blogging

Today is a holiday. Chinese Victory day.

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Yes, you heard that right. Today is the day the Chinese defeated the Japanes….wait that didn’t happen, last I checked Japan surrendered after America dropped 2 nuclear bombs.

So why then are they having a victory parade as if they won the war? No idea.  I mean, I get it, it was a day of relief, but lets be honest that’s real strange. I could see if it were like a memorial day, but they are actually having a victory parade as though they defeated the japanese army. That didn’t happen. In fact, having a victory parade on the day another country defeated your enemy is a little….well. I’ll just stop there.

Random thought about underlining lack of pride

/ knox / 1 Comment

I was recently in a wechat group and an ad from a modeling agent came up looking for blonde haired blue eyed babies for a chinese baby food ad/label. Now, I found this to be a little odd because it would be like living in Norway and there being an ad with a chinese baby for a Norwegian baby food company (wouldn’t happen). Obviously when running an ad in a country you keep in consideration the phenotype of the population. Yet time and time again I notice a lot of ads have some kind of westerner or western theme,  mainly blue eyed. I seriously see a flaw in this. How do you expect to be the superpower when you don’t even have the pride to put your own babies on your own labels? Your women are in the background or sharing the stage with people that do not even live in your country?  What benefit do you get putting a nordic all over products other than to make your youth wish they were something they are not? This is psychological defeatism if I’ve ever seen it.

Another thing bothered me, same group chat, I saw a fourth of July flyer for a beach party, and not just some regular small size party a bunch of americans were throwing, I’m talking a massive festival. WTF. Last I checked China didn’t defeat the British on 4th of July. So strange, I mean I know its a reason to drink, but again, if you are to be a superpower how can you expect to be taken serious when you’re pretty much mimicking the opposing team? Do you think random americans (that are not of chinese descent) celebrate chinese new years? or a chinese festival? why not? why do you think? I just find it a bit baffling that I am celebrating 4th of July and Christmas in China. I thought I got away from all that but it has followed me in the most unexpected places. America truly has the most influence globally and no one is remotely close and will ever be in my life time. I am convinced of this.

-end of rant-

China and pollution

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The air quality is somethin’ else, I live on the coast so it’s not that bad, but go inland and the sky looks apocalyptic,  but what folks don’t talk about is the water quality.

Something is strange when even with rain cars are never shiny, almost all buildings look dusty and rusty (even only a year after being built, the sides of the building have water marks, drain pipes rust) and everything looks fallout-ish. Not all places, but most. There’s always some underlining thing, like walls never being spotless (even at hospitals) or metals always having rust. Even forks, I remember when I first got here I notice a little bit of rust on my brand new fork in between the teeth only after 6 months, wtf? I thought stainless steel was standard? Or maybe it is and the water and pollution is just that bad? I recommend either buying the most expensive utensils or importing (actually the most expensive utensils are probably imports) In fact, looking around, almost all metals are rusty in some shape or form. It’s alarming.

You do get desensitized and hope you’re just building an immunity, try not to think how all this could be shaving 5 years off your life, but it’s hard when it’s so visual. I mean, it’s not like the U.S doesn’t have pollution and synthesized (insert edibles here) either. We’re all living in a world induced with artificial products and chemicals. I just don’t like to see it so visually LOL.

Chinese women and the art of 撒娇 (sa jiao)

/ knox / 3 Comments

There are many cultural difference which I have overcome over the years, some are easier than others, as they should be depending on the individual. In this blog, I will talk about the most difficult one for me, yes even more difficult than someone staring at me as if I am not of this planet.

撒娇 or sa jiao, means playfully pouting or flighty, but in chinese it doesn’t have the negative connotation as it does in the west. If you have any experience with chinese women, you have experience with 撒娇. It is ingrained in the culture, it is actually looked at as essential to feminism. Examples of 撒娇 would be pouting with your lips, making a child-like voice from time to time, basically acting like a teenage white girl from the valley after her father refuses to buy her clothes at the mall….actually, its pretty much like acting like a teenage spoiled valley girl from the burbs entirely. Everything from “Buy me this”, “I hurt my knee, look *pouty face*” “why do you love me?” (this question is asked once a week during the episodes of 撒娇), random out bursts and tantrums to get your attention, and so on.

As an american, especially a black american, this is difficult, because after H.S, after 18, you are raised to be like a spartan, independent, self-sufficient, strong, never showing weakness, never retreat, never surr….you get my drift. We learn (including the women, especially black women) very early that showing weakness can make you appear gullible, weak, immature, stupid, traits that aren’t associated with attractiveness in western culture, heck even complaining too much is an utter turn off, you’ll be called “soft” or a “lame” or in regards to women “airhead” “bimbo”. To the chinese man, it makes them feel masculine, to the american man it makes us feel like a pedo. When my gf is having her 撒娇, I try very hard not to be turned off, when she’s showing me an area that she burned while she cooked (no marking of course) with her pouty face and glazed eyes, I try to care, when she needs me to walk her to the bathroom at the lounge, I just go, when she has her random emotional outbursts, random jealousy and clingy episodes to test my emotional attachment to her, I remain calm, when she’s asking me why I love her for the 4345353 time, I just respond with the exact same generic answer. Why? because she’s chinese, this is her culture, I love her and thus ultimately this is what I signed up for.