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| Splashing around with water with two of my little cousins. (Picture courtesy of Maia & Raymond Siu) |
To see more photos of those two hard at play, see their blog at http://rayandmaia.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ah, the things I much rather be doing
..instead of taking midterms.
To see more photos of those two hard at play, see their blog at http://rayandmaia.blogspot.com/
To see more photos of those two hard at play, see their blog at http://rayandmaia.blogspot.com/
Friday, April 1, 2011
Shanghai, Take 2
Stop number three (number four for Leslie) on my winter break travel itinerary was Shanghai. Although I had been to Shanghai previously (see posts here and here), I was excited to return and explore it on my own more thoroughly.
Upon arriving in Shanghai and making our way over our hostel, it was immediately apparent that we were back in the big city. Instead of the more laid-back, quiet(er) pace of Qingdao and Hangzhou, in Shanghai we were immediately greeted with giant crowds, honking cars and a large rush of people going in all directions. I distinctly remember turning around and saying to Leslie "We're definitely back in the city now."
Though it's apparent immediately that Shanghai is a very metropolitan city, I think after spending several months in Beijing it's much more striking just how modern and cosmopolitan it actually is. In comparison, Beijing looks like the older, more worn-down sibling of the younger, more polished Shanghai. While the best phrases to describe Beijing probably are historical and politically significant, the words cosmopolitan and modern probably best describe Shanghai.
In some ways, the difference between Shanghai and Beijing almost remind me of New York and Washington, D.C. It's undeniable that politically, D.C. is a very important city. The decisions made in D.C. affect not only the people of the United States, but often the lives of many people outside of it's borders. That being said though, Washington, while it does have it's own local scene, does not have the cultural pull in the United States that New York does. Washington makes the laws, but arguably, New York is the cultural (not to mention financial) capital of the United States.
Likewise, in China, Beijing is undoubtedly the political and historical capital of the country. However, if you look at art and lifestyle trends, I'd say the majority of the taste-makers are centralized in Shanghai. Not to mention that like New York, Shanghai is also the financial capital of China. So while Beijing dictates the rules by which Chinese people abide by, Shanghai tells them how their lives should look, feel, hear, taste and probably even smell.
Of course with that being said, not all of Shanghai is the modern, glitzy city that most people think of right away when think of Shanghai. There are definitely old parts as well, but I'm leaving that for another post. So stay tuned.
More pictures on Angela Photo Musings
Upon arriving in Shanghai and making our way over our hostel, it was immediately apparent that we were back in the big city. Instead of the more laid-back, quiet(er) pace of Qingdao and Hangzhou, in Shanghai we were immediately greeted with giant crowds, honking cars and a large rush of people going in all directions. I distinctly remember turning around and saying to Leslie "We're definitely back in the city now."
Though it's apparent immediately that Shanghai is a very metropolitan city, I think after spending several months in Beijing it's much more striking just how modern and cosmopolitan it actually is. In comparison, Beijing looks like the older, more worn-down sibling of the younger, more polished Shanghai. While the best phrases to describe Beijing probably are historical and politically significant, the words cosmopolitan and modern probably best describe Shanghai.
In some ways, the difference between Shanghai and Beijing almost remind me of New York and Washington, D.C. It's undeniable that politically, D.C. is a very important city. The decisions made in D.C. affect not only the people of the United States, but often the lives of many people outside of it's borders. That being said though, Washington, while it does have it's own local scene, does not have the cultural pull in the United States that New York does. Washington makes the laws, but arguably, New York is the cultural (not to mention financial) capital of the United States.
Likewise, in China, Beijing is undoubtedly the political and historical capital of the country. However, if you look at art and lifestyle trends, I'd say the majority of the taste-makers are centralized in Shanghai. Not to mention that like New York, Shanghai is also the financial capital of China. So while Beijing dictates the rules by which Chinese people abide by, Shanghai tells them how their lives should look, feel, hear, taste and probably even smell.
Of course with that being said, not all of Shanghai is the modern, glitzy city that most people think of right away when think of Shanghai. There are definitely old parts as well, but I'm leaving that for another post. So stay tuned.
More pictures on Angela Photo Musings
Guess what today is...
Opening day for the MLB! (That's the United States Major League Baseball for those of you not in the know.)
Okay, okay, technically opening day was yesterday (March 31st) but since China's a day ahead of the US, it feels like today is opening day.
I may not be a huge baseball fan or the most knowledgeable baseball aficionado, but even I'm excited for a new season of baseball. Plus the beginning of baseball season signals the start of warmer weather and (eventually) summer, two of my favorite things. I can't wait to get home and hopefully go to a Giants game soon.
So on that note, GO GIANTS!
Okay, okay, technically opening day was yesterday (March 31st) but since China's a day ahead of the US, it feels like today is opening day.
I may not be a huge baseball fan or the most knowledgeable baseball aficionado, but even I'm excited for a new season of baseball. Plus the beginning of baseball season signals the start of warmer weather and (eventually) summer, two of my favorite things. I can't wait to get home and hopefully go to a Giants game soon.
So on that note, GO GIANTS!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Ready, Set...Marry?? Part II
Marriage. I don't think I've given the topic of marriage much serious thought as I have this past year. Granted, this is perhaps at least in part due the fact that more and more people I know from high school and college are getting engaged/ married and the age gap between those I know who are engaged/married has become increasing smaller, or in some cases, non-existent.
Not to mention that I've recently celebrated another birthday (hello, 23) and while I'm still very young, I have to admit it doesn't sound nearly as young as when you say you're 20/21/22.
But mostly, I think the real reason why this subject has really pestering me lately is largely due to the environment around me. As I mentioned in the blog post before this, "Ready, Set..Marry?" China has quite the obsession with young people getting married, particularly before the age of 30.
Even in the classroom setting, this mentality has wormed itself into the curriculum. I remember last semester, the topic of marriage was often used in examples explaining grammatical structures and concepts. For instance, when explaining the term 连 (lián), which grammatically is used similarly to the word "even" or "already," our teacher used the example of "她连45岁没有结婚, " （tā lián 45 suì hái méi jiéhūn） which translates to "She is 45 years old and still hasn't married."
Another time, while trying to explain the grammatical usage of the word 才(cái), which is roughly used similarly to the word "finally" in English, our text book stated, "她35岁才结婚" (tā 35 suì cái jiéhūn.), which translates to "She finally married at 35 years old." Why the teachers and the textbooks couldn't come up with different examples using time or meals or anything else is beyond me.
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| Taikang Lu, Shanghai |
Not to mention that I've recently celebrated another birthday (hello, 23) and while I'm still very young, I have to admit it doesn't sound nearly as young as when you say you're 20/21/22.
But mostly, I think the real reason why this subject has really pestering me lately is largely due to the environment around me. As I mentioned in the blog post before this, "Ready, Set..Marry?" China has quite the obsession with young people getting married, particularly before the age of 30.
Even in the classroom setting, this mentality has wormed itself into the curriculum. I remember last semester, the topic of marriage was often used in examples explaining grammatical structures and concepts. For instance, when explaining the term 连 (lián), which grammatically is used similarly to the word "even" or "already," our teacher used the example of "她连45岁没有结婚, " （tā lián 45 suì hái méi jiéhūn） which translates to "She is 45 years old and still hasn't married."
Another time, while trying to explain the grammatical usage of the word 才(cái), which is roughly used similarly to the word "finally" in English, our text book stated, "她35岁才结婚" (tā 35 suì cái jiéhūn.), which translates to "She finally married at 35 years old." Why the teachers and the textbooks couldn't come up with different examples using time or meals or anything else is beyond me.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
On our way to the brewery..
...Leslie & I stumbled on what has to be the most ridiculous looking thing in Qingdao: Atrium City (aka Tianmu City).
Hailed on Qingdao's tourism website as "a cool indoor city with replicas of various famous and historic locations around the globe," Atrium City seemed to be designed in hopes of becoming a dining destination for Qingdao residents. However, it seemed like they better succeed in creating a bad hybrid of Disneyland and Las Vegas rolled into one. While the entire thing is very amusing, Leslie & I felt that the space was just trying too hard to be something it's not. Not to mention that the entire space is incredibly over the top.
Dear China, here's a lesson for you: less is definitely more. Something for you to chew on.
Dear China, here's a lesson for you: less is definitely more. Something for you to chew on.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Tsingdao Brewery
Of course, no trip to Qingdao would be complete without a trip to visit the Tsingtao Brewery, home of what it likes to boast as China's number one imported beer. (Never mind that I'm pretty sure China doesn't import any other beers anyways.)
Now this was not my first trip to a beer brewery (nor my last, I suspect) and I have to say that the brewery tour for Qingdao was a bit lacking. The exhibits and models at Tsingtao were about on par with other breweries I've visited; however, if we're going to be honest here, visiting a brewery is really all about the beer tasting at the end. Leslie & I were very excited about the tasting and were hoping that we could get the chance to taste the other types of beer they produce, since they're harder to find outside of Qingdao. But when we got to the tasting room, we only got two very tiny glasses of their basic beer that you can get anywhere. We were very disappointed.
However, they did have a drunk simulation room at the end of there brewery tour that almost made up for the lack of variety in their tasting room. If you're wondering what exactly a drunk simulation room entails, it's basically a room tilted at at 30 degree angle, which sounds simple enough until you try to walk up the slope. Now that's a challenge. Needless to say, the drunk simulation room proved itself to be very entertaining.
Later that night, to make up for the pathetic beer tasting at the Tsingtao Brewery, Leslie & I conducted our own tasting in our hostel room. We ended up tasting three different types of Tsingtao beer, all of which I had never seen anywhere else besides in Qingdao. Sadly, they were poorly labelled so Leslie & I aren't exactly sure what we were tasting. We do know one was a Tsingtao stout, or as some people know it as, the black Tsingtao beer. As for the other two, all we can say is one had a red label & one had a yellow label. Overall, we really liked the Tsingtao with a red label and didn't really care for the other two. Although, the stout did have a really strong coffee after taste.
Sadly, our pictures of our little beer tasting using coffee mugs are lost on Leslie's stolen memory card/camera. (Stupid pick-pocketers.) So you guys are going to have to use your imagination for that. However, here are some pictures from the brewery tour, including one from the drunk simulation room! Whee!
Now this was not my first trip to a beer brewery (nor my last, I suspect) and I have to say that the brewery tour for Qingdao was a bit lacking. The exhibits and models at Tsingtao were about on par with other breweries I've visited; however, if we're going to be honest here, visiting a brewery is really all about the beer tasting at the end. Leslie & I were very excited about the tasting and were hoping that we could get the chance to taste the other types of beer they produce, since they're harder to find outside of Qingdao. But when we got to the tasting room, we only got two very tiny glasses of their basic beer that you can get anywhere. We were very disappointed.
However, they did have a drunk simulation room at the end of there brewery tour that almost made up for the lack of variety in their tasting room. If you're wondering what exactly a drunk simulation room entails, it's basically a room tilted at at 30 degree angle, which sounds simple enough until you try to walk up the slope. Now that's a challenge. Needless to say, the drunk simulation room proved itself to be very entertaining.
Later that night, to make up for the pathetic beer tasting at the Tsingtao Brewery, Leslie & I conducted our own tasting in our hostel room. We ended up tasting three different types of Tsingtao beer, all of which I had never seen anywhere else besides in Qingdao. Sadly, they were poorly labelled so Leslie & I aren't exactly sure what we were tasting. We do know one was a Tsingtao stout, or as some people know it as, the black Tsingtao beer. As for the other two, all we can say is one had a red label & one had a yellow label. Overall, we really liked the Tsingtao with a red label and didn't really care for the other two. Although, the stout did have a really strong coffee after taste.
Sadly, our pictures of our little beer tasting using coffee mugs are lost on Leslie's stolen memory card/camera. (Stupid pick-pocketers.) So you guys are going to have to use your imagination for that. However, here are some pictures from the brewery tour, including one from the drunk simulation room! Whee!
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| Apparently, the Tsingtao brewery has the same slogan as many universities. Then again, beer & college do go hand-in-hand, at least in the US. |
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| Don't be fooled by the picture. Objects in the photo are smaller than they appear. |
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| Leslie's drunk! Just kidding. Welcome to the drunk simulation room, where you laugh so hard you blur in the photos. |
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Long time no see!
Hello dear blog readers,
My sincerest apologies for being MIA since my winter break started. Traveling is exhausting and time really has flown.
My friend Leslie left this morning to return home to the United States after spending a month with me in China/Hong Kong. I'm sure she's thrilled to excited to return home to comforts of home and not having to listen to Mumford & Sons (my latest musical obsession) every morning. Not to mention the fact that squat toilets don't exist in the United States.
As for me, I have a couple more days left in Hong Kong before I return to Beijing on Sunday. While I'm not exactly jumping for joy about returning to Beijing (after all, Beijing & I have a rather rocky relationship), my "loss" is definitely your gain.
Consider this blog officially back from hiatus. Pictures & posts about my travels to follow soon. Your patience (I think) will be rewarded.
Thanks for reading,
Angela
My sincerest apologies for being MIA since my winter break started. Traveling is exhausting and time really has flown.
My friend Leslie left this morning to return home to the United States after spending a month with me in China/Hong Kong. I'm sure she's thrilled to excited to return home to comforts of home and not having to listen to Mumford & Sons (my latest musical obsession) every morning. Not to mention the fact that squat toilets don't exist in the United States.
As for me, I have a couple more days left in Hong Kong before I return to Beijing on Sunday. While I'm not exactly jumping for joy about returning to Beijing (after all, Beijing & I have a rather rocky relationship), my "loss" is definitely your gain.
Consider this blog officially back from hiatus. Pictures & posts about my travels to follow soon. Your patience (I think) will be rewarded.
Thanks for reading,
Angela
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Look!
...It's the newest member of my family: Kaden Leung.
Welcome to the world, little one. I can't wait to meet you in person!
Welcome to the world, little one. I can't wait to meet you in person!
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| Picture courtesy of Raymond Siu |
Now from the DPRK...
Before I came to China, I never realized that occasionally CCTV (the Chinese government's broadcasting network) would show news clips and B-roll from North Korea, or as it prefers to be called, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Although, in hindsight, it makes some sense considering China's (precarious) relationship with North Korea.
The stories featuring North Korean media sources are a rare occurence. The first time I saw it was at the end of September during North Korea's large national meeting, at which Kim Jong Il made his youngest son a four-star general. Most of this footage seemed to be staged B-roll sent out as a part of a press release.
The second time was during the South-North Korean tension over Yeonpyeong Island this past November. During the 'crisis,' CCTV (at least the English CCTV) covered the story from both sides. CCTV showed footage from news broadcasts on the situation from both South and North Korea as well as short sound bites from both average North and South Koreans about their reaction to the crisis.
While the footage of the South Korean newscast appeared the same as any other country's newscast, the North Korean newscast was strikingly different. Unlike most newscasts that feature an anchor reading the news often with some accompanying footage of some sort, the North Korean broadcast appeared to just have an anchor who seemed to be yelling the news to the camera with no other visual aids. Overall, very different from any other newscast I've seen.
As for the opinions of the 'average North Korean' featured in the news story, I think it's safe to assume the interview with the two 'average North Koreans' were carefully staged, crafted and government-approved before being sent out to foreign news agencies.
Regardless, I find the fact that I get any news, even government-sanctioned news, about North Koreans from North Korea directly fascinating. It's definitely not something I could ever see back in the States.
The stories featuring North Korean media sources are a rare occurence. The first time I saw it was at the end of September during North Korea's large national meeting, at which Kim Jong Il made his youngest son a four-star general. Most of this footage seemed to be staged B-roll sent out as a part of a press release.
The second time was during the South-North Korean tension over Yeonpyeong Island this past November. During the 'crisis,' CCTV (at least the English CCTV) covered the story from both sides. CCTV showed footage from news broadcasts on the situation from both South and North Korea as well as short sound bites from both average North and South Koreans about their reaction to the crisis.
While the footage of the South Korean newscast appeared the same as any other country's newscast, the North Korean newscast was strikingly different. Unlike most newscasts that feature an anchor reading the news often with some accompanying footage of some sort, the North Korean broadcast appeared to just have an anchor who seemed to be yelling the news to the camera with no other visual aids. Overall, very different from any other newscast I've seen.
As for the opinions of the 'average North Korean' featured in the news story, I think it's safe to assume the interview with the two 'average North Koreans' were carefully staged, crafted and government-approved before being sent out to foreign news agencies.
Regardless, I find the fact that I get any news, even government-sanctioned news, about North Koreans from North Korea directly fascinating. It's definitely not something I could ever see back in the States.
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| The CCTV Building Beijing, China |
Monday, January 17, 2011
P.O. Box # Behind-the-Athletics-Building
This is how the Chinese students apparently pick-up their packages.
Yes, it's exactly how it looks. Everyday, the delivery man (or men, since there are several shipping companies) rides a bike onto campus with all the day's packages, parks his bike either behind or in front of the athletics building, and spreads out all the day's packages on the sidewalk. The students, in turn, come by and pick up their packages. It's a very trusting system.
Needless to say, this system would not work in the United States.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Might as well get comfortable
Recently, there's been a lot of talk about the state of Beijing traffic in the news. According to an oft-quoted study by IBM on traffic in twenty of the world's cities, Beijing and Mexico City tied for last place on their consumer pain index. That is, out of a 100 (a 100 being the worse), Beijing and Mexico City both came in at 99 for the most onerous traffic, based on a variety of factors including gas prices, length of commute and the effects of traffic on day to day decisions.
For those of you unfamiliar with the state of Beijing traffic, China Daily has put together a nice summary of the problems facing Beijing transportation and possible solutions here. (There are pictures too!)
This year, the Beijing city government enacted several ordinances in hopes of curbing Beijing traffic. The most discussed traffic measure aims to curb car sales, which have dramatically increased the last few years. Starting on January 1st of this year, all prospective car buyers must first apply online (or in-person) for a license plate, which are given out on a lottery-based system every month.
Other new traffic ordinances aimed at curbing Beijing's snarling traffic include raising parking rates at all garages, banning non-Beijing registered cars inside the Fifth Ring Road during rush hour and limiting who can drive based on even/odd license plate numbers.
To anyone who lives and Beijing, the news that Beijing traffic is one of the worst in the world hardly comes as a shock. There have been times where I'm pretty sure I've sat (or stood) on a bus for an half-hour(or more) and not moved more than a few yards. Walking is often times faster, if your destination is already within a relatively walkable distance. (Remember, Beijing is a very large, very spread out city.)
As for the Beijing subway, it's great...in theory. However, considering the sheer size of Beijing, the subway stops are relatively few and far between. Not to mention, that with only a few transfer points for each line, certain stations often resemble giant cattle herding centers with hordes of people trying to switch from one line to another, particularly during rush hours and Friday evening. It also takes a while to get from one place to another. For instance, it takes me roughly an hour (including walking time) by subway for me travel from Wangfujing to BNU, which as far as Beijing goes, is pretty centrally located between the 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads.
Now of course, I know that in terms of subway public transportation, I've been a bit spoiled after living in New York City and Paris, both of which have very developed subway systems that have grown and adapted to it's residents needs over many decades. But that doesn't mean Beijing can sit back and wait for time to help solve it's traffic problems.
For those of you unfamiliar with the state of Beijing traffic, China Daily has put together a nice summary of the problems facing Beijing transportation and possible solutions here. (There are pictures too!)
This year, the Beijing city government enacted several ordinances in hopes of curbing Beijing traffic. The most discussed traffic measure aims to curb car sales, which have dramatically increased the last few years. Starting on January 1st of this year, all prospective car buyers must first apply online (or in-person) for a license plate, which are given out on a lottery-based system every month.
Other new traffic ordinances aimed at curbing Beijing's snarling traffic include raising parking rates at all garages, banning non-Beijing registered cars inside the Fifth Ring Road during rush hour and limiting who can drive based on even/odd license plate numbers.
To anyone who lives and Beijing, the news that Beijing traffic is one of the worst in the world hardly comes as a shock. There have been times where I'm pretty sure I've sat (or stood) on a bus for an half-hour(or more) and not moved more than a few yards. Walking is often times faster, if your destination is already within a relatively walkable distance. (Remember, Beijing is a very large, very spread out city.)
As for the Beijing subway, it's great...in theory. However, considering the sheer size of Beijing, the subway stops are relatively few and far between. Not to mention, that with only a few transfer points for each line, certain stations often resemble giant cattle herding centers with hordes of people trying to switch from one line to another, particularly during rush hours and Friday evening. It also takes a while to get from one place to another. For instance, it takes me roughly an hour (including walking time) by subway for me travel from Wangfujing to BNU, which as far as Beijing goes, is pretty centrally located between the 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads.
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| Picture courtesy of ChinaDaily.com.cn |
Now of course, I know that in terms of subway public transportation, I've been a bit spoiled after living in New York City and Paris, both of which have very developed subway systems that have grown and adapted to it's residents needs over many decades. But that doesn't mean Beijing can sit back and wait for time to help solve it's traffic problems.
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!
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 5, 2010
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.
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.
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
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
Sunday, November 7, 2010
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?
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!
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