One very odd note stuck on my door July 14, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Beijing, China.Tags: apartment, China, cultural, friend, Friends, note, notes, prostitution, teaching english, Travel
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The other day I arrived home and found this note on my front door. In fact, I found three identical notes on all the doors surrounding my apartment. My roomate and I are the only foreigners in the building, so it apparently seems there is a need for our services.
We laughed pretty hard.
They big questions being… does this person want an English tutor, a prostitute or a pay-as-you-go friend? And what’s with the age range of 10 – 35?
Well, in the interest of figuring it out, I actually went at 7:30 a.m. yesterday only to be STOOD up by the creepy person who left me a note.
My feelings are strangely hurt. Not hurt enough to write them an email, mind you.
Cheese heaven July 12, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Beijing, China.Tags: Beijing, Beijing Cheese, cheese, cheese difficulties, China, expensive, grocery shopping, mainland cheese
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As much as I enjoy the food here there are things I miss.
Cheese.
Oh cheeeeese. I love you so. My cheese experience in Uganda was rather lacking. My cheese experience in China has been slightly better. There is a large selection here of cheese if you go to the fancy import stores, but you have to unfortunately pay an arm and leg to satisfy any craving.
Simply put, eating cheese here breaks the bank.
So for a long time, I haven’t really eaten much cheese. For a while, I ate the strange “Beijing cheese” that tasted slightly like really really cheap American mozarella – you know, the kind that comes in weird blocks and doesn’t quite melt? Yeah. That one.
But then about a month ago I picked up another cheese. This time, an extra old vintage cheddar from New Zealand called “Mainland Cheese.” I had serious doubts. Like, I don’t really know much about New Zealand cheese but it didn’t really fill me with huge amounts of confidence. It was also too cheap, 28 RMB (about $4 USD) a package where most decent cheese around here run more like 70-90 RMB.
But then I tried it.
Smitten!
It’s far better than most Canadian cheddars I’ve tried, particularly for the price. It’s quite sharp, very tasty and has a great texture. Lovely and crumbly and delicious, oh my!
And today when I went to buy my cheese, I found that my new favorite cheese was on sale, 2 for 1. I jumped up and down. I did a small dance. And I would tell you where to go to buy said cheese, if you happened to be in Beijing, but there’s no point. I bought it all.
Yup. 8 packages of cheese now sit in my fridge at $2 a piece. I’m thinking it’ll keep me happy until Christmas. Fine, maybe Halloween.
Signed,
The Cheese loving traveller who is now in bliss
P.S. Pizza dough is now rising on the counter and I just made up a batch of pesto. The cheese will go to good use for dinner tonight.
Nationalism in China July 12, 2009
Posted by katelewis in China.add a comment
Nationalism is something that confronts me here. It’s not the woman selling me vegetables or the taxi driver (who when I tell him I’m from Canada, he sighs enviously), but rather from alternate sources.
In any country of 1.3 billion people, you’re going to have extremists. In China, it seems, many of them (mostly youth) have taken their cause to the internet. They call them “netizens” but that word absolutely makes me CRINGE so I refuse to use it on this blog.
I receive hate mail weekly – nothing new really, but what I find interesting about the mail from Chinese readers is the absolute hatred that brims in those emails.
It’s an issue I obviously don’t fully understand (with me not being Chinese, nor nationalistic) yet an issue I do think about often – how does nationalism shape China?
I am often sent random things to edit on the side. Some of the pieces I find actually incredibly uncomfortable in editing and refuse, but by the same token I also find it absolutely fascinating to read these items in seeing this tiny window into one aspect of China. I’m not trying to generalize, rather giving my personal specific experience here – take what you will.
“Westerner’s,” wrote one article (that I hastily copied down to my computer), “do not understand the way the Chinese people think. They are terrified of China’s might and increasing power. We are victims of Western media and the lies that are spread by their hatred.”
Okay, yeah, fine. I read this stuff fairly often – no big surprises there. But then,
“One day they will be sorry. When China controls the world, they will be begging for forgiveness”
Eeeeeee. That stuff makes my skin crawl. I can’t help it.
And is the reasoning for nationalism as simple as the “angry youth” (fengqin) need something to take out their frustations on here? And they’ll grow out of it? Is it patriotic education? Or is it a matter of economics – as economic confidence grows, China distances itself from the West?
Who knows.
WWNKD? July 10, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Africa, China, Journalism, Travel, Work.Tags: Africa, Journalism, World, Darfur, reporting, China, culture, challenges, nicholas D Kristof, foreign reporting, foreign coverage
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One of my reporter friends and I always joke about Nicholas Kristof. In a most admiring way, mind you, with the catch phrase being “WWNKD?” (what would Nicholas Kristof do?). Nothing say, like being in a war zone in south Sudan or Northern Uganda, for example, and coming across some extraodinary challenges and having that in your head. It’s like my nerdy sane link back to reality.
At any rate, smart guy, great writer and a wonderfully compassionate journalist. I really enjoyed reading the questions that NYTimes readers sent in over the past few days to have him answer on a wide variety of topics from unrest in China to Darfur to the future of foreign reporting.
Read it here.
What should China do about the Uighurs? July 10, 2009
Posted by katelewis in China.Tags: China, ethnic conflict, riots, uighur, urumqi, Xinjiang
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Interesting read from the NYTimes and (somewhat) different takes on the situation from four different academics.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/what-should-china-do-about-the-uighurs/
Cucumber chips, some green grape yogurt and a whole whack of MSG July 9, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Beijing, China, food.2 comments
One of my favorite things to do when living abroad, or traveling is go to the grocery store. I apparently can spend hours in the supermarket ogling the many strange wonders that I find.
Sometimes I try them, sometimes I know better.
One of the many wonders of the grocery store are the many strange kinds of potato chips that exist here. Shrimp! Curry! Pizza! And the other day I even saw Blueberry Chips. I actually don’t really like potato chips, but the other week when I saw these “green cucumber” chips I had to try them. According to the label they were “natural” and “cool.”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
I figured I would eat them, they would taste awful, I would call it a day and then I’d make fun of them on my blog. To my surprise, they were fabulous! Like, better than sour cream and onion fabulous. Really really really good.
The other new thing I tried was lychee and green grape yogurt. Sounds good doesn’t it? Hunks of fruit, including entire green grapes in yogurt. Alas, I was very disappointed. The fruit was great but the yogurt was sickly sweet and tasted like the inside of a tin can that was three days old.
Can’t win ‘em all, I suppose.
Last — and the one thing I haven’t bought yet but I spend at least three minutes staring at each time I’m in the grocery store is MSG. Yes, the dreaded MSG, which is sold like salt is at home. Bags of the stuff everywhere!
I want to do a taste test. Cook one meal without MSG and then cook the same meal with MSG. Compare. Record results. Become human guinea pig. Chinese people love MSG – it’s a flavour enhancer that according to my Chinese friends helps with all sorts of medical problems…
And while I may believe the so-called medical claims are dubious, I’m willing to give it a shot and see if I can redeem its tarnished name.
Getting the message out about the riots in Xinjiang July 9, 2009
Posted by katelewis in China, Xinjiang.Tags: China, ethnic conflict, han chinese, protest, riot, riots, troops, uighur, urumchi, urumqi, Xinjiang
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I have to say when I first heard the death toll of the riots in Urumqi, I was shocked to find the state media reporting the story with such gusto.
There had to be a reason, I thought to myself. If the entire country’s media can so easily be curtailed and left blank on days like every June 4 and last year’s Tibetan riots, there had to be a reason why everything was blaring this story.
Some are saying that China is approaching these things with a new PR approach with the idea being that it is better to get the government message out there than to stay silent.
But frankly, I’m not sure that’s the whole story.
True, it is advantageous for the Chinese to get their side of the story out, but that isn’t really the practice of the government here – it never has been and I’m not sure things have magically shifted over night.
Some argue that the recent moves come from the fact that the government here is trying to build sympathy for the Han Chinese in the area, giving themselves a wider leash to do what they wish. I’m wagering a guess that if it had been 156 Uighurs killed in the riots, as opposed to what was primarily Han Chinese (as reported but still unconfirmed) there wouldn’t be a huge amount of press access or information coming out.
The Chinese government thus far has accused the Uighurs of instigating violence, accused them of being terrorists and have made statements saying that Rebiyaa Kadeer, a Uighur businesswoman masterminded the entire plot from Washington, D.C. They’ve dispatched thousands of troops.
The majority of the Chinese people here I’ve talked to seem genuinely confused and angry at the Uighurs and their complaints. They feel the Uighurs have been given a free ride, while the Uighurs feel they have been oppressed and are unable to access any of China’s economic boom. Many Uighurs live in poverty as compared to their Han Chinese neighbours.
“Why can’t they just become Chinese?” asked my Chinese tutor the other day during a lesson. “They are violent. They should accept us.”
And therein lies the problem.
A fake block, a bike accident and one smushed iPod. July 7, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Beijing, China.Tags: Accident, Beijing, bike, biking, biking accident, blocking blog, censor, censors, censorship, censorship in china, China, cycling, iPod, sad, teenage boys, web crackdown
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Well, there was this entire post I could have posted up about an hour ago when I was extremely angry believing that the Chinese censors had managed to block my blog even MORE than they already have (all of China), but alas it was a server/(insert something smart sounding here) issue, that the technologically gifted, computer savvy Matt Roberts fixed (at six in the morning his time, I might add).
And hey, maybe I’m paranoid, but do you get followed to work every day?
Yeah. Enough said.
I was apparently concerned that my three readers in North America wouldn’t be able to access my blog but alas, we’re all good. Glad to see my three readers here. Hey! How are ya! Good to see you!
For everyone else in China, you’re still screwed.
Alas.
Back to the topic of my original post. Which was supposed to be about how teenage boys are the worst cyclists in the world, or at least in Beijing, in my opinion. One managed to slam into me at a stoplight today throwing my bike (and me) onto the road, my bag went flying even further and then my iPod went flying out of my bag, onto the road, where it was soon to be crushed by a bus.
And I know it could have been my brains being smushed by a bus, instead of an iPod, but I’m still rather sad about the whole thing. That hunk of metal was a piece of sanity that I carried from war zones to bustling cities over the past four years. It had a good life, but at the same time, I am SO sad to see it go. (Better than brains, I keep repeating to myself. Better than brains).
Better than brains. But oh… sigh.
Dogs in China want to eat me July 7, 2009
Posted by katelewis in Beijing, China.2 comments
Snap. Snap. Growl. Snap.
Unfortunately these are sounds I hear often in my life in Beijing. Why, you ask? Well, apparently every dog in my apartment complex has a desire to chow down on my pasty ankle.
That’s right. The dogs here hate my guts.
If you know me, you’ll know I am a dog person. A huge dog person. When I was a child I memorized almost every breed of dog that was registered at the time with the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club, ahem). I used to spot mutts and I would then try to pick out what breed mixes they could be, “Well it could be part Rottweiler, but it also could be part Doberman.” Etc. Etc.
Yeah. I see you making that face. Stop it.
So, when I moved into my apartment that came with a whole host of small, little dogs I was pretty happy. Big dogs are prohibited in Beijing, and I would say the largest dog that is allowed here would be about the size of a spaniel. Anything bigger and you’re asking for trouble.
Most of the dogs are Pekingese, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu and other wee little things. I’m more of a Beagle gal myself, but I was willing to overlook my personal feelings and accept and cherish the dogs here.
That is, until they started to attack me on a regular basis. I’ve been bit TWICE now (both by two different Pomeranian hellions) and I’ve been growled and snapped at, oh, about 12 times. I carry my bag around my ankles now whenever I walk past the snappy little things and often block them with my bike.
So the other day when I was in the elevator and an elderly woman and her, gasp, Pomeranian got in, I was nervous. I didn’t have my bike, I didn’t have my book bag. I was completely EXPOSED and ready to be chomped on. The dog snarled a bit, yapped a little and his owner laughed.
“It doesn’t like foreigners,” she said and laughed. I actually had to stop and ask her to repeat herself because I couldn’t believe what she said.
“It doesn’t like foreigners,” she said.
Well, at least I now know why all the dogs around here seem intent at ingesting bits of my ankle. Is it because of my pasty white skin and apparently terrifying foreign nature?
And we both laughed pretty hard about it on the elevator that day, but seriously, I live here. Am I going to have to run from the dogs in my apartment building every day for the next year?
Jesus H. Murphy Christ.
Riots in Xinjiang: 140 reported dead, over 800 injured July 7, 2009
Posted by katelewis in China, Travel.Tags: censors, censorship, challenges, China, crackdown, cultural awareness, different cultures, ethnic minority, ethnic violence, han chinese, riots, Travel, uighur, urumqi, Xinjiang
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A local Chinese television report on the riots
Terrible news reported out of Xinjiang that 140 people have been killed and another 800 injured in riots that apparently broke out yesterday afternoon in the city of Urumqi. Apparently protests had been going on but after several hours, police locked down the Uighur quarter of the city, according to witnesses, leading to riots.
The death toll right now is murky. Xinhua, the state news agency reported the number of dead at 140, while others had lower estimates. If the numbers are true, it is the worst outbreak of ethnic violence since the end of the Cultural Revolution.
Last summer I spent some time traveling around Xinjiang and in the city of Urumqi. What I found there with the Uighur population (the ethnic minority there) seemed to be a group of people who were extremely frustrated with Chinese rule and lived completely separate lives from their Han Chinese counterparts. They lived in the poorest areas and to me, it seemed that they lived on a different scale, a far poorer one, than the Chinese people in the area.
The Uighur population is the largest ethnic minority population in the region, however, not in Urumqi, where Han Chinese make up about 70 per cent of the population. It’s a very segregated city, with specific Uighur and Han Chinese areas – the two don’t seem to mix. It’s also an area that has been labelled a terrorist hot bed, by both China and the U.S.
I will say that travel through the area, as a blonde woman, was uncomfortable at times. However, I also met some very warm and kind individuals – it’s hard (and unfair) to make blanket statements about these places.
Soon after the riots began, the Internet and mobile phones were apparently shut down in the area. Across the country, Twitter was blocked. But as always, and in a fashion that I must say I find remarkable, news is still trickling out, despite government efforts to censor the news.
Xinjiang is an area and an issue that is frequently ignored, often in the shadow of the West’s preoccupation with Tibet, it seems. Needless to say, I imagine we will begin to hear more about it in the coming days.
