Exhaustion

I have had a very overwhelming month and my body is starting to give up on me. On the rare occasion that I sleep enough, it does nothing to lift the exhaustion. My hands are falling apart and I need to see a dentist about my fixed tooth as soon as possible, as I fear it won’t hold much longer (though it should and if you are Eric or anything like him you will claim any ailment I complain of is completely psychosomatic).

But aside from my bitching, things are amazing. On the evening of August 7th I finished Harry Potter. It was satisfying, but a bit too ideal, I think. I thought I had left A Clockwork Orange but I found it and finished that, as well. Also, I’ve finished Possible Side Effects by Augusten Borroughs. Both of those were very good. The former made me cringe and think, the latter made me laugh out loud, a lot.

The morning of the 8th we flew into Chongqing extremely early. After being picked up from the airport, it became clear that there was no plan for the many hours until we would be able to board our boat. We certainly made the best of it, attending the Three Gorges Museum. It was rather fantastic. We learned about the history of the three gorges and Chongqing, as well as Chinese painting and poetry. I am very glad our guide was there, as there was very little information about any of the exhibits (in any language).

After dinner, we boarded our boat for a three days cruise down the Yangtze(Changjiang) river. After unpacking and walking around the boat, I settled in at the lobby bar and starting talking to whomever was present. I realize, now, that English truly is the universal language. Every single person on that ship spoke either English, Chinese or both. There were more people from non-English speaking countries than those from the opposite, but English the common language of all foreigners and staff on the boat.

I had a couple beers and talked to the bartenders. One asked me to explain a few words from an American magazine. One was “quartile” and another, which was harder to describe simply, was “egalitarianism.” I said “equality for everyone,” but I don’t think this really envelopes the entire concept… Oh, well. I went to bed rather early.

On the 9th we had a “shore excursion” to a place called “Ghost City.” When we got off the boat, as with everywhere that tourists may be, there were a barrage of people begging us to buy their wares. There was a sort of makeshift shelter, there, housing a toddler. He was very cute and ran out to point at us and yell rather gleefully to his mother:

The “City” was a series of temples dedicated to Taoist hell and all the demons and torture contained within. See:

(Alcoholic demon)

(Demon for cheaters)

(I think this one is for anger)

(I have no idea about this one, but it is rather weird, I think)

After the demons, we saw the torture! The above statues were larger than life, the ones below were about 1/2-1/4 of life size:

Eerie, right?? It was also really beautiful, though. Below is a set of three bridges. The middle one is to hell, the right is “silver” for health and the left is “gold” for wealth. On the way in, one must go through the middle, on the way out one can choose a side. I chose silver.

We re boarded the boat and were soon passing through the first gorge, but these pictures are still uploading, so I fear I must stop here and add to this in the morning and perhaps the evening, tomorrow. Whenever I get the chance.

I am in Shanghai. We are being driven to a nearby city and back tomorrow and then, the next day, returning to Beijing after touring Shanghai in the morning. The next day we fly to DC and I come home to FL the next day… Tuesday 8/14.

love and well wishes.