I went to People's Square yesterday in search of some wearable autumn clothes. The weather has taken a turn for the better. I never thought I would say this about rainy and gloomy weather since I am usually a sun-loving girl but it is definitely a better alternative than death by humidity. Anyway, I ran into the strangest pervert outside of Raffles City and I don't know why I talked to him for so long. I guess I found it entertaining. I was walking outside when a guy handed me a magazine in shrink wrap. I took it at first thinking it was free but my next reaction was that something probably had to come out of it so I immediately handed it back to him. It's free! he said. I looked skeptically at him and slowly took it back. He quickly finished.
You just have to register your name and then it's yours.
Before I could refuse his friend appeared and whisked me off. Where are we going? I kept asking him as we walked into an alley. Luckily I recognized where I was and there were people around so I wasn't worried about anything happening. I couldn't understand what he was saying but he asked me questions like where are you from? Are Americans really as open as Hollywood makes them out to be (after he found out where I was from)? How old are you? Then he told me I should get married in Shanghai and return to my roots. Do you want me to introduce you to someone? He has a really good job in the Shanghai government and he's an eligible bachelor! We finally ended up at this dimly lit facial spa on the second floor of a mall. Once I walked in I knew it was shady business so I immediately turned around and said BYE.
He proceeded to follow me out the door and said wait! I'll show you where the exit is. I told him since he had lied to me once there was no way I was listening to him again, but he did indeed lead me outside to where we came in. I thought that was the end of things but then he put his arm around my waist and asked me the weirdest thing I have ever been asked in my life.
Can we pretend to be a couple?
NO! What the hell?
Come on, it'll be fun.
Are you that desperate to have a girlfriend that you need to play pretend games?
You've never been with a Chinese guy right? You should try one out so you can compare.
By this point I was thoroughly entertained (and mildly creeped out) so I decided to see where it would go. Sometime before this exchange he also said I was pretty but had bad skin and he could show me where to go to fix it.
So we eventually made our way to Nanjing Dong Lu where along the way he kept trying to hold my arm and put his hand on my waist. I combated his attempts by moving and pushing his arm away. When we found a place to sit down we chatted a little. Highlights include him asking me if I ever had a one-night stand, and if I would like to have one with him, me asking him if he was gay because he talked quite effeminately, to which he responded no and showed me his normal talking voice (which did indeed sound like a straight guy), him describing his job as a bartender and being in movies with Nicholas Tse, sleeping with Carina Lau, and criticizing different parts of my body then immediately proceeding to tell me he could recommend me to a place that could resolve my "issues": gym for my stomach fat, salon for my dry hair, exercising my chest to acquire some cleavage, and so on. At the end he asked if we could kiss and I said no. He kept persisting and finally I got up to leave. He then settled with a hug but tried to cop a feel when we pulled back.
Through all this I should have been severely offended. I did find parts of it unbelievable. But generally I found it all very amusing. It was probably because I kept thinking he was gay even after he asserted he was not. That was just the vibe he gave me. It was a very long and useless solicitation on his behalf. He would have been cute if he wasn't such a 大色狼.
Wowza. Roughly T-1 month until the Expo ends. Where did the time go? I really am not ready to go back to life in the States...
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
A Tour of Europe
I finally had some time to visit other pavilions on the Pudong side, which I hadn’t done for a good while because of work and other stuff keeping me busy. I did a partial tour of some European pavilions until my legs decided they did not want to walk any longer. It was an enjoyable and insightful experience. Working in the same routine day after day, you obviously become used to the way things are run at your own pavilion. I was curious about how other pavilions run logistics at their venues and how it compared. I also tried to put myself in tourist shoes and compare the experiences of other pavilions with what goes on at the good ol’ US of A. Here is a brief recap of my impressions of the pavilions I visited today.
Russia Pavilion
Very Alice in Wonderland. Giant flowers, vegetables, and mushroom-like houses. It would be trippy if you were on something. On the first floor there were also displays of Russia’s nuclear fuel capabilities and current state-led developments in this issue area. Interesting but no coherent theme.
The Netherlands Pavilion
Otherwise known as Happy Street. The pavilion is outdoors and made to resemble a giant apartment with different living units—kitchen, living room, etc with scattered exhibits of random stuff, like a 3D image of a crystal dress and a floating rock. You had to peer through eye-sized holes for many of these exhibits. No coherent theme either.
The UK Pavilion
It looks exactly like the design concept image. Hands down my favorite pavilion tonight and in my opinion probably the most interesting one in the entire Expo, just because it completely fits in with the theme of sustainability and better environmental practices. It’s like the Doomsday seed vault, with each individual rod containing a different seed. But the reason I thought it was cool was because I didn’t have to wait in line. If I was a regular tourist and had to wait 3 hours to walk into a single room with no content inside except for the rods holding all the seeds I think I’d be pretty upset. There was nothing introducing the UK as a country. Sustainability and public diplomacy aren’t mutually exclusive.
France Pavilion
Beautiful and tastefully done, like the impression I have of the country. It made me want to visit even more. At the end there was a strange abstract performance with a Chinese lady prancing around with a Louis Vuitton bag with the company’s signature print in the background pouring imaginary diamonds into a trunk. The Chinese tourists ate it up. Way to fuel their frenzy to consume outrageously priced luxury goods.
*Insert shameless self-promotion here. An article I wrote for USC US-China Today a while back about luxury goods consumption in China.
http://www.uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?luxury_brands_focus_on_china_14057.aspx
I was also going to buy my friend some French tea until I realized each box was over 40 US dollars each. Then I put that shit down.
Germany Pavilion
Impressive. Large space, interactive features, and a good balance of national promotion and environmental sustainability. Pretty neat and dramatic “energy source” show at the end as well.
Spain Pavilion
Ok, sorry, but all I can remember about this pavilion is their GIANT CREEPY BABY. At the beginning there are bones hanging from the ceiling, you walk through giant screens introducing Spanish culture and lifestyle and then you come to a part where babies are saying “hola.” I thought that was cute until I ran into the baby. Its foot was bigger than me. It repetitively blinks and smiles painfully in slow motion while bubbles float and pop around it.
Not to sound cheesy but after visiting these pavilions I realized that the one thing the USA Pavilion has that the ones I visited don’t is human interaction. What we lack in technological sophistication we make up for with friendly bantering, offbeat joke-telling, and in some cases, amateur dancing. As a student ambassador it had been repeated to us that we were the “not-so-secret” weapon of the USA Pavilion but I dismissed it as something said to make us feel more important than we really are. I realized it’s pretty true…visitors may remember Spain for its giant creepy baby and Germany for its mesmerizing “energy source” performance, but for some who visited the USA Pavilion, they might just remember an entertaining conversation they had with an American in broken Chinese while waiting at the turnstiles...
Update post on JA China event to come soon!
Russia Pavilion
Very Alice in Wonderland. Giant flowers, vegetables, and mushroom-like houses. It would be trippy if you were on something. On the first floor there were also displays of Russia’s nuclear fuel capabilities and current state-led developments in this issue area. Interesting but no coherent theme.
The Netherlands Pavilion
Otherwise known as Happy Street. The pavilion is outdoors and made to resemble a giant apartment with different living units—kitchen, living room, etc with scattered exhibits of random stuff, like a 3D image of a crystal dress and a floating rock. You had to peer through eye-sized holes for many of these exhibits. No coherent theme either.
The UK Pavilion
It looks exactly like the design concept image. Hands down my favorite pavilion tonight and in my opinion probably the most interesting one in the entire Expo, just because it completely fits in with the theme of sustainability and better environmental practices. It’s like the Doomsday seed vault, with each individual rod containing a different seed. But the reason I thought it was cool was because I didn’t have to wait in line. If I was a regular tourist and had to wait 3 hours to walk into a single room with no content inside except for the rods holding all the seeds I think I’d be pretty upset. There was nothing introducing the UK as a country. Sustainability and public diplomacy aren’t mutually exclusive.
France Pavilion
Beautiful and tastefully done, like the impression I have of the country. It made me want to visit even more. At the end there was a strange abstract performance with a Chinese lady prancing around with a Louis Vuitton bag with the company’s signature print in the background pouring imaginary diamonds into a trunk. The Chinese tourists ate it up. Way to fuel their frenzy to consume outrageously priced luxury goods.
*Insert shameless self-promotion here. An article I wrote for USC US-China Today a while back about luxury goods consumption in China.
http://www.uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?luxury_brands_focus_on_china_14057.aspx
I was also going to buy my friend some French tea until I realized each box was over 40 US dollars each. Then I put that shit down.
Germany Pavilion
Impressive. Large space, interactive features, and a good balance of national promotion and environmental sustainability. Pretty neat and dramatic “energy source” show at the end as well.
Spain Pavilion
Ok, sorry, but all I can remember about this pavilion is their GIANT CREEPY BABY. At the beginning there are bones hanging from the ceiling, you walk through giant screens introducing Spanish culture and lifestyle and then you come to a part where babies are saying “hola.” I thought that was cute until I ran into the baby. Its foot was bigger than me. It repetitively blinks and smiles painfully in slow motion while bubbles float and pop around it.
Not to sound cheesy but after visiting these pavilions I realized that the one thing the USA Pavilion has that the ones I visited don’t is human interaction. What we lack in technological sophistication we make up for with friendly bantering, offbeat joke-telling, and in some cases, amateur dancing. As a student ambassador it had been repeated to us that we were the “not-so-secret” weapon of the USA Pavilion but I dismissed it as something said to make us feel more important than we really are. I realized it’s pretty true…visitors may remember Spain for its giant creepy baby and Germany for its mesmerizing “energy source” performance, but for some who visited the USA Pavilion, they might just remember an entertaining conversation they had with an American in broken Chinese while waiting at the turnstiles...
Update post on JA China event to come soon!
Monday, September 20, 2010
My Mother's Messages
One thing I love about being abroad is that despite being thousands of miles away from home, I can still feel my mother's love. Instead of nagging and probing, it takes on the form of grammatically offensive and emoticon-filled emails. Different medium of expression, same abundance of affection.
Mon, Aug 9. 1.46 PM
Wed, Aug 11. 1.04 PM
Mon, Aug 30. 8.22 AM
*She titled this one 'Brandy's foot'.
I miss the parentals when I'm not talking to them, yet when I do I can't wait to get away from their incessant questions, especially my dad. When I help out with the cell phone game in Act III I look at all those middle aged people my parents' age and suddenly they don't seem so annoying anymore. I feel especially delighted when old ladies and men break into expressions of joy at the successful sending of a text message. I don't know if anyone feels that same sort of affinity to the Chinese tourists. Probably not, especially if you saw how aggressive and pushy these people are, but I'm weird. I really don't mind...the interactions are enjoyable.
Mon, Aug 9. 1.46 PM
Wed, Aug 11. 1.04 PM
Mon, Aug 30. 8.22 AM
*She titled this one 'Brandy's foot'.
I miss the parentals when I'm not talking to them, yet when I do I can't wait to get away from their incessant questions, especially my dad. When I help out with the cell phone game in Act III I look at all those middle aged people my parents' age and suddenly they don't seem so annoying anymore. I feel especially delighted when old ladies and men break into expressions of joy at the successful sending of a text message. I don't know if anyone feels that same sort of affinity to the Chinese tourists. Probably not, especially if you saw how aggressive and pushy these people are, but I'm weird. I really don't mind...the interactions are enjoyable.
Friday, September 10, 2010
No Words
5. That's the number of articles that come up in a New York Times news search when I type in 'Pakistan'. Pitiful. Embarrassed to admit it myself, I only vaguely remember a flood happening in some part of the world recently. But the floods that have hit Pakistan this time have left 20 million people homeless, 1 in 8 people being impacted. I didn't realize the magnitude of the disaster until I googled it myself. Even then coverage of it on news channels was nothing but sad. Donations have been paltry, not hitting half--actually not even one fourth--of the assistance that was given to Haiti. Are there so many of us now that the easiest thing to do when other fellow humans are suffering is to turn a blind eye? Or not even know that it happened?
Huffington Post blog on the Pakistan floods:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-ahmed/urgency-and-creativity-ne_b_706620.html
If pictures are worth a thousand words let this be a sobering reminder:
http://niceguycordero.tumblr.com/post/1093467526/karmahasutra-yes-those-babies-are-lying-on
Sadly I think the last time people genuinely felt the most compassion for each other was when we were still living in hunter-gatherer tribes and what was more important were our commonalities with one another, rather than our differences.
Huffington Post blog on the Pakistan floods:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-ahmed/urgency-and-creativity-ne_b_706620.html
If pictures are worth a thousand words let this be a sobering reminder:
http://niceguycordero.tumblr.com/post/1093467526/karmahasutra-yes-those-babies-are-lying-on
Sadly I think the last time people genuinely felt the most compassion for each other was when we were still living in hunter-gatherer tribes and what was more important were our commonalities with one another, rather than our differences.
Friday, September 3, 2010
JA China
The other night I went to a Junior Achievers volunteer training session in preparation for the JA Green Innovation Challenge. What is this JA business all about, you may wonder. In short, JA stands for Junior Achievers, a global non-profit organization that focuses on helping elementary and junior-school age children foster skills applicable to the “real world” of business and finance. The idea is to bring learning beyond the classroom and encourage students from an early age to develop a set of creative and entrepreneurial practices that will carry on with them later in life.
The event in particular consists of a “Green Trade” fair and presentation that teams of local schoolchildren participate in. Each team invents a product and business plan to market said product. The goal is to create something that will be economically feasible to produce and sell, but to also have an environmentally conscious element to it. During the trade fair students will market their product to “buyers” (CEO’s or high level executives of sponsoring companies); essentially being salespeople for their product. During the presentation portion students provide a short and entertaining explanation—in commercial, song, speech, whatever format you might think of—about the various characteristics of their product. A third part gives team leaders, “little CEO’s,” an opportunity to meet with real CEO’s of sponsoring companies.
Our job as USAP volunteers is to serve as mentors to these students. We are supposed to provide suggestions and ideas on ways they can improve their product—especially when it comes to incorporating a “green” element into it, and also encourage them when it comes to pitching their product and speaking in front of an audience. Mentorship can also be as simple as coaching them on how to greet important people like CEO’s—things to say, tips on how to behave, and so on. It requires us to work closely with the teachers of the students because although they are an essential part of their education, we act as valuable (hopefully) supplements to the students’ learning experiences.
We had to come up with a visual representing the spirit of our team and present it to the rest of the group.
The JA training session was interesting. Basically, the idea that one would volunteer without expecting any benefits in return is still one that is slowly gaining ground in China. According to the JA rep, when the organization first established itself in China it was very difficult to convince administrators and teachers that JA wanted to become involved with students purely because of altruistic reasons. Many suspected JA was driven by motives to proselytize or gain economic profit. It was also a challenge getting people interested in volunteering.
I honestly didn’t anticipate having access to such a wealth of volunteer opportunities working at USAP. I volunteered at another event spending time with mistreated cats, and other people have participated in events working with migrant schoolchildren as well as kids with disabilities. In my opinion it’s a worthwhile way to spend some of your time off as well as see a side of Shanghai that isn’t necessarily paid attention to amidst all the chaos and buzz that is the Expo.
Combing cats. I’m usually more of a dog person but this event hit a soft spot.
All in all, I’m looking forward to meeting my students and seeing what creative ideas they’ve already come up with. It’s great being a child. There are no limits to imagination and possibilities. Maybe they’ll be a potent source of inspiration for me.
[Images courtesy of Rene Patnode]
The event in particular consists of a “Green Trade” fair and presentation that teams of local schoolchildren participate in. Each team invents a product and business plan to market said product. The goal is to create something that will be economically feasible to produce and sell, but to also have an environmentally conscious element to it. During the trade fair students will market their product to “buyers” (CEO’s or high level executives of sponsoring companies); essentially being salespeople for their product. During the presentation portion students provide a short and entertaining explanation—in commercial, song, speech, whatever format you might think of—about the various characteristics of their product. A third part gives team leaders, “little CEO’s,” an opportunity to meet with real CEO’s of sponsoring companies.
Our job as USAP volunteers is to serve as mentors to these students. We are supposed to provide suggestions and ideas on ways they can improve their product—especially when it comes to incorporating a “green” element into it, and also encourage them when it comes to pitching their product and speaking in front of an audience. Mentorship can also be as simple as coaching them on how to greet important people like CEO’s—things to say, tips on how to behave, and so on. It requires us to work closely with the teachers of the students because although they are an essential part of their education, we act as valuable (hopefully) supplements to the students’ learning experiences.
We had to come up with a visual representing the spirit of our team and present it to the rest of the group.
The JA training session was interesting. Basically, the idea that one would volunteer without expecting any benefits in return is still one that is slowly gaining ground in China. According to the JA rep, when the organization first established itself in China it was very difficult to convince administrators and teachers that JA wanted to become involved with students purely because of altruistic reasons. Many suspected JA was driven by motives to proselytize or gain economic profit. It was also a challenge getting people interested in volunteering.
I honestly didn’t anticipate having access to such a wealth of volunteer opportunities working at USAP. I volunteered at another event spending time with mistreated cats, and other people have participated in events working with migrant schoolchildren as well as kids with disabilities. In my opinion it’s a worthwhile way to spend some of your time off as well as see a side of Shanghai that isn’t necessarily paid attention to amidst all the chaos and buzz that is the Expo.
Combing cats. I’m usually more of a dog person but this event hit a soft spot.
All in all, I’m looking forward to meeting my students and seeing what creative ideas they’ve already come up with. It’s great being a child. There are no limits to imagination and possibilities. Maybe they’ll be a potent source of inspiration for me.
[Images courtesy of Rene Patnode]
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