Halloween Anelects

This Halloween I wanted to be Bruce Lee in a custom-made yellow jump-suit.  It never happened because I didn't place an order with the tailor in time.  Maybe next year.  I was Hannibal Lector/ a zombie instead.

 I was at Metro (a Costco type store) trying to find a costume, and my backpack (with my digital video camera) went missing.  I ran around the store trying to find it, thinking someone stole it.  I even ran around the parking lot.  I panicked in front of my colleagues, including my principal.  But then one of my colleagues took my backpack out of his cart.  Apparently, he thought I misplaced it, and took it for safety reasons.
 
I got totally pwned in every game I played this weekend.  I got pwned in darts, 20 questions, foosball, a staring contest, ball hockey, a 100 meter dash, and computer chess.  Lucky for me, none of these were for money or drinking games.

I didn't dress up for school because I woke up too late to apply my zombie makeup. Luckily I had a Hannibal Lector mask.  I put it on for the day, but changed to a zombie for the Halloween party at night.

I decided not to bring drinks to the teacher Halloween party because I intended not to drink this weekend (see the last post for the reason why).  We all went over to my colleague's house.  Told me I wasn't allowed to drink anything in his glasses unless it had alcohol.  He gave me a quarter bottle of rum and told me to finish it.  Had some, but then switched back to water, claiming it was vodka.  If you're one of my colleagues reading this, let's just say you act really, really funny when you're drunk.

I went to a Chinese restaurant this weekend with some of my Chinese colleagues.  I remember something good professor Henry Yu once said about Chinese restaurants in Vancouver: the better the food, the worse the service.  Obviously he was joking (maybe), but I found out it applies to Chinese restaurants in Wuhan.  Fill in the blank.  The food was so good!  The service was __________________.

Saying "Wo xihuan Wuhan" to a taxi driver guarantees he will drive you to the right location.

He bu he?

Hedy: Paul, I think they're trying to get you drunk.
[Some of the Chinese teachers continue talking in rapid Mandarin]
Paul: That's what I figure. Okay let's do this! Cheers Nicholas! [takes a swig of beer]
[Chinese conversation stops]
Nicholas: Hey Paul, we're gonna play a drinking game. It's called "he bu he?" (to drink or not to drink?)
[Nicholas explains the rules to Hedy in Cantonese]
Hedy: [translating] Basically it works like this. One person covers his eyes. The person to his right points at a person sitting at the table and says "he bu he?" The blind person says either "he" (drink) or "bu he" (not drink). That person the pointer pointed at has to drink. You can point to the blind person and yourself too. You can't pick the same person in a row, but can go back and forth if you want.
Paul: Sounds stupid easy, and probably will make me stupid drunk.  Didn't you say they are trying to get me drunk? They're gonna gang up on me.

...1 hour, many beers and a round of baijiu later...

[One of the Chinese staff fronts some more baijiu towards Paul]

Paul: Oh man, I don't like this game at all. I can't believe I'm still standing.  Hey this guy's trying to get me to do another round of baijiu! Eh, how about Nicholas here? [hands Nicholas a cup of the stuff]
Nicholas: No, I can't handle that stuff. [divides his share between Paul and a Chinese teacher]
Paul: Um...okay...

[Paul stares at a glass half full of baijiu]

Wuhan Anti-Japanese Protests

So, if you've been reading world news, you might know that there recently has been a wave of anti-Japanese protests throughout China, but particularly in Wuhan.  It's gotten pretty rough around here.  A Sony store in the mall near my international school got smashed up.  A few days ago, 2 of my colleagues were scooting around town and saw a division of police in riot gear coming away from a local university.

About 10 hours ago, the staff and I were told by the head office that we have to work tomorrow (Saturday, October 23rd) because Wuhan's civic government ordered all schools (middle school to university level) to remain open. Apparently, this move would encourage youth not to participate in a major upcoming anti-Japanese rally scheduled for tomorrow.  It has been deemed "illegal" and the police and military have been called in to stop it by arresting protesters.

I'm not sure what group is pushing this protest-that-might-turn-riot.  This is China, so perhaps there might be an ultra-nationalist student activist group behind all this.  Indeed, it has been those groups that have fueled mass zeal here in China for the last century and a half.

I also think that people here who are easily disillusioned and dissatisfied in some way with their life (and there are a lot of these types of guys in China) are easily mobilized by the prospect of fighting with authorities and smashing stuff. They might come out in droves in the next few days. Would the CCP throw these guys in the slammer? We'll see.

To read a bit about the situation, here's a link to the NY Times Asia Pacific world briefings HERE.

Funny how Fox News says the authorities are "allowing" anti-Japanese demonstrations. Who knows...they might be right, but maybe not.  Although they did use Associated Press for this one...Read about it HERE

Also funny is how all of this was sparked by a little island in the sea, and a detained Chinese captain on a Japanese boat.

Now, the hard part for me: how will I engage this political issue with my class if it arises through conversation? I've already heard many anti-Japanese remarks in the hallways over this week...

Shanghai Expo Story #106: The Philippines Pavillion

Paul: Hey Boss, let's go into the Philippine Pavilion. Let's see what my peeps have to offer!

Nicholas: Alright! You're the Chief, Chief!

P: [Approaches the pavilion] Oh God, there's no Chinese lining up there. Typical.  Let's take a look inside.

[Both P and N walk in and are met with blaring Pinoy hip-hop.  Two Filipino DJs are on a stage.  Both look like some of Paul's cousins].

P: [Desperately tries to keep his laughter to himself as he looks around].

N: Eh Paul! Look how many instruments are scattered around here! You got guitars, mics, drums, pianos, traditional instruments, and DJ booths. I take it Filipinos really like their music.

P: [recovering] Ahem! Cough! Um...yeah.  Hey, let's get some food here. Filipino food is awesome. Nice break from Chinese.  You'll love it!

[Both walk to the food counter.  Not to many people are eating around them, and the people eating in the food area are almost exclusively Filipino].

P:  Kumusta! I'll have a halo-halo and a leche flan.

Server: [Raises eyebrows] Oh oh. Mmm...nice t-shirt!

P: [Looks down and realizes he's wearing a Manila shirt]. HEY! This proves that I'm not fully Chinese!

...

[As N and P eat Filipino desserts, more people, mostly white and Pinoy, enter the pavilion].

Identity politics...again

I thought I was through with being so pissed off about my identity politics after leaving undergrad.  I used to get so angry (like a lot of Asian Canadian/Asian American guys) at people telling me who I am or trying to define my identity for me.  I had my bout of wanting to be so individualistic that I spurned the notion of a culture of Chinese Canadianism.  I then realized I was being f***ing stupid.

I ended up believing that identity is like water - fluid, sometimes stale, but most of the time moving.  I am Canadian, but the story of my identity is both typical and unique, just like any other Canadian.  I didn't get angry over pondering over identity politics after undergrad, nor did I give it much conscious thought unless I had a deep conversation about it with my brother.

Well, the Middle Kingdom has a way of rekindling things.  I was walking with my buddies David and Nicholas down a place called Taylor Street in Wuchang on Saturday.  We stumbled over a Chinese Christian church and peeked our head in.  The guy at the door was really friendly, but he spoke no English.  He told us what time mass was being held.

Then the conversation switched.  I told him "Wo men shi Jianada ren" (We are Canadians).  He was so surprised, he looked at me as if I didn't make any sense.  He then went on a ramble to try to convince me that I was not Canadian.  When I told the guys, they both laughed and said that I'm apparently Chinese now.  "Even though my mom's a Surrey girl, my dad's Filipino, Vancouver is my native land, AND I don't speak Chinese all that well, I'm Chinese!? F**k this, this guy has a small world!"

But as angry as I was at the time, I think the guy began to understand me near the end of our conversation.  He did admit that I was the height of my white friends, so there was something about me that didn't make me fully Chinese in his eyes.

Let's just say that I feel tall here in China.

Friday Night With My Colleagues

So on Friday, the whole staff went to dinner.  All the Canadian and Chinese staff.  We had a blast.  The restaurant that we went to was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a bunch of hills with trees.  When I walked in, I was met with 5 huge pictures of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao.  Funny.  We all fit on one school bus, with no standing room left (there were about 60+ of us)!  Some of my colleagues bought a bunch of  beer and brought it to the restaurant.  And when I say a bunch, I mean about 3 beers each person. A lot of the Chinese staff didn't drink, so the Canadian teachers were walking out of the restaurant with like 2 bottles each.  I drank mine on the bus on the way to KTV.

I didn't really sing all that much, but I did play a Chinese dice game with various staff members.  It was pretty rad.  By 11:00, most of the Chinese staff were gone, and the room devoid of drinks.  My colleague Shane and I went to buy more beers for the Canadian staff.  As the room cleared slowly, I left with the last group to go to some bar.  We walked there from KTV, only to find out our other colleagues were there already!

Everyone was drunk as s--t.  I wasn't all that drunk, and I guess some of my colleagues noticed.  By the time I reached the bar to just get a last drink and call it a night, some of my colleagues were there.  Apparently, they had drinks (plural) "waiting" for me.  Whatever.  I'm in Asia, and apparently when your colleagues drink, YOU drink.

 Right after I toasted with them, I tried to flee the scene, only to meet MORE of my colleagues outside eating street noodles! Can I never get away from these people!?

D'oh!

Today, I made the stupid mistake of attaching my new digital video camera onto one of the school's computers.  One thing about Chinese network and web communities that everyone should know about is that they are filled with malware, spyware, spam, viruses, and the like.

Anyways, I got a virus on my 8gb SD card.  It totally got hit with something bad.  Not 1 minute after I put my SD into my own laptop, Norton Antivirus popped up and told me I had a "high risk" intrusion that was quarantined.  Good thing I installed the latest Norton Antivirus software before I left Canada.

It does store and transfer videos.  But it thinks there are no photos on it even though I had something around 40 pictures on there.  I can do 1 of two things.  Either throw away my SD and start fresh, or make this travel blog into a video blog.  I'm too lazy make a decision...


Well, actually, I'm too lazy to be lazy.  I'm gonna make a decision.  I'm going to keep my corrupted SD card for student work.  Hell, their computers and digi-toys are all filled with viruses anyways.  What's more, the computer room I'm teaching in has a reputation from last year for being one of worst corrupted computer labs.  Now I'm not sure who did what to which computer.  I've been told it's the students who download things off questionable websites, which totally makes sense.  I've been catching students downloading all sorts of things since the onset of this school year.

Anyways, enough rambling.  I'm going to get some sleep.  Hopefully on the weekend, I can get a new SD card that will never ever touch any school computer...ever!

Oh yeah... one last thing.  Tomorrow my buddy colleague Mitch is having a FUBAR party in preparation to see FUBAR 2!!!

Zai Wudang Shan Qu - Part II

Wudang Shan has some ridiculous Chinglish signs.  It is very clear that the Chinese are very proud of their UNESCO world heritage parkland.  The signs are also patriotic.  Some of them read: "It is everyone's responsibility to keep the cleanliness of Mt. Wudang's world heritage."  Another one read "Be a good citizen and do not litter on holy Wudang."  Yet another, my favorite, said "Welcome to the world's oxygen bar.  Protect it!"

When Nicholas and I started to ascend the mountain, I initially thought it would be a cakewalk.  Clouds were rolling in from all directions.  The scenery was stunning, and the crisp mountain air reminded me of home (since Wuhan is pretty dusty and polluted).  But the trails were well-manicured, and most of them were paved.  We walked on some awesome trails.  Some of them hugged a cliff face going towards a temple that was built into the side of the mountain.  There were no handlebars for safety.  If you fell, you'd disappear into the trees and clouds.

One shrine we stumbled across was a shrine dedicated to this guy...

 The Chinese god of lightning...OMG it's RAIDEN!!!

But then I realized that we were only going around some temples near the parking lot and entrance area.  There was a lot more to be seen.

We started to climb.  It was easy at first, but then there were ascending staircases.  Only a few at a time, but there they were.  Then they became longer. And longer.  Soon, the staircases were 100 or 200 steps long, going straight up the side of the mountain. When I got to the top of one of these flights, I was relieved for about 2 seconds, only to be met with another staircase that disappeared into the clouds above.

For everyone back in Vancouver, here's something to compare. Walking up Wudang Shan is like doing the Grouse Grind two times back to back. They had a gondola, but it was under repair.  I actually liked that, since there were only people up there that were crazy enough to hike all the way up.

Nicholas and I stopped about three-quarters the way up for lunch. We saw some jerk-ass drink a bottle of water, then throw it down right at our feet.  Littering is a pretty commonplace thing here in China, but we looked at him with utter disdain.  His girlfriend made him pick it up.

We tried to get the rest of the way up really fast, but as my Lonely Planet guide says, the walk is "energy-sapping."  The clouds rolled in and the whole forest around the trail look like something out of the computer game Myst. 

Close to the top, we saw big temple complex.  There were two large open areas, probably for early morning kung fu, flanked by the temple and a flower garden. There were backpackers, tourists, and monks all over the place.  We had hike a bit more to get to the summit, but it was worth it. It had a spectacular view and was as quiet as an early morning on the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

On the way down the mountain, more mist rolled in.  It was really dense cloud.  Nicholas and I were going pretty fast down the mountain, but my legs felt like water at that point.  Weakened, going downhill, and lots of tree and cloud cover.  Perfect for a ninja attack!

We stopped at 4 more stops on the way down: the Purple Cloud Temple, a scroll store (where Nicholas bought a scroll), and a kung fu show (which was unfortunately just finishing when we arrived). The fourth place was a weapons store.  I flip-flopped on whether I should have purchased a Wudang blade, but I ended up settling for some nunchucks!

After getting off the mountain, we went back to our hotel.  By that time, it was raining. Good timing.  We had dinner at a restaurant, but I forgot to take pictures of our food.  We had spinach off of a burning wok, Chinese mushrooms and soy sauce chicken, and rice.  Very simple, and both of us were very hungry. We went to town on our dishes.  After that, we walked around town a bit more. I scoured the sword shops for a weapon I might have wanted, but ended up not getting anything. I'm pretty content with my nunchucks.

Practicing my Wutang style!

At the Purple Cloud Temple.  It wasn't purple at all.

Kung Fu Masta!!!

Apparently, this part of Wudang Shan was in the new Karate Kid.

Zai Wudang Shan Qu - Part I

To Wudang Mountain I go!

After thoroughly exploring Shanghai, my colleague and I ventured further into the heartland of China.  We headed northwest of Wuhan towards a mountain called Wudang Shan. 

During our first night, we just walked around and explored the town.  Just a typical Chinese town: dirty, filled with "interesting" odors, chaotic traffic and jam packed with people.  Some of the side streets and the public city square were really nice.  It had a big screen playing a movie for people to watch.  Elderly folk were playing traditional Chinese instruments, while youth were practicing modern dance moves.  I liked seeing the strong feeling of community.

I was going crazy over the sheer amount of sword merchants in the town.  Some stores were selling weapons and tea.  A lot of the swords were junky, but the ones that were good were really good.  I could feel the quality in the blade just by picking them up. Of course, the price jumped about 100 kwai for these weapons.

Going back to our hotel, we were surprised to see it all lit up.

The next day, Nicholas and I hit the mountain fast, hard and early...

I'll write more about this awesome part of my vacation in my next blog installment.  For now, here are some pictures I took on Wudang Shan.  Get excited and come back to check my blog tomorrow!