Santi - 12/19/2007 - Suzhou

My emotional state (previously expressed through the beats of DJ Shadow) is currently best embodied by the song posted below(it might or might not have been otherwise a little harder to find, depending on who has influenced your music collection).

If you are as mesmerized as I am by the funkalicious beat of this song, and the merry children singing in the background, fail not to discern the subtle undertones of what I can only describe as an old school two-handled tree saw being bouncily bent in and out... Yes? Maybe? Delightfully twangy is what I want to say. Anyway, I understand that I am in China, and that this song would be most appropriate were I writing from Mali, where Issa Bagayogo is actually from. But Africa is the next step I think, or should be at some point for all of us, no? -- S.A. 2010 world cup, what? --so it's a pleasant thought to keep recurring to.

About a month ago I was riding down the wrong side of the street (not a problem in XZ) negotiating oncoming traffic while trying to get to the other side. A middle-aged woman with a child in her arms was in a similar situation, on foot and with her mother. A truck going maybe 75-80km/hr zoomed by her less than a meter away. The fantastic thing about this blink of an eye was how the grandmother was struggling to protect the child--not from what would've been an instant death, mind you, but from the treacherous sun! She was frantically waving a newspaper over her head, because... as it turns out, whereas golden crispy might mean to us that someone's been on a vacation, our Chinese counterparts relate the sun to farming, and therefore strive to be as pasty as ever!

Weather - It is cold, very cold, and dry. The worst thing is I was very happy about the solar panels above our apt. buildings, because Chinese pollution is serious, but now there is no sun and it turns out the only appliance connected to the thing is my shower, and it's amazing to hear the things that come out of your mouth when you have to take ice cold showers, running from one side to the other I sang the Macarena the other day and I don’t know if I should be proud of that or not proud. But as they say every cloud has a silver shining, and I can finally enjoy the cultural 'Chinese drink warm beer' thing because room temperature has now turned cold as fuck.

So yeah, on the road it is perfectly normal to go on the wrong side, red really means green and green really means get the fuck out of the way because the bus has a red light and he ain't stopping so get your sun umbrella out. I must be on my 6th and a half life by now. I say 'and a half' because once when it was dark and raining I hit a guy on my bike and broke his umbrella handle, so there is a little victory in that, I think. The other day I was given my 3rd counterfeited RMB bill so far. you have to use your fingernail to scratch chairman Mao's hair (his beautiful face is on every bill), and if its real you’ll feel small grooves, but that’s ok because I can give it to the barman at the Soho club on a busy night for a cheap screwdriver which may or may not be made from delicious moonshine.

The train ride to Suzhou (I originally thought this was the city I was getting shipped to a couple of months ago... "up in heaven there's a paradise, down on earth there're Suzhou and Hangzhou"... the Venice of the east so to speak, but no, I got sent to industrial Xuzhou instead, population stinky tofu and heavy machinery) I took a couple of days ago was great because I have always thought there is something romantic about human traffic and 6 bunk beds in a small compartment where the Chinese serenade you with a 3 to 6 hour snoring orchestra before you safely arrive at Suzhou at 6am with bags the size of potatoes under your eyes and you realize that maybe 'romantic' is not the right word.

The trip was great, though, I’ve put some pictures up on f.book, but as I was perusing a map of the place the night before the trip, it was delightful to know that, at least this time, I didn’t have to book a 'bed' on my usual backpacker hostels where they change the sheets every 3 guests. I have a job now and can book a whole 'room'! Ah, salaries, what will they think of next?

Con Amor,

Santi (stay warm in holidays, and enjoy the company of your families! Feliz Navidad y Feliz Anho Nuevo!)