stale

It's still a personal blog, right?

Currently I have plenty of time at my own disposal since I have no more classes and my internship will only take six weeks in October. But things are as easy as it seems. I'm on the edge of graduation which means I'll become a job hunter soon. It's said that "毕业即失业" (graduation amounts to unemployment) which is true. But it's also true that people around me, despite unsatisfied, all have something to busy with. Yes, as long as you're willing to struggle and sweat, you'll find a way. Mom always tells me that "船到桥头自然直" (cross the bridge when you come to it), but it's a little too Taoist.^^

I'm trying to come into my own over the past few months. I haven't really talked about it but something in my life has changed since mom has a new marriage. Yes,it undoubtedly is a great thing from all aspects. I want her to be happy from the bottom of my heart. But deep down, it sticks out like a sore thumb to me, when a man holds your mom's hand and he's not your father (although it'd be weirder if it were), let alone he even moving in. It's been a long time since my parents split up so I really need time to be re-accustomed to be under the same roof with another guy. Well, he seems a very honest and reserved guy and treats mom very well, so I didn't reveal my feelings but kept everything to myself.

I should harshly reflect on myself too. I was the one who told her not to dwell on the old time and encouraged her to "go back on track in the dating world". But once she found someone and pulled off a new marriage, I become the one who pick on it. Mom worried that her remarriage would have a negative impact on me, so she didn't really consider it when I was younger... Alas, would I be put down as a selfish daughter? Nevertheless, all I have to do now is adjust my attitude. Hope that mom feels all her sacrifice was worth it.

The usual sensible and exuberant Shuo never leaves, but she also plays the baby act from time to time.

Back from Blogger's Block

FYI, I haven't blogged in English for a long while. As you may recognize later, my English is quite rusty now. :P

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This time last year, I was in Beijing. After that I visited Shanghai, Nanjing and my hometown Lianyungang. It sounds like a crazy vacation. But just a few days ago, I came back from Yunnan. I feel lucky to get the chance to explore this much. My trip to Yunnan lasted more than two weeks and I left my footprints in Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La and Sipsongpannna.

Travelling in Yunnan could easily wear you out, because transferring between different cities usually take you 5-8 hours (either by train or coach). Before I set foot on Yunnan, people kept telling me that Yunnan was "ruined" and commercialized by the local government. I thought I was well prepared to deal with it, but still encountered several unpleasant situations in Yunnan. But good thing that all this effort really paid off when I got to the marvelous natural landscapes.

After 24 hours on the train, I arrived in Kunming. But later I took another train to Dali, without staying over night. Dali is called Dali Bai Nationality Autonomous Prefecture in full name. As its name says, it's run by people of Bai minority. But in Yunnan, few local minority people do business. So the business industry there is mostly dominated by people of Han nationality or those "Hanifized' native people.

(Erhai, Dali)

After crashing Dali, I headed for Lijiang which is a must-go in Yunnan.That was my first time visiting Lijiang, later I went back and stayed for three days. Lijiang is famous for its ancient town and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The latter one is undoubtedly worth visiting.

(Lijiang Ancient Town)

(Jade Dragon Snow Mountain)

Shangri-La belongs to Yunnan but it also lies in the Tibet zone. I was worried about getting AHAD but I only got a little headache and that was all. But I didn't explore too much there except the Pudacuo National Park.

(Pudacuo National Park)

I'm under the impression that Sipsongpannna was boring too me. Maybe it's because the weather there is similar to it in Shenzhen. Plus I didn't meet any interesting people there.

(Sipsongpannna)

She

She peels apples for me although I keep complaining that I hate apples.

She harps on about the importance of diet while refilling my bowl.

She wakes up late at night to see whether I kick my quilt away.

She barely cooks herself a decent meal unless I come home for the weekend.

She keeps my bedroom organized and clean no matter whether I'm going to be home.

She wants me to just try my best instead of pushing me to be No.1.

She knows that I'm grown-up but deep down still sees me as a kid.

She tells everyone that she's lucky to have me as a daughter.

She teaches me how to be a good decent woman and a great mother.

She is my mom, the most beautiful woman in the world.

Quick Recap

Something funny yet inspiring happened to me lately. My German teacher recommended me to some woman as a German tutor. I was totally flattered. Just for the record, I've only been learning German for 6 months. But she thought I was adequate to the job and referred to me as her best student for now. But it didn't pan out. Nevertheless, the whole thing's a nice little ego boost for me.

What also can make my day is reading comments or any other kinda of feedback about my blog. Just in case you don't know, Blogger is blocked in China mainland like forever. So to a large extent, readers of this blog are non-Chinese or Chinese who would like to read some English stuff and be capable of bypassing the GFW.

I'm not concerned too much about daily traffic driven here but I do pay quite a little attention to which of posts are most read. By far I know my most popular posts go to "I Don't Have A Dream", "Chinese people? Incomprehensible!" and "Sex and the Univercity". I'm not be swift to generalize anything I see. However, what I found out is gonna illustrate the point that foreigners are more interested in self-reflection - they're fond of reading unharmonized posts which criticize the CCP, Communism, centralization or even Chairman Mao BY CHINESE OURSELVES.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's understandable. It's like "hunting for novelty". I assume that I'd feel the same way if I hear British people judge themselves. But the pathetic part of my case is that I'm entitled to speak up only outside the GFW, only beyond the sight of the "Internet harmonizers".

For one moment, those new notions dawn on me and I'm going for somewhat a westernized girl. But the next moment, I feel tied up by those old-fashioned values I grew up with. I can't totally let myself go. I wanna balance it all out. But from time to time, I got a bit overwhelmed by living these two lives.

Say one thing and do another - it's ironic that I actually grow into a typical Chinese. hehe, I'm in need of a bear hug.

(Below is a cartoon paraphrasing how Swedish media looks at Google's withdrawal from China.)

 （这张图片咱们中国人看看就好，外国人看不懂，呵呵。）

mobile face - Chairman Maomao

Since 1949, if you live in China, you have to put up with the over exposure of Chairman Mao because he does not only put in an appearance at Tian'anmen Square but also on the banknotes which you have to reach everyday.

He must bore you with the same complexion but it's not his fault because it's you that have been overlooking his potential facial expressions! I knew this little practical joke many years ago and should've post it yesterday(April Fools' Day). Later better than never. Now let me share it with you. Just take out any banknote with Mao and fold it as the following instruction tells you, then you'll find out.

Done? Now try to watch Mao from different positions...There you go! Mao is literally sentimental and has a mobile face!

I'm On Fire.

I was meaning to move this blog to wordpress. But I didn't know its templates were not free-user-friendly until I set foot in wordpress. AND just when I was deeply in desperation and anguish(exaggeration alert!), I surprisingly found that Blogger released this Blogger Template Designer which perfectly meets my satisfaction. So I'm staying here at Blogger.^^ Speaking of free-user-friendliness, is it me or every Chinese would look for another way to do it if it's not free.

Google's Withdrawal is beyond my expectation but I'm not surprised. I suppose that it's the high time Beijing brought shame on Google though. Yet if we look on the bright side, Google didn't leave. It just moved to somewhere closed enough to be seen from Shenzhen. Not that I'm talking you into relocating to Hong Kong. But as long as you're not reconciled to be deprived of  basic civil rights, you'd find a way to the real Internet, even to the real world.

Since the GFW did its duty, many Chinese netizens can't access to many services online. If you're an old member on friendfeed, you'd feel the desolation there. Good thing that there are still some friendfeed addicts holding their ground and I'm one of them. So there me and other friendfeeders living in China commenced on this Chinese friendfeed Swaps thing. Below is my mock-up of friendfeed logo.^^

Luckily I was the first one to receive the swap box from K.D. which was the first one to send out this box in Shanghai. We chose ff-boy and Cao Ni Ma as the "Daevas" of this event.^^

Fowllowing is what K.D. put in the box. I like the twitter bookmarks!

Here's little gifts from me: little Maggie and chocolates.

Now I'm gonna ship it to Paul. Well, Paul is in Guangzhou. I don't need to ship it.^^

What Expats Don't Understand about Shenzhen?

I read this interesting report on Southern Metropolis Daily(2009-11-7). It covered 10 foreigners who already stayed in Shenzhen for some time. They encountered quite a few incomprehensible circumstances here and finally they couldn't help but bringing up many questions which even confused me. I picked out some questions and translated them into English.

Some of those questions somewhat show that they are lacking of common sense for living in China. Yet I have to admit that I feel confused in my city too. By Shenzhen, I reckon they actually mean China, because all these issues don't happen merely in Shenzhen but the whole country. People from outside of Shenzhen share the same characteristics, not to mention that most residents here are not native.

Sorry if this translation is rough, I did it within an hour.^^

Brad, American, 40, designer, here for 9 years

1. He doesn't understand why people drive without licences but with perfect assurance.

2. He doesn't understand why young people still throw plastic lunch boxes out of their car windows while there are so many environment-friendly texts in books.

3. He doesn't understand why he was asked about age, job and relationship status by total strangers even when he was on a bus.

4. He doesn't understand why people bought apartments and waited them to be revalued instead of moving in there.

5. He doesn't understand why students study hard in high school but totally unwind in college. Things are just opposite in America.

6. He doesn't understand why people are so clamorous in public. Europeans think Americans are loud, but comparing to people in Shenzhen, we're fairly quiet.

7. He doesn't understand why people often whine about the air condition in Shenzhen. It's much better than it in Hong Kong.

8. He doesn't understand why people are fond of getting some weird English names. Those names sound more like pizza shops or bistros.

Christian Buggelsheim, Austrian, 36, Hotel Manager, here for 3 years

1. He doesn't understand why business partners always drink Baijiu, nay, they tank it.

2. He doesn't understand why people fancy eating animals' organs. Everytime they ordered those spooky chicken paws, I got goose bumps.

3. He doesn't understand why Chinese can't understand his Mandarin. When he attended some social events with his girlfriend, he felt like an invisible person. They speaks too fast for me to catch up. Shenzhen is supposed to be international, but why I only found a few people here spoke fluent English.

4. He doesn't understand why there are few people in Shenzhen riding bikes. Isn't China a kingdom of bikes?

5. He doesn't understand why people in Shenzhen want to travel in Europe or America because Shenzhen seems perfect to him. This city becomes empty at holidays.

Frederic, French, 35, Executive Chef, here for 3 years

1. He doesn't understand why people can just drink or roll bones in a bar for hours.

2. He doesn't understand why there're so many bars in Shenzhen but only a few of them are worth going. Bars are full around 10 p.m.but get empty around 2 a.m..

3. He doesn't understand why people complain that "I paid that much but only got this little French food." Quantity plays a more important role here.

4. He doesn't understand why people go to a French restaurant but order American salad. They don't know "Bon Appetit" is French, do they?

5. He doesn't understand why chefs don't get enough respect in China. In Europe, chefs are appreciated as movie stars.

Daniel, American, 42, Electronic Industry, here for 2 years

1. He doesn't understand why people cough without covering their mounths and spit all the time.

2. He doesn't understand why women in Shenzhen are so realistic that they love you after knowing whether you own an apartment or a car.

3. He doesn't understand why some electric appliance are so expensive here. A toast machine costs you 9.9 dollars in America but costs 400 RMB here.

4. He doesn't understand why house price is so high here while rent so cheap.

5. He doesn't understand why can't he get clothes of his size, even when he choose the XXXL ones.

Mark, American, 59, Singer and English teacher, here for 10 years

1. He doesn't understand why foreigners in Shenzhen barely know Chinese culture or Chinese people.

2. He doesn't understand why some Chinese people say they don't love China.

3. He doesn't understand why "pig ears" can be food because he thinks they're nasty.

4. He doesn't understand why China changes so fast and is not easy to catch up with.

5. He doesn't understand why Chinese people put their family at the first place but he likes this value.

Karl, American, 40, professor, here for 3 months

1. He doesn't understand why the cable and the TV remotes ares so complicated.

2. He doesn't understand those English in textbooks is confusing and is like translated by machine.
 
3 He doesn't understand why children live with their parents and parents have to look after children's children.

Sun Seungkai, Korean, 32, Manager, here for 4 years

1. He doesn't understand why girls cover their beautiful legs with tights, even in Summer.

2. He doesn't understand why people don't like wearing hats, even if their hair is a mess, even they're bold. In Korea, almost everyone wear hats.

3. He doesn't understand why taxi drivers always argue with passengers.

Sakura Takumi, Japanese, 42, board chairman, here for 9 months

1. He doesn't understand why people randomly spit and litter.

2. He doesn't understand why people jump the red light and jump the queue

3. He doesn't understand why people are constantly late for anything and what's worse is, they tell you "I'll be there soon" but it still needs half an hour.

4. He doesn't understandwhy Shenzhe is near the sea but people are more fond of going to mountains.

5. He doesn't understand why people are socasual in public. "Everytime I went back to Japan, I felt stressed out because I was not allow to take phone calls on subway or bus, even with your earphone. But in Shenzhen, people talk on the phone even on formal occasions.

In addition, the following cartoon is from a Canadian. Let's see what he's trying to tell us.

1. There're many disabled people kotowing on the streets of downtown.

2. But they're just faking it.Their heads don't reach the ground. Their hair is long so it's hard to tell. And in fact, even they reach the ground, you can't hear anything either.

3. The main activity you can do is shopping, but what's odd is that there're only expensive name brands and high-class products. It's easy to get a 'Rolex' but it's very hard to get ordinary stuff.

4. It took me 3 days to find a knife in a supermarket.

Ringing a bell now?^^ hehe, It reminds me of another translation I post some time ago, "Chinese people? Incomprehensible!".  If you're also an expat in Shenzhen or in China, I'd like to know what do you find incomprehensible.

just another post

My German friend came back with her kids for a week. I was so delighted to get to see them after six months. I guess I like her a lot because she knew much about Chinese conventions and somehow could read my Chinese mind. I don't know many Germans but I suppose Germans are meant to be travellers because al my German friends told me they didn't miss their country that much and enjoyed their current lives. Well, things could change a lot just within six months - the kids became distant to me because they spoke only German while my German was absolutely rookie. I felt so terrible that I couldn't make myself understood to them.

She was nice to bring me a gift from Germany. Well, other than that, she was meaning to be a matchmaker and tried to hook me up with this guy who used to be her doctor. See? She was half-Chinese. She brought this up for several times but I was not interested.

(That beautiful gift as I mentioned. It was said to be a beer mug.^^)

Feel Like Crying

I spent 10 days in last Summer holidays. It was the second time I visited there. I stayed at a couple's apartment and the guy's mother cooked for me. This lady had a very mild personality and I liked her a lot. Thanks to her, I didn't get serious homesick when I was in Beijing because she felt like a mom. She became a widow many years ago and raised up her son by her own. Her life was not easy. But her daughter-in-law was about to have a baby.

But very sadly, today I was told she had cancer and it was advanced. Her son just went back to their hometown to pick a cemetery with good Feng Shui. WHAT HAPPENED? My memory is still vivid, but things have already changed into the worst only half a year later? Just when her tear and sweat is about to pay off, she is leaving? NO WAY! The last thing in this world that I could handle is my beloved relatives or friends passing away. It'd tear me up. I don't know whether I should call her or what am I gonna say to her. I feel so devastated.

One month ago, I gave it a lot of thought and decided to abort my study-in-Germany plan. It was sad to quit but it was for the best. Shame that I'm not as cool as those people who chase their dream bravely. I'd keep on learning German but I'd stay, stay in my city. I should face the reality and be responsible to my mom. I can't just ask her for a great deal of money and leave here alone. My friends said I would come back anyway but who knows what's gonna happen during my absence. There's a Chinese proverb, saying "A tree desires to stand still, but wind does not stop. A son desires to serve his/her parents, but they have gone."

I love you Mom! I love you all, my friends.

Still On Holiday

My friends says I live like an elderly man on holidays - getting acupuncture or cupping and working out on that hill near my home. Yes, I have to admit that it sounds a little elderly but what is a young lifestyle, hanging out in the bars and getting tanked? I hardly think so.

But well, I also overspent on food, say Korean BBQ. The plate with meat looked good and costly. Friends told me meat was expensive in Korea. Maybe it's true but why were we having this overrated food instead of our local and more delicious one. hmm...I feel guilty.

I'm still on my summer-like Winter vacation, although the Lunar New Year was over a few days ago. We Chinese take the Lantern Festival as the end of the Lunar New Year. Except having Tang Yuan and shooting off fireworks, I got some paper lanterns which was a more authentic symbol of this festival. Happy belated Lantern Festival! And I'm very looking forward to the new semester.