- Are Chinese people selfish? On the one hand, they’re labeled as “community-oriented,” placing the interests of their family, community, country above their own needs — at least, they face huge pressure to do so. On the other hand, they will do anything to get ahead: They don’t believe in lines, and they push and shove their way onto or off of buses and subways just to grab the best seats. Maybe “impatient” is a better description.
- In discussing China’s rise and potential as a future superpower, and the U.S.’s concurrent decline, optimists always point out that the U.S. has the creative edge by far. It’s not even an edge, it’s a gulf. And based on what my personal experiences, it’s not going to close anytime soon. But will innovation remain as important as it is now, given China’s ability to imitate?
- Why do the Chinese imitate? No one tries to sell anything different because it might mean a loss of revenue. It’s a nation of people so averse to risk.
- Laowai, Chinese slang for “foreigner” that literally translates as “old outsider,” is increasingly sounding like an equivalent of nigger in the U.S. At face value, laowai is an affectionate nickname for foreigners, with lao added in front of people’s names or titles to indicate intimacy or informality. But often, when I hear laowai used, it’s because a Chinese person is pointing out and gawking at some laowaior going on a rant about them. Still, many laowai still refer to themselves as laowai — just like black people refer to themselves asniggas. (That metaphor ran deeper than I thought!)
Food adventures
After a glorious weekend during which I discovered American-worthy sandwiches and American-worthy pie, I am going to try my luck for American-worthy pretzels.
I’m going after work in search of Auntie Anne’s, that American pretzel icon, which is located somewhere in my larger neighborhood.
Yay pretzels!
Random thoughts that have been floating around my mind
- Why can’t the Chinese invest in some air-freshening products? I know air fresheners aren’t necessities, so they’re reluctant to waste precious monetary resources on such frivolities. But my nose and sense of smell really wish they would indulge for once every time I go to the bathroom.
- Am I ever again going to be able to wake up and not be freezing? It’s the end of April and Beijing has turned off the heat, but temperatures keep falling. What the hell, BJ, what the hell? I’m cold!
- It’s been said (by David Brooks, no less) that the U.S. wins in the assimilation category. That is very true based on my experiences. The foreigners here, as foreigners do everywhere, clump in groups, form tight-knit, impenetrable communities. I still can’t decide who is more to blame here, though: Are the Chinese, with their deeply ingrained sense of foreigners as “others,” too unwilling to let us in, or are expats generally reluctant to fully embrace Chinese culture?
You are what you eat
Food problems exist on both sides of the world, not just in China.
According to this WaPo article, food fraud is rampant in the U.S., with suppliers labeling cheaper goods as something much more expensive.
John Spink, an expert on food and packaging fraud at Michigan State University, estimates that 5 to 7 percent of the U.S. food supply is affected but acknowledges the number could be greater. “We know what we seized at the border, but we have no idea what we didn’t seize,” he said.
The culprit? The recession, of course. People are just trying to make money any way they can.
At least there’s less of a chance of dying from eating food labeled as some other kind of food than from eating food cooked in recycled oil.
1 year in China = how many years off my life?
China is unsafe. Not because of crime — China has among the lowest violent crime rates in the world — but because its a toxic jungle. Surprise, surprise.
First, there’s the air pollution.
Then, there’s the water pollution.
And finally, there’s the food pollution. Tainted chopsticks, tainted oil and tainted takeaway boxes.
So basically, I’m breathing, drinking and eating — all fundamental and vital activities — things that are more likely to kill me faster than say, if I were living in the U.S.
This may explain this woman with horns and this kid with 31 fingers and toes.
The end of 谷歌
After finding hackers had violated some of their users’ Gmail accounts last December and threatening to pull out, Google had kept mum about what it’s final decision will be. It shut down its google.cn site yesterday and is redirecting all traffic to its uncensored Hong Kong site in a final dig at the Chinese government. Of course, China can just block the site in the mainland if it really wanted to, but at least Google was able to give them one last middle finger. Sure, Google has just up and left 400 million Internet users — a real loss, according to some business-driven people — but I can’t help but think this may be even worse for China.
Good news
Hold up! Is it safe now to move back to the States?
Congress finally passed the health care bill!
Thanks to my former Representative, David Price, for voting yes (I could always count on him, of course). And no thanks to my current Representative, Patrick McHenry, for voting no (no surprises there, either).
Shanghai surprise
Taking a surprise trip to Shanghai this weekend. It’s a surprise because I didn’t really plan on it.
Evan Osnos over at the New Yorker also got a surprise. Hongqiao’s giant new terminal opened Tuesday, which somehow — despite being grand and extraordinary and (presumably) for the Expo — escaped the major news of the day.
Beijing has more people than I thought
Catching up on the news I missed while in Israel:
- Beijing’s population has reached 22 million, according to China Daily. That’s a shit ton of people, about the same as New York City and its suburbs.
- English with Chinese characteristics. Snarky Chinese.
- This story about two guys who hitchhiked from Beijing to Berlin puts my Couchsurfing adventures to shame.
World Expo is really only about China
It’s impossible to escape the World Expo here in China. Billboards everywhere remind you it’s happening this summer. Its scary mascot, Haibao, pops up suddenly when you least expect it. New government regulations remind locals to behave themselves. There is a swell of national pride that makes any foreigner scratch his head in wonder of what exactly the hullabaloo is all about.
Well, the hullabaloo is about China. It’s the Beijing Olympics 2.0. It’s for the Communist government to show its people how great China is and the wonderful things the Party does for them. How can a World Expo be just about one country? Doesn’t its name sort of imply that it’s worldly? Aside from a Chinese truism that says everything is about China, there are several hints that outsiders’ perception of China is secondary to Chinese perception of China.
1) Officials estimate the Expo will attract 70 million visitors, of which more than 5 percent will be foreigners. FIVE WHOLE PERCENT.
2) No one really cares or knows about World Expos.
3) This billboard in New York’s Times Square looks like an afterthought.
What I mean is: