How Important Are You?

"Do you see Color?"  

Carol Cassara asked that question on a blog post the other day. She had heard an interview on tv where the person being interviewed was asked about bias and bigotry and the person replied that they did not see color! Is that a good thing or a bad thing. Or did I simply misunderstand.

Carol pointed out the ignoring another person's color denied that person of their identity all together. After all we are a part of many generations of humans that led to who they are. But her thinking was that when a person says that it is not what they mean. Those that disagree with the statement have taken it literally. We might do the same if we didn't think about what the deeper meaning was. Here is what she wrote:

"So let’s break it down. Yes, yes, fools like me do want to rush in where angels fear to tread. Kids, we MUST discuss these hard topics or we are doomed to be stuck in this hell called our society forever.

So it’s impossible not to see color. Color of hair, color of eyes, color of clothing and YES, color of SKIN. Racial identity. We ALL see color. But here’s what I think people NOT of color mean when they say “I don’t see color."

They mean that they do not attach negative and stereotypical traits to a particular race.

I liked her words...a lot. Thank you Carole for bringing meaning to a phrase that is being misread over and over. Unfortunately, as I travel the world as well as my own country, I see evidence that many leaders do see "color". I give you that wall between Mexico and the USA that I live close to in the winter. 

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates

I might take that a bit further. It is a razors edge we walk on when it come to color, age, sexual orientation or even linage. It all depends on what your base reaction is. I have traveled a lot and I know that color permeates every culture. The Chinese look down on the Mongolians. The Indian's base their opinion of another on the color of their skin and is a result of centuries of the caste system. The Middle East is all about religion and so it goes. In the United States all you have to be is different. Each finds someone to hate or denigrate. Maybe that is true everywhere on this planet.

I have always believed that humans disparage others because it makes themselves feel more important. Back when I was a child we often said the our poor uneducated white people hated the blacks because it make them feel bigger and, well, less poor and uneducated. Does that make sense?

I took a trip to India in May of this year where I got a glimpse of what the English rule in that country did to that culture. Inside The Imperial New Dehli where my daughter-in-law and granddaughters stayed spent one night, we saw a world where no sign of the language of India appeared. Even thought pictures lined the walls were lithographs of India's history created back in the sands of time, the language under each was English. It seemed like a time warp of sorts. The hotel was built in early 1930 and opened in 1936. The Indian people won their independence in 1947. The architecture speaks to the era. 

But according to this piece of history of the hotel, the governing body and those with influence in India found a place here. It served as a meeting place for the Indo-British governing bodies in spite of it's "Britishness". I find that very interesting. 

"The Imperial was placed on the second most important social boulevard of the nation, the prestigious Queensway, now called Janpath, the first being the grand and ceremonious Kingsway, now known as Rajpath. From the time it opened its doors in the 1930s, when India was beginning to write the last chapters of its saga on independence, there was little space in New Delhi for an Indo-British rubbing of shoulders. The Imperial provided such a space. Pandit Nehru, Mahatama Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Lord Mountbatten met at The Imperial under congenial conditions to discuss the partition of India and creation of Pakistan. The Nehru family had a permanent suite here."

Doorman

My suite.

Grounds of the Imperial

The Spice Road Restaurant

Before dinner drinks with Daughter-in-law Amanda

The British control of this country is history but how it left the country with an image of it's people was less than kind. I suppose even today there are those that look down on the Indian culture. I recall when a girl from my hometown married a gentleman from India 40 years ago, my mother commented that he just look black to her.  

As for the Indian people they also had the caste system leaving every level of society feeling better about themselves because they had someone to look down on...that was and is important. My son's maid did not clean the toilets until caught refusing to do that ugly "unclean" job. It is and was part of what a lower caste did.

When we traveled in China my son lived in Pu Dong just east of Shanghai. The development where his school was locate was built at the end of a dirt road that traveled through a Mongolian settlement. The people lived (and maybe worked) in the neighborhood. The school for the children was segregated from the local school district serving the Chinese people. It was not good! I might mention here that no "foreigner" could attend a Chinese public school. Inner Mongolia is part of China so there is that. But in my world it was not an unfamiliar.

But do we not acknowledge that these people are from a different culture and actually do look different than we do? I don't think so. We simply need to learn more and maybe even rub shoulders with them so we can understand and even maybe make a part of their culture our own. I am as guilty as anyone of carrying bigotry from a childhood where people struggled and it was important to, well, feel important.

So, how important do you need to feel? I stopped and thought about that today and I think we all should do that?

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Out of China: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Me

My husband was very concerned about the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the very beginning. I didn't want to talk about it! That was back in January. We had ordered visa's for a trip to China and we were to leave next week...March 19th. Tickets were purchased and we were making plans from a side trip to Bali. Needless to say, we changed our plans. As we all know, this disease is about to change more and more lives. It certainly has had an effect on ours. And the beat goes on.

My son and his wife plus our grandchildren live and work in China. Thankfully they are back in the states now.

We are grateful that they are out of Shenzhen and living temporarily in their condo in the Portland, Oregon. But the battle they had getting here was not easy. Getting out of the China without contracting the Coronavirus disease was the big victory. It was very much a worry for all of us.

Chinese back street. by b

I cannot tell you the full story because I honestly do not know it all. But from our end, this is what we saw.

When Chinese New Year came around, one of the
granddaughters went away with a group of her classmates to go skiing. The rest of the family went to Thailand for a break. It seemed as normal as their life can actually seem to us.

They were all good and then all "hell" broke loose. The Coronavirus reared its ugly head in Guangzhou to spread across China and the family was spread to the four winds.

My son flew to New York City on a job related trip.

My daughter-in-law and our oldest granddaughter went back to China. But the youngest was still in Switzerland.

And China shut down...period.

A couple of days later he youngest granddaughter got off the plane from her trip and was held in quarantine because she had caught a cold on the trip. Even though her mother was at the airport to meet her, they could not connect immediately. The experience scared the child half to death.

They live in very large city that bustles as only China can and suddenly the streets were totally empty. My daughter-in-law who was alone in China with the girls said it felt like Chernobyl must have felt after the nuclear accident there. Total isolation and all that entails with the two girls was mind bending.

Fast forward a week or so. After hunting down plane tickets, they caught the "last plane out". They left the dogs with an ayi (Chinese "auntie") and came to us in Arizona. My son came here from NYC so he met them at the airport. We just hugged the stuffing out of each one of them and breathed a sigh of relief. In spite of colds and exhaustion from stress, they were fine-ish. Sorta! We were elated at the miracle of having them all under our roof. It was wonderful. They were with us a few days before they returned to Portland.

Then reality began to sink in as it continues to do to this day. The girls continued with online learning because they had already begun in China when their school did not reconvene after their bread.  Teachers teach at a distance and the girls are spending endless hours learning on the computer discovering what would have taken a short time to learn in the classroom.

With each news cast we are beginning to wonder if this is the new reality of life for the foreseeable future.

It is not apparent yet if they will ever go back to their home in China. Eventually someone will have to go to to Shenzhen to direct the move to their next job. (Yes, there is a next job.)

The reality is the girls may never connect with their friends again. In the meantime, my son who is school head for Avenues of New York Shenzhen school and my daughter-in-law who is working for an international school in Shenzhen are now working from home. All day, 5 or 6 days a week.

After the shock wore off, we are all back in step with what is real now. They have gone back to Portland where they own a condo. We remain in Arizona doing what we do. All is well...almost.

My daughter-in-law broke her knee skiing on Mt. Hood but other than that....sigh. We are beginning to be a little jumpy as you can well imagine!

But, life goes on and what is, is! I feel very grateful at this particular point in our life. They are healing and we are fine. Life is good!

Enough already! Any drama in your life?

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China: Does God live in the Surveillance Cameras and are all those protesters in Hong Kong in their Facial Recognition System?

Have you ever had that feeling that you are being watched? If you live in some regions of China you are AND you are being graded on your behavior I have been told.

As you know, China is ruled by a Communist government and because it is, religion is not encouraged. We have been there several times because our son and his family live there. We have seen what a country without any major religion looks like.

Inside the Forbidden City in Beijing the Chinese people stand and meditate near rocks or at a place that the ancient Chinese culture considered to be the center of the Universe. There was a Starbucks so if you worshipped coffee that was the place for you. But no sign of a guiding light anywhere.

from Business Insider, April 29, 2018

I was told several years ago that the head of the Communist party was concerned about the lack of moral guidance for the Chinese people. It seems the Chinese people were not behaving in an appropriate way and that worried the leadership. Crime may have been on the rise.

Forbidden knock-off markets were closed down to simply re-emerge somewhere else.

We saw that lack played out in fist fights on the street and freeways in Shanghai. Loud arguments were not that unusual. Pushing was very common and almost frightening in the subway stations.

The fact that the people of China live in crowded conditions as a result of their population causes aggressive behavior I think. Or it may just be the culture. Who knows.

Now our son lives in Shenzhen on the mainland very near Hong Kong. In that city and others, many video surveillance cameras have been installed. And along with that, "facial recognition" for each citizen has been established. My daughter-in-law counted more than ten cameras (maybe 15) at one intersection near their apartment.

So what is the government doing with all those images you ask. Well...here is the story I have been told.

The Chinese citizens (and maybe the expats too) are being graded on their behavior. They are being punished in a variety of ways for bad behavior. At the end of each month their names are put on a public list ordered according to how well they are behaving themselves. In society, people are being shunned or unfriended as it were because of that list. The government has decided that not only are you judged on your behavior but others are judged based on their association with you based on your actions.

The Chinese government claim is that they are using the technology to catch criminal...that is probably true. I actually don't think that fooling around in China is a good idea.

I don't know about you but the whole idea is the scariest thing I have ever heard. But I think that, because the Chinese don't believe in any higher being, they have put God in the surveillance cameras! Wow!

What do you think.

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CCTV IN China
In China, Facial Recognition is Watching You
China Feeding it's Creepy....

On Growing Rice

We just returned from Arizona and are now at home in Oregon. Our trip this year took us through the center of California where much of the produce we find on our tables is grown. Rice is one of those crops that somehow seems out of place and yet there it is.

Growing rice really is a mystery to me. The rice that is grown in water to hold the stalks up (I am told) and is planted April. In the Yangtze Valley of China where the crop is harvested in October, the streets and highways are used to dry the harvest. Even in the middle of the villages rice is spread in the middle of the streets by the "people" to dry. It is not called the People's Republic of China without reason.

For those of us that have driven through California where large processing plants take care of the drying rice and machines plant that same rice in flooded paddies, it was a surprise when we come to a very wide road that cannot be driven on this week because the "people" are drying their rice crops. Really!

Canal very near the road with rice drying...water was everywhere.

Shanghai is very near sea level so there are canals everywhere and people live on the banks, grow crops in the borrow pits along side the road that are raised using the soils taken from the pits. The pits also fill with water. Is it understandable that a crop like rice would be a perfect one for the region. 

The natural order of thing was foreign to us too. The "people" were totally in control of the roads in these small villages and would not even acknowledge the cars at all. It takes a certain amount of getting used to and patience. 

I saw children playing in the areas between freeway off ramps in Beijing. Parents kept watch but open ground was at an a premium and the "people" do not hesitate to use what was going to waste. 

The infrastructure in the rural areas was not perfect and people keep warm using charcoal. A single light bulb that lights the center of the house might be a luxury for all I know. Children live in layers of quilting in the winter and resemble balls with legs. Their pants have a slit in the crotch so they can squat to go to the bathroom when the notion strikes them. Nothing is so private that a child cannot go potty anywhere.

Growing rice was the symbol for what I didn't understand totally. There was much to be learned and not nearly enough time. We were there last in 2011. China was growing up at that time but the simplicity for those living outside the cities was still very much on parade. I wonder what I would find now?

Rice being dried in the center of the village.

Broom hanging in a horsestall is hand made. The broom the man above is using is very similar.

I love travel so much. It seems that the experience follow me home. And I love to talk about it...not because anyone is interested but because it brings back such good memories.

Thank you for reading.

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PS: The pictures are my own. If you would like to use them just let me know.

The New York Times and Barbara on China's Economy

Link: The Year of the Pig (It Crossed My Mind)

I saw an article in the New York Times this week talking about the Chinese economy and the central government in Beijing proposing a radical new plan to unleash the business community. The Times says the party is considering....

…reducing government intervention in the marketplace and giving competition among private businesses a bigger role in investment decisions and setting prices. The overhauls, if successful, could also make China an even stronger competitor on the global stage by encouraging innovation and expanding the middle class.

My husband and I have been to China three times now.  We stayed for 3 or more seeks each time we entered the country.  We have traveled on subways, taken taxis and shopped....a lot.  While we don't really understand what is going on in that country, we definitely have a feel for what it takes to function.

Giving up control of markets and weaning the business sector off the financial support they have become accustomed to is going to be very difficult for government run businesses but that artificial market place is not what we saw come into play on a day-to-day basis. I don't think it is the story behind the Chinese way of life and how the common man and woman functions in that culture. There is now and always has been a whole world of business that does not even see the light of day. This is where the real China lives, works and shops.

Shanghai

We visit expat family in the eastern part of Shanghai (Pu Dong). Pu Dong is translated as east of the river and it is a huge very modern "city" that stretches from the Huang Pu waterway east to the Shanghai International Airport and beyond. It is home to huge foreign manufacturing companies. In order for us to visit  Shanghai central (Pu Xi), a shuttle, taxis and a long subway ride is required. There are train changes and sprawling underground stations to maneuver. This is where the real story of commerce in that huge city begins.

Substations on the subway have become the home to every kind of market. When we went to China the first time in t 2006, those markets that sold knock-off goods operated in open air spaces very near the city center.  There was no attempt to hide or even control all of the merchandise that came out of the back doors of manufacturers.  But when the world came to visit, the Communist party was the recipient of an outcry by the US government asking  them to stop selling US products at a cut-rate price. China wanted to fit into the world market so they made an effort to at least make this segment of the business community less visible. They wanted to give the outside world the impression that they were trying to control the sales of illegal knock-off goods. 

So the obvious solution was to move the markets into their ever-expanding subway system. Out of sight out of mind. For the over six years we have been visiting Shanghai, the market we used has been moved several times. But the beat goes on. The people know where they will be relocated by word of mouth.  Even expats are privy to the information if they pay attention.

This underground world does not appear to be under the Communist Party control. I cannot imagine that there is not a lot of protection money exchanged but who knows. They are definitely not following the Party line. Vendors are setting prices and bargaining is necessary if the buyer wants get a fair price. If you are going to navigate this world, you will need to learn to offer less than the vendor is asking. The Chinese people are adept as the process and like any other county in the world that has a culture like this, unrepentant if they get more than they are due. 

On the other hand, if you are traveling in the country with a tour guide or with a group of tourist in a large group, you will be taken to government-controlled businesses. Local goods like pearls, silk and jewelry are sold at these stores and a "fixed price" system is used. Bargaining is not allowed. This is China’s version of a “tourist trap”. 

Even in People's Square in Shanghai the government must be controlling prices at the Chinese owned department stores. We could not afford to buy anything in those places. In fact, the quality of the goods was shoddy and unattractive. I would not have bought them at any price. Basic items like socks or sweaters were very scarce. Children’s clothing was nowhere to be found. We wondered how they could even stay in business. I don't imagine they could without government support. The competition from the foreign owned department stores doing business in the country now is becoming more and more of a problem for them I think.

While huge grocery stores and big box stores serve expats and the more wealthy Chinese citizens in Pu Dong, the villages and back streets are home to markets where the local Chinese buy their clothing, food and fresh vegetables. We have not shopped for food in these places but we have seen where the produce is grown and how animals are hung to season along side the road. We would not survive this food but it is fine for those living with the conditions. It is neither bad nor good...it just is.

Beijing

We traveled with a tour guide in Beijing before the Olympics. She was with us for 3 days. A driver accompanied us and he controlled how long we were required to stay at government-sponsored businesses. We ate together and the driver always sat beside the guide. I don’t know who was listening to whom but there was a feeling that each was a little uncertain of the other. In fact, the tour guide actually whispered behind the drivers back when we asked about things like communes once used for the re-education of social dissidents. We were treading on thin ice when we even asked and we knew it. It didn't take us long to get a feeling for the veil of secrecy surrounding everything in that world, even it's history.

I might add here that our tour guide was either a Party member herself or would be one day. She had been raised with the ideals, touted the virtues of Chairman Mao in a way that left you no doubt about her feelings and truly loved her way of life. She told us her parents knew every word of the Beijing Opera and attended as often as they could. She was evidently raised with educated people around her.

But...the guide was more than willing to take us to knock-off markets. While she did take us to the government-sponsored business as required, she did not push the products. She and the driver may have been paid a fee for just bringing in buyers. I bought silk, pearls and pirated recordings of American and Chinese music on side streets. She would tell us if the goods we were looking at in the government stores were priced right or not. We traveled north of Beijing down back roads to the Great Wall and we were taken to eat at her favorite restaurant where we caught the fish that were prepared especially for us. We watched real “Chinese noodles” being prepared in the window of the restaurant she said was her family’s favorite.

Every time she did something outside the normal, she would say, "Don't tell anyone!" But it seems that money talks no matter where you are.  She knew she would be tipped generously if she did what we wanted and liked. She also knew that more business would come her way if we liked what we saw. She and the driver tiptoed around the legal, expected and financially expedient.

So in China the free enterprise system is alive and well down at the level where the majority of the people live. I think there really is no way to control it. The officials are golden as long as they make money for the country and one gets the feeling that the bribe system is alive and well. I believe that is why you see horrible incidents like poisoning of children with milk cut with chemicals, tainted tooth paste or schools collapsing killing the students. I think the officials are rewarded or have a private interest in keeping construction and manufacturing costs down. There is no "doing the right thing" and they are only punished if something goes wrong. They are willing to take the chance because the rewards outweigh what happens if things go wrong. Business is much the same there as it is here in the United States.

It will be very interesting to see the changes that take place in China if the free market is unleashed and the private sector is allowed or forced to take control of their own world. I have a feeling that many of those government owned businesses will fail. I cannot even speculate on how the changes will trickle down to the markets hidden around every corner in that country. 

We will be going back soon but we are able to afford to buy less and less each time we go. The climate is changing and prices are going up everywhere. We see the expansion of the upper class and the wealth being displayed by young people able to tap into the business market and what it had to offer. It is absolutely amazing. Shanghai is looking a lot more like the Paris of the East it was touted as being before the revolution. In order for us to see what we saw just six years ago, we need to go farther out, away from the city center or into the subway tunnels. In fact, before long,  I think we will need to go to Vietnam.

As for these economic changes, the Times says:

To succeed, China’s leaders will have to fend off powerful interest groups, as well as corrupt officials who have grown accustomed to using their political power to enrich themselves and their families through bribes and secret stakes in companies.

Maybe the time for change is becoming evident even to officials. Or maybe they have begun to acknowledge what is already happening. The economy is slowing down and there is a feeling in the wind I think. Some of the people of China are waiting I suppose. But for the vast majority of the Chinese people, life will go on as it has for thousands of years.  

Read Beijing Signals a Change in Economic Policy.

Holy Mackerel Asthma in China and the Cat Has the Flu Too

We are in Arizona for three months. Being gone from home can be very hard. I miss my family a lot. But on the other hand, at least back in the old days, the "out of sight, out of mind" made it easier. We knew less about what was going on with the family and friends back then. I was a new grandmother when we first started traveling so I hadn't learned to trust my children with my grandchildren yet. Even though I know more now, I also trust my children to know 10x as much as I do. It has all balanced out somehow.

So when my daughter-in-law in Oregon wrote on her Facebook page that our granddaughter had the stomach flu and so did the cat I could only shake my head. The cat???? Really? But that was not all. One of her friends had the same experience a couple of weeks ago. I sent text short message to my son this morning and he replied with a picture of the baby granddaughter merrily bouncing up and down in a springy thing. That was good! I didn't ask about the cat.

Facebook is my source of information these days. My son in Shanghai told about the pollution levels in Beijing the other day. It was a lot worse than it was in Shanghai and trust me, Shanghai has air than will perm your hair.  His wife had a "holy mackerel" asthma attack while she was packing to leave for Beijing. I suggested she buy a mask...all the Chinese people wear them when the air is so suspect...but they really are ugly, ugly, ugly masks. I very much doubt she will take my suggestion. I know I wouldn't.

Like Gilda Radner said,  "it is always something". By the time I get in the picture, the "holy mackerel" is all over and the DIL is home from Beijing. The baby is better and the cat has recovered or run away. I suppose the point is that worry really is a waste of my emotional life. Those people in control are taking care. In fact, what I see as worry actually does not exist in my world when I am so far from home.

Just a thought!

+b

+Galen Pearl, You will appreciate this thought I think...it does not exist in my world.

The Smart Way to Conquer Your Vacation Letdown!

Do you have the urge to tell all your friends in detail about your wonderful vacation? Well you are not alone. Why do we do that?  I don't think it is because your friends are REALLY interested in that museum you visited...I think it is because we want avoid letting the adventure go. The letdown that follows a vacation of a lifetime can be huge. There are BETTER ways to fight that feeling than chasing our friends away.  How? This is what we do.

Food
Isn't is wonderful that food can fix just about anything.  The sensory pleasure we get from great food becomes a memory that should not go away No matter where we travel we manage to come home with a new taste for the food of the country we visit.  On our recent trip to Vietnam we experiences the tastes of that country. Wonderful Pho (pronounced: faw) and fish curry dishes had flavors that made me swoon. Both of these dishes are ones that my friends at home would probably enjoy. This is what I do:

• Bring the recipe home with you.  It never hurts to ask the restaurant or resort you are eating at for that favorite recipe.  On this trip I asked the resort for their fish curry dish recipe.  A couple of days later the recipe translated into English appeared in my room.  
• Bring regional spices/condiments home as gifts to friends and use yourself.  We have always purchased spices.  In Spain the black pepper comes in large bags that you can purchase in street markets.  Saffron used in Paella can be found in grocery stores at a very reasonable price.  In Vietnam we bought the mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, etc. in jars.  This mixture appears on every dinner table.  We also bought star anise, black pepper.  We would have gotten the fish sauce but it appears that if it breaks in your luggage it will stink up the whole airplane up!  :)




Eh Ru (two-stringed Chinese fiddle, violin) more info

• Recreate the food at home. This is the part that brings back so many memories. Last night I made a Pho with chicken for my husband and I. I will make this dish for friends in the near future. I prepared the fish curry a couple of weeks ago. We both smiled as the memories came flooding back. After visiting Thailand we learned to make Pad Thai.

Music

I always try to make my way to a store or even knock off market to buy regional music.  I have cd's of Spanish guitar by the Pepe Romero, Thai music and the beautiful Chinese Er Hu songs.  I even found a Er Hu at the antique market and brought it home.  When I play the music I relive my vacation over and over.

Books 
I usually do not read travel books before I visit a country. I will read Lonely Planet as the adventure presents itself. My husband loves to read the travel stuff online and I let him feed it to me. I am more about the people from a country.  I love learning the culture but I am a bit lazy I think. If I am aware of some fiction I will read those before I go. However, when I get home I will read books about the country; fiction, documentary, travel. I relive that vacation while reading the words. It helps me get past the letdown.

When we returned from Spain I read Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Spain by Chris Stewart.  Stewart is a former British rock star turned expat living in the Spanish countryside. I loved the book because it helped me understand what I had seen and made me laugh. I will download Up Country: A Novel by Nelson DeMille on my Kindle very soon.  I am told that DeMille used his personal experiences in Vietnam when writing the book. It has been recommended to me by several people. I want to watch Good Morning Vietnam again too.

Back Home

Getting over that vacation letdown can be hard.  Fatigue, jetlag and emotional disconnect are going to happen.  But there is no reason why the experience has to die the minute we step off the plane.  Bring the vacation home with you to experience over and over.  

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• Frugal Travel....Vietnam might be the place! (retireinstyleblog.com)
• A Month in China...China then and Now! (retireinstyleblog.com)
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Saying Goodbye to China!

Aging has not changed me that much.  I have always loved to come home after a vacation.  My own bed, bathroom, soap and night lite give me comfort after living away.  For me it has always been so.  But this time away was different somehow.  For the first time in this lifetime of travel I have seen beneath the surface and it has left me grateful for what I have.

We returned to Tucson last night around midnight after 17 hours between Shanghai and Arizona.  Seventeen hours is not that long but time really has no meaning when we are talking about two cultures born of different history.  I have a hard time making my mind jump the gap.

I love China and all it has to offer.  I love the juxtaposition of old with the new.  They are in so many ways ahead of the United States and centuries behind at the same time.  The lack of freedom to communicate with the outside world for most Chinese is screaming to be remedied while their ability to construct freeways, buildings and in fact whole communities of people is amazing.

The Old

The New

American Roller Skates come to China!

Today I switched on my computer here in Tucson after a month of using a laptop that belongs to my husband and my family's personal computer in their home in China.  I was astounded at the speed that my internet came up on the screen and the selection of websites I could simply click on without a message appearing telling me that the site was not available.  Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and so many more are blocked in China so we were not able to have that instant communication with family that we have become accustomed to.  I am waiting for Four Square to be blocked or it may already be.  The fact that, in our family at least, we have quit using email and instant message or post on Facebook was a problem for me as we traveled.

Henry (in the vest) living the dream!

Business with no Name....Henry's Dream come true!

I had my hair cut yesterday by a young man that has been learning computer skills and English from my daughter-in-law.  I told him that I wanted to bring him home with me because he did such a good job.  The words that came out of his mouth did not surprise me..."I want to come to America" he said, "but visas are very hard to get."  I could only think that he did not realize that he was living the dream.  He had managed to climb up by hard work and seeking knowledge and was now a business owner.  In America when we can be successful on that stage, we are living the dream.  It turns out that dreams are coming true in China too.  Beneath the surface we are not all that much different on many levels.  Now if freedom of speech was not such a threat to the Chinese way of life their world would be almost perfect.

Just a thought.

b

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Life in Shanghai...I wish I had a paper map! 2012

Shanghai 2011

Here is just a thought...why don't I have a paper map of Shanghai, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City?  Really, I know I am a technology geek and like to to get my gadgets out but this is just silly.

Yesterday we went into the city to buy pearls at a market located in Pu Xi.  I would love to tell you where that is but I really do not know.  Back in the day I would have had my nose in a map located us and even telling the person that live here year around how to get where we are going.  But now?  My goodness do you think I threw out the baby with the bath water?

We wondered what we were doing out yesterday at all really.  The girls asthma is acting up and the air quality was so bad you could have cut it with a knife.  After a drive across the city, lunch at Blue Frog and a walk to the market to buy a scarf ($12 today) I commented that it was the perfect day.  Lunch, shopping and fresh air.  My daughter-in-law was hysterical at the "fresh air" part.  Really, when you looked out the windows of the car, you wanted to hold your breath.

Rural China

I wonder about Shanghai, maybe even worry a little.  They say the China is experiencing the largest migration on the planet right now as the Chinese migrate from rural communities to their cities.  When I look out across the landscape, I wonder if one day it will all fold in upon itself and sink into the muddy ooze that lies beneath this city surrounded by water.  It seems like a Sim City built with Legos on a paper raft!

We drove by the small cove nearby my son's home.  Boats dock here at night.  The people's road was being used by fishermen to repair nets and scooters drove on both sides of the road.  We had seen rice being dried on the road earlier in December.  The road had been recently paved so it was much improved in the time we were in Vietnam.  At least the pot holes were gone.  This small community is near the airport and Chinese hotels line the way.  When we were here before I saw a dog being slaughtered either for it's meat or fur.  I have not seen that this time.

Online map of Hanoi

We do not drive through the migrant village just outside the gates of this private community anymore but my son took that route one day when we first got here.  He commented about the improvement on that road but it was not evident because the village is growing everyday and people filled that people's road from curb to curb. Some sewage problems have been taken care of but it is still the most basic of lives for those people.  Small gardens line the canal that borders the road.

The Outer Ring Roads that circle the city were constructed the year before the Expo was held here in the city. If I had a big paper map I would be very certain about how it looked. The Chinese completed it in less than two years we were told.  It is a miracle for traveling from this location near the Pu Dong airport into the center of the city.  This freeway proves that all things are possible when you have such a large labor pool and a communist government with a goal in mind.

Watch China very carefully in the coming years.  The inflation we see here is bound to seep down into the market that produces goods we buy in the United States.  I cannot imagine that the cost for labor is not going to explode one day soon!

In fact if I had a paper map, I would want it to include a path not only geographically but economically as well!  Just a thought!

b

Technorati Tags: China, economy, travel, culture

A Month in China...China then and Now!

Barbara on New Year Eve in Pu Dong China

I am always telling you that I am not an expert on financial matters.  What I know is what I see and read in the papers.  Believe me this is not a accurate way of accessing the situations.  Especially in China.

My husband and I have been here in the Far East for a month now.  We have driven up and down country roads, used the subway,  ridden on small planes and marginal trains to remote areas in Vietnam.  I have shopped in Hanoi, Saigon and Shanghai.  What I see leaves me wondering what is really going on.

Vietnam is at the place where China was when we were here 5 years ago.  Shopping is fun and goods are affordable for tourists.  The people in the cities live much like they did in the villages they came from.  Vendors show up on the street very early in the morning as businesses begin to open and disappear as quickly as they appeared.

When we visited Chinese in 2007, the Chinese people were doing fine but the evidence of extreme wealth was not evident.  Expats hung out at classy hotels and in the upscale alleys that dot downtown Shanghai.  Shops filled with beautiful good were not expensive and a dollar went a long way.  Pashmina cashmere scarves could be purchased for a few dollars and antiques were easily found at a price that made shopping fun. In all cases the market for the luxury goods was aimed at foreigners.

Flash forward to 2012.  We visited Taikang Lu yesterday to grab a bite to eat and do a little shopping in a labyrinth of alleys that connect main thoroughfares.  This time, beautifully dressed Chinese citizens filled shops and restaurants.  It is the New Years holiday here so this neighborhood was very busy.  Good were so expensive that I could not even consider bargaining for a Pashmina...$100+ each was just so much I wondered about wrapping it around my middle class neck.   Young people were dressed fashionably and very much in the public eye.  Young men wore funky hair cuts and swaggered better than any rock star.  Times are changing at the speed of light.

It seems that the more the people know the less they are allowed to communicate with the world on the Internet.  Here in Shanghai I am writing online with the use of a computer equipped with a VPN service. I am not a revolutionary nor do I see a need for political changes.  The Chinese people will work things out in their own way.  Yet the firewall around this country has gotten to thick and high it is almost impenetrable. While they are keeping the bad out they are also keeping all that is wonderful about the world out too.  It is very sad.

I asked my son about the Chinese people that I have been seeing everywhere we go.  Were they first generation educated rich?  Where were they 5 years ago?  His thinking was that they are repatriated Chinese working in the country after living in Canada or even the US.  Maybe.  I did not ask questions on the street.

On the other hand when we drive down the elevated Outer Ring Rd from Pu Dong to reach the west side of Shanghai we can see every piece of land that is not built on planted with winter vegetables.  People are stilling hanging on to small ponds and shacks where they dwell so they can grow vegetables and stay alive.  Small villages have street lined with shops that hold not only what the people are selling but also the mattress they sleep on.  They are going about living life out in China where the "real" citizens live.

I could only wonder which of these two worlds is the real China?  It is the Lego block city that clings to the massive core of this city or is it the rural world that lives so near and yet so far away?

What is the point here? The ancient culture of people is slipping away, at least in Shanghai!  We still see evidence that the citizenry views the land as theirs.  They dry rice and repair fishing nets on busy streets.  I can only thing that it will be all gone before we return next time.  Prosperity has come to The People Republic of China but the price they are paying is huge in terms of the loss of their culture and it's tapestry.  At least in their cities.  It will be increasingly difficult for westerners to find what we found only 5 years ago.

Just an added thought...when we look at our world now we are finding it to be flatter than ever.  Our comfort is a perfect barometer of the loss of diversity we are finding and we are very much at home here in China!  It is really sad!

b

A Letter from China!

Happy 2012!

Hi everyone.  It is New Years Day in China.  Believe it or not we are sitting around watching football. 
 
We celebrating New Years Eve at a place called "The Brew" last night with a Chinese rock band singing Justin Beiber songs.  Earl was giving a special brew master's tour of the facilities  and we ate risotto truffles, blue cheese and barbecued ribs.  I had a meringue with a strawberry filling.  Nothing primitive about the expat lifestyle.

I cannot write online using Earl's computer because the Chinese have blocked Blogger.  It is very frustrating for me.  I did have a VPN but they have also blocked that service.  I will wait to use a computer somewhere else or back at home.  I guess there is no way for them to sort the good people out from the bad. 

Air quality has been very bad but the wind is blowing off the China sea today so I guess the muck will be circulating the earth before long.  It has not rained since we arrived and every leaf on every plant has turned a dusty brown color. 

After a drive yesterday it occurred to me that sewage may be a problem especially with so much standing water.  In this largest city in the world the millions of people do have a hard time disposing of their waste.  Andy tells me the largest sewage treatment plant in the world is located out here in Pu Dong close to their house.  As for the garbage, trucks are hauling huge loads out to use as fill for the new runways they are building out in the sea at the Pu Dong International Airport.  Amanda keeps saying garbage is making China bigger really fast!  It is so amazing to see.

The trip to Vietnam was just as wonderful as we thought it would be.  We traveled from the far north very near the China border on the eastern slope of the Himalayan Mountains to the southern tip of the country where a fishing village was surrounded by house boats on the southern island.  The smell of Vietnamese fish sauce lingers in my nose and I feel that I smell like fish still.  The food was delicious and it made my life of dealing with celiac easy.  I lost several pounds just because there was nothing to snack on.

We traveled on the night train to Sapa in the north as well as taxis, vans, planes both big and very small.  I saw silk sleeping bags in markets but could not understand what they were for until we saw trekkers beginning their journeys through the mountains to do home stays with H'mong families.  I wished I'd had one on the train.  In fact, when we arrived back at Andy's house the first thing we did was wash everything we owned.  Amanda just threw many things away.  We all were sick at one time or another but nothing serious.  My hands were raw from washing.

We will be leaving on the fifth (Thursday) and arrive home on that same day.  That international date line still is hard for me to wrap my mind around! We miss you all.

Love you,
Barbara