Paul Montoya

Hello my friends! It has been a while, I know.. A lot has happened since my last blog, we finished our tour of China and have finally settled down In Xiamen where we will be till the program finishes on the 9th of May. If I haven’t said this before, I will say it now, studying abroad is one of the greatest experiences that I have ever lived. Besides the obvious of living in a foreign country, seeing, smelling, and tasting the unknown, this experience is just as much about getting to know yourself and your limits. You really are half way around the world, where nothing is familiar and you are forced to fend for yourself. At times I admit, this whole ordeal can be scary and even lonely, but if you can surpass those feelings you begin to really learn about yourself, your limits, and your capabilities. If anything this experience has fueled my ambitions in life and has made me eager to get out in the world to start making my own. For the past two weeks I have contemplated dropping out of college, permanently staying in China, and starting up my own business. MMMM as I am sure you can imagine, my parents aren’t too thrilled with the idea. It’s hard for me to see the world moving at the pace that it is and live the comfortable life of a college student when there is so much change to be done, so many people to help, and ideas to be developed. Unfortunately for myself, fortunately for my parents, I ultimately agree with their argument that finishing college and getting my degree should be my first priority, right now. College years are those for personal growth, spiritual, intellectual, and what ever other label you want to put on it, but I believe that there is just as much to learn outside of the classroom. Where else can you put to practice everything you learned in the academic arena? For my spring break I’m choosing to go to Taiwan and work in an orphanage instead of touring other countries in Asia which with out a doubt would be a blast. I can already foresee myself wanting to adopt every last child in this orphanage, shower them with love, and give them every opportunity that I had growing up. Again, I have to be realistic and acknowledge that unfortunately, if for no other reason, my wallet could not handle such a task. This will not stop me though, from trying to make a difference in these kids lives’ if only for a week. As you can see my ideas are all over the page, but that is exactly the point that I’m trying to put across. Get out there, live, and let your ideas fly back and forth until you find some that are right for you and realistic to your situation. Talk to you soon amigos, I will try to post up pictures soon. I know that I have said this before, but you have to be patient with me, the internet here in China… “ayyy Dios mio!”

I have tons of pictures documenting all my shenanigans here in China, I promise to put them up, as soon as i get a minute... I really should be preparing for 2morrows class... Oh well, talk to you soon

I will admit, not proudly, that I am a smoker. I started smoking over the summer when I began waiting tables as a way to get through the day (yes I know, a foul excuse)

Regardless, I picked up the habit and picked it up hard. I usually smoke a pack a day. Smoking I thought was the least of my problems. Although expensive and interactive, I figured there were worst habits to have. I’m young, strong, and cocky, and figured I would quit in a few years.. Well, after going to the Great Wall of China I was forced to see the truth. Walking up those stairs nearly killed me! I was coughing up a lung every 10 steps, getting more and more annoyed as I saw dozens of OLD ladies whizzing by me with no problem. Me being the stubborn man that I am, smoked a cig on the way down which resulted in me puking five minutes later. NOT COOL!

So… Moral of the story:

I understand that each person has their own reasons for smoking, legitimate or not, but in the long run smoking does far more harm then good.

Remember when I said that our Hotel was bawler?? MMMM thinking back, maybe a little too bawler… you will soon understand..

Well, when in china be careful about what you bargain for. Full body massage, means FULL BODY MASSAGE. At our hotel, on the second floor their was a massage parlor clearly marketed for traveling businessmen. Hours of operation where from 5 p.m to 3 a.m. MMM questionable, I think so! Elliot and I, a friend and a fellow student on the group, went down for massages after a long and stressful day of touring… What we found shocked us to put it frankly.. After our 80 minute massage for 100 Yuan (roughly $20) our two cute massagers stood up and smiled. They asked whether we would be interested in continuing our massages in our room…

And I quote “500 Yuan, FULL BODY massage. FOK! Foky foky!” they said this to us while they motioned what I believe (not sure) to be a but slapping motion. Me and Elliott had been warned about such situations but we thought it unlikely at a 5 star hotel. Laughter was our response as we quickly left! Awkward laughter, but laughter none the less...

The F-City floor consisted of 15 layers of brick, each layer laid in a different direction as the next to insure that there enemies would be unable to dig underneath creating for them a secret passage for attack. A- I love the thought process behind the idea- true thinking outside the box. B- I can only imagine what a B!$@* it was to build.

O.K… so the initial shock of being in China and being horribly jet lagged is finally wearing off..

We met our tour guide Tony at the airport. Tony, by the way, is the Man! I’m sure you will be hearing about him later seeing that we are most likely going to start a business together…

 We arrived at our hotel which was bawler to say the least. Thank you Eckerd for hooking us up! The first place we visited was Tian’an Men Square and the Forbidden city. I was expected to give an oral report about T square which led to a more awkward moment then a learning one. We were in the middle of the square, surrounded by thousands and I began too relay my research to the group. As I did so, I noticed how Tony began to shy away looking more and more uncomfortable. I was talking about a specific massacre that took place at T-square and how apparently the Chinese government had hushed the incident making it look less severe then it was… When I picked up on Tony’s body language I suddenly became very aware of our surroundings, noticing many officers giving us the evil eye and other Chinese nationals giving Tony a distrust worthy look. The situation getting tenser when a member in our group asked Tony to articulate his beliefs on the matter. Tony, as I saw it was put between a rock and a hard place. It was insensitive to ask Tony to give his opinion on such a shady matter that put into question his countries pride and dignity. Tony looking down at the floor, brushed off the question with a couple of murmurs and quickly ushered us to the Forbidden City..

O.K I’m sure a lot of you have seen Disney’s movie, Mulan.

Quite adorable yet horribly inaccurate. 2 inaccuracies that stood out:

#1.No way in hell that the forbidden city was filled with “common” people; regardless of whatever festival or celebration that was taking place. “Common” people were “Forbidden” entry, thus the name of the city.

 # 2. Mulan, as cute as she was, equipped with the ninja skills that she had, most certainly did not kill Attila the Hun with some fireworks… MMM pretty sure Attila was successful in his invasion.

Change... Change is the reason that I chose to study abroad... I've realized in my 19 years of life that change happens regardless of weather you want it to happen or not. Knowing this, living this, acknowledging this made me realize that change must happen at my pace, at my tempo. What options does change leave me then? Change, although an unstoppable force must meet me, an immovable object. An immovable object is by no means narrow minded or shut off to the worlds movements and changes. An immovable object, to be so, must adapt, learn, and manipulate the ways of life to fit to his or her ways.

President Obama said it perfectly: todays problems must be met with new and innovative solutions using thought, morals, norms, and universal truths embedded in us through our parents, country, and culture.. (not his exact words, kind of a mixture of mine and his) Where does this leave me? This leads me straight to china.

On todays flight from Xiamen to Beijing I saw the vast land that is china. Big china? Ha! big world! It is easy to succumb to the notion that one is insignificant in this big world, incapable of making change. I refuse, absolutely deny that a single person cannot make a difference in this world. Refusing this idea I came to china, to learn a third language, to put myself in an unfamiliar setting, and to launch myself to a prime position to not only make change, but dictate it.

Can change be dictated? Well, many will say no, I tho, say yes! Why not? Todays economic, political, and social problems are new, reflecting our globalizing world, which, because of its young nature requires completely new solutions. Solutions? How are solutions presented if not by flexible leaders who are not afraid to articulate change that in the past might have been classified as loony, crazy, and even termed as heresy...??

Today we went to Silk street in Beijing, Shopping MECCA! it is a bargaining structured marked... complete MADNESS! It gave me tho, the highest natural High I have ever gotten. 5 pairs of ARMANI and DOLCHE & Gababana underwear for 100 yuan! Score! the poor man next to me paid 500. no big deal, i'm a better buisness man! Business/people is what i do. I want more.

At night we went to the Peking Opera.. It made me realize how much I miss the stage... these performers, as I learned from Tony, our tour guide, have been performing and learning their craft before they even knew what a craft was... MMM not sure if i envy that walk of life, but i do know that in life's grand scheme of "happiness" i must learn to.....