The Camp:

It occurs to me that I haven’t described the school yet, so that’s what I’ll write about today. The Kung Fu Camp as it’s called (I really think Daniel ought to rename it) has been operation for a bit longer than a year. It’s a large, rectangular compound that was once a factory. Renovations have converted it to a wing of housing, two large training halls, a dining hall (which we don’t use in the winter because it’s freezing), a rec-room, and a wing of washing facilities. Enclosed is a large open area with punching bags, room for running, and a variety of wooden training apparatuses. We don’t use the outside at all during the winter, but stay inside the training halls instead. They’re still plenty cold, but with constant movement and warm clothes it’s not much of a bother. The halls are spacious warehouse-type buildings with wooden dummies, punching bags, a wall of mirrors, their upper walls adorned with large, high-res photographs of Kung Fu masters, none of whom are known to me. No doubt they’re very venerable. The whole Yantai experience is rather cold, although it won’t be in the summer, thank goodness. The rooms are heated, but not significantly. The bathrooms and showers, which are separated from our rooms by a short trip outdoors, are likewise very chilly. Though the rooms are unheated they come with electric mattresses and thick comforters, so at least sleeping is a pleasant experience. Unfortunately I’m a bit too tall for the beds here, but there’s not much to be done about that, and it doesn’t bother me too much. I was talking with a guy, I think his name was Kyle, in the bar last night and he was telling me he couldn’t figure out how to describe China to his family without making it sound totally awful, even though he loved being here. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. Put to words the experience sounds tiresome, and of course I’d prefer to be living at home while also training with the masters, but there’s an experiential spice to a bit of hardship. The food here is awesome, if a bit salty at times. Frigid conditions notwithstanding, I’m not sure how the school affords all the provided services on the meager tuitions of it’s students. Every meal we have rice, sometimes noodles, a variety of vegetable dishes, and a few meat based ones as well. For lunch yesterday we had beer battered eggplant with thin bits of beef inside with the eggplant, and the day I arrived there was a really awesome dinner of dumplings and orange chicken. It was one week to day before Chinese New Year starts, and apparently that counts as a sort of mini celebration in China. The cook summons everyone to eat by clanging pots together raucously.