Time goes very quickly for my travels here at the “Yellow Sea”. The past month was an explosive mix of cultural endeavours, culinary experiences and physical exercise. One more time, I turn back the clock and dive with my readers into the depths of the “Far East”.
The last months was peppered with many notable highlights, but only a few left a lasting impression. In Asia, some say that “seeing something once, is much better than hearing it a hundred times.” Looking closely at things, paying attention to details and living every moment to the full are firmly rooted in the oriental value system.
Now, I have reached the curious conviction that urban air contains actually valuable nutrition, it is alright to chuck refrigerators out of the window on the 18th floor and repeatedly press the elevator button making it supposedly move faster. You feel cheated if you do not get a full head- and neck massage at the hairdresser, start believing local newspapers and develop an uncontrollable urge to follow people with coloured caps and little flags. It is not surprising anymore, when three electricians with a ladder enter your room only to change one light bulb. Watching CCTV 9 makes you praise the great work of the People’s Republic government and start to think that a car is not fully equipped without a tissue box on the hat rack and a feather duster in the trunk. Fireworks no longer wake me up and using a fork or knife feels weird.
You get upset, when you enter a restaurant and only three waiters/waitresses greet you. I have to think directly of salted cuttlefish and it is apparently okay to stick your head in foreign houses to see, if anyone is at home. It appears that metal scaffolding is far more dangerous than bamboo scaffolding on construction sites, motorcycles with three passengers can easily pick-up another two and somehow, my nose feels weirdly large.
The more I am abroad, the more I realise that the greatest miracles happen at home. Many new impressions hit me every day, the information overload is big and you begin to appreciate the simple things in life. A small moment of peace and quiet is difficult to get in a bustling metropolis. Thoughts are spinning around my head with ambitious plans for a creating a bright future. It is certainly written in the stars, which path lies ahead of me, but I do not regret the long and stony way I came so far.
Thank you all very much for everyone’s honest advice and personal touch during my journeys – these always gave an edge and the motivation to go the extra mile.
Constantin (Xiao Kang)
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