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End of the Month Ramblings 28 November 2007 Another month has quickly gone by. The local "big store" Lotus here in Nantong is already playing Christmas Carols - all in English of course. Asians all seem to know some of the basic carols in English, as well as Happy Birthday. For some, that is the extent of their ability to speak English, and no doubt they have absolutely no idea what any of the words really mean - other than the Happy Birthday thing. Santa Claus is starting to figure prominently in the displays which is interesting since Christmas is a very subdued event in Asia. The giving of gifts is virtually unheard of so one can only assume that this is some kind of marketing ploy being foisted upon people to increase sales and ultimately profit. Needless to say, there are no after Christmas sales... Just business as usual. Christmas hasn't been a big deal for me for a couple, three decades. I used to try to spend Christmas with my parents as they got older so that they wouldn't feel neglected, but even that wasn't a special deal. Some of my students have been hinting that we should have a Christmas party, but I suspect that their interest isn't in the spirit of the holiday. Asians will typically find any excuse to have a party... I must say - I have gotten quite a bit of feedback about the free computer dictionary program that I sent an e-mail out to many of my correspondents. For those that didn't receive that e-mail: There is a free dictionary program that can be put on your computer to provide instant definitions (internet connection not needed) of words - using both British and English spellings. A couple of my favorite British slang terms are included in this dictionary as well: git and wanker. To get your free dictionary click on the link: Sage Dictionary. That will also give the non-British a chance to easily find out what those two words mean. It is about an 8 meg download. If you want fast downloads, DAP - Down Load Accelerator a shot. This program is also free and it does work. Big Brother is Watching: Security cameras have now been installed in the hallways of our apartments. No doubt, they probably work fairly well during the day time when there is plenty of light - but at night it could pose a problem. At night, the lights are generally turned off in the hall ways. No one can really figure out why the school believes that there is a need for the cameras, but it did bring out a bit of paranoia in a couple of people. One camera is installed right outside one of the teacher's apartment, and he thought perhaps they were checking up on him because his girlfriend of two years (a student at the University) visits his apartment for a lengthy period of time rather frequently. I told him not to worry about it unless our floor was the only one that had cameras installed. The answer there is "no." They are on all the floors. Of course, with the installation of the cameras, our thoughts turned to PD Dave. We were concerned. Our concern was not about how well he would cope with having security cameras placed in the hallways, but how we could mess with his head a bit. Yes, we are the compassionate types - especially when it comes to a mental illness. :-) We thought about putting up a notice to hang by the elevator that read: NOTICE
This of course was plotted and planned over a couple of beers during happy hour. We even thought that the Chinglish was pretty convincing. Common sense prevailed in the end, and I vetoed the actual placement of the Notice. Delusional paranoids can become unpredictable and violent if pushed too much. Plus, it is extremely doubtful that the Chinese would see any humor with this kind of joke either. Western humor is often lost on Asians in general - they don't even see George Bush as a joke, but instead as a threat to the world. Another reason the joke was vetoed is because PD Dave is always moving his furniture around, especially late at night. The Japanese teachers, one floor below, have even complained to me about the noise late at night. Wood on tile floors in a room that is rather "hollow" can be rather noisy - even through thick concrete floors. With the continual and daily nocturnal movements of furniture, I speculated that Dave was either a compulsive cleaner or was continually looking for hidden cameras and microphones. I suspect that the latter may be the case, but I could be wrong as his apartment always seems to be spotless from what I and others have seen. My common sense paid off because I got a text message from my advisor this evening that read: "do u often move the desks or tables and make some noise at night?" I must admit that upon reading that - and knowing the source of the noises - a bit of paranoia shot through my mind for a few moments. It was time to commit a major transgression against the body of PD Dave. Rather than succumbing to basic primal urges, I sent back a text message that read: "No. Not at all. According to Ian crazy Dave does that late at night. I am always in bed no later than eleven pm. Will send you Ians number." My advisor checked with Ian and was told the same thing. She then responded by text message: "sorry.the Japanese downstairs is making complaints.i don't know who'd made the noise." I tell you. It ain't easy being me. Prejudice and the Perception of America: My Sunday evening classes are almost always interesting experiences. I never know who all will show up so I don't really do any - or much - preparation for those classes. The time is reserved to allow students to simply talk about whatever they want to talk about. Usually I am able to turn their questions or requests for information back on them and keep them talking without me having to do too much talking. For example, if they ask me about American culture (whatever that is) I get them to tell me their perceptions of what the culture is. Typically, their perception has what they have gleaned from American films, and they have a hard time understanding that what is portrayed in American films is generally fantasy and not a true view of America or Americans. They have a hard time believing that there are homeless people in America - after all, it is a rich country. They think that all Americans are rich - including me. I in turn, am having an impossible time trying to convince them that I only earn 500 Yuan a month here at the University. A bit of history: (Teaching English I never thought that I would have to know a lot of history - but here in China, it seems to be a requirement - not of the school but of the students.) In 1937 Japan began to invade China on a large scale. Japan's biggest excursion into China and the site of the worst atrocities was into Nanjing - about 100 miles from Nantong. Between 1932 and 1945, Japan was experimenting with biological warfare in China and killed between 10 and 12,000 Chinese in lab experiments alone. All told, Japan killed about a quarter million Chinese before it was defeated in 1945. In Nanjing, in what is known as the Nanjing Massacre, no less than 300,000 people were savagely murdered by the Japanese. Some of the older Chinese hold America partially responsible for these atrocities because the US knew what was going on, and did nothing to stop or try to stop them. As a result of these atrocities - really not much different than the Holocaust - the majority of the Chinese people today have very hostile feelings towards Japan. Making things worse is the fact that Japan has failed to address its past atrocities adequately.
The question that was posed to me last Sunday evening was quite simple: Why doesn't America hate the Japanese like the Chinese do after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? Difficult question to answer. It is a question that I couldn't put back on the students and get them to tell me the answers. I had to give a fairly factual answer which was: America does not hate any country that it has defeated in war. I was totally unprepared for the next question: "Is that why America hates Muslims?" I had to admit that there was some truth to that statement. Probably a lot more than most Americans are willing to admit. My answer and further discussions will remain confidential.
Thanksgiving came and went, very uneventfully here. Four of the five American's (I'm confident that everyone can accurately guess which American was excluded) got together that evening for a few beers down at Captain's Bar as our way of celebrating. No special meals were being offered in town - most likely because Americans are not exactly well represented here. A few Aussies, a few Brits but mostly Finnish and Norwegians. Finding a turkey in China would have probably been an impossibility to begin with - unless of course one went to Shanghai - the city that has everything. That's about all for this time around. If there is any news fit to print, I will do my best to get it printed and sent on out... The Old Codger
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