evening wanderings
Last night around 11PM I decided to take a walk outside the hotel. I walked past dark buildings in the warm (humid) night air and followed interesting noises. I stopped under the overpass of a nearby building and listened to women talking while they washed clothes. I heard some rowdier sounds and followed them to the open window of a dorm full of bunks at a nearby technical school. I walked further and met three 20-year-old students of a film school who were sitting on the curb while their classmate strummed a guitar and sang Chinese (rock?) songs. I sat with them for a while and we had a nice conversation. I introduced myself and they told me their names, but the only name I remember is that of 楼岩 because he explained to me each character in his name (loufang de lou, yanshi de yan).
My answer to their question, “Is America better than China?”, was probably longer than they expected. All expressed a wish to one day visit the U.S. as well as France and Japan. They kept handing me the guitar expecting that I could play it and were reluctant to believe me that I could not (is there some stereotype about Americans and guitars?).
Who knew there was more than just parking lot in the immediate vicinity (an entire film school?). I’ll try and get out more. There are people to meet, interesting things to see, and there’s always a language to practice.
