East Meets West

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The terrible news of the massacre on the Virginia Tech campus reached us in China yesterday morning. I routinely check cnn.com for updates on world news, but was completely unprepared for the article I found on the front page. In general, no matter which country I am living in, I feel relatively safe and secure with my surroundings.

Now we are dealing with the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. This senseless act of violence will have many ramifications that will be felt worldwide. Already, world leaders from China, Australia, Britain and other nations have offered their condolences to the American people. However, the identity of the shooter has been revealed to be of South Korean descent. According to cnn.com, South Korean students on the Virginia Tech campus have been gathering in groups, afraid of any retaliation they may face from the other students, simply for sharing a nationality with the murderer. This type of guilty by association mentality is harmful in so many ways. I see this kind of thinking in many of my students here. The anti-Japanese sentiment remains strong; feelings based on history. Yes, I will agree that many of the things the Japanese did were wrong but that is in the past. The modern generations have nothing besides cultural links with the previous generations. The world will not be able to move forward if old ways of thinking do not die out.

It has been an interesting couple of days of discussion here in the teachers' room. While the majority of the English teaching staff is American, we also have Brits, Australians and an Irishman on the team. Of course, everyone has expressed horror at what transpired on the Virginia campus. No one would say that those innocent people got what was coming to them. However, the non-American teachers were very vocal in their disapproval of the American gun control laws. It's commonly believed, outside of the U.S., that every man, woman and child in the States is running around, fully armed, and ready to fire at the slightest provocation. All of the American teachers involved in the discussion today agreed that American gun control laws MUST be altered. The right to bear arms, as depicted in the Constitutional Amendments, was originally intended to defend the new country from invading Native Americans or other nationalities who intended harm. I think it's ludicrous that city-dwellers are permitted to walk about with a sawed-off shotgun concealed in their pants . There are so many aspects of American policy that I simply do not agree with, and the conceal and carry law is one of them.

Aside from that disturbing piece of news from the U.S., life in China is carrying on as usual. I turned on the TV this morning to watch the news, and while channel surfing during the commercials, came upon "The Three Stooges" dubbed in Chinese. The types of Western cultural influences that are available in China are amazing. However, I suppose that physical comedy is a trait shared worldwide. Speaking of Western TV shows and movies, it was announced late last year that the U.S. government was going to be strictly enforcing non-piracy laws in China. I have seen little evidence to support this fact. Although the newest movies are hard to find, most of the Western movies appear on DVD here while still in the theaters in the U.S. And I am most certainly not complaining! Yes, I do agree that piracy is wrong in theory, but in reality, it's so convenient to walk into my nearest bootleg video market and see what's just been released in the Western world. One of my favorite haunts is the most fun to go to. Located underground in the subway, the shop initially appears to be a normal DVD shop, with outward-facing Chinese soaps box sets and other related discs. However, upon entering the shop, one of the shopkeepers will furtively ask out of the corner of her mouth, "meiguo dian ying? ". After receiving a quick, affirmative nod from the customer, she will pull back a deceivingly solid wood section of DVD shelves to reveal a dimly lit back room jammed with all the latest and greatest from America. One of the shopgirls always accompanies the customer to the back room, and when purchases are ready to be made, she will knock twice on the back of the door. If the coast is clear, the door is opened. If not, she will turn to the customer and say with a smile "Shao deng yi xia . The first time I saw that covert operation, I felt as though I'd walked into the middle of espionage. Now, it's simply routine.

Today I went to Xidan (a major shopping district of Beijing) to buy some summer shoes for work. On my way there, I took the subway and encountered something that I would never experience in the United States. As I was making my way from the subway train to the exit to the Minzhu market, I was accosted by a young man who seemed to have an urgent message for me. I yanked out one of my iPod earbuds to hear what he had to say, and was assaulted by a rapidfire stream of Chinese. It seemed as though he'd seen me come out of the subway and thought I would be the perfect addition to his company's modeling agency. I told him I was a teacher, and not a model, but he just laughed and told me I was crazy. Talk about a bold statement! He gave me his business card and told me to call if I found the time. I have to admit, I am intrigued by the offer. Where else could a 5 foot, 4 inch tall woman with curves be considered prime modeling material? Come to think of it, I did participate in an international modeling show in Tianjin in 2004... At any rate, it's something to consider.

The weather has become decidedly summery. At this exact moment, I am sitting outside in my apartment complex garden, wearing jeans and a tank top, enjoying the day. It's interesting to note that Chinese women don't view the sunny weather with the same glee that I do. Every woman I saw today was wearing long pants, long sleeves and had a hat covering her face. Why? Pale, fair skin is considered beautiful here; obviously, that it why I am a hit. When I try to explain that in Western societies, tan skin is desirable, my Chinese friends tell me that's ludicrous. (Though maybe not in so many words). I have to be careful when I buy shower soap or lotion, because much of the Chinese brands contain 'whitening' components-- I'm white enough already, thank you! My students ask me how they can have skin as white as mine, and I tell them the answer is simple-- have an Irish grandmother!

Today is a 'blue day'; that is, the sky is perfectly clear with nary a cloud in sight. These days are few and far between in Beijing. In addition to many other things, the government actually controls the weather. Chinese weather specialists use chemicals to engineer some of Beijing's rainfall every year, helping to relieve drought and rinse dust from the capital city. Technicians with the Beijing Weather Modification Office (there actually is a bureau in charge of changing the weather! How decidedly “1984”) fire up to seven rocket shells containing 163 cigarette-sized sticks of silver iodide into the city's sky. The reaction that occurs has brought as much as four-tenths of an inch of rain-- which is a lot for Beijing. Aside from helping to alleviate drought, the faux rain adds moisture to the soil and removes dust from the air for better air quality. Though unusual in many parts of the world, China has been tinkering with artificial rainmaking for decades, using it frequently in the drought-plagued north. However, this game of playing God hasn't been going on long enough to really determine whether there will be lasting side effects, such as contribution to global warming and other weather-related catastrophes. At any rate, I thought it was interesting to find out that weather can, in actuality, be controlled.

I apologize for the dearth of pictures in this post. I will most certainly have more in my next-- after I return from my trip to Hong Kong!

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