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12 May China
Subject: having arrived
I'm able to contact you electronically for the first time
now that I've actually located an internet cafe here in urumqi in a very
dark basement full of loud smoking turks and chinese. The propietor keeps
sauntering by and reading over my shoulder which makes me a bit
self-conscious. He's excited that someone's writing english.
I got here a few days ago. I ended up staying in beijing for longer than I
thought I would because there was so much to see. Besides the run-of-the
mill palaces and temples and pagodas and parks, just randomly taking the
subway someplace generally sufficed in supplying an afternoon's worth of
entertainment. The city swarms with people.
I think I wrote some postcards about the mega-mall phenomena. Renting a
bike was also pretty crazy. They all just speed out into the middle of
intersections. Basically every moving vehicle and person in the city is in
constant flagrant disregard of all traffic regulation. I think the chinese
communicate in some way I can't fathom. Like ants.
So once arriving in urumqi, I find myself for the second time in one year at
the edge of a giant desert surrounded by military men. Just different
outfits. The first hotel I checked into turned out to be the local military
hotel. Wierd. From my window I could see a giant ferris wheel which I'm
going to visit later. Urumqi is basically soviet-concrete block style
architecture, peppered with occasional very ornate uighur mosques and
chinese pagodas. The ethnic mix in the streets is amazing. Although I
definitely stand out and get a lot of stares. If I take the bus, people
give me their cards and want me to call them to practice their english.
Otherwise they think I'm russian and keep saying Davei, Davei.
Now I'm in another hotel that's part of the university. Hot water is only
switched on from 4-6pm. I always forget and so keep having to put off my
showers. I'm staying somewhat exhorbitantly by xinjiang standards and the
room is $11 a night. You can easily stay in dorms for $2/night. A huge
meal is about $1. I met this historian named Anwar who's helping me find a
uighur student translator from a southern town who might be willing to tag
along on the tight rope quest. Anwer's been great. I even went to this
english class he moonlights as a 'guest speaker'. It was on the 5th floor
of this crumbling department store with neligible electricity. (this
probably describes every building in urumqi) He has about 35 very eager,
unruly students of sundry sizes and ages. They all want me to tutor them.
I had to escape discretely out the back to avoid being followed home and
hounded for more lessons.
Anwar also's trying to hook me up with Adiljan (the famous tightrope guy).
Apparently he lives and here in town most of the year. But he's also
opening a school down south in Yengisar which is where I'd like to go and
live for a bit. Besides dawaz, they're also famous for their knives.
Sounds like my kind of town. I'd buy some but I hear getting them out of
the country is a bitch.
Yesterday weathered my first sand storm. Half the trees in town blew down.
Well maybe not that many. This morning they were full of multi-colored
plastic bags. People were running amok everywhere, trying to get indoors.
A group of about 50 guys with pick axes ran up the hill in front of my
hotel. The storm made my cieling fall in. Rocks and dirt came crashing
down all over the bathroom. It was all very exciting.
The markets here are great. You buy your chicken from a cage and the guy
slits its throat and sticks it upside down in this plastic cylinder thing to
drain out the blood until it stops kicking then he sticks it in some boiling
water and rubs off all the feathers and then he smooshes out the guts and
sticks it in a plastic bag. There are lots of donkey carts full of fish
swimming around in makeshift mini-pools and birds in cages and wierd looking
prickly berries and shish ka bobs everywhere. Eating has been a total
adventure. Communicating in general is very slow as it involves lots of
getsticulating and cryptic drawings.
There are enormous pits all over the place. I have no idea why they're
being dug. Besides providing a place for kids to play - they like to throw
back in the dirt and rocks that some poor shmuck spent a day hauling out.
Across the street from where I'm staying are these huge coal piles
surrounding two brick chimney stacks. It looks just like that coal picker
scene in Wanda.
Urumqi is ringed by lots of factories and refineries. There are two huge
cooling towers to the south. And then beyond all the industry are huge
mountain ranges in every direction. I mean giant. Like the himalayas or
something. Except they're called Tien Shan. I'm hoping to take some day
trips once I figure out the logistics of this translator deal. I doubt
whoever it is will be able to start until they're done with the semester, so
I might tool around the countryside and stay at some yurts first.
Hm. Overall impression... the way western china has been slingshot into the
modern world. Sitting here in front of a computer is a dumfouding anomoly
after navigating ancient alleyways and bazaars to get here.
Wierdest drink offering... unrefridgerated yoghurt.
I'd better split. I've been sitting here too long and this things going to
be expensive.
love d
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