ीट ओं थे ground

OK I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here at this internet cafe, or what language this computer automatically translated my post title into (Sanskrit? go figure; says "Feet on the ground" if you're not Matt Lundin), but here is a quick update after 3 days that have felt like a week.

I flew into Kunming via Hong Kong on September third (Sept. 2 was lost in the Pacific) but already on the 4th we took off for a short orientation field trip to the smaller town of Tonghai in south Yunnan. The town was very nice and rustic. The highlight was a trip to Xiushan Mountain, which had about a dozen Daoist/Buddhist temples built over the last 4 dynasties. I broke off from the group and did most of the climb by myself, stopping in various temples to light incense, toss coins, and exchange the three phrases of conversational Mandarin I've managed to pick up so far (Hello! Thanks! Goodbye!). The largest temple (and my favorite) was near the top of the mountain. "Emerging Lotus Temple" had a wide courtyard with large Buddhist paintings in the middle and three gargantuan golden Sakyamuni statues toward the back in a large hall. There was also a smaller tower that contained the largest bell in Tonghai; after negotiating a donation of 2 quai (<50cents) and taking off my shoes I climbed to the top of the tower and struck the bell very lightly so as not to offend anyone (it will ring for 3 minutes if you really bash it). I tried to get a sound recording of it on my camera but I'm not sure if that came out. As soon as I leave here I'll be looking for a better audio solution; I've already heard so many wonderful musical and non- sounds that I want to record and reflect on later, and perhaps incorporate into my own musical output.

I greatly valued my solo time on the mountain but it really drove home how difficult it will be to travel and experience things on my own here. I've already been able to pick up some basic phrases but I still rely heavily on those with more Chinese knowledge to let me know what's going on. I look forward to the challenge but I fear that I won't be able to communicate in any real depth with native Chinese. But I've taken the plunge and I'm not looking back. Right now I'm living in a dorm on the campus of Yunnan Nationalities University, so hopefully I will start to make some local friends. I also saw a billboard for "Kunming Museum of Contemporaneity Art" so that will be a good mission. We're getting bikes soon and I look forward to exploring on wheels.

There's so much more to say but I can't even sort through it all now. I'm keeping a journal so the minute details of my experience are there and may filter out over the next few months. Also I've been taking a ton of pictures so hopefully I can throw those on here soon. Until then please substitute stock photo of "pensive wanderer on lonely mountain peak" in your mind's eye. Failing that, "confused foreigner looking lost."


-JOSH