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| 30 days until I'll be here! |
"May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions."
-Joey Adams
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010: A Retrospective
(As inspired by another Qi Zhai column in China Daily)
Perhaps in hindsight, it wasn't the most exciting year (though my life has never been what people would call 'exciting'), but a good one nonetheless. Now onward to see what 2011 has in store for me....
PS. I'm curious to know what your 2010 highlights are. If you want to share, e-mail me or put them in the comments!
Top 10 Highlights of 2010
(in no particular order)
- Welcoming the newest (though not for long) member of my family and becoming his godmother.
- Gathering up the courage (and realizing I'd regret it if I didn't) to jump off the cliff at McCloud Waterfalls with my friends.
- Meeting (more) people from all across the world that I otherwise might never have had the chance to interact with.
- Being able to meet up with family and friends I hadn't seen in a while, including a particular family friend who I hadn't seen in over ten years.
- Starting this blog and actually keeping up with it.
- Following the San Francisco Giants as they proved the naysayers wrong and went on to win their first SF World Series title.
- Realizing that there's no 'correct' path to take after college graduation and that it's ultimately up to me to choose what my next step is.
- Deciding to come to China to study for a year, despite knowing I was bound to feel homesick sooner or later.
- Starting to get a real grasp on written and spoken Mandarin.
- And finally, being able to adapt to life in China, although not without some help and some struggles of my own.
Perhaps in hindsight, it wasn't the most exciting year (though my life has never been what people would call 'exciting'), but a good one nonetheless. Now onward to see what 2011 has in store for me....
PS. I'm curious to know what your 2010 highlights are. If you want to share, e-mail me or put them in the comments!
Christmas Weekend
When I decided to come to China for a year, I knew that one of the consequences of my decision was that I was going to have to spend the holiday season far from my friends and family. But I had no idea though just how much I would miss it.
In hindsight, I probably should have stopped reading my blogs for the month of December because I'm sure all of those blog posts and news stories about the joys (sometimes miseries) of the holiday season didn't help me feel any better either. It seemed like while everyone else (well...everyone in the Western world at least), was out celebrating with friends and family, I was trapped in China far from everything I usually took for granted every holiday season.
I actually wrote a post on things I missed about the holidays at home, but stopped short of posting it since I didn't feel like raining on everyone else's holiday parade.
However, before whoever is reading this feels too bad for me, I did not end up spending Christmas weekend alone. As luck would have it (okay...more like a teacher's vacation days would have it), my family friend Ben* and his girlfriend (who are both teachers at international schools in Hong Kong) ended up coming to Beijing the same weekend as Christmas and I was able to spend my weekend with them. Hooray for not having to spend holidays alone!
On Saturday, Ben, Heidi (his girlfriend) and I headed out to the 798 Art Space in hopes of strolling around the galleries. Unfortunately though, most of the galleries were closed for Christmas. Go figure that we end up in the one area in Beijing that actually seems to observe and closed down for Christmas on Christmas Day. Regardless, I was happy to spend time with someone who's known me longer than 3 months for once on a holiday that I usually spend with 20 people who have known me for my entire life.
Anyways, special thanks to Ben and Heidi for letting me tag along this weekend and basically ensuring that I didn't spend the holiday weekend depressed and alone. :)
For those of you who think it's odd to hang out someone you'd classify as a 'family friend', you have to understand for me, it's pretty normal. Blame it on being an only child. Not to mention that Ben and my parents are really good friends (especially our dads), thus making Ben almost a cousin of some sort.
In hindsight, I probably should have stopped reading my blogs for the month of December because I'm sure all of those blog posts and news stories about the joys (sometimes miseries) of the holiday season didn't help me feel any better either. It seemed like while everyone else (well...everyone in the Western world at least), was out celebrating with friends and family, I was trapped in China far from everything I usually took for granted every holiday season.
I actually wrote a post on things I missed about the holidays at home, but stopped short of posting it since I didn't feel like raining on everyone else's holiday parade.
However, before whoever is reading this feels too bad for me, I did not end up spending Christmas weekend alone. As luck would have it (okay...more like a teacher's vacation days would have it), my family friend Ben* and his girlfriend (who are both teachers at international schools in Hong Kong) ended up coming to Beijing the same weekend as Christmas and I was able to spend my weekend with them. Hooray for not having to spend holidays alone!
On Saturday, Ben, Heidi (his girlfriend) and I headed out to the 798 Art Space in hopes of strolling around the galleries. Unfortunately though, most of the galleries were closed for Christmas. Go figure that we end up in the one area in Beijing that actually seems to observe and closed down for Christmas on Christmas Day. Regardless, I was happy to spend time with someone who's known me longer than 3 months for once on a holiday that I usually spend with 20 people who have known me for my entire life.
Anyways, special thanks to Ben and Heidi for letting me tag along this weekend and basically ensuring that I didn't spend the holiday weekend depressed and alone. :)
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| Taken at the 798 Art Space in Beijing |
For those of you who think it's odd to hang out someone you'd classify as a 'family friend', you have to understand for me, it's pretty normal. Blame it on being an only child. Not to mention that Ben and my parents are really good friends (especially our dads), thus making Ben almost a cousin of some sort.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Search for Christmas
Choosing not to spend Christmas eve alone and depressed in my room about not being home for the holidays, I decided to go out and search for Christmas in Beijing. Christmas 'festivities' in Beijing begin on Christmas eve, so despite the below freezing temperatures this past Friday, many people were out strolling about shopping areas and hitting various Beijing nightlife hot spots.
After a not-so-great week in Beijing, my search for Christmas was exactly what I needed to raise my spirits. It was a good reminder of why I came abroad in the first place and why I like traveling so much.
Below are some photos from my search. Please appreciate them, especially since it was literally 11 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately -12 degrees Celsius) & colder on Friday night when I took these photos.
More photos on Angela Photo Musings:
After a not-so-great week in Beijing, my search for Christmas was exactly what I needed to raise my spirits. It was a good reminder of why I came abroad in the first place and why I like traveling so much.
Below are some photos from my search. Please appreciate them, especially since it was literally 11 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately -12 degrees Celsius) & colder on Friday night when I took these photos.
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| Xidan |
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| Wangfujing |
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| St. Joseph's Church in Wangfujing |
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| Chaoyang District |
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| Yam street vendor |
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| Wangfujing |
More photos on Angela Photo Musings:
Saturday, December 25, 2010
It's the thought that counts
My dorm, along with the other international students' dorms, have been decorated for Christmas:
It may not be the best decorating job in the world, but it's the thought that counts. I appreciate the effort. Plus, the trees in my dorm light up too; the other trees in the other dorms aren't quite as cool.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!!
...or as the convenience store next to my dorm would like to wish you, "Feliz Navidad!"
Take care,
Angela
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| No, I don' t know why Santa's speaking Spanish in a convenience store in Bejing. Maybe Santa's lost. Where's Ruldoph when you need actually need him & his bright red nose? |
Regardless of where you are and what language you speak, I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas holiday. And for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a happy December the 25th.
Take care,
Angela
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas in China
If you quickly Google "Christmas in China," most likely you'll be greeted with link after link saying something along the lines of the number of people referring to themselves as Christian in China is growing and Christmas is a becoming increasingly more popular, particularly with the younger generation and those living in the cities...blah, blah, blah.
Though this isn't completely false, there can be a religious aspect to Christmas celebrations and Christmas is indeed only mainly celebrated by the younger generations living the cities, Christmas here is basically Valentine's Day in December.
Typically, in China on Christmas, the pressure is on the male counterpart of a relationship to demonstrate his affection for his female counterpart through gifts and a special date of some sort. Pretty different from American Christmas traditions, right?
(Side note: LGBT acceptance, at least from what I've seen, still seems dicey in China).
Now, for the most part, I at least try to keep an open mind about other people's traditions that differ from my own, but I have to admit that if this Christmas-as-Valentine's-Day tradition is not one that I care for very much (and no, it's not because I'm bitter and single either).
To me, China's version of the holiday reeks of consumerism. For all the slack Christmas gets in the United States about over-commercialization and consumerism, I have to say China's version of Christmas seems at least 10 times more guilty than the American version of the holiday.
At least at the end of the day in the United States, when all the shopping and present opening is said and done, Christmas really is about gathering with those you care about to for the sake of being together and being grateful to have one another. Or at least, that's what I've always felt like Christmas meant to me. But to each their own, I guess.
As for me, this Saturday, I will be going out and hitting all the shopping hot spots in hopes of observing Chinese people celebrating Christmas (in a non-stalker, non-creepy sort of way). It should be interesting and hopefully, I'll have something to report back to you guys about.
Though this isn't completely false, there can be a religious aspect to Christmas celebrations and Christmas is indeed only mainly celebrated by the younger generations living the cities, Christmas here is basically Valentine's Day in December.
Typically, in China on Christmas, the pressure is on the male counterpart of a relationship to demonstrate his affection for his female counterpart through gifts and a special date of some sort. Pretty different from American Christmas traditions, right?
(Side note: LGBT acceptance, at least from what I've seen, still seems dicey in China).
Now, for the most part, I at least try to keep an open mind about other people's traditions that differ from my own, but I have to admit that if this Christmas-as-Valentine's-Day tradition is not one that I care for very much (and no, it's not because I'm bitter and single either).
To me, China's version of the holiday reeks of consumerism. For all the slack Christmas gets in the United States about over-commercialization and consumerism, I have to say China's version of Christmas seems at least 10 times more guilty than the American version of the holiday.
At least at the end of the day in the United States, when all the shopping and present opening is said and done, Christmas really is about gathering with those you care about to for the sake of being together and being grateful to have one another. Or at least, that's what I've always felt like Christmas meant to me. But to each their own, I guess.
As for me, this Saturday, I will be going out and hitting all the shopping hot spots in hopes of observing Chinese people celebrating Christmas (in a non-stalker, non-creepy sort of way). It should be interesting and hopefully, I'll have something to report back to you guys about.
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| Now, New York is a city that always does Christmas right. |
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Hong Kong Film Photographs
For those of you who only look at this blog for pretty photographs, I apologize for the recent dearth of them. To make up for it, here are are some photographs I took last year during my trip to Hong Kong.
All of the photos were taken using film; hand processed, and developed by yours truly; and later scanned into the computer. Enjoy.
For more photos, go to Angela Photo Musings:
All of the photos were taken using film; hand processed, and developed by yours truly; and later scanned into the computer. Enjoy.
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| Hong Kong Harbor & Star Ferry |
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| Temple |
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| Old Hong Kong Trams in Central |
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| Tai O |
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Forget Jack Frost,
...have you met Jack Ice?
This is what I woke up to this morning--a icy window. Just to clarify, my window is frozen from the inside. And yes...the heater was on last night.
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| Please excuse the clutter that lives on my windowsill |
This is what I woke up to this morning--a icy window. Just to clarify, my window is frozen from the inside. And yes...the heater was on last night.
Monday, December 13, 2010
You don't always get what you bargain for
For decades, China has coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, in hopes that one day one of their own citizens (while living in China) could claim it as a recipient. To China, winning the Nobel Peace Prize would ultimately prove to the world that China has indeed become a country to reckon with and has finally caught up to, if not surpassed, the Western powers. This year, China's wish was granted, although not in the form they were expecting it. What can I say? You can't always get what you bargain for.
Back in early October, it was announced that the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissent currently jailed for subversion of state power, after co-authoring Charter 08, a highly critical political manifesto on the Chinese government. Liu was also a notable figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests.
To say that China wasn't thrilled upon learning Liu Xiaobo was awarded this year's Nobel Prize would be an understatement. As soon as the announcement was made, China quickly called the Norwegian ambassador to express their anger and publicly retorted by calling the decision "blasphemy."
Additionally, the story of that the first Chinese man ever had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was shushed quiet throughout Chinese media outlets. News story concerning the prize form international news outlets, such as CNN or the BBC were also blacked out (CNN and BBC are only available in apartment complexes catered to foreigners and in nice hotels.). Many western news websites featuring stories about the award and Internet searches on "Liu Xiaobo" and "Nobel Peace Prize" were also blocked by the Great Chinese Firewall. Lastly, and perhaps the most creepily, as the news of the decision spread, the Chinese government erased the characters composing the characters of Liu Xiaobo's name out of the SMS (texting) database so that no text messages containing his name could be sent out. Those who succeeded prior to the big erased found their messages blocked and sometimes SIM cards deactivated.
Not surprisingly, this past weekend as the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held in Oslo, Norway, many Western news websites were blocked once again.Without using a VPN, I couldn't access CNN.com; although ironically, I could access the NY Times where the "Empty Chair" was one of the leading stories of the weekend. (Since Liu Xiaobo was obviously not allowed to attend the ceremony in Oslo and accept his award, the award was given to an "empty chair," thus all the "Empty Chair" headlines about the Nobel Peace Prize this weekend.)
Back in early October, it was announced that the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissent currently jailed for subversion of state power, after co-authoring Charter 08, a highly critical political manifesto on the Chinese government. Liu was also a notable figure in the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests.
To say that China wasn't thrilled upon learning Liu Xiaobo was awarded this year's Nobel Prize would be an understatement. As soon as the announcement was made, China quickly called the Norwegian ambassador to express their anger and publicly retorted by calling the decision "blasphemy."
Additionally, the story of that the first Chinese man ever had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was shushed quiet throughout Chinese media outlets. News story concerning the prize form international news outlets, such as CNN or the BBC were also blacked out (CNN and BBC are only available in apartment complexes catered to foreigners and in nice hotels.). Many western news websites featuring stories about the award and Internet searches on "Liu Xiaobo" and "Nobel Peace Prize" were also blocked by the Great Chinese Firewall. Lastly, and perhaps the most creepily, as the news of the decision spread, the Chinese government erased the characters composing the characters of Liu Xiaobo's name out of the SMS (texting) database so that no text messages containing his name could be sent out. Those who succeeded prior to the big erased found their messages blocked and sometimes SIM cards deactivated.
Not surprisingly, this past weekend as the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony was held in Oslo, Norway, many Western news websites were blocked once again.Without using a VPN, I couldn't access CNN.com; although ironically, I could access the NY Times where the "Empty Chair" was one of the leading stories of the weekend. (Since Liu Xiaobo was obviously not allowed to attend the ceremony in Oslo and accept his award, the award was given to an "empty chair," thus all the "Empty Chair" headlines about the Nobel Peace Prize this weekend.)
Friday, December 10, 2010
On a horse...
Undoubtedly, one of my favorite Chinese terms is "马上," (mǎshàng) which means immediately or right away. Now the reason why I like this phrase isn't because I'm an impatient person (although I am), it's because when you directly translate the characters 马 (mǎ) and 上 (shàng) it means "horse" and "on," respectively. Meaning, whenever someone tells you something (or someone）is immediately coming (马上来 mǎshàng lái），that speaker is literally saying the thing/person is coming on a horse, i.e. it's coming as quickly as it can. Since for a long time historically horses were the fastest mode of transportation, it makes sense that saying something is coming on a horse would logically mean it's coming right away and as fast as it/he/she can.
The term 马上 (mǎshàng) is hardly the only term in Chinese that have an occasionally humerous, yet logical literal translations that somehow relate to a larger or different term. In fact, most terms in Chinese make some sort of sense when broken down character by character partially in order to make terms more easy to remember (aside from terms that are phonetic translations of foreign things or places). Here are a few additional examples:
1. 马上(mǎshàng)
The term 马上 (mǎshàng) is hardly the only term in Chinese that have an occasionally humerous, yet logical literal translations that somehow relate to a larger or different term. In fact, most terms in Chinese make some sort of sense when broken down character by character partially in order to make terms more easy to remember (aside from terms that are phonetic translations of foreign things or places). Here are a few additional examples:
1. 马上(mǎshàng)
- Character-by-character translation: On a horse
- Actual translation: Immediately, right away
- Character-by-character translation: Rent-out car
- Actual translation: Taxi
- Character-by-character translation: Fire leg
- Actual translation: Ham
- Character-by-character translation: Cowboy pants
- Actual translation: Jeans
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Chinese pop music
Lately, my huihua (conversation) teacher has been starting each class by playing different Chinese pop music videos. While I'm sure listening to music in foreign languages (along with films and television) is a great way to aide our learning of Mandarin, I must confess from what I've heard of Chinese pop music previously and after coming here to Beijing, I'm not much of a fan.
Perhaps it's just the music I'm being exposed to and that seems to be very popular, but all the songs seem to be slow, dramatic power ballads with music videos featuring even more over-dramatic story lines, e.g. right after a couple moves in together, they discover the girl has some sort of fatal cancer. Call me a cynic, but watching the music videos and listening to the songs make me cringe.
To me, listening to the songs and watching these music videos is much like taking an already super-sweet candy, drenching it in even more sugar syrup and then eating it. There's no way the overly saccharine tast of the candy, or in this case the music, appeals to me. I feel like I'm getting cavities just by listening to it.
Many other people in my class and other people I know in the US seem to like it though, so maybe it's just me. I also do realize that our musical taste is very much influenced by our respective cultures and I do like some sappy, slow longs from time to time (yes, James Blunt, I'm looking at you), but from what I've heard Chinese pop seems to be too much for me.
Of course, I don't profess to have very much knowledge on Chinese popular music. So if you perhaps want to prove me long or know of a Chinese band/singer that may appeal to me, please by all means let me in the comments or via e-mail. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
Sorry, I have no access to YouTube here in China, so I can't embed or link you to a Chinese pop music video. I'm sure if you search on YouTube "Jay Chou" or even "Chinese pop song," plenty of videos will pop up.
Perhaps it's just the music I'm being exposed to and that seems to be very popular, but all the songs seem to be slow, dramatic power ballads with music videos featuring even more over-dramatic story lines, e.g. right after a couple moves in together, they discover the girl has some sort of fatal cancer. Call me a cynic, but watching the music videos and listening to the songs make me cringe.
To me, listening to the songs and watching these music videos is much like taking an already super-sweet candy, drenching it in even more sugar syrup and then eating it. There's no way the overly saccharine tast of the candy, or in this case the music, appeals to me. I feel like I'm getting cavities just by listening to it.
Many other people in my class and other people I know in the US seem to like it though, so maybe it's just me. I also do realize that our musical taste is very much influenced by our respective cultures and I do like some sappy, slow longs from time to time (yes, James Blunt, I'm looking at you), but from what I've heard Chinese pop seems to be too much for me.
Of course, I don't profess to have very much knowledge on Chinese popular music. So if you perhaps want to prove me long or know of a Chinese band/singer that may appeal to me, please by all means let me in the comments or via e-mail. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
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| Jay Chou, a big Chinese pop star from Taiwan. |
Sorry, I have no access to YouTube here in China, so I can't embed or link you to a Chinese pop music video. I'm sure if you search on YouTube "Jay Chou" or even "Chinese pop song," plenty of videos will pop up.
Happy Holidays!
Since Hanukkah began last week and the holiday season has officially begun, I thought it was time to wish anyone/everyone reading this blog a happy holiday season. I hope you have a great holiday season where ever you may be, whatever it may be you celebrate (or not celebrate).
And to my friends and family that are reading this, I hope your holidays are extra great and please know I'm thinking of you all especially during this month of family, friends, food and celebration.
Films, girls and sajiao
While perusing ChinaDaily.com the other day, I came across a column written by Qi Zhai entitled, "Time standing still for Chinese-style love affair," in which she examines the central relationships in two different Chinese movies (Street Angel and Under the Hawthorne Tree) made 70 years apart. In her examination of the two films, Qi Zhai realizes that despite that one was made in the 1930s and the other in 2010, the relationship archetypes both films remains the same.
In both these two films (and many others), Qi Zhai points out that the female character in the story is portrayed as very "childlike", while her male counterpart is more of the "eternally cheerful, silently suffering, unbreakably strong type." She goes on further to write that the relationship between both characters remind her much of a father-daughter relationship rather than a relationship between two people of equal maturity.
This portrayal of the ideal female counterpart in a relationship as being a naive, childlike is a large part of why I've never been drawn to to the Chinese and Korean soap operas (and films) that are very popular in China, Korea and abroad. I often find the female leads annoyingly dependent and difficult to relate to.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm hardly the type of girl who relies on others to take care of things for me. I take pride in the fact that I can (mostly) take care of myself. Consequently, I find other people who are overly needy or dependent very trying and seeing characters with such qualities on film or television, cringe-worthy. However, in Chinese culture, this archetype of a naive female and her strong, silent male counterpart is often portrayed as the ideal relationship.
Nothing demonstrates this more than the idea of sajiao ((撒娇), which the Modern Chinese Dictionary defines as, " to deliberately act like a spoiled child in front of someone because of the awareness of the other person's affection."*
From my understanding of sajiao, it's typically used by the female in relationships in order to invoke the male counterpart to do something for them as a sign of affection. Often times, the girl will act much like a spoiled young girl (as opposed to grown woman) in order to get her male companion to do whatever she wants him to do, even if she can do it perfectly well by herself. The only Western/English equivalent to sajiao that I can think of is the concept of a damsel-in-distress, but even that doesn't seem like an appropriate equailvent.
In both these two films (and many others), Qi Zhai points out that the female character in the story is portrayed as very "childlike", while her male counterpart is more of the "eternally cheerful, silently suffering, unbreakably strong type." She goes on further to write that the relationship between both characters remind her much of a father-daughter relationship rather than a relationship between two people of equal maturity.
This portrayal of the ideal female counterpart in a relationship as being a naive, childlike is a large part of why I've never been drawn to to the Chinese and Korean soap operas (and films) that are very popular in China, Korea and abroad. I often find the female leads annoyingly dependent and difficult to relate to.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm hardly the type of girl who relies on others to take care of things for me. I take pride in the fact that I can (mostly) take care of myself. Consequently, I find other people who are overly needy or dependent very trying and seeing characters with such qualities on film or television, cringe-worthy. However, in Chinese culture, this archetype of a naive female and her strong, silent male counterpart is often portrayed as the ideal relationship.
Nothing demonstrates this more than the idea of sajiao ((撒娇), which the Modern Chinese Dictionary defines as, " to deliberately act like a spoiled child in front of someone because of the awareness of the other person's affection."*
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| Wuzhen |
From my understanding of sajiao, it's typically used by the female in relationships in order to invoke the male counterpart to do something for them as a sign of affection. Often times, the girl will act much like a spoiled young girl (as opposed to grown woman) in order to get her male companion to do whatever she wants him to do, even if she can do it perfectly well by herself. The only Western/English equivalent to sajiao that I can think of is the concept of a damsel-in-distress, but even that doesn't seem like an appropriate equailvent.
Monday, November 29, 2010
A ‘Crazy Bad’ Day in Beijing
As required by law, all of Beijing's heating systems were required to be turned on by November 15. But since most of Beijing's heating systems are coal-fired, the air quality naturally suffers as soon as the systems are kicked on. This, along with the offshoot pollutions from the industry-heavy cities north of Beijing, often creates what seems like an impenetrable cloud of smog and pollution over Beijing.
Apparently, the air quality was so bad last week, the US Embassy in Beijing tweeted that the air quality was "crazy bad." Unfortunately the term "crazy bad" isn't a part of the US Embassy's official air quality rating, so the tweet was later taken down and replaced with a more scientific wording.
Click here to go to a NY Times blog post on the air quality in Beijing last week.
And in comparison, look at a clear air day in Beijing: http://livinginculturallimbo.blogspot.com/2010/10/ah-much-better.html
Apparently, the air quality was so bad last week, the US Embassy in Beijing tweeted that the air quality was "crazy bad." Unfortunately the term "crazy bad" isn't a part of the US Embassy's official air quality rating, so the tweet was later taken down and replaced with a more scientific wording.
Click here to go to a NY Times blog post on the air quality in Beijing last week.
And in comparison, look at a clear air day in Beijing: http://livinginculturallimbo.blogspot.com/2010/10/ah-much-better.html
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving Misconceptions
It's definitely very indicative how of just prevalent American culture is abroad when most of the non-Americans here at BNU (and the teachers) know of Thanksgiving, which for all intensive purposes a very American holiday.* Not only do they know of the holiday Thanksgiving, many of them knew that Thanksgiving is in November and includes a turkey. However beyond that, their knowledge of Thanksgiving was limited (not that I can blame them for that). But they did have some interesting ideas about what traditions were apart of the holiday:
On Thanksgiving, everyone tells the truth.
One of my classmates asked me earlier this week if it was tradition that at Thanksgiving everyone sits at the dinner table and tells the truth. At first, I was very perplexed by her question, until I figured out that she was most likely getting this idea from a number of US television shows and movies. In many television shows and movies that feature Thanksgiving, all the family drama comes out at the dinner table while the family is all gathered together. Although family drama rearing it's ugly head is not a Thanksgiving tradition in the United States, I do suspect that perhaps for some families, it might be almost be the equivalent to a tradition.
After we gather for Thanksgiving dinner, we exchange presents.
Several people asked if we exchanged gifts after Thanksgiving dinner and each time I was asked, I said no and was slumped why they would think that presents are vital to Thanksgiving. At first, I thought maybe they were getting American Christmas and Thanksgiving traditions confused from what they see in US films and television. However, after some further questioning, they simply explained that with name of "Thanksgiving," they figured the name referred to the giving of gifts and giving thanks in return. Despite being incorrect, I thought their conclusions did make sense if you hadn't had the whole pilgrims-and-Native-Americans story drilled into your brain for most of your childhood.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the tale of (American) Thanksgiving, it begins with pilgrims from England fleeing to what was then the colonies to avoid persecution. However, once they arrived in Plymouth Rock, the pilgrims had no idea how to grow food and survive in the colonies. As an act of kindness, the Native Americans living nearby at the time taught them how to grow food successfully in their new home. As the tale has it, at the end of the first harvest, all the pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together for a big feast to celebrate the harvest, thus beginning the story of Thanksgiving.
It must be noted though that Thanksgiving wasn't recognized as a national holiday officially until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln announced his Thanksgiving Proclamation, which declared the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. However, in 1941, Thanksgiving was officially moved to the third day of Thanksgiving in hopes that lengthening the Christmas season would boost the economy.
And as for the term, "Thanksgiving," it supposedly refers to the pilgrims giving thanks to the Native Americans for helping them out with their crops.
Anyways, that's enough history (or at least, fabled history), for now. Here's a picture a friend sent to me that I think perfectly sums up what I think is key to any Thanksgiving (along with family and friends)....
*Not #1: Yes, I do know Canadians have Thanksgiving too, along with a few other places. But for this message of this post, Canadian Thanksgiving (and the others) are irrelevant. I hope I didn't offend any Canadians out there.
*Note #2: I also do know that the whole Native American-pilgrims/Native Americans-colonists relationship is not as cheery as the Thanksgiving story suggests. However, for the sake of being concise and not opening a whole other can of worms, we'll just put those facts aside.
On Thanksgiving, everyone tells the truth.
One of my classmates asked me earlier this week if it was tradition that at Thanksgiving everyone sits at the dinner table and tells the truth. At first, I was very perplexed by her question, until I figured out that she was most likely getting this idea from a number of US television shows and movies. In many television shows and movies that feature Thanksgiving, all the family drama comes out at the dinner table while the family is all gathered together. Although family drama rearing it's ugly head is not a Thanksgiving tradition in the United States, I do suspect that perhaps for some families, it might be almost be the equivalent to a tradition.
After we gather for Thanksgiving dinner, we exchange presents.
Several people asked if we exchanged gifts after Thanksgiving dinner and each time I was asked, I said no and was slumped why they would think that presents are vital to Thanksgiving. At first, I thought maybe they were getting American Christmas and Thanksgiving traditions confused from what they see in US films and television. However, after some further questioning, they simply explained that with name of "Thanksgiving," they figured the name referred to the giving of gifts and giving thanks in return. Despite being incorrect, I thought their conclusions did make sense if you hadn't had the whole pilgrims-and-Native-Americans story drilled into your brain for most of your childhood.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the tale of (American) Thanksgiving, it begins with pilgrims from England fleeing to what was then the colonies to avoid persecution. However, once they arrived in Plymouth Rock, the pilgrims had no idea how to grow food and survive in the colonies. As an act of kindness, the Native Americans living nearby at the time taught them how to grow food successfully in their new home. As the tale has it, at the end of the first harvest, all the pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together for a big feast to celebrate the harvest, thus beginning the story of Thanksgiving.
It must be noted though that Thanksgiving wasn't recognized as a national holiday officially until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln announced his Thanksgiving Proclamation, which declared the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. However, in 1941, Thanksgiving was officially moved to the third day of Thanksgiving in hopes that lengthening the Christmas season would boost the economy.
And as for the term, "Thanksgiving," it supposedly refers to the pilgrims giving thanks to the Native Americans for helping them out with their crops.
Anyways, that's enough history (or at least, fabled history), for now. Here's a picture a friend sent to me that I think perfectly sums up what I think is key to any Thanksgiving (along with family and friends)....
Eating!
*Not #1: Yes, I do know Canadians have Thanksgiving too, along with a few other places. But for this message of this post, Canadian Thanksgiving (and the others) are irrelevant. I hope I didn't offend any Canadians out there.
*Note #2: I also do know that the whole Native American-pilgrims/Native Americans-colonists relationship is not as cheery as the Thanksgiving story suggests. However, for the sake of being concise and not opening a whole other can of worms, we'll just put those facts aside.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Huh? Where's the water?
Yep, the water's out in my dorm. I figured this when I was cooking my dinner, which was about an hour ago. It would've been nice though if they actually said something to those of us living here, though.
Never mind, according to the front desk, the water should be back on by 7. In reality, though, that may actually mean 8:30. Stay tuned to see what happens...
Update: The water is back on (and it's 4 minutes to 7) but it's got a brownish-reddish tint to it...lovely.
Update #2: After running the water straight for about an hour (maybe more), the water finally seems to be running clear again, I think. Or maybe I'm just desperate for a shower....
Never mind, according to the front desk, the water should be back on by 7. In reality, though, that may actually mean 8:30. Stay tuned to see what happens...
Update: The water is back on (and it's 4 minutes to 7) but it's got a brownish-reddish tint to it...lovely.
Update #2: After running the water straight for about an hour (maybe more), the water finally seems to be running clear again, I think. Or maybe I'm just desperate for a shower....
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!
To those of you reading this in the United States: Happy Thanksgiving!! Sorry I can't spend the holiday with you all devouring some delicious food.
As for me, I have class and I'm still not sure what I'm doing for "Thanksgiving" dinner yet. Perhaps it's better if I just pretend today's just any other normal Thursday. I'll just see what happens.
As for me, I have class and I'm still not sure what I'm doing for "Thanksgiving" dinner yet. Perhaps it's better if I just pretend today's just any other normal Thursday. I'll just see what happens.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tensions on the Korean Pennisula
Just in case you've been living under a rock (or haven't been paying attention to international news), yesterday North Korea shelled a small South Korean island that lies in a disputed marine area off the eastern Korean shoreline. As a result, the tensions between South and North Korea have once again heightened.
Many of the Korean students here are very concerned about the current "crisis status" (as the South Korean government calls it) on the Korean peninsula. Since all of age South Korean males are required by law to serve at least two years in the military, many are afraid that if the situation does escalate, they would all be recalled back to South Korea to resume their military service. (Most, if not all of the Korean male students have already completed their mandatory two, if not more, years of service.)
Personally, I highly doubt that the tensions will escalate to anything further. Every year or every few months, it seems like North Korea launches some sort of "attack" on South Korea and tensions escalate for a while but then die down to their normal level of tension. Also from an international perspective, it would be an unwise move on North Korea's part to try to escalate the tensions considering South Korea has the backing of the western powers, including the United States; while China, who historically has backed North Korea, seems hesitant to back North Korea for fear of hurting it's relations with the United States and other Western countries.
Hopefully, though, I will not live to regret that last paragraph.
For more information about the situation on the Korean pennisula, take a look at some of these links:
'Crisis Status' in South Korea After North Shells Island (NYTimes)
China Faces a Nettlesome Neighbor in N. Korea (NYTimes)
Two Koreas Exchange Fire (China Daily)
China calls for restraint from DPRK and ROK (China Daily)
US and S.Korea to Hold War Games (Al Jazeera English)
World reacts to Korea Clashes (Al Jazeera English)
Sorry for the link overload, but if my classes at NYU taught me nothing else, I did learn that the news source is just as important (or sometimes, even more important) than the news itself.
Many of the Korean students here are very concerned about the current "crisis status" (as the South Korean government calls it) on the Korean peninsula. Since all of age South Korean males are required by law to serve at least two years in the military, many are afraid that if the situation does escalate, they would all be recalled back to South Korea to resume their military service. (Most, if not all of the Korean male students have already completed their mandatory two, if not more, years of service.)
Personally, I highly doubt that the tensions will escalate to anything further. Every year or every few months, it seems like North Korea launches some sort of "attack" on South Korea and tensions escalate for a while but then die down to their normal level of tension. Also from an international perspective, it would be an unwise move on North Korea's part to try to escalate the tensions considering South Korea has the backing of the western powers, including the United States; while China, who historically has backed North Korea, seems hesitant to back North Korea for fear of hurting it's relations with the United States and other Western countries.
Hopefully, though, I will not live to regret that last paragraph.
For more information about the situation on the Korean pennisula, take a look at some of these links:
'Crisis Status' in South Korea After North Shells Island (NYTimes)
China Faces a Nettlesome Neighbor in N. Korea (NYTimes)
Two Koreas Exchange Fire (China Daily)
China calls for restraint from DPRK and ROK (China Daily)
US and S.Korea to Hold War Games (Al Jazeera English)
World reacts to Korea Clashes (Al Jazeera English)
Sorry for the link overload, but if my classes at NYU taught me nothing else, I did learn that the news source is just as important (or sometimes, even more important) than the news itself.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Fragrant Hills
The week before last, after midterms were over, I went to Fragrant Hills Park (香山公园) with some friends. This park on the outskirts of Beijing is a popular destination in the fall for many people since it's a great place to see the fall colors.
Unfortunately for us though, the strong winds of the week before had blown most of the leaves off the trees. Nevertheless, it was nice to be out of the city and walking amongst trees instead of buildings for a change.
Since many of the pictures I took of things didn't turn out particularly well this time, here are some pictures of people. For those of you who've been complaining that there are no pictures of me on this blog...here you go. Click to enlarge the image, if you must.
Special Thanks to Yandi Santosa for many of these photos.
Disclaimer: If I spelled your name wrong in the captions, I'm sincerely sorry. Let me know and I'll make the necessary changes.
Unfortunately for us though, the strong winds of the week before had blown most of the leaves off the trees. Nevertheless, it was nice to be out of the city and walking amongst trees instead of buildings for a change.
Since many of the pictures I took of things didn't turn out particularly well this time, here are some pictures of people. For those of you who've been complaining that there are no pictures of me on this blog...here you go. Click to enlarge the image, if you must.
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| Emilia & I |
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| (Left-right) Me, Stephanie, Christine, Emilia & Irene |
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| (Left-right, top-bottom) Beichuan, Emilia, Paul, Yandi, Irene, Christine, me, Arvin |
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| (Left-right) Yandi, Arvin, Beichuan |
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| (Left to right) Emilia, Paul, me, Christine & Irene |
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| (Left-right) Arvin, Beihcuan, Yandi, Paul, me, Christine, Emilia, Stephanie & Irene |
Special Thanks to Yandi Santosa for many of these photos.
Disclaimer: If I spelled your name wrong in the captions, I'm sincerely sorry. Let me know and I'll make the necessary changes.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Classes & classmates
Looking back at my blog posts to date, I realized I haven't really mentioned much (or really, anything at all) about my classes here at BNU. Seeing as that I came here to study Mandarin, it's high time that I enlighten you about my academic life here, since up until now it's been a bit of a mystery.
From Monday through Friday, I have class everyday. My three classes here are Mandarin intensive reading （精读）, conversation （会话） and listening （听力）, each of which meet three times a week for roughly an hour and half each time. On top of that, I have an additional class on Fridays that basically acts office hours where I can ask my head teacher (my intensive reading teacher), any questions I have concerning class material or Mandarin in general. All in all, it adds up to approximately 18 hours of class a week.
Unlike in the United States where each one of my classes is with different people, here at BNU everyone in my class remains the same except the teacher. The only exception to this is my conversation class, which also includes three students from the 101 (level 2) class.
For the most part, ensuring that our classmates remain the same in every class really helps our learning process. It allows us to become comfortable enough with each other so that when we mistakes it's no big deal. However, on the flip side, there's often a lot of chatter going on during class time since we all know each other pretty well now, and this sometimes can be obnoxious.
Regardless, meeting new people from all around the world is always the best part of studying abroad in an international program, whether it be here in Beijing or in Paris. According to my teacher (and reinforced my my own personal observation), the program here at BNU is overwhelmingly dominated by Korean students, followed closely by Japanese students. However in the last few years, the program has seen an increasing number of students from Indonesia and Thailand.
In my class, half of the students are Indonesian. The rest of us come from Thailand, Sweden, Japan, the UK, Botswana, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, and the US. Despite Koreans making up the majority of BNU's international program, my class only has one student from South Korea. I'm also the only one with an American passport, although Tom, who's English, now calls the United States (North Carolina) home as well.
Now for some photos of my classmates from the classroom and around Beijing:
Special thanks to Florensia "Gina" Regina , Jessica Lee and Yandi Santosa for the photos.
From Monday through Friday, I have class everyday. My three classes here are Mandarin intensive reading （精读）, conversation （会话） and listening （听力）, each of which meet three times a week for roughly an hour and half each time. On top of that, I have an additional class on Fridays that basically acts office hours where I can ask my head teacher (my intensive reading teacher), any questions I have concerning class material or Mandarin in general. All in all, it adds up to approximately 18 hours of class a week.
Unlike in the United States where each one of my classes is with different people, here at BNU everyone in my class remains the same except the teacher. The only exception to this is my conversation class, which also includes three students from the 101 (level 2) class.
For the most part, ensuring that our classmates remain the same in every class really helps our learning process. It allows us to become comfortable enough with each other so that when we mistakes it's no big deal. However, on the flip side, there's often a lot of chatter going on during class time since we all know each other pretty well now, and this sometimes can be obnoxious.
Regardless, meeting new people from all around the world is always the best part of studying abroad in an international program, whether it be here in Beijing or in Paris. According to my teacher (and reinforced my my own personal observation), the program here at BNU is overwhelmingly dominated by Korean students, followed closely by Japanese students. However in the last few years, the program has seen an increasing number of students from Indonesia and Thailand.
In my class, half of the students are Indonesian. The rest of us come from Thailand, Sweden, Japan, the UK, Botswana, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, and the US. Despite Koreans making up the majority of BNU's international program, my class only has one student from South Korea. I'm also the only one with an American passport, although Tom, who's English, now calls the United States (North Carolina) home as well.
Now for some photos of my classmates from the classroom and around Beijing:
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| My class with our listening teacher |
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| (Top-bottom, left-right) Robin, Jessica, Emilia, Tom, Janar |
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| (Left-right) Teddy, Janar, O, Jane and I at Hongluo Si |
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| (Left-right) Emilia, me, Christine, and Irene at Xiangshan |
Special thanks to Florensia "Gina" Regina , Jessica Lee and Yandi Santosa for the photos.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Dear Thanksgiving,
I miss you.
So much so that even this would be a worthy replacement:
So much so that even this would be a worthy replacement:
Alas, the Thanksgiving Hot Dog is also in the United States.
I have a little over a week to figure out what I'm going to do for "Thanksgiving dinner." There's a good chance I'll be at Subway Sandwiches, since that's probably the only (cheap) place I might be able to find turkey in Beijing.
I have a little over a week to figure out what I'm going to do for "Thanksgiving dinner." There's a good chance I'll be at Subway Sandwiches, since that's probably the only (cheap) place I might be able to find turkey in Beijing.
For those of you in the United States, I hope you guys have a good Thanksgiving and make sure to indulge a bit more in all that turkey-potato-stuffing-pie goodness for me.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Rules are merely suggestions
Someone is playing...
...Chinese old folk songs really loudly outside of my dorm. I can hear it loud and clear from my room.
Just thought I'd share.
I hope this doesn't become a regular thing. I can deal with the musical "bells" of the high school next door every day & night but not Chinese folk songs on top of that.
Correction: I believe now that the music is actually a guy singing outside of my dorm with a microphone.
Just thought I'd share.
I hope this doesn't become a regular thing. I can deal with the musical "bells" of the high school next door every day & night but not Chinese folk songs on top of that.
Correction: I believe now that the music is actually a guy singing outside of my dorm with a microphone.
Hongluo Temple
Last month's BNU-organized student outing was to Hongluo Temple (红螺寺), located in the outskirts of Beijing's Huairou district at the foot of Hongluo Mountain. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Northern China. Many people like to visit Hongluo Temple in the fall when the leaves turn red, yellow and orange. Unfortunately for us, our excursion was too early in the fall season so many of the leaves were still green.
For more information on Hongluo Temple: http://www.chinatravel.com/beijing/attraction/hongluo-temple/
For more information on Hongluo Temple: http://www.chinatravel.com/beijing/attraction/hongluo-temple/
BNU: Home of the US 2008 Olympic Team
You know what I found out this weekend? BNU's gymnasium was the training center for the United States 2008 Olympic team for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Yes, that means Michael Phelps swam at the same pool I swim in every week, among many other notable Olympian swimmers. Pretty cool, huh?
(This explains why the gym here at BNU is so nice and why they have a long-course--50 meter--pool instead of the normal 25 meter pool.)
For more information about the BNU gym & the 2008 Olympics: http://www.bjreview.com.cn/olympic/txt/2008-07/31/content_137510.htm
Yes, that means Michael Phelps swam at the same pool I swim in every week, among many other notable Olympian swimmers. Pretty cool, huh?
(This explains why the gym here at BNU is so nice and why they have a long-course--50 meter--pool instead of the normal 25 meter pool.)
Picture courtesy of: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25937455/
For more information about the BNU gym & the 2008 Olympics: http://www.bjreview.com.cn/olympic/txt/2008-07/31/content_137510.htm
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Midterms, midterms, midterms
...yep, It's midterm week for me at BNU. Until I'm done with midterms, no new blog posts for you. Sorry.
I'm off to memorize a million (okay...more like a couple hundred) vocab words.
I'm off to memorize a million (okay...more like a couple hundred) vocab words.
Wish me luck.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
If you thought boxed wine was bad...
...meet wine from a can. Or more specifically, "Sparkling Chardonnay" from a can.
Note to China: wine shouldn't come from a can.
And no, I didn't taste it. I think my taste buds deserve better than wine from a can.
The Gender Divide
Before coming to China, I never really considered myself a feminist. Sure, I believe that women are equal to men and (for the most part), whatever a man can do, a woman can do just as well. But this hardly qualifies me to declare myself an adamant feminist, at least in my opinion. Instead, I'd say my perspective on is quite the norm for many people living in the 21st century.
Coming to China, though, has made me re-think how "normal" my perspectives on gender really is. Now before you get the wrong idea, I'm not saying that Chinese people or the people I've met here in Beijing are sexist and don't believe women should be in the workplace because that's not what I'm saying. It's just that here in China, and with many of the people I've met here, there's still a concept of inherently male & female things and activities.
Take smoking, for instance. In the United States, if you're a female smoker, for the most part, you're not treated or viewed differently from a male smoker. Smoking is an equal opportunity activity (to kill yourself). But here in China, where smoking exponentially more common, the majority of smokers are male. I'd say, from my personal observations at BNU, male smokers probably out-number the female smokers 10 to 1, perhaps even more. In addition, while a male smoker elicits no response from passerbys, a female smoker elicits looks of shock, disapproval or disgust (not that I know form personal experience since I do not smoke). As one of my Chinese friends explained to me, males smoking here in China is considered the norm, but a female smoking is considered trashy.
Example #2: At the beginning of my time here in Beijing, I was speaking to one of my (male) classmates, Robin, about what I like to do with my free time and the topic of shopping came up. Robin was shocked to learn that I wasn't particularly fond of shopping and in response said something along the lines of, "Don't all girls love shopping?" Jokingly, I retorted back at him saying, "I bet you like shopping more than I do. You look like the kind of guy that likes to shop." He, in return, was quick to say that he didn't like shopping either and that shopping was a woman's activity.
Example #3: The a week or two ago at lunch, the concept of a housewife came up in conversation. Prior to our lunch, we had our conversation class in which we learned vocabulary concerning our parents' professions and one of the words we learned was the Mandarin term for a housewife (which I've since forgotten). That day at lunch, I said that I didn't want just to be someone's housewife later in life, at which point several of my classmates looked quite surprised. Their shocked looks in return shocked me. Considering it's 2010 and several of my classmates at this particular lunch were (college-educated) females as well, I hardly thought my declaration was in any way surprising. But apparently, it was.
(Disclaimer: It must be noted in the above scenario, something might've been lost in translation or perhaps a housewife is a very respected position in their home countries. I don't know and I don't mean to portray my classmates in a negative light, I'm just telling you about what happened from my personal perspective.)
Now before I get ahead of myself, I am not saying that we've completely erased gender differences in the United States; that's hardly the case. But distinguishing boundary between what belongs in the so-called female sphere versus the male sphere is much more blurry. Sure many girls like shopping in the United States, but so do many guys. Nor is a female smoker considered any different from a male one.
Likewise, chivalry, at least in my experience, is largely a thought of yesteryear in the United States. Perhaps it's just the people I keep company with but from my experience with my male friends, they rarely, if ever, hold the door open for me or offer to help me with my books*. In fact, a while back I commented to one of my friends in the United States that, "You know chivalry is dead when you feel oddly uncomfortable when a guy opens a door for you." However, here in China the idea of chivalry still prevails. It's pretty common to see males carrying their female friend's or girlfriend's books and/or purses for them.
Not that I'm really one to complain about a lack of "chivalry," since I've always been the type of independent person that much rather take care of herself, include matters concerning opening doors and the such. But the fact that I don't expect (nor really feel comfortable with) such gestures is pretty indicative just blurred or perhaps almost completely nonexistent traditional gender roles are in the United States.
Of course, I don't mean to say that the American concept of gender roles (or lack thereof) is any more correct or better than the more traditional concepts of gender here in China. Personally, I'm more accustomed and prefer the American perspective on gender and gender equality, but since I was raised in the United States, that's hardly surprising. However, I also realize that there are many people who prefer maintaining the more traditional roles intact. Neither of us are wrong for the most part, it's just different and learning to accept the differences in culture is half the battle when you're living abroad.
So on that note, I'm going to end this very long, slightly rambling blog. Enjoy the photo below.
*To my male friends back at home: don't take that statement as poor reflection on yourselves. I like our friendships the way they are.
Coming to China, though, has made me re-think how "normal" my perspectives on gender really is. Now before you get the wrong idea, I'm not saying that Chinese people or the people I've met here in Beijing are sexist and don't believe women should be in the workplace because that's not what I'm saying. It's just that here in China, and with many of the people I've met here, there's still a concept of inherently male & female things and activities.
Take smoking, for instance. In the United States, if you're a female smoker, for the most part, you're not treated or viewed differently from a male smoker. Smoking is an equal opportunity activity (to kill yourself). But here in China, where smoking exponentially more common, the majority of smokers are male. I'd say, from my personal observations at BNU, male smokers probably out-number the female smokers 10 to 1, perhaps even more. In addition, while a male smoker elicits no response from passerbys, a female smoker elicits looks of shock, disapproval or disgust (not that I know form personal experience since I do not smoke). As one of my Chinese friends explained to me, males smoking here in China is considered the norm, but a female smoking is considered trashy.
Example #2: At the beginning of my time here in Beijing, I was speaking to one of my (male) classmates, Robin, about what I like to do with my free time and the topic of shopping came up. Robin was shocked to learn that I wasn't particularly fond of shopping and in response said something along the lines of, "Don't all girls love shopping?" Jokingly, I retorted back at him saying, "I bet you like shopping more than I do. You look like the kind of guy that likes to shop." He, in return, was quick to say that he didn't like shopping either and that shopping was a woman's activity.
Example #3: The a week or two ago at lunch, the concept of a housewife came up in conversation. Prior to our lunch, we had our conversation class in which we learned vocabulary concerning our parents' professions and one of the words we learned was the Mandarin term for a housewife (which I've since forgotten). That day at lunch, I said that I didn't want just to be someone's housewife later in life, at which point several of my classmates looked quite surprised. Their shocked looks in return shocked me. Considering it's 2010 and several of my classmates at this particular lunch were (college-educated) females as well, I hardly thought my declaration was in any way surprising. But apparently, it was.
(Disclaimer: It must be noted in the above scenario, something might've been lost in translation or perhaps a housewife is a very respected position in their home countries. I don't know and I don't mean to portray my classmates in a negative light, I'm just telling you about what happened from my personal perspective.)
Now before I get ahead of myself, I am not saying that we've completely erased gender differences in the United States; that's hardly the case. But distinguishing boundary between what belongs in the so-called female sphere versus the male sphere is much more blurry. Sure many girls like shopping in the United States, but so do many guys. Nor is a female smoker considered any different from a male one.
Likewise, chivalry, at least in my experience, is largely a thought of yesteryear in the United States. Perhaps it's just the people I keep company with but from my experience with my male friends, they rarely, if ever, hold the door open for me or offer to help me with my books*. In fact, a while back I commented to one of my friends in the United States that, "You know chivalry is dead when you feel oddly uncomfortable when a guy opens a door for you." However, here in China the idea of chivalry still prevails. It's pretty common to see males carrying their female friend's or girlfriend's books and/or purses for them.
Not that I'm really one to complain about a lack of "chivalry," since I've always been the type of independent person that much rather take care of herself, include matters concerning opening doors and the such. But the fact that I don't expect (nor really feel comfortable with) such gestures is pretty indicative just blurred or perhaps almost completely nonexistent traditional gender roles are in the United States.
Of course, I don't mean to say that the American concept of gender roles (or lack thereof) is any more correct or better than the more traditional concepts of gender here in China. Personally, I'm more accustomed and prefer the American perspective on gender and gender equality, but since I was raised in the United States, that's hardly surprising. However, I also realize that there are many people who prefer maintaining the more traditional roles intact. Neither of us are wrong for the most part, it's just different and learning to accept the differences in culture is half the battle when you're living abroad.
So on that note, I'm going to end this very long, slightly rambling blog. Enjoy the photo below.
*To my male friends back at home: don't take that statement as poor reflection on yourselves. I like our friendships the way they are.
Retirees relaxing and flying kites at Ritan Park. Notice none of the retirees are female.
Don't they look so happy?
Friday, November 5, 2010
Victory of the day:
being able to hold conversations completely in Mandarin with two train ticket agents, and two front desk people in Mandarin without any of them giving me "What-is-this-crazy-girl-saying-to-me" looks.
And on top of that, today I also called a travel agent to ask her if she could help me book my winter break travels. We actually spoke on the phone for a good two minutes at least and we were able to communicate pretty well. Considering the fact that face-to-face communication in itself can sometimes be tricky with my terrible Mandarin, this phone conversation is pretty impressive. Not to mention the fact that I hate telephones & calling people in general, even if the person I'm calling speaks English.
Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself right now.
Now for a completely unrelated photograph from the Wangfujing Night Market:
And on top of that, today I also called a travel agent to ask her if she could help me book my winter break travels. We actually spoke on the phone for a good two minutes at least and we were able to communicate pretty well. Considering the fact that face-to-face communication in itself can sometimes be tricky with my terrible Mandarin, this phone conversation is pretty impressive. Not to mention the fact that I hate telephones & calling people in general, even if the person I'm calling speaks English.
Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of myself right now.
Now for a completely unrelated photograph from the Wangfujing Night Market:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Old Gold Mountain
Do you know what they call San Francisco in Mandarin Chinese? 旧金山(Jiù jīn shān).
Literally translated, it means "Old Gold Mountain". I'm serious. It hails back to the California Gold Rush of 1849, when many Chinese people sailed to California in hopes of striking it rich.
I had no idea that people still referred to San Francisco as "Old Gold Mountain" until I came to China. But they still do, go figure.
If you wondering why this is the first time I've heard the term 旧金山 , it's because in (Hong Kong) Cantonese we call San Francisco 三藩市 (Sān fán shì), which is a phonetic translation of the city name, San Francisco. If you hear the word for San Francisco in Hong Kong Cantonese, it's obvious that the term was phonetically derived from the city name itself. Literally translated, the characters have no relation to each other at all.
Literally translated, it means "Old Gold Mountain". I'm serious. It hails back to the California Gold Rush of 1849, when many Chinese people sailed to California in hopes of striking it rich.
I had no idea that people still referred to San Francisco as "Old Gold Mountain" until I came to China. But they still do, go figure.
If you wondering why this is the first time I've heard the term 旧金山 , it's because in (Hong Kong) Cantonese we call San Francisco 三藩市 (Sān fán shì), which is a phonetic translation of the city name, San Francisco. If you hear the word for San Francisco in Hong Kong Cantonese, it's obvious that the term was phonetically derived from the city name itself. Literally translated, the characters have no relation to each other at all.
P.S. Yes, these are my own pictures.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tears of Joy.
That's right, THE GIANTS WON THE WORLD SERIES!! Finally, SF has a world series title to call their own.
Sadly though, I had class this morning so I couldn't follow the game online, although I was sorely tempted to skip. Upon returning to my room though and finding out, I'll admit I shed a few tears of joy.
Who would've thought at the beginning of this year that the Giants would go all the way? Not many. Regardless, that's the beauty of sports. So go ahead and celebrate San Francisco, it's definitely long-over due. I'd give anything to be there now myself.
But since I can't, I'll celebrate here on my own in Beijing (where no one I've met follows baseball).
PS. For those of you who couldn't care less about baseball, you'll be happy know that the World Series marks the end of the baseball season in the United States. After today, there shouldn't be any more baseball-related posts. Well..at least maybe not until the spring agian.
Sadly though, I had class this morning so I couldn't follow the game online, although I was sorely tempted to skip. Upon returning to my room though and finding out, I'll admit I shed a few tears of joy.
Who would've thought at the beginning of this year that the Giants would go all the way? Not many. Regardless, that's the beauty of sports. So go ahead and celebrate San Francisco, it's definitely long-over due. I'd give anything to be there now myself.
But since I can't, I'll celebrate here on my own in Beijing (where no one I've met follows baseball).
So long Giants! Amazing job this year and we'll see you again in 2011!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
If you think baseball is boring...
here's why it's not: SF Giants' riveting approach just can't be called baseball
See? You were just rooting for the wrong team the entire time.
And for those of you who could care less about baseball, I promise more China-related posts will be coming soon. Sorry for the delay, I was unexpectedly swamped with homework this week.
Until then, GO GIANTS!
See? You were just rooting for the wrong team the entire time.
And for those of you who could care less about baseball, I promise more China-related posts will be coming soon. Sorry for the delay, I was unexpectedly swamped with homework this week.
Until then, GO GIANTS!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
World Expo
Back in August, as a part of our tour package, my parents and I went to the World Expo in Shanghai. The tradition of the World Expo (also known in the past as the World's Fair or Universal Exhibition) dates back to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, whose main feature was the famed Crystal Palace. Originally, the exhibitions were served as a platform to promote new technology and innovation; however, nowadays the World Expo serves more as a platform for "country-branding." That is to say, the main purpose of the different pavillions at the World Expo now serve as a platform for every country to promote it's national image internationally.
Personally, I wasn't that impressed by the World Expo. Although it's only fair to point out that my opinion was probably at least partially influenced by the fact that it was very hot and humid when we were there. Nonetheless, my parents & I wandered around looking at the architecture of the different pavilions which were each very unique in it's own way. I thought the European countries' pavilions were the most architecturally interesting. You can decide for yourself from the pictures below:
Personally, I wasn't that impressed by the World Expo. Although it's only fair to point out that my opinion was probably at least partially influenced by the fact that it was very hot and humid when we were there. Nonetheless, my parents & I wandered around looking at the architecture of the different pavilions which were each very unique in it's own way. I thought the European countries' pavilions were the most architecturally interesting. You can decide for yourself from the pictures below:
China Pavilion
Inside the Spanish restaurant in the Spain Pavilion
Norway Pavilion
I think architecturally, Norway has the coolest structure.
Germany Pavilion
People-watching is always interesting
Ireland
The shade covers over the benches
Turkey Pavillion
For more information on the history of the World Expo/World's Faire/Universal Exhibiton: http://ilearn-culture.com/world-expo-introduction-and-history/
For more information about the World Expo 2010 at Shanghai: http://en.expo2010.cn/
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