When I was living in China, I knew I had to wash and peel, cut, shave all removable skins from my fruits and vegetables due to the likelihood of pesticides and other carcinogens on them. Upon returning to the States, I foolishly thought I was free from the time-consuming burden of peeling apples, re-washing “pre-washed” spinach. That is, until I stumbled upon whatsonmyfood.org. The realization that it’s not necessarily greener on the other side is slowly setting in.
surprise!
[Unfinished] Personal Thoughts on the U.S. Economic Collapse
![[Unfinished] Personal Thoughts on the U.S. Economic Collapse](http://quelquefois.net/toujours/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/unemployment.gif)
It’s ironic that I started (and, obviously, never finished) writing this blog just a few days before I was offered a fellowship. Four days later, I was approached by another company for interviews. Things seem to be coming together now, and I’ve never been more grateful for the support I received from friends, colleagues, and mentors. Where I go from here is still a mystery, but I remain optimistic, and I think that is the hardest part. ***** I left a stable job (and ample opportunities) in Beijing, China to come back to the U.S. to segue into new experiences and bolster my credentials for a future career (whatever that may be). I am currently an intern at a think tank. While I have never enjoyed my research, workplace, and colleagues more, a modest stipend is hardly sustainable. The employment market for 18- to 24-year-olds is astonishingly poor, with the unemployment rate hovering around 20-24%, which is about twice as high as the national average (see The Economist graph below). In the past several months, I: applied to over twenty-four jobs; was interviewed multiple times; was a finalist for a position that was ultimately given to someone completely overqualified. It is
Chinese Lessons
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my time here, it’s to get everything down in writing. Whenever I retell the rather inane details of my day to a Chinese friend, followed with “So he promised he would…” The Chinese friend immediately fires back, “You got that down on paper, right?” Usually, I would respond with something about how I could trust the person, that their word is good enough, et cetera. And usually, it was true. However, this last event has changed the way I look at promises made by Chinese people forever. While searching for a new apartment, I stumbled upon a little 50sqm gem right between 东四十条 Dongsishitiao and 东直门 Dongzhimen. I asked the agent whether there was a couch and other furniture included, and he replied, “Yes, of course.” The next day I went in to sign the contract, and asked the landlady when she could move a couch in. She responded, aghast, “I never said there would be a couch!” “But the agent told me that you would provide one? Where am I going to sit?” The bickering continues for several minutes. To which the agent interjects and says, “I will buy you a couch, okay?”
Limits
Chinese people do not know any limits. This, of course, has both positive and negative connotations. One day in November, when only 2 elevators in my 40-storeyed apartment worked (which is often the case), I decided again that descending 11 flights of stairs is not a strain. However, when I reached the dark stairwell around floor 2, I almost stomped into a huge pile of shit. Seriously? You’re almost home. I understand the urgency associated with having to wait for the elevator, but–excuse my description–if it was still a recognizable mass, it really couldn’t have been that bad, could it? And let’s not mention the time in Harbin when I saw a grown woman crouching at a bus stop during rush hour doing you-know-what. Oops, I just did. Public urination and defecation should really be censured and discouraged. If not by the government, then at least by passersby who I am sure find it just as uncomfortable to watch as I do. This applies to other nasty habits that Chinese people exhibit, from public spitting to cutting in line to smoking inside the elevator. It’s not Western cultural imperialism, it’s basic respect for other people. Though on the positive side,
And Back Again
Ten days ago I was certain I was going home. I had mentally prepared myself, started allocating things (i.e., throw away versus keep versus donate), and listed things I needed to do before leaving Beijing (yes, going to the Forbidden City for the first time in my life is one of them). Two days ago I bought my one-way return flight back to China. In the past week or so, I got offered a job that promises professional development and is challenging. So I accepted. Looks like I’m in for another year.
The Great Firewall Blocks Flickr, Twitter, Among Other Sites
Let today be known as the day the Chinese government impaled the internet with its mighty spear of technology and added Flickr, Twitter, Hotmail, bing.com, live.com to its repertoire of blocked sites. Other sites blocked in China include: Blogspot, Tumblr, YouTube, WordPress, China Digital Times, and Huffington Post. 56minus1 speculates this may have to do with Ai Weiwei joining Twitter. Lostlaowai says it has to do with that special 20th anniversary on Thursday. Whatever the reason, this isn’t making my “I hate China” week any better. Edit: an exhaustive list of all the websites “down for maintenance” has been compiled. Check it out here.
Americans in Wuhan
My roommate and I arrive in Wuhan (Wuchang, specifically) and try to find a cheap place to stay that’s close to the train station (unfortunately we both ended up taking trains from the other train station on the other side of town, about a 40 minute drive away). We find this “hotel” (after seeing the bathrooms/showers at this place, though, I don’t know what to call it) that must not see many foreigners. Here is a conversation I had with employees at check-in: Hotel staff (Chinese): May I have your 身份证 (shen1fen4zheng4, identity card)? I hand over my passport. Hotel staff: What is this? Where is the number? Me: I don’t have a national identity card; that’s my passport. I’m an American citizen. Hotel staff (to a co-worker): What do we do? Where’s the number? Where’s her name? What should we put? Me: Can’t you just input my English name and passport number? Hotel staff: You’re sure you’re not Chinese? Do you have any other form of identification? What’s your Chinese name? I go on to show them my school ID from last semester, as well as my work ID, neither of which are acceptable. I have no idea what
TVCC Fire
My photographs of the aftermath of the TVCC fire in Beijing in February have gotten the attention of Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), and they’re going to feature some of my photographs on their slideshow about it soon. I will report back when it’s up. Unfortunately I’m not paid for it, but I’m happy for any publicity.
Thief
Two days ago, I went to the bathroom at a mall in Wangfujing. As I came out to wash my hands, an elderly woman was hunched over next to the toilet paper dispenser (some classier malls provide toilet paper for their bathrooms, though there is only one large dispenser before you enter the stalls). I continued to lather and rinse my hands and watched in the mirror as this woman continued to pull toilet paper out of the dispenser. Even after I finished washing my hands, she continued to pull on the seemingly endless roll. Finally, she had accumulated about 1000 feet and was satisfied, so she head into the stalls. Another woman was waiting to grab some toilet paper. She looked at me with astonishment and said, “What is she doing with all that toilet paper? Is she going to eat it?” Well, it was funny to me at the time…
Harbin’s “Fog”
On October 17, the “fog” was unusually heavy, and I couldn’t figure out why. All I knew was that I was glad to be leaving Harbin for 9 days. I should have taken a photo of what the sky looks like on a normal and polluted day. But I stumbled upon this air quality reading from the SEPA website: The red line is Harbin. For those of you who can’t read it, it says that Harbin’s AQI is: TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE. 2-7-3. Here are the Air Quality Index (AQI) ratings: 0-50 Good is usually green 51-100 Moderate is usually yellow 101-150 Unhealthy for sensitive groups is usually orange 151-200 Unhealthy is usually red 201-300 Very unhealthy is usually purple I think they chose the color purple because that’s what color you turn into after breathing dirty air for a long time. I still wonder what caused such heavy pollution in Harbin that day, though I would guess it could be the coal plants firing up to start government regulated heating.