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Published: April 21st 2010
Eating themselves to death!
It is no official, 25% of Chinese are now overweight/obese. The proliferation of eating while on the move is one observation that this visitor has notedOne thing that I have had to learn in China is sidewalk etiquette. The sheer number of people in cities requires that you maintain focused, full attention. At times it appears that at least half the 1.4 billion Chinese are scrumming to occupy the same bit of pavement. Adding to the calculation is the lack of uniform elevations; you might stroll along for a few hundred yards and find that your path is interrupted by a sudden 3 foot drop off, or there is a 2 foot square opening in the pavement, created to service some underground utilities but left unmarked by any warning. One last ingredient is the presence of wheeled conveyances of all sorts (cars, bicycles, cargo bikes) moving across, on and around what would normally be considered pedestrian sanctuary. Having been clipped by various wheeled vehicles while walking, I have adopted a “check your mirrors” approach before making any change in trajectory as I stroll along. As elsewhere in Asia, might makes right when it comes to precedence. Ready mix trucks are king of the hill, only because large tractor trailers are banned from the city between 6 AM and 11 PM. The hierarchy then descends through buses,
Old Guangzhou
One of the benefits of the cleaning up of Guangzhou is the restoration of many of the old covered sidewalks, most suitable for the wet, hot climate. large vans, Large Imported Vehicles, normal autos, electric motorcycle “cabs” (gas motorcycles are banned from the large center of Guangzhou), bicycles and finally, bipeds.
China is an ancient civilization and it in what sometimes in a game "we were civilized when your ancestors were hunter/gatherers", the thousands of year history is often contrasted with the more abbreviated histories of the west. Students will cite an event from the Zhou Dynasty (contemporaneous with Moses crossing the desert) as if it had been related to them by Grandpa. A concerted effort is underway to develop Confucius Institutes around the world, places where Chinese language and culture can be taught to foreigners (this is an effort to develop Chinese “soft power”.) Chinese exceptionalism rivals that of the US as they reject diverse items such as democracy, pedestrian right of way on the streets, and pre marital sex as being inconsistent with Chinese values. So far so good (or not so good.)
There are also the areas of Chinese history that are off limits for discussion and atrocities of the past get burnished. Think of the sanitizing that has gone on to the image of the “Father of Our Country”, slaveholding misogynist
Leg like steel pistons
You usually see one of these, are the water jug counterpart, pedaled by a guy who is maybe 5' 5", 130 pounds and weaving his way through the traffic that he was (he only married her for her money, don’t you know) and you acknowledge that all cultures practice selective memory. But here, the enforced amnesia relates to matters alive in the memories of those who still roam this vale of tears. Efforts to suppress recollections of the 20,000,000 who perished in the “Great Leap Forward (1958-1961), the million of lives traumatized and senselessly discarded during the mass hysteria of the Great Proletarian Revolution(1967-1976), or the killing of unarmed students and workers during the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) persist.
This does not mean that people don’t know what occurred; in a recent class, using the wonderful graphics at
, I demonstrated the dramatic increase in life span that occurred between 1949 and 2009. The steadily increasing numbers were interrupted from 1959-1961, when, during the disastrous Great Leap Forward, things got much worse.. There was a gasp from the class as the trend became apparent, followed by some nervous laughing and a request to see the chart again. I re-played it and I asked if they knew what had happened to cause the catastrophe. There was a bit of some verbal jousting that went on, a few muttered, barely From the school yard
While my trainees were engaged in a group project, I wandered out onto the balcony and witnessed an older gentleman venture onto his roof and tend his little garden understood responses (Dàyuèjìn) and finally a nervous quiet fell over the class. I went on to name it, a chorus of head nodding endorsed my description and we moved on. After class one of the brightest in the class came up to me and joined me as I left the building. She stated that everyone knew of the events but that it wasn’t something they were willing to discuss in class. We have always known that there are “monitors” in every class, students who will report teachers or students that stray too far from what is acceptable. The penalty for violating the expected behavior is an invitation to “tea” with some cadre; we recently heard of a professor who, recently returned from Taiwan, made some unorthodox observations on the issues separating the government from that “renegade” province. Two days later came a request to tea and an apparent admonition to reign in his analysis. Reflecting the greater freedom afforded academics, it appears that he has not softened his rhetoric but perhaps the story isn’t fully scribed. This is an authoritarian state, not a police state, after all.
The contradiction is that China is investing billions in the education of
Hard at work
This is the group of teachers that I am training, over 12 hours, to develop a system of parent mentoring in their special education schools this generation, building Mega University cities in every region, campuses that house ten universities and up to 100,000 students. In contrast to the Soviet Union, Chinese are encouraged to travel abroad, students are eager to attend foreign universities (especially in the US, regarded as having the best higher education in the world, if the most expensive), and information flows readily into the country, despite generally ineffective efforts to censor the internet. One wonders how the leadership reckons it is going to ride these two horses, seemingly headed off in different directions.
One analysis asserts that actions of different ministries of the central government reflect different interests and, for now,those at the highest levels are content with the standoff. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology moves to aggressively suppress anything that might offend the leadership, fearing that if they let the “sensitive” news pass they might be held accountable. Elsewhere in government, say the Ministry of Education, officials are not held accountable for these matters and focus on their mission, i.e. producing world-class scholars. The issue of the internet blocking is widely acknowledged and discussed; for a more detailed analysis (interestingly, NOT blocked here) you can go to
. In any event, foreign language sources are much less scrutinized and since July, 2007 even Wikipedia is available. It is true that we are on the University server here and it is commonly accepted that greater access is permitted.
One of the delights of being here, that is in China, is the excellent restaurant food that is available. This visit we have gotten into something of a rhythm, based on our schedules and responsibilities around campus. Sunday night, before I head to the English Debate Club, we head over for an early dinner at a “Northeastern” restaurant for dumplings and tiger vegetables. Last week we altered the routine and added an outstanding tofu dish to the repertoire. We utilize cheat sheets left us by Eli to order, although increasingly are greeted by picture menus. That and the refrain “women bu chi ro, women chi sude /we don’t eat meat, we eat vegetables” is usually enough to keep us safe. The restaurant experience is enhanced by the affability of the wait staff; in those places we frequent, we are greeted like long lost relatives. And you will never feel rushed to leave the table; people will often stretch a meal
This is a never ending task
There is a peculiar attitude towards litter; everyone, everywhere does not hesitate to throw their litter on to the street, providing employment for an army of street spewers and an armada of river scows. out for two hours or more, the staff does not hover, does not come asking for your dessert (!) order and never inquires, leadingly, “Can I get you something else.” The no-tipping practice only adds to the easy exchanges that endure even into this period of hyper-expansion.
Our friend Glenn is here for a year, doing sexuality education work wit parents, teachers and students. As part of his work with students he ask for written questions from the assembled and then goes on to provide solid information. He is having great success in his work and his hope is that he will leave a group of trained professionals with good skills and translated materials to carry on the work. He was recently at a high school here and he has given me permission to append some of the queries.
How it feels when someone has sexual desire? Will the private part feels pain? If it pains, is there anything wrong?
Why is it so easy to fall in love in our age?
Day or night, can’t stop thinking about the one ( didn’t say boy or girl) you love, or thinking about sex. Why? Why you Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go!
Hey, its a sunny day, I am riding NOT walking and life is good. couldn’t stop it even during sleep?
What’s the connection between sex and love?
What’s sex? Why human beings have the desire of sex?
I want to ask what parts on women’s body could cause their sexual desire?
I want to know what will woman do during an orgasm.
As I know, there’re some countries in the world have admitted homosexual as legal behavior. For example, the foreign minister in Germany is homosexual. I want to ask if it obeys the natural principles to be homosexual? If it’s against the natural principles, why some animal has homosexual behaviors like monkeys? If it obeys the natural principles, why some human beings fight with it?
What kind of posture is appropriate or comfortable when you have sex?
And that will do it for now, I am headed back to the US in ten days and will try to make one more entry before then; as aways, keep the calls and emails coming!
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