Just got an update from a friend who mentioned that I may need to change my blog to a proxy server as the government still censors information on blogs.
I most likely will have access to Facebook, so if there are any problems with the blog, I'll just post on FB.
Ok, I gotta board the plane to SF, so watch for updates!
matt
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
China and Me
Thanks for your interest in this Asia trip! I will be updating this blog daily, I'll include some pics and hopefully some videos along the way. I'll also be submitting some stuff up on my Facebook account, so check it out when you get a chance! Now, this is my first time blogging, bear with me, I'm sure there will be moments of stream of consciousness, a la Sylvia Plath, hopefully my head won't wind up in an oven.
So, I am headed to China (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Quodong) from May 23 - June 10. It's a Maymester class for my MBA in International Business with the University of Colorado at Denver. This semester I took the course Ventures in China class (I would highly recommend this if you are looking to learn more about China's economy, history, business aspects, and political sphere) and was able to take advantage the study abroad Maymester course. In this trip we'll be touring joint ventures, multinationals, SOEs (state owned enterprises), as well as government facilities and of course sightseeing!
China and I go way back. (Not as way back as the Qing Dynasty, but you get my drift.) I was in China in 2001, and, although it was a good international experience, my impressions were less than stellar. This was due to several challenges I faced personally. One of the challenges I found was in the language. I enjoy languages and have a knack for mimicking them. Chinese, although grammatically not as difficult as, say Russian or Finnish, was very difficult for me in the area of tones. There are four tones in Chinese, and I felt I butchered them all. In Shanghai, for example, I asked a waitress at a restaurant for a pair of 'kuàizi' or chopsticks. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head, she had no idea what I was saying. Another time I kept mispronouncing this one Chinese girl's name, I think she just had me call her by her English name, "Britney" to avoid the constant correction. The second challenge is the aspect of 'fitting in.' In most cultures I've visited: Venezuela, Russia, Kazakhstan, even France, I tend to look like a native. People just start coming up to me and chatting it up. Not so in China, there's no way you can slip into the crowd, even wearing a pair of sunglasses. Even at my 5'9" stature, I towered over most. The last challenge was just in regards to customs and moreys, things that the Chinese accept or eschew. For example, babies and toddlers will just pee on the street. Heck, I saw a kid pee in a plant pot at the China Air kiosk. Just dropped trou and let 'er rip. You'll be walking along the street and hear someone behind you hock up a loogie and spit it out, right on the street. You turn around, and it's a 90 year old grandmother. But the Chinese hate it when you don't cover your mouth when picking your teeth. Really? But peeing in pots and hocking phlegm (loudly) in public is okay?
But now it's 2009, I'm a little older, a little wiser (hopefully), and I'm exicited to re-engage with China! I've been working on my Chinese, and I don't really care if I don't nail the tones, I'm there to have fun and really connect with the locals. I'm ready not to fit in, either way, I think I'll leave my bright orange Crocs at home so I don't get singled out by the Triads. And I'm ready to go with the flow (pardon the pun) with the cultural norms of the culture. Look for me by the pot at the China Air ticket counter!
So, I am headed to China (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Quodong) from May 23 - June 10. It's a Maymester class for my MBA in International Business with the University of Colorado at Denver. This semester I took the course Ventures in China class (I would highly recommend this if you are looking to learn more about China's economy, history, business aspects, and political sphere) and was able to take advantage the study abroad Maymester course. In this trip we'll be touring joint ventures, multinationals, SOEs (state owned enterprises), as well as government facilities and of course sightseeing!
China and I go way back. (Not as way back as the Qing Dynasty, but you get my drift.) I was in China in 2001, and, although it was a good international experience, my impressions were less than stellar. This was due to several challenges I faced personally. One of the challenges I found was in the language. I enjoy languages and have a knack for mimicking them. Chinese, although grammatically not as difficult as, say Russian or Finnish, was very difficult for me in the area of tones. There are four tones in Chinese, and I felt I butchered them all. In Shanghai, for example, I asked a waitress at a restaurant for a pair of 'kuàizi' or chopsticks. Her eyes almost bugged out of her head, she had no idea what I was saying. Another time I kept mispronouncing this one Chinese girl's name, I think she just had me call her by her English name, "Britney" to avoid the constant correction. The second challenge is the aspect of 'fitting in.' In most cultures I've visited: Venezuela, Russia, Kazakhstan, even France, I tend to look like a native. People just start coming up to me and chatting it up. Not so in China, there's no way you can slip into the crowd, even wearing a pair of sunglasses. Even at my 5'9" stature, I towered over most. The last challenge was just in regards to customs and moreys, things that the Chinese accept or eschew. For example, babies and toddlers will just pee on the street. Heck, I saw a kid pee in a plant pot at the China Air kiosk. Just dropped trou and let 'er rip. You'll be walking along the street and hear someone behind you hock up a loogie and spit it out, right on the street. You turn around, and it's a 90 year old grandmother. But the Chinese hate it when you don't cover your mouth when picking your teeth. Really? But peeing in pots and hocking phlegm (loudly) in public is okay?
But now it's 2009, I'm a little older, a little wiser (hopefully), and I'm exicited to re-engage with China! I've been working on my Chinese, and I don't really care if I don't nail the tones, I'm there to have fun and really connect with the locals. I'm ready not to fit in, either way, I think I'll leave my bright orange Crocs at home so I don't get singled out by the Triads. And I'm ready to go with the flow (pardon the pun) with the cultural norms of the culture. Look for me by the pot at the China Air ticket counter!
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