China-induced Stress

Sorry I haven't written as of late, but Chinese has become so demanding! The grammar is getting more and more difficult, and I can't even remember all of the characters we've learned anymore, I mix them all up and create my own hybrids... not good on tests. Furthermore, I have a 3 major papers due, one of which is giving me much stress.
My research adviser has been putting a lot of pressure on us for these research papers and the trouble is I can only do so much research here because I CAN'T SPEAK CHINESE. He is being completely unfair in his demands because I have done all I can, read all I can in English. My go-to person, a researcher from Belgium, has been more than helpful, and she speaks Chinese fluently. She has done all the work, in terms of visiting the various superficial places in Beijing that really do little for the parents of autistic children. The people at these places are very unfriendly to foreigners, and of course they don't speak English. Truth be told, they don't do anything real to help the situation, unlike Xingxingyu, which I have visited several times and I know a great deal about. Nothing is ever good enough though, I guess. I am sorry to whine, but it's so frustrating - I've worked so hard and yet I find myself stuck because of the ever-present language barrier. This only compounds my frustration with the Chinese language.

In other news related to my stress. I am worried about money as of late. I have spent so much here on medical expenses because I seem to be a magnet for various China-induced infections and illnesses. Secondly, last weekend some lady took my MP3 player out of my backpack while I was walking. In China it's typical to have many people walking closely to you because it's so crowded, especially on a nice Friday night, so I thought nothing of the lady who was walking very closely behind me. However, later I discovered my backpack open, and my player gone. Now, I must confess I NEED my MP3 player to maintain sanity these days. So I had to buy a new one, because I knew that I could not afford to buy a new one once I return to America. Everyone around me seems to be so cruel these days and I like to block it out with my music. The people I always ended up surrounded by are the ones I would most like to escape from. I don't care if certain people here don't like me - it's mutual, and to be honest, the kinds of people that don't like me are the kind that I don't really want liking me here. Many of my classmates are very privileged and arrogant, selfish and uncaring. I cannot relate to these people who have never suffered, never wanted, never gone without. They judge me because I am different. They make fun of me because I don't party, I am a bleeding-heart for children, and I am a champion for autism. HA HA, that's SO FUNNY, right? They think I'm weird because all of my close friends here are Chinese and I prefer to hang out with them. (Isn't that the point of the study abroad experience??) I am very opinionated, yes, and I know that sometimes I can't keep it to myself, but I only have such strong convictions because of how much I care about people and justice. I don't care if some people here don't like me, but I won't shut up and I won't stop caring about my brother and autism. NEVER. I am passionate about my research and I am a very hard worker. My mother raised me to be independent and passionate and hard-working, and I guess we're a dying breed. Nobody knows what I have been through to get to this point in my life, and NOBODY can make me feel bad about what I have accomplished. They are here because mommy and daddy are paying for college and for their extravagant lifestyles here, but I am here because I had a dream - to go to college, and I worked my butt off to get here. I have full tuition and I earned a Gilman to study abroad. No mean comments and gossip from people completely ignorant of my struggle and my perseverance can take this away from me. I am here because I DID IT. Nobody else. I study autism so fervently because somebody needs to pay attention. My brother answered every question I could ever ask about life, and now I'm trying to get some answers for him... if that's silly then I am guilty as charged. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
I am very stressed and I want to come home now. I miss the people who really care about me and understand who I am and why I do what I do. To all of you, thank you for your love and support and faith in me. I will not let my cruel classmates deter me from my dreams. Lord knows I've encountered worse in my life...

Oh China

My friend Lauren has suggested I tell you about some peculiar differences we've encountered here in Beijing. I mean going out to eat or to the store, primarily. For example, when you dine in many restaurants here in Beijing, on the table there are plates, chopsticks, bowls, and spoons all in plastic wrap, presumably for your use. I usually don't even need these items, but I have learned that you might as well use them because you will be charged for them regardless. Not charged to buy them, but merely to USE them. I have never encountered such a funny concept until China: you are charged for the utensils and dishes that you use with your meal. Also, you are lucky if there are napkins on the table, let alone anywhere in sight in the restaurant. Being in China you quickly learn to always carry an ample supply of tissue purse packs and wet wipes - and trust me, you need them here. Also, there is never salt and pepper, etc. on the tables, but always always always a small canister that contains toothpicks for your use. The seats often have a fabric-plastic cover that is removed once you sit down. Your coat is then placed on the back of the seat, and the cover is replaced OVER your coat. It's kind of funny when someone takes your coat for you and does this. However, I have heard that this is simply a consideration so that your coat does not get any food on it. Still, it's a funny thing to happen to you for the first time.

On to store-shopping. First of all, if you go to a store like a supermarket here, the prices are fixed. I know that's normal in the US, but in China more often than not, price is negotiable. However, at the supermarket, there are departments, as in the US, but for some items you have to purchase said item from its department. If you don't know this and you take the item to the main check-0ut, the cashier looks at you like you are dumb and puts the item aside - you can forget about buying it now. So word to the wise, if you ever go into a Chinese store like this, purchase your office supplies, cosmetics, produce, and electronics all in their prospective departments. Or there are stores like Ito Yokado, a huge department store where there are cashiers on every floor. I had to buy a curling iron here, and so I went and picked one out. The guy gave me a price tag and I then had to go pay for the item at the cashier stand and return with proof of payment. He then gave me my merchandise. It's kind of funny/tedious, but oh well.

Then there are markets. Markets are not for the kind and considerate and reserved person. Here you have to be pushy and say "NO" when all the various merchants yell at you and grab you and try to get you to purchase their goods. Bargaining is tricky with these merchants too, they will try everything to make you feel guilty, but we all know what price we should be paying for these items long before we hear the inflated price given by the merchant. Sometimes bargaining can get ugly or downright hostile, but in the end, stick to your price and walk away if they don't give in. Once you show them that you are walking away, many of them will give in. But you can only use the "walk away" technique on weekdays when the markets are much less crowded and therefore, the merchants are more desperate to make sales. If you can be 'mean' and persistent, you can walk away with some nice stuff for a fraction of the American cost.

in light of recent events...another comparison, if you will

Ok I don't know how P.C. it is for me to talk about this right now, but the death of Charlton Heston has got me thinking about the difference between America and China in terms of guns. I have talked to just about everybody here that I can about US politics, and guns always come up in the conversation. Chinese people don't have guns. Ever. A policeman has to be on special assignment, such as a drug-bust, and he must account for every bullet. Guns are respected here as the serious and dangerous weapons that they are. I know China also has a violent past, but let me put it this way: Chinese people don't live with the fear that everyday activities, such going to a college class or going shopping at the mall, may put them in the line of fire of a crazed person with a gun. It just doesn't happen here. China's not perfect, but I confess I feel a lot safer here because NOBODY has a gun. Sure people here die just as much as people die in the US, but not from the same violent crimes as in the US. In China I think you're more likely to die from 1. the crazy traffic, 2. the pollution, 3. lack of health care. Of course, the same threats face Americans as well, but the gun factor just isn't here at all. I don't care what anybody says - guns kill people. People with guns kill people. And people with guns kill people easily. The students at Virginia Tech, Columbine, Northern Illinois, and countless other schools, as well as the Christmas shoppers in Nebraska never thought that by going to school or to the mall they would be risking or even losing their lives. It's a sad world when even Sears isn't safe anymore...

Happy Valley and Temple of Heaven

So this weekend was busy for me. The weather here has become downright lovely, and I feel the constant need to be outdoors. Friday was a holiday here in China - Qing Ming Festival. Qing Ming Festival is a festival for people to sweep their ancestors’ graves; it strikes me as being kind of similar to our Memorial Day, where many Americans go to the cemetery to decorate the grave sites of loved ones. Anyways, me and a Chinese friend headed to Happy Valley, and new amusement park in Beijing. This place blew me away. It's set up into various 'sections' that are all themed after ancient cities. There is Atlantis, Shangri-la, the Aegean Harbor, the Lost Mayan City, etc, and the scenery is incredible. It looked like how I envision DisneyWorld, only better for me because I like ancient stuff. The rides were cutting edge too, and I got to go on this one ride that was unlike anything I have ever heard of before. It was both frightening and exhilirating. However, because I went on a Friday and it was a holiday, the place was very busy. I want to go again on a less-busy day.
On Sunday I went with some TBC classmates to see the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan). This was the place where the Emperor would pray to the gods and make sacrifices to the gods as well. I will put pictures in Photobucket, but Google it and you will instantly recognize this building. It's VERY famous. I am still eagerly awaiting our TBC weekend trips to the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and of course, the Great Wall. Now that the weather is nice, I am always out and about, seeing Beijing. I still need to visit the Olympic Stadium and the Zoo, for sure... any other suggestions?
I will keep you updated on my adventures. Zai jian.

World Autism Day

So last Wednesday was the first ever World Autism Day and I attended a large meeting on campus here at UIBE. The meeting was in Chinese, so I couldn't follow that part, but I did get to see some familiar faces - Ms. Tian Huiping and Cindy, my China autism expert. As you know by now, Tian Huiping is the leading lady behind Xingxingyu (Stars and Rain) and it was great to see her again - she's one of those people you just have to admire. Anyways, she and Xingxingyu were featured on CNN on World Autism Day, along with the great people from Heartspring that I had the chance to meet in March. Watch the CNN video here:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/03/30/vause.china.autism.school.cnn

At the meeting they also showed the documentary film "Children of the Stars," which is about Xingxingyu and autism in China, so here's the site for the film:
http://www.childrenofthestars-film.org/

Fortunately I have my own copy of this wonderful film. I am telling you, you just HAVE to see this movie.

KTV

If you hang out with Chinese college students enough, you will sooner or later be invited to partake in the universal favorite activity: KTV. KTV is a general term that is applied to all facilities that offer karaoke. And it's not just the awful and embarassing karaoke that we know in the states, that only occurs in specific bars and only by the completely intoxicated. Here, everybody likes to sing, regardless of their level of talent. Karaoke here has gotten high-tech. You and a group of friends get a special private room that is equipped with a huge TV and a computer for song selection. There are two microphones and a large wrap-around couch so that everybody can cram into the room. Now the fun begins. You pick your songs, and yes they have English songs (too many, in fact), and then you basically pass around the microphones so your friends can sing the songs they've picked. For us Americans who still have qualms about karaoke, you can sing with the artist if you prefer. The point of this note is to emphasize just how much Chinese young people LOVE karaoke. I guess it could be a lot worse, like the ways kids in the US find to amuse themselves on the weekends.

Sichuan trip!

Last week I spent the week in Sichuan province with my classmates. Sichuan is right above Yunnan, where I visited on my last journey. Sichuan is known in China and throughout the world for several things, including pandas, food, and beautiful women. We flew to Chengdu, the capital city, but we couldn’t stay there because there were many Tibetans rioting in the streets in response to the recent violence and unrest over in Lhasa. Apparently Chengdu, along with Sichuan province, has a considerable Tibetan population. Obviously, our program directors didn’t want us getting involved in that messy situation, so much to my dismay, we only saw Chengdu as we were leaving it. Our first stop that afternoon was Qingcheng Mountain, a famous and important Daoist mountain in China. We took a cable-car up and down the mountain and visited the village located on the rear side of the mountain. Then we had the chance to sample Sichuan’s most famous food: Hot Pot. Hot Pot requires a special table with a large circular basin in the middle that acts as a stove. A large pot of oil and spices is placed in this basin and the burner is lit. The liquid starts to bubble and then you add various foods, like meat and vegetable, to the bubbling liquid and wait for these foods to cook. It doesn’t take long for the food to cook, and you simply use a spoon or your chopsticks to fish around in the pot for a piece of food. Hot pot is hot in terms of temperature, to be sure, but it is probably called ‘hot pot’ because it is SO SPICY. Sichuan allegedly has the “hottest hot pot” in China, so naturally, after one bite, my entire mouth was searing. Hot pot is not for the weak-stomached.

Day two of my adventures was great because it featured China’s most famous residents, the Giant Pandas. We visited a world-famous panda research and breeding center outside of Chengdu, and we had the opportunity to take pictures with pandas, which was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Pandas are funny creatures because all they do is sit around and eat bamboo, or sleep. They are so big that they have to be constantly eating to stay alive because the bamboo is digested slowly and its nutrients are hard to extract. In any case, I have learned that pandas are very serious when it comes to eating. One panda tried to take another panda’s bamboo and a panda-fight ensued. During the photo session with the panda, one of my classmates tried to take some bamboo from the panda – a bad idea considering that the panda had a piece of bamboo in each paw so that it could eat contentedly and would not attack us.

During my travels I also saw a dinosaur museum, an archaeology museum, and the Dazu grottoes, which are rock carvings made directly into the stone cliffs. Our group also travelled to Leshan to see the world’s largest Buddha statue. Finally, we arrived in Chongqing, a city so big that it became a municipality about ten years ago. China has a couple of large municipalities like this, including Beijing, which don’t belong to any province, but are independent like Washington D.C. Chongqing is interesting, in my opinion, because two major rivers converge here: the Yangzi and the Jialing. This reminded me so much of Pittsburgh. However, I will say that I would not recommend that foreign women venture out into Chongqing alone. I am used to getting attention because I am a foreigner here, but I encountered some people in Chongqing that went beyond fascination and crossed-over into downright creepy and inappropriate – a man on a motorcycle followed me all the way down the street, yelling in Chinese and gesturing for me to come with him. Obviously I escaped from that situation as quickly as possible, but I figure that’s China. Every day is an adventure here and you never know what to expect. All that I know is that I love China and I am sad now when faced with the prospect of leaving.