Some quick observations about Beijing:
- The perception that Asian people are short is not true here. Everyone is at least 5'10.
- Food is cheap. Especially at the university. I can eat a complete meal at dinnertime for the equivalent of $0.60. This is with food left over.
- Taxi drivers are more reckless than in NYC. I don't know how it's possible, but it is.
- Ramen is better here. Really.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Korean as a second language
In my class of foreign students in the Chinese language progam, approximately 70% are Korean. Another 20% are Japanese and the remainder represents the rest of the world. My entire floor is Korean with the exception of myself. I do wonder why it seems that all the Koreans on my floor smoke - the downside being that they tend to leave all the windows in their rooms and corridors open overnight, making the building very, very frigid. Oh, and they seem to all know each other, judging by the nightly parties that go on down the hall.
A good thing is that the majority of the English speakers that I've met are British or Australain - so they have quite the sexy accent. Yes, even the guys. There's actually one fellow who has the same mannerisms and speech pattern as Hugh Grant, and resembles him to boot. In any case, most people that know me know that along with my search for a girl over 6' tall that will date me, is one that also has an English accent. Instant +2 pts. Even better is that there are actually overseas Chinese from the UK and Australia with said accents. WOW.
I didn't know quite what to expect in terms of living space prior to coming to China. I had gone to Taiwan before and lived in a student dormitory at "Ocean University", which was quite the character builder. If you turned to face the bunk bed across from you, you could feel your roommate breathing on you. And it was the first time I had encountered "sea cockroaches". Like actual cockroaches that roam the beaches, and occasionally your dormitory room. Of course, we had to use squatters. My squatting skills are actually squat, so I had a very difficult time, plus I have knee problems. Fortunately, I found the lone sit down toilet on an uninhabited upper floor that was my little secret.
But the dormitories here are actually quite good - at least the ones for foreign students are. I have my own room, my own bathroom, nice bed coverings, etc. It's fairly new and kept clean. They actually clean your room daily, and wash your bedsheets for you once a week. The bad part is that they start at 8am sharp and they need to get their cleaning equipment from the room directly adjacent to mine.
The weather hasn't been terrible, but the evenings have been somewhat cold. My room in particular has been chilly, and I thought it was the norm until some of the other students mentioned that their rooms are so warm they can walk around in their underoos. It turns out in order to get the room to 15-20 degrees Celsius, I had to turn the thermostat up to 30 degrees Celsius. By now, I should have known to try that earlier.
I've been here not yet a week, but somehow, it feels much longer. I feel like every day is an adventure. It's quite exciting.
A good thing is that the majority of the English speakers that I've met are British or Australain - so they have quite the sexy accent. Yes, even the guys. There's actually one fellow who has the same mannerisms and speech pattern as Hugh Grant, and resembles him to boot. In any case, most people that know me know that along with my search for a girl over 6' tall that will date me, is one that also has an English accent. Instant +2 pts. Even better is that there are actually overseas Chinese from the UK and Australia with said accents. WOW.
I didn't know quite what to expect in terms of living space prior to coming to China. I had gone to Taiwan before and lived in a student dormitory at "Ocean University", which was quite the character builder. If you turned to face the bunk bed across from you, you could feel your roommate breathing on you. And it was the first time I had encountered "sea cockroaches". Like actual cockroaches that roam the beaches, and occasionally your dormitory room. Of course, we had to use squatters. My squatting skills are actually squat, so I had a very difficult time, plus I have knee problems. Fortunately, I found the lone sit down toilet on an uninhabited upper floor that was my little secret.
But the dormitories here are actually quite good - at least the ones for foreign students are. I have my own room, my own bathroom, nice bed coverings, etc. It's fairly new and kept clean. They actually clean your room daily, and wash your bedsheets for you once a week. The bad part is that they start at 8am sharp and they need to get their cleaning equipment from the room directly adjacent to mine.
The weather hasn't been terrible, but the evenings have been somewhat cold. My room in particular has been chilly, and I thought it was the norm until some of the other students mentioned that their rooms are so warm they can walk around in their underoos. It turns out in order to get the room to 15-20 degrees Celsius, I had to turn the thermostat up to 30 degrees Celsius. By now, I should have known to try that earlier.
I've been here not yet a week, but somehow, it feels much longer. I feel like every day is an adventure. It's quite exciting.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
The First Days
It's currently my fourth day in China and I'm starting to get settled. I mean, I still can't really figure out what people are saying half the time, or what anything that's in written form says, but I am hopeful I will be able to make quick progress.
I really didn't appreciate the freedoms I had in the United States until I came here - you don't really realize the value of, say, "freedom of speech" or "freedom of the press" until you lose it. When I watch the news, I wonder if it's been censored (probably) and when I talk to people, I have to be careful that I don't say anything inflammatory. That shouldn't be a problem, I guess, if I stick to mundane topics like the weather or how wonderful Chinese culture is.
As a result of my big Chinese brother always watching, I've become obsessed with internet security and anonymity. My travails have led me to Tor, an application designed to anonymize your traffic. I've also set up an SSH tunnel to a computer in the US, so at least I know that I'm not being spied on until I get there (I think maybe only one person reading this blog will appreciate what an SSH tunnel does).
Although, with the Bush administration's penchant for lies and deception, I am certain that federal agents would swoop down upon my parents if I uttered any suspicious phrases. But at least I can talk about the Bush administration being sneaky! There is tremendous freedom in that.
Here is a snippet from the handbook for international students:
"It is forbidden to organize an illegal gathering on campus. The organizers of lectures, speeches, parties and similar gatherings of international students should apply to the university authorities for formal approval 72 hours prior to the commencing of the activities."
I really didn't appreciate the freedoms I had in the United States until I came here - you don't really realize the value of, say, "freedom of speech" or "freedom of the press" until you lose it. When I watch the news, I wonder if it's been censored (probably) and when I talk to people, I have to be careful that I don't say anything inflammatory. That shouldn't be a problem, I guess, if I stick to mundane topics like the weather or how wonderful Chinese culture is.
As a result of my big Chinese brother always watching, I've become obsessed with internet security and anonymity. My travails have led me to Tor, an application designed to anonymize your traffic. I've also set up an SSH tunnel to a computer in the US, so at least I know that I'm not being spied on until I get there (I think maybe only one person reading this blog will appreciate what an SSH tunnel does).
Although, with the Bush administration's penchant for lies and deception, I am certain that federal agents would swoop down upon my parents if I uttered any suspicious phrases. But at least I can talk about the Bush administration being sneaky! There is tremendous freedom in that.
Here is a snippet from the handbook for international students:
"It is forbidden to organize an illegal gathering on campus. The organizers of lectures, speeches, parties and similar gatherings of international students should apply to the university authorities for formal approval 72 hours prior to the commencing of the activities."
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Digging their own graves
You know how sometimes a person will overreact to something, and it seems like a completely expected reaction to that person, but not to anyone else? For example, once I and a few other people were late to holiday dinner (and I am working on my tardiness, seriously) - and the hostess lost it and shut down for the rest of the night. Oh, and she also stopped talking to me and cut off all ties. She obviously feels that it was a valid reaction, and while I don't discount her feelings, think it was a bit over the top.
This is how I feel about the violent protests in the Middle East and other Islamic countries over the recent Danish cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Sure, I get that it's an affront to Islam and that it's offensive on a deep level to Muslims because a) it's an artistic rendering of the prophet Mohammed, which is apparently not OK in Islam and b) it's Mohammed with a bomb.
But I wonder what the people protesting are truly mad about. Are they upset that a picture was drawn of Mohammed? Are they mad that a Western cartoonist seems to be mocking Islam? Or are they mad that there's a grain of truth in that cartoon that stirs feelings of shame and guilt (that then get translated into anger and riots)?
From what little history I can recall, violent protests have never really accomplished anything positive. The most successful movements have been peaceful: Gandhi and India's movement for independence, MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, et al. and the civil rights movement, women's suffrage, etc. Unless you're willing to wage all-out war (a la the American Revolution, Chinese Cultural Revolution), violence doesn't seem all that smart.
The dilemma for developing Middle Eastern and Islamic nations is that they have to find a way to develop while making a case for them to govern using Islamic law. Right now, all I see from that region of the world is violence, for example, over a cartoon.
In Speilberg's recent movie, Munich, the protagonist Avner by a strange twist of fate comes face to face with a group of Palestinian terrorists in the same safe house. Avner ends up talking to the leader of the Palestinian group about why the Palestinians use terrorism to advance their cause, to which the Palestinian explains that it's the only way they have to make the world take notice and pay attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.
Ultimately, I think this is a doomed approach. The very people you are trying to get the attention of see only death and destruction in the name of your religion and its God. They see seemingly soulless men and women who justify suicide bombings with false notions of martyrdom. They see the murder of thousands of innocent people around the world to avenge the deaths of allegedly innocent Muslims. None of this makes sense in a civilized sense. You don't get people to sympathize with you by killing their family, friends, countrymen. At best, they fear you. At worst, they turn against you and want to eradicate you and your religion off the face of the planet. It seems that the sentiment is somewhere between ambivalent and the worse option.
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know that with each suicide bomb and terrorist attack that occurs, I have less and less sympathy for the very people and causes those attacks are meant to champion.
This is how I feel about the violent protests in the Middle East and other Islamic countries over the recent Danish cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Sure, I get that it's an affront to Islam and that it's offensive on a deep level to Muslims because a) it's an artistic rendering of the prophet Mohammed, which is apparently not OK in Islam and b) it's Mohammed with a bomb.
But I wonder what the people protesting are truly mad about. Are they upset that a picture was drawn of Mohammed? Are they mad that a Western cartoonist seems to be mocking Islam? Or are they mad that there's a grain of truth in that cartoon that stirs feelings of shame and guilt (that then get translated into anger and riots)?
From what little history I can recall, violent protests have never really accomplished anything positive. The most successful movements have been peaceful: Gandhi and India's movement for independence, MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, et al. and the civil rights movement, women's suffrage, etc. Unless you're willing to wage all-out war (a la the American Revolution, Chinese Cultural Revolution), violence doesn't seem all that smart.
The dilemma for developing Middle Eastern and Islamic nations is that they have to find a way to develop while making a case for them to govern using Islamic law. Right now, all I see from that region of the world is violence, for example, over a cartoon.
In Speilberg's recent movie, Munich, the protagonist Avner by a strange twist of fate comes face to face with a group of Palestinian terrorists in the same safe house. Avner ends up talking to the leader of the Palestinian group about why the Palestinians use terrorism to advance their cause, to which the Palestinian explains that it's the only way they have to make the world take notice and pay attention to the plight of the Palestinian people.
Ultimately, I think this is a doomed approach. The very people you are trying to get the attention of see only death and destruction in the name of your religion and its God. They see seemingly soulless men and women who justify suicide bombings with false notions of martyrdom. They see the murder of thousands of innocent people around the world to avenge the deaths of allegedly innocent Muslims. None of this makes sense in a civilized sense. You don't get people to sympathize with you by killing their family, friends, countrymen. At best, they fear you. At worst, they turn against you and want to eradicate you and your religion off the face of the planet. It seems that the sentiment is somewhere between ambivalent and the worse option.
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know that with each suicide bomb and terrorist attack that occurs, I have less and less sympathy for the very people and causes those attacks are meant to champion.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Happy day
Today, something happened that brought a huge smile to my face. I couldn't believe my good fortune.
I found a box of snack puddings that I bought a while back, but had forgotten about. You know how sometimes you reach in your pocket, and you find a five dollar bill that you didn't expect, and you feel like you are, like, so rich? This is better. What a happy day.
I found a box of snack puddings that I bought a while back, but had forgotten about. You know how sometimes you reach in your pocket, and you find a five dollar bill that you didn't expect, and you feel like you are, like, so rich? This is better. What a happy day.
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