1. First of all, buy a travel wallet – preferably one with a snap-belt function. Put you wallet, passport, and any ticket you buy there… and keep it on you (as in strapped to your body) at all times. You might feel silly at first, but all the foreigners (and most of the Chinese peddlers) are wearing them. And you won’t feel NEARLY as silly (not to mention frustrated, enraged, and helpless) as if you get your wallet pick-pocketed. Wear it under your outer layers, but over whatever undershirt you might be wearing. That brings be to…
2. Bring a travel pillow. Long flights, and long train rides are hard on your neck. You definitely want one of these. I recommend an inflatable one, so it doesn’t take up too much space when not in use.
3. Dress for anything. That means layers. When I’m out travelling, no matter how nice the day is, I usually wear at least 2 shirts, and have more layers in my bag – just in case. You don’t want to be miles from your hotel and have it start raining. Trust me.
4. Bring comfortable shoes. Of course, but do not underestimate the amount of walking you’re going to be doing. There’s no tram to the top of the Great Wall, and no tour bus through the Forbidden City. You’re hoofing it. Be comfortable.
5. Digital Camera! I’d actually shy away from a camera that’s too bulky. The point-and-shoot Cannon Coolpix (mine) is, I’ve found, perfect for travel. Lightweight, and with a fast startup time. It’s great to just be able to whip it out and get a couple of shots off of the parade that just happened to be going by on that day. Yes, the bigger digital SLR’s are great too… they’re just not quite as suited to being on the move, or for spontaneous shots, which you’ll probably find are the best ones. Maybe bring one of each?
6. Pack plenty of batteries. Yes, you can always buy more batteries here, but China is well-known for peddling, ahem, “second-hand” products. I’ve gone through several sets of Chinese batteries in a single day with my camera. American batteries are where it’s at. When/if you do need to resupply, eat the extra yuan you think you’ll save, and just buy the Energizer brand. You won’t regret it.
7. Start a travel journal! You’ll be seeing so many things, and going at such a lightning pace, that it helps tremendously to write everything down at least once a day. Otherwise, you will forget those little details. It gives you a chance to decompress your day onto either paper, or your computer, should you choose to bring it. And it’s great to look back later and think, “Oh yeah! We went to that great little restaurant!”
8. Spring for nice hotels (5 star, if you can). You’re on vacation. You’re in a developing country. No matter how insanely cheap the room is, it’s not going to be a good deal after a day of walking and getting around in China. You will want a flatscreen TV with English movies, you will want a luxurious shower, you will want a spring-coil bed. You want you room to be a comfortable retreat from the rest of your trip. Not an extension of the 3rd-World. They’re still very cheap comparatively… so, if nowhere else on the trip, don’t be a miser when it comes to hotel arrangements.
9. Carry your own toilet paper!!! – Yes, the Chinese invented paper, but they’re sure as hell stingy with it. Everyone here carries their own pack of TP, and you should be no different. Fail in this, and you’ll find yourself is some… uncomfortable situations.
10. Beware the public bathrooms! Never before have you encountered a more wretched hive of…. Ugh. Holes in the floor. Smells that kill flies. It’s ungodly. Really. I hate the squat-toilets here. Hate them with a molten passion. They are, quite literally, open cesspools. If at all possible, wait to find a McDonald’s, KFC, or make it back to your hotel. You just don’t want to go there.
11. Buy a “Lonely Planet: China” Guidebook. These guidebooks are portable, and comprehensive. I wish I had one. They tell you sights to see, the history of a location, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment nearby. There really is no substitute. They’ll be at your local Barnes & Noble or Borders, guaranteed.
12. Get the business card from your hotel. In fact, get a couple. You can then pull it out (of your travel wallet, of course) and give it to a taxi-driver, or show it to a local when you want to head back. It’s the simplest way to get back to your home-base… and one of the easiest things to forget to do. Heck, you can save them and put them in your scrap book when you get back, too!
13. Chinese people do not look at or understand maps. Just so you know. It seems like a really good idea to have a map of a city… and for your own knowledge and sense of place, it is! But for getting around, don’t count on any local help when deciphering the map. Most Chinese people simply do not think like that, and have never ever seen an overhead shot of their town. Not even the hotel desk-girl could find a Shanghai street when I asked… on her own map. You’re better off just asking for an address or intersection name. Really.
14. Remember: You get what you pay for. The old maxim applies doubly, if not triply here in the land of dragons. Sound too good to be true? It probably it. Those fine leather shoes with solid gold straps that this upstanding gentleman will sell to you (at a special, limited-time price because he likes you)… will last you a good 15 minutes should you, in fact, decide to part with your hard-earned kuai. Pay accordingly.
15. The RMB may sit at 6.82:$1, but treat it more like ½-1/3 of a dollar when pricing. Yes, when you convert it back, that shi(r)t you paid 80RMB for at the great Wall was only $13… that doesn’t make it a good deal. You’re still getting ripped off. There are some things (like a Great Wall shirt) that you should buy, even though they ARE overpriced. But if asked by a local… tell them you paid about 1/10 of whatever you actually did. Don’t make the rest of us look bad. The sooner we can dispel the image that all Westerners are obscenely rich and have absolutely no idea of pricing, the better off we’ll all be.
16. Don’t exchange your money at the hotel, if you can avoid it. The hotels bank on travelers using their very convenient exchange services. And they charge for it. You won’t be getting the exchange rate you ought to. Also avoid the airline terminal, as they’ll be the worst. Instead try to find a bank ASAP that will exchange for you at the true rate (Bank of America, HSBC, Bank of China and International Construction Bank of China are your best bets).
17. Remember that you are a curiosity. People will stare, and there’s nothing that you can do. You will be looked at, sized up, gawked over, giggled at, talked about, and will here the semi-awed phrases “laowai” and “waiguoren” (both meaning “foreigner”) more times that you will be able to remember. (Not so much in Beijing or Shanghai) Try not to get frustrated (notice, I said try). Many of these people have rarely, if ever, seen a white person outside of the movies. Also, many Chinese people are not known for their subtlety. Depending on your personality, mood, phase of the moon, weather patterns, and any other factors that moment… such attention can make you feel like either a movie star, or a zoo exhibit. Just keep in mind that it’s almost always a very sincere, naïve curiosity and, yes, awe. Tell that to your fist when it wants to deck the guy who will…not….stop….staring….
18. Be prepared for photo-ops/English-lessons. Chinese people will, in all likelihood, stop you on the street from time to time. This might be for photo ops… but probably not in the bigger cities. What they will mostly want is to practice their English with you, and maybe exchange emails. Don’t feel any pressure to do either. Yes, they’re friendly, but that doesn't change the fact that many of them are using you as a practice dummy. I charge 100RMB for an hour of speaking English with someone. It’s a valuable commodity, so don’t feel like you’re being rude by not taking time out of your day for an impromptu chat about the weather. Your time is valuable, too. Be especially cautious of people with amazingly good English wanting to show you a great tea ceremony/other “local Chinese thing.” You may find yourself out a few hundred kuai for 6 cups of tea. Yes, company plants exist. Yes, they’re good at what they do.
19. Trust the locals. If they’re eating there, it’s a pretty safe bet.
20. Be careful chewing meat dishes. Chinese people consider meat cooked with bone to be more delicious and better for you. Great, no problem there. The problem arises in the fact that they’ll just hack through bone and sinew and cook it all… leaving sharp shards of bone just waiting for you soft inner palate to munch down on it. Chew carefully.
21. Revel in your touristy-ness. One of the major benefits of being a laowai is that you are an outsider. You are weird, you’re strange, and people will be interested in what you’re doing and think you’re some weirdo regardless of what you’re doing. Take full advantage. On my last trip, I climbed up a guardian piqiu statue outside a temple and victoriously posed for photos on its head because no one was going to stop me. This might be a little far-out for you now (but give it a few months), but heed my advice. If ever there was a time to take pictures of every little thing, make funny poses, explore interesting places and things, and just generally be silly, now is the time. If you’re really not supposed to go there/do that, a policeman/Red Guard will let you know (in a friendly way, don’t worry, just act confused and they’ll very helpfully show you the right way to go). But most of the time, people will let you get away with things that any Chinese person would never do in a million years. So be touristy. Be silly. It’s the upside of being foreign, so use it! Just don’t abuse it… you’re aiming for a good time and amused stares from the locals (“look at those silly, weird laowai”), not angry stares (“look at those awful, disrespectful laowai!”)
22. You’re also a target. Don’t worry, the violent crime rate in China is next-to-nothing. Sure there are some places you’re not gonna want to go at night (which for you guys probably isn’t a problem anyway), but I’m mainly referring to 2 things. Thieves/pickpockets, and beggars. The thieves bit is nothing new. If your hotels have a safe, put your things in it. Who knows where they hire the maids from, or how many months salary hocking your laptop would earn her? Pickpockets will mostly be thwarted by your travel-wallet, and keeping a sharp eye. They can only operate if they stay unknown. So if you feel like you’re being stalked by a set of eyes or two (á la lion stalking a gazelle) from across the avenue, chances are you’re not paranoid. Be on your toes, and just keep yourself from looking like a soft, easy target. They don’t want any trouble.
23. Beware of beggars. If you’re feeling particularly generous, it’s no harm to give to a beggar… but beware of the flocking effect (think Finding Nemo: mine…mine…mine mine mineminemineminemine). And after being panhandled the same way 19 different blocks in a row, you’ll feel your generosity start to give out. Trust me, these people set up franchises. There’s nothing to pity about them. If they wanted jobs here, they could get them. They are parasites who infect children with the same uselessness by turning them into more of the same. There are not the same laws as there are in the US, so they’ll follow you, cajole you, even send children to occasionally latch onto your leg. Do not tolerate this. If one of the tries to grab or otherwise touch or impede you, make it perfectly clear that doing so is not good for their health. Children present a different problem. How to get them off of you? This won’t happen nearly so often, but it may happen. This is pretty much the only time I’ll be cajoled into giving into such tactics. Otherwise, utterly ignoring them, and walking away is your best bet. Don’t give them the time of day, and eventually you’ll lead them far enough away from their base of operations that they’ll give up. Again, by giving, you really just encouraging them to continue begging… sounds heartless, but here, at least, it’s true. All they see you as is a big, white cash machine.
24. Lines, or the lack thereof. The concept of a line is, apparently, still a fairly novel – and certainly optional – concept here. You will find that your Western manners are thoughtlessly disregarded here, when referring to politely lining up and waiting your turn. People will shamelessly cut right in front of you, shove money at a teller from the side… when you’ve clearly been waiting your turn for the last 15 minutes. After reading up on this phenomenon, I’ve learned that it is your job to not let people cut in front of you. If someone is able to, good for them. It’s your fault for not maintaining the integrity of the line and your rightful place in it. Therefore, feel no remorse in utilizing your elbows, arms, and hands to “put up the block” and guard your line place. You are not being rude; you are doing what is expected of you. The “cutter” will not be angered by this, but will simply back off, now knowing that your place in line is not to be messed with. This is true at the McDonald’s, just as it is at the bus stop. The rule of law does not apply to Chinese lines; it still exists in the medieval realm of rule through strength.
25. Traffic and Street-Crossing. You’ve heard my commentary on this before, but I’ll reiterate. Traffic lights, signs, lanes, and other signals we take as dogmatic law in the US pretty much amounts to polite suggestion in China. Never before have you seen such an elegant clusterfuck of cars, busses, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians. This is a big category, so I’ll break it down into sections:
a. Automobiles – In China, size is king. The bigger the car, the more power it has on the road. The “emperor,” then, is the public bus.
i. The bus will not stop, will not yield, and thinks he can pretty much do whatever he wants on the road. This is because he can. Do not underestimate this. Busses are dangerous to pedestrians, but useful to ride… if you can figure out where it is going. They are very cheap, but often VERY crowded. Keep your wallet close-at-hand on one.
ii. Cars and trucks are more sensitive to your will to live. They’ll honk, and swerve out of your way while crossing the street. Taxis can be very, very useful. The driver should know where it is you want to go (try to get both a pronunciation and written directions beforehand), and if he doesn’t, just get out and find another. Taxi services can range in price, but are almost always between 10-14 RMB as their base-charge. This will usually get you 1.5Km, and then the meter begins to tick. Use the meter. If the cabbie doesn’t immediately turn it on, ask him to (alternately, point to it emphatically).
iii. Riding in a taxi/car: Do not, repeat: do not watch the traffic, if you can help it. Bury yourself in talking to each other, looking at maps, reading a book. Until you are used to how traffic works in China (usually takes at least a month), watching it while in a car will scare the hell out of you. This is especially true in the passenger front seat. You will feel like you’re about to die. Look backward.
b. Scooters and bicycles – the “little guys” of the road, they’ll overwhelm you in sheer number. Get used to the “jing-jings” of bicycle bells as they go whizzing past you, mere inched from your arm.
c. Pedestrians – Yes, you are the “low man” on this totem pole, and you’d better get used to it in a hurry. Unlike the West, where traffic yields to any Tom, Dick, or Harry crossing the street, if you’re used to a car slowing down if you’re on a collision course with them, you’ll be in for a nasty shock. The pedestrian is always the one who has to get out of the way. Three techniques for your health and safety, from beginner to advanced:
i. Find packs of locals, sidle up to them, and cross with them. You gain strength in numbers. Enough people crossing the street, and eventually not even a bus could plough through that many bodies. If the group stops, stop; if the group runs, run. Keep up with them. They are your armor.
ii. You know the game Frogger, don’t you? (if you don’t, Google the word and play for a while online) That was actually a game preparing you to cross the street in China. Just like your amphibious avatar, you don’t necessarily need to cross the whole street at once. Just one lane at a time. Find the holes in traffic and hop on through to the next lane. There is nothing strange about standing in the middle of the street while cars whizz past you on either side.
iii. After a week or two of playing Frogger, you will suddenly notice that the Force is with you, and that the elbowing people aside in crowds thing has taken on a larger aura. You will notice for the first time that a car actually swerves out of the way if you play chicken until the last moment. You will walk closer to the cars than you did before, scoot in and out of the hundreds of bicycles, and avoid scooters with ease.
I've found a few quasi-"guides" online for Beijing and Shanghai, and so I also recommend looking through them. I'll post more, as well as my own guides, etc, as I get the opportunity.
Cheers.
(CS)WC Out.
The lycanthropic jottings of my fourth year prowling the Chinese moonlight.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Trip Pictures and Such, part 1
Apologies on my long-ish delays between posts, a mixture of laziness and preoccupation are a powerful brew.
Nancy is finally back (did I mention preoccupation?), and it's wonderful to see her again. Today we two travel-weary people have been making a concerted effort to *take it easy,* which is working out great :) Though she'd never admit it, I know (just from having done it myself) that the jet-lag is hitting her like a freight train. As such, I'm perfectly content to just let her basically sleep and eat today.
Alright, on to the feature presentation. You all know I've been out and about as of late, camera in hand, walking around China and snapping away until my knee literally could not take any more. I'll try to break this into manageable chunks for you to swallow, since there's a lot of pictographic-protein to intake all in one sitting...
Trainride and Nanjing by Day
The South Gate, Nanjing at Night, and the Massacre Memorial
Shanghai and Hangzhou
Nancy is finally back (did I mention preoccupation?), and it's wonderful to see her again. Today we two travel-weary people have been making a concerted effort to *take it easy,* which is working out great :) Though she'd never admit it, I know (just from having done it myself) that the jet-lag is hitting her like a freight train. As such, I'm perfectly content to just let her basically sleep and eat today.
Alright, on to the feature presentation. You all know I've been out and about as of late, camera in hand, walking around China and snapping away until my knee literally could not take any more. I'll try to break this into manageable chunks for you to swallow, since there's a lot of pictographic-protein to intake all in one sitting...
Trainride and Nanjing by Day
The South Gate, Nanjing at Night, and the Massacre Memorial
Shanghai and Hangzhou
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Leavin' on a fast train
I'm sitting here in Eddy's (my uncle's) apartment in downtown Shanghai, waiting for a little while until Aaron and I set out for Shanghai South train station to board our train to Hangzhou.
Shanghai's been lots of fun, and it's been great to spend time with Ed. I think, though, that my mood's been somewhat hampered recently by my periodic pent-up frustrations with China and Chinese people coming to a minor head. Especially here in Shanghai, anyone who speaks english well is only doing so because it's part of an often-well-crafted snake-oil salesman attempt to part a foreign fool with their money. In addition, I was cut off from my addiction to the internet for several days due to my own absentmindedness, and forgetting to pack my electrical-plug converter. No juice = no computer = frustration. I'm only now charging my battery at Eddy's, since he's got one of the universal multi-plugs I've come to love here.
The music scene here in Shanghai is great, and it's already a city I like a lot. And I've been thinking about the "what next" portion of my life, and am - as of now - thinking I could sign on for another Tour of Duty over here. But not in Wenzhou. Nonono. Somewhere else. Somewhere like Shanghai. and it really fits in a lot of ways. Musically, culturally, girlfriendilly, and probably even job-opportunitilly. With a year of real-life, respectable-school-based teaching under my belt, I feel like I may have a shot at a bigger venue like Shanghai. Who knows? It's in the deck, and we'll just see how they shuffle.
Hangzhou is next on our agenda. Due to funding issues with the school (they have lost 2 months worth of my pay, and I can't do anything about it until I get back into the Zhejiang provence), I didn't initially want to go there... but there was no train to Wenzhou... so Hangzhou it is. Hangzhou is supposed to be quite beautiful, and is well-known for its West Lake.
Though my camera is now FUBAR (a motor in the lens seems to have died), I'll keep trying to take pictures to post up here later... or at least make Aaron take a bunch.
That's all for now. Hope all remains well on the other side of 太平洋
(CS)WC Out.
Shanghai's been lots of fun, and it's been great to spend time with Ed. I think, though, that my mood's been somewhat hampered recently by my periodic pent-up frustrations with China and Chinese people coming to a minor head. Especially here in Shanghai, anyone who speaks english well is only doing so because it's part of an often-well-crafted snake-oil salesman attempt to part a foreign fool with their money. In addition, I was cut off from my addiction to the internet for several days due to my own absentmindedness, and forgetting to pack my electrical-plug converter. No juice = no computer = frustration. I'm only now charging my battery at Eddy's, since he's got one of the universal multi-plugs I've come to love here.
The music scene here in Shanghai is great, and it's already a city I like a lot. And I've been thinking about the "what next" portion of my life, and am - as of now - thinking I could sign on for another Tour of Duty over here. But not in Wenzhou. Nonono. Somewhere else. Somewhere like Shanghai. and it really fits in a lot of ways. Musically, culturally, girlfriendilly, and probably even job-opportunitilly. With a year of real-life, respectable-school-based teaching under my belt, I feel like I may have a shot at a bigger venue like Shanghai. Who knows? It's in the deck, and we'll just see how they shuffle.
Hangzhou is next on our agenda. Due to funding issues with the school (they have lost 2 months worth of my pay, and I can't do anything about it until I get back into the Zhejiang provence), I didn't initially want to go there... but there was no train to Wenzhou... so Hangzhou it is. Hangzhou is supposed to be quite beautiful, and is well-known for its West Lake.
Though my camera is now FUBAR (a motor in the lens seems to have died), I'll keep trying to take pictures to post up here later... or at least make Aaron take a bunch.
That's all for now. Hope all remains well on the other side of 太平洋
(CS)WC Out.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Reporting Live from Shanghai
Another quickie update... now from Shanghai! Yes, that's right, we made it safely through Nanjing, and it was wonderful. Clean, growing, friendly, international... I had molded myself into a Wenzhou mindset, almost forgetting just how ugly and gross that city truly is. But it had nevertheless taken it's toll on my mind... nay, my very soul, so that I was literally jumping at the chance to leave, regardless of other commitments, workload, etc...
And it was like opening my eyes to a whole other world...the real China. Blue skies, fewer piss stains on the ground, air that didn't choke you nearly as much, a view-distance of over 15 feet, dialect I can understand... Signs with English underneath the Chinese... AMAZING!
Beyond that, though, Nanjing is really an amazing city with deep, deep history. It was the capital of the short-lived Republic, as well as the Ming Dynasty. And, of course, ground-zero for the Nanjing Massacre. We went to the memorial museum and, suffice it to say, it left an impression. Even I, who've been studying the event for ~a year, couldn't help but be moved. They really did a great job. It's built on top of one of the mass-execution/burial grounds, and is very somber, and yet somehow doesn't devolve into Japanese bashing. I took lots and lots of pictures, so I'll post them with descriptions once I get the chance.
The train to Shanghai was a fast one, and took less than 2 hours... a marked difference from the Wenzhou-Nanjing train, which took 13 (protip: it's not that much further). And, at 11pm, walking the streets, searching for a hotel that was something less than the going Holiday Inn rate of 490RMB/night, we were intercepted by a small middle-aged Chinese lady and virtually dragged down the street away from the hotel we were about to scope out next. She was babbling in rapidfire Chinese, but I was impressed with myself at just how much I was able to pull out of it. The hotel we were walking toward was "bad" and only had "3 stars", but cost "over 400", but she knew of a hotel that was "good" with a "good view" and "4 stars" and was only "300" per night. Thinking we were perhaps being beguiled into a Hostel situation, where we'd be bound, gagged, and then dismembered for others' amusement... we proceeded with understandable caution.
But it turns out the lady was right on. We were led to a great hotel with flatscreen TV, hot shower (which is, all by itself, worth the 300), and doesn't make me this the place is about to be condemned. It truly is a nice hotel, and at a reasonable price. The employees are helpful, and have given me directions to places I was to see. It's called the RHEA Hotel. Not too shabby for being literally led there blindly off the street at 11:30 at night... as I've always said, I'd rather be lucky than good.
That's all for now... my computer's battery is beginning to get low :/ More to come! And MANY pictures later!
(CS)WC Out.
And it was like opening my eyes to a whole other world...the real China. Blue skies, fewer piss stains on the ground, air that didn't choke you nearly as much, a view-distance of over 15 feet, dialect I can understand... Signs with English underneath the Chinese... AMAZING!
Beyond that, though, Nanjing is really an amazing city with deep, deep history. It was the capital of the short-lived Republic, as well as the Ming Dynasty. And, of course, ground-zero for the Nanjing Massacre. We went to the memorial museum and, suffice it to say, it left an impression. Even I, who've been studying the event for ~a year, couldn't help but be moved. They really did a great job. It's built on top of one of the mass-execution/burial grounds, and is very somber, and yet somehow doesn't devolve into Japanese bashing. I took lots and lots of pictures, so I'll post them with descriptions once I get the chance.
The train to Shanghai was a fast one, and took less than 2 hours... a marked difference from the Wenzhou-Nanjing train, which took 13 (protip: it's not that much further). And, at 11pm, walking the streets, searching for a hotel that was something less than the going Holiday Inn rate of 490RMB/night, we were intercepted by a small middle-aged Chinese lady and virtually dragged down the street away from the hotel we were about to scope out next. She was babbling in rapidfire Chinese, but I was impressed with myself at just how much I was able to pull out of it. The hotel we were walking toward was "bad" and only had "3 stars", but cost "over 400", but she knew of a hotel that was "good" with a "good view" and "4 stars" and was only "300" per night. Thinking we were perhaps being beguiled into a Hostel situation, where we'd be bound, gagged, and then dismembered for others' amusement... we proceeded with understandable caution.
But it turns out the lady was right on. We were led to a great hotel with flatscreen TV, hot shower (which is, all by itself, worth the 300), and doesn't make me this the place is about to be condemned. It truly is a nice hotel, and at a reasonable price. The employees are helpful, and have given me directions to places I was to see. It's called the RHEA Hotel. Not too shabby for being literally led there blindly off the street at 11:30 at night... as I've always said, I'd rather be lucky than good.
That's all for now... my computer's battery is beginning to get low :/ More to come! And MANY pictures later!
(CS)WC Out.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Quick note from Nanjing!
Hey everyone, just a really quick update. I'm in Nanjing and, apart from being hounded by my "mother-hen" Xiaoxian to get grades into her (which I just sent), I'm having a great time. It's cold as hell here, but really beautiful. Tomorrow I'll be going to the Nanjing Massacre
Memorial, so I'm really looking forward to that. Since it costs money to use the internet here at this hostel, I'm making my journal in my actual pen-and-paper book until I have time to copy-paste it up here. Also, I can't feel my fingers right now, which makes typing hard... so I'll update you guys, but later!!... I really need to buy some gloves!
(CS)WC
Memorial, so I'm really looking forward to that. Since it costs money to use the internet here at this hostel, I'm making my journal in my actual pen-and-paper book until I have time to copy-paste it up here. Also, I can't feel my fingers right now, which makes typing hard... so I'll update you guys, but later!!... I really need to buy some gloves!
(CS)WC
Monday, January 5, 2009
A couple of paintings...and yes, talk of New Year, as promised
In spite of my overwhelming schedule at the moment - featuring all of my finals tomorrow, grading, curriculum design for next semester, grading, travel planning, grading, and so much more! - I've actually gained some free time... in the form of my girlfriend being *literally* half-way around the world.
What do I do when I am lonely, stressed, and busy? Procrastinate, of course! It's simply how I react to such situations... and yet, somehow, things always seem to get done on time, and done well. Sometimes I think there must be 2 distinct personalities in my head: one dead-set on doing as little as possible ever, and the other begrudgingly cleaning up its' counterpart's messes... and both of them trying their darnedest to spite one another...
So I worked much of today... but then the other side kicked in... and I decided to do some painting... er... coloring... I'm really not sure what to call it. I used sticks of oil-pastels... so it's somewhere between painting and coloring with crayons. Nevertheless, I think they've turned out quite nice so far, though I must stress that I really just beginning to figure out the methods of this kind of art.
This first one was based off of a photo I saw on cnn.com in an article covering the ongoing war in Israel/Gaza. Though the conflict itself is horrible, I found this image to be quite beautiful... and the juxtaposition moving. I decided to keep the lens-flare (those polygonal light spots you see in pictures) to keep that "real" feeling.
And I bet you can't guess who this is! That's right, it's Nancy. I missed her, so I took the only logical step... I made her, ála Dr. Frankenstein... well, minus the whole graverobbing bit. I'm saving that for February.
The characters are her name: 孙洁楠, or Sun Jienan. I thought it was a nice touch. Also, I'm not sure if they came through on the photo, but there's an underlay of yellow stars against the red background... so I wouldn't forget where I was :P
As for my New Years... well, what can I say? I said I'd talk about it "next time," and so here it is. It was relatively uneventful... boring, even. I went to the bar, where they had a big party going on. Met some people, re-met others... some of which were nice to see/ see again... but a surprisingly large number of them I actually rather not have to interact with again. Fortunately most of those people are down in Rui'an most of the time.
But - as seems to have become par for the course in recent years - the oft-vaunted holiday season loses its lustre when devoid of people you care about... or especially when a loved one suddenly leaves/leaves you right beforehand...
I guess them's just the breaks.
(CS)WC Out.
What do I do when I am lonely, stressed, and busy? Procrastinate, of course! It's simply how I react to such situations... and yet, somehow, things always seem to get done on time, and done well. Sometimes I think there must be 2 distinct personalities in my head: one dead-set on doing as little as possible ever, and the other begrudgingly cleaning up its' counterpart's messes... and both of them trying their darnedest to spite one another...
So I worked much of today... but then the other side kicked in... and I decided to do some painting... er... coloring... I'm really not sure what to call it. I used sticks of oil-pastels... so it's somewhere between painting and coloring with crayons. Nevertheless, I think they've turned out quite nice so far, though I must stress that I really just beginning to figure out the methods of this kind of art.
This first one was based off of a photo I saw on cnn.com in an article covering the ongoing war in Israel/Gaza. Though the conflict itself is horrible, I found this image to be quite beautiful... and the juxtaposition moving. I decided to keep the lens-flare (those polygonal light spots you see in pictures) to keep that "real" feeling.
And I bet you can't guess who this is! That's right, it's Nancy. I missed her, so I took the only logical step... I made her, ála Dr. Frankenstein... well, minus the whole graverobbing bit. I'm saving that for February.The characters are her name: 孙洁楠, or Sun Jienan. I thought it was a nice touch. Also, I'm not sure if they came through on the photo, but there's an underlay of yellow stars against the red background... so I wouldn't forget where I was :P
As for my New Years... well, what can I say? I said I'd talk about it "next time," and so here it is. It was relatively uneventful... boring, even. I went to the bar, where they had a big party going on. Met some people, re-met others... some of which were nice to see/ see again... but a surprisingly large number of them I actually rather not have to interact with again. Fortunately most of those people are down in Rui'an most of the time.
But - as seems to have become par for the course in recent years - the oft-vaunted holiday season loses its lustre when devoid of people you care about... or especially when a loved one suddenly leaves/leaves you right beforehand...
I guess them's just the breaks.
(CS)WC Out.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Russian Guy Says USA Will Dissolve in 2010
Apparent our days are numbered. This guy - one Mr. Panarin - has apparently been pontificating about the imminent demise of the US for a good decade. For whatever reason, it's now being picked up by the Russian media and people who think that's what they want to have happen.
Though it's undeniable that the US is in fairly dire straits, economically, the idea that there is an onrushing civil war in our near future which will result in 6 seperate entities gobbled up by the rest of the world slightly strains credulity.
This Russian - a former KGB information agent, no less - and his theory have gained traction on certain corners of the web, I believe, because there are large portions of the world - and particularly from the safe anonymity of the web - that think this is what they want. It's a case of wishful thinking.
Such a prediction betrays a fundamental lack of understanding. Not of the economic/financial problems. Not of the American governmental systems. Not of the ongoing, neverending socio-political battles being fought.
No, it betrays a lack of understanding of what, exactly, it is to be American. It's not the stars, nor the stripes. Fundamentally, being an American is a way of thinking. It goes beyond whether you voted Republican, Democrat, Independant, or even Communist Party... or if you opted not to vote at all. It goes beyond skin, religion, or even language. It is a belief that a government can and should operate of the people, by the people, and for the people, and an unyielding respect for the process that allows that to occur.
For the last 8 years, the American people have been tried, tested, scorned, criticized, and ostracized, both from within and without. We have been at each others' throats, and ridiculed from the international peanut gallery - and not without merit. A President who has the support of less than 30% of the population, and is actively opposed by more than 70%. An economy which has sagged - under the burden of war, debt, predatory corporate interests, and a bumbling, stumbling government which is often more concerned with its own payouts that the public good - to the point of collapse. And a population which has been fed for more than 3 decades the farcical notion that somehow we're so terribly different from one another. Red vs. Blue, black vs. white, men vs. women. And what's worse, many have bought this notion... and books by Anne Coulter, Bill'O, and the like. This notion that we are enemies, that liberals' and conservatives' are anything more than two brothers trying to reach the same goal in different ways.
From the outside, I can understand how thing might look shaky. Living in "the outside," one sees many alternative perspectives. I've met Canadians who say they "hate Americans" without being able to define which "Americans" they mean. I've met Europeans who speak similarly, because "we're too patriotic" for not wishing to listen to some Swede mouth off ignorantly. Note: these have been the exceptions, not the rule.
And listening to the people - be they supportive or derisive, informed or ignorant - I can't help but realize that there is something fundamentally missing in their idea/understanding of what being an American means.
We are bickerers. Given leave, we'll find an excuse to argue over almost anything. What's more, we're given to verbal flights of fancy when "discussing" said topics. And with the advent of mass media, the dirty laundry is hung for all the world to see. What many outside observers don't understand - given the political and social nature of much of the rest of the world - is that, deep down, we don't forget that we're really two sides of the same coin. Such arguments would never be broatcast publically in China. In Russia, someone (well...several someones at least) would've been poisoned by now. In France, there would've been massive strikes and revolts by now, and they'd run through another 3 "republics" (and maybe another Empire) before order was restored. And in Africa, well, it's only downhill from there. The US? We worry, fret, complain, and get on with our lives... knowing full-well that though the economy may be FUBAR, the state of the Union has never been at question (well, except for that whole sordid affair from 1776-1865, but who's counting?).
People who are not constantly living it simply do not understand, and therefore constantly underestimate, the resilience of the American spirit. Are things bad? Yes. Can they get worse? Yes. Are any of these problems new? No. Global and domestic financial meltdown, see: The Great Depression. Protracted war abroad with questionable goals/winnability, see: Vietnam. Large segments of the world forcasting (with glee) our demise, see: all of American history, save the latter half of 1945. And yet here we stand.
Our infighting and squabbling over everything under the sun is nothing new either. What's the new factor? Media formats. Every tiny detail is broadcast to the entire world within minutes. Lives, mistakes, decisions, and statements are magnified and replayed, until the whole affair begins to seem like it's spiraling out of control. But, really, most of us on the inside know better. We know how resilient we really are.
I read one comment from an internet poster who called himself "eurosnob," saying, essentially, that Americans ought to stop thinking that we're better than everyone else. We're not special, and don't have anything going for us, and the sooner we embrace that fact and - essentially - become more European, the better it would be. I could not disagree more with this outlook - which seems especially common in north-western Europe, where the idea of nationalism has long been out of fashion. I think there is something special about America, and being American. We believe we are special, we believe we are exceptional, and we believe we are the best... and therefore we are, or are at least constantly striving to be. The average American, from any walk of life, believes in his/her system of government more passionately and steadfastly than most people in the world realize, or even believe possible.
In China, for example, patiotism is often little more than recitation. Know your Mao, know your Deng, and know your Hu. Why? It helps you and your family get ahead, and it's expected. It often surprises people just how deeply Americans believe in and support the fundamental underpinnings of our society and government. Though 1/2 (or 7/10) of us may oppose something or someone, we respect and revere the process of government in a way utterly alien to most people in the world. In many places the world over, a leader with less than 30% support would eithe be forced out of power, or be forced to use the military to maintain his authority. In the US? No such catastrophe. In spite of all the doomsayers and bickering, we are the most stable and long-lasting form of government in the world. It's is because we believe that our system works, even if it doesn't work for us at the time. It seems so small, but it's one small thing very few others possess.
Alright, I've rambled on long enough. This just got me thinking, and what better place to record my musings than here. I tried to stay on point, but it is late, so forgive me if I became a little tangential or repetitive. If it comes off as brazenly flag-waving, well so be it. It's sincere.
I'll be reporting in on my New Years next time.
(CS)WC Out.
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