Life in the fast lane
Yau Neih commented the other day that she can "feel the wheels speeding up." Our summer "vacation" is over and we're heading back into school and the fall activities as if the past two years never happened. Okay, that's a lie. On one level we're going back to the pre-2005 status quo. It's a lifestyle that is less laid back and busier than life in China. But we're also dealing with the consequences of the past two years, from trying to whip the yard into shape after two years of neglect to trying to squeeze elements of our Yunnan lifestyle into our old one.That plays out a bit differently for each of us. For me, I want to keep up the higher level of exercise I used to have and to keep dancing now and then. The former brings with it a struggle to make time for walking and a slight friction between family members with different schedules. As a rule, we'd all prefer to walk together. The problem is, I get up early and head off to work. When I get home, the ladies are all involved with school. That leaves the time after dinner, the time when Ga Dai and I start winding down. Oh, well. So far that hasn't been a major hassle, though I suspect that as we start rediscovering evening activities, the situation will change.
Incorporating dancing is proving to be a bit harder. Yau Neih and I finally made a date last Friday to check out the Greenlake Folk Dancers up by Green Lake. It was a pretty good time, but not the delight we enjoyed dancing in Cang Jiang Park. For one thing, it's like becoming an apprentice all over again. We had learnt a lot of basic moves to the Chinese dancing that were often incorporated in new dances. With the Balkan stuff, we've got to learn the basics all over again. Another difficulty is that going dancing brings to mind that we've really left China and probably won't be dancing in the park to Tibetan music ever again. A depressing thought.
And then there's the opposite of trying to bring Yunnan back to America. There's also the temptation to go overboard in enjoying the manifold blessings of our native land. Specifically, I succumbed to the temptation of the printed page. I'm currently in the middle of five books: A fantasy novel that I read over lunch, a commentary on Joshua, a biography to sooth my history itch, a computer book and a Calvin and Hobbes collection which I can easily read over breakfast. Who would have thought that a library card could have been so dangerous?
Anyway, while fall has traditionally been my happiest season, I think this year it might be a bit more of a burden. When we were leaving for China, I felt a sense of control, as we headed out to achieve our dream. Coming back, I feel like life is threatening to swallow me up* and I have to keep constant watch to avoid it.
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*Don't do it life! I'll give you gas!
posted by John @ 9:04 PM
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