Yesterday a friend and I went over to Culture Street and Chinocky area in Wuhan to see what things were about.  I am never making the mistake of going out on a Saturday, during a sale period, and getting on public transportation – especially the bus.

People never wait in line for the bus at Guang Gu during rush hour but I did not know that because the students who go with me usually take me on a weekday or on an off peak period.  When I go with the other professors we usually drive or hop in a cab.  However, last night was not a good time to hop in a cab because of the shopping crowds and rain.

So we walked and waited in the rain for a hour to try to catch a cab.  Finally we go on the metro which was crowded but fine.  It was like the typical NYC subway at pre-rush hour.  My friend kept telling me this was going to be really bad but I did not believe her because all day her version of really bad was perfectly acceptable to me as I am use to the city and crowds.

We finally got into a cab in Guang Gu and it turns out  it was a “black cab” or a fake cab.  The guy had all the markings of a real taxi including the meter but he did not have the bar on the top which states whether or not the cab was empty.  In the dark, I thought that the light was just broken because it was dark and raining.

Once we got into the cab, the guy asked if we were both together and when I said yes, he wanted to charge us 50 yuan for the ride back to school.  It usually is 25-31 yuan so I told him I would give him 35 yuan and he told us to get out.  When I made a fuss, he admitted that he was not a real cab and it turned out to be true because while he had the taxi meter, he did not have the machine that connects to the meter which calculates miles and fees.

We got out of the texi and then saw the bus we needed.  I have never been scared to get on public transportation before but this time, I was not happy.  I hate crowds to start with but they are tolerable as long as I do not feel like I am going to get trampled in a stampede.  On the Wuhan bus at Guang Gu, I felt like I was going to get trampled in the crowd.  The crowd kept surging and I could not move so finally I grabbed the door of the bus and pulled myself on. The girl behind me kept screaming that they were crushing her.  The girls in front of me were trying to help another friend whose strap popped off her book bag.

In the commotion, I lost my friend who was definitely more skilled than I in navigating the mob.  They had a guy directing traffic and a cop trying to get rid of the fake taxi drivers and illegal buses but nobody to direct the mass of people.  What they need to do since people cannot seem to get on a line at the bus stop  is to install the metal fences that force people to get into lines – these exist at the airports and buses for people to wait for taxis.  Otherwise, they need to bring back the police officers with the batons and beat people into line when they cut like they did during the Olympics and the World Expo.  If you visit Beijing and Shanghai, everyone knows to get in a nice line if they need to wait.

I cannot decide if yesterday’s shopping experience was just a bad day or if it was because I was with my friend.  She was saying that sometimes she was just tired because of the way people treat her.  Sometimes they are ultra nice like when the guy tried to help her buy a metro token yesterday and sometimes, they just ignore her and she can’t even buy a bag of rice.

Usually I can at least shop.  They might want to rip me off when I don’t bargain with them but they will at least try to sell me something.  Yesterday was weird because the guy who I bought honey from was at first okay and then something strange happened so I did not get a nice discount like we had negotiated.  So now I need to ship my honey from the U.S. to China.

To make sure that I am actually getting the quality I want and to be happy with the prices, I am going to buy and ship things to my friends back home and have them ship it to me.  Even if this is more expensive than just buying things in China, I would rather spend the money and pay the taxes from home because I know that I am getting what I ordered and I know that the prices are fair.  Sad for most of the shop keepers here because I am a habitual shopper and once I find a place I like, I usually go back and buy from the same people.  Not only do I buy from the same people but I recommend and bring friends.  In China, I have maybe gotten customer service and goods here from a handful of stores which warrant that kind of loyalty.

Current Mood: Happy and Contemplative

I appreciate the adorable rabbit image a friend sent me and the beautiful transportation card issued by the city of Wuhan.  Here is hoping to the transportation system getting better.

So waking up in China has a new meaning – we have the roosters crowing and the garbage trucks going at 6AM.  In China, I have neighbors that start “talking to each other in the morning” which is more akin to screaming at each other from the first floor building across the street from my building.  What is most interesting is that the person is in their apartment space on this balcony like area and the friend is outside on the street.  I need to go and measure the distance but it is quite far. which is why they are screaming at each other.  However, this starts around 630AM and goes until about 830AM.  I finally decided it was enough yesterday morning and went to film this ridiculous event.  Seriously, you are screaming at each other from the house to the street which is really retarded because you all have cell phones in China and your friend already walked to your house so just invite them in.

Prior to the filming, I had asked them nicely to stop but they pretended I was not there so I filmed them and then walked down the four flights of stairs to have a chat with them.  I live in the teaching residences for Christ -sake and I do expect better from university professors.  I asked them if they could go inside to continue their conversation because I had just went to bed.  The concept of an all-nighter is a little foreign because culturally they take an afternoon nap from 12-2PM.  I had pulled three relatively long days and slept from 530-630AM through 830AM depending on when my neighbors decided to wake me up.

The other issue I think is odd is that the Chinese culture prides itself on harmony but how do you have harmony when you pretend that nobody is talking to you if there is a problem and you do not follow your own rules?  I believe in being respectful of other people’s in culture because it is not mine BUT when you do not follow your own rules then what am I suppose to do?

We have curfew in the teaching residence so from Midnight through 8AM there is notsuppose to be screaming and horn honking.  I started filming and taking pictures because none of you back home would ever believe me if I told you someone was screaming from inside their house to have a conversation with their friend on the street.

On that note about neighbors, I caught a neighbor from across the street looking into my apartment and staring when I had my African American friend over.  Granted she is the only African American on campus but still, you would have a huge problem with someone staring at you so why are you doing it to someone else?  Is the staring rude – yes but I find it funny that the other Americans have an issue with staring because I would just walk up to people and ask them what was wrong with them but maybe that is just straight up New York.  I am not sure that staring is such an issue in my neck of the woods or we just don’t care.

I also have to start taking pictures of the amount of garbage and waste our school generates.  There seems to be a relatively efficient system for it and the system is pretty cool – this project is inspired by another professor’s research project.

Current Mood – Miss you all.

My friend and I joke that we are the diversity hires on campus which in the U.S. it would be totally true but not in China.  She is African American so she would count as a diversity hire anywhere.  In the U.S. I would be a diversity hire but in China with everyone else sharing a Chinese face, I do not feel that I count as a diversity hire.

While she and I agree that there is quite a lot of complaining within the expat community in  China, sometimes I am more understanding.  There are things in the workplace that happen here that would never happen in the U.S. because it would lead to a lawsuit.

Allegedly, in one of the departments on campus, there is a professor who has decided that foreign language class is the chance for the professor to gossip with the students about the other foreign teachers.  I think that it is appalling that the professor’s lesson plan every week consists of a discussion of a different foreign teacher – by the way there are only 8 on campus so that means there are two lectures about each foreign teacher and the semester is over.

Now I and the other foreign professor who told me about this found the situation hysterical because we cannot understand how this helps the students, as I am sure that the discussions need to be held in Chinese for maximum understanding.  We also thought it was hysterical that this other professor still has a job because obviously, they are not even competent enough to put together a lesson plan.

So on the one hand while I understand that some of the foreigners complain about life in China, I also understand why.  Seriously, how professional is it to hold a foreign language class in Chinese and to have the content of the class be about the other foreign professors on campus.  If you live in a glass house, don’t throw stones.

At least these other foreign professors have a sense of humor about it – sometimes they answer questions about themselves incorrectly just to see what the rumor mill brings them.  I think that this is an interesting approach and maybe I should do that as well because there is already enough misinformation about us on campus that why not at least be entertained by the petty, incompetent people?

Current Mood: Feeling Content and cheeky.  Poop to the petty people out there 😀

It is interesting what the Chinese deem as important in China.  There are certain cultural, behavioral, and procedural things which I think I am more uniquely qualified to understand in China because my friends and family have explained the situations to me.  While I do not always agree with the policies, I do find the ideas logical.  Some of the policies on the other hand seem to come out of left field and I just do not understand them no matter what.

China: Nanjing Announces Fines for Dirty Vehicles – http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-34974387

Notice how the fines for the vehicles are all based on outward appearances.  The highest fine is actually for dents and other significant body damage to the vehicles.  The lowest fine is based on dirt.  This policy makes sense to me because of the cultural aspect – mianzi and also because of the monetary standpoint – tax revenue.

Chinese Student Jailed for 10 Years for Selling Birds – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-34997922

The Chinese government is very protective of certain critters more than others.  I am pretty sure if it were panda versus a person, the Chinese government would protect the panda first because it is a national icon that generates a revenue stream as well.  After all, the pandas are loaned to foreign countries and their zoos as diplomatic chess pieces.  So this is no surprise that the Chinese government would protect an endangered hawk and throw a student in jail for selling the babies over the internet.

While it is a shame that the student got 10 years in jail for selling the hawks, he did do something illegal.  While the punishment does not meet the crime because you can murder and rape someone and spend less time in jail, this is what the government decided to focus on.  For those of you stateside who are outraged, please remember that Roy Vick the football player, got more jail time for his dog fighting ring than people who have raped and murdered others in the U.S.

I also find it interesting that once this headline started trending fast on weibo, the article is now unable to load on my Chinese computer.

Bank of China Faces Huge Fines – http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34981059

In China, if you cannot afford the real thing, buy a fake.  The fake name brand business here is booming and quite acceptable.  There are even different categories of fakes all over, for all price points.

In the U.S. brand names and their companies have rights such as intellectual property.  If you start stealing other people’s ideas and their designs, you have a lawsuit.  Well the name brands in the U.S. have successfully defended their commercial rights and the courts have finally decided to enforce this monetarily so the Bank of China has to pay up if it loses its injunction case.

Notice how the Chinese government is arguing privacy.  I find that hysterical as there is no privacy in China.  After all, the locals keep an eye on and constantly gossip about the foreigners no matter the campus, work place, or ethnicity.  Took a small poll of the Americans researching and/or at different universities in China. Now my sample group is small as of yet but still statistically valid as there were 16 people asked.  I do plan to ask everyone I meet so it is ongoing.

Current Mood: The winds are a changing…

So I am extremely excited about finally being able to travel again whether on my own, with friends, and/or colleagues.  It has been many years since I have traveled anywhere.  Cambodia was the first time in 6 years where I felt healthy and happy enough to travel.  Saw some wonderful locations, took some amazing photos, and met some great people  – see previous posts.

Now I am happy to be going to Laos which is suppose to be one of the best countries in the world to travel to because there is lots to see and do in this land-locked country.  I cannot wait to see the beautiful buddhas, see the night markets, and wander through the peaceful areas.  Have not figured out housing yet or my exact itinerary but I am hoping that the experience in Cambodia translates to my experience in Laos 🙂

I managed to book a roundtrip flight from China to Laos for $480 USD – even cheaper than the Chinese discount websites 🙂  Flying in and out of Wuhan is ultra expensive.  While we might be a train hub in China, we do not have flight services direct to South East Asia like Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Hong Kong does 🙁

There is a Lao Consulate in Kunming China and direct bus service from the Chinese city through Luang Prabang the tourist city of Laos.  Also, for the Americans there is a visa on arrival program which also includes the Chinese.  Our visas are $50 USD and the Chinese visas are only $20 USD so our Chinese friends can go with us 🙂  Sometimes we run into issues because the visas are harder to come by for Chinese citizens.

Blessed to be an American if nothing else than for the travel visas.

Current Mood: Excited to travel to Laos and to experience the peace other friends have found there before.

I am a proud, meat-loving, American…

From science classes and studies, I realize that it costs more time, energy, and resources to grow those cows, lambs, goats, aquaculture seafood, rabbits, pigs, ducks, and geese for my satisfaction but for goodness sake, God(s) made those creatures so tasty that I would rather reduce my carbon footprint any other way than by eating less meat.  (I have reduced my carbon footprint immensely since arriving in China as I walk everywhere and no longer have a car).

So on that note, for Thanksgiving, I had the most wonderful turkey, bacon, cheese, tomato, pineapple, and mushroom pizza from a local campus pizza parlor.

Can eating less meat help reduce climate change? – http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34899066

As for the North Koreans, I am pretty sure they are also as proud of their food heritage as my Korean friends have always had pretty heated discussions on who has the best kimchi – especially in Korea Town in Beijing.  What I did not know is that the South Korean Kimchi had already received the UNESCO status.  Who knew that the South Korean version of a thanksgiving tradition to serve food to the homeless was to make kimchi for the homeless?

North Korean kimchi put forward for Unesco award – http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34907609

Mood Currently: Food, food, and more food.  Starving and no 24 hour food place here. Really want a Japanese Tuna Rice Ball like the one from the Wuhan University Cultural Fair.  Those Japanese girls were the nicest and they made awesome rice balls…

Most people who know me realize that I cannot stand the liars, fakes, lazy, narrow-minded, discriminatory, ill-mannered, and/or corrupt.  So I was tickled when the BBC reported the following headline, “Tanzania civil servants locked up for lateness”and thought, this is something that China can totally learn from their African counterparts.

Many of my coworkers, colleagues, and/or random people on lines at government offices have complained at the lack of efficiency in government offices in China.  Between the red tape, forms, lack of regard for others, lack of work ethic, and/or lack of ability to properly get in line, getting things done in government offices in China is a nightmare.  What I do not understand is how Chinese Consulates in the U.S. are so efficient yet Chinese governmental offices for foreigners in China are so dysfunctional…

Notice in the article how the new Anti-Corruption President of Tanzania, John, Magufuli on his first day in office told his fellow civil servants to show up on time.  He then arrested all the employees who were late for the meeting without any viable explanations – approximately 20 according to the article, and then miraculously, the next day, all of the meeting members showed up 2 hours early.

Tanzania civil servants locked up for lateness – http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34931964

Maybe if President Xi adopted these kinds of policies for his anti-corruption campaigns, the Chinese Government would be super efficient and overtake the U.S. in terms of productivity overnight.  As it is, from my unofficial polls of Americans in China, many of us cannot figure out why it takes us so long to try to get anything done.

The exception seems to be my school at the university who can pull conferences together overnight if necessary.  This however seems rare.  I am testing the waters with the International Student Cultural Scavenger Hunt – so far seems awesome, my department was approved funding, the proposal is all done along with the costs, and the foreign affairs office seems on board, and some of the awesome students at Wuhan University have agreed to come over and be clue givers for the event 😀  Have some more logistics to figure out while walking along campus but other than that seems good to go.  Wish me luck.

Mood: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss 😛

So I woke up this morning finally in the Christmas spirit even though I am coughing up and blowing out these wonderfully green and brown colored balls of muscus. I go off and then wander to the computer and find a great deal on shoes only to find that someone in NYC has a copy of my credit card and has been trying to buy things at Macy’s Tech Department in Elmhurst NYC, pay for parking on the street through the NYC muni-meter, went to Black and White in Long Island to purchase clothes. Meanwhile, these purchases were not made while I was actually in the country so that is good news for me. Only one of the purchases could have been remotely me but I shop in very specific locations, even if it is my favorite brand because I want customer service.

So Christmas shopping and cashing in on the deals this year so far sucks.

By the way, Skype in China is atrocious. For the life of me, I cannot keep anyone on the line because the internet keeps cutting out.

I am wondering if the pretender is back. Last time around this Chinese woman pretended to be me and took out a bank loan, opened a cell phone, and stole my credit cards to buy lots of things and then disappeared. Managed to find transactions for her in CA and TX but then she disappeared around the time they arrested those 54 Chinese people in NJ for credit card fraud and identity theft. I would put the link for the news story here but I have no access to the NYTimies so you need to look it up yourselves.

Current mood – Finding zen. You win some and you lose some. At least the credit card fraud system was good at Chase and they declined the charges before I even found out. Sometimes, bigger is better 🙂 So to all of you shopping away watch out. It turns out that they could copy your credit card without the original.  I  have had the original with me in China the whole time.

While I am disappointed in the lack of urgency regarding climate change policies leading up to COP21 in Paris, the reaction is understandable as most people believe that climate change and energy efficiency  policies are economically costly.  Although people believe quite a bit of hair-brained ideas and such from the disinformation superhighway, the climate change myths are probably the most prolific.

Now several countries which are not going to be following the climate naysayers are Qatar, Nepal, and several small island nations which are sinking into the ocean.  A country does not all of a sudden get an entire year’s worth of rain in several hours unless there is a climate issue afoot.  A country does not have to worry about their glacier melts and new large lake formations causing a massive mudslide and wiping out a large portion of their population so soon after devastating earthquakes if there is no climate change.

So despite all the pomp and circumstance related to the President Obama and President Xi signing of the Bilateral Climate Change Agreement, this COP21 may be just as disappointing as COP20 Copenhagan…

Qatar orders inquiry after rain exposes construction flaws – http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34931199

Lakes expanding ‘dangerously’ in Everest glacier – http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34928569

COP21: Public support for tough climate deal ‘declines’ – http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34900474

These are some of my favorite photos from Cambodia.  Angor Wat and the surrounding temples.  Also some of the nice landscapes from the floating village.  No stealing my photos 😀  If you want the full size ones let me know.  But see why I loved the place?  Also, I was there during a drought, so even though it was the rainy season, I have awesome photos.