Archive for July, 2007
Reflections of Culture: Newfound Perspectives from Spending Eight Weeks in China
I would say that I am very independent, as an American yes, but even compared to some of my friends and others I observe—both my age and older than me. Eating on my own, enjoying my own free time and interests, and wearing things that are a little off-kilter do not bother me as they [...]
July 19th, 2007The Study Abroad Blues (And a few tricks to overcoming them)
Blues #1: Rice Again? The first thing to affect a newcomer to China is the food. Very quickly it hits you—when they said China, they meant China. To use a horrible cliché, you’re not in Kansas anymore. Using chopsticks came very naturally for me, but as the meals continued along the path of steamed rice, [...]
July 19th, 2007Our “Flat” World: Revelations for an American in China
In The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, journalist Thomas Friedman theorizes that through a series of significant events and developments, the world has become—hence the title—flat. This means the playing field in everything from the availability of information to the producing of software, furniture, and foods had been leveled in [...]
July 19th, 2007Thoughts on History: Part II
Continuing my discourse on history, and what that concept means and entails, I will admit that I am skeptical of the history I have seen in China. A good illustration of my reasoning came with the field trip my history class took to Anyang, an ancient Chinese city and the location of the famous oracle [...]
July 19th, 2007Thoughts on History: Part I
The more I learn and see in my life, the more I am convinced that “history” is a multi-faceted term, and that history itself is largely subjective, relative to time and location, and deeply influential in national psyche. Within each city, museum, temple, mausoleum, and other culturally significant thing I have visited, I am reminded [...]
July 19th, 20071055
On our last full day in Zhengzhou, after having finished up our two classes and all the accompanying readings and papers, our group of exhausted Americans got a final treat. We had been invited to Best International School to celebrate International Children’s Day with the students. The school is bilingual, so the students study both [...]
July 19th, 2007Do You Speak Chinglish?
As a native English speaker arriving in China, one of the first things I noticed was the English translations of many signs, billboards, advertisements, brand names, labels, and other items. Initially, I found it helpful. It is also a telling piece of evidence to both the growing popularity of English as a second language in [...]
July 19th, 2007Beijing, Architecture, and the Chinese People
I first became interested in Chinese architecture when I read journalist Ian Johnson’s book Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China about one year ago. The book is a well-researched account of three different situations where Chinese people are standing up for their rights within the confines of Chinese policy and government philosophy. [...]
July 6th, 2007