Life.

At this point, everything in China is still so new to me, so I have a lot to write about. I have been thinking about a few things, so here they are. For those who do not yet know, I cannot post pictures on here from China because I am going on Blogspot illegally since it is blocked, and it won't let me upload anything.
I wanted to mention the One Child Policy that is in tact in China. I don't know if many people are familiar with the logistics, because I myself am not, but I will mention what I think is worth knowing. In every province of China, the rules can be different. A province here is similar to a state in the US. I don't think I fully realize exactly how LARGE China really is, and how many people actually live here. Anyway, in some provinces, if a family has a girl first, they are allowed to have another baby. By allowed, I mean that they do not have to pay extra taxes for having a second child and the child can go to public schools just like the first child can, without making the parents pay extra. If your family works for the government, most of the time, you are not allowed to have 2 children...that would set a bad example. So, it seems as if it is to a family's disadvantage to have 2 children if they are living an average Chinese lifestyle, because the costs of having that second child are VERY HIGH. Imagine having to pay extra taxes and fees, in addition to schooling costs for your child at a private school. Families don't necessarily want to have more than one child because mothers want to go back to work. The Chinese are VERY driven and motivated. Also, in the case of twins, the family does not have to pay extra for one of the children, they have everything provided just like they would if they were the only child. I heard that in Beijing, they are lifting some Once Child Policies because the city is growing, and there are not many people to keep up with the growth. China as a country itself if growing so quickly, and that is not something we can imagine unless you come here and see it for yourself. One building will be tattered and falling apart, while next to it you see a skyscraper all lit up at night! The town I live in is VERY small, but a short bus ride away you find a mall with Western goods, and it's amazing that such two different...worlds, can be in such a close vicinity to each other. China gets more and more amazing as the days pass by. I would also like to mention that there really is no "Chinese food". In the US we think we're eating Chinese food, but we are actually eating food from many different provinces in China. Some provinces eat a lot of spicy food, some eat a lot of seafood, some eat a lot of noodles, most eat a lot of rice...some drink tea and have traditions to do with when to drink tea...but it all depends on the province, it's not just a "Chinese" thing. On the subject of children, I want to mention that the government has strict laws on abandoning children and mistreating them. Sometimes you hear how Chinese adoption places have a ton of kids living in one area, and other gory sites, but that is VERY illegal here, and someone could be highly punished for doing things like this, although we all know, not everyone follows the law to a T.

China also differs when it comes to the weather. Where I live, in the Guangdong province, we have a monsoon season that is coming up. It lasts from May to around September. That means that on many days, the water level will be above a foot. The monsoon comes from East Africa and reaches parts of southern China. Right now, it feels like summer outside. The temperature was around 85 degrees yessterday, but tomorrow it will drop down to 50 something degrees. In the north, the winters actually have snow, while here they do not. I walk around by palm trees and I think "This is not how I pictured China", but that is because when we see China, we think of Beijing or Shanghai, which are in the north. We also don't think that China has an island south of my province, called Hainan, that is a tropical island, which is similar to what we think of when we think of places such as Fiji. So when we think of "China", we should really think deeper as to what province we are thinking about, and where it is geographically located. We don't think of Africa, but we think Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Somalia, Egypt...they are all different countries, and although not quite this different, the Chinese provinces DO differ greatly. (Let me just mention that people should stop referring to Africa as a country, because it has MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, and to say that these cultures and governments are the same is such an ignorant and incompetent statement...it's unfortunate that I even have to mention this)

On a lighter note, Chinese drivers. I have been meaning to write about Chinese drivers for a while now...but keep forgetting to. People here do not follow rules of the road. They do not use turn signals, they honk all the time so people can see them coming, they just...ugh it's really just frustrating. When people merge they disregard anyone around them. It's each driver for himself. When ambulances drive by, don't even expect anyone to slow down, or when the light is red, don't bother crossing because most likely there will be at least 3 cars using the wrong lane just so they can get somewhere quicker while some cars are at the red stop light. There are no yield or stop signs either...

I was asked to come up with an English name for my co-workers' son. I thought about it and the name that popped into my head was Joshua. I'm not sure why, but the kid looks like a little Josh, so I told her that should be his name. For us it's easy to come up with a name, but the Chinese actually think of names that mean and signify something, such as powerful, mighty, gentle, beautiful... and the family name (last name) comes first and the given name (first name) is actually second. So many times, when I send or sent e-mails, people would think my name was Szara, and last name was Agnieszka. Now I have to come up with another name for my other coworker's son, and I am leaning toward Maxwell...he looks like a Max, or maybe a Mark. My supervisor is thinking of a name to give me, a real one that could be a Chinese name, not "I love my country". I didn't even bother to tell her I kinda have a Chinese name...we'll see what she comes up with.

The last couple of things I want to mention are that I am getting good at Badminton. This is the sport everyone here plays... second, that I have a break from 11 30AM to 1PM, and for 20 minutes or so, I eat lunch. Well on my first full day here, I saw someone sleeping at their desk...I thought that maybe they just fell asleep during the break, but actually, many people here sleep during their break, and they rest. In a back room, there are 4 cots that I'm assuming people use to take naps in when they are sleepy and have time. I like this Chinese tradition, because who doesn't love naps in the middle of a work day?

To draw on something I said before, I was reading BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8546183.stm) and think this is an interesting article about skin whitening in India...the culture of white skin is very similar in China. Here, anyone that is not Asian and has non-Asian eyes, fits the "American beauty" mold. Interestingly so, in the US people think I look exotic, especially in the summer when I am really tan. They think I'm Italian, part Greek, some kind of Latin, and I have been asked if I was half black before...but here in China, I am just considered just white and American...and in reality, I am not even American...I was born in another country, I just happen to have an American passport here. So I fit the mold of what they think is beautiful and enchanting, while in the US, I do not even really look like the average American. Beauty is a fascinating subject, and more specifically, what different countries (and different people AND cultures) think is beautiful.