50 Year University Anniversary

Ned, me, and Ms. Jin at the Olympic Stadium.

Yesterday was the Anniversary of the University. At 8am, I began my 14 hour day. Tom Stone came to pick us up. He was wearing a suit, as was Ned, and every other teacher in the school. They all had the same tailored black suits, except for me. I was wearing a black pull over and black jeans. We went to the Olympic Stadium, which I learned is outside, and the whole of the English department was seated in one section, as well as my students who were excitedly waving to me. The ceremony started after 9am, and we were suffering under the stinging heat, and the fact that we couldn't bring water or hats into the stadium. Everything was in Chinese and there was no performance, or anything, just talking. It was miserable, and people were leaving to go stand outside in the shade and buy hotdogs and drinks from vendors. I had to put on a good face, and finally when it ended around 11:30am I was relieved, but bombarded with young, English teachers like myself who asked me question after question like I was a celebrity. As we rode our bikes to a fancy lunch at a hotel, I was followed and probed with a million questions by excited young English teachers. I was exhausted by the time we reached the hotel. Lunch, of course, was amazing, but I wanted to go home because I was overwhelmed, and the excited English teachers sat by me and were filling up my beer glass, and putting foods on my plate, and I told them, "Stop. We are equals. It is not necessary." They insisted that I was their guest, and they must continue pampering me. Ned was eating up the social hour, but I was overwhelmed. It turns out we couldn't go home after because they had scheduled us to go on a bus trip to Tonglio's green valley. I tore Ned away from the table and we rushed home to change our clothes and ride back to the hotel to catch a bus.
Let me say something about the difficulties of living in foreign countries. The level of communication inviting us to the ceremony, lunch and bus tour was minimal. In my position, I had no other choice than to go. I had no idea where we were going, how long it would take, and I still have no idea what the ceremony was about. I have more compassion for illiterate and or mentally challenged folk. I feel like one, here. =)
The ride was almost 2 hours, and the green valley was beautiful, and we were led (us and 40 alumni) around on a paved path through the forest, we were put in little rafts with big sticks for paddles and we floated down shallow water, and finally we were put in large horse carriages and pulled uphill back where we started. Dinner was nearby a lake, and we were fed fish and milk tea. They brought the carp, the greatest fish out last, and by that time everyone was full, and on every table there was a beautiful, large fish that was just picked at. Tom Stone was our guide for the whole day, and we both like him a lot. He's very helpful and patient.
After dinner, I felt sad, and I thought about the term I learned in India, ahimsa. Ahimsa is the way of living without violence. I felt like I understood it's importance a lot better last night. After seeing how those beautiful fish would go to waste, and how hot, tired and badly taken care of those horses were that pulled our carriage, and how much better it would be to have walked, instead of taking the carriage, and how much better it would be if we would have eaten a vegetarian meal, if gone to waste, goes back into the earth, and the beautiful carps could keep on swimming. I felt sad on our bus trip back, and thought about the benefits of vegetarian, non-violent living.
We arrived back at 10pm, and tiredly rode our bicycles back home in the cold.
If I had to do it over again, I would have stayed home.