Wednesday 9/24/08

I thought I was going to die today. I went to the swimming pool. Nankai has wonderful new sports facilities for the Olympics. (As the Olympics took place 100mi away, why the Olympics were relevant escapes me but they emphasize it rather strongly.) Included in the huge new and shiny complex is a massive swimming pool with bunch of Chinese people slowly either doing laps or drowning or bathing (it is often hard to discern which.) I went to the front desk and asked for a swim card. I know that the varsity swimmers on our trip had been using it so I paid about 120 kuai for the remainder of my time here in Tianjin. (That’s about 15 bucks.) It seemed to me to be a reasonable price but I think it’s fairly representative of China. Everything is cheap but you need to pay for everything. (You need to pay for napkins.) First I tried to get into the pool in my surf trunks but they wouldn’t let me. I tried to explain in broken Chinese that my surf trunks were significantly cleaner than their air but at last I was ushered to some shop that tried to sell me a variety of skin tight swimming wear. Turning down the distinctly Asian and ungodly cross between jammers and a speedo I bought a pair of jammers and entered the dressing room where I was serenaded by many naked Chinese men singing. I changed somewhere more discrete and entered the pool.

I decided on choosing the lane that seemed most deserted and was stopped while I was going in by one of the lifeguards. I’ve been able to follow conversations almost always a little bit but I was somewhat caught off guard and so had no clue what he was saying. He held up two fingers which seemed to indicate some form of peace and gently pushed me into the water with the command of 游泳 or swim. I started swimming and would look back occasionally to see him shouting at me and indicating me to go on. I started swimming faster and faster hoping that at some point when I looked back he would disappear. This never happened. After 2 laps I felt done with the shouting and tried to get out of the pool. I was pushed back into the pool and told through body language to put my hands above my head. Remembering the guards outside of the swimming facility I quickly became convinced that I was going to be shot and considered whether if I were to hide under the semi obese man slowly swimming past me I could use him as a shield. It also occurred to me that I am a foot taller and 100lbs heavier than every other person in the room. Perhaps if I were to overpower the lifeguard and dive through a window the military… After a little bit he motioned me over and helped me out of the water, made me sign some forms, and gave me a red bracelet. In hindsight I think in the initial conversation he was telling me that I was trying to swim in the deep end of the pool and I needed to pass a test that he was willing to supervise that involved me swimming two laps at whatever speed I wanted to and 3 minutes of treading water with my hands above my head. In hindsight.

I swam for probably an hour and while I was leaving was accosted by another lifeguard who asked where I was from. I told him America and he started talking about how beautiful America was and then he started talking about something that I could not understand in the slightest. I ended the conversation feeling humbled at my Chinese abilities and guilty at the show of affection for America. I feel like it would be hard to find people in America who like either America or China with that lively affection. I am still perplexed as to why the Chinese seem to like America so much. Having recently ended a Cold War and genuinely negative relations it seems that China would be more justified in disliking us than almost any other country. (Espeacially considering the amount of their population we’re killing with our tobacco.) It was very interesting. I will try to get pictures of this place up ASAP. Talk to me peoples of the world! I can change!