Meeting Them XII

A dozen thousand minutes of life spent on this trip; what was its worth?

Well, I met Them. Or at least some of Them; a decent size group of Them. Who are They, you ask? They're loosely defined, both verbs and nouns (person, place, thing, quality or idea -- for some reason I remember chanting this definition in a sing-song voice in 6th grade or so) that I encountered in the course of my explorations. I liked some of Them, disliked others. And that is a reasonable reason to travel.

Granted, I already had preconceived notions about many of Them. But meeting Them in new contexts, at greater concentration than previously, on a trip where I had a lot of time for reflection made a difference. I am now more sure of my kanfa (way of seeing things) with respect to some of Them.

I love photography, of nature, of people as they are, of photography. Yes I knew that; as I said, in many cases prior preferences became sharper. My camera is one of the few essentials I carry with me whenever possible. When I went to Hangzhou, I actually didn't have time to return to Carson's flat as intended, so went with only the clothes on my back and my purse. Luckily my purse contained all essentials: tissues (for public bathrooms), money, camera, cell phone, nail file (so handy), pen and small notebook. I think I actually enjoyed the trip more than I would have if I had gone and packed a bunch of other stuff.


I like big grand cities that make people look like ants (how many can you count?) I like mirrors and glass.
I like bubble tea.
Besides that, I love the way this bubble tea was prepared for me. It was so efficient. The bottom plastic cup was filled quickly with all relevant ingredients, either added by machine or from buckets perfectly positioned for the worker's convenience. The worker then covered it with a specially designed cap and shaken, and set in a machine that heat-sealed the top on. A straw popped in and voilà. I wish I had time it. It was cool to watch. As I walked down the street drinking my bubble tea, I noticed a sparse mesh net a guy was using to carry his basketball that was very cool in a similar way.

I like being in nature. I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I was in it again.
Before sidetracking this post into one about how beautiful nature is (and moonlight!), I suppose I could mention some of the things I realized I really don't like.

Unnecessarily Angry Shouting.



This is a periodic reminder not to take up space in this train ticket-buying hall in Xi'an if you're not buying a ticket.

It also reminds me of something I do like though, since it was shortly after that I met the girls who took me in and let me hang out with them. I like people who consider this sort of unusual occurrence as a possible positive outcome of a chance meeting.

Another mode of behavior towards foreigners, which I encountered more than ever before in Xi'an, is high on my list of dislikes. Treating them like exotic but dumb animals in a zoo, to be talked about, stared at, and posed with on a whim.

While I was waiting for a train, sitting and eating my dinner in peace, I gathered a crowd of maybe 20 people, watching.

I was actually in the middle of figuring out my camera situation at Bingmayong, checking memory sticks to see if they worked, when a guy asked for a picture with me. I said, sure, when I've finished with this. Less than a minute later, while I was still clearly trying to work on my camera situation, he reminded me and asked if I was ready for the picture, though I clearly wasn't. I'm still not finished buying this; we can take a picture when I finish I told him. He was annoyed and told me that he'd been waiting, as though I was obligated to take a picture with him in the first place.

Another similarly annoying thing people, especially guys, do is yell "hello" at me, as though this is a very clever thing to say and needs to be said very loudly, either because I'm hard of hearing or others need to be impressed by their impressiveness.

It was odd to me that people should be this way in Xi'an, a large city, but not in Dangjiacun, the tiny town.

Xi'an was also where I realized how extremely uninterested I am in hanging out with people whose hobbies are drinking and/or smoking heavily. Also in pollution and cars with unusable seatbelts.

Such a long chunk of text! Here, have a tree, older than the USA: I should rest. So to wrap up this wrap-up, a final 3 things I enjoy: impromptu traveling, physical exertion, and quail eggs. Though that last is not one of these more-deeply-realized things, but rather a pleasant surprise from a hot-pot place in Xi'an.