tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50366795647727644162024-03-05T14:47:24.273+08:00Eyes Wide OpenJoin me in my four month journey as I travel across the globe to the overpopulated, communist, and air-polluted country of China. Whether it's haggling with street vendors, eating whatever comes my way, or putting my ping pong skills to the test, you can bet I won't leave any bit of my antics back home in the States. I'm ready to give China everything I've got, and in return I'm hoping it will show me the time of my life.Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-51644072149812375592011-12-22T00:45:00.006+08:002011-12-22T22:10:26.650+08:00Eyes Wide Open<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">If I weren’t studying Chinese, I would never have come to China. Period. I’ve never loved traveling as much as some of my peers do. Perhaps my easy-going nature has allowed me to feel content in a predictable and familiar environment. But I can’t imagine not having studied in China for a semester. In just 118 days, not even a third of a year, I have learned so much, about Chinese culture, business, language, and myself.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">I’d like to say that living in China has completely changed my life, that I had life-changing moments of self-discovery, that I’m a whole new man. But I can’t and I won’t. In many ways, I’m the same person who arrived in Shanghai four months ago. There are definitely a few indicators of my time spent here in China: stronger Mandarin skills, tendency to choose tea over coffee, greater liking for Asian haircuts, much-improved wardrobe largely owing to my beloved fabric market, etc. However, when I look past what the eye can see, I realize I can find something more meaningful.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">All my life, I’ve been stuck in an America-centric perspective. After living out of the country for a semester, there’s no way I can continue to think of the world in such a narrow-minded way. I care more about what’s happening around the world because I’ve lived on the opposite side of it. I want to know what China is up to and what policies they’re implementing because I feel invested in their future and have opinions on what direction the country should go in.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> In digging deep, I realize that gaining a greater understanding of China has led me to a greater appreciation of my own country, the United States. The American system isn’t perfect, but I am very grateful for the many comforts and liberties that our Chinese counterparts do not enjoy. China has a very long way to go if it wants to be a creditable first-world country. Their income disparity is disgustingly large, government corruption is widespread, policy-makers focus on short-term goals like raising GDP at the expense of long term problems like environmental damage, intellectual property rights are scarcely protected, the education system overemphasizes rote memorization and test taking and underemphasizes critical thinking and individual thought, the list goes on. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">At the same time, I truly believe that communism is the best system of government for China right now. And in that regard, I’ve come a long way. American education has taught us, in layman’s terms, <i>democracy good, communism bad</i>, but no other system of government could have pushed China through such rapid economic change. You simply can’t bring an agrarian nation through the Industrial Revolution if you have to constantly battle with political disputes and partisan disagreement.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> I love the USA. Being away from my homeland has made me realize all the strong American values that I have. I feel proud and fortunate to be born in the greatest country in the world. It’s not just our toasted everything bagels with lox and cream cheese, nor our freedom of speech, nor the waiters who actually want to know how your meal is. It’s the common sense of pride in being American, in knowing what our great nation has done and is capable of doing and all the rights that it protects and guarantees its citizens. In a land of 1.3 billion people with a government that is largely out for its own best interest, the Chinese people don’t enjoy this same sense of nationalistic pride.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">As happy as I am to be home, I will miss certain aspects of living in China. My new friends, my roommate, my teachers, speaking Mandarin with locals, street food, bargaining, nightlife, traveling. I’ll miss hardly having to spend any money to live like a rock star, being able to talk about people in English right in front of them, and being stared at because I look different. And I’m going to miss that feeling I got every once in a while where I just stop and say to myself ‘<i>Oh my god, I’m in China</i>’.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">I don’t know what my future</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">looks like, but China may very well be a part of it. I’m scared to commit myself to doing business in China, yet I am enthralled by its endless opportunities and its imminent rise to the world’s number one economic power. For now, I’ll just keep at it with the Mandarin and let life take me where it wants to take me.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Living in China wasn’t easy and definitely took a good getting used to. Even in Shanghai, an international city, I really did feel very far from my comfort zone. At times I missed home, I missed school, I missed my friends, but, in the end, my experience was nothing less than incredible. I accomplished so much in a mere four months. I really feel that I didn’t take my time in China for granted. I knew it would go by fast, and I often felt the urge to learn something new every day, or go somewhere different. It was an exhausting semester. Like any semester of college, I often felt stressed, and I didn’t sleep nearly enough. But that’s life. And it's always bette</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">r to </span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">keep your eyes wide open.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you to my f<span style="font-family: Didot;">riends fo</span><span style="font-family: Didot;">r making it the inc</span><span style="font-family: Didot; text-align: -webkit-auto;">r</span><span style="font-family: Didot;">edible semeste</span><span style="font-family: Didot; text-align: -webkit-auto;">r</span><span style="font-family: Didot;"> that it was.</span><span style="font-family: Didot;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Didot;">And thanks fo</span><span style="font-family: Didot; text-align: -webkit-auto;">r</span><span style="font-family: Didot;"> </span><span style="font-family: Didot; text-align: -webkit-auto;">r</span><span style="font-family: Didot;">eading.</span><span style="font-family: Didot;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Didot;"><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;">Chee</span></span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">r</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">s,</span><span style="font-family: Didot;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 15px;">Michael<br />
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</tbody></table>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Long Island, New York, USA40.7891424 -73.13496049999997740.4896229 -74.227785499999982 41.088661900000005 -72.042135499999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-64283477893019410762011-12-13T00:36:00.008+08:002011-12-14T09:41:29.276+08:00Shanghai: Still a Stranger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">With so many days in the semester spent traveling and studying, I still feel like I don’t even know Shanghai that well, and the reality that Shanghai is simply too big to cover in just four months has kicked in. Yesterday, I walked along Nanjing West Road, Shanghai’s main shopping street and one of the biggest shopping areas in the world. I hadn’t been there since my first week here. I felt like a tourist all over again. I was taking pictures and marveling at all the stores and people filling the street. It was like I had forgotten how amazing the city I’ve been living in is.</span></div><div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> I followed my way down the road to the Bund, the waterfront area that offers the most famous view in Shanghai: Pudong’s skyline. Just in standing at the edge of the Bund for a moment, I knew there was something about Shanghai that’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. Perhaps being in Shanghai affords me the luxury to make a cliché comment but having studied business in China for a semester, I can’t look at that Pudong skyline and not see a symbol for China’s economic growth and transformation into a first-world superpower. I can’t help but feel that I’m a part of the future here, that I’m part of something very special. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="padding: 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6SF4ezA5gzXwde5_hQyOcADBwTx2iDIqZOzZNljvqYDkIlWWmuCsKqFpmddSQmkkWNOrvhz2QF6b3mTqi63gi58sOufUBG5Frl8GcJbhaBgo91PNu0FngpeeytWV8zUZBSq5mELN0wfd/s1600/DSCN1430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6SF4ezA5gzXwde5_hQyOcADBwTx2iDIqZOzZNljvqYDkIlWWmuCsKqFpmddSQmkkWNOrvhz2QF6b3mTqi63gi58sOufUBG5Frl8GcJbhaBgo91PNu0FngpeeytWV8zUZBSq5mELN0wfd/s400/DSCN1430.JPG" width="300" /></a></div></div></td> </tr>
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<tr> <td style="padding: 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSKdpjj306fQ5tEhr6tdTIvYJGNHBRRUf16KfXS9YO5QQOWMisEglkxVoz13oWMF3SjvbK2oQAoYYfzXJZUFc0lPkMnWPQZ7oRiT5RpkAQ9dM_tE5Pqw1wcQbpFHj5jFDqK2l7615lYOn/s1600/DSCN1438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSKdpjj306fQ5tEhr6tdTIvYJGNHBRRUf16KfXS9YO5QQOWMisEglkxVoz13oWMF3SjvbK2oQAoYYfzXJZUFc0lPkMnWPQZ7oRiT5RpkAQ9dM_tE5Pqw1wcQbpFHj5jFDqK2l7615lYOn/s400/DSCN1438.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">View of Pudong from the Bund. Pudong is Shanghai’s financial and commercial center and is home to some of the most well-known landmarks in Shanghai, including the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center.</span></i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">This past Saturday, with my time in China running out, I was looking for nothing other than an authentic Shanghai experience. So I did what any worldly traveler would do: go to an American style steakhouse and participate in their burger challenge. </span></div></td></tr>
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<tr> <td style="padding: 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgkjawNYBnyKFvLxijcQtAb-Pds8ZX5E2xo9C3sNAimrE_zCJgqkW_UjLpCTJ8A7rlCuhTRIpft5HGDcHCStyvUnQ1D7pjWtHsK4skvY5f2aHl8Fb-RAfCBLD6ur3htyyQdj0iu5y-30g/s1600/IMG_4765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitgkjawNYBnyKFvLxijcQtAb-Pds8ZX5E2xo9C3sNAimrE_zCJgqkW_UjLpCTJ8A7rlCuhTRIpft5HGDcHCStyvUnQ1D7pjWtHsK4skvY5f2aHl8Fb-RAfCBLD6ur3htyyQdj0iu5y-30g/s320/IMG_4765.JPG" width="240" /></a></div></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Location</span></b><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">: Yasmine's Steakhouse in Pudong.<br />
<b>What</b>: 2 kg burger loaded with three fried eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers on a sesame bun; fries.<br />
<b>Time Limit:</b> 2 hours.<br />
<b>Reward if plate is finished</b>: get my 138¥ back and my name on their Wall of Fame.<br />
<b>End result</b>: At the 95th minute, with just the bottom bun left, I gave up. Let's just say I didn't have that big fat smile on my face anymo</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">re.</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">I’ve never felt unsafe in Shanghai, but it’s never been because of the presence of our campus security guards. In fact, every weekend night that I return home late, I don’t even need to search around for my student ID to enter my dorm building. I can simply pull open the unlocked door, snicker at the security guard passed out on the lobby couch, and casually make my way to my room.</span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Aww, isn't he cute?</span></i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">With a speech contest, two research papers, two presentations, a case study, and never-ending Chinese homework and tests, I’ve been busy and stressed out these past few weeks, but I’ve really gotten a lot out of my work. Just to be able to talk intelligently about China from a social, political, or economic standpoint after just a semester of study feels to me like a real accomplishment.</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">My longest paper was about China’s music production and distribution industry. I’ll just leave you with some funny bits I came across in my research:</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Music piracy in China has been extremely prevalent ever since the music industry first emerged. Right from the get-go, consumers were illegally downloading single-track MP3 files on the Internet with little perception of the song’s musical genre or the artist’s style. Whereas in the United States fans’ identities tend to reflect a musical genre to which they are loyal, Chinese fans, on the other hand, do not have this same concept of music classification. No two elements of Chinese young people's identities seem to be consistent. One author described walking into a Shanghai bar and encountering a young Chinese woman who, with her messy hair, black eye shadow, and torn clothes, looked like the stereotypical punk rock fan. When the man asked her to name her favorite band, she passionately exclaimed "<i>Backstreet Boys".</i></span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">The Chinese government, in its effort to closely monitor public entertainment, requires that foreign bands submit their lyrics to the state before participating in a music festival in China. Some California punk band once sent in Billy Joel lyrics.</span><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">The 2004 season finale of <i>SuperGirl, </i>a reality television singing competition, was watched by about 400 million people. So many mobile votes were sent in to the show that the government freaked out and prevented the show from ever happening in the same format. Apparently, the one-party state system couldn’t handle the idea of a democratically decided pop show.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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<tr> <td style="padding: 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7L4amefGYrvd8I1v5ExoiaSX96C2u0446LE6YSufkhYlf2XzxsQuTu22MN_swM-5ijxF2vpUxUe52Ff9-wDbOfY_AqMj5eZ-rn9I977WhuVfnBqcxqcjouSb0zFPd8_lPGrO3PdhHgKf/s1600/woo+china+1%2525+great+job.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7L4amefGYrvd8I1v5ExoiaSX96C2u0446LE6YSufkhYlf2XzxsQuTu22MN_swM-5ijxF2vpUxUe52Ff9-wDbOfY_AqMj5eZ-rn9I977WhuVfnBqcxqcjouSb0zFPd8_lPGrO3PdhHgKf/s320/woo+china+1%2525+great+job.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">This picture was taken at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Most of the great modern scientific discoveries were made by Westerners, but whoever wrote up all these signs seemed to always want to throw in minor accomplishments of the Chinese to assure visitors that China played its part too. I really wonder if most Chinese people read this and are like "1%... nice".</span></i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Even before I came to China, I had read about Shanghai’s ‘marriage market’, an outdoor gathering of Shanghai residents all hoping to find their soul mates, or, quite often, soul mates for their children. It wasn’t until this past Sunday that I finally got to experience the frenzy of Chinese matchmaking firsthand. W</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">alls of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;"> flyer after flyer telling about</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">candidates' credentials confined the a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">rea, whe</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">re hund</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">reds of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;"> people </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">excitedly discussed their romantic prospects. It was t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">ruly a sight to see.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
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<tr> <td style="padding: 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRylfrbX1SXCoDzdbDV_3Vj_kUIlQDDcZApcZCdyjgGR4Q3uaXykQR-_z4DpUTQspgPTfAJkzEOyfYMm3nVEKFK035zsNVxJ6PVOszhr0N_9JioPXOcJuRfR68rgJVjVBQbDbbjJidw6y/s1600/DSCN1412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRylfrbX1SXCoDzdbDV_3Vj_kUIlQDDcZApcZCdyjgGR4Q3uaXykQR-_z4DpUTQspgPTfAJkzEOyfYMm3nVEKFK035zsNVxJ6PVOszhr0N_9JioPXOcJuRfR68rgJVjVBQbDbbjJidw6y/s400/DSCN1412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">In a society where people can't just go to a bar to meet people, this is what happens.</span></i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzik6fuKPMRdpYPU9ylJwbI-UI6ijYUjt-wz01Rf2-yDP_1IemDaFoKLgWVoJCSuXcWB7WfNLBsGf445lEedSph-1WAifpjy6CnypkYBguNm-NxvCJAU7bKpwSYf4icWifrpTCnyc5GOM/s1600/DSCN1420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzik6fuKPMRdpYPU9ylJwbI-UI6ijYUjt-wz01Rf2-yDP_1IemDaFoKLgWVoJCSuXcWB7WfNLBsGf445lEedSph-1WAifpjy6CnypkYBguNm-NxvCJAU7bKpwSYf4icWifrpTCnyc5GOM/s400/DSCN1420.JPG" width="300" /></a></div></div><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="padding: 3.2pt 4.8pt 4.8pt 4.8pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">This one's fantastic. The only information that the man chooses to share is his age, height, salary, and phone number. When you're 63 years old in a mature market, I guess it's really all about efficiency. </span></i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></i></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table></div><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Let me just go ahead and say it: I ate dog the other day. Yes, I have two dogs at home that I love very much, but, I mean, I also like chickens, pigs, and cows. I don’t really see the big deal. I’m not a monster. I’m not going to go home and eat my dogs. I just wanted to try it and put an end to my curiosity. Dog meat, upon review, has a nice texture; it reminded me of pulled pork but a little chewier perhaps, and the meat was nicely complemented with stir-fried vegetables and chili peppers. I was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">really enjoying the dish until I sta</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">rted hea</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">ring noises in my head of my dogs whimpe</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">ring. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">That kind of ruined the whole experience for me.</span></td> </tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7PH6uKdXj_M3G4TSfaJvfppCR6mmgoJtIgGHLRbPPjZE7tDzk1iHYFUZgke7ZVBkLk-vpUgs_7ZF3q-frlMEsF7IDcLL3lGIuBejvIpWzCK90HhgZHUCIdu2CJy34oJSIIpEWDf2RU4O/s1600/IMG-20111207-00272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7PH6uKdXj_M3G4TSfaJvfppCR6mmgoJtIgGHLRbPPjZE7tDzk1iHYFUZgke7ZVBkLk-vpUgs_7ZF3q-frlMEsF7IDcLL3lGIuBejvIpWzCK90HhgZHUCIdu2CJy34oJSIIpEWDf2RU4O/s320/IMG-20111207-00272.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kehoe, my dining mate, enjoying some dog.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">While I know I may neve</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">r be as familia</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">r with Shanghai as I'd like to be, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">I've still accomplished almost eve</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">rything I set out to do this semeste</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">r</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">. In these last few days, I can feel </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">relaxed, add some new activities to my list, and make the most of my time left. He</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">re's what I plan to do:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">- ace my Chinese final on Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">- go to the top of the Jin Mao Tower, the second tallest building in Pudong<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">- go to a chocolate amusement park that's opening in Shanghai on Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">- shop for gifts for family and friends<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">- go on a boat cruise on the Huangpu River (the one in between the Bund and Pudong)</span></div></div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com1中国上海市31.230393 121.47370430.6364195 120.7792795 31.8243665 122.1681285tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-79520510891231134162011-12-01T22:52:00.001+08:002011-12-01T23:03:21.962+08:00How Much?<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“Hey, check out this painting I bought in Beijing” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“How much was it?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“No, just look at it, isn’t it great?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“How much?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“Huh, oh, uh, I don’t know, like 200 yuan, why?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">“Oh my god, so expensive!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">This is what I imagine my conversation with my roommate might have been like had I had the nerve to show him the beautiful Chinese painting I bought at the antique market in Beijing. He, like so many other Chinese people, would almost entirely decide the painting’s value based on how much money left my wallet. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">This trait of the Chinese bothers me a little. Prices are so low here that I feel I’m being cheap if I try to fight over every last penny. When my roommate or co-workers let me know that I could have gotten a better deal on something, it makes me regretful and takes away from the great qualities of the product that led me to make my purchase in the first place. It’s not their money. I don’t understand why they care so much!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Well, actually, I do. China is full of <i>piànzi </i>[swindlers] and as a foreigner, I’m undoubtedly a prime target. Thus, my roommate and co-workers, in some sense, are looking out for me, making sure that I am not being cheated by some no good swindler. In the end, though, it’s hard for me to view their concern for my expenditures as a concern for my well-being. I’m just so not used to being asked “How much?” all the time. I’m still used to American culture, where scruitinizing another’s spending behavior can be considered rude and uninvited . <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">That the Chinese basically only use cash in their purchase transactions, in my mind, makes a difference as well. Whereas many Americans use their credit cards everywhere they go, the Chinese are much more conscious of everything they spend, since all their money tangibly comes and goes from their wallets. Accordingly, they are more deal-seeking in nature and do not spend as freely (their weaker purchasing power is a contributing factor as well).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">I’m definitely concerned about going back to the U.S. where prices are so much higher and nothing is negotiable. To some extent, I have adopted the Chinese consumer mindset. For instance, the other day, I refused to buy two bananas for $0.80 because I knew I could get them for half the price on another street corner. I also get really excited to tell my Chinese friends when I get a good deal on something, so that I can prove to them that I don’t get ripped off all the time. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">In fact, the other day I was eager to tell my co-worker that Kehoe and I had gotten great haircuts the day before for RMB 10 each ($1.60) because I knew she’d approve.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Pointing to my head, I said to her, “<i>What do you think of our haircuts?</i>”. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">I was expecting to hear some positive feedback about how the barber did a nice job or how we both looked good. But I guess I should have known better. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">She responded, “</span><i style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">How much?</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 15px;">”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> -------------------------------------------------------------</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Last Thursday, I went with a big group of friends to an American restaurant to celebrate Thanksgiving. We booked a private area on the third floor with a large buffet and open bar. I was extremely looking forward to our attempt to replicate Turkey Day. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Food is definitely a big reason but I truly consider it the perfect holiday: there are no religious services to attend, no pressure to give and receive gifts, and no sacrifices to be made. Thanksgiving is simply an excuse to be with one’s family, eat well, and be thankful for one’s good fortune. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">However, on that Thursday night, I felt as far away from the U.S. as ever. I did have a good time, but I was definitely given a clear reminder of my distance from home. The food was incredible, but all the good food in the world couldn’t replace the absence of my family and the comfort of spending my favorite holiday in a familiar place. But their pumpkin soup <i>was </i>downright phenomenal.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Didot;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10tGBn3aolS7fMqtoXOykEmQImdRGoe04shzLN_RujxjU31Jh13acumsXRWEzzSBEOm3pvhlH3GVZDDhxPqNNWZFzErvOYk_6bih-Os4OW4RQUgcE2Qu4HgeTrTT2wk0wOPd4BqP3_A2A/s1600/%25E6%25BC%2582%25E4%25BA%25AE%25EF%25BC%258D%25E5%2591%25A8%25E5%25BA%2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10tGBn3aolS7fMqtoXOykEmQImdRGoe04shzLN_RujxjU31Jh13acumsXRWEzzSBEOm3pvhlH3GVZDDhxPqNNWZFzErvOYk_6bih-Os4OW4RQUgcE2Qu4HgeTrTT2wk0wOPd4BqP3_A2A/s400/%25E6%25BC%2582%25E4%25BA%25AE%25EF%25BC%258D%25E5%2591%25A8%25E5%25BA%2584.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This past weekend, we went on a group trip. Our first stop was Zhouzhuang (周庄), considered the most famous water town in China. I'll admit, it was very beautiful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9GryZY0zCFww0UNK_fBda0gL5bJch2Y2RHXnt5aHyUzZhJVOLLDU6R2xcsHnH3cXzdrcGkwXzROrMx1bfTnFuI65fG5AfpyCMoryaiDAiEr9dp32xF6k4-Bq2Im-ij2lXWvN6fQFj3Uc/s1600/%25E5%259D%2590%25E8%2588%25B9%25E7%259A%2584%25E4%25BA%25BA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9GryZY0zCFww0UNK_fBda0gL5bJch2Y2RHXnt5aHyUzZhJVOLLDU6R2xcsHnH3cXzdrcGkwXzROrMx1bfTnFuI65fG5AfpyCMoryaiDAiEr9dp32xF6k4-Bq2Im-ij2lXWvN6fQFj3Uc/s400/%25E5%259D%2590%25E8%2588%25B9%25E7%259A%2584%25E4%25BA%25BA.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one, also in Zhouzhuang, is one of my favorite pictures I've taken this semester.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb91McQlIiIHMZJHFOYTBX93EEVliQXLpFBNTt1NUJRHZmyvpNwDXXyrByzTHRk4DSgUmdIRXzj1SuwieNUxWjpwo0eFIekTPoU7_SCaHUy7psleE8YWUtx6mGIEtFAWb5kB5qztGp3V66/s1600/joining+mao.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb91McQlIiIHMZJHFOYTBX93EEVliQXLpFBNTt1NUJRHZmyvpNwDXXyrByzTHRk4DSgUmdIRXzj1SuwieNUxWjpwo0eFIekTPoU7_SCaHUy7psleE8YWUtx6mGIEtFAWb5kB5qztGp3V66/s320/joining+mao.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because of Zhouzhuang's popularity, it has quickly transformed from a small, remote area into a commercial, tourism-driven town. While the somewhat large crowds took away from the scenic beauty, there are definitely some perks to commercialism. For instance, for 10 yuan, I got to dress up as a Red Army soldier and hang out with Mao.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">With a mere 16 days left until I fly back home to the U.S., I can’t help but to start to get excited for my return. I’ve already allowed myself to start getting sick of Chinese food. This past weekend, I lost my cool, and splurged on American fast food, consuming a beef wrap, spicy chicken sandwich, chicken nuggets, and french fries from McDonalds and a 6-inch sandwich from Subway. That same evening, I used a toilet. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">There’s one particular food that I’ve been craving terribly because I just can’t seem to find it in China. I’ve already arranged with my mom that she will be holding it in her hands when I arrive at the airport on the 18<sup>th</sup> of December. An everything bagel with cream cheese and lox. This is the longest span in my life that I have gone without satisfying a food craving. Words cannot describe how I plan to savor every last crumb.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;">Speaking of lox, Jews happen to be highly regarded by many Chinese people. My marketing professor told our class how the Chinese greatly admire the Jewish people’s strong work ethic and commitment to their children’s eduation, and that many of them strive to mirror Jews in this regard. In my desire to not be a religious person, I’ve definitely lost a certain degree of kinship with other Jews. Ironically, it was my Chinese professor who renewed my sense of pride in being Jewish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Didot; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cmUc3yM5NlvktOM3gOJceOCIRuacadPBb-L4g8pdPowHEIrUm6PO_MsZID8ngwnhqS61t5j_BxPbNAKMmH61Q7_LKgpQazh6nUXPVMTICfPPwNssPNm6vqrOe-DzuzlVbiHIlzdzA7lH/s1600/DSCN1321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cmUc3yM5NlvktOM3gOJceOCIRuacadPBb-L4g8pdPowHEIrUm6PO_MsZID8ngwnhqS61t5j_BxPbNAKMmH61Q7_LKgpQazh6nUXPVMTICfPPwNssPNm6vqrOe-DzuzlVbiHIlzdzA7lH/s400/DSCN1321.JPG" width="400" /></a> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Sunday, we went to the <i>Nanshan Bamboo Forest</i> in a town called <i>Liyang </i>(溧阳). Nevermind the natural beauty of the forest, for me, the best part was the Chinglish on all the signs. Enjoy.</td></tr>
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</span></div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com1Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-19588283313321727302011-11-24T18:32:00.003+08:002011-11-24T18:43:22.242+08:00Beijing: A Trip Done Right<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Reasons I wasn't looking forward to Beijing:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- It is cold.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- The pollution is terrible. Black mucus comes out of people's noses when they sneeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- There's a much greater sense of the government's presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- I don't like Beijing people's accents. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- To get there, I have to take the high-speed rail or a Chinese airline. I don't fully trust either.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I visited Beijing mainly because I felt it was my duty to see the Great Wall while I am in China. What I expected to be a mediocre three-day weekend characterized by complaints about terrible pollution and demanding travel ended up being my favorite trip yet. Beijing must have known we were visiting because for nearly our entire stay, we were greeted with nothing but bright blue skies. At a leisurely pace, we saw everything we had hoped to see and more – the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Old Beijing, the Summer Palace, the Bird’s Nest (Olympic Stadium),</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Xiùshuǐjiē</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">(a famous indoor market known for carrying fake products),</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Pānjiāyuán</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">(a lesser known antique market), and Peking University.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Our nights were equally as active, as we benefited from having friends studying in Beijing. In three nights, we went out with Kehoe’s friend from home, a fraternity brother from school, and another friend from Cornell. We ate well (mostly opting for American cuisine like burgers and pizza) and got a good taste of what Beijing’s nightlife has to offer. Yes, Beijing was indeed cold, but it gave me a friendly reminder of New York’s autumn chill to which I’ve grown so accustomed. And when I returned to Shanghai, I was that much more grateful for its much more tolerable weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQ8UvkMkBCHX_FqD1DZe0YnTgfo2JQZLrwXFxh5EoOn_ugD_iz8E2ozysUbrnffnhg9yEmMpXoruxwXynTTzOZT9SxB-309G0pr9rkZqFDqo-MSQLCF5qlrl4IVSHo9YqOj-hlxUOLd4z/s1600/hutong+3some.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQ8UvkMkBCHX_FqD1DZe0YnTgfo2JQZLrwXFxh5EoOn_ugD_iz8E2ozysUbrnffnhg9yEmMpXoruxwXynTTzOZT9SxB-309G0pr9rkZqFDqo-MSQLCF5qlrl4IVSHo9YqOj-hlxUOLd4z/s400/hutong+3some.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My travel companions were my friends Justin and Kehoe. Here's a picture of us touring Beijing's <i>hutongs, </i>alley neighborhoods that thrived in the old days of Beijing.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman';">On our first full day, we went to see the Forbidden City. It was alright, but as far as palaces go, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. It probably would have been cool had I just arrived in China, but I’ve been in Asia for three months now. China has to step up its game at this point. Unless I start seeing some juggling pandas or monks on jet packs, I’m really not going to be that impressed.</span></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW8HzHY8ND0QdQ5VixQ4bfoHHn_C_Lqxg7oL3QuKBGBTsLbX8qaqLP6SUNyMaOWhuwmz1yUsR7SwsBas9E1zK5YZIHbChAIwlqU8Iu8K5i4GihuBi8xGjajOUqYfb0JwhYm-rtyci5rmf/s1600/outside+gugong.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW8HzHY8ND0QdQ5VixQ4bfoHHn_C_Lqxg7oL3QuKBGBTsLbX8qaqLP6SUNyMaOWhuwmz1yUsR7SwsBas9E1zK5YZIHbChAIwlqU8Iu8K5i4GihuBi8xGjajOUqYfb0JwhYm-rtyci5rmf/s400/outside+gugong.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the Forbidden City.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Our <i>hutong</i> tour guide set us up with a personal driver (his son) to take us to see the Great Wall, Bird’s Nest (Olympic Stadium), and Summer Palace all in one day. We agreed to pay Rmb100 (about $15) for gas at the beginning and then Rmb500 (about $80) when everything was finished. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">He drove us about two hours outside the city to see the Great Wall. He said he’d wait at the entrance for us and demanded that we spend no more than two hours on the Wall and return at precisely 12:55p, so as to make sure we’d have enough time for the rest of our sight-seeing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">At 12:58 pm, we arrived back at the entrance, expecting to find an anxiously awaiting driver. At first glance, he was nowhere to found. We looked around for a little.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Ah, there he is!” Kehoe shouted.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I looked over in the direction he was pointing and saw a group of old Chinese men gambling away in a heated game of cards. Among the men was a skinny, younger-looking guy. Our driver.<i> </i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We approached him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>Shí fēn zhōng, shí fēn zhōng</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">! [Ten minutes, ten minutes!] he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>Hah, and I thought we were on a tight schedule.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Realizing we were now on his time, we idled for a little, bought some dried kiwi and mango, and watched a few minutes of animated Chinese poker.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Soon enough, we were back on the road, made a quick stop to see the Bird’s Nest, and then arrived at the Summer Palace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Like before, we planned to spend two hours at the tourist site. This time, we agreed with our driver that at 5pm we’d reconvene. 5pm came around, and, once again, we couldn’t find our driver. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Do you guys see anyone playing cards?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Suddenly, from the distance, we saw our driver running towards us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In Chinese, he said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Do you have 100 yuan? I really need 100 yuan. I know you are supposed to pay 500 at the end, but just give 100 now and 400 later. I really need 100 yuan.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I handed him a 100 yuan bill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I’ll be right back. I just need to go to the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Playing cards were blatantly sticking out of his right hand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We watched him sprint off into the distance. When he got to what I guessed was about halfway to his intended destination, undoubtedly a poker table, he had a change of heart and, all of a sudden, starting running full speed back in our direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Kuài, kuài, kuài! [Quick, quick, quick!] <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Following him, we dashed towards the parking lot and hurriedly jumped into his shabby Volkswagen. Slamming on the pedal, he sped away from the scene, asking Justin, who was sitting in the front seat, to move his head forward to keep the driver’s face out of sight. When we reached a traffic light a good half-mile or so from the Summer Palace, the driver lowered his window. He tossed the cards out of the car.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“<i>[sigh] Sank you, sank you,” </i>he said, patting Justin on the shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I looked up at our grateful driver. <i>So… did you win?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQsqsKXoz46vCdUTPqyiFTDIUZwVH7oAf-tpSlLGIiXwUnhupdXc_adk9XHqrt-BL1I6_qq9sOrFY0XmFRX5ugLoyTfZQcCt3UTNGESmFXVdkiknGV7EohhgYM32vDxGBqvfO7TmBgWly/s1600/great+wall+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQsqsKXoz46vCdUTPqyiFTDIUZwVH7oAf-tpSlLGIiXwUnhupdXc_adk9XHqrt-BL1I6_qq9sOrFY0XmFRX5ugLoyTfZQcCt3UTNGESmFXVdkiknGV7EohhgYM32vDxGBqvfO7TmBgWly/s320/great+wall+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdDbxP90K-4PQjJtBuQuX5GvZs9FI4tbZQIcp4_1Yu4PDsuc2_KFCqBA30gqCRlVeDqGwlofQLqtENMP-WZGrIsgD-Cz9wugOWE0ViHN3OI_T_IFB9A1VfL-hC55L-RLqPrZRXsnmhsZg/s1600/bananarepublicleader.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdDbxP90K-4PQjJtBuQuX5GvZs9FI4tbZQIcp4_1Yu4PDsuc2_KFCqBA30gqCRlVeDqGwlofQLqtENMP-WZGrIsgD-Cz9wugOWE0ViHN3OI_T_IFB9A1VfL-hC55L-RLqPrZRXsnmhsZg/s320/bananarepublicleader.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's me on the Great Wall in a banana suit. As the Chinese would say <i>dúyīwú'èr</i> (unique and unmatched). Well, at least I hope they'd say that.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR_hduZHJbTVRakoT9QUCg-OcVacDlr82DAvWYfnAneVtPlAf_GOdMlOSdaI3PqbM-U60fI2yhz4rAxHLkt-RawTPikSBN9Qlup0CUdGE_0InWsLRwgiExw3uKFfJnKouQzpI8Vv7mxKC/s1600/insane+great+wall+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmR_hduZHJbTVRakoT9QUCg-OcVacDlr82DAvWYfnAneVtPlAf_GOdMlOSdaI3PqbM-U60fI2yhz4rAxHLkt-RawTPikSBN9Qlup0CUdGE_0InWsLRwgiExw3uKFfJnKouQzpI8Vv7mxKC/s400/insane+great+wall+view.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Wall and surrounding area was absolutely breathtaking. It really made me want to thank the Mongolians. If they weren't so damn annoying, the Chinese would never have gone to such an extreme to build such a large and beautiful structure for us all to enjoy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Between Seoul and Beijing, I really have come to master the art of trip planning. To plan a good trip, well, you don’t want to do much planning at all. The way I see it is you go on a vacation to relax and have fun. Why spend hours tirelessly researching a place when you can just ask a few people where to go, get a general idea of where everything is located, and allow some room for spontaneity? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">My realization about how little planning I had done for Beijing came with our visit to the Summer Palace. The only thing I know about the Summer Palace was its Chinese name (<i>Yíhéyuán</i>), which I had remembered from an old Chinese lesson about tourism. Other than that, I knew nothing. I just assumed the Summer Palace was some building, maybe with some nice chairs and flower pots.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We walked through the main entrance of the Summer Palace, took a few steps forward, and just stopped dead in our tracks.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“Holyyy $#!%, this is beautiful…”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXMlNwBw7sizoX9BNGkuxxDKzLhhscMxrTpbEwRMh-fT5c6uRwLheE5qdPlNBJqkzs2h_Qtu2JW_aw9yVEIxYtm8oezCBpk3uPhWh08vbV2Hj4EB-X9HK_TeyZSm3Gr66Bm8g452YN4L1/s1600/summer+palace+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXMlNwBw7sizoX9BNGkuxxDKzLhhscMxrTpbEwRMh-fT5c6uRwLheE5qdPlNBJqkzs2h_Qtu2JW_aw9yVEIxYtm8oezCBpk3uPhWh08vbV2Hj4EB-X9HK_TeyZSm3Gr66Bm8g452YN4L1/s400/summer+palace+view.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz78CI41ambV6r9ikiewGZtUsM5-iAD-177p0BABd_himjdG_zxnlnJI9yZTsJvhwOh6WzAQBxAGP0a8i5-L8_DFvhgczGTQatIkrminv_wIN0QtDgCtNjpgwp3QH-AGHspMhf5pe2xcsJ/s1600/omg+imperial+palace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz78CI41ambV6r9ikiewGZtUsM5-iAD-177p0BABd_himjdG_zxnlnJI9yZTsJvhwOh6WzAQBxAGP0a8i5-L8_DFvhgczGTQatIkrminv_wIN0QtDgCtNjpgwp3QH-AGHspMhf5pe2xcsJ/s400/omg+imperial+palace.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i> </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: italic;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Take-away: Don’t stress over planning trips. Know the essential places to go and ask past travelers about their trip highlights. If you know too much about every little tourist site, you’re bound to be disappointed, and your travel mates will probably be annoyed by your intensity. If you do very little planning then yes, you will feel extremely ignorant, but you will also experience an exhilarating sensation when you discover that the Summer Palace is not a building with some nice chairs and flower pots, but, in fact, a palace on a 60 meter high hill in a prepossessing imperial garden that expands 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water.</span></i></div><i> </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTBwpcf48A871sNuwskz4KvOPHiouIaIJvXmxqflIIjMgJayGlhCC8-aJ7LzaBfYbN-nI2ecHx8o-o5BNb90OSzALBM7sPaCGJKEA0fX-He9i0TVpWvzf8ruli1c8MM6QDJQBhHzlP0zs/s320/beida+track.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peking University outdoor track.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL76RwnX9_pNW2Ehgx8mZfNpZUP1hixPH8FctAthIxln3HQFBv7ELsNwUSmfM9nj9HAjvZYCRY28v_qx6DS0x-GHsZoxKlvBc2RWGlZuHff4ThJa1m1_L-ksgbBgUeJKuk8rXDocy81Z1S/s1600/beijing+kaoya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL76RwnX9_pNW2Ehgx8mZfNpZUP1hixPH8FctAthIxln3HQFBv7ELsNwUSmfM9nj9HAjvZYCRY28v_qx6DS0x-GHsZoxKlvBc2RWGlZuHff4ThJa1m1_L-ksgbBgUeJKuk8rXDocy81Z1S/s200/beijing+kaoya.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Běijīng kǎoyā </i>(Peking duck)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQcFoR8wTw73IAjixsdkUTTolvjX_V2VD1wUIXAVvPG2uXcmImnPuL2G2F7wmaQGPI5K7xe2OR_KXLWinWt9dErNLGEkaZnBznd3q8kpu06itkY3MlgxBcbMraq9seqGZS2KytOVYKmam/s1600/%25E6%25BD%2598%25E5%25AE%25B6%25E5%259B%25AD.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQcFoR8wTw73IAjixsdkUTTolvjX_V2VD1wUIXAVvPG2uXcmImnPuL2G2F7wmaQGPI5K7xe2OR_KXLWinWt9dErNLGEkaZnBznd3q8kpu06itkY3MlgxBcbMraq9seqGZS2KytOVYKmam/s320/%25E6%25BD%2598%25E5%25AE%25B6%25E5%259B%25AD.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pānjiāyuán</i>, an outdoor antique market.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Beijing, China39.904214 116.4074130000000239.626601500000007 116.02188850000002 40.1818265 116.79293750000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-52291288527020275022011-11-15T01:37:00.003+08:002011-12-02T13:12:31.662+08:00The Magical Market<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">There’s no place in Shanghai more beautiful, more magical than the South Bund Fabric Market. The Fabric Market is by no means immaculate or breathtaking, but it’s the sheer quantity of options that makes me giddy inside. It’s a three story building of seemingly endless jackets, pants, belts, coats, ties, shoes, dresses, scarves, shirts, hats, and cloths, from which you can walk away adorned in any garment of your imagination. And in a city where people seem to just assume all Westerners are trendy and fashionable, I’ve gotten the idea that I can just about get away with wearing anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I’m also obsessed with listening to the shopkeepers’ robotic English as foreigners walk by. <i>Pants, suits, you want, you come looking</i> <i>now. </i>Their faces are motionless as words spill from their mouths. <i>Hello, I give you best price, anything you want.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdoy5nbX8W6ktg0MQKZDqL2ISdi90XJu3IseoalgqWIksuaIWMD24bP4k3QS0nCIIkf6gyMd9tqBuyPw67rVh6J_iGXpbV541crVmE9dX1r4feuEqCtByey9KB-UQbQy7tU_Gl-MXxvvO/s1600/fm+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdoy5nbX8W6ktg0MQKZDqL2ISdi90XJu3IseoalgqWIksuaIWMD24bP4k3QS0nCIIkf6gyMd9tqBuyPw67rVh6J_iGXpbV541crVmE9dX1r4feuEqCtByey9KB-UQbQy7tU_Gl-MXxvvO/s400/fm+3.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiVKsG7XLmiacfOypb2D5m6n0rxFTME0566Fy0KrLxpZUWi2WhPvWsFClWBQpx-oOd0cmhOIxeBR8WS2PXl6jWrMNiucV4AmM20XrstDcfFTUFCWwhPD5pdbAIeNLYPu6S9ebTwovjh6C/s1600/fm+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiVKsG7XLmiacfOypb2D5m6n0rxFTME0566Fy0KrLxpZUWi2WhPvWsFClWBQpx-oOd0cmhOIxeBR8WS2PXl6jWrMNiucV4AmM20XrstDcfFTUFCWwhPD5pdbAIeNLYPu6S9ebTwovjh6C/s400/fm+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I’ve been to the Fabric Market about six times now, making it my most frequented tourist destination. The Fabric Market is everything I love about China: vendors who would kiss your derrière to get you to buy from their shop, the thrill of intense and passionate bargaining*, and the too-good-to-be-true prices that make me think I’m spending Monopoly money. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">So far, I’ve bought three custom-fit jackets, three ties, three pairs of sunglasses, a custom-fit suit, a hat, a belt, and two custom-fit shirts (my grand total is probably like $270), and I can’t be sure that my work is finished. Getting a good deal on good-looking clothing feels great, and one of the things I’m looking forward to most about my return home to the U.S. is being able to dress to impress a lot more.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The Fabric Market will always hold a special place in my heart. I’ve never been much of a fan of shopping for clothes, but I think I’ve left the Market every time with a huge smile on my face. There’s just something about walking in somewhere, and being able to get exactly what you want for an incredible price that just brings out the inner deal-seeking consumer in me. It’s almost as if every time I leave the Fabric Market, I feel like I beat the system, that someone else ended up with the short end of the stick, that I found some loophole. But this is China for you. And the only loopholes are the ones on my brand-new belt.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">*China is a cash economy, and subsequently almost everything here is negotiable. Learning to bargain isn’t particularly difficult, but it does take some confidence to do it right. Here are my bargaining tips: 1. In your head, choose a reasonable price you’re willing to pay for the item; 2. Ask the vendor to name a price and immediately complain that it’s too expensive (I especially like “<i>Huāngmiù!” [That’s absurd!])</i>; 3. Name a price that’s well below what you plan on paying and then wait for the vendor to get upset and offer a lower but still unsatisfactory price; 4. Shout “<i>Tài guì le!" [Too expensive!] </i>and storm off, knowing that the vendor will call for you to come back by offering a price that you’re willing to pay; 5. Pretend to be hesitant at first just to further upset the vendor and then accept the now reasonable price.<o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8SKmIVSTLpW-uuEVpUvAoT4lvoTZIni-3sPpAQ5Cqc9xg4d1QEGmHD0FissRGf3gJklN7S3-9Ss02GgaMbSntYp6F4na6q1dXZPgEyBadC3DzSDrNvSt-DFgwCsmIfRmvbLdCmnFWjck/s1600/me+and+my+fabric+market+gurl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8SKmIVSTLpW-uuEVpUvAoT4lvoTZIni-3sPpAQ5Cqc9xg4d1QEGmHD0FissRGf3gJklN7S3-9Ss02GgaMbSntYp6F4na6q1dXZPgEyBadC3DzSDrNvSt-DFgwCsmIfRmvbLdCmnFWjck/s400/me+and+my+fabric+market+gurl.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, and my fabric market girl. She's sold me all my jackets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6_7YaEmm4icYRPpwtd57H4TIuEDT_pnVC66OTVZWnb3HD6cnLBU2kijlTRU16q1k6AGxrXSIOZvqvg-F1HHGzYEJY-OEMwnZA5myBfkR2LGJ2kf9FWGpbdPjEzMMGvakmAe_5-XiosMl/s1600/showing+off+the+wardrobe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6_7YaEmm4icYRPpwtd57H4TIuEDT_pnVC66OTVZWnb3HD6cnLBU2kijlTRU16q1k6AGxrXSIOZvqvg-F1HHGzYEJY-OEMwnZA5myBfkR2LGJ2kf9FWGpbdPjEzMMGvakmAe_5-XiosMl/s400/showing+off+the+wardrobe.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Displaying my new wardrobe.</td></tr>
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</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-71615681789066667962011-11-11T17:00:00.002+08:002011-11-11T17:21:12.084+08:00No Laughing Matter<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">As I become more and more accustomed to living in China, I find that a lot of the novelty of life in China is slowly wearing off. I’ve gotten used to seeing little children defecate on the streets, to shoving my way into an already over-crowded subway car, and to shouting <i>fuwuyuan!</i> [waiter!] at the top of my lungs (a total accepted practice at low-end restaurants - otherwise the server may easily forget about your food). Even the Shanghai Bellies, which are just too funny to get accustomed to, have vanished with the arrival of colder weather. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Because I was initially so unfamiliar with life here, I’ve been inclined to project my humor upon what I see as different or strange. But, beyond the little things that I find comical, there really are some aspects of living in China that I cannot accept, and I think rightfully so.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">China does not have a democracy and, while its economy may only be a few years away from a free market, its authoritarian rule does make a world of difference. Such a great sense of hopelessness exists among the young people here because they know that their chances of success are slim. The wealth disparity here is disgustingly large, and the government, through connections with elite businessmen and much corruption, dominates the economy. Only the cream of the crop gets accepted into universities (note: the population of China is well over four times that of America so competition is that much more fierce), and students often need to attend graduate school to even get a good job. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">My roommate teaches a class at a nearby university and once asked his students to raise their hand if they would want to move abroad to continue their studies. Every single hand went up. It’s true. Many young people want to move to other countries. They feel oppressed by the government and know that they can live better elsewhere. Well-to-do families often hire private English tutors for their children so that they will be able to enroll in universities in the U.S. or England. I think the extent to which some kids are pushed here is crazy. I can’t imagine needing to master a foreign language just to qualify for a college. It’s depressing that some Chinese people don’t want to live in their own country. It gives me that much more reason to take pride in being American.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">My roommate loves to tell me about all the bad things about China. I think he recently had the realization that because of him, I don’t have that many good things to say about his country. The most unsettling story he’s told me is about an elderly woman who fell off her bicycle and onto the ground. No one came to help the woman, who was clearly in pain, until a few minutes later when a young man walked by and saw her. Instead of praising the man for helping her, the woman reported to authorities that the man had pushed her off the bicycle. A lawsuit was filed, and, in the end, the court declared the young man guilty, ruling that if the woman’s falling off her bicycle wasn’t his fault then he needn’t help her. Guo Jiang then added, “It’s hard to be a good man in China”.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceRjCuyWuNc9WvqJKu3MD5o5hUGY4NgJqXex8XTg56M9AQ3tw84rRnHYq9UGujZs92IX0Y_7LPk6ZeMHqIQ6357CJNL4oy8D12DY7pgppdaMqrNHm31ycP11MMjgoAbzr8yLE-JKLAxWz/s1600/eerie+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceRjCuyWuNc9WvqJKu3MD5o5hUGY4NgJqXex8XTg56M9AQ3tw84rRnHYq9UGujZs92IX0Y_7LPk6ZeMHqIQ6357CJNL4oy8D12DY7pgppdaMqrNHm31ycP11MMjgoAbzr8yLE-JKLAxWz/s320/eerie+cat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">There are stray cats that roam our campus. In fact, during my Chinese economics class yesterday, a cat literally walked into our classroom, made his rounds, and then walked out. This one here is my favorite.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Today is a very special holiday in China. It’s <i>Guānggùnjié </i>or Singles’ Day. Singles’ Day grew out of university culture and got its name from the four ones in the date 11/11. On this day, a lot of Chinese single people go out to dinner with their single friends to celebrate being single. Just as popular though is attending “blind date” parties in hopes of ending one’s single life. Today, to celebrate, I bought some Kraft Singles and played tennis with just one friend.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFAU8Vg81TLbIlQqt78j0dXFbro-tDTBJkZJYTyjrQ0HZ5NlBH1_-vNj0jgLa3ntgj6dS2igNCQKH-cf1yc47xlajdpST7YUnGZzeuUUXNS34tMhYuIbq_8m_QDE7v4L-Zzqc6P8IXjhZ/s1600/subhealthy+test+area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFAU8Vg81TLbIlQqt78j0dXFbro-tDTBJkZJYTyjrQ0HZ5NlBH1_-vNj0jgLa3ntgj6dS2igNCQKH-cf1yc47xlajdpST7YUnGZzeuUUXNS34tMhYuIbq_8m_QDE7v4L-Zzqc6P8IXjhZ/s320/subhealthy+test+area.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">I still haven't been able to figure this one out. It's next to a little waiting room inside the gym that I've never seen anyone use.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Yesterday, my roommate and I went out to eat at a great Xi’an style restaurant. Afterwards, he took me to his family friends’ apartment to see what typical family life is like. While my involvement in our conversation was rather limited, my favorite part of the experience was seeing their daughter’s bedroom. Now don’t get any ideas. She is 15, and what I’m referring to is the contents of her room. Her room wasn’t much bigger than the standard college dorm room, and yet she had a huge piano up against her wall. I got one of those inner gleeful sensations you get when you see a stereotype realized. I asked her to play. She dismissed the idea at first but then sat down and pulled out some Mozart (<i>Mòzhātè</i>). Her fingers began to move gracefully across the keys. She was insanely good. I looked over at Guo Jiang and the daughter’s father to see if they were as impressed as I. They weren’t. The father’s face wore an expression more of approval than of pride. He stood with his hands placed firmly on his hips. When his daughter finished the piece, I was fairly certain he was going to angrily shout “Again!”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">In all seriousness though, the father and daughter were very friendly, and I enjoyed the little visit. When we were leaving, our host eagerly tried to send us home with every possible gift he could find. He was so forceful that Guo Jiang ended up having to shout “<i>Bùyòng bùyòng, tài kèqi le</i>!” [No need, no need, you’re too kind!]. Although I could have guessed such a display of generosity was coming, it’s just funny when the culture you know is turned on its head. In the States, the <i>guest</i> traditionally arrives with a gift for the host. And as for the host’s duties, just providing the comfort of one’s home and some refreshments is considered quite sufficient.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJA7FyBqQ8rsT9x7Cofx6pFAVrx4UGKxtMNFFmg688HaiRiY7wXXlHks8_5yZ582Gqp81_-p2tIPHHF9ooQLFhuOz1uBltCa40KxWauLTv13PBQWyMCrea7Otl5jXFD-8aQyVTfLIC4TvQ/s1600/lotte+world.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJA7FyBqQ8rsT9x7Cofx6pFAVrx4UGKxtMNFFmg688HaiRiY7wXXlHks8_5yZ582Gqp81_-p2tIPHHF9ooQLFhuOz1uBltCa40KxWauLTv13PBQWyMCrea7Otl5jXFD-8aQyVTfLIC4TvQ/s400/lotte+world.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Lotte World, the indoor amusement park we went to in Seoul.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Part of being a successful <i>laowai </i>(foreigner) is knowing when to speak Chinese and when to deny all knowledge of the Chinese language. For instance, if you want to successfully bargain, you should definitely use Chinese to get the best possible price. If you want a cab driver to take you somewhere, you should probably speak Chinese to him or he’ll drop you off wherever he feels like. If some guy wants to make you pay to enter a skate park to simply watch your friend skateboard, you should act dumb and just sneak into the park. If you are on a plane and are told to turn off all electronic devices but are in the middle of listening to a really good song, you should pretend that you cannot comprehend anything coming out of the flight attendant’s mouth and keep your earbuds plugged in.<o:p></o:p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEYbRxbKqzpGopXLCTF2wcEGf58jIs910HfA5jCnnx97qeftAtaq-FCeuZBqNktcXy8QJ49p-79YQ1WhdnuU0juFNnL07B4DyV32FLooHAYs9TpGkw8AayOEZJUYQfb78Au03o-shyM2s/s1600/momo+sk8er+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEYbRxbKqzpGopXLCTF2wcEGf58jIs910HfA5jCnnx97qeftAtaq-FCeuZBqNktcXy8QJ49p-79YQ1WhdnuU0juFNnL07B4DyV32FLooHAYs9TpGkw8AayOEZJUYQfb78Au03o-shyM2s/s320/momo+sk8er+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Definitely worth sneaking in to the skate park to get some action shots of Morrison.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Next weekend, out of a strong feeling of obligation, I’m heading to the country’s capital: Beijing. There, I’ll experience the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and some Peking duck in what’s sure to be a jam-packed weekend. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
Here's a link to a video I took a while ago in Zhuhai when we were on our field study trip. It's of a homeless old man who truly moved me with his music. Enjoy.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZZEPBrVw_k">A True Virtuoso</a></div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-17890113744487082332011-11-04T01:10:00.001+08:002011-11-05T23:02:01.014+08:00Seoul Searchin'<div class="MsoNormal">I felt a little stupid for choosing Seoul as my fall break destination, given that I came to Asia primarily to study Chinese. China has many cities that are ideal for tourism and language practice, but I ultimately gave in to the desire to explore, to look beyond China, to take advantage of being on the other side of the globe for the first time in my life. For me, exploring the city of Seoul not only means seeing my first fully developed Asian country, but also presents a great chance to relieve myself from the mental strain of speaking and studying Chinese everyday. I’ve made a conscious effort to not learn any Korean while I’m here in order to give my brain some rest. I’ve survived so far with knowing just one word, <i>hana,</i> which means “one”. It comes in handy when I only want one of something. For some reason, I don’t mind being the American tourist who can’t understand the people around him. I’ve come to truly appreciate the power of body language, and of Koreans knowing how to speak English.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m traveling with my two friends, Andrew and Kehoe. Here’s what we’ve done:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44Bsl_kLbOEs-bxWP3kEPy487qeGFygRuwZeaGOaPT_o4dWt0O878ZugnrP4XZKoiEc0yTOgw-BHtlmk99zDsC1ka5BfxjUTnJyaoCx_6-6uRUFObVEgDGVjeJu8hK0SnPDP7cvuRDk67/s1600/temple+band+seoul.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44Bsl_kLbOEs-bxWP3kEPy487qeGFygRuwZeaGOaPT_o4dWt0O878ZugnrP4XZKoiEc0yTOgw-BHtlmk99zDsC1ka5BfxjUTnJyaoCx_6-6uRUFObVEgDGVjeJu8hK0SnPDP7cvuRDk67/s320/temple+band+seoul.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gyeongbokgung, Korea's imperial palace.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Visited one of Seoul's many palaces</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Took a cable car to the Seoul Nam San Tower</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Went to the Demilitarized Zone</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Shopped in the famous Myeongdong district</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Ate at an awesome seafood market</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Visited Lotte World, an indoor amusement park</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Went to an art museum</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWSMXKJjWfdS7qDgIM0xy3Yno8alpwo0E9Kcs7J6Yz57F00ni_qaob6EYOIA5YibT_tPKlJ16lTOH2YYKM36XsbUxeTkXLi5WI1IcYowOotE88ZCMeIcYpJ8-aQskw1Uln4uY9bSbXUl3/s1600/sashimi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWSMXKJjWfdS7qDgIM0xy3Yno8alpwo0E9Kcs7J6Yz57F00ni_qaob6EYOIA5YibT_tPKlJ16lTOH2YYKM36XsbUxeTkXLi5WI1IcYowOotE88ZCMeIcYpJ8-aQskw1Uln4uY9bSbXUl3/s320/sashimi.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh sashimi from the seafood market.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle">Stil left to do:</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Seoul City bus tour</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Ride bicycles in Cheonggyecheon, an urban park that runs through the city </div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span>Go back to the seafood market</div><div class="MsoListBulletCxSpLast"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Along the way we’ve also been sampling all the street food and convenience store snacks. So far, more successes than failures.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Although I’ve been to Hong Kong and Macau, South Korea, as I mentioned, is the first fully developed Asian country that I’ve ever been to. After being in China for so long, I don’t take for granted the soap in public bathrooms, the available drinking water at restaurants, and the overall cleanliness of the city (fun fact: if you say “Korean” in an Asian accent, it sounds like “clean”). While Shanghai will not likely resemble Seoul in the future (Shanghai has many more skyscrapers), it is cool to get a glimpse of what a developed China might be like in a few years. From observing Korean life, I’ve determined that Asians with blond hair and pet grooming stores are defining characteristics of a developed nation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even in Korea, there is no escaping the Chinese foreigner picture frenzy. When we were on the DMZ tour, we were attacked by a group of Chinese tourists who all wanted to take individual pictures with us. If you ever start feeling lost in the crowd, you should really head over to Asia. I’m constantly being reminded how cool it is to be white and over 5’7’’.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-DO2LSXQNYoUY-Si12Gn3LF3lbmsObpsJv5vu2uflAnkEsOS9fkXeRpI_YnnFe-5YC8t7_0kDlx04JgCQdcFaEYtktGK6JXsErOTE5mfYpvIxK9ddQGedrqCj6jm5PLXg4Y39FxT7Nzx/s1600/DMZ+great+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-DO2LSXQNYoUY-Si12Gn3LF3lbmsObpsJv5vu2uflAnkEsOS9fkXeRpI_YnnFe-5YC8t7_0kDlx04JgCQdcFaEYtktGK6JXsErOTE5mfYpvIxK9ddQGedrqCj6jm5PLXg4Y39FxT7Nzx/s400/DMZ+great+shot.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went on an awesome tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea. The highlight was walking through one of the infiltration tunnels that North Korea had built in hopes of attacking the South.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The average day here has been 60<span style="font-family: Symbol;">°</span>F with sunny skies, and yet I’d be hard pressed to find a Korean that isn’t wearing pants and at least two layers of clothing. I’ve noticed the same thing back in China. Weather that I find to be very comfortable is often considered quite cold by Chinese standards. </div><div class="MsoNormal">We asked our Chinese teacher about this phenomenon in class. Her response: “You all have white skin; we have <i>yellow</i> skin.” I was really shocked by this explanation and find it difficult to accept that tolerance for cold temperatures is a racial characteristic. In any event, I find it hilarious when I’m reminded of this racial difference. One time I walked into work in a short-sleeved Polo shirt on a beautiful, sunny day, and a co-worker asked me “<i>N</i><i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">ǐ</span> bù lěng ma?” </i>[Aren’t you cold?]. In addition, my marketing professor once warned our class, “Be prepared; Shanghai gets very cold in the winter”. Hah, he doesn’t even know what cold is. I’d love to take him to Ithaca.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMX9LpNpd0D2FcZm-tXM-qxSktXA-xGT4xzWaHy8oTNArvIWzlbeLnpoPmOT-Xz6V0TzcGo-EwgjK_rh0QHTf9J0Bw_G95i4rNENNMvMU82TsSStVDCQnxxxeUHQWAEspzwqgq54zCMP3K/s1600/seoul+bathroom+hilarious.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMX9LpNpd0D2FcZm-tXM-qxSktXA-xGT4xzWaHy8oTNArvIWzlbeLnpoPmOT-Xz6V0TzcGo-EwgjK_rh0QHTf9J0Bw_G95i4rNENNMvMU82TsSStVDCQnxxxeUHQWAEspzwqgq54zCMP3K/s400/seoul+bathroom+hilarious.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what happens when a country becomes too developed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWSMXKJjWfdS7qDgIM0xy3Yno8alpwo0E9Kcs7J6Yz57F00ni_qaob6EYOIA5YibT_tPKlJ16lTOH2YYKM36XsbUxeTkXLi5WI1IcYowOotE88ZCMeIcYpJ8-aQskw1Uln4uY9bSbXUl3/s1600/sashimi.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLAHytNRFPLLU_K6jHnAq9Ctul2A8rI5JAi1SS8HR6DtdMsn_ocX9NQOeafWQex47AP99Mh5psYl0R72ujq5co543_taYGJrLVPphtCLvvNeeL75HJvs_VsbUj2PYrA3jUXHJiihWEhKW/s1600/banana+clubbing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLAHytNRFPLLU_K6jHnAq9Ctul2A8rI5JAi1SS8HR6DtdMsn_ocX9NQOeafWQex47AP99Mh5psYl0R72ujq5co543_taYGJrLVPphtCLvvNeeL75HJvs_VsbUj2PYrA3jUXHJiihWEhKW/s400/banana+clubbing.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first night in Seoul was spent at a club in a banana suit. There, I quickly discovered that most Koreans don't celebrate Halloween. That didn't mean that the banana was not a huge hit though. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQvB9zjrf6nPMcWZBPf45TZL_X2hsZbk-AzO4YDhBDzH4YFEdUr8c3P8IIsAO4eSBh_bHHxAca2AnI1qegmllL-Lj5FIHUO5JFylL8Cf880UWohZTe_MUOgD7JiEj84J26BQ_5_6PJNY-/s1600/seoul+temple+fight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQvB9zjrf6nPMcWZBPf45TZL_X2hsZbk-AzO4YDhBDzH4YFEdUr8c3P8IIsAO4eSBh_bHHxAca2AnI1qegmllL-Lj5FIHUO5JFylL8Cf880UWohZTe_MUOgD7JiEj84J26BQ_5_6PJNY-/s400/seoul+temple+fight.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Doing our best to be culturally sensitive.</td></tr>
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</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0대한민국37.566535 126.9779691999999634.751585 123.69096919999996 40.381485000000005 130.26496919999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-27430136352188357982011-10-26T13:09:00.001+08:002011-10-27T19:21:03.650+08:00“7YH” and Other Unscholarly Analyses<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">As it is only just to give credit where credit is due, I’d like to first acknowledge Mike Kehoe as the wise young man whose ideas were the inspiration for the following entry.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I’m not a party animal by any means, but I don’t usually think twice about going out and having fun once the weekend rolls around. When I arrived in China, it didn’t take too long to realize that the college student culture is a little different here. In these past two months or so, we’ve only managed to get about three Chinese roommates to come out with us for a night. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Now, let’s soak this in. I’m in Shanghai, arguably the most exciting and entertaining city in all of Mainland China – bars, lounges, dance clubs, live music, restaurants, bowling, karaoke – you name it, you can find everything here. So why are Chinese college students so opposed to enjoying all that Shanghai nightlife has to offer? Do they not like to have fun? Do they look down upon drinking and partygoers?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">My answer: the Chinese are unknowingly victims of what I call the <i>Seven Year Hypothesis </i>(<i>7YH</i>), a conjecture which states that the Chinese youth are seven years behind Westerners in terms of maturity. In believing in this hypothesis, one can come to make sense of this important cultural difference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">For instance, a friend might ask me, “Why doesn’t my 21-year-old roommate want to come out to a bar with us tonight?” upon which I can confidently respond, “He’s only 14, don’t be so hard on him”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> My friend Marybeth’s roommate wears pajamas that even a 9-year-old American girl would think are way too childish. And what can she almost always be found doing when she’s in the dorm? Watching cartoons.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Kehoe’s roommate has watched a Justin Bieber concert tour video at least three times. His ring tone: a Justin Bieber song, of course.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">My friend Justin’s roommate plays <i>World of Warcraft</i>, a computer game, all night long. My friend Andrew’s roommate takes “staying in” to a whole new level. He has a wireless mouse, so with his computer on his desk a good ten feet away, he lies down on his bed and rolls his mouse on his chest.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">What’s more is you can often find young professionals or upper-level students still living with their parents who have strict curfews. In fact, Kehoe works with a 26-year-old girl who lives at home. Her curfew: 11pm! Take away seven years, and she’s now 19. Oooph, still pretty old. Ladies and gentlemen, we may have an outlier.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The nightlife that we American college students value is more a part of the Chinese business lifestyle than of the Chinese college student. Accordingly, I think many Chinese kids consider themselves too young and inexperienced to go out for drinks and the like. *<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Summarizing thoughts: Chinese students like to watch television and play computer games instead of going out, and their lives are still largely controlled by their parents. This sounds a lot like my life… when I was 13.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">7YH</span></i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> is perhaps most salient when looking at the dating scene in China. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a Chinese girl my age tell me that she prefers to receive a note informing her that a guy likes her than hear from the guy in person. Sounds a lot like middle school, huh? I can’t imagine an American college student landing a date if he didn’t even have the nerve to approach a girl he liked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">In the end, the <i>Seven Year Hypothesis</i> helps to explain why many of my friends feel a sense of disconnect with their roommates. I think we were all expecting our roommates to just be Chinese versions of our friends back home in the States. That many of my friends are not very close with their roommates makes me feel lucky to have such a strong bond with Guo Jiang. So why do I get along so well with my roommate, who’s 33? Well, why wouldn’t I? After all, he’s really just a conscientious 26-year-old.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">* Drinking is truly a big part of business in China. I’ve heard tales of Chinese men getting drunk in order to accept shaky business deals. Moreover, inviting managers, co-workers, and clients to dinner and drinks, while possibly considered bribery in the U.S., is almost the norm in China. It seems to be just a mere extension of the Chinese propensity towards gift giving. My marketing professor has even said to us that many businesspeople in China are literally in physical pain from being forced to eat and drink so much. Truly a hilarious thought… until you call to mind all the other people here slaving away in factories for just enough money to make ends meet. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Chinese pop culture is extremely corny, and I refuse to be convinced otherwise. Someone in China must have declared that smooth jazz can be played anywhere and will automatically make for a serene atmosphere. I kid you not – I’ve heard the same smooth jazz version of <i>My Heart Will Go On</i> (from <i>Titanic) </i>at four <i>distinct</i> locations in China. Moreover, most Chinese dramas revolve around some terribly cheesy storyline that involves a man and a woman who love each other but for some reason, whether it be professional pursuits or parental disapproval, are forced to be apart. <i>Oh please, cry me a river</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0Fe3Sk1vc0gqxCHQjS-vJcOch8aT7Z20YOPQJdTiX2wi5TBhJNeBaN7P7EB_jwrnOpJosX6WWYcEWZT2aE9tvzdxwV2go3ZynKox25yrtBucYPqu-l_Q5Z93mhG_WlUa8z8fQn95hkj3/s1600/panda+munching.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0Fe3Sk1vc0gqxCHQjS-vJcOch8aT7Z20YOPQJdTiX2wi5TBhJNeBaN7P7EB_jwrnOpJosX6WWYcEWZT2aE9tvzdxwV2go3ZynKox25yrtBucYPqu-l_Q5Z93mhG_WlUa8z8fQn95hkj3/s320/panda+munching.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A panda munching on some bamboo at the Shanghai Wildlife Zoo.</td></tr>
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</o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">This past weekend, I went to Hangzhou, a city, not far from Shanghai, renowned for its beautiful natural scenery. One of my stops was at the Lingyin Temple, where I discovered majestic Buddha shrines and statues. Feeling so removed from the Chinese culture, I found it hilarious when I saw people holding incense and bowing down to bronze statues. However, seeing such prepossessing statues and structures that were built more than a thousand years ago made me realize how rich Chinese history really is. When comparing China’s history to that of the United States, which pretty much started in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. is an infant. As such, far fewer common legends and traditions have had time to make their way into the minds of the American people. All in all, I can now understand why people feel the urge to bow down to their beloved Buddhas. At this point, I’d probably just make a funny face if I were next to a George Washington sculpture. But give me a thousand years, and I might very well get down on my knees.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0OKb5I5PNwz3RTY_kKvT1NkFC7KBtqXDlRdmwcz3jB3KIksponzdeJU7MOxp3OC2jdTpUabkzLTlKlZxt1lqtuOXk7UE5WZ92aZSPxX2UDJvCBism0-lFuC7YMtD1WpSRPYjhhH0dHmn/s1600/outdoor+meditation+%25E6%259D%25AD%25E5%25B7%259E.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0OKb5I5PNwz3RTY_kKvT1NkFC7KBtqXDlRdmwcz3jB3KIksponzdeJU7MOxp3OC2jdTpUabkzLTlKlZxt1lqtuOXk7UE5WZ92aZSPxX2UDJvCBism0-lFuC7YMtD1WpSRPYjhhH0dHmn/s320/outdoor+meditation+%25E6%259D%25AD%25E5%25B7%259E.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marybeth and Kehoe, embracing Hangzhou's natural beauty.</td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldyCiYUnBmcjy4kOOQ64uCPBM4O7AXy0XtrDZJT_aC0_c6A4qivc5ZcHGUQ67EvMWQEMzDCrUr5Qinmm_1VNfbZrPWhSimJ75k2j323Fq9YWkI8pqdru7igsHSomE1SlPK6JiOlaEX4oU/s1600/%25E6%259D%25AD%25E5%25B7%259E%25E7%2589%259B%25EF%25BC%2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldyCiYUnBmcjy4kOOQ64uCPBM4O7AXy0XtrDZJT_aC0_c6A4qivc5ZcHGUQ67EvMWQEMzDCrUr5Qinmm_1VNfbZrPWhSimJ75k2j323Fq9YWkI8pqdru7igsHSomE1SlPK6JiOlaEX4oU/s400/%25E6%259D%25AD%25E5%25B7%259E%25E7%2589%259B%25EF%25BC%2581.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">My fall break is coming up, and I was all set to head to Bangkok until I heard news of the terrible flooding that has put Thailand in a state of turmoil. Consequently, I decided it would be best to choose another destination (Exhibit A: 20-year-old college students make a responsible decision). Kehoe and I asked my roommate to call the airline to cancel our flight. Later on that day, as he’s on the phone with the airline, I see him whip out a piece of paper from his bag. He takes the phone off his ear and asks, “<i>Can I make up a story? If you have good excuse, you needn’t to pay for cancelling</i>.” Laughing a little, I tell him, “<i>Sure, go ahead</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">After some time, he was put on hold, so I asked him what he had told the airline worker on the other end. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">He said he had told them that I had severely injured my head after a skateboarding accident and would be unable to go on the flight. The note that he pulled out of his bag was from his friend, a brain doctor, describing the sensation that one feels after this kind of injury. <i>Yes, that’s right.</i> My roommate did research to prepare for his lying to the airline company. I was in hysterics. Now let it be known that I consider my roommate a very respectable man. That fabricating a story of some skateboarding accident to escape a cancellation fee did not even remotely faze him was just all too much for me. It just goes to show that fibs and falsehoods are not so frowned upon in China. This cultural difference doesn’t surprise me. Fake brands and false advertising surround Chinese people left and right. It’s no wonder that deception is an accepted part of everyday life. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Oh and, if you’re wondering what happened, they ended up transferring Guo Jiang to another department, of which all the employees were on their lunch break. I just paid the cancellation fee.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">With Bangkok an idea of the past, this weekend, I’ll now be heading to Seoul. Still not too shabby.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-55770920083600538152011-10-18T01:42:00.003+08:002011-11-16T00:21:02.425+08:00A Look at Language<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;"><br />
<span lang="ZH-CN">古的猫宁</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Try to pronounce this phrase…</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Gǔde māoníng</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Still confused?...</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Goo-duh Mao-ning</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Have you caught on?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Right now, you might sound like a Chinese person trying to say “Good morning”. If so, great job, you’re exactly right.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">At the Shanghai World Expo last year, the Chinese government handed out thick pamphlets filled with English phrases accompanied by Chinese characters to help with </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">pronunciation</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">. It's no wonder why so many people here have horrendous accents when speaking English.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">A lot of people have said to me things like “<i>Oh my god, you’re studying Chinese, that’s insane</i>.” Well, I just want to clarify that there is a definite method to the madness that is learning Chinese. What I do is treat Chinese as a Romance language (one that uses the A-Z alphabet) and learn words in pinyin (phonetic writing with tones). At a much slower rate, I learn the characters for these words. For me, memorizing pictures is extremely unnatural, and the fastest way to learn Chinese is to simply stick with what I know.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> In viewing Chinese as a Romance language I notice that pinyin words only end with a, e, i, o, u, n, r, and g. Each character is a one syllable word (the longest possible is 6 letters like</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">chuang</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">or</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">shuang</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">). When you think about English and all the different combinations of letters, word endings, silent letters, and bizarre pronunciations (e.g. curtain, asthma, receipt), you can begin to understand why English may be just as hard to learn for a Chinese person as Chinese is for an English-speaking person.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Chinese has four tones: (1) the tone that you make when you sing “Do-re-mi…”, (2) the tone you make when asking a question (3) the low noise that comes out when you groan, and (4) the tone you make when you say “no!”. In pinyin, they look like this: mā, má, mǎ, mà. Tones, along with characters are definitely the most unnatural and most difficult part about Chinese, but I’m definitely starting to get accustomed to them. I would compare the difficulty of mastering tones to the difficulty of understanding where to place certain emphases in English. For instance, think about the words “mechanical” and “mechanism”. Notice how they’re pronounced differently? Think about how hard mastering this concept is for a non-native speaker.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">For me, I find words like</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">lǜse</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">and</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">jùzi</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">very unnatural.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Lǜ</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">(which means green) sounds like “lyoo” (say “yoo” first and then add the “l” sound to it). If I slip up and say “loo”, I’ve now accidentally said the word for</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">road</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">. Similary, try understanding the difference between</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">zhù</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">(which sounds like “jew”) and</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">jù</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">("jyoo"). While these kinds of differences seem so subtle to a native English speaker, they are simply a natural part of the Chinese language.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">One thing that I struggle to understand is why Chinese people often wrongly interchange “l” and “r” when speaking English. They have both “l” and “r” in their frickin’ language. What I do know is that English words that get Chinese-ified often follow this switching of</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">r</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">and</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">l</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> pattern. For instance, Walmart becomes</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">沃尔玛</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">(Wò’ěrmǎ) and Andy Roddick becomes</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">安迪 罗迪克</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">(Āndí Luódíkè).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx81AF7TwSlCtbfxPMshT6p3i56Zx3hXJF3STnispqXbQHfte3F6C0wDoxqAOpMajn3baWglIp8Iuc8HBANVPPhl4IVEooDpFu2Lj7mdFRjmmAjfHKzidOmpQlZaCKlBfHvhKCwlPQ7yP/s1600/roddick+deep+breath.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMx81AF7TwSlCtbfxPMshT6p3i56Zx3hXJF3STnispqXbQHfte3F6C0wDoxqAOpMajn3baWglIp8Iuc8HBANVPPhl4IVEooDpFu2Lj7mdFRjmmAjfHKzidOmpQlZaCKlBfHvhKCwlPQ7yP/s400/roddick+deep+breath.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My parents and brother came to visit me this week, and we went to the Shanghai Rolex Masters, where we watched Andy Roddick in his first round victory.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">There are actually some Chinese words and phrases that use Roman letters rather than characters. For instance, take a look at the following sentence:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">我们唱卡拉</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">OK</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">的时候, 我想让</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">T</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="color: black; font-family: 宋体;">洫最难看的朋友付钱但是最后我们还是决定</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">AA.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">When we went to sing karaoke, I wanted to make my friend with the really ugly t-shirt pay for us all, but, in the end, we decided to each pay for ourselves.</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">(You have to make sure to pronounce the letters with a Chinese accent though.)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHvyRj_XHuCVjf8yQZZAdvvUlHp4vdFrJEmZnVhfmWGgAD_to6rcyOp-x8Vj_ejDyolr7e4s7b32sclA2wvyymh0-nC0aFfG6hgG4kDqPEDxDBM7Po-26CTi6uZhpk3wfb_9qlETRHrZT/s1600/andrew+aisha+duet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHvyRj_XHuCVjf8yQZZAdvvUlHp4vdFrJEmZnVhfmWGgAD_to6rcyOp-x8Vj_ejDyolr7e4s7b32sclA2wvyymh0-nC0aFfG6hgG4kDqPEDxDBM7Po-26CTi6uZhpk3wfb_9qlETRHrZT/s320/andrew+aisha+duet.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friends Andrew and Aisha singing a passionate duet. Karaoke in China is extremely popular and a ton of fun. Karaoke clubs offer private rooms for groups, and it's very common to stay for three or four hours.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Learning Chinese forces me to view the world in a much more logical manner. The way that Chinese words are formed is very practical (put different characters to make new meanings), so to learn and remember them I need to adopt a practical mentality. Take a look at the following examples:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><tbody>
<tr> <td style="border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.4pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Chinese</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 157.5pt;" valign="top" width="158"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Literal Meaning</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.5pt;" valign="top" width="140"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">English</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.4pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">前后文</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 157.5pt;" valign="top" width="158"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Front</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">-</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">back</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">-</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">writing</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.5pt;" valign="top" width="140"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Context</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.4pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">开关</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 157.5pt;" valign="top" width="158"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">On-off</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.5pt;" valign="top" width="140"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Power switch</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.4pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">桌球</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 157.5pt;" valign="top" width="158"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Table</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">-</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">ball</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.5pt;" valign="top" width="140"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Billiards</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 95.4pt;" valign="top" width="95"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">长颈鹿</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 157.5pt;" valign="top" width="158"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Long</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">-</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">neck</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">-</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">deer</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid black 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .75pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid black .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 139.5pt;" valign="top" width="140"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 宋体;">Giraffe</span><span style="font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">Although learning Chinese means studying a language comprised of strange character pictures and no English cognates (besides some brand names, celebrity names, and loanwords), the above chart demonstrates one of the reasons that I find Chinese fun to learn. Chinese, for the most part, makes sense. And while Chinese people may struggle to remember a word like</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">yogurt</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">, there’s no way I could ever forget</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">sour-milk</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma;">.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com3Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-67693598757866164682011-10-07T14:46:00.000+08:002011-10-07T14:46:56.872+08:00The Not-So-Merry Ferry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>669</o:Words> <o:Characters>3817</o:Characters> <o:Company>Cornell University</o:Company> <o:Lines>31</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>4687</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The word <i>safe </i>in China, as you may know, should be taken with a grain of salt. A country that has constructed hotels in a week’s time, that allows workers to drill pipelines on the sidewalk as pedestrians amble by, and that is infamous for injurious railway collisions certainly cannot truly understand the meaning of <i>safe</i>…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">“Gladstone, get out of bed, don’t you hear your alarm? It’s been ringing for the last hour!”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Letting out a husky groan, I roll onto my back, reaching my arms way up over my head. I rub my eyelids, making them aware that I must start the day. I had been out until four in the morning the previous night. It was now eight o’clock. I certainly knew what I was in for today.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Taking the elevator down to breakfast, I’m pretty sure I look like death, and it takes the first person I see – my friend Andrew – to confirm this notion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">During breakfast (I couldn’t tell you a single thing I ate or said during that meal), I receive a pleasant surprise. The rain from the previous night was only the beginning of a typhoon that had swept the area. As a result, a level 8 warning was issued, meaning all ferry rides, including ours from Hong Kong to Macau, had to be postponed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">So, I slept. And slept. And slept. It wasn’t until around four in the afternoon that the waters were finally deemed <i>safe</i> to navigate. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Soon after finding my seat on the boat, an attendant came around handing each ferry passenger a barf bag. As I took one from her, I thought “<i>Oh, that’s a nice gesture. Though I doubt anyone will need them</i>”. Boy was I in for a surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I put my ear buds in and turned on my iPod, anticipating a relaxing boat ride to Macau.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">30 minutes later, I awake and realize I had drifted off to sleep. I open my eyes and feel a sharp throb in my head. I notice an unsavory scent in the air. I start to sense the rocking side-to-side motion of the vessel. I conclude that this turbulence has been present for quite a while now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I look out over my seat and find a scene so absurd and laughable that I can only find sanity in a single gratifying thought. <i>I have to write about this in my blog</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">All around me I hear the sounds of coughing, crying, and vomiting as people hold onto their barf bags for dear life. I see the attendant frantically running around answering the calls of passengers who demand seconds and thirds of their beloved sickness bags. With every big wave that the boat strikes, a chorus of screams echoes from the upper deck of the ship. I glance over at my friends Mike and Dustin, both of whom are Texas Tech students. As the boat hits a large bump, I hear the roar of “Yee-haw!” fine-tuned with their familiar southern drawl. I imagine devil horns growing out of their nonexistent cowboy hats.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Moving my head to the left, my eyes land on my good friend Kehoe. Pressed in between two Chinese women whose barf bags were no more than an inch from their sickly faces (undoubtedly two of the attendant’s best customers), Kehoe slowly raises his laptop into the air for public viewing pleasure. He has a word document open, and in large typeface it reads “ZHEN DE MA?” [REALLY?]. I burst out laughing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kehoe, sandwiched in between two troubled passengers.</td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The next hour or so is much less comical. For the remainder of the trip, I am overcome with nausea and struggle to fight back the urge to join the many others who have spilled their guts. When the ferry finally comes to a stop, I feel I have pushed my body right up to the limit it can endure. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">As we gather outside the Macau customs terminal, I leave my bags with the group and make my way over to the nearest bathroom. I find a urinal. Within a few seconds, a Chinese man approaches a urinal to my right and begins to take a leak. I hear the cacophonous, guttural sound of someone coughing up a loogie. Using my peripherals, I catch sight of the man as he bends slightly forward and opens his mouth. Instead of a large wad of spit arrives a violent hurl of vomit. My mind jumps back with shock but my body remains still, intrigued by this stomach-turning sight. Wrapping up my pee, I skip my usual third shake, wash my hands quickly, and scurry out of the bathroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">I return to the group and find my bags. I consider the last hour and a half of my life. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I felt like there was someone to blame. Someone who allowed us all to board that ferry knowing how miserable the ride would be and how so many people would get sick. <i>But then I put things in perspective</i>. I’m totally fine. The whole experience was, after all, pretty hilarious. I start to get excited for Macau. I glance over at my friends. I feel happy. I feel relieved. I feel safe.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><i>The Bad English Translation Picture Gallery</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you to give me free moist towelette</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaP_UeWA2WoT4ELhrsKyjgSz3Zy9Wk_Ks9jcP2vyZOeBZQcrOohTLrFgCcatgiI_rRJ8WnLqpM69kXlKRCE_lvoV3agO6V8VDah2UO8ion5ldZCXsCRCIaQgEOcoQkfwtv4xpyUpiM5RB/s1600/linked+to+blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaP_UeWA2WoT4ELhrsKyjgSz3Zy9Wk_Ks9jcP2vyZOeBZQcrOohTLrFgCcatgiI_rRJ8WnLqpM69kXlKRCE_lvoV3agO6V8VDah2UO8ion5ldZCXsCRCIaQgEOcoQkfwtv4xpyUpiM5RB/s200/linked+to+blood.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And... there goes my appetite.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Entry from The Encylcopedia Gladstonnica</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">China drip</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> – Any small drop of liquid that falls on a foreigner in China. Often times, one cannot locate the exact location from which such liquid has fallen, but research has hinted that awnings, drying laundry, and sewage run-offs are among the most likely sources. China drip can also occur indoors, especially after heavy precipitation, in restaurants and in buildings with poor piping systems. While the content of this drip is variable and cannot be known for sure, many people conjecture that water, acid rain, mold, dirt, and rat feces may make up its composition. Natives of China are wholly oblivious to this phenomenon, given that they have experienced such wetness since an early age and are unaware that liquid landing on a person’s face while he is enjoying a bowl of Kung Pao chicken is preventable and should be frowned upon. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><!--EndFragment--></td></tr>
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</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-65350711049714390772011-10-04T20:50:00.002+08:002011-10-04T20:55:59.612+08:00Bravery, Egghole, and the Shanghai Belly<div class="MsoNormal">I force the lids of my eyes open. Feeling strained, they close again and convince my brain that a nap would be a better idea. I obey. Leaning my head back against the cushioned seat of a coach bus, I put my mind at ease as the soothing voice of Phil Collins thrums through my ear buds. For a few minutes, I fall into a light doze. Then I feel something brush the top of my hair. I ignore it and continue to sleep. A few seconds later, someone near me lets out a loud snicker. Alright, nap time over, I have to know what’s so funny. Slowly, my eyelids open. I see three smiling faces, all of them looking at me, including one with a flashing camera. I feel my hair and find a napkin resting on the top of my head. I shut my eyes again.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvVoVgnhvI-hoK-xAqErfw8s-lbJmhh_1NI1PCi3sMkighU7rgVLVnEPWaYQwtvmP09_PdMYpPhuiN8-KFfUBMES_anpVXqcwTbu8NiikpE3_ZGl4nbeewAgbSHlEFYwnhrLXVcUJE0H8/s1600/napkin+hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvVoVgnhvI-hoK-xAqErfw8s-lbJmhh_1NI1PCi3sMkighU7rgVLVnEPWaYQwtvmP09_PdMYpPhuiN8-KFfUBMES_anpVXqcwTbu8NiikpE3_ZGl4nbeewAgbSHlEFYwnhrLXVcUJE0H8/s200/napkin+hat.jpg" width="153" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a 6:30am departure from campus and a 2-hour flight from Shanghai to Guangzhou, it seemed like everyone was either desperately seeking some rest or acting childish from marked over-tiredness. Our director Wang had planned accordingly: upon our arrival in Guangzhou, we had a group lunch and then were supposed to check into our hotel and have a short rest. However, the hotel wasn’t ready for us yet, and now we were skipping ahead to the next item on our agenda: a visit to the Zhujiang Brewery Company and Beer Museum. Being pissed off about having to go to a brewery was definitely a sad moment in my life.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Greeted at the front door by two casually dressed Chinese men, our group was led into a small auditorium with a big projection screen and podium on the front stage. One of the men, probably in his early fifties, walked on stage and approached the podium. As soon as he opened his mouth, I knew we were in for a treat. He spoke with such a heavy Chinese accent that it wasn’t until his third or fourth sentence that I was actually able to say with certainty that he was speaking English. I gradually became more and more accustomed to his voice and, with the help of visual cues, was able to gather that he was welcoming us to the brewery and would be telling us about the company’s business strategies.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As our host finished up his introduction, a PowerPoint presentation came on the screen, and the second man, who looked slightly younger and had more hair than the first, approached the podium. <i>Ah here we go, this will be better</i>. He began to speak in fast-paced Mandarin. I was perplexed. In our group of 27, there are a mere four kids who are fluent or near fluent. I am certainly not one of them and was wondering if I was going to get much out of this company visit. The answer came as soon as the man stopped his speech and the older, original speaker chimed in. <i>Oh my god, he’s our English translator?</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Accompanied by comprehensive flow charts, a SWOT analysis, and diagrams, the Mandarin speaker rattled on about the marketing strategies of Zhujiang Brewery. Meanwhile, the English speakers were handed hollow explanations like “the management strategy has developed very fast in last few years” or “there are many opportunity for our bravery to increase market share in the egghole industry”. In a moment of eureka a few minutes later, I realized <i>bravery </i>and <i>egghole</i> meant “brewery” and “alcohol” respectively.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I made the most of the situation and decided to treat the presentation as a listening exercise. I was determined to try to do a better job of translating the speaker’s Mandarin into English than the <i>egghole </i>on stage was doing. For the most part, I fell short, but I definitely understood enough to know that the translator was failing to translate many major points that the speaker was making. At one point, I looked back and found that an entire row of my classmates had dozed off. I really couldn’t blame them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After what felt like forever, the speaker opened the room up for questions. My general sense was that no one would be willing to put the poor guy on stage to trouble by asking a question. I was right, but the speaker mistakenly called on my friend Andrew who had been scratching his head. Not wanting to be rude, he pulled out the first thing on his mind: “I've noticed that Chinese beer is different from American beer in two aspects - alcohol content and size of the bottle. Could you comment on these differences?"</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>A solid question</i>. But Andrew had asked it much too fast, and the older man on stage was unable to comprehend. Andrew repeats the question again, this time at a much slower speed and in a clearer voice. The man still doesn’t seem to know what’s going on. I close my eyes and let out a groan. <i>Where’s the beer in this bravery…</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgo7FrcsVyx1wMcEPTAs8AMkLsvYL2NX2UK0v9ZJGLciyiaRXBFHB6dSANPIbx3zVj-dHh3bV9L5B6-BSNzZmZSKx6K_lm4NErBQXn74mI4FlR7Wl6hr6LGUSz5ZEG0Ewiq6coAu0tWbnj/s1600/pearl+river+beer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgo7FrcsVyx1wMcEPTAs8AMkLsvYL2NX2UK0v9ZJGLciyiaRXBFHB6dSANPIbx3zVj-dHh3bV9L5B6-BSNzZmZSKx6K_lm4NErBQXn74mI4FlR7Wl6hr6LGUSz5ZEG0Ewiq6coAu0tWbnj/s200/pearl+river+beer.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNwpx0noBSlaedZkwBtjy3T7DiVQBFoija1cXyoXck6XwfGkn52kRi2sUihaRik3CwCS5Xnrd8FxKixN_DABzNc8GdR5FJb4SCY_4BGdixFfFB3WeRYtnFPq9WFRoJGj58JNxZSwXIUOd/s1600/beer+museum+shenanigans+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNwpx0noBSlaedZkwBtjy3T7DiVQBFoija1cXyoXck6XwfGkn52kRi2sUihaRik3CwCS5Xnrd8FxKixN_DABzNc8GdR5FJb4SCY_4BGdixFfFB3WeRYtnFPq9WFRoJGj58JNxZSwXIUOd/s200/beer+museum+shenanigans+2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's Andrew.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOixh_i1cDAQqFx2AnnTbCXd6mlCktg-omyFA8Syk2anGXQ_47h4YGxIP9m0bdX7I26lNCrtGpR7NC5zotMq_ZinoWG0Bwm5naHh_i1VCHCNEPI7DevB-BcjW42IWaseKsn911ySBHY_Jl/s1600/lots+o+beer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOixh_i1cDAQqFx2AnnTbCXd6mlCktg-omyFA8Syk2anGXQ_47h4YGxIP9m0bdX7I26lNCrtGpR7NC5zotMq_ZinoWG0Bwm5naHh_i1VCHCNEPI7DevB-BcjW42IWaseKsn911ySBHY_Jl/s200/lots+o+beer.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A whole lot of beer.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Every street in Shanghai is insane – cars, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians flood every intersection, competing to get to their destination. I’m a natural at Frogger though. I haven’t even lost a life.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is an important, yet under-researched phenomenon that I have come across in my studies and observations here. I like to refer to it as the<i> </i>"Shanghai Belly". The Shanghai Belly is best characterized as a perfectly round midriff in a male. What makes the Shanghai Belly so fascinating is that only a select number of people possess this trait, but those that do are eager to let others know of their great fortune. Inherent in possessing the Shanghai Belly is knowing how to properly flaunt your special stomach flab. There are two crucial steps in this process (1) roll your shirt up so that it rests on the part of your stomach that extends out the farthest, and (2) act like you have no idea that everyone can see how unattractive your body is.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Here are two prime examples:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJ84GSIVLEgd43-alFob_8kcjrfr1qu7lCFHSvP5mUJJtJNQJfpRodwRFMbM97mQgc_rc18qinYAxmHOxwtjIjao_LqQO1aGmmGNWAVM_FgmYpzYLQ_Hixw62mdk16iN99CPP4z7iuoaH/s1600/belly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJ84GSIVLEgd43-alFob_8kcjrfr1qu7lCFHSvP5mUJJtJNQJfpRodwRFMbM97mQgc_rc18qinYAxmHOxwtjIjao_LqQO1aGmmGNWAVM_FgmYpzYLQ_Hixw62mdk16iN99CPP4z7iuoaH/s320/belly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKc54VLLpCE30Y-YNZpD2y58VzlCmk1yOHvYfIxu6DUAHLVcciuZea5y8s6RVinGK21-Tngyg9UGQ9PKKZ00s6fiGVH7qug90lWCviylANGbyT_oXPoP7JnydZbP80vzjzFgtJJXek5I7/s1600/bellin%2527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKc54VLLpCE30Y-YNZpD2y58VzlCmk1yOHvYfIxu6DUAHLVcciuZea5y8s6RVinGK21-Tngyg9UGQ9PKKZ00s6fiGVH7qug90lWCviylANGbyT_oXPoP7JnydZbP80vzjzFgtJJXek5I7/s320/bellin%2527.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-86081118504948798902011-09-20T01:52:00.002+08:002011-09-20T21:35:56.096+08:00I'm Lovin' It<div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Feeling awake and energetic, I walk in. I see the familiar row of treadmills alongside the nearest wall, half of which are broken. Behind the treadmills is a row of elliptical bikes. Situated far from the wall, the bikes are not plugged in, rendering all but the ones with mechanical resistance unsuitable for use. In the back, there is a rack with some free weights, some are in kilograms, others are in pounds. I see an older man doing push-ups on a lift machine that was certainly not created for such a purpose. I turn my head and see a young woman running on a treadmill. Her outfit of choice is a t-shirt and jean shorts. Outdated metal lights protrude out from the ceiling, reminding me of my elementary school cafeteria. Next to them are white, motionless three-winged fans, that everyday get browner and browner from rust. Several red banners hang from the moldy ceiling. On them are big white letters that say “<i>Grand Opening”</i>. In the States, such signs would have been taken down long ago, but I can only figure that the manager wants his facility to prominently display English so as to create a Western feel. That, or he doesn’t know what <i>grand opening</i> means. <i><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Such is the gym on our campus. It is by no means the nicest place in town but, being a one-minute walk from my dorm, it is terribly convenient. I’ve learned to look past the sweaty benches and machines (the gym is void of any sanitation wipes or towels), the countless broken cardio machines, the poor ventilation, the small selection of free weights, and the questionably dressed gym goers. In fact, I enjoy the scene. I love the random 60-year-old man in corduroys doing pull-up after pull-up, putting any young kid to shame. And the dude who takes off his sandals so that he can run on the treadmill in socks. And the athletically built grad student who squirms so much during each squat that I consider going to grab him some toilet paper. The place has personality. And for the small price of 300<i> kuai</i> (about $47.50) for a four-month membership, I can’t really find a reason to complain. And besides, it’s nice to know that if I ever want to try working out in a polo, I have a place to go. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">In China, when someone sneezes, you don’t have to say, “bless you” or wish that person good health or anything. I like that.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’re leaving for a field study trip this weekend. Along with Hong Kong and Guangzhou, one of our stops is Macau, which is considered the Vegas of China. The other day, I wrote, “<i>What happens in Macau stays in Macau</i>” on a piece of paper and handed it to Jiang. He couldn’t come up with a good translation. I suppose the Chinese don’t approach life with the same reckless abandon.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9VmX2FGzcwyRgo41QJEtxyRAbumar25O1n58O55ML3F0Ks2BxhcqNvHPtddf8Jql3_perrND9dqLWWn3KQMBvyalJHAeP7V0FdU6lk0QPw3bw0Cc0V2tJHvhYlgej9uGs01da2KfSl-U/s1600/dog+with+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9VmX2FGzcwyRgo41QJEtxyRAbumar25O1n58O55ML3F0Ks2BxhcqNvHPtddf8Jql3_perrND9dqLWWn3KQMBvyalJHAeP7V0FdU6lk0QPw3bw0Cc0V2tJHvhYlgej9uGs01da2KfSl-U/s320/dog+with+shoes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dog with shoes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
In New York, I get annoyed when people on the street shove flyers and promotions in my face. In Shanghai, I embrace these people. Their advertisements serve as prime study materials.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This afternoon, I rode the train to work with my friends Ari and Kehoe (we all work at the same company but in different departments). The train wasn't too crowded, so we found seats and began working on our Chinese homework due the next day. Soon enough, other passengers noticed what we were doing and started eagerly looking over our shoulders. It wasn't long before the three of us each had our own personal tutor guiding us through our worksheets. When we arrived at our stop, we exited the train with big smiles, all of our homework nearly complete.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDzM0GA74mPS5v8Q7fg95lKfSGZa_sOdpDcQJsvzqpKv-Yljwq1Da-GzVcx0OTR7t_DMX-yxNN7bSbQcBHw8-c8UndLYqmzYO7bm2tw8NAqhziIW2dnUNBJBPHNelvfNrKzcXRPg81ltw/s1600/letting+them+turtle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJDzM0GA74mPS5v8Q7fg95lKfSGZa_sOdpDcQJsvzqpKv-Yljwq1Da-GzVcx0OTR7t_DMX-yxNN7bSbQcBHw8-c8UndLYqmzYO7bm2tw8NAqhziIW2dnUNBJBPHNelvfNrKzcXRPg81ltw/s320/letting+them+turtle.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sign above glass case says "Letting them turtle"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBH89ZZrM0UGkJCya0u5ls4I0QnfaOguaht0_hp2Ir5LblmZ2du1LlLwVTKkVW_WHNOV72iI5hYv3mPYXdWNwkRcBr-31qD1jAONkdgaqgOPUAsKLQfFcvxFd36uz3xoqhq2eSiDRggZ-/s1600/eating+the+worldwide+delicious+food.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBH89ZZrM0UGkJCya0u5ls4I0QnfaOguaht0_hp2Ir5LblmZ2du1LlLwVTKkVW_WHNOV72iI5hYv3mPYXdWNwkRcBr-31qD1jAONkdgaqgOPUAsKLQfFcvxFd36uz3xoqhq2eSiDRggZ-/s320/eating+the+worldwide+delicious+food.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Eating the world wide delicious food"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I noticed that my roommate Jiang is pretty good at pronouncing short English words but seems to be less comfortable with longer ones. Accordingly, I figured out a method to help him. Hearing him struggle with a word like <i>appreciate</i>, I’ll quickly write down on a piece of paper “<i>she ate</i>”. He’ll try again. This time: perfect.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-4878780844171268872011-09-15T08:38:00.000+08:002011-09-15T12:59:32.313+08:00Two Languages, One Friendship<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console';">Hai Yan ordered a lot, we had a lot to eat. But maybe because of the dirty, and we almost ate nothing. But, she was so happy. I think maybe it’s because she was a bride. She was so happy, and ate so much! Maybe I can reach a conclusion that a nice heart gives you happy life. Or else, even she ate something special or expensive, she is not happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Here’s an excerpt from a writing exercise my roommate gave me to check over. As you can see, he loves to use the word “maybe”. For him, “maybe” is a comfort word as he approaches the English world with uncertainty and indecision. My roommate’s name is <span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 宋体;">郭将</span><span style="font-family: 宋体;">(</span>Guo Jiang<span style="font-family: 宋体;">)</span>. At the age of 33 – making him more than 13 years older than I – he is studying to get a doctorate in international affairs and economics. He doesn’t have any classes to attend. His one and only job is to get an academic paper published. He’s been putting off his work lately though. He prefers to study English. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> In two words, Jiang is good-hearted and sociable. Many peers in my program know him as the Chinese roommate who is always looking to strike up a conversation. As a language student of over 10 years, he is a clear product of textbook English. He knows an impressive amount of vocabulary but still has a hard time with pronunciation, rhythm, and listening. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Like a true academic, Jiang has taken more of an initiative about my learning Chinese than I have myself. For this, I am very grateful. Before I arrived I was a little worried that I’d have to force myself to always speak Chinese with my roommate. However, Jiang and I have quickly formed a solid friendship, and I speak to him with just as much a desire to carry on our friendship as a desire to practice my Chinese. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> I can’t even tell you how helpful he has been. When we first met, he told me that he didn’t think four months was enough time for me to really get good at Chinese. Since then, he has changed his mind. I don’t think he realizes that my rapid progress is greatly due to his guidance. If he is in the room while I’m doing Chinese homework, he’ll have me recite my entire lesson aloud. He’ll correct my tones. He’ll correct my rhythm. He’ll make sure I understand the text. He loves teaching me Chinese. And I definitely love to learn.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> There is certainly a language barrier between us. Although I talk with Jiang every day, I still can’t have the close relationship with him that I have with my American friends here, solely because of our mutual inability to dig deeper into each other’s native language. However, with every new word or phrase learned, I add more and more ways to communicate and thus establish a greater connection with my roommate.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> I think getting more comfortable with Chinese has relieved me from feeling lost in an unfamiliar world. There’s a certain satisfaction I derive from just knowing how to say “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hao hao shui” </i>[sleep tight] to Jiang at night or from being able to use Chinese to make him laugh. Studying Chinese is definitely difficult, and I often find myself wishing it were more like English. But I push on and challenge myself every day to get better. I love that as my sentences become more and more complex, my personality begins to shine more and more through my new tongue, and I start to feel closer to the language and think more like a native speaker.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> English, undoubtedly, has many more nuances than Chinese, and I pity Jiang’s struggle to master English. Just the other day, my friend Dustin passed Jiang in the hallway. Greeting him, Dustin said “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You doin’ alright?”</i> Jiang, an English student of ten years, stood tongue-tied, unable to make sense of a phrase that simply meant, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How are you?”</i> I don’t run into problems like this with Chinese. I’m much more likely to struggle with tones or memorizing characters. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Even after a mere three weeks, I know that I will keep in touch with Guo Jiang long after my four months here. Recognizing that I felt out of place upon my arrival in China, he has quickly made me feel at home, overwhelming me with his kindness and gift giving. He took me out for lunch my first week here and refused to let me pay; he regularly brings home fruit and yogurt to supplement my meat and rice-heavy diet; and he always ensures that I’m well-prepared for my Chinese class. That I consider someone with whom I can’t have a two-minute conversation without needing to consult a dictionary a great friend says a lot about Guo Jiang. Maybe I can reach a conclusion that you don’t need many words to make a good friend. Maybe.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6QvqkBp7PYoNFUNf-6Y43S2tivBZBCczTCqX1QzBjuRFRCNwZ7xluv1OAKQUpBru_iwMNOMDdXgXALiZ_lYTWxkJqBJhEAD1AhjhC7NOLa9v8DJhoclK8kwB-WJI_c-BVCdm-ZRByKj/s1600/guo+jiang+he+wo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6QvqkBp7PYoNFUNf-6Y43S2tivBZBCczTCqX1QzBjuRFRCNwZ7xluv1OAKQUpBru_iwMNOMDdXgXALiZ_lYTWxkJqBJhEAD1AhjhC7NOLa9v8DJhoclK8kwB-WJI_c-BVCdm-ZRByKj/s320/guo+jiang+he+wo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guo Jiang and me outside the Shanghai Railway Station.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><i></i><br />
<i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>If you like what you see, become a follower! Click 'Follow' at the top of the page.</i></span></div></i><br />
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</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-88181469021770420002011-09-09T20:00:00.000+08:002011-09-15T12:52:52.881+08:00Bits and Pieces<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">A lot of people here like to wear t-shirts with English writing. I’m pretty convinced that many of these people have no idea what their shirts say. I think it’s somewhat similar to how Americans get Chinese character tattoos. I’ve seen shirts that say everything from “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haters Welcome” </i>to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Create Your Own Music”</i> to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I want to be a lovely bear”.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I like to try to find the Asian version of people I know from back home in the States – yesterday I found Mark Wahlberg and Barbra Streisand.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AhYpZ4gMA4_N2uVm3ExHFHZQagJpCgm_IoEkFLtTzwDcsdZ593N3aE6FOPHQL_7EoAYZy-O4awazSsH4oXGp2nQm-jP07mZ0E4mPoD-oAJOjYhYcHpRMLJTHeqsL8Zd2dyKadN8tMlSu/s1600/streetside+dentistry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AhYpZ4gMA4_N2uVm3ExHFHZQagJpCgm_IoEkFLtTzwDcsdZ593N3aE6FOPHQL_7EoAYZy-O4awazSsH4oXGp2nQm-jP07mZ0E4mPoD-oAJOjYhYcHpRMLJTHeqsL8Zd2dyKadN8tMlSu/s320/streetside+dentistry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some street-side dentistry. <br />
As my friends and I like to say "<i>Feichang</i> China" (probably best translated as "that's so China")</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><br />
</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">On Wednesday, I had my first full day of work (I’m interning at an IT firm called VanceInfo, teaching English and revising English documents) and started my commute at around eight in the morning. The station was flooded with people all on their way to work. I wasn't able to get on the train my first try because it was literally at capacity - with no regard for personal space, each passenger stood less than an inch from his adjacent passengers. When the next train arrived, I saw others elbow and nudge their way on board, as if other people were merely obstacles in their way. I was a little dumbfounded, but I followed suit. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p>In China, guilt about not finishing your plate is on a whole new level: "Finish your food, there are starving kids.. outside the restaurant"</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">I have determined that the most popular American musical artists here are Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Eminem.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBnUZ8ghmkxjEllUM8YQ0Ylm7P1fBqqCLl0Xkqd-AjWNmPUOm9BlzmdwjnQY1iW57r386RSmwuB0YVd9RutcpEYDgBsPoiHmc31NBuxix9cuwDl7aqvqv5EbJZCZuAIPbBEznggtlR1xJ/s1600/jiasiting+bibai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBnUZ8ghmkxjEllUM8YQ0Ylm7P1fBqqCLl0Xkqd-AjWNmPUOm9BlzmdwjnQY1iW57r386RSmwuB0YVd9RutcpEYDgBsPoiHmc31NBuxix9cuwDl7aqvqv5EbJZCZuAIPbBEznggtlR1xJ/s320/jiasiting+bibai.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saw this gem at the local bookstore. In Chinese, his name is pronounced <i>Jiasiting Biba.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">The instructions on the wrappers in U.S. Chinese restaurants about how to use chopsticks are definitely wrong. I’ve already been called out twice for not using them correctly.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">The other day, I saw a woman with her pet dog. I was so tempted to approach her and say “wow, it looks delicious”. I really didn’t have it in me though; I was too scared she might respond, “thank you”. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">After lunch break in the office I resumed working on my preparation of an English lesson. Taking my eyes off my computer screen for a moment, I looked around the office and found countless employees at their desks with their heads down and resting on their arms. I wanted to laugh, but I realized I might wake them.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">As white people in China, we are very noticeable and are often the subject of fascination among the locals. In fact, people often stare at me as if they’ve never seen a white person before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still waiting for the day I see some guy on a motorbike stare a little too long and crash into a street sign. One day, one day I tell you.</div><!--EndFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Don’t talk to strangers, unless they don’t have candy and you want to practice a foreign language.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMg7KzwrNTxilb5-k2wex2hmrlXh3YDPvwVlMPJ647r_8ZmvMyYv-xVJDyMWmyHhZVaQjO8r0yYUJmPy8Nx7l46D8pUrmUhNsXfsNqcgkPgaiDThlyJUv7PP26DuFt4i7SXXTYjKSPvfj/s1600/its+baozi+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiMg7KzwrNTxilb5-k2wex2hmrlXh3YDPvwVlMPJ647r_8ZmvMyYv-xVJDyMWmyHhZVaQjO8r0yYUJmPy8Nx7l46D8pUrmUhNsXfsNqcgkPgaiDThlyJUv7PP26DuFt4i7SXXTYjKSPvfj/s320/its+baozi+time.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost every morning, I go to the backstreets of the university to buy <i>baozi</i> (steamed stuffed buns) for breakfast. My favorites are <i>dousha</i> (sweet bean paste), <i>qingcai</i> (Chinese cabbage), and <i>luobo</i> (radish). I can get six for 3 <i>kuai </i>or $0.48.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> And now it's time for <i>The Bad English Translation Picture Gallery.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkNys4El4oU8FyCeVwLcSFgRUyH_zszPvvody13iHlfB6dsWMfneri9I_UJ9h9uhQ3YowgyiA5NYPlWCBnJrZWjmW5B3u5wu42AMDyFL6o-6WeuJzuH0uo844WkX1tM6u_evMG5-dPWYr3/s200/beware.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice in front of an elevator.<br />
Don't worry, I obviously took the stairs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbGX2gui4Z_bpCtmRnz6RJqsj6k77isavDNxbxQNfl8VeUv2PLTxJ2WxDTE6M9Oj_M5vzXEm2kZz1oiIf_YWnw4CqBRFPWvSD6xEKd5ptIjxtCBiNUN9TLgJYkLOkUFZEHxQF3T9R8wNX/s1600/left+luggage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbGX2gui4Z_bpCtmRnz6RJqsj6k77isavDNxbxQNfl8VeUv2PLTxJ2WxDTE6M9Oj_M5vzXEm2kZz1oiIf_YWnw4CqBRFPWvSD6xEKd5ptIjxtCBiNUN9TLgJYkLOkUFZEHxQF3T9R8wNX/s200/left+luggage.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Failed attempt at "luggage room".</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiVxyihcBpNzM3URT7hIgr_luZiu9lUpY21LILV35yYNgCUDbFV5v-6i2Sz9QG2yr4yU3I2K6KIsc0rvRZQdKgSD5t4x-BamjUp2Gm_xrHGTA_YA3AkE52cixeiUzDh7EfR2w5bhfLX1i/s1600/DSC03082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaiVxyihcBpNzM3URT7hIgr_luZiu9lUpY21LILV35yYNgCUDbFV5v-6i2Sz9QG2yr4yU3I2K6KIsc0rvRZQdKgSD5t4x-BamjUp2Gm_xrHGTA_YA3AkE52cixeiUzDh7EfR2w5bhfLX1i/s200/DSC03082.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a cute try.</td></tr>
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</span></span>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-54641291711160020172011-09-04T17:37:00.000+08:002011-09-04T17:48:03.725+08:00The Nail That Sticks Out<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">“AIEEEEEE!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Looking up from my seat in a crowded restaurant booth, I see a waitress grabbing her arm in pain. To her left, an old, decrepit Chinese woman limps forward and brings a menu into the air. She strikes the waitress with a second blow to the shoulder.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“AIEEEEEE!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next to me, my friends start laughing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“What the hell is going on?” someone asks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The perpetrator strolls sluggishly over to the head of our table. Wrinkle after wrinkle comprise her timeworn face. The hair above her thin eyes is nonexistent, but I can somewhat make out where eyebrows may have once been. Her hair is beyond disheveled, largely the result of a severe overuse of hair grease. A black smudge outlines the top of her forehead and makes its way to her ears, which are decorated with black hair grease spots. I realize I’ve never seen such embellishment of one’s ears before. I wonder if she could be the start of a great fashion trend. Then I remember why earrings were invented.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“Hello”, she says to us in an abrasive, raspy voice. She has a strong Chinese accent.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I notice her take a deep inhale. With every word spoken, she seems to take a few seconds off her life. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“A – B – C – D … E – F – G”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We chuckle with delight.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Having exhausted her knowledge of the English language, she switches to her native tongue. Sounds begin to flow from her feeble mouth, but I cannot place any meaning on them. I frown at my poor listening skills and turn to my friend Morrison, who is pretty much fluent in Mandarin. Wearing a slight smirk, he shrugs his shoulders and extends his arms with his palms open.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I have no idea what she is saying</i>,” he says.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is she speaking Shanghaines</i>e?” one of my tablemates asks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No, she’s speaking Mandarin, but I can’t understand her</i>”, Morrison replies with an emerging grin.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Seeing that no one could comprehend her, she lowers her hand to the tabletop and begins drawing characters with her finger. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We break into laughter. Even in English, it would be difficult to make out what she was writing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Shortly thereafter, a timid-looking waitress roams over to our table. She appears ready to take our order. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The old, tottering lady interferes, beckoning the waitress for a pad and pen. She begins writing her message out on the piece of paper.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Having gotten a good look at the scene, a middle-aged man comes over to our table and addresses Morrison.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ni shuo Putonghua ma?” </i>he asks [do you speak Mandarin?]</div><div class="MsoNormal">The man points his fingers to his brain and rolls back his eyes. I make out the phrase, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nianji dao le.” </i>[lit. “her age has arrived” but more like “she’s a little past her prime”]. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We learn that the woman is 86 years old.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Completely oblivious to the presence of said man, our dinner guest is still hard at work writing her characters. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is getting ridiculous</i>, my friend Drew says, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m frickin’ hungry</i>”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a minute or so, the timid looking waitress returns. But this time, she not only wants to take our order, but also plans to rid us from this lunatic of a woman.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">She taps on the old lady’s shoulder to get her attention. She says something in Chinese and points toward the door. Our ancient friend wants none of it. She swings her arm briskly towards the waitress’s face and returns to her piece of paper. Letting out a shriek cry, the waitress scurries away in fright, only to be replaced by a second waitress with a more intrepid persona. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Leaving the old lady to do her thing, the brave waitress takes our order and then hands us a check (at many restaurants here, you pay before you get your food). When she’s finished, the waitress takes a quick look at the old lady, smiles, and walks away. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After another five minutes, the madwoman finally looks up and presents her work to us. The characters are hardly legible, but Morrison decides to take a crack at it. I look over at the woman’s hands and see how frail they are – I recognize the effort she made to get her message across to us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It says something about how seeing foreign students come here makes her very happy”, </i>Morrison tells us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">With a warm feeling of gratitude, I looked up at the old woman, who now seemed to be slightly less deranged. I was half expecting her message to be something like: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You see what I just did to that waitress? You guys are next.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Recognizing that she has finally gotten her message across to us, she returns to her sheet of paper and continues writing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh my god, she’s still writing</i>," my friend Mike says.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our frustration soon dissolved upon the arrival of our dinner. With chopsticks in hand, we began to devour our long awaited meal, wholly ignoring our guest at the head of the table. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As plates filled with chicken, peppers, beef, fish, eggplant, bok choy, tofu, and rice were nearly licked clean, we suddenly heard three loud knocks on the table. With her fist still clenched, the old lady said something in her dark, grating voice. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She wants to buy us beers</i>,” Morrison told us. He was wearing a look that could only mean something like: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I can’t decline her kind offer of delicious beverages, but this woman can probably barely afford food. I mean, there’s no way that China has a Social Security system even remotely comparable to that of the United States. <o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">The old woman walked away from our table and soon returned with two bottles of Tsingtao beer. We announce to each other “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ganbei!” </i>[Bottoms up!]. The old woman watched in extreme delight as we passed around the bottles, gulping down her gifts. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wanting this feeling of ecstasy to last, she insists on getting us more. We beg her no, but know that our attempts will be to no avail, for gift giving is an important and highly valued part of Chinese culture. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She says she really wants to buy us more. She keeps saying this is once in a lifetime,”</i> Morrison tells us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We gulp down the next two Tsingtaos in a similar fashion and express our deep appreciation.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We finish our meal, and I suggest we take a picture with her. Gathering around the old woman, my friend hands our waitress a digital camera. After a bright flash of the camera, the old woman requests that we give her the picture. Morrison tries to explain to her that we can’t possibly do that. She doesn’t seem to understand why. He tells her we’ll give her the picture another time. She’s not too pleased with the response.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Seeing that the old woman doesn’t intend to go anywhere until she receives the picture, we take turns sneaking away from the table. As we congregate outside the restaurant, we’re all in agreement that it’s fun to be a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">laowai</i> (a foreigner in China). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There’s an old Asian proverb that says, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The nail that sticks out, gets hammered down</i>.” It’s meant to convey the importance of conformity and sense of a common purpose among citizens. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But apparently if you’re a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">laowai</i>, the nail that sticks out, gets free beer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZ7fCUjIZFg37UF55L6Aj1o1qN2-zBn6FF5UMg914JeHS9V2NY9Vf_D0zAIIomdUOrB-XrpDB2VwhpkP_pFuq-HEl3Ah9olXBDfkDK3Sd_CMUJzdq0fTem5r4lvG9w5D2RCJviXEjgfW/s1600/old+crazy+lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBZ7fCUjIZFg37UF55L6Aj1o1qN2-zBn6FF5UMg914JeHS9V2NY9Vf_D0zAIIomdUOrB-XrpDB2VwhpkP_pFuq-HEl3Ah9olXBDfkDK3Sd_CMUJzdq0fTem5r4lvG9w5D2RCJviXEjgfW/s400/old+crazy+lady.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: Drew, Kehoe, Texas Mike, me, Morrison, and Dustin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com0Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-48284171160379530412011-08-28T23:09:00.000+08:002011-08-28T23:17:56.015+08:00A New Beginning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">So I arrived in China, and I must tell you, it feels like a whole different country over here. My study abroad program is called the Alliance for Global Education (Alliance, for short), and I’m doing an international business and language-learning program at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SHUFE). There are 27 Alliance SHUFE students, nearly all of us are Americans. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChf383zRT3vhX3j7ZvRRmuk3pDpVqDDrAdeitxDGRRPik9-u1YcOuKhpoGLTUxzyFo651r9cVfurvUWJiqQER-OMDOCXfCOHqsUjtn96sR8HeKfXyp5aJBPi4aA4xMWy5Nz3lPax7UyI4/s1600/SHUFE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChf383zRT3vhX3j7ZvRRmuk3pDpVqDDrAdeitxDGRRPik9-u1YcOuKhpoGLTUxzyFo651r9cVfurvUWJiqQER-OMDOCXfCOHqsUjtn96sR8HeKfXyp5aJBPi4aA4xMWy5Nz3lPax7UyI4/s320/SHUFE.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SHUFE, located in the Hongkou district, is the oldest financial institution in China.<br />
It has four campuses - we're staying in the one that is home to MBA programs and international students.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The director of our program is a man named Kai Wang. He is a friendly and helpful man probably in his mid-to-late-forties with a good command of the English language. Sometimes, however, he says things in a way that makes them come across a lot funnier than he probably had intended. Here are some of his lines (more or less verbatim):</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There is not really an explicit drinking age in China. Because of this, you don’t find a drinking problem among students on campuses. On the other hand [pause] we have you guys. I can’t understand why people drink until they vomit and then want to do it again.”<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There may be mobsters in Shanghai, but people don’t know where they are. When you don’t know where they are, it is not as dangerous.”<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">And perhaps the best one…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Do not bring guests back to your room at night. I understand if you like or love someone else in the group and want to spend time with that person [pause] but there are cheap hotels all around campus.”<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">Many of my initial observations about life here relate to the lower standard of hygiene among the Chinese people. Walking the streets just outside campus, I spot a mother holding a baby in her arms as the small child defecates directly onto the ground. Looking closer, I notice that another young boy has a slit in the back of his pants, most likely for the same purpose. As I pass a street vendor selling fruit, I watch as flies hover around a case of apples. I see a woman chasing after a live prawn, which has leaped off its display – she picks it up off the muddy street and returns it to its place. In the campus dining hall’s bathroom, I fail to find any soap to wash my hands. Lastly, when we eat in large groups, we eat family style – but there are no serving utensils; instead we simply grab what we want with our own chopsticks.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcdcvwn-ZC6J4RwpJAYNTQi3LxGZrLf3cJ6tDZbF-y5F8r5_5UESdnR9LkxIgXpqcE7uGQ56ebeGbZ3eGJSEcifB8qtsGNlSnITalcv-S2QZPxw9fp2M2kpaMGDJwByYmxh03MpeI0fHh/s1600/three+people.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Shanghai is a city of extremes and while our campus is not situated in the nicest part of town, we are just a short ride away from some of the most beautiful and modern looking urban areas that I have ever seen (like the Pudong District and The Bund). In fact, one of our first nights here, we went to see an incredible acrobatics show in the city center.</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcdcvwn-ZC6J4RwpJAYNTQi3LxGZrLf3cJ6tDZbF-y5F8r5_5UESdnR9LkxIgXpqcE7uGQ56ebeGbZ3eGJSEcifB8qtsGNlSnITalcv-S2QZPxw9fp2M2kpaMGDJwByYmxh03MpeI0fHh/s1600/three+people.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcdcvwn-ZC6J4RwpJAYNTQi3LxGZrLf3cJ6tDZbF-y5F8r5_5UESdnR9LkxIgXpqcE7uGQ56ebeGbZ3eGJSEcifB8qtsGNlSnITalcv-S2QZPxw9fp2M2kpaMGDJwByYmxh03MpeI0fHh/s200/three+people.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A trio performs at the Shanghai Acrobatics Show</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjA5sbCKvQntkuea7ZRKCKZjrBpwdEOVX7Y8OuNsGA_UxDc10WtaU4kNfwl9DKsr361BvoFXLJq-H8t0ZUB3ozBijIALWSWoUzV2QtCsGWkjMLZlCoITKxz35g4FIa5dLmsQJb9hsaVaJN/s1600/one+handed+handstand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjA5sbCKvQntkuea7ZRKCKZjrBpwdEOVX7Y8OuNsGA_UxDc10WtaU4kNfwl9DKsr361BvoFXLJq-H8t0ZUB3ozBijIALWSWoUzV2QtCsGWkjMLZlCoITKxz35g4FIa5dLmsQJb9hsaVaJN/s200/one+handed+handstand.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">I definitely think often about how I am missing a semester at Cornell – I think about my friends and the unappreciated comfort of being familiar with the native language and culture there. While in many ways I wish I were home in the States, I remember why I am here. I came to master the Chinese language…or at least get very good at it. Yes, it may seem like a daunting task, but it is very possible if I take advantage of what’s to offer here. (1) I have a Chinese roommate named Guo Jiang – a PhD student with whom I try to speak as much Chinese as possible. (2) I have close to 12 hours of language class every week, and most importantly (3) I have the great city of Shanghai, where every daily encounter calls for an opportunity to practice my Chinese.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I like it here. I’ve made some really good friends and anticipate having an amazing experience in these four months. I think I’ll be surprised at how quickly I get used to living here. I’ll just need an open mind, an eagerness to learn, and some hand sanitizer…<br />
<br />
<br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVclneGIDCn7B6xrpbNGTnLI2tiCXAv4k23Qt8BdhKS00dJdctmmL-wp3H2sqHSzSVb94KE3o_bECi5MirMBD01FwH_TW5c9b8-orU5e3lIw6iWJMDb8XWbHxmaSifQRr87OqkQi_PACU/s1600/tums.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVclneGIDCn7B6xrpbNGTnLI2tiCXAv4k23Qt8BdhKS00dJdctmmL-wp3H2sqHSzSVb94KE3o_bECi5MirMBD01FwH_TW5c9b8-orU5e3lIw6iWJMDb8XWbHxmaSifQRr87OqkQi_PACU/s200/tums.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My huge container of Tums - I've only used nine so far.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15RuFEHgLYBtD8SVZj_0XqWr9MKtK3zS6vHhw1ZybwWY2dEfdOfp0KWJmJXW4dPV1PHPpruqqJqHBaMUWdBZQEXlBBwjc_JGuY3_xdI57D2JEOE05ywgRwfAe6o4ytRr5l0yO6p4hR8Og/s1600/play+pleasant+time.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15RuFEHgLYBtD8SVZj_0XqWr9MKtK3zS6vHhw1ZybwWY2dEfdOfp0KWJmJXW4dPV1PHPpruqqJqHBaMUWdBZQEXlBBwjc_JGuY3_xdI57D2JEOE05ywgRwfAe6o4ytRr5l0yO6p4hR8Og/s200/play+pleasant+time.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Box of condoms displays the English phrase<br />
"Play Pleasant Time"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0KDz7uP21ugCMJrjHbe73l8J0Jq_ZlqIeOFt45-34IzwqnXimGUjv-yyIsjd3WSlbtH_JcWYXu4Wg8g2D71o2jav2GlK3dLjXeeW1t_3HB1_2wFg32z_I5OxZzoWDZ8Wp12KG645W3d8/s1600/BK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0KDz7uP21ugCMJrjHbe73l8J0Jq_ZlqIeOFt45-34IzwqnXimGUjv-yyIsjd3WSlbtH_JcWYXu4Wg8g2D71o2jav2GlK3dLjXeeW1t_3HB1_2wFg32z_I5OxZzoWDZ8Wp12KG645W3d8/s200/BK.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hehe</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com2Shanghai, China31.230393 121.47370430.7858455 120.836658 31.674940499999998 122.11075tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5036679564772764416.post-7654460260284039572011-08-09T01:43:00.000+08:002011-08-09T22:27:37.157+08:00Pre-Departure: My Metropolitan Diary<div class="MsoNormal">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We should open up a nice little internet café next to here. We could provide computers, printers, and delicious refreshments, and help people complete their visa forms. Do you know how much money we’d make?”<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These were the words I uttered to my mom as we stood outside the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in New York City after my visa application forms weren’t approved on the first try.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was taken aback a little by what I saw as the unwelcoming aura of the Chinese Consulate. What I had soon learned was that successfully obtaining a visa was like a puzzle, or perhaps more like a sick joke. It seemed they could pick out any minute detail on your visa application and decide that it wasn’t correct, leaving you with no choice but to go away and correct it and then return and wait on yet another long queue.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I first approached the building I found a staid looking security guard who asked to see my passport and forms. His bold, brown eyes gazed over my paperwork as his lips twisted into a grimace. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You’re supposed to write N/A where you left blanks. But go on, give it a shot.”</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Inside the building, I quickly discovered that everyone was having problems. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“This is my second try,”</i> said one young man. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“This is my third,”</i> said a blond haired lady. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“This is my second day here!”</i> exclaimed another man.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">We now found ourselves on the sidewalk of 12<sup>th</sup> Avenue because I hadn’t filled out a supplementary form of which I was completely unaware. In addition, under “Reason for Visit” I apparently should have checked ‘Business Trip” instead of “Study” because I will be in China for fewer than 180 days. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You know, because that makes sense…</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal">With our home far away on Long Island, we were left wondering how we could find a computer and a printer, and obtain this visa.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I suddenly thought of the Cornell Club. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That’s probably not too far from here.</i> I looked up their number and gave the place a call. I told the receptionist I was a student and wanted to use a computer for 15 minutes. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sorry, members only”</i>, she told me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hmm maybe we can find some hotel with a business center?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">After walking a block or so, we located a cheap-looking hotel. We walked in, and I asked the front desk attendant if the hotel had a business center. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No</i>”, she told me, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“but there’s a copy center on 9<sup>th</sup>.”</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">We walked another block to 9<sup>th</sup>, but only saw a FedEx service center. We walked in. It was just a small store with one worker behind a desk. No computers available for use. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">0 for 3.</i></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We continued our walk, now heading toward 8<sup>th</sup>. As we crossed the street, my mom asked a traffic cop if he knew of any business center in the area. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Burger King”,</i> he said as he pointed in the direction we were walking.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Did he just say Burger King?”</i> I asked my mom. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I think so”,</i> she replied with a slight chuckle.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In no more than a minute’s time, I saw the familiar blue, red and yellow logo of Burger King. Next to it, in big white letters read “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Free Wi-Fi</i>”.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ok that’s a start. But they still need to have computers and a printer. And I really doubt they have a PDF reader. We walked in. Sure enough there was a row of four computers. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A smile ran to my face as the words of the security guard resounded in my head. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Go on, give a shot</i>.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I found a computer at the end of the row that appeared unoccupied. I took a seat in the chair. The computer wouldn’t turn on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From my left, I heard a welcoming voice. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Here, you can use this one</i>.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I looked up. Leaning over a chair at the computer adjacent to me was a young black man clad in a print t-shirt and jeans.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You’re not using it?” </i>I asked.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I work here”</i>, he replied.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Oh, I didn’t realize”</i>, I said with a nervous laugh,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Thank you.”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I sat down, my mom jumped in.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Can we ask you a few questions?” </i>She was worried they didn’t have a printer and that we wouldn’t be able to access the Chinese visa documents.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You can ask me anything</i>,” the man said with an air of confidence. I think I saw him fold his arms over each other and lean back, wearing a mysterious smirk. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I sat down and took a look at the screen, I had to open and close my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. In front of me was the Chinese Consulate visa form blank and ready to be filled out in a PDF reader program.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You’ve got to be frickin’ kidding me.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I began filling out the form, trying to be meticulous but still feeling slightly dazed as if I were in a dream. I made sure to put in my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">N/A</i>’s and let the Consulate know that I was, in fact, on a business trip. In the meantime, my mom went to get two of Burger King’s finest iced coffees. Next to the computer, I noticed a machine slot to insert cash, but I couldn’t find any sort of timer to track how long I was using the computer. <i>I don't care how much this is going to cost.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After 10 minutes, I was convinced that I had filled out the form as well as I could. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Mystery Man came over to my station. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Do you know the link for the supplementary form?”</i> I asked him. Somehow I just knew the answer was going to be yes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He clicked on a second tab on the screen that was already loaded. It contained the supplementary form for people applying for an F Visa. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This guy knows his stuff</i>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Thank you”</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> said. My admiration was protruding out of my pores.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The second form was easy to fill out, and after not much time I gestured for the Mystery Man to return to my station. As he ambled toward me, I imagined a crown appear on the top of his head. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This guy must be the burger king</i>, I thought.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You all set?” </i>he asked. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let me look it over for you</i>.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He checked over my work carefully and made a few corrections, adding “NYS” next to my license number and writing “Shanghai” as the province that I would be staying in. I had written <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">N/A</i> because Shanghai is just a city and has no province. I didn’t say anything though – Shanghai was now a province if the burger king said so.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As he printed the forms, my curiosity got the best of me. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So how do you know so much about Chinese visas?”</i> I asked.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Well a few weeks ago they changed the China visa forms, and I had about 120 people walk in here looking for a computer. I learned a lot about Chinese visas that day” </i>he said with a smile. He added, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“10 dollars will be the damage”.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My mom handed him a twenty.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thanking him graciously, we left the fast-food joint. We walked the four blocks back to the Consulate and waited on a long line. After a half hour, it was my turn at the window. I handed the lady my forms, along with my passport and official university letters. After a minute, she still hadn’t lifted her pen to make any corrections to my forms.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ok”, </i>she said.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I’m all set?”</i> I asked incredulously.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Yes, it will be ready for pickup on Friday</i>.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I turned around and a huge sigh of relief came over my face. I noticed a woman in the line laugh. She knew where I was coming from.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We exited the Consulate building feeling elated and accomplished.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I still can’t believe we found the expert of Chinese visas at a Burger King”</i>, I said to my mom.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Only in New York</i>,” my mom added.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“But come on, he stole my idea!”<o:p></o:p></i></div>Michael Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10960243949280431409noreply@blogger.com1New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.4942638 -74.2853821 40.9344418 -73.7265641