It was a good class, and I got in that really good sweat that really fuels me in the morning. A few things came up that I'll write about when I have more time, but in the meanwhile I was intrigued by my teacher, and so I'll jot down a few things to ponder...
She was the tiniest thing, very flexible, strong, but not super young. I'd say she was late 30s, maybe 40 at the most, but I find that Asians always look young until one day when they are, perhaps 87, they wake up and are a cute, old Asian man or woman. Up until that day, they look super young. Anyway, she had what appeared to be burn scars all over her upper back, shoulder, and upper chest... maybe more, but she was wearing clothing, and so I couldn't completely discern. She spoke mostly in Cantonese, but with a few words in English, appropriately placed throughout the practice. She started the practice with 3 OMs... which were not pleasant OMs when the rest of the class joined in, as they sometimes are. I prefer one OM, and often I find myself annoyed with the OM process. That's another story, though. She also made really helpful adjustments to me, and I felt good throughout the practice. Finally, her name was Cinderella... no joke.
I realize that almost everyone I meet here has a Chinese name and an English name. There is always a blank for both on all of the paperwork I've ever had to fill out over the past couple months. I've thought about putting something down for my Chinese name... what would it be? Because I know 3 words in Mandarin and 4 words/phrases in Cantonese, I don't know if that would be a good idea for me quite yet. Plus, the Chinese name is in character form (all the more reason to have an alphabetic name, especially for government forms and such), and I only know 6 characters... one, two, three, chicken, duck, and conference room. Although, I do know "thank-you" in both languages, just not the character form, neither traditional or simplified... but maybe "thank you" would be a good name for me. It got me thinking, though. When do Chinese (Asian?) people get their English names? My mentor here told me that sometimes they get to choose as adults as soon as it is necessary, which is why he knows a guy named Angel. Did Cinderella get to choose her name? If so, what drove her choice? Was this recently, or was she a young child mesmerized by the Cinderella story and content living in fantasyland as many children are? When did she get those burn marks, before or after she was called Cinderella? What's the story here?
What would I really choose if I could pick any name for myself?
this is almost like the USB plug into your brain... i love it! :)
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