Jamie Doom...

Wednesday, November 05

Hiking Song

I’m going hiking this weekend with the foreign affairs official at the school, Mr. Quan. Mr. Quan is twenty-six years old, cheerful, helpful smart, and extremely good at his job. I consider him one of my best friends here in China. Weekly, he and I have long, broad discussions about American and Chinese culture, economics and history. His generation is old enough to be traditional themselves but young enough to understand the next generation of Chinese coming behind them. He had provided valuable insight into China on more than one occasion. Last week when we were talking, I told him that I really missed hiking. Hiking is the one thing I haven’t done much of since I have been in China, and I really wanted to get out and do some hiking. We went online, and I showed him pictures of the Appalachian Trail and explained the entire hiking culture behind it. He said he also loved to hike, but that he never had time for “leisure activities” anymore.

Later that day he came to my office very excited. “Jamie, I have found a hiking club based here in Haikou. We can go hiking on the weekends.” He is a happy, upbeat man by nature, but he seemed especially cheered by the thought of getting outside and sleeping in the woods. He and I then made plans to join the hiking club. We are going this weekend to a mountain range called the Overlord Mountain Range in the southern part of the island not too far from the beach resort town of Sanya. There are a rare species of long haired monkeys living on that mountain. I’m taking my camera and will be telling you all about it here.

So all this week, Mr. Quan has been coming in every day to give me the countdown. Around five on Monday he showed up and said, “Only four more days.” We went to two “hiking specially stores” in Haikou. Neither store had a large selection of hiking gear, but I already have some good hiking shoes and a backpack. The hiking club will provide tents and sleeping bags. I picked up a North Face shirt for less than twenty bucks at one of the stores, so I was happy. Mr. Quan has some hiking shoes as well. We are going shopping for hiking food tomorrow.

Today, Mr. Quan came in and told me about his training regime for the hiking trip this weekend. He is already in great shape, but he told me he had been running more this week etc. Then he said something that made me smile and still makes me smile when I think about it. He told me he had been practicing “his song.” He then asked me if I had been practicing “my song.” I of course didn’t know what he was talking about.

“My song?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Quan. “At night there will be a campfire and everybody will sit around and eat and sing songs. I have a bad voice, and I don’t want to be embarrassed, so I have been practicing my song. You should have one picked out too.”

I didn’t know what to say. He was so sincere and honest when he said it that I couldn’t laugh. When I normally make plans for camping, it doesn’t occur to me to pick out a song too. To him it seemed like a rational act though. And he is really excited about this trip. In addition to being the college’s FAO, he is studying to get his law degree on the side. I get the feeling that he doesn’t get a lot of R and R. This will be a great chance for him to escape the office and hang out with the boys.

So anyway, I guess I had better pick out a song before the big hiking trip. I could sing the Chinese Standard English Song: “Yesterday Once More.” However after living here for five months, I’ve decided if I ever sing that song again on purpose I want somebody to put a bullet in my brain.

“Yesterday Once More” is omnipresent in China-- lurking somewhere in the background, the volume about to be turned up. It’s mind boggling. It’s a national phenomenon. Everybody knows it. Everybody sings along on the chorus. I even heard “Yesterday Once More” Muzak in a restaurant which I thought was totally redundant. I don’t understand how they entire country doesn’t get tired of it. I mean we have stupid songs that are popular for six months, but then we move on to another stupid song. Not so here, unless you count “I’m a Big, Big Girl in a Big, Big World.” Karen Carpenter, you are missed…in China anyway. Maybe if she could have seen how popular her song has become in China, she would have eaten a twinkie or something at the last minute.

So these days I’m busy training for the big hike. I just hope my voice is ready.

posted by: jmedoom at November 05, 2003 20:34 | link | comments (3) |

Comments:

#1 05 November 2003 - 14:31

You're still the funniest

Anonymous

#2 06 November 2003 - 00:37

i agree.. you're still the funniest :) btw, i hope i won't appear too stupid if i ask what does R and R mean? and also about the hiking song, I suggest you sing "top of the world" by Karen Carpenter too.. that would be a more fitting song... lol :p