Tag Archives: China

Prejudice in China

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China as well as many of the countries I have visited hold many prejudices.  It seems that Western countries, Australian included, are the only ones that want to change this ignorant, prejudice way of thinking. Most of these countries believe the darker your skin, the more you’re destined to do a labor job. As an example, if you go to Mexico, you will see the dark skinned Mexicans cleaning the rooms and doing the maintenance.

Now with this is mind I would like to say that I am an American.  I am white and at the time of this incident was in my early 50’s. I never believed I would be the victim of prejudice. The job I do in China requires me to give a 10-15 minute talk at the begging of each presentation.  During this talk, I show a very fast 3 minute movie. I always stand on the side of the room waiting for it to finish.

We had potted plants placed strategically around the room. On this particular day I noticed one of the pots was broke with sharp edges sticking out of it.  I didn’t give it much thought and at the end of the movie I walked to the front of the room. I must have unintentionally brushed the pot with my leg as I walked by. It was obviously cut. The question was how bad.  During the rest of the presentation I kept looking at the floor to see if  any blood was dripping from my leg.

After my talk, I walked to the back of the room and lifted up my pants leg.  The blood had filled my shoe and had completely saturated my talk.  My co workers watched and seemed to think it was much worse than I thought it was.

All of the companies I work for employ a translator for me.  These are usually young girls right out of university. They are basically on call 24 hours a day in case I have a problem or need their help.  Pretty nice set up for me as they would go with me to buy grocery’s, get my haircut, hail taxi’s and basically be my voice where I don’t speak or understand their language.

So my translator freaks out.  She has never seen someone cut and bleeding as bad as I was.   I called the boss and told him of my problem and we were off to the hospital. Now going to a Chinese hospital is a story all on its own.  There are no doctors offices as we know them in the West and there are always thousands of people there.  Se we sit and wait.  Me in my suit and my translator, whom I’m sure everyone thought was my girlfriend wherever we went, getting more anxious as the minutes went by.

It was finally my turn and we went into the office that specializes in stitching people up.  I’ve had many stitches during my life and knew it would take about 3-5 stitches to close this up and stop the bleeding. I pulled up my pant leg to show my wound and thought I was in luck because the doctor spoke English. I looked at him and said, it should only take a few stitches to which he said. “You need to go a different hospital, your a foreigner and I don’t help foreigners.”

My mouth must have dropped open a little as he turned away and went to another patient that was calmly waiting for him.  My translator started crying and yelling at the doctor.  “Does he have a different body than us?”  Etc. Etc.  I looked at him and said. “Why don’t you just sell me the U shaped needle and I can stitch it up my self?”  Cuts like that are usually numb after you cut them and stitching them up is not that painful.  The hardest part is making sure it doesn’t get infected and finding that U shaped needle.

The conversation between him and my translator continued and I sat there watching all of this as if I was in a dream.  “Well this could be worse”. I thought. “This could be the early 1900’s.  I could be black and living in America. And, I could be hung in a tree because of no other reason than my skin color.

I can’t imagine what black people went through during this horrible time in American history and I apologize for every ignorant white person that has ever lived.  I truly wish the racist’s of America could experience something like this. Maybe then they would understand how it feels to be judged and persecuted for nothing more than the color of your skin. Its even harder for me to imagine what black paople go through living in a foreign country.

I have many black friends living in China and feel very fortunate to have been able to meet them. I can’t imagine what they go through living in a Foreign country and have the utmost respect for their bravery and resilience.  They have told me stories and believe me, ignorance around skin color and people that don’t look like them runs rampant.

So anyway, the doctor must have had enough because he stood up and walked out the door. His assistant looked at my translator and said.  “I’ll do it for him but we have to do it fast before he comes back.  He is my boss and I could get into a lot of trouble if he finds out.  He took me into a back room and very carefully cleaned the wound and put in three stitches, smiling and sending me out the door.  I have never been so thankful for the kindness of another.  So yes my friends, prejudice is alive and well in China as well as in most countries around the world.  Fortunately for us, there are always non ignorant people that are there to help us during our time of need and restore our faith in humanity.

The purest ignorance found on our planet today is in the form of prejudice.

 

Beijing

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                                                                  The Birds Nest – Beijing, China

Beijing. Home to the great wall of China, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, the tombs of the Ming Dynasty rulers, and of course the “birds nest”. The birds nest is the name of the stadium used for the 2008 Summer Olympics.  Today it is used for so much more. Its Chinese New Year (also known as Spring Festival) and it is a beautiful time of the year.  The streets sparkle with different color lights and large red Chinese lamps. It seems a lot like Christmas in America.  One of the differences between Christmas and this holiday is that instead of giving toys to children, they are given red envelopes with money inside instead. The entire country enjoys a two week holiday. Its the largest human migration on earth as everyone goes home to see their family.

In order to get away from the crowds we decide this would be a good time of the year to visit Beijing. Unfortunately with the population being between 15 million to 22 million that can seem impossible to do.  Arriving in Beijing I notice it’s not like other cities in China.  Most cities in China are primarily skyscrapers in a small area with patches of smaller buildings and shopping malls.  Beijing is primarily smaller buildings with patches of sky scrappers.  The architecture of the buildings there as well as the buildings in all cities in china are worth the trip by themselves.  As we were there we made a video outside of the new CCTV (China Central television) building and you can view it here at “The Foreigner”.

We arrive in Beijing around 10 am and have time to check into the hotel. We make it to Tianenman Square but the Forbidden City isn’t open so we walk back to Wang Fu Jing to eat Duck at Quan Ju De. Wang Fu Jing is also known as walking street.  Its called this because cars are not allowed on this street. It gives the freedom to roam all the stores and attractions located there without waiting to cross the street. Quan Ju De is one of the most famous Duck restaurants in the world and is well worth the visit for the taste sensation.

It’s the 20th of January and it’s cold. The small shops and vendors with hats and gloves are a welcome luxury to have.  We’re coming from North China where it is cold as well. I’m glad we brought extra clothes, because it looks like we will be doing a lot of walking.  Tiananmen Square and Walking Street are bountiful with many photo taking opportunities. There are many statues and monuments as well as shops, giving an opportunity to take home some of the culture of China.

We book a tour of The Great Wall, the ming tombs and a few small shopping centers along the way. We are up at 6 am to reach the bus on time.  The night before was officially Chinese New Year. The skies filled with the sound of sporadic fireworks all night. The climax came at midnight. The skies lit up and sounds of explosions echoed non stop until the early hours of the morning.  Fireworks are legal in China and anyone can buy the big fireworks only available during an American Fourth of July show. The results can be seen in the following video “The Foreigner – Episode 3 – Fireworks”. 

I’m not feeling well when we get to the bus and I’ve been up sick  most of the night before. It’s a large bus and the seats are fairly comfortable so I relax and try to get some rest.  The tour guide stands up and starts talking in Chinese. I’m really in no mood to have my translator tell me what he’s saying for the next two hours. So I try to tune it out and look out the window to see the sights along the way.

The Great Wall is truly one of the great man made wonders on earth. But with the bus only stopping there for an hour and a half, there will be no time to climb to the top and take in as much of this magnificent creation as possible.  The terrain is mountainous. It reminds of my home in Colorado without the barren, snow capped mountain peaks. When we start climbing the wall, I decide its a good thing we don’t have time to make the climb. It’s steep with stairs of different width and different height, and can be treacherous especially on the way back down.

Its also colder than the day before. We make it a quarter of the way up, snap some photos and decide to go back down. We look at the wall scrawling up both sides of the valley we’re standing in and follow it to the summit of the mountain. From there it’s a drive by of the Ming Dynasty tombs. We then stop for some shopping and some lunch before going to the Ming Dynasty museum.

I think it is important to note here that having someone that speaks Chinese and English is truly essential. Without one there are many parts of the tour that will be impossible to understand, making it hard to get all the culture and history of the country.  There are many translators throughout China and the cost is reasonable. You will however have to pay for another ticket in any of the activities you do. Its a very small price to be able to communicate with the people that are in charge of your tour for the day.

While in the Ming Dynasty Museum there’s an opportunity to dress up as the King and Queen and have pictures taken.  It’s a long process putting on the costumes and waiting in line to get on the stage and sit in the “throne”. They allow you to take pictures with your camera as well as with their camera. You can purchase a book of the pictures they have taken of you and your loved ones. Or you can decline and be happy with the pictures on your camera or phone. Buy the book, It’s truly a souvenir that’s fun and worth the cost.

From there its time for more shopping.  I’ve always enjoyed the street vendor shopping experience more than the mall atmosphere. To me, one of the greatest parts of these tours is the little shopping area’s they take you to. Its amazing the interesting trinkets you can find there.  Finally and almost 12 hours after our journey began, we’re back in the room for a welcome rest.

The Forbidden City is where rulers from the ming dynasty thru the Qing Dynasty lived. Its a small, self sufficient city enclosed by high walls. The walls isolate it from the large city surrounding it. During ancient times, If you were to be seek council from the King, you would be led through the gates and into one of the many palaces.

It can take a full day to get through this very ancient and fascinating city. Even though they offer an audio tour in different languages, it would still be a more enjoyable visit by hiring one of the many local translators to accompany you.  With the over 5000 years of history this country has to offer, its also recommended to research the sites before arriving to get the full enjoyment from them.

On Walking Street, if you can find your way through the thin row of shops where they sell scorpions on a stick, starfish on a stick and other bugs and lizards on a stick, there is a great shop with an amazing artist.  For about 35 dollars (240 RMB) he will make a copy of your face to go on a doll you can take home with you. Don’t be to alarmed at all the people stopping to watch and look at you.  Its in the Chinese nature to be curious and anything a foreigner does is worth them watching.  There are tea shops that take the time to let you test the tea. It turns the buying process into a luxurious and expensive experience.  Another famous street in Beijing is Qian Men Street. The shopping there is amazing and the history is quite extensive.

There is so much to do in the city of Beijing.  Its clean, the people are friendly and spending time there can be a wonderland of learning and experiencing Chinese culture and the people that live here.  For more of this story you can watch the video of the city here:  ”The Foreigner – Episode 2 – Beijing.”

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Freedom

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I have been reading a lot of new from back home lately and have really been giving all of this freedom stuff and government structures a lot of thought lately.  For the record, I have lived in China for a year now.  The job that I do involves talking to approximately 20 Chinese couples a day and I work 6 days a week. This would equal approximately 6000 Chinese couples that I have had the opportunity to meet and get to know if only for short periods of time.   I am the only foreigner in the office where I work and have about 50 employees around me that are all Chinese.  I have my own personal translator in order to communicate with them.

The reason I  decided to write this is because I was reading a news article.  During a visit to China by Joe Biden the Chinese government felt it necessary to detain six Chinese farmers. It never said what Mister Biden could have done for them but someone didn’t want them to see him.  I love reading the comments on stories like this.  Keeps me abreast with the way American mentality is working and how Americans are thinking.  The majority of the comments seemed to play on the idea of, “damn communist’s, who do they think they are violating human rights in such a profane fashion?”

Meanwhile, yesterday I was reading about an American woman, who is a housewife. She, as well as two other passengers, were humiliated and brutally removed from a plane on the anniversary of 911. They were also detained and strip searched. It seems the two gentleman sitting with her, that she did not know, spent to much time in the bathroom.  Not sure what the strip search included but the thoughts of cavity search do come to mind.  Hope the BM was successful.

Again I love reading the comments and the theme of those were, “Yes, America the greatest country in the world!  Who the hell does this Arab, Jewish woman think she is flying on 9/11 and who the hell are these men to defile the sanctity of the “white bathrooms” on our planes?  They got what they deserved. If we treated all passengers like this maybe we could stem the tide of terrorism!” Others included:  “Well that’s what happens when you’re making sure we’re safe. An isolated incident such as this is bound to happen”.  So here’s the bad news. The news reported that fifty such incidents happened that day.  I wonder if you would say that if it happened to you.  Give it time and it could be.

What the hell is wrong with you people?  Has American propaganda really been that effective on you?  Do you really believe that Osama Bin Laden started his holy jihad against American believing that they could win on shear strength or do you believe that the plan was to exhaust America, just as anyone would do who is fighting a much bigger foe, and then use the egotism of the individual to drain all the power economic or otherwise from him in order to defeat him?

Did you ever see the movie where the aliens started the fear in a neighborhood and then sat back and watched as they went crazy and killed each other?  No, I don’t think that we have much to worry about from the Chinese, I think while we divert our attention to a country like the Chinese, the Taliban will see their opportunity and finally bring us to our knees.  Think their plan has been working?

So what are governments and what exactly makes them different?  Well in the simplest of forms, a government is nothing more than a business with many sub businesses paying the main business to keep it going.  We call this a tax system or protection.  So, while America is struggling with how to keep their business of 300 million employees operational and keep the bad elements out, China struggles with the same challenges only on a scale that is 5 times larger.  How do you do that?  Well America chooses to put the majority of its citizens in jail in order to isolate them and to give more revenue to the system, while making it impossible for them to find lucrative employment and puts a burden on the family.

China controls their people as well, but more in a protective way and it is evident in the fact that when you talk to someone you quickly find that a 30 year old in China is the equivalent of a 24 year old in America.  Is this a bad thing or is it actually a good thing to let them live the life of a child a little longer and keep them away from the bad elements of the world?  Unfortunately this is rapidly changing with the internet and the slow infuse of the western culture. Its evident the younger generation is embracing American culture. You can see it in the clothes they wear and the attitudes they have.

So what exactly are the freedoms we get to enjoy in America that the rest of the world doesn’t? If the truth be known, there are more freedoms in other countries than there are in America. However the ones that we as Americans seem to embrace the most are as follows.

1.  Freedom of speech.  Yes we can talk bad about our government if we choose, well unless you decide to threaten America or the president or an elected official.  Then see how much freedom of speech you have.

And while we are on this subject, have any of our leaders ever been tried for war crimes? Even if they killed thousands of innocent people in the quest for our freedom?  No but it does seem to be our favorite thing to do to other leaders.

Freedom of speech also gave us American media.  What I consider to be one of the biggest evils in the world today.  What started out as a way to keep the American people informed of the going ons in the world turned into a way of destroying anyone in the public eye we might be jealous of.  I don’t care what you did Tiger Woods. I still believe you’re one of the greatest athletes the world has ever known. With America pushing sex down your throat from cradle to grave, how in the world could you not be tempted?

And speaking of that, Freedom of speech does allow our children to access unlimited porn on the internet with a click of the button. It also allows movies like faces of death to be made so our children can be more and more immune to what the realities of these things are.  It teaches them that using four letter words after every statement is not only good but necessary.  And it teaches them that being a bad guy is not only cool and a way to be famous, but it has a great soundtrack to go with it.

2. The Right to bear arms.  “You can take my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hand”.   Well unless the government thinks your hoarding guns for the use of over throwing the system as we know it.  Can anyone say David Koresh? I have to admit, I have been around guns all of my life. It was nice to live in a country where we could kill birds and squirrels when we wanted.  It was a very interesting way to learn the dangers of such a powerful weapon. But that was a different time.  However, we would never have taken a gun to school or a mall or a restaurant. We never thought of becoming famous by opening fire on innocent people.

How many crimes like this occur a day in America?  Think of how many kids die when they find Dad’s loaded gun and it accidentally goes off?  How many drive by shootings occur every day in the major cities in America?  How many murders are committed from a gun  that’s stolen from a regular citizen? Or from any gun for that matter?  How many people die every day by standing in the wrong place at the wrong time? Yes the right to bear arms and defend ourselves is a wonderful thing.  Providing you’re taught how to use them and shown the damage they can inflict.  Without this knowledge, and most Americans don’t have it, it makes America one of the most dangerous places in the world to live.

3. Freedom of Religion.  Now this one I do agree with but it goes for all religions.  I don’t know if any one has lived in a Muslim community or known many Muslim people, but they are actually very good people. They have more commitment to their faith than most westerners have to anything.  Let’s face it; there are radical Christians that kill in the name of Jesus just as there are radical Muslims that kill in the name of Allah.  Just because someone is Muslim it doesn’t mean they are Taliban or bad people!  And just for the record you can find Buddhist temples, Muslim temples, and Christian churches in China as well as Thailand, Mexico and pretty much any where you go.

4. A government by the people for the people of the people.  Two words.  Not Happening.

5. All men are created equal.  To steal a line from Charlton Heston in the planet of the apes. “It seems some men are created more equal than others!”

Any others you can think of that you don’t have in the rest of the world?  Not really, and these are the ones that they talk about when they say “we are fighting this war and killing our children for your freedoms.”

Well I really wanted to talk more about China and of Thailand and other countries here but it seems that my space is up for this blog.  Three pages is all that I will allow myself.  So I will try to do a part two to this as soon as I can so keep an eye open for Freedom Part 2.  In the mean time, check out all you need to know about Timeshare and the timeshare industry at www.timeshareadvisor.net

More Aliens

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So after my post last week I started wondering. Could this all be my imagination?  Was I just seeing things that weren’t there?  Was my mind just playing tricks on me?

Then I was walking to work.  Still in Shanghai.  Still walking down Dalian Road. When I found this.  Almost as if it was placed there by extraterrestrial beings to let me know that what I thought was real.

At first glimpse it looks like a building.  Possibly a muslim temple, possibly a grand mansion.  Of this one can not be certain.  If you look up to the right you will see what appears to be a sun shining down upon the structure.  But what is that above it?  A while light with a red dot in the middle of it.  Could that be an alien space craft?  Could it be a sign that ancient aliens did visit this street and explain to these people how to build the metal door that would raise and lower at there will?  Possible leading to a portal that would bring them back and forth to their home planet?

I say yes.  After all, only extraterrestrial beings could have such an advanced knowledge on how to cover a whole in a building.  Only a sophisticated being could do it with such class.  Ancient aliens could use such an advanced material as a metal that rolls up.  Only they would know how to cover an entrance with something that is obviously so easy to allow access in and out only when the owner was there and ready for customers to come in.

Thank you again “Ancient Aliens” for giving me the tools I need to recognize the signs of extraterrestrial beings that have visited us for the past thousand if not hundreds of thousands of years.

 

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Shanghai Aliens

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This is a picture from Shanghai, China.  It is from Dalian Road. I walked this road every day for over a year to get from my home to work.  I never paid it much attention until tonight.  The moon was full and something just seemed different to me.  If you look closely, you will see the campers on the bottom looking like they are building a fire.  The little girl seems to be adding stick to the soon to be fire while the boy lays on his stomach watching her.

But what is that above them?  At first I thought it was just a guy picking up trash. But upon closer investigation, you can see what appears to be air tanks on his back.  There’s a hose coming from the air hoses and it appears that he is wearing a helmet and some kind of suit. It looks very similar to a modern day astronaut.  But why is it in a picture of two campers?

I believe its a message.  A message that is trying to tell us that Ancient aliens came down on this very spot to tech these people the proper way to build a rolling metal wall.  A wall that can move up and down, possibly concealing a portal to their home planet.

I believe this can be considered proof that the theories the television show “Ancient Aliens” proposes is indeed true. Aliens did in fact come to our planet giving us every idea and every scientific discovery ever invented. We all know it is impossible for the human race to come up with any of the ideas we have without first being taught by a group of aliens.

Thank you “Ancient Aliens” for bringing this, one of our greatest secrets of our history to light and allowing me to give the proof that we all needed.