Reading Harry Potter is sexy...

Last couple of days have told people that I rushed to the shop to buy Harry Potter to read the last of the Potter Adventures in The Deadly Hallows.

So some people have been surprised, some people called me a geek, and some asked who is Harry Potter?

Some of the Americans, Chinese Girls I mentioned to that I was reading Harry Potter, immediately asked me to read it to them, as the book was so thick and hard to understand all the words and finally it just sounds so sexy hearing about Harry Potter in a British accent.
So do you think I can be bothered to do this?


p.s. Last couple of days have noticed pirated copies sold near expat locations or subway stations, selling the American copy for around 40 Kwai approx... under 3 quid... I feel a little guttered... I spent 215 kwai for mine British copy... UK RRP £17.99

Homesick

So when do I get home sick?
hmmmm... well my most recent feeling of this was just reading a comment on one of my photos on facebook, was a picture taken back on my 21st b-day with Soi, and he was hugging me for some reason... his usual manly embraces... His Girlfriend Anna, had left a comment... describing the relationship between the 2 of us...

Just little things that occasionally think of my friends back in UK, from b-days that I miss, to random messages on my facebook wall, phone calls (few but some) and e-mails.
When I first got to China, was feeling it pretty hard for the 1st 2 months I think. Didn't have any friends, and was stuck visiting places by myself and no plans on the weekends.
For me it was a shock, due to my normal very busy lifestyle in the UK, going out every night to do something like badminton, dragon boating, meet family and friends, go to work and so on...
Being here has given me time to work out some idea who I am, a lot of time to myself and see what I'm made of.

Have now made friends and even have plans for weekends, things to do and perhaps not as busy as I was in UK, but that's ok I can take breaks when I wish.
There are things you can do here, same to what I would do in UK, so it really is not that different, I'm not in the middle of no where.

Think I'm glad I have internet, it enables me to keep track of friends and they of me, really would miss not knowing and frequent contact...
It's ok if you can make friends and think of things to do... so go out and do them, Otherwise you won't like it here and just have an even stronger wanting to F*&# off home...
Which I'm glad I don't... if nothing else I really want to stay longer...

My 4 Month Reflection...

So it's been 4 months, what do I think of my progress and things I've learned?

4 months on.... and some friends ask me some questions recently or before...

How do I feel living in China? Do I Enjoy Staying here?
Living in China has been a great experience, There is so much to be learned by living in a different country particular where one doesn't speak English all the time either.
The Start for me commence the moment I got on the plane and flew to Beijing, I flew on China Air, so all the Air Crew could only really speak in Chinese.
It's a culture shock as soon as you get out of the airport and look around at all the chinese signs, and the hussle and bussle of sooooo many chinese people.
My benefit is that I look local, so far less people do approach me, and I don't stand out at all which is good. The more and more I speak Chinese the more things I get done, more help I can ask from people in the street and more friends I can pick up too.

Living here as well, you don't really get to buy much microwave food or anything like that to toss into the oven or to Nuke it for that quick meal.
The Quick meal takes place going to the street for a street hawker food stand, or 10 Kuai place to eat.
So most meals for myself particular for dinner I will cook every night, this way I also ensure I eat enough meat, enough Rice and low grease as well.
But yeah does get boring after a while, and I'm too lazy to sometimes change my cooking...

Once you can speak chinese here and even read some characters (hanzi) then it's easy to get around, but to speak english all the time would be a mistake, I would get ripped off, people wouldn't talk to me and taxi drivers wouldn't take me anywhere... People just get impatient here if they don't understand you and the quick way is just to ignore or eject (reject) you from the conversation.
Taxi drivers can't read Pin Yin, Although I am noticed recently some are trying, but still find it hard... you have to either tell them in chinese or show the address in chinese, or even last resort to use your phone to call a friend!

Yeah I enjoy living here, it's so exciting talking to people, seeing different areas of the city, meeting people, or even just watch live go past. It's so different from European cities.

People struggle along on their bikes, carrying super loads of people, water, goods and so on... I even seen a fridge strapped to a bike and somehow go along... or the worlds biggest box pile on a back of a bike, so big that even a bus couldn't see past it...
I learn alot being here, of course not just the language but how people behave, how they think and why they work so hard. If I was to ask to live here for good, I wouldn't mind.


Can I live away from home? Do I get homesick?
Yes can live away from home, but still need some regular contact with home from friends and family by e-mails, msns, facebook and phone calls. If I was told that I couldn't speak to anyone and have no contact and live like a hermit for a year, would eat me up inside a lot, since I'm not doing this I'm not sure if I could... I reckon I could... but its not the same as doing it...
Sometimes I think what day it is, and what I could be doing with friends, sometimes it might be a b-day, or someone's graduation, or move to their new house that I've missed...
Occasionally have messages from e-mails / facebook and I realise how the dialogue goes and would normally end up if we were in person as well...

Also whenever I see a film /show made or from UK, eg Harry Potter, 28 weeks later, Lost (flashbacks to london) and so on... I remember the places when I've been and hang out.

I miss my badminton as well, I haven't played since I've been out here being more preoccupied with other things, learning, going out with friends and interning. Badminton was key to my life in UK, having gone 3-4 times a week to play it with friends and badminton clubs.
I do also have pangs, when i miss certain food... see my top10 list for what I missed...

But I work through this, as there are always pluses and minus to being away, to do new things and able to do what I want to do.


What are my thoughts on being Chinese?
Well I've discovered a lot of things about being chinese, from working hard to doing stupid loads of work to studying hard.
Even though I am chinese, its hard to realise how traditional as a people we are, to why we obey our parents, how we see getting married, having children, why we study hard, buy branded goods, eat a lot and budget...

Some of these things I already realised before getting here, some I realised when I got here...

I've barely scratched the surface as I haven't really spoken to everyone... I talk to people on the street and in classrooms and so on... I guess I will learn more when I move to Guangzhou as well..

I have more thoughts... but not shared them all here...

What have I learned?
Learned loads of things about China, about it's culture, how they see the world and what some of the future will bring to China.
I haven't really learned everything yet... I still know there is more to discover, and I also know I severely lack in China History... I know some things about present and the future...

Hope to learn more the more I can read...



How is my Chinese?
Well, its defintely a lot further along then I was in UK, out here I'm practising everyday, learning lots of new words and ways to say them. Also engaging in opportunities by going to language exchanges twice a week to practice or have questions to ask my teacher.
In terms of levels I'm prob will leave China @ Intermediate level. With so much to learn, I am trying to build more vocabs by learning Hanzi in addition to Hanyu, however only learning to read it and not so much write it... as I want to cover more ground before I go... I may learn to write it again later.

Here I've also gone into different situations I never considered the trouble, or things I would need to learn to say, such as Registration for Temporary Permit, talks to Leasing agents, getting a haircut, talking to the water meter woman, gas guy, electrical gal, cleaners, security guards etc.....

At the moment also trying to pick up a little Shanghainese and Cantonese in additional to my mandarin as well, in efforts to able to speak to more people, particularly if you can't understand their accent mandarin.

What Things have I got upto?
- Snowboarding
- Visit to Suzhou, Hangzhou
- Gym
- Shopping
- Sight Seeing (river cruise, museums, galleries ....)
- Ice Skating



Am I Married yet?
haha... so what do you think! everyone is always not sure what to belief... if I say no... I'm lying... If I say yes then I'm lying too...

So guess what happen on my weekend?

Man I had such a stressful weekend...

On Friday a woman knocked on my door, and spoke to me in Chinese.
So after about 5 minutes of conversation, found out she was looking for the American that I was Subletting off...
However I was trying to reach him for the past 2 weeks, to give him money for my rent for this month of July.
My place I've been staying for 3 months or so, and will continue for another 3 months as well. It's a nice one bedroom Apartment very central.

So after adding two and two togother, I suspected that they were missing money, as well as their permission was not sought to allow me to sublet... they were only aware of the American living here. Worked this out via the chinese Dialogue I was having, a conversation with someone that spoke very basic english... (so the conversation had to be done in chinese anyway...) and the contract they were flashing in front of me that the American had signed earlier this year.
So they asked to setup another meeting on sunday to have a longer conversation to work out what was going on...
I then continued for the weekend to really shit myself, as I was thinking a few things...

• The American has done a runner, and not paid them for the past 3 months
• He's on holiday and thus why non contactable...
• Please note... his number doesn't ring and he doesn't answer his e-mails for the past 2 weeks. And the agent had my name (with some effort could use police to get my passport details from temporary residence permit)
  
• So... how much trouble am I in....? will I get arrested? Will I get evicted? Will I get fined a lot of money?
• Should I run? or should I take the meeting on?
  

So after consulting my parents over the next day (sat) decided must move everything out.... ASAP. So had to go buy some suitcases and then proceed to ask friends for help, place to stay and to put my stuff up.

Then debated with my parents to take the meeting or not... end result was to do the meeting after worry that things could become awkward for future Visas to china or renting or buying property later on in the future.

So rushing forward to Sunday morning, had asked my parents to wake up 4am UK time in time for China meeting 11am... lucky I postponed the meeting to 2 days after to plan for it...
So with a little conversation from myself, and a lot of help from my parents they talk to the leasing agents, explained my circumstances of subletting, paying all bills and when I would leave Shanghai.
So what happened, the american guy had paid for the 1st 2 months I was living in my place but not paid this months... so the reason why the agent came around to check things out.
So my parents managed to hammer out a deal, sign a new contract and pay only for this months and the next 2 and half months I shall be here for...
Literally the same deal still... No change in price or anything...
Thankfully my parents saved my butt on this one... and thankfully I can now speak a bit more Chinese, otherwise might had more trouble...
Signed new contracts and copies of legal docs on Monday afternoon...

Moved all my stuff back now... now realise how much things I've accumulated... An extra 1 and half suitcases... makes me wonder what I should do when I leave.... Shanghai in a couple of months time.


*Please note I don't have any qualms against Americans, just I don't wish to name and shame.

The Identity Split

*above images are sourced from City Weekend.com

This weekend, I read an article in the Shanghai, City Weekend Guide which I found v interesting... It's about the split between the Local Chinese in China and the Oversea's Chinese that return here, to learn Chinese, get back to the roots or to work.

When overseas Chinese come to China to live and work, they find their identity stuck somewhere between the East and the West, begging the question, Who am I? by Lauren Mack

Check out the original link... http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/articles/cw-magazine/china/identity-split/

My quick summary... and opinion
The deal that most of us deal with when we arrive here is the question that's asked by many people, perhaps even by your Taxi Driver where are you from?
And with all of us, we answer the most likely answer, of which ever country we have lived in for a long period of time, in my case I was say "Yingguo Ren" (UK).
And the dialogue then will continue into so where are you from really? Where are your parents from? and so on and so on... till it ends up back in China some way some how...

Essentially it's hard for most people in China who haven't left the country before, to contemplate Chinese people living else where, or else sharing an Identity with the country they live in (else born in).

This is mearly how the start of most conversations that go for most "huayi" Oversea's Chinese.
It's the expectation that if you look Chinese then you must speak Chinese, if you don't it is a culture shock for the locals and yourself.

Further on in the article, many oversea's chinese like myself, are hit a lot harder on our quality of Putonghua, if we just don't speak anywhere close to a University Graduate it's just not good enough. However if a Westerner or Foreigner says just "Ni hao" they get cheers and already they speak "good".

Here's a quote... i won't summarise because he say's it well... *Jason Lin

“Never would I get approached by people asking for money until I went out with my non-Asian friends. You definitely get treated differently,” says Lin. “No matter how hard I try, I’m never going to be American. [Chinese people] are going to speak Chinese with me. You learn to live with it.”

Originally planning to live in China for two years, Lin continues to stay because he likes his job and has gained an insider’s perspective on Chinese culture.

“A lot of things were question marks in my childhood and have been answered,” says Lin. Even with the extra questioning and hassling, nearly all overseas Chinese find positives in their China experience.

“I think it’s a good experience when they come back because it invigorates their sense of identity and makes them more confident with who they are,” says Lew, whose father was born in China. Fong echoes this statement: “I still have culture shock, but I’m more open to understanding the differences. I owed it to myself and my family to immerse myself in a more Chinese environment. Seeing Chinese culture now, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here right now.”

Towards the bottom of the article, it does quick interviews, with culture split and of course the Banana Factor... as with many things there will be pluses and minuses.

My Bit
There's a lot things to discover when you arrive in China, even for Oversea's Chinese it's still a big culture shock. Takes a while to settle in and learn how things work over here.
Everyday I expect to speak Chinese and get caught in situations where I never thought i would have to address or think about.
However overall, many questions have been answered on being here to see things and hear from other people's perspective. On what it is to be Chinese, how China sees the rest of the world, it's future and the many things that a place so far away from home you would not hear or see.
So I believe for people like myself who suffer identity crisis occasionally this is a good experience to come back to china to see, listen, speak and soak it up. And not just come to learn Chinese only.
The possibility to come back here is very good, so won't just be a once in a lifetime.


Check out some of these clips.... as well.. not related city weekender... but same topic.

Bringing it all back home - Hard Hat Show

You can watch this video on Youtube; Tudou (中文字幕)

Written and directed by Luke Mines, this episode of the Hard Hat Show looks at three Chinese 20 somethings who were born in Mainland China but went abroad at a young age. They have since returned and now live in Beijing where we interviewed them about how it feels to be back home.

Originally sourced from.... http://www.danwei.tv/clips/bringing_it_all_back_home_hard.php

Remarks about my English... Is It English Enough?

Comment from my teacher today, was that my English wasn't sounding as English as she expected...

Kinda of realised my English out here has it's ups and downs... Although I do met many expats out here and speak to them in English, there English is also different, from Americans, Brits, Canadians, French, Australians and so on...
And then the locals if I do speak in English, after being accused so much of talking too fast, I slow down my talking, putting loads of pauses in my english ummm..... annnndddd..... ehhh.......
And Of course use simpler words to say things...

It's no surprise anyway, will be sure to snap back to normal Brit speak, point out here is to practice my Chinese, which I am doing more and more, on language exchanges and on my weekends as well, in Canto, Mando, Shanghaniese... anything else?

Other comments by some friends form the UK include...
- Jon is that you? you sound different?
- Jon are you being gay? you not even saying the word gay anymore... or *~&%
- Who are you?
- Why is your english so shit....

You can't touch this....

Orginal link... http://player.youku.com/player.php/sid/XMjkwMzUyMA==/v.swf

So who remembers MC hammer from back in the day... Well found this clip on the Shanghaiist blog, of a MC Qiangqiag showing a pretty good dance to MC Hammer... Check it out...

This long-winded preamble was merely a way of introducing Jiangsu Province's own MC Qiangqiang (MC 强强), whose work we discovered on video-sharing site Youku.com. The above video is his homage to MC Hammer's "You Can't Touch This." (Check out the original MC Hammer video here for comparison.) MC Qiangqiang has other videos which showcase not only his dancing but also his singing skills (he can sing the male AND female parts of duets!). MC Qiangqiang's renditions of Michael Jackson's moves aren't bad, but not quite as convincing as his Hammer moves. For good measure he's also done a version of Bobby Brown's "On Our Own," a great song from the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II. ("Too hot to handle too cold to hold/They're called the Ghostbusters and they're in control.")

So for all of you who, like us, are STILL trying to master the "running man," please know that there is a guy in Jiangsu who can put you to shame. Sound the bell—school's in, SUCKA!

Originally sourced from http://shanghaiist.com/2007/07/17/you_really_cant.php

Beware of the doors...

(image originally sourced from Shangiist)
A man (mid twenties) yesterday on Line one in Shanghai, got trapped in the doors when trying to squeeze onto the trains as many do daily. However this time, he wasn't able to make it on the train, but got stuck between the Platform doors... and the train moved off dragging him under.

Out here in Shanghai you get the train doors and the platform doors to deter people from barging into the train... Guess it didn't deter... So as people have found out...the Platform doors here don't have sensors on them, they will just shut, no alarm or way to stop the doors from shutting.

http://shanghaiist.com/2007/07/16/how_safe_are_ou.php
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200707/20070716/article_323490.htm

Had my 1st BBQ \ Karoake in China

This weekend on Sat, had my 1st BBQ in China, was a Friend's b-day and he was able to book a BBQ area out in his apartment area... Free to use...just to book as a resident of the apartments.
It's really cool, it's a nice area with a roof, taps, BBQ's and lots of room to hang out... We were lucky the weather was great, not too hot and pretty cool.
There was a serious amount of meat and booze there...
.... Had a great time, met some new people, lots of Brits there and afterwards we ended up in a Karaoke Place for around 4 hours and lots of booze that came to around 100 Kwai... bout 8 quid.

Things I've been upto for the past 2 weeks...

Well I've been celebrating a 3 b-days in the past 2 weeks, going out to clubs and Nice dinners.
Some of the things you can organize for dinners are pretty decent, like eat from a set menu and drink all you want for 2 hours for approx... 300 Kwai I think... 20 quid...

Also regularly go twice a week to a language exchange. This one is a unusual as it takes place @ an english school for chinese students, so the deal is you go for 45 mins and talk in english on a set topic, and then spend another 45 mins talking in chinese.
It's good as I get to practice my spoken chinese more and practice listening too... however even though I make efforts to slow down my english so everyone can understand me, it's a shame many of the students don't slow down on there chinese.
May be taking in an internship with this school as well, to help them out organize activities and help read or write teaching material. Sounds Interesting and think will enable me to have an reference here in china to say what a good boy I am.

Saw Transformers Last night... pretty impressive stuff, love the cars and effects and battles were top notch. Did get cheesy at it's moments but still worth watching.

Marriage.... ask few friends last night and chatted about how local chinese, expats and Ah Yi's think about marriage, it appears if you don't get married here before 24 it's bad... however they will give you another 10 days off work if you get marry later... later then the norm.
Ah Yi's often chat to people in the quiet parts of the day in the early morning or late evening, and seem to have the story about everyone in the office. The Gossips Queen's of the Office...
Just be careful that they don't try to set you up.... especially if you didn't want it!

Will be 25 is less then a months time... wondering what to do for it... and damn getting old...
*Ah Yi's are Chinese for Aunty... or the cleaning ladies.

10 Things I missing from UK

1. Wimbledon
2. Bendy Buses, Double deckers
   
3. English Breakie
4. Pints (Beer Pints)
   
5. Crumpets
6. Bread, Baps, French Sticks,
   
7. Danish, Krisp Kreme, Croissants
   
8. Crisps real god damn Walkers Crisps
9. Oven to bake or roast things
10. MTV, BBC news

Other things

• Fish and Chips, Battered Sausage, Pukka Pies
  
• Kebabs
• Smoothies
• Pub Food
• Metro, evening standard, London Paper, This is London Freebie newspapers
  
• Premiership, Champions League (over now I know)
  
• Baked Beans
• Clothes Washing Liquid... out here stuck using powder

Quick Visit to Jade Buddha Temple today...