Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tai Chi and Running into Glass Doors

Yesterday was our first Tai Chi lesson, and it was an experience straight out of a movie. Our instructor was waiting for us outside the International Studies building (a straight shot from our dorm) and seemed, in his blue sweatshirt and pants, to be the Chinese version of the trainer from Rocky. In personality, he was exactly like you’d imagine an old Chinese master (the kind without the beard) if you were imagining the nice kind. Really, just think one up, as clichéd as you like… that’s our teacher. As Hillary later put it, “it’s like he was doing Taijie with his voice.”

First, he would say everything in fiercely pronounced mandarin, which I have no way of explaining other than saying accented staccato with about four different pitches. Then he would say “eeenglish,” and he would draw out the “e” like that and scoop the pitch while saying it. You know, like you would imagine someone to do in a movie. Then he would explain that the move he just named was something like “whiiiiite, greeeeen, oopen wiiings.” And then we followed his movements as closely as possible, which he would reward with a “veeeeeery guuud. Hen (pronounced “hun”) hao (“how”).

To demonstrate further, he would turn to us and, for example, place his right hand above his left, as in a position, and say “riiiiiiight? Riiiiight? Riiiight.” And then move the left above the right very quickly and say “wrong!” and then go back to right over left and say “riiiiight. Riiighht.” And then switch again, “wrong!”

In summary, best Tai Chi teacher ever. By the end of the semester, we should know all the steps in the 24-action version of Tai Chi.


Today I woke up and I was sick. Apparently I came down with the same thing that has plagued everyone else since Pingyao. Oh well, I got to watch Zoolander and some Scrubs this afternoon to make it all better. I thought I was feeling better tonight, but then, on my way to the International Studies building to get internet, I tried to walk through a glass door. It was just as funny as the people watching me had always thought something like that would be.

The reason that I have to walk to the SIS building to get internet is because ours isn't working. We chalked this up to Chinese New Year festivities/lack of work, but today I heard that the REAL reason we don't have internet is because the IT people are pissed at our whole building for buying one internet account and sharing it with three people in the room (which is what our program told us to do, so I'm confused on that point.) And so they shut it off as a sort of punitive measure. As Ben put it, "now they have a bunch of angry meiguo-rens in the building we have the American ability to form unions/mobs" I can't remember whether he said unions or mobs. Same difference.

Chinese class is getting harder, and so I'm using lots of mnemonic devices to try to remember different characters. My favorite devices, that I'd like to post here completely out of context, are "Man-Sideways Jesus-Carrot," "Questionmark people-questionmark Apollo Landing" and "Lion King." If you think the way that I do, then those things spell out the Chinese equivalent of "What," "To know someone," and "How is it?" I'm pretty sure if I keep doing this I'm going to become very confused and crash and burn sometime in the near future.



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