Settling In

It’s hard to believe we’ve been here in China for 11 days already. It feels like we’re just starting to get settled in, and that things are just now beginning to feel routine. At the same time I feel like I’ve had a month’s worth of information crammed into my head at crash course speed. Already I can see improvements in my Chinese. Amongst what used to be incomprehensible squiggles, I now here and there make out some of the hundreds of characters we’ve learned in the last week and a half. Speaking Chinese day after day in class has also improved my confidence in my spoken Chinese and I no longer hesitate in speaking to any cab driver or store owner I encounter. In just over a week we’ve not only learned about Chinese history and philosophers, but have also been introduced to Chinese painting, calligraphy, tai chi, and Beijing opera style singing. If this is the typical set up for classes in China, it’s no wonder they consistently test better than us Americans.

One of our most interesting classes is Tai Chi. It’s a welcome break from 4 solid hours of language class, but it is extremely challenging in its own way. Given its focus on slow movement, and the large community of elderly participants, one would think tai chi is not too difficult to learn. I have learned the hard way that this is not so. Every movement is a coordinated effort by the entire body. When one part opens, another must close. ‘Kai’ and‘guan’ is our tai chi instructors mantra. The movements are circular and graceful, with weight constantly shifting so that when one leg is tense, the other is relaxed. It is a constant balance of Yin and Yang. For those experienced in tai chi, that is. My tai chi on the other hand might be considered a tangled mess of yin and yang, full of discord rather than harmony. My limbs are typically awkwardly placed, and my eyes are always fastened to the teacher as I try to mimic his effortless movements. In the last two classes however, my movements have felt a bit less strained, and the first couple of forms at least are starting to flow more naturally. Our instructor likes to emphasize the importance, not of the specific forms, but of the concept of opening and closing, of roundness, and of tension and relaxation. Perhaps I’m starting to get the hang of these. The whole process reminds me a bit of when I learned to swing dance. At first I’d get tangled up in the motions and memorization. After awhile though I started to understand the concept of not breaking frame and how to follow a lead, and everything suddenly fit into place. I could perform moves I hadn’t specifically learned as long as I had a good leader because every move follows the same concept. I feel that in this regard swing dance and taichi, strange as it sounds, are very similar. The fundamental rules of how to move your body are often more important than learning the individual moves themselves. Hopefully in the next two weeks I can teach my body to move in the harmonized manner which is fundamental to tai chi. Perhaps then I will look less like a fumbling buffoon, and more like a practitioner of tai chi.