Quantifying

So, here is a post. It will be about a myriad of subjects. So get comfortable.

This week has been a crazy week of fun and busy-ness:

I visited the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium

I went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center

And I visited the Shanghai Museum in People's Square:

(No photos were taken)

I've hung out with a lot of friends and had a lot of fun.

What you have read so far transitions my blog into two BUTS. So review the above material before reading the second BUT.

(1st) But even though my fun times and adventures have been a blast, I couldn't help but second-guess what they meant for my time here. As most of you know, I am in the process of making a one-second-a-day montage video, and it's still looking great. It has caused me to find something to savor in a day, but it has also been working insidiously in my mind. It has almost convince me that I can quantify the value of my experience abroad. Like, if I can show the world enough amazing places I have been, then I will prove worthwhile my time here has been.

But that's not right, that's not how it works. I could go do every cool thing there is to do in Shanghai, embark on amazing once-in-a-life time adventures, and have nothing to show for it spiritually. To really make this time valuable and life-transforming, I have to use my time getting to see God more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly....day by day. So, if I allow God to use my time here to transform me, it won't show in my photos and videos. 

(2nd) But even though I have loved it here, I haven't loved every second. Anybody who has experienced culture shock can tell you, you won't be able to love the new culture forever. It will grate on you. I'm in a time where Shanghai is reaaaally grating on me. I'm tired of the culture differences, which result in me feeling mistreated. People will cut me in line, attempt to gouge me, or close elevator doors on my body without apologizing. It has become clear to me that public places are the conveyor belt of the China factory. It's where you get to where you're going in the fastest way you know how. Courtesy and empathy have no place. It's hard for me to separate what are fundamental moral flaws in a culture, and which are simply differences I don't have the native brain to understand yet. It's definitely a mixture of both. China wasn't always like this, when Confucian principals of kindness and filial piety governed the society.  And Shanghai is in a very precarious time in its developmental growth. Only recently has Shanghai risen to be a city of great wealth, like a lottery winner who has no idea to respond to his new-found fortune. So I will continue to shape my opinions and reactions to Shanghai, trying hard to not let it get stuck in bitterness or prejudice. 

Come Monday, I will be heading to Xiamen! I am excited and nervous! But what a trip it will be!

PS: Tried squid. Not bad. Won't eat it again.

A Vacation Where I Keep My Kidneys

Soooo, I hope you are all doing well. I'm doing ok, I'm at the end of another one of my weekends. I've gotten to spend time with some very cool people over the past couple days. I visited an amazing little hole-in-the-wall photography gallery that my friend Alice found out about. It's about a photographer who went around China during a very VERY brief period in China's history called the One Hundred Flowers Movement. It's a well-known movement, when Chairman Mao very briefly allowed for artistic and creative freedom in China. China immediately experienced a surge of artistic expression, and the photographer captured some amazing moments from the time. This was 1957.

But anyway, I've been looking ahead and planning out my October holiday vacation. I time off spanning from September 30th to somewhere around the 6th of October. So a few friends and I began planning a trip to Xiamen. However, we have yet to find available train tickets. I bought a plane ticket. Due to some Visa processing my friends are going through, however, they can only buy train.

So, I made a little back up plan. Originally, my friends and I were planning on staying in a nice hostel while we were there, and that still may happen. In the event that it falls through, I made other arrangements.

And it involves couchsurfing.org.

In case you're not familiar, CouchSurfing.org is an international social media sites that connects travelers with people willing to let them crash. The safety comes from various things, such as the website verifying your address and other Couch Surfers vouching for your character. My friend, Łukasz, vouched for me on the website. I found a guy to host me, a Chinese guy named Kevin, who had some positive references.

So that's my plan right now. I know this idea might really frighten some of you. I will give out my phone number, location, and the information of my CS host to a few people so that people know how to find me. I promise I'll be careful. I'm really excited though. This is like the true test of my new traveler persona. And I think God will do miracles.

在翻译中丢失

So, I said I was going to do a blog centered on Chinese culture. So I'll start with a few of the questions people posed to me:

1) What's the weirdest thing you've eaten?

I think jelly fish probably takes the top of the list. I spoke in an earlier blog entry how it tasted like jellified soy sauce. It was a gross experience and I have no desire to try it again. I also tried bull frog, which was not so bad. One weird food worth mentioning was a strange Chinese shrimp taco I had. The shrimp wasn't exactly shrimp though; it was a sort of shrimp bark substances that I smashed into the taco with a weird sauce.

2) (paraphrased) What is the general climate of Christianity in China?

It's difficult for me to speak to that, as my Chinese is way too limited to explore the topic with others. So I posed the question to members of an international church that I met. It's important to understand how Christianity has evolved in America. Our nation was founded under many Christian principles, which has benefitted our countries in many ways up until this day. It's unfortunate and unintended side effect was that Christianity became so engrained into the culture, that for a while it could hardly be disassociated with American culture itself. People were Christians because they were Americans, not always necessarily reflecting a change in heart. Thus, the doorway for intense legalism and hypocrisy crept in. Now, as American culture grows and evolves, it seems to have outgrown Christianity.

Now look at it from China's perspective. Christianity, as it appears to them, is far more (but not entirely) presented in its purest form. There is no dogmatic distortions of American culture to muddle with the Gospel belief system. Thus, Christianity can be viewed by the fruits of its followers. And in that, Christianity has a good reputation. For instance, businesses looking to start construction on new buildings look for Chinese Christian contractors, because they know that they can be trusted. In ways like that, Christianity is, in general, viewed as having a positive impact on the community it is in.

However, it is an Atheist nation, and it is important to know that Christianity seems very irrelevant to the every day like a Chinese person. It doesn't have enough face time in their lives to be controversial.

3. What has surprised you most about Chinese culture - good and bad?

These surprising learning moments for me are to classify under good and bad. I will say it is disheartening to see ethics and integrity play an insignificant role in the business lives of Chinese people. I find myself getting manipulated and deceived all the time by people see me only as potential for money.

However, it has been amazing to see the sweet, kind heart of my Chinese coworkers. They seem to work so much harder than me and have so much more responsibility, and yet they go out of their way to help me and assist me. They are always smiling at me. Talking with them is often times the best part of my day.

4. Tell us more about the Chinese kids!

Kids are kids are kids. There are some who are adorable, some who are challenging, some who don't listen, and some who want to be your best friend.  I love the kids I teach. Their English names are chosen arbitrarily, so they come up with cute names like "Happy" and "Dragon." They love cute English names like "Cici," "Kitty," and "Jerry."

They are absolutely fascinated by my arm hair. That's why I created a rule in class never to let them get to close to me. If my arms are within reaching distances from them, they immediately stop hearing a word I say and start playing with my arm hair.

They love being goofy and silly, and I love being goofy and silly with them. We sing songs, dance, play games. I've taught some of them fist pounds. They're really cute. Learning tough discipline has been a taxing experience, but probably an important skill set to have.

Those are the only questions I was asked. Here's some bullet points of other small Chinese stuff"

a) Don't use the American way of beckoning some over to you with your hand. That is considered a degrading gesture saved for dogs. Instead, flip your hand around with your fingers facing the ground and wave them over that way.

b) Do not write someone's name in red. Older generation perceive that as a curse!

c) Avoid conversations about Taiwan. Yikes.

d) Being white = MONEY. You will be fending off a lot of street solicitors. It's good to learn the words "Bu yao (Don't want)," as you will be using it to fend off watch salesman, cigarette vendors, and pimps.

e) Chinese people LOVE it when you use Chinese. Service people are pretty jaded, but it's quite the party trick in Chinese social settings.

Oh well, I'm tired of writing. I'm still loving it.

Zaijian!

To Be Moved

So I have completed my first week as full-fledged teacher. My weekend is finally here. I have a full load, which means I have 12 90-minute classes. It's a lot of fun, but it's very demanding. I have stay high-energy intense for the full class time, and I am drained.

It's been a good week, and I think I'm going to enjoy being a teacher. The kids are very adorable, and it is great to see some of them trying so hard to be English speakers. My classes range from almost total beginners, to upper intermediate classes. It's interesting to see how kids adapt to my quirks and special teaching techniques. When I am transitioning into a new activity or learning segment, I always say "ok, ok, ok!" but with an inflection like "oKAY-oKAY-oKAY" and I have students in each class who now mimic me whenever I say it. They're accents are adorable as well. In addition to English, I am teaching them fist pound techniques and the appropriate  time to use the exclamation "righteeeous."

My Chinese is also improving. I can communicate moderately well with different service people, like taxi drivers and restaurant servers. I practice with the Chinese teachers in my school.

Tonight as I was walking home, I resolved to just stay in tonight and unwind. Plans changed, however, and I ended up going out with my friends Brittany and Candace to People's Square and Nanjing Road for Papa John's and Coldstone, a very Christian Walker sort of evening.

We then walked down Nanjing Road, which is like Time's Square, or CityWalk.  But let me tell you people. Every night, and I mean EVERY night, on nearly every street corner or square, three activities transpire:

1) Karaoke, all Chinese ballads. It's so common, that you could walk 60 yards and pass by 3 different Karaoke groups.

2) Ballroom dancing: Not anything fancy, like a waltz, but it's everywhere.

3) Line dancing.

Was this country freaking designed for me? Most of these activities are done by middle aged to old people, although some young people join in.

Tonight, I decided to join in some of the line dances. Now Nanjing is a very touristy road, which means it brings international tourists as well as Chinese tourists from the country, who are not as used to white people. I ended up drawing a pretty substantial crowd. It was a lot of fun, and I think I might go back.

BUT

I visited a church last night. I don't know if it's the church I'll be going to, but it reminded me of a very important fact: I am here on God's behalf. I am here as a servant and ambassador of God. I have a very clear calling. I got so swept up in sightseeing and trying to get situated that I forgot that I am a servant of God, first and foremost. I want all my decision, even where I decide to spend my night's dancing, to be a decision that glorifies God.

I'm excited to see what He does.

I'm going to do a culture blog soon. Stay tuned.