The contrasts

China is amazing. Often hard to describe. There is so much that is new and modern, and so much that is old. This photo might explain what I mean. Shanghai is a modern city - and only a short distance from where this photo was taken, is a modern shopping centre beside an ancient trading centre. Modern toilets are there for the customers - including much to our liking a Western toilet. There are squat toilets and western toilet side by side, with two ladies whose duty it is to keep it all neat and clean!

As we walked through a street just minutes from the modern facilities, there was a lady cleaning out the chamber pot. Obviously her little house does not have this facility. Apparently each morning early, one can see people taking their chamber pots to the public toilets to empty, and here she was on the side of the footpath giving her chamber pot a vigorous clean out using a scraper/broom made of sticks.

I did not recognise what she was doing - in fact I hadn't seen her at all until I was told.facilities, and despite the deprivations of some people, that is the way they like it. That is the China that they are familiar with. It will be many years before all the housing in Shanghai is modern with all

Queues

Despite the crowds of people in China, they are not keen to be organised to get served in shops, get on the bus, get to the train, and so forth.

When the bus pulls in, there is a rush to get on first. Partly because there are few seats in the bus and there is a scramble to get one, but they don't mind a bit of pushing and shoving to get there. I amost get crash tackled to get on the bus, but I have learned to just push and keep my place.

Line up? The locals don't manage that well at all. Even if there is a long queue - for example at the train station where everyone must go through security - they will jump the queue - especially in front of foreigners.

Oddly sometimes it is more orderly, but there is certainly frequent queue jumping. Getting a ticket at the train station is generally more orderly, and yesterday I had no trouble, but it was after 5 pm and there were few people there.

It was an issue that fast food stores had to deal with, but they've managed to keep things more orderly there too.

There doesn't seem to be any concept of first in first served. It's every man, woman and child for himself, and for the most part shoving, pushing and rudeness goes with the territory but not in overly aggressive way.

Perhaps it would be easier on everyone if the queues were orderly - but I bet nothing will change while I am here!!!

Masks and lack of curiosity.

I can recall seeing on television in the past Asian ladies in particular wearing what look like hospital masks out and about within the community. In the past few days I've seen a few at the college wearing them.

Some are quite pretty - with a little motif on them. I asked a student about them. He first said he had no idea. He'd seen them but did not know why students wore them. Then he added in a quiet tone, that he thought just maybe they had a disease or something and then in a warning tone suggested we keep clear of anyone with a mask.

It raises another point. Curiosity or lack of it. It is quite weird to ask a student something and they can give no explanation. Of course I can understand the language is a issue - they may not know how to explain it in English, or it might be too hard, or they assume it is none of my business (which is true, but my curiosity is always high!)

Many things are on the college campus - and they have no knowledge of it, or interest in it. Many, even those who live in the city have never seen much of it. Their knowledge is very limited. And they aren't curious at all. I do find that unusual in a young person.

Bread - of for some good bread!

The bread in China for the most part is sweet. We have found it hard to find bread that we foreign teachers (the English variety) would enjoy with our breakfast. Bread is plentiful, and has many varieties but the plain old bread (white or wholemeal) is hard to find. We have found "French Bread Sticks" but they are not to our liking. Some have been very "thick" with an outer crust that one needs an axe to get through.

Bakeries are common here - and the variety of breads and cakes are tremendous and we do enjoy SOME of them. But we'd like to ask the Chinese bakers to delete some of the sugar and make a savoury variety.

It has been a point of great discussion and excitement if someone thinks that they can find a bread to please us.

Chinese bakeries are a feast on the eyes too - with the most exotic desserts and cakes that you can imagine. We've found a French bakery in Hangzhou which has great croissants and bread, but it is a long way to go to get our daily bread.

We now have an exotic bakery on the school campus - it used to sell a limited range of cakes and buns for the students, but recently and quite suprisingly without any fanfare the range increased dramatically and they also have a range of breads. One is OK - not as sweet as others, but has some sultanas in it.

Baked beans on toast with sultana bread? Odd, but it is the best I've found as yet.

Packaging in China

Packaging is fascinating here. Things appear to be "overpackaged" - items for example, food items, might have a wrapping around them, then they will be in another package, before the outer package.

As a result there is a lot of "rubbish" to throw away, although there is much that is recycled in some way. I have just eaten a moon cake - something that I was given some weeks ago, but is quite fresh. It was in a little "patty pan" type, complete with small package of "do not eat this - oxygen absorber powder), it had an outer sealed see through package, and it came in a small box, And this small box was in a bigger box - there were 8 of these packaged cakes in the box.
It is probably unfair to use this example, as the box of moon cakes was a gift to me.

However, it is something that we have noticed as a general principle. A packet of sweets for example will have a wrapper around it, and then another and in one or two packages.

Our waste bins can overflow with theexcess packaging, so you can imagine that with a population of 1.3 billion, there must be quite a bit of extra rubbish to dispose of somewhere.

A packet of Mentos in China has an extra layer of packaging. Wrigley's gum has extra too.

Anxiety among students about future employment.

The world's financial crisis is having an effect here in China. Companies are downsizing, some manufacturing businesses are finding their orders from around the world are drying up, and US companies here in China have reduced staff.

There is quiet an issue with employment here at the moment and the figures are quite staggering. Of course there is a huge population here, so there are more people potentially to be involved in any downturn in business, and downturn in employment opportunities.

The China Daily has reported on this situation on a regular basis and the stories continue to cause anxiety. Universities and colleges they are hoping that (a) many students will get internships or work experience over the next semser and that (b) there will be good long term employment prospects for their students.

Consequently there is added pressure on the students who are already under huge pressure from their parents, their university and their friends and extended families. Many of these young people are from one-child families, and much rests on them. The parents are hoping that their child will make a success of their life and be able to support or help their parents in the future.

Most parents wish their offspring to work locally too - much easier when trying to keep a family together - once upon a time with larger families it was less stressful to have one or more children away from home studying or earning. With smaller families it does put a good deal back on the shoulders of these young people.

So good grades and networking are very important. Let's home the downturn is shortlived.

Living in the Moment

Maybe this phrase answers so many questions about life here in China. We 'foreigners' always want detail. When are we going to do this or that? What time does it start? When will it finish? Do I need to take anything? How much?

These simple questions often remain unanswered even if we do ask several times. A student explained it to another English teacher the other day.

"You foreigners can't just live in the moment!"

I guess that is right. We don't "just go with the flow" all the time. Reminds me of a friend long ago, who seemed to think "God" would provide all the time and she was quite relaxed about anything that was happening.

I remember when she was leaving by plane from Brisbane to Perth - had run out of money, and time as it turns out. I had to drive to the airport at peak hour - I was the stressed one as she sat in the car as I broke speed limits, rules etc in an effort to help my guest reach the airport on time.

Unstressed, she just kept saying "God will get me there." and I remembered hoping that her "God" would help me pay any speeding or other fines I might have collected on my way.

Even when she arrived at the airport she glossed over all that I had done in my stressed speedy drive and announced "God" had done it.

Maybe she is one that can enjoy "living in the moment" but I need to be more organised. Someone has to!

Maintenance - what bloody maintenance.

This morning I visited the office of the secretary to the faculty. It often makes me shudder when I enter this office as their filing system is quite strange. It is hard to see that there is one really, as there are many folders, boxes, etc in a quite chaotic state.

Today there were two broken chairs. We have deduced that the chairs were probably made of "green timber" and as the timber has shrunk the chairs have fallen apart. We have seen the way the "maintenance man" deals with faulty chairs. If he can fix it with hammer and nails - the latter usually being too long for the job in hand - he will do so. Often the nails are sticking dangerously out of some part of the timber and need to be covered, hammered back, or something to prevent damage to us.

I looked at the pile of broken chairs which seemed to be thrust aside - maybe someone was coming to collect them. I don't know, but my guess is that they will still be there when I go to the office in a few days time.

One of the staff was all rugged up against the cold, but was shivering. I looked up and saw the reverse cycle air conditioner on the wall. "Turn it on." I suggested as I indicated the machine.

"No, it is broken. No one can fix it."

Oh, what a common lament I hear here.

My television is broken. No one can fix it. I think it is the cable - maybe a rat ate it. But it is broken. My toilet is broken. The bowl is not well attached to the floor - and "moves" every time I use it. Scary, but I've gotten used to it. The "maintenance man" has "fixed" it twice recently, but uses some weird useless cement.

Over and over again, we hear the lament "it is broken" and no one can fix it.

All around the campus it is the same. Things are broken, and never fixed. We wonder if the other teachers, staff or students ask for things to be repaired. Most likely, I have been told, they give up after asking so many times without result.

It is quite funny really - not what we are used to at all. Perhaps there is a good opportunity for a training school for maintenance men. Sounds like a good idea to me!!!!!

Stone and cement

When I return to Australia I will enjoy walking on something softer than stone or cement. Here in China, or at least in this part of China there is nothing else to walk on but stone, tiles or cement.

At the university there are only tiled floors - in our apartments, in the offices, in the canteens and other catering places. The foot paths are stone, or cement walk ways. In the class rooms there are tiles. The stairs are stone.

Walking to the bus stop - it is all cement or stone. In the city of Shoaxing it is cement or stone. Never does one walk on timber floors, or on lawns or "ground."

We feel the consequences of this in our feet and our backs. Sometimes after a few hours of teaching in a classroom with tiled floor where we never sit down, we can feel the stress on our bodies.

The Chinese people probably know little different.

If I go to the huge tourist spot across from the university, there too I can expect to walk only on stone or cement.

While everything looks green and the gardens stretch for "miles" there is no where to walk but these hard surfaces.

We have discovered that the Chinese people often do not like to walk on lawn or grass anyway. One teacher took her students out onto a small patch of grass near her class room, but the students would not sit on the grass. They just don't, although I have seen them sitting onplastic sheeting on the ground.

It is hard on the feet. I long to walk on a carpeted floor, a timber floor or just walk around grassy areas.

Squatting

I marvel at the ability of the Chinese people to squat - sit - with their feet planted flat on the ground. They have had good practice over the years as going to the WC over "squat toilets" or less sophisticated places to "go" they have had to squat. Safely.

I know little children have this ability to squat like that, but as they grow older and don't use the "squatting muscles" etc they lose this ability. Adult westerners find it very difficult to use the Chinese WC's, which is why he always hunt out modern hotels or restaurants hoping that they will have a western style WC.

But this ability to squat for long hours would be most useful. I see the menfolk squatting for long periods playing cards for example, as there is often no where else to sit. Men waiting for the bus or the train, just rest comfortably in a squatting position. If I even tried, my knees would be so painful. I just can't do it.

I do think using these muscles - especially the pelvic floor muscles would have other benefits too. I suspect that women after giving birth would more easily find their bodies returning to "normal", and there could be a reduction in the problems that western women find after childbirth - e.g. requiring repairs because the pelvic muscles had been damaged beyond repair.

Elderly women often suffer as a result of poor pelvic floor muscles, and I think guys do too, but different.

There seem to be items on the shelves in supermarkets for women with bladder issues, so there are obviously enough with these problems here. I don't know the statistics.

All up though, I just wish I had had the ability to squat. I can think of many times when this "gift" would be useful.

I note that the elderly gardeners at the college can squat for long hours when the weed the grass here. Amazing. (Though some do carry little wooden stools.)

Sleep epidemic

OK, I know that there are many cultures where it is acceptable to sleep during the day. I often wonder why some of the English speaking cultures do not do this. I am also curious about the sleeping habits of Chinese. I just don't understand it.

It doesn't matter where one goes around here, there is always someone sleeping. In offices many folk have a lounge beside their desk for their sleep during the day. In shops it is common to see the shop keeper fast asleep in the store. Shopping at lunch time can be interesting!!!

If one travels on a bus, many of the passengers are asleep - even for short journeys. Certainly on long journeys they tend to sleep most of the trip! If a tour bus passes you will be able to see most of the Chinese passengers sound asleep.

In class, it is common for the students to be sleeping. They might sleep right through the class. It is somewhat annoying for us - but quite acceptable. Now the students in China do have long hours, but they do get sleep time during the day.

Sure, they are up at 6 am for morning exercises, and then have class from 7.30 am. But classes are finished for the morning at 11.35 am and they have a two hour break. Most will sleep. Many do have classes in the afternoon and the evenings, but still I am curious about their need for SO MUCH sleep.

Is their diet adequate? I wonder if they get enough protein. I wonder what they think when they go to the UK, US or Australia. No "siesta."

Policemen marry in the Birds Nest

You can read the story here on the China Daily website. The Bird's Nest, one of the major Olympic Games venues in Beijing in August 2008, has been a popular tourist spot since the games finished.

But not only tourist wish to visit, but last week 230 policemen who worked in security during the Olympic Games made the Bird's Nest the venue for their wedding. All at the same time.

What a picture that would make and you can check out the photo here.

The article in the China Daily stated that they "tied the knot" - terminology that I know of course, but wondered if it had come from the old Chinese custom of tying a knot at the wedding ceremony. I don't think it is done now, but this photo in a museum in Wuzhen will forever remind me that it was probably words that were taken from Chinese.