If you think that 7/15 looks far off from the correct date today, check again to make sure your computer's calendar is set for "lunar" mode.
To many Mainland Chinese people today, this lunar calendar date is unremarkable. It is the middle of the seventh lunar month and a week after the "Chinese Valentine's Day," but generally an unremarkable day. However, comparatively traditional Chinese are certainly aware of today's lunar calendar date.
Today was 鬼节 guijie, the ghost festival. This holiday is somewhat similar to old spooky versions of Halloween, although the attitude towards ghosts here is generally less fearful and more reverent. The traditions of the holiday, along with those of many other holidays, are nearly invisible in Beijing and other large Chinese cities. Unfortunately, the Communist party firmly believed in Marx's assertion that "religion is the opiate of the masses." The result of party policy is only dim recognition of many significant traditions that still survive in many overseas Chinese communities.
Fortunately, even in the sleek and modern capital city, there is still room for tradition--even if it is in a narrow Hutong that has already been marked for the wrecking ball. On my walk home from dinner, I was surprised to see an old woman and her granddaughter kindling a fire in the street until I realized that she was burning paper money as an offering to either ghosts or ancestors. Several doors down another family was at work on a similar undertaking, and a few lanterns were suspended from firey red kites flying far overhead.
The celebration was certainly subdued compared to footage I have seen of Ghost Festival celebrations in Taiwan. Nevertheless, the careful attention to performing and passing on tradition was touching.
Starting fires in the middle of a largely wooden section of the city in observance of a traditional holiday provides evidence that China's cultural heritage runs deeper than a government campaign for "Civilization." The scenes I saw tonight also demonstrated that the traditions are being passed on to the younger generations. Perhaps Chinese traditional culture and civilization will not be eradicated by a government eagerly playing catch up with the West. Perhaps the traditions will be reborn in a generation that is growing up with experience of old and new ideas and the capabilities to integrate the two sides into a new identity.
Perhaps not. Contrary to some traditional beliefs, predicting the future is nearly impossible in China. As the cliché says, "the only thing that's constant is change." That said, it's good to know that some people still pay attention to the cycles of the traditional year. It's reassuring to know that the lunar calendar so much as exists in today's China. It's comforting to know that as much as the surface of Beijing changes, there will always be people on the ground keeping watch "lest the old traditions fail."
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
8/8 and counting
Today marks the one year countdown to the Beijing Olympics. There are festivities this evening (probably at 8 o'clock) in Tian'anmen Square. I will avoid the "Oceans and Mountains of People" and remain near home for this one. Maybe there will be something on TV...
Other recent interesting events:
I finally ate at the "Fusion" restaurant 锣鼓 Luogu. I still don't understand what fusion is. We had one dish with a little bit of cheese in it, but otherwise everything tasted just like typical Beijing Chinese food. I think it's all a marketing scam.
I was given a section of wall in Hutong School on which I can rotate exhibits of my photos--Printing costs covered by the school. It's pretty great because the photos look nice on the web, but they look even nicer when they're printed.
More and more people are leaving Hutong School. It seems like there is a goodbye party every week. Last week Melissa and 2 other Americans left. Friday I will lose my roommates. Next week more of the French girls are out of here. All this has me wondering what I'm still doing in Beijing.
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) has written and produced a rock opera based on the Chinese story "Journey To the West" called Monkey: Journey to the West. It has played in England and France. I hear that it will also go to Tokyo and New York. If anyone can come up with information about USA shows (dates etc.) I would appreciate it.
Other recent interesting events:
I finally ate at the "Fusion" restaurant 锣鼓 Luogu. I still don't understand what fusion is. We had one dish with a little bit of cheese in it, but otherwise everything tasted just like typical Beijing Chinese food. I think it's all a marketing scam.
I was given a section of wall in Hutong School on which I can rotate exhibits of my photos--Printing costs covered by the school. It's pretty great because the photos look nice on the web, but they look even nicer when they're printed.More and more people are leaving Hutong School. It seems like there is a goodbye party every week. Last week Melissa and 2 other Americans left. Friday I will lose my roommates. Next week more of the French girls are out of here. All this has me wondering what I'm still doing in Beijing.
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) has written and produced a rock opera based on the Chinese story "Journey To the West" called Monkey: Journey to the West. It has played in England and France. I hear that it will also go to Tokyo and New York. If anyone can come up with information about USA shows (dates etc.) I would appreciate it.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Civilization Ho!
What does the number 11 mean to you? Probably not much… Maybe it is associated with some bad joke about what “one and one make,” or maybe it’s a lucky number. But otherwise 11 is just a number like any other.
In Beijing, 11 has a new meaning. It stands for being civilized. This concept itself is pretty interesting because in addition to recently coining the abbreviation “11,” it seems that the word for civilization has also recently been created. Chinese now use the word 文明 wenming to mean “civilized” the adjective. It used to be that wenming was a noun that meant civilization, as in “China: a civilization that has thousands of years of history.” It would seem that English has influenced the creation of a new meaning for this word.
What implications do the coinage of a new term and abbreviation have? Beijing is in the process of a major “civilization” campaign. There are posters everywhere that encourage people to be more 文明. In the subway, people are supposed to line up (the number 11 looks like two people lined up properly). People are not supposed to spit on the ground or walk around without their shirts on in public. In many ways, “civilization” means westernization, and the campaign to civilize is a campaign to be less Chinese. This trend strikes me as odd given that Chinese are proud to be part of a civilization that dates back thousands of years.
Beijingers are used to spitting on the street, pushing and shoving to get on trains and taking their shirts off when it’s hot. It’s the pesky foreigners coming in who are different, and there are certainly more Chinese doing things their way than foreigners disapproving. It does not seem fair to have a campaign against your own culture. Some might even recall the Cultural Revolution campaign against the 'Four Olds,' which attacked old customs among other "outdated" ways of life. Does anyone have the right to say that the Chinese way of life is less civilized than anyone else’s?
Some would say yes. It is certainly true that life is more pleasant when people don’t push and shove and spit on your feet. It may even be more pleasant if you could go into a restaurant in China and have an attentive server rather than having to yell across a crowded room to attract the attention of a waitress who is not ashamed to let you know how much she would rather be messaging on her mobile phone.
The people are not stupid either. They know that the government’s campaign for civilization is based on a Western ideal of Civilization. Therefore, Chinese people look at foreigners as examples of the civilized ideal. When I discovered this, I realized that a foreigner really cannot expect Chinese people to ever accept his behavior as anything like theirs.
On the hottest night of the summer I walked outside for the two minutes between Cody's apartment and mine with my shirt off. When I passed the “guards” who sit in front of the gate all night (with their shirts off or at least rolled up), I heard them talking about me. Their conversation was roughly as follows:
The main point, though, is that China is a civilization with thousands of years of history. People here have their own way of life, and they know that any effort to change their ways is based on external pressure. The implication for people like me is that we have to serve not only as an ambassador for our country, but also as an example of an ideal that Chinese people don’t necessarily want to adopt. There’s no way out because we seem so different that Chinese will never just overlook our behavior as normal.
August 11 is Civilization day. I for one can’t wait to see that China is exactly as civilized as it has been for thousands of years. I hope that people have enough pride to know that to really be civilized they need to do little more than avoid making other people angry. This is something China has known ever since Confucius wrote (around the 4th Century BC) that one should “do nothing to others that you don’t want done to yourself.”
In Beijing, 11 has a new meaning. It stands for being civilized. This concept itself is pretty interesting because in addition to recently coining the abbreviation “11,” it seems that the word for civilization has also recently been created. Chinese now use the word 文明 wenming to mean “civilized” the adjective. It used to be that wenming was a noun that meant civilization, as in “China: a civilization that has thousands of years of history.” It would seem that English has influenced the creation of a new meaning for this word.
What implications do the coinage of a new term and abbreviation have? Beijing is in the process of a major “civilization” campaign. There are posters everywhere that encourage people to be more 文明. In the subway, people are supposed to line up (the number 11 looks like two people lined up properly). People are not supposed to spit on the ground or walk around without their shirts on in public. In many ways, “civilization” means westernization, and the campaign to civilize is a campaign to be less Chinese. This trend strikes me as odd given that Chinese are proud to be part of a civilization that dates back thousands of years.
Beijingers are used to spitting on the street, pushing and shoving to get on trains and taking their shirts off when it’s hot. It’s the pesky foreigners coming in who are different, and there are certainly more Chinese doing things their way than foreigners disapproving. It does not seem fair to have a campaign against your own culture. Some might even recall the Cultural Revolution campaign against the 'Four Olds,' which attacked old customs among other "outdated" ways of life. Does anyone have the right to say that the Chinese way of life is less civilized than anyone else’s?
Some would say yes. It is certainly true that life is more pleasant when people don’t push and shove and spit on your feet. It may even be more pleasant if you could go into a restaurant in China and have an attentive server rather than having to yell across a crowded room to attract the attention of a waitress who is not ashamed to let you know how much she would rather be messaging on her mobile phone.
The people are not stupid either. They know that the government’s campaign for civilization is based on a Western ideal of Civilization. Therefore, Chinese people look at foreigners as examples of the civilized ideal. When I discovered this, I realized that a foreigner really cannot expect Chinese people to ever accept his behavior as anything like theirs.
On the hottest night of the summer I walked outside for the two minutes between Cody's apartment and mine with my shirt off. When I passed the “guards” who sit in front of the gate all night (with their shirts off or at least rolled up), I heard them talking about me. Their conversation was roughly as follows:
Guy 1: “Hah! Foreigners aren’t civilized either.”I don’t know if the third comment implied that you should be allowed to walk around with your shirt off only if you are in good shape, but I hope that’s what he was going for.
Guy 2: “If they aren’t Civilized, why should we be?”
Guy 3: “Yeah, but he’s in really good shape…”
The main point, though, is that China is a civilization with thousands of years of history. People here have their own way of life, and they know that any effort to change their ways is based on external pressure. The implication for people like me is that we have to serve not only as an ambassador for our country, but also as an example of an ideal that Chinese people don’t necessarily want to adopt. There’s no way out because we seem so different that Chinese will never just overlook our behavior as normal.
August 11 is Civilization day. I for one can’t wait to see that China is exactly as civilized as it has been for thousands of years. I hope that people have enough pride to know that to really be civilized they need to do little more than avoid making other people angry. This is something China has known ever since Confucius wrote (around the 4th Century BC) that one should “do nothing to others that you don’t want done to yourself.”
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Recent Wrap-up
Okay, I'm a little late with this post. I planned to put it up two days ago, but got distracted by big important things like dinner. Basically I'm just going to run down the cool things that have been going on in Beijing recently that I haven't posted about before. It's not very literary, but maybe it's fun and informative for those readers who are wondering what I do when I'm not posting my deep thoughts on the internet.
1) Posting Deep Thoughts on the Internet: Okay, maybe my thoughts aren't really so deep, but I have spent a lot of time in the last month whipping InterestingChinese.com into shape. It's not finished yet, but it is starting to look presentable and I finally feel like I've accomplished something at my internship.
2) Visiting the Great Wall: This seems like a no-brainer since I live in Beijing. However, I know some old Beijingers who have been to the Great Wall only ten times in their entire life--some have been less. I went to the Great Wall four times in one month, bringing my total to 7 times in my life. I guess there's a reason that random tourists believe me when I tell them a fact or two about the Wall.
3) Visitors: I've had a bunch of visitors since of been in Beijing. Some were pleasant surprises, and some I knew about. First Michelle dropped in for lunch in June, then Grant Came in July for two weeks. While Grant was here, Thorn came through Beijing for a week on his massive tour of China. Finally Mum stayed for a week at the end of her trip around the world. I fell kind of lonely now--someone should come in August!
4) ART: I have had some great opportunities to check out great contemporary art recently. 798 is still cool. The Borderline Moving Images Festival provided a good excuse to visit some great galleries in the outskirts of the city. The best, though, was the two days Mum and I spent at the Commune at the Great Wall. The architecture and design on display there is really worthwhile and the setting is great. I can't wait to go back home, but New Hampshire is a bit detached from any kind of art scene...
5) Full Moon Party and Great Wall Beach Party: Okay, I think the Full moon party may have been the last weekend of June, but whenever these outdoor all-night blinky-light dance parties happened they were really fun. The beach party was a great weekend. It featured insanely dangerous fireworks, a picturesque stretch of Great Wall and great music. Not to mention the great people at the party and the curious Chinese onlookers who spent the whole night staring over the fence at the Crazy foreigners playing on their beach.
6) Yi Du Gong Du "One Poison Fights Another": The band is playing really well together now. After a week of marathon rehearsal, we are pretty on top of our game and hopefully about ready to book a couple gigs in Beijing. More on that if it actually comes to fruition...
7) Lots of good meals: So many good meals in good restaurants. I have been way lax on writing reviews, but my restaurant tour of Beijing continues and the results are great. There's nothing better than a belly full of delicious food.
8) Baijiu Night: Cody, Grant, Thorn and Old Guy know what I'm talking about. So does the old Belgian Woman who lived with us then.
9) House: Every episode. I'm not exactly proud of this, but it does seem like a bit of an accomplishment.
10) BBQ: After buying a small grill for July Fourth, we have had a bunch of really good BBQ dinners. Apparently my grilled chicken was the best that Jeremie had ever eaten--of course, when you don't eat good Western food so much, anything might seem like the best.
Okay, there's bound to be more things that have happened recently, but these are the salient ones. I'll try to come up with some more deep thoughts this weekend.
1) Posting Deep Thoughts on the Internet: Okay, maybe my thoughts aren't really so deep, but I have spent a lot of time in the last month whipping InterestingChinese.com into shape. It's not finished yet, but it is starting to look presentable and I finally feel like I've accomplished something at my internship.
2) Visiting the Great Wall: This seems like a no-brainer since I live in Beijing. However, I know some old Beijingers who have been to the Great Wall only ten times in their entire life--some have been less. I went to the Great Wall four times in one month, bringing my total to 7 times in my life. I guess there's a reason that random tourists believe me when I tell them a fact or two about the Wall.
3) Visitors: I've had a bunch of visitors since of been in Beijing. Some were pleasant surprises, and some I knew about. First Michelle dropped in for lunch in June, then Grant Came in July for two weeks. While Grant was here, Thorn came through Beijing for a week on his massive tour of China. Finally Mum stayed for a week at the end of her trip around the world. I fell kind of lonely now--someone should come in August!
4) ART: I have had some great opportunities to check out great contemporary art recently. 798 is still cool. The Borderline Moving Images Festival provided a good excuse to visit some great galleries in the outskirts of the city. The best, though, was the two days Mum and I spent at the Commune at the Great Wall. The architecture and design on display there is really worthwhile and the setting is great. I can't wait to go back home, but New Hampshire is a bit detached from any kind of art scene...
5) Full Moon Party and Great Wall Beach Party: Okay, I think the Full moon party may have been the last weekend of June, but whenever these outdoor all-night blinky-light dance parties happened they were really fun. The beach party was a great weekend. It featured insanely dangerous fireworks, a picturesque stretch of Great Wall and great music. Not to mention the great people at the party and the curious Chinese onlookers who spent the whole night staring over the fence at the Crazy foreigners playing on their beach.
6) Yi Du Gong Du "One Poison Fights Another": The band is playing really well together now. After a week of marathon rehearsal, we are pretty on top of our game and hopefully about ready to book a couple gigs in Beijing. More on that if it actually comes to fruition...
7) Lots of good meals: So many good meals in good restaurants. I have been way lax on writing reviews, but my restaurant tour of Beijing continues and the results are great. There's nothing better than a belly full of delicious food.
8) Baijiu Night: Cody, Grant, Thorn and Old Guy know what I'm talking about. So does the old Belgian Woman who lived with us then.
9) House: Every episode. I'm not exactly proud of this, but it does seem like a bit of an accomplishment.
10) BBQ: After buying a small grill for July Fourth, we have had a bunch of really good BBQ dinners. Apparently my grilled chicken was the best that Jeremie had ever eaten--of course, when you don't eat good Western food so much, anything might seem like the best.
Okay, there's bound to be more things that have happened recently, but these are the salient ones. I'll try to come up with some more deep thoughts this weekend.
Monday, July 30, 2007
New Photos!!!! (yay)
There are new photos up on my photo page now. If my computer doesn't die too soon (which it might--it once again is refusing to accept the nice electricity that I feed it), then I will have the rest up soon. This link HERE will take you to the last page I uploaded, so there are a few pages before that with photos you haven't seen before.
Also, take a minute to check out www.interestingchinese.com. It's not finished yet, but it's starting to look more like what it should look like. Turns out I've actually accomplished something this summer after all.
Also, take a minute to check out www.interestingchinese.com. It's not finished yet, but it's starting to look more like what it should look like. Turns out I've actually accomplished something this summer after all.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Get Out Of Town
Things are heating up here in China. There’s something in the air that you can just feel. It’s not like electricity per se, but it does have the stench of power to it. That, or the stench is just overpowering and the feeling is that of pollutants clinging to your skin.
Fortunately the government is concerned about the amount of pollution in the city. Unfortunately, they are not concerned with the repercussions of heavy industry on the environment. Rather, they are concerned that it will not be sunny and warm everyday during the Olympics. What are they doing about this problem? Experimenting with making it rain and making it stop raining.
This summer is the last chance to practice before the Olympics. Everyday it rains, and everyday it is sunny, we have to wonder whether the weather is supposed to be the way it is, or whether the government ordered up a storm. I also am curious about what is actually falling from the sky, but there are some things that I would rather not ask.
With that in mind, I took a few chances to get outside the city limits in the last few weeks. (perhaps this time could have been spent blogging, but I thought I’d keep you all on the edge of your seats for a while).
First, I went with Grant to a place to the Southwest known internationally as the Marco Polo Bridge. In China it has a different name lugouqiao 芦沟桥，and it is not famous because of Marco Polo at all. In fact, it is doubtful that mr. Polo ever went there (it is also doubtful that he ever made it to China at all, but I would prefer to believe that he did. The bridge itself is not too special, but next to it there is a restored walled-city that is completely worth the free entrance. Both of these places were sites of battle with the Japanese, and remain areas of tension and bad memories. Had we visited a day earlier, we would have see a large anti-Japanese rally in remembrance of the past.
Inspired by the walled-city, we went to see the country scale version: the GREAT WALL OF CHINA. Apparently the wall was recently placed on a list of wonders of the modern world, it may even be number one. No one seemed too interested in the wall’s new-found status. Lots of people did care about making a few extra RMB. We paid to get onto the wall, then an old woman with a stick tried to make us pay to get off the wall, and finally a farmer made us pay to walk across his property to get back to the road. All this is not to mention the fact that our cab driver left without us—forcing us to spend more money and employ a new driver to take us home.
Nevertheless, the wall is impressive. Looking at the state of my bicycle, electronics, bed and other Chinese-built products, it’s hard to believe that anything “made in China” could last for thousands of years. I guess that’s the wondrous thing that puts the wall on the list.
Finally, I trekked four hours away from the city to… you guessed it! The GREAT WALL OF CHINA. Again. For a beach party. The best part was the approach to the beach, when the sky all of a sudden turned from smoggy grey to sky blue. I never would have expected it. We spent the whole night hanging out on the sand by the wall, and were amazed to be able to look at stars for the first time in months.
All this is to say that I’m pretty excited to go back to New Hampsire. A little bit of nature goes a long way, but by now I’m ready to go a long way for a lot of nature.
Fortunately the government is concerned about the amount of pollution in the city. Unfortunately, they are not concerned with the repercussions of heavy industry on the environment. Rather, they are concerned that it will not be sunny and warm everyday during the Olympics. What are they doing about this problem? Experimenting with making it rain and making it stop raining.
This summer is the last chance to practice before the Olympics. Everyday it rains, and everyday it is sunny, we have to wonder whether the weather is supposed to be the way it is, or whether the government ordered up a storm. I also am curious about what is actually falling from the sky, but there are some things that I would rather not ask.
With that in mind, I took a few chances to get outside the city limits in the last few weeks. (perhaps this time could have been spent blogging, but I thought I’d keep you all on the edge of your seats for a while).
First, I went with Grant to a place to the Southwest known internationally as the Marco Polo Bridge. In China it has a different name lugouqiao 芦沟桥，and it is not famous because of Marco Polo at all. In fact, it is doubtful that mr. Polo ever went there (it is also doubtful that he ever made it to China at all, but I would prefer to believe that he did. The bridge itself is not too special, but next to it there is a restored walled-city that is completely worth the free entrance. Both of these places were sites of battle with the Japanese, and remain areas of tension and bad memories. Had we visited a day earlier, we would have see a large anti-Japanese rally in remembrance of the past.
Inspired by the walled-city, we went to see the country scale version: the GREAT WALL OF CHINA. Apparently the wall was recently placed on a list of wonders of the modern world, it may even be number one. No one seemed too interested in the wall’s new-found status. Lots of people did care about making a few extra RMB. We paid to get onto the wall, then an old woman with a stick tried to make us pay to get off the wall, and finally a farmer made us pay to walk across his property to get back to the road. All this is not to mention the fact that our cab driver left without us—forcing us to spend more money and employ a new driver to take us home.
Nevertheless, the wall is impressive. Looking at the state of my bicycle, electronics, bed and other Chinese-built products, it’s hard to believe that anything “made in China” could last for thousands of years. I guess that’s the wondrous thing that puts the wall on the list.
Finally, I trekked four hours away from the city to… you guessed it! The GREAT WALL OF CHINA. Again. For a beach party. The best part was the approach to the beach, when the sky all of a sudden turned from smoggy grey to sky blue. I never would have expected it. We spent the whole night hanging out on the sand by the wall, and were amazed to be able to look at stars for the first time in months.
All this is to say that I’m pretty excited to go back to New Hampsire. A little bit of nature goes a long way, but by now I’m ready to go a long way for a lot of nature.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
贝谷 (Bagels)
As much as I love Chinese food, I can only last so long before the cravings come for more standard western food. There's a certain point where Kung Pao chicken, Sweet and Sour ribs and everything else stir-fried all begin to taste the same. This is the point where I normally go out to eat high-priced foreign food.
Sometimes, though, a good steak just doesn't cut it--even when I do get to eat it with a knife and fork. Sometimes pasta isn't enough, and even a loaf of real bead doesn't bring back the right memories of home.
Sometimes it takes a bagel.
To be more specific, it takes an everything bagel with cream cheese and lox. A request so simple that it would never even seem to be a problem. It should be more of a Sunday morning event. Beijing, though, is somewhat lacking good Jewish bakeries.
In honor of Shabbat, and our Bagel craving, Cody and I set out early Saturday morning on a quest to schmear the perfect bagel. We longed to go to a bakery and drink coffee with our hole-y rolls, but we were dismayed to learn that Beijing's lone bagel bakery is almost at the airport--to far for a bike ride. Fortunately, they sell their bagels at a few select locations.
We made our way to Jenny Lou's--the foreign supermarket extraordinaire that provides all the comforts of home and factors in the cost of a plane ticket to China. The bagels, having been baked in Beijing, were not expensive, but Philadelphia cream cheese was another story. Salmon was also in the category of imported luxury. But we weren't worried about cost, we were worried about the authenticity of the experience. We also bought supplies to prepare Mexican feast, which somehow became a Mexican influenced bowl of fried rice, but that's another story...
When we got home, we had bagels. They were fantastic. It was almost like being home for the weekend. All that was missing were the comics and an iced coffee, but it's a long summer so there is time for improvement.
Sometimes, though, a good steak just doesn't cut it--even when I do get to eat it with a knife and fork. Sometimes pasta isn't enough, and even a loaf of real bead doesn't bring back the right memories of home.
Sometimes it takes a bagel.
To be more specific, it takes an everything bagel with cream cheese and lox. A request so simple that it would never even seem to be a problem. It should be more of a Sunday morning event. Beijing, though, is somewhat lacking good Jewish bakeries.
In honor of Shabbat, and our Bagel craving, Cody and I set out early Saturday morning on a quest to schmear the perfect bagel. We longed to go to a bakery and drink coffee with our hole-y rolls, but we were dismayed to learn that Beijing's lone bagel bakery is almost at the airport--to far for a bike ride. Fortunately, they sell their bagels at a few select locations.
We made our way to Jenny Lou's--the foreign supermarket extraordinaire that provides all the comforts of home and factors in the cost of a plane ticket to China. The bagels, having been baked in Beijing, were not expensive, but Philadelphia cream cheese was another story. Salmon was also in the category of imported luxury. But we weren't worried about cost, we were worried about the authenticity of the experience. We also bought supplies to prepare Mexican feast, which somehow became a Mexican influenced bowl of fried rice, but that's another story...
When we got home, we had bagels. They were fantastic. It was almost like being home for the weekend. All that was missing were the comics and an iced coffee, but it's a long summer so there is time for improvement.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
好久不贴
So I haven't posted in a while, and I'm going to have to keep it short this time because My computer battery will die in approximately five minutes. For two weeks I have done very little yet managed to be extremely busy. I never know how that happens. Yesterday we took a trip to the Forbidden City, which I haven't been to in 2 years. I offered to serve as a guide for some Chinese tour guides, but they told me that I would just get lost (apparently no one taught them to tell someone to "get lost").
Other than that, there's not too much going on outside the usual. The web-site is closer to being ready, and I am closer to to being broke.
In the mean time, there are some new pictures up that I don't have links to yet (and don't have time to create--only 2 minutes left!). Anyway, you should be able to find them by following the old links and then looking around.
I promise to write something meaningful soon.
Love,
Dan
Other than that, there's not too much going on outside the usual. The web-site is closer to being ready, and I am closer to to being broke.
In the mean time, there are some new pictures up that I don't have links to yet (and don't have time to create--only 2 minutes left!). Anyway, you should be able to find them by following the old links and then looking around.
I promise to write something meaningful soon.
Love,
Dan
Saturday, May 26, 2007
You Know You’ve Been In Beijing For a Long Time When…
I’m not really going to make one of these lists. I am going to point out one item that I noticed today as being particularly true:“You know you’ve been in Beijing for a long time when you start to think, ‘wow, there are so many trees here.’”
This thought has occurred to me before, but I started thinking about it today because on two separate occasions I caught myself smiling at how nice the trees were, when in fact I was merely looking at small gardens on the side of the road that barely provide enough shade for a decent nap.
My first feeling of respite from the concrete jungle came on the way home from the Olympic area. I was alone with the cab driver when I saw a mule hauling a cart of watermelons along the side of the road. For a brief moment, Beijing almost looked like a country village: A farmer, under the shade of the road-lining trees, was bringing his produce to the market. The traffic and construction almost faded into the obscurity of the smog. Out of sight, out of mind.
The second incidence of arboreal bliss occurred on the way to the Summer Palace. This time, I pointed out that it was strange to think about how nice the trees are in Beijing. I was surprised when my companions remarked that they had just had the same thought.
The truly bizarre thing about Beijing’s greenery is that it is all artificial. As the capital city of the Chinese Empire, Beijing was not only a thriving economic and cultural center, but also the home turf of the imperial family and elite officials. The dual nature of the city means that in addition to huge centers of commerce, there are also enormous pleasure gardens, palaces and temples that are now generally open to the public.
The largest of these pleasure gardens is undoubtedly the Summer Palace. It is located about thirty minutes from the Forbidden City, and at the end of the Empire it was the playground of royalty. Incidentally, it was a monumental waste of money and a living proof that pleasure has its price: after the Summer palace was destroyed By the British and French in 1860, it was rebuilt for the Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888 with money that was intended to pay for China’s navy. Instead of Battleships, China got a few stationary stone boats on an artificial pond that was, at the time, the private resort of the Empress. In addition to the cash, the Chinese paid for the Summer palace by losing significant territory to the Russians and Japanese a few years later on account of their inferior navy. This is not to mention the fact that while the Empress Dowager whiled away her time in her garden, Sun Yat-Sen and Chiang Kai-Shek were at work bringing down the Empire.
Nevertheless, with enough money to buy a navy, an Empress can build a truly impressive imitation of nature. According to an over-enthusiastic guide who couldn’t tell foreign tourists apart from foreigners who live in Beijing, we needed a guide because the Summer Palace is “four-times the size of the Forbidden City.” She forgot to mention that about three-quarters of it is water, and that there is only one main road around the park. I offered her my services as a guide, but she wasn’t enthusiastic.
Inside the park, the synthetic nature is apparent. The grass is clearly frequently re-planted, and the trees are labeled with plaques that read “古树” or “ancient tree” followed by a number. In theory, the different areas of the park represent architecture and landscape from different parts of China. I don’t doubt that this was the original intent. However, now that Beijing is really a melting pot of people and artifacts from China’s regions, the park’s design variations are barely noticeable. If anything, the Summer Palace truly represents the diversity of the city.
That said, I can understand why Cixi forwent a navy to build herself a garden. In spite of the overwhelming unreality of the place, it’s nice to visit the Summer palace and pretend to be back in nature. There are trees and flowers, water and grass. Instead of reeking of pollution and yesterday’s leftovers, there is a leafy flavor that hangs in the air. And, if you manage to find a secluded corner, it is even possible to go about thirty seconds without seeing or hearing another person.
Beijing’s true nature is humanity—raw life lived every day by people who have no choice but to keep living it. The city never rests. You can feel its tired breath blowing through the Hutongs in panting heaves. The dust that blows through from the cancerous lungs of the factories that have been moved somewhere out of sight is a constant reminder that the city is alive with humanity’s creations.
The parks are also evidence of human production. Yet they are the mirror image of the crowded city streets. The fact that within the walls of the Summer Palace exists a whole world of “nature” that is packed daily with people shows that people seek nature. We seek earth that lives and breathes without daily human resuscitation.
Beijing’s parks may be false, but they are sincere. They are a true effort to create a place in a man-made world that proves man’s place in the world. Ancient trees provide perspective on your own life, and open spaces provide perspective on the scope of your own influence in the world.
And you don’t need an over-ambitious guide to tell you that.
Friday, May 25, 2007
First Installment
Here's a new fun exercise that I'm sure you all will appreciate: Some Chinese prose...get out your on-line translators and have fun!
Actually, this is going to be the first installment in a long piece about our trip to the south. Qu lei, my traveling companion, friend and sometimes-teacher requested that I write about our trip.
I am calling it "nanyouji." This title is a pun on the very famous Ming novel "Xiyouji" or Journey to the West (also called Monkey in the most famous translation). If you don't understand it, have no fear! I plan to post in English later today. Hopefully I will also have some more photos to show you all.
对中国来说，五月一日是国际劳动节。因为中国是个社会主义的国家，所以它的“国际”只表示世界上的社会主义的国家。于是，西方人都不了解中国的所谓国际节日。除了五一黄金周之外，中国还有“国际儿童节”，“三八国际妇女节”，什么的。不过来到中国之前我从来没听说这些节日，当我开始了我的实习以后才听到很多人商量他们的“五一”的安排。
实际
上，五一不单是一个节日，而且还是一个假期。从五月一日至五月七日，人们放假。一部分人待在家里休息，但是大部分的人去外地旅游。因为我们都想去中国的所有的地方看一看，所以我们打算去南方。我们的一个朋友，Virginie，一个法国女孩听说过一些有意思的地方：南宁，北海，微洲岛，和桂林。这些地方的风景据说都特别漂亮。
去那四个地方旅行并不是一个很好的安排，因为在一个星期中不可能去那么多不同的地方。原来，我们认为不应该整个星期一直待在一个地放，所以决定去四个地方。问题就是这样：这些地方都于在中国的南方离北京很遥远，但是这四个地方也互相离得不很近，所以我们不想在路上花很多时间。于是我就买了飞机票。
买了我的票三，四天以后，另外几个人又决定跟我们一起去，但是他们不要买那么贵的飞机票，所以他们就买了火车票。因为火车票比飞机票便宜得多，所以我也换了票。那是我的第一个错误。因为我们的火车票是硬座的，所以它肯定便宜。
当过节日的时候，中国的每个火车都挤满了人。在过节的一个星期以前，卧铺票已经买不到了，买到了硬座票的第二天就什么票都买不到了。当我们的有的朋友决定跟我们一起去的时候已经买不到火车票，所以去不了。我们的车箱里人山人海，就像沙丁鱼罐头一样。除了坐硬座的人之外车里还有很多的无座的乘客，他们真正体会到了“痛苦”的感觉！但是硬座也特别不舒服。27小时以后我的身体完全疼了，肚子也饿了，脑子也疯了。我们终于到了南宁，我真的羡慕我的坐飞机的朋友，虽然她们花了很多钱，但是她们不必坐那列无聊的火车。
下了车以后，我很高兴地发现中国的南方确实很好玩。天气特别不错——比北京，南宁的空气没有污染，温度也很舒服。然而南宁是个很小的城市。到宾馆以后我们先洗了澡，然后去了夜市，那儿可以吃到各种各样的特色菜。我们在车上差一点饿死了，所以在这个地方我们吃了很多不同的东西。
UPDATE:
Okay, I just ran this through the translator on www.dictionary.com--I highly recommend that you do the same. You will understand what it says for the most part, and it is also really funny. Enjoy!
Actually, this is going to be the first installment in a long piece about our trip to the south. Qu lei, my traveling companion, friend and sometimes-teacher requested that I write about our trip.
I am calling it "nanyouji." This title is a pun on the very famous Ming novel "Xiyouji" or Journey to the West (also called Monkey in the most famous translation). If you don't understand it, have no fear! I plan to post in English later today. Hopefully I will also have some more photos to show you all.
南游记
对中国来说，五月一日是国际劳动节。因为中国是个社会主义的国家，所以它的“国际”只表示世界上的社会主义的国家。于是，西方人都不了解中国的所谓国际节日。除了五一黄金周之外，中国还有“国际儿童节”，“三八国际妇女节”，什么的。不过来到中国之前我从来没听说这些节日，当我开始了我的实习以后才听到很多人商量他们的“五一”的安排。
实际
上，五一不单是一个节日，而且还是一个假期。从五月一日至五月七日，人们放假。一部分人待在家里休息，但是大部分的人去外地旅游。因为我们都想去中国的所有的地方看一看，所以我们打算去南方。我们的一个朋友，Virginie，一个法国女孩听说过一些有意思的地方：南宁，北海，微洲岛，和桂林。这些地方的风景据说都特别漂亮。
去那四个地方旅行并不是一个很好的安排，因为在一个星期中不可能去那么多不同的地方。原来，我们认为不应该整个星期一直待在一个地放，所以决定去四个地方。问题就是这样：这些地方都于在中国的南方离北京很遥远，但是这四个地方也互相离得不很近，所以我们不想在路上花很多时间。于是我就买了飞机票。
买了我的票三，四天以后，另外几个人又决定跟我们一起去，但是他们不要买那么贵的飞机票，所以他们就买了火车票。因为火车票比飞机票便宜得多，所以我也换了票。那是我的第一个错误。因为我们的火车票是硬座的，所以它肯定便宜。
当过节日的时候，中国的每个火车都挤满了人。在过节的一个星期以前，卧铺票已经买不到了，买到了硬座票的第二天就什么票都买不到了。当我们的有的朋友决定跟我们一起去的时候已经买不到火车票，所以去不了。我们的车箱里人山人海，就像沙丁鱼罐头一样。除了坐硬座的人之外车里还有很多的无座的乘客，他们真正体会到了“痛苦”的感觉！但是硬座也特别不舒服。27小时以后我的身体完全疼了，肚子也饿了，脑子也疯了。我们终于到了南宁，我真的羡慕我的坐飞机的朋友，虽然她们花了很多钱，但是她们不必坐那列无聊的火车。
下了车以后，我很高兴地发现中国的南方确实很好玩。天气特别不错——比北京，南宁的空气没有污染，温度也很舒服。然而南宁是个很小的城市。到宾馆以后我们先洗了澡，然后去了夜市，那儿可以吃到各种各样的特色菜。我们在车上差一点饿死了，所以在这个地方我们吃了很多不同的东西。
UPDATE:
Okay, I just ran this through the translator on www.dictionary.com--I highly recommend that you do the same. You will understand what it says for the most part, and it is also really funny. Enjoy!
Monday, May 21, 2007
仁者见仁智者不见智
Which roughly translates as "People from different backgrounds see things differently."
I know I spend a lot of time talking about cultural differences, racism, and equality. Usually these themes are related to the, occasionally strained, relationship between Westerners and Chinese. I'm sure I could talk about that area of expat life for hours. I am even trying to exploit it in order to make some money.
What sometimes goes unnoticed, though, is the occasionally strained relationships between people from the same country.
Of course, I am specifically talking about things that go unnoticed by travelers and expats. At home it is impossible to miss the tensions between people from different parts of the country. It's easy enough to see tensions between people from similar areas. No self-respecting Bostonian will talk about New York without some grief--even if it is just about baseball. But, to be fair, conflicts have been started over lesser things than the World Series.
China is a country full of people with stereotypes ready and waiting for action. There is a stereotype for every type of person whether they are foreigners or Chinese. Not all of them are bad, and to a certain extent they are taken with a grain of salt.
For example: People from Shandong are all good Chinese. People from Henan are all clever. People from Fujian are all traders who want to rip you off. People from Sichuan are all beautiful.
The list goes on.
The fact of the matter is that China is just such a big country that there would be no way to remember facts about different places without such stereotypes. They are not useless. In fact, everyone from Sichuan is probably not good looking, but they garner the reputation because of the climate. Therefore, if you think "everyone from Sichuan is good-looking," then you might remember that they are good-looking because they live at a high altitude where the air is dry and clean, and they have a lot of exposure to the outdoors. I don't know if this is true or not, but stereotypes are essentially a mnemonic. That's what I learned in class anyway.
In real life, I just learned that people don't know what the rest of China is like, and they form their opinions based on hearsay and the media... sound familiar?
So here's a story:
My good friend Meike took a weekend trip to Guangzhou (against all of my good advice--Traveling that much for a weekend is simply unnecessary). When she returned, she had to take the 40 minute cab ride from the airport to her apartment. Being the ambitious Chinese student that she is, she got into a conversation with the cab driver.
Meike is not very good at Chinese because she has only been studying for two months. I don't know what the topic of her conversation was, but from the cab driver's point of view it was probably this: "Pretty blond girl who wants to try to get better at Chinese. All sexy foreigners are easy." From Meike's point of view it was probably "boy, it's great that this cab driver is patient and helpful while I'm trying to speak Chinese."
So, the cab driver told Meike, "我喜欢你." Which means, "I like you." Not understanding that this was a come-on, Meike responded, "I like you too." Clearly this was an invitation for the cab driver to try to kiss the pretty blond girl.
Mainly I wanted to tell that story because it's funny. However, the point is yet to come:
Tonight I went with Meike to shop for Chinese tchotchkies for her to bring home as gifts. We ended up going to a tea shop because buying tchotchkies is in fact quite tedious and tea makes a good gift as well.
Unfortunately for Meike, I like talking to Chinese people about culture. I got into a conversation with the shop attendant, and I told her Meike's story about the cab ride.
She couldn’t believe that the cab driver in question was from Beijing. She thought that I was talking about a cab driver in Guangzhou, and when I made it explicit, she still wasn’t convinced that I was telling the truth. On one hand she was disbelieving, and on the other hand I think she was disappointed. As she put it, Guangzhou is a mess of a city where people come from all kinds of different places, and you can expect problems when you go there. Beijing cab drivers are all from around Beijing, so they should all be good people.
Her locational bias was followed by an explanation that really showed how stereotyping works. Although all Beijingers are good, they have their doubts about people from out of town. This probably explains why the cab driver acted out of character towards Meike. Apparently cab drivers also rip off unsuspecting Chinese who come to the city from the countryside because the “hicks” don’t know what to expect in the city.
So the bottom line is that biases run in every direction. My new theory, though, is that biases really form in layers—not like an onion—but more like layers of winter clothes on a January day in Hanover (to be more colorful). At the outset, we all wear many layers. When one stereotype is not useful anymore, we discard it and try the next layer. If that layer is too strong, then we go down to the next one, and so on until we are naked. Because when we are naked we have no more stereotypes to rely on—no more layers to provide comfort. We must form our own opinions based on the real experiences and information at hand. It’s not always comfortable, but it forces us to generate internal convictions that can be useful in any environment.
I know I spend a lot of time talking about cultural differences, racism, and equality. Usually these themes are related to the, occasionally strained, relationship between Westerners and Chinese. I'm sure I could talk about that area of expat life for hours. I am even trying to exploit it in order to make some money.
What sometimes goes unnoticed, though, is the occasionally strained relationships between people from the same country.
Of course, I am specifically talking about things that go unnoticed by travelers and expats. At home it is impossible to miss the tensions between people from different parts of the country. It's easy enough to see tensions between people from similar areas. No self-respecting Bostonian will talk about New York without some grief--even if it is just about baseball. But, to be fair, conflicts have been started over lesser things than the World Series.
China is a country full of people with stereotypes ready and waiting for action. There is a stereotype for every type of person whether they are foreigners or Chinese. Not all of them are bad, and to a certain extent they are taken with a grain of salt.
For example: People from Shandong are all good Chinese. People from Henan are all clever. People from Fujian are all traders who want to rip you off. People from Sichuan are all beautiful.
The list goes on.
The fact of the matter is that China is just such a big country that there would be no way to remember facts about different places without such stereotypes. They are not useless. In fact, everyone from Sichuan is probably not good looking, but they garner the reputation because of the climate. Therefore, if you think "everyone from Sichuan is good-looking," then you might remember that they are good-looking because they live at a high altitude where the air is dry and clean, and they have a lot of exposure to the outdoors. I don't know if this is true or not, but stereotypes are essentially a mnemonic. That's what I learned in class anyway.
In real life, I just learned that people don't know what the rest of China is like, and they form their opinions based on hearsay and the media... sound familiar?
So here's a story:
My good friend Meike took a weekend trip to Guangzhou (against all of my good advice--Traveling that much for a weekend is simply unnecessary). When she returned, she had to take the 40 minute cab ride from the airport to her apartment. Being the ambitious Chinese student that she is, she got into a conversation with the cab driver.
Meike is not very good at Chinese because she has only been studying for two months. I don't know what the topic of her conversation was, but from the cab driver's point of view it was probably this: "Pretty blond girl who wants to try to get better at Chinese. All sexy foreigners are easy." From Meike's point of view it was probably "boy, it's great that this cab driver is patient and helpful while I'm trying to speak Chinese."
So, the cab driver told Meike, "我喜欢你." Which means, "I like you." Not understanding that this was a come-on, Meike responded, "I like you too." Clearly this was an invitation for the cab driver to try to kiss the pretty blond girl.
Mainly I wanted to tell that story because it's funny. However, the point is yet to come:
Tonight I went with Meike to shop for Chinese tchotchkies for her to bring home as gifts. We ended up going to a tea shop because buying tchotchkies is in fact quite tedious and tea makes a good gift as well.
Unfortunately for Meike, I like talking to Chinese people about culture. I got into a conversation with the shop attendant, and I told her Meike's story about the cab ride.
She couldn’t believe that the cab driver in question was from Beijing. She thought that I was talking about a cab driver in Guangzhou, and when I made it explicit, she still wasn’t convinced that I was telling the truth. On one hand she was disbelieving, and on the other hand I think she was disappointed. As she put it, Guangzhou is a mess of a city where people come from all kinds of different places, and you can expect problems when you go there. Beijing cab drivers are all from around Beijing, so they should all be good people.
Her locational bias was followed by an explanation that really showed how stereotyping works. Although all Beijingers are good, they have their doubts about people from out of town. This probably explains why the cab driver acted out of character towards Meike. Apparently cab drivers also rip off unsuspecting Chinese who come to the city from the countryside because the “hicks” don’t know what to expect in the city.
So the bottom line is that biases run in every direction. My new theory, though, is that biases really form in layers—not like an onion—but more like layers of winter clothes on a January day in Hanover (to be more colorful). At the outset, we all wear many layers. When one stereotype is not useful anymore, we discard it and try the next layer. If that layer is too strong, then we go down to the next one, and so on until we are naked. Because when we are naked we have no more stereotypes to rely on—no more layers to provide comfort. We must form our own opinions based on the real experiences and information at hand. It’s not always comfortable, but it forces us to generate internal convictions that can be useful in any environment.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
It's my Birthday and I can drink if I want to
So it's a little bit of an anticlimax to have your 21st birthday outside of the United States. We had a big party on Friday, and a little get-together last night. All were fun.
It will be pretty ironic to get back to the US and not be able to drink because my license will be expired.
It will be pretty ironic to get back to the US and not be able to drink because my license will be expired.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Post You've All Been Waiting For
Alright, so I'm finally going to write a little bit about my vacation. I have arrived at the decision to write this post based on the fact that over the weekend I finally got around to posting pictures.SO, first, I want to talk about the difference between Chinese tourism and Western tourism.
We often talk about how bad it is to make broad cultural generalizations. You're not supposed to say "Chinese people are all this way" or "French people are all like this." However, there are some cases where these stereotypes are very true. There is definitely a Chinese style of tourism, and it is very different from Western Tourism.
Paul Theroux aptly describes Chinese tourism as a type of pilgrimage. I don't know if he's correct about Chinese enjoying crowded places, but Chinese tourists definitely like to go to places that are well known for tourism. If a destination is well known, then you can be sure that there will be tons of Chinese tourists there. They don't go to experience a place, they go just to take a look and say that they've been there. Or, if there is some activity associated with the attraction, then they go to participate in that activity--at any cost.
The cost is sometimes a fortune in hard currency, and sometimes a more physical struggle. The problem, of course, is that Chinese don't generally have a lot of money, so corners must be cut in order to save.
Therefore, we took a hard-seat train to Nanning. Twenty-seven hours sitting in cramped quarters surrounded by people who either can't afford or missed their chance to buy a seat at all is not the ideal way to travel. We left Beijing in high spirits and arrived in Nanning unhappy, sore and only semi-sane. The worst part was that there was nothing to do in Nanning, and the friends we were supposed to meet had already moved on to greener pastures.
Unfortunately, we were traveling Chinese style, and half of our party really wanted to go to Weizhou island. This was unfortunate because there is absolutely nothing to do in Weizhou. We already knew that the weather was going to be lousy and that the conditions were not great, but by god it's a tourist attraction! It's as beautiful as Hawaii! You can enjoy the local cuisine! Swim in the clear water!
Well, the brochure did describe Hawaii pretty well, but Weizhou is nothing like Oahu. It's mainly a fishing town, and the interior of the island is blanketed by banana farms. They are even less interesting to look at than the Banana plantations of Hawaii because the farms operate the same as all Chinese farms: small plots are farmed by individual families. Everything about the place is extremely average except for the tourism industry which is extremely sub-par.As we had nothing to do there for two days, we decided to cave in and spend the RMB 150/person to try scuba diving. I don't know that much about diving, but I know when something is fishy (so to speak). I was handed a wet-suit that would have fit three of me, and some kind of water shoes instead of fins. When I tried to explain that A suit that large would not actually work properly, the 12-year-old in charge of equipment just said "it doesn't matter." Thanks. The "instructors" also had a hard time believing that fins would be a useful piece of equipment. They are probably used to dealing with Chinese people who don't know how to swim.
After being outfitted, we should have known that we were in for a ride. We went along with it, though, because we weren't going very far away from shore. Things only got more ridiculous once we got in the water, though. The Chinese method of "teaching" was to sneak up behind the guests and push them under water. We also weren't allowed to let go of our "instructor."
We finally made it out to the coral by being dragged. Too bad that for all that work, we only got to see a fish and a bunch of dead coral that the very thoughtful guides ripped out of the sand to show us. We got a great look at a destroyed eco-system--thanks to the wonders of Chinese tourism.
***
Luckily, even the Chinese friends I was with realized that the situation in Weizhou was less than ideal. When we finally got off the island, we high-tailed it up to Yangshuo to meet our friends. They had stayed in the same town all week and were having a great time. Yangshuo is well-equiped for Western tourism. From a number of agencies in the town, you can arrange tours on the river, through the mountains and into the farmland. There is world-class rock-climbing with well qualified guides, and plenty of other safe and fun ways to enjoy the small rural town, which has a surprising number of restaurants and bars for a town in the middle of nowhere. The three days we spent in Yangshuo were the only real vacation we had all week.
And the cultural difference in tourism is real. Pierre and I stayed in Yangshuo with our other Western friends, but our Chinese companions fled back to Guilin to see the more well-known sites. They spent another 2 days waiting in crowds and staring at rocks with names, while we spent 2 days relaxing and enjoying nature.
I'm not allowed to say that one style of tourism is better than another, but Western tourism is certainly more pleasant. We may spend a lot of money on vacation, but it gives us the chance to relax and enjoy our time off. Chinese tourism involves to much hustle and too much argument--Things that can easily be found without leaving home and normal life.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Golden Week
In a week off from work, I took the opportunity to travel to the South for the first time. It was grueling, but I have a few things that I do want to write about. I Promise to get on that soon. For now, here's a picture of a hotel that I didn't stay in one night.
On Politics Again
I want to take a minute to talk about politics before I start writing about vacation.
I don't understand what is wrong with the USA. I can't tell if it's the government that keeps causing problems or if it's the people who don't understand the problems who keep causing problems in a truly viscious self-perpetuating cycle.
I have been thinking a lot about Darfur in particular. Today I read about it again in an article from the Boston Globe that must be a few weeks old now (thanks Papa):
"A particularly contentious cause centers on China's support of Sudan as fighting continues in that African nation's devastated Darfur region. Sudan's biggest ally is China, which buys some two-thirds of Sudan's oil. U.S. speed skater Joey Cheek is recruiting athletes to use the 2008 olympics to pressure China to take more action to end the fighting in Darfur."
The way I see it, there are three problems here. One is that there are terrible things going on in Darfur. Two is that the countries with the ability to intervene, China and US in particular, choose to do nothing about it. Three is that a speed skater is taking it on himself to decide who is at fault and how to handle the situation. I have nothing against speed skaters, and Mr. Cheek might be a very intelligent man, but I don't think that a group of athletes will be taken very seriously when they "rally" against China.
I don't feel that I can talk about the actual situation in Sudan because I'm not too sure about it. What worries me most is the reactions of China and America. This situation looks a lot like the Haulocaust. For years, the allies were completely aware of Hitler's plans to execute Jews, but every country tried to wait out the atrocities so that they could avoid getting involved in a war.
Okay, so I can understand not wanting to get involved in a war. I mean, it would be a pretty bad idea for anyone to send soldiers someplace where they might get killed over something that has nothing to do with their own country...
Oh, wait. We're already doing that in the Middle East. Huh, I almost forgot. The only thing is that in the Mid-East we're not worried about what China thinks because they're not getting involved. After all, they can get their oil from Sudan so they don't need Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. American soldiers can freely kill and be killed over there because there's less threat of a real war with a powerful enemy that could have some impact on the prestige that the US holds internationally. Interesting.
So if you pay attention to the situation, it really makes no sense for an American ice skater to point out China as the enemy. In fact, China is not doing anything worse in this situation than the US. Sure, China buys oil from Sudan, but that's not really any different from the US buying oil from nations that have better relations with Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq than they do with the US. We fuel our own war. If these athlete-activists want to make a statement, then they shouldn't target China--a country that is not really interested in fighting anyone at the moment--they should target the US and Sudan itself.
I'm all in favor of activism, but to be effective, activists need to choose the right targets. You can hold up a sign in front of millions of people, but if none of them are listening, then you've wasted your time and effort, ink and paper.
I want to see something change in Darfur. Ideally, I would like America and China to agree to try to put an end to the senseless violence there. Hopefully, someone other than the US will lead the charge because I don't want another endless engagement like the Mid-East situation. Mainly though, I don't want textbooks in fifty years to say that tens of millions of people were killed and everyone sat by and watched. Especially not if those same textbooks (probably published in Texas) also say how heroic the US army was when it finally landed at Normandy...
But mainly my complaint is against activists who don't choose their battle fields well. The Beijing Olympics is not the place to protest a war in Africa. Even the idiots ranting about "Free Tibet" are closer to the mark in this case (at least they have proven that they know Tibet belongs to China). I hope China will do something to end the Darfur problems, but I hope that the entire international community will do something about that. China should not be held accountable for a problem that many nations have the capacity to involve themselves in.
I don't understand what is wrong with the USA. I can't tell if it's the government that keeps causing problems or if it's the people who don't understand the problems who keep causing problems in a truly viscious self-perpetuating cycle.
I have been thinking a lot about Darfur in particular. Today I read about it again in an article from the Boston Globe that must be a few weeks old now (thanks Papa):
"A particularly contentious cause centers on China's support of Sudan as fighting continues in that African nation's devastated Darfur region. Sudan's biggest ally is China, which buys some two-thirds of Sudan's oil. U.S. speed skater Joey Cheek is recruiting athletes to use the 2008 olympics to pressure China to take more action to end the fighting in Darfur."
The way I see it, there are three problems here. One is that there are terrible things going on in Darfur. Two is that the countries with the ability to intervene, China and US in particular, choose to do nothing about it. Three is that a speed skater is taking it on himself to decide who is at fault and how to handle the situation. I have nothing against speed skaters, and Mr. Cheek might be a very intelligent man, but I don't think that a group of athletes will be taken very seriously when they "rally" against China.
I don't feel that I can talk about the actual situation in Sudan because I'm not too sure about it. What worries me most is the reactions of China and America. This situation looks a lot like the Haulocaust. For years, the allies were completely aware of Hitler's plans to execute Jews, but every country tried to wait out the atrocities so that they could avoid getting involved in a war.
Okay, so I can understand not wanting to get involved in a war. I mean, it would be a pretty bad idea for anyone to send soldiers someplace where they might get killed over something that has nothing to do with their own country...
Oh, wait. We're already doing that in the Middle East. Huh, I almost forgot. The only thing is that in the Mid-East we're not worried about what China thinks because they're not getting involved. After all, they can get their oil from Sudan so they don't need Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. American soldiers can freely kill and be killed over there because there's less threat of a real war with a powerful enemy that could have some impact on the prestige that the US holds internationally. Interesting.
So if you pay attention to the situation, it really makes no sense for an American ice skater to point out China as the enemy. In fact, China is not doing anything worse in this situation than the US. Sure, China buys oil from Sudan, but that's not really any different from the US buying oil from nations that have better relations with Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq than they do with the US. We fuel our own war. If these athlete-activists want to make a statement, then they shouldn't target China--a country that is not really interested in fighting anyone at the moment--they should target the US and Sudan itself.
I'm all in favor of activism, but to be effective, activists need to choose the right targets. You can hold up a sign in front of millions of people, but if none of them are listening, then you've wasted your time and effort, ink and paper.
I want to see something change in Darfur. Ideally, I would like America and China to agree to try to put an end to the senseless violence there. Hopefully, someone other than the US will lead the charge because I don't want another endless engagement like the Mid-East situation. Mainly though, I don't want textbooks in fifty years to say that tens of millions of people were killed and everyone sat by and watched. Especially not if those same textbooks (probably published in Texas) also say how heroic the US army was when it finally landed at Normandy...
But mainly my complaint is against activists who don't choose their battle fields well. The Beijing Olympics is not the place to protest a war in Africa. Even the idiots ranting about "Free Tibet" are closer to the mark in this case (at least they have proven that they know Tibet belongs to China). I hope China will do something to end the Darfur problems, but I hope that the entire international community will do something about that. China should not be held accountable for a problem that many nations have the capacity to involve themselves in.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Hard Traveling
I've been havin' some hard travelin', I thought you knowed
I've been havin' some hard travelin', way down the road
I've been havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin'
I've been havin' some hard travelin', lord
-Woody Guthrie
Beijing to Nanning- 27 hours (train, hard seats)
Nanning to Beihai- 3 hours (bus, no leg room)
Beihai to Weizhou- 3 hours (slow Boat)
Weizhou to Beihai- 1.5 hours (fast boat)
Beihai to Guilin- 7 hours (midnight bus)
Guilin to Yangshuo- 3 hours (small boat plus small bus)
Yangshuo to Longsheng to Yangshuo- 8 hours round trip (small bus)
Yangshuo to Guilin- 1.5 hours (bus)
Guilin to Beijing- 27 hours (train, hard sleeper)
Total time in transportation over the last week= 81 hours
Total hours of vacation= 216
Hours spent asleep= 72
Hours spent asleep in transportation= 20
Time not spent in transportation or sleeping= 83
In other words, in one week off I had 3 and a half days of vacation. Trains and buses are cheap and they get you where you want to go, but I think that planes are really the way to travel.
I've been havin' some hard travelin', way down the road
I've been havin' some hard travelin', hard ramblin', hard gamblin'
I've been havin' some hard travelin', lord
-Woody Guthrie
Beijing to Nanning- 27 hours (train, hard seats)
Nanning to Beihai- 3 hours (bus, no leg room)
Beihai to Weizhou- 3 hours (slow Boat)
Weizhou to Beihai- 1.5 hours (fast boat)
Beihai to Guilin- 7 hours (midnight bus)
Guilin to Yangshuo- 3 hours (small boat plus small bus)
Yangshuo to Longsheng to Yangshuo- 8 hours round trip (small bus)
Yangshuo to Guilin- 1.5 hours (bus)
Guilin to Beijing- 27 hours (train, hard sleeper)
Total time in transportation over the last week= 81 hours
Total hours of vacation= 216
Hours spent asleep= 72
Hours spent asleep in transportation= 20
Time not spent in transportation or sleeping= 83
In other words, in one week off I had 3 and a half days of vacation. Trains and buses are cheap and they get you where you want to go, but I think that planes are really the way to travel.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
A Paragraph (for a trashy novel)
The persistent pulse of heavy house techno courses through a club, pounding on the insides of every partier, begging to be released. The DJ can't free the pent up pulse on his own: he knows that his job is not to provide the beat, but to read the pulse of the club--the dancers, the drinkers, the couples making out in the crowd, and the singles looking through the crowd to make anything out--and to amplify and intensify that pulse until it permeates the very people who produced it in the first place. The beat circulates. It flows and grows with an energy that drives everything harder and faster. This is the pulse of a city that never sleeps. It is the vibrant pulse of rebellion. The pulse of joy. Nevertheless, it is a pulse that cannot be broken or slowed without toxic effects. The pulse becomes an infinite loop that flows through every body until somebody can't take it anymore. Then, the pulse proves to be the purposeful tock of a time-bomb about to explode.
*** *** ***
Okay, you can make up the rest on your own. I was about to write about someone I met in a nightclub, but I felt like soing something creative instead. This exercise was a little different from writing a restaurant review, and hopefully more fun for those of you who aren't going too be eating in Beijing any time soon. It's also fun to write as if I'm having a conversation with an audience that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. Anyway, as usual, I always would appreciate feedback on any of the writing I post here. Feel free to get in touch by any means (if you're real to begin with...).
*** *** ***
Okay, you can make up the rest on your own. I was about to write about someone I met in a nightclub, but I felt like soing something creative instead. This exercise was a little different from writing a restaurant review, and hopefully more fun for those of you who aren't going too be eating in Beijing any time soon. It's also fun to write as if I'm having a conversation with an audience that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. Anyway, as usual, I always would appreciate feedback on any of the writing I post here. Feel free to get in touch by any means (if you're real to begin with...).
Korean
I need to stop eating with the Dutch. The whole saying about "going Dutch" must come from the fact that Dutch people don't seem too concerned with paying for food. I was planning a nice 3-10 RMB dinner of some kind of take-out or street food that I could eat on the couch. Instead I found myself with Tommy in a "That's Beijing" nominated Korean restaurant eating bibimbap and chatting with the owner.Fortunately, the Dutch I eat with have good taste. 韩香馆 "Korean Bistro" is a great little restaurant. The setting is pleasantly modern. Dark wooden tabletops and straight lines keep the place looking clean and neat. A small Koi pond runs throug the center of the restaurant under the stairs that lead to a rooftop dinning area. We didn't eat on the roof, but I will have to go back on a warmer evening because the roof overlooks a neighborhood of Hutongs and courtyard houses that are still in good condition.
The food is strictly Korean, which is a relief from American restaurants where you can never tell if you're better off ordering from the Japanese or Korean side of the menu, but you can be sure that neither is going to be rewarding. I am no expert on Korean food, but the flavors were distinct and delicious--I even enjoyed the compulsory cold pickled vegetables served at the beginning of the meal.
Overall, though, the best part of the restaurant was the Owner. Chow King-Tai is originally from Hong Kong. He studied at Leeds and speaks fluent English and French in addition to Cantonese and Mandarin (and the menu is printed in three languages). The restaurant was not too crowded, so we talked with him several times during the meal. Tommy had eaten there before, and was greeted warmly when we walked in. Mr. Chow offered useful advice on travel in China, and also good advice on what to order.
The cost was considerably more than that of a basket of dumplings, but after last night's disaster at Kokomo it was a relief to get some good food. Korean food is a far stretch from comfort food, but 韩香馆 will be a good restaurant to remember when I need a break from Chinese food.
韩香馆:
Atmosphere: 4.5
Service: 5
Food: 5
Price: 4
Total: 4.625
Kokomo
Yesterday Marguerite, Virginie and I attempted to go out to dinner to celebrate Marguerite's birthday. Unfortunately, by ten o'clock, the belly dancer restaurant had closed, and we were compelled to devise a backup plan on the spot. Although Beijing is a city that rarely sleeps, it seems that the French restaurant owners all turn in early, and we were unable to find a restaurant that would remind les filles of Paris.
We found Kokomo instead.
All I have to say is that the Xinjiang kebabs that can be found on every corner in Beijing at any hour are 1/10 the price and have 10 times the flavor of anything we ordered. I would even go as far as to say that those kebabs (lamb, spicy and pepper on a stick) are closer to being Caribbean than anything in Kokomo.
Fortunately we were able to walk down the street and find our friends from Hutong School. It was a disappointing birthday dinner, but a good party.
Kokomo:
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 3
Food: 2
Price: 2
Total: 2.5
We found Kokomo instead.
All I have to say is that the Xinjiang kebabs that can be found on every corner in Beijing at any hour are 1/10 the price and have 10 times the flavor of anything we ordered. I would even go as far as to say that those kebabs (lamb, spicy and pepper on a stick) are closer to being Caribbean than anything in Kokomo.
Fortunately we were able to walk down the street and find our friends from Hutong School. It was a disappointing birthday dinner, but a good party.
Kokomo:
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 3
Food: 2
Price: 2
Total: 2.5
Sunday, April 22, 2007
New Pictures!
Unfortunately, with the whole moving to a new site deal, the last few posts are out of order. Unless you're really curious about food, read the Xiaoxue post first.
Also, to make things easier, here are links to the good stuff:
Pictures of my neighborhood
Pictures of Elementary school
The internet isn't working well, so the new pics feature will have to wait. For now, enjoy the photos I posted from the last week!
Also, to make things easier, here are links to the good stuff:
Pictures of my neighborhood
Pictures of Elementary school
The internet isn't working well, so the new pics feature will have to wait. For now, enjoy the photos I posted from the last week!
Going Dutch: Cafe Sambal
Last Wednesday I discovered that a few of my Dutch compatriots were scanning the pages of "That's Beijing" for a good restaurant. Never one to skip out on a good meal, I decided to tag along.
Walking up Guloudajie (鼓楼大街) from Hutong school, you can find Cafe Sambal by turning down a small hutong and entering the first door on your left. From the outside, the restaurant is as unassuming as any of the other small houses and public bathrooms in the neighborhood. You have to climb a couple of antique stone steps to get in the door, but once inside, you realize that this restaurant is not your typical hole-in-the-wall Chinese cookery.
Sambal is owned by the same group as Paper and Bed. It is located right around the corner from Bed, and the decor is similar: Basic wall decorations and low tables. Although we weren't sitting on an actual bed, our private room featured a raised seating platform with cushions for seats and low tables. There was ample room to spread out, and the music that drifted in from the main hall was pleasant and understated. The private room definitely proved to be a more comfortable option with better light and more atmosphere than the main area.
The fare is high quality Southeast Asian, and the menu provides ample selection. There are plenty of seafood options that go far above and beyond Beijing's typical fish offerings. Prawns seem to be a specialty, and could be ordered in a number of different dishes. For those of us who prefer to eat the fruits of the earth, there is no lack of meat and vegetable dishes. Dishes averaged around 30-45 RMB. However, the portions were pretty small: four of us ordered 3 appetizers and 3 main dishes altogether. Although we were not left hungry, we did end up eating all of our rice and considered ordering more.
Our waiters were attentive and helpful. They didn't speak very much English, but they knew enough that the Dutch could get by without using Chinese. The head waiter even made good suggestions based on what we said we wanted to eat. My only complaint with the staff is that they brought us expensive mineral water that we didn't ask for, and that choice inflated our bill beyond our expectations.
The food was delicious. Everything was cooked expertly. The vegetables were crisp and flavorful, and the meat was tender. All of the sauces were good enough to eat on their own (or with rice). Unfortunately, with the small portions, such good cooking left us wanting more than we had ordered. We made quick work of the curry, and ended up using the sauce to enhance our rice.
To our surprise, the bill came out to be much higher than expected. It was around 500 RMB, which is about 2.5 times what we expected to pay. For the quality of the food, we expected to pay more than normal, but for the amount of food we ate it was disappointing to spend 125 each. My caveat is to specifically request cheap water.
Overall, The restaurant was quite nice. On the scoring system that I have just invented, I give it a 4 for atmosphere, a 5 for quality, a 4.5 for service and a 3 for price: overall, 4.125 out of 5. I would go there again, but I think that it is more suitable for two or three people than for a larger group.
Walking up Guloudajie (鼓楼大街) from Hutong school, you can find Cafe Sambal by turning down a small hutong and entering the first door on your left. From the outside, the restaurant is as unassuming as any of the other small houses and public bathrooms in the neighborhood. You have to climb a couple of antique stone steps to get in the door, but once inside, you realize that this restaurant is not your typical hole-in-the-wall Chinese cookery.Sambal is owned by the same group as Paper and Bed. It is located right around the corner from Bed, and the decor is similar: Basic wall decorations and low tables. Although we weren't sitting on an actual bed, our private room featured a raised seating platform with cushions for seats and low tables. There was ample room to spread out, and the music that drifted in from the main hall was pleasant and understated. The private room definitely proved to be a more comfortable option with better light and more atmosphere than the main area.
The fare is high quality Southeast Asian, and the menu provides ample selection. There are plenty of seafood options that go far above and beyond Beijing's typical fish offerings. Prawns seem to be a specialty, and could be ordered in a number of different dishes. For those of us who prefer to eat the fruits of the earth, there is no lack of meat and vegetable dishes. Dishes averaged around 30-45 RMB. However, the portions were pretty small: four of us ordered 3 appetizers and 3 main dishes altogether. Although we were not left hungry, we did end up eating all of our rice and considered ordering more.
Our waiters were attentive and helpful. They didn't speak very much English, but they knew enough that the Dutch could get by without using Chinese. The head waiter even made good suggestions based on what we said we wanted to eat. My only complaint with the staff is that they brought us expensive mineral water that we didn't ask for, and that choice inflated our bill beyond our expectations.
The food was delicious. Everything was cooked expertly. The vegetables were crisp and flavorful, and the meat was tender. All of the sauces were good enough to eat on their own (or with rice). Unfortunately, with the small portions, such good cooking left us wanting more than we had ordered. We made quick work of the curry, and ended up using the sauce to enhance our rice.
To our surprise, the bill came out to be much higher than expected. It was around 500 RMB, which is about 2.5 times what we expected to pay. For the quality of the food, we expected to pay more than normal, but for the amount of food we ate it was disappointing to spend 125 each. My caveat is to specifically request cheap water.
Overall, The restaurant was quite nice. On the scoring system that I have just invented, I give it a 4 for atmosphere, a 5 for quality, a 4.5 for service and a 3 for price: overall, 4.125 out of 5. I would go there again, but I think that it is more suitable for two or three people than for a larger group.
Xiaoxue 小学
I thought that teaching some classes in Anhui was hard. There was no lesson plan and every day I would stand in front of a new class of kids who were less interested in learning English than they were in seeing a foreigner for the first time. Even so, those classes in Anhui were fun because the kids were only a few years younger than me, and they weren't afraid to talk to me and ask questions.
Saturday I went with one of the teachers from Hutong school, Zhangqian; an Italian, Gabriele; and three Chinese college students to a suburb of Beijing to teach English in an elementary school. I was the only native English speaker. As Gabriele put it, "Those poor kids: they're going to end up with an Italian-Chinese accent!"
I had a great time. I taught the alphabet and numbers to about 12 six-year-olds for a few hours, and I entertained them with my fantastic Chinese. Unfortunately, after we got to "12," I ran out of material (I probably could have kept going up to 100, but the kids were having a hard enough time remembering "five").
Teaching elementary school kids who have almost no experience with English is completely different than teaching middle school kids who have studied English since elementary school. These students knew the English alphabet, but I don't think they knew what it meant. Instead of teaching them to read English, their teachers teach them pronunciations by using Chinese characters--This is similar to the Chinese technique for transliterating Western names, and has the curious effect of making Chinese English unrecognizable. The teachers also don't bother to teach the meanings of English phrases: One girl caught me off guard by asking what "thank you" means: I had a hard time answering at first because I couldn't tell if she was saying an English word or a Chinese word. But when I figured out her question, I couldn't help wondering why someone would have taught her that phrase without telling her how to use it.
I think that at the end of the day I may have learned more than the kids I was trying to teac
h than they learned from me. I learned a lot about the condition of Chinese schools in small towns. I learned that even suburbs of huge cities can still be small towns that benefit very little from their proximity to an urban center. I learned that the Chinese version of the ABC song is different than the American version (they don't get the lmnop part). Meanwhile, the students only learned the hokey-pokey and an ad-hoc version of duck, duck, goose AKA ya, ya, e.The best part of the day was that I met three Chinese college students. These are pretty much the first Chinese friends I have made here who are my age. They are really great because they are not Beijingers--two of them come from Hunan, and the other was from somewhere else in the south. The Hunanren were great: they taught me some dialect and were generally fun to talk to. The other student was really interesting because she has travelled over more of the world than me. We all made fun of her because she has been to so many foreign countries, but not to many places in China--She has been to Germany, Italy, America, Denmark and Spain, but never to Hunan.
After we returned to the city, we all went out to eat together, and then to a bar at Houhai where I was really excited to be able to order chocolate milk. Dinner was a rooftop joint where we ordered something on the order of 100 chicken wings for 6 people. I tried to impress the southerners with my ability to eat spicy food, but in retrospect I don't recommend trying to eat 4 super-spicy wings at once without any rice to absorb the hotness... today I lost my voice completely! At any rate, I think my daring paid off and everyone was suitably impressed. I'm planning on going out with them for Hunan food and maybe Karaoke.
The whole day was great, but exhausting. Switching between three different languages (English for the sake of Gabriele, Chinese when we didn't need to include him, and French when Gabriele and I needed to leave out the Chinese (although neither of us speak French very well)) is draining and the sheer amount of talking may have had an influence on my current inability to speak. Also, playing with the kids took a lot of energy! After chocolate milk, I came home and fell asleep.
As my Hunanese sister-in-arms against our friends who wanted to go dancing put it: "They are the royalty of dance, We are the royalty of sitting and sleeping."
I can't wait to do it again!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
New Blog
You may or may not have noticed that the blog has moved to a new address. This move occurred not as a result of some brilliant insight, but rather because my good friends at Google decided to loose my account information for the other page.
So, I took the opportunity to change a few things:
1. New Template. It's slightly edgier (as far as prescription templates go), and a little easier on the eyes.
2. New Feature! I added a list on the right where I will be keeping track of the good restaurants I eat in. I'm not going to list little street food places--only the classier joints that are worth remembering. I will also try to post reviews.
3. New Feature! Pic of the irregular time period: I will post a picture here whenever I add pictures to the picture page. That way, you will know when there are new pictures up, and you will have a convenient way to reach them. Cool?
So those are the new features of the blog. I think it will actually be a bit better now. It was a little inconvenient having to reset everything, and I think that this URL is deficient, but there's not much I can do except provide you all with more interesting procrastination material and a snazzier layout!
So, I took the opportunity to change a few things:
1. New Template. It's slightly edgier (as far as prescription templates go), and a little easier on the eyes.
2. New Feature! I added a list on the right where I will be keeping track of the good restaurants I eat in. I'm not going to list little street food places--only the classier joints that are worth remembering. I will also try to post reviews.
3. New Feature! Pic of the irregular time period: I will post a picture here whenever I add pictures to the picture page. That way, you will know when there are new pictures up, and you will have a convenient way to reach them. Cool?
So those are the new features of the blog. I think it will actually be a bit better now. It was a little inconvenient having to reset everything, and I think that this URL is deficient, but there's not much I can do except provide you all with more interesting procrastination material and a snazzier layout!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Ich bin ein Beijinger
Sitting in the stark black and white office of the German operated internet company Jabgo, it is hard not to notice the reality behind the stereotypes that we often use. The office bleeds efficiency. Within the single room, computers block sight lines so that the employees can see nothing but their own work; at the same time, the boss has a large desk from which he can attend to everyone no matter where they are sitting. The only sound is the persistent tapping of keys and the occasional phone ring. It's not an unhappy office, but it serves only one purpose: work.
Compare this German workspace with the chinese setting of Hutong school. There, five of us work in one office. We each have our own desk with plenty of space, and interdesk communication is often enjoyable and encouraged. When I suggested removing a wall to allow the back room (barely more than a closet) to be more included, Jan started trying to arrange it immediately. People at Hutong school frequently leave the office to sit in the sun in the courtyard, walk down the street for a bottle of water, or just to chat. Lunch breaks last from 12:30 to 2, or whenever you feel like returning to work. It is not an inefficient workplace, but it is certainly more relaxed, and definitely more in synch with Beijing life.
I have learned more about cultural stereotypes in Beijing in the last two weeks than I ever knew before. The dutch always seem a bit embarrassed by their nationality; the Germans have no sense of humor; the French are inefficient; and surprisingly, Americans are romantic. Jews are a novelty in China, and in the last 3 days I have explained my religion several times to curious Chinese who were shocked to discover that I was a walking talking Jew.
In Beijing, we are all expats. We all speak English to each other, and we are all united as outsiders in the Chinese world. Perhaps this is the reason that we harp on cultural stereotypes and even embrace them as symbols of who we are. Most of the time, I just think of myself as a foreigner in China, but sometimes its good to be the one who calls fooball "soccer" and impatiently waits for my Big Mac and fries. It's also fun to crush people's stereotypes by having less of an appetite for my Big Mac than my French friends.
The stereotypes are reassuring, and an endless source of amusement--especially when someone discovers that they have always held a false belief about someone else. We will never be chinese here, but we can at least live like the stereotype of Hutong life: relaxing and enjoying life as it comes.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Lingualisme
The best characteristic of the Beijing is that it is not America. Not only do the locals speak Chinese, but the expats come from all over the world. 
Hutong school is a particularly good example of the reality of the internationality of this city. Last night I went out with two Poles, an Italian, an Australian, two French, a Slovakian and a Filipino. We also met up with a few Chinese friends.
The inevitable result of the convergence of nationalities is a language juggling act. Desert last night included a rousing discussion of the Chinese phrase 马马虎虎 mamahuhu:
French Girl1: "mamahuhu...it's horse horse monkey monkey?"
Me: "Horse Horse Tiger Tiger."
French Girl2: "and it means?"
Me: "Comme ci comme ca."
French Girl1: "Oui, Comme ci Comme ca"
Italian: "In French it's Comme ci comme ca? In Italian it's Cosi Cosi [sic]."
Pole: "In Polish it's [something I can't remember]"
German Girl: "In German it's So la la."
Me: "In English it's 'it's okay.'"
There may have been some other options discussed, but we decided that the Chinese is definitely the most astute. Somehow "horse horse tiger tiger" says it all.
I spent a good part of the weekend hanging out with the French. On Friday I went with the French guys to see NOFX. Great punk rock concert--I hope that it was Beijing's first exposure to a live American punk band because the crowd was about as rowdy as they possibly could have been. There was enough energy in the room that I somehow ended up on stage. Fortunately, there was enough energy in the room that people were there to catch me when I got off the stage.
Anyway, I started off the evening eating pizza with the French and feeling like a sore thumb for making everyone else speak English. Eventually, I had to admit that I had studied french for quite a long time, and then I got in trouble because I had to use it. At that point I could barely put a full sentence together in French before reverting back to English, or Chinese. The guys gave up and spoke to me on my own level. I did manage to overhear parts of the side conversation in French, and I think my comprehension is much better than my ability to speak.
I spent the next two days sightseeing with the French girls, Virginie et Marguerite. By the end of today, I had become thoroughly confused. I was speaking English with the girls, reading their French guide book and directing the driver in Chinese. When I tried to bargain with the driver in French, I knew I was in trouble.
The balance of my non-native languages is at stake! I'm not worried though: If I lose my Chinese, then I'll at least improve my French. Marguerite assures me that if I hang out with them, then in three months I will be watching French movies without subtitles.
***NEW FEATURE: Click on the images for links to more photos!***
Saturday, April 14, 2007
New Pictures!
Here Is a Picture of the old man from yesterday.
More of my pictures from the last few days are HERE.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Taking Candy
Remember when you were young and your parents, teachers and generally wiser elders told you not to talk to strangers? That rule doesn't apply when you're a foreigner in Beijing--at least not when you're trying to improve your Chinese.
Today I took to the roads on a photography and workout extravaganza. I've learned in the last couple days that biking around Beijing is not the best way to get in shape because weaving between pedestrians, other cyclists and buses does not provide much opportunity for speed.
Nevertheless, I started heading south on Dongsidajie with no aim in mind. Soon, I unexpectedly found myself at Wangfujing, where I discovered that the police don't like it when you ride your bike on pedestrian streets. A short time later I learned that the police don't like it when you try to take pictures of them...
Forced to circumvent Wangfujing, I headed towards the Forbidden city to take pictures of the tourists/locals/anything interesting. By the time I left, the light was getting to be pretty decent and the vendors were starting to realize that I had no intention to buy anything.
I pedaled up the street, and was in the process of taking the long way home when and old man in fatigues waved me over with one hand while he spilled beer from the bottle in his other hand.
Having a shiny new bike is a good way to make new friends.
The old man couldn't speak. He could only give me a thumbs-up to let me know how impressive the amount of hair was that I have on my arms. His thumbs-up quickly became a "clink" as he and his fellow sidewalk squatters invited me to enjoy an afternoon beer with them.
We chatted for about an hour, and one by one the gang dispersed until I was left with the original old man (who kept clinking and trying to get me to drink more) and one pedicab driver named Wang Sheng, who told me that he is twenty-three years old even though he looked like he could be forty. Eventually, he reminded me that Beijing has two thousand years of history, and that he could guide me through the hutongs to see historic courtyard houses. I appreciated the distraction, so I took him up on his offer, and followed him on my bike.
We basically just followed a few alleyways back to the houhai area. Every so often, we stopped and my new friend told me to read a sign that explained the historical significance of a particular hutong or house. He also pointed out places where old houses were being knocked down to be replaced by modern facilities.
Meanwhile, we chatted about various things--the differences between Beijing and America, whether I had a girlfriend, what I was going to do after studying Chinese--the usual. I can't say that anything he told me was particularly enlightening (although it was interesting to learn that spirits can't jump over high thresholds), but I did make a new friend.
We eventually worked our way north through a maze of alleyways and moving obstacles, and finally found ourselves at the Hutong School.
One of the teachers was standing outside, and after Wang Sheng left he told me: "You have to be careful when you spend time with strangers."*
Maybe you don't have to remember--teachers everywhere give the same advice!
*rough translation
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Beijing Bicycle
Here's a picture of my new bike. According to Laoguo it's very beautiful, so it might get stolen. I have to make sure to lock it to things other than itself. It's a little bit too small, but it was the biggest frame size they had in the store, so maybe Chinese people don't buy very many big bikes. At any rate, it's pretty decent, and you can't beat the blue and pink color scheme!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Meeting Hutong School and Tibet
Yesterday I finally got to go to the Hutong School itself and start to figure out what's what. Jan is still not there, so I'm not really starting the internship, but I got to meet a lot of the other students/interns and some of the teachers. I still have to arrange my Classes because they will be private lessons, and I'm still not sure what time they will be held or how often.
More interestingly, I went out to dinner with some of the other students and one of the English teachers. The teacher was really interesting because she is originally from Tibet. I am not positive, but I think that she must be Tibetan and not Han Chinese.
Anyway, this teacher has a lot to say because she comes from an autonomous region and she studied politics in University. At first, she insisted that she liked teaching as opposed to doing something related to her major because it is more fun, but eventually she admitted that the real reason she is teaching is because taking a teaching job was the only way that she would be allowed to stay in Beijing. The Chinese have what she described as a "stupid" system in which everyone has an ID that says where they are from and where they are allowed to go; unless they have a job that validates their living away from home, they are not allowed to leave their original province.
Naturally, once we all discovered that she was from Tibet, we began asking questions about China's treatment of Tibet and what she thought of Tibetan independence. As someone whose family lived through the Communists rough handling of Tibet, she had strong feelings about the questions. Nevertheless, she is not so unhappy with the Chinese that she supports independence. In her opinion, if Tibet became free from China, then it would just become dominated by another nearby country like India. The way things are now, the Tibetan government is technically autonomous. The Party only gets involved through capital investments and maybe back room type dealings--perhaps these types of involvement show a greater control than direct rule, but for the time being things are working out reasonably well.
Admittedly, the past was much more of a problem. We talked mainly about the Great Leap Forward. The teacher told us that a huge percentage of people in Tibet starved at that time, and that some even resorted to cannibalism. She started to talk about how family members tried to save their children, but we didn't get very far into that conversation.
The most telling part of our discussion was when she told us that during the Great Leap the government collected crops from the peasants--allegedly to repay their debt to Russia. However, the government really was not paying any debt (I may be wrong about the date, but it was around that time that Stalin died and China stopped its involvement with Russia). Meanwhile, the crops that were collected just rotted while the people starved! The governor(?) of Tibet feared for his life at that time. It seems that people threatened to eat him.
What strikes me most is that none of the people in Beijing even knew about these problems in the provinces. Beijingren only get their news through government sources, so the censorship is severe and people are kept ignorant of the governments dirty dealings in its own country. Today the censorship reaches the internet, and it's hard to say what people know, and more importantly what they believe. It seems that the only reliable source of information about Chinese history are the people who experienced it first hand.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Apartment Pictures
This is a shot of the kitchen. You can see the washing machine through the door. The bathroom is behind it. If the internet connection wasn't so slow I would upload a pic of the bathroom, which impressively incorporates a toilet and a shower in the same closet.
This is the living room. Nice mod-ish couch, TV with DVD player and refrigerator/freezer.
My room. A bed that might as well be a granite slab with a beanbag pillow. There is also a wardrobe that is not wide enough to hang things in.
Overall it's a pretty nice place! There's an elementary school next door and a bunch of little shops around the corner.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
到了
I arrived in Beijing last night. The drive from the airport to the apartment was fun because I got to remember a bit of Beijing Geography. It looks like the city has grown since the last time I was here, but once we got inside the second ring road I started to recognize where I was.
The apartment building is in a block of similar buildings. It has six floors and I'm lucky enough to be all the way on top--Six flights of stairs was a lot of fun with my suitcases. The building is right near 雍和宫 the Lama Temple. Apparently we are a subway stop away from the Hutong School.
Today the school is closed because of Easter, so I get a day to settle in. I'll post some pictures this afternoon.
Saturday, March 17 2007
Here's a photo of sunrise at Deer Valley. We're skiing in 60+ degree weather--the benefits of a beach vacation with the fun of a ski trip. Good times.
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