My China Musings

This blog is my thoughts on many things and about my adventures of living and traveling in China.

February 28, 2008

A friend of mine sent me an article about the "stuff" found in Chinese produced food snacks. It wasn't pretty. I am not fond of Chinese prepared snack foods, like cookies and etc. The Chinese put together some strange combinations...and they just don't taste right. Reading her article, I can see why.  I pretty much, if I am going to buy crackers and things, stick with Western owned companies.. I do like saltines..that taste like salt. Most crackers made in China are sweet. Sugar is put into everything. I nearly gagged once when a fellow teacher was telling another foreign teacher that she had to put sugar on her son's eggs so he would eat them. Can you just imagine, sugar on eggs?... my word, my stomach still lurches at the thought. I cannot eat the fish cooked in Guangzhou, sugar is put in the sauce that is put on the fish, so there is a sweet flavor...I am from Alaska, I want fish, not sugar. Bread is sickening sweet, sugar is put into milk. One cannot buy plain yougurt in this part of China, you can in Qing Hai and Xinjiang because of the Moslem and Tibetan populations. Here, even plain yougurt has sugar. I try to stick to vegies and etc., that are grown locally. Some of the bakeries are now carrying bread that is not sweet and french bread... One can find butter and cheese slices made in Mongolia almost everywhere now. When i first came to China, only a few places in big cities had such. Now those are pretty easy to find. Dove chocolate, M&Ms, Snickers and other western candy are found in the markets. Chinese chocolate candy is terrible. I guess, like everywhere else in the world, one must becareful what goes into the mouth. After reading my friend's article, I am glad I am not addicted to Chinese snacks.... Oreo's however are another issue.  Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 22:10 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

February 26, 2008

I was told once, when I first came to China, that things are hard here. Having to learn to navigate in a completely different culture and not speaking the language, yes, China can be hard. Sometimes, it is things that are seen that makes China so hard...like seeing a man so disfigured that he pulls himself along with stubs for arms on a board that someone put small wheels. No welfare system or safety net for disabled people exists. Seeing children being used as theives just breaks my heart. Children in China are rarely prosecuted. So it is common to see children around train stations picking pockets and so forth. Then taking their booty to a man or woman standing nearby. Children beg for money for school. Old people will scour the trash bins looking for anything sellable. At the same time, I have met people who just make my heart sing. My most unforgettable characters as it were.

One was a man who my friend and I called "Chairman Mao's soldier". On his jacket, he wore with pride, a big picture badge of Chairman Mao. He told us once that he was 84. He could barely hobble with his cane. But everyday he would be out wandering around near his home. I saw him in many places, always smiling. Always. I went off for the summer in 2005 and traveled all over the western part of China. My friend and I met Chairman Mao's soldier soon after returning. The spunk was gone from his voice, he looked tired and he said that he was in constant pain. That was the last time I saw him. I thought about him last night, and I admit, it brought tears to my eyes. He was such a spunky old man.

I met a young man, who would come to my classes. He wasn't on any attendance list...so I challenged him one day about visiting my class without permission. As soon as he started to speak, I knew something was amiss. Turned out, the young man, I am guessing here, had cerebral palsy. He could hardly speak and as with the condition, he had trouble with movement. He explained, with difficulty....in English....that he wanted to learn more English. Most people and students thought because his speech was affected by his condition, he was stupid and dumb. He was anything but. So I said no more to him about being an unwanted guest. I made a point of speaking to him after class, every time he came. I dont know what happened to him, he just quit coming.

Another man, nameless, was a stroke victim. I would see him early in the morning when I would go to do taiji. He walked the length of the moat and back every morning, dragging his leg and his arm held in the position most stroke patients hold their arms. Everyday, everyday...hot or cold, he was there. I broke a bone in my foot and was house bound for a few weeks. When I was finally turned loose, I had to walk with crutches for a couple weeks. I was walking across the park area and I ran into him...he cheered me on as if I were accomplishing something. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He was the one that accomplished a lot.  

Another stroke patient that lives in Panyu would come to the stadium every day. I do admire her, but I admire her husband more. He would walk slowly with her, round after round. Finally, after she tired, he would sit her down and then he would do his running. He protected her and made sure she didnt fall...before he did his running. She is strong enough now, that she goes to the stadium alone. She isnt very old. I am guessing maybe 40. I imagine she will eventually regain much of her strength back...I sure hope so.

Near where I stay in Xiangfan, is an old folks home. There is an old lady, nearly 90, that gets out and walks, rain or shine, summer or winter from the old folks home to about 1/2 mile away and back. Takes her all morning. Everyday...even during our terrible winter storm, there she was, crutches and all, trudging her normal route. I admire her stamina and fortitude, I could hardly convince myself to go out in the cold.

I admire the Chinese students who are under so much pressure because there are more students than schools. I admire my Chinese friends who put up with things we in the west wouldnt believe. I admire the village people, who are so incredibly shy but friendly. They live in conditions most of us wouldnt even consider.... Lots of everyday people doing everyday things...... are everyday heros.  

Think about your everyday heros.... Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 22:00 | link | comments |
china, living in china

February 23, 2008

A reader gave me some advice on keeping my hands warm. He told me that I should not sit so near the door. Well, Yoshick, I was in the middle of the room...it was below freezing outside and barely above freezing on the inside. In central China, there are few places that have central heat. Most places have wall mounted electric heaters/airconditioners. But electricity is very expensive and the heaters are not used very often. Instead, we don about 14 layers of clothes and hope not to freeze. I try to type with gloves, however, that doesnt work too well. This has been an exceptionally long cold stretch of winter weather. Weather has moderated the past few days. It has felt like maybe, spring was going happen soon. Infact, the willow trees around the moat are showing new green on the ends. Snow is forecast for tomarrow, however...I wonder if the weather man is having a joke or if he serious. Afterall, it is almost March.

One of the things I find fascinating about living in China, is the ancient places or places that are hundreds of years old that are just part of the landscape. Just on the edge of Xiangyang side of Xiangfan, is an old Taoist temple. In fact, you might say it is in the city. As I have mentioned before, Xiangfan sets in the mountains of Hubei. Taoist temples always seem to be built on the side of a mountain.  Mt. Zhenwu is one of those ancient places. Way back in the Tang Dynasty, more than 2000 years ago, a Buddhist temple sat here. It isnt unusual to find Buddhist and Taoist temples sharing a mountain. During the Ming Dynasty, Mt. Zhenwu became known as the Small Golden Summit with Wudang Shan (mountain) being the Great Golden Summit. Pilgrims would start their trek with a visit to Mt. Zhenwu, then continue on to Wudang. During the Cultural Revolution, this temple complex was all but destroyed. It is being rebuilt and restored. Looking at the buildings, I would say the workers are doing a good job. It does not look like new.  

When I visited Mt Zhenwu, I was surprised, but should not have been at how steep it was climbing the stairway path up the hill. Views of Xiangyang were wonderful and would have been fantastic if not so hazy. Fancheng was not really visible and I could barely make out the Han River.  I had to stop every little while just to drink the view. Back in the ancient times, this small mountain would not have had the city below it like it does now. Still, as I went up, it became very evident that I was in a different place. Except for the ever present trash around, there was no evidence of the city below. I stopped and looked into every room and building that was open. There were the statues from the Taoist side and there was a room for Guan Yin, a Buddhist deity.  Taoists and Buddhists are still sharing the mountain.  I had quite the time with being a foreigner. Most of the other visitors were surprised to see a laowei face. A couple of the monks-in-training followed me around like sentinals guarding their post. Everyone was friendly and I got to practice my fledging Chinese speaking ablility.  It is a great place to go for an afternoon. The climb isnt as long, but I wouldn't say it is less steep than Wudang Mountain. (Wudang Shan or Wudang Mountain has many, many temples...and the mountains around there are higher.) Mt Zhenwu is quite picturesque in its own right. Places along the climb, one can look down into the ravines surrounding the mountain. Lots of caves are there, maybe hiding places for the ancients or the hermits.  Plus the views of the city are pretty good.

Hope you find a good place for an afternoon...Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:44 | link | comments |
china, living in china, temples, xiangfan

Also, February 18, 2008

Thanks to all of you that are leaving comments. It is good to read what you think.

posted by: CarolenChina at 09:54 | link | comments |

February 18, 2008

I was sitting in McDonald's having breakfast watching people. My favorite past time, watching people. I noticed a little lady that had to be fresh from a village. How do I know, well, her dress for one. She had the tell tale red cheeks that had been close to blistering in the cold... but they didnt, no sore scars. Her clothes while clean and neat were not the days fashion. Her hands were rough and calloused. But the thing that stood out, the most...she felt out of place. She was clearly uncomfortable standing waiting for what I think was her daughter. She probably wanted to go down to the noodle shop and have mian.. but the little girl wanted to go to McDonalds and there they were. The village lady wasnt sure what to do with the fork or the pancakes that was set in front of her. I wanted to take her by the hand and go to the noodle shop...but I would have probably scared her, most likely she has seen few foreigners. So I just watched her instead. She wanted to go back to the village, it was written all over her.

I watched an old man getting his fortune told by a street seer. He was bent over and listening to every word the fortune teller was saying. His body was in a permanent lean....He had his hand cupping his chin as though  he was deep in thought, trying to put the pieces of info together. He was so deep into his listening the outside world didnt exist. I hope that his days will be filled with all that is good....however, I am not the fortune teller. I noticed lately, that the street fortune tellers are very busy...new year and all that. 

I observed four young soldiers marching across the Number One Bridge. Three of them were clearly were into the march, stepping smartly, swinging their arms, very energic... But the fourth one may have drank too much baijiao the night before.... He was barely keeping time and up. And his head wasnt being held quite so high. He was having a rough march. 

A few snow piles are still around, but, by and large, they are mostly gone. The effects of such a long stretch of cold weather are still showing.  A couple of farmers were selling green onions that the tops were clearly frost burned. People doing the shopping are haggling over the brown tips as if the onions are no good.... Cabbages are frost burned...for awhile when the snow was the deepest, we were happy to get frozen cabbage. Spinach and other leafy vegies are a little rough looking and expensive. I guess, we should just be happy that anything survived to be sold in the markets. From what I read, prices are up because of the storm all over China. From what a couple of my stateside friends tell me prices are up in the US, too.....

I must close this musing. I cannot feel my fingers...from the cold. I hope your fortune teller says good things... till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:52 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

February 14, 2008

My parents moved to Alaska back in the 1940s. And virtually lived there the rest of their lives. Once during a long cold winter, a cheechako (newcomer to Alaska) asked my mother, why she stayed there...she answered, quite matter of factly, "Alaska has been good to me." The newcomer was counting the days until he could leave Alaska. I have thought here lately, about returning to Alaska. I have been in China for 6 years, working on seven. I have family in Alaska, sometimes I miss them...and sometimes, I dont. But the facts are, my brothers are getting older and so am I. Maybe, it is time to go home.... I really do not want to leave China. Why? China has been good to me. I have more opportunities in China to make a difference. I really like the fact that I can wander back into time here. I went out to do my morning exercise and on the air was the strains of erhu music. As I walked down the street, I found the musician...a man was setting in front of his tv inside his shop, with Peking Opera on the screen, playing his erhu to the movement. What a great way to start the day. For less than a dollar to you, I can have a bowl of noodles...my favorite is noodles with a sauce made of sesame paste and soy milk or hot beef noodles.  I have told you about going to the open air markets where farmers sell their vegies... I can do that every day and so the vegies are very fresh. I like calligraphy. I cannot read many of the characters but I love the lines and love trying to make them. They speak to my sense of something. I like traditional styled Chinese paintings, the mountains and peonies and many other subjects. I have many friends who are professional calligraphers or artists here in Xiangfan...I have been given many beautiful pictures and pieces of calligraphy, simply because I like it so. I do tai chi chuan. It is so much fun  to go out early in the morning and see the players or learn another routine and not have to pay the humungous prices that tai chi teachers in the USA want to charge. I like being able to travel to other parts of China and see completely different cultures. Go to Tibet and the world has changed. Go to Xinjiang Province and not only can you go back in time, you enter the world of the Uygher, Arabic decendants...who have a different space in time and thought. In China, I can live very comfortably on less than 300 US dollars. So I am in this dilemma, do I follow my heart and stay in China or do I follow my head and go home. Or maybe, maybe, I can find a way to live in both places. By the way, Happy Valentines day.  Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:45 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

February 12, 2008

People are trickling back into Xiangfan. The holiday is all but over. I noticed that many people were carrying their travel bags...so the modes of transportation will fill up quickly. College students will be coming back soon. School officially starts again on Feb 25. and the high and middle schools at the end of this week. Most mom and pop shops are still are not open,,,but all the big stores are. Street noodle shops are beginning to open back up... thank goodness.. Their food is cheap and good. And I am tired of McDonalds.

The weather is somewhat milder than a couple weeks ago. However, it still dropping off very cold at night. Some piles of snow and ice are still visible, however, they are slowly melting away. Last night and the night before, besides being filled with exploding fireworks, had the most gorgeous sliver of a moon hanging in the sky. The air has been surprising clear and one could even see stars within the arrays of color bursts. Hope your days and nights are filled with beauty and color...till next time. 

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:44 | link | comments (1) |
china, living in china

Post storm....February 10, 2008

Now, the Lunar New Year is few days old. Alot of people are traveling to see family. Some are going back to work. The next big event in the celebration would be Lantern Festival held on the 15th day of the new year. Then it is all over.  Some of the middle school kids I know will be returning to school this week. They dont get the long vacation that college students have. The biggest and most important time in China is coming to a close for another year.

The weather is somewhat moderating. But the south part of China affected the worst, still has weeks of recuperating to go.  It takes weeks for power towers to rebuilt and lines to go back up. I heard that the trains are mostly running....it is a good thing, college students will be making their way back to their respective schools. In Xiangfan, there are still places where the snow hasnt melted... mostly where it was piled so that pathways could be cleared. In places where the sun doesnt shine, snow is clinging. It is still dropping off very cold at night, but its getting near 40 degrees F during the day. The thing that makes it so bad in the south is that area is not considered a place where it gets cold. I read somewhere that the military people are not even issued blankets south of the Yangtze River. No emergency preparations are made south of the Yangtze for the possibilty of winter weather. One thing you probably didnt read about is how the government sent in troops, partly to help the people but mostly to keep civil unrest from happening. People fought for food and coal.... things like that did not make it into the news reports. China wants everyone to think that its society is harmonious. I read a CNN report from a man that traveled on a train to his home being so frightened. It didnt surprise me. Those trains are so packed with people, that you cannot imagine it in the west. If you have 2000 people hungry and thirsty, plus trapped on the train, it would not be pretty.  

However, spring is not that far away now. Things will warmer, probably faster than we realize. So with warm thoughts, til next time.  

 

posted by: CarolenChina at 01:15 | link | comments |
china, travel, living in china

First day of tne New Lunar Year.

Lunar New Year arrived to a cacaphony of firecrackers and car alarms. Explosions from some of those were huge...sounded like small t-n-t sticks. I would bet that they could have brought down a small house...one could even feel the blast. Decibel level of the celebration grew till it was joined by a kladiscope of color across the sky from fireworks that people were lighting at the midnite hour. There wasnt 2 square meters of sky that didnt have some kind of colorful display from any window in this 5th story apartment. The percussion symphony and light show went on until the wee hours of new year.

A couple of years ago, on the first day of the new year, people would sit around visiting and eating. Noone would have considered shopping on the first day of the year. Today, I went out for a walk and was surprised to find almost every shop on the walking street was open, and so were the supermarkets. Walmart was even open. MacDonalds was serving burgers and KFC was frying chicken. Being on the outside looking in, they both were doing a brisk business. A lot of food vendors were out on the walking street serving up their specialities to lines of people.  Except my favorite roasted sweet potato selling lady was not on her corner. Maybe she needed to rest.

Taxi  cabs were running around without passengers. Before on the first day of the new year, empty taxi cabs would be hard to find. It was common practice for the drivers to charge three times what ever they wanted to charge just because it was the holiday and and taxi cabs were in high demand. City buses, today, were  running with no hike in price. Most were full, so maybe that is why the taxi cabs were having a bad day.  

It was borderline cold out. The forecast was for temps well above freezing, but it felt like it wasn't much above. Piles of snow and ice are still everywhere. They are not melting very fast. Most people looked like they were having a good time. An auspicious beginning to the Year of the Rat. Till next time.... 

posted by: CarolenChina at 13:17 | link | comments (1) |
china, holiday, living in china

Lunar New Year's Eve Day

Lunar New Year is about 7 hours away.... but if you could hear the firecrackers going off, you would think that  midnite  had already arrived. Strings of loud popping have been going on for a couple of hours or longer. The din will only get louder, the later it gets. This is China's holiday...and it is so much more real than watching China trying to celebrate Christmas. There is quite a set of traditions to follow depending on what part of China you are in. In Guangzhou, flowers are used for decorations. And flowers are everywhere, every doorway, every corner, every every, has a flower or a plant placed there. Here in Xiangfan, northern Hubei province, we have winter and cold temperatures. Flowers placed outside probably wouldnt last, so the only place one sees flower is in someone's home. And I havent seen much for decorations, save a few red longivity knots or lanterns. People will place writing around their doors and on trees and etc, telling  wishes of good health, wealth and such. And many will put posters on their doors of the Chinese character for wealth, turned upside down so the wealth wont fall out. Another door decorator is pictures of Zhong Kui, the ghost eater. His job is to keep bad spirits away. People, everywhere, in China will burn incense and paper money to honor their ancestors and make sure the ancestors have what is needed.  Actually, the holiday started on the 23rd of of the last lunar month of the year, when the "little" New Year was celebrated. This has something to do with the 24 festival days in the Lunar calendar. A lot of families and friends had a big dinner for celebration. On the 25th, houses are cleaned, windows washed and all that. All the bedding is washed and aired. Public areas such as city squares are also cleaned. Here in Xiangfan, where we have had a lot of snow, snow clearing is still happening in a lot of public places. Maybe the actual washing of the square was passed.  On the 27th, bouza are made. Jiaozi will be the traditional food served at family dinners tonite.  A friend of mine here in Xiangfan told me about growing up in a village in Zaoyang district. On house cleaning day, she and her brothers would have to take the cooking pots and dishes to the river or pond, to a hole in the ice and wash them. On bouza day, they would have to take the vegetables put in the dumplings and wash them in that cold, cold water..can you just imagine their hands? They would be anything but warm.  Children will receive new clothes and shoes. Not many toys are given, mostly, practical things. The next few days are traditionally days of meeting and greeting family and friends. Some travel to other villages to see family who havent been seen for awhile. Lots of food is prepared and lots of big meals are eaten. This goes on until the Lantern Festival which is the 15th day of the new year. After that, life returns to normal, whatever, normal is.  So with that, I will say "Xin Nian Kuai Le", Chinese for "Happy New Year".  Till next time.

posted by: CarolenChina at 07:18 | link | comments |
china, living in china

Happy Year of the RAT

Happy Year of the Rat.....   May you and your families enjoy a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

posted by: CarolenChina at 01:11 | link | comments |
china, holiday, living in china

Storm in China

http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2008/02/03/china-lunar-new-year-approaches-with-tragedy-growing/

This website shows some pretty graphic pictures of the storm that has paralyzed China.... and it isnt Guangzhou centered.

As most of you have heard by now, a most of central and southern China have been affected by the worst winter storm in 50 years. Where I am in Hubei, we got lots and lots of snow....but not the freezing rain and then snow...we just got snow. However,  Wuhan, which is 4 - 6 hours away, depending on whether or not you are on a slow train or fast car....or maybe it is a fast train or slow car....anyway... Wuhan sits in about the center of the Province. Wuhan got much more of the ice and snow and from there south it is terrible. The good old western press would have you believe that Guangzhou is the worse and only place that is affected. No so. I have a friend that was in the country in Hunan.... He talks about ice almost an inch thick and taking hours to go short distances when the school where he was, was evacuated.  Changsha had no power for awhile, although I think it has been restored. The hardest hit area of the storm is not in any way equipped to handle such a disaster. On the local TV station there were pictures of hundreds of military men and women shoveling the highways by hand and airport runways...by hand... just to get some relief to people who are in the worst affected areas... but as this video and blogs tell you...the worst areas are in the karst area...roads are mountainous and winding. They are not the easiest places to get to in the summer, let alone in a storm of this proportions.

For now, Xiangfan is more or less thawing out. Every person who was looking for work, most store employees and policemen were out shoveling the snow into piles so that cars could move and sidewalks were cleared...during the worst of the storm. Now we have been a week without snow, and what wasnt carried away by trucks is starting to melt. In the protected places, however, snow is still piled high and hasnt started to melt. The forecast is for above freezing during the day and dropping off at night... so the snow will soon be gone. The moat that surrounds the walled city is still mostly ice covered, which was a surprise to me. It will soon be gone, too...

I hope wherever you are, the weather is fair and all you Patriot fans have recovered. Send good thoughts to the storm stricken  in China or wherever they may be.... till next time. 

posted by: CarolenChina at 02:14 | link | comments |
china, living in china

February 2,2002

There are a few things that I wonder about in China..... such as.... babies through toddlers, for the most part don't wear diapers. Their clothes are split in the important part. One can see the parents of little babies holding the little ones over a garbage can or over the side of the street and whistling..the same song.  Now, the weather has been very cold... and the little ones with split pants have their all togethers hanging out in the cold air while mom or dad whistle till they do their business... Why doesn't their all togethers freeze....and as adults when they hear THE whistle, do they still have to run and do their business?

Do drivers of buses think that they are so big that they dont need head lights...? I was crossing the street and almost got hit by a city bus...running without lights...I was told he was saving electricity. Makes sense, doesnt it... maybe to you, but I havent figured it out.

I think taxi drivers have a death wish. Instead of sitting in the left lane...for turning, lets get out into the coming traffic lane and go to the front so that when the lights change, we can be first.

That's a just a couple of things....till next time...

posted by: CarolenChina at 06:45 | link | comments (5) |
china, living in china

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