I had a nice chat with James, my co-worker. He is 24 years old. I asked him if minorities in China are treated differently or worse from the majority.
A Little Background
China has been invaded by different people throughout their history, therefore is composed of many ethnic groups. China has 56 recognized (key word recognized) ethnic groups, the biggest one is the Han which is about 91% of the population.
Back to James:
Me: So are the minority ethnic groups treated worse than the majority?
James: No, of course not. All Chinese people are treated the same. They are treated even better. They can have two children and we can only have one.
Me: If you were to marry someone then, would it matter to you if she was a minority?
James: No, she needs to be Chinese though, I would not marry someone that is a different race...
Me: You mean you would not marry a foreigner.
James: Yes
Me: Would you marry someone that is not a Han?
James: No, she would have to be a Han. I want to keep my blood pure.
Me: But you just said that she just needs to be Chinese.
James: But the minorities are not Chinese....(pause)...they look like Chinese, they live like Chinese, but there was a time when they came here from a different place. The girl would have to be a Han, just like me.
The Minorities
While many people that I asked, all from the majority, have said that all people in China are treated the same, it is not the case. You usually find the minorities working the worse jobs. They are the ones that live in non-industrialized areas and that not necessarily get educated. While this separation is not usually admitted, it can be seen through people taking great pride in telling me they are a Han when I ask. It is ok to talk to the minorities or even be friends with them, but it is not ok to marry them. Of course I am sure not everyone has such a viewpoint, but still such ethnic boundaries do exist.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Temple of Heaven
Click on me for more picturesAll of this is found basically in the middle of Beijing city which is amazing, because such old structures are preserved amongst skyscrapers. The whole park is surrounded by a very old big wall.
Emperors would visit this place to pray for good harvest.
This is where heaven is when you go to the top of that circular structure. In the middle, there is a spot where you stand and your voice resonates louder than normally. It works, I tried it! That is where Emperors would pray to the Gods.
The Place
Click the picture for more photos!Iris took us to this place. It is officially called The Place. There is a huge screen where beautiful scenes of nature are displayed. It is absolutely gorgeous. You can also text a number and for 1 yuan, your message will be displayed on the screen. We spent a long time there just sitting and looking at the changing screen. This really does not compare with anything that I have seen before.
Beijing is very traditional in many ways. You can see architecture that is hundreds years old, but you can also see greatly advanced technology.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sayings in China
Phrases
Here are some definitions of words and phrases used by people in China in English that are commonly used and thought to be legitimate expressions in the English-speaking world.
No Thanks
Used when someone says thank you!
It Does Not Matter
Used when you say thank you for helping me for example. Equivalent of 'no problem' except such a phrase is not used.
Etiquette When Someone Sneezes
Say nothing, no one says bless you here or acknowledges the sneeze.
Saying I'm Sorry
When I asked someone how to say I'm sorry in Chinese, they said that you only use it when you have done something very bad. So what do you do if you do something minor, like step on someone? I'm still trying to figure that one out. People here though do not apologize as often as in America and do not say thank you often. Also, being cut in line is very common. Pushing and elbowing is completely allowed, especially on buses and subways.
Here are some definitions of words and phrases used by people in China in English that are commonly used and thought to be legitimate expressions in the English-speaking world.
No Thanks
Used when someone says thank you!
It Does Not Matter
Used when you say thank you for helping me for example. Equivalent of 'no problem' except such a phrase is not used.
Etiquette When Someone Sneezes
Say nothing, no one says bless you here or acknowledges the sneeze.
Saying I'm Sorry
When I asked someone how to say I'm sorry in Chinese, they said that you only use it when you have done something very bad. So what do you do if you do something minor, like step on someone? I'm still trying to figure that one out. People here though do not apologize as often as in America and do not say thank you often. Also, being cut in line is very common. Pushing and elbowing is completely allowed, especially on buses and subways.
Wedding Crashers China Style
Me and Grace, my co-worker were in the school and I heard firecrackers outside. I asked her why are they doing this in the morning. She said it must be a wedding so I convinced her to go see if I can get to see the bride and the groom. We find the place by tracking down the sound but the couple already went inside.
Grace is ready to leave but I want her to ask the personnel if we can go into this fancy restaurant to see the couple. She hesitates like any normal person would and does not ask.While I am lingering, a man approaches us and wants to talk to me in Chinese. Grace translates. He asks where I am from, tells me I'm beautiful, wants to take a picture with me.
After, he invites us inside, we go in as I wanted to see the couple and leave. Well leaving was not that easy. He insists we sit down. So I'm sitting in shorts and a shirt with a panda on it in a super fancy restaurant amongst a table filled with businessmen talking to this man with Grace's help.
Through our conversation, we find out he is very rich and his family is very influential in Beijing. He shows us pictures of him with all these politically powerful men in China, including a picture of his family with Chairman Hu which is the current ruler of China.
He invites me to dinner saying he wants to show me traditional Chinese food. We finally manage to leave and get back to work.
I just wish I could somehow get those pictures from the wedding that the man took. The couple was very cute and young.
Grace is ready to leave but I want her to ask the personnel if we can go into this fancy restaurant to see the couple. She hesitates like any normal person would and does not ask.While I am lingering, a man approaches us and wants to talk to me in Chinese. Grace translates. He asks where I am from, tells me I'm beautiful, wants to take a picture with me.
After, he invites us inside, we go in as I wanted to see the couple and leave. Well leaving was not that easy. He insists we sit down. So I'm sitting in shorts and a shirt with a panda on it in a super fancy restaurant amongst a table filled with businessmen talking to this man with Grace's help.
Through our conversation, we find out he is very rich and his family is very influential in Beijing. He shows us pictures of him with all these politically powerful men in China, including a picture of his family with Chairman Hu which is the current ruler of China.
He invites me to dinner saying he wants to show me traditional Chinese food. We finally manage to leave and get back to work.
I just wish I could somehow get those pictures from the wedding that the man took. The couple was very cute and young.
11 Year Old Billiards Protégé
Scott and I play billiards sometimes at night, simply because there is nothing else to do by where he lives. We are great freinds with the owners. Way of communication is body language, they speak no English, we cannot speak Chinese.
Last time I was there, they invited us over for beer. After, a boy a little taller than the billiards table invited us to play against him. We lost all 6 games we played against him. Yes, we both suck at billiards, but this boy is amazing at the game. He has a professional glove and everything! He also offered us his mother's cigarettes, and proceeded to light Scott's. Definitely something I do not see on a daily basis. We said our goodbyes around eleven when it was the boy's bedtime and he had to go home.
Last time I was there, they invited us over for beer. After, a boy a little taller than the billiards table invited us to play against him. We lost all 6 games we played against him. Yes, we both suck at billiards, but this boy is amazing at the game. He has a professional glove and everything! He also offered us his mother's cigarettes, and proceeded to light Scott's. Definitely something I do not see on a daily basis. We said our goodbyes around eleven when it was the boy's bedtime and he had to go home.
Personal Hygiene
Armpit Hair
It is not hard to notice a bush of hair sneaking out from under a short sleeve shirt or a very nice dress. I still cannot get used to it. Most people at least I come in contact with, do not shave, I am talking about women of course.
When I decided to shave my legs in the bathroom, there ended up being 4 girls watching wondering what I am doing and why. I have never had such an audience examining my shaved legs.
Using Deodorant
Yea, I do not think many people use deodorant, but they also do not sweat as much either. At first I thought that even their sweat did not smell, but I was proven wrong during a picnic and this sitting next to me was smelling a lot :)
Taking a Shower
Granted, shower here is different. My bathroom comes equipped with a sink, some holes meant to be used as toilets, and a shower-head right by the sink, there is really no shower designated space. Still, there is hot water, it's just awkward standing naked in the middle of the bathroom.
Sophie, a girl that lives with me showers, I think, but not very often, I rarely see her in the bathroom for this purpose. I cannot estimate how many times a week she showers, but it is less than ever other day.
Clothes
The female teachers here have a few outfits, like a shirt and pants, nothing fancy. They wear the same outfit may days in a row. The girls wear the same clothes sometimes a week in a row. They alternate between 2 or 3 outfits. The male teacher has been here for a two weeks now, and I have only seen him wearing one shirt for this whole time. Alice, my co-worker pointed out that I like to make myself look different everyday, meaning I wear something different each day which is not common at least where I am.
It is not hard to notice a bush of hair sneaking out from under a short sleeve shirt or a very nice dress. I still cannot get used to it. Most people at least I come in contact with, do not shave, I am talking about women of course.
When I decided to shave my legs in the bathroom, there ended up being 4 girls watching wondering what I am doing and why. I have never had such an audience examining my shaved legs.
Using Deodorant
Yea, I do not think many people use deodorant, but they also do not sweat as much either. At first I thought that even their sweat did not smell, but I was proven wrong during a picnic and this sitting next to me was smelling a lot :)
Taking a Shower
Granted, shower here is different. My bathroom comes equipped with a sink, some holes meant to be used as toilets, and a shower-head right by the sink, there is really no shower designated space. Still, there is hot water, it's just awkward standing naked in the middle of the bathroom.
Sophie, a girl that lives with me showers, I think, but not very often, I rarely see her in the bathroom for this purpose. I cannot estimate how many times a week she showers, but it is less than ever other day.
Clothes
The female teachers here have a few outfits, like a shirt and pants, nothing fancy. They wear the same outfit may days in a row. The girls wear the same clothes sometimes a week in a row. They alternate between 2 or 3 outfits. The male teacher has been here for a two weeks now, and I have only seen him wearing one shirt for this whole time. Alice, my co-worker pointed out that I like to make myself look different everyday, meaning I wear something different each day which is not common at least where I am.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Being Part of a College Admissions Council
It seems as though anything is possible in China for me to do or just end up in a situation I would never expect. All of these events can be explained in one phrase, "Let's do it, its China"
One day, my manager said that I will be going to a college for a day helping them with something. Truns out, I was a part of the admissions committee interviewing kids to let them into the college or not. They wanted to test the student's English ability before admitting them into college.
I can assure you I was the youngest person sitting at that table and the closest person in age to mine must have been at least 10 years older.
The kids were all very scared. We were sitting at this very long table and on the other side, the kids were standing and shyly answering questions from the examiners. One guy I thought was going to cry by the end of his interview.
The behavior of the kids were very different than that found in American interviews of any kind. Instead of portraying ability and independence, the kids were humble, very reserved and just said a few words for each question asked.
One day, my manager said that I will be going to a college for a day helping them with something. Truns out, I was a part of the admissions committee interviewing kids to let them into the college or not. They wanted to test the student's English ability before admitting them into college.
I can assure you I was the youngest person sitting at that table and the closest person in age to mine must have been at least 10 years older.
The kids were all very scared. We were sitting at this very long table and on the other side, the kids were standing and shyly answering questions from the examiners. One guy I thought was going to cry by the end of his interview.
The behavior of the kids were very different than that found in American interviews of any kind. Instead of portraying ability and independence, the kids were humble, very reserved and just said a few words for each question asked.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Can I Have the Egg Flavored One?
Ice Cream
I love ice cream. What has greatly enhanced my China experience is that ice cream is found everywhere here. There are fridges full of ice cream on a stick or ice cream cones in almost every store. They are also very good. Their flavors are much more creative than in the US as well. There is banana, mango, watermelon, pineapple, peach, apple, raisin, bean, corn, green bean and egg flavors to name a few.
Trust me, unfortunately, the egg flavored ice cream tastes exactly like raw egg..
Other Crazy Flavors
So not only ice cream comes with crazy flavors but other food as well. For example oreos have colorful fillings. Lays chips have flavors such as cucumber, kiwi, blueberry and hot&sour fish soup.
Drinks come with an enormous variety of flavors. Also, their flavors taste differently, orange tastes much different. Pineapple juice is 'fake' yellow and there are pieces of pineapple floating in the juice. There are also all these drinks that are part jelly that one is supposed to drink.
I love ice cream. What has greatly enhanced my China experience is that ice cream is found everywhere here. There are fridges full of ice cream on a stick or ice cream cones in almost every store. They are also very good. Their flavors are much more creative than in the US as well. There is banana, mango, watermelon, pineapple, peach, apple, raisin, bean, corn, green bean and egg flavors to name a few.
Trust me, unfortunately, the egg flavored ice cream tastes exactly like raw egg.. Other Crazy Flavors
So not only ice cream comes with crazy flavors but other food as well. For example oreos have colorful fillings. Lays chips have flavors such as cucumber, kiwi, blueberry and hot&sour fish soup.
Drinks come with an enormous variety of flavors. Also, their flavors taste differently, orange tastes much different. Pineapple juice is 'fake' yellow and there are pieces of pineapple floating in the juice. There are also all these drinks that are part jelly that one is supposed to drink.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Never Ask What You Are Eating
food in Beijing is amazing!
You Fancy Now
There are the restaurants with fancy lighting and very nice interior. If you really are cool and have a larger group, you get a private room with a table and air-conditioning. A lot of the places I've been to have this glass you can rotate at the middle of the table.
As mentioned before, when you order, the dish is meant to be shared by all so the portions are huge and the rotating table comes in handy. People usually order juice or pop. This comes in a large bottle that gets poured into people's glasses as needed. Tea is also very common to be had with a meal. Sometimes they serve hot water to drink.
The food is prepared so it not only tastes great but looks awesome as well. I have eaten sweet and sour fish which was very delicious. It was a whole fish diced up into little squares but still attached to the skeleton and the fish head, tail were all there of course. Same with duck, it was a whole duck diced up into pieces, bones and all. Keep in mind that all food is eaten with chopsticks even soup and meat, so the meat has to be cut up. Prices are about 25 yuan to 60 and up.
Local Specialty
There are also plenty of local restaurans you can go to. Those places have a couple flies flying around and the menu is usually all in chinese symbols, so when I order, i just have to take a gamble and have a suprise meal. The food is not as fancy but very delicious. The dish prices range from 5 yuan, something very small that you should order more than one to 30.
Craving a Big Mac?
Another type is the fast food chinese style, chinese food that takes minutes to prepare and is open 24hrs a day, not as good but still much better than anything you could get in the USA. prices range from 1yuan to 30.
We also have McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut. They are not very common but can be seen from time to time. Their interior is very nice and the food options are somewhat the same but modified flavors. Like ice cream in McDonalds is not only vanilla but 3 other flavors. Same with the little pies for desert, not only apple but other fruit, some I have never heard of.
Eating off the Streets, but Exactly What are You Eating?
One last type of food is streeet food. people set up a little griddle on a cart at a corner or side of the street and sell food. They cook it right there as you watch. It is very good and extremely cheap. There is meat on a stick. just be ready that the meat could be anything and you would not know it. I've seen liver, ear, chicken neck, heart, chicken feet, octopus, pigeon and rest i could not identify. You could also get fried tofu, dumplings, fried dough, pancakes that are composed of dough, egg and you can request meat along with lettuce, known in our group as the "chinese taco".
Look to the right in the picture, a typical stand with food
In restaurants, sometimes it is not a good idea to inquire what you are eating either. I have had a local specialty donkey meat in a sandwich. It was very good. Also, never look in the kitchen! Even in the fancy restaurants, it's dirty or very dirty.
Mythical Chinese Food
1. Fortune cookies are NOT chinese. I have not seen one fortune cookie the whole time i was here.
2. Kung Pao Chicken tases very different from Panda Express
3. There is no such thing as fried rice. They can make it for you if you specify what exactly this phrase entails.
4. Egg rolls are not really eaten here.
You Fancy Now
There are the restaurants with fancy lighting and very nice interior. If you really are cool and have a larger group, you get a private room with a table and air-conditioning. A lot of the places I've been to have this glass you can rotate at the middle of the table.
As mentioned before, when you order, the dish is meant to be shared by all so the portions are huge and the rotating table comes in handy. People usually order juice or pop. This comes in a large bottle that gets poured into people's glasses as needed. Tea is also very common to be had with a meal. Sometimes they serve hot water to drink.
The food is prepared so it not only tastes great but looks awesome as well. I have eaten sweet and sour fish which was very delicious. It was a whole fish diced up into little squares but still attached to the skeleton and the fish head, tail were all there of course. Same with duck, it was a whole duck diced up into pieces, bones and all. Keep in mind that all food is eaten with chopsticks even soup and meat, so the meat has to be cut up. Prices are about 25 yuan to 60 and up. |
| Those eggs are are obviously not from a chicken but taste good |
There are also plenty of local restaurans you can go to. Those places have a couple flies flying around and the menu is usually all in chinese symbols, so when I order, i just have to take a gamble and have a suprise meal. The food is not as fancy but very delicious. The dish prices range from 5 yuan, something very small that you should order more than one to 30.
Craving a Big Mac?
Another type is the fast food chinese style, chinese food that takes minutes to prepare and is open 24hrs a day, not as good but still much better than anything you could get in the USA. prices range from 1yuan to 30.
 |
| KFC delivers! on a bike, just like Pizza Hut |
We also have McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut. They are not very common but can be seen from time to time. Their interior is very nice and the food options are somewhat the same but modified flavors. Like ice cream in McDonalds is not only vanilla but 3 other flavors. Same with the little pies for desert, not only apple but other fruit, some I have never heard of. |
| Different type of meat on stick, I'm sorry its a little blurry |
Eating off the Streets, but Exactly What are You Eating?
One last type of food is streeet food. people set up a little griddle on a cart at a corner or side of the street and sell food. They cook it right there as you watch. It is very good and extremely cheap. There is meat on a stick. just be ready that the meat could be anything and you would not know it. I've seen liver, ear, chicken neck, heart, chicken feet, octopus, pigeon and rest i could not identify. You could also get fried tofu, dumplings, fried dough, pancakes that are composed of dough, egg and you can request meat along with lettuce, known in our group as the "chinese taco".
In restaurants, sometimes it is not a good idea to inquire what you are eating either. I have had a local specialty donkey meat in a sandwich. It was very good. Also, never look in the kitchen! Even in the fancy restaurants, it's dirty or very dirty.
Mythical Chinese Food
1. Fortune cookies are NOT chinese. I have not seen one fortune cookie the whole time i was here.
2. Kung Pao Chicken tases very different from Panda Express
3. There is no such thing as fried rice. They can make it for you if you specify what exactly this phrase entails.
4. Egg rolls are not really eaten here.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Bieber Fever
Why Bieber ?!?!
Justin Bieber is a world wide hit here. Not only is he popular with young girls, but people of all ages love Beiber. When I was at the Olympc Stadium, i heard the song "Baby" playing. I thought it was very funny. Soon it became from funny to scary. My co-workers love Bieber and they are between the ages of 24 and 30. The kids love Bieber, both guys and girls. Another hit is Lady Gaga. If I mention to someone that I am from America, they automatically ask if I like Lady Gaga.I promised my co-workers that I would actually translate the underlying meaning of the songs they are singing.
I have to admit, that sadly I already did karaoke to both.
Justin Bieber is a world wide hit here. Not only is he popular with young girls, but people of all ages love Beiber. When I was at the Olympc Stadium, i heard the song "Baby" playing. I thought it was very funny. Soon it became from funny to scary. My co-workers love Bieber and they are between the ages of 24 and 30. The kids love Bieber, both guys and girls. Another hit is Lady Gaga. If I mention to someone that I am from America, they automatically ask if I like Lady Gaga.I promised my co-workers that I would actually translate the underlying meaning of the songs they are singing.
I have to admit, that sadly I already did karaoke to both.
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