My name in chinese means what!?

Here's my problem: Everytime I introduce myself to someone they laugh. At first I thought I had mispoken, but I checked with my teacher a hundred times, making sure I had the pronunciation correct, that i was saying the right phrase, at the right place, during the right time. I tried again and again, but they still laughed. What could I be doing wrong? I mean, I have come to terms with the fact that everything I say is going to be slightly wrong, and that few people will understand me well, and I would have let it go, but they were CACKLING, rolling on the floor, their faces red, their bodies convulsing with an overflow of hilarity.
What is so funny!? I asked, my voice calm, almost hurt sounding. The three girls I had confronted continued to giggle tremendously. They reminded me of when I was in fifth grade, and three of the popular girls had found a poem I had written. These girls had a secret, something they didn't want to tell me, didn't want me to know because it was so much funnier if i was clueless.
Finally, after much pleading, bribing, and down right begging I found the answer... Ben, in chinese means stupid. Every time I said "Wa shi Ben," what they heard was, "I am stupid."
I now go by Benjamin.

The Light Show

It is unfortunate that my camera is incompatible with my computer because there is so much life in the small city of Yangshuo, and in the mountains of Guilin. Yangshuo has become one of the hottest tourist stops in this part of China. Why? you ask. It is a combination of the mountains which loom over the cities small, crippled shacks, protecting them, guarding them from the insolent eyes of the superficial; combined with the unknowable fact that the mountains are not doing it as a favor, nor out of pity. They are rather returning the favor. The people that sit at the foot of these great, lopsided hills give them meaning. For what is beauty without someone to admire it, to touch it, to acknowledge and appreciate it? It is the strangest example of symbiosis I have ever seen but it is undeniably apparent.
The second reason it has become such a hotzone for tourists of all kinds is because of the light show directed by the extremely famous director Zhang Yimou. It is the pride of Yangshuo and the talk of all of China. I was curious to see what the fuss was all about.
The show was set on the Li river with the backdrop of the stolid mountains. But when the show began the mountains were anything but emotionless. In fact they were the stars of the show. They were lit from the bottom, so that they stood prominent against the blackened sky.They seemed proud, as if they knew that they had a meaningful role in the show, like a child wearing a cape and presenting a show to his mother. As the show progressed the color of the lights would change, and only a single mountain would be lit, as if during a solo... And everytime the lights change, or some new scene began, the whole crowd began talking and squirming, as if their excitement was almost too much. It was a spectacle I will never forget.

I am the legs, you are the heart

I met Rick today for the first time. I was sitting in a cafe, studying the notes my chinese teacher had given me, and he walked in. I stood, we shook hands, and exchanged pleasantries. "It is so good to finally meet you." But, the thing is, it didn't feel like we were meeting for the first time. I know it sounds corny and cliche, but what the heck.
He began talking to me about my trip, my journey and my mission. He told me that I will become his legs, that I am his second wind, that he believes in me...
He talked about having that "bone" in your body, that drive to stop at nothing, to face opposition head on and the ability to sacrifice "it all" for the sake of greater good... I have always wanted to feel that I would do anything for a cause, that I would have no fear of opposition or danger. It is everyones dream to have this kind of passionate intensity for something they believe in. And though I have yet to be tested, and have yet to experience true resistance there is something, deep inside me, something that hangs around my neck, and rests in my heart, that makes me absolutely 100% positive that when presented with a challenge, I will rise above it and surpass expectations. It tells me, in a soft, inaudible voice that given the chance I will risk everything to change the world, and to help those who have been forgotten. I know without evidence because this is my calling. I am on the right path, doing what is right for me, working to accomplish the goal set before me by forces beyond my comprehension. And I have the confidence to feel this way because of you...
Rick says that I will be the legs... Well, you all will be the heart.

There are no words

My mother asked me to describe how it feels to be here. I have tried to think of a metaphor, some hackneyed phrase, or an image that would properly describe the beatific scenery and people. I have come to the conclusion that there are none. It is too beautiful, too shocking, too wonderful. Words would ruin its majesty, limit its greatness, destroy its wonder.

I am having an absolutely wonderful time. I am still in Guilin, resting, learning, and preparing for my trip to Litang.

I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it is not a dream... I'm still not entirely sure.

P.S.
Due to my poor planning, my camera's card does not work in my computer, therefore I will be unable to put pictures up on my blog. The good news is, I have a video camera. I will try to get some video onto my blog as soon as I can.

The Eagle has Landed

I am in China! Finally! After a summer of fundraising, fourteen hours in a plane, three time zones, and a nervous taxi driver it is great to have finally arrived safely.

I spent the day in Shanghai getting to know Patrick , a fellow volunteer. He's French, speaks five languages, had never heard the phrase "jeezum crow," and manages the managers of the people that write the computer software for Ebay. He lived in France until he was 25, moved to the US for 14 years, and then to China in 2004. By my calculations he is 44, though he will never admit to it.

As far as Shanghai goes, the weather prevented Patrick from giving me a tour of the city, so theres not much to say. I did manage to eat some delicious food... and get a foot massage.

Tomorrow Patrick and I will go our seperate ways. I leave at 2:45pm for Guilin, and he will have already left for Ponquin (I might be making that name up) just a few hours earlier.

Patrick says that Guilin is one of the most beautiful provinces in all of China.

I have my camera with me, dont worry. Hopefully the weather will be nice.

The jet lag is starting to set in.

Wan an...

The collage, a family tradition...

It is a family tradition of ours, started when my Aunt first left for college, that everyone who graduates and goes to college gets a collage of pictures to hang in their dorm. You see its a "College Collage." Very witty, I know.

Well, needless to say, I was excited to finally get mine. I wanted to see which pictures my family members chose, to feel the wave of nastalgia wash over me as each picture brought back a special memory... But oh yeah, I'm not going to college.

If I had known I wasn't going to get a "College Collage" then I'm not sure I would have taken a year off. (I'm totally kidding... Well, mostly kidding.)

Alas, I must wait another year before this great gift will be given unto me... But gosh darn it! I really wanted that stupid thing!

Holy Guacamole- I'm going to CHINA!

It has finally set in. I'm going to China!

I'm nervous, excited, anxious, happy, scared, worried and a little apprehensive, all at the same time. Its the perfect storm of emotions, and I'm not sure there are going to be any survivors...

I just want to get there, and start doing work. I don't know if I can take the suspense any longer!

Oh man... Ohhhh man.

I'm going to CHINA!!!!! Can you believe it?!?

I got my Visa!

As I have said, getting a passport is never an easy thing, especially when you are trying to get a visa from the often neurotic Chinese government.

A few days ago I was notified that the Chinese government had delayed the processing of Visas. The process was so delayed that I wouldn't have received it until the 17th, I leave on the 16th. So, I had to take some drastic actions.

The Washington Passport & Visa Agency that I had been going through sent me back my visa on Thursday. That night I left for south station. My bus from South Station to NYC left at 1am, and I arrived in NYC at 5:30. At 5:30 in the morning I stumbled down 8th Ave and found one of the 20 or so Starbucks in NYC. I got a medium black coffee with a shot of espresso, hunkered down in one of the seats infront of the window, and waited for the sun to come out.

Around 7:00 am I left my safe haven, my home base, my salvation, my Starbucks and began walking. I set out with the intention of finding the consulate, just to see how long it would take, so I could better plan my day. Well, I went the wrong way... twice. And only after I head been walking for about an hour did I realize I mistakenly switched the starting and ending points when I typed the directions into Mapquest the night before. Simply put, I was walking away from my destination. Gotta love it.

I arrived at the consulate at 8:45, fifteen minutes early. The line wasn't too bad, and I took my place with only ten or so people in front of me.

The first time I went to the window the woman told me that I needed to list the specific provinces that I would be visiting in Sichuan and Yannan. Well, I knew I was going to Litang in Sichuan, but I was clueless as to my destination in Yannan. So, I wrote down Litang, and got back in line, hoping another one of the clerks wouldn't mind. She did.

Normally I would just call Rick Montgomery, the executive director, the man with whom I have been conversing, planning, etc. However, he is currently in China, and my cell phone can't make long distant calls... So, I called my mom, who called Rick, who told her a province that I could write down. Munking.

I went to the window again (the line was more or less gone) and... They accepted it! She slid me a slip of paper that said I could pick it up at 2:00 that day. If there had not been a window in between us, I would have hugged her!

I went back to Starbucks, bought another coffee with espresso to celebrate and read. I walked around for bit, searched desperately for a book store and failed miserably. At 2, I went back, got my visa, and speed-walked to the bus station. We hit traffic, and i didn't get home until midnight.

I got my Visa!

Better safe than sorry

I have always been told to "hope for the best and prepare for the worst." With that in mind my mother and I went to the pharmacy the other day to pick up some preparations for "the worst." Here is a list of the medications that I will be bringing with me during my trip to the far east.
- Ciprofloxacin (antibiotic)
- Robotussin (Cough suppressant/expectorant)
- Allergy medicine
- Immodium (anti-diarrhea)
- Ibuprofen
- Tylenol PM (to overcome my Jet lag from my 14 hour flight!)

We also got some Neosporin spray, and band aids! Better safe than sorry...