Who owns America's Debt? Not China.

Linking to an interesting CNN story about the USA's debt: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/21/who-owns-america-hint-its-not-china/

"While the Chinese, Japanese and plenty of other foreigners own substantial amounts, it's really Americans who hold most of America's debt."

creative innovation in China

Phew! All of my old entries are now on this blog, and I'll be updating here from now on. 


My friend sent an interesting email to me a few weeks ago in regards to creative innovation. Since the Communist Party is oftentimes hell bent on monitoring and censoring Chinese art and other forms of expression--the incarceration of artist Ai Weiwei comes to mind--how can anyone create in the country? In Nanjing--and presumedly other Chinese cities--there were secret art galleries off the beaten path, kept hush-hush unless you know who to talk to.  Some people think fondly of art as an addiction, a drug, but in China it's pretty much true.


Two sides of the argument, as listed in the email:

Counterpoint: Debunking Myths About China

(written by a Chinese citizen)

http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2011/07/counterpoint-debunking-myths-about-china/

"Fifteen out of 35 living artists worldwide who command seven-digit sales for their work are Chinese." 

"If these facts do not demonstrate innovation, what does?"

and:

Watch: Chinese animators blatantly copy entire Japanese cartoon from the 90s frame for frame

Made by a company that, last year, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) labeled as one of the top ten producers of original animation in China.

http://shanghaiist.com/2011/07/21/watch_chinese_blatantly_copy_an_ent.php

It's no secret that plagiarism is rampant in China and copyright is frequently ignored. Did you know that there's a fake Disneyland and a theme park based on Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft and WarCraft games? And you can buy pirated DVDs for about $2 a disk, most at decent quality. I should know; I had about 80 of them...!

Answers from the English abyss (Originally posted June 25, 2011)

I'll be putting up one final post about China and my thoughts on my experience there, once I get said thoughts gathered. Unfortunately the internet in Nanjing was simply atrocious the past few months and it's been impossible for me to update.

In the mean time, enjoy the following: I asked my students to write about where they want to go and where they don't want to go, and why. Some selections for you, the ones with stars being ones I picked as 'the best' for a prize:

I want to go to Greenland. Because I can ski and go ice-skating. I don't want to go to Libya. Because they are fighting.

I want to go to Turkey. Because the money is cheap. I don't want to go to Korea. Because the sushi is too hot. I don't like hot food.

I want to go to England. Because there is a beautiful castle and horse guard. I don't want to go to Ireland. Because it is very green. (I don't like green.)

*I want to go to Japan. Because I want to help many earthquake people.

I want to go to Ireland. Because it is very beautiful. Because it is very good. Because it is very small. Because it is very new. I don't want to go to Russia. Because it is very hot.

*I want to go to the USA because the USA has a big Disney playground. Because Obama is handsome, because I want to see a basketball game.

*I don't want to go to the girl toilet because I am a boy.

*I want to go to Brazil because the grass is green and I can play soccer. I don't want to go to the North Pole because it's cold.

I don't want to go to Japan because they are our enemy.

*I want to go to Holland because they have many cheeses and I like cheese.

I don't want to go to America because there are tornadoes.

I want to go to America because that's where Transformers 3 is.

internet censorship in Nanjing (Originally posted May 27, 2011)

I'm sure you know, but many websites such as FaceBook and YouTube aren't accessible from China unless you're using a proxy server. However, even these can be compromised, like we saw during the minuscule Jasmine protests in Beijing.

Now these proxies are failing again as the Chinese government consolidates its internet monitors to one government agency.

For the past few weeks, the internet has been particularly spotty in Nanjing, China. And even more particularly, in places of education. It's almost impossible to log on if I'm connecting at the school I work at or the campus I live on. Skype is just as equally difficult to get onto.

Some of my friends have been traveling to Beijing for vacation--apparently the internet was working fine there, although they weren't really on any campuses. And as far as I know (because expats would raise hell about it on every blog and news site) Shanghai isn't under such restrictions.

So why (presumably) just Nanjing?

A few theories include the fact that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il visited Nanjing a few days ago to look at factories. Can't have dissidents on the internet then...! Slightly more concerning--is Nanjing an experiment for what the rest of the country will be like once the holes in the Great Firewall are completely sealed over? Only time will tell.

In other words, updates to this blog will be sporadic for the time being as Livejournal is one of those websites that doesn't agree with proxies and firewalls...

cheating in China (Originally posted May 19, 2011)

I'm not sure if it only happens in the foreign teacher classes, but my colleagues and I have been having a hell of a time stopping students from cheating on our finals. Out of the twenty classes I teach, there were only three where I didn't catch cheating. I had students blatantly turning in their seats to tell friends the test answers, girls switching papers and taking the test for their friends, boys looking at answer sheets in desks, and even one student going through my folders for the answer sheet and writing them down on a note.

(My final test is not hard. It's vocabulary that we've been studying for the past six weeks. Multiple choice. Arranged in three sections. Very, very, laughably easy.)

I'm not an expert on China by any means, just a casual observer casually observing a culture of cheating and wondering where it comes from.

One of my Chinese friends has impeccable English. Her part-time job for a few months was to collect a fake ID card, go to another Chinese city, pretend to be a student and take the SATs or TEFL for her student client. Underground businesses like these — selling test-takers — aren't rare by any means; she says that every time she's taken a test like this, she's known several other professional test-takers in the room with her.

These tests determine if the Chinese students have the English skills to get into a college in the US, UK, Australia, etc. (My friend relishes the fact that once the cheating students get there, they will likely have to drop out because they can't pay off anyone to speak English for them in daily life...) Coincidentally, her American boyfriend was on the other side of the issue: When he attended college in the States, many Chinese students went over to study abroad with high TEFL scores, yet a number of them couldn't speak past a middle school level. He worked in the school cafeteria where all study abroad students automatically were offered a job; many of the Chinese students with high TEFL scores were relegated to kitchen duties because they couldn't communicate with the diners.

There's also the issue of plagiarism on the college level, and not just students, but professors. A simple Google search brings up plenty of blogs about the issue. It's kind of a joke between the expats in Nanjing that a Chinese diploma isn't worth the paper it's printed on because the standards of education are somewhat low. Most expat students study Chinese — the one subject that is, obviously, worth while — or stay for one semester of easy As and cheap beer.

Though I wonder if these kids cheating in my class are actually pretty clever; with the amount of bribery that goes on in the adult world in China, they may just be getting some practice. The thing that gets me, though, is that a lot of the times the kids I caught cheating were intelligent ones who would have passed easily anyway. But at the end of the day, it doesn't fly in my classroom and a few unhappy students got their first zero grade ever. Hopefully it'll be their last...

pets in Nanjing, China (Originally posted May 16, 2011)

Just some photos and a little food for thought. CNN recently did a story about live animals sold as keychains in Beijing. It's not limited to the capital city, however; you can buy these keychains in Nanjing as well.







These keychains were in the Confucius Temple market in Nanjing. There are also several pet stores were animals are sometimes crammed into cages. Some are more fortunate and have space, but turtles and smaller animals seem to be particularly unlucky.










I had the misfortune of seeing a deceased bunny tossed into the garbage. No lunch was eaten that day by yours truly.

Also, once spring rolls around rabbits and gerbils go on sale, typically outside of elementary and high schools for the kids alongside comic books and candy. These rabbits were driven to school by motorcycle, then the seller waits outside. My friend bought a rabbit last week for 20 RMB, or $3 US. Inbreeding is fairly common; the rabbit my friend bought is blind, much to his surprise. I used to have a blind cat and was able to tell pretty quickly with the aid of a pen light.






But, as for the people buying the pets, I can say that dogs and birds are usually treated very well by their owners. Dogs are the pets of choice, and enjoy long walks around town usually without a leash. Men buy birds and have clubs outside in parks where they show them off, talking about the best type of seed. Usually if a pet can survive the actual pet store, it seems like they'll have a good life afterwards.

Anyway. It's tough resisting buying all of the turtles and setting them free in a lake, regardless...

Yangtze River & Mufu Mountains (Originally posted May 10, 2011)

Out on the eastern edge of Nanjing is the Yangtze River. Last weekend two friends and I checked out some of the sights including the river itself, the surrounding Mufu Mountains (which are more like hills) and a little park called 'Yan zi ji' where swallows fly around. The park area is pretty small and about 10 yuan to get into, but there are three interesting things to see:




This is the wine cup stone, which is actually hollow and able to hold wine, though I doubt you'd want to drink any out of it. According to legend, the poet Li Bai--who is now my favorite Chinese poet and you'll see why in a moment--sat by the rock, composing a poem, and getting hammered, as artists are known to do. Suddenly, he had a totally awesome (drunken) idea that he'd like to drink the Yangtze. And so he signed his drunken calligraphy, 吞江醉石 (Tun jiang zui shi) or "Swallowing the Yangtze, drunk at the stone."

And here you thought rock bands were hardcore.







As the temple is high up on the cliffs, a century ago it was a pretty popular place for jumping off and, well, I'm sure you can imagine the rest. Anyway, this upset an educator in the area and he erected the Admonition Tablet which basically says (in Chinese, of course) to think twice before throwing yourself off the cliff--you only have one life to live. It's credited for saving quite a few lives. The original tablet was wooden, this one is now in its place:





Another tablet in the park area is one erected in memory of the Chinese citizens and soldiers who lost their lives during the Japanese invasion in the 1930s. (The road you take to get to the park is actually the same road--according to my Chinese friends--that the Japanese troops marched down to get to Nanjing city.) Many citizens and troops were trying to cross the Yangtze to safety but were killed.




But I digress. Let's go back to the poet, drunk on the rocks, contemplating the Yangtze--and let's think of all the reasons why he shouldn't drink it. The first and foremost is that, like most rivers these days, it is disgusting as you can imagine. It's primary use is for the shipping of goods.




But that doesn't stop people from treating the shore like a beach. After all, China is pretty bereft of proper 'beaches' and you have to take what you can get, right?






People bring tents, grab a beer under the power lines, eat a hot dog or tofu on a stick, play games and win prizes at the little po-dunk 'theme parks' squatters set up on the side of the shore... And of course, there's the kites.




Kites are huge in China, ranging from the kids with Hello Kitty ones to seasoned veterans who tether the strings to their waists with utility belts. Cheaper kites can be bought for less than five bucks--just look out for the power lines.




My two favorite kites: a squid and legendary warrior Guan Yu.







For more photos, click here.

Lady Gaga yogurt (Originally posted May 09, 2011)

I bet you didn't know that there's totally a rip off Lady Gaga inspired yogurt in China.





Well, now you do.

side jobs for the westerner in China (Originally posted May 01, 2011)

So today I was given a business card by a man whose company I was doing a job for. He asked for my card in return, and frankly I don't have one. If I did, all it would say would be 'White westerner for hire. Able to dress professionally and look interested when others are speaking in a foreign language.'

Let me rewind.

An acquaintance offered me a one-day job in Shanghai for 1,000 RMB, or $150 US dollars. The company would give me round trip train tickets, lunch, and a pre-made Power Point. In exchange, I would give two 45 minute lectures on Advanced Placement and SAT testing in the US at noon and 4 PM. Sweet deal, right?

Well, yes. But, a hallmark of these little side jobs is that they're notoriously lax in information. Even when you pester for more info, you probably won't get all of it. And this isn't because someone is trying to hide the facts from you (usually) but more due to China's culture of last-minute decisions and 'don't worry about it, we'll take care of it, just show up'. When I arrived in Shanghai, I found out that I would actually only be speaking for ten minutes during each presentation, and the Power Point I was given wasn't particularly helpful. Also, as the day progressed, it turned out that instead of taking breaks between the lectures, I would be puttering around with the rest of the Chinese teams to their (Chinese) meetings and sitting in a corner wondering if it was going to rain later and if I had remembered to turn off the tea kettle at home.

Am I complaining? Hell no. $150 to sit on my butt and talk about how awesome AP classes are? Yes please.

But if I would have had this job when I first came to China, I probably would have been confused and irritated and hungry. Luckily I've lived here for eight months and am starting to learn how things work. (Yes, starting.) I packed my computer—thankfully I could edit the Power Point—a book and an iPod for all of the down time that comes with being another pretty white face for these things. Oh, and snacks. Thank god I brought snacks because lunch was at a high school cafeteria and hours flew by before I could grab a bite to eat again. It's like being back in Girl Scouts; always be prepared.

Sometimes these side jobs can be a lot more epic, usually if you're a male of the pale-faced variety. Last year, a good friend of mine was invited to a town to celebrate the opening of a textile factory and pose as a foreign investor, even though he was 23 and a first grade teacher. Some days all you need to do in China is show up in a suit and happen to fit the physical profile someone is looking for.

matchmaker market (Originally posted April 19, 2011)

Springtime is upon us and love is in the air, especially alongside West Beijing Road where an open-air matchmaker market has sprung up.



Hopefuls compile short biographies about themselves (date of birth, job, height, etc.) and a list of what they're looking for in a mate. Then the info is printed onto signs, pink for women and blue for men, and hung like laundry out to dry. Find someone you like? Leave your phone number on the placard.

Interestingly enough, most of the attendees to the markets are parents with thick journals, copying down phone numbers and bios for their daughters and sons. A friend even suggested to me that many of the bios are actually written by parents—which explains why some of them require a potential mate to be respectful to their own parents. Who wants a daughter- or son-in-law that isnt'?



About 90% of the female signs say that they want a mate who has his own apartment or house. Unfortunately, Nanjing is pretty notorious for expensive apartments, leading to a lack of individuals who actually own one. The apartment system is pretty interesting; people don't really rent apartments, instead they buy them. But you don't really 'own' the apartment after you buy it, so you can't leave it to your children in a will. This is done—supposedly--because of the high population in China; everyone gets a fair chance at an apartment instead of them being left in one family through generations.

The male signs with the most phone numbers—like this one below—are written by men who have their own living accommodations and work for the government, earning a nice steady paycheck.



This sign says that he's looking for someone who was born in the year of the rabbit, but tigers are okay too.



Another good way to get phone numbers is to be a lone foreign girl, presumably perusing the signs looking for love.

Woman: Hey! Hey, what are you looking for?
Me: What?
Woman: What kind of man are you looking for?
Me: Er, no, I have a boyfriend, he's standing over there--
Woman: Then do you have a cousin? Or a sister in Nanjing?
Me: I... need to go...



Have another intriguing discussion said behind my back at the matchmaker market:

Man: Hey, why do foreign girls have such a nice curvy-cut figure?
Another man: Don't you know? It's because their diet is different from Chinese girls. The foreigners eat raw beef.



I don't eat raw beef, just for the record.

pictures from the English abyss (Originally posted April 11, 2011)

One of the interesting things about teaching any language is when you start to notice the little things like letters, punctuation and syntax that can change a sentence drastically. Usually if it's a pretty hilarious mistake I take the time to correct the sentence, but an additional high-five is given to the student at the very least. 3rd graders are at that perfect age where they don't have any inhibitions--for the most part--about trying even if it means they might be wrong. That at least should be rewarded.

But now I know why my Japanese professors got such a kick out of correcting our papers and tests...









And sometimes, it's not really a mistake in any sense of the word. But things that sound great in one language give pause when translated directly;




This last one is grammatically correct; I just like the thought of Tigger giving Eyore a John Wayne-style haymaker.

an outsider's thoughts on sex-ed and such in China (Originally posted April 06, 2011)

Thought #1: You know that you've lived in China for a few months when you get on a public bus and all of the adverts are for abortions and you don't even blink.

This one advertises them for about 300 yuan, or, say, $50 US abouts. The commercials on the TV have green hills and girls dancing in white skirts. I thought they were for laundry detergent until I saw the hospital name.




Thought #2: Birth control pills are available in China over the counter for about $3 for a monthly pack, compared to the needed prescription and outrageous prices in most western nations. (I'm looking at you, America.) However, most people here don't know too much about how the pills work—a friend who'd never seen the pills even suggesting to me that you don't really need to take a pill every day, just the days that you plan to have intercourse. (And yes, the instructions in the box are written in Chinese.) And those people that do know about the pills believe they mess with your body's natural chemistry and energy too much to take them. So birth control pills are not a big ticket item; there's actually only ever about two or three brands to even choose from at the pharmacy. Culturally, the pill just isn't big in China. It's easily available and affordable, but the idea of messing with the natural order of a woman's body is unappealing to many.




Thought #3: Sex-ed in the classroom was explained to me by a friend as a chapter in a biology book Chinese high school students read for class, the teacher asking the next day if there were any questions, no one being brave enough to raise a hand, and on to the next chapter. Parent's don't typically broach the subject either. Some simple math for you: Lack of sex ed + wariness of birth control pills + cheap abortions = a high amount of abortions in China.

Thought #4: The one-child rule is pretty heavily enforced. Unless... you live in the countryside where nothing is really enforced, have twins, have an additional child overseas, pay the hefty fine, or get divorced and have another child with your new spouse. Or find some other loophole, of course.

Thought #5: Just a random, interesting note: It's illegal in China for a doctor to tell the expecting parents the gender of their unborn child. According to my friends, a lot of the younger generation don't hope for a girl or a boy one way or the other, though. Kids are doted upon by their parents—and grandparents—which sometimes can backfire and turn them into 'Little Emperors' or stressed out students burdened with the thought that they're the only one around to support their parents when they retire.

illegal drugs in Thailand (Originally posted April 05, 2011)

One thing you should know about Thailand is that it has little patience for drugs and even less for drug smugglers. Here's a picture of a message left on a bulletin board in a Bangkok hostel that explains it better than I ever could. It's an open letter asking tourists to go visit an Englishman imprisoned for life at Bangkok's notorious prison nicknamed the Bangkok Hilton.




Large image: 5593219069_b3b745e89b_b.jpg

It's pretty easy to find drugs like marijuana down south around Thailand's beaches and island (and other things if you know where to go and who to look for) but the country has a really strict policy overall; heaven help the foreigner caught trafficking in Thailand.

Temple of Dawn, Bangkok (Originally posted April 03, 2011)

NO SLUTS ALLOWED.

Okay, actually, it's more like if you wear hot pants or tank tops in Thailand's temples, you'll likely be asked to cover up. Temples have shawls you can rent and return, but it's a good idea to bring one yourself so you don't get denied entrance. It really depends on the temple and the mood of the people in charge that day; but as a good rule of thumb, modest shirts are always expected, sandals tolerated, and shorts a 50/50 gamble.




Also, if you see others taking off their shoes to enter a building, follow suit and be sure not to point your feet at any Buddha images. These temples aren't just ancient structures, they're still places of worship used by the locals every day so show some respect. Speaking of Buddha images, Thailand is pretty strict about what you can take out of the country, so check up on the rules before you drop a lot of cash on a painting or statue.

Click here for more pictures taken at the Temple of Dawn.

Lila Thai Massage Shop and Cafe, courtesy of Chiang Mai Women's Prison (Originally posted April 02, 2011)

Something I forgot to mention in my last Chiang Mai post... There's a female prison that, thanks to one of Thailand's princesses, has an education program that gives the women skills to use in the outside world. What skills, you ask? Well, they're trained in the art of Thai massage—kind of like yoga and a massage combined—and waitressing. There's a massage parlor you can visit where the inmates give foot and full body massages—and are very chatty with you. Plus, just up the street, there's a little cafe with delicious food and most of the employees are prisoners. Definitely something interesting to check out if you're ever in Chiang Mai. Both the cafe and the massage are located right across from the Chiang Mai Women's Prison.

Unfortunately my Thai language skills don't extend beyond 'please' and 'thank you' and 'one more beer' so I was unable to communicate with the prisoners. For a more first-hand write up on the prison, check out this blog post.

live crab vending machine (Originally posted April 01, 2011)

There is a vending machine that sells live crabs.

Yes, you read that correctly.



The man who installed the machine in the Xinjeiko subway station had a simple dream, a dream that every man, woman and child in China—or those that at least passed by the machine—would be able to get an affordable crab to cook and eat or maybe name and keep as a pet. Whatever strikes their fancies.

I am sort of only making up half of that.

Anyway. The crabs are kept at a certain temperature so they go into hibernation until they're bought and woken up before they're killed and eaten. Sort of like Walt Disney.

...that's what they did to Walt Disney, right?

Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

Also included in the machine are a few sauces and you receive the complementary stares of passersby if you actually purchase one. And if it's weird to Chinese people, then you know it's really odd.



I think I saw one of the big ones on the top rack trying to escape. He blinked at me.

At least he doesn't know where I live.

Chiang Mai, Thailand (Originally posted March 31, 2011)

Finally, pictures of Chiang Mai!!

Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand and probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There's a mountain on the outskirts of town that's home to a few beautiful waterfalls, mountain villages, and Buddhist temples. The waterfall has about eight steps to it, the bottom two easily accessible. You're not able to walk up to the remaining steps, but you can drive up to another section and see them. Just a note, it's common practice for parks and other attractions to charge locals a certain entrance fee, then jack up the price for a foreigner entrance fee. Perfectly legal too. Either way, entrance usually only runs you about $4 or less.




The best way to get up the mountain—if you're a cagey Saggitarius and never caught dead on a tour bus...—is either the red truck taxis, or renting yourself a moped for about 500 baht a day. This is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do but, as it usually goes, also the most fun. It's especially perilous if you're an American and used to driving on the right—Thailand sticks to the left. A benefit of the moped, however, is that you get to stop at scenic spots whenever you like and get out for a picture. Also, the look on Thai faces when they see you driving a bike is worth at least 100 baht anyway. The mountain villages, however, are one some pretty treacherous roads and better reached by foot.

Chiang Mai relies pretty heavily on its natural resources for tourism, and if you're an animal lover there are two options not to miss—the elephant rides and Tiger Kingdom. About an hour or two outside of town are elephant preserves where elephants and their owners—out of work loggers that don't want to abandon their elephants—teach you how to ride and steer and take you on a jungle trek. There are a lot of different options, even over night excursions, and all of them usually include a chance to feed the elephants and climb into the river to wash them. Hostels and hotels can arrange tickets and transportation to these areas.




Tiger Kingdom is basically a zoo where you can get into the compound with tigers and pet them and grin madly like a little kid as they sniff at you and lie in your lap. Tigers naturally sleep about a bajillion-ish hours a day, kind of like my cat, and between the heat and getting belly rubs—also like my cat—they're content to just chill out and eat up the attention. The trainers are very close to the tigers, sticking with them from birth until they're about 3 years old and 'retire' from the public compound for a relaxing life in the private area. Going to Tiger Kingdom is probably the coolest thing I have done ever. Ever.




There's also a beautiful temple by the name of Phra Dhatu Chedi Luang. The temple has a mix of Buddhist and Hindu influences; the oldest, rock temple of a ruddy orange color is especially gorgeous. But the real highlight of this temple is the Monk Chat, where you can talk to the monks studying at the college there. We asked a few questions and eventually it was the monk's turn to ask us one—”Do you like soccer? Did you watch the World Cup?” Being the only one of my friends to answer in the affirmative, he smiled:

“What is your favorite team?”

“For the World Cup? USA, of course.”

“Ah, yes. Can you guess my favorite player from USA?”

“Donovan,” I answered, because he's everyone's favorite.

“Yes! Well, what is my favorite team from England?”

I thought for a moment. “Arsenal.” I'm not sure why I said it.

“Er, correct. And my favorite German player?”

“Thomas Muller.”

And at this point, he didn't really know whether to be charmed or frightened. “Yes... How did you....”

I shrugged, everyone staring at me like I had grown a third eyeball on my chin. “Just lucky, I guess.”




Over all, Chiang Mai has a laid-back, relaxed mountain town feel and it's easy to find plenty of cafes and bookstores and classy little restaurants. Or, if you're in the mood, there's an amateur Thai boxing ring with chatty, beautiful waitresses who were probably born to be waiters but you'd never know. Just a hint; don't bet on the Thai guy when the Thai vs Foreigner match begins. Just saying.

To get to Chiang Mai, book a flight from Bangkok or the over night train. Second class in the sleeper train was fine enough for me and my friends. But whatever your arrival time is listed as, it may be a good idea to mentally add an hour or two to that for all the stops the train makes. Bringing a stockpile of beer and a deck of cards doesn't hurt either.


Click here for more of my Chiang Mai pictures.

tales from the English abyss (Originally posted March 25, 2011)

One of the things I do in my class is pretty standard; hold up a flash card with the Chinese word for something, then ask a student to give me the English word. Fairly simple, right? So I hold up the flash card for 海滩, which is 'beach'.


Me: What does this say in English?

Student: I know!!

Me: Yes?

Student: 'Asscrack.'

Me: ...

Student: Ass-crack.

Me: What.

Student: Ass. Crack.

Me: What.

Chinese teacher: *explains something to the student in hasty Chinese*

Student: Oh. Beach. 海滩 means 'beach'.

Me: ....yes, good job.




Desk, meet forehead.

Earthquake in Japan (Originally posted March 15, 2011)

As I'm sure everyone's aware of... Japan was hit by a huge 8.9 quake, followed by a series of tsunami waves that decimated many towns around Tokyo. And there's the issue of radiation as well. Luckily, all of my friends there are okay for now and will hopefully be safe in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, in Nanjing...

We're pretty far away, so we didn't even feel the quake here. I still have the awful expat tendency to live in a bubble and missed the news about the quake until a friend phoned me about in two hours later. China has sent aid to Japan in the form of a rescue team.

The majority of people I've talked to here have been keeping Japan in their thoughts, worried about the lives lost and long term damage. On the internet especially, people have been voicing praise about how orderly Japanese civilians have been during the chaos. Unfortunately, there are a few people (Particularly some of the younger kids that can't quite explain why they hate Japan) who are cheering for Japan's misfortune; Nanjing and Japan have a pretty sketchy history, in case you didn't know. But the most heartening thing is that for every person who has reveled in the destruction, many more have told him or her to more or less shut up and grow a heart.

However, there has been some fear going around the city in regards to the radiation, particularly between tech-savvy 20somethings. A text message went around today about not going outside in the 'acid' rain without a rain coat, lest you get radiation poisoning.

Allow me to give you the rundown I gave some Chinese pals today:

1) 'Acid rain' comes from the use of coal, not radiation.
2) Regardless, a rain coat won't protect you from the amount of radiation that you'd want to evacuate a city from anyway.
3) If people in Tokyo aren't being evacuated, surely Nanjing is okay.
4) Weather usually hits China BEFORE Japan and moves in a west-east motion anyway.


We're too far away to feel tremors, but for the most part everyone is keeping an eye on the news.

Krabi, Thailand (Originally posted March 04, 2011)

Forgive a lack of updates; the internet in China has been ridiculously 'choppy' thanks to some testpro-ays in the iddlemeast-ay. Unfortunately I can't upload any pictures to my flikr album, so I'll have to point you to this alternate album and wish you the best of luck.

China is a pain some days. Anyway...

Krabi, Thailand is a beautiful southwestern province with more beaches and limestone cliffs than you can shake a stick at. Krabi Town itself has no beaches, but that means that lodging is significantly cheaper here than other places. And it's easy to catch a truck to one of the neighboring beaches for cheap, or do an island-hopping tour. Sometimes, if you arrange the tour through your guest house, you can get a bit of a discount. I went on the Barracuda Tours boat and had a great time. Also, I took a ferry to Ko Phi Phi of 'The Beach' fame. It's overrun by tourists in the center town, but on the outskirts it's nice and quiet with plenty of scuba diving trips and beaches.

If you like to stay on the shore, however, the neighboring beaches around Railay can be reached pretty easily by truck or longtail boat--a boat that has a long, uncovered motor. The noise and air pollution it causes make it a bit annoying for long trips, though.



All in all, I don't think a trip to Thailand is complete without some beach time. Different beaches have different rainy seasons, but generally it's May-October. However, the rain shouldn't last more than two hours or shorter spurts, so if you can put up with that, the cheap 'low season' prices may be right up your alley.





I'll try to do a less lame update when the internet is being less lame as well...

dentist in china (Originally posted Feb. 21, 2011)

We interrupt these Thailand pictures for a brief post on my visit to the dentist in Nanjing, China.

I've been told that most--if not all--of Chinese dentists get their schooling overseas, typically Canada and the US and, as such, speak a decent amount of English. My dentist spoke English, but only one of his assistants out of his three did. You could tell he was a true dentist with western training because I was given the third degree for hating flossing.

I went in for a regular checkup and cleaning; instead of using an array of metal hand tools, there was a small electric powered drill with water that was used for everything. Then, for the polish, my teeth were lightly 'sand blasted' (not as bad as it sounds; I just can't think of a better word...) with something that tasted and smelled like.... it wasn't mint, let's put it that way.

All in all, it hurt like hell but I sucked it up, my teeth feel great, and it only cost me $30. Dental care isn't always on the Chinese 'To Do' list, so the office was empty and I didn't even have to bother to make an appointment.

Again, this happened in Nanjing, so in other parts of the country your mileage may vary.

Wat Pho, Thailand (Originally posted Feb. 17, 2011)

Wat Pho is a gorgeous temple near the royal palace in Bangkok, Thailand, and is credited as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. The temple is Buddhist and home to the largest reclining Buddha statues in Thailand. The statue is golden and has beautiful inlays of mother of pearl on the bottom of its feet.



The architecture of the temple was mainly influenced by Sri Lankan temples. Unlike the temples you'd see in China or Japan, Wat Pho has gorgeous tile work instead of wood.











If you happen to be at Wat Pho and are looking to visit the Temple of Dawn next, ignore any taxi drivers offering to take you there. They would drive you about 30 minutes up the river to cross a bridge, then back down to the other side to get to the Temple of Dawn. Instead, simply walk towards the river about one block and pay three Thai baht to take the ferry across the river and you get there cheaply in about 10 minutes.

Click here for more Wat Pho pictures.

floating market (Originally posted Feb. 12, 2011)

**All of these pictures were taken by Casey using my camera as I couldn't be bothered and he'd forgotten his anyway.**



So if you stay at a guesthouse in Bangkok, there's a chance the guesthouse has a few organized tours you can pay a bit of extra cash to go on. The one I'm going to encourage you to avoid is a trip to any floating market. Sure, on the postcards it looks like a sleepy little market where the locals hop on their boats to sell vegetables to one another. And to be fair, on the outskirts of the markets, the quiet canals and residences are lovely.




Then, after a few minutes, you round a corner and your little canoe almost gets run over by one of the motorized long boats that, frankly, has no reason to be zipping around a market. And that's when the illusion of a sleepy little farmer's market starts to fall away.




Tourists almost seem to outnumber the 'locals' and traffic jams with the boats happen frequently, essentially log-jamming the canals with canoes and motorized boats. And suddenly it dawns on you that you've stumbled into a tourist trap. And the fact that you can't get out of the boat until the woman paddling is good and ready for you drives home the trap part. So while you're trapped on the boat, you're steered around to each stall that sells the exact same thing as the stall next to it. Which sells the exact same stuff as every other tourist stall in Bangkok. A few boat merchants sell snacks and vegetables, but the vast majority of stalls are a trip of deja vu. "Didn't I just see a (Choose one: dress/vase/necklace/tiny wooden elephant) just like that...?"

The Thai merchants have a funny habit of calling foreigners stingy. I wonder if they realize we just don't need six of the same salt and pepper shakers in our house.




Eventually you'll be let off the tiny prison vessel canoe and allowed to walk around the land-lubber part of the market, which is what they had in mind when the phrase, "Same crap, different day," was invented. Frankly, I'd suggest giving any floating market a miss--unless you know for sure it's one that is legitimately a market used for commerce and not trapping tourists.

And, as a disclaimer, all of my other Thailand stories are upbeat. I just chose to start with the least enjoyable aspect because it's snowing outside and I need to forget how pleasantly warm I was in Thailand just two days ago... See the rest of my market pictures here.