5-12 Candle Light

Students gather in the center of the school in memory of the victims.

On May 12th we met on campus for a candle-lit vigil in honor of those who lost friends, relatives, and homes in the Sichuan earthquake.  While the ceremony was almost entirely in Chinese, it felt good to take part.  The night started off with a few songs, a few speeches, and a video of a group of UIC students who went to help shortly after the earthquake.  They then showed a video of Children who were happily going to school in a large trailer provided by the Chinese government (illustrating the resiliency of the region), sang a few more songs followed by a few speeches by students who are from the Sichuan province.  A woman, who I was told wasn't from Sichuan (nor was the dance) danced on stage for two songs and then a large group of students came to the stage and passed around a microphone as they sang a song (which eventually included nearly everyone as they held tea candles and reflected on the event.  

We concluded the night by signing a giant poster and heading home.  I know that the event and seeing the support of so many students was especially touching for those from the Sichuan region.  My friend Teddy - who I stayed with in Sichuan and took me to the earthquake area - had the opportunity to say a few words.

Teddy speaking to his classmates.

The song we all sang midway through the ceremony.

If you are reading this please take a moment to pause and reflect on the impact of the earthquake which killed more than 70,000 people who were in schools, factories, and hospitals...

People lost their family members.  Their friends.  Their homes.  Their ways of life.  

The Mysterious Island

---Rides!---
Me and some TESL friends (workmates) went out to Mystery Island and had at an actual Chinese Theme park! There's a theme park nearby the campus where we teach... Pearl Land... but it's small and doesn't look very exciting. This one, had tons of rides and all sorts of things you might want to find in a theme park.

Me, Dave (great boss), Ryan (great friend)(respectfully)

This is the group we ran around the park with.

At one point the machines were inspected (good enough for me).

This one wasn't fun.

This one looked lame.

---FREE DINNER?!?---
After we ran around Mystery Island all day we headed back to the coast of Zhuhai where an Italian Restaurant, Peccati di Gola, which was celebrating it's 1 year anniversary (which meant free food). Trust me when I say this is the best western restaurant in Zhuhai. We ate our hearts out and enjoyed the fresh air!

Nancy, a UIC student who visited Gustavus last summer!

Alex was a daredevil when it came to rides...but he had a tendency to keep his eyes shut.

Great food!

Shopping, Cooking, and ***Recipes***

---Odds and Ends from Friday---
After a few months in this bustling town, one might think that exploring would lose its excitement, or time might be filling up with too much hard work. -- But this is not the case, we always find time to...

...find find crazy looking bugs and run to find a camera.

...hang out in front of crowded Chinese supermarkets

...take pictures of piles of shrimp,

surprised sales-women and their piles of starfish,

and even surprised sales-women and their piles of chicken feet.

These ducks don't need much space.

---Cooking---
Wow! We took these ingredients:

Chopped them up and stir fried them:



And made a few delicious dishes. I will post the recipe below when I have time... I might try it again sometime soon and upload a picture of the end result. It's supposed to be a set of family secrets... so I am ever so thankful Mimiko shared these recipes with me. = )

----Recipe - Chinese Eggplant-----

1 Long Chinese eggplant
2 decks of cards worth of thin sliced meat (not much fat) - pork or beef.
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Ginger
Oil & Soy Sauce
*optional Soy Bean Paste (I am told it brings out different flavor)

Half the eggplant and slice up the eggplant into fatty chunks (about a half inch thick). Throw some oil in the Wok and fry up the eggplant. Eggplant sucks up the oil and can end up tasting like cigarette butts soaked in oil, but the secret is to smash the oil out of each slice with a spatula as it's frying. Give it a few minutes and then throw them into a dish to relax for a minute.

Back in the wok, throw on some more oil, toss in the garlic and throw in the meat. Once the meat is cooked -- toss back in the eggplant, ginger, and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce (as well as the soy bean paste). Bang, you gotta dish.

***General Notes on Cooking***
The Ginger and Garlic amounts are estimated an can change up based on your taste. I have read a Chinese cookbook over here and both Ginger and Garlic are the backbone of most Chinese Dishes. They are extremely good for you and have a bunch of properties which are beneficial to ones health. (I bet this is a no duh moment for a lot of you, but I found it interesting.)

Using soybean paste and soy sauce made things a little too salty for me... Because I have the paste, I think I will tone down the soy sauce next time.

----Fried Eggs & Tomatoes----
I will add this later, I am going to run and then swim for a bit

Summer and Weekend Plans

I have recently heard news from the West...my brothers might be coming out to visit me. This will mean I will have to extend my VISA and hang about a bit until they get here. I am very excited to see them and have the opportunity to travel around with them.

Tomorrow I will be going to a Chinese BBQ and afterward learning to cook Chinese food from a friend in my kitchen, I'll write down the recipes. This weekend I will be going to Maccau to get some books and explore the area a bit more.

A Sheep in Wolves Clothing

"Fake it until you make it"

The secret to becoming a hero, if you're a coward, is to fake it.  If you never fake an attribute you don't have... you'll never get it.  This goes for belief, hope, and at sometimes love.  

There was a great blogger once, who said that the hardest leap is from zero to one, and one to zero.  In other words it is hard to try something new, and it is  hard to give up something you do as a habit.  We know this is somewhat relative, as it's not nearly as hard for most of us to try a new type of ice cream or dog food to feed our pooch... but when it comes to things like sky diving, matters get a little more intense.  This includes things like becoming a vegetarian -- caring about things you once didn't care about, or making a silent care manifest itself in your actions.  You become a hypocrite, if only for awhile...

What I am curious about is doing things your 'heart isn't into it', but doing them  for other reasons, personally perceived more important reasons.  Accepting a job at a Starbucks even though you oppose the cooperation because you desperately need the money - eating meat even though you detest the process which places it on your plate because you are visiting a Chinese family who spent the last day preparing a meal for you -  the list could honestly go on forever.  Is it wrong to do things, which makes it appear like you endorse them, even though you detest them?  I am not talking terrible things, I am talking about the grey areas which lie somewhere in between right and wrong.... even the things which lie within the greater domain of 'rightness' but you have openly stood against.  

What if it is in attempt to better yourself... for example the bad person who fakes a good quality in order to correct his negative actions in order to straighten out his path even though he looks like a fool to those with whom he used to relish in trouble with.  

Is hypocrisy something that ought to terrify us to the point of inactivity?  Should we be afraid to change for the better because of the trouble we see the effects other people face as they try to do better?  A democrat turned republican, a republican turned democrat?  Those who are religious, I am interested to hear what you think about the grey areas, that which your religion may not necessarily speak about.    

I have heard a great Baha'ian say that every action ought to be followed by reflection which should shape our next action.  I agree.  But what if our actions consistently appear to be changing upon further reflection?  Once we make a mistake and fix it are we no longer accountable for the initial mess up?

New Format

As the end of the year draws even closer I have decided that the blog could use a bit of a facelift.  I have changed the colors, added a counter at the bottom of the page, and I am thinking about throwing together a quick logo or something.  

Some recent posts can be checked over on the side >>>>>

I promise to update the blog more frequently as the end of the year draws near.  Recently every day has been jam packed with experiences and I've been dragging my new camera (thanks mom and dad!) around with me everywhere.  

The Guangzhou Haircut Dance

If more places did things like this to lure in customers, the world would certainly be a different place.

It is not uncommon for shops to have sales people stand outside of the shop with signs or hand out fliers.  Many shops have 2-5 people who stand near the entrance just clapping.  This shop took the hype level up a notch.  Sidewalk dancing!

Guangzhou - The town that keeps on going

Nice load!

NICE HAT!

On Friday we arrived in GuangZhou and met with Rain, our friend who would show as around her hometown. We dropped our things off and went shopping. We shopped all day... I can't say I have ever shopped for so long. I bought a really nice silk sleeping bag liner for $20 and a hat for $6. We explored a road called Beijing road which was lined with shopping malls and other shops. After eating dinner with Rain's family we retired for the evening.

The next day we piled into the car with Rain's parents and drove to Bai You Mountain, the tallest mountain in GuangZhou. We spent the afternoon following an endless mass of people marching up a paved path to the summit. We took a brief moment to play Frisbee with some random people and then continued up. Half way up the mountain was a stone path with stones that stood upright...

Rain - "If you take your shoes off and walk on this path, you will sleep well tonight."

Joel and I took off our shoes and staggered along the extremely long path. When we finally reached the end we could feel our feet rejoicing for the reprieve. After descending the mountain we climbed back into the car and went out to Rain's house in the rural area of GuangZhou.

A bike made for 3

A bike made for 2

Rural GuangZhou

This city is huge. We drove for a long time - at least and hour - and finally got to the countryside, which was still 'GuangZhou'. We got a tour of Rain's parent's rural 4 story house, walked around the neighborhood, and enjoyed the scenery. After stopping for a dinner on the way home, we returned to Rain's parent's house in the heart of GuangZhou and called it a night.

The next day we went to a Buddhist temple - Guangxiao - and did our usually wandering around. 

Now I can throw away the ticket.  = )

Little Buddha Tea Time

A Glimpse of the Divine

We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant which was a Tibetan vegetarian place which served all sorts of types of mock meat. We tried the chicken and shrimp. The pure veggie dishes we ordered were awful, but the mock shrimp and chicken dishes were spectacular.

Mock Chicken

We took the subway to a giant family museum which had a huge art collection and beautiful roof ornaments. We wandered through the buildings and went to 'the most famous market in China'.

The Fang Cun market in GuangZhou is marked as the most famous market in China because you can buy all sorts of live animals to eat from bats and owls to dogs and cats. Ever so challengingly the guidebook suggested that tourists probably shouldn't go and visit.

Dried Lizard Medicine

"These silk worms make a good soup." Rain

The market was mostly tea and dried spices and herbs -- but there was a block where you could buy dogs, turtles and pets. But we are pretty sure they were just pets. There were all sorts of expensive imported western bred dogs, probably not worth making into soup.

We left the market and headed to an area located on an island in the river that runs through GuangZhou where the French and British colonized. We were excited because we had heard there were some good western restaurants in GuangZhou and we figured this is probably where they would be.

We arrived at the island and went to a western sounding place - Lucy's - which had a pretty sizable menu. We ordered a table full for the 3 of us and left disappointed because the food was definitely sub par. 

We tried to show American to Rain, but it was quite bland.

Leaving the island to go home we crossed a Subway which Joel and I both decided to grab a 6 inch Sub. The pickles were Chinese pickles and didn't sit well with me. We returned to Rain's house and called it a night.

It was a fun weekend, but both Joel and I felt like we didn't really 'see the city'. For all of the hype that GuangZhou has, we definitely didn't see or experience anything outside of what we have come to expect from China.  

Incomes & Outcomes (Cont.)

The sales agent, my boss, and I climbed into another cab and drove to the final hospital. On the way my boss asked me if I was nervous.

Bossman - "Do you think this will be a difficult job?"
"Nah, it doesn't look that difficult."
"Your job really isn't that hard. All you really need to know is Ni Hao. Xie Xie. Bye Bye. It would help to know a few other things but you are being paid to improve the company's image. Many hospitals in China believe that the technology of western products is better than China's. We need you to be there to show the clients that we care about them. Smile a lot. When we go into this next hospital make sure you pay attention to what I do. Next time, I will not be here. It will just be you and the agent."
"I really don't know that much Chinese."
"Don't worry about that. The agent will do all of the talking and negotiating. Just smile and thank them. This time, just watch what I do."

We exited the cab and entered a huge hospital. Earlier in the day, my boss taught me to say, "Director of technology" "Hospital Director" "hospital" and how to formally address my boss in front of other people. As we scanned the hospital directory he pointed out the Chinese Characters and said them out loud. He mumbled "ke dahn" and we set out walking past waiting rooms and laboratories. We stopped outside of a woman's office where we paused before shuffling in. We all shook hands and took seats as my boss introduced himself, handed out a business card, and a catalogue of the company's medical equipment.

The woman behind the desk looked unimpressed.

After 5 minutes we shuffled out of the room and began to walk down the hall. One doorway down stood a man in a laboratory coat who was stirring two beakers of red liquid over hot plates. Initially I thought it was blood.

He looked up at us and my boss approached him handing a business card, catalogue, and introduced us. The man stopped stirring and paged through the catalogue. I glanced back at the door and saw the biohazard sign. --I'm pretty sure we shouldn't be here-- The walls were lined with vials and various chemicals in canisters.

The man put the catalogue down on a steel table and picked up his glass rod to stir the fluid again. He added some red powder and continued to talk with my boss. I smiled as i realized he wasn't stirring blood, just some red powder into water from the sink. The man had inadvertently given me ammunition to do my job, my smile widened.

I stood there with a smile plastered to my face for the next 40 minutes scanning the room for things which could distract me and kill the time. When we finally left, my boss was angry and spent a good ten minutes in the parking lot talking heatedly to someone on the phone.

We said goodbye to the sales agent and boarded a bus.

Bossman - "That last hospital was terrible. She didn't want even want to speak to us. We will discuss business later. Now we party."

We went to a Chinese restaurant and ate some noodles and walked to a grocery store where he bought a Budweiser for himself and I. He toasted a successful day, while muttering about the failure at the final hospital.

Bossman - "We will have business cards for you printed tomorrow. You are now our Senior Director of Sales."

He clasped me on the shoulder as he walked us to the bus which would take us home. It was the most comfortable bus I have taken in China. In between falling asleep, we talked about family, the state of the economy, his parents faith in Buddhism, and his inability to believe in God.

Bossman - "I don't believe in God. I believe in myself."

Although this isn't the first time I have heard such a statement, I think it is the first time I have seen it manifest itself in ones attitude and actions.

Incomes & Outcomes

-----------------------
History behind the job:
-----------------------
I wrote a few days ago about being offered a job to sell medical equipment for a large company in China. Not seeing much of a problem I decided to try it out and met up with my potential employer for a training session.
-----------------------


My boss led me to three different hospitals today. Nothing could be quite so despairing.

I exited the cab to meet my boss who was standing near the bus stop. He ushered me into another cab, where we rode to the first hospital. The first hospital was a veteran's hospital, where we wandered around until we found a beaten up building in the back which looked more like a slum apartment than a manager's office. I followed my boss into a room as he grinned at the coming deal. After 20 minutes of interchange and a few brief looks up at me (from the client) and we left.


Bossman - "Next time wear leather shoes...And tuck your shirt in."


I nodded, and followed him off in my Birkenstock sandals and button-up shirt.


We climbed into another taxi and rode off to a public hospital.


Bossman - "...It's the agent who makes the actual sale who gets 40% of the profit from the equipment. The hospital usually gets about 20% of the profit... not the hospital itself, but the person in charge of buying the equipment who is usually pretty greedy and arrogant. They tend to look after what is best for themselves and not necessarily the hospital. Lastly I get the last 20%. Is that wrong? How does it work in the US?"


I was baffled and didn't really have the capacity to speak for his American competitors but I was pretty sure America wouldn't be the team riding a white horse. So I let him know as such.


After 30 minutes of standing outside the hospital's bosses office, my boss calls his agent in charge of selling to this branch and summons him. Within 15 minutes he shows up and begins to wait with us. We wait in the alley for nearly thirty more minutes before they suggest moving inside the main hospital building where we wait for the next 45 minutes.


Inside the main building we saw burn victims, children, and old people hobbling along to the elevator which, I hoped would take them up to a place where they would find some relief.


Bossman - "In China, you don't want to be a doctor or lawyer... you need to be a businessman. That's how you can make a lot of money, and quick."


My face flushed, "In America, it's somewhat the opposite. You want to be a doctor...or a lawyer."



BM - "Most Chinese people aren't that wealthy so they usually go to public hospitals like this."
"Are these hospitals pretty good?"
"No. They are usually pretty bad."
My heart sank for the remainder of our time together. We sat and watched people walk by seeking sub-par medical assistance from doctors who were accepting a poor salary, so that that their boss could buy overpriced medical equipment getting a kick back that would please them and flow back to my boss, to his sellers, to me.


Bossman - "After my first job as a salesman I figured out that I hated selling things. I hate days like this, when I have to go around and visit hospitals -- visiting customers like this. It helps when you realize it's just a game. As long as you realize that it's not work and it's just a game, it makes things a lot easier. This is just a necessary part of the game, but I would much rather be in my office drinking tea."

Running, Alienation, and Chalk

This blog has become something very special for me, and I will miss blogging when I return to the US.  Not only do I feel special each time I hear about people caring enough to read about my journey, but also it has been a huge cathartic procedure.   In past travels abroad I have found running to be the most cathartic activity.  Whether it be South Africa, Porto Rico, Colorado, France, or Italy --- The moments that most stick out to me is 'getting out' and seeing the city for my self via foot.  But with blogging I have found a new outlet to augment my running.  

Interestingly enough, at least 75% or so of my experiences here in China have instilled an, "Oh crap, I should blog about this."   Sometimes I try to type it out, but it doesn't compare to the experience as it unfolds... and most of the time it doesn't make it to the 'publish this' button.  

My written account will never fit the bill, even when I get older, I am aware that I will read these brief glimpses into the orient and feel that 'warm reminiscent feeling' but it will not compare to that which is taking place out here.  I have slowly felt myself meld to the point in which I no longer can tell the difference between here and there (the US and China).  I cannot necessarily speak the language, I do not necessarily fit in, but this is reality -- this is my reality.

After I graduated, I was one of the only people I knew from my graduating class.  I was facing 'the other side' on my own.  They all had the comfort of another year of classes, and I had somewhat willfully chosen to engage the 'real world'.  I would never take it back, but it was alienating.  I remember my first few weeks spent in Maplewood, Minnesota with my new roommates as I started my job with Americorps.  At the time, nothing could have scared me more.  

I found myself facing numerous situations which have left me in the dark much like my experiences here.  I have begun to feel more comfortable with alienation from my surroundings and I have begun to think that this is one of the first steps to satiability.

"Be in the world, but not of the world"