The first thing I remember were the beads of sweat like waterfalls splashing down my spine until it melted away into the fibers of my shirt and pants. The next thing I remember is staring into the stocks of bamboo limbs hanging about a hundred feet above the Earth. I lost sense of time watching the way the leaves looked, shining almost like they were soaked in wax; wondering if the hundreds of bamboo poles were even real? I wondered how I would ask questions about the bamboo and how I was going to order my coffee in a couple hours. I remember finally finding the courage to walk by myself so I could admire the untrimmed brush on the outskirts of the walls in Wangjianglou Park, not even worrying about losing the group I was with or having someone to talk to.
The footsteps I took in Chengdu, China were my first footsteps into a new chapter of my life.
We began our trip in the Cleveland International Airport at four a.m. in late June. Though it was eerily quiet in the city, the terminal was bustling with excitement for adventures awaiting each traveler and nerves for each corresponding parent or loved one who came to say goodbye.
We had a group of 30 Kent State students and three chaperones ready to embark on this journey. Each student was accepted into the international Sichuan University Immersion Program through interview and application process. Hosted through Kent State’s College of Communication and Information, this program would take us on a 20 hour trip to Chengdu, the western hub of China, for 16 days.
The transition was simple at first, however it was much more humid and muggy than Northeastern Ohio, the freeways were reckless (I did not see a single speed limit sign the entire trip) and there was a 12 hour time difference; despite all of that China was pretty easy to adjust to. My main problem was the food.
On the first morning, which also happened to be my birthday, I ate breakfast in the upper level of the hotel called the Hongwa. Instead of finding cereal, cinnamon rolls, eggs or bacon like in America, we were greeted with spicy noodles: ramen and bao. I attempted to eat it especially since it was complimentary, but the Sichuan spices did not settle well in my stomach. I began my birthday with my face in the toilet and a slightly dampened mood about the trip.
Luckily my ‘gut’ feeling was wrong; I slowly became accustomed to the food and the culture. I found myself looking for apartments to rent in the city as soon as I came back to the states.
The Sichuan province, a southwestern province of China that Chengdu is the capital of, is known for three things: the Sichuan opera, spice and panda bears.
Lucky for us, we got to experience all three. We started with the Sichuan opera at the Sichuan University campus, one of the top universities in China. To welcome all their international students, spanning from America to France to Australia and all countries in between, they held performances from many schools to represent their country. A student from South Korea sang a traditional opera piece, students from Michigan State University found a way to mix traditional Chinese song and dance with modern rap music from America and then Sichuan University performed a dance from the Sichuan opera.
One individual performed a song that included fire-breathing and sleight-of-hand mask changes, it left the audience in awe. Unfortunately, we were never able to see the entirety of the opera, but it is definitely incentive to revisit the city in the future.
Another alluring part of the trip was the spice; a pepper grown in Sichuan cranks up the heat for any newcomer or tourist. From my personal experience, my roommate and I will attest to the immensely potent flavor of the miniscule peppercorn. We sat in a coffee shop eating dinner when we decided to bite down on it thinking, “It can’t be that bad.” Seconds later we both had tears in our eyes as the pepper slowly burned its way from our tongues all the way down our throats and into our stomachs. My roommate chugged a carmel macchiato, one of the only things we knew how to order after our first week of living in China, and I wiped at my tongue in a poor attempt to take the sting out of my mouth.
But hey, when in Chengdu, am I right?
If you are ever in Chengdu make sure you visit the world’s largest panda sanctuary. Wolong National Nature Park holds 10% of the entire panda population in China; protecting hundreds of pandas from natural disasters and poachers. The park stretches for 80 miles and allows pandas to interact with each other, peacocks and even red pandas.
It’s easier to show you what we saw instead of write about, so check out these pictures:
The most spiritual experience I experience throughout my two weeks of adventure and learning was our trip to Leshan. Before the city was named Leshan the land laid in the hands of the Tang Dynasty; a period best know for economic, political and cultural prosperity. One of their many accomplishments was the “Giant Buddha,” a statue carved out of the side of a cliff to protect and watch over boats traveling the three major rivers below it in about 700 A.D.
Standing at 233 feet tall, all Kent State students and faculty climbed all the way up and down the side of the cliff to admire every inch of the beautiful religious sculpting that was carved into the sides of the precipice along with the Buddha himself.
When we reached the top, we entered a Buddhist temple that accepted everyone inside with open palms. When we walked inside the first hall we were welcomed by a stunning statue of the Buddha and two other Buddhist deities, they were watching over those praying to them on mats about three feet away. Most of the paintings and statues were gold with lavish embellishments depicting the five elements: water, fire, air, earth and wisdom often done through color schemes and patterns on the walls.
I watched the way the people paid homage to their Gods through prayer or even leaving a package of Oreos for the Buddha to enjoy. They rubbed his big toe for good luck and I decided to rub it too, though I have a huge hatred for feet. The feeling of cool metal on my palm had never felt so enlightening before. I watched a gay couple kneel together to pray to Buddha, I watched a man cry to him, I watched a young girl learn how to bow to him and I watched an elder smile with him. It was warm, and I’m not talking about the 100 degree day with 90% humidity, the whole atmosphere felt warm. I found comfort in the love and worship at the temple.
I learned a lot in China, not only about Chinese culture, but about myself. Leaving home and traveling to the complete opposite side of the earth is how I truly found who I am, as ironic and cheesy as it may sound. Perhaps it is not the act of learning who I am while I was there, but understanding everything I’m not pretending to be anymore. I recognized the space from where I am and where I want to be, and I’m inviting myself to grow into the open room. Looking over the rice fields from the airplane that shipped me back home I saw a part of me on the ground below, waiting for me to find her again; whether that be in my next trip to Chengdu or the next time I open my dorm room door to go to class tomorrow morning. The ancient melody of those exotic lands pulled something out of me that I thought I lost a long time ago and now it is a personal challenge to find that part again.
For a mental, physical and spiritual adventure you will never forget, and if you are a part of Kent State’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Architecture or Fashion then I highly suggest applying for Kent’s 3rd annual trip to Chengdu, China in the summer of 2018.