And last but not least...

On the 13-hour flight back to Shanghai, I passedmost of the time reading cover-to-cover two of the many new books Ipicked up over the holidays: JW's RCB and KCH's TAoP,both personal memoirs about the authors' experiences during the1970s-1990s timeframe, one living in China and the other in NorthKorea.  Both turned out to be two of the best works I've read in awhile.

I don't want to be too specific about the booksthemselves in public, for let's just say that neither of them made therespective governments very happy with the authors, and I don't want to makeBeijing or Pyongyang's $#!+-list anytime soon myself.  I'm suremost of you East Asia-interested folks out there can figure out thetitles and authors without too much difficulty, and I highly recommendboth of them if you haven't read them already.

Both differ in many ways.  RCB isfunny and light-hearted for the most part, almost feeling like readinga novel, and talking about everything from politics to penissizes.  In contrast, TAoP isa narrative that's unendingly grim, terrifying, and depressing. Yet, both have a lot in common -- the underlying theme being that of disillusionment, of being promised a utopian worker's paradise but finding a reality much different.

Beforeyou ask, no, my own East Asia sojourn hasn't been as bad as either ofthem.  ;)  The one year mark is coming for me, and I knowI'll be here.  My original hope of staying "at least a couple ofyears" is still on my radar.  Yet, their stories still resonatewith me, for I do admit that, like them, my East Asia reality has beentempered.  The rose color has faded from my glasses. 

Thisis not to point fingers -- I didn't go in with very many utopianexpectations for what I'd experience coming out here, and mostorganizations (both commercial and non-commercial) that send folks toChina, at least those I've had first-hand experience with, do attemptto drive this message during training and preparation.  Still, the key word is attempt: forthere's no substitute for actually living itand learning by experience, no matter how much you've prepared, nomatter how good your orientation is, no matter how erudite you are inthe ways of this country.

To be more specific, being aChinese-American in China, I've learned many lessons thus far, but thegreatest isn't any specific fact, but rather along the lines of RCB'sauthor's closing sentiments... what I've slowly started to realize isthat I'm against dogma and close-mindedness from or towards anyviewpoint.  Of course, there are a set of absolute core beliefsthat I adhere to, but as far as the ways of man are concerned, itreally takes being out there and doing and living it to reallyappreciate it and to have meaningful thoughts. 

Whether it be an issue in politics, technology, or any other human field, what I value and respect is not so much the degree of opinion or the opinion themselves, but why and where thatopinion is coming from.  My greatest pet peeves are talking headswho have no experience in what they're doing and yet pontificate andspout out their stuff as gospel... those who support country X'sgovernment/policies simply because they're a citizen of country X, andit's "the patriotic thing to do"... etc.  On the other hand, Irespect RCB and TAoP's authors because they've lived it out, and while they do holdextreme views on many things in their writings, their experiences makewhat they say about the PRC/DPRK palatable, versus someone that's grownup in the USA all their lives (even though they might be very well saying the same thing). 

Of course, I'll certainlyventure to opine on things I have no first-hand experiencein (eg, US involvement in Iraq) and have lively discussions but I won'tattempt to convert or claim I know what I don't, nor (dis)respectpeople more for (dis)agreeing with me.

Practically, a few newbies will be soon joining my community ofexpat friends here in Shanghai, and personally, sure, I'll give themadvice, I'll tell them where to get their bills paid or find some goodcheap Western food, where to find some nice clubs or bars...  Butin terms of the big picture, I'm just going to let them experiencethings and learn for themselves, so that what they say and think about China can belikewise justified.

It's not something to be ashamed of... it'spart of the Process of learning and growing, and ultimately, everyoneis enriched by it.

Off to Hong Kong with some other friends from China for a conferenceduring the Chinese New Year holiday... I'll be around from 28 Jan to 4Feb -- anyone in town and up for meeting up? =)

I pretty much know nothing about the ways of banking and currency, so anyone know the real meaning of this?

Random.

United's having a special mileage offer:45,000 miles for an Economy award ticket between the USA and Beijing orShanghai, compared to the usual 60,000.  The only catch is thattravel must be completed by 31 March.  Once the worst of winter isover in a few weeks, it'd be a great time to visit Shanghai before the summer heat and crowds... (hint,hint =) )

As many a China expat has blogged about, myself included, one ofthe main things that often initally proves frustrating is therelative lack of automation in many day-to-day tasks like shopping orbanking.  And yet despite any inefficency, compared to theanonymous faceless West, this human contact borne out of necessity inShanghai can and does make for opportunities for meaningful personalrelationshipswith folks from restaurant owners to security guards...

... as well as ummm, interesting conversations.  Take the twoaforementioned United ladies.  I'm apparently on a first-namebasis with them now.  In the US, I'd never even see a human,because I'd just book a e-ticket via United's website.  Whereas in Shanghai, you get this:

[I walk in,show them my ID, tell them what Iwant]

Rikku: "Ahh... Mr. Mark!  Your Chinese has improved a lot since thelast time I saw you.  The last time you were here in July, you couldn'teven say "air ticket" " [Last July when I redeemed miles for a ticket to PEK... and I'm pretty sure I could say air ticket even then. ;) ]
Me: "Wow... your memory is extremely good."
"Of course.  Who would forget you..."

[Waiting for Air China to confirm seat availability]

R: "So, you're an ABC, right?"
Me: "Yup."
R: "Where are you from?"
Me: "San Francisco Bay Area... in fact, I spent all my life there before coming out to Shanghai"
R: "And how long have you been here?"
Me: "About 10 months give or take/"
R: "Wow, and your Chinese is that good."
Me: "I spoke a bit growing up, took two years in college, and spent asummer as a student at a university in China.  But of course,coming here has been the biggest help."
R: "[in a maternal voice and attitude] Well, I'm no longer allowing you to speak English here."
Me: "Yeah, that's no problem... I want to speak Chinese as much as I can.  In any case, your English isso much better than my Chinese... you can practice with the laowai."

[...]

R: "But you don't really know much about China, do you?" [Whether justified or not, itreally annoys me when people say this when they'd never think of sayingthe same to a laowai.]
Me: "Yeah... of course, I'm not a native Chinese, but I have travelledextensively, taken courses, studied the language, and so forth."
R: "Your native American friends... what do they think of you as?"
Me: "Well, not Chinese and not American... Chinese-American.  We're our own unique category."
R: "So, which is better, China or the US?"
Me: "I like both,"
R: "No really, which is better."
Me: "I guess it depends on what criteria."
R: "You want to stay here, right?"
Me: "Yeah, I'd like to.

[More waiting...]

R: "Let me guess... you were born in 1980?"
Me: "77."
Y: "[Haughtily] Hmph!  Really?!  Well then, you'll have to call us da jie" [older sister]
Me: "I guess so... =)"
R"So... do you have a girlfriend yet?"
Me: "Not yet..."
Y: "How can someone as ke-ai as you not have one yet?  Well, do you want one?" [I guess fear of sexual harassment is one Western thing that hasn't caught on yet...]
Me: "We'll see... I'm taking things slowly."
R: "Why do you want to come to China?"
Me: "[blah, blah, the usual stuff about professional opportunity...] and to really have meaningful relationships and make a difference here with people."
Y: "Well, Shanghai's the place to meet people" [smiling]

[Finally the tickets are booked.]

Me: "Well, thanks for your help... I'm sure I'll see you guys again. =)"
R: "Yes, I'm sure we will >=)" [evil smile on her face]

No, not everyone is like that.  And no I'mnot, so stop snickering already. ;P 

[Warning: nerdy entry.  Non-programmer/IT types can stop reading now.]

Unlike many of my fellow techies, I'm not a anti-Microsoft zealot, believe it or not.  As I've previously written, I'm against blind dogmatism in any area, including technology.  There are areas where they shine.  Currently, I'm developing on both Microsoft's and a certain unnamed Japanese company's next-gen console, and Microsoft (still) takes the cake for user-friendliness and maturity of the toolchain.

But like nearly every bias or stereotype out there, there's some basis in fact.  Case in point: Window's console subsystem.  Maybe everyone else all knew this, but selecting text or even right-clicking to bring up a context menu in a console window will cause Windows to block the I/O of all child processes launched from that console until you dismiss the menu or clear the selection.  Since blocking I/O calls are the norm for pretty much any commandline app, this means that the app itself is pretty much dead during that time.

I did a rebuild of our project from scratch from the command line, and as I went to a long lunch with a friend, must've accidentally right-clicked the console window.  When I came back, my build was in suspended animation, not even getting past the first source file.  90 minutes for nothing.  @#$@#@#%@%@#$%#$%^$!

So let this be a warning to all developers working in a Windows environment... watch those right mouse clicks if you're running a long process from a console!

Boring.

You know you want one.  Cute has just reached another level.  =)

A bunch of my co-workers are going to make a group purchase of reclining Totoro sofa chairs.  The minimum order is 10, priced at 480 RMB each (maybe even less if a lot of people join)

Anyone in the Shanghai area[*] interested, let me know and I'll get you in on this.  Feel free to contact me privately if you don't wanna admit this in public... ;)

[* or unless you wanna pay for shipping for one of these suckers...]

I went with some local friends last weekend to Wuyi (武义), a small (by Chinese standards) town in Zhejiang province about 5 hours out of Shanghai, famous for its hot springs, and as well as the surrounding countryside, mountains, and a cave as well. 

It was a welcome getaway from the city, and pretty much my first time really exploring in the rural settings of China (other than a 2003 trip to Yunnan) -- a reminder that beyond the glitz and the glamour, the hustle and the bustle of Shanghai and the other megacities, there lies another world.

While this place hasn't made it on the radar for foreigners yet, it still has felt the "development" of shall we say, tourism with Chinese characteristics, especially in the "cave", and it seems we were literally on a whirlwind tour -- even our time in the hot springs was about two hours at most. 

Many others have written about what they see as the negative impact of "tourism" in these places.  Yet, when I asked them, my local friends never really minded this much at all... to them, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.  Fundamentally, tourism for Chinese is first and foremost just like going to the movies -- a social activity and a desire to "soak in as much as possible", whereas for Westerners, it's about retreating, enjoying "nature" and getting away from it all.  Just one of the things I find intriguing.  All in all though, it was a good hangout time, and of course, lots of good photo ops. =)

My 10D is still in the shop for repairs, so I had to make do with my point-and-shoot.  Nevertheless, I had fun documenting the time as usual.  All the pictures are here.  Enjoy!

A vendor weighing the goods.

This is a subterranean waterfall.  But in case you were somehow oblivious to the fact, the authorities have thoughtfully put a neon sign on top complete with flashing marquee lights.  Really sets the mood, huh?

What other country in the world can you be 80-100 feet underground and still get a perfect cellphone signal?

China, forever innovating in the area of tackiness.  Is this a cave or a club?  You decide.

Ahhh yes, the obligatory fountain spewing water with "special properties" that you pay 5 mao for.  Funny how so many sites have their own "special" water, and it's so convenient to pipe from the ground.

It seems almost every tourist attraction in China has a "No Visitors" sign, and every English-speaking visitor gets a shot next to it.  I'm no exception... =P

Tastes kinda like calamari, actually... (just don't eat the intestines.. =P )

Of course, what Chinese tour is complete without the obligatory stop at "tourist shopping centers"?  Above, we can see the evolution of propaganda in China -- from Maoist ideological slogans to this...

A pleasantly unexpected surprise... =)