Finding the Muse

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BJ Update Misc - The Cool Collection
Week 38 - Finding the Muse

Spring has truly sprung and I can now look at my winter photos without shuddering so I've posted an album of miscellaneous photos. It includes mine and Tashs' excursion to the famous 798 Art District (lots of old factories now turned into art galleries), some great Chinglish signs, a bar with a glass floor/celiling, Beijing's best snow day, Beijing's best cup of coffee, my favourite dog, work events (our annual party and Meng Yan's farewll karaoke do), The-Night-My-Coke-Froze-Before-My-Eyes-As-I-Walked-Home, and my first ever published article! It's an article on the impact of disposable chopsticks on China's environment and I submitted it to "Exchange", the Youth Ambassador newsletter. Not a very discerning publication (they'll take contributions from anyone) but I was proud nonetheless.

But more importantly since I've been back, the game is afoot!

Firstly I've been totally inspired at work, with (literally) jumping back on the work wagon. a few weeks ago, we ran our first Antelope Van activity for the year. The Antelope Van is a mobile classroom, taking environmental education activities to schools around Beijing. We went to a primary school in West Beijing, and Zhang Siying asked me to help out with one of the games. I called out numbers between one and five in English and the kids had to get into groups of that size to show they really understood (the kids were five years old). It was a precursor to getting them into pairs for the next game, but I just appreciated Siying involving me. She mentioned that there would be some journalists there, but as my organisation have quite a lot of press coverage I didn't think much of it.

Until I received a call from a rather senior guy at the Beijing "Ao li pi ka" organising committee thingo (for ease, I will refer it as BAOCT) asking me for details about the event. I told him as much as I knew, and mentioned that there would be some reporters too. Yes, he said, he knew, and he was about to send out the info to all his media contacts so there would be even more. How many more? I asked. Lots, he said. Riiiight, I replied, ok.

So there will be someone to talk to them? he asked.
Well, yes, I said, there will be.
In English?
Yes, in English.
And you'll be there?
Yes, I will, but I'm not there for that.
Well, you might have to. They'll want to talk to you.
Oh crap.
(I may have paraphrased that last bit)

So, as it turns out it was a media event for the the BAOCT to showcase their partner environmental organisations. I had to brush up on what the BAOCT were doing to "green" it up (not many), what was planned for the future (nothing concrete) and what of the day's EE activities were relevant to the Ao li pi ka (none whatsoever).

So I went and it was a media circus! I did indeed have to talk to people because the foreign media were drawn to the only laowai there. From an American radio journalist to a gorgeous Japanese tv reporter who, in her own words, had been "looking for someone to follow leading up to it, and... I've found you!" Bless her she looked so happy, but I was relieved when I explained that I would be leaving well before the riot, sorry Games. There was a slight drop in her smile at that news, but she brightened again when I told her I was there til June, which she insisted was fine. So, you never know, I might end up on Japanese TV.

And, most excitingly, for the last week I've been busy volunteering for the Beijing International Literary Festival. With big names like Nury Vittachi ('The Feng Shui Detective' series and HK's most famous English language writer), Anna Funder ('Stasiland'), Justin Hill ('The Drink and Dream Teahouse'), Christopher Kremmer ('Carpet Wars', 'Inhaling the Mahatma'), Christopher Koch ('A Year Of Living Dangerously'), Liz Niven ('Buring Whins' and 'Stravaigan') and Ouyang Yu ('On the Smell of an Oily Rag: being Chinese, speaking English, living Australian'), it has drawn huge crowds and is a roaring success. And by the way, if you're looking for something great to read all those authors are fantastic and have written the most interesting books, so pick them up if you can.

It has all cemented something I've always known but have only recently realised: I really want to be a writer. Well, I am a writer, I've always written. For one things, I keep bombarding all of you with my egocentric thoughts on a roughly weekly basis. This festival has been my muse, and being around so many great creative minds (and all genuinely amazing people) has inspired me to a whole new level.

Speaking of amazing people, I had the very very great honour of being Nury Vittachi's assistant during his time in Beijing. Anyone from HK will have heard of Nury Vittachi and I knew his lovely wife while studying Theatre Studies at high school in HK. I took him to and from his events, helped with his workshop, and helped organise his (as it turned out) very high-brow literary dinner! For example, the Literary Editor of The Observer was there! I know because he gave me his card!

And I can say with total shamelessness that I have a serious case of hero worship. He is an amazing man; quiet and unassuming, but with such wit, warmth and wisdom. I enjoyed every minute I had with him and he gave me such great advice. I grinned like a little kid when he said we were buddies! The four glasses of wine I'd had at the dinner may have added to the embarrassingly childish pleasure at the compliment...

I also did a brilliant Travel Writing Workshop with George Dunford, a writer for the Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Wanderlust and the Australian Traveller magazine. Lots of tips and ideas, I'm now I'm preparing to do my first "pitch" to an editor. I don't know what I'll pitch, or to whom, but I at least now I know how to do it :)

I've been to talks and discussions with the above mentioned authors which have all been enlightening, and have quite a few new books signed by the authors too. And today I assisted Liz Niven (a wonderful Scottish poet) at some poetry workshops which was a fantastic experience. I love working with kids, and learned some really great exercises to get the creative juices flowing. I'm not a poet, it's definitely not a form I'm any good at, but I think even I could have a crack at some of the activities Liz did. It's all just so exciting at times I thought I would actually burst!