Rest For the Weary

Today, I rest. A lot of people are going to Moon Hill, but I won’t be joining them. Bicycles in Yangshuo are too small to ride in comfort, plus it’s not my nature to be so busy day after day, night after night. We all went out Tuesday and I said that would be it for the week, but I got lured out again on Wednesday by my English Corner group. They were all going to a masquerade party a bar, “Mojo.” I had to stay late and talk to Kim, about co-hosting a speech contest the next day (yesterday), so I couldn’t rustle up a mask. Still, I figured it’d be a good time, and I figured right.



As the night wore on a fellow noticed my “dancing” and came up from across the bar with a proposition. About five seconds later we were doing this on the dance floor: Acro-yoga.



I handed my camera to Abel, who took these shots. Sadly the coolest position is missing from the record, but oh well.



Sai, I learned his name afterwards, did most of the work, talking me through what needed doing, and adjusting things with his feet, but it was totally exciting flipping around in the air. It's a very small world. I discovered later that he’d learned Shaolin style at Kunlun (the school I almost attended, where my master used to teach). There’s not a lot else to say about the evening, it was fun, but nothing much to write about. I just felt like sharing the pictures.



So, that was Wednesday. On Thursday I hosted the speech competition with Kim. It was a bit odd, the Chinese a have a different sense of event planning and public speaking. Everything must be planned to minutia, and everything must be applauded. Up till the last second Kim was scrounging around for an intermission performance. He had his heart set on Hamza dancing, but Hamza fled the school rather than accept. It was a necessary measure. Kim actually left in the middle to go look for him. However, the whole thing went off well enough, and I got a Zhuoyue College T-shirt for my trouble, which I may stash away until I hit the sates again (the rigors of Chinese washing are extreme).


For reference, from the left: Hunter (terrible at directions), Jordan, Abel, Hamza, Veroni, Seby (Sea-be)



Nothing, by design, happened today. I watched Iris vs Savior on youtube, ate, slept in, watched Kung Fu Panda, and not much else. Hamza and Veroni are similarly engaged. As for Abel, who knows what he’s doing— probably out with his camera. He’s an Ecology Major with a keen dedication to photography. He borrowed my computer the other day and I got to see some his shots, mostly of butterflies, birds, and snakes, they were spectacular. I half thought about asking for a copy, I may yet.

Jordan, Vitchen, Abel, and Myself