I realized this morning that even though the Chinese don't follow the polite expressions that are used in the States - my Grandmother always says that I am too polite to be truly Chinese, and if bumped into, apologies are rare- that doesn't say anything about character. Other drivers this morning went out of their way to make sure my yi-yeye knew the license plate was falling off, even going so far as to get out of their cars. I also admire the resourcefulness of my relatives in creating a temporary solution by trying a wide range of techniques and materials. They didn't let the situation immediately defeat them and call a service like AAA to take care of it, but improvised ways to fix it hands-on.
This morning, I packed up to return to Shanghai for the start of Session 2 classes tomorrow! My flight was at 11:35, so my yi-nainai, my grandmother's younger sister, and my yi-yeye, her sister's husband, drove my grandmother and I to the airport. It had rained all night and was still heavily raining on the road. My yi-yeye had borrowed a friend's car because his car was stuck in the deep water around their apartment complex. On the radio, I could hear the announcer say that Wuhan had received 1.5 meters of rain so far. The typical traffic jam was further worsened by the slow pace that everyone was driving at because of the rain. I could see pedestrians along the street walking in water almost up to their waist. When we cleared the local roads with high water levels, a motorcyclist in front of us started gesturing frantically to the front of our car. My yi-yeye pulled to the side and got out to take a look. One of the bolts holding the license plate to the car had fallen off in the flood, leaving the plate dangling off by one edge. After attempts to take it off with a pocket knife failed and led to a sliced finger, he tried to use twigs to hold it in place, However, other drivers still continued to point at the front of the car as we drove. One such driver even got out of his car in the middle of the road to let my yi-yeye know. We stopped again to take a look, and using the string from the waistband of a pair of shorts packed in my suitcase, we were able to create a temporary fastener to keep it in place. Although the whole experience of getting to the airport was extremely nerve-wracking as I worried I wouldn't make my flight in time, we did and it turned out to be delayed anyway.
I realized this morning that even though the Chinese don't follow the polite expressions that are used in the States - my Grandmother always says that I am too polite to be truly Chinese, and if bumped into, apologies are rare- that doesn't say anything about character. Other drivers this morning went out of their way to make sure my yi-yeye knew the license plate was falling off, even going so far as to get out of their cars. I also admire the resourcefulness of my relatives in creating a temporary solution by trying a wide range of techniques and materials. They didn't let the situation immediately defeat them and call a service like AAA to take care of it, but improvised ways to fix it hands-on. I went to the chāshì, or supermarket, with my grandmother today, which was like a Walmart ( if you can find bamboo billows and baozi, or Chinese buns, at your local Walmart). Looking around, I noticed that a lot of items came with free stuff plastic wrapped to them. For example, a package of crackers came with a plastic bin attached. The free stuff could be attached to all of the same product, or only a couple of them. It could also vary across the product. A case of yogurt, for example, had 2 "free" cups wrapped to it, while another of the same brand came with a plastic bowl, and another came inside a free plastic purse. I feel like most of the free items were not related at all to the product being sold. It seemed like the salespeople arbitrarily taped whatever they wanted on. When I told my grandma that it was great we could get free stuff, she said it didn't necessarily mean the product was the best. The yogurt that came with free items usually had a closer expiration date, and other times it was to get people to purchase a harder-to-sell item.Anyway, I thought it was fantastic, The only free items I've ever gotten at markets in the States are free samples. I think the workplace policies are different here as well; they seem a lot more relaxed. I saw a small group of employees just laughing with each other in a circle, behavior in the States that might be rebuked as unprofessional.
I had my final exams for my Session 1 Classes this morning, marking the end of these first 5 weeks and arrived in Wuhan tonight. My roommate, Lisa, is staying the night at my grandmother's place. Her dad arrived in China from the States two weeks ago and visited Shanghai before embarking on a sightseeing tour of various cities in China. His visit to Wuhan coincided with when I would be returning, so my roommate came back with me tonight and will meet up with her father tomorrow. They are returning to their hometown of Enping in Guangdong province, the same small city that my mother's side is from. Because Enping is a very rural town, it is a strange coincidence that we have met through this summer school program. When our USAC director first met Lisa and I, she said it was the first time she had ever heard of Enping, let along have two students from there who happened to be roommates. Enping has a very independent dialect under the Cantonese branch, called Enping hua (the word of Enping). Since my mother's side speaks it, I can understand and speak a little.
Wuhan has a dialect too. I never realized a difference in the way I speak Mandarin before the other USAC kids pointed it out but apparently there is. One of the differences is that I make the s sound in words when it's actually meant to be the sh. For example, the Chinese word for water is shui, but I pronounce it as sui because that is how I learned the word through my family. When this was first brought to my attention, I was amazed at how many words this slight difference in pronounciation affected. Although I think the difference is unnoticeable, my friends always pick up on it. Lisa pointed out tonight that my relatives also don't say "sh", so it must be part of the dialect and not just my own mispronunciation. It's great being home again! On the way from the airport to my grandma's, Lisa and I pointed out the characters, or hanzi, that we've learned so far on signs, which my relatives thought was hilarious because we could probably only read every 20th character or so that we saw. Since arriving in Shanghai, I think I have eaten at least 75 popsicles. Whenever I pass by a convenience shop with the too-familiar freezer case of ice cream, I tell myself that I'm going to just look at what flavors they have. Somehow I always end up buying one. The great thing is that they range from 2 yuan-8 yuan, or 30 cents to $1.30- that may actually be a bad thing in my case. Anyway, I've decided to start documenting all the delicious varieties of ice cream. Wish they were available in the States! As a DAAPer, I'm used to seeing guys with cuffed pants walking around in studio. The male first year architecture studio professors cuffed everything from denim to corduroy bottoms, and my fellow studio male members subconsciously (or consciously) had followed suit by the end of last semester. I think that's why I haven't really noticed how unusually common it is for men to cuff their pants here until one of my friends pointed it out today on the subway. However, I don't think it's as much as a fashion statement in China as it is done out of necessity to keep pant hems from getting dirty. Most shop owners sweep their trash onto the streets outside, and pedestrians will often litter even if a trash can is close by. I've read online that most places in China don't have littering laws, and laws that exist aren't strictly enforced. My language partner says that most Chinese don't think about the effects of littering because they believe that the street cleaners will come by and pick up the trash anyway. The street cleaners that I've seen around the city have straw brooms and small carts attached onto the backs of motorized bikes(I'll have to attach a picture later). They either sweep it or pick it up manually. I don't think its really so much carelessness as it is the norm to throw trash onto the streets. The few times I've asked shopowners if I can throw something away in their trashbin, they seem confused and tell me to throw it outside. Even at Qipu Lu Market, where there are hundreds and hundreds of stalls of cheap clothing, shoppers throw their trash onto the small walkways between stalls, where it gathers until the sweepers make their rounds. Although I don't condone littering, I don't think that it should be completely looked down upon because its as much of the Chinese culture as dumplings and dragon boat races. However, that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be reformed for the well-being of both the people and the environment.
There are so many talented craftsmen here in the streets. I met a guy today who made the above little bikes out of copper wire. They had an incredible amount of detail in them, down to the gears and bike stands. There were different kinds, including a typical street bike, an unicycle, and a tandem bike. The most basic bike was 10 yuan, or $1.63; the most complicated was 65 yuan, or $10.60. Most locally-made items in the States are normally relatively pricey, so I felt like he could have sold his items for a higher price. However, I overheard a Chinese woman walking by comment to her friend, "Who would pay 10 for that?", which makes me wonder if they don't value hand-crafted works as much because there are many craftsmen working on the streets. Unlike most vendors, this man wasn't aggressive but simply continued to bend wire into a new bike while we admired his display. It was amazing to see what he could do with copper wire and pliers. I wanted to ask him how he had learned to craft them, but he seemed to be unable to speak and we communicated through hand gestures.
Went to work at FIDA today. I like going on days when I don't have any classes because it takes so long to get there. I ride the subway for about 40 minutes and then walk for about 30, so it normally takes between an hour and an hour and a half to get there, but I don't mind. It is definitely worth it. I am still helping Fish, the principle architect, with finding and contacting companies that specialize in designing and creating hanging trains. I currently have three companies in mind- one that has done hanging train systems for mass transit networks, one who is the leader in designing cable systems, and another who specializes in track design (like roller coasters). The hope for this project is to design a hanging train system for a resort in the mountains that can curve around the mountains, go around the cliff on one side, and swoop down to the valley and river below. Fish does not want to have a typical lift design found at most resorts. It is also very important that the train be as environmentally friendly as possible. The site has an area that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it is vital that the project has as little impact as possible on the environment.
I also met another new employee today who is going to be doing marketing for the design firm. She speaks English, so I can converse with her very well when my Chinese can't suffice. Fish is the only other person that I have met in this company who speaks English. I am definitely being pushed to speak in Chinese and I am happy for this additional opportunity to improve! We didn't have classes today because of the Dragon Boat Festival (Chinese students didn't have class Monday or Tuesday either). Unfortunately, there aren't any dragon boat races going on in the city near us. My Chinese teacher said that people here normally just eat zongzi and spend time with their family. Zongzi is a pyramidal-shaped traditional Chinese food that is made with an outside covering of sticky rice wrapped in bamboo with various fillings such as red beans, mushrooms, and Chinese sausage. They are very delicious; my grandmother can make them as well. My roommate, tongwu, and I enjoyed some dipped in sugar and then went shopping for the rest of the day! I accompanied my roommate today to the Chinese hospital because she was experiencing stomach pains. The procedure of seeing an doctor is completely different than at an American hospital. First, we waited in a line to get a patient form. Next, we waited in a different line to give the completed patient form to a receptionist. Then, we went to the doctor's room where my roommate described what kind of pain she was experiencing. The doctor's room was a small approximately 6 by 6 foot space that had an examining bed against the single, small window. A curtain could be closed to give that area some privacy. There were two desks inside the room, a doctor at each so that two patients could be addressed at the same time in the small space. After this step, we waited in another line to give the doctor's slip to the receptionist. Then, my roommate waited in line to get her finger pricked for a blood test and receive materials for a urine sample, after which we waited in another line to give that to someone. After this was all done, we waited for the results of the tests, and then spoke to the original doctor about that. My roommate had a more thorough analysis of the area in which she felt the pain behind the curtain. The doctor concluded after looking at the blood test that there was nothing too serious, gave no prescriptions, and said to return later if the pain became more severe. Everything was in Chinese, including the paperwork. We were lucky that the USAC director was with us and knew exactly what to do with everything, but even she had trouble understanding the Chinese medical jargon. We were at the hospital for about an hour and a half, and left with the diagnosis of stomach cramps. The setup of the Chinese Hospital was far different than a Western Hospital with the lack of private examination rooms for patients, personal attention by nurses, and the many long lines. However, there were far more patients waiting here for care than I've ever seen at a Western Hospital. Although it was crowded, the place looked clean and there were open windows and doors for cross ventilation.
Had a great time in Hangzhou this weekend! On Saturday, we visited the Lingyin Scenic Area, located in the northwest of the West Lake. This Scenic Area is centered around a mountain peak named "Peak Flying From Afar." Legend is that the Indian monk who first came to the area in 326 A.D. was surprised by this peak, whose material was different from that of the others. The material was common in India, but not in China. Hence, it was thus named as a peak from a faraway place such as his homeland. We were able to go into the numerous caves in the mountain. The peak has more than 300 Buddha statues carved into it, probably by the various monks who meditated here. The peak is next to Lingyin Temple, built by the same Indian monk and still one of the largest Zen Buddhist Temples in China. Monks of all ages come here to learn the teachings of Buddhism and practice chanting at different times throughout the day. We were able to listen to them chant their daily lessons. They sat in 2 groups of rows facing each other, and each group was led by a monk sitting in the first row. The monks were dressed in golden yellow rows. I noticed that in both groups, elderly women sat in maroon colored robes in the rows towards the back; I'm not sure what their role was. The monks seemed unfazed by all of the tourists surrounding their ceremony. However, my favorite exhibit was the Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats, which was a structure of 4 wings that contained 500 life-size bronze statues of arhats, the enlightened followers of the Buddha. Supposedly, all 500 are different, which seemed to be true. One was holding up a staff, another playing an instrument, one even seemed to be on the toilet. In the middle of the room was a bronze canopy. The ceiling was patterned with a square design containing the swastika symbol. The swastika was originally an ancient Hindu symbol that meant luck or rebirth. It was commonly used in Indian texts and artwork, and as seen in this structure, was also a symbol used in Buddhism. It was only until the Nazis wrongly stole the symbol to represent their superiority that it became associated with hate and evil. After, we checked into the Scholars Hotel for the night. The lobby of the hotel had a table set up for visitors to practice their calligraphy! The paper for it was really cool because it is used with water, not ink. When the water hit the paper, it was black and looked like ink, but dried clear so that the paper could be reused. The lobby also featured Mahjong , a Chinese board game, a Chinese harp, Gu-Zheng, and a traditional tea set. It was a very beautiful place. The girls and I had a great night getting massages at a nearby place for 178 yuan, or 29 American dollars. In the States, a service of similar quality would be more than 100 dollars, so we were thrilled with the deal. On Sunday, we traveled to West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lake has many islands, temples, pagodas, and gardens. West Lake is cited as a source of inspiration for Chinese traditional gardens, and walking through open courtyards on islands that seem to be floating on the lake, it is easy to see why. We then took a boat south of the lake to Leifeng Pagoda. The pagoda was constructed in 975 A.D. but collapsed in 1924 and was rebuilt by local governments in 2002. It still looks like a traditional Chinese structure, equipped with a modern elevator and escalator to take you to the top. Our director, You Sha, told us that pagodas were the main structures of expressing hierarchy, an important value of Buddhism. Leifeng Pagoda has 8 sides and 5 stories, and on each story were different wood carvings on the sides depicting the legend of the pagoda. For example, one story is that the pagoda was used to imprison a mortal who tried to steal a magic herb from the immortals. At the very top of the pagoda, the ceiling is made out of a golden material and ornately carved with little figurines in an octagonal shape. I had a great time exploring the site!
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CHINA 2013
I am visiting China for 3 months this summer to visit relatives in Wuhan and study abroad at Shanghai University. Archives
August 2013
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