On the 2nd floor we found ourselves among a crowd of Chinese people elbowing their way to the front of a black marble countertop separating three hospital workers sitting at computers from a swarm of Chinese people (no line in true Chinese fashion). It was a fierce competition among the Chinese as they talked over one another in an attempt to get a worker to take care of them first. Other than this desk area, the rest of the floor was occupied by people walking to wherever they were supposed to be-- maternity ward, operation room, blood test site.
Azn from Another Nation
Monday, November 28, 2011
The Golden Ticket
On the 2nd floor we found ourselves among a crowd of Chinese people elbowing their way to the front of a black marble countertop separating three hospital workers sitting at computers from a swarm of Chinese people (no line in true Chinese fashion). It was a fierce competition among the Chinese as they talked over one another in an attempt to get a worker to take care of them first. Other than this desk area, the rest of the floor was occupied by people walking to wherever they were supposed to be-- maternity ward, operation room, blood test site.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Invasion of the Parasite!!!
Dan and I’ve got problems. There's no need for alarm though (ahem, family members!). I'll be fine. It’s a common, but unusual (for me) health problem that could be fixed with a one-time pill. I discovered a symptom that seemed all too familiar (won't say where) while I was at work, and called Dan in a panic. We shared each other's disgusted sentiments, promised we'd go to the hospital, and hung up the phone. Dan called me back later that day after making a similar discovery. I felt slightly better knowing my friend had a little friend too. We made a plan to go to the hospital the next week. After the call, I opened up Google and immediately typed in "____________", looking over my shoulder to make sure I could be horrified and in awe in solitude.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
This End is Just a Beginning
- Eat 100 grams of pumpkin seeds.
- After 2 hours (once the pumpkin seeds are digested), add 60 grams of betel nut (a mild stimulant the Sanya locals often chewed) to water. Boil water, let cool, and drink.
- Pour 20 grams of white crystal (I forget the Chinese name) into a cup of hot water. Drink.
- Shit.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Mr. B
Living in Spicy City
Monday, September 12, 2011
The P in the PRC
I've got things to share with you. There's no rhyme and reason to the string of events, revelations, and conclusions I've been making since my last post, but the accumulation of said things is solidifying this new, strange country in my mind and in my eyes. In this moving mass-- ants moving from point A to point B-- I'm stringing pieces together, I'm seeing a route behind what seemed like mere wanderings. I'm far from really understanding this complex society, but I'm in a better position than I was when I first arrived in China.
Teaching English is... What is it? I can't honestly describe it as fun, thought-provoking, or interesting... I'm referring to the basic teaching of English vocabulary and concepts. Don't get me wrong, these classes can sometimes be engaging and fun when students choose to be talkative and insightful, but more often than not you plug through the lesson, and try to make a class on “business negotiations” seem interesting. No, what I find interesting are the conversations that somehow sneak into my lessons-- these conversations usually revolve around the Chinese mentality, the Chinese culture, and how American culture perhaps differs from Chinese.
These kinds of topics are what I consider stimulating, and I know my students are more than curious about life in America and Americans. Through these basic conversations I've gotten a feel for Chinese hate towards the Japanese, but also found a student who is learning Japanese, can speak Japanese better than English, and finds the history between Japan and China intriguing and wants to learn more than her history textbooks have fed her (aka the Chinese government). I've also realized the differences between American and Chinese dating culture, and how marriages are viewed by the Chinese. The Chinese think Americans date many people before finally getting married whereas the Chinese only date a few people and then will get married. The Chinese will also bring home their boo if and only if they are going to marry them so you know if you're invited to eat dinner with the parents it's serious. Of course in America it's quite different.
My favorite class is the social club, which I have 4 times a week, because I can choose a topic to teach and discuss with a group of students usually ranging from 4 to 30. I'm ready to admit I like to choose controversial topics, but always making sure to respect Chinese culture and the taboo of directly speaking of government and Chinese politics. I've chosen topics like vegetarianism, the ban on video game consoles, war, the anniversary of 9/11 and the “war on terror”, homosexuality in China, and gun violence and control in China and America. I like to choose these kind of topics because I take pride in knowing I expanded my students' minds and forced them to think about something they may have never thought about on their own.
In return, I learn about what my Chinese students think about the aforementioned topics, helping me understand Chinese culture a little bit better. So I've learned that the Chinese (of course this is a generalization) believe that people aren't entitled to all these rights Americans believe they deserve, such as the right to own guns. There is a nationwide campaign against guns in China, and owning, selling, or producing guns is illegal. The only people who can own guns are law enforcement types-- the military and police. Although guns are illegal, they aren't non-existent, but levels of gun use and production are much, much, much lower in China than in the US. The Chinese hold sacrifice and harmony in higher regard than freedom. For example, they think if someone is secretly gay and has a family perhaps it's better to keep it inside to maintain the happiness and harmony of his/her family. You might think it's because Chinese are fed this kind of propaganda about the importance and virtue of harmony, but they're not completely ignorant. They know it's propaganda, and they certainly don't think having no rights is acceptable either. When it came to the video game ban, they argued that the Chinese government had no right to tell people what to do and that it was a private matter whether or not students were spending too much time playing video games. I learned a lot about what the Chinese think about 9/11 and the American “war on terror”, and was impressed by some students' profound thinking and sensitivity. One of my favorite students Jack (who apparently was the sole survivor on the Chinese “Survivor” TV show) explained how he believes the 9/11 terrorist attack was a result of misunderstanding and fear between two very different cultures. Another student told me she thinks that it was a long time coming because America's unnecessary involvement in everybody else's business. So while the world may think that Chinese people are ignorant and believe everything the government tells them, I have come to find this is completely untrue. Although the Chinese may not know the truth behind an event, they certainly know what they know is a lie. They are completely aware the Chinese government lies, covers up, and feeds its people bullshit. They eat it, noses wrinkled, but they don't swallow and digest. Some even throw it right back up. I guess my question now is how do Chinese people find a balance? How do they operate in such a society, under a government they know is so blatantly disrespectful and dishonest with them? But then again, I guess I can ask myself the very same question about living in America.
I think I even changed the minds of some students on the subject of homosexuality after reading personal stories of 3 homosexuals in China whose lives are very difficult in such a traditional society where most people (the older generation) aren't very accepting of homosexuals. Initially a lot of the students thought that homosexuals are born gay, while some even argued on the “nurture” side and said societal conditions and experiences (perhaps a lack of a father figure or a bad experience with the opposite sex) turn someone gay. After posing the question “Well, those who are straight, do you choose to like the opposite sex? Do you make a conscious decision to like and be attracted to the opposite sex?”, most students sat in silence and I could see the cogs turning in their brains as they seriously considered this question. Then a student raised his hand and said, “I guess it's instinct... I don't choose, it just comes from the heart so it must be the same for homosexuals.” These are the kind of moments that make teaching English worthwhile, it's not the English itself, but communicating and learning and trading different ideas in English.
Through these kind of off-hand conversations I've come to accept that I didn't come to China for the teaching experience. I think teaching has its value in society, but I personally don't think I'm meant to be a teacher, especially an English teacher. I consider myself to have a lot of patience but when a student is at the beginner level I find myself flustered sometimes, and then when I come home to Doodle who is in essence a very active child who doesn't know any better, my patience runs dry. What this experience is turning into though is a cultural experience in which I get to sit down and talk to people. Culture can be a stubborn thing sometimes-- at times culture is obvious and can easily be seen although it may be hard to digest, and difficult to understand at such a surface level. Due to this aspect of culture, you need to provoke it and be relentless. You need to ask people questions because culture speaks volumes through the people it envelopes. Culture is a breathing force, and a very colossal one at that, but it's difficult to discern and identify at times because it's invisible like the wind. At times you can't see it, but you can feel it, pushing you forward, moving you.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Orienting Myself in the Orient
In another life I may have been to Chengdu, or even to China for that matter. I can't shake off this feeling. Everything is new, but nothing feels strange or uncomfortable. It's not a sense of familiarity, it's something else and I wish I could put my finger on it, but I can't-- the feeling just hovers over me while I prowl the city. I walk and walk, and spot small stores that peculiarly sell one good and one good only (air conditioners, gas pumps, safes, curtains, picture frames, and on and on), a vendor who you're separated from by a window selling chicken and goose livers, and drivers ready to mow you down in the middle of the street even though the light is red. (God I hate Chinese drivers, they are their own authority and they listen and respond to absolutely no one). Nothing feels like home, but nothing seems strange or out of place either...
Maybe it's the McDonald's across the street and the pretzel Goldfish I can buy at the store around the corner that don't make me feel completely out of place. I think it has more to do with the people I'm walking amongst who seem... well, just like me. I'm witnessing recognizable motions of life among the crowds of people who are also strolling out on the street (not so much strolling as they are taking baby steps-- FACT: Chengdu people walk so slow I'm hesitant to call it walking and they would never survive the pace of NYC) . Motions of life that are so very familiar: businessmen going to work, dressed up girls meeting friends at a mall, couples sharing a waffle treat at Dairy Queen's, rowdy men drinking Tsingtsao with their shirts pulled up, restaurant owners steaming noodles outside on the sidewalk, a Chinese man in a rush shoving you out of the way while passing, and stray dogs sniffing at garbage and marking poles. I've seen scenes similar to these before in another place, at another time so even though I feel so far away from home, I don't feel entirely like an alien living in a far out planet. I'm more like a space cowgirl. I guess now I'm a space cowgirl tethered to Chengdu since Dan and I have fleshed out a temporary permanent life here. Huh? Are you still following?
We're not living in a hostel anymore after 3 months of sleeping in strange beds in rooms that had constant influxes and outflows of people who smelled differently, who snored loudly, who didn't know how to whisper at 6 AM, and who smoked cigars out on the deck every morning at 5 AM. The last hostel we stayed at was Sim's Cozy Hostel in Chengdu where there were rabbits roaming around sprawling gardens, a menu boasting homemade museli, fried yakisoba noodles, mapo tofu, and baked beans with toast and eggs, an extensive DVD collection (yes! Finding Nemo), and people from all over the world willing to hang out and hear about your adventures as well as share theirs. The world is overflowing with curiosity and those itching to munch on the grass on the other side. The grass definitely is a different green over here.
After about a week-long stint there, I'm casually writing about my experiences on my bright green couch where Dan and I are the only ones in our 2-bedroom apartment (well, okay, Doodle is here too*). The view is mediocre, but the windows provide a generous 135 degree range of vision. The shower isn't separated from the rest of the bathroom (there's just a shower head, but no tub or ledge to keep the water from seeping out to the toilet and to the sink and even out the door) which is annoying, but we have a Western toilet (try shitting in a Chinese toilet every day for a year-- good for your thigh muscles, but a little too uncomfortable for my “Western” ass). The bedrooms aren't very big, but the beds could fit 3 people easily (won't be testing that out). The apartment is just what Dan and I need, and we pounced on it once given the opportunity, especially after the 2 day apartment hunt that ended in confusion and bitterness. The Chinese rental system is completely different from the American's: in China you pay 3- or 6-month increments, or a year upfront. The commission for the apartment broker also costs the same as 1 month's rent. We only found this out at the very end of the process when we were meeting with the landlord and the apartment brokers after Dan and I had found a perfect apartment after viewing 4 the day before. Dan and I didn't have the cash to pay the landlord 6 months upfront (+security deposit+broker's commission), and unfortunately the guy would neither crack a smile nor budge from his payment plan. After that Dan and I decided to go to an apartment complex we knew our workmate lived in to talk directly to a landlord.
It worked and here we are! We had to deal and haggle with an elderly short Chinese man and a plump elderly Chinese lady whose bags were so puffy it kind of looked like the cheeks of a bullfrog when it puffs out. You're probably thinking, they're old, they probably weren't too bad to deal with, old people are usually so nice and calm. FUCK THAT. This Chinese duo was anything but calm-- they screamed and spat trying to outdo each other in voice volume while giving us information about the apartment. They kept calling us the next morning when we were supposed to move in demanding to know where we were (we were on the way, stuck in traffic). They demanded us to pay more and more money upfront, even though we would be paying them that money the next day anyway. They were fucking relentless and so loud I thought they were angry the entire time. I needed an Advil after going through all the details in the contract and signing it; my head was going to explode if I heard another loud Chinese outburst.
At the end of the day though, we now have quite the experience under our belts, and an apartment nestled in between 2 main streets. One main street, People's Road South, is filled with business buildings, couture shops, and a Starbucks whereas the other one, Keuhua Beilu, is populated by local restaurants, bars, and hot pot places. There's quite a difference between the two streets and I think it accurately highlights the direction China is heading. No one can dispute China is quite the cultural haven, you'd be blind not to see it when walking down Keuhua Beilu where you can see many hole-in-the-wall restaurants offering Sichuan's special noodle dish and smell greasy hot pot soup wafting down the street from your favorite hot pot spot. Yet when you walk to its parallel street, People's Road South, you're hard pressed to find the local flavor of Chengdu anywhere. You can find a Western sports bar called “Shamrocks”, a Starbucks, and to Dan's amazement a Western style Grandma's Kitchen (he always had raved about Grandma's Kitchen and their Chinese food so he was really disappointed to find this particular one only offered Western food), Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and skyscrapers filled with hundreds of offices and even more cubicles. You can't even smell the stench of hot pot on this street. The only thing that remains the same as Keuhua Beilu is the aggressive Chinese drivers.
China is becoming quite the consumerist nation as both the government and international businesses try to tap into such an unsaturated market (except the damn beer market-- where's my Hoegaarden?!). I mean there are so many fucking Chinese people, so much potential, so much money to be made that practically every government official and multinational corporation is wielding a giant boner at the possibilities. I think the challenge will be to balance China's distinct history and culture with this consumer culture, and to retain its original cultural uniqueness. I really hope China doesn't whore herself out completely to the sleazy capitalistic, consumerist tendencies that slowly eat away at cultural relevance. I'm hopeful because although China has already adopted free market principles, at the heart of it she holds substance and a distinct essence that set it apart from other countries. When I was in Costa Rica, for example, I didn't feel any real culture. Costa Rica at that point had become quite modernized and developed, and was in fact ashamed of its indigenous history with all its rich culture. The result was that Costa Rica lacked a certain cultural sparkle, although its beautiful nature made up for it. I wanted that living breathing thing I fondly call “CULTURE” because it arouses my senses, piques my interest and curiosity, and opens my mind's horizons. The sad thing about consumer culture is that it looks more or less like any other consumer culture in any other country. When you walk around the streets, it feels the same; they're filled with buying robots constantly wanting more, more of the most expensive, more of the newest, more of the flashiest, more, more, more. The flashing lights of Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co look the same on People's Road South as they do on Fifth Ave. I want my cramped, dirty restaurant with my fucking delicious, greasy noodles served by a sweaty Chinese man in a wife beater, please.
*I have the cutest dog now. Dan and I were walking down the street after signing our contract with the landlords and stumbled upon 2 people selling very small puppies. There was a particular one we fell in love with, and finding it very hard to walk away from her we bought it for about US $8. The puppy's name is Doodle (named after ChengDU), she's about a month old, and she's a local Sichuan breed. We absolutely love her, and I hope she's falling in love with us too.