My home away from home away from home

This is my desk. I love my desk. I love my office. It is my home away from home away from home.

I spend an inordinate amount of time sitting at my desk. Sometimes I stare out of my window, while other times I read and write papers about statistical methods or bureaucratic issues. I also highlight a lot of articles and books. That orange thing is my highlighter. The other orange thing is my coffee cup.

Coffee in Oregon is potent.

Classes are going well. I have 5 weeks until the end of the term, which stresses me out. There will be much more time spent at my desk, that's for sure... I'm thinking about buying a plant.

When I'm not sitting in class or at my desk, I'm normally spending time with other people in my program. I have grown quite fond of my cohort. We are a diverse bunch of kids hoping to impact the world. It's wonderful being around people with such high hopes for the future. Especially today, it's easy to get depressed.

I am currently working on developing my thesis topic: micro-loan financing in developing countries that are especially vulnerable to climate change (i.e. Bangladesh). I have a lot of research to do before I can pinpoint exactly where I'll focus, but through meetings with various faculty members on campus, I have made a lot of progress in a few short weeks.

I'm missing Ohio more than normal, lately. The smell of autumn and colder weather will always make me homesick. This is much different from my experience in China, however. I am not nearly as desperate for the days to pass by. I like it here. And I like my desk. A lot.

One week down....

We had a meeting on Wednesday with all of the first year and second year Master's students. The director of the program mentioned that the second year students have 36 weeks until graduation. That means that I have 88 weeks until graduation. It seems like a long time right now, but seeing how quickly this first week has flown by has made me very anxious about the next 88 weeks... or is it 87 now? Oh my...

My classes are going quite well. I'm taking a microeconomics course, a social research course, a public administration course, and a one credit intro course. Right now, everything seems doable, but I'm also working on setting up my Master's committee and narrowing down my thesis topic on top of these classes. I spent my Saturday guzzling coffee and reading... for 7 hours.

Outside of school, I'm having a lot of fun getting to know my cohort. We all have such diverse backgrounds and very different undergraduate degrees. The program at Oregon State is outstanding. I feel so lucky to be here.

Yesterday, we had a potluck in the park. Afterwards, a bunch of us went out for a few drinks. It was nice getting to know each other outside of the stresses of school, however every conversation somehow ended up back at our theses. As stressed as I have been, it's been nice to know that we're all in this together.

I'm hoping to find a good balance between school work and a social life. My senior year at Pitt was extremely difficult. I spread myself entirely too thin and ended up completely burnt out by graduation. I know how necessary it is to balance everything, so I'm going to make myself take breaks and walk away from my desk every once in a while. But, for right now, I'm going to focus on my public administration paper that's due on Wednesday.

Peanut butter and peach butter sandwiches.

This summer, before I left Ohio, my mom and I took on the arduous task of making and canning around 20 pints of peach butter. Peach butter is a lot like peach jam or jelly, but better. It is an old recipe handed down from my mother's mother's mother. The entire process takes an entire day, but you end up with the most beautiful golden-brown preserves on Earth when you're done.
I recently moved from Canton, Ohio to Corvallis Oregon to pursue graduate school. I didn't bring a lot of things with me... just a chair, some clothing, and my snowboard... and a jar of peach butter.

When I originally imagined myself driving across the country, I envisioned a trip much like that of Hunter S. Thompson or Jack Kerouac novels (minus the heavy drug use and fornication). I envisioned a solo trip fueled by Red Bull, coffee, and my iPod.
Then, I talked to my mom. I knew I needed and wanted a travel companion. I knew she wanted to go. I knew I would enjoy her company. I knew we would share a million new memories before I left her and moved across the country. So, my mom and I drove over 3,000 miles from Canton, Ohio to the Pacific Ocean. We had the best time. I love my mom.


Day 1: Canton, Ohio - Newton, Iowa
11.5 hours of driving.

This was bad. The last time I drove almost 12 hours, I ended up at the Atlantic Ocean. This time, we were in the middle of corn fields. I have never seen that much corn in all of my life. And I'm from Ohio. We stopped somewhere in Indiana and had a peanut butter and peach butter sandwich for lunch.


Note: If you ever plan on driving due west at sunset, wear the darkest sunglasses possible.


Day 2: Newton, Iowa - Chamberlain, South Dakota
8 hours of driving.

We decided to drive north out of Des Moines in order to see part of Minnesota. We had a peanut butter and peach butter sandwich in Blue Earth, MN for lunch. Chamberlain is an old western town situated on the Missouri River. I loved it.


Day 3: Chamberlain, South Dakota - Sheridan, Wyoming
8.5 hours of driving.

Due to the time change, we were wide awake at 7am. The sunrise in South Dakota was the most beautiful I have ever seen. We drove through the Badlands and Black Hills and had a peanut butter and peach butter sandwich at the Crazy Horse Monument.


Day 4: Sheridan, Wyoming - Idaho Falls, Idaho.
8 hours of driving.
YELLOWSTONE! Bison! It was so wonderful. We had a peanut butter and peach butter sandwich at Yellowstone Lake. Unfortunately, we didn't spend a lot of time in Yellowstone, but someday I hope to return. Idaho Falls was terrible.

Day 5: Idaho Falls - Burns, Oregon
This was, by far, the most boring day of travel. Idaho is boring. The eastern part of Oregon is boring. In order to break up the boredom, we stopped at a Subway for lunch.
It was the county fair in Burns the night we arrived. After dinner at the Meat Hook Restaurant, we saw all of the prize-winning farm animals. My favorite were the sheep.

Day 6: Burns, Oregon - Corvallis, Oregon.
5 hours of driving.
Our final leg of the trip was extremely exciting and overwhelming. I was having such an amazing time driving and discovering new places, but was extremely excited to arrive in my new city and settle down, too.
There is nothing much to look at until you arrive in Bend. The landscape changes dramatically from large, flat deserts to snow-covered mountains.
As you can tell from the map, I'm not too far (only 1 hour) from Newport. On Day 7, we took the drive out and stuck our feet in the Pacific. It was freezing, windy, and spitting rain. We had a peanut butter and peach butter sandwich for lunch at Beverly Beach.

I really like it here.

I have been in Corvallis, Oregon for about a week now. I really like it here.

It has been a difficult transition, but not as difficult as living in China. It's nice that people speak English in Oregon. It's nice that grocery stores have bread here. It's nice that I can pick up my cell phone and call my friends and family here. I made the mistake of comparing this move to my move to China. That was a dumb idea. They are nothing alike.
I live with a really awesome married couple and their two dogs, Jackson and Felicity. Last night was the first time I met other graduate students. Everyone is so interesting and interested in the world around them. It's refreshing to hear such passion.
Oddly enough, there are 3 other students from Ohio.

I am so excited about my future here.

Home.

My mom called me from the grocery store the day before I moved back to China.
"Do you need anything from the store?"
"Buckeyes," I responded. I wasn't looking forward to moving back here and knew I needed something that would remind me of home.

Buckeyes are chocolaty treats made in my hometown. They are delicious. My mom used to mail them to me when I was away in college. I'd hide them in my desk so that none of my room mates would find them. They were mine and mine only.

I have one buckeye left.

Originally, I ate one every Sunday while watching Ohio State replays on the internet. It was my way of feeling connected to home.

Then, as the weeks started to roll by, I started rationing them. I saved one for the OSU/Michigan game. I ate one after an especially rough day of teaching. I saved another for Thanksgiving.

I noticed my bag was getting quite light, so I decided to eat one every Thursday until I went home. And now, I have one left. It is going in my backpack. I will eat it at 30,000 feet tomorrow afternoon on my way home.

It is hard for me to believe that I'm going home tomorrow.
However, I am extremely sad to say goodbye to my friends. I have grown so amazingly close to these people. Tonight is the winter solstice. I will meet my friends at the local dumpling restaurant for one last meal together. After that, we will hold a Kongmin lantern, make a wish, and light it on fire. As it burns, it rises high into the sky - taking your dreams with it.
There are many things that I won't miss about China, but I will miss all of the amazing traditions. American traditions are boring.

If anything, living in China has taught me how to survive. I feel like I have grown up more in 11 months than I have in 25 years. I feel wise. And old. I also feel pretty invincible. I lived in a foreign country without any understanding of the language, customs, or practices and survived. I think that's pretty awesome.

Chinese Massage

It was somewhere between the excruciating ear pinching and nauseating stomach punches that I thought, "This'll make another good blog."

The only massage I've received before today was while vacationing with a former boyfriend's family. The masseuse repeatedly asked me to relax, but I was too freaked out that a person I had never met was going to rub hot oil all over my body in a dimly lit room with lite jazz playing in the background.

The massage parlor today was delightful. It was extremely clean, smelled of incense, and the waitstaff was quite attentive. We were able to book a private room with three beds and three masseurs.

They started by soaking our feet in an herbal medicine. After a light foot massage, we were asked to lay on our backs. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but she was pinching my toes and digging her fingernails into the arch of my foot. I recoiled in pain, but her grip was too strong. She pulled me back into place and smiled at me.

For the next hour and a half, she punched me, dug her elbow into my muscles, and smacked me around. The masseurs are quite athletic here. She'd have me hold her arms while she stood on my butt and hoisted me into the air. At one point, I felt extreme pressure on my back. I looked up and she was walking up and down my back while grinning. The most relaxing part was the ear massage. I fell asleep for a moment, but was woken up by a loud crackling noise. She had shoved a hollow candle into my ear for a "cleaning" treatment called "ear mining."

After my ears were cleaned, we had a "cupping treatment."

A man came in, had us remove our shirts and lay on our stomachs. He then lit a large flame, placed the flame into small glass globes, and quickly stuck the globes onto our backs. The flame dies out, but it leaves a strong suction within the globe. Your skin is sucked offof your body by at least an inch. The pain is pretty rough at first, but endorphins quickly replace the pain with extreme elation. You sit there for a few minutes, trying not to move until the man returns and removes them. The removal process was excruciating.

HOME SOON!

Huangya Guang Great Wall

I'm not good at blogging. Interesting things have happened, but I have been lacking the energy and enthusiasm for writing lately. I have gotten into a wonderful routine - a delightful mix of teaching, lesson planning, grading, reading, and bike riding. Sitting down in front of my computer and writing a blog just hasn't seemed interesting or fun.

However, I had one of the rarest and most exciting adventures this past Saturday...

A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to go to a section of the Great Wall that is located to the north of Tianjin. While the Great Wall stretches over 5,000 miles across China, it is not a continuous wall. It has also been greatly refurbished over the past 20 years. The most famous sites outside of Beijing have been completely rebuilt. On my original 8-day vacation here, we traveled to a part of the Great Wall just outside of Beijing called the Juyung Pass. The views were breathtaking and are some of my favorite memories of China.

I mentioned my desire to travel to the Huangya Guang Great Wall to a few friends. Ultimately, Cathy (another foreign teacher), Maggie (Alex's girlfriend), and I decided to go together.

Our trip started very early. We met outside of Cathy's apartment building at 6am and took a taxi to the bus station. Bus stations in China are completely different than in the U.S. Our bus wouldn't leave until every seat on the bus was filled, so we waited for extra passengers while a man chain smoked cigarettes in front of us.

With the bus filled, we headed north. Randomly, our bus would stop at various street corners and drop off or pick up more passengers. Maggie mentioned that the trip may take a bit longer than normal because of construction, but I wasn't prepared for this trip by any means. We drove along unpaved roads for the vast majority of the trip. At one point, I looked outside and saw a semi truck that had fallen on its side with it's load spilled into a ravine. This construction that Maggie mentioned was not any form of refurbishment. These were the beginnings of paved roads reaching the countryside in China. The first of many, I'm sure.

After about five hours of driving, we reached the bus terminal. As I started exiting the bus, I saw a swarm of men standing in the doorway. I thought they were preparing to travel to the next location, but as their eyes met mine they began shouting and grabbing my arms. My first reaction was to grab my bag and clutch it to my chest, then I grabbed Cathy and Maggie. The men, noticing that I was a foreigner, started shouting things like "Hello!" "US and A!" "Baracka Obama!" These were the illegal taxi drivers I've heard so much about.

Maggie bartered with a younger driver. He agreed to drive us to the Great Wall and back for 30rmb a person. As we headed down the road, our driver looked at me and said,

"Michael Jackson! OKAY!" We listened to Beat It as we drove the rest of the way through the countryside.

We arrived at the Great Wall and I ate an apple for some last minute energy. The climb up this section of the wall was much different than Juyung Pass. Juyung had various outposts and level areas to walk across.

The entire length of the Huangya Guang section was vertical with only two outposts. Nevertheless, we hiked.

It was thrilling to be in nature yet again. The sound of birds chattering away made my heart sing. It has been months since I've seen natural environment.

Cathy and Maggie during our ascent.

About 3/4 of the way up the mountain, the wall changes.

It is no longer the nicely refurbished bricks. Instead, it changes to craggy boulders and rickety handrails. I was in heaven. It was a great feeling climbing up the original wall with rocks shifting under your feet and a slight misstep causing an assured 4th Chinese hospital visit.

At the top, Maggie told me about the Chinese version of Bigfoot. The Chinese believe that there is an entire race of half human/half monkey people that live in the forests and mountains. I stood quietly and hoped to find another set of eyes staring back at me in the forest.

The trip back to Tianjin was even more exciting than our morning excursion. We found a nice woman who owned a van and would drive us to the bus station for a simple fee. As we were nearing the bus station, she called her friend who drove the bus back and forth from Tianjin to Hebei. We were in luck! They were only 30 minutes away and would pick us up at the nearest abandoned gas station! After picking up a few hitchhikers, we found our bus home. This bus was in exponentially worse condition than the morning bus, but my exhaustion ignored this fact. I attempted to sleep as we drove through cornfields and around various livestock. At one point, while mid-air after a particularly large bump, I thought, "This'll make a good blog."

We picked up more random people on unmarked street corners. One man didn't have enough money to pay for his ticket, so our bus driver kindly stopped off at the nearest ATM and we waited for him to withdraw some extra money. We had the option of paying an extra 10rmb to take paved roads, but no one wanted to be bothered with spending any more money. So, we took the same road home. As the lights from Tianjin came into view, I grew sad that I would have to say goodbye to nature for another few weeks. It's hard living in a big city with no escape.