Covering coverage

As a first rate consumer of news on China and a current resident of this great nation (throwing the censors a bone there,  see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/world/asia/china-imposes-new-limits-on-entertainment-and-bloggers.html?emc=eta1 ) I thought I’d talk about how the media coverage of China can make one’s head spin. I do not claim that this coverage is somehow false or misguided (though it certainly can be), merely that the bipolarity of the coverage paints a confusing portrait. Fair enough; it’s a confusing country.

One minute China is our soon-to-be overlord, the next they are a nation bereft of prerequisite [fill-in-the-blank] to become a modern superpower (http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/10/chinas-communist-party). One minute they are the world’s banker, owning X% of US currency and recently throwing a life preserver to Europe, the next they are an amoral bunch of knockoff artists and simple machine operators, lacking the ingenuity to foster a sustainable free market economy (http://www.economist.com/node/21534812). One minute they are exacerbating the rifts in US/Pakistani relations or poking at Taiwan, the next they are the indispensible partner in handling North Korea’s rogue state (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/03/the_top_ten_unicorns_of_china_policy).

The truth is all of these things are realities in modern China. It is a massive nation whose traits, peoples, and behaviors cannot, and should not, be summed up so readily. Writing articles that cast bold predictions on the inevitable supremacy or collapse (depending on the latest news story) of China seems like a practice in modern day prophecy, and perhaps it is. I read these articles because ultimately, China matters more than it ever has and with ~1/5^th of the world’s population, it receives plenty of coverage. And maybe hoping for a more intelligible story on this country is asking for too much on my part. However, I would prefer  if such certitude wasn’t so prevalent in much of the writing (the chosen articles don't necessarily embody this certitude, but they do hold true to some of the aforementioned qualities of journalism on China; good reads nonetheless).

I know I’m way out of my league by opining on this topic, but considering that I cannot help but consume these articles (The Economist knows me too well, put a picture of a panda, dragon, or big red flag next to the article, and I will click it; some Pavlovian response I’ve developed) and I have a little (I strongly want to acknowledge and emphasize the little here) experience with my feet on the ground here in China, I thought I would give my two cents. What?!?! The impending trade war with China has raised the price of opinions to 3.5 cents? God damnit. 

I was hanging out with a bunch of German artists last night (a story for another time, ja), and I snapped a picture of Alexej (Russian transplant to Berlin) who made a mask. I call this piece "Jack-o-lantern in Russian, One". What serendipitous timing. Happy Halloween!

Back in the game? Soon

So I told myself that I would post once a week, no matter what. Therefore there will be some posts that are not quite as entertaining as others, but it keeps me on task, so here we go.

This past Saturday, my friend Patrick invited me to come watch his football club play a match in the nearby city of Fuling. I’m not sure who I shared the book River Town by Peter Hessler with, but this is the city he did his teaching and writing in. For any of you looking for an enjoyable read, River Town or his book Oracle Bones have excellent insights into China. Great books.

Back to the lecture at hand. Fuling is about a two hour bus ride from Chongqing, and we set off first thing in the morning. The trip was a lot of fun. The team is comprised of expats from all over: Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Mauritius, Croatia, England, and the States (possibly a few others). I had previously told Patrick I may be interested in joining, and I was fully sold on the idea when I was standing on the sidelines of that match.

The match itself was a bit of a trouncing; they beat a local ‘municipal’ team (there is a theory that it was the police force team) 9-1. After the match we all went to a big buffet, ate loads of food, sucked down a few beers and headed back to the stadium (they played in the local ‘Olympic’ stadium, 22,000 seater, not at capacity for their match, ~30 people) to watch the Chongqing Lifan team. I won’t bad mouth the squad too much, but Chinese second-division football leaves a bit to be desired.

Highlights of the day:

•  Hanging with lads from all over the world
• Watching the formality and rigmarole when the Chinese host an event like this with foreigners
• The fact that there was an at least 1:1 ratio of uniformed security to fans during the Lifan match, probably ~1,000 people. Dead serious
• The rekindling of my desire to run around on a pitch and play soccer

After we returned to Chongqing we went over to Patrick’s friend’s place. It was the closest experience I’ve had to being back home since I’ve been here. There were four of us at his friend’s (guy from Tennessee). Nice couches, fridge full of beer, watching the Premiership matches on the flat screen, and we even ordered pizza. Davanni’s it was not, but after two months sans pizza, that shit hit several spots.

So I had started running before I watched the match, but the training has intensified. Going really well so far; it feels great. I’m getting contacts later this week because I haven’t seen any Rec-Specs in the stores, so I should be able to see the ball, which is nice.

I think that’s it for now. Study some Chinese, read, eat my daily ration of chocolate from home (thank you, Mother) and then off to bed. 

Few pics from the day:

Team relations were much stronger before the 9-1 drubbing. 

Mascot? Cheerleader? Yokel?

Victory toast on the bus.

Theory of Relativity

Last week I had my first brush with a spell of homesickness. It came after a long day at school when the students hadn’t been very responsive in class. Most of the time they are a bit reticent to speak, but once you get a few of them involved, it snowballs pretty quickly. Not that day. This of course also had to do with my own behavior and feelings in class, but I chalked it up to an off-day. So: long day, coupled with some of the social differences between Chinese and American behavior that can be challenging at times, and also the ups and downs of starting new friendships led to a rough day.

I was back in my apartment watching the newest episode of South Park on my laptop (I’m doing my best to immerse myself in the culture here, but that does not mean I will deprive myself of some of the finest social commentary/poop jokes of our time) and an advertisement for Wendy’s, or some fast food chain, came on. As always, the cheeseburger was a symmetrical, glistening stack of deliciousness. I would not be making an over statement by calling myself a big fan of cheeseburgers, and that advertisement gave me an immediate and intense physical reaction. It was simply the bitter cherry on top of my shit sundae. Things sound pretty bleak, so I will turn it around.

The next morning I woke up to what was easily the most gorgeous day I’ve seen in Chongqing. The ever-present smog had lifted, the sky was blue, and it was Friday morning. Classes went swimmingly that day. Had a few beers and a few laughs over the weekend. Crisis averted.

I realize that there will be challenges ahead, but I’m doing my best to focus on the positives here. It would be quite easy to adopt a pessimistic attitude towards being an expat here, but that is a lazy way out. I’ve instead come up with my own Theory of Relativity. Though perhaps not as intricate or game-changing as Albert’s, it is working well for my needs. It is about looking at things in a relative manner. If I get annoyed that the gas is out and I have to take a cold shower, I could have no shower. If I’m missing family and friends, it could be even 10 years ago when I couldn’t have easily emailed, Skyped, or chatted with them like I can now. The challenges that I face and sometimes find frustrating are hardly real problems in the grander scheme, so I try and react accordingly.

That being said, I may flip out if I don’t find a decent cheeseburger soon. A man must draw the line somewhere.

Pics from around Chongqing (CLICK TO EXPAND)

You often get a glimpse of old Chongqing when walking around the city. This wall featured several layers from throughout the city's history.

I would have gotten a laugh out of crushing a few PBRs in China, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The umbrella was simply a mirage, there was no oasis here.

The opera house, none-too-affectionately nicknamed 'the tank'. Still, I think it's pretty cool.

No weapons, explosives, fireworks, acid, toxic barrels, flammables nor poison, magnets nor radioactive materials, and certainly no goddamn balloons. Yes.

I understand the desire of the CPC to spread their message of 'do not playing', but the recent crackdown on 'stoching' seems a bit heavy handed to me. Therefore, I stoch, but only in select company and never in public.

Big Buddha and a pagoda here in the city.

Lost in translation? No wonder there is still some apprehensiveness around Americans here. Actually, this is just an advertisement for a local art school. Slightly less insidious than it appears.

The next several pictures are from the Huang Jue Ping neighborhood. Really cool area. It is the art district of Chongqing, and also houses a few art schools and universities. A few years back, the government let some artist and students paint and graffiti the neighborhood. The results were very cool and quite unexpected. Fun place to walk around and snap pictures.

I ride by these stacks everyday on the way to school. I've never lived in a city with heavy air pollution before; quite unpleasant. The good news is I haven't had a cigarette since I left the States. That was me congratulating myself. Thank you.

Roof tiles. But you already knew that.

After getting off the cable car ride across the Yangtze. Sunset, mom and daughters, city, river, some flags. Seemed like a good photo op.

Looking back across the river for the night view. Unfortunately the city wasn't fully lit up. Hopefully later in the year I can get a shot when all the buildings have the lights on.

And some more.

Green lasers and some traffic. Why not?

A few videos, then I'm done. I haven't edited these at all, there is some repetition, and they're not great quality. However, I took them, so may as well throw them on here and hopefully they are somewhat interesting.

The Cry of 'Lao Wai'

This past weekend was National Day here in China, so I had my first chance to get out of Chongqing city for a few days. Some students invited me to Yong Chuan and Dazu. Both are areas within Chongqing province, and they were fantastic.

Get ready, this is going to be a big post. It will include a list, many pictures, a few stories and emotion. Lots of emotion. Let me begin with a list of observations and thoughts from the weekend:

-If I didn’t know that my name was Seamus, I would swear that it was Lao Wai. This is the Chinese word for foreigner. I hear it occasionally in Chongqing proper, but when one ventures a bit further out of town the frequency of hearing Lao Wai increases exponentially by distance from the city.

-Sometimes when you hear people having a conversation you think that they are having a heated argument. That is up until you hear an actual argument. That shit jumps up a notch or two. Intense.

-Getting out of Chongqing gave me a very different perspective on China than I had been developing over the past 5 weeks. For a minute I was beginning to believe that China was a loud, dirty, vibrant, and asphyxiating place. Turns out this is only the city I live in. That would be like summing up the USA through a description of 1970’s NYC. How short sighted of me.

-I try to avoid lumping people together or saying that the people of a given nation all look the same, but there is undeniably a certain type of people who do. This is the ubiquitous grandma at random neighborhood restaurants. She is tiny, ancient looking, smiling, typically wearing more traditional garb than is common, slightly hunched, slow moving, and very curious about the Lao Wai sitting at the restaurant.

-On that note sometimes the Chinese people do this to me. I was told by a bus driver (interpreted by my students) over the weekend  that I look like Obama’s brother. Now THAT is how you generalize the looks of a nationality.

-At tourist destinations across the world people buy cheap, plastic, Chinese made crap; including in China.

-People who do extreme sports are soft. Come to China and take a crowded tour bus up into the mountains during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. That is extreme. People in the States talk about how crazy drivers in different places are: Mass-holes, NYC cabbies, etc. These drivers are but kitty-cats compared to the tiger that is the Chinese driver.

-More on buses: capacity is not as quantitative is as it is in the US. For example, an elevator: 12 people or 2000 lbs. Chinese bus capacity is simply a question of physics. Is there space for another person? Yes: not at capacity. No: at capacity. Easy.

-Excuse me as I slip into the parlance of my junior high years for a moment: driving through on a mountain road through a bamboo forest in the mist is some pretty dope shit.

-Amongst friends, Chinese people are incredibly generous. I don’t mean just towards me as the guest, but the way the students shared everything was interesting to watch. If one person opened some sort of snack or treat, they would take a little and then immediately pass it around the group, no matter how many people. Every time.

-The motorcyclists that wear cheap plastic construction helmets with no chin straps might as well be wearing yarmulkes for protection.

-The level of interest in Lao Wai in China is such that a 5 year old girl who has sick coming out her mouth and nose while riding a bus, will not break eye contact with a foreigner. That is dedication to curiosity.

-Two simple experiences that left me smiling: eating a big meal of their favorite foods with my students on National Day as fireworks were going off outside, and riding in a minivan taxi with the nine students, the driver, and myself through the rain in rural China.

One brief anecdote and then onto pictures: Last night we shared a minivan taxi with a few others from Yong Chuan through the rain and holiday traffic on the way back to Chongqing. Bitching and moaning aside, there are certain advantages to being the Lao Wai and the Lao Shi (teacher), so I was riding shotgun. I travel by bus and walk the streets every day, so I am accustomed with the obsession of the Chinese driver with their horn (I bet Freud would have had and interesting, but ultimately flawed theory on this behavior). But other Chinese drivers paled in comparison to this man and his preternatural horn honking ability. The frequency and ferocity with which he hit that horn was something to be both feared and respected.

When we first got in I was slightly worn out from the weekend, and the incessant honking was pissing me off. After a half hour it became laughable; as in, I was laughing out loud. After one hour it began to remind me of another travelling partner I once had. A few years ago I was on an overnight train through Italy and one of my cabin mates was an old fella who snored nothing like I had ever heard. Ribcage rattling stuff. I had to assume he was Italy’s finest snorer, and probably snored for Italy in the World Championships. Well my driver in Chongqing province undoubtedly honked for China. This son of a bitch was good. Very good.

Similar to the snorer, I had to assume that the driver honked not out of any desire to indicate his location on the road or vent his frustrations with other drivers, but rather because it was an involuntary physical reaction. Some compulsion that led him to arbitrarily hit the horn. Fascinating.

On to pictures with a few captions beneath for context. As always, you can click on them to expand.

The crew. Some are my students. Others are their classmates. All really fun kids.

Some of the carvings from Dazu. It is a World Heritage Site with rock carvings spanning mostly the 9th-12th century CE. Truly amazing stuff. Some are massive as you will see with a bit of perspective in other pics.

As previously stated, some are massive.

In all the hustle and commotion of the place, at one point I tried to imagine what it was like when some Buddhists in the 10th century were creating these things. Pretty impressive.

A tree growing around some rocks with a pagoda in the background. Worthy of a picture, I believe.

When in Dazu, do as the Dazuians (Dazunese, Dazulanders?).

Peacock King and his minions.

Fierce guardians worthy of a posting.

A huge wall of statues tucked away in a dark corner.

When in Dazu, do as the Dazuites (Dazuopians, Dazuish?). Damnit.

A few of the Thousand Hands.

These guys were some of my favorites. Big, ugly warriors.

A few of the Bodhisattvas that were were praying to a Buddha in the middle of a cave. As I was snapping some pictures some monks walked through chanting and praying to the different statues. I declined to snap a pic lest they curse me. That's what Buddhist monks do, right?

I'm a panda.

I never need an excuse to post foggy mountain tops.

Seriously.

I can go all day.

Just to prove I was there.

My new method of dealing with Lao Wai-azzi.

I found out that night that Chinese girls are thoroughly impressed by men with yo-yo skills, and this guy had said skills in spades.

Hard at work.

Furtive lovers in the bamboo. The other students were dying at this picture.

Mei Mei, or 'little sister'. Another thing that was interesting to witness was how quickly and affectionately people sometimes take to each other here. This little girl was the daughter of the hotel owner, and within minutes she was sitting on laps and being primped by the girls in our group. I noticed the same affection amongst some of the students in our group who didn't know each other before the trip. There is a seemingly 'in or out' mentality when it comes to relationships here, and once you are in you apparently are fully part of ones group. As an older guy, she called me uncle (again, I found this out through student interpretation). She had a series of questions for me, such as: "Uncle, why is your nose so long?", and "Uncle, why is your skin so good?" She thoroughly amused the girls in the group. Also, at 8 years old she was knocking out triple digit addition without breaking a sweat. I was impressed.

It is pretty difficult for them to take pictures without chucking deuces.

Posted up on a millennium old statue. With a pose and demeanor like that, I can only assume that he is texting his women.

This was on the back of a car in Yong Chuan, China. A village (as one of my students erroneously, or perhaps not, referred to it as) of almost 500,000 people. I've never seen one of these in Minnesota, let alone the middle of China. That was crazy.