Miscellaneous, Part 1

Everyday I learn new things and make observations about China, its people, and their customs. Many of these things would not make a full-length post on their own, so I’m putting them together in an odds-n-ends post. I’m calling it part 1 because I’m sure I will have more random things to talk about at some point in the future.

The ladybugs and I are engaged in an epic battle of good and evil. (I’m the good guy.) They enter my house through the cracks around my windows, get into everything, then die leaving me to have to dispose of their remains. Every weekend I have to clean the ladybugs off my window ledges and sweep the floors because they are all over the place. I suppose, though, if my apartment is going to be infested with something ladybugs aren’t that bad.

A lot of people have asked me about the weather here. It started warming up last week and I think we are getting into the mid 60s most days. It has not rained too much and usually when it does, it is a light rain. But it is almost never sunny by my standards. I don’t think I would always call it cloudy, but there is a haze (I’m guessing its pollution) that is ever-present in the sky. I think only twice in the last month could I look up in the sky and see blue. It is strange to me, then, that a lot of people have solar panels. My water heater uses solar power--this probably explains why I had a hard time getting hot water before I had them install the electric water heater! I think they would be much better off with windmills because it is often windy--and at times VERY windy. I am not looking forward to next winter. The cold I can handle but when it is cold and there is a biting wind that is the worst!

I have observed that some people here are very fashion-forward. Others have good pieces but do not put them together well. The rest have it all wrong and look like they were barfed on by the 80’s. I have not done any shopping myself but the other day I was looking through a catalogue that belonged to one of the native English teachers who is engaged to Ricky (my assistant). I noticed in the catalogue that many of the pictures were of a boy and girl wearing identical or nearly identical outfits and I asked her why boys and girls like to dress the same. She explained that when a boy and girl are in a serious relationship they often get a matching outfit to show they are together. She said it was common for a boy or girl to give matching clothes as a gift to their significant other. I had to laugh about this because it is the opposite of what you would want to do in American culture. The students told me that when a boy and girl want to go on a date, they usually go shopping together. However, a student also told me that they are not allowed to date—I think this is a rule particular to our school, which is a private school and has a lot of live-in students.

The students still want me to sing to them all the time. I have learned that if the class is getting too noisy, all I have to do is hum or sing softly then they all get quiet so they can hear me.

One of the most striking things to me is the constant juxtapositions I see. Many of you noted that I described observing poverty in and around the city but that many of the students had camera phones in the same post. (Actually, they have devices that are phone/camera/MP3/MP4 player/translator/PDA/etc.) This is just one example. My internet and mobile services are more reliable than my water has been and the other day the electricity was out at the middle school but judging by the way people were acting it seems this is not all that uncommon. One would think that water and electricity services would be more stable than the technological ones. Also, I was struck the other day when I looked at a student’s desk. Many of the students decorate their desktops with pictures of pop icons, Mickey Mouse, etc. but this one student had a large periodic table of elements in the center of his desk surrounded by pictures of NBA stars and all types of guns from revolvers to assault rifles. He is a good student so I don't think I have worry about his mental health.

The Chinese have an affinity for the gaudy. I’ve seen wedding dresses in shop windows so garish that they elicit a gag reflex from me. Decorations are often brightly colored and plastic seems to be more in favor than natural materials. An example: there are some exposed pipes in my bathroom that the owner of the apartment tried to dress-up by hanging chains of fake flowers on them. Also, I was noticing the other day an old wooden cabinet in a teacher’s office. Some of the handles were neon green plastic, replacing the metal ones that used to be there. And another example: do you remember that door from my apartment tour? Well, I didn’t realize it at the time but if I turn the handle there are little lights above it that flash different colors. It’s like a disco every time I close the door!

I have always known that Americans are more embarrassed by body functions than other cultures and one thing I have noticed is that the Chinese think nothing of spitting. Spitting on the street is common practice and I suppose not all that strange (although seeing a woman hock a loogie still surprises me (my sister, Ashley, notwithstanding)) but it is also common to spit on the floor indoors. I have not seen any carpet in the places I have been and I wonder if there is no carpet because people spit or if people spit because there is no carpet. Regardless, people will spit on the floor in the hallways and in the classrooms but it should be noted that the floors are mopped throughout the day.

Finally, as many of you know, fireworks were invented in China and I must say they do love to set them off. Any occasion seems a good reason for fireworks here: someone is born, someone dies, someone gets married, someone opens a new shop, someone sneezes…there are fireworks going off at all times of the day and night. These are not the kind of fireworks like we have for the 4th of July. Mostly they are just a lot of noise and a little smoke. Sometimes it sounds like a war-zone with all the explosions!