Day 23 - May 5, 2012

I have been many places, and seen many things, but the last few weeks have featured so much insanity that even the most outlandish memories seem faded and less saturated than the vibrant, unpredictable goings-on in the most viscerally real place I’ve ever lived. Yiwu is a time machine, allowing me to glimpse into the past of the human experiment and see the ways and wanderings of an extremely old culture, the stubborn resistance to change and unfamiliar settings exhibited by the vast majority of my fellow metropolitans in this city. But also… the future. A stark portrait of modern technologies guiding a people into an age of unprecedented growth and potential. The present itself hurling this still-developing society far into a realm of stunning possibilities, contrasted by the equally-likely scenario of this nation becoming an even more influential force in the course of human events. I’m a bit off-topic now, so here come the highlights of a tiny portion of the new and radically life-altering experiences I’ve been lucky enough to live through. The evening of Friday, May 4th is where these stories begin, at the conclusion of yet another challenging work day with the Meaning Destroyer and his color-printer-nightmare-machine.

L____ and I chat in our living room sanctuary, recalling the week’s events while waiting for a sleeping Dodio to finish his nap so we can all eat dinner together as usual. At nearly 8pm he gets up, but not before I begin to feel the pull of the basketball court down my block. Resigning to a late arrival for dinner, I grab the ball and play pick-up for an hour with a group of local kids I’d never played against before. The game is returning to me more rapidly since I started playing often, and tonight I perform like a man possessed, draining 3-pointers and turn-around jumpers (that I have no business making) and totally satisfied by the newly adopted tones emanating from my competitors. No longer disrespectful and mocking, hilariously enough. Just quiet and observant. Returning victorious to yet another delicious Italian meal I lament in my roommates refusal to go out. Heading out alone for the first time in Yiwu - the craziest city on earth - I wonder what could possibly happen now. The answer is great. Arriving at Divino’s I’m pleased to also find Simon and Nigel along with two Venezuelans, Jose and George. After sharing some strange stories including a kidnapping, togas and lots of brushes with the law, along with several bottles of fine white Italian wine, we head to M-Box at midnight. Ready to go we all pitch in for a bottle of vodka, mixing it with OJ and enjoying the hell our of ourselves while imbibing quickly. In my signature “Korean Rocket” style, I drink a fair amount quickly, raising many cheers and dangerously operating the GoPro which now rarely leaves my side when we go out. On to another bottle of vodka. Dio cane. I play two games of pool with an older African gent who was wasted out of his mind, jumping up and down and hugging me after winning the first game. It was great.