China

don and leah and charlotte, the birthday girl
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Recent addition:

Okay, so I didn’t really finish my China thoughts, because freedom of speech isn’t really a part of that country and I didn’t want my writing to be censored. There are just a couple of thoughts that I want to share before the memory is completely gone.

I didn’t really think too hard about the whole government control thing until I experienced it first hand on 2 occasions. The first was when I was watching CNN and a piece on Chinese pensioners who were protesting came on. I saw a couple of men being interviewed about the issue and then they cut to a scene on the street where some people were marching and the police were beating them with sticks. One or 2 seconds of this, enough for me to catch a quick glance, and the screen went black. Thinking the power had gone off or something, I flipped to another channel to check and it was broadcasting loud and clear. I switched back to CNN and after a minute or two the broadcast came back on, just showing the tail end of the piece. Now that’s censorship.

how wierd is this park we visited today?
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The second incident came when, stupid me, I was trying to look up dates when the Dalai Lama was going to be in Tibet, at tibet.com. (Duh) of course access to that web page was denied, but I guess I forgot where I was. In the same vein, Mike attempted several times to log on to certain myspace pages and was denied. I take freedom of information so much for granted but geez, it’s kind of important!!

Another thing that really stuck with me (hopefully not literally) was the pollution in China- I know that so many of those factories spewing toxins into the air are making products that the west eats up. I feel, in a way, partially responsible for the mess, because in the U.S. as hard as I try to buy locally made things, where companies have to have a little more responsibility to their workers and the environment, I can’t help but buy made in China (have you ever tried to buy a pair of U.S. made running shoes?! Very difficult). Seeing the environmental disaster that is happening is really upsetting, as is watching a very small portion of the population getting rich really fast while others around them are suffering terribly. Shanghai is growing so fast new buildings go up daily. Workers come in from the country and work round the clock, sleeping at their job site. Just around the corner, wealthy Chinese and westerners sip their cappuccinos at the newest shopping mall (yes, I am guilty of this).

it's crowded here
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I guess I am just a bit frustrated and scared about where we are going on this planet. It is easy for me to say that I will never live in a place like that and head back to my Santa Cruz oasis and forget about it but that is reality for millions of people. I fear that if we don’t do something about it now, that will turn into a global reality and that thought scares me. What to do? I have no idea but at least this trip got me thinking a little harder.

Okay, so I didn’t really finish my China thoughts, because freedom of speech isn’t really a part of that country and I didn’t want my writing to be censored. There are just a couple of thoughts that I want to share before the memory is completely gone.

want some claw?
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I didn’t really think too hard about the whole government control thing until I experienced it first hand on 2 occasions. The first was when I was watching CNN and a piece on Chinese pensioners who were protesting came on. I saw a couple of men being interviewed about the issue and then they cut to a scene on the street where some people were marching and the police were beating them with sticks. One or 2 seconds of this, enough for me to catch a quick glance, and the screen went black. Thinking the power had gone off or something, I flipped to another channel to check and it was broadcasting loud and clear. I switched back to CNN and after a minute or two the broadcast came back on, just showing the tail end of the piece. Now that’s censorship.

bridget at the park
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The second incident came when, stupid me, I was trying to look up dates when the Dalai Lama was going to be in Tibet, at tibet.com. (Duh) of course access to that web page was denied, but I guess I forgot where I was. In the same vein, Mike attempted several times to log on to certain myspace pages and was denied. I take freedom of information so much for granted but geez, it’s kind of important!!

Another thing that really stuck with me (hopefully not literally) was the pollution in China- I know that so many of those factories spewing toxins into the air are making products that the west eats up. I feel, in a way, partially responsible for the mess, because in the U.S. as hard as I try to buy locally made things, where companies have to have a little more responsibility to their workers and the environment, I can’t help but buy made in China (have you ever tried to buy a pair of U.S. made running shoes?! Very difficult). Seeing the environmental disaster that is happening is really upsetting, as is watching a very small portion of the population getting rich really fast while others around them are suffering terribly. Shanghai is growing so fast new buildings go up daily. Workers come in from the country and work round the clock, sleeping at their job site. Just around the corner, wealthy Chinese and westerners sip their cappuccinos at the newest shopping mall (yes, I am guilty of this).

charlotte at the park
see all photos »

I guess I am just a bit frustrated and scared about where we are going on this planet. It is easy for me to say that I will never live in a place like that and head back to my Santa Cruz oasis and forget about it but that is reality for millions of people. I fear that if we don’t do something about it now, that will turn into a global reality and that thought scares me. What to do? I have no idea but at least this trip got me thinking a little harder.

It is my last night in China. This country has been nothing like I expected, although I have not really seen anything of it besides huge cities. I definitely need to come back here and give it another chance.

I have met quite a few Americans who live here and really like it but I don't know how they do it. These cities are enormous- crowded, polluted, and in general, gross. But living here is "easy" according to them and there is some truth to that. The cost of living is next to nothing, especially if you teach at an International school where you get a salary equal to that you might get at home as well as a housing stipend. But is it really worth it? I really don't think it would be for me. By now I am pretty much used to the layer of smog that I wake up to every morning but that doesn't mean that I like it.

It has been interesting, though- I feel like such a foreigner here- sometimes just walking down the street I get laughed at, probably just for not looking like everyone else. I'm pretty used to it now and I just say hello and smile.

Anyway, as usual these days I am not so inspired to write, I think the smog is filling my brain and not allowing for any creative thinking.

I have been enjoying Bridget's company, though, and her aunt and uncle are very cool people and hanging out with them has been good. I have also been learning a bit more about China. They adopted a child a couple of years ago and learning more about the issues that China's one child policy has raised has been quite interesting. This is a very different country from ours and unfortunately if I write a lot more about that from here it probably won't make it to you. So hopefully more on China later.

Tomorrow we fly to Delhi and I must say I am quite nervous about India. It sounds hard, and I have had it really easy lately. I don't know if I'm ready but in a way I am pretty excited.

For now, enjoy the smoggy pictures.