Blind persons give you a Chinese massage in 盲人按摩. While I heard about this practice, I never had the time to investigate. Time not spent learning about the intricacies of the Chinese language and economy was used to explore Beijing with my friends. No one seemed interested enough in the massage to find them. So on the last day of the program, it was now or never to find these supposed massages.
Hoping to find some clue to find this massage parlor, I scoured the streets of Beijing. I went down subway lines which I had never taken; searched different districts untouched by the familiarity of Westernization; and asked random persons on the street, only to be answered by bewildered faces. Hour after hour went by with nothing to show for it.
China’s Google, 百度, gave me directions to a general area where one of these blind massage parlors was located. I got off the nearest subway line to search for it. While I was walking right around the area 百度 claimed this massage parlor was, I had no way of getting closer to it.
I made several rounds by the area where the red pin was dropped on the map. Round after round turned up nothing. “If I don’t find it on this next round,” I thought, “I’m out of here.” Sun beating down the brow of my sweaty forehead, my eyes squinted. “Let’s make this last try count.”
There it was. 盲人按摩. I slipped through the gate of the area where the parlor was. I laid down on the massage table. I relaxed. Each motion in the massage soothed my body, with the fears of not finding the parlor pushed out of my body.
And that’s study abroad. You get out of it what you put into it. Everyone wants to have that life-changing study abroad experience, but what exactly that it is different for each person. That is why you have to take the leap into the great unknown on your own, focused on exactly what you want and unconcerned by the needs of the group bubble around you.
You might not know exactly know what you want to find, where it is, or when you’ll find it, but you go anyways. You’ll know when you find it, however. That feeling of deep satisfaction will run through your body. It will feel soothing.