Interesting Sites/Things

The very beautiful Heavenly Lake ("Tianchi") at Changbaishan. It is located on the China and DPRK border. Even in October, there was quite a bit of snow and ice. We were lucky in that the skies were clear! The one thing I must warn tourists about are the crazy jeep drivers who drive you up to the top, where this lake is located. Even after several requests that the driver go slower, we still felt like the jeep was going to tip over.

A local church...if you look closely, you will notice that "Adventist" is spelled incorrectly. Is is missing the "i." I was unable to attend the church services on Sunday because I got sick the second day, but from what my friends told me, it was quite interesting. I will be making a trip to the church in my area soon. Apparently, some services are only for foreigners and you must bring your passport as proof!

Interesting haircut.

Chairman Mao in a Shenyang plaza.

Lunch at a traditional dumpling restaurant. The teapot spout is the longest I one I have ever seen. Apparently it takes quite a bit of practice to get just the right angle and distance (without spilling all over the customers).

My first American meal (after more than a month!). Delicious grilled cheese sandwich with gouda cheese and french fries and my trusty ketchup.

Who is American?

One of the things I have not touched upon in this blog (yet) is the confusion local Chinese have with regard to my American identity. In the past, it was frustrating (and still is to a certain extent), but I have found that this puts me in a position to experiment. This allows me to find out how people view me when they believe I do not speak a word of Chinese.

For example, on the train with my two American friends (for this purpose, I must mention that they are both Caucasian males), we pretended that I am originally from the Philippines and cannot speak Chinese because my great-grandparents migrated to the Philippines. For the locals, it was highly ironic that I had two white males translating for me.

When I had a conversation with a few Chinese youths, they said that they would not believe me if I were a stranger and said I am American. Their reasoning is, verbatim, “The blood flowing through your body is Chinese.” I’m still trying to figure out what this means exactly. Is it because this culture is very appearance-oriented, and, more importantly, that it only began its Open Door Policy (1978) not too many decades ago. To the Chinese locals, “American” equals “white.”

On the positive end, these encounters make me appreciate even more my home in the states and reaffirm my pride as an American citizen. For lack of better words, I have to constantly be vigilant about supporting my identity as an American.


Below are a few humorous anecdotes:

#1
While on a bus with my two Caucasian male friends and conversing in English, I heard the Chinese girl sitting next to me tell her boyfriend, “Oh, I used to want to be a translator! I should work harder to improve my English.” My friend subsequently told her in Chinese, “She is not our translator. She does not speak Chinese…she is from Manila. We translate for her.” It took her about a minute to absorb what had happened!

#2
While climbing a mountain with my two Caucasian friends, one Chinese boy exclaimed to his friends, “Look at those [my friends] foreigners! They’re probably from Russia (as Yanji is very close to Russia).” My friend turned to them and said in Chinese, “Where are the foreigners?” One of the boys who was about to gulp down water regurgitated it all. Then they quickly ran off giggling.

#3
While walking around with one of my friends in a village, we came upon a wedding ceremony. The villagers quickly gathered around us (as my friend may be the only foreign-looking individual in the entire area) and invited us to their dinner celebration. One elderly man asked me, “Since you live in the states, are you mixed?” Not giving me a chance to reply, a lady said, “Of course she’s not mixed! You can tell by just looking at her.” They ended that conversation by asking if my friend and I are a couple. In China, the language is tricky when it comes to introducing friends. For example, “friend” can mean “boyfriend/girlfriend.” Thus, it is safer to introduce friends as colleagues.

AIDS: the present and the future

In order to achieve health behavior change, there needs to be at least three things: knowledge, tools, and motivation. Although the government and private organizations have already done a varying amounts of work toward reducing HIV transmission and treating AIDS patients, many people still lack the motivation to change their health behavior.

During my AIDS in China course today, Director Humphrey Wou, who produces documentaries on the AIDS situation in China, noted the growing generation of apathetic individuals. Now that medication is more widely available and AIDS is not an immediate death sentence, people are developing the attitude that HIV/AIDS is simply a secondary issue.

A present and important problem for rural AIDS patients is the lack of nutrition. Most rural farmers consume noodles on a daily basis; although this is a rich source of energy, noodles alone lack the nutrition needed to elevate these individuals' CD4 counts. When asked why they do not purchase protein-rich foods, farmers say that they do not have enough money. The money that they have saved will be spent on brick purchases. These bricks (to them) are invaluable because they will be used to contruct houses that they will pass on to future generations. In some villages, you may see walls and walls of bricks, all waiting to be used for housing construction. Hence, they are unwilling to spend the 2RMB needed to purchase the protein-rich pound of tofu.

In his effort to empower community members and to establish sustainable projects, Director Wou helped fund a soymilk project in a rural village in Southern China. The villagers grow their own soybeans, make their own soymilk, and distribute it to those individuals with AIDS. Another example among his list of innovative projects is a sewing class for migrant female workers. In addition to teaching these females how to sew and make a living off of sewing, teachers distribute HIV/AIDS educational materials and educate them about the importance of protecting themselves and their families through public health knowledge. These females, furthermore, are able and willing to pass this information to their customers.

Even if you have no interest in HIV/AIDS, the key things to take from this entry is that, in undertaking any community project, one must first understand the community culture and varying plethora of perceptions. Secondly, community members should be empowered and a part of any project an outside group establishes right from the beginning. Finally, foresight, long-term planning, and sustainability should never be forgotten.

Blogspot Access Open!

After trying to access this blogspot for almost two weeks, I am finally able to log on and write a post! Apparently, these stringent internet controls are due to the National Holiday.

I had a wonderful National Holiday vacation...but, unfortunately, I now have a cold and throat infection. Thankfully, it is nothing contagious. Over the break, I traveled to the northeastern ("Dongbei") parts of China. The weather is much, much colder than Shanghai! Before I get into the details of my trip, I am very excited to post food pictures. So, here it goes...

Delicious appetizers at a Korean restaurant

Sushi & nigiri

Street BBQ

Glutinous rice ovals filled with something sweet

Candied fruit kabobs

Fried bun with egg and bacon

Fried mushroom...tastes almost like fries!

Kimbap...Korean version of sushi

Hot corn noodles

Eggs, corn, and hotdogs boiling in hotsprings

Spicy Korean ricecakes with ramen noodles