A Country of Fences

I found this from something I wrote and half finished a while ago, 2009/2010.  But I liked the idea and wanted to finish.  So I apologize if it comes off a little disjointed or rambling...

A Country of Fences

A fence is defined by dictionary.com as “a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary” and by Merriam-Webster online as “a: a barrier intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to mark a boundary; especially: such a barrier made of posts and wire or boards b: an immaterial barrier or boundary line <on the other side of the fence in the argument>”.  China is a country of fences.  Physical boundaries enclose almost every cluster of dwellings, blocking every path and mental boundaries block out new or challenging ideas.  And now they have found a way to add electronic boundaries as well.

Every school is surrounded by a fence with a guarded gate.  Today (2009, bird flu is disease de jour) they are only armed with electronic temperature readers to keep the sick at bay, but they keep out far more than that.  I have always thought of schools as places where learning, of all things, was encouraged.  I love to debate and argue.  A person cannot argue against something that they don’t understand, their arguments will be one-sided and half-formed. Only by understanding that which you don’t understand and disagree with can you make a complete argument against it.

As a nation of fences China has a most distinguished history.  Home of the largest fence in the world, the Great Wall, designed to keep the Mongols out (yet failed to prevent the Manchu’s from conquering China).   Now the enclosed courtyard is an integral part of Chinese architecture.  A home or grouping of dwellings designed around a central courtyard, enclosed and sectioned off from the surrounding areas.  Today it seems that fences lock people in as often as they keep the undesired out.  China is a country of massive population and in many areas rampant over-crowding.  Carving out an area of privacy and seclusion can be very difficult to do.  In many cities a private or semi-private shared courtyard can give the occupants that sense of privacy that is so hard to find in today’s China.  But many gates and fences are arbitrary boundaries that do not stop any one from crossing.  The gate around my residential complex is manned 24 hours a day.  From about 6 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. the gate is open.  As far as I can tell anyone can enter, no questions asked.  Cars are provided with an I.D. badge, but nothing is required to get it, other than rolling down your window.  Upon arrival a driver is given a card, when they leave the driver returns the card to the guard.  This is to ensure that the driver of the car leaving is the same person who drove it in (a car was stolen and this policy was put in place soon after).  It takes 2-4 people to guard this ultra-important location from the undesirables.  The only function I can see is to prevent cars from being stolen from inside the compound.  As far as privacy or seclusion goes, the courtyard is packed everyday with people, just as much as any of the public parks in the area, if not more so.  Many places at night the gates are locked and there is no person on-site to operate the gate.  People who live inside are in for the night, released in the morning.

But I have realized they do far more than just restrict or permit access.  The guards are there to monitor everyone.  They note who comes and goes, when and with whom.  They don’t stop or question the foreigners coming in going because they know who we are.  Its obvious, I don’t need an ID when there are 4 white people working and living in entire compound.  Students have access restricted all the time.  Curfews in place with strict locked-door policies (Most of the doors are actually physically chained shut.  At first I thought about fire safety, but have come to realize that with everything made of solid concrete and brick, there is nothing to burn).  During times of public unrest students will be restricted from leaving campus without formal written documentation.  Several times I have realized this is happening and was completely unaware of the events causing the lockdown; things seemed normal to me.  And they were, partly because all the students who may have gathered were restricted from leaving their dormitories. 

One time I became acutely aware of the process was back in 2009 when I was living with my girlfriend (Chinese) in a school provided campus apartment.  Foreigners were not subject to the same lockdown restrictions as the students, but being white it was pretty easy for the guards to tell we were not students.  As well as not being allowed to leave, non-authorized Chinese were not allowed to enter either.  On returning to the school, the security guard (who I came to realize later specifically did not like foreigners, or maybe just me) bypassed me and directly confronted my girlfriend (standing hand in hand at my side).  He did not address, did not even look at me.  At this time my Chinese was not very good and I had trouble with the speed and the accent, but I knew immediately the general content of the conversation.  The campus access was being restricted, where was her ID?  The situation became very tense, very fast.  I tried to explain who she was and that regardless foreign teachers were allowed to move freely and with guests, so it didn’t matter and he needed to piss off.  Whether that was misunderstood or he didn’t care, both equally likely, I didn’t make any headway.  Step two in the process, ignore the security guard and go on about your business like they don’t exist, usually a successful option.  He moved to block our path and as we kept going he somewhat roughly grabbed my girlfriend’s arm and pulled her back toward the gate.  I did not take kindly to that action and slapped his hand off my girlfriend and pushed him back.  Now this was a pretty big loss of face for the security guard and the situation was escalating quickly.  I was pretty sure that he wouldn’t attack me, that would be very serious and even if he did, that wasn’t something I was concerned about.  The bigger problem would have been was that I was living with my girlfriend and she needed to be able to come and go without me walking her through the gate every time.  The security guards could make that difficult, as this was the only gate in or out of the school.  Fortunately as things were beginning to look not good, the vice-president of my department came down (I tried calling her when the incident began to have her come and explain to the guard) and began to berate the security guard.  It was fun to watch.  I didn’t really have problems after that, but it was clear that he would not be coming to my aid if I ever needed help. 

The security checkpoints at the schools never really seemed to impede me, but foreigners exist with a dual-status.  Often allowed to do many things that their Chinese counterparts cannot, but also severely disliked (perhaps for the same reason) by many.  I could not imagine the influence these arbitrary controls would have on me as a student growing up in this system.  So endemic and complete it is not imposed upon you, but merely the way it is.  It doesn’t really get questioned because it is a fact of life.

These fences persist into mental boundaries as well.  Replacing the Great Wall as the biggest physical barrier, the Chinese now have the Great Firewall; I imagine the greatest electronic barrier to information.  Even now as I write this I will not be able to post it easily and may simply wait a couple weeks until I leave China.  A constant monitor on what you say and who you say it to, the Chinese censorship system is awesome in its control.  And it is another accepted fact of life.  By blocking information, it restricts the thoughts of so many.  A tiny minority of Chinese rulers have had a monopoly on government for almost the entirety of their 4,000 year history, only punctuated by periods of anarchy; emperors and ruling families compete for ownership of the country.  Warlords warring for control with each other.  And now the Communist Party leading the country for the good of the people.  Each new dynasty taking control from a stagnating government.  Monopolies are great in the beginning and yet over time without competition they stagnate, lose focus and all the elements that made them great become impediments to future growth.

 With the firewall, this newest dynasty is doing its best to maintain a monopoly on thought as well.  In the electronic age with the growth of technology and the ever increasing speed of communication, it is the probably the only way the Communist Party can continue to maintain control.  After a horrific start (1949-1978), they have recovered and China has grown by amazing leaps and bounds.  An economic growth rate near 10% a year is impressive, maintaining that for 30 years, China stands alone. Yet, so many monopolies seem to start with something amazing only to languish. 

I sit around with my fellow laowai (foreigners) and we seem to be constantly amazed that China can grow so much with so much dysfunction.  The rate of growth, new construction and wealth creation is amazing.  I can only imagine how much greater the growth would be if you didn’t have to constantly negotiate around a maze of fences.

September 1, 2012

Back in China things are going smoothly as they can.  My passport has been submitted for my visa change.  A coworker was supposed to pick it up and mail it to me, but now she has to go to Shanghai the day it will be ready so I need to find someone else to send it to me to make sure I can make my flight to Kunming. 

I returned to the bike shop to get a new bicycle rack and had to argue for a while with the shopkeeper before he would exchange for a new one.  It went something like this:

            “Look at the rack, you can see its off-center and the mount is warped, its going to break soon, the weight limit says 25kg, the most I have had on there is a backpack.”

            “Are you sure you didn’t have a person riding on there?” very common in China.

            “No I don’t do that and you said before that it wouldn’t support one anyway.”

            “How do I know?  I can warranty the bike, but the rack, maybe you did something.”

            “Maybe you sold me a piece of shit and now you don’t want to replace it.”

            “I can’t know what happened.”

            “So anything you sell, once it leaves your shop, you don’t have to worry about it?  If it breaks you just blame the customer and screw them over?”

            This went back and forth for a couple minutes while I become increasingly incensed.  Finally he relents and tells the assistant to replace it.  Now I have a nice new rack that he said could support a person if I wanted.

            After all that I loaded up the bike and went for a test ride with most of the gear I am going to be taking to make sure my storage methods are as good as I thought.  A few changes needed. But I think everything is going to work out.

            Also had my first fall because of the clip-in pedals.  I was very worried about the traffic in China because of all the sudden stops and stupid shit that people do on the roads, having your feet locked to the bike did not seem to be the best idea.  But I told myself to just unclip well before any intersection and it will be ok.  And it was, but...  After an hour or two I decided to stop for lunch and cruised up to a roadside noodle stand.  As I glided to a stop in the bike parking area in front, I came to realize that I was clipped in.  My bike slowed, I started to lean and as the shopkeeper watched to his amusement, I tipped over to my right about as slowly and gracefully as one can.  Fortunately my head missed the scooter to my right by about a foot.  But more important this showed me that my baggage storage system was quite good because when I picked up the bike everything was still in place. 

Now that I have had my first fall, I am hoping that I have that out of the way.  I ended up doing 76km yesterday and I feel pretty good.  I am going to shoot for an unloaded 70-80km today and see how the legs feel tomorrow.

8/28/12

Sitting on the plane back to China I am not sure how I feel.  This marks the first time I have not had a job or really anything to do.  Most of my travels in the past were short trips, even if it was a couple of weeks; I always had work to return to.  This time I have no work to return to, no job lined up, and have not even completed my application to Melbourne yet. 

            After a few weeks in the US it was a strange feeling.  Almost like everything was too nice.  My mother’s house is incredibly comfortable, and yet it feels unnatural.  After 7 years of college houses and 5 years living in China, cramped, somewhat rundown, and a little grimy is far more my style than anything luxurious.  For all the good food and nice abodes that I enjoyed in the states, after a few weeks I felt out of place and ready to return to China. 

            Now I am on the plane back to China and looking forward to my upcoming cycle trip.  I have a distinct feeling that it is going to be far harder and challenging (both physically and mentally) than I am anticipating.  I have more gear now than I think I could need from battery chargers and tire pumps to clip-in pedals and couple changes of quick-drying clothes.  The only thing left to pick up is a new bicycle rack.  I have one already, but its Chinese made and therefore a piece of crap. 

            The rack on my bike has only been used a few times and claims a 25kg weight limit, yet the only thing it has carried is my bike lock.  After a few weeks of carry a bike lock, the mount screw one side has already started to bend and warp.  Not an encouraging sign before setting off to cover several thousand kilometers.  So now the one real remaining challenge is to find a quality bike rack in China before shipping my bike out to Kunming next week.

Upcoming Events

Today I registered for the Tough Mudder race in Melbourne on the 13^th of January and have already registered for the Penang half-marathon Nov 18^th.  If anyone else is going to be in Australia and would like to pay handsomely for the opportunity to torture yourself over several hours on a Saturday morning, you are more than welcome to join me.  I am not sure if this is going to be a good idea, but it does seem like a good way to end my trip.  Both by going out with a bang and a good chance of moderate to severe injury.

Travel Itinerary

9/15/2012, Depart Kunming, China

This part of the route is still in flux and will kind of make it up as I go along since I will still be able to read the signs, but hopefully something like this…

Kunming to south of Dianchi (~Qu xili)

Qu xili to Jiangchun

Jiangchun to Shadianzhen

Shadianzhen to Huangcaobaxiang

Huangcaobaxiang to Hekou (China-Vietnam Border) cross to Lao Cai

Vietnam

Lao Cai to Sa Pa, rest a couple days and get some info about routes to Dien Bein Phu

Current route in mind…

Sa Pa to N.T. Than Uyen

N.T. Than Uyen to Than Uyen

Than Uyen to Cap Na

To Tuan Giao

To Mu’ong Ang

To Dien Bien Phu

To Tay Trang/ Lak May (Vietnam-Lao border)

Laos

Lak May to Muang Khoua

From here off the bike and onto a boat for some much needed rest.

Muang Khoua to Luang Prabang (boat)

To Pakse (boat)

To Muang Khong (bike, Cambodian Border.  Some conflicting info about crossing the border, if anyone has done it and can give some advice on ways to make easier I’m all ears, or eyes in this case)

Cambodia

Maps and details on Cambodia, especially by bike/road are hard to come by so a lot of this is going to have to be planned on arrival, but the rough outline is…

Lao-Cambodian border to Siem Reap

Siem Reap for a couple days biking around Ankor Wat

Siem Reap to Poipet/Aranyaprathet (Cambodian-Thai Border)

Thailand

Most likely going to try and catch a bus to Bangkok and try to find some factories that produce Thai boxing gear to arrange a shipment of gear to meet on my arrival in Australia.

This will also mark the first plane, fly from Bangkok to Ko Samui.

Ko Samui to the mainland ferry, to Si Chon

To Nakhon Si thammarat

To Pak Phanang

To Hua sai

To Songkhla

To Hat Yai

To Dan Nok (Malaysian Border)

Malaysia

Border to Alor Setar

To Sungai Petani

To Penang

Going to rest in Penang for a couple of days and plan to meet some friends to do a half-marathon.  Not sure if biking several thousand kilometers is a good way to prepare for a half-marathon, but that’s the way it will be.

I haven’t planned any farther than that.  I think I will have some time on my hands and a completely different idea of what I can do at that point.  If you find yourself heading toward any of those destinations, let me know, who knows, maybe we can cross paths somewhere along the way.

without a country

8/15/2012

stepping off the plane was the first time in the states in 3 years.  Of the last 5 years I have spent about 6 weeks in the states.  Now being ‘home’ feels strange, like a vistor to a place that should be my home.  I am not comfortable, not uncomfortable, but awkward.  Similar to Japan or Thailand, except that because I have command of the language and culture I shouldn’t feel that way.  It should be refreshing and easy to be back.  Instead it the feels of awkwardness builds on itself and makes me feel even stranger.  I keep telling myself I shouldn’t feel this way, this should be home, this should be the place that I want to be.  And because its not it feels even weirder. 

            I want to return home, to China.  But I am not Chinese.  I only need to walk outside and 1.3 billion people are quick to make that clear.  Nor would I want to be.  I am moving to Australia, but I am not Australian as the immigration is quick to point out.  He doesn’t even think that I would qualify for residency if I tried to apply.  Which I wont for now; because at $3,000 non-refundable, that would be a painful denial. 

            So now I will drift threw south Asia and try to land in Australia.  A large part of the feeling of home that China has for me is the community that I was graced to live in Zhengzhou China.  While a hole, in the dirtiest sense of the word, the people there are amazing.  And they would have to be because it is the only way that it could continue to bring foreigners from amazing places back year after year.  Along with some amazing Chinese people who made life there not only possible but awesome. 

            But Zhengzhou is not a place that I want to reside for the rest of my life.  I want to enjoy breathing the air, and that is something that I can do there.  So I moved on to Wuhan.  Never fell into a solid group there.  Maybe because I knew it was only for a year and didn’t want to try, maybe the people and I didn’t mesh, who knows.  Now that chapter has almost come to close as well.  And its time to drift, or pedal, through Asia.  Hopefully when I arrive in Australia I can fall into a community of liked minded fools to play.  If they can come close to the crew in Zhengzhou then it wont be half bad. 

So Big

America the beautiful… and fat

Adjectives that I have felt describe America/Americans:

Complacent, wasteful, indulgent, oversize (not just people, but everything; homes, cars, toys…it just keeps going), self-absorbed,

            As I look around I was expecting more culture shock than I have so far experienced.  The things that have jumped out at me have mostly been the prices.  Everyday things are so expensive.  You can buy a new tablet for $200 easy, but mesh-running shorts cost $30 or more.  Two full outfits are going to run me more than the newest high-tech setup.  The price structure of everything seems completely out of whack.

            Beyond that everyone is huge, women more so than men, but everyone is giant.  And not tall.  Portions are giant, cars are giant, homes are giant, asses are massive.  China has 1.3 billion to America’s 300 million plus, but I would be willing to bet pound for pound we could give China a run on population measured by either mass or volume.  It is really annoying to return to your home country and basically be shocked by most of what you see.   

Customs

08/07/2012

            Sitting in the Vancouver airport, I am getting ready for my first steps in the states in almost 3 years.  Tired but cant sleep, hungry but cant believe that a double whopper is $10.00 (Canadian, and I don’t know if that is more or less than a real dollar at the moment), I trying to see the differences.  And the first thing I see is its quieter.  I guess that hear, but everyone is in their own world.  Sitting with each other talking quietly or listening to music, its calm.  And fat.

            On the flight from Shanghai I watched a Canadian documentary about a man who spends his time watching grizzly bears.  At one point it showed several bears getting ready to retreat to their dens for the winter.  Fat to the point of bloated, they looked like a good fall and they might burst.  The weight is needed to survive months without eating.  Makes sense.  What I don’t understand is why so many women also appear to be preparing for winter hibernation, in the middle of summer.

            I know Chinese are smaller.  I have done enough debate classes quoting statistics on height and weight.  But after 3 years it would appear that everyone is sliding toward the plus side.  As I sit and write, the man sitting across from me is demonstrating the benefits of his girth, his stomach serves as a convenient table for his meal.  I guess the weight has its up-sides as well.  If American cultural exports and Chinese craving for all things western continue on their current path, maybe the Chinese can catch us in this metric as well.

            Wuhan Airport

            As I checked in for my flights in Wuhan (domestic, Wuhan to Shanghai) I was concerned they would give me a hassle over my baggage weight (46kg), but it wasn’t a problem.  I was worried (not really) that someone might notice the brownies in my bag had little something extra in them.  Instead the problem that I ran into (and there always has to be one) was with the knives in my checked luggage.

After checking bags and making through the security gates, I sat down to have some coffee and make use of the free Internet.  A few minutes later a security guard appeared with my bag asking if I had some knives inside and if he could see them.  After unpacking my bag I pulled out two large knives.  Apparently in Wuhan you cannot take knives on a plane, checked or otherwise.  Now I had to go to the security office.

One rule that has proved almost universally golden, make them operate in your language.  Even if you speak the language, I find that it puts you in better place if you make them speak English, but listen carefully.  So we started with the inevitable logic circle that always ends with “here is different”.  First it was “of course you cannot fly with these, what are you thinking?”

To which I responded, “the knives were bought in Nepal and flown with me back into China, so clearly it is possible to fly with them in checked luggage in China”.

“No, no, that can not be, you cannot fly with knives like this.”

“I cant take them on the plane, but it is possible to fly, as I have done it before.  Check the entry and exits on my passport, China-Nepal-China.  The knives were purchased in Nepal, how else would I have gotten them back?”

A few minutes of every security guard looking at the knives, taking them out of the scabbard (and not being able to put it back, each time I had to walk over and take it from them to put it back) and we arrived back at the beginning.  I started to get frustrated and asking them why Wuhan was so special that the rules were different here from other places.  This comment was translated to the group, there were about 8 guards in the room of which one or two spoke English.  But it was translated with some sarcasm, like “this foreigner says Wuhan is different from the rest of China…” at which point I cut her off and flipped into Chinese to make my point clear to the group.

“Clearly Wuhan is an exception, other cities have never given me a problem” said in Chinese.  At this point the group realized that I spoke Chinese and the side conversations quieted immediately.  Then came the completely useless options.

“Can I post them from here?”

“No, but you can call a friend to come to the airport to pick them up.”  That’s only a 200+RMB, 3-4 hour ordeal.  “You can take them home now,” flight leaves in 40 minutes. 

Finally, I gave up on trying to convince that it is legal to fly with pieces of shaped metal in your checked luggage and told them that I would be back at the airport in 3 weeks, could I pick them up on my return.  This was possible, although I am somewhat skeptical if they will still be there when I get back.  One of the things that concerned me was they kept referring to the knives as Minority Group Knives, or a knife that would belong to a minority, but the implication is a Chinese minority.  One, they were not purchased in China and two; in Nepal the people who use these are not the minority.  It’s the regional knife, their version of the machete.  Now I am wondering if someone is going to give me a headache about exporting Chinese cultural relics. 

The only rules in China I have found to apply universally are 1) logic does not apply, don’t bother trying to make a logic arguments, 2) its never their job and 3) the default is to do nothing, if you do nothing you cant be wrong.  And 4) its better to make an answer up that has no factual basis what so ever than admit that you don’t know.

With that framework in mind, it will be a miracle if the post office allows the knives to go into the mail.  After all, it’s dangerous to own knives.  And why would you want them anyway?  

Happy America Day

7/4/12

Happy America Day Everyone.  What a great day, especially when you are in China.  Today the police confiscated my motorbike.  Driving through the traffic circle I pass through daily to and from my house I was stopped for the second or third time, but apparently today would be different. 

            For the last couple weeks I have been wondering why there was flatbed loaded with motorbikes often parked at the intersection.  At first it seemed they were stopping motorbikes without plates, but never once did I see anyone actually in the process of being stopped.  Just a truck with 5 or 6 bikes loaded.  Second thought was they were abandoned bikes.  You seem them everywhere, although that didn’t make sense either as there couldn’t be that many abandoned bikes to be removed from the same place on a weekly basis.  But since they never bothered me I kept on going about my business and like many strange occurrences in China, I didn’t worry about it.

            Today there were a little more of a police presence than usual, but I had been driving through them for months, I figured they were regulating traffic.  And in a sense they were, but not what I was expecting.  Gasoline powered motorbikes (and maybe electric, not sure) are required to be licensed.  However, to my knowledge obtaining a license plate is difficult, if not impossible.  On top of that the retail shops will assure that it is not important and given the number of bikes without license plates I got the sense that was the case.  So, I bought my bike and proceeded to operate it in ignorant bliss. 

            Of course I had heard stories of other foreigners losing their bikes.  My friend this or I heard about x losing their bike, blah blah blah.  Apparently it does happen for real.  After being stopped I decided to go with the “I don’t speak Chinese” routine.  Sometimes it works, got me out of a traffic checkpoint in Nepal and a few times in other parts of China.  But not on America’s birthday.  I pretty much knew the process but thought I would play it out anyway and see if I would get lucky… nope.  After a brief phone call to a Chinese friend to get details on the process I was told that I could get the bike back if; 1) I get my US drivers license translated to Chinese, 2) get a motorbike license, 3) get license plates for Wuhan and maybe something more.  A few days before I had gotten a quote for the sale of my bike, 700-900 RMB.  The process to get it back, besides time, would most likely cost equal or greater than my expected sale price.  All in all, I could probably go by a new one for cheaper.  So fuck it.  5 weeks to the day, not that I’m counting, until I head back to the states.  I can get by on my bicycle.  Plus I have been telling myself that I need more saddle time to prepare for my trip.  What a golden opportunity.

            The one problem that I have with this is this policy, like others, actively encourages people to break the rules.  From applying concepts of learned needs theory, behavior modeling, and a look at the positive and negative reinforcement mechanisms at work in China, you are encouraged to break the rules. 

            Today I decided to stop at the checkpoint.  I most likely could have zigzagged past the cop and been on my way, I saw several other people do that and they got by scot-free.  Yet, beyond today’s particular experience, rules are regularly flaunted or ignored.  Routinely people smoke in front of non-smoking signs.  Traffic violations can be counted as infractions per minute when sitting at intersection. (The last time I did this I got to about 12-15 per minute.  Ranging from running red lights, turning left in no turn area, turning left from the right lane or vice versa, not to mention the almost obligatory blocking of an intersection at every change in the light).  Queuing to buy train tickets is foolish as everyone else will just walk in front of you and get theirs first.  Across the board you are practically required to break the rules if you want to get anything accomplished.  This applies to all people.  Police and government vehicles are regularly seen breaking traffic rules.  I was told by one person that one reason that traffic rules are not enforced is because the police and government officials can break them with impunity it could potentially cause social unrest to enforce the rules on the rest of society while the authorities are free to do as they please.

            Another recent example of encouraged rule breaking happened last week.  Several women (mothers/grandmothers) with their young children were at traffic light.  The light was red and sign said don’t walk.  The mothers proceeded to walk through, however, one child stopped.  He didn’t want to go.  He told his mother, the sign says no, and stood fast.  His mother, dragging him along, reassured him it was ok and to keep going.  A couple weeks before this I witnessed a serious motorbike on car, accident at this corner.  The driver of the motorbike was seriously hurt, and to me looked dead.  Now a couple of weeks later a mother is encouraging her child to ignore the same signal the motorist did.  I am sure that child will quickly learn to not be so foolish as to wait at red lights when he has places to go.

            The behaviors that Chinese people as a whole can acknowledge are detrimental are routinely encouraged, if not required, if you want to get anything done in a timely fashion.  One of the reasons people in the US get so outrage at police abuse of power is that they are the guardians, the examples of the law that others can look for proper behavior (at least while on duty).  In China, this is not the case.  People readily acknowledge that the police are just as guilty of rule breaking as everyone else.  It is the modus operandi.  While in the States I may feel that way, in China I can see it daily. 

            I can now say that I have had the lesson properly reinforced.  The next time the police ask me to stop I know I should keep going as fast as I can.   Get away, get away, get away and everything will be ok.  Because they just don’t care enough to pursue.  And tomorrow they probably wont care about whatever it was today.  Thank you China for that useful lesson in dealing with the PSB.  Happy birthday America.

Hot Rain

6/28/12

I didn’t know it was possible.  Just never experienced it before.  Somehow Wuhan has a way of getting hotter when it rains.  Torrential, buckets of rain for days at a time.  And when it starts the increase in humidity with the stillness of the air creates this sauna.  Everyone told me that Wuhan is hot.  One of the four furnaces of China.  No one said it pisses rain like a broken faucet at the same time.  I can do heat, that’s not that bad, if its dry.  But this humidity is getting rough and summer is just starting.  Also, as a bonus, because school is out for the summer, air conditioning in the school buildings has been turned off.  72 hours ago the office was an igloo safe house in the humid heat of Wuhan.  A nice weekend and the a/c is shutoff and now the office is sweltering sweat lodge. At rest and dripping sweat. 

            In the forecast is rain.  Weeklong thundershowers.  The rain comes and brings no relief from the heat.  Only compounds the horrible climate that is Wuhan, one of the four furnaces of China.

            My apartment however, does have air con.  And while the bill is climbing in stride with the heat index, it is wonderful.

            At work we are dealing with a high level of employee disquiet.  I think all people should do internships in the subjects that they study.  Being able to take and be thinking about organizational behavior while at the same time directly involved in a completely dysfunctional company, its great to be able to see things unfold alongside each other.  I can read something over breakfast and then consider how this or that theory would apply to the problem at hand.  Can even try things on the spot and see how they work.  Direct application of learning and concepts in real-time.  The Chinese students are almost totally deficient in the world of experience.  Noses pressed to the books from the moment they start school, but no work or life application, even from the texts, are encountered.  Until their post graduation world.  Companies want and need creative people, and yet the schools are not allowed to be creative.  And wouldn’t have the staff or the resources to do so if they wanted.

            Plans are coming together for my trip south.