A Day at the Lake

So, I am not aspiring to be a traditional painter, let alone a traditional Chinese painter, but sometimes I do enjoy drawing landscapes and architecture. I used to really like doing portraits, but I do not like dealing with getting a model to sit, so anyway. I sat down at Xi Hu (West Lake) this afternoon with the intent of doing a sketch. Another guy sat down beside me on the bench. Before I knew it, there was a huge crowd watching me. And I mean like 20 people! I couldn't even see what I was drawing anymore! I hate to get all ethnographic, but the Chinese are so curious (and no wonder, condsidering their opportunties for foreign travel are usually nonexistent), when I am in the store and need help, the same thing occurs-I end up surrounded by 8 people all trying to decipher what I am saying (which after 20 minutes, they find to be entirely inconsequential and they disperse, muttering under their breath). It is somewhat embarassing, but often I only have to be looking at something and I notice that people come up to also have a look at what it is I am so interested in. This can very good for business! It is funny. So, despite a half-assed drawing, I made a few friends today, who helped me with Chinese and chatted for a long time about all sorts of things. I guess noone has anything to do right now so they just go and sit by the lake. It is nice, and while I was drawing everyone was very quiet, which I really like- Chinese people seem perfectly comfortable to be in company without necessarily having to talk the entire time, which I feel very comfortable with. I find the need to fill silence with chatter very tiring. There was a very somber moment when a girl mentioned that she understood the Hangzhou accent because she is Hangzhouren (from Hangzhou), another guy said he had more problems with it because he was from Sichuan province, and had been here 8 months. The others started saying, "Earthquake, earthquake." The man (who was probably early 20s) said that indeed, he had lived at the quake's epicenter. He had lost his home and family. It was a very awkward moment. I keep thinking about it and of course wish there was something I could have done, but of course there was nothing except to express my condolences. What a heartbreak, and how quickly everyone is expected to simply move on. When the rest of us left, he remained alone at the bench.
Not going to brag about this one.