Lost in Translation #2

Last weekend I went to a store called B & Q. Home Depot in China is more like it - even down to the orange signage all around. I had gone there to buy whiteboards for my student's groupwork. In America, I had purchased a sheet of showerboard(which is what I use for my whiteboards)  and had it cut into equal sized squares. It was a simple process and I was able to walk out of the Home Depot with enough white boards for each student to work on. Well - as I am quickly finding out - tasks which are simple in America are no longer simple. I entered the Chinese Home Depot and quickly found a salesperson. I had my Chinese-English dictionary with me, but much to my chagrin it did not have the word showerboard in its list of S words. That meant it was time for a game of what I call Chinese Charades. I have played this game several times before in different locations - and it usually is to the great amusement of the person I am talking to, and a great headache for me. I began my pantomime with a shower that Marcel Marceau would have been proud of - and to my surprise the salesman immediately smiled and walked me directly back to the.....showerheads. Not bad though, I was on the right track. I wanted to convey that I was looking for wood, so I began to pantomime a tree. I did this by squatting with my hands around an invisible tree trunk. I then stood up slowly with my hands still around the shaft of the tree and finally I would spread my hands out and wiggle my fingers several times to show the leaves of my "tree." The first time was no good - a blank stare was all that I received in return for my performance, so I squatted again. As I rose a second time with my hands around the imaginary trunk - I heard the salesman say something in Chinese - and before I knew it a group of about 6 other salesman had gathered to watch the show. I went for a third squat and as I was finishing the "leaves" of my "tree" the entire group burst out laughing and it was clear to me that my motions conveyed something decidedly different to these men. They were not seeing my "tree" - but something rather inappropriate for the main floor that I realized too late to prevent  Now embarrassed and having what seemed like half of the staff of the store laughing at me - I ran to the wood section of the store - grabbed a piece of wood and brought it back. I finally got the message across and about 5 minutes later I got what I wanted, but like everything in China - the experience costs much more than the object itself. 

Lost in Translation

One of the Chinese government's big pushes during the past year was to eliminate what is known as "Chinglish" - which is the mangling of English that occurs when Chinese characters and sentences that appear on signs are translated into English. Its a famous and admittedly funny aspect to life in China as a foreigner. Even though the government tried to have perfect and sensical English on every sign- since the Chinese language is so different from English in grammatical structure(no plurals - for example) - some "chinglish" still remains. Here are some highlights that I've seen in Beijing and Shanghai:

Made in China

Three words. Three words that stir up a maelstrom of controversy. Three words that have a different meaning to different people. Three words that are simultaneously a punchline, a rallying cry and even a source of pride.
In America - you cannot find a store whose merchandise is not emblazoned with these words. Our economy is intimately tied to those three words -as is China's. So what exactly does "Made in China" mean, in China?

I had a chance to tour a Chinese factory. This factory is similar in many ways to the countless other factories that are spread across this sprawling landmass. The conditions inside of the factory were not great - certainly not to the standards of an American factory - but they were not wholly awful. The factory I got to tour makes refrigerator magnets. You may have a magnet from this factory in your home or office right now. The workers in the factory that I had a chance to meet were focused but pleasant. One major difference at this factory is that the workers only work 40 hours a week. The work 8 hour shifts - unlike most other Chinese factories where working hours can easily be double that amount. This particular location is a very desirable job for a local Chinese worker for another reason. The owners of the factory pay their employees a good wage - much more than the average factory worker would make. The video below gives a brief view into this Chinese factory - and maybe a greater insight into the three words -"Made in China"

Who are Ben and Jerry?

One of my major dietary weaknesses is Ben and Jerry's Half Baked ice cream. I can't go more than a week in America without buying a pint, telling myself to eat it slowly, only to look down at the ground 3 minutes later and see a crumpled, empty container on the the ground and an ice cream streak running down my shirt.

I won't have to worry about that in China - they don't have Ben and Jerry's, in fact they don't have ice cream as America knows it. While you can find it in a few stores that sell Western goods - the price for a pint is about $15 USD. Hen gui!!

While the Chinese don't like American style ice cream - they do eat ice cream - but its of a decidedly different perspective. Below are two popular ice cream flavors you can buy anywhere you go.

This is China #1

One of the great parts of being a Westerner in China(beside the low cost of living) is the respect you are usually afforded. I am not exactly sure why all Westerners are afforded this respect - but its given by most, not all, but most Chinese people. 

One of the times when this respect is shown is in regards to Chinese children. When a Westerner gives attention to a Chinese child - the parents beam with pride and will often want a picture taken with the child and the foreigner. When I was in Beijing for the Olympics - one particularly zealous parent rushed over and insisted that I pose with his son for a picture. While the father was very excited, somehow I got the impression the kid's feelings were slightly different. You be the judge...

I guess not everyone is a Steelers fan...

Most westerners in China have an ayi(i-E). An ayi is essentially a maid who does tasks like cleaning and laundry. Her most valuable contribution is usually taking care of the details, like paying the phone bill or getting something fixed - tasks which are near impossible to do unless you speak Chinese. So you could say an ayi is an indispensable part of life in China. 

My ayi came to my apartment today for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect since I have never had a maid before. When I walked in I almost turned around - I couldn't believe it was the same place. It was immaculate. She not only had mopped the wood floor, but she had done all the laundry and I'm pretty sure she ironed every piece of clothing I own - even my socks and undies. 

In the process of cleaning she came upon a yellow towel that she must of thought would be handy for drying dishes. In her mind - why else would anyone else own a yellow towel? Towels are for cleaning - and so that is what she did with it. I found my damp and slightly dirty towel neatly hanging in the kitchen. Either she doesn't understand sacred American football traditions...or she is a Browns fan.

Chinese Traditions

Living among the Chinese means being prepared for the unexpected. Last night around 11:30 pm, myself and several other teachers at the school where I'll be working were sitting around playing cards. We were in a high rise on the 11th floor, and this high rise is part of a larger complex of about 20 high rises that surround a central courtyard replete with a small fishing pond, several streams and three bridges. I've been told the layout is very feng shui appropriate. The buildings are arranged around this center courtyard in pairs, with roads leading out like spokes from a wheel all sides of the courtyard and between two highrises. So the distance between two highrises is the width of one of these roads, probably no more than 25 feet. All of a sudden, last night, there was a HUGE boom outside the room we were in, so we all rushed outside to the balcony. There were several people on the road below us lighting off fireworks. Not small fireworks, like Roman candles, but large projectile fireworks that light up in colors, think 4th of July with a little less oomph. They proceeded to let these fireworks off for five minutes, each one exploding between the buildings, most at our eye level. My friend Garrett even got hit with the sparks from one of these explosions. We were stunned - and couldn't imagine something like this happening in America without the fire department, police squad and SWAT team showing up. When it was over - other Chinese who had gathered on the surrounding balconies began clapping, and then everyone sauntered back into their apartments to continue whatever it was they were doing. Their nonchalance to the whole episode stunned us.
After our ears had stopped ringing, another member of the group who had spent some time in China explained to us the purpose of the pyrotechnics. It turns out when a Chinese family moves into a new house, they let fireworks off either late at night or early in the morning(can't wait for that one!) to ward off any evil spirits that may be dwelling in the house. I don't know if the contempory Chinese still actually believe that spirits are in their apartment, but the tradition lives on nonetheless.

Olympics Part #3 - The Games

On Sunday August 10th - Caroline, her friend Katie and I had a chance to go to two events in Beijing. One was women's gymnastics and the other was men's basketball. I have always been impressed by gymnasts - they do things that to me seem impossible. Seeing them live gave me a new appreciation for how difficult it really is. The balance beam is only four inches across - yet they can do flips and jumps and land on it every time. I don't know how...

Basketball was amazing - we had seats 5 rows back from the floor and got to see two great games - Spain vs. Greece and Lithuania vs. Argentina. In the Lithuania vs. Argentina game - we got to see a last second game winning shot - which was punctuated by the Lithuania cheering section going absolutely bonkers - I mean bezerk. Quite a day!

Olympics Part #2 - The Orphanage

When I headed up to Beijing last week to see the Olympics - I wasn't sure what to expect. Shanghai is such a dichotomy. You have people living in amenity rich, luxurious country club type estates - and literally five minutes down the road you have houses in disrepair, covered in muck and grime with generally squalid living conditions. When I arrived in Beijing last Thursday night, I was greeted by Caroline Koopman - a friend who had attended Grove City two years after I started. We never knew each other during our time at GCC, but as we corresponded during the weeks leading up to the Olympics, I found a fast friend with a quick wit that resonated with me.

Caroline works with an organization called New Day Foster Home. Its on several acres of land in the outskirts of Beijing. The area looked much like rural USA - with Caroline's apartment being across the street from a corn field, and on our first night of walking into the village(50,000 people - that constitutes a small village in China) we crossed paths with a man herding sheep along the road.

The mission of Caroline's organization is to help orphans who have special needs get hospital treatment and then to find a home. Orphans are much more prevalent in China than in the USA for several reasons. The Chinese are only allowed to have one child, so if a child is deemed undesirable because of poor health in first few days of life, it is quite often abandoned so the family can try for a "better" only child. Also - many Chinese are poor and could not afford the hospital care that these children require - and so they abandon them hoping someone with better means might be able to help.

That is where Caroline's organization comes in. Through donations, they have accumulated enough money to be able to afford expensive surgeries that are vital for these children to surive. Once these children have received the proper care - families are found for these children to begin a new life with.

I had a chance to meet some of these orphans - and their attitudes in spite of their struggles are miraculous. They know nothing other than smiling and laughing, even though some of them suffer from ailments so painful and so severe that I can't imagine how they do it. My favorite was a girl named Addison. (The employees of New Day name the orphans and give them American/European names since most orphans end up in America) Addison has a serious heart ailment that severely limits her circulation- so much so that even though she is approaching two, she weighs all of twelve pounds. Her toes are constantly blue because of the lack of circulation. Holding Addison brought tears to my eyes. This is a tiny orphan girl from China, whom was neglected by her parents and who lives half a world away from me and my comfortable life in America. She looks up to me as I hold her and smiles at me - exposing her two little front teeth. How could I not be blessed by that? I have decided to sponsor Addison - which means for $35 month I will help pay for the surgery she will need next year when her heart is more developed. Each child needs 8 sponsors to pay for care and surgery, and many of them don't have enough sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, check out this website: http://www.newdaycharities.org/

Olympics Part #1 - The Mag Lev

Those of you that know me know that I am an unabashed nerd - cool gadgets fascinate me. One of the best parts of going to the Olympics was getting to the Pudong airport on the far east side of Shanghai. The airport was built extremely far from the city and getting there in Shanghai traffic is quite the ordeal. The Chinese government built the Mag Lev(Magnetic Levitation - the train actually hovers above the track) to ease public concern over the commute to the airport. On the Maglev it now only takes 8 minutes for a trip by car that could take well over an hour. The maximum speed of the train during my ride was 301 km/hr - which is about 192 mph. The train has been a financial disaster - not enough people ride it and its expenses in both construction and maintenance are staggering - but I paid my 50 yuan(about 7 US dollars) to take the ride of my life. Check out of few of these shots from the fastest train in the world.

A funny story...

I am in Beijing right now and I had a chance to go to downtown Beijing today a few hours before the opening ceremonies. The excitement was palpable - the streets were teeming with people from all over the world - and there were many people shouting and yelling in the streets. Today was extremely hot and humid in Beijing - one of those days you started sweating as soon as you walked outside. I was wearing a cut off T-shirt today because of the heat - and my friend Caroline and I spent most of the day walking around Beijing. We had stopped to eat at a sushi restaurant and we were sitting next to Chinese woman who had started a conversation with Caroline and I. As we were sitting down, the Chinese woman looked at me and said, "Are you an athlete?" I was taken aback, and she repeated the question. Needless to say - my ego was stroked - and with a lot of pride - I said, "No - but thank you for asking." I was beaming throughout the dinner and continued to bring up the comment in the conversation. Feeling quite proud I literally bounded out of the diner. Once again I brought up the comment and finally Caroline had had enough. She started laughing and I asked her what was so funny. She told me that in the Beijing paper this past week there was a list of greetings that the local Chinese should say to the foreigners in town to make them feel welcome. Caroline told me that one of the remarks was, "Are you an athlete?". She then began to burst out laughing and admitted to me that she just couldn't tell me this before because I was enjoying the comment so much and seemed so happy. Needless to say - I was a little red in the face, which come to think of it - was an appropriate color for the first day of the Olympics in this country.

My Apartment

Shanghai is a city of high rises - everywhere you look are row after row of multicolored apartment complexes. This is all circa 1990 - when the Chinese government opened up part of Shanghai called Pudong - which up until that point had been marshy land primarily used as rice fields. Now - there is no rice to be seen - only concrete. I have been placed in a high rise that is only a five minute bike ride away from my school. There are over 20 high rises in my complex - and it is entirely a Chinese community. I have included a few videos of my apartment.

Welcome to China!

So I finally made it...and all it took was a 16 hour flight! I've now been here for about 5 days - and its been an incredible experience to this point. The people of China fascinate me - they are so friendly and open - and even though they speak a different language - their genuine interest in people needs no translation. I have already had two of my meals paid for - and while I realize it is probably more because I am an American - or laowai - it still means something. I've moved into a large apartment complex - my building is a highrise and I am on the 11th floor. I have very good living arrangements by Chinese standards - so I've been told. There are very few non-Chinese in my neighborhood - so I've been forced to rely on speaking a little Chinese and using a lot of hand gestures to get around. Yet when I ask someone for help - say for example in a grocery store - 4 or 5 people will gather round to hear my question and offer help. The sincerity of the Chinese I have met has really made me feel at home - even 7000 miles away from my family.