Monday, 24 May 2010
Pay It Forward is from Japan
Yesterday I was given a huge bag of about 25 pieces of bakery assorted bread. I can’t believe how generous people are! I am constantly getting carrots (I live in a town famous for carrot breeding), vegetables, candy, bread and chocolate. I have been given chopsticks, face towels, knick-knacks, blankets and snacks. This is like an everyday thing; I am not kidding. The day before I was given a bottle of wine. The day before I was given a collection of manga to read. I could probably name something everyday. When Nico was here, I gave him the loot (chocolate, bread, candy, coffee, cookies) that I couldn’t eat for lent. He thought it was incredible. I still have a couple boxes of candy/chocolate that I couldn’t eat. I also constantly giving things away, it’s catchy. Have you seen Pay It Forward? I think Japan made that movie.
Polite Tourette’s
I know this isn’t anything new, but I have to say it anyway. Politeness is annoying. Beyond the initial saying of it, I try to bow politely to the constant interruption of excessive good mornings, good jobs and excuse me’s. The final straw came when someone came up behind me, while I was running on the treadmill, and gave the standard, “You must be tired” (common greeting) and I had to grab the bar to respond almost tumbling off. I wanted to hit him. WHO does that?! Can’t you see I’m running here? I can greet you when I come into the gym and when I leave, other than that, stop circulating and greeting me every hour! Seriously! Suddenly, the truth hit me like a pack of sumo’s: it’s a massive outbreak of Tourette’s Syndrome. People just get this irresistible tic to constantly use the 3 standard greetings and simply can’t help it. It has got to be said at least once an hour. Now that I understand, that makes things so much easier for me to accept. How can I blame people when it’s simply an automatic reflex?
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Monday, 10 May 2010
China
If I could describe China in two words, it would be grubby exhilarating. (If I could describe Japan, it would be antibacterial polite). Grubby for the grime and excited pushiness of people, exhilarating because things are changing faster than China’s 90 kph taxi rides. I am not sure what exactly I expected to see there, except hungry children, lots of red, expensive tea, face masks and bicycles. China has always been a source of conflicting images in my mind; Tiananmen Square mixed with Kung Fu movies and Mulan taught me that communism doesn’t work, family and honor are important, beads of jade are for beauty and crickets bring good luck. I toured 4 important cities, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xi’an and Beijing, the last 3 of which were ancient capitals of China and each of which has major cultural influences. With that perspective, I will try to scratch the surface of the hidden dragon that is China (while singing Mulan).
For a long time we've
In our thundering herd
Hey, think of instead
I've a girl back home who's
I couldn't care less what she'll
It all depends on what
My girl will think I have no faults
How 'bout a girl who's got a brain
For a long time we've
been marching off to battle
In a country slightly smaller than the US, with four times the population it’s no wonder that pollution is such a problem. The constant Matrix-looking gray sky was a grim reminder of the impurities I was inhaling (which has improved recently because of the Expo and Olympics). Students were half-jokingly running for cover when it rained because they were convinced it was acidic. The only blue sky I saw for the entire 2 weeks was in Beijing for one day. In an industrializing country, that is hardly surprising and I expect it will get worse before it gets better. Although, apparently the air used to leave a burning sensation in people’s lungs before the government clamped down hard. I saw hardly any face masks which was surprising considering Japan’s obsession with them (I think face masks are actually considered an accessory now, with all the new colors and patterns that keep showing up).
In a country slightly smaller than the US, with four times the population it’s no wonder that pollution is such a problem. The constant Matrix-looking gray sky was a grim reminder of the impurities I was inhaling (which has improved recently because of the Expo and Olympics). Students were half-jokingly running for cover when it rained because they were convinced it was acidic. The only blue sky I saw for the entire 2 weeks was in Beijing for one day. In an industrializing country, that is hardly surprising and I expect it will get worse before it gets better. Although, apparently the air used to leave a burning sensation in people’s lungs before the government clamped down hard. I saw hardly any face masks which was surprising considering Japan’s obsession with them (I think face masks are actually considered an accessory now, with all the new colors and patterns that keep showing up).
In our thundering herd
We feel a lot like cattle
The Ant Tribe is the generation of 80’s born non-brand-name university graduates stuck in a country that’s not ready for their talent. Hundreds of thousands of these hungry college graduates are holed up in bathtub size apartments trying to look for an ever-elusive job that suits their education level. Intelligent people swarming together restlessly with nothing to do sounds like a recipe for disaster/mass movement to me. Hopefully, China will PEACEFULLY solve the problem they created (by mandating a 30% university enrollment target in a giant social experiment to boost the Chinese economy). Churning out college graduates does not create more jobs, just like creating a product does not guarantee it will sell.
The Ant Tribe is the generation of 80’s born non-brand-name university graduates stuck in a country that’s not ready for their talent. Hundreds of thousands of these hungry college graduates are holed up in bathtub size apartments trying to look for an ever-elusive job that suits their education level. Intelligent people swarming together restlessly with nothing to do sounds like a recipe for disaster/mass movement to me. Hopefully, China will PEACEFULLY solve the problem they created (by mandating a 30% university enrollment target in a giant social experiment to boost the Chinese economy). Churning out college graduates does not create more jobs, just like creating a product does not guarantee it will sell.
Like the pounding beat
Our aching feet aren't
easy to ignore
I was shocked at how active everyone is; I believe I saw all 1.3 billion people outside taking up every square inch of space (about half of Chinese are urbanized), exercising in old-people parks (I am not kidding, there were old people exercise machines in the parks), ballroom dancing, playing cards, singing karaoke, and a variety of group sports activities. In every park or open area I happened upon, gray heads were jumping around healthily, crowding out parent-toting children. People were very friendly and one old man even took me for a tango.
I was shocked at how active everyone is; I believe I saw all 1.3 billion people outside taking up every square inch of space (about half of Chinese are urbanized), exercising in old-people parks (I am not kidding, there were old people exercise machines in the parks), ballroom dancing, playing cards, singing karaoke, and a variety of group sports activities. In every park or open area I happened upon, gray heads were jumping around healthily, crowding out parent-toting children. People were very friendly and one old man even took me for a tango.
Hey, think of instead
A girl worth fighting for
I have never heard so many aphorisms that seem commonly used in everyday language. I learned many useful things in China, such as, “Don’t treat a tiger like Hello Kitty” or “Two tigers can’t occupy one mountain.” I learned that girls should drink soymilk everyday and guys should hold their purses. I have never seen so many lovey-dovey couples holding hands, carrying matching key chains, clothing and accessories at every tourist destination. There are 37 million more males than females, and believe me, the girls here know it and are working it. Case in point, there is even a popular cartoon (Xi yan yan) where a wife, wearing a queen’s crown constantly hits her loving husband with a pan, while he tries to do everything to make her happy. I learned that he is the perfect husband in China. It is a girl’s world, across the ocean from JapanManLand , as long as you don’t expect something too crazy, like a serious career. In China, I have been told that there are 3 kinds of people in the world; men, women and female doctors. Nonetheless, the women I encountered were very clever, and expressed their opinions well, which should be expected from Ant Tribe members.
I have never heard so many aphorisms that seem commonly used in everyday language. I learned many useful things in China, such as, “Don’t treat a tiger like Hello Kitty” or “Two tigers can’t occupy one mountain.” I learned that girls should drink soymilk everyday and guys should hold their purses. I have never seen so many lovey-dovey couples holding hands, carrying matching key chains, clothing and accessories at every tourist destination. There are 37 million more males than females, and believe me, the girls here know it and are working it. Case in point, there is even a popular cartoon (Xi yan yan) where a wife, wearing a queen’s crown constantly hits her loving husband with a pan, while he tries to do everything to make her happy. I learned that he is the perfect husband in China. It is a girl’s world, across the ocean from JapanManLand , as long as you don’t expect something too crazy, like a serious career. In China, I have been told that there are 3 kinds of people in the world; men, women and female doctors. Nonetheless, the women I encountered were very clever, and expressed their opinions well, which should be expected from Ant Tribe members.
I've a girl back home who's
unlike any other
Yeah, the only girl who'd
love him is his mother
I have never seen such huge-but-not-necessarily-fat babies, giant bundles of clothing and meat. Whatever do they feed you?! I don’t think I could hold one of those huge bundles of child; like a mini-Michelin man in blankets. Due to the One-Child Policy enacted in the 1979, children have never been such a source of pride. These little emperors can be found ordering parents around, who dote on their every whim. When I was there, a mini baby boom explosion replaced earthquake-dead elder siblings (70,000 people died in the Sichuan quake). Interesting to note that several men from all over the country were killing elementary schoolchildren in revenge to society, so there were armed guards at every school.
I have never seen such huge-but-not-necessarily-fat babies, giant bundles of clothing and meat. Whatever do they feed you?! I don’t think I could hold one of those huge bundles of child; like a mini-Michelin man in blankets. Due to the One-Child Policy enacted in the 1979, children have never been such a source of pride. These little emperors can be found ordering parents around, who dote on their every whim. When I was there, a mini baby boom explosion replaced earthquake-dead elder siblings (70,000 people died in the Sichuan quake). Interesting to note that several men from all over the country were killing elementary schoolchildren in revenge to society, so there were armed guards at every school.
I couldn't care less what she'll
wear or what she looks like
8% of China is composed of 55 recognized minorities to which the One Child policy does not apply. These Middle-Eastern beautiful mixtures of Chinese have an unsavory reputation among Han Chinese, due to their poorer western economy and higher crime rate.
8% of China is composed of 55 recognized minorities to which the One Child policy does not apply. These Middle-Eastern beautiful mixtures of Chinese have an unsavory reputation among Han Chinese, due to their poorer western economy and higher crime rate.
It all depends on what
she cooks like
Beef, pork, chicken
Mmm
I have never liked the greasy Chinese food that my brothers die for in Colorado. “Buck a scoop” of unknown meat has never appealed to me, and the sauces at restaurants have always turned me off. I was excited to learn that the food, although still greasy, was amazing. Every morning I drank a huge bowl of soymilk, yogurt-fruit drinks and a variety noodles and fried breads. People also eat tofu, congees (oatmealish) and other vegetabl-y things for breakfast that don’t vary much from any other meal. As I got my warm milk in the warped bowls down Bird Flu Alley, I tried to ignore a red chile floating in my milk from a prior tofu/chile eating customer. What made food more exciting was the fact that I really might get sick.. Coming from Japantibacterial, it made me feel daring and encouraged my appetite. At the airport, Jen and I were dying for Burger King’s Croissanwich (Japan doesn’t have Burger King) and were shocked to learn that there was no breakfast menu. As far as other meals, I particularly enjoyed Chinese dumplings, Peking duck (a bit greasy but made much better by tortilla-ish wraps), and handmade noodles (Did you know noodles can be grated like cheese from a massive hunk of noodle?). My biggest dare was (drum roll please) bullfrog, which tasted like slimy chicken (I spit it out at first in revulsion, until I reconciled my mind to the idea); I must admit I didn’t like it that much. I wasn’t that concerned over the guts, feet and other slimy sea critters on the menu as they are a favorite in Japan as well. As to other meats, I know what you’re going to ask, and no, I didn’t encounter dog or cat on the menu. Although, I did read in China Daily that rat is the new favorite, to the dismay of Chinese health experts. Oh, the price to be exotic!
I have never liked the greasy Chinese food that my brothers die for in Colorado. “Buck a scoop” of unknown meat has never appealed to me, and the sauces at restaurants have always turned me off. I was excited to learn that the food, although still greasy, was amazing. Every morning I drank a huge bowl of soymilk, yogurt-fruit drinks and a variety noodles and fried breads. People also eat tofu, congees (oatmealish) and other vegetabl-y things for breakfast that don’t vary much from any other meal. As I got my warm milk in the warped bowls down Bird Flu Alley, I tried to ignore a red chile floating in my milk from a prior tofu/chile eating customer. What made food more exciting was the fact that I really might get sick.. Coming from Japantibacterial, it made me feel daring and encouraged my appetite. At the airport, Jen and I were dying for Burger King’s Croissanwich (Japan doesn’t have Burger King) and were shocked to learn that there was no breakfast menu. As far as other meals, I particularly enjoyed Chinese dumplings, Peking duck (a bit greasy but made much better by tortilla-ish wraps), and handmade noodles (Did you know noodles can be grated like cheese from a massive hunk of noodle?). My biggest dare was (drum roll please) bullfrog, which tasted like slimy chicken (I spit it out at first in revulsion, until I reconciled my mind to the idea); I must admit I didn’t like it that much. I wasn’t that concerned over the guts, feet and other slimy sea critters on the menu as they are a favorite in Japan as well. As to other meats, I know what you’re going to ask, and no, I didn’t encounter dog or cat on the menu. Although, I did read in China Daily that rat is the new favorite, to the dismay of Chinese health experts. Oh, the price to be exotic!
My girl will think I have no faults
That I'm a major find
At a stated GDP of $6,600 PPP (who really knows, many things are so under the table) you can survive on about $1.50 a day on street food (ranging from 1-5 yuan or 15 – 75 cents). Clothing was about 100-250 yuan in Chinese brand stores ($15) and much more expensive at Western brand stores. The problem with buying Western name brand products is that no one thinks it is real, and even if the store claims it is real, it may not be. In fact, some vendors claim it doesn’t matter as long as you can’t tell; you’re still paying for the brand name look. It leaves no incentive to buy a real Louis Vuitton bag, since every shady man with a small briefcase is selling them along with Rolex watches. If you DO have the money to buy the real thing, you will pay more than you would pay in the US. Why? I don’t know maybe add-on fees in a country that is known for stealing ideas. Where there is plentiful labor, sewing machines and hungry mouths, there is opportunity and necessity is the mother of invention. There was a major cd/dvd crackdown when I left and you can’t help feeling sorry for the desperate people who get their backpacks of fake Terracotta warriors taken away by rough guards.
At a stated GDP of $6,600 PPP (who really knows, many things are so under the table) you can survive on about $1.50 a day on street food (ranging from 1-5 yuan or 15 – 75 cents). Clothing was about 100-250 yuan in Chinese brand stores ($15) and much more expensive at Western brand stores. The problem with buying Western name brand products is that no one thinks it is real, and even if the store claims it is real, it may not be. In fact, some vendors claim it doesn’t matter as long as you can’t tell; you’re still paying for the brand name look. It leaves no incentive to buy a real Louis Vuitton bag, since every shady man with a small briefcase is selling them along with Rolex watches. If you DO have the money to buy the real thing, you will pay more than you would pay in the US. Why? I don’t know maybe add-on fees in a country that is known for stealing ideas. Where there is plentiful labor, sewing machines and hungry mouths, there is opportunity and necessity is the mother of invention. There was a major cd/dvd crackdown when I left and you can’t help feeling sorry for the desperate people who get their backpacks of fake Terracotta warriors taken away by rough guards.
How 'bout a girl who's got a brain
Who always speaks her mind?
Nah!
As you know, I generally don’t care overmuch about tourist sites, but China has quite a wealth of amazing sites.
In Shanghai, I saw Yuyuan garden and the Expo pavilion area (the Expo wasn’t open yet). We took the Magnetic Levitation train (Maglev) to Nanjing, which took about 20 minutes going 300 kph.
In Nanjing, Dr Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, Confucius Temple, Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing Massacre Museum. In Xi’an, the Terracotta Warriors, Big Goose Pagoda, Big Mosque and City Wall.
In Beijing, I saw the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Tea City, Tiananman Square, Pearl Market, Bird’s Nest, Water Cube, the Great Wall, acrobat show and the Forbidden City.
I think most of the buildings were the same thing over and over. I felt myself asking if that was the same palace I had just visited before with the same 2 royal colors, red and yellow, and pied piper procession of 9 animals on the rooftops (only the emperor can have that many). The Forbidden City should stay forbidden, since there is nothing to see anyway that you can’t see after peaking inside for 5 seconds. I know I know, it is a cultural iconic thing and blah blah, but I swear it was like walking into one of those mirrors that have the same image that goes on and on forever. Watch The Last Emperor and you will see the best of the Forbidden City. The gardens and architecture in southern China are gorgeous and I enjoyed their 3D effect. I loved riding tandem on a bike down the ancient Xi’an City Wall and getting a boat stuck in weeds in front of yelling fisherman in Nanjing. My favorite part was hanging out and mixing with the locals who were vivid and giddy with the expected rise of income and prestige of their country.
As you know, I generally don’t care overmuch about tourist sites, but China has quite a wealth of amazing sites.
In Shanghai, I saw Yuyuan garden and the Expo pavilion area (the Expo wasn’t open yet). We took the Magnetic Levitation train (Maglev) to Nanjing, which took about 20 minutes going 300 kph.
In Nanjing, Dr Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, Confucius Temple, Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing Massacre Museum. In Xi’an, the Terracotta Warriors, Big Goose Pagoda, Big Mosque and City Wall.
In Beijing, I saw the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Tea City, Tiananman Square, Pearl Market, Bird’s Nest, Water Cube, the Great Wall, acrobat show and the Forbidden City.
I think most of the buildings were the same thing over and over. I felt myself asking if that was the same palace I had just visited before with the same 2 royal colors, red and yellow, and pied piper procession of 9 animals on the rooftops (only the emperor can have that many). The Forbidden City should stay forbidden, since there is nothing to see anyway that you can’t see after peaking inside for 5 seconds. I know I know, it is a cultural iconic thing and blah blah, but I swear it was like walking into one of those mirrors that have the same image that goes on and on forever. Watch The Last Emperor and you will see the best of the Forbidden City. The gardens and architecture in southern China are gorgeous and I enjoyed their 3D effect. I loved riding tandem on a bike down the ancient Xi’an City Wall and getting a boat stuck in weeds in front of yelling fisherman in Nanjing. My favorite part was hanging out and mixing with the locals who were vivid and giddy with the expected rise of income and prestige of their country.
What do we want?
A girl worth fighting for!
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