Chapter 4 - Saving face

Now for a more sociological post.

"Saving face" is a Chinese social concept that any westerner in China must, and will unavoidably learn. I experienced it quite qickly as I arrived here, just by asking for directions. If you ask for the way, Chinese people have a certain tendancy to just tell you something, even though they really have no idea were it is. One reason for this must be to avoid the loss of face. As a Chinese being asked by a westerner, you are supposed to know the way. If not you lose face.

Let's say you are waiting for someone who is late, he will definately give you some excuse to avoid the fact that it was his fault. And these "white lies" seem as though they are accepted, it not even expected. If you airline has trouble witht the plane, they will instead say that some other airline have messed up. If your teacher do not know the answer to your question he will tell you something anyways.

So, if you ever find yourself in China asking for directions, ask someone that looks as though they are likely to know. If you look for a bank, ask at another bank. If you look for a computer store, ask at another electronics store. If you look for a beauty shop, ask a girl, If you look for a bar, ask a bum...or another westerner.

All this, can of course be compared to our concept of avoiding embarrassement, but this concept is not nearely as important in our culture as saving face is in the Chinese.

Chapter 3 - Nanjing

Pre Scriptum: This chapter will present my view and experience of Nanjing as I will be staying in this city for almost two months, July and August. This chapter, the chapter on Shanghai and the future chapter on Beijing will all be subject to updates in the form of chapter add-ons if it is central to the city itself. Normally however, I will post new posts on the subject-matter at hand.

And so, we arrived in Nanjing. Our first encounter with this city of about 6.5 million inhabitants was an impression that have continued to fall down on us, thunder, lightning and rain. I have never in my life heard such loud weather. It was like dynamite and plastic explosives all at once. (The closest I have ever been was probably the nighly sounds of a politician-friend of mine...) Summer here have proved to be humid, rainy and unstable. Every day is warm, which is nice, but it can get too hot, which is not so nice. 35 degrees celcious and really humid is not a good combination. It makes for at least two showers each day, which is not good for your immune-system, so the problem is: to shower, smell good, and potentially get sick, or avoid to many showers and stay healthy but risk sickness?

Anyways, Nanjing is, as Shanghai, a big city. The difference being that Shanghai is a metropolis and Nanjing a big town. Shanghai har buildings downtown build purely show off, Nanjing is more practical and normal. Some might say boring. This is however, I realize is dangerously close to being boring information so I will quickly move on with the story. At the moment of writing I have been in Nanjing for one week and three days.

First of all, the campus, it is quite green, like everything else here. I heard they have planned the planting in the city so as to avoid the breeding of mosqitos which have previously been a great problem here. I do not wuite understand how plants help getting rid of the little buggers, but hey, I belive it has worked, Nanjings musqitos is not as bad as their reputation. The little things do not seem to like me that much though, something of which I am quite happy about. Is the sweet blood thing true? Why have not mythbusters answered this myth for us...or have they?

We live in Mandarin garden Xiyuan hotel. Definately a fitting place of resting for a bunsh of mandarin-students. We have the 16th floor pretty much occupied. Something which helps a lot when deciding where to eat, what to wear(girls only), or where to study new vocabulary. The reception is all right, they know a little english, which helps in emergencies, but is only destructive when it comes to practising Chinese. The mbreakfast however, is not good. And why do they only have one track on their feel-good atmosphere-creating CD-player? After a week of the same salsa-rumba-ish song, it no longer promotes a happy feeling, to say the least. So, eating out is the answer, or skipping breakfast, something which rarely is a very good choice since a reservoir of food is sorely needed when class starts at 8AM.

During my stay here I have allready experienced some things worth blogging about, these will follow in later chapters.

Chapter 2 - Shanghai

After sleeping waaay into the day and eating up preacious tourism-time we got up and had breakfast at the hostel. Btw. we stayed at Koala International Youth Hostel, www.hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Shanghai-Koala-International-Youth-Hostel-P1007947.html
Which was allright, but we were a bit unlucky since they were doing some construction right next door. Also it was a bit far from downtown, but taking a cap is not too expensive and the subway is even less expensive. However,the employees spoke english well and the neighbourhood was interesting, and a bit more "chinese" than downtown Shanghai.

I must say, Shanghai is great! I really loved this city, even though I was only here for a few days I really fell in love with both the people and the city itself. I prefer not to write about the touristy stuff but I'll mention it real quick. The Bund, which is the downtown riverbend, is a must. It gives you a view of the city which is nice to have from the onset off. The Yuyuan (Garden) in Old Shanghai was also fantastic. Both places was cool, but a bit too touristy in the long run. So to liven it up we bought some small fish locked up in a plastic key-chain cage, (btw. What woman, which obviously is their target-group, would ever buy a locked-up fish to have on their key chain?) and set them free into the fish pond. Only to see them easten by a bigger fish:) Ethical dilemma: What is better? To leave a fish to die in its plastic-cage, or let it free to most likely be eaten by a bigger fish?

The most fun in Shanghai though, is walking the streets randomly. Finding small cafès and bars, looking at people and their homes. And if you know Chinese, asking directions:) It gives you a great oppurtunity to talk to people. They are usually so suprised to hear a Waiguoren(foreigner) speaking their language that they welcome a chat. One of my days in Shanghai I couldn't sleep so I got up at 5 am and went outside. This was my best experience in China so far. Seeing the city come alive:) Especially all the nice old people in the park doing Taiji or walking backwards(?!?) for exercize. I also found some streetmarkets and and interesting stores in one of which I bought my new toy, an electronic dictionary:) A good one should cost around 1400-1800 Yuan, a perfectly fine one around 800-1000 Yuan, as the consuming Norwegian that I am is mine of course of the former kind.

Since Shanghai is such a business hot-spot there are people of all kinds here. Foreigners, people from other places in China and so one. Consequently, meeting people is no problem. Find a bar with the kind of people you want to meet, and go in. Buying something also tends to help the bonding-process. At least for our part, this worked quite well:)

Finding our way to Nanjing on our last day we realiced that we had made two major mistakes. The first was not having bought tickets in advance, the second, deciding to seperate into two groups, one who walked, a one who took a cab. Finding each other on the railway station proved not to be a laughing matter, but after much sweating, we managed. Beforehand we heard that there left about 70-80 trains for Nanjing each day(!), however, we did not know that they were all full. "I mean how many people can there be...?" So I boldly went to the counter and asked, in my rather sluggish mandarin, "Four tickets to Nanjing please". "Okay, next train with available seats leaves in six hours." was the reply.

By some heavly intervention however, I was saved by another foreigner. One with much better mandarin than myself. He was standing right next to me getting his stuff together after buying his ticket. And I mean, ANYONE that have been in China can tell you that you really don't see foreigners that often, and one that speaks mandarin no less! Thank God Almighty:) I think he was French, he looked French, I guess the Americans are wrong, the French ARE helpful ...Anyways, he had to really digg out the tickets though. First there were none, then I could stand at 17:00, and then I could stand and sit at 16:30, and then, by some miracle he found tickets on the train at 14:00, one hour from present time. That is China for ya! If its to much of a hassle, then they just don't care. Someone else will buy the tickets, sooner or later, its not like there isn't enough people...Ren shan ren hai, people mountain people sea, Chinese Chengyu. (Old four charachter sayings that has some moral og philosophical point.)

The train ride itself was pretty good. Express train going probably around 2-300 km/h, I am really not sure, but it was confortable. I must say I am suprised that I had to come to China to see the nicest train, and the nicest airplanes in my life.

Next, Nanjing:)

Chapter 1 - The Journey

Getting up in the morning when you have a long journey ahead of you is really no problem. Actually, you'r so much looking forward to travelling that you barely sleep. Which tends to come in handy when you later sit in a train and in various airplanes for a total duration of about 21 hours. That is without counting the waiting at the airports. So, first dummielesson, the flight from Europe to China takes about 6-7 hours depending on the airline and departure location.

After a few hours on the train from Vennesla to Oslo in Norway I actually felt great getting back to "Tigertown". Except for the fact that Oslo downtown still looks like a cunstruction site. I met up with Steffen, who had just returned from half a year in Australia, at Han's place to eat chinese food and catch up. I was great:) And by the way, Han does cook great chinese food, even compared to what you get in resturants in China. So if you'r ever in need of a cook...

After a great meal and a wet goodbye-for-half-a-year-hug/kiss I went to exchange cash. I was in too much of a hurry...So, i didn't bother to check the rates and ended up with getting around 500 NOK too little compared to the standard rate. I do not trust FOREX anymore! Neither should you, if you ever go travelling av need to exchange a large amount of cash all at once.

Before I left for the airport I also met up with Shan who gave me some last minute advice on phone cards and chinese phone numbers in China. You see, getting a Chinese phone number to use while in China is really cheap. Costs about 35NOK and is really easy. The thing she didn't tell me though, no hard feelings by the way, was that I should by the phone card in the city that you live so that the rates are cheaper. So, now I might have to get a new number here in Nanjing. but hey, no worries, it's cheap and easy:)

Now, the flight was fine. Nothing that exciting. Except for the fact that I do not evny the people that travel airplanes in a weelchair, what a hassle. Both in Beijing and Shanghai we dropped the chair off at the gate, but it never showed up at the baggage claim. In Beijing Rebecca, the girl sitting in the weelchair, was weeled around and all the way out the door to the taxies by a tiny, cute, and did I mention tiny chinese airport service employee. The problem was we were changing planes, not exiting the airport. Oh, my... I do not evny the person not beeing able to speak any chinese that ends up in this situation. After a while the tiny,cute and tiny girl kinda just left us. She said something about getting a "new person" to come with the weelchair. So we waited, but no weelchair showed up. After a while we took the matter into our own hands and started digging, in Chinese, a though matter for any second year student of mandarin. Finally, we found it at oversized baggage claim, logically enough... The tiny, cute and tiny Chinese girl however, was still MIA. I am beginning to think she abandoned us...

Going from Beijing to Shanghai wasa not a small matter either. We got one the plane, the stewardesses promised, we think, that the weelchair would be by the gate on the other side, so we believed them and got on board. However, once we got on boards the nice, soft voice of the captain told us that unfortunately we had some planes ahead of us on the take-off schedule,15 of them to be more precice. After this I felt like I was one the phone with lånekassa: "you are now number 15 in line, please hold...you are now number 10 in line, please hold...you are now number 5 in line, please hold..."and finally,"You are now next in line, please have your social securi...eh, please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for take-off." This ordeal lasted a whopping 2 hours, that is, a whole showing of "Because I said so", the most girly movie ever. But actually not too bad, I am emberrassed to say. However, it should be mentioned that is was the nicest plane I have ever been on.

After arriving is Shanghai, we all want to get to the hostel of course. I would at that point have given anything for a bed... However, the weelchair was missing. We found it, suprise suprise, still inside the airplane. "Oh, was somebody supposed to pick that up as well...???" In the words of Red Foreman: "Dumb ass!" Anyways, after a 160 Yuan taxi trip into the city we finally ended up in our beds. In a family room, no less, since they had no more twin rooms left. I, however, did not complain about a king-size apartement with two bathrooms for about 90 Yuan per person:) (Btw. exchange-rates for Yuan is found here: http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html )


Finally, Is was sleepy time...we arrived at 10pm/22:00 and I had left at 8am/08:00 the day before.

PS. pictures will arrive later, as soon as I get my computer fixed.

China for dummies - A prologue

It all started a late spring evening a little more than a year ago. I decied that Mandarin Chinese was to be conquered and pressed into my head, somehow. I guess there are just about a thousand reasons for starting a study of Mandarin, Putonghua（普通话）, the official language of China. Yet when people ask me this question, which they do pretty much ALL the time, I usually can't think of that many of them. But here are some:

First of all, because of the extremely facinating culture which stems from an even more facinating history. Learing Mandarin today, in 2008, makes me able to read original texts written by Confucius (孔夫子) during the Spring and Autumn Period about 500 years BC. Secondly, because of the people. Chinese people come in all sizes, shapes and personalities, and this fact makes getting to know them that much more interesting. Thirdly, because of the money. It is no secret, China is taking over the world, guchi-bag by guchi-bag and addidas-shoes by addidas-shoes...and yes, they are misspelled for a reason. And in the word of Green Day; to those of you above average intelligence, American IOU's by IUO's and stocks by stocks. Consequently, their economy will continue to grow, possibly to become what Britain was in the 1800-hundreds and the US in the 1900-hundreds, a superpower above all others. The fact that they are about 1.3 billion people, compared to the US at 300 million(half of them, to fat to walk...) and Europe at about 750 million(half of whom is about to, or allready retired), does not exactly weaken the Chinese superpower-candidacy. As a result of its growing importance, knowing Mandarin greatly increases my chances of getting a great job. As a fourth, and final point, simple and pure curiosity. It's said that it killed the cat, but I am no cat, thank God...

I this blog I will attempt to portray my study of Chinese language and my time in China during the fall of 2008. Please visit often, ask questions and/or post comments.