The Physicists and me go to Hangzhou

I've been trying to take advantage of being in a foreign country as much as possible so even though it was a really busy weekend we arranged a day trip to Hangzhou. We went on a Saturday in between a work dinner Friday night and a work picnic for the students on Sunday.

We went with Joe, two other post docs - Aquib and Meng Quan, and Aquib's wife Hiraa.












Hangzhou basically has a big lake with a bunch of little islands that you can walk around and take boats to. Mainly you just go for the scenery, which was pretty but there happened to be very bad visibility on the day we went, as you can tell from some of our pictures.








































We wandered around the islands for a while. We tried to get one of these rowboats but these guys wouldn't take us. We think they get paid by the hour and prefer not to get customers. Eventually, we found the big boats which took us across.











The random things we saw while wandering were:

1. Retired guys playing music in the park and painting Chinese calligraphy on the pavement with water. (Danny says that's the life... I'm scared for our future)















2. More of the candied fruits I tried in Souzhou which had gone bad in the middle last time but we tried them again anyway. They looked pretty but were bad in the middle again.














3. Black corn, which I had never seen before. Danny warned me it isn't very good but I decided to try it. I ended up only having a bite because it is terrible. It tastes just like regular corn except less sweet and a much worse consistency. Aquib and Hiraa who also never tried it before had a little before we gave up and threw it out. Danny was sad nobody listened about how bad the corn is, also he ate half of it because he felt bad wasting food. I think in the states we never tried it because they only sell sweet corn and use this strand for cow feed.











4. A giant teapot which serves free tea.














5. This guy stirring tea leaves by hand to dry them. It takes about five hours a batch and the store sells them for $5 to $100 an ounce... labor is cheap here and machines aren't.











6. More of these lion sculptures, they put them on either side of doors all over China to protect the building... I feel safer now.











7. Some rowboats which we rented to paddle around for a while. We crashed into several boats as we went but Danny insisted he knew what he was doing and I didn't.












8. This little building structure shaped like a swastika - the traditional Buddhist symbol meaning peace, not the Nazi symbol. I didn't know about the Buddhist swastika symbol until college when I found out that in Asia people have a very different association with that image. My head still leaps to the way the Nazis bastardized the symbol anytime I look at it though.












9. Part of the pavement was made out of somebody's old gravestone. It is hard to tell from the picture but Danny, Joe and Meng Quan said the writing carved into it says so. Seems pretty disrespectful to turn a gravestone into the sidewalk if you ask me.











10. Meng Quan tried to catch a fish with his bare hands.














11. We saw the location that is on the back of one of the Chinese bills.












We got hot pot for lunch. I was super happy that Hiraa and Aquib had some diet restrictions and shared a veggie pot with me. The main reason I have trouble finding food here is food is often family style where everyone shares a plate and when I go out in a big group everyone wants meat. We sat at two tables so Danny, Joe and Meng Quan could have a separate pot with meat but the food was great. Hiraa and Aquib had never tried hot pot and I think they really liked it. We took them to the Japanese style hot pot place near our apartment two weeks after this (I'm posting this way after the fact) which I think is a lot better because it has individual pots.










After lunch we went to this pagoda and looked around. It was sort of pretty and I liked the view but it had been destroyed and rebuilt and looked pretty unauthentic. On the bottom floor you could see the remnants of the old building though, that was kind of cool. On the walls of the pagoda they had base reliefs with the story of the sorcerer and white snake. I don't really understand the story but apparently a movie just came out about it here and we keep saying we are going to watch it.
























The cab ride back to the train station was a really frightening experience. We took one of those unmarked private cabs, which I wasn't thrilled about but there were six of us so I figured it was safe. We caught the cab on a one way street. The driver said the fastest way to get there was to turn back, otherwise we would have to go 3 kilometers out of our way. So he made a U-turn. All we saw were headlights of cars swerving to avoid us as they honked angrily. Fortunately, we made it to the train station ok.

Then we got to wait around the train station with these guys and their rice bags...











I was pretty bummed out I had to work the next day but it was actually pretty fun. We had a school picnic at Min Hang Park. All the kids' parents brought food we could munch on and there was a giant slide that went all the way across the park. My favorite part was when one of their parents rented this group bike thing and I rode around the park in it with some of the girls from my class. Annie steered it and I have to admit it was a bit scary at times but it was really fun and quite a workout because we squeezed way too many kids in there and only four of us were peddling.

Wo de Zhong wen (My Chinese)

My Chinese is really starting to improve. I’ve reached the point where I can actually communicate. It is sort of exciting. It makes me feel a bit less powerless now that I can occasionally get my point across. I’ve traveled a bit before coming to China but I’ve never been in a place where so few people speak English. Most of the younger generation study English in school but they are usually too shy to try speaking it outside of their classroom.

The other day at the supermarket I wanted to ask where they had pine nuts. (I found out the name of pine nuts from the menu at a restaurant the day before.) As I walked up to a group of three employees one saw I was a foreigner and hid behind the other, whose English I assumed was better. Then when I asked for it in Chinese she got all excited and dashed back out in front to show me where they were kept. It was really cute. People here seem to really like it when I try to speak Chinese. Whenever we are out and I try, everyone always smiles at me.

Money

Danny told me this story: There was a little girl who was run over by a car here and 20 people just walked past before someone stopped to help her. In order to try to address this indifference to her plight, the news reports tried to turn the woman who helped her into a national hero. This woman, consequently, had her 20 minutes of fame and made some money in the process. Apparently, now many people are angrily saying she only stopped to help the girl for the money. Illogical – yes, but Chinese society is very fixated on money.

I’m going to make a few sweeping generalizations, so forgive me if this doesn’t apply to everyone. People here are just a lot more into money than at home. It sounds like a funny thing to say, considering I grew up on the main line where everyone is obsessed with showing off their money. I spent my college years in NY, the financial center of the country. The difference is the culture at home, where people have money, just doesn’t give the same value to it as Shanghai, where most people have next to nothing.

I know the gap between the poor and the rich is very visible on the east coast, but here it just turns my stomach. I lived in NY, I’m used to seeing beggars. But here, particularly the people in front of Jade Buddha temple, presented a whole new level of hopelessness. It is as if the beggars took marketing classes and each found a niche. There was the elderly, the sick, the handicapped, the religious, the father with a child, the father with a child whose neck had a growth the size of his head…

I’m terrible at statistics but there are about 23 million people in this city, a lot of them are migrant workers who officially live elsewhere. About one third of the city is filled with people who come here for work so they can send money back to their family in some little town. Most of them travel home once a year or so, on train rides that can take as long as two or three days. The cost of a plane ticket, which may be something like $300, is more than they could dream of spending. They work at restaurants or construction sites. They do all the jobs that are done by machines at home with their bare hands. They usually sleep at their work. Some places might provide decent sleeping quarters but can you imagine if you are a construction worker? The winters must suck; the safety rules and regulations, if they have any, aren’t enforced; and they work all the time. They are here to make money and for no other reason.















Even if you ignore that large percentage of the city which is made of migrant workers and look at the successful few who have managed to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, they are still obsessed with pinching every penny so they can stay ahead. It makes sense, there are so many people and if you want to succeed you need to work for it. Being “cheap,” in a way that is very foreign to me, is ingrained into Chinese culture.

Danny’s grandmother, who is Taiwanese but has the same mentality as the Chinese on this matter, is a good example. In the states our generation grew up being told you can be anything you want to be and you should find a career path that makes you happy. Danny’s grandmother grew up having very little money and believing you should do absolutely anything you can to earn more. The concept of making enough to be comfortable doesn’t really register in her mind. Danny gave the example that if you had the choice between two jobs, one that is exhausting and hazardous and pays $3 and one that is a cushy office job and pays $2, his grandmother would tell you to take the $3 job every time. If it puts your life at risk, so be it. I don’t think she can even fathom how Danny and I could possibly make our career choices based on our personal interests rather than our maximum earning potential.

I think the stereotype we find in the states that Asian kids are always the smartest in the class is very closely tied into this cultural phenomenon. Unlike America, Chinese culture values education. They each want to push to be the best student with the same ferocity Danny's grandmother wants us to earn that extra dollar. The students whose families were able to push hard enough to manage to make it to America are, unsurprisingly, the best students.

Another Day...

Expats who have been in China for a while always seem to say that time moves really slowly here. I'm starting to see what they mean because so much happens and then you realize it has only been one day.

So after my lovely week of vacation I had to return to work. I missed three days of work in a row because the Jewish holidays were right before and right after the Chinese National Day (the Chinese Independence Day) so it felt like I was away an awfully long time. I am slowly starting to get back into the swing of things at work again but it seems like a lot happened while I was gone.

Everyone got a stomach bug. Four kids threw up at school today, one of them did it on a teacher. One of the first grade classes had 9 kids absent. One of the kids in my class had to go home early because he wasn't feeling well. I'm just getting over a cold and I really hope I don't get sick again. Working with kids leads to way too many pesky illnesses.

Our school has an assembly every Friday and each week a different class leads it. This Friday is my class' turn. I am feeling slightly stressed out by the fact that we aren't even close to ready. Our unit of inquiry is how we express ourselves so the students are learning about film and making movies to show at the assembly. I'm pretty sure half of the movies will not be completed on time for the assembly though. I hope I don't find out half my class is sick and can't come to school tomorrow.

While the kids were working on their movies today, I noticed a bag of dead bugs on one of the kid's desk. I got really scared I was going to find out it was their snack. I asked what it was and was sort of relieved that it wasn't. They apparently brought it in for their Mandarin lesson. After getting a very unclear reply from the kids and asking the mandarin teacher (in my very crappy, but slightly improving, Chinese) I found out why. I think there is a Chinese saying that is their version of not judging a book by its cover that says something about a bug "tuo ke" shedding its shell. Apparently the poem refers to these bugs and so they brought in the bugs shed skin. I'm still very grossed out. One of my students, Linda, said she didn't like them and she seemed as thrilled as I was about the bag of dead bug skins on the desk next to her.

I also found out that one of the Chinese teachers is pregnant. There are some really interesting and bizarre customs about pregnancy. Apparently, as soon as women here get pregnant, they start to wear a smock over their clothes. In the states usually people don't say they are pregnant until after the first trimester, in case you have problems and lose the child. Here they wear a smock and announce they are pregnant to the world starting the day they find out. At first I thought it was only worn so people would know they are pregnant, then my friend Michelle told me it is to protect them from radiation. She also told me they also don't wear contacts or makeup because it may be toxic.

I also was told that women are extremely careful and don't leave the house for like a month after giving birth. I knew a little bit about that from our friends at home who followed some of the Chinese customs. They aren't supposed to bathe for a month after giving birth and if they really need to they use water with ginger in it to wash. They also are supposed to eat all kinds of Chinese herbs. I'm not really sure which of these customs make sense and which are just completely impractical traditions.

After work, on the bus on the way to dinner (which shall henceforth be referred to as the trip of doom and destruction) my friend Michelle saw a dog that had been hit by a car. It was laying in the road and a street sweeper was sweeping the dog up with his broom and throwing it in the trash. Michelle pointed out that it was still twitching and not quite dead yet. Michelle was horrified that some people watching were laughing at the spectacle. We are pretty sure the man we saw on the side of the street after we got off the bus and walked towards the restaurant was dead. I once again didn't notice him until Michelle pointed him out but she said his eyes were opened wide like he had been shocked. He was lying on the sidewalk clutching his heart and not moving. There was a building guard standing next to him but otherwise people just kept on walking right past. At least they didn't throw him in the trashcan.

We also saw this guy on the way there carrying a load of garbage 10 feet high on a wagon attached to his bike. He is carrying all that on a bike. A common sight in China.


So in all just a typical day here.

Visitors

We had our first house guests in Shanghai. Danny's parents came to stay with us for the last two days of our vacation. It was nice to see them, although it was a really short visit.

Danny's parents had never been to China before and are taking a tour, plus stopping in Taiwan so they are only spending one full day in Shanghai.

The day they arrived we took things easy. I was really excited they brought us a bag full of stuff from the states. We got a mattress pad because mattresses in China are all really hard and mattress pads here are like 10 times the price of the ones at home. We also got a few groceries I can't find here. After we unpacked and they took a nap, Danny took them for dinner at a dumpling place.

The next day we did some sightseeing. We went to see the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Bund. We took the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. Danny and his parents were very unimpressed with the sightseeing tunnel and thought it was a giant waste of 50 RMB ($8) a person. I thought it was cute. It reminded me of the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when they go on a train powered by soda fizz and it only travels like 10 feet. It is silly and kitschy and completely ridiculous. There was a very silly low tech light show and wacky inflatable arm flailing tube men. I had fun.

Afterwards, we were thinking about going to the restaurant on top of the Pearl Tower for lunch but it was really smoggy and we wouldn't have been able to see much so we decided not to bother.














Instead we just looked at the view and then walked towards Yuyuan Garden and had lunch at the bazaar by it. To be more accurate, they had lunch and I had juice.

After lunch Danny and I left and let them look around the garden on their own. We went home and got ready for Kol Nidre services.

I think as I get older Yom Kippur starts to have more meaning to me. The concept of reflecting on what you have done over the year and trying to apologize for wrong doing is a pretty powerful concept. The reform movement had their first Yom Kippur services ever in Shanghai. I had my first aliyah at high holiday services, mostly because there were only a dozen people at the time and not many volunteers. Danny didn't come with me during the day since it was his parents last day in Shanghai and he saw them off. He met me in the evening for the break the fast.

We had bagels, as is traditional, at a room they rented two blocks from the hotel where services were held. They were amazing! I was so happy they are as good as bagels from home. I'm never getting bagels from the places where they are all soft in the middle again! I found out the bagels were from spreadthebagel.com and ordered a dozen!

Me and the Physicists go to Jiaxing

On Wednesday we headed out on part two of our trips planned by Joe. In the train station we saw a sign which said, "The great, the glorious and the correct Communist party." Good thing they told me it is correct, otherwise I wouldn't have known.

Riding the train was once again an experience. Jiaxing was less crowded than Souzhou, but still not a pleasant train ride. I didn't really know much about Jiaxing but Danny told me the main thing to see there was a lake and some scenery.

This time we went with Joe, two grad students - Yenfei and Chenxu, and Chenxu's boyfriend. The language barrier was a bit greater on this trip since Yenfei doesn't speak much English and neither did Chenxu's boyfriend.

After an hour on the train we tried to look for a bus or taxi but we didn't see any so we began walking towards the lake. There was a boat ride that ran to an island in the middle but we never ended up buying tickets and instead we wandered around and ended up walking to where the boat trip let you off, by a large pagoda. We all climbed up the seven floors and saw a very pretty view.












Next we decided to head for lunch. I packed a sandwich, being less than thrilled by the prospect of yet another Chinese banquet style meal. We soon discovered that all the restaurants in Jiaxing close at 1:30 and don't reopen until about 4:00. As you might imagine everyone was a bit grouchy and hungry. They all had some snacks and we wondered around the park a bit and saw a few interesting sites. Chenxu entertained herself by blowing bubbles. There were some couples taking wedding photos in really traditional attire and some girls dressed up like anime characters.

Then we headed to the main street in town, called Yue He Jie, which was very cute. Danny kept pointing out it was just the image he had in mind of what little Chinese towns would look like.






















We found a little gallery which cost about $3.50 each to go in and Danny and I decided to take a look. It turned out to be worth every penny. They had a beautiful collection which mostly included sculptures of the 18 Buddhas in a variety materials including jade, topaz and oak. The admission fee included a personal guide to take show us around. She only spoke Chinese though so Danny had to translate for me.

Afterwards, we did a bit of shopping and wandered around the street. We had one of those traditional Chinese banquet type meals where I didn't eat anything before we headed home.

The Avocado Lady

While I was at services for the high holidays someone told me about the avocado lady. We found her store today. It is a small grocery store that specializes in cheap western foods including arugula, pine nuts, pesto sauce, tortillas and of course avocados. I was not disappointed!

Hanley and Yao

We met Hanley and Yao at the Jade Buddha Temple. Outside the temple there were a lot of beggars including a little boy with a giant tumor sticking out of him neck. It was pretty sad. We got there a few minutes before them so I felt sort of uncomfortable waiting outside.

Yao and Hanley are incredibly nice. This was the first time I had spent a significant amount of time with them and they are both just very sweet. Danny also was kind enough to point out to me that I am the only one out of the four of us without a PhD. (Whatever. My master’s degree will have to do.) Anyway, even though they are really smart, they don’t tease me like Danny does.



Yao told me some interesting things about Chinese culture and translated some of the script as we looked around the temple. The Jade Buddha temple isn’t as old as some, but is famous for the large Buddha sculpture made out of jade.

I told Yao I don’t usually like Jade that much because the color makes things look washed out a lot of the time. She explained the reason it is valued so much here. The fragility of the material means that it could shatter completely if you don’t treat it properly. This is sort of symbolic of one’s soul and how you should treat it. She explained it more eloquently than that though. It was an interesting meaning but I still don’t think it is all that pretty.

The temple wouldn’t let you take pictures of the actual Jade Buddha. I think it was just because they wanted to sell postcards and not for any religious reasons though.

After we looked around we had lunch in the vegetarian restaurant inside the temple. The food was ok. There was one dish that was very spicy that I liked a lot.

Afterwards we walked to 50 Moganshan Road Art Centre. It reminded me a bit of South Street. There were a few impressive pieces plus a lot of weak pieces. There was one gallery with what looked like traditional European paintings but of Chinese subjects. There was also a giant chess board on sale for $100,000.00 that was really intricate and beautiful. The sign for it said the Medici family commissioned it but that seemed sort of hard to believe. There was one gallery that had very political pieces in an exhibit called complacency. I speculated about how the Chinese government felt about it. There was also a gallery with an exhibit called “Way Beyond the Firewall” which sounded more exciting than it was. I thought it mostly was just and excuse for some male “artists” to show a bunch of half naked women and call it art.











After we left the galleries we walked past a construction site where some graffiti artists had decked out the building. It was better than anything I saw in the galleries.