Anti-Japanese Riots in Xi’an, China

I do my best to be on the side of the Chinese. They have surrounded me for 18 months and I am living in their country. Through the ups and downs I always try to see things from their point of view and even if I can't understand why they do some things at least I try to withhold judgments.

The Japanese and Chinese have been fighting over Japanese controlled islands for years.  I don't think the details of this argument are very important. Since I arrived in China I've been aware of the Chinese hate for the Japanese. My first clue was when my 7-year-old student was playing with the globe of the world ball and gave Japan the finger. Students have made quite a few anti-Japan comments in class. But they're kids, they don't know any better.

A couple weeks ago the adult population took it to another level. They are a selfish group of people. This is something I know and I accept. If I lived in a world with an intense level of competition and a huge population (not to mention a world of only children) I might be the same way.  Recently their selfish side came out in an ugly way. They destroyed other's property. They attacked cars and restaurants that were Japanese. Does hurting their own people because they need to work and drive a car seem rational?

Even protests are good money making opportunities.

As a foreigner walking around during this time I don't feel especially comfortable.  Why would they do anything to me? But why are they doing this in the first place. They're acting in an irrational and ignorant manner. 

Chinese flags were carried by adults, carried by children, flown on the outside of huge shopping malls, small shops, and on cars and motorbikes. I wish I had gotten a sense of community from all of this. Instead it felt like a carnival.  Funny enough their word for demonstration (游行) is also the same word for parade. Instead of trying to avoid the violence by staying home they were out in huge numbers eating ice cream and taking pictures.

I'm not taking sides in this fight.  The Japanese were awful to the Chinese years ago.  I just don't agree with how the Chinese have acted. 

In the days following this day the Chinese were once again forbidden to protest.  During class the next day we watched one of the busiest streets in Xi'an become closed off to cars and pedestrians.  The gates were completely closed to anyone trying to enter the city. No one was allowed to protest.

I've had many days in China when I've questioned why I am here.  This day was a big one.  I was reminded how selfish and ignorant Chinese people can be.  However, I don't believe this is a big enough reason to abandon a country I've grown to love, hate, and be fascinated with all in the same moment. 

Eating out in China

Eating out in China is nothing like eating out in America and other Western countries.  I didn't realize how used to it I am until I taught a class about eating out.

We taught them words and sentences that had to do with eating out in a Western country.  We acted out going to a restaurant and the kids could not do it in a polite way.  They are Chinese and there is no changing them.  It really made me laugh because they were saying, in English, what they usually say in Chinese.  If they were to say these same things in America they would be considered very rude.

There are a few different kinds of restaurants in China but the majority are smaller and family owned.  There are only a few people that work there and they could all be 'waiters'.  When you enter a restaurant the 'waitress' might look around and point at a table where you should sit - there might even be other people at that table.

The waitress / waiter is called a 服务员(fu wu yuan).  It usually sounds like 'FUYUAN!'  But if it is the owner or boss you call them 老板 (laoban) which translates to boss. 

After you sit the 服务员 will show you the menu or if the menu is on the wall they'll ask what you want from that menu. They don't give you a minute with the menu, they stand there until you tell them what you want or give you paper so you can write it yourself.  If you need a minute they'll walk away but they won't come back until you yell 'fuyuan!'.  Imagine sitting in a restaurant where everyone yelled 'waitress!' every time they need something.  It doesn't matter if they can see the 服务员, it's shouted until someone comes to see what they need.  Or worse, if you know it's the boss that is working you yell 'boss!'.

They don't ask you if you want something to drink or if you'd like anything else.  If they walk away and you forgot to order the beer then you need to shout 'FUYUAN!'.

Usually these small restaurants specialize in one type of food so you rarely have to wait very long.  There are no napkins.  You must bring your own tissues.  Your food comes, you eat, you pay, you leave.  No one will come back and ask how your food is.  No one will notice that you're finished eating and ask if you want the check.  You yell 'Waitress!  Check!'  Everything needs to be asked for. It's easy to eat a meal for a little more than $1.  There are many people eating alone so if you have to eat with other people it's not a big deal.

I've seen some funny things in these restaurants.  I think the most unusual is the guy who brought his electric shaver.  He just started shaving while he was waiting for his food.  Did he have it with him just for that reason?  Who knows why most Chinese people do what they do.

Back to my students.  They tried to do their dialogue with their newly learned Western vocabulary and sentences but their dialogues sounded something like this:

Waiter:  Welcome to my restaurant.  Sit there.
Customer:  Give me a menu!
Waiter:  Here you are. (walks away)
Customer:  Waiter!!
Waiter:  What do you want to eat?
Customer:  Give me pizza and hotdogs!
Waiter leaves and brings back the food.
Waiter:  Here you are.
Customer eats.
Customer:  Waiter!!!!  Check!
Waiter:  Give me 500yuan!

It all sounds very demanding and they had a great time pretending to do all of this in English.  There was just no taking them out of China. They will never understand the differences unless they go abroad.

For me, I'm still not used to shouting waitress from across the restaurant.  I wait till I see someone, wave, and say hello.  But, I think I'm going to be bothered eating in restaurants back home.  I'll probably roll my eyes every time they ask me if I'm ok.   It's nice to be left alone unless I ask for something.   Eating out is a bit more relaxing here and it doesn't matter how loud or messy you are while you're eating. Everyone is and it's expected.  Just make sure to bring tissues!

Since tipping is taken out of the equation they obviously don't care much about the service.  I enjoy that they're not trying to please me so I give them a bigger tip. 

Eating out in China is one of my favorite things to do.

Happy 30th Birthday Julie!!!

Today is my little sister's birthday!  It's still sometimes hard to imagine my 'little' sister as a grown woman - actually not that much younger than me.  She was with me on my 30th birthday and I really wish I could be with her today.

Growing up we weren't the best of friends.  I always loved to push her around - sometimes literally give her a push - and tell her what to do.  The past couple years have brought us closer and I've realized she's one of the best people I know.  A lot has happened in her life since I've been away.  The most recent being she's now engaged - to a guy she met while I've been in China.   I'm so happy for her.  I can't wait to get home, meet him, and plan a wedding! 

Love you Julie!  Hope you have a fantastic birthday!

Xi'an by bus

I ride an average of 2-4 buses per day.  They can be horrendous because of how many people cram themselves on.  However, one of the biggest benefits of learning Chinese is that I can read the bus stops.  It's opened up air conditioned buses, less crowded buses, and gotten me much closer to my destinations.  If the arriving bus looks really crowded I wait for the next one.  Sometimes that helps and sometimes it doesn't.  I quite enjoy riding the bus if it's not crowded.  I like to look out the window and I find it relaxing if I have a seat. 

Here are a few short stories of my bus adventures over the past 18 months. 

-I'll start with the most recent story:  I was holding on to the bar above me and someone's hand was touching mine, so I moved it.  Then someone's hand was ON mine.  So I moved it again to the side bar.  Again, someone's hand touching mine. This happened a couple times.  Finally I moved it to the bar in front of me and held my breath until I could get off at the next stop. I felt so gross.  I should have turned around and told him / her not to touch me but I just wanted to be off the bus.  A similar situation happened a couple months ago.  Could this be a way guys pick up girls in China?  I think I should do some investigating.

-I was peed on.  Twice in one week I saw kids go to the bathroom on the bus.  (If you don't understand how this is possible read here.) The first time a baby went all over the mother and the mother's seat.  It didn't seem to faze her but looked really gross to me.  The second time I started to feel something wet on my foot.  I looked to see where it was coming from and a small girl was peeing on the little platform right above me and it was dripping down onto my foot.  Gross! I watched everyone walk in it and track it around the bus.

-I got on the bus and this guy said 'nice to meet you' and asked where I was from.   He started to get really close to me and whisper in my ear.  Then he was touching me more and telling me I was beautiful.  Sometimes he was speaking in English and sometimes in Chinese.  He was creepy and I got off as soon as I could.

-There was a guy sitting behind me talking very loudly on the phone, putting his arm on my chair so he was touching me (not wanting to purposely touch me), spitting, and smoking.  It's common for people to talk loudly on the phone.  Personal space is always invaded on the bus.  It's not very common for people to spit on the bus.  I've almost never seen anyone smoke on a bus.  When we were getting close to the final bus stop he pushed ahead of everyone to get off first.  Chinese people can very often seem rude but this guy clearly felt above everyone else.  I was completely annoyed.  Karma was with him on that day however.   The doors opened, he was first off the bus, and he stepped in puke with his brand new white shoes.  Hurray!