Those pesky little scamps have been at it again. Blogger.com has been 'mysteriously' inaccessible for the last three weeks...Blocked, yes blocked, by the Chinese gov. internet censoring policies. This summer sees the 20th anniversary of some rather sensitive events, involving a certain large public four-sided area in Beijing. The internet police have become more vigilant and have blocked a number of websites; Blogger, Twitter, Youtube to name a few. But now I fooled them, I FOOLED THEM. HAHAHAHHA!
It's been a mad couple of weeks. I've had ongoing 签证 hassles, random '德国人' incidents, borderline abduction by my 学生, the amazing discovery of 梅酒 meijiu (lit. beautiful alcohol..made from plums), being asked out multiple times, daily trips to the 水果 market to load up on ingredients for my wicked smoothies and juices...etc...
But after all that madness, even after having finally accessed my blog, I feel drained, lazy and completely demotivated to continue writing. Time for a 啤酒(beer).
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Monday, 11 May 2009
Hot Steamy Fun
Last night Sara and I decided to sleep in a Chinese sauna. Every Chinese city is scattered with these places, where you can steam yourself silly, eat dinner, get scrubbed down with salt and even spend the night in a comfy bed (useful when travelling as cheaper than a hotel).
At this sauna, I confronted and overcame a personal boundary (mentioned in an early post) about being naked in front of people. I'm not shy because I have body issues, on the contrary I'm reasonably confident about my body. I just find the idea of being publicly naked uncomfortable in China, because people here don't need ANOTHER excuse to stare! When I went to saunas in the past, I always made a big deal about remaining fully clothed at all times. This time I was determined to try the full body salt scrub, which is rumoured to be amazingly good for your skin. Unfortunately it requires being fully naked and allowing a Chinese lady to rub you all over. Feeling brave, I took the plunge. She looked at me in astonishment when I said I wanted to have the salt scrub, but commanded me to get naked. Which I did, and then stood there waiting while she prepared the scrubbing equipment (all the time thinking 'why didn't you do this BEFORE I took the clothes off, lady!') Once things got started, it was fine and I quickly got used to the sensation of being roughly scraped and scrubbed with salt. The lady also massaged me, which hurt quite a lot! Twenty minutes later it was over and I was sent off to take a shower. The experience wasn't nearly as bad as I'd always expected it to be - and I'm quite pleased with myself for having the confidence to go for it.
At this sauna, I confronted and overcame a personal boundary (mentioned in an early post) about being naked in front of people. I'm not shy because I have body issues, on the contrary I'm reasonably confident about my body. I just find the idea of being publicly naked uncomfortable in China, because people here don't need ANOTHER excuse to stare! When I went to saunas in the past, I always made a big deal about remaining fully clothed at all times. This time I was determined to try the full body salt scrub, which is rumoured to be amazingly good for your skin. Unfortunately it requires being fully naked and allowing a Chinese lady to rub you all over. Feeling brave, I took the plunge. She looked at me in astonishment when I said I wanted to have the salt scrub, but commanded me to get naked. Which I did, and then stood there waiting while she prepared the scrubbing equipment (all the time thinking 'why didn't you do this BEFORE I took the clothes off, lady!') Once things got started, it was fine and I quickly got used to the sensation of being roughly scraped and scrubbed with salt. The lady also massaged me, which hurt quite a lot! Twenty minutes later it was over and I was sent off to take a shower. The experience wasn't nearly as bad as I'd always expected it to be - and I'm quite pleased with myself for having the confidence to go for it.
Streamline Your Life
Buy a netbook instead of a standard size notebook. Netbooks are ultra-portable, with lots of hard drive space and all the functions of their heftier cousins. I use an s10 by Lenovo.Get a multi-purpose PDA style phone. One iPhone can replace your plain old phone, camera, mp3 player and all your books! I didn't go for the iPhone, but bought a Nokia e71, which looks beautifully business-like (think
Blackberry) and has all the useful features including a camera, ebook reader etc.
Throw out your library and replace it all with ebooks. These can be downloaded, many for free, from the internet and stored on your computer or phone. As mentioned above, the best devices for reading ebooks are Nokia e-series, iPhone or Blackberry.
Never, ever, own any CDs. Are you mad? That's what mp3s are for. CDs are heavy, annoying wastes of space. Wait until you own a house to start building up a large physical music collection. Chances are anyway, by that time we will all be using a brand new format to store our music, and CDs will be totally obsolete.
Downsize your clothes frequently - at least every season, go through your wardrobe and be brutal. If you haven't worn it for the last year, it's never going to be worn. Get rid!
Buy a good sturdy washbag with lots of compartments for different things. Keep an eye on your bathroom and cosmetic products and don't allow them to amass out of control. Travel sizes might be a good idea for saving space, but they're not very economical.
Avoid carrying round large amounts of paperwork. Store important documents online. Make scans/digital photos of them and email them to your Gmail account, or use an online vault like www.humyo.com to keep them all safe. Alternatively, storing them on your laptop is ok too, just don't forget to keep backups.
Don't buy souvenirs, just take photos, write blogs and make friends.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Early Riser
After reading Steve Pavlina's blog posts on the benefits of early rising, I've been trying to incorporate this idea into my life. Needless to say, I haven't been totally successful. Steve suggests that 5am is a good time to aim for.
But it's haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrd! I'm not really a fan of staying in bed late, but 5am was just a step too far. Today, though, I was awake at 5 without even trying. Deciding to make the most of this, I got up, put on some running gear and headed for Lab
our Park with my camera. The day was already warm, and quite a lot of people were out on the streets. In the park, groups of elderly people were strolling around, dancing in formation, doing tai chi, stretching out their limbs and exercising their lungs by yelling loudly. A few joggers were doing laps of the park, and I followed in their wake. Running meant I missed the chance to observe my surroundings more closely, so I soon gave up and relaxed into a walk, taking in all the activity buzzing in the park. Just inside the entrance to the park was a large display to commemorate this year, 2009, as the 50th birthday of the People's Republic of China.October 1st will be the real time for celebrations, as on this day in 1949 Mao Zedong stood in Tian'anmen Square and declared the country a communist People's Republic. This isn't the only event in Chinese history for which 2009 marks a significant anniversary; 20 years ago,
Tian'anmen Square became infamous as a scene of chaos, terror and bloodshed. In the Western world, most of us know what happened, so I don't need to discuss further here (Big Brother may be lurking... ;)There may also be an important Tibet-related anniversary, but I'm not certain. So far this year, Tibet has been closed to foreign travellers because of ‘security issues’ (read: fear of protests and chaos making China look bad). I heard it will reopen soon, or has already done so.
I digress...
Back to Labour Park, I hiked up to the viewing station and looked out over downtown Dalian. The view includes the giant football that signifies Dalian's past as a national football champ. There is a whole fairground incorporated into the park, with random rides scattered around the place and a cable car that goes up the hill to a place I have never been. An important feature is the rollercoaster that seems to be dormant at the moment, but will come to life in the summer months, when crazy people ride on it. Not forgetting the Ferris wheel, just like the one I once saw across the Yalu River on the North Korean shore - but much better used...
At one point I tried to take a short cut to get out of the park, but found myself stuck behind a spiky iron fence. China certainly likes to keep its citizens under control, not too much free roaming for us. Jackie Chan recently got in trouble for saying that 'Chinese people need to be controlled', but it seems the remark was taken out of context and he was actually referring solely to the entertainment industry. With the iron fisted government approach, I don't think we presently need to worry TOO much about lack of control.
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Monsoon!
One thing I really like about Dalian is that it hardly ever rains. Although the winters are harsh with a ferocious Siberian wind, the sky is blue every day and it stays dry. Today is a different tale and the rain is pissing down in buckets, turning the badly-drained streets into rivers and making the pavements into a slippery nightmare.
I don't know if it is Dalian's lack of experience with rain, or just Chinese people in general, but everything slides into instant chaos when the heavens open. The roads are clogged with traffic, everyone beeping their horns and generally contributing to a big heaving mess. The me-first attitude adopted whilst driving becomes even more clear, as accidents pile up due to people who refuse to check their mirrors before pulling out. In my office building, staff were waiting at the front entrance with stocks of plastic bags, handing them out to everyone who came in, to store their soggy umbrellas. More staff were working outside, dressed in layers of plastic, sweeping the torrents of water away from the entrance. I arrived for work at 8am, taking a taxi to make sure I got there on time. The place was deserted. I waited for half an hour standing outside the door doing nothing but drinking soy bean milk. Then enough was enough, and I headed to the sanity of Starbucks, where the wifi signal is strong and the chairs are comfy. Unfortunately, I have a student at 10am. And I have to explain an incomprehensible and fist-munchingly boring article to her. But my application to Belgium is almost ready to send, and there will be others to follow.
I don't know if it is Dalian's lack of experience with rain, or just Chinese people in general, but everything slides into instant chaos when the heavens open. The roads are clogged with traffic, everyone beeping their horns and generally contributing to a big heaving mess. The me-first attitude adopted whilst driving becomes even more clear, as accidents pile up due to people who refuse to check their mirrors before pulling out. In my office building, staff were waiting at the front entrance with stocks of plastic bags, handing them out to everyone who came in, to store their soggy umbrellas. More staff were working outside, dressed in layers of plastic, sweeping the torrents of water away from the entrance. I arrived for work at 8am, taking a taxi to make sure I got there on time. The place was deserted. I waited for half an hour standing outside the door doing nothing but drinking soy bean milk. Then enough was enough, and I headed to the sanity of Starbucks, where the wifi signal is strong and the chairs are comfy. Unfortunately, I have a student at 10am. And I have to explain an incomprehensible and fist-munchingly boring article to her. But my application to Belgium is almost ready to send, and there will be others to follow.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Chinese National Stereotypes
This came from my adult class today, where we brainstormed national stereotypes:
French: romantic, lazy, drink red wine, don't like children.
Germans: Nazis, Hitler, drink very much beer, huge, attentive to detail.
Japanese: serious, polite, like children very much.
English: gentleman, polite, handsome, have different opinions to the Americans
American: open, loud, human rights, war, Obama.
Indian: yoga, mysterious, good with computers, clever.
Purely the opinions of my students with no input from the teacher whatsoever. Honest.
French: romantic, lazy, drink red wine, don't like children.
Germans: Nazis, Hitler, drink very much beer, huge, attentive to detail.
Japanese: serious, polite, like children very much.
English: gentleman, polite, handsome, have different opinions to the Americans
American: open, loud, human rights, war, Obama.
Indian: yoga, mysterious, good with computers, clever.
Purely the opinions of my students with no input from the teacher whatsoever. Honest.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Quest for Health, Wealth and Wisdom (and cheap education)
The philosopher Aristotle once said, "It is wise to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth and wisdom."
I have never been fond of lying in bed till noon, but the idea of gaining an entire working month of extra time each year sounded fantastic. My usual getting-up time ranges between 6.30 and 8am, but on Steve Pavlina's life improvement blog he discusses how you can train yourself to rise at 5am, every single morning, forever. Even 30 minutes earlier adds up to a full working month per year, but that extra 90 minutes per day adds up to three full working months, 120 hours per year. That's an awful lot of useful and potentially productive time. Like Steve, I find that my motivation levels rise higher when I am up early and they remain high the whole day. Being a fan of multi-tasking and methods to squeeze more out of each day, I've decided to try out Steve's suggestions. Today I managed to get up at 6.30. As it's my day off today and I had a late night yesterday, I think this is not bad. But from tomorrow on, the 5am regime will begin.
Steve's blog is at: www.stevepavlina.com and is totally worth checking out.
Today is Qing Ming Jie, or Tomb-sweeping Fesitival. On this day, Chinese people visit and take care of their deceased relatives' graves. They also burn paper money on street crossroads. The belief is that this sends the cash to the "other side" where it can be used by dead family members." In reality, many of my students told me that they live too far from the location of the graveyards and will just be using this day as a fine chance for a long relaxing weekend. The kind Chinese govt. gives everyone an extra Monday off work. I've planned a productive day, involving intensive university research and a few applications.
The choices (so far) are as follows:
MSc in International Management at Exeter or Roborough, MSc in Process and Project Management at Warwick, MA in Modern Chinese Studies at Oxford; and a variety of similar courses at universities in the Netherlands and Germany. Studying in the Netherlands is
my most recent idea, because the tuition fees are a fraction of those in the UK. Back home, I'd have to spend at least 5000 pounds for a year's tuition. Universities can charge whatever they like for postgrad education. However in the Netherlands, I found many equivalent masters courses, in English, for around 1500 euros. Also, as they are also EU, I can easily and freely find part-time work without the need for any visa documentation. Unlike Sweden's, which has already passed, the Netherlands' uni application deadline is still far off in May or June. Sweden offers undergrad and postgrad education entirely free of charge even to foreigners and even has a huge selection of subjects taught in English. But I guess it's pretty competitive, as for anything free, and they close the application window in January of the same year. Oxford is on my list just because it would be amazing to study there, if I could ever get accepted onto any programme. I picked Modern Chinese Studies because it seems like I might have a fighting chance of acceptance. Four years experience in the field plus language skills must mean something...
I already feel very motivated and productive by writing this blog post at 7.40 am, so now I'm going to continue my disciplined new lifestyle by NOT drinking coffee for breakfast. Even the civet variety... ;-)
I have never been fond of lying in bed till noon, but the idea of gaining an entire working month of extra time each year sounded fantastic. My usual getting-up time ranges between 6.30 and 8am, but on Steve Pavlina's life improvement blog he discusses how you can train yourself to rise at 5am, every single morning, forever. Even 30 minutes earlier adds up to a full working month per year, but that extra 90 minutes per day adds up to three full working months, 120 hours per year. That's an awful lot of useful and potentially productive time. Like Steve, I find that my motivation levels rise higher when I am up early and they remain high the whole day. Being a fan of multi-tasking and methods to squeeze more out of each day, I've decided to try out Steve's suggestions. Today I managed to get up at 6.30. As it's my day off today and I had a late night yesterday, I think this is not bad. But from tomorrow on, the 5am regime will begin.
Steve's blog is at: www.stevepavlina.com and is totally worth checking out.
Today is Qing Ming Jie, or Tomb-sweeping Fesitival. On this day, Chinese people visit and take care of their deceased relatives' graves. They also burn paper money on street crossroads. The belief is that this sends the cash to the "other side" where it can be used by dead family members." In reality, many of my students told me that they live too far from the location of the graveyards and will just be using this day as a fine chance for a long relaxing weekend. The kind Chinese govt. gives everyone an extra Monday off work. I've planned a productive day, involving intensive university research and a few applications.
The choices (so far) are as follows:
MSc in International Management at Exeter or Roborough, MSc in Process and Project Management at Warwick, MA in Modern Chinese Studies at Oxford; and a variety of similar courses at universities in the Netherlands and Germany. Studying in the Netherlands is
my most recent idea, because the tuition fees are a fraction of those in the UK. Back home, I'd have to spend at least 5000 pounds for a year's tuition. Universities can charge whatever they like for postgrad education. However in the Netherlands, I found many equivalent masters courses, in English, for around 1500 euros. Also, as they are also EU, I can easily and freely find part-time work without the need for any visa documentation. Unlike Sweden's, which has already passed, the Netherlands' uni application deadline is still far off in May or June. Sweden offers undergrad and postgrad education entirely free of charge even to foreigners and even has a huge selection of subjects taught in English. But I guess it's pretty competitive, as for anything free, and they close the application window in January of the same year. Oxford is on my list just because it would be amazing to study there, if I could ever get accepted onto any programme. I picked Modern Chinese Studies because it seems like I might have a fighting chance of acceptance. Four years experience in the field plus language skills must mean something...
I already feel very motivated and productive by writing this blog post at 7.40 am, so now I'm going to continue my disciplined new lifestyle by NOT drinking coffee for breakfast. Even the civet variety... ;-)
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