The S.S. HNC / Nanjing Botanical Gardens

It was nice to finally take a breather and get off of what I call the S.S. HNC (Hopkins-Nanjing Center). It has thus been dubbed because I have found it in many respects to be similar to a cruise ship. Here's a quick explanation that will make sense if you have been on a cruise. First off, everything that is needed for living is on board, saving you from having to go off the ship. This doesn't mean that everything you want is on board, it just means that everything you need (living quarters, food, entertainment, sports, etc) is there. At first everyone is on cloud nine eating all the good food, playing the games they have, and doing what they came to do. Eventually, however, you start seeing the rotation of things going on: pancakes every Tue. and Fri., B-ball every Wed. afternoon, karaoke every Fri. night, and so on. Around this time you need to get off the ship, but the ship is moving, and you will get left behind if you don't wait until it docks to get off. In the case of the S.S. HNC, it is the academics/homeywork/papers that just keep on coming, and it is a dangerous move to get off the ship or out of the library.

Every once in a while though, you are able to stop the boat, and get your land legs back for a bit. Today I chose the quiet and well kept Nanjing Botanical Gardens. It was great to finally be able to look up! (I have realized how much time I spend looking down since coming out here, and it is kind of crazy. I look down to eat obviously, as well as read my books. However, because I am a bit taller than most of my colleagues, I have to look down when talking to them too. I have actually gotten a crick in my neck before as a result of it, and I am convinced that my vocal cords are shrinking because my head is always tilting forward pushes down my adam's apple--which is making my voice higher by the day.) The way the bamboo trees curved at the top to rest on the branches of a large maple tree was quite a sight . . . of course only for true geeks like yours truly. In fact, I even tried climbing up between two large bamboo trees like they do on kung fu movies. After getting down I figured that it was probably the most nerdy thing I've done in a very long while . . . and I don't know why I am even writing it down right now.
There was an amazing bonsai exhibit, with trees that have been passed down for literally hundreds of years. I made friends with one of their care takers. It has always been on of my dreams to work in a place like that; every day wake up, water some bonsai here, bend a twig there, prune some roots here, practice being an idiot by climbing up some bamboo there. I asked him how he liked working there, and he said, "Working here . . . life is tough. The pay is not good." Turns out he only gets paid 1000 RMB a month ($150), which would explain his humble appearance. I still think something is wrong when someone caring for living artifacts like that is getting paid so little.
I had a good time off the ship though, and should be able to keep my sanity on board now for another week. Here are some pics I took. Enjoy!