Chinese children and sleep.

Family at Longmen

They are so cute! Little ones are dressed so well - the little boys so handsome and the girls so cute. Of course boys are more welcome in families than girls, although little girls are generally very well loved. With the one child policy it must be hard for the parents as they do need a son to carry on the family name, which is what they must do for their ancestors.

We have heard some very sad tales about families who are devastated about having a little girl and so desperately wanting a son. And little boys are quite spoiled. "Little Emperors" they are often called.

We don't see a lot of prams here, and so many parents, and grandparents carry a sleeping child when they are out. I have no idea what time children usually get up in the mornings, but we see them constantly being carried - awake or asleep.

Also if we are out in the early evening or later at night we see so many little children running around, (or being carried). We wonder what their bed time is. Clearly far later than we would expect most children to be home in bed in Australia. But that's the way it is.

Maybe the reason they need carrying all the time is tha they are always sleepy. Which is something that we find with the university students. They are always wanting to sleep. It is a phenomenon that we don't see back in Australia.

Lawn Mowing

Here in China there are lots of patches of grass or lawn. The grass looks like the "couch" that is common lawn grass in Australia. In Australia though we mow it. During the growing season - warmer weather - it is often almost a weekly task for the person whose job it is - perhaps the head of the household, the housewife, the teenage sons, or if lucky someone is paid to do it on a regular basis.

Here in China it is not used in the same way. People do sit on it, but strangely we find that only a few people sit on the grass. If they do they often sit on a sheet of newspaper or plastic. I guess we use picnic rugs or similar, but I don't recall actually seeing a picnic rug here.

But my point is that they seldom mow the lawns. The grass grows well and looks rather straggley - not mowed neatly like we Aussies seem to like our lawns. It has been a discussion point in Oz, particularly as most states have water restrictions that make it harder to water the lawns on a regular basis. Here I have never seen the lawns watered. It does rain here frequently and there is no water shortage as our drought stricken country is familiar with.

The college does not own a lawn mower, and on rare occasions I have heard a mower going, and the man comes with his mower and he does the small areas that are mown. They use a variety of mondo type grass here - and it grows in clumps to cover the ground between plantings of trees and shrubs. The clumps of grass are clipped by hand by the regular gardeners here. Not often, but every now and then we will see "Bill and Ben" - which is the term that some of us use for the rather large team of gardeners here - doing the clip.

I wonder if we in Oz could manage to live with a lawn that wasn't mown regularly. It would save on fuel, be better for the environment, and give a longer break to those guys and girls who have the job of regular mowing.

I've thought about our own backyard. We need the lawn mowed for the dog. He's such a small fellow that we'd lose him in long grass, and I wouldn't so easily identify the dreaded cane toads that are in our garden and who pose a real threat to Kramer the dog.

We actually walk on our lawns and the trail of couch grass can trip us up, and long grass would hide snakes.

I have given it some thought - that is thought about how we could manage with our lawns mowed less regularly. I do think we need to plant more mondo grass and things like that - the long mondo grass in particular - and we need to worry less about watering our lawns then.

I do think there is some merit in caring for our lawns the way they do here in China.

Exercise - congratulations to the Chinese.

Morning exercise is a daily ritual for many Chinese. Families do it - probably Tai Chi or similar in the morning at home, though many folks go to local parks and you see groups of people doing their routines. Other folk have their own regimes. It is not uncommon to see Chinese people hitting big trees, walking backwards around a park, and doing other routines that I cannot explain.

Students are school participate in daily exercises - and here in this college at 6.20 am exactly every day there are large groups of students on the sports ground, with the aid of recorded music and an "exercise leader" going through their paces.

In some businesses there is an exercise routine performed before starting work - even one of the restaurants that we visit from time to time has all the staff performing to loud music at the front of the building.

I think it is an excellent habit. Well done, my Chinese friends.

Sticky Tape

We all use sticky tape - but under various names I guess. Cellotape, sticky tape, whatever. One of the world's great inventions I think is sticky tape dispensers. Yes, even the little plastic doo dads that you get when you buy a cheap roll of the stuff. We seem to use sticky tape almost every day, and here is no different.

But one feature here is that there are no dispensers. Nope. Not a one. So every time that you want to use sticky tape, you go through the crazy game of finding the "end" of the tape, so you can hold it and roll out the amount of tape you want. Infernal. Crazy.

Would some one who sells sticky tape dispensers sell the idea to the Chinese? I'm sure they are all made here, but no one uses them.

Strange!

English Language Teaching

As an English Teacher here in China I have some strong views about what is happening here. It appears that the Americans have been and "indoctrinated" the country with their style of English, which is different to British and Australian English. The slang for example. I can't find it in any books, but I see it everywhere in writing letters to newspapers and students work. Examples such as "I wanna" which seems to be acceptable, and the "and so on." which appears in almost every student's work.

But it is not only that. It is the whole industry. It reeks of corruption and disarray.

I am confused about the Chinese "education system" and wonder if it is a system at all. I find it extra ordinary that "blow ins" as I might call myself and other English teachers that arrive for a semester or two, actually have to write the curriculum and course objectives for a subject at university. With no information. We might have met our students once or twice before we must write this stuff, but it is a nonsense anyway as no one seems to refer to it, or even check that we do it.

Students are forever complaining to us - about various aspects of college. In my own opinion I find it strange that the college/university might be run as a business for profit, and not (that I can see) for the good of education and the students. Classes are oversized, facilities are poor, students live in cramped accomodation, classrooms are filthy with unsuitable furniture for students, and there are limited facilties. And those they have are treated with disdain by students and teachers, although there is a better standard of student coming through now.

To me it seems so chaotic and yet the powers that be are pleased with their efforts. Colleges in other places seem to have similar culture.

I learn that many English teachers have false degrees, and there is a smell of corruption in the system that is almost overpowering. No one checks qualifications, and no one cares. It seems.

Traffic Chaos at weekends.

There are so many people in China that it is overwhelming for us at times.

Weekends even in Shaoxing city proper can be chaotic. Tour buses arrive, but people come by car, bike, or bus to visit the tourist spots with their friends and families. Great for the tourist spots, but it creates chaos on the roads around these places, and as Saturday and Sunday are big shopping days, it is good to stay away from these busy places at weekends. Hard for us to do, as our days off are Saturday and Sunday!

We have experience this challenge of moving thousands of people all at once in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Shanghai has good Metro or underground rail system, but it is on the roads, and on the footpaths like the Nanjing Walking Street and the Bund at these busy times. Public holidays are chaotic!

I think if you are visiting any of these big cities you need consider this. If you can rest in your hotel at the weekend or public holiday, and do your touring during the week you will find it easier.

All Chinese cities are the same. With a population of 1.3 billion, you can see one of the challenges they face.

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink!

Coming from the driest continent on earth, Australia, it is staggering to see so much water around. The many rivers which are wide, and flowing well with water is enough to make an Aussie nearly cry. If only we could have so much water - even a small proportion of it.

As well, the canals that flow from the rivers and wend their way around the housing estates, city buildings, and farm lands is a constant reminder of how China has managed its water over the years. In the farm lands, as well as the canals, there are lakes of water, and most farms seem to have their own water - perhaps a dam or lake, or access to a river or canal.

Not only that - it seems to rain often. Good rains too. No wonder they can grow such marvellous gardens here!

Much of the water though is quite polluted. The water is not crystal clear. Much of it is dirty - with visible brown dirty water, and there are many strange weeds, fungus, and floating strange stuff in the water. One would certainly not want to drink it!

But women regularly wash clothes in the canals, and in many places people wash their bodies. Near the river or larger canals it is not uncommon to see men in a state of undress washing off the day's grime.

Everyone carries a water bottle or tea bottle, which is good.

Most older homes do not have the luxury of water and in some places they get their water from a well. Many residences just have cold water running, which is only used for cleaning etc. Drinking water is purchased - usually in huge bottles. Many residences do not have the luxury of a bathroom and have to wash their bodies using a plastic bowl of water.

More modern homes would have running cold water and hot water heaters. I know my students are impressed that we have these facilities in our apartments!

One thing that I believe is that in Australia we have thoroughly wasted water. Even knowing it is the driest continent on earth we have "abused" the water we have. I think we should do more to capture the water when it rains - even to creating reservoirs or lakes (or even canals) in our cities. We really cannot afford to let our rain water escape!

Spitting and Piddling

When spitting was banned in Beijing before and during the Olympics I had hoped that the news would spread to other places. But it continues and it is grosse.

Men and women clear their throats and spit the mucous - it is on the footpath, on the road, even on the bus, and it is common to see someone driving and just spit out the window. Mainly men, but I have seen women do it. It is a bit confronting when you are sitting eating when this is done. Really awful habit.

Another strange thing is that men stand and piddle. Anywhere. I think it is rather comical in a way that as one drives along the freeway in a bus, you will see cars stopped along the freeway and the man standing having a piddle beside the road. Walls are another place that attract the piddler, but it is just accepted that if a man wants to, he can pee anywhere. I've not seen women doing it in public though.

There are many many public toilets around. In my view there is no need to pee in the street. Or if caught short, at least do it away from view.

Flies

Everyone has flies. Dirty little creatures. China has them too of course, but we note that the preferred way of dealing with them is the fly swat.

That's OK, but it can be disconcerting. Let me explain.

We visited a restaurant one day in the centre of Shaoxing, which displays a plaque that labels it as one of the best restaurants in China in 1985. I don't think it has been updated since, but it just happens to be handy for us sometimes, and we rarely have anything more than a cold drink on a hot day.

The first time I was there, an elderly gentlemen spent the whole time swatting flies and flicking them onto the floor. Whack! Bang! It continued much to our amusement as we sat only feet away from his activities. Whack! Bang! Flick!

The other day I was there again with a friend, who was visiting the restaurant for the first time, and I was telling here about the "Mr Fly Swat" man. And lo, someone else turned up, swat in hand raised to get his next victim.

Food and health

We "foreigners" often comment on the eating of our Chinese students. They always seem to be eating and they talk frequently about their love of food and concern that they should always be eating healthy fresh food for the good of their health.

It does appear to us that the students are healthy - there are infrequent absences due to sickness, but at the same time we find them tired all the time. Now I know they have a full day. Up at 6.15 am, and classes until 8.30 pm, but their days are not all filled with work. They have a two hour break during the day and like many Chinese people, they sleep during that time. Most do some exercise in the morning - in fact it is part of their culture to regularly exercise. The first year students must attend morning exercise in the sports field, but for the others it is optional.

They certainly eat a lot of rice and noodles, not much meat and in reality not a lot of vegetables unless they choose to eat at certain canteens at the college. They certainly like their buns, and quite a lot of strange snacks that I am unable to identify.

Their is an emphasis on "fresh" food - but we wonder at some of the methods of handing food. In the markets the fresh fruit and vegetables look good - but the water they are washed in is often questionable. If they wash the vegetables in the canals, which we see them do often, we have some concerns. The canal water is often quite polluted. The meat in the markets is open to the flies, and is not refrigerated all the time.

The hot food cooked in the street markets is certainly freshly cooked, but the surrounds are dirty, dusty and full of rubbish. One has to walk gingerly through the piles of foodstuffs to access the food stalls.

In the supermarkets the flies are regular visitors and are often seen sitting on food. Ugh!

The girls are obsessed about being slim, and we are aware of some students who have made themselves ill over their determination not to eat too much and keep their slender bodies. In a similar way to some teenagers here, but there is much pressure on all the girls as they talk about having to be beautiful in a way that I have not heard before.

We wonder if the teenagers are getting enough protein in their diets. There is little meat in their diet.

Certainly our health departments would be astonished at the way food is handled.

I wonder about China's future on the world scene.

I believe that in China there are too many "short cuts" at times. The melamine in the milk scandal might help to explain what I mean. There seems to be a tradition of "making do", or "doing the least to look the best", or taking the easy way to do something, or to make something, that is not necessarily the safest and best idea long term.

Someone involved in the milk scandal realised that more profit could be made by adding water and melamine to milk, but the consequences of humans ingesting this plastic powder were not thought out properly. Someone must have known, some people must have known, when they started using the melamine, that sooner or later it would be found out. And that there may be consequences of putting such a product into milk. A company which appears to be right in the midst of all this scandal has suffered badly, and so has its employees, and its suppliers. In the end the only ones that "won" were those that made a big profit - and I wonder how much of their profits they have remaining.

The fact that so many people - children - have been affected by the greed of some people - is very distasteful to all who know the story. I believe(and I stand to be corrected if this information is not true), that at leat 4 babies died as a result of the melamine in milk issue, and over 50,000 were treated for health problems as a result of this.

I'd also like to add how disappointed I am that so many women in China (indeed all over the world) choose to have manufactured milk products as their preferred milk preparation for precious little babies when mother's milk - created naturally by the mother's body- is not the preferred method of feeding babies. Sure, I understand the challenges of working mothers and I know that here in China working mothers return to the workforce soon after the baby is born. Other countries in the world have learned that it is best for the mother and baby to take some time to bond.

Is this another "short cut" that is not in the long run the best for the Chinese people? I am not certain that mothers understand the long term consequences of feeding babies and young children on so much processed food. Natural will always be better.

It is only a short time since the scandal of the toys that were manufactured in China - and manufactured NOT to the standards required by the US marketers of such products. Again a terrible scandal for all involved and not a good look for China.

I often wonder if the people of China know that some of the items they purchase here are not of the same standards that are required in countries like USA, Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia. Do Chinese people know that there are higher standards elsewhere, and that they are being a little "short changed" even though the products are made in their own country?

Reflections on China

I first came to China in February 2009. Wide eyed. I came to teach English at a college. My initial contract was for just over four months, and I came back after the summer holidays. I've considered staying on for another semester when my current contract is over, but some things have occured in the last week or so which has made me reconsider. And I am growing angry about some things that I see here.

Let me expain a little. I have at all times been thankful for the Chinese authorities for allowing me to have this amazing experience. I don't want to cause any trouble, but I feel I need to tell my truth about some things. I've said it is a paradox. On the one hand something is wonderful, but entwined in that wonderment is the negative. For example, I love the street stalls for food. They cook fresh food, to your choice off the back of old rattly tricycles, trucks, or some other wheeled contraption. The food looks and tastes terrific. You can ignore in some sense what back home in our own country would cause healt department officials to almost have apoplexy! I can deal with that. But what I cannot abide is that all the rubbish is dumped at the feet of the stall holder. Egg shells, packaging, peels, old skewers, bowls, and other general rubbish is left right where it was thrown. And it is left there or thrown in the garden.

The same garden of which the Chinese show great pride is filled with an assortment of waste. It looks grosse. It is dirty and unhealthy. It looks disgusting.

See the paradox?