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.

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.