On China - People (2)

getting to know the Chaoyang Library English Corner

Yups, the in-thing in China now is English corners where foreigners can drop by and talk with Chinese people - they have in in universities and libraries, as far as I know. Out of curiosity, went to one in Beijing, and.. well I guess you could see from the photo that I had a great time =D

The very inspiring thing was that there were grandpas and grandmas that speak way better English that some youngsters I spoke to, simply because they really aren't afraid to speak up. It was very interesting to speak to them as well, because they grew up during the Mao era and saw how China changed.. we were talking using lots of vocab like "reactionary", "Red army", "commune".. Heavy stuff, hey.. *btw the Chaoyang Corner is made up of around 50 people, the people on the photo were part of my group hehe*

So yeah, the 'system' is that the class gets divided into groups based on how many foreigners come in, then we just chat around. Surprisingly in my group there was a guy who knew a lot about Indonesia, because he was a travel agent. I learnt how to say 'Bandung' in Mandarin hahaha.. And being a 'hua qiao' *overseas Chinese* put me in the exotic category, somewhat.. there were some people from my grandpa's region! *Fujian* Was speaking Fujian with them though my Fujian accent is waaaay lousier compared to my Chinese accent.. The thing about language is, as with everything, it's not just what you say but how you say it.. I don't mean the accent, but the sincerity and the desire to communicate.. We were also using a lot of hand gestures and smiles, and well, let's just say I felt really at home I was sad to leave the class..

There were other foreigners of course, and they really spoke Mandarin! Hardcore man, one American guy even told a Chinese joke which instantly earned him enormous favour. Actually, some foreigners I met in China were really into Chinese culture and language, which.. made me a bit ashamed... *sudden awakening of Chinese roots..yeah..* The student I met on the night train also said it's kinda amazing how these foreigners come and learn so much about China that they actually know more stuff than the average Chinese person.. Hats off to them..

But back to Chinese people. Am glad to say that the friendliness and sincerity of the people I met *At least the Beijingers and Dong Bei people.. Shanghai people supposedly aren't that friendly...* spurred me to really learn Chinese culture and language.. Three weeks of travelling did more to me that years of forced Chinese tuition, parents' prodding, desire to read comics.. I believe now that the very strong longing to communicate with other people is the best motivation to learn a language.

On an additional note, a lot of Chinese people are excited to learn English, I think. On one occasion, I was going to have lunch in a small restaurant with a friend, and we had difficulties with the menu. *Photos but no English* So, we asked our waiter if anyone there could speak English.. She went to the back room and a few moments later came out together with another girl.. Before that girl came to our table, she looked hard at the other waiter as if asking for encouragement, then shouted *yeap, shouted, the whole restaurant could hear* "ALRIGHT LET'S GO!" like she was going for a sports competition =D China is fun fun fun!

China Diaries - On People (1)

Alright, won't keep postponing all the stuff I want to write about China, since I'll be going to Manila soon and then I'll have Manila to reflect on also.. and then I'll have thought indigestion huhuhu.. That's the thing about travelling.. Long after the actual travel is done, one can still savour, mull over, and learn from the experiences gained..

But on to the main points. I've written before of my HUGE inferiority complex of not being able to speak Chinese, and an image that stuck to my mind was of me being scolded/looked down on by some old/middle-aged/young (yeah I have an active imagination) Chinese person for looking like a Chinese but speaking like an American gone wrong..

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, my inability to speak Chinese, coupled with the fact that for the most part I was hanging out with "lao wai"s, brought lots of fun to my travel. One of the first incidents was when I had to top-up my prepaid SIM card.. I kept replaying in my mind how to answer the possible questions..Whether I want a new SIM or just to top-up? check. The card value I want? check.
"Hi miss, I want to top up my SIM card, 30 RMB please.."
"Which $#%%$#%$fgregg?"
"What...? OH!" *I gathered that she meant which phone company*
"Uhm...uhm..." *tried to show label in mobile phone to her, but she couldn't read English huhu..*
In the end, I called my Beijing friend to explain to her which company did my SIM card subscribe to huhuhu.. and then, an old man inside the shop who had been watching my idiotic attempt to communicate approached me and asked, "Are you Korean?" *I get this a lot, somehow.."
"Ah no.. am Indonesian Chinese..that's why my Chinese is not good.."
"Oh don't worry, it's okay.. we are all still Chinese people.."

Needless to say I was morally buoyed by this show of solidarity haha.. The thing is, I don't know whether my luck is just good, but the Chinese people I met, from taxi drivers to waitresses to people on the street and the train, were very friendly and very accepting of me as a non-white foreigner.. It really made me fell in love with China.. No more inferiority complex!

The night train ride from Beijing to Dalian was particularly memorable.. I was struggling to hoist my backpack onto the top baggage compartment when a tall Chinese man came and helped me to it.. Then, he struck a conversation with me saying I must be a foreigner because Chinese people don't use backpacks.. A pretty and very soft-spoken lady joined in saying, "Yes, when you came in all covered up I thought you might be a boy.. your bag is so big!" They said something more and I didn't really understand, so another person, a student from Dalian, joined in to translate because his English was good.. And before I knew it I was talking about Chinese people, my impressions, my background, and asking about theirs too.. The Chinese man was a landscape architect! In the end we communicated through drawings because he wanted to know how vertical gardens are done in Singapore, and we pestered the student so often because the landscape architect would be saying something, and I'd have a blank face and turn to the student, and he'd say "Drainage.." Hahaha... And when the lady spoke it was with such soft tones that I realized the Chinese language is indeed beautiful..

At another time, was looking through pirated books *yes, a concept I really love.. will blog about it next time* when the vendor showed some English books to me and said "These ones are really good!" Amongst them was the book titled: "Why men marry bitches", so with my minimum Chinese I told the vendor, "Uncle..Do you know what this book says? It says here, good men likes naughty women...." And he blushed! I mean, HE BLUSHED!! And he just looked so adorable hahahahaha.. We both laughed and before I went off he said, "Yes, actually you are right.. Good men likes naughty women..." *Anyone wanna try to disprove that?* ;p

The Pain That Never Came

Two days ago I went to consult a doctor on whether to pull my wisdom tooth, since I've been having some pain and I didn't want it to give me problems in Manila *going to Manila yay!*

Anyway, I had always been wary of visiting a dentist since I had a wisdom tooth pulled 3 years ago, and the dentist who did it was so rough that not only I had several ulcers thanks to his hasty maneuvering, the whole procedure felt like forever, I saw lots of blood going through the suction tube, and it became so traumatic..

Plus, 2 months ago I went to have a dental check-up and it was a young, also kinda rough doctor who did it, not to mention he seemed all haughty towards his Philippino assistant *never trust doctors with an attitude problem* He told me I gotta have my teeth pulled but, well, I don't wanna open my mouth in front of him ever again.

So. A hostelmate suggested a clinic in Toa Payoh; I went there and specifically asked the receptionist to give me an appointment with a gentle doctor. She said "No worries". Cool. Went in, it was another young *or at least young-looking* doctor.. but I could tell right away that he's a gentle destist! Hahaha..

It's funny really.. connecting with doctors is like connecting with people.. Some people you just instantly like and trust.. Anyway, when he was checking my teeth he was constantly telling me what's he doing, what was happening.. which is really cool since I hate doctors who just sit there and let patients wonder "ok what's going on..? What's gonna happen next...?"

Then comes decision time.. Do I or do I not let this doctor pull my teeth...? Ow heck, he told me "It's important for me that patients don't feel pain.. You just sit there, relax, and let me do the hard work.." Doc I love you!! True enough.. the tooth extraction lasted less than 10 minutes, it was really simple and he was soothing me throughout.. ("ok 90% out, don't worry...")

BUT, you say, of course I would feel no pain, I had been anaesthetized.. Precisely my thinking. Which was why I went back and was nervous the whole evening.. Waiting for my mouth to start feeling painful.. The doc said the anaesthetics would wear off around 8 PM.. Was ready in front of my computer, reading comics to distract me from any sudden feeling of pain.. Then, it was 9PM... 10PM... 11PM... Still no pain... Hmm... Decided to sleep cuz well.. I can't possibly wait for the pain to hit the whole night..

The next morning.. still no pain! Hmm... and, my friend told me, it's cool because no swelling either.. And here I am, 2 days later, still no pain and with my mouth healed such that I even forgot I have an extraction wound inside...

Oh wow, I've written that to lead a good life you gotta get 3 things right: what you believe, whom you marry, and what you do for living. Let's add a 4th, very very important point: Find a dentist you can trust!

On (Why I Wanna Stay In) Indonesia

"It is a well known fact that we recognize our homeland the moment we are about to lose it."
- Albert Camus

Am in the middle of reading a very interesting book (Planet of Slums by Mike Davis), but well, I promised this article to a friend more than a month ago, so here goes...

Background: When I was in Australia, thinking about all the countries I've been to, I was compiling in my mind all the criterias of a country/ city I would like to live in. It then struck me that hey, Indonesia fulfills a lot of those criterias, but I've never ever before that considered going back to Indonesia to work, not even one bit. Well, I had a rethought, and here are all the reasons why Indonesia is now my no 1 candidate country for long-term stay:

1. Language
OK, I think most of my close friends know that I love the Indonesian language, even more than any other language, including French. There's something about Indonesian that allows one to be most poetic with the simplest sounds (unlike French which tends to be rather 'flowery'. Silly as it sounds, I can't live in a country where I don't like the language.. that's why I can't live in Vietnam though the country is so beautiful and the people so nice.. No offense to Vietnamese people, but well.. I can't imagine hearing it everyday, or having kids and have my kids learn Vietnamese.. Same with Singlish..

2. Size
I considered this when I was travelling in Europe, Australia, and then China, thinking how I would love to stay in a big country/ continent so on weekends I can go travelling to many places, without needing a passport hahaha.. I think this desperation to stay in a large country comes from living in Singapore for 8 years, worsened by the fact that so much of Singapore looks the same so you practically only entertain yourself with a very small proportion of area.. But yeah, Indonesia's size definitely guarantees that I won't be bored with the country.

3. Nature and its various manifestations
What I mean is, how in a country you can find everything from sea, mountain, desert, forest, large rivers, mudflats etc etc.. since I love going outdoors and trekking.. I realised just how cool it is to have a country with all these places in Australia, where you can be on the beach and in the forest on the same day. With some of the world's most pristine rainforests, Asia's largest rivers, most beautiful islands, scenic mountains and other things like rice terraces, Indonesia's clearly not lacking in this department.

4. Food
For Indonesians reading this.. Do I even have to elaborate..? The variety of food in Indonesia is simply amazing, and so flavorful! I mean, well Singapore has lots of food too, but mostly Malay, Indian, Western food etc assimilated into the culture. For originality and flavor.. go Indonesian. Plus, my number one most favorite food is very common in Indonesia but difficult to find outside Indonesia-Malaysia region: tempe. If you've never tried it.. Man, you're missing a lot..
Another factor, Indonesian street food is cheap and delicious *unlike Aussi and France where food, though really good, is also bloody expensive* . Well, ok, there's a risk of typhoid fever attached to it, but hey, that just means Indonesian food trains you to be stronger!

5. Friendliness of people
I don't really know how to explain this one, but trust me, Indonesians are among the friendliest people. Consider that when I travel I try as much as I can to interact with the local people and to date I've been to quite a lot of countries. Strangely enough, my Westerner friends who have travelled to Indonesia all agree with me that Indonesian people are really nice, while the Singaporeans are quite convinced Indonesians are out to cheat you =D

6. Education system
Right.. Somehow, a country's education system is an important indicator for me whether to stay there, and well, even if Indonesia's education system is not as cool as Sweden where they have forest kindergarten, or as liberal and humanistic as France, at least it leaves a lot of free time for kids to explore other hobbies.. Till now I'm really grateful that at least I spent my childhood in Indonesia. Though, I can't say anything regarding Indonesian universities.

7. Culture
I know that I can't stay in a place that's not beautiful, that lacks artistic/ creative people. Cities like Hanoi, Paris, Melbourne and Beijing with long history, beautiful buildings, and strong culture, I immediately fell in love with.. And yes, Indonesian cities, especially in Java, has very rich culture and history too. I especially love the depictions of wayang characters in batik art in Yogyakarta, but Indonesia has many other art forms including woodwork, silverware, exotic dances etc. Yeah, it's funny how when I grew up in Indonesia I never appreciate the diversity that we have, but now that I'm in Singapore and can only watch these things through youtube, I realize just how culturally rich my country is.

8. Ease to find a job, and cost of living
Well, several cities that I've visited so far fulfill most of the criterias above, the strongest contender being France and Australia, but what clinches the deal for Indonesia is that.. well.. if I go back, I'm technically not a foreigner, not an immigrant, so it will be way easier to find a job, compared to if I try to migrate to Paris or Melbourne..

So yeah, that's it. Oh and postscript, after coming back from China, though I fell in love again with Beijing, I know I'd love to stay in a tropical country for the long term, because I just love sun and rain.. and somewhat hates the fierce, biting winter I encountered in Beijing.

On China and World Domination

OK, I have to admit that right now I'm just fascinated with all things Chinese, and especially all things Beijing.. Am currently reading the above book, which is really interesting. It's about the quest of an American family to try to live for one year without buying anything made in China.. and it's hillarious! Because panic sets in every time something is broken/needed.. From the simplest of things like toys (Some are produced in Indonesia and Thailand), shoes (Italian ones) to more unusual ones like inflatable swimming pool and mousetraps (homemade, but eventually they found some made in the USA) , the author had to use so much ingenuity to get non-Chinese ones, or - more often than not- give up on the thing altogether... There were some sobering facts, like how there is no such thing as a lamp made in the USA because nobody in the USA produce the parts. They're all outsourced to China... At one point the author was searching for children safety buoys and she was sure they would not be made in China because.. well, because one can trust China for trivial things like toys, but not for life-saving products like medicine and safety buoys...

No such luck. Everything on the isle was made in China.

..Which brings me to my point on world domination. The author wondered, what if one day China decided to stop importing lamp parts to the USA? How bad would it be hit? What if China stopped importing all the other things? I'd say USA would be hit pretty bad, and herein lies China's power.. It is powerful not because other countries fear China, but they fear the absence of China.

When I went to Australia, it's eerie just how every piece of souvenir is made in China.. My brothers and I noticed them mainly because those two anti-mainland China campaigners *yup those are my bros* were making jokes about how Chinese people would come to Australia and see that everything is 'homemade'.. It got me thinking about the appropriateness of giving out to people souvenirs made in China though they're supposed to be mementos of my trip to Australia.. I'd say the tourism industry is pretty big in Australia, and it's creepily funny that China has managed to infiltrate this industry in its own capitalist way..

So, if world domination is measured in the prevalence of the 'made in ______' label, clearly China is a world dominator (or dominatrix, if so you prefer..). Am thinking of starting my own experiment of living without things made in China, but something in me says I won't last long anyway, why bother trying..

P.S Funnily enough, I checked around my room to see just how many archi stuff are made in China, and actually, we can survive pretty well without anything Chinese, since Steadler pencils are made in Germany, A3 cartridge paper made in England, white glue made in Taiwan *ok I'm taking the stand that Taiwan's not really China..*, x-acto blades made in the USA.. Dang it explains why architecture is such an expensive course to study..

Oh but wait, Moleskines are made in China!

Resolution 2010

When the clock struck 12, I happened to be lounging in a  cafe in Beijing, with an architecture friend. They must've put something in the tea because we ended up spontaneously making a bet for the end of 2010:

I guess my work is cut out for me.. 

I'll be back...

Last view of Beijing: snow sprinkled runway

... to China.....

Aaaaah China... Just came back home and dead tired but I feel that I gotta at least scribble a quick update (Just wanna relish the feel of my MacBook keyboard haha.. and kinda miss blogging since I had lots of thoughts but couldn't blog in China)

Aaaaanyway.. for those wondering how was China.. it was AMAZING..... Totally tops my expectations hahaha.. Had no problem with toilets and cleanliness at all, met so many interesting people, saw really cool *and cold!* places, and sorted out my loose threads hahaha.. 

Actually... I fell in love with Beijing.. huhuhu... Dang even the cold weather couldn't dampen my spirits when I was wandering around the hutongs.. The bare trees lent the whole city kind of a poetic air.. and the food... oh gosh the food... Will never look at "Chinese food" the same way again.. I admit that Singapore food is great for its variety, but I've always loved street food and the Beijing street food scene is just fantabulous!

Oh well, am gonna do a series of posts on China since I've got lots of thoughts about China and Chinese people haha.. This is just a glimpse on my current feelings towards China, especially Beijing, which is highly, highly positive.

On the other hand, since I started wandering around 2 years ago, this is the first trip where I actually missed Singapore.. haha.. and quite often, at that! Every time piercing cold wind blew on my face, I just automatically remember the Singapore sun huhuhu.. Thing is, Chinese winters are fiercely cold, and there's something about the realisation that you could DIE just by staying outside a bit too long, that gave me renewed appreciation for our great tropical weather. I love Singapore weather, that's for sure. *Oh and I realise European winters are for wusses.. Because even some guys from Sweden were conquered by the combination of -20 temperatures and really strong wind in Beijing..*

So yeah, really content right now since I'm back in this sunny little island, though missing Beijing a bit. Gonna try to find work / volunteer so I can go back to China in summer =D Excited about school and happy since this semester shouldn't be as busy as the last one. All pumped up on learning Chinese.. must improve!

But first... hoahm... Good night everyone!