I completed Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven yesterday, minutes after finishing my last entry. It's hard for me to judge a book directly after reading it. So, after a day or so, I think I've formed my opinion of it...
Overall, I liked the book. It was an entertaining read. But I had issues with many aspects. First of all, the title is cheap and a tad bit cliche. But then again, so are the characters to some extent so maybe it was appropriate. The story is written by Susan Jane Gilman, and it's a memoir that takes place in 1986, when she and a friend decide to backpack through China. I like that the chapters are titled with towns. For example, the first chapter was "Kowloon," which is in Hong Kong. Because I had been there before (and thoroughly loved it), instantly I was drawn to the book because it sparked familiarity. After Hong Kong, they go to Shanghai, where I bought the book. As I was sitting on the train, I read about them walking around the Bund, where I had just been earlier that day. They ride bikes in Beijing and experience the Great Wall. The book is interesting if you are or have been to China.
However, after reading the book, I felt disdain for the characters, Susie and Claire. Over and over the narrator tells me, Yes we went to Brown University, we're so smart and educated and from New York, blah blah blah. Then they go to China and have a huge culture shock, which is to be expected. There are some scenes in the book that made me cringe, especially the part where they completely shun a Chinese man who welcomed them into his family's home. That was the worst part for me. To the author's defense, it seems like a bad mistake that has haunted her over the years. When I read the blurbs, I anticipated something really terrible to happen to them during their journey, some sort of outside force to come and virtually fuck everything up. "They were young, brilliant and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them." So of course I was curious, considering China is one of the safest places to be. In the end, it was a woman vs. herself kind of issue, with China as the setting. What seemed like the worst outside forces they actually had to deal with were cockroaches and food poisoning. WHOA.
The book is an entertaining read if you have or want to come to China. However, it shines bad light on American travelers.
I want to backpack the world. Sooner or later, once I have enough money saved, that's what I'm going to do. Who's in?
xo
MISU
0 Comments
I just returned to Baoding after a long weekend spent in Shanghai, China. ![]() ![]() ![]() After the French Concession, I knew I couldn't fight it any longer. I had to have a nap. I was at the point where I could hardly enjoy anything unless I got a little rest. So I went back to the hostel and took a three-hour snooze. Totally, totally worth it, because after I got up and got dressed, it was time to check out the Bund! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Bund really comes alive at night. This was my favorite part of my trip to Shanghai, walking along the river, looking at all the buildings. It was very NYC. Here are some pictures of this luminescent city. Words can't describe having a glass of long-desired wine whilst sitting on top of a high tower, watching a city come alive. That part was pretty great. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After strolling around the Bund for hours, including having a glass of wine on a high tower, I found a vegetarian restaurant called Godly's Vegetarian. Total disappointment. The door was open with a large "open" sign, but the staff was mentally closed. The food was mediocre and they handed me the bill before I had the chance to ask for a second Tsingtao. Lame. The next day, I made plans to see the Jade Buddhist Temple. This was something I had wanted to see since October. I am not Buddhist, but I find it to be a calm and peaceful religion that makes more sense to me than others. I was looking forward to this for several reasons. Number one, it'd be great to see a Buddha or two while I'm in China. Number two, it's one of the still-active places of Buddhist worship. Number three, I thought that maybe, by going, I'd get a little sense of perspective. Hell, I might even meditate. But when I got there, I was instantly turned off. As I was walking toward the entrance, an eager and excited Chinese girl ran up to me. "Are you here to see the Temple?" she asked. "Yes, I am," I responded. "Oh! Well, you should come look at my tea, I have lots of tea," she urged me. "Um, yeah, maybe. But I'm here to see the Temple first," I said. "Okay! You come look at the tea after! Lots of great tea!" she said excitedly. "Yes. I'm going to see the Temple now," I said. "20 yuan," she said. 20 yuan? The big China book Kim lent me said it was 10. I told her, "I heard it was 10 kuai to see the Temple." Then she just laughed at me like that was the dumbest idea ever. "No, no. It's 20." Fine. I forked over the cash and prepared to be enlightened. As soon as I walked in, another eager young man began walking by my side. I was on a mission and not in the mood for small talk. I wanted to come here alone, to think and to feel, without meddlesome peddlers. I've had so much on my mind, so much confusion that needs to be sorted out that I was hoping maybe a place like this, which provides comfort to so many other people, might help me too. But how could I when every direction I turned, I was being summoned to come look at all this junk for sale, overpriced jewelry, Jade, calligraphy saying "I'm with Stupid" for all I know. In fact, a really creepy calligraphist kept begging me to come over and watch him paint so I did, just to shut him up and boy was that a mistake. He asked me my name, and I said cooly, "Tara," and he exclaimed, "Kara! I can do this, see, watch!" and paints Kara's name on a white piece of paper, and even still all the letters looked the same. The way he was talking, I thought he might be sick or drunk. He asked me if I was married and I said no, then he said he wasn't either and maybe we could get together, something to that effect. It was kind of disgusting. I immediately turned away and started walking toward another Buddha. I heard him say he was just joking, but he was still lonely if I change my mind. Not my idea of a good time in a Buddhist temple. Incense floated in the air. Dozens of Buddhas stood behind glass cases. I felt nothing looking at them, like average pieces in a museum. Boxes for offerings were strewn everywhere, of course, as if the entrance fee or the prices of shitty jewellry weren't enough. I was getting more and more repulsed. This is why I don't care for organized religion. I'd rather it just be me and God, nothing in between with alterior motives. I find more peace in the state before I fall asleep than I did anywhere in that stupid temple. I went back to the hostel for lunch, then met up with a friend. He and his band, from Beijing, were playing a show nearby. It was my first metal show in China. I had seen many in the States, especially when I worked at a bar that had metal shows all the time. You see the young kids, yes, dressed in black. You see a lot of dread locks, long t-shirts, sullen faces. In Shanghai, it was a little different. No kids, which was nice. The preppy audience looked like people you would not expect to be into metal. It was a bit refreshing, actually. Who says you have to wear all that shit just to be into a genre? I met a Chinese man named Simon who worked as a counselor, majored in psychology. We had an interesting conversation about Chinese and Americans, and for the first time, rather than speak as though it was for a China tourism commercial, I spoke candidly about the Big Red and the people who habitate it. I also expressed my frustration with the language. I said I don't mind when my students laugh at my Chinese but I get fed up with the empty looks when people don't understand. When I'm pantomiming using a mop, and I'm in the grocery isle where all the mopping products are, using a little reasoning, I might be asking for a mop? He laughed, then brought up a very good point. This is a problem I have within myself, not something others have with me. I argued some but relented after awhile. It IS something I'm insecure about, but it doesn't help when others (especially other foreigners) call to attention just how bad it really is. Sure, it's difficult for me to have a conversation with someone who speaks little to no English. But I can still communicate some, a hell of a lot more than when I first got here, which hasn't been all that long ago. We shut up when the bands started playing. Later, my friend Robbie and I got drunk. We wound up at some rave thing in an office building somewhere, I have no idea where it was. The fun game was spotting which preppy foreigner was on drugs and who wasn't. Then I went home. The last day of my trip to Shanghai, I went to the bookstore and bought something I'm already almost finished with...and this was yesterday! The book is called Undress Me In The Temple of Heaven, by Susan Jane Gilmer. It's about two American girls who backpack around China, starting in Shanghai. All the places are mentioned that I just saw. It was cool. One thing about crack books...once I buy them I can't put them down, then I'm back to square one, bookless and wanting more. So that's going to be me in a couple of hours. I spent a little extra cash and got a sleeper back to Beijing. Best money I could've spent. Soft sleepers on the Z train are NICE. Yes. I cuddled up with my book on the train and read for hours. Didn't sleep very well but it wasn't the bed or train's fault. Honestly, I felt the best on that train, better than I had the whole trip. Don't get me wrong, it was a good trip overall, but the train was my favorite. Shanghai's an interesting city but three days was more than enough time. Aside from the glowing lights of the Bund, the city lacks personality. I felt like I was in Houston a lot... high rise buildings everywhere that virtually say nothing. Dirty, polluted of course. I like Beijing so much more. The Olympics really cleaned up the city a lot, because I rarely see a gray day in Beijing like I saw in Shanghai. Beijing may not have as many flashy sights as Shanghai does, but it's got more to do, more of a vibe, and definitely more of an artistic edge. It speaks a hell of a lot louder to me than Shanghai ever could. I'm happy to be home. The four walls have expanded again. I have been wanting to go to Dalian now for quite some time but I'm starting to have second thoughts. I haven't been to western China at all and am interested in seeing something, maybe Yunnan or elsewhere down south. We'll see. I'll keep you posted regardless. xox Thanks for reading. MISU ![]() |
lawd knows i like to ramble. thanks for reading.
Copyright © 2008-2018
tell me.
Thank you, your message has been sent
archives.
March 2018
categories.
All
|