A new adventure begins…
Dear all,
I have not written in ages. I apologize. On Wednesday of this week I moved to Hong Kong from Beijing — the city that has been my home for the past year and a half…
Long story short, visa issues..I will be working for the same company, just the Hong Kong office.
I am really excited. I’ll post some pictures soonish.
View from the Window
Another View from the Window
Just look at that sky. Today, Father’s Day, is a precious Blue Sky Day. The trees are green, the air fresh. Warm, but not stifling. This kind of weather makes me want to take full advantage of the beautiful Beijing vegetable markets — or start a garden in my living room.
I’m in the mood for good food. Please take a moment to enjoy this clip from Jamie Oliver at Home about Peas & Beans. Tell me that first dish does not look delicious. As soon as I get a hold of some great cheese, I will be making this.
I’m thinking up ways to have a window sill garden. I’ll keep you posted.
“You Don’t Have to Lift a Finger!”
Hard Work.
I wonder when, if ever, I will stop receiving spam messages directing me to where I can “Sell My Textbooks Back!” or “Dear Student, Non-traditional Job OFFER!” “Make 8 Trillion Dollars in 5 hours! You don’t have to lift a finger!”
Wouldn’t that be nice. “I’m a multiple trillionaire and I have never lifted a finger.”
A: “Oh what line of work are you in?”
B: ” I do nothing. I just make money.”
I think I’d get quite bored…
In other news…my soul needed spaghetti and meatballs. There might not be a more appropriate dinner choice for watching the World Cup than spaghetti and meatballs. And so it is. Feast your eyes on dinner:
Spaghetti & Meatballs in Beijing
Also, I have an insatiable desire to draw birds. Weird, I know. I can’t escape it. It is in my blood. Check out the Black-throated Bunting. Beautiful plumage.
It is in my blood..
speak in lowercases
For those of you who may not have known, and I truly do not blame you for being unaware, my previous blog was entitled “speak in lower cases”. The title comes for my affinity for lower case letters. I prefer them to uppercase, which seem too intrusive. Now I have something to back this silly preference. Someone else prefers them too.
I was finishing up David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man when I came across this nugget of information:
“Set your headline, and indeed your whole advertisement, in lower case. CAPITAL LETTER ARE MUCH HARDER TO READ, PROBABLY BECAUSE WE LEARN TO READ in lower case. People read all hteir books, newpapers, and magazines in lower case.” (154, Confessions of an Advertising Man)
Rugs Are Oriental, Not People
Orientalism By: Edward W. Said
Contrary to what one might think about a degree in Chinese language and literature, my course portfolio consists of a wide range of disciplines, most of them Liberal Arts. From Human Geography, to Art History, to Anthropology and History — several of my courses hit on this book: Orientalism by Edward W. Said. Some courses covered it more in-depth, while others made mere mention.
Published in 1978, it is a critique of how influential people of the West ( including, but not limited to academics, artists, writers, etc.) referred to people of Asia and the Middle East.
In short, it is a mystification and often romanticization of the East. Remnants of Western imperialism.
I feel the best example of “orientalism” comes from orientalist artists.
Jean Léone Gérôme 1866 "Dance of the Almeh"
Facebook is a beautiful landscape for opinions and comments. I was recently browsing Facebook and came across the source of inspiration for this blog post. It was a comment in response to a quote from Paul Harvey that America is spending 29% more on scientific research than it is on funding for the fine arts. Although I tend to agree, there is a dangerous disproportion of funding, I strongly disagree with the following comment:
To paraphrase: “Most of our doctors [in America] and research scientists are Indian, Oriental, or from the British Isles.”
I’m not sure of the accuracy of this claim, however, I am fairly positive it is based upon the dangerous path of generalizations. I did a search of the breakdown of physicians in America based upon race/ethnicity. These numbers are brought to us by the American Medical Association.
Total Physicians by Race/Ethnicity – 2006
(total physicians = 921,904)
| Race/Ethnicity | Number | Percentage |
| White | 514,254 | 55.8 |
| Black | 32,452 | 3.5 |
| Hispanic | 46,214 | 5.0 |
| Asian | 113,585 | 12 |
| American Native/Alaska Native | 1,444 | .02 |
| Other | 12,572 | 1.4 |
| Unknown | 201,383 | 22 |
Source: Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the US, 2008 Edition. American Medical Association.
While these numbers do nothing to address the nationality with which these doctors in America are associated, they do help negate the Facebook comment.
Of course, I feel the real problem I have with this comment is that I can not decipher what it even means? Does it matter what nationality/race/ethnicity these doctors are? So long as they are honest, capable, dedicated physicians, I can not see the problem.
If the problem is that America is not producing its own physicians at a fast enough rate/quality issues and physicians from other countries come to the US to practice where is the problem? Does it lie in funding?
In closing, back to the original point. Rugs are Oriental, not people. I think it is entirely important to say what you mean and mean what you say. It is when we use charged language, perhaps without even knowing the weight some words carry, that we create tension. To call someone an Oriental is weighted, heavily and negatively.
I leave you with a comment I found on the Businessweek website. It carries words with the same weight (3rd world countries, as if developing countries are something less, something below a second and first world). Just feel the negativity (although “I’m not saying they are bad people…”) Dangerous, dangerous. I have added highlights to some of my favorite words:
On Crossing the Street.
It never rains in Beijing.. But today.. and Thursday, it did. It has been a good day for streaming Jamie Oliver at Home.
Back to Beijing!
Although you may not have known it, like a ninja, I returned Stateside for a brief visit with my family. I am now reporting that I have safely returned to Beijing.
The return flight was a grueling, but necessary 40 hours. Gosh, 40 hours you might say is a long time, but compared to the seven months I have been away, only minutes.
I am so glad to have seen all of you whom I did have the opportunity to see and if I missed you, we’ll catch up in September when I am home again for Kyle’s wedding! I’m sure that will be a great opportunity for us to celebrate the occasion and catch up.
The return to Beijing was interesting. I can now say I have accidentally been to Alaska. What I saw from the plane was stunning and has confirmed that I would like to travel around the state a bit to see what it has to offer. Only good things, I’m sure. A passenger fell ill on the flight, so ill in fact, that we were forced to land for about two hours. I caught my connecting flight in Japan by the skin of my teeth (I think that is an appropriate phrase, forgive me if not, I am pretty jet-lagged). And off to Beijing was I.
Yesterday, I awoke at 6:00am and maintained consciousness until 2:00pm whereupon I accidentally fell asleep until 7:30. I then proceeded to eat some unsatisfying noodles and fell asleep again by about midnight.
I awoke again at 3:30am. Good.
It is off to class for me. Good things are stirring here. Stay tuned. Be well and stay positive.
A(nother) Snowy Day in Beijing Town
It is Sunday, March 14, 2010 and nearly 2:00 in the afternoon. I cannot guess at what time this madness began, but it surely has not stopped since. Again, for the sixth or seventh time it is snowing in Beijing.
I think I can finally grasp why Inuits would have over 100 different words for snow. It is different every time. Today, the flakes are light and much like several billion feathers falling to the earth. They are not falling directly to the ground, but are falling up and down and sideways and swirly. For the sake of comparison, the last time it snowed, a mere two or so weeks ago, yes, March 1, 2010 ish, the snowflakes fell quickly and more like ice. Freezing rain? you ask, no, not quite. I think it was still snow.
Today feels like life in a snow globe and as one none too accustomed to life enclosed, I am ready for the spring. I want to go out and run again! Pretty as it falls though.
This type of weather justifies ordering take out. B and I ordered a delicious pizza being that it is Sunday and pizza specials abound. It was all things good and eve
What has been going on lately? It seems that I, as well as many of you, have settled into 2010 with a certain optimism and comfort. Classes resumed on March 8 and I still go into the office several days a week. While I cannot say much for classes, I am still entirely enjoying myself with the internship! It has been a tremendous opportunity for growth and I have now set my sights on a master’s degree. There are, however, no set plans on where and where I will attend school.
This will be all for now. I hope all is well wherever you may find yourself!
Get it .
Do not fret.. that’s me in a wig. I have not been gone THAT long! You can even see my blond hair peeking through. That’s my pal Justin too. We were posing for the camera.
Hello All! It surely has been a while!
I kept meaning to explain my previously posted picture — President Obama and me. In a nutshell, back in November, President Obama came to China. It was his first time here and a very big deal. They had this grand show for him, a big production of traditional Chinese entertainment and what not. About 15 American students, myself included, were whisked away to join in on the festivities and together with about 100 Chinese college students, we sang a couple of songs (hand motions included). It was pretty surreal, the whole thing. And at the end of our performance, I got to shake his hand! Only in China!
Now, I must explain. There has been good reason for my lack of writing. For the past two months, I have been working as an editing intern for a Beijing branch international public relations firm. I’ve been learning a lot and having a great time!
School is out right now until March and I am absolutely relieved. I have actually had time to enjoy myself and eat real meals! The only thing stopping me from exploring more is the unbearable cold and wind here. I’m getting along quite well. I’ll do a better job of posting pictures!
Be well.
Dear Mr. President…
In case you didn’t believe me..
