10 Days In

Right. I'll try keep this short.

My original format was to do a blog every day I was here but that has proven too hard.

Plus I think it'll lower the quality of my blogs if I try to write something everyday. So yeah...

Wow... what a week. I've been stuck in a local village called Lou Guan Tai which is where the Panda Conservation (and the temple where Lao Tzu wrote the scriptures defining Taoism).

It has definately been an interesting (I can't say exciting) experience. The place is a bomb. And it's cold. There was no wifi. There was no cable TV. I showered once (in five days) because the ambient temperature in every room (except the bedroom which I share with Tommy) probably averages 1-2oC, so it's a quite uncomfortable experience.

The day could easily be described in a few verbs actually: 1) Clean, 2) Feed, 3) Eat, 4) Read (Harry Potter on my iPad), 5) Sleep; 6) (Occassionally) Take [photos].

We eat at a local restuarant owned by a lovely man whom we address as Mr Deng. Mangled piles of dirt are dispersed across the park, like unfinished buildings in mid-construction. The air so cold that if I breath through my nose it hurts and if I breathe through my mouth I get aasthma. Boredom can be relieved by watching dodgy films and reading Harry Potter. I venture out to the dormitory lounge room only to check my email and speak to Celia dressed in at least five layers (one of which is a ski jacket) and even then (if I am not moving around) I almost certainly start to feel the cold after 30 minutes, and at no point does it get better.

I feel like I've returned to civilisation now that I'm back to Xian. With my wifi, hydronic heating, tech shops and Facebook. But it's only for the weekend, and on Monday I will travel back to Lou Guan Tai with Tommy and once again return to my service of volunteering.

The funny thing is, I can't say I don't like it. And to be honest, if it weren't from the uncomfortable conditions in the dormitory and lack to technology, I would be happy.

I feel... satisfied, when I finish cleaning out the cages (the smell isn't too bad too be honest) and look forward to falling back onto my bed and reading Harry Potter again (book 5 now!). But yeah back to the work, it isn't bad. It isn't hard. I finish work and I usually stay back a bit to watch the pandas eat.

Chomp Chomp Chomp

So satisfying. They pull the bamboo branch into their mouth, use their hands to grip it and pull so that the leaves get stuck into the side of their mouth. They repeat it several times until there is a nice bunch built up. Then they grab the bunch (from their mouth) and eat it.

Chomp Chomp Chomp

They show little gratitude and understanding, that your helping them. They also need separate enclosures since they will fight to the death otherwise. And... they eat a shit load, shit a shit load, they're messy and are basically high maintenance. (Black bears aren't).

Chomp Chomp Chomp

There are only a few thousand left in the world.

Chomp Chomp Chomp

And there's not guarantee that they'll be around two generations from now.

Well that's what my keeper told me. And it kinda makes it worth it. You clean out the cage and you watch them eat, knowing that it's gonna be you, yourself, cleaning the mess up later. But it's worth it. Just seeing them eat, it's really kind of peaceful, it makes you wonder if you'd enjoy a life more simple. If there wasn't always so much to think about.

And honestly?

It's great. Chomp. It's an amazing feeling. Chomp. And everything is just simple. Chomp.

Because life isn't.

Tofa.

PS. The terracotta warriors = semi-boring. semi-amazing. Kinda like the great wall, still gotta see it just for the sake of it.

PSS. I lied (see first line)