When I visited Guangzhou 10 years ago, I was not lying when I said the pollution was so bad it turned the air green. This photo is not edited. You cannot see past the height of the street lamp because of the 'city butter.' That's my term for the film on your skin at the end of a sticky, smoggy day!

Cute. Rotund, brightly-coloured...generally happy. What ARE these? An array of piggy banks, coffee mugs, and other generally impractical but interesting stationary pieces sold at an underground subway mall that is similar to the PATH (for those of you from Toronto).

So I'm going to talk about the concept of 'cute' here. Why is it done? I haven't figured it out yet. How? Everywhere. Just absolutely everywhere here. The girls embrace it. Clothes are frilly and laced with bows and flowers, all pastel in colours. Car seats...yes, adult car seats, have doily-laced flowery seat covers. Umbrellas are adorned with flowers. Toys look chubby and huggable. In fact, it seems, mainly from a female standpoint at least, the women here favour looking like prepubescent, underdeveloped girls, putting up two fingers to pose 'cutely' in a photo, wearing everything in an 'adorable' fashion. This pretend-innocence is something a Westerner is not used to. Especially if said Westerners are used to getting flashed R-rated images and raunchy 'sexy' ads overtly from the moment they learn to speak. This over-the-top girliness really seems to be the opposite of what we're exposed to. However, I do not believe for a moment it makes the Chinese any less scandalous. It just means they are more covert about it. Which just makes them more crafty! My conclusion? I could never ever fit into their preference of frilly femininity, but humans are all just as scandalous, whether it's lace or leather.

Of course everyone has a certain perception of how certain cultures act, regardless of the context. That's just a fact. To ignore that is...well, ignorant, in my opinion. What's interesting is when you see first hand how others think you'll act--or the things they think you like. Take this fine establishment, for example. A bunch of us went there this weekend. It was quite high-end. However, it seemed to be a themed sports bar. All the bartenders were in soccer jerseys. There was also a giant screen playing soccer. The furniture and decor, though, was extremely fancy chandeliers and 18th century European style couches, walls and sidings. In fact, the contrast was so kitschy, I wasn't quite sure how to make it out. It seemed as if they decided to shove everything they knew that was remotely Western into one: sports, European furniture and English music. That is, they did this without taking into account differences between Westerners in a Westerners' own culture.

I do often believe that variations within your own culture can be greater than those between other cultures. Seeing this example reminded me of that. Maybe I haven't been exposed to enough places here to find out what the East really thinks of the West...but to me, it seems like all the ingredients are right, it just tastes different. I won't even go into Chinese pizza, done 'Western' style, with a crust made from phyllo pastry. Then again, I know for a fact chicken balls and chop suey aren't Chinese. Don't even try. Cultural conventions sometimes confuse me.

Saturday night in Guangzhou, and it's flashy city lights, warm summer air, streets lined with Western boutique stores, and people, just people all everywhere. Walking up and down the well-kempt streets that are cleaner than most in Toronto, I am enticed by heavy bass-beat music and trendy girls clad in fake eyelashes and short shorts. Yet again, I'm reminded, that this isn't the China that most people would associate with communism. In fact, with stores most Westerners would run to, restaurants even the most discerning palate would
consider, and nightlife that is vibrant and varied, I am reminded yet again that pre-conceived notions usually do not ring true.

I am not going to say "what is wrong" with this picture, as that is culturally insensitive.

Instead, I'm going to comment on what happened here.

First of all, what is this?

It's a health check. Head to toe, inside and out for anything 'wrong' with me.

I'm not going to go into my social and political stance on singling out people on that basis, because that is too controversial. Instead, I will detail my most surprising (and uncomfortable) experience as a Westerner.

I was not aware that upon my acceptance of employment here, I was supposed to go through a test which consisted of screening most everything, from blood, to heart rate, to ultrasounds, to a GIANT xray. Imagine this. There is a language barrier, so you are a little out of the loop as to what is going on. They throw you into a grey room. Nothing is explained to you. The man who segways the whole thing leaves, and slams the door shut. You are asked to stand on a machine that makes a disturbing ground-shaking noise and moves around you intermittently, unpredictably, to screen what is 'wrong' with you.

After the test, the man opens the door, and tells you to go to the 'next room,' which also consists of a single doctor or technician. The first thing this complete stranger demands? 'Take off your clothes.' Not 'this is now what we will do to you.' Just take them off, straight off.

WHAT? This cycle repeats itself about 8 times, once for every doctor, once for every test--different for each test.

I realize we are living a very cushy, advantageous environment in North America, where we are babied and pampered. Everything is explained, everything is careful, everything caters to our need to know. Here, it is all business. Not that the language barrier helped....but it was not pleasant for a Westerner, getting poked and prodded at.

Lastly, what if there WAS something wrong with me (which there wasn't)...should I be judged against in the workplace for being ill or blind or deaf? Does this reduce my intelligence or ability to do my work? Why is this a criteria for employment or entering the country? I am very confused.

Wait, let me take this a step further. I have noticed a HUGE rate of pregnancy in this country, despite the one child rule (if you have more than one child here, you are fined). Yet...several of the tests for foreigners are for STDs. So, why, in a country where people obviously do not use protection, and procreate at such a quick rate, are they worried about foreigners having STDs--foreigners who are likely just as worried about such illnesses (or am I being presumptuous here?). I don't want to sound like an undereducated, ill-exposed asshole...I am just a little surprised at the extent of screening here. I feel it is again, another double standard.

I forgot to mention here, while on the topic of sex, that Westerners are perceived to be 'loose,' due to the incessant exposure of locals to sex-ridden R-rated films (sold as bootleg DVDs on side street stands). I don't get this stereotype as much because I am physically Asian, but you should see the attention foreigners who are not Asian receive...It's quite mind-boggling.

My final conclusion--I understand the need to regulate a country's health from foreigners...I think we are all just as cautious via pills and vaccinations. However, I just felt this 'traumatizing' medical exam to be a little over-the-top.

By the way, my blood type is 'O'. I didn't know that before. Haha

8 min sketch on Beijiao street corner. "I'm not sure this is the paradise the palm trees imply"

This is a sketch I did in the Guangzhou harbour. I like ropes...a lot. lol, enough said.

Gorgeous but dead. Not a metaphor. An observation.

Beauty is beauty, even when you see the shit involved. (Literally! Check out the leaf closely!)

A quiet afternoon and contrasting light between two temple doors.

I liked this ..cracked, peeling paint. A perfect sense of aging.

So I lied. I decided to write about this picture next. Firstly, I find this old man awesome. He is just hanging out minding his own business, but clearly inquisitive of what's going on and why some stupid tourist is snapping a picture of him. But let's get more into the nitty gritty....he is sitting under a tree covered in lanterns. At a temple. And he's Chinese. Doesn't that fulfill ALL stereotypes of Chinese people right then and there? In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic. I'm also Chinese, so I'm half joking. Truth be told, what IS being Chinese? Is it walking beneath a pagoda, eating with chopsticks and going to temples? Obviously not. But it is VERY interesting to see how the West constructs what 'being Chinese' is, and seeing what exactly 'being Chinese' is here. The thing that I've become acutely aware of is how some Chinese try NOT to be Chinese, or really embrace everything that is Western as being 'superior'. I am not saying everyone does this, but I have noticed a sense of pride in Westernization here. I don't have any answers. Even having been told on several occasions by several different people both here and at home that I am 'not Chinese' or 'don't seem Chinese,' I feel like I need to find answers. I feel that I AM Chinese, but I really do not know why, because all my points of views are Western. I hope this year will help in finding some answers. And also help me answer why being called 'exotic' is SO irksome.

Today I learned a lot about corporate culture here, and how it differs from North America. I may have already mentioned that the company expects you to live, eat and breathe the job. I should also mention the extreme side of this is seeing the company host group weddings, which, I'm not going to lie, scared the SHIT out of me. A wedding branded under the company's name, plus an entirely free gift registry...but would anyone really want that? I guess there are, because there were dozens of couples in the photos I saw.

Anyways that's besides the point. There is a lot of social structure at the company that keeps various 'ranks' apart. It seems a little disturbing to me, that people 'only play with their own kind'. I realize this happens in more corporate environments downtown TO or anywhere else, but to have that division really disturbs me. Really, what do you have on someone else other than experience, and anyone can gain it simply by being on the planet longer, or being willing to learn. The next thing I need to comment on is the age thing. It really seems that unless you are a bit older here, you cannot gain respect. I am more 'middle of the road,' but there are several younger people to which older people simply say 'oh they are too young to know' without ever finding out if they actually are.

I learned another thing...you need to go through several ranks in communication before you reach the 'person at the top'. i.e. you aren't allowed to approach higher ranking people directly, you can only do that through their assistants or lower ranking people. It feels a bit like the army in that respect.

Today I did my first presentation at the company. It was for clients from the UK, and it was done in a glass boardroom, of which there were--I want to say--20 people. I wasn't too nervous, but I did find out afterwards I had violated some important 'Chinese' business rules. First of all, you go around the table and shake everyone's hand. Afterwards, you give them your business card *with both hands*...not casually flicking it out of your wallet (oops). The next thing is, the clients always sit on the side with the windows, and the hosts always face across from them. Lastly, it seems that when it comes to Q & A, it's a free for all. Our company was grilling the client, and even got out of our seats (not me, other people) to ambush them for marketing figures. To a Westerner, it was strange to see, and I could see the English people were quite taken aback.

It is very very interesting working here, and I'm wondering each day how many cultural rules I'm breaking. I'm also told, here, no one bothers to 'be polite'...just "turn on the AC if you're hot, don't ask if it bothers someone else--that's a Canadian thing," I'm told. I also learned you shouldn't use the washroom unless it's lunchtime or break time--or an emergency. You shouldn't eat at your desk, because it's improper. It's ok when everyone talks in a foreign language in front of you and you have no idea what they're saying, because it's 'normal'. Hmm what else... oh yes, the lunch 'nap time'....people here gulp their food so they can run back to their desk and nap. Wow, I am clearly not well-versed on Chinese culture at all. But I am learning...

To come, I will write a commentary on the differences between China and HK culture--because, despite popular belief, the two are exorbitantly different things...and yes, I am learning that because my family background is HK, it doesn't qualify me as "Chinese knowledgeable" for where I'm living...more on that to come.

I find this very interesting. This will be me going off on a tangent of Westernization, or attempting to avoid doing so. This is some of the offerings of food during a corporate yacht event. It was quite a nice affair, including networking, speeches and general schmoozing. The food was a lovely array of tropical lychees, dragonfruit and melon. You can see here that there are also some strange (to a Westerner) dried fruit called waxberries. In contrast there are Pringles. But not just any Pringles...seaweed Pringles. Why? It is the Chinese-ifying of a most Western classic...or is it vice versa? Taking up on Western 'delicacies' of fast food and packaged junk food is the most prevalent way I see the Chinese trying to 'come into their own' globally. Now this may sound far-fetched, stemming from a simple picture of food...but it's an observation I've had of several things here.

Let's go further into the yin and yang of it: on one hand, there is the very convenient Wal-mart, a dept store that sells most everything, located in the lovely city I live in. On the other hand, there are dept. stores here where one must check out individually at every dept. and pay then and there. On one hand, everyone here drives a car or motorbike. On the other hand, some of the traffic rules are 'honk your horn until the pedestrian gets out of the way to avoid getting hit'. Then, with those same traffic rules, where people drive the opposite direction on a highway to get to a side street, are some high-tech hwy cameras to monitor the traffic (the irony?). I have heard on more than one occasion, "Oh this is good, but I don't know if it is good enough for a foreigner." WHAT? Why are there two standards for everything, doubling the way everything is done here? That is something I fail to understand. So you see, one side is, China is trying very hard to go global. The other side is, in parallel, opposite standards exist. So one can never really be sure about the actual outcome when one thing is being stretched by another in a different direction. Please do NOT get me wrong. I am not saying one is better than the other (East or West). I am merely saying each are different, and I see the tension and the pull, as China struggles to find its footing in globalization. In the West, we may scorn upon the Wal-marts and McDonald's spreading like wildfire, but it seems here, they proudly announce, "We even have a Wal-mart!".....anti-globalization activists beware!

This was another pretty cool night. Bumping into a coworker on the street (a local, from Foshan), we decided to hang out, grab a snack, and peruse the town. In doing so, found a lot of back alleys and cracked buildings, side streets and secluded corners. I could see he wasn't too excited by my child-like amazement with each new discovery, but to me, it was all very new. I am sure in the weeks to come, I will not feel the novelty so strongly. At the end of the night, he drove me back to my area on a motorbike.

While what we did was pretty average in terms of hanging out, the part that excited me was that I successfully made a friend in another language (speaking the other language). This may not be a large feat to most, but to me, every day-to-day task I succeed in, such as negotiating my cell phone plan, getting my hair cut, and doing my banking, makes me feel 'accomplished' in some silly mediocre way. The challenge is twice what it is when it is not in your native language, I realize. This has given me a huge appreciation for immigrants who move to Canada, who still manage to set up a family, work a job, and have a social life. These are no small feats. So, it makes me feel a little uncomfortable when people act socially superior to someone who does not speak English well (back home) or thinks the person is somehow less intelligent because they stumble through their second language. My rule is always this: the day you can speak an immigrant's first language as well as they speak English, then you can complain. But if not, leave the person alone!

My goal is to be able to negotiate smoothly in social situations, in Chinese, by the time I finish my year here. In fact, the other day, I would not go home until I was successful in bargaining my fare (very common here as a life skill) with a motorcycle taxi....here's to hoping the accumulation of life skills continues!

After stepping over rusty duct vents and pipes and avoiding weather-decayed satellite dishes, a posse of us foreigners made it to a rooftop. There, it was surprisingly quiet. With a view of the Pearl Delta River, and the slight commotion of whirring motorbikes on the street below, we sipped our drinks. I wondered then, how often do we attribute our human relationships to cultural or class differences, when really it comes down the person you're interacting with and whether or not you gel with their personality traits. It made me realize, then, that a lot of the time when people say 'this is what they do' and 'this is what we do,' a lot of it comes down to maybe it's what 'I do' and 'you do,' and because we misunderstand one another, it's easier to say 'we' and 'them.' Although none of our conversations encompassed those ideas that night, it was clear we had all come together from Europe, North America and Australia to maybe experience these differences. All of us being Westerners, we were having very similar experiences with some of the culture shock. However, I learned, me being Chinese may frame the experience a little differently, because I am not treated like a foreigner most of the time. Maybe I'll learn about it in more detail the longer I stay here ...

I didn't let these thoughts take from the awesomeness that was a surprise roof shindig, though.

This is a wonderful side street that is a plethora of colour and noise, punctuated with sights one would never be exposed to in North America. Several stands on the side of the street have freshly chopped ingredients to make stir fries right before your eyes. There are small carts selling preserved items or tofu on sticks. Motorbikes weave between passersby. Chickens sometimes walk up and down the streets. I had the "pleasure," too, to learn of a "chicken house." That is, a prostitution den, just steps away. The drone of foreign languages, the sticky weather, the sense of displacement, the anonymity...These are the things that give a place character. These are the reasons I travel.

I don't have a very serious comment on this, except that I find this ad hilarious. Maybe it's because I fail to understand the cultural connotations here, as an outsider...but it brings into mind a lot of things that are funny to a Westerner (perhaps just me??). For example, badly translated Chinese names. People choose names that sound like their Chinese moniker (usually 3 words long)..but that has funny results such as "Elvis Chan". I should also add that badly translated Chinese often results in grammatically incorrect T-shirts, also with funny results. What did I see the other day..."friends we must be play in rain"...something like that. But for that, there is always www.engrish.com. For the rest, it is just accepting that things lost in translation have funny results.

This is yet another eye-opening scene. It's a well-groomed street reminiscent of clean-cut suburban living in North America. Yet, it is where the well-to-do in this little city I live in reside. This is in major contrast to my last post, which showed the hard facts of day-to-day labour. Here, the streets are peppered with security men, gardeners, and a huge protection of the residents. To make it clear, I have never lived in a gated community, but have only driven by places like that (eg Bridle Path in Toronto). A sense of displacement results enough from moving to another country, but the disparity between classes is huge. You will have a factory worker that makes 2000RMB a month (less than $300 CAN), and the people in my community who make millions of RMB. Myself, I am not making millions, and will probably go back to living in a rented apt once back in downtown TO, but this definitely opens my eyes.

The next area I want to comment on is the social structure. It is not as clear-cut while going about everyday activities (eg buying groceries, riding on a bus), but it is crystal clear at work. The managers eat in a separate area embellished with white linen tablecloths and chairs. They are not to be addressed directly unless they address you. There is a reason for their glass doors. There is respect and then there is absolute separation between "rank"...and it just accentuates what I'm saying here about living differences. It's interesting to see...definitely a different society.

This summarizes well the nature of the pace of life here. Where I live, Beijiao, is a large production mecca for furniture and 'white goods' (appliances). Each day, there are people on the streets going about day-to-day activity to support the industry. In fact, there are several factories in this city. Having toured one at my company, where I could see "made in China" with my own eyes, has indeed opened them to the reality of labor and export. In fact, many of the workers come from inland China, work to save up enough money, and only travel home once a year, Chinese New Year. It puts all our little cushy North American lifestyles into perspective.

I found this basket of dead flowers to be rather intriguing. It seemed to have been cut freshly from that day. A little rustic, yet contrasted by the modern waste bins in the background

Well well, I finally got back onto blogger, as it's been blocked here in China. Connection is shifty at best, so I am going to back post a bit, starting with my first week in China.

Here it is, May 22:

A 16 hr flight, 2 hr ferry and 1 hr car ride later, and I made it to Beijaio, a lovely city just outside of Guangzhou. It is peppered with palm trees, gardens and rivers, and has some mountains, too. I threw all my things in the hotel, and within hours I had to be at work the day I got there! I was surprised to learn a lot of the locals spoke Cantonese, which I speak, so it makes it easier to get around. However, in the workplace, very very few people speak Cantonese; the business language is Mandarin. So it is quite often that people have whole conversations and I'm completely in the dark as to what's going on.

The company I work for now, I learned, basically drives the entire economy of the area which it populates, and a significant portion of China's economy as well. Everywhere I go in this city, the company's logo is slapped on everything...from the appliances that they make, to the land and buildings they own (large portions).

That is another cultural difference I learned. Corporate life is very different here. They expect you to live, breathe, eat and sleep the company. You work long hours, come in before the boss and leave after they leave, and are expected to take all your work home to finish. In North America there is a huge separation between work and social life. Here, there is not. The company sponsors vacation getaways and weekend gatherings with coworkers to 'strengthen morale'. My personal opinion is no thanks on that part, but I am trying keeping an open mind.

The censorship of the media and internet makes it hard not to feel disconnected while in a strange and foreign place. However, there are some things that are contrary to popular belief. For example, Google does exist here, and so does Facebook, but it is only localized to China (so I cannot use it).

There are definite differences in the way things are done--like bus schedules don't exist, so you just show up and guess. What else...some things are very revolting to a Westerner, such as people spitting all over the streets very loudly. However, to dispel some of the negative stereotypes here--China is actually cleaner than I expected (MUCH cleaner than South America) and even parts of Chinatown in Toronto. People here are well-mannered and very respectful, and even though I live just outside a major city in a communist country, things are VERY Westernized. There are still McDonald's, Starbuck's (for all you addicts) and Wal-marts!

Here is another interesting detail. Since the cost of living is 1/6 of what it is back at home, I can live very comfortably here and afford things I could not at home. Foreigners apparently do earn more than locals (I haven't figured out why that is yet), and it gives a lot of leeway. Right now, I can afford to live in a gated community in a 2 bedroom bachelor overlooking golf course...something I could NEVER do back at home...so I'm just going to enjoy it while I can...haha because it's back to pauperdom when at home. See above picture for view from apt...

The thing I haven't really found on my radar so far is an alternative art scene...I think I may have to venture into the major city on the weekends for that. But I'm on it--don't think I can survive without art! And while I hide my red hair at work, it gets stared down on streets...people can't stop looking. And I don't think people here have ever seen a tattoo...or a punky chick. It's pretty funny :)

Well, that's it for now, more updates to come as time goes on!