So, where was I…

Oh yeah, Zhengzhou, Shaolin, our new Ayi and earthquakes. Let’s get the simple stuff out of the way first and leave the long-winded stuff for last.... [that was a self-inflicted joke].

A) Earthquakes - Obviously from my past couple entries everyone should be aware that a huge earthquake struck Taiwan a little while ago. Interestingly enough it broke or damaged communication cables, I guess between the mainland and the island. And a result of this disruption was that “external” internet sites are now “down” or are EXTREMELY slow (14 - 28k: that’s pre 56k days for some of us). Which… is becoming an ever-increasing pain in the ‘you know where’ – not because I’m cut off from ESPN online or my favorite gaming site, but because that I can not depend on email or internet connections with any great reliability. Funny, I find myself asking the question: “what did I do before the internet?” And magically it all seems like a distant memory or some type of weird dream, life without “connectivity”. Hmmmm, never knew how much I would feel so isolated and cut-off from the world without something as simple as email. I guess that the effect is over-personified being in a foreign country and our personal and professional network is still in it’s infancy. No worries, although I’m usually ‘plugged-in’ in some form or another – I at least remember what it is like pre-Bill Gates and Al Gore (that was a joke). So, until I’m back on the grid, it’s back to circa: < 1991 [which is the time roughly that the internet was made open to the public - fyi].

B) Ayi - Our trip to Zhengzhou was interesting to say the least, about a 90 minute flight west / north-west of Shanghai – but still south of Beijing. Our trip was relatively exhausting, both mentally and physically. We traveled around the province: Henan, and visited some really cool things there. This is the approximate location we met and hired ourselves an Ayi. Pronounced: "I – e". Ayi’s here are looked at as essentially hired help for personal living. In the West these people are usually butlers or maids, but here in the East these people more often than not perform multiple other functions than just cleaning and taking out the garbage. They are sometimes engaged in raising the children of the people they work for and are sometimes a little closer to the family than ‘off the street’ hired help. Although we don’t necessarily need someone of this capacity at this point in our lives, there is a longer and deeper backdrop to the reasoning why Jen and I hired this particular individual. Unlike hired help in the States, we pay this person more than the waiters and bellhops in the better hotels in Shanghai and that still only costs us $10 U.S. dollars a day. Hardly the sacrifice for the benefit. More on this topic later… Jen.

C) Shaolin Warriors - One of the coolest things I’ve probably done in my entire lifetime combined was experienced on our trip in Henan. Although some of you might not know it I am a huge fan of nerdy stuff like Star Wars and Ninjas. As Jedi are just ninjas in the future, I am a big fan of any and all of the martial arts. No, Ninjas and Samurai are both Japanese, but the Chinese have their version of these great ancient warriors: The Shaolin. Unbeknownst to me the Shaolin Temple is located in the Henan province, just a 90 minute drive from the city of Zhengzhou. Can you imagine my excitement… it would be like meeting Luke Skywalker or Bruce Lee in person. Jen and I made the exhausting trip to the Temple and toured the grounds. We watched a martial art demonstration by several of the Shaolin Warrior Monks. These monks practice traditional Wushu, which by the West is known as Kungfu. ALL of these masters were extremely skilled in their art and ability. There were so many different types of weapon demonstrations I could not name them all… but if you’ve seen the movie the Matrix Pt.2 in the foyer of the Merovingian house that’s what it was like, only better. One of the monks demonstrated their mastery of the physical by throwing a needle through a pane of glass breaking a balloon on the other side. The glass was inspected by the crowd before he threw it and then immediately after, with a hole in it that looked like a bullet was shot through it. AMAZING, I tell you… and not just the monks and their ability, but the location and the temples were really inspiring to say the least. Something else that amazed me was the shear number of followers the Shaolin have. Camps and camps and camps, of Wushu warriors in training – by the thousands. The Shaolin are so good at what they do the Chinese government recruits cadets for their military from them. I will be making another trip back to see them as soon as I have time. Really awe inspiring – hard to put into words.

D) Stress – It’s only been two full months since Jen and I arrived in China, a lot has happened in that short amount of time. I’ve traveled to several places, 8 different cities, and experienced a lifetime of new things. Through all of this so far I’ve been keeping a relative calm about myself being in a new land, new culture and new environment… but I know now what people that have lived here before kept calling the “stress factor”. Like a lot of other things if you are able to maintain your mental focus somewhere else and not get pulled into the daily friction that comprises life here, then you’ve conquered 90% of the battle. But, sooner or later I think things eventually get to you no matter who you are or how strong you are. I will hold my tongue for fear of saying anything that I might regret later, but what I can tell you is that there is a far share of stress that goes along with being surrounded by so many people, for so long, ALL THE TIME. I hope that in time I will not become callused and start becoming like those people I see here with 1000 yard stares in their eyes. At least in the meantime I can always go to my “home away from home” and close the door – isolating myself from the insanity of the masses. On to better topics…