Stories of the day

So, while i had planned for my next post to be a record of observations on the teachings of Confucius, the tasks of reviewing The Analects to find meaningful quotes has been a subject of repeated procrastination for the past few weeks, and i've been distracted by other interesting books such as Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game.....
So that story will come later, but for now i feel obliged to relate a few entertaining tales from just the last two day's events here at the mountainous paradise of Jiuzhaigou.
After a heavy night of drinking on the 9th of feb, including a trip down the road to the county capital to see the peoples colourful dancing show and join the street crowds in festivities, i woke up in a haze the next morning, thinking to myself that i need some decent exercise to exorcise the lingering hangoverof the previous nights spirits...
and so i dashed outside to the patch of rough grass between our apartment building and the river with my running shoes on and a soccer ball at my feet. As i ran out i noticed a group of well-dressed folks, where few people had ever been seen before. It was my well-connected housemate with a group of the park directors and associated big-wigs walking in the same direction i was headed- apparently i found out later the were walking off some of there own drinking from that very morning and enjoying the spring-like weather. I figured i'd just go about what i was doing anyway despite these guys, and contentedly started kicking and chasing the ball accross the rough grassy ground. But it was only a few kicks later that i gave it just too much of an almighty boot (maybe releasing some pent up frustration there...) and i watched in horror as the ball kept rolling away in the distance towards the unguarded river and suddenly dropped over the wall and into the stream.
'What a fool i am!' i thought- what's the good of exercise to vent when it ends in calamities such as this- e.g. my friends only good imported soccer ball fast-flowing down the steep and freezing cold rocky river beside our home- a river that none have been known to venture within (especially since several locals have drowned in there). In any case i figured my only hope was to dash after the ball rather than look like a complete fool in front of all these decision-makers (if it wasn't too late already!). After one failed attempt to recover the ball by stepping out onto some stones beside the riverbank, i dashed further downstream along the top of the narrow wall, chasing after the ball while realising that as the ball had moved into the centre of the river my only hope was to enter the main flow of the powerful current in order to recover it. So, determined as i was, into the water i got, stumbling over boulders, against the will of comrades who warned i could be washed away, and managed to pluck the ball out of the current, losing my footing and being pulled down the rapids for a few metres before regaining my step and pulling myself ashore. It was to their great amusement then, that i walked back past the group (which i now noticed included the main man- park director himself) who had been watching the whole thing, myself compltely soaking wet, but proudly holding the ball in my hand, they laughed at me for a few moments before one of them suggested i go back to change my clothes- an idea to which i concurred...
Later in the afternoon i was told by the acting science director that she had 'good news' - i was to be toasted that evening by the parks vice-director Mr Feng (one of the guys that had been watching on earlier) at a banquet attended by various decision makers, and this would be a chance for me to 'talk-shop' and express my views on important work matters. So i put on a shirt and trousers and prepared for a session of traditional Chinese-style socializing- over piles of food and excessive drink. I'm still not really accustomed to such events but they are a vital part of relationship building in China- as my housemate put it 'this should be good for guanxi'. However, i am a fairly straightforward guy, beleiving that to be a virtue, and the subtle messages and strategic games of 'high-context' Chinese style small-talk don't necessarily mix well with this attitude....
As i said to my Irish colleague after he questioned if i understood the meaning of something i had said in Chinese in mimicking the words of a Chinese colleague (she had been telling me to force the boss to drink by asking him not to 'lose my face'). "I don't care about my face" - meaning that i don't care how i look to others- rather i care about my inner sense of truth, conscience and righteousness- but ironically it is just this feature (which i have always assumed to be a virtue) which may put me so out of place in China- a place where 'face' is so central to social interaction, reputation and advancement. So perhaps such a blunt dismissal of a central concept of Chinese culture didn't do me any favours in front of such sensitive decision-makers. but then again, i am still a 'newbie', it takes time for such tastes to be acquired, while to excuse my blunt honesty i like to think of the phrase that sits atop the great symbol of Indian Nationhood, The Ashokan Pillar, and states 'Truth Alone Triumphs' (anyone seen the movie 'slum-dog millionaire'...?).

The host of our banquet, Vice-director Feng, also caught my attention when, amongst all the good-natured playfulness of trying to avoid drinking with his co-host and fellow vice-director Ding- as she goaded him to drink more and more, he made a smiling comment that was rapidly translated by the vice-director of my department "If i believe her, then there is no truth in this world...." uuummm. This comment seemed to echo some of my own occasional migivings about the feminine sex... Though i might be branded a misoginist, i'd be honest to concur and say that it had occured to me before that such imperceptability of 'truth' seemed to be a common flaw among women? :)
Or maybe men are the fools to try and see things in black and white..... Anyway, i can say the search for such clarity is at least a worthy goal worth pursuing..... and women are most welcome to try too! ;)
Over the course of the evening, i was put under heavy pressure to consume numerous shots of the super strong 'baijiu' (white liquor- 52% alcohol), and encouraged to get the top-directors drunk along with myself. This is probably fortunate as it helps me get over my initial nervousness and toungue-tiedness at such unfamiliar events. It seems i've also got a reputation for being able to hold my drink, so the duty of repeatedly toasting the directors (and thus sharing shots with them), to make sure they had a 'good night', thus fell upon me.
As the night wore on, It was laughs all around as people tried to avoid being the one to drink the most baijiu, with most attention focussed on the 2 vice directors- mr feng and a karismatic female vice-director whom i had never met. The vernacular of chattings was Chinese, so a good chance to practice what i've been learning. It seems to flow out smoothly or not, whether in correct grammatical from or not i'm not sure but the locals let it pass either way.
Meanwhile, my colleague's plan to ply these top authority figures with wine backfired, as it turned out he and his girlfriend were the one's most worse for wear, falling over limply as they tried to stumble out of the restaurant.... so it was that i ended up carrying one of them for the short walk home to our apartment, and lifting the other to bed after she had disturbingly become unconcious and thrown-up red wine and chillis all over her clothes. Had me a bit worried, and it was while i was attending to her that the 2 directors who had momentarily come back to the apartment with us, took their chance to sneak out instead of continuing the party....(i'd say they were worrying about their 'face' if they stayed on and got more drunk...)

A recent fortunate development here at the park has been the warming weather. Winds so warm it felt almost like summer, let alone spring, had arrived early started to blow across the valley, while the days have got longer and sun penetrates the sky with more power in its shine. Far from the dire predictions of my Irish housemates who told me that February was the coldest month and winter lingered on deep into March, instead, long gone is the thick Tibetan fur coat that i used to immediately put on upon returning home from work, and needless the say, the electric blanket has been cranked down a few notches. not sure if i should be celebrating this warmth, as with the searing heat and devastating fires back home down under, it may be a sign of changing temperatures the world over, with worse to come. I'm still holding out hope for some snow before the winter is over as the sight of jiuzhaigou's hills and forests carpeted in white is famous, especially exciting for a warm climate son like myself and this is probably be my only winter here...
Other than that, not too much to report except that i snapped my finger playing basketball 3 weeks ago. It's not too reassuring to look at your hand and see parts of fingers jutting out in bizarre directions.. prolly should have iced it up... as now it's even still a bit sore...
I've also been devoting some time in the office to teaching English to some of my colleagues, a good way to build rapport and feel useful. In exchange, one of my colleagues has promised to teach me Mahjong- a popular Chinese board game. But i have vowed not to become mixed up in the big money gambling scene that this pasttime is associated with....
Catch u later friends :)