Cultural Differences

Image via Wikipedia

This post was written by my friend Clive about some of his thoughts on China.

On May 10th I will have been in China for 2 years, it certainly does not seem that long although sometimes I do find myself trying to remember what it was like living in Canada!! Also I realize that I no longer notice that I am the only white person in the street, on the bus, or in the restaurant. Being stared at does not even register anymore and at least where I live in Xu Jia Bang, I am seldom given 'the stare' except from the very old but I have learned to say hello in the local dialect which results in a beaming smile and if there are more than one person the smile is usually followed by a noisy conversation about the foreigner being able to speak Suzhouhua. Children all want to say 'hello' followed by 'how are you, today?' often followed by gales of laughter. Englishis spoken by most of the young people who realize and/or believe that the best jobs go to those who can speak English.

Although I have been here for two years my Chinese is still poor because I use it so infrequently and also because I am at heart lazy and can egt by quite easily without it!! One of the great advantages and disadvantages of speaking Englishis that you can always get by.

The longer I am here the more I realize that I know so little about the Chinese. One thing I do know is tha the young people all want to make lots of money in order to provide for themselves and their families. Familie are still the most important unit here and my students, without expection all expect to genuinely want to provide for their parents.

Burger King in Suzhou

Image via Wikipedia

Great news Burger King has opened in Suzhou at Times Square, on the other side of the lake. The service is slow, the burgers seem smaller than in the US, they messed up my order (I hate pickles) and the manager acted like an arrogant ass but I am still very excited that I can now get a whopper with cheese so easily.

For those of you new to Burger King, eat the french fries quickly as they are very good when hot but horrible when cooled down.

DVD's in China

This article was written by my friend Clive but I do not know how to change the author's setting. When I figure it out I will make the necessary changes. Enjoy.

One of the joys of living here if access to cheap DVDs and CDs. The speed with which versions of first run films appear in DVD format is amazing of course the first to appear are usually in Russian and are obviously filmed in a movie theater since you sometimes see a the silhouette of a head appear or you get to hear people eating popcorn. Of course according to the WTO and Hollywood this should not be happening but I just think its capitalism as it was meant to be so why are the Americans complaining? Just sour grapes I guess since they never got into this market first. It’s not just American movies, when I told a Chinese friend that I was surprised to see that a first run Chinese movie was already available on DVD two days after it opened in Suzhou they replied “This is China what did you expect?” (By the way DVDs cost $.60 and CDs $1.25 obviously the result of true “free enterprise” with an emphasis on “enterprise”.) I am sure one day this will change and the moguls of Hollywood will get what they see as their “just dessert” but at a totally selfish level I hope it’s not any time soon!!!

(SirMack) Even though the reviews for Watchmen are horrible, I eagerly await watching this movie. If you have seen it let me know if you like it.

Premiership Striker Dumped By Wife On Facebook

From: Sports by Brooks
Somehow, news of one of the greatest breakups of all-time hasn’t reached this shore yet, probably because the couple involved isn’t particularly notable to American fans. With that in mind, we’re going to try and put this in a context a little more familiar: Imagine if Eva Longoria dumped husband Tony Parker with a status update on FACEBOOK. Now take that and put it in a country where the NBA is the only relevant sports league. Well, that’s exactly what happened to former English Premier League striker Michael Chopra, whose wife — former British reality TV star Heather Swan — changed her facebook status to single without even telling him beforehand earlier this month.
Without missing a beat, Chopra — a Sunderland striker on loan in Wales at Cardiff City – cancelled his wife’s cell phone contract and posted on his own profile that, “Heather will have a new number tomorrow, ha ha.” Well played sir, well played.

28cm drill bit removed from worker's brain

Dai Longquan, a 19-year-old man from Jiangxi Province is currently recuperating at Renji Hospital after having a 28cm drill bit removed from his brain by surgeons. He was adjusting the drill when a tiny little accident happened — the bit shot into his right eye socket and was embedded 18 centimetres into his brain. By the time Dai was rushed to the hospital, he was already in a critical condition and was lapsing into a coma. Doctors made two small openings on each side of his brain and not only removed the bit (three centimetres of which had been bent into a right angle), but also saved his eye.

Shanghaiist

25 Stupid Facts List

My girlfriend joined Facebook recently and has been asked to post ”25 Things About Me”. It seems harmless enough; people write 25 facts about themselves and post the list on their Facebook pages, just as they do with videos, status updates and photos of last weekend’s party. An estimated 5 million of these notes — that’s 125 million facts — have appeared on the website within the past week. Assuming it takes someone 10 minutes to come up with their list, this recent bout of viral narcissism has sent roughly 800,000 hours of work time productivity down the drain.

Image via Wikipedia

She has been asking me for help in writing her list. I found this list of 25 stupidest facts. BSPCN

1. I eat tacos with a fork.

2. I was fat in middle school. The wake of that horror has yet to subside.

3. I keep forgetting that Barack Obama is our President.

4. I have been pooped on by a monkey.

5. I am addicted to the ass-slap dance move. Sometimes I don’t even notice I’m doing it.

6. When I finally told my now fiancé that I liked him (as in, liked him liked him), I drunkenly gave him the Anchorman line, “I want to be on you.” He had only seen the movie once and had no idea what it was from.

7. Just because I realize that Asian women are smarter, more attractive, and have about themselves a generally superior level of class does not mean I have a fetish. Just that I’m racist.

8. I eat gummy bears by tearing them limb from limb and eating their heads last.

9. I can’t grow hair on my arms.

10. Two of my best friends are under five feet tall and I have an intense fear of midgets.

11. I think yoga is incredibly spiritual. I know the Lord is with me in my downward dog.

12. I was born with jaundice.

13. I was born pigeon-toed.

14. I was born with an extra kidney. I wish I could have sold it on the black market and made some money, but it was underdeveloped and did nothing but cause me to wet the bed until the third grade.

15. I like to tape my thumbs to my hands to see what it would be like to be a dinosaur.

16. A horse once fell over while I was riding it.

17. I don’t believe in democracy.

18. I cried when Spock died in Star Trek II.

19. I drink two glasses of wine every night before bed. Wait, did I just admit to alcoholism?

20. If you asked me to tell you my favorite movie, I would have a hard time not saying Titanic.

21. I once sent a teacher into early retirement by pretending to be a cheetah and swiping at her from under a desk.

22. I once ran into New Kids On the Block’s Joey McIntyre in the lobby of an off-Broadway show. I told him he was the first boy I ever loved. He laughed and kind of smiled. This was the most gratifying moment of my life.

23. My friends say that when they shave my back, I purr like a walrus.

24. I don’t understand what people see in the Godfather trilogy.

25. Sometimes I think pee smells like Cheerios.

Cellphone explosion kills man in Guangzhou

Shanghaiist

A man in a Guangzhou Lenovo store died after the cellphone in his chest pocket exploded. The explosion severed a major artery in his neck and caused massive blood loss, almost immediately killing him. Though the make and model of the mobile phone are still under investigation, a member of the staff said the man had just changed his cellphone battery to a new one. This is the 9th recorded cellphone explosion in China since 2002, so maybe it's best to make sure your cellphone's in a bag or something, rather than on your physical person.

Student Natalie Dylan Auctions Off Her Own Virginity

The Daily Telegraph reports that Natalie Dylan, a 22-year-old psychology student in San Diego, is holding an auction for her virginity:

Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her. Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received bids up to £162,000 ($243,000) but since then interest in her has rocketed.

The student who has a degree in Women’s Studies insisted she was not demeaning herself. Miss Dylan, from San Diego, California, USA, said she was persuaded to offer herself to the highest bidder after her sister Avia, 23, paid for her own degree after working as a prostitute for three weeks.

Miss Dylan said she did not think it was particularly significant to be willing to sell your virginity and insisted that she was happy to undergo medical tests for any doubters. She said: “I get some men who are obviously looking for a girlfriend but I try and make it clear that this is a one-night-only offer.

“I know that a lot of people will condemn me for this because it’s so taboo but I really don’t have a problem with that. My study is completely authentic in that I truly am auctioning my virginity but I am not being sold into this. I’m not being taken advantage of in any way.

The world’s oldest profession continues to work quite well for people, as Natalie evidences. Her bid is rumored to be up to $3.7 million now.

In instances like this–similarities between Paris Hilton’s porn videos and other Internet femmesations come to mind–morals take a clear backseat to wealth and notoriety. In fact, our society has learned to value the latter two so highly that morals are an implicit assumption of fame and wealth. We don’t think about how people amassed their fortunes so much as the fact that they amassed them in the first place. We’re dazzled by sensationalism, and willing to pay the price for it, in more ways than one.

If the usual patterns hold up, Natalie should get her own TV show or book deal soon. Her auction will “make” her. Sad.

Best Chili Ever (in China at least)

I love living in China but I do miss having a bowl of chili when it is cold
outside, especially from Steak & Shake. I found this recipe on-line and
it's not too bad. Try it out and let me know what you think or send me
your best chili recipe.

SERVES 2 -4 (change servings and units)

Mating Ritual

George Clinton, the King of funk, laments on the ritual of why must men chase the cat, rrff



Bill Withers gives us terrific music for those intimate moments after the dog gets the cat.



Los Lobos explains how we feel when we lose the love of our lives.

Cross Cultural Contamination

a typical Chinese “meat market” in Fuqing, Fujian

The following post was taken from Ben's Blog.

As Westerners, one of our first impressions of the China is an apparent lack of sanitation, especially in regards to food. In Chinese markets, one can find meat remaining out on tables all day long, unwrapped and unrefrigerated. Vegetables are sprawled over the dirty ground, often only a few feet away from heaps of rotting garbage. Flies and other pests are abundant. Chinese restaurants can be even worse. Like the market, the floors are dirty, the food is not always refrigerated, cooking utensils are often old and rusty, and cooks slice their vegetables on the same surface as raw meat without washing in between. Based on Western standards, China’s restaurants and markets fall far below our expectations of cleanliness in the West. (note: Many high-end Chinese restaurants follow Western sanitation standards. This article is concerned with the mid-range and cheaper places, which are more common.)

I believe there are 3 main reasons for this.

1. China is a developing country, and amenities such as refrigeration are still relatively new. Although they are available to most of the population, it still requires time for these devices to be completely integrated into the culture. A refrigerator in China is still an amenity, not a necessity as it is in the West. The same could be said for individual packaging of meats and vegetables, which is available in most high-end grocery stores, but still not the norm for Chinese families buying groceries.

2. Americans* are over-paranoid about food sanitation. Our mysophobic society spends too much time and effort ensuring all our food products are clean, sealed, fresh, air-tight, unpolluted, untainted, uncontaminated, dirt free, sanitary, hygienic, sterile, disinfected, anti-bacterial, and vacuum-packed. Yes, germs are the culprits of most infectious diseases, but when did we forget that each of our bodies come equipped with its own personal immune system. While I am not saying food sanitation is not important, I do think it is a little overkill in the US.
*I could have probably said “Westerners” but I have not spent enough time in other Western countries to accurately judge.

3. This is the point I want to focus on. Traditional Chinese cooking methods, are by nature, more sanitary than those of the West. Because Chinese society survived for nearly 5,000 years without “modern” sanitation technology, the food culture developed with built-in sanitary checks.

Let’s look at some examples.

1. The Chinese rarely touch their food with their hands. As much as we fret about sneezing, spitting, and passing our bodily fluids, there is quite possibly no spot of the body which spreads as many germs as the hands. Yet, a good proportion of Western cuisine is “finger food.” In China this is rare. Even snacks such as peanuts are eaten with chop sticks. If you order fried chicken at a Chinese fast food restaurant, you will likely be given plastic gloves to assist you with your consumption. Why? Less chance of food touching the hands means less chance germs will enter through the mouth. I am not suggesting that the ancient Chinese possessed the knowledge of germ theory. However, it does not take a microscope to figure out that touching food with grimy hands can lead to sickness.

Vegetables, such as this homemade baby bok choy, are always served cooked in China.

2. In China, vegetables come cooked. Outside of the context of Western cuisine, most Chinese people would not even think of eating uncooked vegetables. Whether they are stir-fried or dipped in boiling water, Chinese vegetables are served cooked, 99% of the time. Often times, food-born illness such as E. Coli are ingested from contaminated fresh vegetables. With cooked veggies this is a non-issue. This also nullifies the danger of cutting vegetables on the same surface as raw meat.

3. The Chinese tendency towards eating meat in morsels. In the West, we like our meat in large pieces. Cutting it up ourselves is part of the dining experience. In China, this task is relegated to the cook. Meat is diced up into small pieces before it hits the wok. With small morsels it is easier to ensure that the meat is thoroughly cooked. In the West, we prefer cooking large pieces of meat before they are cut up. This method increases the likelihood that part of the meat will not be fully cooked.

4. Everything goes on the fire. Chinese kitchens may be dirty, but there isn’t an item in that kitchen which won’t be exposed to extreme heat before it makes its way onto your plate. 2 million years of human civilization has proven that there is no better germ-killer than good old-fashioned fire. Virtually every item ordered in a traditional Chinese restaurant will arrive at your table straight from a fiery wok. Unlike when cooking with an oven, the operator of a wok constantly flips and turns the contents to ensure all ingredients are properly exposed to heat. With only a few small exceptions, everything in China is served hot (read: sterilized). Heck, the Chinese even boil their water before drinking it.

Interestingly enough, in nearly three years in China, I have only gotten sick off of food once; this as opposed to my average of at least once or twice a year when I was living in the US. At first glance, it would seem logical that living in an environment where food sanitation regulations are lax or non-existent would lead to an increase in food-related stomach ailments. However, three years of subsisting off a diet consisting primarily of cheap Chinese restaurant food has shown this not to be the case.

For the record, I am no doctor, nor do I have statistics to back up my claims. Instead, I am speaking on personal experience and observation, when I say posit that Chinese food culture is inherently more sanitary than that of the West. Western societies have developed higher degrees of sanitation standards, in part to compensate for a food culture which is in and of itself, relatively unhygienic. Had we been slicing our food into little bits, cooking everything on a wok, and not using our fingers, we might have been able to allow our sanitation standards to slide a bit as well. Alright, I’m off to get some stir-fried beef and boiled spinach.

Wildcard Weekend Blues

One of the drawbacks of living in China is the inability to follow American sports as thoroughly as one can in the states. Most of the time I am able to cope by reading about the games online and watching a few ESPN, MLB or NFL.com videos. The experience is not the same but I have realized a huge savings of time that helps compensate from the lost experience but it still is very sad to miss all of the NFL playoffs.

Congratulations to the Cardinals for their second playoff win in the past 60 years. If you double that win total it is Super Bowl Baby. The Colt's pulled their annual choke job and lost to the Chargers, again. Can you say, Norv Turner for coach of the year.

Two more games tomorrow and then the real playoffs begin as the Steelers try to earn one for the 2nd pinkie.

Links Happy New Year

Hong Kong KFC serves food from trash - Shanghaist
Finger-licking good

Top fake news of 2008 - Danwei
$50 billion Ponzi scheme involving the financial elite, too bizarre to be true

China Blog Awards 2008 - Chinalyst
Next year Zataki will win

Happy New Year!!

There are some interesting things planned for the site in the new year, so be sure to stay tuned.

From all of us at Xataki, all the best to you and yours in 2009.