A note back on the streets of Xi’an and rainy streets they are to this week. The dry and, no matter what other hardened foreigners might say, humid city streets of Xi’an have been turned into May-soon washed, quagmiresque tributaries. In other words, it does not rain here much, it was just becomingly stiflingly hot but this week it has pretty much rained non-stop. However, being English and having recently re-engaged with my old running regime, I was happy to be out there jogging in the rain and not in the 25+ summer evening temperatures that I can never quite get used to.
Amazingly, or it would have been if I had only just arrived in Xi’an, as I have not it was actually to be expected, on arrival at Shi Da’s running track I was to discover that I was only one of three on the track. Normally, this time of year and around that time of the evening, 9ish, there are literally hundreds strolling, walking the dog, chatting, romancing and even running around the track. Not to mention the soccer and badminton players, the Tai Qi exponents and the rhythmic, line dancers taking up all the other available spaces. The Chinese do not do going out in the rain.
I will dwell on these dancers for a moment as they are always a joy to behold and as I have watched them a few times in different locations this week. These dancers are not restricted to the wonderfully peaceful environs of Shi Da’s Campus sports ground but are to be found in public spaces all over the city. Someone has usually assembled some kind of music system that can actually create quite an imposing sound and not uncommon to even hear a little western dance music. A collection of women, often in there early 40's and upwards, proceed to move in rhythmic harmony, legs and arms swirling in synchronised flourishes.
The core of regulars are usually joined by a few young hopefuls attempting to keep in step with their more mature partners. I like to occasionally observe these gatherings because whether they are middle-aged regulars or young track suited students there is a conspicuous lack of self-consciousness in their movements, no matter their ability, which is rather refreshing to behold.
To continue on a different note but still with a rainy reference, I decided today to stand and contemplate one of the many minor road collisions that are increasingly occurring during this time of main road madness. A direct consequence of roads a plenty being ripped up in the name of the subway construction process. Of course, a greater number of accidents occurred in the torrential rain of this week. Two cars had a minor coming together at the entrance of a two-lane road near my house, blocking one side completely. The cars on the side of the accident tailed up behind them, while those on the other side continued to swing on down the road, access unimpeded. I had inside me at first a growing sense of frustration as I watched the two drivers just sit at the entrance of the road, paying no attention to the congestion they were creating behind them. Then becoming increasingly annoyed at the way in which the oncoming traffic made no concession to those left stuck behind the two stationary vehicles.
I wanted to get in the road, traffic attendant like, letting cars out here, holding others back there and generally getting the traffic moving on both sides. However, as I continued watching I realized that even though nearly all the actions that took place were being decided upon on selfish grounds, the natural flow of life allowed a reasonable give and take of cars moving in both directions. People crossing the road, a stalled engine, a turn taken too wide, a traffic light further down the road, a U-turning vehicle all added to what became a natural flow of traffic up and down both sides of the road. A little stilted maybe and on occasion more frustrating for one side than the other, but in the great scheme of things not a great deal less fluid, if at all, than what would have been managed by a Chinese police officer standing there intentionally directing traffic. Apart from one of course who had got those two cars moving in the first place.
Click to continue reading...
Showing posts with label Xi'an. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Xi'an. Show all posts
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Voluntary Work In Xi'an- Not Like This
I recently have been looking around at voluntary projects in Xi’an and came across these two companies, i-to-i and Global Volunteers. All I can say is never, never, never do these things, never. Now, I understand if one does not have experience of doing these kinds of projects or have any knowledge of the host country and that they need some help with organizing such work, however I still find these projects absolutely unacceptable in terms of cost and often in terms of the value of the work undertaken.
All I can say to you is think long and hard about what it is you want to do because I can guarantee you, you are wasting your money paying what is £800 ($1,176) and £1,600 ($2,495) for 2 weeks voluntary work. It is a disgrace and I write this having reflected on the note I began a few days ago. When I first discovered these projects and accordant fees I felt my response may have been a little too impassioned, but it was not and I am not. It makes me so angry to even think of it. This note continues and some of the issues arising from this are discussed below.
First, i-to-i are asking you to pay £800 ($1,176) for 2 weeks voluntary work, to pay for your own flight, to organize your own visa, and then you do your voluntary work. For every week you want to continue, you have to pay another £150/ $220 (1496RMB), meantime you are living in a dorm room and eating food that probably would only cost about $3.00 a meal here. So, for two weeks teaching you will pay $1,176 as well as flights and a visa, that is 8000 RMB plus the not inconsiderable additional costs. I cannot believe it.
Global Volunteers is even worse, their project for two weeks costs a staggering £1696 ($2,495) or £1,832 ($2695) for three weeks, 16,966RMB and 18,326RMB. The i-to-i project includes dormitory accommodation, three meals a day and transportation to and from site, as well as a local programme of support. The Global Volunteers fee includes ‘tourist class hotel’, all meals, on-the-ground support, $200 towards materials and administration.
All I ask is that anyone thinking about these projects does so very carefully. This is not because I do not believe in voluntary work; I have done a variety of voluntary projects in my time. I just cannot believe how appalling these organizations are. Doing voluntary work is doing voluntary work; paying to do voluntary work, get over it.
Of course, the costs of your placement must be covered but it seems to me these organizations should have a moral responsibility to keep these costs as low as possible, the volunteer is volunteering that is their contribution, surely any well structured organization will have other revenue streams in place to offset the financial burden on the volunteer, or micro-managing the project well enough on the ground, so fees do not reach these levels.
Volunteering is not about wealth it is about somebody giving up their own time to help someone else. These fees are phenomenal, no matter what these organizations might say, they are not doing a good enough job of respecting the nature of the project, and they should not be trusted in any way to offer a valuable voluntary experience.
Now, let us consider the cost of renting a luxury flat here in Xi’an. It would cost between 2000RMB ($294) – 3000RMB ($441) per month to have a 2-3 bedroom, furnished, great flat here in Xi’an (My 3 bed roomed flat costs 1000 RMB). That is about $73 and $110 a week respectively. So, the cost for living here in the centre of the city, at the most expensive rates, would be a maximum of $220 for a fortnight.
This figure could then be divided by 4 or 6 depending on whether it is a 2 or 3 bedroom flat, on the basis that both companies offer only shared accommodation as standard, i-to-i in a dormitory. The final figures per person for a two or three bed roomed luxury flat for a fortnight would be $55 and $36 respectively. A volunteer is paying $1,176 or $2,495 over that period.
This might seem a little of a false comparison but I just want to offer people an idea of the cost of life here and really the costs that an organized and established organization should be aiming at, at the very top end. The additional tariffs allow us to see roughly the cost of the project for a week for one person, though even they are a little expensive. Let us look again very closely at the figure that is being charged per week over and above that weekly figure.
For i-to-i it is $388 a week and for Global Volunteers it is $1027. These figures may, depending on your own financial circumstances not seem so bad, but in China, they are astronomical in terms of any sort of logistical/ transportation/ staffing costs. These are aspects that should also be to a large degree already managed on a macro-financial level, not simply on a volunteer by volunteer basis.
Global Volunteers talks about $200 of this going on materials, but what materials, $200 per person in China on materials is a lot of materials. They are not needed when you are teaching a bit of English for a couple of weeks. Moreover, a volunteer is offering their time free, why should a large donation also be formally attached to that commitment. Global Volunteers note:
‘The Global Volunteers service program fee reflects the actual costs of establishing and maintaining the program in each country. Eighty-five percent of the fee pays for program costs such as food, lodging, ground transportation, team leader expenses, project materials, volunteer coordination, program development and coordination, volunteer materials and communication, and on-site consultants. The balance is used for organizational overhead.’
They are saying that all the above will cost 14, 421RMB for two weeks. I actually, after being here in Xi’an for nearly three years, cannot quite comprehend that figure. Surely doing voluntary work is not about six star* living!
All I can say is find your own work and/ or think very carefully about the value of the work you are about to undertake. If you are going to do voluntary work here, then get yourself into the village communities of China, where most foreign teachers are not. If you want to do voluntary work here, you maybe need to be a little more proactive. There are a number of options. First, I would suggest getting into contact with any charities that already work in a region of China you are interested in, not one already organizing expensive placements, just one that has some contacts on the ground.
Secondly, I suggest you contact both the Yellow River Soup Kitchen and the Library Project in Xi’an, as they already have contacts with various insufficiently resourced schools around Shaanxi and may be able to put you in the right direction. Third, if you have more time and you want to make a slightly longer commitment I suggest first finding a paid placement here, this will offer you an easy route into establishing yourself in Xi’an. You can then choose to work limited hours and discover valuable voluntary projects yourself.
Get real and get it done yourself, you do not need these companies, or maybe you do but you need one that recognizes its moral responsibility in that role. The process of taking a little more time and responsibility for your choice of voluntary work will probably make the whole thing more rewarding in the end.
*See the first comment below for an important additional note.
The conversion rate was based on $1 to 6.8RMB and £1 to 10RMB.
Click to continue reading...
All I can say to you is think long and hard about what it is you want to do because I can guarantee you, you are wasting your money paying what is £800 ($1,176) and £1,600 ($2,495) for 2 weeks voluntary work. It is a disgrace and I write this having reflected on the note I began a few days ago. When I first discovered these projects and accordant fees I felt my response may have been a little too impassioned, but it was not and I am not. It makes me so angry to even think of it. This note continues and some of the issues arising from this are discussed below.
First, i-to-i are asking you to pay £800 ($1,176) for 2 weeks voluntary work, to pay for your own flight, to organize your own visa, and then you do your voluntary work. For every week you want to continue, you have to pay another £150/ $220 (1496RMB), meantime you are living in a dorm room and eating food that probably would only cost about $3.00 a meal here. So, for two weeks teaching you will pay $1,176 as well as flights and a visa, that is 8000 RMB plus the not inconsiderable additional costs. I cannot believe it.
Global Volunteers is even worse, their project for two weeks costs a staggering £1696 ($2,495) or £1,832 ($2695) for three weeks, 16,966RMB and 18,326RMB. The i-to-i project includes dormitory accommodation, three meals a day and transportation to and from site, as well as a local programme of support. The Global Volunteers fee includes ‘tourist class hotel’, all meals, on-the-ground support, $200 towards materials and administration.
All I ask is that anyone thinking about these projects does so very carefully. This is not because I do not believe in voluntary work; I have done a variety of voluntary projects in my time. I just cannot believe how appalling these organizations are. Doing voluntary work is doing voluntary work; paying to do voluntary work, get over it.
Of course, the costs of your placement must be covered but it seems to me these organizations should have a moral responsibility to keep these costs as low as possible, the volunteer is volunteering that is their contribution, surely any well structured organization will have other revenue streams in place to offset the financial burden on the volunteer, or micro-managing the project well enough on the ground, so fees do not reach these levels.
Volunteering is not about wealth it is about somebody giving up their own time to help someone else. These fees are phenomenal, no matter what these organizations might say, they are not doing a good enough job of respecting the nature of the project, and they should not be trusted in any way to offer a valuable voluntary experience.
Now, let us consider the cost of renting a luxury flat here in Xi’an. It would cost between 2000RMB ($294) – 3000RMB ($441) per month to have a 2-3 bedroom, furnished, great flat here in Xi’an (My 3 bed roomed flat costs 1000 RMB). That is about $73 and $110 a week respectively. So, the cost for living here in the centre of the city, at the most expensive rates, would be a maximum of $220 for a fortnight.
This figure could then be divided by 4 or 6 depending on whether it is a 2 or 3 bedroom flat, on the basis that both companies offer only shared accommodation as standard, i-to-i in a dormitory. The final figures per person for a two or three bed roomed luxury flat for a fortnight would be $55 and $36 respectively. A volunteer is paying $1,176 or $2,495 over that period.
This might seem a little of a false comparison but I just want to offer people an idea of the cost of life here and really the costs that an organized and established organization should be aiming at, at the very top end. The additional tariffs allow us to see roughly the cost of the project for a week for one person, though even they are a little expensive. Let us look again very closely at the figure that is being charged per week over and above that weekly figure.
For i-to-i it is $388 a week and for Global Volunteers it is $1027. These figures may, depending on your own financial circumstances not seem so bad, but in China, they are astronomical in terms of any sort of logistical/ transportation/ staffing costs. These are aspects that should also be to a large degree already managed on a macro-financial level, not simply on a volunteer by volunteer basis.
Global Volunteers talks about $200 of this going on materials, but what materials, $200 per person in China on materials is a lot of materials. They are not needed when you are teaching a bit of English for a couple of weeks. Moreover, a volunteer is offering their time free, why should a large donation also be formally attached to that commitment. Global Volunteers note:
‘The Global Volunteers service program fee reflects the actual costs of establishing and maintaining the program in each country. Eighty-five percent of the fee pays for program costs such as food, lodging, ground transportation, team leader expenses, project materials, volunteer coordination, program development and coordination, volunteer materials and communication, and on-site consultants. The balance is used for organizational overhead.’
They are saying that all the above will cost 14, 421RMB for two weeks. I actually, after being here in Xi’an for nearly three years, cannot quite comprehend that figure. Surely doing voluntary work is not about six star* living!
All I can say is find your own work and/ or think very carefully about the value of the work you are about to undertake. If you are going to do voluntary work here, then get yourself into the village communities of China, where most foreign teachers are not. If you want to do voluntary work here, you maybe need to be a little more proactive. There are a number of options. First, I would suggest getting into contact with any charities that already work in a region of China you are interested in, not one already organizing expensive placements, just one that has some contacts on the ground.
Secondly, I suggest you contact both the Yellow River Soup Kitchen and the Library Project in Xi’an, as they already have contacts with various insufficiently resourced schools around Shaanxi and may be able to put you in the right direction. Third, if you have more time and you want to make a slightly longer commitment I suggest first finding a paid placement here, this will offer you an easy route into establishing yourself in Xi’an. You can then choose to work limited hours and discover valuable voluntary projects yourself.
Get real and get it done yourself, you do not need these companies, or maybe you do but you need one that recognizes its moral responsibility in that role. The process of taking a little more time and responsibility for your choice of voluntary work will probably make the whole thing more rewarding in the end.
*See the first comment below for an important additional note.
The conversion rate was based on $1 to 6.8RMB and £1 to 10RMB.
Click to continue reading...
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Teaching In Xi'an
It is about time I outlined what can be expected from a teacher’s life in Xi’an. The first point to note and to emphasize is that it offers the chance of a very good life. It is easy for a native English speaker to not only find work here but to be paid exceptionally well for doing something, in many cases, that they are not particularly well qualified to do.
There is a full spectrum of opportunities for teaching English in Xi’an. It is possible to teach in state or private schools, Kindergartens, Primary and Middle Schools, English Training Schools, Universities and Businesses; you can teach 1-1 classes, small group classes and huge classes up to 100. The choice, after some initial work undertaken from an Internet advert, will be up to you. So, what about workloads, money and all that stuff?
My only advice is that whatever job you initially take, take it on a short-term contract, generally recognised as being for 6 months. The obvious reason being that if you don’t like what you are doing you are not stuck within a contract, which may cause you some unnecessary visa problems if you want to get out of it. The age or level you may wish to teach is obviously your decision to make and will depend on what jobs you first come across.
A University appointment or a post at an English Training School offers the most straightforward introduction to teaching life in Xi’an. I will begin by discussing the later. A Training School basically means a foreign company with Chinese associates who operate classes of about 16 kids, for between 1- 2 hours, all day on Saturdays and Sundays and some evenings during the week.
These schools exist not simply because of the increased demand for learning English in China, but because Chinese children are put through the ringer when it comes to extra curricula study in all areas of their curriculum, something, but not all, to do with ordinarily having 50-90 classmates and not learning that much !
Now, this option is usually quite good because, as long as you choose a reputable company, you will get a visa, a guaranteed minimum wage per month, a flat to live in and a bonus at the end of the contract. The company will also probably have some experience of helping people integrate into life here. Moreover, this kind of teaching requires very little planning and marking and, most significantly, primarily takes place at the weekends. In fact, if you do take this option I would recommend that you only take the minimum contract at first, which is usually just at the weekend, because you will very quickly find other work opportunities which will pay more per hour (100+Yuan), than the roughly 65 Yuan your average contract based wage equates to.
So, to recap, one very common, though not always that professionally rewarding first step into teaching in Xi’an, is to take a basic 15-hour contract at an English training School (Aston and English First are good places to start in Xi’an- see the links on the right). These schools will give you about 4-6000 Yuan a month (15-25 hours a week), a visa and a flat, and a small bonus at the end of the contract. Plus these hours will almost solely be at the weekend, giving you time to start learning Chinese, check out the city, pick up extra work for a higher hourly rate, or just hang-out doing whatever it is you like to do or have always wanted to do.
The other main option is working for a University, which you will find advertised in abundance around the web. Xi’an offers a multitude of opportunities here as it has so many Universities. The Universities will need anything from a bit of speaking practice within a class of 100, to small group tuition, to specialized linguistic and literature teaching, or even the teaching of more specialized subject content. Strangely, the Universities don’t tend to pay as well as the private schools and training schools, and often require a lot more contact time, preparation and marking. You just have to decide what you are in it for.
Of course, teaching university students in many cases will be more stimulating than teaching young ones. However, the level of English, the motivation, the size of the classes, the standard of the university will all be factors that can make teaching Chinese students a little frustrating, plus, unlike elsewhere, Universities want their pound of flesh when it comes to your commitment of time. Plus, young Chinese kids are a joy to be around. There will be though people with stories from across the spectrum, so read around, get a sense of what you are likely to be in for and sign a short term contract, you can always make a change later or stay on if you like it.
The average hourly rate for freelance work is still about 100 Yuan, but can go up, in some rather ridiculous circumstances, to around 200 Yuan (some people really need a teacher). If you’re looking around at Beijing and Shanghai for example, do not be put off by these rates, at 100 Yuan an hour, here in Xi’an, you will still be living a ridiculously easy life compared to the majority. You will, after initial acclimatization, be able to save a good chunk of what you earn. Many of the teachers I come across here who have been here a while, are able to save more than they would back at home, whether they come from Europe, Africa, the Americas or Australasia.
Also, unless you specifically find a rural school with a serious lack of funds or a legitimate voluntary work experience, do not be thinking: “Oh! The money’s not important, it’s just poor old developing China.” In the majority of situations, if you are not pocketing the money, the school’s manager or board of managers will be. If you are looking to just do a 3-6-12 month stint volunteering before heading back home then have a good look around, you don’t want to end up teaching some middle- class kids in Xi’an’s High Tech Zone. The links on my homepage to the ‘Yellow River Soup Kitchen’ and ‘The Library Project’ would offer you a first port-of-call for discovering legitimate voluntary opportunities around Xi’an, maybe try and liaise with them first. I will also attempt to find out more about the organisations I have seen on the Internet advertising volunteer placements in Xi’an and will update this note accordingly.
Teaching in Xi’an, whether for six months or for a few years, offers you the chance of a great life. Enjoy it. As a fellow teacher once noted: ‘Imagine receiving so many job offers you have to turn most of them down. Imagine a salary almost ten times higher than a native worker’s. Imagine a job that includes a free apartment, at least three weeks vacation and a plane ticket to return home. Imagine that this job requires no previous experience. Does this appear too good to be true? Not at all.’ You have the chance to choose your life a little here, as a friend and I often comment, it is like being retired with age on your side. Whether it’s just for a few months or for a few years it is a nice position to be in.
If you have any specific questions feel free to use the form on the right to send me a message.
Click to continue reading...
There is a full spectrum of opportunities for teaching English in Xi’an. It is possible to teach in state or private schools, Kindergartens, Primary and Middle Schools, English Training Schools, Universities and Businesses; you can teach 1-1 classes, small group classes and huge classes up to 100. The choice, after some initial work undertaken from an Internet advert, will be up to you. So, what about workloads, money and all that stuff?
My only advice is that whatever job you initially take, take it on a short-term contract, generally recognised as being for 6 months. The obvious reason being that if you don’t like what you are doing you are not stuck within a contract, which may cause you some unnecessary visa problems if you want to get out of it. The age or level you may wish to teach is obviously your decision to make and will depend on what jobs you first come across.
A University appointment or a post at an English Training School offers the most straightforward introduction to teaching life in Xi’an. I will begin by discussing the later. A Training School basically means a foreign company with Chinese associates who operate classes of about 16 kids, for between 1- 2 hours, all day on Saturdays and Sundays and some evenings during the week.
These schools exist not simply because of the increased demand for learning English in China, but because Chinese children are put through the ringer when it comes to extra curricula study in all areas of their curriculum, something, but not all, to do with ordinarily having 50-90 classmates and not learning that much !
Now, this option is usually quite good because, as long as you choose a reputable company, you will get a visa, a guaranteed minimum wage per month, a flat to live in and a bonus at the end of the contract. The company will also probably have some experience of helping people integrate into life here. Moreover, this kind of teaching requires very little planning and marking and, most significantly, primarily takes place at the weekends. In fact, if you do take this option I would recommend that you only take the minimum contract at first, which is usually just at the weekend, because you will very quickly find other work opportunities which will pay more per hour (100+Yuan), than the roughly 65 Yuan your average contract based wage equates to.
So, to recap, one very common, though not always that professionally rewarding first step into teaching in Xi’an, is to take a basic 15-hour contract at an English training School (Aston and English First are good places to start in Xi’an- see the links on the right). These schools will give you about 4-6000 Yuan a month (15-25 hours a week), a visa and a flat, and a small bonus at the end of the contract. Plus these hours will almost solely be at the weekend, giving you time to start learning Chinese, check out the city, pick up extra work for a higher hourly rate, or just hang-out doing whatever it is you like to do or have always wanted to do.
The other main option is working for a University, which you will find advertised in abundance around the web. Xi’an offers a multitude of opportunities here as it has so many Universities. The Universities will need anything from a bit of speaking practice within a class of 100, to small group tuition, to specialized linguistic and literature teaching, or even the teaching of more specialized subject content. Strangely, the Universities don’t tend to pay as well as the private schools and training schools, and often require a lot more contact time, preparation and marking. You just have to decide what you are in it for.
Of course, teaching university students in many cases will be more stimulating than teaching young ones. However, the level of English, the motivation, the size of the classes, the standard of the university will all be factors that can make teaching Chinese students a little frustrating, plus, unlike elsewhere, Universities want their pound of flesh when it comes to your commitment of time. Plus, young Chinese kids are a joy to be around. There will be though people with stories from across the spectrum, so read around, get a sense of what you are likely to be in for and sign a short term contract, you can always make a change later or stay on if you like it.
The average hourly rate for freelance work is still about 100 Yuan, but can go up, in some rather ridiculous circumstances, to around 200 Yuan (some people really need a teacher). If you’re looking around at Beijing and Shanghai for example, do not be put off by these rates, at 100 Yuan an hour, here in Xi’an, you will still be living a ridiculously easy life compared to the majority. You will, after initial acclimatization, be able to save a good chunk of what you earn. Many of the teachers I come across here who have been here a while, are able to save more than they would back at home, whether they come from Europe, Africa, the Americas or Australasia.
Also, unless you specifically find a rural school with a serious lack of funds or a legitimate voluntary work experience, do not be thinking: “Oh! The money’s not important, it’s just poor old developing China.” In the majority of situations, if you are not pocketing the money, the school’s manager or board of managers will be. If you are looking to just do a 3-6-12 month stint volunteering before heading back home then have a good look around, you don’t want to end up teaching some middle- class kids in Xi’an’s High Tech Zone. The links on my homepage to the ‘Yellow River Soup Kitchen’ and ‘The Library Project’ would offer you a first port-of-call for discovering legitimate voluntary opportunities around Xi’an, maybe try and liaise with them first. I will also attempt to find out more about the organisations I have seen on the Internet advertising volunteer placements in Xi’an and will update this note accordingly.
Teaching in Xi’an, whether for six months or for a few years, offers you the chance of a great life. Enjoy it. As a fellow teacher once noted: ‘Imagine receiving so many job offers you have to turn most of them down. Imagine a salary almost ten times higher than a native worker’s. Imagine a job that includes a free apartment, at least three weeks vacation and a plane ticket to return home. Imagine that this job requires no previous experience. Does this appear too good to be true? Not at all.’ You have the chance to choose your life a little here, as a friend and I often comment, it is like being retired with age on your side. Whether it’s just for a few months or for a few years it is a nice position to be in.
If you have any specific questions feel free to use the form on the right to send me a message.
Click to continue reading...
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Some Habits Best Kept, Others Maybe Not
A couple of things that stood out on the Chinese culture front last week. The first, was listening to a Chinese colleague outline her lunchtime ritual. She noted how she goes from school to her car across the road, which she pays to park, then drives straight down the street to her daughters school, also where her husband works. This whole process takes under 10 minutes. Her and her husband then have lunch with their daughter, before retiring to a school provided dormitory for a siesta. She then drives back here for afternoon classes before returning again to meet her daughter when she finishes school. They wait at the school while their daughter does her homework and plays in the pleasant surroundings of the near-by university campus. They then drive home, about 5-10 minutes by car.
Why do I note this? Maybe back in Britain or in the States this scenario seems oh so normal. But, this is a nation of cyclists, bus catchers and walkers. No longer.
One of the great things about living in China, and particularly here in Xi’an, as it is less developed than Beijing for example, is that it places many of the norms of our own societies in sharp contrast. The society here maybe in the process of going down the same route we took, but by doing so from a different starting point or time period, it sharpens the focus from which we view not only the changes here, but our own norms of behaviour.
Just weeks ago this lady cycled down the road at lunch time and then home in the evening, with her daughter on the back of her bike. Now, she makes 5 journeys a day in her VW Golf. I suppose this is all-good for the economy and is being increasingly supported by many major nations, particularly here and in the United States. These are the realities of the principles that underpin our societies. It is just that they seem to me a little crazy really and that's not even taking into account the environmental costs.
Secondly, I was sitting in a small fast-food restaurant doing a bit of studying when a young lad, your average looking student, sat down at the table just across from me. He began to chomp and slurp his way through his lunch, as if oblivious to any of the evolutionary etiquette that has emerged over the last however many centuries, in various parts of our various societies.
Now, I am quite used to this really, living on the street I live, which is not inhabited by the wealthiest of people and has an abundance of hole-in-the-wall restaurants. I have also stayed a number of times in rural village communities where the old noodle suck and slurp is going strong. I can actually manage a good noodle slurp myself and even recognise the benefit when the noodles are piping hot. However, there are levels, it doesn’t matter how you cut it, listening to this guy eat was no different from listening to an animal munching, noisily at its trough, every open mouth(ful) chomped, sucked and slurped over. Quite amazing.
This, of course, may well not be a bad thing, certain levels of etiquette go far too far and I particularly enjoyed eating with my right hand in India, but…I wished this bloke would shut the _____ ___.
Click to continue reading...
Why do I note this? Maybe back in Britain or in the States this scenario seems oh so normal. But, this is a nation of cyclists, bus catchers and walkers. No longer.
One of the great things about living in China, and particularly here in Xi’an, as it is less developed than Beijing for example, is that it places many of the norms of our own societies in sharp contrast. The society here maybe in the process of going down the same route we took, but by doing so from a different starting point or time period, it sharpens the focus from which we view not only the changes here, but our own norms of behaviour.Just weeks ago this lady cycled down the road at lunch time and then home in the evening, with her daughter on the back of her bike. Now, she makes 5 journeys a day in her VW Golf. I suppose this is all-good for the economy and is being increasingly supported by many major nations, particularly here and in the United States. These are the realities of the principles that underpin our societies. It is just that they seem to me a little crazy really and that's not even taking into account the environmental costs.
Secondly, I was sitting in a small fast-food restaurant doing a bit of studying when a young lad, your average looking student, sat down at the table just across from me. He began to chomp and slurp his way through his lunch, as if oblivious to any of the evolutionary etiquette that has emerged over the last however many centuries, in various parts of our various societies.
Now, I am quite used to this really, living on the street I live, which is not inhabited by the wealthiest of people and has an abundance of hole-in-the-wall restaurants. I have also stayed a number of times in rural village communities where the old noodle suck and slurp is going strong. I can actually manage a good noodle slurp myself and even recognise the benefit when the noodles are piping hot. However, there are levels, it doesn’t matter how you cut it, listening to this guy eat was no different from listening to an animal munching, noisily at its trough, every open mouth(ful) chomped, sucked and slurped over. Quite amazing.
This, of course, may well not be a bad thing, certain levels of etiquette go far too far and I particularly enjoyed eating with my right hand in India, but…I wished this bloke would shut the _____ ___.
Click to continue reading...
Friday, 17 April 2009
Your Average Xi'an Morning!
I woke slowly and with sleep still in my eyes peered out through our new 'dust-net'. I saw that an inch-thick layer of lunar-like dust had again settled and completely covered the bedroom. I carefully rose from the bed, shaking a thin layer of dust from my hair that troublingly had managed to find a path inside the net. My girlfriend still lay sleeping peacefully.
I padded through into the living room, leaving a clearing trail of footprints behind me as I went. While quickly realizing, as I slipped headlong into a three foot high pile of dust, that I had left the window open overnight. We recently, however, installed a nifty new particle-vacuum, patented here in Xi’an’s very own High Tech Zone, which I have had positioned beneath the air-conditioner on the wall. I placed the blue mask, that came with it, over my mouth and turned it on.
It is a quite wonderful contraption, quietly going about its duties, or rather, duty: the silent and speedy removal of these pesky white particles, as I watch. I am not entirely sure how it works, though water has something to do with it, but it does manage to distinguish the dust from all the other bits and pieces scattered around the house. Within moments, it has syphoned the house clear. I had not enquired, nor had I wished to, about where all this stuff goes, but I did hear that it is trucked up to Taiyuan in Shanxi, loaded onto transporter spacecraft and, as part of China’s New Greener Earth Space Programme, exported to the moon. But, I don't really know.
I was no sooner out of the flat and off to work when I found myself falling footlong into a huge hole in the road: “That wasn’t there yesterday,” I thought to myself as I descended into the pit. Upon landing and while scrambling to my feet, I looked up, to see a couple of friendly Chinese faces peering down at me, they muttered the comforting words “Lao Wai” (foreigner), before continuing on their way.
Once I had clambered out and continued on, I happily consoled myself with the fact that this huge hole outside my home was probably part of Xi’an’s subway construction process, now, so I am also told, visible from space. I hope that in time I may well be allowed a more sedate way of descending into the same place, an electric escalator carrying me from the entrance of my apartment to the underground platform below.
This thought made me think of those moving walkway things that you get in airports, so good for a bit of "I am a world traveler with countries to go and people to see" kind of posturing. I like those things. To think we could have one here on Yang Jia Cun was quite a great thought and left me feeling rather positive about the day ahead.
When I got to the crossroads and after looking left and right, I calmly approached the mass of entwined vehicles in front of me. Nonchalantly, I clambered over the bonnet of the first car, squeezed agilely in front of a bus, stepped over the rear saddle of an electric moped, which was sandwiched between two taxis, apologizing as I did so, ducked under an open lorry door and made it to the other side of the road. I turned, momentarily, to observe again the interwoven pattern of vehicles at the junction of my street, before continuing on my way to work.
Click to continue reading...
I padded through into the living room, leaving a clearing trail of footprints behind me as I went. While quickly realizing, as I slipped headlong into a three foot high pile of dust, that I had left the window open overnight. We recently, however, installed a nifty new particle-vacuum, patented here in Xi’an’s very own High Tech Zone, which I have had positioned beneath the air-conditioner on the wall. I placed the blue mask, that came with it, over my mouth and turned it on.It is a quite wonderful contraption, quietly going about its duties, or rather, duty: the silent and speedy removal of these pesky white particles, as I watch. I am not entirely sure how it works, though water has something to do with it, but it does manage to distinguish the dust from all the other bits and pieces scattered around the house. Within moments, it has syphoned the house clear. I had not enquired, nor had I wished to, about where all this stuff goes, but I did hear that it is trucked up to Taiyuan in Shanxi, loaded onto transporter spacecraft and, as part of China’s New Greener Earth Space Programme, exported to the moon. But, I don't really know.
I was no sooner out of the flat and off to work when I found myself falling footlong into a huge hole in the road: “That wasn’t there yesterday,” I thought to myself as I descended into the pit. Upon landing and while scrambling to my feet, I looked up, to see a couple of friendly Chinese faces peering down at me, they muttered the comforting words “Lao Wai” (foreigner), before continuing on their way.
Once I had clambered out and continued on, I happily consoled myself with the fact that this huge hole outside my home was probably part of Xi’an’s subway construction process, now, so I am also told, visible from space. I hope that in time I may well be allowed a more sedate way of descending into the same place, an electric escalator carrying me from the entrance of my apartment to the underground platform below.
This thought made me think of those moving walkway things that you get in airports, so good for a bit of "I am a world traveler with countries to go and people to see" kind of posturing. I like those things. To think we could have one here on Yang Jia Cun was quite a great thought and left me feeling rather positive about the day ahead.
When I got to the crossroads and after looking left and right, I calmly approached the mass of entwined vehicles in front of me. Nonchalantly, I clambered over the bonnet of the first car, squeezed agilely in front of a bus, stepped over the rear saddle of an electric moped, which was sandwiched between two taxis, apologizing as I did so, ducked under an open lorry door and made it to the other side of the road. I turned, momentarily, to observe again the interwoven pattern of vehicles at the junction of my street, before continuing on my way to work.
Click to continue reading...
Friday, 10 April 2009
The Xi'anese and the Western Mind
I was planning to write a note here not just about Xi’an but more importantly, about the Xi’anese, as it is really the life of the people here that makes it a great place to live. I will however begin with a less than glorious portrayal of a Xi’anese person I came across during the first few months of being here. At the time, it was a little frustrating, verging on amazing though subsequently quite amusing; consequently the story has stuck with me.
I was with my girlfriend, lost in one of these vast furniture warehouses they have here in Xi’an. For those that do not know, here in China if you wish to buy a light or an oven or some paint or a valve or a sink or a sofa, you do not just go down to your local shop or even local multi-store. Here, you end up either on a street full of 50 lights shops or within a huge mall full of 50 light shops. This often means that, even if you were excited about buying the light in the first place, you certainly aren’t in the end, though it may still look good back in the home. (As an aside- B&Q, an English Home Improvement Multi-Store that has had a presence in China for over a decade, has just announced it is closing a third of its stores)
To continue, my girlfriend and I found ourselves lost, somehow, traversing the staff stairwell, up and down, a little in confusion, until we stumbled into the bright light of what was a supermarket, full of your everyday necessities; quite normal. That was, until a hand roughly rested on my shoulder and I turned to find a young security guard looking angrily at the two of us and shouting something, something that at that point for me was utterly incomprehensible. Even with the hindsight of understanding, I would still look upon his words as incomprehensible. He was telling us that we could not enter the supermarket from that particular entrance, as it was for the staff only. We explained that we were lost and had stumbled unwittingly upon it. He repeated that we could not enter the supermarket that way.
We then pointed out that we understood, but that we were now in the supermarket, with all the other people, and we wouldn’t do it again. He repeated his words.
I, now a little annoyed, explained to him, as clearly as an annoyed lao3 wai4 (foreigner) can with very little Chinese, that we are now in the supermarket, it is no longer important how we got there, and that we would endeavour to leave through the appropriate exit. He responded with the words: “You cannot come into the supermarket this way”. This was now becoming an issue and we were quickly becoming the centre of attention. So, to appease all, I punched him flat on the ground…No I didn’t, I, listening to my girlfriend, who I must say had of course born the brunt of his frustration and was becoming a little embarrassed by all the fuss, respectfully retreated back the way we had come, muttering this and that about the Chinese under my breath, as I went.
It has just struck me that although I am often critical of the western media being particularly negative, when I am faced here with giving an example of life and the people in Xi’an I too have chosen a less than glorious example. I like the people here and very much enjoy living amongst them, but it is interesting that my mind first moved to a negative, though amusing, portrayal of a Xi’anese person and, what at the time was a frustrating experience. I will correct that in future notes. We cannot after all have the Chinese being tagged, on a whim, by a western mind, now can we?
Click to continue reading...
I was with my girlfriend, lost in one of these vast furniture warehouses they have here in Xi’an. For those that do not know, here in China if you wish to buy a light or an oven or some paint or a valve or a sink or a sofa, you do not just go down to your local shop or even local multi-store. Here, you end up either on a street full of 50 lights shops or within a huge mall full of 50 light shops. This often means that, even if you were excited about buying the light in the first place, you certainly aren’t in the end, though it may still look good back in the home. (As an aside- B&Q, an English Home Improvement Multi-Store that has had a presence in China for over a decade, has just announced it is closing a third of its stores)
To continue, my girlfriend and I found ourselves lost, somehow, traversing the staff stairwell, up and down, a little in confusion, until we stumbled into the bright light of what was a supermarket, full of your everyday necessities; quite normal. That was, until a hand roughly rested on my shoulder and I turned to find a young security guard looking angrily at the two of us and shouting something, something that at that point for me was utterly incomprehensible. Even with the hindsight of understanding, I would still look upon his words as incomprehensible. He was telling us that we could not enter the supermarket from that particular entrance, as it was for the staff only. We explained that we were lost and had stumbled unwittingly upon it. He repeated that we could not enter the supermarket that way.
We then pointed out that we understood, but that we were now in the supermarket, with all the other people, and we wouldn’t do it again. He repeated his words.
I, now a little annoyed, explained to him, as clearly as an annoyed lao3 wai4 (foreigner) can with very little Chinese, that we are now in the supermarket, it is no longer important how we got there, and that we would endeavour to leave through the appropriate exit. He responded with the words: “You cannot come into the supermarket this way”. This was now becoming an issue and we were quickly becoming the centre of attention. So, to appease all, I punched him flat on the ground…No I didn’t, I, listening to my girlfriend, who I must say had of course born the brunt of his frustration and was becoming a little embarrassed by all the fuss, respectfully retreated back the way we had come, muttering this and that about the Chinese under my breath, as I went.It has just struck me that although I am often critical of the western media being particularly negative, when I am faced here with giving an example of life and the people in Xi’an I too have chosen a less than glorious example. I like the people here and very much enjoy living amongst them, but it is interesting that my mind first moved to a negative, though amusing, portrayal of a Xi’anese person and, what at the time was a frustrating experience. I will correct that in future notes. We cannot after all have the Chinese being tagged, on a whim, by a western mind, now can we?
Click to continue reading...
Friday, 3 April 2009
It Is Not Just The Summer Heat That Lurks Ominously Under The Surface
Two weeks ago, we experienced temperatures touching into the 80’s and I felt the sense of foreboding, usually felt in May, that accompanies thoughts of the sweltering hot summer months here in Xi'an. Summers here are not what they are back in the lush green Isle of England and, though still a relatively young and healthy chap, I have, during them, found myself subconsciously acting as a rather efficient sweat producing machine. Here I was in March already concerned about what lay ahead.
However, only a few days later and with talk swirling around about dust clouds drifting off the Gobi desert, the skies darkened and everyone one came across had some kind of sinus problem to sneeze about. The pollution here is something, I believe, you get used to, but every now and again it comes up and hits you. Temperatures during the rest of the week steadily decreased and by the weekend, this was reminiscent of being back in Britain, it was raining.
Now, it doesn’t often rain, so it is sometimes quite pleasant to close the windows and curtains to the local street vendors cries and the murderous noise emanating from the newly fabricated building, just yards from my home, that now houses a KTV (karaoke) studio, and to retreat inside. Not to mention being happy to escape from the weekend masses that gather ten deep at bus stops and who jostle for position on street corners, hoping to stand out in some way from the crowd when the next taxi driver passes by, red light lit. There are also all the children in bookshops and the husbands joining wives in coffee shops, giving these places an unusual sense of busyness, that can be happily avoided.
However, the days of sunshine had managed to fool the poor shrubs and trees into offering us a branch or two of fresh buds and even a few light coloured petals in places. They say here in Xi’an that we really only have two seasons Winter and Summer, as Spring and Autumn are dashed through so quickly we are always seemingly being faced with the harshness of freezing winter, or baking summer temperatures.
I am not sure how true that is, as the last couple of years, we have had reasonably enjoyable autumnal evenings and a plentitude of spring mornings. However, these last few weeks the poor plants have been left confused and battered by the onset of summer and an almost immediate return to winter. We may have trouble enough dealing with this situation, the old plants, without the prize of consciousness and the consequential awareness of circumstance that it entails, must be pretty confused indeed.
However, to see the blossom on a sunny day after the bleakness of a polluted Xi’an winter is quite something, but to see the fresh growth of spring being splattered and dashed by the rain and wind is less uplifting indeed. Tomorrow, though, is another day here in Xi’an.
Finally, with reference to life on the playground this week, I have, as my Chinese has improved, begun to talk a little more with the kids at the various schools I teach at, this week a new lad came over and introduced himself to me. He was probably about grade 3 or 4, so about 10 or 11, he didn't seem a particular earnest young boy, just your average kid running about like all the others and then throwing out a couple of questions in my direction, as he passed by on the way back to class. However, his second question, after asking where I was from, was whether Britain would help China or Japan when they have a fight. I diplomatically shrugged my shoulders and replied that I was not entirely sure. In China, you quite quickly gain the sense of the loathing for Japan that exists not simply under the surface, and get used to it, but occasionally, just like the situation above, you observe the odd circumstance that concerns you.
Click to continue reading...
However, only a few days later and with talk swirling around about dust clouds drifting off the Gobi desert, the skies darkened and everyone one came across had some kind of sinus problem to sneeze about. The pollution here is something, I believe, you get used to, but every now and again it comes up and hits you. Temperatures during the rest of the week steadily decreased and by the weekend, this was reminiscent of being back in Britain, it was raining.
Now, it doesn’t often rain, so it is sometimes quite pleasant to close the windows and curtains to the local street vendors cries and the murderous noise emanating from the newly fabricated building, just yards from my home, that now houses a KTV (karaoke) studio, and to retreat inside. Not to mention being happy to escape from the weekend masses that gather ten deep at bus stops and who jostle for position on street corners, hoping to stand out in some way from the crowd when the next taxi driver passes by, red light lit. There are also all the children in bookshops and the husbands joining wives in coffee shops, giving these places an unusual sense of busyness, that can be happily avoided.
However, the days of sunshine had managed to fool the poor shrubs and trees into offering us a branch or two of fresh buds and even a few light coloured petals in places. They say here in Xi’an that we really only have two seasons Winter and Summer, as Spring and Autumn are dashed through so quickly we are always seemingly being faced with the harshness of freezing winter, or baking summer temperatures.
I am not sure how true that is, as the last couple of years, we have had reasonably enjoyable autumnal evenings and a plentitude of spring mornings. However, these last few weeks the poor plants have been left confused and battered by the onset of summer and an almost immediate return to winter. We may have trouble enough dealing with this situation, the old plants, without the prize of consciousness and the consequential awareness of circumstance that it entails, must be pretty confused indeed.
However, to see the blossom on a sunny day after the bleakness of a polluted Xi’an winter is quite something, but to see the fresh growth of spring being splattered and dashed by the rain and wind is less uplifting indeed. Tomorrow, though, is another day here in Xi’an.
Finally, with reference to life on the playground this week, I have, as my Chinese has improved, begun to talk a little more with the kids at the various schools I teach at, this week a new lad came over and introduced himself to me. He was probably about grade 3 or 4, so about 10 or 11, he didn't seem a particular earnest young boy, just your average kid running about like all the others and then throwing out a couple of questions in my direction, as he passed by on the way back to class. However, his second question, after asking where I was from, was whether Britain would help China or Japan when they have a fight. I diplomatically shrugged my shoulders and replied that I was not entirely sure. In China, you quite quickly gain the sense of the loathing for Japan that exists not simply under the surface, and get used to it, but occasionally, just like the situation above, you observe the odd circumstance that concerns you.
Click to continue reading...
Friday, 20 March 2009
What is Xi'an Like? Part II
The city centre is surrounded by an ancient city wall with the main routes out of the city all passing through one of a variety of gates, the largest being simply the North, East, South and West gates. I live in the south, about a 20-minute taxi ride or a 30-minute bus ride from the centre of the city, which is marked by the Bell Tower (see below). Taxis are easy to flag down, run on a meter, relatively cheap and often used when first arriving as bus routes in Chinese characters can be somewhat daunting at first and, depending on mood, somewhat depressing later.
When you do start getting the buses or even when getting a taxi, do not wait for those around you to usher you in, or recognise that you arrived first, if you do you will be waiting some time. What is though interesting and begins to reveal the street level value of life here, is that even in the hurly burly of getting on a bus, or asserting your right to get the next taxi, you will very rarely if ever come across anger and violence. Over and above the seeming disorder is a quiet civility and respect, it is maybe not always obvious to the eye on first arrival but it is there. The best and most frequent examples are the regular near miss scenarios between pedestrian and cyclist, motorcyclist and cyclist, bus and car, taxi and everything, but the absolute lack of aggression in these circumstances, verbally or physically.
I am not speaking for the whole of China, though sometimes my tone may mislead and I apologize for that, but from my experience of living in Xi’an now for nearly three years. I have so rarely seen anger and certainly not actual physical abuse. This is in a place where you are nearly hit by something on a regular basis, I will not now ponder the source of this internalization of emotion or the potential consequences of bottling up emotion, if that is infact what is going on. A superficial observation is that it seems that the people here are so accepting of circumstance, something happens, they face it. One of the nicest things about living here is this absence of aggression in these day-day situations, when back in Britain we attain or witness various levels of anger and abuse on a semi-regular basis.
My preferred form of transport is motorbike taxi, which are supposedly illegal but exceptionally useful and if illegal the government should really attempt some form of licensing. The remarkable thing about the motorbike and moped riders here is that they are nearly all helmet-less; it is actually the thing I like about it. Though, with the rate of car increase sooner rather than later it will become a little too dangerous, not that I have ever been one for riding a helmet cycling but there will come a point where a motorbike and helmet will form the same symbiotic relationship they have in the West. One of the amazing aspects about the lack of motor insurance here or the limited policies atleast, is that if two cars collide, even if a minor incident and even if they are spread across the traffic, they will not move until the police arrive, incredible to witness. Rush hour backed up because two cars have touched, maybe someone has grazed someone else’s wing mirror, but they will just sit there side-by-side with all the traffic just backing up behind, without an inkling of concern.
Xi’an is in the West of China and is considered somewhat "out west". These are some of the last remnants of the Chinese Wild West. Xi’an is quickly on the change but the heart under the surface is I believe, for now atleast, still maintained. The people are friendly, there is an openness and innocence that is so refreshing to be around, there is hope and excitement, but a feeling of pressure and the perception that the opportunity that these greater levels of development supposedly supply, will actually pass most by.
The question will be how will all this manifest here in Xi’an, here in China. Why I love living here is because of some of the above, but also because we are in the middle of all this and they/ we don’t know where it is going. These are good people, who just want to face the life as best they can, as we all do, let’s hope we all get that chance, I for one feel very lucky to be living this life and experiencing all this here in Xi’an. I am not sure if these notes have done Xi’an or my views on Xi’an justice, but I no doubt will uncover more about life here as these notes continue.
Click to continue reading...
When you do start getting the buses or even when getting a taxi, do not wait for those around you to usher you in, or recognise that you arrived first, if you do you will be waiting some time. What is though interesting and begins to reveal the street level value of life here, is that even in the hurly burly of getting on a bus, or asserting your right to get the next taxi, you will very rarely if ever come across anger and violence. Over and above the seeming disorder is a quiet civility and respect, it is maybe not always obvious to the eye on first arrival but it is there. The best and most frequent examples are the regular near miss scenarios between pedestrian and cyclist, motorcyclist and cyclist, bus and car, taxi and everything, but the absolute lack of aggression in these circumstances, verbally or physically.
I am not speaking for the whole of China, though sometimes my tone may mislead and I apologize for that, but from my experience of living in Xi’an now for nearly three years. I have so rarely seen anger and certainly not actual physical abuse. This is in a place where you are nearly hit by something on a regular basis, I will not now ponder the source of this internalization of emotion or the potential consequences of bottling up emotion, if that is infact what is going on. A superficial observation is that it seems that the people here are so accepting of circumstance, something happens, they face it. One of the nicest things about living here is this absence of aggression in these day-day situations, when back in Britain we attain or witness various levels of anger and abuse on a semi-regular basis.
My preferred form of transport is motorbike taxi, which are supposedly illegal but exceptionally useful and if illegal the government should really attempt some form of licensing. The remarkable thing about the motorbike and moped riders here is that they are nearly all helmet-less; it is actually the thing I like about it. Though, with the rate of car increase sooner rather than later it will become a little too dangerous, not that I have ever been one for riding a helmet cycling but there will come a point where a motorbike and helmet will form the same symbiotic relationship they have in the West. One of the amazing aspects about the lack of motor insurance here or the limited policies atleast, is that if two cars collide, even if a minor incident and even if they are spread across the traffic, they will not move until the police arrive, incredible to witness. Rush hour backed up because two cars have touched, maybe someone has grazed someone else’s wing mirror, but they will just sit there side-by-side with all the traffic just backing up behind, without an inkling of concern.
Xi’an is in the West of China and is considered somewhat "out west". These are some of the last remnants of the Chinese Wild West. Xi’an is quickly on the change but the heart under the surface is I believe, for now atleast, still maintained. The people are friendly, there is an openness and innocence that is so refreshing to be around, there is hope and excitement, but a feeling of pressure and the perception that the opportunity that these greater levels of development supposedly supply, will actually pass most by.
The question will be how will all this manifest here in Xi’an, here in China. Why I love living here is because of some of the above, but also because we are in the middle of all this and they/ we don’t know where it is going. These are good people, who just want to face the life as best they can, as we all do, let’s hope we all get that chance, I for one feel very lucky to be living this life and experiencing all this here in Xi’an. I am not sure if these notes have done Xi’an or my views on Xi’an justice, but I no doubt will uncover more about life here as these notes continue.
Click to continue reading...
What is Xi'an Like? Part I
I have written a few notes here now but have not yet really given an account of what Xi’an is like, so I will do that now. This note will come generally from the perspective of a foreign teacher here, though with an eye on the whole. Xi’an is a great place to live, but I must first be clear that the life here for a foreigner teaching is far and away easier than it is even for our Chinese counterparts, let alone the majority who do not have anything like the opportunity for the lifestyle we have. That is not to say there are not the ridiculously wealthy, there certainly are and their number is swelling. While what could loosely be described as a middle-class ( a problem term at the best of times but more so here with the so-called middle class being generally such a minority) is becoming more visible year on year, or even season upon season. Fashion season that is- with the joy and energy with which the Chinese are turning to shopping, as a relatively recent pastime, it is easy to see where the domestic consumer growth could be found to off set the slump in exports, to the suffering West.
The life here as a foreign teacher allows, what some of us refer to as, the retirement life style with youth attached. This means that we do part-time work (doing nothing in retirement doesn’t seem that possible or desirable for interests sake let alone it's viability financially in this day and age), we then study Chinese for a good chunk of the week, but still have time to hang out with friends and loved ones! Finally, the money we earn for a week doing what we do, far and away exceeds the average workers monthly salary for working fulltime. None of this I was aware of before coming here and ofcourse it contributes greatly to the enjoyment of life.
You can certainly work full-time, though not really learn Chinese, and earn a lot of money. This, as in the case of a large number of African teachers here, allows the opportunity for investments, that supply the basis for a business back at home. If you are a foreigner here doing your job from back home, then you are living the classic expat life, still working full-time but with your money going a lot further. However, Xi’an doesn’t really have a 'classic' expat life comparable to the large cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, or even Dalian and Guangzhou, it really is predominantly a community of teachers and students.
However, I want to take this note outside the realm of affluence and opportunity and just outline a few things about Xi’an which make me actually feel at home, as well as giving an idea of what is going on here.
Xi’an is a great city with an incredible history, it is a city of about 8-9 million with 4-5 of those in the main centre and inner suburbs, but still doesn’t feel like a big city at all and is actually considered somewhat of a backwater with regards to modern Chinese cities, though that is beginning to change. I do not believe people in other countries who have not been here can comprehend the construction work that goes on here. Cranes are everywhere; buildings are being pulled down within every street and around every corner (my building above-on a particularly smoggy winter day- may not be long for the chop). Pavements are being laid for the first time in places where a track was just months or a couple of years earlier. Fields on the outskirts of town, as well as in town centres, are being concretized at a rate probably comparable to a decade or two of growth back in the day in Britain, but that is taking a year or two here.
As an example, eight or so of the Universities here in downtown Xi’an have built shiny new ‘Super Campuses’ on the outer southern edge of the city. When I arrived in Xi’an those areas were quite literally rice fields, these ‘Super Campuses’ now exist and so increasingly do the apartment blocks and restaurants that service them and, that with their own life force, are transforming the area into a whole new suburb of the city.
Just south of the Big Goose Pagoda (see picture opposite), which is one of the most famous historical spots here in Xi’an and not far from the city centre, a huge lake was created and is now one of Xi’an’s favourite weekend retreats. That area is itself now being developed with the building of luxury apartment blocks, fine restaurants and shops. As a living area it did not exist when I came here, it is now named Qu Jiang and is quickly becoming the place to live. I will continue this note above in Part II.
Click to continue reading...
The life here as a foreign teacher allows, what some of us refer to as, the retirement life style with youth attached. This means that we do part-time work (doing nothing in retirement doesn’t seem that possible or desirable for interests sake let alone it's viability financially in this day and age), we then study Chinese for a good chunk of the week, but still have time to hang out with friends and loved ones! Finally, the money we earn for a week doing what we do, far and away exceeds the average workers monthly salary for working fulltime. None of this I was aware of before coming here and ofcourse it contributes greatly to the enjoyment of life.You can certainly work full-time, though not really learn Chinese, and earn a lot of money. This, as in the case of a large number of African teachers here, allows the opportunity for investments, that supply the basis for a business back at home. If you are a foreigner here doing your job from back home, then you are living the classic expat life, still working full-time but with your money going a lot further. However, Xi’an doesn’t really have a 'classic' expat life comparable to the large cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, or even Dalian and Guangzhou, it really is predominantly a community of teachers and students.
However, I want to take this note outside the realm of affluence and opportunity and just outline a few things about Xi’an which make me actually feel at home, as well as giving an idea of what is going on here.
Xi’an is a great city with an incredible history, it is a city of about 8-9 million with 4-5 of those in the main centre and inner suburbs, but still doesn’t feel like a big city at all and is actually considered somewhat of a backwater with regards to modern Chinese cities, though that is beginning to change. I do not believe people in other countries who have not been here can comprehend the construction work that goes on here. Cranes are everywhere; buildings are being pulled down within every street and around every corner (my building above-on a particularly smoggy winter day- may not be long for the chop). Pavements are being laid for the first time in places where a track was just months or a couple of years earlier. Fields on the outskirts of town, as well as in town centres, are being concretized at a rate probably comparable to a decade or two of growth back in the day in Britain, but that is taking a year or two here.As an example, eight or so of the Universities here in downtown Xi’an have built shiny new ‘Super Campuses’ on the outer southern edge of the city. When I arrived in Xi’an those areas were quite literally rice fields, these ‘Super Campuses’ now exist and so increasingly do the apartment blocks and restaurants that service them and, that with their own life force, are transforming the area into a whole new suburb of the city.
Just south of the Big Goose Pagoda (see picture opposite), which is one of the most famous historical spots here in Xi’an and not far from the city centre, a huge lake was created and is now one of Xi’an’s favourite weekend retreats. That area is itself now being developed with the building of luxury apartment blocks, fine restaurants and shops. As a living area it did not exist when I came here, it is now named Qu Jiang and is quickly becoming the place to live. I will continue this note above in Part II.
Click to continue reading...
Friday, 6 February 2009
Chinese New Year Comes And Is Still Going
Chinese New Year (Guo Nian) seemed to have come and gone but on returning to Xi'an it is obvious it is still in the process of going, pleasantly. Back in the village, my girlfriend is actually from a small village outside town, New Year was spent trying desperately not to eat a feast of fine proportions at every home in the neighbourhood. However, when the neighbourhood consists of fields and homesteads drifting off into the far distance and when everyone seems to be a second father, an uncle, a sister, an elder brother or an aunty this can prove quite difficult. 
Even harder, having arrived at the destination where you have actually planned to have dinner, is to politely find excuses for why you cannot now eat all the delights laid before you. In areas of China where maybe the selection of food on offer is not usually of the widest variety, come Spring Festival things are different. Fish are found, pigs and chickens are killed and even the odd dog finds its way to the plate. This is the time of year in China to treat yourself and, as best you can, everyone else around you.
Now, having left the festivities behind and returned to the provincial capital of Xi’an, the centre of western China, I have found a sleepy city still suffering the feeling of loss, the loss of its population to neighbouring towns and villages. Many of the restaurants remain closed and the streets relatively quiet. There is still a week left of the 4 week holiday I have had from my school and this has meant I have spent the last days in true holiday spirit. (Many Chinese people still seem to get atleast a couple of weeks off for Spring Festival) It is quite a splendid feeling to enjoy the festivities of for example our own Christmas celebrations but have days to savour them, instead, as it is for so many now back in the West, a few days of dashing around to see family knowing full well that work is lurking in the background. Ofcourse, the more China develops economically or specifically the more it adopts Capitalist fundamentals, the more its major chains open earlier and the more holidays are cut short. Let us hope the number of family run businesses can hold off the onslaught of larger franchises and keep a hold on this great time of year and the opportunity it offers for reconnecting the increasingly disparate Chinese family.
As an aside and with reference to the subway system that is being built here in Xi’an, it is marvellous to have returned to discover Chang’an Lu (the main southerly tributary from the city centre and the south gate) free from a couple of sections of subway related road closures, that have been causing disbelief and despair for months. These closures seem to have coincided with a noticeable increase in car use over the last year or so and have led accordingly to a noticeable increase in the number of minor accidents. I will refer back to these issues in later posts, but it is enough to conclude here with the observation that people maintain the habit of crossing the road and swinging out of junctions as if cars were still a strange anomaly here in Xi'an, they are not. This week I am able to trundle down the street on my bike with an absentminded holiday attentiveness, next week I will not be able to do so, but then I will be back at work.
Click to continue reading...
Even harder, having arrived at the destination where you have actually planned to have dinner, is to politely find excuses for why you cannot now eat all the delights laid before you. In areas of China where maybe the selection of food on offer is not usually of the widest variety, come Spring Festival things are different. Fish are found, pigs and chickens are killed and even the odd dog finds its way to the plate. This is the time of year in China to treat yourself and, as best you can, everyone else around you.Now, having left the festivities behind and returned to the provincial capital of Xi’an, the centre of western China, I have found a sleepy city still suffering the feeling of loss, the loss of its population to neighbouring towns and villages. Many of the restaurants remain closed and the streets relatively quiet. There is still a week left of the 4 week holiday I have had from my school and this has meant I have spent the last days in true holiday spirit. (Many Chinese people still seem to get atleast a couple of weeks off for Spring Festival) It is quite a splendid feeling to enjoy the festivities of for example our own Christmas celebrations but have days to savour them, instead, as it is for so many now back in the West, a few days of dashing around to see family knowing full well that work is lurking in the background. Ofcourse, the more China develops economically or specifically the more it adopts Capitalist fundamentals, the more its major chains open earlier and the more holidays are cut short. Let us hope the number of family run businesses can hold off the onslaught of larger franchises and keep a hold on this great time of year and the opportunity it offers for reconnecting the increasingly disparate Chinese family.
As an aside and with reference to the subway system that is being built here in Xi’an, it is marvellous to have returned to discover Chang’an Lu (the main southerly tributary from the city centre and the south gate) free from a couple of sections of subway related road closures, that have been causing disbelief and despair for months. These closures seem to have coincided with a noticeable increase in car use over the last year or so and have led accordingly to a noticeable increase in the number of minor accidents. I will refer back to these issues in later posts, but it is enough to conclude here with the observation that people maintain the habit of crossing the road and swinging out of junctions as if cars were still a strange anomaly here in Xi'an, they are not. This week I am able to trundle down the street on my bike with an absentminded holiday attentiveness, next week I will not be able to do so, but then I will be back at work.
Click to continue reading...
Monday, 12 January 2009
Sichuan Earthquake From Xi'an III.
The last of 3 posts written during the aftermath of the Sichuan Earthquake and which i have chosen to include here.
The muddy rain is an annual event here in Xi’an, where cars are not simply splattered with water droplets but splashed by mud dipped rain drops, it is from the Loess Plateau dust coming in from the North. The worrying aspect I occasionally dwell upon is I am breathing in the dried version of this! I did however stop cycling for a while because of the wider causes of pollution, I just couldn’t get rid of a constant soreness at the back of my throat. Xi’an’s pollution is something I am used to, locals say it is getting better but probably more we are just getting used to it. It is improving, but there are still days when I can’t see the buildings on the opposite side of the road clearly.
When I was living in Britain I didn’t really watch much television so I watch especially little here, this has meant that I have not seen too much reporting on the earthquake this week. However, the teachers and children within the schools I work in are on constant alert, to the point of nervous obsession. The lamps hung in the ceiling swaying from the wind are being looked at as if a signal for escape, peeling paint and cracks in the walls previously un-noted now have attentive eyes kept on them, even the fun and games emanating from my classroom scared the children in the classrooms below.
Since the earthquake it is compulsory to leave all classroom doors open, this means that more than just my 60 kids get to experience a simple English dialogue shouted in operatic tones while emphasising individual syllables, first by me and then by the whole class! I hope the earths crust can soon steady itself and allow my children to get back to their rambunctious best, or worst depending on how one looks at it. One of the wonderful things about teaching Chinese children is their openness, their cheerfulness and lack of inhibition, they are at present a little more inhibited and ofcourse down right scared! I, less than those in Sichuan itself, look forward to life returning to normal. This note does not continue. .
Click to continue reading...
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Sichuan Earthquake From Xi'an II.
This is the second of the three posts included after the event.
The only time i can remember having a similar loss of control, though without the potential effect of devastation, was during my PGCE year teaching in an Inner-City school. I had been told that this would happen and that it was important how you react to it, but in those moments when you look about at your class and they are not paying any attention to you, and you don't know quite how to do anything about it, it feels mighty humbling. The significant aspect of this experience was that it hit me a little later. It wasn't until I returned home sometime that night that I felt suddenly quite emotionally upset by the experience, i hadn't even been thinking about it, the feeling just crept up and hit me. It is not often we experience, even for a moment, a feeling of having absolutely no control over something we should, and expect, to have control over. This earthquake has had that lasting effect here, not only on the lives and minds of the inhabitants of the worst effected areas in Sichuan but in all those areas that felt the initial quake and these subsequent tremors. The second realization is the dreadful situation that most of those families are going to face in the coming months, as the wet season sets into Sichuan; the bereaved, injured, homeless and landless have so much more to face than the deep psychological shock of being thrust into an horrifying experience, over which they had no control.
Click to continue reading...
Sichuan Earthquake From Xi'an I.
This is the first of three notes that were written at the time of the Sichuan earthquake and that set my mind thinking about beginning a Blog. Now i have finally got around to starting one I have decided to include them...
Click to continue reading...
I have just arrived back in China, having spent my first week outside the country, in over 18 months, at the exact time China experienced it's worst disaster for many years. The Chinese words that have constantly greeted me on my return are "earthquake", "afraid", "frightening" and "brave". The latter has strangely been used a few times to refer to me, because i am told i have chosen to return here at this difficult time. I ofcourse am not brave, I am simply returning to the country where I now live and that I have grown to love. I did though recently read a story about a group of teachers that protected their primary school pupils through the worst of the quake and then led all of them over the mountains to safety. They too claimed not to be brave, just doing they said what anybody would do. It was their responsibility as teachers, they noted, to protect their children. Today I heard about a grand-mother found already dead but bent over, sheltering the grand-daughter beneath her who was still alive. Some forms of bravery are harder to deny than others.
The images on the TV networks here revolve around the positive response of the Chinese nation to this disaster, an impression of a nation standing up and facing the worst. The images were broadcast across all networks and on any available screen; the length of my internal flight from Shanghai, on every household TV and on the huge outdoor screen infront of Xi'an's shining new Exhibition Centre, watched by many. A western media source I read in Britain questioned the state led interpretation of the news, that it did not show situations where the medical staff and army were overwhelmed but concentrated on the positive scenarios and stories. This reminded me of a recent incident, not widely known amongst the people of Xi'an, concerning an aborted suicide bomb attempt in central Xi'an. A Chinese friend of mine questioned the need to spread the news of this event, noting it would only be negative and that one random, one off occurrence by somebody "crazy" would worry too many people, proportionally greater than the event itself. The same rosy sentiment could be seen in the media portrayal of some aspects of the earthquake. The whole picture may be missed but a concern for the positive and the upbeat is not, this is a theme I may well return to, as it is something that can be felt on a day-day basis here and is certainly not all bad, taking it as I am doing at face value.
Click to continue reading...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
