Since my return from Sichuan I have resolved to spend more time in Huaihua. Now that I know a little more about my home and a little more about teaching my schedule feels a much more open and the city feels far more inviting. This all makes me more prone to contemplative wandering. Thursdays are a wonderful day for such wandering.
Monday through Wednesday I teach morning and afternoon. Usually by the end of my school day I have little energy or desire to wander outside of my neighborhood or tackle some new writing or photography project. Thursdays however require me to just teach one class at 10 AM and the class happens to be my brightest and happiest class of the week (not a bad way to finish up). I always seem to come off this class with a smile and a desire to explore.
Today after class I went back to my apartment and read all about the last Presidential debate. Earlier in the morning I had able to watch an hour of while eating breakfast before my class. After that lazy internet surfing I went out walking with a book.
My legs had me walk down a new road in a new direction. The sun has been shinning with renewed force lately, after a string of cold autumn days. Today was just as brilliant and warm as yesterday. Feeling hungry I stopped at a restaurant which I had never visited before. The menu seemed a bit luxurious so I just looked over at what two of the waitresses were having for lunch. “I have one of those,” I told the attentive waitress hovering over me. The simple dish was a wonderful omelet of fresh green chiles. Satisfying with a nice crunch of spiciness the lunch combined with rice was just what I needed. The owner of the restaurant came over to my table, offered me a cigarette (I declined), and asked me the questions I most often hear on my wanderings around Huaihua. “What country are you from?” “What is your job?” “Where did you learn Chinese?”
After we got those basics out of the way and he complimented my Chinese (something I now am beginning to find a nuisance due to the fact everyone says it to me) we started talking about his family. He was originally from Fenghuang, the beautiful riverside village 2 hours away that I have visited on occasion, but came to Huaihua to open the restaurant and give his son a better life. His son is to start at my middle school next fall and he asked me if I could tutor him. I asked him about the pictures on the restaurant wall, they were all of people motorcycling in the countryside. He pointed himself out and explained that it was his favorite hobby to travel around with his friends on his motorcycle. He asked me if I drive one myself. I seemed to let him down when I said no. I quickly added that I use Huaihua’s freelance motorcycle taxis often. His laugh seemed to say it’s not the same. With the warmhearted exclamation of “Eat slowly!” he got up and took a squat outside.
I left full and content, the sun warming my back. Once again I was glad for my Boston Red Sox hat, which keeps the sun out of my eyes so nicely. I bought a bottle of C100 and after wandering a half-hour more turned around and headed home.
