Men with long hair and flowing pants drift by. Women dance alone to bands that play bluegrass, twirling in long skirts with their arms outstretched in a way I haven’t see since Eugene. The workday starts around noon, but that’s no strict rule. 大理(Dali, Yunnan) is one of those places that operates in parallel with … Continue reading 大理: Hippy China, Freedom, and Tall Mountains
Christmas in late February. Family time, daily walks through near-deserted streets, full tables, and hours of couch-lounging after–all feel eerily similar to winter holidays at home in America. Staying with my student 周婷/Air’s Family gives me a window into the ever-evolving Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Despite being banned during the cultural revolution, the Lunar New Year has … Continue reading Chinese New Year
We hiked up the 苍山 (CangShan) range today. We had planned to hike up and back, but ended up having to break trail through knee-deep snow for almost a third of the way. By the time we reached the ridge, it was 6pm and the sun had already passed behind the ridge. We were forced … Continue reading Hiking to 4000m/13,000ft
There are places in this world that never lose their new-penny sheen. You can stand there and drink them with your eyes, your brain flooded with beauty, but when you turn from them the experience washes away. When you look again, they’re new, and you’re no closer to understanding what you see. Tiger-Leaping Gorge（虎跳峡） is one such … Continue reading Tall mountains, fast friends, and my first climate story
The first of many “Climate Stories” will be here tomorrow. The Chinese language uses a distinct phrase to distinguish mountains with glaciers from those without. 雪山(XueShan), literally “snow mountain,” refers to mountains that have snow year-round, while mountains that rarely or never have snow are simply called “山”. Climate change threatens the very names, the majesty, … Continue reading 雪山：Can mountains be endangered?
My camera, ~1000 pictures, and two near-full notebooks are gone, with small and diminishing hope of return. They were in a red drysack that got lifted from my backpack somewhere along the road from Kunming （昆明） to Dali（大理). The camera can be replaced with a month’s work, but the memories, the posts planned, and the … Continue reading Best Laid Plans
Things were going well. It was nearing the end of the regular classes, but the crush of finals hadn’t yet arrived. I was pleasantly busy, and looking forward to the Christmas Party that another teacher had invited me to. The English word “Party” doesn’t mean the same thing here that it does in the US. … Continue reading Christmas in Ancient China
Let’s just say everything is still falling into place. I had hoped by this point to have a plan for more than the first week of a two-month vacation. I’ve sent countless emails and couchsurfing requests, hoping to find a place to work or stay on the cheap, somewhere that would allow me to explore … Continue reading The Plan: Spring Festival
360 by bike 