Dystopia is PM 2.5

I look outside my window and I am blinded by the strange yellowy glow, the highrise buildings I can normally see are completely obscured. There is no horizon, I start to feel claustrophobic. I look away and down at my hands instead. I try and pretend that it is fog, but fog does not smell like petrol and dust. I jump as a guy walks into the elevator wearing a black face mask, the filter on it is creepy, not like the pink bunny ones that people normally wear. In class, we hear the news that schools in Nanjing and Shanghai have been closed. I understand why as we sit through four hours of dry coughing, my teacher has to drink water before she can speak. My nose is running, my throat is raw, I’m really tired, I know I do not have a cold because everybody else says that they are feeling the same. People with good jobs don’t have to go to work. The construction workers outside the classroom aren’t so fortunate, they continue to jackhammer the pavement into the night.

Like the dystopian futures predicted by Sci-Fi writers for centuries, we are being poisoned by the very air that we breathe.

People talk all day about the air quality, like commenting on the weather, but underneath every comment lies a modicum of fear. Afraid that it will only get worse as the years progress, China has not committed to improving their air quality levels, their stance is that high levels of PM 2.5 is merely the by-product of economic development (Particulate Matter size 2.5 microns is the main category of pollution monitored by government departments and is fine enough to enter the respiratory system.)

Recently, there was a report of an 8 year old girl living in Jiangsu province who died of lung cancer, it was linked to air pollution (see report: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/chinas-choice/2013/nov/07/china-air-pollution-eight-year-old-cancer, The Guardian, Duggan, 2013).

People are being killed by something which you can see, taste, smell, choke on. Where are the protests, where is the outrage, where is the anger? I see complacency by the people as well as by the government, just as predicted, centuries ago…is this the perfect sci-fi dystopian future?

Imagined Dystopia: Original 1982 artwork for the Sci-Fi movie “Blade Runner”

Dystopia: Industrial Jiangsu Province, China, 2013

Nanjing Massacre Museum

I decided that it was time to face something which I had been dreading, the Nanjing Massacre Museum, detailing the mass slaughter of Nanjing civilians by Japanese invading forces during the Second World War (December 13th, 1937). The grey, November sky was a perfect backdrop for our visit to that sombre, black stone building.  The first thing that you see as you walk to the entrance is a series of statues, human figures, bodies and faces distorted in various states of pain and panic. Look at the translated plaque beneath them, “The Devils have sent the bombers again, the poor orphans. Frightened by the vicious laugh of the brutal devils, Terrified by the corpses piling up in the alley…” Gritting my teeth, I mentally prepared myself for an afternoon filled with human tragedy and undisguised, volatile hatred towards the perpetrators. Visitors walk past a series of square-cut, grey structures. A monument stands with a repeatedly translated “300,00 victims” cut deeply into the side. Finally inside the museum. One of my group recognises the entrance-way as being built from the stonework from the destroyed old city wall. After an impressive light and sound show simulating a battle-field, we walked through to a room with a wall covered from top to bottom with the names of all the known victims. The character “女“ (nv, female) was written after many of the names, presumably to demonstrate that they are civilians rather than soldiers (I thought it was unnecessary, undoubtedly the males were just as innocent and defenseless). The memorial wall was a beautiful gesture and my defensive stance against the museum relaxed a little.

I waded through the swathes of highschool students in order to stand in front of each individual display, to read the plaques (translated from Chinese into English and Japanese) and to ponder on both the massacre as well as the present-day attitudes towards it. The first thing I noticed was that everything seemed very…disjointed. Each room had a loose theme, but it seemed as though someone had hoarded together everything which had a connection to that period in history and had scattered them throughout the exhibitions in a sort of “Find the Odd One Out” treasure hunt. You are looking at a torch used by a Chinese general moments before being shot in the leg, then you sidle along to the next artifact to read “This is a number plate from a wheel barrow used in 1937.” Wait, what? At best, it was bemusing, at worse, confusing and even insulting. Why would the curator place a photo of three children who had been killed by the invading force, directly next to a photo of the British ambassadors Mini? Are these two things somehow of the same import? How about the photo of a woman who had just been raped, next to a card about China’s financial situation of the times.

Smack bang in the middle of the building is an open mass grave, bones litter the ground and you can go around the outside to read in what horrific ways these people were killed. It was definitely too much, I cannot imagine why the bones needed to be on display, were the curators so desperate to make sure that the evidence was irrefutable that they would display human skeletons from only a couple of generations ago? I assume that these skeletons had not been identified, relatives would not know that their grandmother was down there, permission was not sought. In the same room were gruesome photos of the victims, next to them was a picture of two Japanese soldiers, noted for boasting about killing hundreds of Chinese single handedly. I noticed someone had slashed across their throats in that black and white photo.

Slit throats on photo of Japanese soldiers (Photo: emccall 11/13)

It was at this point I just wanted to walk straight out of the museum, indeed two of my friends left quickly after that. When I inquired as to why, they just said that they “got the idea pretty quickly.” However, hold strong and linger at the last couple of rooms. Bland, in comparison to the grand displays of the other rooms, but I stopped and read every bit of text and was very glad for it. A wall of pictures of present day survivors, as well as their testimonies, hung next to the quote “What we must remember is history, not hatred.”- Li Xiuying  “要记住历史，不要记住仇恨”－李秀英

Yes…YES!Was this the same museum? I felt like I was suddenly dealing with a whole different place. In that same room, the opposite wall was lined with present-day images and video archives of the people who had taken part in the massacre, with their testimonies. It made a strangely poignant juxtaposition with what we had been shown so far. These old Japanese men, crying and apologising for what had happened, taking full responsibility for their actions, saying that it must never happen again. Both sets of testimonies were used as evidence in the law suit which successfully brought the war criminals to justice. At the memorial site, were piles of paper cranes, folded by Japanese highschool students, wishes for ‘Peace’ were attached to them. A garden, donated by Japan, with a white statue of Lady Peace standing out amongst the grey buildings leads you out and back onto the streets of Nanjing.

My thoughts drifted back to the last thing visitors see before exiting the museum.

“Under the inspiration of the patriotic enthusiasm, we should struggle unceasingly for the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the realisation of the peaceful reunification of our motherland, and the maintenance of world peace.”

I can’t help but feel disgusted by the governments use of a tragedy, the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, for their own propaganda purposes. They had clumsily added and subtracted from what could have been a poignant reminder of this incident and in doing so, had confused and dulled the lessons taught by history.

Paper cranes and wishes written in Japanese in memorial (Photo: emccall 11/13)

Let’s Learn Chinese!

Hey kids!

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in the world can speak English… this means that you may find it beneficial to either a) hire a bilingual goat or b) learn some phrases in the language of the country which you are visiting. If you opt for the latter, then please enjoy my guide to survival Chinese.

The first thing you’re going to encounter in China is a mumbling, strictly-Chinese speaking Taxi driver (make sure it’s from an official taxi rank, never take a taxi from the people who run at you shaking their keys, they will rip you off). Have the address of the place you wish to go to prepared. This means printing out a map (taxi drivers do tend to get lost, and they never use GPS), and not only having the address translated or in pinyin. Honestly, I don’t understand why hotel booking sites even bother with this, because a lot of the older generation in China don’t even read pinyin. Have the Chinese characters printed out in large, obvious font, this way you can point to the address, and say

“我要去这儿“ [ I want to go here] wo yao qu zhe er [pinyin]// war y-ow chew jar [phonetic]

If they start trying to set a price with you, point to the meter and say:

“打表啊！” [Run the meter] da biao a! // dar bee-ow ah!

If they refuse, get out and say “bye bye!”

When you get to the hotel, hand them your passport and booking details.

“我要入住“　[I want to check-in] wo yao ru zhu // war yow roo joo

护照　[passport] hu zhao // hoo jow

They will ask you for more money, this is the deposit if you have already paid online, so don’t be surprised and have extra yuan on you.

Numbers:

一，　二，三，四，五，六，七，八，九，十［1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] yi,er,san,si,wu,liu,qi,ba,jiu,shi // yee, ar, sun, ser, woo, lee-o, chee, bar, jee-oh, shir

十一，十二．．．[11, 12…] shi yi, shi er… // shir-yee, shir-ar… (easy! Just add ’10’ with another number to make 11-19)

二十，　二十五．．．三十二．．．　[20, 25, 32…]　er shi, er shi wu, san shi er // ar-shir, ar-shir-woo, sun-shir-ar (easy! Add a number (2-9) plus ’10’ to make the numbers 20-90, then simply add another number at the end for 25, 32 etc.)

一百，两百／二百，　三百．．．　[100, two-hundreds/ 200, 300…] yi bai, liang bai/ er bai, san bai.. // yee-buy, lee-ung-buy/ar-buy, sun-buy (For 100-900, choose your number and add ‘100’ (bai/buy) to it. For 200, the word for ‘couple’ may be used, as in “A couple of hundreds”)

一千．．．　［1000…] yi qian// yee-chee-an (1000’s follow the same pattern as 100’s)

Of most importance once you’re actually in the country is food, followed closely by shopping. Here, you can have some one-on-one experiences with the locals, I’ve only ever really had good fun shopping (outside of Beijing Silk markets) and the keepers are usually very talkative, curious and accommodating. If you aren’t confident enough to use this vocab, greet in English and they will switch for you.

Shopping:

你好 [hello] ni hao// nee how

老板 [‘Owner’] (call over) lao ban// l-ow ban

这个 [this one] zhe ge// jay ger

多少钱？[how much?] duo shao qian? // dwar sh-ow chee-an

我只看看 [I’m just looking] wo zhi kan kan // war jer can-can

太贵了[too expensive] tai gui le// tay goo-ay la

便宜一点可以？[Can you do it a little cheaper?] pian yi yi dian ke yi?// pee-an yee yee dee-an ker-yee?

不用 [I don’t want it] bu yong// boo yoong

好的！[Ok!] hao de! // how dur

谢谢 [Thanks] xie xie// share-share

Money:

——块 [bucks] kuai// koo-ay (slang for yuan)

——元 [yuan] yuan// yoo-an

——ＲＭＢ[yuan]

When you’re eating, treat it as one big adventure. Usually you will have no idea what you’re ordering, so bonus if there are pictures or hilarious english translations (like my recent order of ‘double smelly.’) My favourite tactic is to point out someone else’s food (not considered rude) and ask for “that one” [zhe ge // jay gur]

Food:

服务员 [waiter!] (call over) fu wu yuan// foo woo yoo-an

——个，i.e.  一个菜，三个人　[measure word, i.e. 1个 dish 3个 people] _ ge, yi ge cai, san ge ren // _gur, yee gur ts-ay, sun gur ren

米饭 [rice] mi fan// mee fun

热 [hot] re// rur

辣 [Spicy] la// lar

一点点 [A little] yi dian dian/ yee dee-an dee-an

冰 [cold/iced] bing// bing

打开[open] da kai// dar k-eye

对/ 不对 [right/incorrect] dui/ bu dui// doo-ee/
boo doo-ee

买单[pay the bill/ I want to pay the bill] mai dan// my dan

好吃！[lovely food/good meal] (a compliment) hao chi // how chur

吃饱了[I’m full] (a compliment) chi bao le// cher bow ler

包子 [steamer buns] bao zi// bow zer

肉 [meat] rou// row

菜 [vegetables] cai // ts-ay

有/没有 [have/don’t have] you/mei you // yo/ may yo (for example, don’t have ‘meat’ rou/row)

喜欢/不喜欢 [like/ don’t like] xi huan/bu xihuan // shee hoo-one/ boo-shee hoo-one (for example, don’t like ‘this’ zhe ge/jay gur)

会/不会 [can/ cannot, able/ not able to] hui / bu hui // hu-ee/ boo hu-ee (for example, I can’t ‘eat’ chi/ cher ‘spicy’ la/lar)

再见 [bye!] zai jian// zay jee-an

带走[take away] dai zou// die zoh

Ok, so that’s the big stuff covered, phew, what a lot to remember! It seems daunting, but really these words are incredibly common and you will find yourself having the same conversations over and over again.

Bonus Fun-time Chinese:

最近怎么样？[how have you been?] zui jin zenme yang? // zoo-ee jin zer ma young?

吃了吗？[have you eaten?] (How are you?) chi le ma? // chur lur mar?

对不起 [sorry] dui bu qi // doo-ee boo chee

不好意思 [pardon me] (if you knock into someone, etc. There is no word for getting people out of your way, just push) bu hao yisi// boo how yee sir

谢谢 [thanks] xie xie// share-share

不用谢 [no need to thank me] bu yong xie // boo yoong share

老外／外国人 [foreigner] lao wai/ wai guo ren // l-ow w-eye/ w-eye gwor ren

美女 [lit. beautiful young girl, Ms.] mei nu// may nyoo

帅哥 [lit. handsome young man, Mr.]  shuai ge// shoo-eye gur

你叫什么名字？[What’s your name?] ni jiao shenme mingzi? // nee jee-ow sherma ming zur?

我叫— [My name is…] wo jiao..//war jee-ow…

你是哪国人？[Where are you from?] ni shi na guo ren? // nee shur na gwor ren?

我是—— 澳大利亚人 [I am…. Australian] wo shi… ao da li ya ren // war shur… ow dar lee ya ren

你的中文很不错 [Your Chinese is great!] (expect this after every ‘ni hao// nee how‘ you say) ni de zhongwen hen bucuo!// nee de joong wern hen boo ts-wor

哪里哪里 [not at all] (modest) na li na li // nar lee nar lee

明白吗？ [Is that clear?] ming bai ma? // ming buy mar?

我不明白[I don’t get it… (your meaning)] wo bu ming bai // war boo ming buy

听懂吗？[Do you understand?] ting dong ma? // ting doong mar?

我听不懂 [I don’t understand] wo ting bu dong // war ting boo doong

再说 [say it again] zai shuo// zay shwoar

你会说英语吗？[Do you speak English?] ni hui shuo yingyu ma? // ni hoo-ee shwoar ying yoo mar?

会/不会 [Can/ Cannot] hui/bu hui // hoo-ee/ boo hoo-ee

我不会说汉语 [I can’t speak Chinese] wo bu hui shuo hanyu // war boo hoo-ee shwoar han yoo

我的汉语不好 [My Chinese is not so good] wo de hanyu bu hao // war der han yoo boo how

我怎么去-— [How do I go to…] wo zenme qu.. // war zerma choo….

警察局 [police station] jingcha ju // jingchar joo

银行 [bank] yin hang // yin hung

商场 [shopping centre] shang chang// sharng charng

…路 […road] ..lu// loo

地铁站 [subway station] di tie zhan// dee tee-yeah jan

在这儿 [here] zai zhe er // zay jar

在那儿 [there] zai na er // zay nar

进／远　[close/far] jin/yuan // jin/ yoo-an

…分钟 […minutes] …fenzhong// …fen joong

打的 [take a cab] da di // dar dee

帮我! [help me] bang wo! // bung war!

请问… [excuse me…] (to ask a question) qing wen… // ching when

你干嘛儿? [What are you doing?] (also, if you almost get hit by a scooter scream this after them to imply “What  the hell are you playing at?!) ni gan maer ? // nee gan maarrrrrrr ??

他妈! [fuck] (When you actually get hit by a scooter)  ta ma!// tar mar!

下车 [Getting off] (to get people to move aside when you’re getting off a subway) xia che// shar cher

干杯！[Cheers!] gan bei! // gan bay!

可爱的 [Cute] keai de// ker eye der

小心吧！[Careful!] xiao xin ba! // sh-ow shin bar

我爱中国　[I love China] wo ai zhongguo // war eye joong gwoar

FINAL NOTES:

Speaking horrific Chinese goes well with a huge smile and plenty of gestures. Always keep it pleasant and you will find yourself with discounts, friends and even the offer of potential husbands/wives.If you have a smart phone, download PLECO app. which allows for instant translation which you can show to someone if all else fails. Remember that you will be recognised fairly quickly as a foreigner, and there is no better way to strip back the unfortunate barrier of ‘othering’ that tends to happen then to approach them and make a genuine effort to communicate. Never assume that people can, or should, be able to speak your language, you may inadvertently embarrass someone when it should be you feeling all embarrassed and awkward about not bothering to learn a word of Chinese.

{Written for Steve, but available to the masses.}

Peace out!

PART 2: Don’t Ask… Money

Hey guys,

So when I first arrived in China I made a blog post entitled “Don’t Ask…” and referenced the laundry system in the hotel building. I made some witty remarks about seemingly having to fight for every scrap of information as nothing is offered freely and left it at that.

Well, be amazed as I return to you with Part 2 of “Don’t Ask..”

I first decided to open a bank account after realising that my Visa card from Australia was smacking me with a $15.00 fee every time I withdrew money. I had also discovered that shops here do not accept Visa cards which are not affiliated with a Chinese bank and don’t even try to purchase anything online without a local bankcard.

I love a good challenge, and what better challenge than dealing with a bank in your second language.

With my trusty PLECO dictionary app., I managed to open an account with ICBC and set-up internet banking. “Easy” I thought gleefully to myself “Online transaction here I come!”

But alas, on arrival home I was unable to download the online banking program to use the ‘USB password-thingy’ they gave me…because my Internet was too updated. Is that even a thing? Apparently I was running Firefox 11.2, which was incompatible with their software which required Firefox 8.

Ok, China.

Regardless, the instructions were all in Chinese and I didn’t want to muck around with it.

So, making a plea to my parents back home I got them to send through money from my Australian account to China via Western Union.

The money was taken from the Australian account. One week…Two weeks…nearly three weeks later, still no money on my card. I was panicking, imagining all sorts of horrific circumstances akin to a package that had recently been lost in transit to China from home.

Western Union had sent the money, they had done their part, so that meant there was trouble on my end.

Not even bothering with PLECO dictionary this time, I strode into the bank and spoke loudly in broken Chinese, ‘My money is gone-what-the-hell-you-gonna-do-about-it.”

A friendly woman scurried out and asked me a few questions, got me to demonstrate to her that the card was indeed empty. She then took me into a quiet back room where there sat rows of bespectacled men, all stamping piles of paper with red, rubber stamps. One guy was even wearing a waist coat. It was strangely reminiscent of a movie I once saw which was set in 19th Century London.

The friendly woman handed the card to one man sitting at the end of the line and whispered something so him. With a nod, he ceased stamping and turned instead to a pile of seemingly random papers. Slowly he shuffled through the pile, mumbling things to himself and continuing to ignore me.

Finally, he pulled out a piece of paper from the bottom and showed it to me with a flourish. “McCall” it had written on it, I nodded.”You needed to come pick this up weeks ago” he said, and glared at me accusingly. “I…have…to pick up?’ My language degenerated due to disbelief.  He nodded. “Everytime I transfer… need to pick up?” Again, a nod. Why didn’t they tell me this when I first opened the account? When I get called a 外国人 （waiguoren: foreigner) on a daily basis I assume it’s because people recognise that I’m not from around here.

The man put the money on my card, I thanked him and turned to walk away. The voice in my head, recalling my laundry experience, told me to stop and think. I then asked him: “Is that everything? I can withdraw money now?”

Turned out that I still needed to go to the second floor of the bank to get my money, which was in USD, transferred into RMB before it was actually useable.

Don’t ask…

(FINAL NOTE: I would actually advise everyone to organise a secure form of money whilst still in their home country. Get a Visa, make it Internationally enabled to rid you of a whopping fee. Travellers cheques are also a good secondary option. Then, if you do decide that you want a Chinese bank account to make your life here that much easier, it is a simple process of opening the account and withdrawing the cash to deposit immediately. Please be aware that there was no one in this bank who could speak English, therefore a dictionary or a translator are crucial if you don’t speak the language well, also it is possible to arrange a consultation with an English staff member in advance. I also know that some larger banks in different countries have partner banks, so check if your bank has a Chinese partner as both banks can advise you about dealings and processes of the other. )

Peace out!

At the ICBC Bank in Nanjing (Photo: Emccall 10/13)

VIP

Proof that the next adventure might be just around the corner.

Forgoing the weekend travel for some quality time in Nanjing, some friends and I decided to check out a band that we had seen advertised as part of the International Jazz festival.

There were no details other than the name of the venue, “ZhongShan Golf Resort.” The taxi driver was confused, but after pulling out a couple of maps he nodded to us confidently.

It wasn’t until we pulled up to a set of wrought iron gates that we got any sort of inkling about what was to come. We all simultaneously shrank into our seats as the resort came into view…it was magnificent. Surely, this is the wrong place. We walked through the revolving doors. Surely, they’re going to tell us that they don’t want us riffraff in here. We walked past the dining hall and the indoor pool and up winding staircases. Surely, someone will stop us…
We were then led by a attendant through the building. We heard music drifting through the polished marble corridor. We were almost at the door…and were finally stopped.

The doorman bowed to us, “And…what company were you ladies with tonight?”

Anja stepped forward, “Ah..Nanjing University…?”

We were already planning our hasty retreat.

The doorman paused, confused, he clearly didn’t know whether we were supposed to be there or not. “Oh, international students?”

We nodded simultaneously. The doorman apologised and then bowed us through.

He bowed us through.

“Act like we belong” I hissed to the others, as we stepped into the function room filled with waiters and foreign business people. And canapes. Hesitantly, we found a table and stood to listen to the band. Before long, however, we noticed the bar tender was pouring drinks and leaving them on the bar. I glided (in my thongs) over to the bar and snagged some glasses of Red for us.

No one took any notice.

Then we started eying off the tables laden with food. We walked up and took a truffle each. And ate it. It was delicious!

So from there it was a short step to grabbing plates and piling them high with little delicate cheesecakes and chocolates and shot glasses of yoghurt and then to decide we needed to eat dinner there too and so we grabbed oysters and caviar and Western food which we hadn’t even seen in over a month.

Eating and drinking and dancing to the band from Belgium (Les Busiciens, check them out!), only in China.

On the way out we got given the band’s CD, a gift bag, a voucher to use the golf range and were wished a ‘safe flight home’

“Thankyou” I replied, as the manager handed me his business card and asked me to return soon “It was a splendid evening.”

We then got the doorman to call us a taxi to the top of the driveway, as everyone else had remembered to arrange for a chauffeur.

(Check out Les Busicians at: http://www.busiciens.be/en/index.html)

The golf resort (Photo: emccall 10/13)

The band playing in the Function Room
(Photo: Emccall 10/13)

地铁、外国人 (The underground and foreigners)

Please line up
(Photo: Emccall 09/13)

This photo was taken in the Xi’An underground station.

Is it just me…or is there something strange about this photo?

This is one of the most outstanding instances of white-washing that I have ever come across. In the world’s largest monoculture (China is made up of 92% ethnic Han Chinese) I want to know why there appears this instructional ad which is inclusive only of Anglo-Saxon, blonde haired children.
In China, this happens all too often.

Walk through any public area and you are bombarded with brand advertisements which are filled exclusively with Western models. They aren’t even the typical ads you would see in any Australian city, their Western-ness is more pronounced. Larger, shinier, more colourful eyes, whiter skin and too much bleach-blonde hair to handle.

Growing up in a commercialised society myself, I understand all too well the effects that models (tall, skinny, perfect smile) can have on one’s self-image. However, I couldn’t imagine what it must be like for people living in China, not only being shown that the ideal woman/man is taller or skinnier or prettier or more muscular…they are also being shown that the ideal woman/man (child…?) is of a completely different ethnic group than the large majority of their country’s population.

The same way that I argue for models who are have an average clothing size, I argue that China needs more images of Chinese people in their shopping malls…and in their underground as well.

日常生活 (Daily Life)

Hey kids!

So it has been nearly a month of living in China. This begs the question of what I do with my self on a day-to-day, week by week basis. Well, I’m glad you asked.

Language classes constitute the majority of my daily life. Monday to Friday I wake up at 7.40am for my 8am start. This is a glorious luxury considering I would normally have to wake up, get ready and travel 1 and a half hours to get to class. Here, I roll out of bed, make myself some green tea in a flask (so Chinese,) briefly entertain the thought that I can make downstairs in time to buy 包子(baozi) the most common breakfast food here, realise that I totally don’t have time, rush off with my books to the building directly next to my accommodation and get to class with a whole minute to spare.

I take four subjects here which are assigned by Nanjing University. People are streamed into classes depending on their HSK level or their entrance exam scores. 综合 (comprehensive Chinese language) runs for two hours on Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri. 口语(oral Chinese language) is for two hours on Mon, Tues and Wed. 听力 (Aural Chinese) is for two hours on Wed and Fri. Finally, I have business Chinese from 10-12 on Thursday. So, in total I attend roughly 20 hours of classes. You are also given a timetable of add-on subjects which aren’t for credit, but are to give you an extra edge on your Chinese language. I have selected 中国画 (Chinese traditional painting) as well as 书法 (Chinese calligraphy) which, like the language classes, are taught exclusively in Chinese.

I have found the language classes very similar to my classes in my home University, probably because the Chinese teachers at home are native Chinese and studied teaching in China. The difference is, of course, that you can’t request an English translation even if you really really want one. By having only Chinese to focus on, and a Chinese environment, I find that I retain what I have learned much quicker than usual. However, the work load is much tougher and every week I am learning around 150 new words which we are tested on in various mediums (i.e. discussion, writing test, oral test, aural test.)

I still retain my previous sentiments that the method of teaching Chinese to foreigners is incredibly inefficient and over-emphasises 普通话, 北方话(standard, northern Mandarin) pronunciation as well as ROTE learning to write hundreds of 汉字 (Chinese characters.) In reality, only a very small percentage of Chinese people can/will speak with the ‘standard’ accent and ‘standard’ vocabulary and it can be hard to understand someone speaking in Xi’An or even Shanghai if you’ve only spent time learning Chinese from Beijing teachers, CD’s and textbooks.

Furthermore, in the 21st Century writing becomes less and less important. Thanks to efficient pinyin input systems, Chinese can be typed incredibly easily without knowing each and every stroke of the character. Indeed, often native Chinese will struggle to remember certain characters when they write (see: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/12/world/la-fg-china-characters-20100712 New York Times, Demick, 2010)

I wish that the Chinese language education system stopped wasting time and confusing students who are desperately trying to master a second language far removed from their own.

Going back to my original topic, I also keep myself busy with sampling local cuisine (a post to come on this at a later date,) 太极拳(taijiquan: Taiji; Taichi) lessons twice a week, 瑜伽 (yujia, yoga) twice a week at the Universities sports club, sporadic Zumba dancing on the running track and tutoring English to a young Chinese girl for a couple of hours a week. I have also signed up to find a local language partner to help with my Chinese speaking and for 二胡 (erhu, Chinese cello) lessons from a private teacher.

The weekends are usually spent partying, shopping in markets, studying, seeing Nanjing, traveling or recovering.

I see this list and I realise that I’ve simply replaced my usual hobbies and daily activities with the China equivalents. Oh dear.

Magical fantasy land

There is a tale you might have heard, it is of a wonderful, faraway land where the sun is always sunny and the people are always smiling and even the lowliest street cleaner is merrily singing a tune.

Well, kiddies, this place exists.

It was early morning, and I heard a familiar tune drifiting from outside, Greensleeves tinkled through my window and put a warm smile on my face from thought of childhood memories. An icecream truck! What was it doing here? I had to catch a glimpse.

Rising from my slumber, I leaned out of the window expectantly. But….where were the groups of children begging their parents for one more yuan? Where was the happy icecream vendor handing out these frozen treats of joy?

Instead, all I could see was a man smoking as he drove a street cleaner past the building.

Confused, I shrugged and started my day.

Whilst in class, again I heard (at first, I thought I imagined) the tune of happy birthday from somewhere nearby. Maybe a musical card being opened repeatedly in the room adjacent?

The next lesson, I hear Greensleeves playing again. Standing up suddenly I stride to the window, “Where is that coming from?!”

After telling me to kindly return to my seat, the teacher explained that, for safety reasons, street cleaners, trucks and other machinery play music so that people know that they are there. Most trucks even have a woman merrily repeating “Going backwards, going backwards” as they reverse.

I dunno, the standard ‘beep beep’ might seem a bit dull, but at least it doesn’t get you confused about whether or not you can buy frozen confectionery from your local street cleaner. Actually….I wonder what tune Icecream trucks play here…

Platform Thongs

OK, so this is my first post related to fashion in China.

The sun is shining, the weather is delightfully warm, time to whip out the summer clothing!

For Chinese guys, this means forgoing the need to wear a t-shirt normally. Most men, as they walk around in the middle of the day, will flip their t-shirt up to expose their belly and chest. It’s the ultimate act of sunshine frivolity.

For Chinese girls, summer time gives you a couple of options. Either, you will be wearing ridiculously short-shorts, but if that’s not your thing, then go with jeans on this balmy 35 degree day with 90% humidity. Whatever you choose, the platform shoes are a definite must to give you that sneaky height advantage over the other girls…who are also wearing platform shoes. Since it’s summer, platform thongs are a fashion yes.

Once you notice the shoes, you can’t stop staring at girl’s feet, thinking “Platform thongs….whhhhhhyy is this a thing???

ED: 24/10/2013

Please help, the disease is spreading…

http://www.blueisinfashionthisyear.com/2013/10/in-fashion-stella-mccartney-aw-2013.html

Chinglish

“Note down what you thought, what you felt. Return to the writing age. After many year, when you open the notebooks, you possible to find something different about yourself, you will find everything is on its way to somewhere.”

I found this inspiring Chinglish phrase printed jauntily onto my new stationary purchases. In a way, it is perfect. I have chosen to enjoy myself and fully embrace a myopic focus for the moment, concerning myself only with day-to-day concerns and pleasures. However, this trip does have a broader purpose. I hope that by the end of my exchange I will be able to answer a few questions about my ability/desire to live and study (possibly, work) in China or any foreign country, really. When I look back at this experience, I hope that I will find everything thing is on its way to somewhere.