Well, I will be running off soon. Kunming has been my home for a year and a half, but I’m going back to the U.S. this month. I will be starting my new life in Washington, D.C. I’ve never lived in the capital before, and never really thought I would, but that’s what’s happening.
Next week we finish up classes. My final exams are on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then Jeremy and I are planning to travel around Yunnan. Hopefully we can avoid the cold weather.
Although today was pretty mild, it has been a chilly week. And I should remind you all that Kunming doesn’t have indoor heating, so everyone wears their coats inside. And once your fingers and toes turn to ice, it’s impossible to warm them back up without the aid of some sort of dangerous electric heating appliance — I have a space heater, electric blanket, and plug-in hot water bottle.
Shockingly, I have a cold that has lingered for almost two weeks. At least the fever went away, but I have that terrible chapped nose from blowing my nose constantly. Ugh.
I just finished a book my dad lent me, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki. It is a very engaging history of the U.S. from the beginnings to just after the cold war. (It was published in 1993.) Really reminds you that the U.S. has always been multicultural, and our image of a “real” American being white just doesn’t make any kind of sense at all. Of course there were plenty of white guys in early America, plenty of English-speaking Anglos, but there were so many other groups of people — immigrants and Native Americans. And it’s interesting to see how and when certain people became “us” and others remained “them.” I’m not talking about immigrants stubbornly resisting the melting pot! There were all kinds of barriers set up to prevent people from becoming citizens and to prevent people from getting an education and finding work. I guess I should make that last sentence present tense! We are still a country that loves waging war internally between “us” and “them.” And the point of the book is that “us” is “them”… and er… “them” is “us”… er… we are they. “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together… I am the walrus!…” Anyway, it isn’t really all that psychedelic, but it is highly recommended.
Oh, and here is a disturbing piece describing capital punishment and lethal injections in Yunnan. It is an interview with Liu Renwen, “a death penalty expert,” who advocates the use of lethal injection over “execution by shooting” which is still the favored method in China. How very progressive!
I’m not actually in China right now. I’m visiting the U.S., but I’m returning to Kunming next week. I can’t wait! Being home has been great, but I really miss Jeremy and my life back in China.
Staying with my parents now in Holland, Michigan. Over the last week, we’ve been helping my grandparents move into a retirement community here. It’s been a stressful experience, especially for grandma and grandpa.
There are still quite a few boxes to unpack.
But things are beginning to settle.
Last night I had dinner with two friends from elementary school, Brooke and Jeremy. That was pretty weird, but nice to see them both grown up. I imagine if we were ever to live in the same city again, I would end up hanging out with them. So we did the normal catch up talking all evening, but before the end of the night, I idiotically lost my mother’s keys and cell phone. They were safely recovered this morning. What a moron, eh?
Jammie Thomas agreed to let me put this website together to help her accept paypal donations.
She’s the lady that was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for alleged music pirating and illegal sharing of songs. She was fined $220,000. She is a 30-year-old single mom from Brainerd, MN with an annual income of $36,000. The internet got her into this, the internet can get her out!
This is a sad story that filtered through the expat community a week and a half ago.
A longtime expat in Kunming, Michael Sutherland, died in a rafting accident August 26, 2007. At least two other people, including his girlfriend, also died in the accident. Everyone was wearing safety gear, but they capsized in a dangerous stretch of the river. It’s very likely that he died trying to save his girlfriend.
Today I found an article from Michael’s hometown newspaper in Wisconsin. This is the only written account of the story that I’ve been able to find. Other stories have made the rounds here through word-of-mouth. Nothing has appeared in the Chinese press.
I have a new niece! But because certain family members are paranoid about stalkers, I can’t release anymore information about her existence. Anyway, I’m very excited and I hope the mom recovers soon.
I watched the 1978 vintage classic The Wiz last night. There was a lot more singing than I remember and a lot less story. And a lot of references I didn’t get last time — the (Jim) Crows, taxis that don’t stop for you, New York stuff. And wow is Michael Jackson ever awesome as the scarecrow.
It really is a miracle that kind of quality entertainment is available for less than 1USD on the streets of Kunming, China. Who knew?
It can be frustrating studying Chinese, a.k.a. “Mandarin” or “Mandarin Chinese.” Inside China, the language we study is called 普通话 (pǔ tōng huà) or “the common language.” Before I came to China, I didn’t realize — or fully appreciate it anyway — that every region has a local dialect. People here in Kunming speak the Kunming dialect. It is the language you are most likely to hear on the streets — in restaurants, vegetable markets, and the corner stores. On the university and college campuses, signs are posted for students to please speak and write Mandarin. Presumably this is because the government needs to make sure educated people can speak it. It is also worth noting that classes are (supposed to be) taught in Mandarin, and furthermore the students come from a variety of places and often truly don’t share a common dialect… hence the need for Mandarin, the COMMON (i.e. SHARED) language.
According to an article in the Shanghai Daily, the Chinese government reports that “only 45.1 percent of rural residents could speak Mandarin, compared to 66 percent of urban residents.”
This article is actually about how dialects isolate migrant communities in China. It’s an interesting and worthwhile subject that shares a lot of characteristics with the situation in the U.S. with the Spanish-speaking migrants.
However, I what really surprised were these numbers! If they’re accurate, that means less than 66% of China’s total population speaks Mandarin, less than 66% of Chinese people speak (what we call) Chinese. Weird!
Does that mean I speak more Mandarin than 34% of China’s population?
Yes, yes, yes, I know: I haven’t posted in quite some time. I seem to have lost all of August! There was traveling and Jeremy’s birthday (thanks for helping me with that one!) and then someone made me join facebook and… well, you understand. I’ve been distracted.
School has started again. It’s great. I’m back at Dong Fang (东方) and I lucked out with a wonderful teacher: 赵红 (Zhao4 Hong2). She is probably the most experienced Chinese teacher I’ve had so far. In the past, most of my teachers have been relatively young, uninterested women — not interested in teaching, not interested in learning. Anyway, this is our second week and I’m still happy. I’m also taking a morning class twice a week for speaking (口语) and listening (听力). The teacher for that class is also pretty good. She has a good knack for keeping everyone participating. Pretty remarkable.
These are my books:
First Year Chinese Course, Level 3, Vol. 2 [ISBN: 7-5619-1672-8]
汉语教程第三册下 (fancy new edition! 第十四课到第二十六课)
Short-term Spoken Chinese 3 [ISBN：7-5619-0705-2]
马箭飞 （2004）。汉语口语速成:提高篇。北京：北京语言文化大学出版社。
I’ve already studied the first six chapters of the second book, but I don’t think that will make me suffer too much. We’ll see.
Also, lucked out with some good 同学 (classmates). They seem really cool. Hard to say exactly who will register for the class, but I think for the most part people really like the teacher and they’ll stick around.
On an unrelated and random note… I was reading a thing on Salon.com just now when I was distracted by an ad. Now this is a good ad campaign! Check it out:
I feel cleaner and happier just looking at their website!
Yes, maybe if you don’t like to use dirty words, it’s not very interesting. But I think it’s a great way to make yourself feel more Chinese. (I’m always searching for ways to feel more Chinese! Who isn’t, really?) Swear like the locals!
gǔndàn (Simplified Chinese: 滚蛋; Traditional Chinese: 滾蛋) = get lost!
–> this one literally means “roll egg,” so it’s means like “roll away like an egg”
wōnang fèi (Simplified Chinese: 窝囊废; Traditional Chinese: 窩囊廢) = loser
Hey, did you know that my sister is a charity case? Yep, the media is even covering her sob story:
Fundraising via the internet is being touted as the future of charity. At realitycharity.com, you can share your ailment online and see who feels sympathetic.
…
Not all appeals are successful: McCann-Swanson, a 30-year-old from Wisconsin, has more than met her target in just four weeks, but countless others - such as Sarah Jenkins from Chesham in Buckinghamshire, looking for $60,000 (£30,000) to clear her student loans - have yet to raise a penny.
Well, I will be running off soon. Kunming has been my home for a year and a half, but I’m going back to the U.S. this month. I will be starting my new life in Washington, D.C. I’ve never lived in the capital before, and never really thought I would, but that’s what’s happening.
I just finished a book my dad lent me, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki. It is a very engaging history of the U.S. from the beginnings to just after the cold war. (It was published in 1993.) Really reminds you that the U.S. has always been multicultural, and our image of a “real” American being white just doesn’t make any kind of sense at all. Of course there were plenty of white guys in early America, plenty of English-speaking Anglos, but there were so many other groups of people — immigrants and Native Americans. And it’s interesting to see how and when certain people became “us” and others remained “them.” I’m not talking about immigrants stubbornly resisting the melting pot! There were all kinds of barriers set up to prevent people from becoming citizens and to prevent people from getting an education and finding work. I guess I should make that last sentence present tense! We are still a country that loves waging war internally between “us” and “them.” And the point of the book is that “us” is “them”… and er… “them” is “us”… er… we are they. “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together… I am the walrus!…” Anyway, it isn’t really all that psychedelic, but it is highly recommended.
Oh, and here is a disturbing piece describing capital punishment and lethal injections in Yunnan. It is an interview with Liu Renwen, “a death penalty expert,” who advocates the use of lethal injection over “execution by shooting” which is still the favored method in China. How very progressive!
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