Teachers who have television have made comments that all of the channels were in color during the Olympics and immediately after the Olympics the one English station reverted to being only in black and white. Others have mentioned that on the Chinese channels, each show, and multiple times a day, reruns of parts of the Olympics are run with the constant repetition of didn't we do good? So many of the teachers here are bilingual having been here a long time and really studied the language. There is no time in my life at this point to do that. Can't take on one more obligation than what I now have.
Would like to share an interesting comment made during a conversation with a Chinese national. He asked if we were allowed to criticize our government. When the reply was yes, another American chimed in that it was our responsibility to criticize our government. The Chinese man answered, yes, you criticize your government and still love your country. You separate the two. But here, they are the same. So when someone criticizes our government, they are criticizing the Chinese people and saying we are not liked. There is no separation between the government and the people. I have also heard comments about the naivety of the Chinese people as they think their government just takes care of them and fixes all of the problems. There is no negativity in the news about China ever. There is about other countries, but nothing about China. Only how good China is; look what they are doing for the earthquake victims, look how the living conditions today are so much better than even ten years ago, constant reinforcement of the positive. Perhaps that is why the discussion of politics here is considered rude here.
Most people live in high rises that are quite tall. These high rises are in huge complexes with multiple buildings. The buildings have spaces between the rows of them that are parks and green areas. Periodically there will be what is called walking paths. These pathways are as wide as a 6-lane street and covered in varying heights of tiled cement. Most sidewalks are tiled cement, not solid like we would see at home, but tiles made out of cement and laid to form the sidewalk. There are different patterns on different streets.
There is a walking street near me. The walking streets are lined with shops. The massage place that I like is there. Last night, after the get together, five of us went there. We got spoiled with an hour foot massage (they do your back, neck and legs up to the knees) and then followed that by a body message for an hour. This time I added oil instead of a dry massage, which increased the price, so the whole two hour affair cost $$27. Nice! Now, just to be clear, their massages are good, but not nearly as good as the ones I've had at home. They are different and the ones at home are so much better. Here they focus on neck and back, limit work on the legs and ignore other areas of the body like the arms. If you want arms done, it is done at the beauty parlors when getting your hair washed. Think I already wrote that the beauty parlors also clean out your ears. This is just different here than elsewhere.
Last weekend we walked our second walking street; one a bit of a distance from here, where the birthday party was. Cool place. This one was lined with restaurants that had the best aromas coming from them. This walking path is geared towards foreigners and the restaurants represented many different national foods. I was excited as there were some things I was seeking, per different people's requests, and found some of the items on the streets leading up to this walking path. From there I was told where the other major walking path was for this area, so time permitting, I'll explore it too. At night, the walking paths have lights that are buried in the ground and shine outwards, so that the pathways are all lit. There are also lights in the main areas, so no one is walking in the dark and yet it is not bright. The end result is very pleasant.
Speaking of walking paths; each morning as I walk through the one near me on the way to work, I see a group doing tai chi and others on their roller blades, so many families are out tossing balls with their kids or teaching them to skate. The areas are alive with people and activities. At night people do line dancing in the parks. Mostly I've seen groups of people, but there are also individuals scattered through out the different areas doing their tai chi or exercising. I find it so healthy to see so many kids interacting with their parents in these walking paths and parks. It reminds me of the 50-60's at home, when us kids would play outside all day and get to go to parks with our parents on the weekends. Family is the focus.
Four of us are doing research on electric mini-bikes as we all want them and are hoping that if all go to the same place where we've found the lower prices, that we'll be able to negotiate even better as we want four bikes. Got to ride one for a short stretch yesterday as a teacher let me play with his. Getting it started and balancing is a challenge, but once it's taken off, it is easy. The battery, must be carried into your place to be charged, is incredibly heavy. I may be glad that I live on the ground floor so that it won't need to be carried far. I almost couldn't lift the battery. Between the walking, stairs and lifting batteries, it is becoming clearer and clearer why the people here are in such great shape. My understanding is that electric bikes run from $350 -$475. A bike is definitely worth it so that I’ll have better transportation.
Ah, last night's get-together was in a Mediterranean Greek Restaurant that is known for its flavorful dishes. Turns out it is only 2 blocks from me! However, the prices were outrageous compared to other places here serving Chinese food. For example, a plate of just spaghetti noodles with a small amount of tomato sauce on it was $15. On the other hand, they have the best French Fries I've tasted in a long time. As I said, I got there late, and there were baskets of French Fries to share on all of the tables. The owner came over and introduced himself to me. Guess he had done that earlier for the rest of the teachers and introduced me to his cook. Said I would have to know that he had a great cook because look at the size of him! The owner stated that the best cooks were always fat, as they liked their own food. Well, this cook was definitely larger than most small boned, tiny Chinese, but no way would I call him fat. Guess my standards are different having lived in the US.
