Cross-cultural mishaps as an ABC....
At my cousin's grandma's 80th birthday banquet a few weekends ago, I was trying to tell another cousin that he should drink more water if he wants clearer skin. Some other cousin was giving him a stupid tip that was akin to boiling tree bark and old socks (not the exact recipe) and drinking it for a week.
So I started arguing with her that he just didn't drink enough and was dehydrated. I was yelling "No, he just doesn't have enough water! (不够水!!)" not remembering that 水 was slang for money. So my pimply cousin quickly whips out his wallet and says "Of course I don't have enough money, will you give me some?"
Haha, clearly, what I said was clearly not what I meant to say. I left out the crucial verb "to drink." woopsh. This is the kind of trouble I have with speaking in general. I feel that my Chinese (especially Cantonese) is extremely limited, especially since graduation. I don't have the opportunities to speak Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) as much since I don't usually interact with Chinese-only speakers.
I was so embarrassed. This is the kind of stuff that university language studies can not prepare you for... haha. have you ever had something like this happen to you?
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thursday, June 5, 2008
China Quake Comics
Beijing based graphic-artist Coco Wang compiled newspaper stories of the China quake disaster and has turned some into comic strips. She hopes that her comics will highlight the human tragedy, not just the material loss, caused by the disaster. She hopes these stories could show readers "the love, warmth and courage of the Chinese people, also the sad and cruel reality of the horrible 5.12 Earthquake."I am sure CCTV has been playing footage of the recovery effort nonstop. The stories they show of finding survivors are only small miracles amidst enormous grief. In a letter, she writes:
"I wanted to go to the front to help with all those people, some of my friends have already gone there, but I heard that the traffic needed to be kept totally clear for rescue transportation at the moment, people like me without knowledge of first-aid and experience of rescue operations going there now would cause choas and trouble... but I can't just sit at home and do nothing, I have been crying my eyes out in the past three days, I have never felt more proud of my country and people... their love, courage and kindness rock me to my core! I have decided to tell these touching stories by drawing comics."
I can certainly understand what she is going through. I personally experienced this after 9/11. My high school was blocks away from the site so we were not allowed to return to class. So instead of moping around at home, my friends and I went to volunteer at the Red Cross. I guess what was my way of coping, of contributing to the efforts.
Coco Wang takes a more artistic approach. The images are simple but the message is powerful and moving. Click here for the others.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Toilet Signs
What do you think about while in the bathroom? I've always loved the short story that Paul Jennings wrote called "The Velvet Throne" which is part of the short story collection Unmentionable , something of an amazing kid's book. In the story, all the little messages that people scrawl on a particular public bathroom wall comes true. Yes, sounds a little weird, but so is most of Jenning's fiction, you wouldn't believe it till you read it.
So, this is what I saw in a bathroom today. I was out having a coffee in Sai Kung with my mum. They do say that caffeine is a diuretic.
The person who did the translation obviously thought he was ever so clever, using "easy come, easy go" as a basis for reminding people to flush. *sigh* The wierd language fragments people pick up and reuse without actually understanding it's meaning. I just don't know how the hell to interpret this. Of course it's easy to go when you need to hurry to go to the bathroom, due to the call of nature being particularly shrill and urgent. But WHAT does it have to do with FLUSHING? Those poor gweilos are going to be so, so confused. I think most of them are going to have strains of the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen running through their head when they're doing their number 2.
This is the other thing that was stuck on the cubicle wall. Juueeest sayin', those people at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in Hong Kong are a little creepy. I would not want a toilet that had arms, that had a face that could stare at my butt as I did my beeezzness. I would freak out.
So, this is what I saw in a bathroom today. I was out having a coffee in Sai Kung with my mum. They do say that caffeine is a diuretic.
The person who did the translation obviously thought he was ever so clever, using "easy come, easy go" as a basis for reminding people to flush. *sigh* The wierd language fragments people pick up and reuse without actually understanding it's meaning. I just don't know how the hell to interpret this. Of course it's easy to go when you need to hurry to go to the bathroom, due to the call of nature being particularly shrill and urgent. But WHAT does it have to do with FLUSHING? Those poor gweilos are going to be so, so confused. I think most of them are going to have strains of the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen running through their head when they're doing their number 2.
This is the other thing that was stuck on the cubicle wall. Juueeest sayin', those people at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in Hong Kong are a little creepy. I would not want a toilet that had arms, that had a face that could stare at my butt as I did my beeezzness. I would freak out.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Hopefully My Last Thoughts on This
Whereas I've been hammering around the area, trying to hit the nail on the head only to be frustrated with the inability to say it out right (I will blame my developmental handicap! My vision relies on my right eye!), you and Carolyn (via comments on a post) totally got it!
Loklok, you said, "Democracy is for people with money." If one were toiling day in and day out trying to live another day, political freedoms would be last on her mind! This isn’t to say that poor, starving people are not entitled to these freedoms; their other needs must be taken care of first. Maybe CCP's ulterior motives for bringing in the bullet train to Tibet include importing Han Chinese into the area to increase its power hold. But the Han invasion (there, I said it!) also brings tourists who bring cash, cash that builds schools and hospitals and improves livelihoods and raises the status quo! Maybe Tibetan culture is being degenerated by the introduction of Han practices but the same could be said about Western culture “polluting” other“traditional" cultures. We live in a globalized world; “purity” in a culture is rare and won’t last. And come on, the Dalai Lama, himself an uberceleb, isn't exactly protecting the sacredness of Tibetan culture.
Carolyn made a great point about boycotting the opening ceremonies of BJ08. We should pressure China about its shady international relationships as much as we do about its internal struggle with Tibet. The world has forgotten about Darfur. Isn’t it so strange how genocide causes have become like fashion trends? Two years ago, everyone was like “Save Darfur;” today “Free Tibet” has been retro-ed and is once again chic.
I still contend that you can’t force people to create a government of Democracy if they don’t understand what the ideals of democracy are. American democracy wasn’t perfect from the beginning. For much of its 200ish years of history as a sovereign nation, democracy was restricted! First only white men and 3/5ths “others” (i.e., slaves), then white and black men (but mostly on paper), and then finally women and men of all colors!! Another example, a more Asian one, a true democratic government in Taiwan didn’t come until 1984, when Chiang Chingkuo lifted the martial law imposed since his dad, Chiang Kaishek, and the KMT took over the island in 1949! Baby steps!
I probably stuck my foot in mouth more than once on this post, so I better stop while I am ahead. I still want to move beyond this and talk about happier things (because there are other Asians who are angry about other things) but the temptation to talk this subject to death is irresistible. Note: these are just my personal comments. If they come across as being insensitive and slightly trite, they probably are and you be an adult get over yourself. Woopsh.
Loklok, you said, "Democracy is for people with money." If one were toiling day in and day out trying to live another day, political freedoms would be last on her mind! This isn’t to say that poor, starving people are not entitled to these freedoms; their other needs must be taken care of first. Maybe CCP's ulterior motives for bringing in the bullet train to Tibet include importing Han Chinese into the area to increase its power hold. But the Han invasion (there, I said it!) also brings tourists who bring cash, cash that builds schools and hospitals and improves livelihoods and raises the status quo! Maybe Tibetan culture is being degenerated by the introduction of Han practices but the same could be said about Western culture “polluting” other“traditional" cultures. We live in a globalized world; “purity” in a culture is rare and won’t last. And come on, the Dalai Lama, himself an uberceleb, isn't exactly protecting the sacredness of Tibetan culture.
Carolyn made a great point about boycotting the opening ceremonies of BJ08. We should pressure China about its shady international relationships as much as we do about its internal struggle with Tibet. The world has forgotten about Darfur. Isn’t it so strange how genocide causes have become like fashion trends? Two years ago, everyone was like “Save Darfur;” today “Free Tibet” has been retro-ed and is once again chic.
I still contend that you can’t force people to create a government of Democracy if they don’t understand what the ideals of democracy are. American democracy wasn’t perfect from the beginning. For much of its 200ish years of history as a sovereign nation, democracy was restricted! First only white men and 3/5ths “others” (i.e., slaves), then white and black men (but mostly on paper), and then finally women and men of all colors!! Another example, a more Asian one, a true democratic government in Taiwan didn’t come until 1984, when Chiang Chingkuo lifted the martial law imposed since his dad, Chiang Kaishek, and the KMT took over the island in 1949! Baby steps!
I probably stuck my foot in mouth more than once on this post, so I better stop while I am ahead. I still want to move beyond this and talk about happier things (because there are other Asians who are angry about other things) but the temptation to talk this subject to death is irresistible. Note: these are just my personal comments. If they come across as being insensitive and slightly trite, they probably are and you be an adult get over yourself. Woopsh.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Democracy and China, Hotdogs and Ice Cream
Thanks to the lovely post by Pilar on some of the foreign perceptions of us 'commies' in China, I am reminded about a question I asked an Uncle about 7 years ago.
I once asked my Uncle what he thought of Democracy, and why China couldn't, wouldn't be Democratic, and he said "It would be like asking 1.3 billion people whether they would like to eat hotdogs or ice cream. "
That is to say, I don't honestly believe that western perception of what human rights are and their attached extreme importance, are what matters the most in the minds of an average, rural, Chinese farmer on a daily basis. I suspect that the majority of people who are self-righteously 'campaigning' for 'human rights' in Tibet right now do not understand the level of extreme poverty that plagues rural China. It's wrong, but there it is. In the States, living a hand-to-mouth existence just means to get paid badly. It may also mean that you are a boho artiste who spends the majority of your income on recreational drugs. It may ALSO mean that your are a black single mother with three kids, all of whom have to stay home alone for most or part of the day, depending on their age, as you work your minimum wage job far away in the next town. What hand-to-mouth doesn't mean is plucking ube straight out of the earth with your bare hand (if you've done this before you'll know that gloves are recommended, because the ube root has these tiny tiny hairs that make your skin itch. But, oh wait, you can't afford to buy a rubber glove!) and eating it that night for dinner after you've washed it in an untreated water source. What it doesn't mean is surviving off farming a piece of land smaller than the average suburban American backyard.
Let's get it straight: democracy is for people with money. People like Senator Hillary Clinton, who, at the drop of a hat, can inject several million dollars into her campaign fund when things go wrong, no sweat. Democracy is for people who have enough to eat, whose children go to school, who tastes meat, protein for chrissakes, more than once a year. Call me an idiot woman (hah I am reminded of that Dylan song Idiot Wind), but I do feel somewhat offended when people tell me China is eeeeebil because it is not democratic, that it 'doesn't respect human rights.' It's a cheap shot, because I deeply believe that Chinese people have had enough of bloody revolutions, bloody wars, bloody politics. We've had a 3000 year history of mostly infighting, wars, and this is not the time for another bloody revolution. I'd safely say there is a solid percentage of Chinese in China who would trade in their right to be represented in the government for cut-and-dry economic development. Bacon on the table, or, rice in the bowl. We do not need any more unrest. We need time and space to continue to develop, to improve the lives of every one of those 1.3 billion people our borders contain.
Apathy may be the greatest accomplice of evil, but until I see every single snotty, wet-behind-the-ears, verbose activist who at heart could not give a fuck about China or the Chinese put down some money for the economic development of rural China, including Tibet whose HDI is well below the national average I may add, I will ignore all this ridiculous hot wind about boycotting the Olympics.
Tibet probably needs schools and public healthcare much much more than it wants the vote. The vote cannot secure these things. Money can. (I can also be pithy and say money can also secure the vote, but, perhaps, this is not the venue to be talking about that.) The Chinese government is aware of it's own peril in this regard as well. It currently is taking severe economic measures to curb inflation and overheating. Deng Xiao Ping is lauded for his economic reform policies because he knew the communist government could not drift away from the basic tenet of governance - the way to continued power is surely through the nation's stomach. My only hope right now is that the Chinese government continues to heed this, to improve the lives of all the Chinese, to prevent our country from fracturing. Race hate is sometimes just about having enough to eat, and wanting to get rid of some perceived 'different' group in order to take care of your own.
Until half of the Chinese population has actually tasted ice cream, and the other half has tasted hotdogs, and they can each rant and rave about the relative qualities of both, I rest my case. Anyone want to foot the bill for half a billion ice creams? I think not.
I once asked my Uncle what he thought of Democracy, and why China couldn't, wouldn't be Democratic, and he said "It would be like asking 1.3 billion people whether they would like to eat hotdogs or ice cream. "
That is to say, I don't honestly believe that western perception of what human rights are and their attached extreme importance, are what matters the most in the minds of an average, rural, Chinese farmer on a daily basis. I suspect that the majority of people who are self-righteously 'campaigning' for 'human rights' in Tibet right now do not understand the level of extreme poverty that plagues rural China. It's wrong, but there it is. In the States, living a hand-to-mouth existence just means to get paid badly. It may also mean that you are a boho artiste who spends the majority of your income on recreational drugs. It may ALSO mean that your are a black single mother with three kids, all of whom have to stay home alone for most or part of the day, depending on their age, as you work your minimum wage job far away in the next town. What hand-to-mouth doesn't mean is plucking ube straight out of the earth with your bare hand (if you've done this before you'll know that gloves are recommended, because the ube root has these tiny tiny hairs that make your skin itch. But, oh wait, you can't afford to buy a rubber glove!) and eating it that night for dinner after you've washed it in an untreated water source. What it doesn't mean is surviving off farming a piece of land smaller than the average suburban American backyard.
Let's get it straight: democracy is for people with money. People like Senator Hillary Clinton, who, at the drop of a hat, can inject several million dollars into her campaign fund when things go wrong, no sweat. Democracy is for people who have enough to eat, whose children go to school, who tastes meat, protein for chrissakes, more than once a year. Call me an idiot woman (hah I am reminded of that Dylan song Idiot Wind), but I do feel somewhat offended when people tell me China is eeeeebil because it is not democratic, that it 'doesn't respect human rights.' It's a cheap shot, because I deeply believe that Chinese people have had enough of bloody revolutions, bloody wars, bloody politics. We've had a 3000 year history of mostly infighting, wars, and this is not the time for another bloody revolution. I'd safely say there is a solid percentage of Chinese in China who would trade in their right to be represented in the government for cut-and-dry economic development. Bacon on the table, or, rice in the bowl. We do not need any more unrest. We need time and space to continue to develop, to improve the lives of every one of those 1.3 billion people our borders contain.
Apathy may be the greatest accomplice of evil, but until I see every single snotty, wet-behind-the-ears, verbose activist who at heart could not give a fuck about China or the Chinese put down some money for the economic development of rural China, including Tibet whose HDI is well below the national average I may add, I will ignore all this ridiculous hot wind about boycotting the Olympics.
Tibet probably needs schools and public healthcare much much more than it wants the vote. The vote cannot secure these things. Money can. (I can also be pithy and say money can also secure the vote, but, perhaps, this is not the venue to be talking about that.) The Chinese government is aware of it's own peril in this regard as well. It currently is taking severe economic measures to curb inflation and overheating. Deng Xiao Ping is lauded for his economic reform policies because he knew the communist government could not drift away from the basic tenet of governance - the way to continued power is surely through the nation's stomach. My only hope right now is that the Chinese government continues to heed this, to improve the lives of all the Chinese, to prevent our country from fracturing. Race hate is sometimes just about having enough to eat, and wanting to get rid of some perceived 'different' group in order to take care of your own.
Until half of the Chinese population has actually tasted ice cream, and the other half has tasted hotdogs, and they can each rant and rave about the relative qualities of both, I rest my case. Anyone want to foot the bill for half a billion ice creams? I think not.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Uhh what??
Uh.. I just read this on nymag.com. Color highlighting done by me.
"The minimalist composer Philip Glass, who wrote music for both the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2004 Athens Games, isn’t looking forward to the competitions in Beijing. “I think that we should pull out,” the noted Tibet supporter said at the BAM Spring Gala honoring Paul Simon, on April 9. “The Chinese are supposed to be taking care of human rights; they haven’t done it. The only reason we don’t pull out is that people are more interested in money than they are in human rights. I think the Olympic Committee should really pull the plug on it.” His anger at the Chinese government extends beyond human-rights issues. “Basically, the Chinese commies have been isolated for 50 years; they have no idea what the rest of the world is like. They think that we’re just another province of China and that they can do what they damn well want to. And they’re a bunch of losers. They make a distinction: As long as you’re not political, you can do whatever you want in China. But politics is about the way we live! They’re drawing the line on the very things that matter to us most.”"
What? Where is he getting these facts from? Cold War history books? Perhaps he is the loser who has been isolated for 50 years and has no idea what the rest of the world is like. Ugh, I hate these gross generalizations from public figures. We should boycott his movie soundtracks, you know really pull the plug on it.
"The minimalist composer Philip Glass, who wrote music for both the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2004 Athens Games, isn’t looking forward to the competitions in Beijing. “I think that we should pull out,” the noted Tibet supporter said at the BAM Spring Gala honoring Paul Simon, on April 9. “The Chinese are supposed to be taking care of human rights; they haven’t done it. The only reason we don’t pull out is that people are more interested in money than they are in human rights. I think the Olympic Committee should really pull the plug on it.” His anger at the Chinese government extends beyond human-rights issues. “Basically, the Chinese commies have been isolated for 50 years; they have no idea what the rest of the world is like. They think that we’re just another province of China and that they can do what they damn well want to. And they’re a bunch of losers. They make a distinction: As long as you’re not political, you can do whatever you want in China. But politics is about the way we live! They’re drawing the line on the very things that matter to us most.”"
What? Where is he getting these facts from? Cold War history books? Perhaps he is the loser who has been isolated for 50 years and has no idea what the rest of the world is like. Ugh, I hate these gross generalizations from public figures. We should boycott his movie soundtracks, you know really pull the plug on it.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Free Tibet: Do You Know What That Motherfucking Means?!
Not surprisingly, the Olympic Torch Relay has met with much controversy and protest. Thousands of people in London, Paris, San Francisco demonstrated against China, calling for the freedom of Tibet.
Blah blah blah.
Ugh what makes these Tibetans so special? What about the other peoples suffering in China? And why China? What about your own countries? Parisians, didn’t you have massive riots in 2005? Don’t your people want to practice their religion openly too? Shouldn’t you let people wear heads carves if they wanted to? Americans, what about your “civil rights” problems? Did we forget Gitmo? How about the unfair treatment of minorities, immigrants? Ughh!
Watching the coverage of the protests made me slightly angry and curious. What is the majority of protesters demonstrating against? Q: “Free Tibet” from what? A: general “oppression.”
It’s like people are demonstrating for the sake of demonstrating. “Hey Richard Gere, look at me! I want to free Tibet too! I'm cool! Yeah! Fuck China! I’m so righteous!.... be my friend.”
I’m not trying to defend China’s handling of the Tibet issue, but really it’s an internal matter that should be left for the Chinese to figure out. Tibet isn’t something that was newly conquered, it was in the Chinese borders for hundreds of years; Peter C. Perdue’s China Marches West chronicles in obsessive detail the steps China took in expanding it’s borders during the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (read: 1616 –1911). It’s like everyone ganging up against Canada for not letting the French Canadians become their own country. I hate how the developed world has the need to “help” less developed countries with their “road to democracy.” Wtf man. You can’t really just force Democracy (with a capital “D”) on to a people who don’t understand the merits of democracy (with a lower case “d”).
Ughh. I hope this “Free Tibet” bullshit dies down in Argentina. I don’t want this to be the running topic of this blog. Well most importantly, I don’t want it to be the theme of the 2008 Olympics. Aren’t the Games supposed to be for celebrating humanity and camaraderie? I feel bad for the Torch relayers. They must have been so excited to be selected for the run. What was supposed to be a celebration of their accomplishment has been marred by negative political messages. And also what about the athletes? Why should their thunder be stolen? I heard that Hillary Clinton suggested boycotting the opening ceremony in protest. What? Why not just boycott the games in general? Why just the opening? What? Does she not like Zhang Yimou productions? Whatevs.Oh and omg: The Dalai Lama: What Richard Gere Won't Tell You
Monday, April 7, 2008
Re: Tibet, I will remain calm. CALM I SAY!!!
I had this long post planned, wherein I edit and post this wonderful IM conversation I had with Pilar regarding the Tibet issue, but these two videos, forwarded to me by my boss of all people, seem to sum up how perfectly calm I am. Sure, the English is hardly grammatically correct, and the misc-en-scene is just a tad melodramatic, but otherwise, the dry facts remain the same.
Tibetans, stop the rioting and racial hate already. Rest of the world, China ain't gonna be the next Balkans, it's business as usual, bugger off and report on some leaked sex tapes already.
Tibetans, stop the rioting and racial hate already. Rest of the world, China ain't gonna be the next Balkans, it's business as usual, bugger off and report on some leaked sex tapes already.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Filial ... whaaaat?
If we're going to rant on the subject of filial piety and what it means in the modern setting, there's literally endless things to say. Certainly, Chinese people have institutionalized the idea of taking care of your elders in their infirmity into a religion. With the current fashionable movement to be 'innovative,' to 'break the mould,' to be against any and all institutions regardless, in addition to the ideology of democracy eroding into the Chinese tradition of age hierarchy, it's not surprising that people occasionally slip up and yell at their Grandpas. All the more appropriate to discuss the topic, with the timing near Ching Ming Festival, in which ritual tomb/grave sweeping and offerings of food, money and incense are made. (Well done Pilar, right on time!)
I just learned from my maternal grandmother that if you've relatives that are fresh in the grave, you have to visit them first, before Ching Ming day, in order to demonstrate that you haven't forgotten them so quickly. You visit the relatives that have been in the grave longer later, either on the day of, or after. The term for the newly dead isn't actually 'newly dead' - it's literally 'new mountain,' and 'old mountain' for the long buried. This is a nice way of pointing to the practice of having graves situated on hillsides or mountainsides, mostly for Feng Shui reasons. I think that if I were dead, I'd like a spot on a hilltop with a nice view too, frankly. (Pilar can you teach me how to insert Chinese characters? Ta.)
And, it all makes a lot of sense to me. If you've been dead for ages, you'd forgive your kids and grandkids for wanting to visit the people they remember more freshly, right? Though, with how intractable old people generally are, it's also difficult for me to imagine them being less than absolutely stubborn and demanding in the grave as they are in life. I have this strange image of a bunch of old dead people elbowing each other out of the way, to get the dibs on the freshest and best food offerings, just like I've seen real old folks do in the Hong Kong wet markets. (Chinatown NYC, Pilar?) Honestly, if you're that old, and that dead, no shame in giving your fellow ghost a shove, eh?
I just learned from my maternal grandmother that if you've relatives that are fresh in the grave, you have to visit them first, before Ching Ming day, in order to demonstrate that you haven't forgotten them so quickly. You visit the relatives that have been in the grave longer later, either on the day of, or after. The term for the newly dead isn't actually 'newly dead' - it's literally 'new mountain,' and 'old mountain' for the long buried. This is a nice way of pointing to the practice of having graves situated on hillsides or mountainsides, mostly for Feng Shui reasons. I think that if I were dead, I'd like a spot on a hilltop with a nice view too, frankly. (Pilar can you teach me how to insert Chinese characters? Ta.)
And, it all makes a lot of sense to me. If you've been dead for ages, you'd forgive your kids and grandkids for wanting to visit the people they remember more freshly, right? Though, with how intractable old people generally are, it's also difficult for me to imagine them being less than absolutely stubborn and demanding in the grave as they are in life. I have this strange image of a bunch of old dead people elbowing each other out of the way, to get the dibs on the freshest and best food offerings, just like I've seen real old folks do in the Hong Kong wet markets. (Chinatown NYC, Pilar?) Honestly, if you're that old, and that dead, no shame in giving your fellow ghost a shove, eh?
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Granddaughter Asian Grandpas Wouldn’t Want.
It’s no secret that I am a little crazy. I am easily agitated over random things. One of those things is my grandpa’s insistence on putting clothes in the dryer after they’ve been hanging to air dry for two days. It just doesn’t make sense to me. He claims that air-drying for two days first saves money because the dryer isn’t running for the full hour.
I wasn’t really in the mood because I had a really strange dream about rejection and woke up confused and slightly angry. (What else is really new?) I decided to wash the bed sheets because I equated clean sheets with good dreams but when I came downstairs, I saw grandpa stacking the clothes washed two days ago one by one in to the dryer -- apparently laying them flat helps the already dry clothes dry faster -- and I just went crazy and started complaining about it. And it turned into a full-blown argument with both of us yelling at each other. OMG and it must be a generational thing or maybe he has been watching way too many TVB shows but grandpa threw down that he can’t “忍 受” (rěn shòu, to suffer) the complaining about the issue anymore. He knew that we all thought his clothes drying methods were insane and chose to ignore them because he was stubborn. Ugh and then we ended up yelling at each other about how we should do our own laundry (which is fine with me cuz I think he’s insane).
So there you have it, perhaps the ultimate example of not being filial. Confucius must be rolling over in his grave. Hearing Grandpa wax poetic about how he is suffering the indignity of being lectured by his granddaughter made me feel bad. It was like reliving that sad Sutaitai moment again: the day when I vowed never to make the elderly feel so exasperated and defeated. woops. Looking back, I should’ve left it all alone. Both Dad and Alex have also made comments about his laundry method, but neither has been as aggressive as mine probably because they don’t spend nearly as much time at home as I do. I am probably having cabin fever and took it out on them. Still I should have known better. Grandpa and Grandma live in our home and I shouldn’t be looking at them as if they were mere guests. :sigh: This is yet another reason to find a job ASAP so I can move out and never have to deal with the guilt for yelling at people for doing stupid insane things again!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Su taitai, the Asian Grandmother I sometimes wish I had.
Here we are at a class dinner. Half of the class didn't show up but I think she was pretty happy anyway. Isn't she so cute? 
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Su Tai Tai (Look her up at www.culpa.info) and what American exchange students in China may need to take into account
This is a post dedicated to one of the most memorable professors of my college career, Su Tai Tai. As mentioned, Pilar and I met in her class, and she's probably one of the reasons we became friends, because talking about Su Tai Tai and her particular antics was so much fun.
The thing that the other American students I had the priveledge of calling classmates never understood about Su Tai Tai is that she couldn't be any other way even if she tried. She doesn't think that she is a lunatic, because her idea of being a teacher extends beyond the classroom. This is a quaint Chinese attitude, and personally, I believe Su Tai Tai carries it off with great aplomb.
Chinese professors, especially older ones, do feel the obligation to mold their students into responsible, ethical adults, which is a digression from the average professor at Columbia or Barnard, where the assumption is that you already are (though, from what I've seen... haha nah just joking.) Su Tai Tai also expects an unquestioned amount of respect above the threshold of respect that the average professor requires from his/her students, which I also think is Chinese. She meets with a lot of resistance because of her concepts and expectations of us, her students, and I feel bad for her sometimes. She gets outraged occaisionally, but she really is a sweetheart.
I recently talked to my professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong about the respect issue, and she admits she hates it when foreign students, mostly American, troop into her class wearing flip flops or tank tops, or when they put their feet up on the chair in front of them. She says that it reflects a total lack of respect for the class, their classmates, and herself, who put a lot of effort into putting the class together, encouraging discussions etc. I don't know whether to agree with her or not. But let this be a warning to all American exchange students in China: shoes and shirt are required, preferrably one with a collar. That, is the lesson of the day.
The thing that the other American students I had the priveledge of calling classmates never understood about Su Tai Tai is that she couldn't be any other way even if she tried. She doesn't think that she is a lunatic, because her idea of being a teacher extends beyond the classroom. This is a quaint Chinese attitude, and personally, I believe Su Tai Tai carries it off with great aplomb.
Chinese professors, especially older ones, do feel the obligation to mold their students into responsible, ethical adults, which is a digression from the average professor at Columbia or Barnard, where the assumption is that you already are (though, from what I've seen... haha nah just joking.) Su Tai Tai also expects an unquestioned amount of respect above the threshold of respect that the average professor requires from his/her students, which I also think is Chinese. She meets with a lot of resistance because of her concepts and expectations of us, her students, and I feel bad for her sometimes. She gets outraged occaisionally, but she really is a sweetheart.
I recently talked to my professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong about the respect issue, and she admits she hates it when foreign students, mostly American, troop into her class wearing flip flops or tank tops, or when they put their feet up on the chair in front of them. She says that it reflects a total lack of respect for the class, their classmates, and herself, who put a lot of effort into putting the class together, encouraging discussions etc. I don't know whether to agree with her or not. But let this be a warning to all American exchange students in China: shoes and shirt are required, preferrably one with a collar. That, is the lesson of the day.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Friendship Chemistry part deux: Or, Playing Catch Up, 12++hrs behind!
Gosh! Sorry loklok! I am totally behind. I log on to blogger and see that there already so many awesome posts. I hope all your friends know that I am not nearly as poetic as you are. Perhaps I am just more melodramatic. Hah!
Reading “Friendship Chemistry” was truly shocking! I am shocked that something like letting you sleep made you fall in love with me! I thought it was my wit, charm and stunning good looks!
I knew we would be good friends when I met you sophomore year, when we didn’t know how the sutaitai learning method worked. I wouldn’t say that we have a lot of similarities but there is enough that’s different to keep things interesting. Also, I think you are somewhat of an old soul. Sometimes, you have the most sagely advice, as if you’ve lived for decades and decades. We’ve had (shall I say extremely?) similar life experiences but somehow, you’ve always come out of them learning a lesson that is deeper than “don’t do that again,” where as I, on the other hand, am still wondering what/where the lesson is.
But mostly, I’m friends with you because you don’t laugh at my obsession with Doraemon and other stupid things. And you also tolerate me making fun of your obsessions with stupid things. =D
AND we like to think outside the box. Look how freaked out the adults in the back are! haha, the Chinese girls behind us look sassy. Awesome. I hope they're friends for life too.
Reading “Friendship Chemistry” was truly shocking! I am shocked that something like letting you sleep made you fall in love with me! I thought it was my wit, charm and stunning good looks!
I knew we would be good friends when I met you sophomore year, when we didn’t know how the sutaitai learning method worked. I wouldn’t say that we have a lot of similarities but there is enough that’s different to keep things interesting. Also, I think you are somewhat of an old soul. Sometimes, you have the most sagely advice, as if you’ve lived for decades and decades. We’ve had (shall I say extremely?) similar life experiences but somehow, you’ve always come out of them learning a lesson that is deeper than “don’t do that again,” where as I, on the other hand, am still wondering what/where the lesson is.
But mostly, I’m friends with you because you don’t laugh at my obsession with Doraemon and other stupid things. And you also tolerate me making fun of your obsessions with stupid things. =D
AND we like to think outside the box. Look how freaked out the adults in the back are! haha, the Chinese girls behind us look sassy. Awesome. I hope they're friends for life too.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Friendship Chemistry
This is the third blog that I've started in as many years, because although I LOVELOVELOVE checking in at my favorite blogsites every time I'm on the internet, and think that they're like, like, like COLUMNS but BETTER, I worry that the whole concept of having an online diary is a little too hubristic.
Self-consciousness aside, I had the thought that a rant may not be the most auspicious beginning to this, our blog, and wanted to introduce you all to my friend Pilar, by telling y'all how we met...
The short story is that we took Chinese class together in the second semester of our Sophomore year (natural alliteration! It doesn't happen often, it's like, penguins in your soup or something...) I'd bore you with the long story, but everyone knows there's such thing as friendship chemistry, so I'd like to say something about how my (non-sexual) crush on Pilar started out.
The true romance of our friendship began in Hong Kong, actually, when I fell asleep on an evening I was supposed to take her out partying in LanKwai, and she forgave me for it. It was unforgivable on my part because she was only in Hong Kong for about a week, and everyone knows that you have to squeeze every last minute of joy out of short trips, in order to placate yourself when you look at your bank account statement when you get home. That she let me sleep is true selflessness. She even gave me this purple scarf she bought during her other Chinese travels despite my callous succumbance to lethargy. Pilar is a SAINT I tell you!!!!! When I'm an wearing my Cardinal reds I'll be the first one to vote for her (they do vote, don't they?) canonization.
The rest is recent history. :) (actually, I shit myself when I use that phrase, because I don't really know what that means. What does "the rest is history" actually mean? Technically, everything that happened is history, but why does it feel right to point out that obvious absurdity / absurd obviousness right about now?)
Self-consciousness aside, I had the thought that a rant may not be the most auspicious beginning to this, our blog, and wanted to introduce you all to my friend Pilar, by telling y'all how we met...
The short story is that we took Chinese class together in the second semester of our Sophomore year (natural alliteration! It doesn't happen often, it's like, penguins in your soup or something...) I'd bore you with the long story, but everyone knows there's such thing as friendship chemistry, so I'd like to say something about how my (non-sexual) crush on Pilar started out.
The true romance of our friendship began in Hong Kong, actually, when I fell asleep on an evening I was supposed to take her out partying in LanKwai, and she forgave me for it. It was unforgivable on my part because she was only in Hong Kong for about a week, and everyone knows that you have to squeeze every last minute of joy out of short trips, in order to placate yourself when you look at your bank account statement when you get home. That she let me sleep is true selflessness. She even gave me this purple scarf she bought during her other Chinese travels despite my callous succumbance to lethargy. Pilar is a SAINT I tell you!!!!! When I'm an wearing my Cardinal reds I'll be the first one to vote for her (they do vote, don't they?) canonization.
The rest is recent history. :) (actually, I shit myself when I use that phrase, because I don't really know what that means. What does "the rest is history" actually mean? Technically, everything that happened is history, but why does it feel right to point out that obvious absurdity / absurd obviousness right about now?)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
CUHK Chinese Language Center : A Review
Am I actually a 'banana'? I wish I were, because it would make my identity a lot easier to market. The word has assonance, the concept is graphic... if I could get an angle on my lack of Chinese language skills, make it seem like I'm this yummy fruit that everyone would love to hire as a scriptwriter for an already successful TV show like - well, nothing comes to mind actually. Hong Kong TV sucks satan's sweaty scrotum.
Speaking of sucking, I really must suck on some more about the Language program I'm enrolled in right now. GIVEN that Chinese is a difficult language to teach - how do you make memorizing 3000 characters really Fun and Full of Fudgy Flavour and Rainbow Sprinkles??? ( or Hundreds and Thousands, if you're from across the pond) - I'm still irritated by the incompetance and general shabby attitude of the school which is supposed to have a prehistoric legacy in experience teaching Chinese.
Suck No. 1. I Did Not Get my Teaching Materials Until A Quarter of the Way though the Course.
When I signed up they assured that I could get traditional character teaching materials and that did not happen until way late. I had to continuously chase them up for the absolute basic things. Then it was suggested to me that , well, you know, simplified is a good option too! Why don't you change your mind and then we wouldn't have to do all this reformating and photocopying! ie. *you're an annoying customer, and we'd rather you CONFORM DAMMIT*
Suck No. 2. The teaching materials are designed ONLY to make you learn vocabulary. Some of the passages we read are so laden with four-word sayings that I could probably rap the thing out as for my oral exam (which is essentially a spewing out of a word-for-word recitation of the text. I have a vision of myself bringing a boombox into the exam room). It just doesn't seem like something you would normally read! Why don't I just make myself a bunch of vocab flash cards and save myself the money? (15 credits equals about 23,000 hkd. Do da math)
Suck No. 3. The campus is in the middle of nowhere. If you're an advanced learner, you have to travel all the way to Shatin for class. The commute is a bore.
Suck No. 4. The chairs are too small. My classmate, who is 6'3'' American with Swiss heritage, cannot possibly fit his booty into that chair and feel comfortable for the three hour class. They're an institute for foreign learners?! They should expect students of foreign sizes and adjust the seating accordingly so they don't get that 14-hour flight feeling?????
End rant.
Speaking of sucking, I really must suck on some more about the Language program I'm enrolled in right now. GIVEN that Chinese is a difficult language to teach - how do you make memorizing 3000 characters really Fun and Full of Fudgy Flavour and Rainbow Sprinkles??? ( or Hundreds and Thousands, if you're from across the pond) - I'm still irritated by the incompetance and general shabby attitude of the school which is supposed to have a prehistoric legacy in experience teaching Chinese.
Suck No. 1. I Did Not Get my Teaching Materials Until A Quarter of the Way though the Course.
When I signed up they assured that I could get traditional character teaching materials and that did not happen until way late. I had to continuously chase them up for the absolute basic things. Then it was suggested to me that , well, you know, simplified is a good option too! Why don't you change your mind and then we wouldn't have to do all this reformating and photocopying! ie. *you're an annoying customer, and we'd rather you CONFORM DAMMIT*
Suck No. 2. The teaching materials are designed ONLY to make you learn vocabulary. Some of the passages we read are so laden with four-word sayings that I could probably rap the thing out as for my oral exam (which is essentially a spewing out of a word-for-word recitation of the text. I have a vision of myself bringing a boombox into the exam room). It just doesn't seem like something you would normally read! Why don't I just make myself a bunch of vocab flash cards and save myself the money? (15 credits equals about 23,000 hkd. Do da math)
Suck No. 3. The campus is in the middle of nowhere. If you're an advanced learner, you have to travel all the way to Shatin for class. The commute is a bore.
Suck No. 4. The chairs are too small. My classmate, who is 6'3'' American with Swiss heritage, cannot possibly fit his booty into that chair and feel comfortable for the three hour class. They're an institute for foreign learners?! They should expect students of foreign sizes and adjust the seating accordingly so they don't get that 14-hour flight feeling?????
End rant.
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