China Chatter

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Spring Forward-Quickly!

It’s not quite spring yet, but there are days like today when it is warm enough to put a coat atop of my two layers of clothes and take a leisurely stroll outside-just to observe the environment in hopes of seeing potential signs of the new season. Besides, sitting inside my freezing apartment with no heat (except for a portable space heater to keep me warm) makes being outside seem like a much more palatable option. It’s pretty sad isn’t it, when the 38 degree temperature outside is warmer than whatever temperature it is inside your apartment!

Why no heat? Glad you asked! Most of the buildings in Northern China are made of concrete and have little or no insulation. However, most do have heating systems. Mine is boiler-radiator kind. I’m not sure if that’s even the right term for it, but you know what I’m referring to-the radiator things that are attached to the wall and have boiling water running through them to give off heat. All the apartments in my building run on the same boiler system which heats the whole building. It’s common throughout China.

On November 15th, the government workers come to every building and open up the system, which allows the water to run and start circulating through the pipes so we can all have heat for the winter. Likewise, on March 15th, the boiler system is shut down and the heat goes off! Even when the system is up and running at full capacity, there is no thermostat or way to regulate the amount of heat that comes into your apartment, so you are at the mercy of the system. if you're too hot, open a window. If you're cold, too bad! The weather in Tianjin is much the same as it is in Michigan (cold, cold, cold) except we only get a few inches of snow a couple of times a year…but the temperature is roughly the same. On top of this, Tianjin is known for its brutal winds that make the wind chill downright crazy! So needless to say, heat or not heat-it gets cold- thus the two or more layers of long johns, socks, etc. both in and outside my apartment.

Although it might sound like I’m doing a lot of whining about how difficult my life is, how my fingertips and lips have turned blue because my already poor circulation has been compromised by a less than efficient and convenient heating system---but I’m really not complaining! On the contrary, I am actually kind of grateful in a backhanded sort of way! Did you know that I am one of the lucky ones? In rural China, the countryside people heat

with small bricks of coal that they must make themselves and store, so they will have a viable source of heat during the winter. The central and southern provinces of China have no heating systems at all…in any of the buildings! Granted, the weather isn’t as cold or severe, but don’t kid yourself... it is still cold! That would be like the US government saying that any place south of the Mason-Dixon line doesn't need heat. Can you imagine Americans tolerating that?

So, in this short period between March 15th and whenever spring weather really arrives I have resigned myself to the fact that I will just have to live with being cold. Could it be worse? Oh, yeah! But for at least 4 months out of the year I have heat! OK, could it be better? Sure. It’s like

someone on welfare saying, “It could be worse-I could be homeless!” But the truth is, it really could be worse! Imagine the people in other parts of

China who really don’t have any heat, adequate shelter, or warm clothing. You know how bad it is in our own country…now think of the percentages when you’re talking about a developing country of 1.3 billion people!

How about this? The next time you see a any sign of spring, (a robin in the yard, tulips popping up for Tulip Time or a tree budding), give thanks for all you have and send up a prayer for all who are anxiously awaiting warmer weather and a season of new beginnings!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Starting the Year With a Bang!

CHUN JIE KUAI LE! HAPPY NEW YEAR GUO NIAN HAO!

Spring Festival is China’s most important holiday. It is called Chun Jie and it is directly connected with Chinese New Year. For the past two weeks, people have been frantically preparing for the most important time of the year. It is a time when people thoroughly clean their homes, symbolically sweeping out the old and welcoming in the new. They often buy new furniture, new clothes and other items for their homes. Everything is put in order. Family members from all over China travel back to their parent’s home just before New Year’s Eve to eat dinner toget

her and welcome in the New Year.

No matter where you are in the country, you must drop everything and get home to celebrate with your family. Of course, that means everyone is traveling so train stations and airports insanely crazy, crowded places to be. If you travel by train as I once did, inside the car there is no space to move and getting out to use the bathroom is impossible! (This is when it helps to have Depends) Seats are often sold out or overbooked, so many choose a “standing” ticket which literally means standing the whole trip in the aisles, so no one can move. I know a young man who was so determined to get home that he bought such a ticket and stood for an 18 hours train ride! Can you imagine?

You will know that Chinese New Year is coming because you will see red lanterns displayed on the front of buildings, restaurants, and public attractions. According to the Chinese Zodiac, this is also the year of the Ox, so there are red cows everywhere. I am supposed to be lucky this year because I was born in the Year of the Ox, but this means that I also should wear red long underwear everyday to be blessed…Uh, I don’t think so! Red is the lucky color. After New Years Eve dinner, children and young adults recite a blessing to their elders and in return are given red envelopes (hong bao) . These red envelopes have money inside them as a symbol of good luck and riches to come in the future. Because everyone is traveling, pretty much everything shuts down for a week. Planning ahead and buying food, water, electricity, etc…is essential. You can imagine how crowded the stores are.

Other essential preparations call for making lots of jiaozi (stuffed dumplings), writing blessings

on red scrolls that go on or over the door frame, and buying fireworks. Chinese legend has it that a dragon named Nian came to the villages each year to eat livestock, crops and even children, but after they discovered that the dragon was afraid of the color red and fireworks, the villagers put red lantern and scrolls on their homes and doors. They also lit firecrackers to scare him away. That is why they continue the tradition today.

In Michigan, most fireworks are illegal unless you are doing a show and have a permit, but here…everyone has fireworks! I’m talking M-80’s, huge strings of loud

firecrackers and the kind you shoot up in the air to make those sky flowers we “oooh” and “ahhh” over! There are fireworks stands on every corner and people spend gobs of money getting as much as they can afford so their family will be able to start the year with a bang! At 12:00 the fireworks begin…and basically never end for a week! It literally sounds like you’re in a war zone with non-stop banging, whistling, and sonic booms from above and below. It is so incredibly loud that even inside your apartment, it is difficult to hear the person next to you talking because of the noise. It is both amazing and annoying! Apparently, the officials in Tianjin made a regulation that fireworks could be set off every hour on the hour for the first 24 hours of Chinese New Year in an attempt to control random partying, but as far as I can tell, that hasn’t really made much of a difference. With 11.4 million people in Tianjin, just about everyone has some sort of explosive devise, it’s crazy…and amazing that there aren’t more people in emergency rooms or fires started because of stray fireworks.

I must admit, I couldn’t resist buying a big wheel of firecrackers and a couple of Roman candles. When I bought them, I couldn’t help thinking how much my kids and my brother Curt would love to be lighting these things off with me. I mean, who wouldn’t love lighting those babies and listening to 1000 loud pops going off all at once. It’s a blast! I’m sure by the end of the week, I will be sick to death of the noise, but right now it’s music to my ears. (Look for the video on You-Tube; Chinachick61)

Monday, January 19, 2009

Dye(ing) to Feel Alive

I'm about as lo

w maintenance as anyone I know when it comes to personal maintenance like using cosmetics, getting my nails done, or needing to have the latest fashions. I’ve never really cared that much about that kind of stuff, although I do admit I really like cheap, pretty earrings. Most of the time however, I could really care less about what’s hot and what’s not. It’s just not all that important to me. In the States, the only thing that I maintained on a regular basis was my preferred hair color…whatever I decided that would be at the time. I have had assorted shades of blond, brown, and even red hair during different periods of my life, mainly because I like variety and always liked to experiment with fun, funky styles.

Before I left for China however, I made the decision to let it all go, stop dying my hair and just let nature take its course. I knew I would be partially gray within months, but felt that it would be too much of a hassle to mess with it here and culturally not really necessary either. Little did I know just how brutal Mother Nature would be!

About 2 months into “au natural” I started to see the roots. A bit grayer than I had anticipated, but well OK, I am getting older. After 4 months of gritting my teeth and closing my eyes to the multicolored strands hanging from my head, I finally cried, “Uncle!” I couldn’t take it anymore. I got online and ordered my hair color and developed from the States and had it sent to Lacey’s house with an SOS for her to ship it to me ASAP! It was a hair emergency! Well she tried to send it, but found out that it couldn’t be shipped overseas…(thank-you Mr. and Mrs. Terrorist) So, I had to wait until one of my friends was going home for Christmas break and she said she would bring it back in her suitcase.

If there is such a thing as losing face over hideous hair, I think I had no face left. The combinations of having gray, dirty blond,

gold, and reddish brown locks and no haircuts in 6 months was atrocious! With thick, wavy, multi-layered, crazy colored hair like I had it was a wonder the fashion police didn’t give me a ticket! I was just past the 6 month point, barely holding on to any shred of dignity I had left when my beloved dye arrived! I clutched it like a long lost friend. At last…victory would be mine! I made my friend take several pictures of the disaster just so I could remember why I didn’t want to look like a decrepit old woman before my time. I mean-come on! I’m 47 not 70…geez!

I put on some happy tunes and mixed up the foul smelling concoction with glee. Nothing could spoil the moment. As I slathered the goop all over my head I had a strange sense of satisfaction.

I felt my roots rising from the dead and the fun, funky part of me dancing inside. I anxiously waited for my 45 minutes of developing time and quickly jumped into the shower to wash 6 months of gray down the hole in my bathroom floor. As I took the towel off my head and beheld the beautiful golden brown shine on my once lifeless hair, I looked in the mirror and said, “Yes! I’m back!”

Now I know to some of you this is just really silly and a senseless waste of time and money, ($6 whole dollars) but think of it as mental health maintenance. It’s way cheaper than psychotherapy which isn’t available here anyway, and for the cost of 2 cups of Star Bucks, I can feel like myself again. In my estimation…Not a bad deal at all

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Christmas in China

Since this was my first Christmas overseas, I was painfully aware of just how different it was being away from home. The shops were not plastered with Christmas promotions, although in the local grocery stores you could hear the sounds of Christmas music intermixed with Chinese pop music. There were a few decorations being sold, but nothing like what we would experience in the States. Just after Thanksgiving I went with a couple of friend to BinJiang Dao, (the largest shopping street in Tianjin) to look for a small Christmas tree. You would think that in a city of 11 million there would be plenty to pick from...but there were only 4! Yes, I said it...only four Christmas trees in the upstairs loft of a side street shop selling a variety of Christmas wares.

Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought some special ornaments from home to decorate my tree with. This gave me comfort, knowing that the familiarity of Christmas(es) past would still be with me. I lovingly decorated my tree with bittersweet memories of playing Kenny G Christmas music and the excitement of Ryan and Lacey as little kids, anticipating Christmas morning. I missed all the traditions of making a special Christmas Eve dinner for the family and going to a tradional candlelight service. I missed opening up one gift on Christmas Eve always knowing that there would be new PJ's for the kids to wear so they would look cute on Christmas morning when I took pictures of them opening presents. All this was lost here in China. I suppose now that Ryan and Lacey are married, I would've been going through this to some degree regardless...I mean they wouldn't be waking up at my house on Christmas morning, running downstairs in their cute new PJ's to open up gifts anyway, right? But it just seemed a little more sad not being able to spend the time with them.

I decided to go with a new friend down to Shanxi Lu, the official Chinese church for a Christmas concert that they do annually. I had no idea what I was in store for. Apparently, Christmas Eve in China is an all out party! Tens of thousands of people go to the huge shopping street and go crazy shopping! It's a free for all of shopping frenzy with everything being sold from blinking Santa hats to Madri Gras hats and Halloween masks. Only buses are allowed to run and the police are out in full force to make human barriers to hold back crowds. It's much like New Year's Eve in Times Square-Insane! Christmas Eve is also a night for couples to have an expensive dinner and go to check out the local churches to hear the concerts. It's a date night for people to enjoy, but without any real thought as to the historic or faith based reasons to celebrate the birth of Christ.

After an hour of trying to get through the traffic and battle the crowds, my friend and I finally got to Shanxi Lu. Again, the place was so packed out that there was no place to sit-so I stood...for 2 hours shoulder to head with tons of onlookers, until my legs could take no more. (I captured a bit of the spirit of the evening inside the church with a video on Youtube if you're interested-Chinachick61) I couldnt help again being sad for such beautiful songs to be sung and yet there seemed to be no real comprehension for most present of the huge significance of the One who was being sung about. I kept thinking about the thousands of insane, lost shoppers and wondering what Chairman Mao would think of this capitalistic craziness and these Christmas songs invading his communist based country. I thought of my own culture and realized how similar it is in America with so many people more worried about shopping and feeling obligated to go to a Christmas Eve service than they are about celebrating the birth of a Savior. So what is the difference? I'm not really sure I have the answer. All I know is that Christmas at home sure feels a lot better than it does here, and I wish I really could say, "I'll be home for Christmas."

Friday, November 28, 2008

English Anyone?

How many college students can you fit into one room? I don’t know for sure, but about seventy students crammed into this classroom last week to attend the first ever English Corner. In this particular village, there are about 2 million people, four small universities and only one (that’s right-I said one) foreigner! Can you imagine being the only non-Chinese in a city of 2 million? Mind boggling!

Anyway, another American friend and I were asked to be guest speakers there and talk about America, Thanksgiving, and what our life is like as Americans. Everything was to be done in English (great for me!) and the students were also required to speak only in English as well. Because there are no native English speakers to practice with, many students are nervous about their speaking skills. They are afraid their pronunciation or grammar will be wrong and they will sound foolish. It’s the same way I feel speaking Chinese. It’s a big risk to speak aloud in front of a lot of people knowing how awful you sound to native speakers, but they did it! I was actually pretty impressed with how well they did, considering the lack of interaction they have with any foreigners.

My friend and I talked about the history of Thanksgiving and why we are grateful for our freedoms and our lives. We talked about the Thanksgiving celebration itself, the foods and traditions we have for this holiday. We also talked about our lives in American and tried to dispel some of the myths/stereotypes that many Chinese have of Americans. Think of the movies that they see…that we all see coming out of Hollywood. It’s horrible to think that the images portrayed about America and Americans have become reality in the minds of people all over the world! For most Chinese, all Americans are rich, own guns, are violent, promiscuous, selfish and arrogant. They are wasteful, don’t study hard, and family is not that important to them. It’s very difficult to change these ideas and is definitely not going to happen as a guest speaker at one English Corner; however I am hopeful that if enough Americans working or studying overseas will live decent lives, lives that contradict the world’s stereotypes, than eventually people will have to re-examine their ideas about what Americans are really like. It’s too bad that I always feel like I’m swimming upstream in this area, but it is one way I can make a difference in China.

Monday, November 17, 2008

How Much Do You Really Need?

One of my favorite words in the Chinese language is dongxi (pronounced dong-she) which can be roughly translated into English as “stuff/junk/things.” The great thing about dongxi is that it can mean literally tons of different types of objects. If you go to the local chaoshi (supermarket) you can get all kinds of dongxi, from toothpaste to DVD players. If you’re carrying a full backpack you can accurately say, “I have way too much dongxi in this bag.” No further explanation is needed. It might not be the same dongxi as you would find in your kitchen or bathroom, but it is dongxi nonetheless!

Dongxi is an easy word to remember and fun to say. If it’s “stuff” just say dongxi and you’re good to go. I asked my friend if I could say that I have a lot of dongxi to do today, and she said, “Definitely not.” Too bad! I was hoping for an easy connection between objects and activities. This leads me to the real reason I’m writing about dongxi. I last week I moved to another apartment and boy, did I have a lot of dongxi to move!

OK, I know I only came here 3 months ago and I shouldn’t have this much dongxi already, but setting up an apartment requires you to accumulate certain necessities. There’s kitchen dongxi, bathroom dongxi, cleaning dongxi, school/office dongxi, etc… but packing and moving all your dongxi is another matter althogether. In the States I had a car and I could always borrow a friend’s truck or van. Banana boxes were easy to come by if you camped out at the Meijer produce section on shipping day, but I found a whole new way of moving here.

First of all, boxes are not that easy to come by. Instead, most people stuff their dongxi into giant rice bags with zippers. It’s the Chinese equivalent of a suitcase. OK, so they smell like mold inside and they can only be used once before they break. I can live with that though because these bags only cost sixty cents each and the smell eventually fades with time and a good airing out…and you’d be amazed at how much dongxi you can fit into one of those bags!

A second “must-have” when moving is a ball of pink plastic twine. This is necessary for wrapping together boxed dongxi. If you’re Dutch like me you never throw out anything that could be potentially useful at some later date. That being the case, you will naturally have saved the original boxes your dongxi came in when you purchased it and you will have carefully repacked it in the original boxes. The essential pink plastic twine will hold several boxes together for easy transport. It never breaks and it’s also very cheap. Why bother with buying or packing cumbersome large boxes when you have pink twine?

The moving process is…Wow! I’ve never seen anything like it. Since I didn’t have another means of transporting my dongxi except to tie it all onto my bike and haul it down the road (which I’ve actually seen done) I hired a local moving company. They came and hauled all my dongxi from my second floor apartment into their truck, brought it to my new apartment, and carried everything up to the 5^th floor…including a washing machine! I couldn’t believe the amount of dongxi they could strap on their backs and carry at one time. I mean seriously! Who carries a washing machine on their back up to the fifth floor without giving themselves a heart attack?

The best part was the price! (Again, it's the Dutchman in me is coming out…sorry!) I actually felt a little bad watching them do what I have always done for myself and paying them so little, ($30) but they insisted that I stop trying to “help” them. I was getting in their way and messing up their system, so I had to stand back. Sometimes I forget that I’m not in the States anymore.

Now that all my dongxi is in my new apartment and I’m just about finished putting everything where I want it, I feel a lot more settled. It’s funny how familiar dongxi can make you feel at home even in new surroundings. Yes, I probably have way less than the average American in this 500 sq. ft. apartment, but I still have way more dongxi than I really need. I’m so very thankful for all the ways I have been provided for. The experience of moving in China is definitely something to remember every time I look around and think that maybe I’d like a little something new. Uhhhh…..no!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Long Johns and Laundry

The other day I went to pull out my long underwear as I prepared to face another cold day without the heat. In China most places don’t get the heat turned on in their buildings until November 15th and the days before then can be brutal. Just think about going home to an apartment without insulation made of concrete block and trying to keep warm. The worst part is coming out of the shower in the morning when you are naked, freezing, wet and standing on a wet cold bathroom floor trying hurriedly to dry off before going into a cold bedroom to get dressed. Yikes! Sometimes you wonder if you’re a person or a popsicle!

Anyway, I went to put on my qiu ku (long johns) and I realized that I didn’t have another pair available. Don’t get me wrong…I brought some with me from the States and I bought some from the store here (Men’s XXXL) but I hadn’t done my laundry in several days, so there was nothing clean for me to put on. By the way, do I look or feel like a Men’s XXXL? I didn’t think so!

Laundry is done different here than in the States. If you have money, you can purchase a decent washing machine for about the same price as in the US, but unless you want to spend an extravagant amount of money, you won’t have a dryer. That means you have to plan ahead. None of this, “I’ve got to have my favorite shirt for the party tonight so I’ll just quickly do a load of laundry and be done before it starts” stuff. Oh, no! You will have to wait a day or two before your laundry dries. You do it the old fashioned way- a clothes line or a drying rack.

Usually your apartment will have a balcony (yang tai) with a rope draped across it for hanging clothes, or you can buy a drying rack. I do have a balcony which I use for drying jeans or pants, but for the other more delicate items, I have chosen to use a drying rack which I put inside my living room….mainly because it’s the only place large enough for it to fit. I didn’t particularly want the neighbors looking out their ever-so-

close windows and getting a load of my American sized skivvies! It’s hard enough being stared at for being as big and tall as I am, but having your drawers blowing in the wind for all the world to see would just be too much! Still, there seems to be something innately wrong with having all your undergarments hanging around in your living room with the rest of your decorations. It’s especially troublesome and embarrassing when you get unexpected company!

There is an old saying that goes like this: You’re lack of planning is not my emergency! In this case, my lack of planning was my emergency. At that moment I had two choices; either forego the long johns and freeze my touché off, or suck it up and put on a pair of “not so clean” ones. I’ll bet you can guess what I chose and I’ll bet you know what I was doing right after that…laundry!