Commpatriotism

As you may or may not know, there is a fairly large sporting event happening this coming month. 8/08/08 at 8:08 P.M. Beijing time (or China time, the 3rd largest country in the world only has 1 time zone) are when the famed Olympic Games will begin. Beijing was given the right to host the games under the condition that it would improve its air quality for tourists and athletes, improve human rights conditions, and allow full access to the internet for at least foreigners during the Games. Beijing agreed to make the changes 7 years ago. As of today, Beijing is covered in a thick cloud of smog and some of its local waters have a pollution caused algae film. The city has gone through extensive measures to evict "undesirables" from the city including the physically and mentally handicapped, homeless persons, and some of the elderly. It has also banned Mongolians and Black skinned people from bars and clubs. China has detained more political dissenters so far this year than all of last year. To top it all off, two days ago Beijing announced that it will censor the internet for all foreigners during the course of the games, exclaiming that it "won't interfere with the accurate reporting of the Games."

Criticism aside, I do find the above poster a good representation of the Chinese attitude towards the game. China desperately wants to dominate the Games, and show its international clout. Everyone of my coworkers ask me if I want to see the games, go to Beijing, and if I know any one of their 4 famous athletes. The entire country of 1.3 billion people (except maybe Tibetans) are passionately supporting their athletes and their country. It will be the most watched game in recent history not only in sheer numbers, but also in worldwide scrutiny. I really wish I could go to the main event, however the tickets are outrageously priced ($5,000.00) and there are no hotel rooms left in the city. The good news is a portion of the games will be played right here in Shanghai, and I at least have proximity on my side for that.

The Daily Engrish: part IV

I seem to have a habit of taking rushed, blurry pictures in the subway. This picture exemplifies a trend I have seen here: many people wear t-shirts with English words on them, sometimes in a completely random and nonsensical order. I guess it is similar to people in the States getting a tattoo of a Chinese or Japanese character thinking it means "Peace" or "Love" and it actually means "Look at me, I'm clueless."

Beijing Dong Lu, Xizang Zhong Lu

This is at an intersection nearby where my new apartment will be. (yeah I'm moving because my place isn't very good for the price, and its far from work, and I don't like living by myself in such a small space.)

The Daily Engrish: part III

This one comes to you once again from the Shanghai metro. I needed a picture for an ID card, so I stopped in the photo booth on the way to work. It was slightly expensive, so it did kind of feel like I was throwing away my money.

Gambeiing

So, it's been a while since I last posted here. It would be an understatement to say I've been busy. Every day I work, then go to someone's house, some networking event, some restaurant, or someplace other than my apartment until late. Sometimes I don't come back at all. Don't get me wrong, I love it. I meet new people everyday. Just recently I met a fellow American who works in the video game industry and his work entails pretty much staying home all day and playing video games. Some life. Today he told me about a modeling gig a friend of his is doing, and she needs some white guys for it. So this weekend I will be paid 1300 RMB (almost 200 bucks) for 5 hours of trying to look good.

When last I posted, I was about to head off to a business trip to Yichang in central China. My role was to say a few words in English and look like a foreigner. Any company here has instantly more clout by having a foreign face on the team. The meeting went fairly well, though I could only understand a little of it. For the two nights that we were there (me, my boss, and one Chinese coworker), we got full body massages. When I say full body I mean full body, and for three hours long no less. It was incredibly relaxing and also a little humorous when they got to my extra toe. The day after the meeting we had a lunch to finalize things. It was a proper royal dinner, with 9 courses and incredibly expensive Chinese wine. During these lunches it is customary to salute someone, say "Gambei" (basically cheers), and take a full shot of 65 proof alcohol. Considering I was the laowai, I had to represent my company and outdrink everyone. There were about 15 people at lunch, so that meant one would Gambei me, then I would Gambei them, then another would Gambei me, and so on and so on. Let's just say I was knocked out for the plane ride home right after that.

During the meeting, I managed to sneak a quick pic. On the far left is my boss, Johnny, and to the far right is the head of the development company we were working with.