What do you do with your time? If you asked me this question, at different times, I would give different answers. As a young man, I would listen to punk rock music and play frisbee. As an older young man, I would go to parties and play frisbee. As a college student, I would practice Buddhism, study chemistry, and play frisbee. When I first came to China, however, I did many things, but playing frisbee was rarely one of them. It was not a lack of interest; I brought ten discs with me from the States. It was not even a lack of opportunity; I lived with Jen most of the time and she was just as eager to play as I was. For whatever reason, I could not find it in me. I did not play frisbee.
As you can see, I have not written in a while. I had three sequential New Years this year, starting with the Gregorian New Year on January 1st. I wrote a bit about this, so I will save the details. This was followed by the Chinese New Year on January 26th and the subsequent Spring Festival. I had a crazy trip in the snow, hitch hiking up into the mountains of western Sichuan and meeting some exceptional human beings. When I came back, Jen and I hopped on the train to Lhasa. It took two days of living like a sardine to get there, but I would argue that it was certainly worth it. We visited many monasteries, bought many souvenirs, and made many friends. Here is a photo summary:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254762&id=1505459&l=f8824ba809
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254752&id=1505459&l=cb70d55c2f
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254754&id=1505459&l=dc84342ce0.
Shortly after we came back to Chengdu and Jen returned to work, there was a frisbee hat tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. Jen and I impulsively decided to go and hopped on a plane. When we arrived in Thailand, I could not believe the flight attendant who was speaking on the intercom, "Welcome to Thailand, the local time is 2:45pm, and the temperature is approximately thirty-two degrees." Now, of course, she meant Celsius. Thirty-two degrees Celsius. That's nearly ninety degrees. In February. After the coldest few months of my life up in the mountains.
We got off the plane and walked through security. Even the airport had grand statues of wrathful deities; probably to scare those without proper documents. We took a taxi into the heart of Bangkok. The highway was beautiful. There were rows of what probably were Thai Bodhisattvas and deities with pointy hair and folded hands greeting us on our way in. What a beautifully decorated infrastructure. I was very impressed.
Because of the impulsive nature of this adventure, we did not get a hotel room in time to get a cheap room near the fields with air condition. We got a "fan room," which sounded reasonable at the time, but turned out to be very hot. We went downstairs from our room and indulged in one of the main events of the weekend: Thai food. It was great. Thai food is usually great in the States, but something about the freshness or the flavor just made these meals stand out. Afterward we made our way to the tournament registration party at a local Irish pub. We signed up, got our gear, got some good beer, and starting making friends. We met many new characters but one encounter was particularly serendipitous.
I was complaining to someone about how Jen and I live in such a big Chinese city, but there was no frisbee to play. They asked what city I lived in and, having replied Chengdu, they said "that guy right behind just said the same thing to me!" I turned around and there was Gareth. Shaggy hair and needing a shave, he said that he has been editing essays for a journal based in the Huaxi Hospital in the center of Chengdu for the past few months. He had played Ultimate in college in St. Louis and was itching to get some frisbee started in Chengdu. I chatted with him some more, gave him my email, and thus it began.
Saturday morning Jen and I made our way to the tournament. We were playing on pristine fields in the middle of a military complex surrounded by Thai guards with wide smiles and big guns. When warming up in the morning sun made me sweat and wheeze, I got a bit nervous of the games to come. It was hot. And I was out of shape. Go here for some pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2257400&id=1505459&l=756e52c483
http://picasaweb.google.co.th/bangkokhattourney.
After many games, thai iced teas (they were sold in 7-11s like slurpees!), and a thai massage, the tournament was over and it was time to go home. It was a short weekend, but life would not be the same after we returned.
