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From a Proud Feminazi!
It’s the 21st century but in Saudi Arabia women are still not allowed to drive. In Taliban run Afghanistan women are not allowed to read, walk down the street unaccompanied by a male, and in danger of being stoned to death if they show so much as an inch of skin. And in many parts of Africa, a woman can become the head of her township, village and even her country - but if the male janitor wants her she’s his for the taking.
Discrimination against women in the USA, which we believed we had overcome, is again rearing its ugly head, this time in the form of powerful men trying to deny women access to, of all things, contraception! Calling a woman a ‘slut’ because she wants access to contraception is unacceptable. I’m a proud ‘feminazi’ (the term coined by an American talk-show host - you know who I’m talking about) and I call on all my fellow Feminazi’s to UNITE! Think these idiot men are powerful? Let’s show them what women power looks like and take this fool off the air!
Help for Victims of Sexual Abuse
A friend of mine, who’s in her 40’s now, is a survivor of years of sexual abuse and other forms of torture, starting when she was an infant. It’s painful to hear her story, though the pain is mitigated somewhat by the fact that she is a true survivor, has a happy and functional life, friends, professional success, etc. That, in itself, is miraculous.
But what is equally compelling about her story is that until she became financially successful enough to afford private therapy, she was unable to find any freecounseling or other resources to help victims like herself. In the era of Google, why are these kinds of resources so hard to find? Isn’t there something wrong with this picture?
My friend wants to start an online (free) counseling site for victims of sexual abuse. Would you support her efforts? Let me know and I’ll pass it on to her…
Chinese Medicine
Long before I ever thought of going to China to teach, I was an advocate of Traditional Chinese medicine and went to the same Chinese herbalist/acupuncturist in NYC for over 20 years. Short of treating broken bones and other trauma that might result from an accident, I would always choose TCM, in which I believe strongly because it doesn’t pollute the body with drugs that, while treating an illness, end up seriously weakening the body’s immune system and liver. I’ve been fortunate, though, having suffered nothing more serious than some annual sinus and bronchial infections which, thanks to Dr. Fu, were always cured without my having to resort to the use of antibiotics.
I got sick with both of these conditions while in China, but finding a traditional practitioner turned out to be a far greater challenge than it had ever been in NYC. Everybody in my part of China was into western medicine, and I’d also been warned repeatedly to never, ever - no matter what - let someone take me to a hospital. I did eventually find a doctor who practiced both methods, and his herbal remedies brought relief from my respiratory issues.
BTW - in China antibiotics are available OTC, no prescription needed.
The Chinese Don’t Want American Citizenship?
Is it really so surprising that the Chinese are questioning the value of obtaining American citizenship? Given that the American dream is perceived as no longer viable even for natural born citizens, that China’s economy is flourishing while ours is floundering, that our high unemployment figures make it less than feasible to come here to find a better life, why would they want to become citizens?
A lot of well traveled Americans will be the first to tell you that we’ve been brainwashed to believe that nobody else on earth has it as good as we do. In fact, the richest nation on the planet doesn’t provide free health care for its citizens, is currently rated at something like #24 in literacy and somewhere close to that in infant mortality rates. Plenty of less developed and not nearly as wealthy nations offer their citizens a lot more to feel good about.
All of which is not to say that American citizenship is something to eschew. On the contrary, while we have a lot of work to do to make things better, I actually wouldn’t trade my American citizenship for all the tea in China…
Mah-Jongg
Just how did the Chinese game of Mah-Jongg become so popular with Jewish women in the US? If you search the web you’ll find different theories, such as that the immigrant Jewish and Chinese communities were in such close proximity on New York City’s Lower East Side during the 1920’s (the height of the game’s popularity) that it was inevitable, but nobody really knows for sure. I remember childhood summers spent in the Catskills where all the elderly (to me anyway) Jewish ladies played the game incessantly.
But, really, who cares? There are other equally - if not more - pressing questions about the state of the human condition. Like why is it that on any given Sunday afternoon pretty much all of NYC’s Jewish population can be found in one of the city’s too-numerous-to-count Chinese restaurants? Or why is Mah-Jongg more popular with women than with men? And how come both Chinese and Jewish women are smart enough to sit comfortably in chairs around a table when they play, as opposed to the men in China who prefer to squat around street corners playing cards or engaging in other male bonding rituals?
Are women simply smarter than men? Don’t ask me - my answer will get me into trouble with the men of both cultures…
Response to blogger Digital Laowai
Recently, blogger Digital Laowai had some harsh words for my recent post “More About Food In China.” I wanted to take some time to respond.
Thank you for your response to my blog-I am flattered that you would take the time to read and respond to what I write, but I feel like I should clarify a bit because I certainly had no intention of implying the judgment you have apparently inferred. As you yourself point out, you lived in Hong Kong, and you currently live in Shanghai. Both are highly westernized cities, which have catered to foreigners for generations. In contrast, I was in the very young, still sequestered, provincial town of Xiaolan in the Guangdong Province, and my experiences would have been very different from yours.
In Xiaolan, dog, cat and snake meat are widely available everywhere meat is sold: in restaurants, in specialty and butcher shops, and in the many large, modern supermarkets. My noting the fact was merely an observation, and my purpose in writing my observations down is to share with others who might choose to travel to China and could be as surprised by some Chinese traditions and practices as I was. I remember how much easier it was to face the sight of little bunny rabbit carcasses hanging in butcher shop windows because I had read about them before I ever traveled to Paris. Wouldn’t you agree that foreknowledge enables understanding?
Learning Chinese
Photo by Eric O’Connell
Back when I was a kid, learning a foreign language in school became an option in middle school, with Spanish and French being the most popular choices in most public schools around the country. I certainly hope the schools have evolved since then and are teaching Mandarin today (although I have a feeling that’s wishful thinking.) I know that in China kids are starting English instruction in primary school.
With all the chatter among politicians these days about winning the future and preparing American kids to compete in the 21st century job market, shouldn’t learning Mandarin be a priority in American schools? If it is a priority, think about how many important new jobs would also be created! This seems like a no brainer to me. Hey Washington, I’m talking to you. Is anybody listening?
Queue Jumpers
Some people in China have no use for waiting their turn when there’s a line. They will boldly push aside the person at the front of the line and take that person’s place, or, if there’s the smallest inch of space between two people waiting in line they’ll just squeeze themselves into that space.
What’s particularly strange to the western observer (especially one from NYC!) is that nobody objects or complains when this happens; people act as if it didn’t happen and simply ignore it.
I never ignored it. When someone jumped in front of me in a line I shouted out a very loud, “HEY!” The guilty interloper immediately jumped to the back of the line, where they belonged. So fear not and demand your rights without fear of retribution by the dreaded “queue jumpers.”
More about Food in China
Photo by Zoebuck from Travelpod.com
I’ve blogged about the fact that Chinese food in China is different from what you’ve become accustomed to to eating in Chinese restaurants from New York City to San Francisco to Rome, London, Paris or Juneau, Alaska. As foodies in different countries around the world have their favorite treats, so do the Chinese.
As popular as French Fries are in the USA, for example, chicken feet are what people crave in China. Other very popular dishes include pig intestines, dog, cat and snake meat. But few restaurants have menus written in English so if you’re squeamish be sure you go out to eat with someone who can speak/read Chinese.
But if absolutely must have your fries or pizza or fried chicken don’t worry. American fast food is widely available wherever you go, including McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut.
The True Meaning of Saving Face
Watched 20/20 last night; Barbara Walters reporting on the latest and greatest advances in cosmetic rejuvenation techniques, none of which can be characterized as cheap (or even affordable for most of us). Despite all the warnings about the state of dentistry in China (from the Dark Ages)I managed to find a competent dentist and had work done there that cost me just a few hundred $$$ and which would have cost thousands in the US. Luckily it worked out well. Should I also have risked having something cosmetic done to my face while in China?
During the time I lived in Xiaolan, several new businesses, which seemed to offer cosmetic enhancements like peels and fillers, opened up around town, and I have to say I was tempted to go in and have something done. But I got scared. There were dentists in the town who didn’t sterilize their tools, and I didn’t know what the deal was in these medi-spas and so declined to find out. But now, as I scrutinize every wrinkle, bag and sag, I wonder. Should I or shouldn’t I have done it? Is the lure of youth and beauty so seductive that it’s worth taking a risk like that? I still don’t really know. What do you think?
