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| This man stood watching me work out for at least fifteen solid minutes. |
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| A woman adjusts her posture before beginning to repeatedly slap her leg muscles while others take in a sword dancing lesson. |
Since my last post, we've eaten a lot of Chinese food, learned some more mandarin (colours, ordering in a restaurant, directing a taxi, classroom instructions, apologies, and some body parts, food and small talk like where are you from/ what are you doing here) gotten bank accounts (woo! We're legit residents!) and found another group of foreign friends to socialize with. They're a crew of Italians, Mexicans, and Georgian students studying Mandarin at another university here, and have more similar interests with us than the first group we were introduced to. Unfortunately, several of them are nearing the end of their studies here and will be returning to their home countries soon, but we've really been enjoying spending time with them and hearing their perspectives on life in Shaoxing.
We also survived judging yet another (and hopefully our last) English competition. This one was the famed CCTV English talent competition (which we were told earlier would be televised, but turned out it isn't until it gets up to the national finals). Cameron, myself, and Darlene (the other foreign teacher at our school) were the "celebrity judges" for the regional finals, which was hosted by our school. Held in an auditorium at the local library, we spent two long, hot, and interesting days watching hundreds of kids age 5-20 strut their stuff on stage and attempt to wow us with their English. The nice part about judging this competition was that, unlike the Spelling Bee, there was no instant elimination following our scoring them. The contestants did their bit, then we said thank you and they exited the stage while we finished writing down their scores for fluency, talent, pronunciation, and q&a skills, then after ever five or six contestants, the MC would read out a few scores. It was a very interesting experience for us as, in addition to simply evaluating contestants speaking skills, we got to witness a wide range of talents and skills demonstrated as a part of each contestant's bid. We saw everything from Chinese sword dancing to Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson impersonations to a memorized recitation of a portion of a Barack Obama inauguration speech. An incredible amount of effort was put into these performances not just by the contestants but by their parents as well. Especially while watching the elementary students, I was amazed to see how much money and hours of training that must have gone in to preparing these kids for the stage. We were plied (publicly bribed?) with candies and hard boiled eggs by makeup-covered little girls and boys, and saw dozens of really beautiful, elaborate costumes, and expensive props used in wonderfully executed routines that would have made for great reality TV. However, because it was an English talent competition, there was a component of the program that required each contestant to engage with either a picture and/or questions from the judging panel, and many children who displayed themselves as spunky, attractive, confident stage stars up to this point, clamped up as soon as they were asked to say something on the spot about the picture or themselves. Not that I blame them, at all. If I was a Chinese kid forced into memorizing a song & dance or magic routine and then a string of random sentences which I had no idea what they really meant, all to make my mommy and daddy proud, I would be terrified to open my mouth and disappoint my parents. The competition demanded a lot of these kids, and I'm sure many of them were at least a little happy they didn't advance so that they didn't have to keep carrying the exhausting pressure to be the best.
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| Darlene, Cameron and I at the CCTV English Talent Competition |
Though not as cute as the little ones, the older elementary kids were engaging to judge because they had better comprehension and could give more complete answers (even if they weren't always appropriate for the question), so we enjoyed a lot fewer awkward silences where we waited to see if they were going to say anything at all. The middle/high school and university levels were also interesting, but for unexpected reasons. Cameron and I were shocked to see how many boys as well as girls chose to sing an English song (frequently acapella) for the talent portion of their presentation. Now, we come from a culture where people are often very reluctant to sing publicly, even if they have a decent voice, unless they're drunk and standing in front of a karaoke screen. Add adolescent self-consciousness to that, and it's nearly impossible to get a kid to speak publicly, let alone sing. Even more surprising to us was that, to be frank, many of these kids couldn't actually sing. The fact that they were acapella and clearly not speaking in their native tongue made it sometimes painfully obvious that these kids also didn't even know all the words to the song. It was confusing, funny, cringe-worthy and inspiring all at the same time.
Finally, the most perplexing attribute portrayed in this competition was the ability of some contestants to seemingly cry on command. These students, in a supposed attempt to stand out from the masses, recited emotional poems and tragic stories about their struggles to overcome heartbreak or hardship and then, as if on cue, became tearful, emotional wrecks, on stage, yet successfully managed to complete their bid and exit the stage looking perfectly content and composed. It was quite a confusing display since we could never be sure if what they had said was really sincere or merely a performance piece. Or, could it be both? If that was the case, it struck us as some pretty shady emotional manipulation, and how does one score that on a "talent scale" of 1-20? At the end of the day though, each of the contestants deserve all the credit in the world just for putting themselves out their and having a go at it. Good for them for having the drive and fortitude to deal with the intense pressures of balancing school and an English competition on top of it all. It was tiring for us having to sit through twelve hours a day of presentations, but it wasn't nearly as tough as the experience of going up on that stage just to let a bunch of strangers critique your ability to use a language you've probably never used in a setting outside school.
The best part for us came at the end of our second 12-hour day of judging, after we'd finished taking pictures with all the champions and were about to catch a taxi in the pouring rain, when a Porsche, driven by the mother of one of our school's contestants, pulled up in front of us and invited us out to dinner. Tired and hungry, we politely accepted and were whisked off to a lovely restaurant, aptly named Travellers, where we enjoyed the company of 12 year old Grace, who had just own third place in the middle school division with a cheery performance as a magician, and her mother. The dinner was marvellous - after finding out that we liked Chinese food the mother told us to order whatever we wanted, then proceeded to order more, including a bottle of Chinese wine just for the two of us (she was driving and wouldn't have any). When the final plate of food arrived, the waiter couldn't find anymore room on the already large table so we had to combine the food on two other plates just to make room. It was only the four of us, but looking at the amount of food on the table you would have though it was a party of eight. The food and company were great, so it made for a great end to a long weekend.
Another event of note happened last week, when we very merrily kicked off an early celebration of my 24th birthday with our new pals at a party Tuesday night (the "Saturday" of our weekend). Cameron also made it a delightful early birthday for me by encouraging me to go get myself a pedicure and massage (China's world renown for its cheap massages by the way - CND$10 for 1 hour including a foot bath) while he gathered the ingredients to make me a lovely lunch. Later, we had a yummy pizza dinner at my favourite cafe before going to the party. Finally, on Friday (my real birthday), after a couple of hours at the office in the morning, we went out for a great lunch on one of the few nice restaurant patios in Shaoxing. What did we have? Kung Pao Bullfrog, roasted spicy taro with red peppers, and deep fried pumpkin plus one dish I has no idea what it was called or what was in it but it was ALL good! Sounds crazy, but Cameron and I both love bull frog now, ever since we ordered it blindly at restaurant in our first month here; it's like a pleasant mix between fish and chicken. Cameron even has culinary aspirations to prepare it himself.. Although I can't say I really share his enthusiasm for that particular adventure.
After lunch we strolled along one of the rivers until we arrived at the central "pleasure boat pier" and got a ride on a black-awning river boat. Propelled by the boatman's feet pushing on one big oar and his hands steering with another small one, these boats are quintessentially Shaoxing and so naturally we had to have a go at it. And I'm very glad we did - what a unique way to see the city and spend a birthday :)
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| Birthday black-awning boat ride. Quintessentially Shaoxing. |
Now, we've only got two weeks of work left to complete until our summer holiday. This upcoming Saturday and Sunday we'll be giving our first round of end of term oral exams to our various classes, then we'll have a week to get ready for the new bunch of classes we'll be teaching when we get back from our holidays. We'll have two weeks off, and our plan is to spend about half of it in and around Hong Kong while visiting a cousin of Cameron's, originally from the UK, who lives there with his wife and young son. We're thinking we'll make the trip down there by train, so that we can see the countryside, and then on the way back fly into Shanghai and split the remainder of our holiday between there and either Nanjing or Ningpo.
That's life in China for right now. If you're looking for more, I've written up a brief summary of my experience so far in China, as a first time overseas Canadian traveller. Since I know in Canada (particularly in my family) we like our lists, so it's a bulleted inventory of the good, the bad and the ugly facets of life in the world's fastest-growing economy.
Take note that many might disagree with my opinions, but this is simply a newcomer's exercise in comparing and contrasting her homeland against her new home for the year.
Here we go. I'll save the best for last ;)
What's Worse:
- Internet censorship >:(
- Squatty Potty bathrooms without toilet paper, soap or sometimes even (locking) doors on the stalls. 'Nuff said.
- No indoor heating in workplaces. Yet it DOES snow here. Not like once or twice a winter, but once every couple weeks. Of course it doesn't stay for more than two or three days, but it gives you an idea of how cold it gets here, inside and out (Like -5C). Luckily for me, back in February,Cameron picked out the prefect Valentines day gift and presented me with my very own ultra-cute purple kitty hand-warmer! We noticed early on that the only way people survive the cold in their workplace is by keeping their hands tucked inside the soft fold of an electrically rechargeable hot water bottle sewn into a soft, stuffed hand muff. And in typical Asian fashion, they come in all shapes, sizes, caricatures and colours ^_^
- In the summer time, climate control is a bit better what with the blessed presence of fans and a/c units in most public places but we've already noticed how different our conception of "hot" is from your typical Shaoxinger. The temperate has climbed to 30C and beyond on numerous occasions lately, yet no one has moved to flick the switch just yet (Well, besides me, when I was melting last Saturday in front of a class that I hadn't even started teaching yet.) It's telltale of the smothering, wet heat we have to look forward to this July and August.
- Beer & wine are completely different species of drink here compared to the West. At restaurants, the beer offered is watery at 2.5% alc. on average. Wine is either the nationally famed Shaoxing rice wine or else a strange Chinese version of grape wine which tastes like boxed wine, sweetened with about 1 cup of sugar. We have managed to find some import brands of beer and wine at select grocery stores, but they only sell by the bottle and often come with a significant price difference, sometimes more than what we would even pay for a bottle in Canada. *gasp*
- Another worrisome difference in relation to beverages and the weather is the highly unrighteous discrimination against cold beverages in restaurants. As a Canadian, I love a cold drink anytime of the year, but Especially when the mercury starts to climb anywhere above 25. When the temperature gets past 30C, it becomes a need rather than a want. In China, however, it's considered unhealthy to have a cold drink with a hot meal. From what my sources tell me, there are a number of theories here as to why warmer is better, like cold water is a bad pair for warm food going down to the stomach, and hot water aids in digestion. I did some quick research on the topic though, and it turns out pretty much everything is the same temperature by the time it gets to your stomach and how it starts out doesn't have any effect on health unless we're talking about non-potable water - which happens to be the case for H2O coming out of most taps in China, but not in the case of bottle soft drinks, beer or water. I should say that a few people will drink a cold beverage here and there, so some select establishments will make room in their fridges for a few cold soft drinks and beers. But, there will only be room for Chinese beer, of course.
- They call this country Smokers Paradise because cigarettes are not only dirt cheap, but can be smoked in pretty much all public places, even elevators. *pinches nose* :(
The Ugly:
- There seems to be a general callousness towards the environment here, not just in Shaoxing, but throughout China it seems. As an environmental studies graduate, some might call me a critic, but if you read anything about or seen pictures of China in the news in the last year, you've likely heard something about the "rising public concern" over various environmental calamities the country is scrambling to get control of. I certainly don't know the full picture of China's relationship with the environment, but what I do know is that for the first time in my life, I notice the quality of the air I'm breathing when I walk or run outside. I can tell if it's a good or bad day air-wise to go for a run just by looking out our sixth floor living room window. On a clear day, we have a perfect view of the tallest building in Shaoxing called Shimao Tower. On a bad day though, looking out that same window, you might not be able to tell it exists there at all. Air pollution is a major concern here, prompting people to frequently wear face masks when they go out, especially if they are traveling at a speed faster than a walk.
Like Alberta, Zhejiang (the coastal province where we live) is known for its prosperous local economy. Private enterprise took off in the 80s when China began its market economic reforms, but along with industrialization has come more smog. The source of most of the smog is primarily vehicle exhaust and industrial fumes from the numerous textile plants operating in the region. We have yet to hear of any severe air quality warnings, but it's not unheard of in China for urban kids to be kept inside during recess because of elevated smog levels. It's also prompting many wealthy families to seriously consider moving abroad just so they don't have to worry about their children getting asthma or other respiratory illnesses. It means good business for our school, but the principal himself already has plans underway to move his wife and son to the US for the very reason I just mentioned. From what I've read, the Chinese government has a goal of reducing air pollutant emissions by at least 30% by 2017 but I wonder if this will be enough to encourage people to stay. Air pollution isn't the only environmental problem plaguing the country; there's serious concern over soil and water contamination in many areas as well. In fact, in the bit of research I've done looking into the best beaches China has to offer, I've already been turned off of beaches in China. Several foreign bloggers have commented on the generally poor conditions of China's beaches compared to other parts of the east thanks to unchecked littering (which I've seen a LOT of here, although the city hires people to sweep it up) and so much chemical runoff from nearby agriculture finding it's way into the sea that it changes the hue from ocean blue to a swampy brown. There's more to criticize, but I'll curb it here.
- The fourth day of this month marked the 25th anniversary of a very dark day in China's recent history: The Tiannanmen Square Massacre, which saw hundreds of peacefully protesting university students brutally beaten and gunned down by their own government for pushing for democratic reform. Almost worse than the tragedy itself is the fact that, although it occurred within the lifetime of many Chinese we see walking the streets today, the vast majority of Chinese people our age have no idea what happened that fateful summer day in '89. Today, the same party governs the nation, even some of the same officials that sanctioned that atrocious act are still in power, and they have forbidden any commemoration or teaching of the major historical event, often jailing those who form groups to quietly or publicly attempt to share their memories and thoughts on the event, especially leading up to the anniversary each year. It's so taboo that, even within families, it's common for grandparents and parents to not tell their children about what happened on June 4th and in the years of the Cultural Revolution leading up to it. Why is this? How can a government so successfully erase such recent history from the collective consciousness of its people? I read a really interesting book recently by former Chinese correspondent for the Washington post Philip Pan, who wrote that for many Chinese who managed to survive the chaos and cruelty of the Cultural Revolution, it's easier to forget and just move on than to face what happened and admit how they may not have just silently consented to the government's violent assault on dissenters; they may have been one of the millions who volunteered to do the government's dirty work and sell out their own family members who voiced concern about the party's policies and actions. Combined with a half century of the government's propaganda efforts and it's refusal to apologize for any wrongdoing, this "shut up and move on" thinking has been incredibly pervasive throughout China and succeeded in dulling the public's curiosity about anything to do with the nation's recent history. I was appalled to find out recently that a group of mothers of Tiannanmen victims have been indefinitely detained in the weeks leading up to the 25th anniversary of the event, just to make sure that they don't draw any attention which could reflect badly on the party's image. It's baffling to think of how many millions of people have been abused and unjustly detained by the this government in recent years, yet the party's reputation continues to enhance as national and international focus remains on it's booming economy. If I were Chinese, I might even find myself on the inside of a prison cell just for writing this.
What's Better?
- Public transportation. Namely, public bicycles. There's no train system in Shaoxing besides the coastal, above ground, high speed rail lines, but the local bus system and public bicycles, in addition to our convenient location at the centre of the city has made getting around town a breeze. We still have our challenges figuring out bus schedules and communicating with cab drivers, so we're super thankful that our school gave us our own public bike cards to use as often as we please. We've taken numerous exploratory trips round the city in between our scheduled classes as well as on our weekends and we Love it! (And because I know there are some concerned mothers out there, yes it is safe, there are separated lanes on the road for 2-wheeled vehicles, and we even get our own traffic light.)
- Chain stores, restaurants and cafés don't dominate the market here nearly as much as they seem to do in Canada. I especially enjoy finding small, hole in the wall, adorably decorated cafés to sip tea in while working on a blog post or journal entry while Cameron draws or writes his blogays (blog essays). It astonishes me every time I walk by the downtown Starbucks and see a line out the door of people waiting to get their over-priced latte and sit in the loud, crowded, garbage-strewn shop with their posse when there are so many really lovely, independent, quiet and cozy places to discover here, on almost every block. I get excited every time I see a new one, and was positively giddy when I found one that carried an old Sugarbowl favourite fruit beer - the lindemans floris kriek (cherry beer) on a 33C day.
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| Sitting in one of my favourite new cafes while cooling down with my favourite summer beer. |
- Drinking in public ain't no thang! Same goes with consuming at an establishment sans ID. Also, you can BYOB into pretty much any restaurant and they'll even go through the trouble of rushing over to open it for you - free of charge.
- Tipping is a no-no. Really, they won't even keep the change unless you insist at least 6 or 7 times "Wo Boo Yao!" (I don't want!) and then run away. As a former waitress, this shocked me at first and I was hesitant to accept that they really want to refuse a tip, but now I just follow along and enjoy having the extra cash in my wallet. "When in Rome," right?
- Food is cheap, fresh and readily a viable within a five minutes walk :) It's hard to find any kind of canned or packaged dinner foods at the supermarkets as many Chinese are justifiably opposed to the idea for health reasons. Some families won't even have a microwave because they say it will poison the food. Every few blocks around the city centre, you can usually find a big farmers market hidden somewhere amongst the buildings where you can buy fresh locally-grown fruit, vegetables, spices, eggs, and meat daily at a fraction of the cost that it would be in the grocery store - well, if you can bargain properly, that is (I'm terrible at it.) I've discovered some pretty cool Asian produce here that I never even knew existed before I laid eyes on it and then googled. We've also tried a lot of interesting and fresh local dishes served up at the numerous family owned and operated restaurants that line the street adjacent to our apartment block, and have enjoyed pretty much all - even the times when we had no idea what we were ordering because the restaurant's menu didn't come with pictures (as many thankfully do). One time, by covering our eyes and pointing at the menu, then at the kitchen, we managed to tell the chefs (who were ogling at us from the kitchen service window) to surprise us. And they did... The stir fry was served to us in a skillet that was heated on an element at our table and the meat to me tasted like chicken thighs, but to Cameron, like fish. We both agreed it was delicious but couldn't say for sure what it was, so after we finished our meal Cameron took his phone over to the kitchen window showing them a picture of a fish with a quizzical look on his face, pointing to our empty dish. They all shook their heads. He showed them a picture of a chicken, they again shook their heads. Then one of the cooks went around the corner and came back dragging a netted bag filled with dark, brown, live bullfrogs.
