Week 5 Part I: Tower of Babel Fallout

During my last few years of college, it became a cliched revelation from people that studied abroad that living in another country has changed their life for good (cue Wicked music). Until now, I’ve been a bit skeptical of such remarks, wondering how much of the experience was really “eye-opening” cultural stuff and how much of it was just because you’re in a foreign country with an easy workload and a bunch of same-aged friends looking to have the time of their life. Hopefully, my thoughts this week (a little more than a month into my time in Beijing) will help all you people who sat in the same skepticism boat understand what really can be so “eye-opening” about living abroad (in my humble opinion). Part II is waiting in the wings.

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To sum it up, I appreciate my Mandarin speaking abilities more than ever before. Living in the U.S., speaking Mandarin is something that has three main benefits as a kid:

1. Impressing/not losing face with the older generations.

2. Being able to speak in code when the situation calls for it (i.e. on the softball diamond or in a publicly crowded place commenting on someone within earshot).

3. Silly entertainment value/for fun/a common shared bond with your fellow ABC friends.

In other words, the importance of being able to speak Chinese is understandably lost to Chinese-heritage transplants growing up in the U.S. Here in China though, being able to speak Mandarin pays off tremendously in that I can actually, well, communicate with people, as well as translate things orally. People are almost always impressed that my pronunciation and speaking is so satisfactory considering that I have only been to China once before in my life (of course, I then downplay my ability and say that two of my former roommates are American-born like me and speak/read/write much better than me). My slight Beijing "qiang," aka accent, also usually amuses the non-Beijing natives.

A funny little joke one of my co-workers told me: “If you can speak four languages, you’re quadrilingual. If you can speak three languages, you’re trilingual. If you can speak two languages, you’re bilingual. If you can only speak one language… you’re American.”

The lesson learned is that knowing Chinese isn’t only important if you are a person of a certain heritage. It’s important because being able to communicate with the largest population in the world is extremely useful. In addition, almost every single other country in the world has a largely bilingual population except the U.S., and it's because we're one of the few privileged countries that have the mindset that we don’t need to learn anything but English (Ex. All the fuss and political debate over laws requiring exclusive English language usage on the job. People forget Americans don’t have this problem because most can’t speak another language to begin with.).

Now that I've been in the Chinese workplace and also see how dedicated other foreigners are towards learning Chinese, I think I finally fully appreciate the value of being multi-lingual. I think my time here has cemented the fact that I will one day do my best to teach my kids Chinese, even if that means forcing them through the dreadful weekly exercise that is Chinese School. Looks like my parents were on to something forcing me to slog through those countless Sundays. Who knew!

Week 4: A Tamed Bull in a China Shop

Another week is in the books here in China, the highlight a weekend foray to Shenzhen and Hong Kong. I mostly went along as my grandma’s accompaniment/assistant as she had to take care of some matters there. It was a very short stay (Saturday afternoon arrival, Monday afternoon departure), and I was only in Hong Kong long enough to eat some authentic dim sum (especially memorable: the luo bu gao, the shrimp dumpling, and the mango pudding; especially disappointing: the chang fen and lack of almond tofu.) and go up to the Peak, but it was still nice seeing some relatives and new scenery down south. As has become the running theme when visiting different cities during my stay here, I was there just long enough to get a glimpse of the place — an appetizer for a future visit moreso than a main course indulgence.

Some Things I Like About China

1. Cheap Transport: My hour-long commute from work back home costs me 0.40 RMB, or, about six cents U.S. I can also zone out and listen to my iPod everyday, which has been revitalized from the dead, getting used to the max everyday. Like, I’ve-nearly-beaten-Temple-Run-and-I-only-downloaded-it-after-getting-to-China to the max.

2. Delicious Green Bean Popsicles: There are always a wealth of little food stands selling beverages and ice cream and various other hot foods (that I’m too afraid to try due to a constant fear of explosive diarrhea), which bodes well for convenient thirst-quenching and a brief escape from the muggy weather. Sadly, I cannot say the milk tea here are any good. The weird Chinese milk really throws things off (and the boba reportedly has been caught with fake plastic-y stuff in it). This may be my greatest disappointment in China to date. Luckily, the green bean popsicles more than make up for it.
3. Large population = always having someone to talk to/service you: The plus to having a ridiculously large population is that the service labor force is bursting at the seams. Every foot massage place or barbershop features at least one if not two greeters, while a large parking lot may have 5-6 people guiding you to the correct spot on a normal day basis. Even the public buses feature people who are just stationed at each bus stop, waving little flags to usher in each bus while screaming at the lurching mob trying to cram their way on. Each public bus has an additional person besides the driver whose only job is to sell tickets and announce each stop (even though there’s already an electronic announcement). Elevators in modest buildings have elevator-button-pushing-people so you can spare yourself the tremendous physical expenditure. Toll booths are well stocked. I could keep going.

4. People can fly kites really, really high. Seriously, it’s downright impressive. Random kites fly way above my 10-story building, with the kite-flyer no where in sight. In fact, it's so high that it looks like it's flying over the highway, with the assumed park not even in sight. I guess it’s one way to brighten the smoggy horizon.

5. The lack of freedom of speech and the general absence of checks and balances. Rumor has it that certain internet searches for the term “democracy” will be redirected/blocked. Also, I find it amusing that every single dollar bill has Mao Zedong on it. Talk about repetitive. Although, I better shut my trap before I get deported or something.

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Okay, so that list didn’t last as long as I anticipated. I’m sure there are some more things I have forgotten. For example, as soon as I finished last week’s list, I realized that I forgot to include the fact that I miss having clean, ice cold water available at every single restaurant. Here, you usually have to buy bottled water, and many restaurants don’t even carry ice cubes. After playing badminton last week and becoming weary, I was handed a nice cup of steaming hot water. Anyway, I digress. I’ll have more noteworthy things to blog about next time around.

Week 3: Expat Exploits

Note: When I say "exploits" in my title, let it be clear that I mean "a striking or notable deed" and not "to utilize, especially for profit" or "to advance or further through exploitation."

The first week of my internship is in the books, much less productive and busy than I anticipated. My daily routine consists of a sweaty one-hour commute (bus-subway-transfer subway-short walk on the way there, one-hour bus ride on the way back) each way, lunch with various company employees where I ask and answer the same set of basic questions, and a whole lot of sitting at my desk trying to stay busy. Ocassionally I’ll have a proofreading/editing assignment thrown my way, but most of the time I’m reading various documents and guides for my personal knowledge. Almost all of the top lawyers in the office are out of the country on business, so hopefully when they come back next week there will be more to do. In another exciting development, I may have a few English language tutoring gigs coming up, helping people study for the Gao Kao (big entry test for college, equivalent to the SAT but more important) or TOEFL.

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Due to rave reviews from my bolded list format previously as well as several questions about my adjustment to life in China, I’ve decided to come back with another list and accompanying bolded sentences. Cheers to breaking up long paragraphs.

Things I miss about the US of A

1. Ease of Commuting: In San Diego, a 25 minute drive to work was a tiresome task, traffic-induced driving speeds below 50 mph were frustrating, and avoiding a few fixies and/or were the extent of my hassles on the road. Here, anything above 25 mph is seen as solid movement, an hour commute is bearable (my first attempted route took two hours, with traffic getting so bad that the bus driver turned off his engine numerous times), and I am constantly scared to cross the street due to cars that do not yield to pedestrians, mopeds which honk rather than slow down, and bicyclists which waffle around treacherously.

1a. Personal Space: Getting on to the subway (and certain bus routes) during busy times goes something like this: edge forward in a giant mob, getting pushed from behind which forces involuntary pushing of whoever’s in front of you, protecting your belongings by wearing you backpack on your stomach, all while navigating to hopefully avoid standing next to people who smell funky. Ultimately, if you are able to get on without getting smushed by the closing door, it's a good day.

2. Community: This one is the obvious one and probably the most difficult to deal with on a daily basis. I miss seeing my friends (probably you, if you're taking the time to read this blog right now) on a routine basis, chatting about whatever is going on and just spending quality time with everyone’s beautiful faces. Now, I feel like most chats are a frantic endeavor due to limited internet time or time difference or an overwhelming feeling of too-much-to-catch-up-on. However, I am working to creating a local community. I found an international church (hopefully more on this in a future post) that offers small groups which I hope to get plugged into, and I've also been connected with a Peking University student who seems extremely friendly and helpful. Don’t want anyone to think that I’m miserable or depressed over here, in case these few things accidentally hint at such.

3. Trusting what you buy: Everytime I make a purchase, eat out, or get in a cab, I have a slightly nervous feeling that I’m getting jipped, getting poisoned, or getting charged an extra fee because I am American. I’m usually pretty good at blending in and not revealing my identity as a foreigner (Read: keeping dialog to a minimum), but it’s still slightly taxing compared to everyday life in the states. All these rumors about using Di Gou oil in restaurants (from what I understand, re-using dirty cooking oil that is collected from ditches in order to save money on cooking costs), fake eggs, recycled leather shoes mixed in with stuff, and who knows what else results in a near-constant paranoia. Luckily, I’ve avoided any cases of explosive diarrhea… thus far.

4. Live Sports: This one is a minor quibble given my relatively short time here, but I miss being able to watch baseball and basketball games live and/or on TV. The CBA isn’t even in session, so I can’t even go see washed up-NBAers Stephon Marbury (who inexplicably just had his own statue erected in Beijing after the Ducks won the championship this year) and Bonzi Wells light up Chinese players.

5. A Certain Someone: It’s rather difficult going so long without seeing someone you’re used to spending time with on a semi-weekly basis, especially given the lack of available web cam technology at my disposal. For now, I just have to make-do with old fashioned telephone conversations while inquisitive relatives ask for more details, banking on the eventual reunion which should rox in a box, or something to that effect.

Next time, I shall recap some of my favorite things about China, so as not to come off as a whiny American hating on China. I apologize if this post comes off as such. I'll also try to post some photos, both notable and unnotable deeds included.

Week 2: Quality Time with the Old-Timers

Dr. Ma is 91 years old. He's lived on the first floor of the same three-bedroom flat for nearly 60 years. Despite missing several teeth, his taut yet wrinkled face show several features that made Dr. Ma a handsome man in his youth. A shock of white hair is partly combed neatly, partly in messy tufts due to an afternoon nap.

Throughout my last week in China, we visited numerous grandpas and grandmas now in their 80s and 90s. While my dad diagnosed and treated their various ailments and sicknesses, conversations inevitably took a stroll down memory lane, leading to numerous intriguing stories full of historical background.

Dr. Mo had perhaps the best memory clarity of them all. He told vivid stories of the devastating times of the Communist takeover in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Disturbing persecution of certain folks with even the loosest ties to anti-Communist interests, forced inhabitation by peasants and workers, the cancelation of traditional schooling... he had gone through it all in the same city, in the same house. Most memorably, my dad and I were able to ask questions and hear a few stories about the grandfather I never knew, a friend and neighbor of Dr. Mo's. Through it all, he was able to stay surprisingly light-hearted, but the emotions he inspired were real, the images vivid.

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My own grandpa (on my mother's side) was the first person I visited in China. Bedridden with Parkinson's and dementia, he was able to recognize me after a few reminders. Unlike some of the other folks, conversation is usually sparse, but the emotions are in full force. As a child, we used to shoot hoops and fly paper airplanes together. A renowned surgeon in both Shanghai and Beijing during his career, I'm thankful for the chance to visit him now. While he has shown signs of improvement in recent days, it's unclear whether he will be able to move back home from the hospital. I will do my best take care of him and brighten his day a little bit every time I am able to visit, whether that be through food, a few bits of conversation, or simple physical touch.

The many stories told and moments shared were the true rare opportunities of my trip so far. Sure, the bullet train was impressively efficient and smooth. Hearing the familiar voices of Cheah Pet and Fooks and JLim + RShi come on shuffle brought a nice touch of home to a foreign land. My dad and I were treated to an awesome feet washing/massage. We had some delicious Xiao Long Bao in Shanghai amidst the crowded sea of people celebrating the May 1 Chinese holiday. But all of these wonders of technology and luxuries of modern day society will be more to come, possibly tenfold in the future. But there are only so many more times we can visit the older generation, carrying on their stories for future ones.

Week 1: A Country Bumpkin and his Illiterate Son

Rather than attempting to start a separate blog about my time in China only to have it inevitably fade into a short-lived endeavor that would feature neither the quality nor quantity to stand on its own, I’ve going to just continue blogging here on trusty ol’ Proverbial Putts. Ideally, I’ll put to use some of the writing style and general know-how I learned from the infamous Images of China class, but I’ll settle for a few golden nuggets of travel journalism here and there.

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My first week in the motherland started with a domestic goose chase and took me through four different cities—Beijing, Jinan, Xiamen and Suzhou. A Harlem Globetrotter sat a couple seats away from me on my flight across the Pacific. I was forced to ask numerous people on the street for directions after the taxi driver dropped me off a bit far from my grandparent’s place. I saw starfish and alcohol with a dead snake soaking in it at a buffet (partaking in neither). Out of the blue, through general osmosis, I improved my chopstick skills. But rather than rely on a disjointed recap or an overly tedious play-by-play, I’ll stick to a few of the things that stood out most from week one.

1. There’s a weird paradox between being “advanced” and amusingly basic/inadequate. Every time I discuss my upbringing in the United States, people are always amused when I admit that I cannot read Chinese beyond an elementary level. In Xiamen, my dad and I were talking to a pair of younger 20-somethings. Many conversation topics involved life overseas and the immigration process, as well as things that China could improve on compared to the U.S. In these aspects, we were the authority. At the same time, my inability to read and write as well as my dad’s unawareness of several recent country icons/celebrities led to jokes about us being the equivalent to an oblivious country bumpkin and his illiterate son. I’ve never felt the concept of third culture so vividly.

2. It’s fascinating to hear the specifically different dialects in each province. I always knew that there was a vast array of different accents and dialects across China, but I now more fully appreciate just how things evolved through time. Before, I thought of things as Mandarin or Cantonese with a few different accents sprinkled in, much like how people sound different in Georgia compared to Long Island. But China is actually much more similar to how things were with different languages among Native American tribes, with every city/province having their own unique language that has slowly conformed closer to Mandarin. Still, it’s impossible to understand each region’s own language. Thus, most every Chinese person that doesn’t live in Beijing in effect knows two languages besides bits of English. It’s also interesting to think that Cantonese wouldn’t be so common in the U.S. if the majority of initial immigrants weren’t from Guangdong. Likewise, “Pu Tong Hua” could easily have been some other dialect besides what is known as Mandarin today if the government had decided to make for example Shanghainese or Fujian or Suzhou dialect the national language.

3. Physically being in China and seeing the environment (except much worse) where my parents grew up really makes me appreciate what they’ve accomplished all the more. I always knew that what they did in immigrating and learning a new language wasn’t easy, but seeing how easily my dad can fit back in with the Chinese culture serves as an explanation for many of the things that I might grow annoyed at in the U.S. It’s a great reminder that I am remarkably blessed to have the life I have today, because I would have been living a completely different lifestyle if they had decided to remain in China and play it safe with their life ambitions. Whatever cultural idiosyncrasies and things lost in translation are a very small price to pay, and at no point should hinder my appreciation for their courageous and inspiring accomplishments in a completely new land.

4. Another paradox seems to exist between friends who are courteous to the max and random people on the street who couldn’t care less about you. It seems to be a population of extremes. When you’re being hosted as guests, your hosts are really going to go above and beyond to wine and dine and send gifts and the whole nine yards. Otherwise, on the streets people aren’t going to be helpful, and instead are probably going to try and jip you or trick you for an extra buck. Meanwhile in America, we are usually more courteous to strangers at all times, saying “thanks” and “excuse me” etc. but generally lax about hosting friends and sending gifts to third cousins and friends of friends who happen to be in town.

5. It's tough to deal with the pollution and traffic of Beijing. Seeing the smoggy gray haze inspires a worse depression than the worst rainy day. Even the green leaves of trees seem faded and slightly wilted, as if they are overwhelmed by the amount of CO2 they have to deal with. It makes exercising and running not only tough, but counterproductive, and I dislike battling the weird smells of gasoline and other unidentifiable unpleasantries on a daily basis. Call me a spoiled and sensitive American, but it is what it is. The pollution amount is a lot better in Xiamen and Suzhou, but the driving is bad everywhere. Both cars and mopeds are obnoxious and wild, weaving around without regard to lines or anything resembling a right of way. It seems that people use their horns significantly more than they use turn signals, and that includes mopeds honking at pedestrians as well. It also seems like people will turn on to a street expecting the significantly higher speeds of traffic to change lanes to make way for them, which ironically draws no honking. Just one week in, and I’ve already given up feeling nervous about a car coming way too close for comfort. Surprisingly though, I feel like fewer cars here bear marks of an accident than in America. Just won’t be getting behind the wheel myself any time soon.

Lessons from New York

Five days and four nights later, some thoughts regarding the Big Apple:

- Friendships transcend geographic location and time apart; it is possible to pick off where you left off.
- When in frigid temperatures, hooded jackets come in handy. Multiple hoods, even better.
- Comfortable shoes are a must.
- Use the bathroom before entering public spaces.
- Floor level seats for NBA games aren't particularly necessary.
- Prepare things to say to NBA players when you get their autographs. Otherwise, you will say something entirely inconsequential/irrelevant/forgettable.
- Be sure of your destination and stop before getting on the subway.
- Buy the unlimited week-long subway pass, and make sure everyone you travel with has it too.
- Do not take offense when people bump into you on the street or do not say "thank you" when you hold the door for them. Also brace yourself for a "watch it!" and glare or two.
- Avoid eye contact with raging lunatics, and whatever you do, do not stop and consider any offers for free music or other promotions. They will hook you in, and refuse to let you leave.
- Shake Shack is overrated. Especially their concretes.
- Joe's Shanghai and Halal Cart are most definitely worth the hype.
- New York Pizza is available everywhere in the United States.
- Commuting from North Bronx to Manhattan is quite the trek, and arguably detrimental to your travel itinerary.
- You will also be just fine going through the Bronx at 2 a.m.
- 30 Rock stands for 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
- Musicals on Broadway won't necessarily be better than the National Tours, but they will usually feature bigger names and classic theaters. Regardless, a spectacular experience.
- It's hard to take photos on the top of the Empire State Building.
- If possible, find an Empire State Building tenant to take you up to the top.
- Going anywhere in the world can be a great time, so long as you're with the right people.

Frequent flyer miles, anyone?

New York 3/29 - 4/2
Beijing 4/20 - 7/7
Chicago/St. Louis ... ???
Los Angeles ~8/1

Operation "4 of the 29 most populated cities in the world in the span of four months" begins soon. This blog will help record the memories. Should be an adventure.