Shanghai Baby!

Alright, so you know when several people walk across a grassy or vegetated area on a regular basis a path is formed that wasn't there before? Well, one of the first weeks I was in Lin'an, some of the other English teachers were showing me around and talking about which 'path created by treading' is the fastest to such and such place, and so on. At the time I realized that it was probably since they had already been in Lin'an for 6 months that they actually cared to have this conversation, not that they were actually insane.
Anyway, the other day as I was walking back from class, I found myself not only thinking about the 'created path' I was walking on, but thinking ahead to which one would be the best bet later in my journey to my apartment.

I needed to get out of Lin'an. It was desperate. So I went to Shanghai this weekend. And I did my damage. No, I didn't just blow off my Sunday class, I actually woke up and somehow pulled myself to it this morning, but I only went in to Shanghai for about 24 hours. I left Sunday afternoon and came back Saturday evening. I decided to forfeit sleeping while there; I can sleep when I die, or when I'm in Lin'an. So I went to the city, to the chaos, and had a nice, urban Friday evening. I drank alcohol that wasn't beer - yay! I bought my cheese, I ate only western food, I had a kebab, I went to Starbucks. It was awesome. I never go to Starbucks anywhere else in the world, but there was something strangely comforting about having my hot chocolate and muffin there Saturday morning. Knowing that in any other Starbucks in the world it would be the exact same hot chocolate and muffin. Most of the other clientele were not Chinese. The soundtrack was the same blues/jazz compilation you find in any Starbucks in the world. And it was probably the quietest place in China. Nobody was yelling, or spitting, or staring. I actually didn't think I would move from that coffee shop ever again. I still can't believe I came back to Lin'an. So anyway, it was a good 24 hours. I talked to normal people, I got out, I can't wait to move there. Fucking amazing city. And, since I'm a huge nerd I also hit up the foreign language bookstore.

So when I said earlier I used to be in to Eastern philosophies, I don't mean in that get a tattoo that you don't understand, wear drawstring pants, vegan for spiritual reasons, member of the local monastery, 'yeah dude... Daoism' kind of way. I just mean I was interested in them.
My late father, was also 'in to them'. In the academic, intellectual, not only have a monthly book club, but also a monthly paper club (apparently you draft up a paper and present it to your peers each month), I also am 'in to' Rousseau, Homer, and read a lot of James Joyce kind of way. Anyway, he gifted, me and all my siblings copies of the Dao De Ching when we were growing up. I always knew that it was probably a secret desire of his to read all these ancient works in their native language. My French is hopeless, my Latin is worse, and I really just don't like James Joyce, but I think I can handle Lao Zi. I was supposed to read it last time I was in China, but I was too drunk. So I picked up a copy while in Shanghai. It may piss me off, but I'll do it for my Dad. It can't hurt. Maybe I'll even grasp some deeper meaning.

I've finished all the course books I brought with me, so I had to get some new stuff. So now my Chinese reading material consists of not only the Dao De Ching, but also Lu Xun's Wild Grass, the Foreign Trade Law of the PRC, and April's edition of China Cosmo. I have to say, I find the last one absolutely riveting. To the point where I've barely opened the others. Cosmopolitan is good because you can read about about things you don't normally find in most textbooks and classic works. Like, how best to use pink makeup. Or the female orgasm. It's true, when I started reading the article entitled 'The Secret Garden' I didn't realize that's what I was actually getting into. But once I figured it out (that took about 10 seconds) I was captivated.

So pay close attention because I'm about to teach you the most important Chinese lesson you'll ever have. 'G-Spot' in Chinese is 'G 点(dian)'. 点 also means dot, point, or light.
Understanding is always the first step.