Bang! Bang! Bangbangbangbangbang! This morning I was awoken from my peaceful slumber by what sounded like a military artillery outside of my apartment complex. Confused, I ran to my window to see only a wall of thick smoke- and the sound of gunshots filled the air. In my sleepy disorientation, there was only one explanation:
"North Korea is attacking us!" I exclaimed. It then took me a moment or so to figure out why that statement sounded so ridiculous...
.... it was Chinese New Year, a fact that I slipped my mind for the first few moments of being awake. Oh, Chinese New Year- the month-long festival in which fire crackers are set off on seemingly every corner of every street of every city in China. From early in the morning until very late at night, one is in a constant state of wariness, never knowing if the fireworks will be set off before, behind or under them
That, along with my double-strength jet lag ( the product of being home for 10 days- not enough time to adjust to US time, and then returning to China and having to readjust to Chinese time)- has made certain that I have not slept a full night since the beginning of February.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Counter Culture Shock amid Snowmageddon 2010
Counter-Culture Shock amid Snowmageddon 2010
For Chinese New Years, all sane foreigners have only two options: leave the country or stay at home- because traveling within China when most of the population is also in transit would be akin to swimming in honey-slow, suffocating and sticky. I decided to return to the US for my ten day vacation.
Counter Culture Shock Countdown:
1) The snowplow fail When the few inches of snow descended upon Dalian, I scoffed at their subpar snow removal, fondly reminiscing about the efficient and skilled snowplow/salting trucks that roamed the streets and highways of Pennsylvania.
However, I arrived in the US during the "Snowmageddon." While I was not surprised at DC's snow incompetence- since every year they are surprised by snow- I was somewhat bitter at being trapped in Chicago overnight- then arriving to Pittsburgh in a state of emergency- streets unplowed, electricity cut, etc etc. Though I will say that, as always, my town was perfectly plowed and functioning as normal.
2) The mullet - so, when I was in China, I was very wary of all hairstylists- because Chinese hairstylists are used to chinese hair- thick and straight- not fine, curly hair, such as mine. For this reason, I only allowed them to trim my hair. When I went back to America, I went to a hair salon and received a mullet. straight up MacGyver- style. Maybe not quite as dramatic. But bad enough that I invested a great amount of money in hairbands.
3) small yippy dogs- in China, if one owns a dog, it's a small dog. I have stated several times that I prefer large dogs, and that I would only own medium to large dogs. Hence, imagine my surprise when I returned home to find Daisy: the smallest, yippiest, most adorable dog in the world. Daisy might, on a good day, be the size of small handbag. Small dogs = not so bad at all
For Chinese New Years, all sane foreigners have only two options: leave the country or stay at home- because traveling within China when most of the population is also in transit would be akin to swimming in honey-slow, suffocating and sticky. I decided to return to the US for my ten day vacation.
Counter Culture Shock Countdown:
1) The snowplow fail When the few inches of snow descended upon Dalian, I scoffed at their subpar snow removal, fondly reminiscing about the efficient and skilled snowplow/salting trucks that roamed the streets and highways of Pennsylvania.
However, I arrived in the US during the "Snowmageddon." While I was not surprised at DC's snow incompetence- since every year they are surprised by snow- I was somewhat bitter at being trapped in Chicago overnight- then arriving to Pittsburgh in a state of emergency- streets unplowed, electricity cut, etc etc. Though I will say that, as always, my town was perfectly plowed and functioning as normal.
2) The mullet - so, when I was in China, I was very wary of all hairstylists- because Chinese hairstylists are used to chinese hair- thick and straight- not fine, curly hair, such as mine. For this reason, I only allowed them to trim my hair. When I went back to America, I went to a hair salon and received a mullet. straight up MacGyver- style. Maybe not quite as dramatic. But bad enough that I invested a great amount of money in hairbands.
3) small yippy dogs- in China, if one owns a dog, it's a small dog. I have stated several times that I prefer large dogs, and that I would only own medium to large dogs. Hence, imagine my surprise when I returned home to find Daisy: the smallest, yippiest, most adorable dog in the world. Daisy might, on a good day, be the size of small handbag. Small dogs = not so bad at all
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