The building we can see outside our kitchen window has grown more than six floors - from four to almost eleven - in the month or so that we have been living here. By contrast, my basil seedlings have only grown four millimeters. The rate of construction and growth in this city can easily be described as astounding. Apparently we are witnessing the birth of a megalopolis, and I find myself wondering if this is what it would have felt like to live in Seoul in the 1980's. We awake every morning to the sounds of it, we wander around the mazes of scaffolding, and shield ourselves from the sparks and flashes of the welders at work. I picked up a metro map for the city light rail line the other day, expecting to see the route for the one finished subway line, instead I had to search for it amid the ten other lines planned that are already on the map. On my hour-long bus ride to work each day I watch old businesses close and new ones open, old buildings go down as new high rises become steadily filled with residents. It's a bit mind-boggling living in such a place.
Despite the dizzying pace of this city, we are slowly learning to discover peaceful (if not quiet) moments, sometimes on the bus in the misty mornings, watching the skyscrapers turn to mountains and farm fields and back again. Sometimes in a garden on top of a mountain on a weekend afternoon, sometimes, just sitting in our apartment, when the late afternoon sunlight cuts an angle over the high rises and illuminates the dust dancing slowly in the air. We are also finding activities and routines that help bring calm into our days: friendly local restaurants, walks around the campus between classes, and finding places where we can just sit and read or watch everything pass by. Of course, we have to make compromises. Silence and privacy are two Western values we simply must learn to live without most of the time. I am trying to master the image of hammers and cement mixers as crickets...
This last week China celebrated October 1st, their national holiday. Unfortunately we missed the parades on TV and the fireworks displays, but we made good use of our time off with a visit to one of the main tourist attractions in Chongqing, Ciqikou, and a three day trip to visit friends in Yibin, Sichuan. Ciqikou reminded me of a state fair set with an ancient Chinese backdrop, with amazing snack foods, lots of trinkets for sale and even carnival games and rides. Of course, how often do you get to visit a 1,600 year old temple in the middle of a state fair? Our mistake was going during the holiday, which meant we had to ride a wave of human bodies throughout, but if you get over the whole personal space thing and avoid getting pick-pocketed, it can be kind of fun in a way. Yibin was sleepy by comparison, but that was fine since the main attraction was reuniting with some of our friends from pre-service training. It feels good to let off steam and spend a few days laughing and comparing notes.
The weather has been amazing lately, with the last of the heat giving way to occasional drizzle and highs in the low 70's. The air doesn't seem to singe the lungs quite as much and I think if we have just a few more gorgeous, comfortable days China just might win me over.
- Katie
PS. Over 3,000 page views! Of course, our blog is almost 5 years old now, but it's motivating to know that people read it.
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