overseas briefing T.I.C., Bro

Author: Matt Doyle

HANGZHOU, P.R.C - In Leonardo DiCaprio's latest movie, "Blood Diamond," Leo's character, Danny Archer, explains the insanity that is the African diamond trade by simply stating, "T.I.A. This is Africa." Here in Hangzhou, China, a few of my classmates have adopted this saying and applied it to their experiences here in China. Friends and family call us, e-mail and Skype, asking questions such as, but not limited to, "How is it?", "What have you done?", "Any cool stories?" and so on and so forth.

The best answer, honestly speaking, is simply, "T.I.C. This is China."

Frankly, how am I supposed to accurately explain the feeling of being chased through Shanghai's largest knock-off clothing market? Sales people and beggars alike were chasing after us, while Mike West egged on our pursuers, screaming, "Can someone sell me a DVD? Who has a watch they'd like to sell to me?"

Or the pure joy that one receives from not only attending the 2007 Women's World Cup here in Hangzhou, seeing the U.S.A. play (losing unfortunately 4-0 to an otherworldly Brazilian team) and then stopping traffic at a major intersection by singing the "Star Spangled Banner," with 10 of my classmates to the cheers of hundreds of Chinese pedestrians, drivers and police officers. How do you categorize that experience? There are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe that story, so honestly, why bother?

The semester is almost halfway over for us. Although some of us will not return to Middlebury until February, our time here seems to be running short. I'm sure that the leaves have started to change in Vermont and that nice brisk feeling of fall has settled into New England. I can speak for many of my classmates when I say that we miss Middlebury and you all very much, but we have much more to do here before we meet back up with our fellow "Midd-kids" in the spring.

As you're reading this we're probably sitting for one of our midterm exams that hit us with full force this week. However, afterwards we have a well-deserved week off. During this time most of us plan to travel either alone or in small groups around China. Yet, I'm going to take a different path and head up north to Mongolia via Beijing with Will Clary, Zach Woods and Brendan Campbell.

The entirety of the trip will be by train, a total of 42 hours each way. Yet, if past experiences are at all indicative, that might be the most interesting part of the trip. My traveling cohorts and I have already tracked down a shooting range in Beijing, where you can pay to shoot a tank, stayed at a Yurt hotel (picture those roomy tents from Harry Potter) out on the Mongolian steppe and have bought tickets for sleeper cars on said trains (read "Euro Trip").

What is the point of trying to guess what is going to happen on this trip let alone the rest of my time here in Hangzhou? All that needs to be said is, "T.I.C. This is China."