Two-for-one with Lin

As someone who lives in China, routinely writes on life here, and still stays relatively plugged in to the happenings back home, I would be remiss if I passed up the gold mine that is Jeremy Lin. Though I have seen little more than highlights of his play, I have kept an interested eye on this unfolding story. Needless to say (stupid phrase, akin to 'no offense, but…'), China loves it some b-ball, and Jeremy Lin is kind of a big deal over here. After reading an assortment of articles on Lin from all different sources, the best I have found was this: http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2012/02/chinas-new-sports-problem What this article managed to convey more effectively than the others is a nuanced and deep cultural evaluation/critique of China, and most appropriately, its sports system, vis-à-vis Jeremy Lin.

As has been discussed here, and innumerable other places, China is closing gaps left and right with regards to the United States as the world power. While many of these discrepancies between the aforementioned countries are still quite large, they are nonetheless shrinking. However, one of the areas that China is having great challenges shrinking is soft power. This gap has proven to be much more confounding for the Chinese to lessen than the economic gap that they are currently closing at a rapid pace. Soft power is basically the act of attracting countries through cultural and social means, rather than coercing them to your side through the more traditional routes of geopolitics. For example: if you ask the average American (or most citizens of the world), to name five important Chinese characters, I suspect many would have a hard time getting past Confucius, Mao, and Yao. Conversely, if you asked my students who are some of their favorite people of all time, I’d happily bet money that Kobe, Steve Jobs, and Mao are the three most commonly seen names (oh yes, Mao’s there. Indoctrination is a helluva drug). Seeing how China is floundering with their attempt to create reliable sources of soft power, it is no surprise that they are attempting to claim and co-opt Lin as fervently as they are. However, they simultaneously display their underlying fears or self-consciousness by blocking Knicks games from being shown here because Taiwanese flags are sometimes seen in the background. Besides the fact that this is a genuinely fascinating sports story, the added bonus of the political and cultural gamesmanship is icing on the cake.

Another great find from the weekend. While I was perusing the PBS website for episodes of Antiques Roadshow (you think I’m joking? I’m not. I love that shit) I stumbled upon a gem. If you are even remotely into Tom Waits, and have some time to spare (which is doubtful considering the amount of emails I received last week after my request… that's me being bitter, but have no fear, chumps, I'm keeping score), go here: http://video.pbs.org/video/2179574410 Get a drink, or a bottle, and enjoy. Bonus: a little Minneapolis reference in one of my favorite songs of his.

Friends, Romans, countrymen

As I do most Mondays, I spent a bit of today thinking about what I would put up for a post this evening. Unlike most Mondays, the deans just took some of the foreign teachers out for hot pot. This means I’ve spent the past couple of hours being plied with food and drink. This puts me in a situation where I’m finally letting my less motivated side get the best of me.

Since coming to China at the end of August, I made a point to share something of my experiences here on a weekly basis. I feel that since I have done this unfailingly, including a couple of cheeky posts from India, I’ve earned the right to sit one out. But instead of merely saying “back next week,” I’ve decided to flip the tables. If you read this and haven’t written dear old Seamus in sometime, well, it’s your turn. I don’t require much, only a quick hello or a brief update will suffice.

Just in case you’ve forgotten: seamus.folliard@gmail.com

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if there are any episodes of COPS I can catch up on. That’s about my speed this evening.

Shanghaied

So my recent glut of travel has come to an end for a while, and it was not a bad way to finish. Shanghai, as almost every place I’ve visited while here, is undoubtedly a city to see. I felt the following about Shanghai: it is a great starter city when first visiting Asia, it is like China with training wheels. Besides being a great Chinese city for newcomers, Shanghai is also perfect for the westerns in China who needs the warm embrace of western comforts without the so much of the aggressive stimuli that is more ever present in other Chinese cities. It is far more western than anywhere I have been here; Hong Kong included. In general, though there is still the pace of a major Chinese cosmopolitan city, it doesn’t feel as chaotic. However, the down side of this is that Chinese outside Shanghai, and Hong Kong for that matter, view their countrymen in these cities as a colonized; this is not meant as a compliment. For their part, I don’t think Shanghainese or Hong Kongers are exactly bending over backwards to make nice with the Chinese outside their cities. All of this is quite beside the point: intranational grudges and jealousies aside, Shanghai is awesome. Onto the happenings.

My first night in Shanghai I met two Irish brothers from Stillorgan in Dublin. One lived in China, the other was visiting on holiday. They were the first Irish I had seen since leaving Minneapolis last summer. Pints were had, craic ensued. It was interesting to hear their take on the current economic, social, and political climate back in Ireland. For those unfamiliar with what that climate is like, well, it's not great. Nothing that is insurmountable, but there will be bruises felt for a long time by many people. They talked about how many of their friends (and obviously the one brother living in China) have left the country in search of work. Up until the 1990’s, Ireland was long a nation of emigration. It would seem that the old, familiar, and unpleasant tradition has returned. One of my two first cousins back in Ireland has left for London. Bit sidetracked there, back to Shanghai.

After the pints with the brothers, there maybe was a late night (or early morning, depending on perspective) trip to McDonald’s, where the words, “dude, America is the best” were or were not spoken after a bite out a Big Mac. We’ll leave it at that.

The next day I went to the Shanghai Art Museum, which was world class. It houses all sorts of ancient Chinese artifacts, some of which make you realize that there was a long stretch of time where, in certain areas, Chinese civilization had developed light-years ahead of the west. Now they are playing catch up, but doing so in a uniquely Chinese and highly effective fashion. This museum had pieces going back to the 18^th century BCE. Though I slept through an art history course during my undergrad career, I am far from qualified to expound on this topic. Sufficed to say, it was a fascinating, thought-provoking visit.

Another place of great interest I visited was called The Bund. This is a very unChinese area of Shanghai that has architecture similar the older, Art Deco buildings in Chicago. One of my favorite activities to do in any new city is to walk around for hours with no real agenda. Shanghai was a great walking city. I even saw snow for the first time since last winter as I walked down Nanjing Road, the main shopping drag. As with many destinations heavily trafficked by tourists, the hawkers were out in droves. The ones in are Nanjing were quick to offer a solo, western, male tourist a narrow range of services. Eyes forward, keep marching.

My last night in town a friend of a friend from back home took me out on the town to some of the expat haunts. He is a lawyer and, more importantly, a fantastic host, who has been in Shanghai for some time, and certainly knows his way around. We went out in the French Concession, which was an area of town replete with lao wai, and again, was far more reminiscent of a western city than a Chinese one; great part of town. We had a killer night out at some classic places. If anyone reading this has plans to visit Shanghai in the future, something I highly recommend, drop me a line; there are a few places not to be missed.

That will be the last of the travel posts for some time. It has been a whirlwind the past couple of months, some experiences I won’t soon forget, and will certainly elaborate on upon my return next summer. Due to the resumption of work, and a beleaguered bank account, I’ll be mostly sedentary the next few months. Something I’m not opposed to. Though the challenges are still present here, I’ve also grown increasingly accustomed to living in Chongqing. I also realize that this is still an opportunity to be relished and breathed in as deeply as possible. I’m not sure where I will be next fall, but I know that I need to make the most of the time I have remaining this school year.

Classes resumed today, and though I was a bit apprehensive after well over a month off of work, I hit the ground running. Funny what a little experience does to one’s professional abilities.

Until next time.

India, abridged

As I write this the ongoing fireworks in celebration of the Spring Festival have created a scene of what seems to be guerilla tactics combined with call and response explosions. If you’re wondering, “then what the hell are you doing inside writing?”, please allay your concerns; these displays will not be stopping anytime soon. In fact, they have been a nightly affair that began while I was wandering about India, and they will be going until the end of this week. Enough about China, this one is about India.

As I briefly intimated last week, India is a country unlike anywhere I have been. I’ve been living in China for five months now, and I thought going into India – against the better advice of friends that had been there - that it couldn’t be that much more intense than China. Oh, how I was proven wrong. It is a full on assault on ones senses. As my friends’ advice/warnings couldn’t fully prepare me for the experience, I do not expect my stories to give any real sense of what this country is like. However, I will still share a couple. There were three distinct periods to my time in India, so that is how I will present it to you here. Onwards.

I began my trip in Mumbai. I had the pleasure of staying with family friends there that work in the American Schools system; they were both as accommodating and welcoming as possible. They have an apartment that is like a little haven of sanity and amenity in a sea of chaos; outside their door, all bets are off.

Mumbai comes at you like a rabid dog: crazy-eyed, dirty, a bit smelly, and initially intimidating. However, if you hold your ground, it is possible to walk away unscathed.  One of my favorite things to do in a new city is just head to the center and start walking. So I hopped a taxi into town, which is an adventure unto itself. You’ve heard me vent my seething frustrations with the Chinese driving before; much to my confusion and angst, somehow Indian roads are more cutthroat and lawless. Sit back and take it all in. It can take well over an hour to go a handful of kilometers, so it was lucky that I had a cabby that wanted to tell me about nearly every building we pasted. Most were unexceptional, but one stand out was the ‘home’ of Mr. Ambani, one of the wealthiest men in the world. It is a 27-story tower that is the most costly residence in the world. It is also within sight of extreme poverty.

I have had glimpses of what poverty looks like in Central America and here in China, but nothing compares to what I witnessed in India. This poverty isn’t tucked away on the outskirts of the city either. You can find mega-slums replete with mountains of trash, open sewers, and destitute inhabitants all across the city. I won’t comment more on it here as I would be out of my depth on that topic, but it leaves an indelible impression when you see how nearly innumerable amounts of people live in unimaginable conditions. I also saw things there that bordered on the slapstick due to their madness. If I were to us another symbol to describe Mumbai besides the dog, it would probably be the comedy and tragedy masks.

As I was saying, I wandered Mumbai with my eyes wide open. Outside of standard laziness, I rarely find myself feeling overly fatigued. After wrestling with the rabid dog that is Mumbai for one full day, I was shattered that first night. I spent the next two days doing much of the same, seeing the sights of the city, and slowly acclimating to this relentless environment. There are more stories there, but in the interest of brevity I’ll keep moving. Buy me a beer next summer and I’ll share some other takeaways from Mumbai. I should mention, however, that I don’t want you leave you with the notion that I left Mumbai with negative impression or that I had a terrible time: quite the opposite. In my eyes, it was invaluable. However, I could have done without the six hour train delay that kept me from sitting on the beach in Goa. General infrastructure and basic efficiencies leave so much to be desired in India.

But I did make it to the beach, and it was all that I had hoped for. As I mentioned before I left on this trip, the reason I chose to go to Goa was that I never see the sun or breathe fresh air; any place that could provide me with these two basic needs, I was fully into. Goa gave me this and much, much more. I stayed on a serene beach in a beach hut run by a local fisherman who was about the nicest guy you’d want to meet. Agonda Beach is a 2km stretch of beach that is quite, beautiful, and precisely what I needed. I saw stars and the moon, which may sound quite mundane, but go a few months without seeing these heavenly bodies, and you’d be surprised how much you miss them.

Besides that I ran, read, acquired a crimson hue, drank beer, ate the freshest seafood one can have, and lazed. Hard. Near the end of my time there a group of Norwegian architecture grad students showed up, and they were a great laugh. I had fully relaxed by that point, and the company was welcome. I spent a few days with them as they were quick to bring me into their group of 10 or so. Two of my favorite parts of hanging out with them are as follows: one night all the girls took off for a ‘girls night out’. Myself and the lads stayed behind at our spot, we had a brief cultural exchange, which in this case was drinking games from our respective countries, and chopped it up for a few hours. At one point one of the guys was commanding one of the myriad beach dogs to “Sit!”, and I told him the dog only spoke Norwegian, at which another one of his friends turned to me with a bemused look and said, “that is Norwegian.” The other was an insult that shall not be reprinted here lest certain family members or future employers don’t quite appreciate the humor. But for the stout of heart, shoot me an email and I’ll pass it on. It is strong, hilarious, and somehow sounded even better when spoken in Norwegian. That’s all for Goa. Again, there are plenty more stories there, but for another time.

The next and final stop was visiting friends in Bangalore. Again, these three experiences in Mumbai, Goa, and Bangalore were unique and equally cherished, but having the chance to hang out with some American friends who are one year veterans of the India game was just fantastic. It was a great mix of feeling like I was back home when we were at their house (which could have been a nice, quiet subdivision in San Diego), and then having them take me around Bangalore and out into the countryside on a tour of some ancient and remarkable sites. Like my friends’ home in Mumbai, once you walk out the neighborhood gates, it is India in your face. One of the most enjoyable and enlightening aspects of my visit was the opportunity to share and compare experiences with friends who live as expats in another massive Asian country, and though there were certainly similarities, the differences were stark. They were hosts beyond what I could have expected, and my time in Bangalore was highlighted simply by spending time with friends.

This is getting on in length, and I am growing tired, however, I want to add a few parting thoughts. As I stated in my New Year post encouraging travel and expressing what it means to me, this belief was further fixed in me by my trip to India. Just as China has given me a whole new perspective on the US, India gave me a fresh look at China. Please understand this is not an attempt to denigrate the country of India, a place I truly hope to see again, but it seems unfathomable that anything gets done there. I was not oblivious to the fact that hundreds of millions of Indians live in poverty and the cities were not as pristine as Minneapolis (one of the most beautiful cities in the world, all hyperbole aside), but there are unavoidable truths about India that shock the first time visitor; truths that I cannot do justice to through my writing. The fact that it is considered to be one of the rising world powers is hard to imagine when one sees the ubiquitous inefficiencies and disheartening poverty, and also hears the tales of endemic corruption that are widespread amongst the media, expats, and, most tellingly, the Indians themselves. I’m not saying China has it all figured out; far from it. The problems here are often less obvious, but at the same time they are as often more troubling. However, in comparison with India, China seems like it seriously has its house in order. Not a difficult thing to do.

Right, there is an hour of writing. I’m going to go back to the fireworks. Oh, you thought they stopped? Ha! Act like you’ve been here before.

P.S. I write these posts in one shot, sans editing. So if the flow isn’t always the best, or there are a few typos in the mix, please excuse them. Also, you get what you pay for.