What a day

I got home tonight in high spirits, thinking about all the lovely things in my nearly-perfect day. I had this post half-composed in my head, until I got home and read my email. A China Volunteer died today, a 72 year old woman in a site maybe four hours from mine. She was from the group behind me, a China 12 to my China 11. I have no details on the cause of death at this point, but the loss is still staggering. Peace Corps Volunteers don't generally go into their service expecting to have their lives on the line, but death does occur during these two years for some, whether due to accident, illness or some other misfortune.

I have never even met this woman, so it is a strange, vague kind of grief I feel tonight. We were comrades of a sort, and there is certainly a tie that I believe holds PCVs (at least) loosely together in spirit. I have two thoughts competing in my head: first, that this is a very tragic event, but at least this person passed away while living an adventure of her choosing, and second--wow, this could happen to anyone.

Now, in light of this news, it feels somewhat frivolous to natter on about the small things that made me happy today. But I will do so anyway, in a small sort of tribute to one Peace Corps China lost today. I expect some of the things that made me smile today also brought joy to her time here, too.

First of all, the weather here was truly brilliant. Sunny and clear but with a cool breeze and low humidity, the kind of a day that is quite rare in this neighborhood. I don't teach on Fridays, so I had made plans with two close friends to take the ferry across the Yangtze River to see what was on the other side. Before meeting them for a quick lunch of chuan-chuan (boiled vegetables and meat, lathered in spices) and cold green bean soup (much tastier than it sounds), I bought myself a sun parasol. Sun umbrellas are ubiquitous for women and men here to escape the intense sunshine in the spring and summer. I'd always scorned them in favor of sunscreen, Vitamin D, and some freckles. But my nearly-25-year-old self decided that there's nothing wrong with a little mobile shade to protect the skin, and I had happened to find a really cute one for sale to push me over the edge.

Regular readers may know that Luzhou is situated between two rivers, the Yangtze and the Tuo, a tributary. Ferry crossings of the rivers has largely become obsolete with the prevalence of bridges, cars and buses in the city, though they of course were once the sole option for river crossing. Our ferry today ran about every 20 minutes, and I was very amused to be firmly instructed to put on my life vest before embarking on the crossing. We estimated that the river is about 120 meters/yards across where we were. One of my friends, Emma, can't swim, so she eagerly put on the blaze orange foam vest as Jerry and I giggled. To my infinite chagrin, my seemingly-always depleted, but determinedly environmentally-friendly rechargeable batteries were dead, so I don't have a photo of this very funny scene. Next time I ought to have better luck, er, preparation.

The rest of the afternoon we ambled along paths through a small, sleepy village that development seems to have forgotten for the moment. Along the river bank are several small shrines to Buddha, Guanyin and other local gods from Daoist, Buddhist and assorted Chinese traditions. There is even a fairly large seated Buddha, sitting on his lotus blossom gazing serenely across the river at Luzhou. Near this Buddha was a large, abandoned building, in the traditional Chinese style with wood beams and white-washed bamboo and mud plaster walls. My best guess is that it was formerly a school, perhaps for monks. The setting was idyllic--large trees to either side, and backed right up into the rock face of the mountain. The river dropped away before a large patio in front. All three of us were enchanted by the quiet loveliness of the surroundings. We imagined rebuilding the school and creating a peaceful riverside villa. If we don't do it, I hope someone else does.

In the course of the afternoon of sunshine and clear views, conversation and comfortable silence, cool breeze and leafy shade, I remarked upon the ever-smiling faces of the statues. The peace and contentment evident on their visages was mirrored in my heart today. I hope that some of the same peace and contentment were in the heart of my colleague in Mianyang during her time in China. May her soul move swiftly on to whatever is next.