Two weeks in worlds biggest little city, Chengdu. Nighst in Mix-hostel, few beers and chatting with other backpackers. Daytime I took a bus to lively oasis in suburban Chengdu, local Waldorf school and it's biodynamic gardens around a small pond. Lovely people, full of love and inspiration and huge will to learn, do and understand.
To my joy I had a possibility to keep few workshops about speech, drama and storytelling. It was great to do some old speech exercises!
And memories were running all over my body when we were doing eurythmi, stepping and doing Hallelujah with our Japanese teacher and piano.
Have to admit,few tears came to my eyes.
Now I'll pack my bag and take a bus to Mountain Emei. Climp up to the sun rise and try to think how to avoid becoming holiday weekend...
April 27, 2008
April 18, 2008
About stories
From country to country slowly by train and buses. But oh so fast anyway. Cultures, languages and people are changin to new in one moment and sometimes I just would like to stop a train, jump out and continue by feets.
Without local language it has been quit hard to find stories and I feel it would be easier to go back to Finland and sit few days in great Finnish library looking for stories. But this journey is something different, without language you miss somethin but see something else. You feel all the sounds, smells and smile faces of people. Song of the bird and soft whisper of the wind are singing their own story. Sometimes you can hear it, sometimes not.
And everywhere I go I meet lovely people who are helping in a daily life situatuions and also helping with local languages and in my seeking for stories. Example in Beijing I got possibility to handcrafts from minority tribes and hear stories from wedding clothes. Creation of the world was all showed as pictures in a cloth!
This writing stories and letters is quit new for me and quality of it so different to oral storytelling. An oral storyteller I feel I am. Storyteller in this moment, with these people around me. So sometimes I have started to fear that i'm becoming to be literal animal, that I live and create my life only throught my blog writings, throught letter and this blog.
Fortunately there has came situation for story evenings, in Olkholn Island, nomad tent in Mongolian desert, Beijing's World trade mansion's 21. floor and in Mix-hostels garden on Ghengdu.. Those moments has kept flame of storyteller burning inside me.
Thanks for you people who made those situations possible and lived stories with me!
Without local language it has been quit hard to find stories and I feel it would be easier to go back to Finland and sit few days in great Finnish library looking for stories. But this journey is something different, without language you miss somethin but see something else. You feel all the sounds, smells and smile faces of people. Song of the bird and soft whisper of the wind are singing their own story. Sometimes you can hear it, sometimes not.
And everywhere I go I meet lovely people who are helping in a daily life situatuions and also helping with local languages and in my seeking for stories. Example in Beijing I got possibility to handcrafts from minority tribes and hear stories from wedding clothes. Creation of the world was all showed as pictures in a cloth!
This writing stories and letters is quit new for me and quality of it so different to oral storytelling. An oral storyteller I feel I am. Storyteller in this moment, with these people around me. So sometimes I have started to fear that i'm becoming to be literal animal, that I live and create my life only throught my blog writings, throught letter and this blog.
Fortunately there has came situation for story evenings, in Olkholn Island, nomad tent in Mongolian desert, Beijing's World trade mansion's 21. floor and in Mix-hostels garden on Ghengdu.. Those moments has kept flame of storyteller burning inside me.
Thanks for you people who made those situations possible and lived stories with me!
April 9, 2008
There is quite a many people in China
All travel guide books advice that you should avoid trains and tourist atractions on puplic holidays in China. I kind of forget last fridays holiday of remembering ancestor and booked a train tikcet to TaiShan for night before holiday.
So I ended up to be pushed in a train and stand there allmost 7 hours with more than 200 Chinese in same wagon.(I had a seat, but just could't get to other side of our wagon before allmost end of my journey) And glimbe up to sacred taoist peak Mount TaiShan with I think over one million Chinese. Like huge worm we were going slowly up and up. Step by step over bridge of clouds and finally to the Southern gateway to heaven and to the summit in altitude 1540m. It was quit opening experience, somehow.. (Read more from next storyletter)
In Tai'an the summer came and I said goodbye to my old army jacket. I carried it to bank of river witch flows from sacred Mt TaiShan. I was remembering all those 12 years we had been going together, all travels, all tears of desperation, countless amount of Sorbus bottles and some ramdomly kisses. I lighted up an incense, wishing he would find a new good home and said goodbyes to my old friend.
So I ended up to be pushed in a train and stand there allmost 7 hours with more than 200 Chinese in same wagon.(I had a seat, but just could't get to other side of our wagon before allmost end of my journey) And glimbe up to sacred taoist peak Mount TaiShan with I think over one million Chinese. Like huge worm we were going slowly up and up. Step by step over bridge of clouds and finally to the Southern gateway to heaven and to the summit in altitude 1540m. It was quit opening experience, somehow.. (Read more from next storyletter)
In Tai'an the summer came and I said goodbye to my old army jacket. I carried it to bank of river witch flows from sacred Mt TaiShan. I was remembering all those 12 years we had been going together, all travels, all tears of desperation, countless amount of Sorbus bottles and some ramdomly kisses. I lighted up an incense, wishing he would find a new good home and said goodbyes to my old friend.
April 1, 2008
Beijing
"Happiness is a half dollar ring.
Happiness is voice of cat.
Happiness is bark of familiar dog.
Happiness is a new bag.
Bag full of hopes
Bag full of hopes
that everything is going to be allright"
-Tohtori Orff & Herra Dalcroze- (from record: Muuvaara)
Helsinki-Peking 8092km
From Mongolian emptiness and after horseback riding in natural park I got myself to Beijing. To huge metropol with 17 million people. My train train took me here at a day of full moon and spring equinox. Expat family Rinkinen was waiting for me with open doors.
For my surprise I came to rest here. I taught I'll stay only few days and continue to south and more rural areas. But here I'm still and happy. Eat some breakfast with kids, Paju and Suvi-Elina, look their paintings, games and go to fantasy adventures in nearby parks.
Beijing is city of many faces. Millions of people, cars, pollution and polices. New high buildings rising up everywhere. And just next street from crowd there is an old temple with rich flavor of incense. And next corner there is peacefull park. Grannys playing drums, colorful kites on a sky, and old fellow doing calligraphy with two big brush to stones of street using water as a paint.
Somedays you just can't see the sun from pollution and next day you woke up and see than wind has been blowing and the sun is rising to clear sky! Cheery trees are in blossom, willows branches with light sprin green leaves are hanging over the Houhai lake and lovers are kissing on the bridge.. I'm singing:
Happiness is voice of cat.
Happiness is bark of familiar dog.
Happiness is a new bag.
Bag full of hopes
Bag full of hopes
that everything is going to be allright"
-Tohtori Orff & Herra Dalcroze- (from record: Muuvaara)
Helsinki-Peking 8092km
From Mongolian emptiness and after horseback riding in natural park I got myself to Beijing. To huge metropol with 17 million people. My train train took me here at a day of full moon and spring equinox. Expat family Rinkinen was waiting for me with open doors.
For my surprise I came to rest here. I taught I'll stay only few days and continue to south and more rural areas. But here I'm still and happy. Eat some breakfast with kids, Paju and Suvi-Elina, look their paintings, games and go to fantasy adventures in nearby parks.
Beijing is city of many faces. Millions of people, cars, pollution and polices. New high buildings rising up everywhere. And just next street from crowd there is an old temple with rich flavor of incense. And next corner there is peacefull park. Grannys playing drums, colorful kites on a sky, and old fellow doing calligraphy with two big brush to stones of street using water as a paint.
Somedays you just can't see the sun from pollution and next day you woke up and see than wind has been blowing and the sun is rising to clear sky! Cheery trees are in blossom, willows branches with light sprin green leaves are hanging over the Houhai lake and lovers are kissing on the bridge.. I'm singing:
"Happiness is a half dollar ring
Happiness is voice of a cat.."
Happiness is voice of a cat.."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
