5.22.2006 : 10:17

I read *this today and couldn't help but laugh. I really really do feel sorry for this guy, but I just wish somebody could have told him that all the fear is just an illusion. I mean I know the overwhelming feeling of being in a completely alien land. I got that feeling too when I first got off the plane in Guangzhou. But soon enough (about 5 months or so) I learned that it was all in my head and that China has got to be one of the safest places in the world.

But I point out this article not just to make fun of this guy, which I hope I'm not doing, but to point out that culture shock has no bounds. When I imagine this poor guy "fighting his way" out of a brothel or "leaping out of the way of a reckless car" or "enduring the spit that some Chinese hurled his way," I have to feel really sorry for this guy; he grossly misinterpreted daily life in China. You wade through traffic in China so of course cars are going to charge straight at you and honk, they're just trying to call your bluff. but you can't let them. And people tend to spit, kind of a lot, but it's not meant to be insulting. Like I said, poor guy. I'm sure he truly felt like that young woman who helped him "probably saved [his] fricking life."

So just a word to the future travelers out there, when you get to a foreign country just calm down. I promise they're not trying to kill you.   probably.


_Nathan

5.19.2006 : 13:45

I found this today while I was wondering around the internet. I got it from http://www.vagablogging.net/

""When I first lived in China, I was mostly struck by the differences, but over time the similarities became more obvious. Americans and Chinese shared a number of characteristics: they were pragmatic and informal, and they had an easy sense of humor. In both nations, people tended to be optimistic, sometimes to a fault. They worked hard -- business success came naturally, and so did materialism. They were deeply patriotic, but it was a patriotism based on faith rather than experience: relatively few people had spent much time abroad, but they still loved their country deeply. When they did leave, they tended to be bad travelers -- quick to complain, slow to adjust. Their first question about a foreign country was usually: What do they think of us? Both China and the United States were geographically isolated, and their cultures were so powerful that it was hard for people to imagine their perspectives.

"But each nation held together remarkably well. They encompassed a huge range of territory, ethnic groups, and languages, and no strictly military or political force could have achieved this for long. Instead, certain ideas brought people together. When Han Chinese talked about culture and history, it reminded me of the way Americans talked about democracy and freedom. These were fundamental values, but they also had some quality of faith, because if you actually investigated -- if you poked around an archaeological site in Gansu, or an election in Florida -- then you saw the element of disorder that lay just below the surface. Some of the power of each nation was narrative: they smoothed over the irregularities, creating good stories about themselves."

--Peter Hessler, Oracle Bones (2006)

It makes a lot of sense to me. Maybe this is why I feel so at home here.
_Nathan

5.18.2006 : 19:42

Every blogger hits a wall at some point. Well, I'm hitting the wall. It's the blog, the english classes, living in the middle of nowhere, the massive amount of rain (which I'll get to in a minute). It's all starting to get to me. In the words of Bilbo Baggins, "I need a holiday." So if I seem a bit absent or depressing the truth is I am. But I promise I'll be a lot more cheery after some time off, or if it quits raining.

Anyway about the rain. I got this email today.

notification

According to weather report, a hurricane is approaching to Hangzhou and may cause big damage.We suggest you stay in hangzhou and we will give you further more information if the situation gets worse. Please check E-mail often.

international exchange center
2006.5.18

Yeah, that's right. HURRICANE. I'm really getting sick of this. Be sure that I'm in no real danger *fingers crossed* but just the thought of being in range of another hurricane (for all of you who thrive on technicality on this side of the world they're called 'typhoons') is massively annoying. I mean what is the deal people? Am I really a hurricane magnet? Do I really attract hurricanes? Somebody tell me a place on the planet earth that has never been hit by a hurricane, cause I'm gonna move there. Seriously, I'll think about it.

Now I did think this was some sort of prank given that I had no idea who the address was and I don't know how the "international exchange center" got my email address or even what that is. But it turns out the rumors are true. You may not know where Hangzhou is, but it's right where the little 'x' was last time I looked at this site. So to all my friends and family, please don't worry about me. That's what the hurricane wants, you'll only be making it happy by worrying. It's just being a bully, and the best way to get rid of a bully is to ignore him. I don't know if they name typhoons or not. If they do I haven't heard of a name for this one. I'm naming it "Bluto". That sounds like a bully. And I just like the name "Bluto".
_Nathan

5.10.2006 : 17:05

It seems like it's been a really long time since I last posted (probably because it has). But I think this has to do not so much with me being busy (which I have been), but with me waiting on interesting things to happen to write about. When in fact "interesting" is a perspective and I suppose interesting things happen everyday. Or rather normal things happen in interesting places. Or what's daily life to one person is exotic news to another.

So I thought our trip to Changsha would be massively exciting with all kinds of news to tell, but really nothing extraordinary happened. I had a really really great time catching up with old friends, did a little shopping, played a little Halo. But nothing really really interesting to report. Well, I almost got another tattoo but the "shop" ended up being some guys room in a whore house. That's an interesting story, but I'll save it for later.

Instead I think I'm going to be lazy for this post since I spent all my free time this week putting up pictures from the trip. I think Elizabeth said it best so I'm going to let her guest post again instead.

--------Elizabeth--------------------------------------------------------------------
*the following was inspired by this photograph.


My first submission will include observations on the Chinese toilet, or "Choilet" if you prefer. I know I do. Actually, they are often called "squatty potties" for painfully obvious reasons.

We Westerners always have complaints about this issue, and I thought I had laid my own to rest until I had to use one for an entire week. The apartment we stayed in was marvelous, except for this one little thing. I don't want to seem ungrateful. We saved a lot of money doing this. It's not that. But using one occasionally in a public restroom is completely different from having one in your home. Some Westerners find that they actually prefer the choilet. I, however, am not one.

There are numerous problems with the Chinese toilet.

First, they almost always smell horrible. There are several reasons for this and they will become apparent as I move down the list. My dad said one reason is because there is little or no water in the bowl to keep the sewer gas out. Western toilets are full of wasted, wonderful water to block the smell out.

Second, they are almost always wet. The main reason, thank goodness, is that there is always a woman posted in the bathroom whose job it is to constantly mop with a filthy rag on a stick she may or may not call a mop. This woman/man is duplicated all over China wherever there is a floor. And they will never cease to mop no matter how many people immediately walk where they have just cleaned, making it muddy AGAIN. They also do not pause in their mopping action, even when your feet are clearly in the way.

Third, the Chinese public are trained to throw their toilet paper, USED toilet paper, in the adjacent trash can. This is by far the most disturbing part of the experience. They have been told that the pipes are very small and cannot handle the TOILET paper. Now, my own experiments have proven this propaganda wrong (i.e. mine goes down just fine). I'm not exactly belligerent, I just can't remember to do it. Nor do I want to.

Fourth, there is hardly ever toilet paper or soap provided, so you must always have some on hand.

Fifth, the flusher is always situated very high up. Being from America, I am used to the foot flush. So, I don't know if they use their hands or do some kind of kung fu to flush, but I am quite tall and I still have to do a karate kick to get it done.

Sixth, the Chinese do not always feel it is necessary to close the door. Granted, sometimes it is broken, but usually it's not. They just don't care and for some reason this is disturbing to me. I guess that is why when I went into the restroom in the Wuhan train station, there were women lined up to use it, even though there were NO DOORS whatsoever. I felt that I could wait.

Seventh, it is just gross and I will leave it at that.

I just want to add an anecdote on the subject. Yesterday, I went to the restroom in the gym. Now, our school as I have said is quite modern. They usually have one Western toilet among the others. So I went searching for it (as I have just come off a week of the other) and found that the stall containing the Western toilet was being used as a storage closet. Bummer.

I would also like to say that sometimes the Western toilet is actually in worse condition, cleanliness-wise, because less worldly Chinese think that they are supposed to stand on the seat. You can actually spot footprints at times. It seems rather dangerous to me. I wonder what they are thinking when they go in? "Well, this one is quite tall. This is gonna be tough."

And the one in the picture is wall to wall mirror. Who thought that would be a good idea?
_Nathan