I quickly learned one thing about the Chinese culture. And that is the love of food. Food in any form, of any delicacy, done in the most lovely ways: spicy, salty, hot, cold, stir fried, pan fried, simmered in a hot pot, steamed, boiled, braised...so many ways to do food, and yet, I've experienced so little. I had the opportunity to try such interesting delicacies as silkworms and earthworms...I also tried frog. It sounds so exotic, but really, it is everyday fare in this province. The other thing I quickly learned, on my company trip to the volcanic island last weekend--Chinese people are usually doing one of two things. They are either sleeping or eating. The entire trip, though very picturesque and beautiful, consisted primarily of eating fancy meals, or sleeping post-meal. Which sounds great in theory--but then the concept of sightseeing and *activity* are completely butchered. Moving on, I wanted to know what the Chinese did for fun on a weekend night, besides the aforementioned. "QQ (the equivalent of MSN chat), or computer games..." they said. "I meant, involving human interaction?" I asked, perplexed. "The internet IS interaction..."
Oh my. I did not understand. And I couldn't tell if it was cultural or personal differences that caused my lack of understanding..I quickly took a poll within my coworkers and local friends to see what they did for fun. I even asked my hairdresser, taxi driver, and fruitstand lady. The response was overwhelmingly the above, with a sprinkle of television or video games thrown into the mix. Clearly I have not yet experienced the stimulating effect of a local Saturday night here....I must embark on this cultural journey....

Often, when I go around town to a restaurant, a store, the cafe, or to buy my groceries, to get a woman's attention I will say "Miss!" in Chinese, thinking nothing of it. Well I had been wondering why as of late I had been getting some rather distasteful responses to me hailing the waitress, storeowner, or hairdresser. My friend and colleague kindly informed me that to address someone here as "Miss" is the equivalent of calling them a prostitute, because those women of the night prefer not to be called by their names, whereas women who are not in that profession have names and are not addressed as "Miss." I learn something new each day.

The one thing I think I'll be much more appreciative of when I return home is the hours! People here work damn hard...and I'm not just talking about overtime hours at the office. Those are a given for any job. I'm talking about getting on the back of a motorcycle taxi only to learn that the driver has worked an 11 hour shift standing all day at the factory prior to starting an all evening shift as a bike driver, 7 days a week. Simply not the first case I've seen, either. Then we complain about things like 'late pages to production' or working 8 hrs on Saturday...wow. I see that these people who work 18 hours a day have families too, and I wonder how they can subsist knowing people like us go and sit in offices all day then complain we had to ride a half hour commute in traffic and eat lunch in the hot sun, because "oh my god that project is due and we have it SO hard for needing to think in our air-conditioned rooms and meet a deadline." Seriously.

**edit: "how [people] can subsist knowing people like us go and sit in offices all day then complain"--is by no means making a reference to one type of lifestyle being better than the other!!

On couples wearing matching clothes in China

I must say this is a very interesting phenomenon that is just not prevalent in North America: couples wearing matching clothes. This is not just meant to ridicule the notion of being matchy-matchy, but rather a comment on how this notion is executed with a great amount of sincerity and thought. Case in point: stumbling across a store specifically for this in Daliang (a city near Guangzhou) – a retail store selling shirts in the same colour and design for both male and female counterparts to wear at the same time. I’m not going to get into the hetero-normative assumptions of the store itself. I will just say that this sickeningly “cute” idea is part of the whole Chinese concept that “it’s better to be a part of something than an individual.” This is a prime example of how Eastern collectivism is in stark contrast to Western individualism. Here, I notice, it is very undesirable to a local to stick out and it’s better to do what you can best to avoid it. In my opinion, the matching clothes between couples—and sometimes even friends—is a great example of this. One thing’s for sure: as coordinated as you’ll ever find me, you will never see me wearing the same clothes as my counterpart.

On yelling, honking and general noise in China

As a Westerner, I tend to like my selective personal space and keeping to myself, regardless of being extroverted. So, even on days when I am tired and I am tempted to take a motorcycle home (the motorcycle taxis here are much faster than taking the bus), walking outside and being immediately solicited to by several drivers in the form of honking and yelling seriously makes me reconsider the decision. I am not quite sure how direct advertising here works, but I know one thing, it MUST work for some people, otherwise why do vendors keep doing it? I go to the market and people yell in my face to get me to purchase their vegetables. I walk down the street and people yell at me to get me to ride their taxi. I walk by a cell phone shop and I am instantly yelled at to ‘check out the deals.’ I understand direct advertising, but I don’t understand how it can be effective in such a context. In my opinion, an annoyed customer is less likely to pay any attention to the message. Yet clearly the message is conveyed, regardless of the format. And should I really be thinking of yelling in the form of marketing campaigns when really it’s not anything that’s pre-conceived or well-thought out? I guess it’s the advertising chick in me that has to respond. Yelling won’t gain you a foreign customer. Though I’m sure it will gain you several locals.

On being illiterate in a foreign country

Being able to articulate my thoughts well in written form is a pride of mine. In part, it is how I tend to weasel my way out of arguments, make a political stance, or establish a point clearly. In many ways it is a part of my personality and who I am. It does not come as a surprise, then, that I am so bothered by the fact that since I came to this country I have all but 'lost' this ability due to the fact that I cannot read (or can read very little) Chinese. As such, a lot of what I say loses credibility. I cannot read to back it up. I have to use translators to get through a simple daily task such as checking my email. I do not understand company-wide notices. All my personal issues become public because I need someone to help me read it. The other day I got my electricity bill. I had to get a coworker tell me how to read it. In many ways, although I am a fully-functioning, fully-aware adult, not being able to read has put me in a juvenile position. And because of my Asian appearance and my ability to speak Cantonese without an accent, it is not at first apparent to others that I am not from here. The other day, I was paying my bills at the bank (again since I cannot read to do the online banking, I must do it in person). The teller told me to fill out a form. "I'm sorry sir, I cannot read it, can you tell me what each category says so I may fill it out," I said to him. He looked at me with shock. The other tellers turned around and stopped what they were doing. The other customers turned and stared at me. In moments my own teller had about 3 others gathered around just to watch the situation unfold. I had to show my passport and explain that I was a foreigner. OH!! Then it clicked. I was not fraught with a case of underdevelopment. Just stupid because I wasn't from here, that's all! Wow! Now I'm the one who is the immigrant. How the tables have turned. It just brings me back to the point that, without the ability to read, I am relegated to the position of a child. It's frustrating, but makes me appreciate English-as-a-second-language individuals in my own country. Wearing someone else's shoes is all it takes.

Thing I miss profusely:

• cold weather
• space
• silence
• Second Cup (my local coffee shop)
• Chapters, BMV Books (bookstores)
• Pauper's (my local pub)
• The Annex (my hood)
• The TTC (I almost called it the Metro)
• My weekly life drawing art sessions
• Not being illiterate (that's another blog post)
• Not having to clutch my purse profusely anywhere I go to prevent being mugged
• Being the ethnic minority....is it weird? I feel more Chinese amongst non-Chinese and less Chinese amongst the Chinese...I don't know why that is

Things that you can only see in China (or some tropical regions):

• driving 70km/hr on a motorcycle down the highway the WRONG way
• women riding motorbikes and scooters sideways, in miniskirts and high heels
• people yelling and honking at you just to get your business
• hairy armpits, non-gender specific
• dragonflies and bats when it rains
• dog meat, cut up and sold on the street (I kid you not)...
• completely straight men who wear tight, bright pink shirts, sometimes with nondescript English words scrawled across the front. Best example ever: "pretty"
• boyfriends and girlfriends wearing matching shirts. Stores that specifically sell said shirts
• factory workers having better hairstyles than the businessmen
• girls holding hands on the streets as a sign of friendship; men arm in arm or arms around each other, also a sign of friendship
• little tiny women in giant stilettos taking baby steps because they cannot walk in those shoes
• babies. Everywhere. And their naked asses.
• being stared at or followed on streets when speaking English

Favourite feeling in the whole world: getting lost in a foreign city.

It's been hard to get onto blogger because of the censorship, and even harder to upload photos...but I'm going to keep up with posting the best I can here...

Every time I travel, I am reminded again of how young Canada is as a country, how new everything still is, and how little opportunity we have to learn enough languages! I understand that we are brought up with French right from the get go, but with such little opportunity to use it, most of English speaking Canada cannot put together more than a few sentences with their high school French.

I have been having a great time meeting and presenting to clients from all over the world: England, Finland, Poland...and then today I attended an out-of-town conference held by an organization in Belgium, also attended by a formidable group of people from all over Europe. The keynote speaker was European of origin, addressed everyone in English, then proceeded to speak clear, fluent Mandarin. Afterwards, I went to comment on how impressed I was with his speech, and learned he was fluent in 8 languages, all of which he could also read and write. He was a diplomat who had spent 8 years in China and was next moving to France, after having lived all over other parts of Europe. Several of his colleagues also spoke upwards of 3 languages. Now, feeling severely incompetent with my spoken Cantonese, minimal understanding of Mandarin and a general understanding of written French, it gave me just the kick I needed to want to brush up on my language skills. It also makes me feel that we as North Americans just don't get the exposure to the romance languages the way several Europeans do. Or other dialects of languages the way China, or say India has. I have come to understand that every Chinese province speaks a different dialect, akin to speaking another language. Meeting other internationals has made me feel underexposed and unworldly. But it also gives me something to work towards, in this 'tip-of-the-iceberg'-esque experience...

One more comment. Being in a country other than my own has really made me feel more Canadian if that's possible. When you are at home you don't really constantly proclaim your nationality...but when you are abroad, it is the identity that you live by. And often so many things you did not realize was unique to your country, province and city, suddenly become extremely apparent. As a final note, happy belated Canada day!

So this weekend, I went again to Guangzhou. A large group of us had a going away shindig for one of the foreigners in our group, and needless to say, it was good times. Let me get into something I’ve avoided for a long time in Toronto. Yes, something I am ashamed to admit. You see, I do like to go for hangover tea...usually I am a die hard Second Cup fan. Second Cup is the Canadian equivalent of Starbucks, and I’m sorry to say, all you hipsters reading this…but I am a Cupper, not a Bucker (not a paid advertisement). Now, given my lack of options for hangover tea, I had to cave into a Starbucks, sadly. I decided to treat myself to a cup of tea. A cup of tea, you say? No problem, it’s, what, $1.50 CDN for one? I go into the Starbucks, and feel like I’ve stepped back into North America, momentarily. Ahh, the smell of coffee and cakes…and what the? Sesame seed lattes? I’ve tried some weird shit here. This week I think I’m gonna try fried bugs…but that’s besides the point. What I mean is that I am very adventurous, but today I just wanted a good old tea.

$24 RMB…what? That’s about $3.50, $4, here. Not a whole lot, and I’m no cheapskate, but let’s get into value. I’m not an economist here, but I know that for $24 RMB I can buy half a week of groceries, or take a cab across the city…or get a manicure, or buy a pretty decent dish at a seafood restaurant. What I’m getting at is that a little goes a long way here, so it’s not necessary to be decadent, yet apparently, a regular cup of tea is pretty decadent by Chinese living standards.

So then suddenly many things clicked in my mind. I now began to understand why my Chinese coworkers were so keen to offer me McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. It’s not because the food is good. It’s because it’s seen as a status symbol. Only the very well-to-do here can afford to eat at these big-name globalization joints. So, it costs money to be Westernized, and they’re proud to flaunt it. Which is hilarious, because when I think of McDonald’s, I think of an unwilling young mother trying to tame her three screaming children who want more French fries in their Happy Meals. I think Supersize Me. And I think obesity. So I think it’s interesting that in one area these super chains are considered a symbol of wealth, and another, a symbol of welfare. The disparity is really surprising..