Oops, I forgot to put this one up too… A little late, but for posterity’s sake. :)
“China” seems to be a buzzword in the news today, and it seems the whole world is suddenly paying attention to the country and its people. But, as I mentioned in my earlier post, China tends to defy any singular definition. I’ve found that the more time I spend in the country, the more I realize it is a strange place full of contradictions. (Where else in the world can you buy a $5 frappuccino on one street corner and a 50-cent bag of fried chicken feet on the next?)
Clearly, for those of you who want to learn more, one 5-item list just won’t cut it— so here you have it, folks: “So you want to understand China… Part II.”
1. MODERN SHANGHAI
If you want an idea of the future of China, look no further than the country’s largest, and arguably most urbane city, Shanghai. Living in Shanghai feels a lot like what I always imagined living in New York City would. And these two videos do a good job of capturing the excitement of city life.
The increasing number of migrant workers might be described as one of the many growing pains faced by a country developing at steroid-pumping speed. China’s vibrant urban centers like Shanghai and Beijing attract more than just tourists— struggling rural families looking for job opportunities flood in, bringing a slew of associated social problems along with them. Last Train Home is an artfully done documentary that follows one such family of Chinese migrant workers.
(It’s a little slow, so if you decide to fast-forward, skip to train station scene. Not only will it open your eyes to the plight of the migrant worker population will you have a better understanding of the horrors of waiting in line for anything in China…)
3. CHINESE SCHOOLS
One video in a series on Chinese schools that follows several students of varying ages. It’s stressful, intense, and, at times, tear-jerking. The eraser scene will have you bawling like a baby— guaranteed.
4. CHINESE PARENTING
All I can say is, “Wow…” This excerpt (entitled “Why Chinese Mother are Superior”) from Yale Law professor Amy Chua’s book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, provides a glimpse into the dynamics of a American-Chinese family and has sparked quite a debate in the world of parenting. The “Tiger Mother” is Chua’s personal account of raising her two daughters “the Chinese way” and is charged with her opinions on the differences between Chinese and Western child rearing philosophies. While many Chinese would say she represents an extreme, hers is nonetheless still very popular.
5. SHANGHAI PROPAGANDA ART MUSEUM
Good art. Interesting history. Hidden in a basement. Sounds like a winning combination to me.
Farewell, China it’s been good. I’m nearing the end of my year spent studying abroad here in Shanghai, and I have to say, I’ve learned a lot. I distinctly remember first arriving in China, way back in August, and being completely overwhelmed by everything that I now take for granted. Looking back, there was no big “A-ha!” moment when I suddenly realized the secrets of navigating the Chinese culture. I realize now, however, that there were several assumptions I came in with that were slowly abandoned as time went on.
For those of you coming to China for the first time, I have included a few of these assumptions (think of them as “rookie mistakes”) below. My advice to you: learn from my mistakes and enjoy making your own instead.
“That cake looks good.”
False. Just say no. Unless you’re paying an arm and a leg for a pastry somewhere within the general vicinity of a major hotel, you’re just setting yourself up for failure in Chinese bakeries. Chinese cakes may look deceptively like their Western counterparts but trust me when I say they are just not good. And when I say not good, what I really mean is dry, tasteless, spongy and/or filled with red bean.
“Crosswalk signs are meant to be followed.”
Save yourself a lot of time and several near-death experiences and completely disregard the crosswalk light next time you’re crossing the street. Instead, take a tip from the locals: the little red hand does not mean you cannot cross the street. And more importantly, the walking green man does not mean that you won’t be run over. Cars, bikes and mo-peds all disregard the traffic lights, therefore, if you value your life, you will to. Cross the street the way you would cross a battle field— look everywhere at once and dodge as necessary.
“The bathroom will have toilet paper, right?”
Nope. Stock up on those little packaged tissue packs and carry one with you EVERYWHERE.
“I got such a good deal!”
Chances are, regardless of how good of a bargainer you are, you got ripped off on whatever you just bought. Often vendors will start with prices upwards of three times of the fair price of an item, so even if you bargain them way down you’ll still walk away paying far more than you should have. My advice: accept it. Learn what the prices of items should be, but also learn to ignore that inevitable “Dang, she said okay way too fast for that one” feeling when you mess up. Accept your new purchases with the blissful ignorance of most tourists and let the seller celebrate their few extra kuai.
“Street food will give me food poisoning.”
No, it won’t. Well, sometimes it will— but you’re in China now, don’t live for the “sometimes.” You’d be denying yourself one of the most unique, cultural and delicious experiences of traveling for that bit of false security. After eight months of eating street food in Asia, I have gotten sick from it a grand total of once. So go grab yourself some MSG-covered noodles or oily dumplings and vegetable skewers and enjoy.
Two words for you: good luck.
After living in the country for nearly six months now, it seems that the more I see and learn about the country, the more I realize how little I truly understand. From the very beginning of my stay here, I found myself marveling over the diversity of life and culture, and confused over the strangeness and uniqueness of it all. More than anywhere else I’ve seen, China is a country of paradoxes— the very rich and the very poor, the very modern and the very traditional— and as such, it can often seem like another planet those trying to learn more.
So, to help those who, like me, are attempting to better understand this place called China, I’ve compiled a short list of some things I’ve come across that enhanced my perspective of the country and its people…
1. THE CORPSE WALKER: REAL LIFE STORIES OF CHINA FROM THE BOTTOM UP
This book is AMAZING. Set up as a series of interviews between the author and various people on the margins of Chinese society, it offers a rare glimpse at China through Chinese eyes. It’s funny, quirky, shocking and heartbreaking, and I learned a lot about the hardship and injustices the country has experienced from Mao-era the present. If you live in China, plan to live in China, or have even a slight desire to understand China better, you MUST read this book. Read an excerpt here.
China was recently projected to be the world’s biggest economy by 2030. But I feel this lovely info-graphic from the Economist does a good job of offering insight into what exactly that means for a country as large and diverse as China. It compares the GDP, population and exports of each Chinese province to a different country. Some provinces by themselves would hold their own in the global economy— Shanghai, for example, has a GDP-per-person as high as that of Saudi Arabia. Yet on the other hand, some provinces fall far below that— like the poorest province, Guizhou, which has an income level per person close to India’s.
Radio Free Asia boasts “Fifteen years of bringing free press to closed societies” and is a vital supply for reporting on many of the human rights issues often glossed over by Chinese state-sanctioned news media.
4. SEXY BEIJING
Sexy Beijing is the YouTube Channel of Su Fei, a 20-something waiguoren (foreigner) living in Beijing. Her videos are hilarious and really capture some of China’s idiosyncrasies from a western perspective. Not to mention, her Chinese gives me hope and something to strive for when I’m struggling to stay awake during 8 a.m. Chinese class. This one about English names picked by Chinese locals is one of my favorites.
Let me preface this by saying I love parks. At home, I go to the park all the time to walk or sit and read. So one day last fall I decided to walk to a local park here in Shanghai to find a quiet place to study. What I learned was that parks in China are entirely different than any park I have ever experienced in America. What I didn’t learn was anything in the textbook I brought with me. Far from tranquil bubbles of nature, parks here are like microcosms of Chinese society, teeming with life and activity— dancing, singing, card-playing, music, kite-flying and Tai Chi. If you want to get a glimpse at real Chinese social life, visiting a park necessary. For those who can’t physically go, this video does a pretty good job of portraying the unique culture of your average Chinese park.
1. BLACK SESAME: Although it looks kind of strange, I will eat anything with this black paste inside it— bread, baozi, candy, anything. It tastes slightly sweet, nutty and earthy, and in the world of Chinese desserts, it runs circles around anything red bean.
2. BOBA MILK TEA: Before coming to China, the idea of mixing something chewy at the bottom of your drink seemed a bit strange, but now I swear I’m addicted. Thankfully, in terms of proliferation, boba shops (i.e. Coco, Happy Lemon and Café 85) are like the Starbucks of China. They can be found on pretty much any street corner of Shanghai, ready and available to satisfy my random milk tea cravings. And with their constantly changing menus and options like Hazel-Walnut with Oatmeal and Chocolate Milk Tea with Pudding, it’s impossible to get bored. Repeat after me: Wo yao yi bei zhen zhu nai cha (我要一杯珍珠奶茶: I want one cup of Boba Milk Tea).
3. PIRATED MEDIA: Questionably legal, but nevertheless appealing. Seriously, who can resist 12 rmb CDs and DVDs? Not to mention, the fabulous feature (and procrastination method) of Google Music, where thousands of songs are just waiting to be searched and downloaded?
4. MASSAGE PARLORS: When an hour massage costs only 50 rmb, it’s amazing the excuses you can come up with to get a massage (“It’s nearly finals,” “Finals are over,” “I just spent 15 hours sitting on a train” “I just spent 15 minutes doing nothing …”). It may take a bit of discernment to choose a place that is clean and reputable, but with one or two local massage parlors lining every street block of Shanghai, there are plenty of options.
5. BAOZI: As one of the few Chinese street foods that are neither fried, nor necessarily filled with meat, baozi is one of the main staples of my diet. For 1 rmb, you can get a steamy-hot bun stuffed with your choice of filling. My favorites include “cai bao – 菜包” (vegetables and tofu), “zhi ma bao – 芝麻包” (black sesame… see point one) and purple potato bao, which I don’t know the Chinese for, I just point to the sign.
My not-so-subtle attempt to catch a picture of a woman's hose socks in Vietnam.
1. SPITTING: I call it the “Shanghai spit” for the sake of alliteration, but this little habit is popular across China. It’s not subtle, not attractive and certainly not hygienic, but that doesn’t seem to stop average citizens from frequently stopping whatever they are doing, wherever they are to leave a bit of their saliva behind. And the sound— something akin to snorting while hocking a loogie— can be heard from miles away.
2. CUTESY THINGS: Don’t get me wrong… No living, breathing person would say they don’t find Hello Kitty adorable. If they do, they would be lying. Same goes for pretty much any animal, person or inanimate object with a head twice the size of its body and eyes half the size of that. That said, I have no real desire to have one on my cell phone, t-shirt, jacket, notebook, pens, purse and bike.
3. STARING: With all due sensitivity to the cultural differences in social norms, I have to say this is one of the most strange and, at times, unnerving parts of being a foreigner in Shanghai. I was surprised to find that, in general, the Chinese don’t seem to find it rude to openly and intently stare (and take pictures of!) anyone who looks different. Responding with a smile and “Ni hao” sometimes makes them look away, or rarely smile back, but only sometimes.
4. MATCHING COUPLES: This falls under the “so cute it’s nauseating” category. Matching clothes with your significant other is apparently a popular way to express your love in China. That, or sporting any number of adorable “his and her” cell phone charms available in matching sets (see number two).
5. SQUATTY POTTY: I’m chalking this one up to genetics. I’ve spent the last seven months of my life in Asia, and I swear, no amount of practice can make you good at using a squatty potty. Proponents say they’re more hygienic than western-style toilets because no part of your body has to touch the toilet itself. To whom I say: clearly you have not been into enough Chinese bathrooms… Hygenic is not exactly the adjective I would pick.
6. HOSE SOCKS: They’re mostly hidden now that it’s winter, but I know that in the closet of nearly every Shanghai woman lurks a pair of hose socks waiting to make its reappearance come springtime. These thin, semi-sheer socks usually reach up to the lower calf and are worn with sandals and shoes of all kinds. They also have the remarkable ability to draw attention and make anyone’s ankles look awkward and unattractive.
So, I’m REALLY far behind in this whole blogging thing… But seeing as how I am now in a non-Communist country with wireless for the first time in almost 5 month I figured I ought to at least make some effort to let people know some of the things I saw and did last semester…
To start with, I guess I should mention the second long weekend of the semester… I went camping. Or at least the intention was to go camping. A little research revealed that the Chinese don’t really camp, and as such, organized camp sites are pretty much non-existent. Which was cool with us. We set out with full backpacks and train tickets to Hangzhou, ready to pitch our cheap Tesco tents in the first wooded area we came across.
But after a few fateful turns of events, we finally reached our destination at Qiandaohu (Thousand Island Lake) in time to enjoy the sunset on the lake, and take one good look at our hotel-studded surroundings before dark fell. We wandered down the road a bit, unsure where to go, before running across a sweet middle-aged Chinese woman. She walked us into town, but we still had no plan for where we were going to find a place where we could pitch a tent. “Maybe there’s a park…” I finally suggested. My friend Crystal asked the woman, and she directed us to one a bit further down the road.
That park became our home for the next four days. We pitched our two tents behind a line of trees near the back wall, and settled in. We joined the women’s aerobics dance group in the park center for their nightly exercise. We played with the children who frequented the playground. We became regular patrons of the farmer’s market on the other side of the wall from us (which we discovered when we were awakened at 4 am the first morning by the floodlights and loudspeakers).
The rest of the trip was equally amazing; we took a boat tour around a few of the islands (including “Monkey Island” where we threw tangerines to the monkeys as they tried to hijack our boat), visited a hillside temple and a local festival. We spent the last day exploring West Lake in Hangzhou— also amazingly beautiful.
Whoops, I forgot to post this one…
adventures across asia 