Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Still alive

Still journeying

In February, I was a Road Scholar in Vietnam, Mekong Delta and Cambodia along with close friends Steve, Mary, Liz and Mitch as well as several Vancouverites.  It is difficult to compress the many lingering impressions of Vietnam but they spanned a diametric range from the majestic Guilin-like tower karst arising from the sea in Halong Bay and lush beauty
Halong Bay
and fecundity (3+ rice crops/year) of the Mekong Delta … to evidence of failed devastating U.S. policies with lingering French and U.S. influence (in the south) and our guide’s sobbing recount of his father’s torture by the French and later imprisonment/confiscation of property (made homeless) by a corrupt Viet Cong official.  Cambodia remains fragile but equally disparate from the resplendent Angkor Wat at dawn
Angkor Wat at dawn



Angkor Ta Prohm
Angkor Thom


Angkor Thom
Ato the Killing Fields of encased skulls and our guide’s loss of 20 relatives to the Khmer Rouge.  During a quiet interlude, I asked “Can you forgive them?”  After a lengthy pause he responded “No but where can I place my anger, only 3 of 10,000s have been charged.”  

Last week, I returned from a pediatric GI conference in Shanghai plus six invigorating days exploring Shanghai, Wuzhen, Hangzhou and Nanjing (former capital).  The polluted haze perseveres yet their ultramodern air and railway hubs, bullet trains (188 mph) and cashless phone pay far surpasses our antiquated infrastructure.  Bicycle ownership is uncommon and color-branded on-demand bicycles unlock at the click of one’s phone – we rode helmetless through the gridlocked cities next to silent electric motorcycles.  My favorite was unknown (to Western tourists) Wuzhen water (canal) town reminiscent of a Wu Guanzhong painting

Wuzhen water village at night
juxtaposed to an uber contemporary theater and museum dedicated to the artist Muxin who  was imprisoned/prevented from painting during the cultural revolution but emerged to develop in NYC.  Lit up, the town glowed at night.  I was invited to the Prof. Wang Tiande’s (who knew my father) studio/gallery to view and discuss his unique burnt paper and ink landscape paintings.  I spent time walking around Xuanhe Lake in Nanjing reimagining Mom

Xuanhe Lake where Chu-tsing Li and Yao-wen Kwang courted circa 1946
 and Dad courting in 1946 (have pictures) – they attended Nanjing U and Jinling College which harbored women to protect them from the Japanese soldiers.  We enjoyed a number of local delicacies sour fish, sweet lotus root, vinegared chicken, Yang’s fried (juicy) dumplings and of course xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).  All in all, we visited 8 museums, 3 galleries, 14 historical sites, 2 temples, 1 garden and 2 night markets and amassed calf-aching 141,699 steps over 6 days. 

Invariably when I bask invisibly amongst 1.4 billion Han, I reflect on the serendipity of my parents not returning to China as planned, as during the disruptive cultural revolution, my father would certainly have been imprisoned, tortured or worse, and I would have been exiled to the countryside with curtailed prospects for the future (the actual fate of a childhood playmate).  A flip of the coin inexorably altered my fate forever …  

The jarring juxtaposition of looking alike but feeling different in China compels me to wonder what if ... I had grown up in China like any of those besides me ...  where would my abilities have taken me, what would my passions be, and what would my life be like?  And the mirror reflects so clearly that despite my efforts without my parents' trajectory, life choices and consequent opportunities here ...  I am humbled, and so fortunate.  

Still teaching

Besides in Shanghai, I was asked to speak to four APAMSA conferences this spring including Michigan State where Ben graduated and is well remembered.  Two were entitled Lessons from an Academic Life and gave me a wonderful opportunity to introspect and gain hindsight (the GI perspective, of course). I populated powerpoint with self-deprecating images demonstrating my evolution from infant to overweight 5thgrader to sculpted swimmer to guitarist (rock and James Taylor to woo Teri) to long-haired flower-patterned protester to full-bearded pediatric trainee and fledgling faculty.  In this fun process I rediscovered a number of things.  First, I observed how my success was largely built upon foundational skills gained from extracurriculars and jobs – swimming, music, student government, student organizations, rock band, student newspaper, summer jobs – i.e. ‘everything I needed to know came from outside the classroom’.  And I had an omnipotent uber Tiger Mom.  Second, I faced significant adversity that impelled me to change medical schools/uproot family twice and loss of Teri but managed with pretty remarkable resilience to land upright and trudge onward.  Third, my desire to give back to Asian American medical students was derived, I believe, from working through my identity crisis and becoming empowered by protesting our Vietnam policy.  And lastly, I acknowledged that Teri was not only completely supportive but inspired me with her strong inner compass in support of diverse individuals, those with gender differences, and those socioeconomically downtrodden.  It was fascinating to unfold my life visually (changing hair styles), temporally (developmental stage and adultood from WI – OH  – IL – WI), humorously (yes I was fat) and thematically (extracurricular, identity, giving back, resilience). 

Still reading

This was a binge reading week and I read four books, three worth mentioning.  A new definitive biography of Tiger Woods documents his preternatural pressure parenting in a highly dysfunctional family that contributed to his major missteps.  

The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China by academic cardiologist Dr. John Day consolidates many of my thoughts on nutrition and lifestyle for optimal aging.  He explores Bapan aka Longevity Village in southwestern China that has the highest rate of centenarians 1/100 (in excellent health without heart disease, cancer, diabetes or disability) 20 times the 1/2000 figure in Okinawa - the gold standard - and 1/5780 in the US.  The first lesson – eat real food – discusses use of plant protein (veggies, tubers, legumes and fruits farm-to-table in hours) with frequent fish occasional meat, whole grains (unpolished rice and millet), longevity soup (hemp seeds and pumpkin greens), no dairy or sugar, and 12 hour ‘fasts’.  The other lessons include change your attitude, connect with others, stay in motion, stick to a schedule, purify your environment and have a passion most of which can be found on other lists for healthy aging.

Things that Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett (NFL Probowler and Superbowl champ) is an unexpurgated description of the plight of the black man and athlete who is deemed hero on the field and easily subjected gun to head – as happened to him – while off it.  He waxes on the NFL realities (treated like a piece of meat/CTE/blackballed Colin Kapernick who took an anthem knee), NCAA taking advantage of student-athletes, fresh food deserts in the inner city/food justice, unarmed people shot by police/Black Lives Matter/prison as the new Jim Crow, empowering daughters and women/Me Too, using athletes voice for change (A4I), and forgiveness as a first step to growth.  An indeed a disquieting but illuminating wide-ranging discourse on the pervasive pain in our citizens of color.   

It has been an invigorating and enlivened spring.

1 comment:

  1. How lovely to hear of your recent travels and reading. I was touched by your reflections regarding what your life (and your parent's life) would have been like had they returned to China to live. I think you are right in that it would have been devastating. How fortunate for all of us that they chose to remain in America, where their lives and their children's lives could flourish freely.

    Do you really have photos of your parents during their time of courtship in Nanjing? It would be marvelous to see them sometime.

    Wishing you continued happiness and fulfillment.

    Janet Baket

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