tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23489761115293153282024-03-13T09:27:29.262-07:00Inside the Middle KingdomA sojourn in China and AsiaTravelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-50900041453277978822013-04-11T06:39:00.000-07:002013-05-06T23:19:02.489-07:00Will the "real" China please come forward?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewLgmamLoCI/UWaPST0oDgI/AAAAAAAAA3A/_ZJ9Hymvxt8/s1600/2012+photos+635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewLgmamLoCI/UWaPST0oDgI/AAAAAAAAA3A/_ZJ9Hymvxt8/s320/2012+photos+635.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice evening in downtown Nanjing</td></tr>
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Recent moments and conversations have made me question
whether my Chinese experience has been complete. Nanjing, the city where I
reside, is essentially a globalized metropolis with most of the comforts and
conveniences of back home complete with Subway Sandwich shops, grocery stores
where I can buy Starbucks ice cream, and a new fancy French style bakery chain selling
bagels right in my neighborhood. Admittedly, I have fallen prey to these new
ventures and as a result am apt to forget on some days that I even live in China.
Also becoming more prevalent in Nanjing as well as other wealthy Chinese cities
such as Beijing and Shanghai are the shocking and ostentatious displays of
wealth. It hit me hard in February after returning from a vacation in the third
world surroundings of Laos to the glitzy streets of these Chinese cities where
fancy BMW convertibles and Hummers roar by at high speeds. Gucci, Versace,
Louis Vuitton and Coach stores take up entire city blocks while beautifully
dressed women hurry by in their Manolo Blahnik heels chatting on their iPhone
5s. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hustle and bustle in front of one of the Apple stores in Shanghai</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3Yv4CtGs_0/UWaREAzkkwI/AAAAAAAAA3c/I5mWoQkU09c/s1600/2012+photos+643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G3Yv4CtGs_0/UWaREAzkkwI/AAAAAAAAA3c/I5mWoQkU09c/s320/2012+photos+643.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our local Louis Vuitton store in Nanjing</td></tr>
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I think before and even after living for some time in China,
I have had a romantic notion in my head of how China should really be. Somehow,
a China developing at breakneck speed with its people fully embracing and
emulating trends and lifestyles of the West, is not how I imagined it. Now that
I have been entrenched in this modern, affluent side of China, I at times overlook
that there is another, very different China out there that I have
witnessed only briefly on previous trips but have mostly been missing. So when
my friend Cyrus asked if I would like to travel to Guizhou, a far away, poor
province in Southern China that I had never even heard of, to visit a new women’s hospital, I accepted. I hoped that the trip would be
an adventure (it was), would be a crash immersion session in Chinese (it was),
and that I would see a unique part of China vastly different from my wealthy
corner of Nanjing (I did).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rural town in Guizhou Province</td></tr>
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An isolated province tucked in south central China, Guizhou
is rich in natural resources. Where we traveled in the western part of the
province, karst mountains and jagged formations made up the surrounding
landscape both in the cities and the countryside. The mountains provided a beautiful
backdrop until seeing them being excavated for coal mining or the building of
new city developments. Thanks to its coal supply, Guizhou also exports
electricity to richer nearby provinces such as Guandong, home province of
wealthy, booming cities Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Indeed, Guizhou is quite poor
and underdeveloped in contrast to Chinese provinces on the East coast and those
provinces to which it supplies energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMt6E1iiXwE/UWaP2zsTB_I/AAAAAAAAA3M/52hbKiIeIvI/s1600/2012+photos+510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gMt6E1iiXwE/UWaP2zsTB_I/AAAAAAAAA3M/52hbKiIeIvI/s320/2012+photos+510.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of Liupanshui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our trip to Guizhou brought us to Liupanshui, a secluded
city 270 km from the nearest airport in Guiyang, Guizhou. Looking out to a
hazy, smoggy sky from my hotel room, I took in the surrounding view of the
city. Only built in 1978, the city’s skyline donned ugly, drab, plain looking
buildings on my left view and half demolished buildings and rubble amidst
semi-quarried hills on the right. On the streets, dirty children ran loose and
had the large dirt piles and rubble as their playgrounds. Yet, integrated among
these third world living conditions were also the occasional marks of progress
and indications of the city trying to slowly fight its way into a higher
economic niveau. Newly paved sidewalks were lined with freshly planted shrubs
and baby trees to provide a more pleasant, residential feel. Classy, apartment
buildings with balconies and manicured gardened courtyards surrounded the women’s hospital we
attended. The hospital itself had state of the art surgery wards equipped with
the latest technologies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, in contrast to Nanjing and other more developed and
wealthier Chinese cities, there were refreshingly very little outside commercial
interests and influences in Liupanshui- thanks probably to the fact that it is
so secluded. Where were the large, garish shopping malls? The Starbucks,
McDonalds and fancy English language schools called Baby MBA that will promise
to get your 4 year old into Harvard? The billboards advertising the perfect
diamond engagement ring? All of these signs of modernity and “progress” seemed
to be missing from the streets of Liupanshui. Perhaps in due time those type of
places will slowly start to creep into Liupanshui as well. Cyrus spotted a KFC
and we noticed a few people with iPhone 5s- both telltale signs that changes
are indeed a coming. But for now, Liupanshui seems relatively untouched by
large, outside, foreign influences. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But with all of its apparent steps in progress and its slow
acquisition of new riches, who in Liupanshui and the surrounding Guizhou
countryside will be able to benefit from them? Will the average Jane or Joe be
able to afford the top medical services provided at the women’s hospital we visited? Cyrus offered that many families, including poorer ones, will toil,
work hard and save for years so that their expectant mothers can have the best
care for when their one child, therefore their sole future hope, is born. Even
well into the countryside, miles away from Liupanshui, we saw road signs and
posters for the hospital, indicating that it was
indeed trying to cater to the poorer rural folks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GE9GQuDkQ3E/UWaUZAYXg3I/AAAAAAAAA4Q/7Crv7WFT5Zs/s1600/2012+photos+597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GE9GQuDkQ3E/UWaUZAYXg3I/AAAAAAAAA4Q/7Crv7WFT5Zs/s320/2012+photos+597.jpg" width="320" /></a>In spite of people perhaps saving for their offspring’s
future, it seems it may be difficult for many residents in rural Guizhou and
even in urban Guizhou settings to afford decent medical care, education,
housing and transportation. Data reveals how hard it might be for many Guizhou
residents to make ends meet compared to their counterparts in wealthier, urban,
developed provinces in China. In 2011, for example, Guizhou ranked LAST in
China for its per capita GDP of 10,258 RMB (1,502 USD). Comparatively, in
Jiangsu Province, the province in China with the highest per capita GDP and
where I live, the per capita GDP was 52,448 yuan (US$7,945). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-APoajn5ylew/UWaTuHILpTI/AAAAAAAAA38/0n7iDAMyX8o/s1600/2012+photos+596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-APoajn5ylew/UWaTuHILpTI/AAAAAAAAA38/0n7iDAMyX8o/s320/2012+photos+596.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday market day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_eku_s6C-M/UWaUTdvEKYI/AAAAAAAAA4E/M-u22UDycf4/s1600/2012+photos+591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_eku_s6C-M/UWaUTdvEKYI/AAAAAAAAA4E/M-u22UDycf4/s320/2012+photos+591.jpg" width="320" /></a>Data aside, scenes driving through the countryside on the
270 km stretch between Liupanshui and Guiyang also exposed a whole other China
where people still live simpler lives, living off the land and its resources. Caught
in the early afternoon traffic of Sunday market day, we witnessed farmers
selling their own produce on the street; middle-aged sun-wrinkled men herding
fat pink pigs into a truck to be taken to market; freshly killed meat being
sold by the butcher on the side of the road; and even large chunks of Guizhou
coal being sold in a family’s store front. Transformed to Pearl Buck’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth</i>, I witnessed in the far
off distance farmers plowing with oxen in their fields. Family grave plots on
the hills next to the highway revealed communities who found their homes on the
same land of their ancestors several generations back. These communities have
clung to and carried on the long standing traditions and methods of livelihood
of their ancestors.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GE9GQuDkQ3E/UWaUZAYXg3I/AAAAAAAAA4M/MpJtBISVqjg/s1600/2012+photos+597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NL5oqndRoIM/UWaV3JbTwnI/AAAAAAAAA4g/zDldOL819F0/s1600/2012+photos+609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NL5oqndRoIM/UWaV3JbTwnI/AAAAAAAAA4g/zDldOL819F0/s320/2012+photos+609.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got coal?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G7kEaBzBD1w/UWaV-1VNulI/AAAAAAAAA4o/kTIpZmE3bOY/s1600/2012+photos+617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G7kEaBzBD1w/UWaV-1VNulI/AAAAAAAAA4o/kTIpZmE3bOY/s320/2012+photos+617.jpg" width="320" /></a>Returning from my weekend trip to Guizhou to the modern
comforts of my home in Nanjing, I congratulated myself for finally witnessing
the “real” China. But what an unfair judgement to bestow on either Guizhou or
Nanjing! While it’s true I briefly witnessed firsthand the gap in income and
lifestyles between rural and urban Chinese communities; wealthy east Coast
provinces and an isolated, poor, undeveloped province, this does not mean that
either side represents the “real” China. In order to fully understand the
“real” China today, I’ve learned that it encompasses all of these sides- rich
and poor; glitzy and rugged; urban and rural; developed too quickly and left
behind in the dust of 100 hundred years ago. I have tasted both and found
desirable aspects of both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real
challenge lies ahead for China and how it can continue to build its economy so
that more people can reap its rewards; how it can develop and progress without
depleting its resources and without destroying its rural landscapes as well as
the livelihood and age old traditions of its inhabitants.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYtVhD7f_qU/UWaUhLxv3cI/AAAAAAAAA4U/TZJajQWLfPU/s1600/2012+photos+605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XYtVhD7f_qU/UWaUhLxv3cI/AAAAAAAAA4U/TZJajQWLfPU/s320/2012+photos+605.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two contrasting images of vehicles. Two very different faces of China.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g5oQfMp0Uv4/UWaTBIoWbVI/AAAAAAAAA34/u6l_5yjHeZw/s1600/2012+photos+655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g5oQfMp0Uv4/UWaTBIoWbVI/AAAAAAAAA34/u6l_5yjHeZw/s320/2012+photos+655.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
For related reading:</h3>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<h4>
</h4>
</div>
<div class="title">
<h4>
<a href="http://www.marketplace.org/topics/world/chinas-urban-refugees-leaving-pollution-city-life-behind" target="_blank">China's urban refugees: Leaving pollution, city life behind</a></h4>
</div>
Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-51588265729884462072013-01-31T02:24:00.001-08:002013-02-04T19:37:59.891-08:00Buses, sawng thaews, and tuk tuks<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><b>A guide to public transport in Laos</b><br />
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<![endif]-->In Laos, the land of tranquil scenes along the Mekong River,
ancient Buddhist and Hindu ruins, fragrant frangipani, and friendly children
waving and calling out “Sabaidee!” (“Hello” in local lingo), transport and travel
can be an eye-opening and adventurous cultural experience in itself. It can
come in several different forms of both land and water vessels including buses;
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>sawng theaws</i>, pick-up trucks with
seats fitted along the length of the truck beds that travel to nearby regional
locations (and usually managed by a family); <i>tuk tuks</i> or jumbos with seats
fitted around a motorcycle frame and for local destinations in a city; motorcycles;
bicycles; and your own two legs.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With two and a half weeks to explore Laos, my partner Nick and
I started off from Laos’s capitol city, Vientiane and then headed south. We
decided to break the trip up into several increments, limiting bus travel to no
more than four hours a day. Even then, some trips ended up being six to eight
hours. We learned that this is a normal occurrence in Laos as travel happens on
“Lao time”. The three best things to bring along on such a journey are bottled
water, toilet paper and patience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buses can come in both the VIP form and the “public” bus
form. I suppose the VIP buses in Laos evolved for the mostly foreign tourists
who may not desire to be squeezed into tight, hot, un-air-conditioned spaces
for hours on end. If I’m not mistaken, we were primarily on the non-VIP form
which definitely added some color to our travels. Settling into our seats,
sometimes next to each other and sometimes apart depending on seat availability,
the bus’s TV screen then flashed and blared out the trip’s on-board
entertainment of Lao and Thai music videos and variety shows as well as 1920’s Charlie
Chaplin films (who seems to be all the rage in Laos, even 90 years later!). Our
fellow travel companions on the bus journeys are some other foreign travelers
but mostly Laotians- young families traveling with their little ones; single
men traveling from one work site to another; mothers or grandmothers traveling
with a child; as well as the occasional Buddhist monk. I was bemused by the
attire of most of the local travelers- long jeans or woven sarongs covering the
legs and even thick faux leather jackets. This is clothing I would find
entirely hot and uncomfortable for a cramped bus with no air-conditioning. Nevertheless,
such attire may likely be dictated by conservative and traditional Buddhist
culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iNIAlSoR-0g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Upon departure, a bus typically coasts slowly out of a town,
honking its horn to draw attention from additional prospective passengers from
the side of the road. More and more passengers file on, occupying all remaining
seats. The bus attendant, usually a boy of about 12 or 13, directs newly
arrived passengers to sit on make-shift seats of plastic stools in the aisle. Certain
etiquette seems to rule seating arrangements among Laotian travelers. During
one of our bus journeys, a monk hopped on board an already full bus. What then
ensued was something like a game of musical chairs- seat reshuffling and
rearrangements until the monk had a seat and a displaced young man found
himself downgraded to a plastic seat in the aisle. Similar arrangements were
made for a grandmother and a young girl who boarded at the side of the road
from a rural village. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6paypoqpJfg/UQo-MbLFVPI/AAAAAAAAA1g/kRPmIhEA820/s1600/bus+seats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6paypoqpJfg/UQo-MbLFVPI/AAAAAAAAA1g/kRPmIhEA820/s320/bus+seats.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passengers filling up the aisle on plastic stools.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the course of a bus journey, a bus may make several pit
stops for food and calls of nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes the buses stop at small roadside restaurants with basic
toilets in the back. I was impressed with the total cleanliness of the toilets
which are basic porcelain squat toilets enclosed in tin shacks and supplied with
a bucket full of water with a pail which one then uses to rinse out the toilet
following its use. Other rest stops are sometimes just fields along the side of
the road. We women folk have to walk back out of view and behind some trees or
brush. The long, woven sarong skirt that many a Laotian woman wears typically
goes to her ankles and is a practical and useful cover for roadside calls of
nature if she can’t find shelter behind a tree or bush. Pit stops are short and
brief and anyone hoping to finish a cigarette will find a horn blasting in his
ears to beckon him back on or be left behind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Im1F4Kq-9yg/UQpBCIZ9dII/AAAAAAAAA10/8w94gWI7SPA/s1600/pit+stop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Im1F4Kq-9yg/UQpBCIZ9dII/AAAAAAAAA10/8w94gWI7SPA/s320/pit+stop.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roadside pit stop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some dusty road stops
will find female vendors rushing out of the woodwork to swarm onto and next to
the bus to sell snacks and drinks to the peckish and thirsty travelers. Depending
on the region, they might sell bottled water, sliced mango, barbequed and
skewered chicken, cooked eggs on a stick, or dried fish. They all seem to be
chanting the same thing as they clamor to get the attention of prospective
customers. They too sometimes get shooed off the bus as the irritable driver
begins to push off and the vendors are left in the dust chasing after the embarking
bus. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HLVxiGYq_Xo/UQpB1SAHFpI/AAAAAAAAA18/djtJa_W5vt8/s1600/vendors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HLVxiGYq_Xo/UQpB1SAHFpI/AAAAAAAAA18/djtJa_W5vt8/s320/vendors.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roadside vendors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many Laotians rely on the use of buses and <i>sawng thaews</i>
for transporting not only themselves but also for transporting goods and necessities
for their homes and businesses. All buses and <i>sawng thaews</i> are rigged
with large racks on top for transporting suitcases, large sacks of rice and
animal feed, washing machines, bicycles and even motor cycles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one stop along the side of the road, two of
the bus attendants seemed to effortlessly heave a motorcycle to the top of the
bus for further transport. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OG2scriwW9U/UQpCY8MqvxI/AAAAAAAAA2E/deDx8i9FJrk/s1600/motorcylce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OG2scriwW9U/UQpCY8MqvxI/AAAAAAAAA2E/deDx8i9FJrk/s320/motorcylce.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A shadow of a motorcycle being lifted onto the rooftop of the bus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ocr1a0hYa8/UQpDQdq8TPI/AAAAAAAAA2U/p67qa6To5VU/s1600/yall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ocr1a0hYa8/UQpDQdq8TPI/AAAAAAAAA2U/p67qa6To5VU/s320/yall2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How can you tell?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s an unwritten code that some transport vehicles,
especially <i>sawng thaews, </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>may
leave when they’re sufficiently packed and are only there to help you and your
goods get from point A to point B. Comfort is not a priority but this doesn’t
seem to be an issue for many locals. On one of our short <i>sawng thaew</i>
journeys, we crammed into the back with twenty rice sacks covering the floor
and the other passengers complacently squeezing their way around the traveling
goods. Before the start of the journey, I exclaimed to Nick, “Cool, this will
be a fun adventure!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twenty minutes later
sitting in the idle vessel, in the hot, dusty parking lot of the market station
(and waiting for what?), I was already whinging. Meanwhile, squeezing and
packing into tight, cramped and stuffy vehicles seemed to be an art form for the
local travelers sharing the ride. Looking up at the back of the t-shirt of the
boy sitting on the rice sack in front of me, I had to chuckle to myself as I
read the strange albeit fitting English expression that was thrown together on his
t-shirt. It read, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Y’all ain’t from
round here..is Yall?” </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qlG8J2z5C0/UQpEcVA8FiI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Y49Wj3iFLmE/s1600/steph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qlG8J2z5C0/UQpEcVA8FiI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Y49Wj3iFLmE/s320/steph.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to get comfortable in my travel surroundings.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HAwcIHjSNeo/UQpD4LgyJgI/AAAAAAAAA2k/izN8oSdYuQE/s1600/songteo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HAwcIHjSNeo/UQpD4LgyJgI/AAAAAAAAA2k/izN8oSdYuQE/s320/songteo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crammed into a <i>sawng thaew.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our travel in Laos also included some river crossings across
the Nam Ngum (a tributary of the Mekong) and the infamous Mekong itself. One of
the crossings across the Mekong found us on a cramped minibus. We watched with
a little dismay as our bus eased onto what seemed like an already overloaded
and overburdened, worn plywood ferry boat. Sitting in the back of the bus
behind other passengers occupying foldout chairs, we eyed the width of the back
window we were sitting next to and made escape plans in our head if the boat
should either sink or our minibus should roll off the back into the depths of
the Mekong. As visions came into my head of my mother reading two days later a
small excerpt on the side of page 11 in her local morning paper, “Small Ferry Craft
in Laos Sinks”, I quickly realized that I was of course exaggerating the precariousness of the five minute ferry crossing in my head. We safely made it
across and were in good hands all along. Such occurrences are helping me be not
only more patient but are also helping me learn not to press the panic
button so early, as I often do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUCsaWw_CGg/UQpDf2z4mKI/AAAAAAAAA2c/DJ7GsLN67pc/s1600/ferry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uUCsaWw_CGg/UQpDf2z4mKI/AAAAAAAAA2c/DJ7GsLN67pc/s320/ferry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the Mekong.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What was more significant during these various trips in
Laos? The trips themselves or the destinations the different vessels brought us
to? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would say they were on par.
Traveling by bus, <i>sawng thaew</i>, and a wobbly ferry may not be for
everyone but I think my trip to Laos and the glimpse I got into the world down
there would not have been complete without these experiences. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>For further reading:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During our trip we ran into a young woman from Canada who is traveling through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam by bicycle! I was really inspired and impressed with her unique journey and how her transportation mode is taking her way off the beaten track. Read and see for yourself about her journey!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://whereisainaz.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://whereisainaz.blogspot.com/</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-80615336551740251682012-11-25T21:11:00.000-08:002012-11-25T21:11:04.566-08:00Who was Pearl Buck? Finding the American author’s home and legacy in China<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]-->For almost 25 years I have been captivated by the work and
life of Pearl Sydenstricker Buck. Pearl Buck was an American author who spent
the first forty years of her life in China. Her experiences and insight into
China came alive in her many novels and stories, the most famous being <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth</i> which was published in
1931. Her stories, novels and personal experiences have arguably played a huge
role in the outside world’s understanding of China. Although it’s been nearly
forty years since she passed away, her stories continue to move people and
bridge positive relationships between China and the West.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwcogqPqmRc/ULLmlxYEu5I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/lP_EIKpYB74/s1600/Pearl_Buck%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SwcogqPqmRc/ULLmlxYEu5I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/lP_EIKpYB74/s320/Pearl_Buck%5B1%5D.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearl S. Buck</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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The daughter of a Presbyterian missionary born in 1892,
Pearl not only grew up and lived in China but knew the country intimately,
inside and out. Because of her father’s missionary work, the Sydenstrickers
were quite isolated and lived primarily only among local Chinese people rather
than in a segregated world among other foreigners. Indeed, Chinese and English
were both her first languages and she learned the ways of the people around
her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>China was her home. </div>
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<br /></div>
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China being her foster country, she had a unique perspective
of it that only few other foreigners could intimately understand. To say the least,
her relationship with China was always tumultuous because of the many changes
and growing pains that China experienced within her lifetime. In 1900 at the
age of eight, her family made a near escape from her hometown of Zhenjiang to
Shanghai during the Boxer Rebellion when angry boxers and the Empress Dowager
Cixi declared war and death to foreigners across the country to put an end to
foreign and imperialist influences in China. Again in 1927, her family barely
escaped out alive from Nanjing when Nationalist troops, Communist forces and
warlords turned on foreigners residing there. Hiding with a poor Chinese family
who risked their own life harboring the fugitives, the Buck’s home was looted
and the family escaped at the last possible moment when an American warship
came to rescue remaining trapped residents in the city under siege.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Pearl Buck finally left China in 1934,
perhaps she didn’t realize that she would never return to China ever again.
Political unrest and strife between Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist troops and
Communist factions plagued the country along with Japan’s invasion of China and
the Second World War, likely making a return to China near impossible. The
establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 effectively closed off
China to the outside world for more than twenty years. At the height of the Cultural
Revolution in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that reigned in Marxist reform
throughout China, Pearl Buck and her writing were denounced as imperialist by
ideologues and school children across the country. Hoping to travel to China
with American President Richard Nixon in 1972 when relations between China and
the US began to warm, it is said that Pearl Buck’s request for a visa was
personally denied by Madame Mao who hoped to succeed her husband politically.
Said to be heartbroken, Pearl Buck never again returned to her home in China.
She died the following year in 1973.</div>
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In the nearly forty years since the fateful decision that
prevented Pearl Buck from returning to her home in China, her reputation as a
friend and advocate of China has been restored. Her more famous works are
available in both Chinese and English and American and Chinese organizations
work together to honor her life in both her home and adopted countries.
Recently I had the opportunity to witness this cross-cultural collaboration to
memorialize her life and accomplishments both in the US and in China.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">In search of Pearl </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I first encountered Pearl Buck when I was in the 8<sup>th</sup>
grade and read a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth </i>(
I will henceforth refer to Pearl Buck simply as Pearl as I feel as if I am
writing about an old friend). Never a very avid reader, I remember being
completely hooked from the beginning of the story of Wang Lung, a poor Chinese
farmer who awakens with excitement on the day he’s going to meet and marry his
bride Olan who is a servant slave girl at the estate of the wealthy family of
the village. The ups and downs their family endures through famine,
revolutions, family fortunes and misfortunes unexpectedly enchanted the 14 year
old reader in me who never personally knew such tragedy or hardship. Pearl had
so beautifully crafted the story so that I felt I personally was witnessing the
trials and tribulations of the couple. Yet she wrote the story in simple enough
language so that I never felt like the book was unattainable or for more
educated and well-read minds than my own. After first reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth</i>, I slowly found a new
appreciation of books and literature and people’s life experiences through the
written word. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time and time again and
through the years, I would come back and reread <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth- </i>as a young adult and again when I moved to China
two years ago. Each time I would pick it up, I knew what I was getting myself
into and that I was reading the story to know my emotions were in check. I knew
I was reading it so I could cry and feel the sadness at certain points in the
saga. Yet still I would catch myself unexpectedly, uncontrollably and
shamefully sobbing while reading it at certain parts. Each time I have read it,
I have gained new and unique perspectives based on my own experiences in my
life at that given time. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cT7Bfv8Czzg/ULLn2jmnNUI/AAAAAAAAAzY/eEV102Zy4AE/s1600/Pearl+grave+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cT7Bfv8Czzg/ULLn2jmnNUI/AAAAAAAAAzY/eEV102Zy4AE/s320/Pearl+grave+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearl Buck's headstone at her home in Pennsylvania. She transformed her garden and landscaped it with bamboo and other native Asian plants to remind her of her faraway home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rUDxOIgImP8/ULLoR10VZwI/AAAAAAAAAzg/n5oFegzXDoM/s1600/Pearl+grave+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rUDxOIgImP8/ULLoR10VZwI/AAAAAAAAAzg/n5oFegzXDoM/s320/Pearl+grave+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearl's grave with her name Sai Zhenzhu in traditional characters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I feel I’ve had a personal connection with Pearl and that
somehow she has eluded me throughout my life. How is it that I feel this deep
sense of connection and awe for a person who died two years before I was even
born? Initially it was only her novel and words that moved and captivated me. I
gradually started to learn more about the life and who the person was who wrote
the book I have always loved. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having
just finished her biography, it now makes sense to me why I unsuspectingly had
admiration for her and felt a connection. Certain strange and unexpected
coincidences in her life happen to cross paths with my own. Imagine my surprise
two weeks before moving to China in 2010 when I accidentally drove by Pearl
Buck’s home in Buck County, Pennsylvania near where my sister Rachel lives. The
next day, I dragged Rachel there with me. We paid our respects to her at her
grave and also learned in a talk that Pearl taught at a university in Nanjing,
China which was where I too would soon be moving to teach at a university. Here
in Nanjing, I have tried to discover a little of Pearl’s China. I know that I
am living here an entire century later, but I believe the whirlwind changes
taking place here now may be similar to the search for identity and its place
in the world that China was seeking to find during Pearl’s time. During a
transition point in my life, China has comforted me and provided me with a never
ending source of eye-opening perspectives and discoveries. Here in China I have
developed into a confident educator who reaps much satisfaction from sharing
and exchanging experiences with my young Chinese adult students. I like to
think these are parallel to experiences Pearl had. </div>
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<br /></div>
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This past month, I finally crossed a big item on my must-see
Pearl Buck homage list. With the company of a friend, I finally visited
Zhenjiang, the hometown in China of Pearl Sydenstricker. The trip was two years
in the making. Several times over the past two years, busy schedules got in the
way of my pilgrimage to Zhenjiang. Only 20 minutes away by high speed train
from Nanjing, I was running out of excuses not to visit Zhenjiang and knew I
was just going to have to make the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xBIG08Qyugw/ULLq7UqFxqI/AAAAAAAAAzo/-qqPcQFKsUc/s1600/alley.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xBIG08Qyugw/ULLq7UqFxqI/AAAAAAAAAzo/-qqPcQFKsUc/s320/alley.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploring the network of alleys in Zhenjiang.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Pearl’s home in Zhenjiang is now one of the major tourist
attractions of the city. It was renovated and opened by the local Zhenjiang
government in 1992. I later learned that the home that I visited was not
actually her childhood home but the home where her parents resided after Pearl
had grown up, married and moved to Anhui Province with her husband Lossing
Buck. Nevertheless, it seems that the local tourism board of Zhenjiang and the
museum really took pains to preserve the home to its true, original state as
well as to bring to life the world Pearl lived in as girl and adolescent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such, they have wonderfully memorialized
and paid homage to their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sai Zhenzhu</i>,
Pearl’s name in Chinese. Only a five minute walk from the train station in
Zhenjiang, a large road sign indicates to tourists and Pearl Buck enthusiasts
the proximity of the residence. Tucked back on a hill, we had to poke around on
little side streets and alleys before we located her home. This part I
appreciated as we got to experience the everyday hubbub of local Zhenjiang
citizens. Dogs were running around, motorbikes were skirting up the side
streets, locals were playing cards and the strong aroma of vinegar wafted in
the air (Zhenjiang is apparently famous across China for its vinegar). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This gave me a sense of how life may have been
around the Sydenstricker’s home as Pearl herself experienced it back in the
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IuGdTZsjKSc/ULLt5YY449I/AAAAAAAAA0A/qgvywfQPOPs/s1600/full+house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IuGdTZsjKSc/ULLt5YY449I/AAAAAAAAA0A/qgvywfQPOPs/s320/full+house.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At last finding the Sydenstricker's home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GcPbG_sJoxA/ULLuXZ_aOTI/AAAAAAAAA0I/BsCpUxnaskM/s1600/bed.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GcPbG_sJoxA/ULLuXZ_aOTI/AAAAAAAAA0I/BsCpUxnaskM/s320/bed.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearl's childhood bedroom</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Walking into the Sydenstricker’s home, I was transformed to
another time. The home is just as much a tribute to Pearl’s parents and other
people who shaped her formative years as it is to Pearl herself. On the lower level
of the house, I entered the dining room where the dinner table was set with fake
plastic dishes of cooked chicken fillets, cheese and other American dishes that
Pearl’s mother Carrie favored. Also on the lower level of the house was Wang
Amah’s room. Part of the family for many years, Wang Amah was the
Sydenstricker’s housekeeper and the children’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ayi</i> or nanny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found it
fitting that Wang Amah’s room had a prominent part in the house so visitors could
understand that she likely also had an influential role in Pearl’s upbringing,
shaping of her identity and worldviews and her lifelong love and attachment to
China as her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After viewing Wang
Amah’s room, I wandered upstairs to Pearl’s parents’ modest room. Her father
Absalom’s bible prominently sat in a corner of a night side table in their room
and a separate adjacent room has been turned into his study. After pausing in
her parents’ wing of the house, I finally wandered over to the wing of the
house that had been dedicated to Pearl herself. Her writing desk where she
likely penned many of her literary works was right there for me to touch and
try to absorb her thoughts. Finding myself at the foot of her bed, it was a
surreal moment as if I was looking down at a little girl from 115 years before
who unknowingly would someday move and affect countless lives by eloquently
sharing her unique experiences and world.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0y2ou6iplE/ULLvBd2BIyI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/00BVyziTycE/s1600/Yangzte.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O0y2ou6iplE/ULLvBd2BIyI/AAAAAAAAA0Q/00BVyziTycE/s320/Yangzte.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) played a major role economically during Pearl's lifetime.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Following a visit to Pearl’s home, we wandered around the
city of Zhenjiang itself. Located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, I
learned that Zhenjiang was not some backwater town where the Sydenstrickers
took up post miles from any other foreigners. Because of its prominent position
on the Yangtze River, its strategic location near Nanjing, and its easy access
to Shanghai upstream, it garnered American and British interest as early as
1861. British and American consulates, the Asiatic Petroleum Company as well as
Standard Oil all had vested interests in Zhenjiang. Today, tourists can wander
through the cobbled streets of the old quarter peeking into the gate of the old
British consulate which was rebuilt following its destruction by fire caused by
an angry mob in 1889. Cafés and restaurants now checker this preserved part of
the city. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ez9xLvs75I/ULLvGwRAReI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/S3MEh0k6l-U/s1600/Jianyuan+garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ez9xLvs75I/ULLvGwRAReI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/S3MEh0k6l-U/s320/Jianyuan+garden.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A reminder of Zhenjiang's and China's tense relationship with foreigners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fAAxta6JFHw/ULL1BCngpTI/AAAAAAAAA00/QgN8SfwhvoQ/s1600/Coolieresting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fAAxta6JFHw/ULL1BCngpTI/AAAAAAAAA00/QgN8SfwhvoQ/s320/Coolieresting.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A coolie in Zhenjiang during the time of Pearl's childhood.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3WUzHUl2_4/ULL1D6FGGgI/AAAAAAAAA08/RLudx5ZhrHk/s1600/with+locals.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Sipping a coffee in an open-air café in the restored
Jianyuan Gardens, I was bemused by the irony of countless tourists snapping a
picture of the apparently rare sighting of a foreign tourist visiting the
hometown of one of Zhenjiang’s most famous former residents. It is said as a
little girl, Pearl herself was unaware of her difference from her Chinese
brethren until she was about four and a half years old. Instructed to tuck in
her blonde hair into a cap, she was told that only black hair and eyes were
normal. Feeling slightly uncomfortable myself with being the subject of several
random strangers’ photographs, I then imagined what a frightful and crazy scene
it must have been for locals back in the 1890’s when a little blonde haired,
blue eyed, pale skinned apparition effortlessly spoke flawless, local Zhenjiang
dialect. I suppose the feeling of “otherness” and being a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">waiguoren</i>, or a foreigner, was a feeling Pearl Buck must have
struggled with throughout her formative years growing up in China. Or did she? Maybe
she didn’t blame any of her Chinese brethren for seeing her differently. She
understood that China was going through a transformation throughout her years
there and also likely understood the mixed feelings and curiosity many Chinese
felt towards foreigners. Intimately understanding the Chinese experience and
mindset, Pearl Buck was in a unique position to help foreigners new to China
understand Chinese perspectives. It was ultimately this gift that is forever
memorialized in her writing. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes my Chinese students ask me to recommend English
language novels for them to improve their vocabulary and to help them learn
about American culture. Perhaps they find it strange when I recommend a novel
from someone who wrote so intimately about their own part of the world. I think
younger Chinese readers will especially be touched by the careful, detailed and
loving portrayal of different aspects of Chinese life from before their time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a wonderful gift Pearl Buck’s writing
and legacy have left not only to readers from outside of China, but to China
itself.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3WUzHUl2_4/ULL1D6FGGgI/AAAAAAAAA08/RLudx5ZhrHk/s1600/with+locals.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G3WUzHUl2_4/ULL1D6FGGgI/AAAAAAAAA08/RLudx5ZhrHk/s320/with+locals.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of today's locals from Zhenjiang. These boys followed us in the late afternoon until we reached the Peal Buck Museum. As they wandered into the museum, they curiously looked at the pictures, clothing and writings of a young Pearl Buck.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />
<b>Pearl Buck places to visit:</b></div>
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<b>In China:</b></div>
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<a href="http://zhenjiang.jiangsu.net/attraction/premier.php?name=Pearl_S._Buck_Former_Residence&city=Zhenjiang&id=143" target="_blank"><i><b>Pearl S. Buck Former Residence and the Pearl S. Buck Museum</b></i></a><br />
6 Runzhou Shan Lu, Zhenjiang<br />
The museum is located right next to the residence. Both the residence and the museum
are free of charge. Visiting hours of both attractions are 9 am- 11:30 and
1:30-5. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://pearlsbuckinternational.blogspot.com/2012/06/nanjing-university-grand-opening-of.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Pearl S Buck Memorial House</b></i></a><br />
Nanjing University, Nanjing<br />
Nanjing University recently turned Pearl Buck’s home during her years in
Nanjing into a memorial. Pearl lived with her husband and two daughters in
Nanjing from 1920 – 1933. She taught English literature at both Nanjing University
and the National Central University (which is now Southeast University in
Nanjing). I have yet to find and visit this location but shall update with any
information I find!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Pearl S. Buck Summer Villa</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lu Shan or Mount Lu<br />
Pearl, her siblings and her parents spent many summers on Mount Lu to escape
the oppressive heat in Zhenjiang at the summer villa Pearl’s father built in northern
Jianxi Province. It is apparently at this summer residence where Pearl penned <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>In the US:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.psbi.org/page.aspx?pid=374" target="_blank"><i><b>Pearl S. Buck Residence</b></i></a><br />
<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">520 Dublin
Road, Perkasie, PA 18944<br />
In Bucks County outside of Philadelphia, this is where Pearl Buck resided with
her second husband Richard Walsh and with their growing family of adopted
children from 1935 until her death in 1973. Here you can visit her grave, tour
the home and also learn about her work in starting the first international, interracial
adoption agency and in advocating for an end to discrimination and poverty of
children from Asian countries. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.pearlsbuckbirthplace.com/" target="_blank"><i><b>The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace</b></i></a><br />
U.S. 219<br />
Hillsboro, West Virginia 24946<br />
Born in Hillsboro, West Virginia in the hills of Appalachian Mountain, Pearl
moved to China at the age of three months in 1892. </div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal">
For Further Reading:</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you can’t visit any of the Pearl Buck residences, enjoy
these books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Good_Earth.html?id=L9rsk_f_UwEC" target="_blank"><i><b>The Good Earth by Pearl Buck</b></i></a><br />
First published in 1931, this book then went on to get Pearl Buck both a
Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Although the Good Earth
itself is probably Pearl Buck’s most famous novel, it is the first of a
trilogy. The other two volumes in the trilogy include <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sons</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A House Divided</i>. This is a good place to start with her literature. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Hilary-Spurling/41718028/books" target="_blank"><i><b>Pearl Buck in China: Journey to the Good Earth by Hilary Spurling</b></i></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Published in 2010, this biography of Pearl Buck gives intimate details about
Pearl Buck’s life in China as well as her complex relationship with the country
following her return to the US and in the following decades. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://ancheemin.com/BlurbForPearlofChina.htm" target="_blank"><i><b>Pearl of China by Anchee Min</b></i> </a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming of age during the Cultural Revolution, Chinese author Anchee Min was
instructed to denounce Pearl Buck in school in the late 1960’s. Years later
after having moved to the US and after being a published author herself, Min
finally read a copy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Good Earth</i>.
Moved by Pearl Buck’s intimate portrayal of the peasant experience in China,
Min set out to visit Pearl’s hometown and get first-hand accounts of Pearl and
her life in Zhenjiang. What came out from it was this novel which is a
fictionalized account of Pearl Buck’s life from the perspective of her
childhood and lifelong friend.</div>
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<br /></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-13547019814408874842012-08-22T22:09:00.000-07:002013-05-06T23:45:32.483-07:00Beauty is in the eye of the beholder <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<h2 class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Coming to terms with height, size, curves and beauty ideals in China </b></h2>
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<b>Walking tall</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rNc-RCJatRY/UDWl319hGJI/AAAAAAAAAts/D5jzYV8jU-E/s1600/Attack-50-Foot-Woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rNc-RCJatRY/UDWl319hGJI/AAAAAAAAAts/D5jzYV8jU-E/s320/Attack-50-Foot-Woman.jpg" width="220" /></a></b></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A slight exaggeration of how I feel in China sometimes.</b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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One thing I struggle with living in China is my size. Living
in a country of 1.3 billion people, you would think there would be a diverse
range in sizes and heights in China. I’m 1.78 meters or 5’11 and compared to
most Chinese women, quite tall. There are some tall Chinese women but most of
them don’t have the same physique or curves common among women from other
corners of the world. This has led me to be very self-conscious at times of my
size and physique. Sometimes people may meet me while we’re sitting down.
Suddenly when we both stand and we’re walking, there’s a brief moment of
confusion and then clarity as they take in the fact that I’m actually a tall
person. This especially surprises Chinese men. Attending a conference
in Beijing last October, I befriended a couple of nice male colleagues from
China and Pakistan. Following the conference, the three of us decided to visit Tienanmen Square and suddenly for the first time as we were walking around, my
new friend Mao saw me in a new light and said, “Oh, you’re quite tall.”
Meanwhile, I’m reenacting the scene in my head from the classic Frankenstein
movie when he realizes for the first time that he’s different and exclaims in
agony, “I’m a monster!” </div>
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<br /></div>
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At times I feel awkward as a tall woman and when I spot
another tall woman, whether a foreigner or Chinese woman, I feel a sense of kinship
and I want to reach out and cry, “Sister! We’re not alone!” I often wonder
where my tall Chinese sisters find their clothes and on the odd occasion, I
even spot the tall woman with a tall mate. This brings a smile to my face
because I suspect a lot of the time, some of my tall Chinese sisters may be
seen as more freakish and abnormal than myself, a foreign woman from a faraway
land where it’s more common to be tall. The Chinese girlfriend of an American
friend of mine is quite close to me in height. Tall, beautiful and elegant (and
a yoga instructor to boot!), it was mentioned that Chinese men would barely
give her notice or overlook her (or in her case, underlook her). In researching
my last blog posting about dating and courtship in China, I stumbled upon a
point rating system of various aspects single Chinese women should possess in
terms of being attractive and datable and it helped make sense of why this
lovely woman may have been previously overlooked (or in her case, underlooked). Here’s a look at the height
factor in the rating system:</div>
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<u>Height:</u><br />
165-172 (10 pts); 158-164 (8 pts); 172-174 (6 pts); 155-158 (4 pts); 174-176 (1
pt); the rest 0 pts</div>
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<br /></div>
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With this rating system, women clearly should also not be
too short either. The right height seems to guarantee that a woman will not overstep
her boundaries nor be lacking in stature (my height isn’t even on the scale, so
0 points for me here. Booooo). </div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnRhBnp8mxY/UDWnj_-fwqI/AAAAAAAAAt8/SP6VoNAGsZo/s1600/bound+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnRhBnp8mxY/UDWnj_-fwqI/AAAAAAAAAt8/SP6VoNAGsZo/s320/bound+feet.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Chinese beauty ideals of long ago: Bound feet.</b> From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I wonder whether the idealism of a middle or smaller size
and stature is also deeply seated in Chinese history. After all, well into the
20<sup>th</sup> century, daughters of wealthy families as well as the first
born daughters in poorer families had their feet bound so that they could be
brought up as ladies. This ancient practice tightly wound and bound the feet of
young girls so that they would not be able to grow further. The tight, small
feet were always wrapped and resembled lotus buds when covered in ornate, pointy
silk shoes. Such feet were even erotic since they would rarely be revealed.
Additionally, it was very difficult for these women with bound-feet to move or be
actively involved in any activity without the help of other family members, servants
and especially men. Being practically immobilized, these women also could not partake
in many social activities or politics, banking and other work where women
should not have been heard during those times. True, perhaps there were taller
women with bound feet but their stature couldn’t have been that great either if
they were limited in their movements and mostly restricted to chairs (and
perhaps the feet binding stunted the growth in the rest of their body as well).</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Today, the smaller
more petite women in China (and of course in other parts of the world too!) may
still be symbols of allure, vulnerability as well as be seen as “fragile”
beings who know their place. Taller women, however, will be at eye level or
taller than their male colleagues, friends and mates and may look down on him
figuratively and literally. Even if the man with the taller woman is
comfortable in his own skin and with his manliness in spite of his taller companion,
there is still the societal views and hurtful comments of others to contend
with. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you imagine the “spectacle” of
a taller woman walking with a shorter man, whether the two are friends,
colleagues or in a relationship? In a country where saving face is so
important, you can only imagine the talk.</div>
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<br /></div>
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On the other hand, maybe I’ve got it all wrong. Tall woman
are not seen as monsters as much as unattainable. Chinese-American author Ha
Jin helped me realize recently in one of his short stories that we tall women don’t need
to feel like we’re oddities but that perhaps secretly we’re envied and revered for
our height. Marjin, a male character in Jin’s story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Broken</i> pined for the attention and even the recognition of the tall
female basketball players at his work camp. Ha Jin describes the idealized tall
woman as seen through the eyes of Marjin.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“She looked healthy and sturdy, with a thin,
white neck, her hair coiled like a pair of earphones. If he were to marry, he
would have a tall wife, so that his children would be taller than himself and
would have no difficulty in finding a spouse when they grew up.” (Ha Jin,
2000). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“He admired her long fingers,
large feet, shapely bust, and strong legs. Whenever her team played on the
company’s sports ground, he would go and watch. He liked seeing the girls in
blue shorts and red T-shirts. He felt attracted to almost every one of them. If
only he were four inches taller.” (Ha Jin, 2000).</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Thanks to this different and fresh perspective, I feel I can
now walk taller and more proudly when I’m in China and other parts of the world
where I tower over others. It has also made me grateful to my Chinese friends,
especially my Chinese male friends who walk unfazed next to me and help me feel
more accepted in my host country in spite of my uncommon proportions. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Curves ahead</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In addition to my height, I am also self-conscious of my curves
while I’m in China. Occasionally I may see taller Chinese women but I rarely
encounter curvy Chinese women. Am I imagining things when I write on the blackboard
with my back to my students and suddenly hear snickering in a quiet classroom?
Is it in my head or are they laughing at my larger than normal behind? Should I
let it get to me in a group yoga class when I tower over everyone else and the
mirrors on all walls magnify my hips and 3D rump? Is it crazy that I am
comforted by Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby got Back” to remind me that curves and larger
butts are embraced and loved at least in other corners of the world? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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I do realize that even though I am quiet self-conscious of
my body proportions, most women and men probably struggle with some aspect of
their body. I applaud fashion magazines in the US and elsewhere that now use
curvy, plus models and women of all different proportions to represent the full
spectrum of sizes. Some magazines are even refusing to air-brush and photo shop
models’ and celebrities’ blemishes and flaws. However, I think China and
probably other East Asian countries have a long way to go before they take such
steps in their fashion magazines and on TV. Images of waifish, emaciated models
are splashed all over the magazines on newsstands, on TV and just in day-to-day
life. Airlines, the high-speed train company and shops recruit women who are
under a certain age, attractive and very trim (what a throw-back to the 1950’s!!).
Surely many of my students and friends must also feel overwhelmed and it is no
wonder if we feel self-conscious about some parts of our bodies.</div>
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<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Modesty and beauty
ideals</b></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4fFflOjg4LQ/UDWpeFIWEHI/AAAAAAAAAuE/J6JcTPnX9iM/s1600/beijing+auto+show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4fFflOjg4LQ/UDWpeFIWEHI/AAAAAAAAAuE/J6JcTPnX9iM/s320/beijing+auto+show.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Too busty and indecent for modern China?</b> From <a href="http://autos.in.msn.com/autonews/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6032020" target="_blank">MSN Auto</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to modesty and what parts of the body are
revealed and concealed, it’s quite strange and contradictory in China. Recently
while visiting me in China, my sister confessed to feeling a little insecure
with wearing a modest t-shirt by US standards but low-cut in comparison to what
she had observed Chinese women wearing. “None of the Chinese women are showing
any skin above their chest. All of their shirts cover them all the way to their
neck. I feel so immodest here.” Before my sister had mentioned it, I had never
noticed it. Then Vivian, my Chinese tutor, had pointed out that a lot of foreign,
Western women wear tank-tops, and strappy, low cut shirts. I have wondered, if
we’re not at a bar or a nightclub, how are we women perceived if we show a little
cleavage and bust? The denouncement of some loosely clad models at the 2012
Beijing International Automotive Exhibition by the Capital Ethics Development
Office would indicate that a lot of the local Chinese folk don’t look too
kindly to such attire and dressing. Dubbed the “breast show” by many, the auto
show featured models who stirred up a lot of positive and negative attention by
wearing very low cut and revealing dresses. Critics of the show and the models’
indiscretion said that “China’s traditional values as well as society’s
tolerance of such behavior” were not being considered (Thaindian News, 2012). </div>
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<br /></div>
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Perhaps Western women showing skin and some bust while
walking around Nanjing or elsewhere in China may be slightly frowned upon. But perhaps
some locals may expect it of us and may believe that we inherently have loose
ways. Chinese women, however, who show some bust and skin on the upper part of
the body are probably more likely to be abhorred as it is seen as an affront to
Chinese culture and values. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other hand, how can one explain the ads in taxi cabs
for breast enlargement? If showing some cleavage and breast is considered
indecent, why would Chinese women want to increase their bust size?
At the same time, how can one explain the contradiction of so many beautiful,
leggy Chinese women walking around in short skirts, shorts and in tall heels?
Living on a college campus, I’m surprised by how many young women I see donning
such short attire above their legs while still covering up most of their upper
part of their body (and if any of my male colleagues are reading this, I know
you are smiling and nodding your head right now). I’m not the least bit
offended by the leggy ladies- just surprised.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSffnOPaPK4/UDWtOkNNsXI/AAAAAAAAAuU/Gxzfbi3xs14/s1600/taylor+swift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PSffnOPaPK4/UDWtOkNNsXI/AAAAAAAAAuU/Gxzfbi3xs14/s320/taylor+swift.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.centives.net/S/2012/fashion-magazines-in-china/" target="_blank">How influential are Western beauty ideals?</a> </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For an entire generation now, China has been open to the
outside world. The generation born post 1980 has grown up exposed to movies, TV
and fashion from outside of China as well as foreigners who bring ideals of
beauty and fashion from abroad into China. On the one hand, this has slowly
helped create a younger population that may be open to different ideals of
beauty and even more tolerant of and liberal with the parameters of modesty. On
the other hand, I believe this has created entirely new parameters of beauty ideals
which have now set the bar even higher than the preexisting traditional
Chinese ideals of beauty. This generation of younger people must be even more
self-conscious of their flaws than previous generations. Now there are young
women and men complaining about their weight and their shape thanks not only to
the onslaught of global fashion magazines but also with the arrival of American-
styled gyms and fitness centers as well as weight loss programs (which probably
came shortly after the arrival of foreign fast-food chains). In the subway stations
of larger cities, life size posters of famous Western models and actresses
promote expensive European cosmetics that make you look younger, more refined
and whiter. Foreign supermarkets and drugstores are well stocked with Oil of
Olay and Nivea moisturizers with skin-whitening agents in them to keep skin
white (heaven forbid people think you ever spent time in the sun working
outdoors). Opticians are well stocked with inexpensive blue and purple tinted contact
lenses. Hair salons and stylists are ready to dye customers’ hair blonde and
other lighter colors and are up to date with the latest styles, many of which
seem like outrageous dos inspired by 1980’s British pop-music bands. When I
look around me and see young men and women squeezing into tight clothing,
talking about skipping lunch since they’re on a diet, longing for breast
implants, donning crystal blue tinted contacts and press-on eyelids and
blonde-dyed hair and skin-whitened faces, I question whether I as a foreign
woman am contributing to the problem of self-consciousness rather than being a
victim myself. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w6i-9oWuVo8/UDWrFcLda6I/AAAAAAAAAuM/FUFqUZzVQU4/s1600/skin+whitening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w6i-9oWuVo8/UDWrFcLda6I/AAAAAAAAAuM/FUFqUZzVQU4/s320/skin+whitening.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Skin whitening moisturizer for men. Whiter skin is a status and wealth symbol.</b> Photo from<a href="http://justincalderon.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/introducing-nivea-skin-whitening-cream-for-men/" target="_blank"> J. Calderon</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Size matters: Finding
clothes</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to being painfully aware and conscious of my height
and curves while in China, I am also frustrated with the ironic challenge of
finding clothes or shoes in my size. The obvious irony is that so many of my
clothes that I stock up in the US are actually made in China. I sometimes think
it would be great to cut out the middle man and just go directly to the factory
where my clothes are made, thank the women and men who have left their faraway
village in Central China at age 17 to take on this crappy job of toiling to make
my clothes, take them out to dinner and then strike a bargain where I buy
directly from them and pay them a suitable salary for their time and handiwork.
But alas, most of those clothes are boxed up and put on the next shipment to
Seattle to help fit the masses of women my size in the US.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A typical saunter into a clothing or shoe shop goes
something like this (I’m going to call it a saunter because I don’t actively go
on shopping sprees since it’s pretty pointless). I eye a cute top or pair of
pants or shoes in a window and then have a little glimmer of hope that just
maybe, on the odd chance they’ll have that XXXL waiting just for me- because
obviously the shop too hasn’t found the large woman of their dreams to offload
the XXXL item onto yet. On seeing desired item, I gingerly approach the shop
attendant and ask in broken Chinese, “Hi, do you have big sizes?” which is typically followed by the loud, screeching response of “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meiyou!!!”</i> which means “Don’t have!” Sometimes all I have to do it walk
into a shop and before the words can even get out of my own mouth, comes the
ubiquitous “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Meiyou!”.</i> However, I do
have to give credit to some shop attendants. Many of them are very well
meaning and want to help. Shopping for a bra one day, I think they were in the
depths of the back store room with mining hats for about 15 minutes wading
through cobwebs to try to retrieve a rare size. Another time, I happened upon a
sidewalk sale of outdoor clothing (the new trend among the growing wealthy
class of Chinese). I had an entire coterie of sale attendants running around
picking out possible shirts that would fit me. Yes, an entire team serving my
needs going through racks trying to find the odd XXL shirts just for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">moi</i>. I have to say- I felt pretty
special- like I had my own personal style team working for me. One of the
members of the team was even delegated to the men’s section where she found a
nice pair of XXXL men’s cargo pants for me. I’m happy to say I walked away with
a nice purchase that day with two new tops and those men’s pants (that I even
got complements on in Seattle- so good job team!). Another day recently, I
successfully found a shoe store that had overstock of some shoes for the US
market. Women’s shoe sizes 9, 10 and 11. When I spotted “the one”- yes, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> pair of shoes waiting just for me-
the exact style I was looking for and in my size and the only pair, a little
tear rolled down my cheek and Etta James’ song “At last” rang in my head (On an
interesting note, I saw yesterday the same pair of shoes at an outlet store in Virginia being
sold for about twice the price I paid for them in China).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>What has also saved
me was my friend Lucy’s discovery of British department store Mark’s and Spencer’s
in Shanghai where there seems to be an abundance of “normal” size clothing and
lots of other tall, curvy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">laowai</i>
women stocking up on underwear and bras before returning to their remote cities
in China. Recently a friend Ellie also recommended a tailor in Nanjing who has
since made a couple of clothing items for me. I will be bringing back catalogs
of clothing from the US and will have him design my outfits for the fall. Oh,
what’s that LL Bean? You’re out of the denim Western skirt size 12 until October?
No problem. My tailor Mr. Chen down the street will whip one up for me when I
get back to the neighborhood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Being comfortable in
my own skin</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ivLNRxWu7dI/UDWuwCW0D3I/AAAAAAAAAuk/JfpiN1t_dII/s1600/jenny+steph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ivLNRxWu7dI/UDWuwCW0D3I/AAAAAAAAAuk/JfpiN1t_dII/s320/jenny+steph.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Coming to terms with my unique size and proportions. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With an added ego boost of being surrounded by fellow tall
and curvaceous women back in the US this summer, I feel ready to face another
year as the tall American lady in Nanjing. I’ve also come to terms with my
height and curves. Even though I strive to eat well, exercise and live a
healthy life, my body is inevitably going to take the shape and form that is
its destiny. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve got my age as well as
my genes to thank for that. With family this summer, I realized that the tall and
curvy proportioned body I inhabit is a gift from my mother as well as my
father. I see pictures of fellow Merkens’ women- my grandmother, aunts and
female cousins (and now nieces!) and get emotional thinking about our distinct
form and our connected kinship. I’m comforted by this and it makes me feel
close to these incredible women in my family- even if I’m on a distant
continent and experiencing my unique body and its imperfections alone there. I’m
going to try and embrace my figure now and flaunt it rather than hide it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One last silver lining to all of this is that I am in the
position to be a positive role model to some of my students when it comes to
promoting self-awareness and body image. One day one of my students reminded me
that I had previously told her not to worry about her body image and weight
when she had contemplated skipping lunch and dieting. I suppose I had told her
that as a woman, it’s inevitable that the body will begin to change and take on womanly features such as childbearing hips. I must have told her that she can look at her mother
and know that will likely be her destined form. “Isn’t your mother a lovely
woman?” I must have asked her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Realizing
these things, she became more comfortable in her own skin. She said, “I thought
before I was too fat. Now, I am ok. I changed my mind because of what you told
me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amen to that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><b>Further Reading and Perusal:</b></u> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>About steps US teen fashion magazine Seventeen has taken to not photo edit models' pictures:</b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
Botelho, G. (2012, July
05). <i><a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2012-07-05/us/us_seventeen-photoshopping_1_photoshopped-magazine-unrealistic-beauty/3?_s=PM:US" target="_blank">Seventeen magazine vows not to alter images, to 'celebrate every kind of beauty'</a>.</i> </div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>About young women from across China who come to the city in search of work in factories:</b><br />Chang, L. (2008). <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Girls-Village-Changing-China/dp/0385520182/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345691642&sr=1-1&keywords=factory+girls" target="_blank">Factory Girls- From Village to City in a Changing China</a>.</i> New York: Spiegel and
Grau.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>Images and commentary about recruitment of flight attendants in China:</b><br />China Daily. (2012,
June 08). <i><a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2012-06/08/content_15487570.htm" target="_blank">Beautiful flight attendants of Chinese airlines</a>.</i> </span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<b>Rating system for the ideal Chinese men and women:</b><br />
Fauna. (2009, April
21). <a href="http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/stories/leftover-men-leftover-women-rating-surveys.html" target="_blank"><i>Leftover Men &Leftover Women Rating Surveys</i></a>. From China Smack. <i></i></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>Short stories about segments of Chinese society by Chinese-American author Ha Jin:</b><br />Jin, H. (2000). <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridegroom-Stories-Ha-Jin/dp/0375724931/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345690432&sr=1-2&keywords=the+bridegroom" target="_blank">The Bridegroom- Stories</a>.</i> New York: Pantheon Books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>For more insight into Chinese people's obsession with skin whitening creams and ligh skin:</b><br />Levin, D. (2012, August
3). <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/world/asia/in-china-sun-protection-can-include-a-mask.html?_r=1" target="_blank">Beach Essentials in China: Flip-Flops, a Towel and a Ski Mask</a>.</i> From New York Times.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>Interviews with some of China's last bound-foot women:</b><br />Montlake, S. (2009,
November 13). <i><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125800116737444883.html" target="_blank">Bound by History: The Last of China's 'Lotus-Feet' Ladies</a>.</i> From Wall Street Journal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<b>Chinese cultural ethics clashing with the images of busty Chinese models at the Beijing car show:</b> </div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
MSN Autos. (2012, April 30). <a href="http://autos.in.msn.com/autonews/article.aspx?cp-documentid=6032020" target="_blank"><i>Beijing auto show models denounced over attires</i></a>. </div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
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<div class="MsoBibliography">
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<div class="MsoBibliography">
Thaindian News. (2012,
April 26). <i><a href="http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/sexy-models-at-china-auto-show-spark-debate_100614054.html" target="_blank">Sexy models at China auto show spark debate</a>.</i> Retrieved August
22, 2012, from Thaindian News:
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/sexy-models-at-china-auto-show-spark-debate_100614054.html</div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><b>More on foot binding:</b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoBibliography">
Wikipedia. (n.d.). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_binding" target="_blank"><i>Footbinding</i></a>. </div>
Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-38040894439664159302012-07-31T16:24:00.000-07:002012-07-31T16:24:16.526-07:00Modern Chinese Courtship. Is it really that modern?Now that I have lived in China for two years, I have had the opportunity to witness how the practice of dating and the relationship dynamic between the two sexes works. Still, I feel I need to make a preemptive disclaimer to this blog posting so that no one gets the wrong idea. My reflection on modern Chinese courtship is by no means meant to be a criticism of how things are done nor is it reflective of how it works in all relationships in this country of 1.3 billion people. I live in an affluent, modern city in China and the people I have the most contact with are students as well as well-to-do Chinese- many of whom have traveled outside the country and been exposed to ideas and lifestyles of different cultures. I am taking a critical look at how I understand courtship to work in China (albeit from a limited perspective) and am sharing my honest curiosity with how it is different from the expectations and experiences of my own cultural background in this very day and age. In learning about how dating practices and courtship roll here, I have found myself sometimes perplexed as well as offended (and I am not proud of this). But I am making an effort to understand and be sensitive to how and why the practice must work a certain way in China. As an outsider who is also not in a relationship with a Chinese person, I have the luxury to be curious about it and know that this will not affect me personally. Still, I think there are things I can learn about the traditional expectations in Chinese courtship.<br />
<br />
<b>Part of the plan</b><br />
<br />
Starting from a young age, many Chinese boys and girls seem to have their lives mapped out for them so that intended milestones will be reached at the right times in their near as well as distant future. The focus of the first 18 years of a young person’s life is education, education and education! From a young age, Chinese boys and girls attend private tutoring and classes in the evenings and weekends to get ahead in math, Chinese and English. Activities common in many American teenagers’ lives such as socializing and dating, part-time work, participation in sports, volunteering in the local community, or just loafing around on the couch in the afternoon with a bag of Doritos while watching Scooby Doo are discouraged and most likely shelved unless they contribute to a child’s chance of getting into university (which they don’t if the child attends university in China since the college entrance exam is the only determinant for admission into Chinese universities). The push to learn all the time will hopefully ensure that son or daughter will perform well enough on the college entrance examination at the end of high school to gain a coveted spot at a university which will then ensure employment in better paid jobs post university and will therefore also provide mom and dad and son or daughter with future financial security. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ryTLLKxwu4s/UBgQGyVkPeI/AAAAAAAAAsE/Ovso1EqiiAI/s1600/class.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ryTLLKxwu4s/UBgQGyVkPeI/AAAAAAAAAsE/Ovso1EqiiAI/s320/class.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Female students on one side of the room</b><br />
<b>and the male students on the other.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A secondary result of Chinese teenagers neither having time nor being allowed to date while in high school results in what I call the “late bloomer syndrome” among Chinese university students. Whenever I have new first year students in my classes, it’s not uncommon to see the female students sit on one side of the room and the male students sit together on another side of the room. When I encourage students to branch out and work with new students, some even being of the opposite sex, there is a lot of juvenile giggling and reluctance that reminds me of the attitude of 10 and 11 year olds in the US. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f4Q4pNoaoto/UBgZP75HZzI/AAAAAAAAAs0/0er1fcHlS9A/s1600/prince+charming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f4Q4pNoaoto/UBgZP75HZzI/AAAAAAAAAs0/0er1fcHlS9A/s320/prince+charming.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>And they lived happily ever after..</b>(Picture courtesy ChinaSmack)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Many of my female students seem to have a naïve, happily ever after, Hollywood notion of romance and dating where boy meets girl, boy and girl like each other, boy and girl kiss and say they love each another, and then boy and girl live happily ever after. Ideally, boy is also <i>gao fu shuai</i> or tall, rich and handsome.<br />
<br />
I’m still stumped with what the male students want and envision. Some seem to feign disinterest and have an air of “I’m too cool for you” (but that may just be how they are to me, their teacher). Others seem willing to meet a nice girl and fulfill her fairytale boy-meets girl fantasy. <br />
<br />
Some of my first year students do end up pairing up with one another. I have known some of my female students to confide in me that they hide their secret of having a boyfriend from their parents. The result of mom and dad finding out is either that they will not be pleased and demand an immediate break-up or they may expect things to quickly get serious between daughter and her boyfriend. Considering it’s the first time dating for some of these young adults, why shouldn’t they be able to enjoy it and savor it or even wallow in pity if there is eventual heartbreak, without the meddling and interference of mom and dad or others?<br />
<br />
There can be complications for young people trying to date in a rather traditional society. Like in many countries, if you are a college student, you will share a rather cramped dorm room with two or three other students and the dorm will only have room for two or three bunk beds, desks and clothes, not to mention that the dorm entrances are strictly guarded by matronly aunties who will not permit the opposite sex to enter even to work on an assignment. Young couples who want to get some alone time (if you get my drift) will have to get a little creative. This has led, for example, to the unfortunate event of a young couple at my university getting caught on film in an indecent and uncompromising situation (the video briefly went viral on Youku, the Chinese version of Youtube). It is also not uncommon for me to see students smooching in the dark corners of the courtyard in front of my apartment building when it is dark at night. Near the university campuses, it is also common to see little old ladies conspicuously holding up small signs advertising rooms that can be rented by the hour. <br />
<br />
The birds and the bees being a taboo and uncomfortable topic and there likely being no sex-ed in schools may also result in some unplanned pregnancies. This can have hugely damaging consequences for the female, leading to a tarnished reputation for not only her but also her family. To capitalize on this, there is no shortage of advertisements and signs for “women clinics” where typically either a smart, professional and confident looking male doctor poses in the photo for the clinic or a sweet, doe-eyed, rosy-cheeked nurse gently smiles and welcomes you to stop by the facilities to resolve your problem. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The dating game</b><br />
<br />
The so called “dating game” in China does not seem to be a game at all. In fact courtship and the intended result- marriage, are all part of the mapped out plan which will affect not only the individuals who are dating but their families as well. China is very much a family-centric culture and various rites of passage such as dating need to be considered from the standpoint of the family. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The Chinese definition and notion of dating are very different from those of American culture. It’s my observation that the amount of time from when two go on a first date with one another and then become a defined couple is rather short. Therefore, if I were to “date” a Chinese person and use the Chinese logic for dating, I would seriously have to consider whether I want to possibly build a future with this person BEFORE I even went on my first date with him. Whereas my American frame of reference for and concept of dating means I see a person a few separate times, maybe even over the course of several months with the goal of determining whether I like the person enough to get more serious or whether I just want to have fun and even see other people; Chinese etiquette seems to dictate that one or two dates justifies a full on, serious committed relationship. True- I may have a slightly skewed perspective with no first-hand experience to speak of. I do find it sweet, well-meaning but also comical though when I mention to a Chinese friend that I have dated someone a couple of times and one of the immediate responses is something like “Great! When are you going to get married to each other?” whereas non-Chinese friends may only delicately ask after about six to eight months, “So, how are things going with what’s his name? Are you guys an item now? Are things getting serious?” Six to eight months seems like a lifetime as far as Chinese etiquette goes. I would think the modern Western way of dating may be viewed as immoral, loose and even to some extent pointless if you’re not considering marriage on the first date.
<br />
<br />
With many younger Chinese people, I notice a sense of urgency to find a mate and get married. I believe this is because of the mapped out plan that has been drafted for them at a young age in order to ensure security and wellbeing for her or him and more importantly her or his family. As I mentioned, certain milestones may be expected to be reached by a certain age. After the first milestone of university or employment is achieved, the next step in the equation is starting a family so that mom and dad can soon ease into retirement, be cared for by their son and daughter-in-law, and gaily spend their twilight years with a cherubic grandchild. I am in awe and admiration of Chinese sons’ and daughters’ strong sense of duty and honor to fulfilling this commitment to their parents. Filial piety and contributing a part in the family unit is a deeply entrenched part of the Chinese mindset and has been for thousands of years.<br />
<br />
An activity I recently did with some of my students demonstrates how important marriage and starting a family is to some young Chinese adults themselves. Some students played brokers and sold guarantees for example for happiness, good health, longevity, adventure, career, family, as well as marriage to the clients who had a fictional sum of money to buy the guarantees. Students were allowed to bargain and negotiate the terms of the guarantees. Indeed, the guarantees that sold the most and without extra negotiation were the marriage and family guarantees. I was even surprised that the career guarantees didn’t sell very well. The happiness guarantee, for example, also didn’t sell as well because students assumed that if you had a guarantee for a good marriage and family, then happiness would be a given. A career was not deemed as necessary if a stable, happy marriage provided a sense of purpose and security instead. Guarantees for patience or adventure, for example, hardly sold at all. <br />
<b><br />The battle of the sexes: Who wears the pants?</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w5qdN4tbsaw/UBgUw7o7tDI/AAAAAAAAAsY/6xNUJ4RqqLo/s1600/boys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w5qdN4tbsaw/UBgUw7o7tDI/AAAAAAAAAsY/6xNUJ4RqqLo/s320/boys.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Guys- do you have your real estate in place?</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Admittedly, I do cringe sometimes when I hear young Chinese friends lament that they’re getting too old at 25 or 26 and should now have been married. I believe the pressure is felt greatly among males (and this may include Western males if they have a Chinese girlfriend). Chinese males are expected to provide and offer security to any prospective girlfriends who will hopefully become future wives. The security comes in the form of real estate property for a future home. If you are a young Chinese, eligible bachelor you better hope that you have enough money saved up to buy that house because some eligible bachelorettes will not give you the time of day otherwise. Some young men’s parents will already have been saving for him so that the property can be built and ready when their son comes of age for courtship. I have known both Chinese men and Western men dating Chinese ladies who have been pressured about the house issue pretty early on in their relationships by both the girlfriend and her parents. Western male friends have told me of being unexpectedly grilled by the parents of girlfriends or even of girls with whom they have informally gone on a couple of dates on how much money they earn, whether they own any property outside of China, and on their future plans and ambitions. At times I think my Western brothers have it made in China but this is one issue for which I do not envy them. I am happy to escape such inquisitions.<br />
<br />
In addition to the property issue, Chinese men do seem to be protective and very doting of their girls and I do believe it’s frequently expected of them. Don’t be surprised to see the occasional Chinese guy carrying his girlfriend’s purse, tying her shoe or buying her expensive jewelry or a mobile phone to show his affection. I have mixed feelings about such acts. Personally, I prefer to carry my own purse or bag. That being said, I can see how some women may find it chivalrous, considerate and caring to have their boyfriend or husband carry their bag and buy them something pretty or useful.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnb6kU0S9eo/UBgXnjEEOdI/AAAAAAAAAss/H755IJ2waGc/s1600/guypurse.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnb6kU0S9eo/UBgXnjEEOdI/AAAAAAAAAss/H755IJ2waGc/s1600/guypurse.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>That's right, I'm carrying her purse. And??</b><br />
(Pic courtesy of Chinesepeoplehavenostyle) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While it may seem I have described a relationship dynamic where the Chinese woman very much wears the pants and that the man must demonstrate his potential and devotion through small acts such as purse carrying to grand gestures of buying a home, I believe that this is an important step in giving the man the upper hand. I think many Chinese men feel that their manhood is being preserved by playing the protective and breadwinning role. For some men it may also be shameful to “marry up” to a woman who is more educated and comes from a wealthier family. Some men may even have power and insecurity issues if the woman is taller (the height and income things contribute to my theory as to why it is so rare to see Chinese men together with foreign women).<br />
<br />
Chinese women also experience pressure from the fact that age 25 and older is sometimes considered “over the hill”. It sadly seems that the closer a woman approaches to 30, the chances of her being suitable for dating and marriage begin to wane. Recently, I heard a nightmare story about a Chinese woman who was approaching her late 20’s. Her well-meaning parents were so distraught that their daughter would miss any opportunity to marry and made arrangements for her to marry a man who apparently came from lower standing. The daughter consented to marry this man she hardly knew. The marriage sadly fell to pieces shortly thereafter. The husband was so ashamed of his lower standing and apparently was downright cruel and nasty to his wife. They are now divorced and apparently the woman is now living back with her parents who owning up to their well-meaning mistake, take full responsibility for their daughter again. <br />
<br />
I understand that divorce is also very much stigmatized in some parts of the country and within some social circles. This is particularly an issue for Chinese women who sadly may be viewed as “damaged goods” if divorced (and I realize that this is not only a concern in China). But therein lies the logic of a dowry or the insistence of real estate for a woman when she marries. A hefty dowry is a like an insurance policy that financially holds the husband liable to his wife and her family as well as their honor and reputation. At the same time, if the marriage should fail, at least she may have a little nest egg to support her and her parents if she cannot easily marry again. The belief (and sadly sometimes the truth) is that a man can more easily marry while a woman cannot, especially given the stigma that may follow her as a divorcee. <br />
<br />
Divorce rates in China have increased in recent years. A 2011 article in the China Daily cited that divorces in China increased by 17% in the first three months of 2011from a year earlier (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/05/china-divorce-rate-up_n_858156.html" target="_blank">as cited in Huffington Post</a>). Before 2001, couples had to get approval from their employers for a divorce. But perhaps it is also a sign that it is becoming more acceptable, at least in larger, urban areas. Maybe there’s indeed hope for many of these broken hearted to have a second chance at love and happiness. <br />
<br />
Whether by choice or not, more and more woman are also going the route of the career track first before the husband and mommy track. Such women are said to have “missed the boat” as they pursue fast-tracked careers in business or academia. These successful women, while no longer an anomaly, are thought to be married to their careers and are called <i>sheng nu</i> or left-behind women.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtTLsCuoqQU/UBgaqFYP0rI/AAAAAAAAAs8/6Bq7fRXnPiM/s1600/shengnu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtTLsCuoqQU/UBgaqFYP0rI/AAAAAAAAAs8/6Bq7fRXnPiM/s320/shengnu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>2011 <i>sheng nu</i> anthem lyrics: Hurry move aside and don’t block my way, I also have a car, </b><br />
<b>I also have a house, as well as RMB in the bank</b>. (Picture courtesy Chinasmack)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Making sense of it all</b><br />
<br />
Sometimes I am taken aback with how 1950's it is in even modern, urban China. I may scoff at the pressure Chinese men must endure regarding the property and equity issue but certainly can understand a woman's desire as well as that of her parents' for their daughter to be paired with someone who is financially sound and able to provide for her. As for the <i>sheng nu</i>, they certainly are demonstrating that they can make it on their own without the money and finances of a partner. Perhaps such women can focus then on finding a partner that will be a good companion for them on an emotional and intellectual level. At the end of the day, don't most of us long for a nice companion with whom we can fill our days? The fairytale, happily-ever-after romance so many of my female students long for seems to be the ideal no matter where you are in the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Further Browsing and reading:</b><br /><br />For one perspective of a young Chinese man and his struggles with being an eligible bachelor:<br /><b><a href="http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/stories/marriage-wife-vs-house-apartment-chinese-men.html" target="_blank">Wife vs. House: Chinese Men Discuss What They Can Afford</a></b><br /><br />For a heated discussion about <i>sheng nu</i>:<br /><b><a href="http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/videos/no-car-no-house-song-chinese-leftover-women-version.html" target="_blank">“No Car No House” Song, Chinese Leftover Women Version</a></b><br /><br />What do some young Chinese people look for in a partner?<br /><b><a href="http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/stories/leftover-men-leftover-women-rating-surveys.html" target="_blank">Leftover Men & Leftover Women Rating Surveys</a></b><br /><br />For a look at the decline of marriage in Asia:<br /><b><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21526350" target="_blank">Asia's lonely hearts</a></b>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-8946682809228426082012-05-25T19:29:00.001-07:002012-05-25T19:29:34.677-07:00And this not so little lao wai went to the market<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rxfjm9IiB1M/T8A4tpGMG1I/AAAAAAAAAqc/Ec1Nm28nGlg/s1600/qeue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rxfjm9IiB1M/T8A4tpGMG1I/AAAAAAAAAqc/Ec1Nm28nGlg/s320/qeue.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Customers queuing to buy egg tarts,a popular treat </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iTxdOubqhMk/T8A5UxxsQSI/AAAAAAAAAqk/fEeMEf2yYsM/s1600/bao+zi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iTxdOubqhMk/T8A5UxxsQSI/AAAAAAAAAqk/fEeMEf2yYsM/s320/bao+zi.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steamed <i>bao zi</i></td></tr>
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One of my true cultural experiences this year has been my
weekly or biweekly visit to the local market and shops in my neighborhood. My
local <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cai chang</i> or market is located
underground on the corner of the streets Fujian Lu and Tielubiejie. Upstairs
and outside on the corner, life is a buzzing and bustling. Different kinds of
activity and traffic make up a hierarchy in this intersection. A homeless
couple sits silently and shamefully on the ground staring down at the sidewalk
and refusing to look up as they hold up a tin cup in which passerbys may throw
a few <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jiao</i> or small amounts of paper
money. Typically an older couple, one maybe blind, performs sad mournful music
on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">erhu</i>, a traditional two-string
Chinese violin. Pedestrians saunter by and carry little children with split
pants or pampered and dressed up poodle dogs. Small crowds of people wait in
line on the sidewalk to buy Portuguese egg tarts, steamed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">boa zi</i> (steamed buns filled with meat or vegetables or sweet bean
paste) or KFC style fried chicken. Bicyclists weave their way through the
obstacle course of pulled up cars and loitering pedestrians without being
knocked over by the stealthy, quiet and sneaking-up electric motorbikes. The
mopeds and electric motorbikes, usually carrying at least two people or a heavy
load of timber or twenty heavy boxes that are precariously strapped onto the
vehicle, have a special status in the intersection as they only stop briefly
for drop-offs or pick-ups or may not even stop at all. Mopeds and motorbikes
don’t have to actually stop at red traffic lights and the drivers are extremely
skilled at keeping one hand on the horn of their bike while the other hand
takes control of steering the vehicle ahead into the middle of the intersection
while also maneuvering it around pedestrians and larger vehicles coming from
all different directions. Taxis stop and go through the intersection as well,
although don’t count on ever getting a cab during the time you need one most.
The drivers will likely be switching shifts for a 2 hour time block from around
5:30 to 7:30 pm (or whenever they feel like it). The corner of Fujian Lu and
Tielubiejie, like many similar streets in this affluent part of China, has an
increasing number of private cars dotting the street, most of which are fairly
new and pricey. Black Buicks (which somehow have sold quite well here and some
wealthy Chinese might mistake them for German luxury cars), VW Passats, Audis
and BMWs with tinted windows outnumber the small Chinese hatchback QQ cars with
Hello Kitty or Snoopy stickers on them. Mien bao che- translated literally to “bread
vehicles” because of their shape’s resemblance to a loaf of bread, also fit
into this hierarchy. These vehicles typically are pretty banged up but are
practical, especially for the vendors in the market who may load up remaining
goods and boxes at the end of the day into the back end of the little vans. At
the top of the hierarchy of the intersection are public and private busses. The
bus I take from my campus to the campus where I work crosses and turns into the
intersection as well as various public busses that can be caught 100 meters
from the intersection. Within a moment, one can hop off the bus and be thrown
back into the chaos and hubbub of the world below on the street and be back
almost on the bottom of the hierarchy. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9oWRvGTFJbY/T8A50TtmeRI/AAAAAAAAAqs/NVaUbJJ_G8A/s1600/noodles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9oWRvGTFJbY/T8A50TtmeRI/AAAAAAAAAqs/NVaUbJJ_G8A/s320/noodles.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh noodles and <i>jiao zi</i> wrappers</td></tr>
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Sometimes I stop by the market after work and make my way
through the crowds. When I enter into the front hallway of the market, I enter
into another world. Upstairs are various vendors squished into small spaces
selling prepared meats; fried flat bread and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bing</i> (a savory pancake); grains including different varieties of
rice and beans; as well as dried fruits, nuts and herbal teas. Sometimes I stop
by the woman selling the nuts and dried fruit to buy 10 quai (RMB) worth of raisins.
I’ve struggled in conversation before with this vendor and even attracted a
small crowd around who enjoyed the cheap thrill and entertainment of watching a
goofy and clumsy <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lao wai</i> (a somewhat
crass but commonly used term for “foreigner”) woman pantomime her order of
raisins and walnuts. In the end, we all laugh and enjoy our moment of mutual
curiosity. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The precocious son of one of my vendors (2nd from left) with other kids.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pn8xWFuQuZ0/T8A7rBFdC_I/AAAAAAAAAq8/w3WEtMeYSx4/s1600/veg+lady.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pn8xWFuQuZ0/T8A7rBFdC_I/AAAAAAAAAq8/w3WEtMeYSx4/s320/veg+lady.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My other favorite vegetable vendor peeling soy beans.</td></tr>
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At the end of the hallway are the steps leading down into
the market itself. I truly relish my trips to the market. Now that it is a warmer
season, a wider variety of vegetables are available which means I am not
required as often to make the long trek to the big Western style supermarket
located about a 15- minute walk away. I’ve enjoyed cooking and preparing dishes
recently where I can just run and get the ingredients I need from these produce
vendors. I have two different vendors I like to go to for my veggies. I don’t
go to these vendors because they have the best prices or the freshest selection
of organic grade vegetables (to be honest- I have no idea whether the veggies
are organic; whether the vendors are connected to the farm; nor whether the
produce has travelled from very far). Instead I go out of loyalty. I now have
some semblance of a friendly human connection with these vendors. The vendor in
the back doesn’t always have a wide selection of produce. She and her husband
work the table and depending on the time of day, their little energetic and
precocious son may also be behind the table. When I first started buying from
their table back in February, their son spotted me, looked up in amazement and
screamed, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wai guo ren!! </i>(Foreigner!),<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>” to which I pointed back to him in
cheekiness and said, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zhong guo ren!</i> (Chinese
person!!)” The connection I made over this silly little child brings me back to
their table every once in a while. I enjoy asking his mother where he is and practicing
my Chinese to just have small talk about family. I also take pleasure buying
veggies from a couple who are in their fifties or sixties. Always patient as I
pick up countless vegetables and ask “What’s this called? What about that?”,
they always respond back with the name (even if asked it the previous ten times
before). The husband always tries to appeal to me to buy some other vegetable
or cabbage that may be new for the season. Other customers may stop by and ask,
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ni shi na guo ren?</i> (Where are you
from?). Oh- America? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hen hao.</i> Very
nice. What are you doing here? How long have you lived in China?” </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh eggs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gdpS_XQk92A/T8A8nXFx7FI/AAAAAAAAArU/6QD5F2a0Vl4/s1600/fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gdpS_XQk92A/T8A8nXFx7FI/AAAAAAAAArU/6QD5F2a0Vl4/s320/fish.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fish monger</td></tr>
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For some reason, except for a small stand, fruit is not sold
in the market. Instead fruit sellers sell their goods on the street level in
separate shops. Down in the underground market, though, a shopper can buy a
wide range of meat and fish; spices; herbs; tofu and other staples common to
Chinese cooking. One fellow sells Chinese herbs and nuts necessary for Chinese
traditional medicine. A device on his table grinds up nuts or seeds into powder
or a pureed paste. A Chinese grandmother may lecture me on the health benefits
of the melon seeds I am buying. I take a stroll to another shop below and find
a place where<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in different open tubs on
a shelf are various cooking oils, pastes and pickled relishes such as pressed
sesame paste or oil; pickled white radish or green beans; or soybean paste. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I can’t find the ingredient while looking
in the maze of a Western style supermarket, I will find it for certain below in
the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cai chang</i>. Continuing on the outer
perimeter of the market, I come along to a back corner where during certain
times of day and I can see live ducks and chickens in cages that can be bought
and “prepared” right there to be taken home and cooked. Continuing along the
corner, both saltwater and freshwater fish and creepy crawlers are sold. Live
turtles as well as eels swim in shallow tubs waiting to be seized up by the
vendor to hand to a customer. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NzoUA_qwuRA/T8A9B0VdkMI/AAAAAAAAArc/bRDrpAzelhY/s1600/butcher.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NzoUA_qwuRA/T8A9B0VdkMI/AAAAAAAAArc/bRDrpAzelhY/s320/butcher.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friendly butchers who broke out into a chorus of "OKs!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Continuing along the outer perimeter of the market, I encounter
butchers and meat vendors. Unlike in Western supermarkets, the meat is not
packaged or frozen. The butchers likely get their meat fresh daily or perhaps
even twice or three times a day. No part of the animal will go to waste.
Different cuts of the meat can be bought and if chosen by the customer, can be sliced,
diced or ground. Like many of the vendors in the market, my meat vendors come
from humble backgrounds and are amicable Nanjing folks speaking with a thick
Nanjing drawl. Last week while making my order, I inserted unconsciously a few “OKs”
into my conversation. The vendors all around all broke out boisterously into a
chorus of “OK!!! OK!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMpNiSlW-g8/T8A_WC_6S0I/AAAAAAAAArk/q4pKlSQ_1Gk/s1600/dad+and+child.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMpNiSlW-g8/T8A_WC_6S0I/AAAAAAAAArk/q4pKlSQ_1Gk/s320/dad+and+child.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quiet and tender moment in the market.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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From these trips to the market, I am always aware that I
stick out like a sore thumb. I know I’m the tall female <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lao wai</i> customer of the market. But, as I continue to come back
time and time again, I have developed a sort of informal and basic friendly
rapport with some of the vendors. Although there may be some teasing going on
about my strange gait or my “OK!!’s”, I feel that these friendly and harmless jibes
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are symbols of my acceptance into this
small world below. Some day when I leave Nanjing, I will miss this personal and
intimate experience and will have to accept shopping again at an impersonal,
sterile and largely-structured big-name supermarket. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-82267662798375969722012-03-09T01:06:00.014-08:002012-03-09T07:40:42.892-08:00Warm hearts and kindred spirits<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Running errands in my neighborhood after work is sometimes my favorite time of day. It’s the time of day when I see children out playing; grandparents and parents picking up their little ones up from school; mommies and daddies helping stumbling toddlers learning to walk in the park and when I can witness the overall love and devotion that the Chinese people tend to shower on their children. It always brings a huge smile to my face. That and the little ones here are ridiculously adorable. In the winter, they’re dressed up in about 20 layers of clothes and look like little “ball babies” waddling around. In the warmer months, the babies and toddlers have split pants over their rear ends so that they can easily go to the bathroom anywhere- yes anywhere- whether it’s on the sidewalk for the entire public to see or on a subway train. Once the little ones start talking, it’s simply endearing to hear their children’s voices speaking Chinese.</span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tZKH0rkWxBA/T1nZOGPbKOI/AAAAAAAAAp0/fZ8vVr2kRSs/s1600/little%2Bones.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tZKH0rkWxBA/T1nZOGPbKOI/AAAAAAAAAp0/fZ8vVr2kRSs/s320/little%2Bones.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717840038140258530" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">As a foreign lady here in China, I frequently have a certain privilege and carte blanche to go up to interact with small children- even if I am a stranger. Parents frequently seem comfortable if not delighted when I approach them to say hello to their child and even to take a picture of them. Really small children don’t know what to make of me until their parents grab their hands and start waving it up and down and say to their child, “Say hello! Ni hao!!” Some of those children I’m sure find it a bit of a strange practice to say hello at the request of their parents to this tall, strange unusual figure in front of them.<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WH8xdHU2TqM/T1naBIc2YSI/AAAAAAAAAqA/LDKX586C5co/s1600/mom%2Band%2Bson.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WH8xdHU2TqM/T1naBIc2YSI/AAAAAAAAAqA/LDKX586C5co/s320/mom%2Band%2Bson.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717840914906767650" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /> </p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Occasionally, children’s parents also catch a glimpse of me. One time a mother and her child came up to me. The mother warmly exclaimed to her three year old while pointing at me, “Look at her! You’re Chinese! She’s a foreigner! Do you see?” Some may find such behavior unsettling but I didn’t mind. It was done in a friendly tone. I also enjoy watching the occasional surprise reaction of children themselves when they spot me. I am surprised that in this day and age in Nanjing, a major Chinese city with a large expat population, I still have the odd encounter with children who are bewildered, excited or intrigued by a sighting of me. Last week my friend Mike and I were on a major intersection after grocery shopping. While waiting to cross the intersection, a man and three kids were wedged on a bicycle. One of the boys on the bike spotted us and pointed with excitement with a huge grin on his face when he saw us. Another time I had a funny encounter with some children outside of a restaurant while waiting for a friend. After the children got over their initial curiosity and skepticism of me, they let me teach them the game of “Give me a five, on the side, up high, down low, too slow!!!!” Still, when my Chinese friend Ryan showed up to meet me, the children starting asking all sorts of questions about me. Who is this strange person? What’s her name? What planet is she from?</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i9csHHFRtTY/T1nahrsWbHI/AAAAAAAAAqM/IB5SAeO3TuQ/s1600/twins.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i9csHHFRtTY/T1nahrsWbHI/AAAAAAAAAqM/IB5SAeO3TuQ/s320/twins.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717841474122837106" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /> </p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">In addition to the curiosity and warmth I feel extended to me when I encounter children and their parents, I also appreciate how devoted and loving parents and grandparents are to children here. I especially enjoy seeing all the grandparents with little ones. China’s one child policy has been put into place now for over thirty years. This means that some younger parents out there are single children themselves- and their child is therefore the only grandchild. Mom, Dad and both sets of grandparents give full devotion to the child who is seen as the future for the family. When a child is born, it is not uncommon for the grandparents to move into the home to devote their time to being with and raising the grandchild. Many moms and dads work full time so rather than day care, it’s grandma and grandpa who look after the little one. And they relish it too! I see many grandmothers and grandfathers out at different times of day with their little ones- whether it’s for picking up a child at school; kicking a ball with him or her in the park; walking a toddler around the track; or taking her or him out for a stroll with other grandparents and little ones. Grandparent and grandchild are very close- partners in crime or kindred spirits. There’s no lack of public affection. I see shoulder carrying and piggyback riding, hand-holding, hugging, head patting, sweet singing and a whole lot of outpouring of love. It warms my heart to see the special bond of a grandchild or grandparent because I am reminded of my own grandparents and how they meant- and still mean- the world to me.<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjurmmEP7k8/T1nW1ncE9YI/AAAAAAAAApc/CkjZJry5xrM/s1600/grandpa1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjurmmEP7k8/T1nW1ncE9YI/AAAAAAAAApc/CkjZJry5xrM/s320/grandpa1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717837418531714434" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /> </p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Many of today’s children I encounter in this part of China are growing up in a vastly different world than that of their parents or grandparents. Previous generations endured many hardships as well as political and economic oppression. Children born in the 1990’s and after have grown up with technology, a connection to the outside world and greater education and economic opportunities. Some of these younger adults are my students. Many of them appreciate the opportunities that have been afforded to them thanks to the devotion, love and sacrifices of their parents and grandparents. Many of them feel a sense of duty to their parents and grandparents. Someday soon, they too hope to get a good job, get married and start a family of their own so that they can provide security, a comfortable home and a companionable grandchild to their aging parents.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--D26FfCGpVo/T1nYIp_-rAI/AAAAAAAAApo/i3bAOqcthIU/s1600/grandpa2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--D26FfCGpVo/T1nYIp_-rAI/AAAAAAAAApo/i3bAOqcthIU/s320/grandpa2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717838845148310530" border="0" /></a></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">For additional reading:</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://lifebehindthewall.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/year-of-the-dragon-time-to-have-a-baby/" target="_blank">Year of the Dragon: Time to Have a Baby</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/chinese-parents-line-up-to-have-dragon-babies-20120210-1sm07.html" target="_blank">Chinese Parents Line Up to Have Dragon Babies</a><br /></p>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-47291934449437175622012-03-02T02:45:00.012-08:002012-03-05T05:51:59.312-08:00My Journey to Learn Chinese<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> 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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Chu qu</i>!” chimed Vivian. “Ch-chu qu” I mimicked cautiously. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Chu qu</i>!” repeated my Chinese tutor, this time emphasizing the movement of her lips. Off of Vivian’s lips, the two syllables had subtle differences, the second “qu” sounding like a little girl releasing a sneeze. Yet when I attempted to pronounce the same two syllables- my mouth, lips, teeth and tongue contorted to make the two distinct sounds to no avail. The very basic but crucial element of the Chinese language is distinguishing between the different consonants and vowels as well as four tones. I had thought I had already covered these basics last year and was ready to plunge forward with learning new vocabulary and grammar. The exhaustion that took over my brain after repeating new words and phrases, simple one syllable words on paper, was enough proof to me that I had clearly been wrong. Even the letter “r”, a harmless little letter followed by the letter “i” to make the word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Ri</i>” became a major chore. Thus has begun my journey to really start learning Chinese.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">After living in China for almost one and a half years, I realized that I had to do something about my very poor and limited Chinese language skills. At first, I made many excuses for my lack of progress. Being a woman, I thought I was at a disadvantage to my Western male counterparts who seemed to pick up the language easily from their Chinese girlfriends. Comparing myself to some of my younger colleagues who studied Chinese in college and went to school in a day and age when Chinese language classes were more readily available then they were 20 years ago, I would lament that I didn’t have prior exposure to the language before moving here. Being older and also being preoccupied with my job, I thought were also good reasons. Truth be told, I was and still am afraid that when my time here in China eventually comes to an end, I will feel unfulfilled and that my experience here will be somewhat of a farce if I fail to make some headway in the language. China will not be out of my life when I leave. I will continue to watch the country from afar and hope to have a focus on China with future work. Having some language knowledge will definitely enrich my current experience as well as my future relationship with China. I have therefore decided to finally “do something about it”. Last week, I started meeting with Vivian twice weekly in a hope to put a change to this.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">It is true that I have learned languages before. But this one is so vastly different from any other language I have ever tackled. Not only is there no familiar language connections to English or other European-based languages, but there of course is no written similarities either. Words in Chinese are one syllable long and are represented by one character. But depending on what a word means, it could be made up of several words put together. This part of the language I find fascinating and logical. For example, the Chinese word for university is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">da xue</i>” which translates to “big learn/study/school”. Sometimes, when I learn a new word that is made up of two or three characters, I like to look up what each character means and it helps me have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the word as well as the people long ago who helped develop the word and its meaning. </p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It doesn’t seem like there are a whole lot of syllables in the Chinese language. Therefore, the entire spoken language utilizes what seems like 20 syllables (ok- that might be a slight exaggeration). Therein lays one of the trickier parts of learning the language. To me, so many of the words just sound the same- a lot of “ch”, “sh” and “hu” sounds. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Then part of my frustration has also to do with getting the tones correct. There are four tones in standard Mandarin Chinese and that means there are four ways of chiming out one syllable or word. Depending on the tone of the word, there can be vastly different meanings. So I may say something one way to a person and then get a blank, glazed look followed by “</span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Shenma</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">?”- the Chinese word for “What??”. When the person I am speaking to finally figures out what I am trying to say (usually after I show them the word from my little phone dictionary), he or she then follows it up with, “Oh, you mean…..(Chinese blah blah blah)!” with me baffled and thinking to myself, “Isn’t that what I just said?” I imagine the Chinese people secretly taking pleasure from these little tonal mishaps many learners of the language may make. Vivian shared with me a joke about a male foreigner going into a restaurant to ask the female waitress how much some dumplings cost and instead asked how much a night with her would cost!</span><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoj0gxPEx5g/T1DjVDfLDHI/AAAAAAAAAnA/4LdOpgNkoWI/s1600/kids.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aoj0gxPEx5g/T1DjVDfLDHI/AAAAAAAAAnA/4LdOpgNkoWI/s320/kids.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715317877985971314" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Chinese children sometimes seem bewildered by my imposing figure and unrecognizable speech. I was even asked once, "What planet do you come from?"</span> </span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></p><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Although I look forward at some nearby point to learning the beautiful craft of writing Chinese characters, I have decided for now to focus on how to communicate verbally in Chinese. At this time, I can only read a few basic characters and cannot write any. I think learning how to write will help with my reading but will require a lot of commitment and dedication. The strokes have to be done in a certain order so it really is a very methodical process. Thankfully, here in China mainland, they have been using simplified characters for several decades so the characters and words here have fewer strokes and radicals. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities outside of Asia use traditional Chinese characters which have many more strokes. I am simply amazed by some people who manage to not only learn simplified characters but the traditional characters as well! A French friend of mine is currently studying Chinese traditional medicine (in Chinese!!) here in Nanjing and has been learning both types of characters. Respect!!! </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">As you can imagine, it is frustrating at times being illiterate. I keep a small, hand-size notebook where I write new words down in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">pinyin</i>, the romanization of Chinese words. This at least helps me with learning words and how to say them and can also be used as a quick reference in a pinch. However, if I want to convey and show a word to someone like a taxi driver, it’s useless to show him or her the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">pinyin</i>. When I’m in a new city or even going somewhere new in Nanjing, I always have the name in Chinese <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">pinyin</i> so I can recite it and then follow it up with the Chinese characters to show him or her if necessary. Maps of Chinese cities that are printed in the West are almost always useless because they have the names of places and streets in English as well as the Chinese characters. What good is it going to be when you are lost in Beijing to ask someone where “Middle Mountain Road North” is when no one knows it as such and then you can’t read the characters on the map to see if you are on the desired “Middle Mountain Road” (which is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Zhong Shan Bei Lu</i>- by the way….)?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This is also my beef with Western websites where you reserve hotel rooms in China. They usually only give you the address in English- not even <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">pinyin, </i>let alone in Chinese characters. Absolutely useless. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">These basic but crucial language barriers between China and outside countries conveys the urgent need for 1) better language materials and media for foreigners desiring to visit China (by both Chinese and foreign organizations) and 2) increased language, cultural and education partnerships. For China’s part, younger generations have been learning English in school for years now. There is also a big demand for native speaking foreign language teachers- and not just for English, but also for French, German, Spanish, Korean and Japanese. The Chinese government also seems to offer a lot of opportunities for foreigners to learn Chinese in China or study in China (even in English!). I do hope at least in the United States that there will be a greater move in the coming years for younger Americans to learn Chinese in schools and universities.</p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">As for my part, it may be too late for me to learn Chinese in school or at a university, but it’s not too late for me to make a commitment to learning it while I’m here. I will have to push myself and keep on track (not an easy thing for me to do, admittedly). One of my favorite Chinese expressions I have learned from another friend learning Chinese is, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Jia you</i>!”. It roughly translates to “Go! You can do it!” and literally means “Add oil”. So in the next few months, I will be feeding my brain with new Chinese words and adding “oil”. So “onward ho” with my journey to learn Chinese! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Zou ba</i>!</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal">For further reading:</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/03/world/asia/a-voice-of-dissent-in-china-that-took-its-time.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all" target="_blank">A Chinese Voice of Dissent That Took Its Time</a></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-03/04/content_12117184.htm" target="_blank">Calls to restore traditional Chinese characters</a><br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-49693233347733787212011-11-11T06:26:00.001-08:002011-11-11T07:29:28.368-08:00A Chinese guardian angel<div class="MsoNormal">Every once in a while something happens when we as human beings have a special connection. These moments can traverse cultures and languages and remind us that we all live in a small world and share common experiences and feelings. Recently I had such a special moment and it happened unexpectedly in a taxi cab in Beijing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VH_e6xcJpNs/Tr0xtWU6iLI/AAAAAAAAAmU/Syji_OhCs5o/s1600/new_beijing_taxi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VH_e6xcJpNs/Tr0xtWU6iLI/AAAAAAAAAmU/Syji_OhCs5o/s320/new_beijing_taxi1.jpg" border="0" height="208" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Chinese guardian angel came in the form of a Beijing taxi driver.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Three weeks ago I traveled up to Beijing for a conference and booked a room in a hotel that was tucked way back in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i>, a narrow alleyway that one can commonly find in Beijing and witness a little of the old world. Little restaurants and street vendors set up shop and customers can enjoy their meal in outdoor seating right there in the alleyway. A community school as well as an old manor with red hanging lanterns and from a time past were also tucked back in my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hutong</i>s are gradually disappearing as new construction and roads are built in the name of progress. For this reason I wanted the experience of staying in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i> while I was in Beijing. Problem was, there are still quite a few <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i>s all over the massive city of Beijing and most are not marked on regular maps nor accessible by cars. Finding the entrance to any given <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i> requires a familiarity with landmarks and shops on the main street where the entrance of a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong </i>is located. Even the most experienced taxi driver likely may not know exactly where a certain <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i> is located let alone understand a foreigner with broken Chinese who also is quite unfamiliar with Beijing. This was the very situation I found myself in when I grabbed a taxi one evening after visiting the Donghuamen night market in Wangfujing near Tianamen Square and wanted to head back to my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i> hotel. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buLA6UxZEHk/Tr0yMWH1vLI/AAAAAAAAAmc/9LXR4oHfgKs/s1600/Hutong_Beijing_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-buLA6UxZEHk/Tr0yMWH1vLI/AAAAAAAAAmc/9LXR4oHfgKs/s320/Hutong_Beijing_01.jpg" border="0" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Beijing <i>hutong</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">When I initially jumped into the taxi, the driver seemed reluctant to take me. I’d heard stories of many taxi drivers wary of taking foreigners in China because of communication complications. I was determined to get this cab though and showed the name of the location that my friend Felix had penned out for me in Chinese on a scrap of paper. Unfortunately, Felix’s directions didn’t seem to suffice so I told the driver to take me to the nearest subway station, Andingmen. I wanted to make clear to the driver that I would direct him to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i> from Andingmen but I think the driver thought I just wanted him to drop me off at the subway station and then I would walk. He bellowed out something along the lines of, “I’m not taking you to Andingmen!” and then I argued back and said, “It’s not far. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zou ba</i>!! Go! Go!!! Drive!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My driver grumbled but took off. I held in my hand my cel phone and tried calling the hotel so that someone there could explain to the driver where he could take me. He said gruffly, “Call the hotel!” It rang and rang. Finally someone picked up on the other end and I handed my cel phone to my driver. A short and terse conversation went on between my driver and the person on the other end of the phone at the hotel. I noticed my driver getting more and more irate and the only part I could understand him emphatically saying was, “She’s alone! She’s alone! I’m not going to drop her off at Andingmen station! She’s alone!” Frustrated, he thrust the phone back in my hand and said something to the effect, “They don’t know anything and are of no help!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It was then that it dawned on me how thoughtful this man was. As a woman by herself in a strange city, he couldn’t in good conscience just drop me off at the subway station and let me wander and find my way on my own to the hotel. He sincerely was concerned about my safety and wellbeing. I turned to him in my broken Chinese and said, “You are a good person. You don’t want me walking by myself, do you?” He then gave me a look as if to say, “Not on my watch”.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Luckily at that moment, I recognized where we were and saw the shop that was right next to the entrance of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hutong</i>. I called out, “That’s it! That’s it! I know where we are.We’re here!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">With relief my driver pulled over and took a deep sigh. I said, “It’s ok. We found it.” I then turned to him and said, “You’re a father,aren’t you?” At that moment he nodded his head and then gave me a knowing look and I saw in his eyes my own mother saying, “A parent never stops worrying about her or his child, no matter how old she is.” He held up his fingers and made the Chinese sign with his fingers for two and then six. “My daughter is 26.” I smiled at him and told him that I was only a little bit older than his daughter. I thanked him for his kindness and smiled to him for looking after me.<br /><br />I won’t forget that man and his random act of kindness. No sooner did I get back to my hotel that I phoned my own mother to share the goodwill of the Chinese guardian angel who briefly looked after her daughter. </div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-12392295828585754412011-10-31T06:49:00.000-07:002011-11-11T06:36:45.854-08:00Where have all my sisters gone?<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">The mystery of few foreign women living in China explained </span></b></div>
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As I embark on a second year here in China, I often take a look around me and wonder why I as a Western woman am so underrepresented here.Of the twenty foreign English language teachers working this semester at my university,there are only two of us women, and even then, my fellow female teacher is originally from Nanjing but is now a citizen of New Zealand. Other foreign female teachers I have worked with have also left and returned to their home countries, usually due to unhappiness, loneliness and lack of fulfillment here.Meanwhile, many of my male counterparts have seemingly lived happily here for several years. True- I know it isn’t always a bed of roses for the Western men here but there are still more of them around here. This phenomenon has me and others often scratching our heads wondering why China is perceived as a haven for so many Western men but simultaneously is such a hardship for Western women.</div>
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I have heard several thoughts and ideas on this. One was from a Chinese student who occasionally helps me with errands and small tasks.She thought it might be because Western women are not as adventurous as Western men. I also have heard that it could be because we don’t have a lot of the comforts of home- such as cooking ingredients and cooking utensils and make-up.I myself have lamented many times to the point that it’s even comical how impossible it is to buy clothes here especially for a woman of my size. Looking for bras, underwear, and jeans is not even worth my time (In Hong Kong last year, a Guess? store employee suggested I try on men’s jeans). Getting used to the public restrooms here, in particular the squatty potties, is not easily done by all women or men for that matter. It took me an entire month last year before I ventured into one the squat toilet stalls and admittedly it is sometimes a lot to stomach. But in spite of the occasional frustration with lack of clothing options, limitation with food ingredients, and the bathroom situation here, I really have not found it to be a hardship living in this part of China in this day and age. It would be a different story if I lived in a rural area but I live in a very modern, progressive city with a public transportation system that puts that of Seattle, where I used to live, to shame. Living in Nanjing even 10 years ago would have been different but now I really can find a lot of my home comforts and I hardly feel like I am a pioneer women trying to survive in the Wild West. Surely there must be other reasons why Western women are underrepresented here. </div>
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Dating here in China might be a tricky issue for single Western women. Indeed this is a new realm that I am adventuring into myself this year and experiencing its challenges. Many of us Western women see our Western brothers show up here in China and within what seems like a week, have a cute Chinese girlfriend by their side. Where can we meet prospective mates other than at our workplaces and Western bars ? That’s not to say that some Western women are not open to dating Chinese men. That is however a lot less common than Western men together with Chinese women. Why is it so uncommon? Blogger Jocelyn Eikenburg, an American women living in China with her Chinese husband and indeed an expert on matters of love and relationships in China attributes this anomaly to some negative stereotypes- such as the unfair geeky portrayal of Asian men in movies. Other reasons could stem from difference in family traditions and expectations Chinese men’s families have for their sons and that Western women may be seen as too modern and progressive. Many Chinese families still hold views that would be conceived as old fashioned now in the West- such as a couple not living together until they get married. </div>
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Indeed there are challenges for a Western woman who wants to date here but then again, Chinese women are also experiencing these challenges. More and more Chinese women are getting married later while some also pursue careers over family. A new Chinese acquaintance told me that there is a name for such women- <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sheng nu-</i> which means “Left-aside woman”, a term for very well educated women who are financially stable and very accomplished in their careers but are too old or too picky to find a husband and start a family (this is how it was described and explained to me). Also, as far as the difficulties go for dating- whether you’re a Western woman, Western man or Chinese woman or man, don’t most people the world over lament how difficult it is to find a mate and date, no matter where they live? I seem to remember complaining with a girlfriend a few years back that Washington DC was a terrible city for dating and then hearing girlfriends in London complain of the same thing! <br />
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But back to the challenges facing Western women living in China. Some of us find it difficult to develop friendships with Chinese- especially Chinese women. My greatest challenge in this factor is my lack of Chinese language skills. Recently I have made some wonderful Chinese friends. However, these friendships are with people who speak English fluently and also have an understanding of the US and my cultural background.Friendships with Chinese people with limited English skills seem very superficial. Of course that’s no one’s fault. Slowly but surely I am meeting more Chinese people and have the odd opportunity here and there to practice my Chinese. As for other Westerners, there are a lot of us around. Meeting other Western women is difficult though if you consider the very problem that we are underrepresented. </div>
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Dealing with concerns in the workplace and in daily life in China means a careful balance of patience, charm and assertiveness. When it comes to problem solving,my observation of many Chinese is that they are non-confrontational and they want as little grief as possible. This means that a person you go to with a problem may likely not want to get involved and may try to refer you to someone else. Getting what you want as well as help on a problem requires a little bit of coaxing, apologizing as well as effusive thank-yous. However, this may backfire if you are perceived as too nice because then your problem will likely not be seen as urgent and you may likely be seen as a person who won’t make a big fuss if nothing is done right away. So I have taken the lead of some of my male colleagues and have carefully selected the times I make a stink. I don’t like to make a stink because it is not my way but sometimes it’s necessary. For example, last spring I hadn’t gotten my end of the semester pay after more than a week of turning in my grades while a male colleague got his pay right away. Similarly, I was told I couldn’t use the university’s van when I moved to the other campus even through my male colleagues had been offered this service when they moved. I finally got fed up with the rules magically changing on me when I asked for the same benefits and made a stink and even dared to ask if I was getting different treatment because I was a woman. Low and behold, my stink-making got me the moving van the next day as well as my pay. So I have learned here to be more assertive, a trait that doesn’t come easily to me. Some Western women may feel that they are not taken seriously enough and are the subject of sexism. So it’s understanding that this could be seen as a turn-off for many of my Western sisters and it maybe just another nail in the coffin for them here in China.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7NCtOsVS_SM/Tq6majQ_QeI/AAAAAAAAAmI/gTCjTS1xKek/s1600/Buddy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7NCtOsVS_SM/Tq6majQ_QeI/AAAAAAAAAmI/gTCjTS1xKek/s320/Buddy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friendly folks await foreign women who would like to seek adventure here in China</td></tr>
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Depending on how one looks at it, there are some advantages to being a woman here. Although most of my fellow foreign teachers at work are men, I find that sometimes students are pleasantly surprised to have a foreign female teacher walk in on the first day of class or attend an organized speaking or cultural event. Maybe we are perceived sometimes as kinder, gentler and more patient. Many Chinese families,for example, prefer to have female native English speakers tutor their children in English on the weekends. For example, last week I got a phone call from a student whose teacher was looking for a tutor for his 11 year old daughter. I told him that although I wouldn’t have time to tutor the professor’s daughter,they should ask the foreign affairs office to send out an email to the other teachers. Soon after I got a polite email from the students thanking me for the suggestion but his professor was really only looking for a female teacher and I was the only option at our university. So interestingly enough, being a woman seems to be an appealing factor to families because we may be seen as gentler and more benign. This is not to say that my Western male counterparts are not gentle and patient but women seem to be seen as more approachable here.<br />
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As a woman here, I also feel incredibly safe. At times I stay out late at night, take buses and taxis and walk on streets by myself(Mom, don’t worry, it’s really fine). Sometimes I go to little hole in the wall restaurants to order dumplings. Maybe I’ll get curious looks but nothing where I feel threatened. I feel that my belongings as well as my personal safety are always in check.Language is the only barrier to my safety here but as long as I have an address in Chinese for where I am going and have a phone and dictionary with me, I feel the world is my oyster and I can only discover new things.</div>
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It’s true that this is an incredible country to live in in this day and age. There are days I wake up, venture outside, walk around my neighborhood and just watch the show in front of me unfold. The everyday things I see still amuse and fascinate me. Curious looks and friendly children coming up to shake my hand still tickles me pink and leaves me feeling like a minor local celebrity. I sometimes can’t believe my luck in being here and wonder if other Western women who have toughed it out here feel the same way. </div>
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I will say that China is not for everyone- whether you are a man or a woman. But if you have a sense of adventure, want to learn to be more patient and assertive, want to get a taste of what it’s like to be a minor celebrity and see things on a daily basis that inspire and awe you, it’s well worth it. I hope that other Western women will come join the ranks here and find out for themselves what China has to offer. </div>
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<i>What are your thoughts on why Western and foreign women are underrepresented here in China?</i></div>
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<i>Do you have an inspiring story or tale of living in China or abroad as a woman? As a man? </i></div>
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<b>For interesting related reading:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21526350?fsrc=scn%2Ffb%2Fwl%2Far%2Fasiaslonelyhearts" target="_blank">The decline of Asian marriage: Asia's lonely hearts</a></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.speakingofchina.com/china-articles/foreign-women-chinese-boyfriend-chinese-husband/" target="_blank">On the Rarity of Foreign Women and Chinese Boyfriends/Chinese Husbands</a><br />
<h2>
<a href="http://www.speakingofchina.com/china-articles/foreign-women-chinese-boyfriend-chinese-husband/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to On the Rarity of Foreign Women and Chinese Boyfriends/Chinese Husbands"><br /></a></h2>
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<i> </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-65522517379770898962011-09-05T09:02:00.000-07:002011-09-05T09:02:38.659-07:00New Beginnings<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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As I departed and said goodbye to my folks at the Dulles
airport in Virginia just a little over a week ago, I hugged extra long,
especially with my mom. My parents have seen me depart on countless trips in my
life- junior year in college to Germany; a work trip to Russia; a six month
stint in England; a cross country trip to move to Seattle and even last year to
China. You would think it would become easier each time and I would become
immune to teary goodbyes, yet there I was, a grown woman fighting back the
tears as I descended down with the escalator and slowly out of sight of my
parents. </div>
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This departure shouldn’t have been any different from other
departures, particularly since I was returning to a place I already lived. I
suppose it marked rather a departure from one period in my life and the move to
a new beginning in my life. Although I have returned to China for a second
year, it was a somewhat heavy decision made unexpectedly at the end of June and
this time I have returned alone to find my way in this guest country as well as
in the world. <span> </span></div>
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After a summer surrounded with family and good friends in
the US, I felt mentally ready to return to Nanjing. After the long 24+ hour
trip I arrived in Nanjing feeling confident that I had a handle on things. I
managed to squeeze onto the airport bus getting the last seat at the very back
of the bus and confidently asking my seat mate whether the bus was indeed
heading to where I wanted to go. From the bus, I hopped off and hailed a cab
and arrived at my new apartment by midnight to be met by my friend Lucy who had
already prepped my apartment, bought breakfast food, etc. From there I hopped
upstairs to Mike and Tien’s where I could use Skype to call home and was handed
a martini. It was a nice feeling to arrive in my home across the world to such
welcoming and open arms. </div>
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Living in China second time round is less stressful as I
have an idea of what to expect. Living here has taught me to be patient with
the way things are here and to not hold my breath about certain things getting
done. For example, not having our teaching schedule until the night before the
semester began? No problem. Not having internet in my apartment for a few days?
I managed. Mopeds and bikes coming from every direction towards me as I cross
the street with the right of way? That’s how it is here. </div>
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Still, I fooled myself into thinking I had a complete 100% grasp
on things here and that I could manage on my own without relying too much on
others for help. Last year I relied too much and too often on Tien to help me
at the doctor’s, when I got in a snafu at the supermarket, or with registering
for the GRE exam here in China. I guess I was wrong this time to assume though
that I could just patiently sit in my new place and things would magically fall
into place. I still had to have Tien show me how to get my air conditioner and
washing machine functioning and then it took an unexpected teary phone conversation
with a friend about computer woes to make me realize that it is okay to reach
out to others for support and help. I think this has been the most difficult
and eye opening part of my transition here. Still, I have come to terms with
the fact that it doesn’t mean I’m “not cutting it” here just because I need
that support.</div>
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I feel that I am in a good place here both literally and
figuratively. I’m slowly working out the little kinks of living in my new
apartment and am enjoying the community that lives around this campus. I am now
living in the center of Nanjing as opposed to the outskirts of the city where I
was last year. Oddly enough, although I am in the heart of Nanjing, I am in
very “Chinese” area where I rarely see other foreigners other than the other
foreign teachers who live on this campus as well. I occasionally get a curious
stare from people as I march to the supermarket, but I don’t mind. In the
mornings I sometimes wake up to the gentle music of people doing their
stretches and tai chi. Evenings, the campus comes alive with families walking
their dogs and grandparents walking their little ones around the athletic track
with their tricycles. Right outside the campus are lots of street vendors and
small family restaurants selling noodles or dumplings and a local market
selling all varieties of produce as well as meat and fish. Although it is all
very foreign to me, I don’t think I will ever feel alone or that I am lacking
human contact here. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be here and learn
about this country as well as myself.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lXmFbDEC_Ag/TmTx4utPnqI/AAAAAAAAAl8/VNqOxmFSdUA/s1600/taichi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lXmFbDEC_Ag/TmTx4utPnqI/AAAAAAAAAl8/VNqOxmFSdUA/s320/taichi.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning exercises and tai chi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bSWDkz7yIBg/TmTx6ToC5EI/AAAAAAAAAmA/qn5TH0Gbc6w/s1600/produce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bSWDkz7yIBg/TmTx6ToC5EI/AAAAAAAAAmA/qn5TH0Gbc6w/s320/produce.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some produce selection at the local market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X81nzF5D8ck/TmTx7xU54BI/AAAAAAAAAmE/M8IYaK283FY/s1600/eels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X81nzF5D8ck/TmTx7xU54BI/AAAAAAAAAmE/M8IYaK283FY/s320/eels.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Live eels from the fish monger in the market. Any takers?</td></tr>
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Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-56149124903347595702011-06-22T23:01:00.000-07:002011-06-23T03:09:59.606-07:00Is that it? Attending a rather uneventful college graduation<div class="MsoNormal"> Yesterday I attended the graduation ceremony of my friend Felix. Felix became a friend of mine back in March when he started attending my English for Job Applications class as a means to bulk up his English before taking the IELTS exam (it’s an exam non-native English speakers take for admittance into universities in English speaking countries). Over the last couple of months, we’ve become friends as we both found we are both born in the year of the Rabbit and are both Pieces so it goes without saying that we have a good understanding of one another. Felix helped me with some surveys I passed out to students and spent countless hours entering data. Also, when I got into a bind two weeks ago while I was in Shanghai for the GRE exam, he helped talk to the hotel where I was staying when I wasn’t able to get a room there on account that I didn’t have a Chinese national card (and that I’m not Chinese). He helped me figure out how to get to the remote campus for my exam as well as all the necessary details I needed to have smooth sailing on that day. (NOTE TO SELF: Really. Start learning more Chinese to get yourself out of these messes!!!). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NAxEhn_TiJw/TgLTvOKeyuI/AAAAAAAAAlo/ds8D_jiTeT8/s1600/felix+group.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NAxEhn_TiJw/TgLTvOKeyuI/AAAAAAAAAlo/ds8D_jiTeT8/s320/felix+group.JPG" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felix (back left) and his friends.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>So as I became better friends with Felix and as his impending graduation approached, I asked if his parents would be coming from his hometown near Beijing for the graduation. “Nah, I’ll just see them when I come home the day after. It’s not really a big deal.” Not a big deal??? Now that really baffled me. Firstly, coming from the US, I’m used to graduations being milestone events and sort of rite of passages whether they’re pre-school or graduate school graduations. Secondly, the Chinese toil and work their asses off for three hard years in high school to do well on the <i>Gao Kao</i>, the college entrance exam which pretty much determines the rest of their life (at least in a Chinese person’s eyes). Getting a coveted spot at a university and having a chance at getting a college education means a certain amount of economic security for not only the student but his or her entire family. There is a lot riding on whether a kid attends college in China. So naturally, I would think graduating from college would be a big deal. Not so….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9RM2_JHptc0/TgLTwDJYI0I/AAAAAAAAAls/hszPXagkVKc/s1600/diploma.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9RM2_JHptc0/TgLTwDJYI0I/AAAAAAAAAls/hszPXagkVKc/s320/diploma.JPG" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new graduated pose with their "diplomas"</td></tr></tbody></table>Felix’s graduation for his major department was at 2 in the afternoon. Apparently there was a graduation for all of the graduates at 10 am in the university’s gym. Felix’s major, Economics, held its graduation in an auditorium in the back of the school library. When I arrived late in true Stephanie fashion, I saw a bunch of students sitting in the lobby with matching t-shirts. I walked into the auditorium to find Felix sitting in his cap and gown a few rows from the back. He apologized that there wasn’t a seat for me. He suggested we take some pictures as we waited for him and his friends to march up and get their degrees. So, click away we did. Some of the rows in the front of the room started marching up to get their diploma. We took some pics with Felix and his roommate William and his friend Tina. Then just like that, Felix had to go march up to the stage. A line of 10 or so professors were sitting at a table on the stage. Ten students at a time would proceed and get their degree, each students lining up in front in front of one of the ten professors who would then hand them their degree. Then they would all stand facing the audience for a quick snapshot and that was it. Meanwhile, sort of Communist-party type of music was playing in the background. As the next group of students was getting ready to proceed up, the previous students who had already gotten their degree had already taken their cap and gown off and were heading out. After Felix got his degree (which wasn’t really his degree. It was just a fake degree that the students held up), he came back to his seat and nonchalantly said, “Well, I better take this cap and gown off. The next group will need this. So, what are you up to now?”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DSRa0d_vbm8/TgLTyMj1HcI/AAAAAAAAAlw/C6H-utk67Ms/s1600/swap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DSRa0d_vbm8/TgLTyMj1HcI/AAAAAAAAAlw/C6H-utk67Ms/s320/swap.JPG" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swapping out caps and gowns.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>We walked to the lobby to see the next graduating class waiting and presumably they would get the caps and gowns. We snapped a couple of more pictures and that was that. I asked Felix if there would be any celebrations later. He said that most students would be partying all night as it would be their last time together. Most of the graduating students had been doing just that over the last two weeks- going out into the wee hours of the morning; singing at KTV (Chinese karaoke rooms you can rent); and just soaking up as much fun with one other until the fated day they would all leave and go their separate ways. Felix mentioned that some students were planning to organize a parade around campus at 9 pm. “That’s great!”, I said and glad that there was finally going to be something eventful happening for what I consider to be a very important event. “Yes, but some teachers have found out about it and will now stop it.” Again, taking is very personally, I protested on behalf of the students to Felix and said incredulously, “But why??? It’s just a fun parade to <i>celebrate</i> your accomplishment and do something together before you all leave!?” “Well, you know, these things are not good to put together and organize here in China,” Felix said matter-of-factly and calmly with a look like “That’s just how it is” on his face.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VImynX-ZHU/TgLTzDKM8MI/AAAAAAAAAl0/-5FfYNEU2T4/s1600/paper+truck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VImynX-ZHU/TgLTzDKM8MI/AAAAAAAAAl0/-5FfYNEU2T4/s320/paper+truck.JPG" border="0" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students' hard work and toil being taken away on a dump truck.</td></tr></tbody></table>In the end, I think my desire for a graduation with more pomp and circumstance and fanfare is purely selfish. I feel that is what is appropriate for all of the work these students have done to this point. Plus, I’m a very nostalgic person and think back fondly on my own graduations over the years as well as graduations of others that I have attended. I just want Felix and his classmates to have something special to remember, especially before they face the harsh reality of finding a job in a very competitive market and before they face the strict Chinese pressures of getting married, starting a family and supporting their entire extended family. At the end of the day, though, I think Felix and all of his friends and classmates were happy with the quick and brief ceremony as it left more time for them to spend with one another and celebrate their accomplishments together and reminisce about their last four years. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Congratulations to all graduates out there and best wishes as you embark on the next chapter in your lives!</div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-87013171690240642012011-06-06T18:56:00.000-07:002011-06-22T21:32:39.089-07:00School Days: Part 2<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Afn90eJncok/Te2FDZ0i-QI/AAAAAAAAAkE/s5uZ-seo8J4/s1600/drawing+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>This past week, I was a guest and observer at a local elementary school, Xianlin Primary School. It had been a goal of mine this year to visit and observe at at least one school here in China to get better insight into the education system here. Making such arrangements, however, proved to be harder than I thought. My boss Emy offered back in March to ask whether I could visit her daughter’s school. Unfortunately, they were afraid I would be a big distraction to the children and prevent them from learning. So Emy then asked a friend and professor at NUFE whether I could observe at his daughter’s school. After much back and forth communication between Emy and her friend; her friend and the school; and then finally between me and a teacher, I successfully made arrangements for my desired school visit.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the US, education reformers and policy makers seem to constantly be ranting about how US schools and learning lag way behind those in other countries. Having spent several in-depth years in public schools in Seattle, Virginia and DC and having worked very closely with learners from Kindergarten through 12<sup>th</sup> grade, I feel I have some pretty good insight into public education, learning and teaching in the US. Being in China this year has been a big paradigm shift especially when it comes to the way students learn here. Granted I am working with college students, I have nevertheless been challenged many times with the teaching approaches I use. When it comes to getting students to open up and share their opinion or when I try to make my lessons more student-led, as opposed to teacher-led, I sometimes hit a wall. This has led me to wonder whether my college students have been deeply engrained from a young age to learn what is told to them and are not offered many opportunities for self-discovery. I was therefore, curious to visit a primary school to see the practices that are used in the younger formative years of education. Also, perhaps I could learn a thing or two about what is effectively being done in classrooms in China to share with fellow educators in the US.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My school day began at 7:30 when I arrived to meet Ms. Liu, my contact at the school who teaches English to 3<sup>rd</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> graders, both grades I have some experience teaching as well. In China, teachers do not have their own classroom, instead, a class of students has their own room and the teacher arrives at that room when it is time for his or her lesson. Even in primary schools, teachers focus only on one or two subjects. Ms. Liu and her teaching partners were quite surprised when I told them that elementary teachers in the US teach ALL of the subjects. Ms. Liu taught a maximum of 4 lessons on Monday and Fridays and 3 lessons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s right, she taught 17 hours a week. Meanwhile, elementary-teacher counterparts in the US teach at least 35 hours week. Is it any wonder why so many teachers (myself included) burn out so quickly from the teaching profession? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cjo1BpvEqTU/Te2AX9Jfw8I/AAAAAAAAAjY/2cDDj-e8yfE/s1600/exercise.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615285459440616386" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cjo1BpvEqTU/Te2AX9Jfw8I/AAAAAAAAAjY/2cDDj-e8yfE/s320/exercise.JPG" style="float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China's future doing their morning exercises</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ms. Liu took me to her office where some other teachers had their desks. The students had “reading time” until about 8:20 and were in their classrooms completing their homework and preparing for their classes for the coming day. Some students came in and out and one student I saw was scolded by the head teacher since he had repeatedly not been doing his homework. Her scolding didn’t seem particularly harsh but nevertheless the student seemed ashamed enough that he probably would follow through with doing his homework. What also seemed strange was that students just seemed to go on their own accord to their classroom. Some students were out and about playing in the hallways and just being kids, but most of those students seemed to make it eventually to their classrooms. There didn’t seem to be major discipline issues and students just seemed to know what they needed to do. Teachers didn’t even really need to be in the classrooms monitoring the students. Instead, they could use that time to prepare and get ready for their lessons for the day and check-in individually with various students.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At 8:20, the teachers met and lined up on a path by the school field. A few minutes later, the older students marched out and lined up in 5 lines on the school track. The national anthem came blaring out on the speakers and two students raised the Chinese flag. Students then started doing some morning exercises to get energized and ready to learn.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Later that morning, I had the chance to sit in on two English classes in fourth and fifth grade. In China, students are now learning English as young as third grade. English is considered one of the most important pillar subjects in school along with Chinese and Math. In addition to the English kids learn in school during the week, many students get additional tutoring on the weekends. Some students go to private language schools while others may have private tutors (a job I had in the fall here). Why so much emphasis on education and learning, learning, learning all the time? Knowledge and education is seen as the key to success in China. If a child does well in primary school, she will then do well in middle school and then get into a prestigious high school which will ensure she will do well on her college entrance exam, which will ensure she will have a good job in the end in which to support her family. So already at a young age, children are set on the track to future success by working very hard in school and on weekends. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SnGoHKmF7g8/Te2Ed8uravI/AAAAAAAAAjs/KMlfecQq2HU/s1600/office+pic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SnGoHKmF7g8/Te2Ed8uravI/AAAAAAAAAjs/KMlfecQq2HU/s320/office+pic.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An engaged 4th grade English lesson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When a teacher entered a classroom, the students all stood up to attention and shouted out, “Laoshi, ni hao! (Hello Teacher)”. Once the teacher responded and acknowledged their greeting, the students sat down. During the course of the 45 minute lessons, the teachers used a curriculum that included a variety of activities to keep the students attentive, energized and on their toes. The activities were fast-paced and moved quickly. Students sang a song using their learned English vocabulary and also had other quick games that tested their knowledge of the vocabulary from their lesson. Sometimes students could consult with their peers at their desk and other times students worked individually. Most students seemed very engaged and involved during the course of the 45 minute lesson.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jNmJJTTQT48/Te2EgDAGoeI/AAAAAAAAAjw/YQGG-bP6T5c/s1600/raise+hand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jNmJJTTQT48/Te2EgDAGoeI/AAAAAAAAAjw/YQGG-bP6T5c/s320/raise+hand.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attentive students</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4sBiqBcPEVg/Te2EnT_JWWI/AAAAAAAAAj8/SuK8u0QjB9s/s1600/art+lesson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4sBiqBcPEVg/Te2EnT_JWWI/AAAAAAAAAj8/SuK8u0QjB9s/s320/art+lesson.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art lesson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the afternoon I enjoyed sitting in on an art lesson in a second grade class. Students had been learning about Peking Opera and the costumes and make-up of both female and male parts. The lesson began with the teacher drawing both a male and female face on the board. Starting with the shape of a head, the teacher gradually added the eyes, nose and mouth and the faces gradually came alive in front of me and the students. The students then went to work drawing their own versions, being precise and accurate while they were at it. The teacher played some Peking opera music in the background as they children worked and their creative juices flowed. It seemed so effortless and easy for the teacher to get the students going.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g3yYW7-1w-4/Te2EpxMSl4I/AAAAAAAAAkA/Kqey8XDXhDU/s1600/art+lesson+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g3yYW7-1w-4/Te2EpxMSl4I/AAAAAAAAAkA/Kqey8XDXhDU/s320/art+lesson+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Afn90eJncok/Te2FDZ0i-QI/AAAAAAAAAkE/s5uZ-seo8J4/s1600/drawing+1.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Afn90eJncok/Te2FDZ0i-QI/AAAAAAAAAkE/s5uZ-seo8J4/s320/drawing+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDcDdXRNQ2Q/Te2FFBeS4CI/AAAAAAAAAkI/oRJnaPoRS8I/s1600/drawing+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NDcDdXRNQ2Q/Te2FFBeS4CI/AAAAAAAAAkI/oRJnaPoRS8I/s320/drawing+2.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YNgT2EzxJRU/TgK__id6REI/AAAAAAAAAlI/McwNQL07_yc/s1600/eye+massage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YNgT2EzxJRU/TgK__id6REI/AAAAAAAAAlI/McwNQL07_yc/s320/eye+massage.JPG" width="320" /></a>Twice in the day, the students had an interesting ritual called “Eye massage”. For ten minutes, the students shut their eyes and then massaged around their temples, noses, above and around their eyes. Student monitors came around with clipboards checking and making sure all students were doing their eye exercises which was supposed to help students relax and get rid of any headaches and pressure that would inhibit learning. Although a strange practice, I don’t think I would mind having “Eye massage” time in my classroom in the US! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For the last hour of the day, students cleaned up their classrooms and then got their homework assignments from their teachers. Again, students seemed to go about doing these activities with efficiency and little fuss. I was really quite amazed at how disciplined the students were but also how easily everything seemed to flow and get done. It’s true that the teachers are very well respected and have their place in the school. Nevertheless, the students seemed to have a certain flexibility and freedom to go about doing what they needed to get done. All students seemed to know what was expected of them and what the consequences were for not following through with what was expected of them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VYDm3zmKgEk/Te2Eh5Zyj7I/AAAAAAAAAj0/ET0cCcQfR3s/s1600/lunch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VYDm3zmKgEk/Te2Eh5Zyj7I/AAAAAAAAAj0/ET0cCcQfR3s/s320/lunch.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healthy school lunch- This isn't your corndog and pizza!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Could such a utopian learning environment work in the US? I don’t think it could work so easily. The value of education and it being the key to future success and happiness is so deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and history. That’s not to say that education is undervalued in the US. The US on some level has much more complex social issues that play a role and affect a child’s education and future wellbeing. Some of those issues don’t even come into play in China. Additionally, my one glimpse into one primary school here may not be a fair indicator of education and learning in all schools across China. Some drawbacks in China are that students become easily stressed because of their heavy workload and as they get older, they have very little opportunities to participate in creative activities, volunteer opportunities, jobs and other experiences that contribute to a young person’s growth and education. Nevertheless, I think all learners, whether in China or the US, can benefit from teachers who have the time to focus on individual students’ needs as well as being well prepared for the classroom. Neither overworking students nor teachers can sustainably be productive in the long run.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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To read some of my previous posts on education, visit:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://travelforcause.blogspot.com/2010/12/schools-days.html">School Days: Part 1</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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</div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-8805819118012753332011-06-06T09:18:00.001-07:002011-06-22T20:38:50.028-07:00My 15 Minutes (or 4 hours) of Fame: My experience as a "rented" foreignerTwo weeks ago was my “coming out”, red carpet appearance as the Sales Executive from the Shanghai Cast Wine Company. What, what, what? Some of you may be scratching your heads and thinking, “I thought Stephanie was an English teacher at a university in China…..”. Well yes, that is indeed my day job, but China has offered both Derek and me a range of very unique job opportunities such as starring in a TV show, being a bidder of million dollar art in Beijing and pretending to be a French wine connoisseur and sales executive at the opening of a wine store in Jiang Zemin’s (former President of China) hometown of Jiangdu. <br /><div class="MsoNormal">My façade as a French wine dealer began two Fridays ago when I got a text message from Johnny who initially tried to recruit me last fall to attend a similar event back then. I had been too busy in the fall but finally having some time last weekend and being intrigued by the “rent-a-foreigner” concept, I began negotiating my role in this strange business arrangement. Initially Johnny texted that I would simply have to attend a party as a guest the next day. “Very Easy!”, he wrote. As I text-negotiated the arrangement, I learned that I would actually need to arrive in Jiangdu that Friday night. That gradually became a late afternoon departure from Nanjing, but with all travel and accommodation arrangements made by Johnny and the pay I wanted agreed upon, I decided to take the plunge. </div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw4L0eBQtSE/Te0EEo3oYDI/AAAAAAAAAiM/ECYX-wJ1DcI/s1600/wine%2Bshop.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615148788137615410" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qw4L0eBQtSE/Te0EEo3oYDI/AAAAAAAAAiM/ECYX-wJ1DcI/s320/wine%2Bshop.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The swanky interior of the wine shop</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Five hours after the initial text message from Johnny, I was on a bus with him snacking on some KFC and learning about the details of the set-up. Johnny explained that a friend of a friend was opening a wine store in Jiangdu that sold French wine. The wine store would have special clients from the local business community and government. Those special clients would then help promote his store and wine products further in the city and also sell the wine to other customers. For such a store opening, it is customary to show appreciation to your connections by having a big shindig which is also an opportunity to celebrate the store’s opening and have friends, family, and connections wish you luck. As I have mentioned in my last <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yz7fW342u_w/Te0EZP91aTI/AAAAAAAAAiU/pmnE0DokO-E/s1600/johhny.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yz7fW342u_w/Te0EZP91aTI/AAAAAAAAAiU/pmnE0DokO-E/s1600/johhny.JPG"> </a>post, having foreigners at such events shows prestige and puts on an image that a company may even have connections abroad. So that was going to be my role in this entire scheme. Another Western woman had been recruited from Shanghai and I would meet her later in the evening. </div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--f-dNk3A7dw/Te0Ge6uEiWI/AAAAAAAAAjE/jzlMrV9HWaY/s1600/anna%2B2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615151438629210466" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--f-dNk3A7dw/Te0Ge6uEiWI/AAAAAAAAAjE/jzlMrV9HWaY/s320/anna%2B2.JPG" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 240px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my co-wine "saleswomen", Anna</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">When Johnny and I arrived in Jiangdu, we were picked up by a man who seemed to be a friend of the owner of the wine store or at least was someone who wanted to impress the owner. We’ll call him Chao. We first checked into our hotel and then there was no time to waste. Not even with a chance to drop my bag off in my room upstairs, Johnny and I were quickly shuttled to the wine store where I was taken upstairs, awkwardly introduced to the owner and his wife and another person (a client?) only to be whisked away a few minutes later to dinner in an adjacent hotel. With Johnny being my only companion in this strange arrangement, I ate dinner with the people I met at the wine store and some other folks in a private room. A poker table was set up in the corner of the room which Chinese people love to play on such company team-building and <i>Guanxi</i> building occasions. I thought I was going to be trapped in the room for hours on end but to my pleasant surprise, I was shuffled back to my hotel room promptly after dinner (although Chao was nowhere to be found and still had my bag in his car). For the next two hours, my planned relaxing evening turned into me researching facts and information about red wine from France and its health benefits. Johnny told me I had to be prepared to say some facts or pretend to be knowledgeable about red wine since I was likely going to be playing a representative from a Shanghai wine exporter. At around 9:30, Chao arrived in my room briefly with Anna, my fellow-foreigner at the event and then whisked her away presumably to take her to the wine store as well. Finally at 10 p.m., we were summoned to the banquet hall where the party would be held the next day. Anna was there waiting with a Chinese woman and I finally got to properly meet her. From Ukraine, Anna was getting her Masters at university in Shanghai and training to be a Chinese language teacher. Not surprisingly, her Chinese was quite fluent. Ironically she was instructed to pretend that she couldn’t speak any Chinese- a part I had no trouble playing. We sat and waited around for the next 45 minutes and finally got instruction that I would be giving a speech in English at the opening of the store the next day and that Anna would be a guest at the event. I offered to write the speech but Johnny said he needed to do it. Finally at 11 pm, Anna and I announced we were going to our rooms and would not be waiting around anymore. The next morning, I found out that Johnny was up until 1 a.m. helping with arrangements and making sure everything was perfect for the big day.</div>I awoke at 7 a.m. the next morning to the sound of gregarious, drunken wedding guests in the hallway outside my room. I quickly got up and got ready for the big day. I met Johnny in the hotel lobby at 8:20 and went over my role of the day. I would give a short speech in English with a line in Chinese at the opening of the store and then cut the ribbon along with the owner and a couple of other government and business hotshots.<br /><br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ucrG4tL9hk/Te0FmeSMS0I/AAAAAAAAAis/7R1M44L918M/s1600/johhny.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615150468923411266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ucrG4tL9hk/Te0FmeSMS0I/AAAAAAAAAis/7R1M44L918M/s320/johhny.JPG" style="float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 240px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for my inaugural speech</td></tr></tbody></table>At 9 am, Anna, Johnny and I were taken by Chao to the wine store and hung around for the next hour as we waited for our important moment. Pretty Chinese girls dressed in traditional dresses that buttoned up to the neck passed out bottled water to us and other guests and pinned corsages on our dresses. Finally, our moment came and we were summoned outside. A crowd had gathered out in front of the store and curious passerby’s stopped with their children to see the “groundbreaking” event. The owner of the store gave a speech and then came my big moment! I had practiced the speech- especially the Chinese line and read it from a piece of light red paper for luck. As I stepped up to the microphone, there was some moments of awkwardness (which seemed like a full two minutes) as one of the ushers struggled to raise the microphone up to my height (which was only enhanced by the high heels I wore). Finally I gave my speech. My speech went something like this, “Chairman Cheng and esteemed guests. I am from the Shanghai Caste Wine Company. The Caste wine company started in 2000 and now it has moved to Jiangdu for its new home where it will bring much success. In Chinese “Congratulations and wishing you much luck!”. There was a lot of clapping and then the big wigs and I stepped forward to cut the ribbon.<br /><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0Q63OGSUYE/Te0EuMhyqQI/AAAAAAAAAic/xK4o3DVWLUU/s1600/speech.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615149502084327682" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l0Q63OGSUYE/Te0EuMhyqQI/AAAAAAAAAic/xK4o3DVWLUU/s320/speech.JPG" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My opening speech</td></tr></tbody></table><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwBpggAjuwE/Te0FE3ARa5I/AAAAAAAAAik/hQBVQw6AQhQ/s1600/ribbon.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615149891443583890" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fwBpggAjuwE/Te0FE3ARa5I/AAAAAAAAAik/hQBVQw6AQhQ/s320/ribbon.JPG" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 240px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting the ribbon</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">We were all then driven to the hotel where the banquet was to be held. Anna and I had to sign our name in a guest book (similar to a book that might be at a wedding) and wrote our well-wishes to the company. We spent a few minutes in a conference room where men were smoking and playing poker. Finally we were brought into the banquet room and told to sit at one of the tables in the front of the room. Johnny told us some guests wanted to have their pictures taken with Anna and me so we shuffled our way to the stage for some snapshots. Soon the banquet began. One of the chairmen of the event gave a speech and then I had to give my speech again. But the best part was yet to come. Finally, waitresses came out and poured glasses of white wine for all the guests. The chairmen and another woman gave a short explanation about the wine and how to drink it, practicing such rituals like swishing it around in your mouth before swallowing it. It wasn’t long before many of our Chinese guests were pretty red in the cheeks and starting to get a little tipsy. It didn’t help that there were only plates of pistachios, some sweets and dried squid on table to eat. Eventually, round two came which was a red wine.<br /></div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VAoC24c02og/Te0F-2ndE2I/AAAAAAAAAi0/O0sD9Wju8Go/s1600/opera%2Bsinger.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615150887771902818" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VAoC24c02og/Te0F-2ndE2I/AAAAAAAAAi0/O0sD9Wju8Go/s320/opera%2Bsinger.JPG" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 149px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peking opera singer</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">The guests were quite jovial by then. The entertainment of the event started which included a woman singing a popular song from the Beijing Olympics; and then a cheesy electric violin dancer who was playing Pachebel’s Canon in D to a techno-pop beat and dancing up to some of the guests while she played. However, my favorite performance and the highlight of the banquet for me was the Peking Opera singer (who was not dressed up in costume). Seeing a man on the stage, I was taken aback and quite surprised when a high, shrill, feminine and vibrato-filled voice came out. It was really quite mesmerizing to see him so close and I learned that Jiang Zemin himself is a fan of Peking Opera since it reminds him of his youth. The particular singer at the banquet allegedly performs for Jiang Zemin whenever he is in town for any events. I was touched (probably with the aid of the wine I was drinking) when the singer turned to me after the song and said “Thank you”. </div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UxygGRC50rU/Te0G7XLgi0I/AAAAAAAAAjM/238DxxOv8JY/s1600/ganbei.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615151927305210690" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UxygGRC50rU/Te0G7XLgi0I/AAAAAAAAAjM/238DxxOv8JY/s320/ganbei.JPG" style="float: right; height: 254px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" border="0" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Guanxi"-ing and "Gan bei"-ing</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">The rest of the banquet seemed to be a blur. At one point I had to press a button on a computer to pick a winner for the raffle door prize and then hand a gift basket with a bottle of wine to the winner. There were several rounds of food brought out and maybe four rounds of wine poured. Like many Chinese dinners and banquets, guests at different tables were toasting one another, a ritual where everyone at a particular table stands up, wishes each other well and then drinks the rest of what’s in their glass (if people say <i>gan bei</i> which literally means “dry glass” and means “bottoms up!”). Sometimes a guest from one table may make the rounds to another table and toast all the people there and wish them well. This is what Anna and I had to do (all part of our job!). We stopped at the table of Chao who wanted to impress his friends. Drunkenly and in broken English he yelled out with a chuckle, “These are my friends!!” to which Anna and I gave a nod and a polite hello and a clink of the glass (I’m happy to say that he did not drive us to the bus station later). </div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, at around 1 pm, the banquet was over as quick as it had started. There was no lingering or chit chat for Anna and me. Instead we were quickly shuffled away, picked up our stuff from our hotel and were then taken directly to the bus station. By 2 pm, Johnny and I were back on a bus to Nanjing where we both quickly crashed and fell asleep in our seats from exhaustion.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Would I do one of these events again the future? Probably not. It was pretty easy but also a little bit exhausting being shuffled around and then told to take a picture, toast a guest or say some kind words on cue. Still, Anna did say that it was an interesting glimpse into Chinese culture and the art of how relationships are formed. I definitely feel that it enriched my experience here as a foreigner in China this year. <i>Gan bei</i>!<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">For another interesting link on “Rent-a-foreigner”:</div><div class="MsoNormal">Farrar, Lara (June 29, 2010). Chinese companies ‘rent’ white foreigners. CNN. Retrieved from<br /><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/29/china.rent.white.people/index.html">http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/29/china.rent.white.people/index.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-63487025155603565192011-06-06T08:56:00.000-07:002011-06-06T08:56:17.782-07:00Business the Chinese Way<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">About a year ago when we first learned that we would be moving to China, a friend in Seattle forwarded us a bizarre story from NPR (a public radio/ news station in the US) about the practice of Westerners being hired as a front in offices of Chinese companies or at certain events. At the time, I thought this was an unusual practice that was probably limited to men. We even joked that Derek could get a job filling in one of the offices of a Chinese company where he could get paid for being there and also get the necessary work done for his own company. But anyway, we figured it was only done in cities such as Beijing or Shanghai and we were not sure how we would be identified for such opportunities. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A couple of months after we arrived here in China, I was giving an “English corner” presentation at our university about Thanksgiving (the English Corner is a club on campus where English language enthusiasts can get together. The foreign teachers are required to give at least one presentation a year on topics related to life and culture in our countries). Afterwards, I was approached by Johnny, a student in his last year or study at NUFE who was helping a friend of a friend working for a wine company selling imported wine. Said company was going to be organizing an event in a small city two hours from Nanjing at which important local government officials and business people would be attending.<span> </span>Johnny started aggressively recruiting me and Mechtthild, a friend of mine from Germany, to attend the event. We were told we would just have to dress professionally, show up and drink wine (sounded easy enough!). However, neither Mechtthild nor I could attend as we both had teaching commitments that day (which Johnny encouraged us to cancel but we couldn’t). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When Mecththild was first explained about the arrangement, she kept asking me on the side why they wanted us, random Western women, to attend. I explained from my own limited understanding that it was a status symbol for Westerners to attend such events and it brought a certain amount of prestige to a company. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Guanxi</i> is also a very important concept in Chinese business. Roughly meaning “relationship” in English, the Pinyin (romanization of Chinese words) is increasingly being incorporated into English-language business practices here in China. Without <i>Guanxi</i>, many business transactions in China simply cannot take place. <i>Quanxi</i> describes an individual’s personal network and connection with other important individuals. At a certain time, an individual such as a businessman may need to reach out to a friend or family member for a favor. Take for example the wine company that Johnny’s friend’s friend, etc. owned. In order for that owner to successfully launch his business, garner clients and customers within the community, he needs to “scratch the back” of any friends and influential people in city that he knows. “Scratching the back” doesn’t necessarily imply giving money. Rather it can come in the form of respect and trust. Cultivating such relationships can take time and finesse.<span> </span>Our wine owner has to show his appreciation for his local government official friends so that he can get necessary permits to open his store and garner customers. Local government officials take an active interest in the growth of companies which is tied in with economic growth of the community. Such local government officials may become major clients and accounts of the wine business and then help sell the wine to more individuals. Therefore, our friend the wine store owner must hold events such as banquets and fancy dinners in a hotel with entertainment and “important Western sales executives” to lavish and show appreciation to his sponsors and government officials.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m learning that a <i>Quanxi</i> network can be quite intricate. Take for example Johnny’s aggressiveness with recruiting me for opening of the wine store. Although Johnny didn’t work for the wine seller, he could potentially benefit from knowing and helping the friend of the friend opening the business. Down the road when Johnny graduates from college and needs a job, he will already have a couple of points in the <i>Guanxi</i> book for having successfully recruited Westerners for wine events. Looking at it from that point of view, it makes sense why he was persistent and aggressive. He is likely under pressure and working on garnering his relationships right now for future job prospects and no doubt wants to make a favorable impression. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal">At the end of the day, <i>Quanxi</i> may not seem vastly different from “networking” in the West or more crassly, the “Old boys club”. Some critics may think that it’s a dishonest and corrupt practice. Nevertheless, business practices and the long term success of a business in China depends on the very intricate personal relationship between individuals all the way down to the grassroots level. Although it may be seen as a time and cost-consuming practice, Chinese and foreign companies must practice it and it strengthens trust and relationships in the long run. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">For more information on Chinese business practices and <i>Guanxi</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span><span>-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Chinese Business Culture <a href="http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html">http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/guanxi.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span><span>-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanxi">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanxi</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br />
</div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-6081970351266470432011-05-21T08:27:00.000-07:002011-05-21T08:42:59.918-07:00Small momentsWhat seemed initially like an infinite amount of time here in China is probably soon approaching an end. Now I am busier than ever with school work and I am also conducting research on Chinese education, learning and teaching methods. With my remaining time left, I try to find time to see more of China than the limited, walled-in existence we have had living on the campus of the university this year. Some days our lives consist only of going to the classrooms where we teach or perhaps a nearby coffee shop to work and then back home. About two months ago I noticed myself slipping into a slight depression from this limited existence. The initial curiosity and wonder that we experienced in our earlier months here had started to wear off and I found myself complaining about China, teaching, the food here, and other trivial things and yearning for the comforts of home and the closeness and companionship of friends and family.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Lately I have been trying to make an effort instead to appreciate the little things here in China and not dwell on what may make me unhappy. I have started a catalog of memories from this past year of snapshot moments that ostensibly may seem ordinary but are quite special to me. Some of these moments are humorous, some are bizarre, some are “a-ha” moments, and others are just moving. Some of them I have been lucky enough to share with people dear to me, while other moments I have experienced with strangers. They may be small moments when I am walking home from the supermarket at dusk and catching a glimpse of a group of women doing a slow and delicate tai-chi exercise in a small park on the corner. Or it may be sharing a taxi ride with a driver who is patient enough to converse with me in my broken Chinese and tell me about his sons and wife. Or racing in the back of a motorcycle “rickshaw” to get to the ancient wall of Nanjing before the sun sets so that I can spend the special moment with my friends and be reminded of sweet memories from my childhood and my grandfather on his birthday. I’ve captured all of these moments and know that these are what make life special.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rzkt70GCdQc/TdeUEJj72vI/AAAAAAAAAhw/mMX3TBe2cYo/s1600/sunset.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609114659920272114" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rzkt70GCdQc/TdeUEJj72vI/AAAAAAAAAhw/mMX3TBe2cYo/s320/sunset.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special sunset at Zhonghuamen- Gate of the Nanjing Wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Although I can’t completely change myself and the propensity to always stress about the future and what’s ahead, I will certainly try in life to live more for the moment. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sending all of you my love and hoping that you also are capturing special moments and living in the moment to the fullest. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H8Jk-Z325LE/TdeUe6cQJ-I/AAAAAAAAAh4/lcXIhbgZmkc/s1600/monk.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609115119717984226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H8Jk-Z325LE/TdeUe6cQJ-I/AAAAAAAAAh4/lcXIhbgZmkc/s320/monk.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A kind monk on Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) who penned some words of luck on a red ribbon for me. I've felt blessed the past couple of weeks. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73TVgwoJ2vU/TdfcOoLVuWI/AAAAAAAAAiA/a12y5mzBgds/s1600/calligraphy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-73TVgwoJ2vU/TdfcOoLVuWI/AAAAAAAAAiA/a12y5mzBgds/s320/calligraphy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another cataloged moment: Watching some graceful calligraphy in the park</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNhTddCpTek/TdfcVZZB1aI/AAAAAAAAAiE/NG5YpnptQaY/s1600/chicken+scratch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TNhTddCpTek/TdfcVZZB1aI/AAAAAAAAAiE/NG5YpnptQaY/s320/chicken+scratch.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese onlookers watching with curiosity as Derek writes chicken- scratch (I say chicken scratch because the character he is writing is "chicken")</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
</div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-21911800154401659522011-02-26T07:05:00.000-08:002012-09-29T02:59:21.931-07:00Vietnam EncountersAfter being in Cambodia, we were not sure whether Vietnam or any other place could match up to it. Touching down in Danang, the weather was cold and wet and there was no friendly and warm Den at the airport to greet us. Since the ride I had arranged never showed up (there was a man there with a “Ms. Stephanie” sign but when we all realized that his client was the other Western woman in the Danang airport who also happened to be named Stephanie, he quickly dumped our bags in the parking lot and left us standing there confused and bewildered), we had to bum a ride from Ben, a friendly Vietnamese student we met on the plane. With a little bit of stopping and questioning on the side of the road, Ben and his father finally found our hotel, Hotel Jimmy. Our hotel was a not so attractive building near the infamous China beach, but it being night, we could have been in any deserted beach town. Once checked into our hotel and changed into our winter clothes (which we had not wore since leaving China), we wandered down the street seeking an ATM and hopefully some Pho, Vietnamese hot broth that had always been comfort food to us in Seattle. In the end for dinner, we shivered in an open air, contiki style restaurant that would probably be the perfect setting in this beach town during the summer but was anything but on that cold, damp January night in Danang. We quickly jogged back to Jimmy in the deserted streets dodg<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
ing the local rats and jumped into our bed to warm up for the night. Thus began our trip to Vietnam.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJRKiqAFWwg/TWdiQTmvpRI/AAAAAAAAAgA/tiW3Ze_q7H0/s1600/fishermen.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJRKiqAFWwg/TWdiQTmvpRI/AAAAAAAAAgA/tiW3Ze_q7H0/s320/fishermen.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishermen on China Beach or My Khe the morning after we arrived in Vietnam.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JeVARlGBaYE/TWidOko22zI/AAAAAAAAAgM/obnDJZjBI4g/s1600/Uncle+Ho.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JeVARlGBaYE/TWidOko22zI/AAAAAAAAAgM/obnDJZjBI4g/s320/Uncle+Ho.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posters and placards of "Uncle Ho" Chi Minh<br />
dot the cities and countryside </td></tr>
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Not to worry dear readers. This blog is not a rant about Vietnam. In fact, the trip got way better the next day. These are the ingredients that made the trip so unforgettable: motorbikes; Kiwi companions; a feisty woman named Tam; encounters with some locals; and the inevitable improvement of the weather. Just add some water (literally) and you have an unforgettable vacation in Vietnam. </div>
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<u><b>Riding around with our Kiwis</b></u></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Following our lead to Tam's surf shop</td></tr>
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Riding around aimlessly on a motorbike we rented from Jimmy the next day, we spotted a couple on the side of the road holding a surf board. Now let me explain. Surfing was one of the main reasons why we came to Danang and China Beach. But seeing the dismal weather and lack of surfboard rental places (and surfers), we thought it was a lost cause. So when we met Zandre and Linselee on the side of the road, they gladly showed us the way to Tam’s Surf Shop about half a kilometer away from the beach. And that is where everything came together and how our trip was set into motion for the next few days. While sitting at Tam’s waiting for lunch and deliberating whether to rent the sought after long board, Matt and Naomi came in for lunch. Thus we met our travel companions/ now friends-for-life from New Zealand. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Kiwi companions Matt and Naomi</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DyIJ9niu38o/TWieWb-OalI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/HJllrh-QMw0/s1600/hue+trip.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DyIJ9niu38o/TWieWb-OalI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/HJllrh-QMw0/s320/hue+trip.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All suited up for the rain for our motorcycle journey to Hue</td></tr>
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Although considerably younger than us (they had just graduated from college/uni and were taking a month long holiday before Matt started his new job), we had a quick connection with Matt and Naomi. Like us, they had come to Danang to test the waters of China Beach and had an open schedule for the next week. Over the next week, the four of us travelled by motorbike up and down part of the coast of Central Vietnam while flexibly picking an agenda for our travels by our mood and the daily weather. From Danang, we travelled to nearby Marble Mountain as well as an epic day trip to Hue (actually we didn’t quite make it to Hue, as the downpour and crazy traffic from the Tet holiday led us to turn back before dark). From Hoi An, a beautiful ancient port city influenced by Chinese, Japanese and French traders and inhabitants, we celebrated Tet (Vietnamese New Year) and travelled to My Son; Cham Island; and back to China Beach in Danang for surfing once the weather had improved. In the evenings as well as for many of our mornings, we dined at Tam’s, the same shop where we rented surfboards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bPOIFJzTxl4/TWikhYPQWqI/AAAAAAAAAgo/xfN6n7OBv8Q/s1600/my+son.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bPOIFJzTxl4/TWikhYPQWqI/AAAAAAAAAgo/xfN6n7OBv8Q/s320/my+son.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champa ruins at My Son</td></tr>
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<u><b>Tam</b></u></div>
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Dining at Tam’s became a ritual for us as she really cooked the yummiest comfort food I’ve had in Asia. Opening at 7 every morning, Tam would make her bread rolls from scratch every day. She and her daughters would prepare meals for customers in the little kitchen in the back of the surf shop where they presumably also lived. Mornings we usually all ordered bacon, scrambled eggs and potato wedges and evenings her cheeseburgers or spaghetti bolognaise really hit the spot. Her American style food, although simple, is so far my favorite in Asia as it reminds me more like something Mom would make just for me with a little TLC. Since food was made from scratch and prepared only when customers ordered it, it was usually a 45 minute to hour wait. But the wait was worth it and once we were happily eating and Tam had finished cooking, she would pull a chair up next to us and begin to tell stories about her past.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Tam in her surfshop and diner.</td></tr>
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Danang, being just south of the former border between North and South Vietnam during the Vietnam War and being the major offense point for strikes into North Vietnam, was right in the middle of the action during the war. Although I’m not sure whether Tam heralded from Danang or Hue or elsewhere, she came of age during the war and has positive and fond memories of US troops. The US troops took her in, offered her jobs (which helped her family) and protected her. When recalling stories of the war, Tam would get a twinkle in her eyes and seem to be transported back in time. The GIs, she affectionately referred to as “her boys”. Many of “her boys” may have only been briefly part of her life but forever left a mark in her memory. Some of her boys, now grown men, fathers and grandfathers, have returned to Vietnam in recent years to locate where they were stationed during the war; or a spot where they had a few fleeting, happy memories; or where they fought a hard battle and maybe lost a friend. Some of these grown men Tam knew when she was a girl, known as the “Crazy One”. One returned to Vietnam with his grown son and located a spot where Tam and he had been under ambush and where he had saved her life. Another vet, who had not known Tam during the war, had heard about Tam through other vets who had travelled back. Tirelessly he had been trying to find his son, left behind as a toddler at the end of the war. When he finally met Tam in recent years, he had already been on three separate trips to Vietnam and had paid a lot of money to various parties to help him find his son to no avail. Tam recalled the story of taking a motorbike up a steep, wet mountain to a remote village where she found the man’s son, a spitting image of his father. Father and son were reunited after 30+ years. Although separated by thousands of miles and years and language difficulties, father and son have been slowly getting to know each other better and perhaps can begin the process of healing from years of loss, abandonment, and separation. The father, who never married or had any children in the US, now has a family and a legacy in the world.</div>
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In addition to helping vets, Tam has met wives, sisters and brothers who have come to Vietnam for a better understanding of the place where their husband or brother fought and may have lost his life. She has helped them also locate spots where their loved ones may have gone missing or been killed, thus providing hopefully some form of healing and closure for loved ones. In the years following the war, Tam’s life was at times very difficult and included additional tales of abandonment, poverty and other trials and tribulations. Nevertheless, Tam took in<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmG9kRYHmEc/TWkOkz900cI/AAAAAAAAAhM/r2tfmrwRC9Q/s1600/kids.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578005639062671810" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmG9kRYHmEc/TWkOkz900cI/AAAAAAAAAhM/r2tfmrwRC9Q/s320/kids.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 182px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 273px;" /></a> and adopted children and trudged along and persisted to provide a better future for her family. I have so much admiration and respect for Tam’s persistence, compassion and her heart of gold that has helped make it possible for so many families to heal, find closure, forgive and love again.</div>
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<u><b>S</b><b>weet Encounters</b></u><br />
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Before coming to Vietnam, I was under the illusion that being American, we would not be received warmly in Vietnam given our history there. However, the US’s complicated 20<sup>th</sup> century history with Vietnam is now interwoven. Indeed there are many Vietnamese communities in the US, a legacy of the war and its aftermath. Furthermore, while Vietnam is still very much an agricultural and rural country, it appears to be on the brink of being the next big hot-spot for the US (and other<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9rrEdp-zWg/TWkPx4_xSjI/AAAAAAAAAhc/KILde0ghc_M/s1600/cao%2Blau.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578006963262933554" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9rrEdp-zWg/TWkPx4_xSjI/AAAAAAAAAhc/KILde0ghc_M/s320/cao%2Blau.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 245px;" /></a> countries) wanting to do business in Asia. Indeed, many international companies are starting to close shop in China and are moving South to open factories and plants in Vietnam. Tourism has also boomed in recent years too. Some people we met said that before 1993, Vietnam was very much closed off the rest of the world, but over the years, more and more tourists have made Vietnam their destination in Asia. No longer is Vietnam a destination you can go as a tourist and be a loner. Most of the tourists I saw were from Australia, a now short plane ride away from Down-Under and an affordable vacation trip for a week. Nevertheless, we did not seem to encounter many other Americans and when people learned of where we were from, they did not react negatively. Maybe it’s because we had some Kiwi companions or because the war was long enough ago that most people have put it behind them. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swapping stories with new friends on Tet</td></tr>
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Our trip to Vietnam was also made memorable by some random and fortunate encounters with some locals. Young people invited us to join their Tet (Vietnamese New Year) festivities of playing guitar and drinking beer and telling stories in the park. There was also Ngahn, a mechanic who fixed Matt’s motorbike when it broke down and invited us into his home during Tet for lunch and then accompanied us for the afternoon with his daughter to the Champa ruins at My Son. </div>
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Our departure from Vietnam was almost as anticlimactic as our arrival there. Weather was poor and our ride did not take us to the border crossing as had been arranged. And although there was no warm send-off when we left, unexpected encounters for a few fleeting hours with friendly people; children playing peek-a-boo on the train; and drive-by “hellos” and “where are you from?” while riding our motorcycle through the countryside; all made our trip to Vietnam the memory of a lifetime.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmong hill tribe in Sapa</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The very touristy Ha Long Bay<br />
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Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-59605039356649279132011-02-16T18:57:00.000-08:002011-02-16T18:57:27.122-08:00Cambodia ReemergesOur visit to Indochina began three weeks ago when our plane touched down one early Sunday morning in late January in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Having spent the night in the Singapore airport and having caught an early 6 AM connecting flight, we groggily stumbled outside of the clean and quaint Siem reap airport to be warmly greeted by Den, our tuk tuk driver from our hotel. Den a small, polite man who was also cheerful in demeanor greeted us with the <i>sompiah</i>, the traditional Cambodian greeting where one presses his or her hands together in front of the chest and bows the head. Moments later we were whisked away on his tuk tuk and taking in the fresh, dry and cool morning air around us as we witnessed communities slowly getting going for the day. After the bustle and craziness of Manila traffic that we had left behind the night before, the quiet calm of Sunday morning in Siem Reap was a welcome change. Having left behind the Philippines and then China two weeks before that, we realized that we were now stepping into yet another kind of Asia. As we whizzed by small farming villages and approached Siem Reap in the tuk tuk, Derek leaned over and said, “I love Cambodia already.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7WyH5nu2dc8/TVp__l8zM2I/AAAAAAAAAfc/ZuN_jPIQMZY/s1600/angkor+wat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7WyH5nu2dc8/TVp__l8zM2I/AAAAAAAAAfc/ZuN_jPIQMZY/s320/angkor+wat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angkor Wat at sunrise</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It seems that Cambodia has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years. It may not yet attract the numbers as its northwestern neighbor Thailand, but it definitely gets its share of visitors from all over the globe. This was apparent to us immediately as we arrived in Siem Reap and saw that we were in good company with fellow tourists from the US, France, Germany, China, Russia, Australia and so on. It’s true you can hardly go more than ten feet down the main street before you are bombarded by locals offering massage services, tuk tuk transport for the day or hoping you will stop in their shop to buy a Northface knock-off backpack for $15. US dollars are the main form of currency in Cambodia and although you sometimes may get change in Riel, the local currency, all ATMS dispense dollars and most transactions down to even the grassroot level are done in dollars. Although there are no McDonalds or Starbucks in Siem Reap, gourmet sandwich and salads and Mexican food are all within a two minute walk. Siem Reap is indeed a town for tourists. Of course the main reason why we all come to Siem Reap and Cambodia for that matter is the nearby magnificent ruins of Angkor Wat. For me it was magical seeing the sun poke up behind the Angkor Wat temple at 6 am and then spending the day climbing up ruins to the treeline and imagining we were kings admiring our kingdom below. I was fulfilling a dream coming to Angkor Wat and I didn’t mind sharing it with others. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derek climbing up to the treeline to view the kingdom below</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZdSjasgvgw/TVyNF5HXPpI/AAAAAAAAAfo/qdBk4wJdJZs/s1600/kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZdSjasgvgw/TVyNF5HXPpI/AAAAAAAAAfo/qdBk4wJdJZs/s320/kids.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cambodia's future</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Cambodians are gentle, quiet and polite people, particularly adults. Children we encountered seemed to come out of their shells a little more and loved greeting tourists and showing us around. I was a little surprised initially to see so many children out and about in the middle of the day and not in school. Keiko, a Peace Corps volunteer from Seattle we met, explained that many children, particularly in rural communities, go to school for half-days. This allows them to help their parents at home or in the fields for part of the day. Some children may go to school in the morning, some in the afternoon. Indeed, children really are the backbone of Cambodia and while it’s true that every country sees hope and future prospects in their children, this case is even more acute in Cambodia where 50% of its population is under the age of 22. This is a sad and sobering result of the civil war and the terror of the Khmer Rouge that ravaged Cambodia in the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s. Rarely did we see people over the age of 40 during our week in Cambodia. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From Keiko; our encounters with locals; and a booklet called “Dos and Don’ts in Cambodia” (yes- there was such a thing- and quite informative too!), we learned about some proper etiquette in Cambodia. Although it’s a country with a very young population, certain elements of society are still quite conservative. This comes from the fact that a majority of the population practices Theravada Buddhism, which I have learned is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. I got an understanding of this rich history while visiting a local <i>wat</i> or temple in Siem Reap. A beautiful and colorful mural told the story of Buddha in several panels around the perimeter of the temple. Unknowingly I committed one of the “Don’ts” of Cambodia by approaching one of the male monks and asking him a question about the mural’s story. You see, it is taboo for a woman to speak to a monk or for him to even look at a woman. To be fair, he did approach us, but he had another man (who was not of the cloth) in tow and he was probably trying to engage in conversation with Derek. Then, while on a bus trip from Battambang to Siem Reap, Derek had a very chatty and friendly monk sit next to him whose English was so good that he had started an English language school. Derek soon learned from his friendly monk about the gender etiquette. Derek asked what would have happened if his girlfriend had sat next to him? Without offering much reason, the monk replied, “I just couldn’t.” This he said before calling his sister on his cel phone and having Derek chat with her in English for a few minutes! So it seems that Cambodians live with a long, proud history of tradition that is now intertwined with elements of modernity. Certain traditions and etiquette are deeply engrained and common place. Keiko explained that had I unknowingly sat next to the monk, the entire bus would have collaborated together to make sure that the monk’s honor and my humility would have been spared.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfoi3q60fP4/TVyNgLK4XEI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ZBYiK8BWInk/s1600/enlightened.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rfoi3q60fP4/TVyNgLK4XEI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ZBYiK8BWInk/s320/enlightened.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enlightened One</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PY9no-dZH1U/TVyNy3uHo7I/AAAAAAAAAfw/ip8uY0kWMp8/s1600/DSC_0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PY9no-dZH1U/TVyNy3uHo7I/AAAAAAAAAfw/ip8uY0kWMp8/s320/DSC_0245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Den</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our week in Cambodia was all too short and provided us only with a sampling of its rich history; its quiet and warm people; and its stunning scenery. I envied Keiko and her boyfriend Tyler a little for having had the opportunity to spend two years experiencing Cambodia. Both Derek and I realized that one week was too short to visit it. On the day we left, it was only apt that our friend Den, out first introduction to the warmness of Cambodia, brought us to the airport. As we exchanged email addresses and said our goodbyes, I bowed to him with a <i>sompiah</i> and Derek shook his hand. It seemed silly that I was feeling regretful and a little choked up about leaving Cambodia after only one week. I guess we’ll have to find a way to come back again and get a greater sampling of it. </div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-21457486863650121762011-02-07T23:08:00.000-08:002011-02-07T23:08:05.335-08:00Revisiting the PhilippinesDear Readers,<br />
<br />
I finally have the chance to catch up on some blogging. Derek and I have been outside of China for the last month traveling in the Philippines, Cambodia and now Vietnam. I have had a lot of blog topic ideas in my head but somehow the time has just slipped by and next week we’ll be headed back to Nanjing where I will be thrown into a busy, hectic schedule again.<br />
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Anyway, while I have a little break in our hectic travel schedule, I thought I would first recap our trip to Philippines. The Philippines holds a special place in my heart and within my family’s history. From 1984-1989, my family lived in Manila- five influential years of my childhood and early adolescence. Before that, my parents were Peace Corps volunteers there in the early years of the program from 1965-1967. Bill, my stepfather, also lived with his family in the early 1960’s in Manila. Finally, my great-grandfather, Julius Jenss, sought adventure in Dagupan, Philippines selling slot machines in the early 1900’s in the years following the Spanish American War and the beginning of a new era of foreign influence in the Philippines. <br />
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Given my extended family history in the Philippines, it was pretty uncanny when Derek came into my life and on our first date, told me that his own father lives in the Philippines. So, it’s meant to be- the Philippines and its draw to me and my family. What has now permanently strengthened my ties with the Philippines is that Derek (and I through him) now has an extended Filipino family. On this trip down to the Philippines, we spent some time with Derek’s father Doug and also got to meet his wife Rowena and their children Angel, Faith, Derrick, Charlene and Simon. Derek’s brothers and sisters took to him very quickly and affectionately called him Kuya or “big brother” in Visayan, which they spoke along with English at home. I too have been dubbed “Auntie Steph”, which I enjoy. <br />
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For me revisiting the Philippines was also made unique by the opportunity to spend time with a Filipino family. My childhood years in Manila gave me the opportunity to meet Filipino friends as well as friends from all over the globe. However meeting Rowena’s family was the first time I really got to spend extensive time with a Filipino family and therefore learn about the important role that family plays there. What I have experienced in the US is that many children move out of home once they come of age and then only see extended family during major holidays. However, in the Philippines, it seems that many children continue to live close to their family even after they have grown up. It’s not uncommon for grown-up sisters, brothers, and even cousins to live under one roof where they may help each other out with raising each others’ children, housekeeping, cooking, etc. In a Filipino family, children therefore grow up with a large but close-knit family. This was interesting for me to see first-hand with Doug and Rowena’s family. Admittedly I am a person who needs her own time and space sometimes and would have to adjust to living under such close quarters. Nevertheless, I do relish the few times in the year when I do see my parents, sisters and grandmother as well as extended family with all my cousins and wish that spending time with them wasn’t always squished into a one week period within a year or two. Communities with strong, close-knit families like in the Philippines have their merits for sure. <br />
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In addition to meeting our Filipino family, here are some of my favorite experiences in the Philippines (not in any particular order of favorite):<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmQIn75sI/AAAAAAAAAe0/rkIOR0QFX7M/s1600/jeepney03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmQIn75sI/AAAAAAAAAe0/rkIOR0QFX7M/s320/jeepney03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeepney</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><b>Riding in a jeepney and tricycle:</b></b> Jeepneys are extended jeeps that the Filipinos cleverly modeled from jeeps left by American GIs in WWII. They are probably the most widely-used mode of transportation in the Philippines. Jeepneys are family owned and operated and drive along a certain route. The destinations are penned on the side of the jeepney as well as on signs on the front dashboard. Passengers enter the jeepney in the back and then sit on a long seat along the length of the jeepney facing passengers on the opposite side. A ride in Manila was only 7 Pesons, about $.20 and payment is handed up by passengers in the back to the driver in the front. Another common mode of transportation are tricycles- motorbikes with extra seats you can hop onto and tell the driver where you want to go. Sometimes you’ll have to share the ride with someone else.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmUVCIA1I/AAAAAAAAAe4/uIKXVfT8fxI/s1600/derek+jeepney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmUVCIA1I/AAAAAAAAAe4/uIKXVfT8fxI/s320/derek+jeepney.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derek riding in a jeepney in Manila</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmjTaJC5I/AAAAAAAAAe8/lXAenCm2dYw/s1600/tric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDmjTaJC5I/AAAAAAAAAe8/lXAenCm2dYw/s320/tric.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tricycles and busy streets in Tagum</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDoIBkQKRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/38T9i8g6y44/s1600/bangka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDoIBkQKRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/38T9i8g6y44/s320/bangka.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bangka boat</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <b>Bangka boats, nipa huts, disappearing islands, and snorkeling:</b> Need I say more? Beautiful white sand beaches, untouched coral reefs with bright blue star-fish and an array of tropical fish. And to top it off, how about some freshly cracked coconut juice picked from the tree five minutes before while you were out snorkeling?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDokKrZpUI/AAAAAAAAAfE/8cdxuVucvVM/s1600/nipa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDokKrZpUI/AAAAAAAAAfE/8cdxuVucvVM/s320/nipa.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nipa hut</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDpQl_-SUI/AAAAAAAAAfI/V1fVWN1OlpU/s1600/polvoron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDpQl_-SUI/AAAAAAAAAfI/V1fVWN1OlpU/s320/polvoron.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Polvoron</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Polvoron, calamansi juice and Chippy:</b> My favorite Filipino snacks and junkfood. Polvoron is powdered milk candy. Sounds strange but yummy! <br />
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<b>Karaoke singing at home or by the pool:</b> The experience is made even better by the wide selection of cheesy 80’s music that seems to be embraced with such fervor in the Philippines.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDpc_c01lI/AAAAAAAAAfM/sFu7pWdiosk/s1600/karaoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDpc_c01lI/AAAAAAAAAfM/sFu7pWdiosk/s320/karaoke.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kuya</i> Derek signing the Gambler.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Filipino communication skills 101:</b> Here is a lesson on communicating with a Pinoy. If someone asks you a question and you want to respond affirmatively “yes”, simply look at that person and raise your eyebrows once. If someone asks you where something is, simply point in the direction of said object with your lips. If you would like to get someone’s attention, simply make a very slight hissing sound.<br />
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<b>Lovely people:</b> Besides the beautiful beaches, I think the Philippines biggest draw is in fact the Filipino people. Getting around is not a problem because English is so widely spoken. People are warm, gracious, friendly and are always happy to show you Filipino hospitality.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDql838c2I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/xi9N_0GTHDo/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDql838c2I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/xi9N_0GTHDo/s320/DSC_0089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDq_WEogiI/AAAAAAAAAfU/U29f7wXB3iE/s1600/DSC_0424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDq_WEogiI/AAAAAAAAAfU/U29f7wXB3iE/s320/DSC_0424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDrLI3ey1I/AAAAAAAAAfY/DKPoGfcGqpE/s1600/IMG_0391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TVDrLI3ey1I/AAAAAAAAAfY/DKPoGfcGqpE/s320/IMG_0391.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-20050542205095886932011-01-07T19:23:00.000-08:002011-01-07T19:23:27.786-08:00Holidays with "Ersatz" Family in ChinaHappy new year or as is said in China, “Xin nian kuai le”!<br />
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It’s incredible to believe that it has been more than four months since we arrived here in China. Already our first semester here has wrapped up. We’re starting to feel settled and navigate our way around Nanjing comfortably. Slowly but surely, we are learning little bits of Chinese. I am starting to feel like an old pro when it comes to taking the “black cabs” which are cars driven privately by people for extra cash. I’m able to bargain and make it clear with by brief words and actions that the 10 RMB that they think they can charge this foreigner, is indeed too much- which we both know. I put my hand up showing what looks like an “L” sign and tell the driver, “Ba quai!” which gets all the other drivers waiting around laughing and imitating me. Indeed there is a satisfaction with playing their game on their terms.<br />
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Additionally, we’ve made some nice friends here- both Chinese and Western. It just seems that when you live in a foreign city (or any new place), you organically become part of a circle of friends. Derek and I have been lucky to have Mike and Tien in our lives here and they have introduced us to a wider circle of friends as well. Our friend Lucy from London (not known as “Lucy from London”) has been a great downstairs neighbor and a dear friend as she and we both adjusted to living here. We’ve also made some friendships with the Chinese. We’ve enjoyed getting to know our friend Jason and his girlfriend Scorpio who we’ve dined with a few times (loved the dumpling but not a fan of the pigs’ feet!).<br />
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It was nice to have our extended “Ersatz” family around on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Christmas here in China was especially memorable. Derek and I hosted a Christmas day pancake breakfast with bacon, Gluehwein and Bloody Marys! Both Chinese and foreign teacher friends came. For many of our Chinese friends, it was either the first time they had “celebrated” Christmas or spent time with Westerners on Christmas. For the Chinese, Christmas is indeed seen as a Western holiday or “our” holiday so people love wishing you “Merry Christmas”. Anyway, in the evening of Christmas, we went to a potluck dinner hosted by two of the foreign teachers here. Secret Santa gifts were exchanged; food ranging from rosemary chicken to Chinese duck was gobbled up; and then there was lots of alcohol consumption. After the potluck dinner, we all went caroling at the student dormitories. The students loved it!!! We felt a little like celebrities.<br />
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Christmas was indeed different but memorable. As for new years, that was fun but came and went without any particular fanfare. It could be because January 1st is just another day here. It doesn’t compare in significance to the spring festival or Chinese New Year. The Chinese do indeed enjoy the festive side of the Western holiday season. It’s not uncommon to see ornaments in shopping areas, people dressed up in red Santa outfits and to hear Christmas tunes playing. However, all of that is quickly shelved on December 26th. Now everything is decked out for the upcoming spring festival or Chinese New Year in early February.<br />
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For Spring festival this year, Derek and I will be in Vietnam celebrating their Tet Festival and then wrapping up the Chinese new year festivities in Southern China. Today we (along with many of the other foreign teachers) will be going on an overseas trip to the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Yunnan province in Southern China. We won’t be back in our Chinese hometown until February 17th. There is much anticipation for both Derek and I as we head out on this trip, especially as we visit the Philippines. In addition to linking up with Derek’s father and his family, I am anxious to see my former home of five years from my childhood and early adolescence. Many of you know me as someone who is super nostalgic for the 80’s, particularly through cheesy 80’s tunes. Many of my associations and memories from the 80’s come from those five years in Manila from 1984-1989. I’m anxious to explore for a day with Derek where we lived and some other old haunts. I would love to go back to the old campus of ISM where we went to school but I know that ISM has now moved to a new and swankier campus. I know it’s foolish to expect to arrive back in Manila and for it to be the same as it was in 1989 when we left. However, I just want to relive some of it- briefly for a day. And, I’m curious to see how much Manila has changed in the 20+ years!<br />
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So, while we’re celebrating our holidays belatedly here in Asia, we will be thinking of all of you- our friends and family all over the world.<br />
Xin nian hao (Happy Chinese new year!)!Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-7211420192229257412010-12-21T07:17:00.000-08:002011-03-13T08:31:32.782-07:00Schools Days<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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{mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I learned today that if I had been a high school student here in China, I would never have made it to the age of 18. Why? Because I am a person who gets super overwhelmed when there is too much on my plate and when 20 hours of my day are jammed packed with no time for me to breathe. Actually, I would think that such conditions are not healthy for anyone, yet millions of Chinese high school students experience such a demanding schedule.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">High school education in China is so rigorous in order to prepare students for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or the <i style="">Gao Kao</i>, which is the sole determinant of entrance into Chinese universities. Since there are such high stakes in this exam, students have an extremely full schedule every day for four years. <span style=""> </span>First of all, students have classes 7 days a week. Sunday is the only day that students have a half day. During the week and on Saturdays, students typically get up at 5:30 and start school at 6:15 am. They have classes until 11:45. There is a very short lunch break until 12:15. Students can then put their heads down on their desks and nap until 12:45. Every day at 12:45, students will have a math exam that lasts until 2 pm. Classes are followed from 2 until 6 pm; then a short dinner break and then more classes and exams until 10 in the evening. You would think that since classes go until 10 in the evening, there would be no homework (what more could be done??). However, students usually do have homework. My friend and student Happy admitted that she would not always do the homework (and can you blame her?). It is quite common for students to only have four hours of sleep a night. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why so much emphasis on preparing students for admission into university? In a country of 1.3 billion, getting into university will not only determine your life for the next five years, but also your future career prospects, place in society, and your future economic niveau. Your parents as well as your future family will rely on your future job prospects and livelihood. Therefore there is a huge amount of emphasis and stress put on high school students. I’m told that it is similar in other Asian countries. Many of you reading this in the US many question how the importance of attending university in China is any different from the US. While it’s true that attending college and university in the US may sometimes afford one more opportunities than having a high school diploma, I have known many people in the US who have successful careers of their choice without the aid of a college degree. Also, while it is unfortunate that still many people in the US are shut out of attending college and university because of the cost, we are lucky to have excellent and affordable continuing education programs; technical and community colleges; and a higher education system that embraces lifelong learners and non-traditional age students (ie- students who are not right out of high school). Here in China, people’s sole opportunity to attend university is through the college entrance exam which is primarily taken in high school. Although there is no age restriction since 2001, students typically take the college entrance exam in their last year of high school.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The <i style="">Gao Kao</i> is the sole determinant of entrance in university here in China. No interviews, no college essays and high school record. It lasts for three-days and is issued nationwide across China once a year in June. I’ve been told that the exam is issued at the same time as well, so since China has one time zone (yes- one time zone), folks in Western China are get up at a ridiculous hour to take the exam at the same time as their counterparts in Beijing and other Eastern Chinese cities. The test encompasses everything students have learned since Kindergarten and includes mandatory tests in Chinese, math, and a foreign language (usually English in recent years but can also be French, Japanese or Russian). Other tests will include Chemistry, Physics, Biology, History, Geography and political education. There are different tiers of universities and a student’s score will determine her or his admission into certain universities. Students who do not perform well have the opportunity to repeat another year of high school and take the exam a year later. However, if the second test does not go well, a student may have to give up on the goal of attending university and look to alternatives such as attending vocational programs or seeking other career routes. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the student his or herself, the examination puts enormous pressure on the student’s parents. With China’s one child policy, parents put all their hope into their one son or daughter. In return, a son or daughter is bound by duty to their parents and is expected to provide a good life for their parents down the road in their golden years. Entrance into university will ensure that the child will have good career prospects down the road to thereby support their parents and future family. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The high competition for university entrance (ie, there are far fewer university spots than those who take the college entrance exam) has led to several phenomena in recent years. In recent years, many Chinese families have become wealthier and have more disposable income (perhaps the parents got into university themselves and have therefore had beneficial careers!). Students who have not performed well enough on the national entrance exam to get into the a highly selective university may have their parents pay for them to get a spot at a less selective university. This is the case at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics (NUFE), where I teach. I am at the main campus in the university district of Nanjing. However, NUFE has a campus outside of Nanjing where such students attend the first two years of college and then finish their last two years at NUFE’s campus in downtown Nanjing. I learned that my own beloved 2+2’s who will be going to Canada in two years also gained admission to NUFE and the Canada program because their college entrance exams were not high enough and that their parents paid extra for them to be admitted. I was saddened to learn this at first, as I was led to believe that my students were the cream of the crop. Also, it does not seem fair to me that students can be afforded such opportunities if their parents have the money to pay for them to be admitted into certain university programs. It remarkably resembles the role that money plays in college education in the United States. I find it ironic that income now plays a large role in college admission in China, a communist country, albeit only on paper.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In addition to families being able to essentially buy a spot for their child at a Chinese university, many Chinese students are now looking outside of the China for higher education. With the extra wealth and disposable income, many Chinese parents can now afford to send their child abroad for college (especially with the aid of scholarships) in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and Germany. For American higher education institutions, this means a vastly growing market. Chinese students now represent the fastest growing group of international students at American universities. When I attended college in the early to mid- 1990’s there were probably fewer than 5,000 Chinese college students in the United States. A few of those students were my classmates at Mt. Holyoke. According to the Institute of International Education, over 26,000 Chinese students enrolled at US universities in the 2008-2009 school year. I expect the numbers must be at 30,000 for this year. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In addition to education institutions abroad being able to benefit from the tuition of an increasing number of Chinese students, native English speaker and educators are now in high demand here in China as well. Starting at a young age, parents pay a premium to send their child to foreign language schools; bilingual primary schools; and for private tutoring in English. Foreign certified teachers are in demand from Chinese middle and high schools as well as universities. This is no surprise with English (or other foreign languages) being one of the main tests on the national college entrance exam. Additionally, a new requirement since 2005 mandates that students pass a test here in China known as the CET, the College English Test, in order to obtain a bachelor’s degree here in China. <span style=""> </span>More and more employers here in China also seek college graduates with the CET certification. With more and more students wanting to study abroad for undergraduate or postgraduate education, students are also eager to take tests such as the SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, GRE and GMAT. From my experience, it’s not uncommon for many Chinese students to know all these acronyms and be more familiar with them than most Westerners here. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Learning the ins and outs of the Chinese education system is one reason why I am excited to be here in China. While I never would have imagined even a year ago that I would be living in China and admittedly China was and remains to be a very foreign place to me, I appreciate the wealth of opportunities offered from relationships with our Chinese friends. I for one am glad that we are no longer in a day and age when the West and China are isolated from one another. I welcome the opportunity to learn from Chinese traditions, children, students, families, education systems and all that this land has to offer and am pleased that the US is also opening its doors more and more to our Chinese friends. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>For further reading:</b></p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><u>College English Test</u>. <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/College_English_Test">https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/College_English_Test</a>. December 21, 2010.</p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Levin, Dan. <u>The China Boom</u>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/education/07china-t.html?_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimes">https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/education/07china-t.html?_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimes</a>. November 5, 2010.</p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> Liang, Lu-Hai. <u>Chinese students suffer as university entrance exams get a grip</u>. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/28/chinese-university-entrance-exams">http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jun/28/chinese-university-entrance-exams</a>. Monday 28 June 2010.</p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><u>National Higher Education Entrance Examination</u> <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/National_Higher_Education_Entrance_Examination">https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/National_Higher_Education_Entrance_Examination</a>. December 21, 2010.</p>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-57115579288242945162010-12-21T03:36:00.000-08:002010-12-21T03:42:45.650-08:00Protecting your Email Account<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">This blog posting is not about living in and experiencing China. Rather I am going to use this forum to blog about another important topic right now- internet security. I feel strongly about this after a recent incident of my own when my email account was hacked into by some shifty West Africans in London. I was out of commission for a couple of weeks because Google went so far as to not only shut down my account to the hackers but me as well. I wasn’t able to access my gmail account, my google calendars, my google documents and this blog was also temporarily shut down. I appreciate everyone’s concern during this entire ordeal. Thanks to my friend Eva who called the guys and gave them an earful as well as my parents who actually called the London Police and Scotland Yard. They’ve got the guys at the crime lab working in shifts so I have hope that justice will soon be mine. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sadly, I know that I am not the only victim of these amateur but crafty hackers. So from my ordeal I would like to offer a few tips on how to protect yourself from having your account and privacy on the internet compromised. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">1) <b style="">Change your email password-</b> Do this especially if you are afraid that your account has been compromised.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">2) <b style="">Do not use the same password for everything.</b> While it is easier to remember just one password for your email account, your online banking, Skype, and iTunes, etc., it is too easy to be figured out by hackers if you are using the same password over and over.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">3) <b style="">Check your account activity- </b>If you have a gmail account, you can check the location/ IP address of each time you have logged onto your gmail account. That way if an IP address in an unfamiliar location shows up, you will know if your account may have been compromised. This function is in the middle and at the bottom of your gmail mail page (on the same page where you have your Inbox). It is small and says “Last account activity” and you should click on “Details” next to it. If anyone knows how to do this with other web clients like yahoo.com or hotmail.com, please share! </p> <p class="MsoNormal">4) <b style="">HTTPS websites-</b> When possible, access websites that have HTTPS instead of HTTP. <b>Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure </b><span style="">or</span> (<b>HTTPS</b>)<b style=""> </b>creates a secure channel over an insecure network. Unfortunately not all web sites are equipped with HTTPS, however you can get an encrypted search engine through google and make it your home page on your internet browser. You can also download a free Firefox extension from HTTPS Everywhere which will allow you to have encrypted communication with a number of websites.<br /><span style=""> </span>- Google encrypted <a href="https://encrypted.google.com/">https://encrypted.google.com/</a><br /><span style=""> </span>- HTTPS Everywhere <a href="https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere">https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">5) <b style="">Use a VPN-</b> For folks in China, having a virtual private network client comes in handy to access facebook, youtube and other blocked blogs here in China. However, in addition to your activity not being easily detected by the Chinese government, a VPN client will protect you to some level from hacking predators who just want to get your information and suck your blood. This is why I will aim to use a VPN connection even when I’m outside of China and can freely access youtube.com, etc. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">6) <b style="">Download a free virus scanner-</b> A virus scanner can work round the clock and detect viruses on your hard drive as well as any tracking cookies on your web browser. You can also schedule a full scan on your computer. I do scans every day now on my computer.<br /><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>- I recommend Avast Antivirus. <a href="http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download">http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">7) <b style="">Clear cookies and the history on your internet browser-</b> I recommend doing this every three days or more often if you feel that you are vulnerable. <span style=""> </span><br /><span style=""> </span>- Firefox web browser- You can do this under Tools on the toolbar on the top of the page<br /><span style=""> </span>- Windows Explorer- I think it can also be accessed under Tools on the toolbar on the top of the page. Switch to Firefox!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So there you have it. I am by no means a tech savvy person, but I think these tips will help protect you and your information on the web. In a day and age when so much of what we do is wrapped up in us being able to access the internet and our own information, it really can be quite frustrating if not debilitating when you are suddenly cut off from your email account, your documents, your calendar, your contacts and your email history. Good luck and safe surfing and emailing! </p>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-22329384370649731452010-10-28T00:25:00.000-07:002010-12-21T08:59:17.543-08:00College Life<div class="MsoNormal">As of yet, I have not shared any of my experiences as a teacher here in China other than some earlier references about how helpful students have been here. Two months into this, I can now share some better insight into working with Chinese university students.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I teach three different subjects four days of the week. From the first week, I have been teaching Business English to sophomore students. This class is only half credit and I’m lucky if half of them show up. I teach four different class sections of this class Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The initial excitement and chemistry the students and I had has now run its course and I think it’s safe to say we all just show up to class because we have to. Not having any curriculum provided, I teach information, vocabulary and dialogues about telephone use, meetings and negotiations in a business setting. Try as I may, it is very difficult to make this subject material any bit interesting. I have tried to elicit conversations and I ask students about similarities in China. The problem is students do not respond. They do not raise their hands if I ask a question to the class. So the only way I can get a response to questions is if I ask students directly. Students will say “I don’t know” or just look at me. It’s a bit frustrating but I can’t say they are entirely to blame. From their previous education experiences, they may be used to only be lectured at and are not expected to share their opinion or participate in class discussions. Nevertheless, I can only be so understanding, especially when I catch students playing video games or talking on their phone when they should be giving a class presentation.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My saving grace and my pure teaching enjoyment has come from teaching my freshmen 2+2 students. They are called 2+2 students because they will spend their first two years of college here at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics and the second two years at Waterloo University in Ontario, Canada. Therefore, they have intense English courses for the next two years and have the incentive to take their English courses seriously. I teach Writing four hours a week and Oral English three hours a week to them. They are serious, motivated, and inquisitive students and they’re my babies. Every time I show up to class, all 43 of them are already waiting in their seats and they cheer or cry out when I enter the room (<i>Thank you, thank you very much</i>). I push them and give them a lot of work (which in turn is more work for me) but we are all learning a lot. The best thing is that it’s been a great teaching experience for me. It’s wonderful to have a class group of my own with whom I can establish a relationship and I have learned how to manage a class better as well as new teaching and assessment methods. All-in-all, they are helping me become a confident educator.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Go to college and you shall be set free</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What mystifies me here is how much freshmen students are coddled. Sunday through Thursday nights, freshmen have mandatory study hall from 6:30-9:30 pm at different academic buildings on campus. By 10 pm, students must be in their rooms and as far as I know, lights have to be out at 11 or 11:30. Women especially have to keep their dorms orderly. Students also live all four years in the same room and with the same roommates (except for my 2+2s because they will go to Canada. Lucky them). The mandatory study time has proven a little tricky because I have wanted to organize an informal English conversation group at a café a ten minute walk off of campus. I soon found out though that they wouldn’t be able to go because of the study hour. I was able to talk to their teacher/ counselor who is in charge of their class. She told me that if students left campus, I would have to give a list to her the day before and then she would have to get the list approved by the dean or other higher ups. I would have to make sure I escort all of them to and from campus. Sheesh- it was too much work so I have agreed to now have dinner with my students in the cafeteria on Wednesdays nights before their study session begins. Freshmen are also not allowed to bring their own personal computers to school. Instead they must go to the library where the computers are quite old and slow. The university wants to limit their time socializing on the internet on Chinese social network sites like QQ. This has also been problematic as I have a class website where I post class notes. After I learned that students do not have easy access to the internet, I decided to stop using the site.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Impressions of love and dating</span><br />Students seem very innocent- especially when it comes to the opposite sex and the notion of love (Think 19 years old going on 11). In all my classes, the male students (by choice) sit in one section of the classroom and the female students all sit among each other in another section. Recently when showing the movie “Into the Wild”, there room was abuzz during a scene when the main male character went on a walk with a new love interest. Mind you, they were not even holding hands in scene! I think it was just the underlying sexual tension between the characters that put my students at unease. Still, they are intrigued about meeting the opposite sex. During lunch today, one of my students was checking a text message from a high school class mate. Her roommate exuberantly kept repeating to me, “He’s her boyfriend!” with my student vehemently denying her roommate’s claim. Perceptions of love also seem to be very naïve and innocent. The word love may be used very loosely and for a simple, innocent crush. During an oral exercise in class today, I asked my students a series of questions about interviewing people. One of the questions had to do with what they would ask a loved one if they had the opportunity. Even though I explained what was meant by “loved one” many of them misunderstood “loved one” and its connotation. After they were broken down into groups and were discussing the questions, several of them told me that it was just too personal of a question to answer. They thought that the question was asking what they would ask of a boyfriend or a girlfriend and only after I explained (again) that “loved one” could mean a family member, a good friend or anyone they care about, were they willing to answer the questions. During the same class session, when students were asked who they would interview if they could, I asked one of my students who is a huge fan of the book “Wuthering Heights”, whether he would want to interview Emily Bronte. “Yes!” He exclaimed. “She’s my lover!!!” This obviously got some snickers from the other students and I didn’t go into explaining that Emily Bronte is indeed not his lover. But who am I? Maybe he seriously believes she is his soul mate, that she speaks to his heart, and that they are really star crossed lovers through some strange time-warp dimension.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">It's all in the name</span><br />Now a word about names. Thankfully for me, many of me students have English names which helps a little to avoid the embarrassment of mispronouncing a Chinese names (usually only embarrassing for me and the student whose name I mispronounce. Also I must admit that eight weeks into the semester, I am still having trouble identifying many of my students). The thing I like about English names is that students can pick an entire new name for themselves and can in fact have a separate identity if they want. Except for the fact that many of my students don’t know each other by their English names. So, for example, when I’m taking attendance and ask for the absent “Maryanne” and try to ascertain from the other students whether she is in fact in class and not saying anything (also common). I’ll repeat her English name 3 times only to get blank looks until I say, “Umm. Sorry. I mean is Zhan Xiu Chen here?” which is then usually followed by a laugh at my total butchering of her name and then the entire class’s recitation of the correct pronunciation of her name. “Um. Got it. Sooo, she’s not here, right??” Also quite confusing is that Chinese custom mandates that the family name (last name) be written and said first before a person’s given name (first name). This is to show respect to a person’s family and ancestors. For the first two weeks I probably called my students (who didn’t have English names) by their last names. I’m sure no offense was taken but I did have to spend some time explaining to my students that it is the reverse order with names in the US and many other countries of the world which may cause them or their foreign counterparts confusion if they ever end up working or interacting in a Western business or social setting.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">English name choices are quite interesting. Many names are quite normal while others are quite unconventional. NBA basketball is quite popular here in China, especially among the male students. So it isn’t surprising that Kobe (Kobe Bryant) is a common and popular name. Students may also pick names from a favorite book or movie. My student who is Emily Bronte’s lover is called Austin Earnshaw (having not read Wuthering Heights before, I had to do a google search to figure out how Mr. Earnshaw came up with his name choice). Other unique names include Spawn, Sky, Circle, Arrow, Season, Lucifer and here’s the kicker… Nazi (not one of my students. I think Nazi’s teacher has advised his student to find another moniker).<br /></div><table class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533005958076388354" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TMkvmo9DVAI/AAAAAAAAAd4/GDDcHY9xjo0/s320/class.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" border="0" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students engrossed and involved in group discussions.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TMkvmo9DVAI/AAAAAAAAAd4/GDDcHY9xjo0/s1600/class.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">More insights on student life in China to follow soon in Part II.</div><div 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mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently I had my first foray into the Chinese health system. As many of you may already know from previous posts, I have experienced several different physical maladies since arriving here in China. I’ll avoid going into the details of my recent malady, however I can share a glimpse into the Chinese health system and will also add that I was left completely satisfied from my first experience with it. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">My recent malady kept me up all night one recent weekend so I had planned to go to the university clinic first thing in the morning. I was going to do my little pantomime dance and use recently acquired vocabulary from the massage place “Wo tang” (I hurt) and point to the part of my body that was feeling discomfort. I’m sure I would only have gotten strange looks and no help so thankfully, my wonderful Chinese friend and godsend Tien (this will probably not be the last time you will read about her) recommended that I stay away from the clinic. She said that they would probably just give me an aspirin and tell me to monitor my problem. What I needed was urgent and immediate care and real doctors to diagnose and treat my problem, so off we headed to the Xianlin Community Health Service Center, a short bus ride up the road. Now I would like to take a moment to clarify something here. This was a public health facility (hence the name Xianlin COMMUNITY Health Service Center). There were no lines going around the building. There were no numbers I had to pick and no ridiculous bureaucratic hoops I had to jump through to be seen by a doctor. In fact, when we arrived there, the waiting room was eerily empty. Okay, okay and the doctors were also on their lunch break so we did have to wait a little while since I did not have a severed arm with blood profusely dripping out. But other than that, it wasn’t bad for socialized health care. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To kill the time until the doctors returned from lunch, Tien and I walked a block away to “My Shop”, a little store about 100 square feet that sells American, British, Australian and German packaged and frozen food. It’s owned and operated by a Chinese man and not surprisingly, all the customers are expats anxious to stock up on items from home to cure a little bit of homesickness. I was actually on a different mission to get some cranberry juice for my current malady (and now some of you have probably figured out what I had. <i style="">“I’ll take ‘Stephanie’s physical maladies in China’ for $300, Alex.”)</i>. After a German man depleted My Shop’s supply of granola bars, I paid the equivalent of a whopping $7 for my bottle of cranberry juice, a price I was more than happy to pay if it led to some sort of alleviation of pain and discomfort.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we arrived back at the health center, I had to buy a medical record book at a window in the lobby. In this little booklet, the doctors make notes during any visits. This booklet should be kept and shared with any doctors at any hospitals during any future visits. <b style="">Cost: 2.20 RMB (about 33 cents). </b>I was then sent to the adjacent hallway with Tien and we walked into one of the doctor’s office. Tien explained my problem and symptoms. The doctor then said I would need to give a urine sample. So off we marched to the window in the lobby again (and still no line) to pay for that and get the cup. <b style="">Cost: 26.50 RMB ($4).</b> Three minutes later after a trip to the bathroom, another doctor or lab technician examined my pee sample in a very sophisticated, state-of-the-art, advanced microscope, computer machine. A minute later, she printed out a microscopic, computer-generated image of my urine. I then went back to the first doctor who looked at the image and then diagnosed and confirmed that I did have what I thought I had had. He then filled out a prescription for some tablets I would need to take twice a day for the next two weeks. Off we marched to the window again and paid for the prescription medication. <b style="">Cost: 16 RMB ($2.25).</b> We marched ten feet further to the pharmacy and I was then handed my two boxes of prescription. Total time (not including the lunch break when we first arrived): 15 minutes. <b style="">Total cost: 44.70 RMB ($6.75)</b>- less than the bottle of cranberry juice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">No deductible. No co-payment. No premium. No referral. No HMOs, PPOs or any other confusing acronyms. Just the doctors and the treatment. Health care was never made so easy…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">PS: Two and a half weeks later, I am happy to report that I am now completely cured of my malady!</i><span style=""></span><br /></p>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2348976111529315328.post-44120015177022294172010-10-01T22:10:00.000-07:002010-10-01T22:10:17.338-07:00Lessons in shopping<div><br />
<br />
Greetings dear readers! Today is a national holiday, so just like one would in the US on a holiday, I joined the masses and went shopping. I started my day off at 9:30 this morning at Carrefour, France’s answer to Walmart here in China. Do you think a holiday would keep people from working here today? Not at all!<br />
<br />
I had so much confidence on my way to Carrefour as it was the first time I had navigated my way there on my own. Once at Carrefour, I was also able to quickly navigate through the store and find what I needed, even picking up a new pot on sale for 29 RMB instead of 69 RMB. I proceeded to the check-out again feeling pretty smug and proud that I was in a line with only two people in front of me. Riding on that confidence, the woman in front of me saw that I only had a basket and since she had a whole shopping cart, she let me go in front of her. Then suddenly things turned sour. The man in front of me got in a big argument with the check-out lady. I’m not sure what the deal was, but she was reaming him out for probably not having the right price label on the bag of eggs (from the bulk food section) he was trying to buy. The man was there with a small child in his cart and it looked like she was demanding him to get the correct price and he was yelling back to her that he wasn’t about to leave his son in the cart there nor drag him halfway through the store to get the correct price. Then the argument started to escalate when the man’s wife arrived and then the sales lady started yelling at her as well. So it was under these pretenses that the check-out lady started scanning my items. Right away, the pot I was trying to buy was priced at 69 RMB instead of the sales price of 29 RMB. I tried to explain to the woman that the pot was actually 29 RMB (I am proud to say that we have learned the numbers in the last week). Well, clearly she had the upper hand and she barked at me and put my pot aside and made me pay for the bag I wanted to purchase (and forgetting to ring up the rest of my groceries). I fumbled for my iPhone where I have an app that lists some survival Chinese terms. I found the word for “today” and “yesterday”. I kept yelling out “Yesterday 69. Today 29!!!” pointing at the words for yesterday and today on my phone. Meanwhile the line behind me was suddenly ten people deep (although I will give my fellow-Chinese shoppers credit- they didn’t seem the least bit irate or annoyed). At that point, another sales lady came over and I tried to explain to her as well. No luck. Those of you who know me well know how quickly my stress level escalates in, um, a stressful situation such as this (you Steph, getting stressed and panicking? Nooooo!). My voice started getting high and I was on the brink of tears. I was writing out “SALES. PROMOTION” with my shaky hand on a piece of paper (I don’t know what good that would have done. It’s not like they understood my previous short explanation of “yesterday 69. Today 29” in Chinese so why would they suddenly recognize in English “SALES. PROMOTION”?). Finally I called my Chinese god-send who is our friend Tien. I fumbled for Tien’s number and thankfully she picked up. When she answered I went into the litany of problems with the mean sales lady and by the way, would she please explain to the sales, check-out lady that I am not making up the fact that the pot is 29 RMB and NOT 69 RMB? Tien explained the situation and the other sales lady then made someone from downstairs verify the price. At that point I should have left the store and given up on the stupid pot, but I was hellbent on having that pot for only 29 RMB and wanted to be vindicated. I am glad to say that a third sales store employee then showed up shortly after that with a new pot and with the correct sales price of 29 RMB. The second employee told me that it was29 RMB and added a “Sorry!!”. The first sales lady wouldn’t look at me, but the second sales lady ran around and carefully placed the pot in my bag very apologetically. I did feel a little bit vindicated and told them thank you. I should very well have not bothered with the pot, but I am glad that I didn’t back down and that future shoppers will get their pot without any problem for the sales price of 29 RMB. What a true lesson in language and shopping etiquette!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523310212402692034" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TKa9X9qMv8I/AAAAAAAAAdo/tMq6F2-MIfk/s320/massage.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To recooperate from the stress of shopping, I got <em>two</em> massages today! <br />
Here Derek and I are enjoying late night foot massages.<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523310213328185442" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V7kubp60-uk/TKa9YBG2qGI/AAAAAAAAAdw/LJmni5Nrb5k/s320/foot.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These hot, suction cups on my feet were slightly uncomfortable. I <br />
couldn't help laughing and the Chinese masseurs kept saying,<br />
"Ta pan yang!" (or something similar)- She is so ticklish!<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>Travelforcausehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05961100811397171222noreply@blogger.com1