Time to Recap

Today I got an unexpected Gchat message from a friend I had met while I was in Shanghai. It was pretty neat. Well, not my Chinese. I realize HOW BAD it had gotten since I left. I was typing like a 5 year old. =.= Besides that, our conversation inadvertently made me reminisce about the Expo days. I can't believe it's been over a year since I first started there. Even though it was a brief 3 months, the experience was priceless, largely because I don't think I'll ever have the opportunity again to have an all-expenses paid trip to Shanghai where I could interact on that level with local Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Africans, and good ol' Americans. It's interesting how long after something is over, you tend to remember either the really good (if you liked it) or really bad (if you hated it) parts of it and that becomes the summation of your experience. Now that I look back on it, even the experiences that seemed bad at the time (like that kid who peed on me inside the Singapore Pavilion, or dealing with a co-worker who got so mad he threw a clipboard at me, or OOH, all the pushing and shoving, how can I forget that) aren't a big deal anymore. It was just kid urine, me and clipboard-thrower eventually made up, and whatever, pushing and shoving is a way of life in China. If you don't push and shove you will get nowhere in life there.
But overall, I wouldn't trade Expo in for anything else. Late nights at the office, breakfast at Family Mart, living with an amazing 5 other girls, digging trenches so that a house could be built for a farmer and his family, spending time with cleft lip orphans, eating at the cafeteria with my break buddies (Hank from Cleveland and Phil from Boston. We had some good conversations, most of which I don't remember), and just doing random crap that would probably get us in trouble back at home, those times will be what I remember. Oh, and the pins. The freaking obsession with pins. Well, I don't know if I miss that but I'll definitely remember it. I can never look at a pin the same way again.

I kind of wish I had blogged more about my time at the Expo while it was happening, because I'm sure there are memories that have slipped through the cracks I'll never recall. But it's hard when you're in the middle of it all. At least pictures are worth a thousand words.

I wonder how my Chinese friends are doing. Some of them really were the sweetest people I had ever met. Even though from an outsider's perspective all that seems to be heard and seen nowadays is how China is booming, life is still hard for so many people. Young, hardworking, bright people my age who have similar aspirations I do but probably have to struggle 10 times harder to get to where they want to be...it really puts my own situation into perspective. It makes me think about how I should do less grumbling and just appreciate the fact that I actually have some sort of hope that the roadmap I've drawn out for myself will come into fruition. The friend I was talking to today recently graduated and found a job at a computer software company. When I asked him how he liked it, he didn't complain. Basically his attitude was like, it's so-so. I can deal with it. Then he turned around and told me to jia you.
Man, even though I complain about the habits of Chinese people sometimes, I forgot how awesome the nice people can be. It's probably a cultural trait, but conversations seem to center less around talking about yourself and more about the other person. And I really do think it stems from genuine concern, or at least curiosity. I wonder if I'll ever see them again. I don't know how, but I hope I do someday. It is always amazing to me how some people can be such an integral part of your life, and then one day just not be there anymore. And then as individuals, we deal with it. Sometimes we forget them too. Hm...

Freaking Stevies.

< 3

The Problem I Have with Girls

Ew. This article reminds me of that scary show Toddlers and Tiaras. This LITTLE girl Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau is only 10 and she looks like she's 25. Why does she have to look like that? Her face is so caked with makeup she looks like a freaking porcelain doll, aka FAKE. I despise these hypocritical magazines. Besides the fact that you pay 4.99 to flip through what is basically a book of ads (which I realized much too slowly on a recent flight), on one hand they print articles telling girls they should have self-confidence, that they are beautiful and should be comfortable in their own skin. Then that article is immediately followed by size 00 models half-naked and sprawled over equally scantily-clad men. Hypersexified, overdone, and just plain out of touch with reality. Unless you have a heaven-blessed metabolism or spend hours upon hours working out and always watching what you eat (which is what models and celebrities do because this is what they are paid for) you're not going to fit into 00 pants.

The problem is that this image has become the aesthetic standard by which we judge our girls' attractiveness. Why else would skinny always be in? This is putting aside whatever personal preferences people have towards weight--maybe you are an exception who prefers to look a little plumper (if you are a woman) or prefers a girl on the cushier side (if you are a man). But OVERALL, the skinny girl will usually win out when it comes judgments and perceptions of beauty. Parents do not help either. I am thoroughly exasperated whenever I am in a nail salon and a mom takes her 5 year-old-daughter to get her nails done. At age 5 your little girl should be running outside breathing in fresh air and making necklaces out of dandelions, not in a cramped, fluorescent-lit, chemical fume-filled place getting her toes polished.

I've had a debate with some friends (GUYS, Asian guys) over this very topic. I think image issues are something every girl deals with, regardless of your ethnicity. They were saying it's mostly a WHITE girl thing, because it's in that strata of society that is most exposed to the pressures of idealized standards of beauty, whether it comes from the media, family, men, or social norms. I think it's just a girl thing, even if the types of issues may be different between whites and non-whites.

If I ever have kids I hope I don't have a girl, if only for this reason. The world has become too difficult and cruel a place to raise a well-adjusted, well-balanced female.

Chemically imbalanced--hair, makeup, and hormones.