Getting Innundated with Bamboo, and that damn ICRP

So, I started my internship with INBAR on Monday, and after two days of proof reading and editing an 99-page academic paper on the subject of Bamboo Land Tenure (written in English by a non-native speaker, but her writing was almost perfect), I have been effectively let loose to wade into the pursuit of fairly open-ended assignments. I will be designing the 2009 INBAR newsletter, which will be sent to about two dozen different countries, and maybe a hundred or so INBAR 'partners' (NGOs, universities, individuals, or companies that work with bamboo and/or rattan who network with INBAR). I will also be constructing the beginnings of a potential publicity film on bamboo housing, hopefully something which John will produce in collaboration with INBAR. As soon as I am done writing thing blog I will probably go over to Jin Wei's office and get a bunch of image and video files, select those that I think are best, and put them on a CD so that John can see what kind of footage and projects INBAR already has. In addition to that I am going to revise, edit, and probably largely recreate the INBAR "Volunteer's Introduction to Beijing," since it is fairly sparse and I am pretty qualified to know what a college student new to Beijing wants/needs to know about life in the city here.

I was planning on having the INBAR internship as my ICRP (Integrative Cultural Research Project, something that all the Kalamazoo students here are required to do), but a major component of the ICRP is interacting with locals and the local culture. Due to the nature of the work I am doing at INBAR... I can't really use it for my ICRP. Fortunately due to a 1 hour 10 minute bus ride to travel between the INBAR offices and my dorm I am an easy opportunity to do an ICRP on a different subject: riding the bus. With about two hours of observation, note-taking, and interaction everyday I think I can get ample information to BS an ICRP. I plan to observe the gender ratios, length of rides, how often/rarely seats are given up, and other general anthropological/sociological observations. Taking a step back through, (and I know I am just starting the ICRP, but) the ICRP seems like a bit of a waste of time to me. The stated goals of the ICRP -are improved language use
-increased understanding of local culture
-firsthand experience with a facet of everyday life in the host culture
-opportunities for interaction with local people
-and opportunities to apply skills and knowledge to a real-life situation.

However, I feel as though I have done most of this stuff already. I've already gotten a feel for the local culture, made local friends and contacts, experienced everyday life, and applied my skills and knowledge. It's not like I have just been sitting in the dormitory with all the other American students speaking English, drinking cheap Chinese beer, gambling, watching cheap DVDs of Hollywood summer blockbuster movies, and going out to eat at Hooters, and going out to party in the foreign district (which is exactly what most of the other students have spent their time doing). While they have been drinking and partying, I have volunteered with a local NGO, been a part of local theatrical performance, joined and participated in local clubs and organizations, and made Chinese friends. Oh yeah... and I've been speaking Chinese. I feel as though the ICRP is something that might be beneficial for me if I had never left the little fortress of American culture and the English language that some of the other students immersed themselves in, but I've been doing ICRP kind of stuff for the whole past semester. So... yeah. I am a bit peeved that I have to do this, 'cause it feels like a total waste of my time. Especially when I am doing work at INBAR that is much more important than myself gaining a greater understanding of the local culture, and my free-time is at a minimum due to the INBAR work.

I am trying to get more students to teach English to. What will probably happen is that when other Kalamazoo students leave Beijing I will take over their students. I don't want to overwhelm myself with work, but I could do with a good 8 hours a week once the new semester starts, which would be enough to not only allow my to cover my expenses, but to make a small profit as well, which would start to recover what I spent during fall quarter.

The INBAR internship has kept me really busy. An 8 hour work day plus a commute all the way to the opposite side of Beijing really doesn't give me much time for anything else. I usually wake up about 7:15, and leave the dorm around 7:45 to arrive at INBAR about 9:20. In the evening I usually leave INBAR around 4:40, and return home around 6:15. I'm usually starving by the time I get back, so I get something to eat, and by the time I get back it is 7ish. Since I need to go to sleep around 11pm in order to get up so early, I only have a few hours of free time. I'd love to do something social or active, but often times people are just preparing to go out partying, or just sitting around reading or playing video games. My roommate plays video games ALL THE TIME. Normally for recreation, relaxation, and a zone-out activity I would just read the news online, check my emails, or read a book. But that is what I spend half of the day doing at INBAR (don't get me wrong, I want to be productive, but there are bottlenecks that are reached, and then I just have to wait for other people to respond to my requests for information, like now), so I don't want to do that at home too. I was also feeling kind of sick earlier this week, so for a few days I really didn't do anything but go to INBAR, work and INBAR, come back from INBAR, and sleep.

Maybe I will just volunteer with INBAR over the summer. Maybe I will travel China. I want to do SIP stuff, but I really don't know what I want to do for my SIP. I keep coming back to anarchistic things, which would work pretty well, I have to admit: Easy to research (plenty of philosophy, political philosophy, and history to it), and it is something I am already somewhat well-versed in. I'd rather do something else though. ...But what?

My lack of connection to the people around me (I mean th other K students in the dorm) makes me miss Kalamazoo. I really taking classes and being able to read an learn. I also miss the people that I casually socialized with, and of course I miss my good friends that I lives with during my Sophomore year.