On the Fringe

AP Photo

Algae Woes Hit China’s Olympic Sailing Host City
Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press
30 June 2008

To host the Olympic sailing events, the Chinese port city of Qingdao moved a massive boat yard, relocated industries and spent about $850 million on transport links, parks, pollution controls and coastal green belts.

But with little more than a month to go until the Games, a different challenge is cropping up: A forest of blue-green algae is choking the coastal waters, suffocating beaches and lying in thick layers along sailing routes.

My sister-in-law related this news story to me yesterday evening. She was reading news on her laptop and casually mentioned it to me. I replied, “I bet they’ll just deploy a few thousand local workers to pluck the algae from the water by hand.” She laughed, not really believing me. Then she read the rest of the story:

City officials say they’ll need at least two weeks to clear coastal waters, mobilizing 10,000 workers aboard 1,000 boats. It wasn’t clear how they planned to block other algae from drifting in.

That’s just the way things get done in China. Need a mountain moved to make way for an industrial park? No problem, we’ll get a few thousand migrant workers out there with shovels. Manpower is never an issue.

I live in Shandong Province, where Qingdao is located. We’re about three hours south. Qingdao is actually a very nice city. I have never seen algal blooms there before. While I’m not crazy about the idea of entering any body of water in China, Qingdao does have nice beaches for strolling and people-watching. The seaside is lined with big, colonial style houses, some of which have been converted into hotels and cafes. Qingdao is home to Tsing Tao beer - one of China’s best exports and our local favorite. The Germans occupied the city and left an indelible mark - both on the beer and the architecture. I had thought that the sailing events in Qingdao, with its relatively clean air and water, would have been a highlight of the games. Hmmm. Not so sure now. I do hope, however, that the problem can be resolved.

Woohoo Spain! They’ve won the 2008 Euro Championship!

The game was held in Vienna against the team from Germany (the favorite to win). Spain hasn’t seen a victory in the Euro Championship (or any international football competition) since 1964. It would have been an amazing match to watch in our neighborhood pub in Avilés!

From The Guardian

Shopping street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong 2008

All travel has its advantages.
If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn
to improve his own.  And if fortune carries him to worse,
he may learn to enjoy it.
— Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Meet Fred, my new traveling companion.
And please don’t ask me to explain!

The trail is where?
Semi-wild elephant in the hills north of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Roof lines at Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai

More Thailand photos at SmugMug. More Wordless Wednesday here.

Convenience and efficiency, hands down. It is just easy to get things done in this country, with an absolute minimum of hassle.

Today, as I was driving around Tulsa, I saw a small, hand painted sign in front of a house. “Rabbits & Notary” it read. See, that is exactly what I am talking about. Multi-service. You need rabbits and you need a notary? You can find that here, and so much more.

Okay, so this is really gross, but I’ve been trying to think of ways that the US surprises me, or how it is dramatically different from China, and I have to admit that ever since I got here, I’ve kind of been freaked out about what to do with the toilet paper… See, in China, you absolutely cannot toss it down the commode, and you always have to have an ample supply with you. It is astonishing to me that so many public bathrooms here just give it away! And you can just flush it!

I love sanitation!

Yep, that’s me, right there next to the Journal of Perinatology. For the past few weeks and for a few weeks more, I am completing an internship at the University of Oklahoma Library in Tulsa. The internship is required for my MLS degree from Texas Woman’s University (except they actually call it a practicum, which hurts my ears.)

The University of Oklahoma in Tulsa is very small and the library supports programs which mainly focus on the health sciences - nursing, pharmacy, medical school. In fact, they have started a new school there, the school of community medicine, which is the only one of its kind in the US. The school’s vision is to train future doctors in the health needs of the community - particularly the poor and under-served, with a strong social justice slant. They already provide free medical clinics throughout the north of Tulsa and in elementary schools. Here is a shocking statistic for you - there is a fifteen year discrepancy in life expectancy between north and south Tulsa - one reason for the new focus. I chose Tulsa mainly because I could stay with my brother and his family for a month and because the library has the health science focus, but I was very pleased to find such a warm and welcoming library and a school with a philosophy I totally embrace.

I know very little about Tulsa. The other day I was browsing in a Barnes & Noble bookstore close to school when a guy approached me and asked if I could recommend a restaurant nearby, he was from out of town and was looking for a place to go. The only restaurant I could recommend was the campus cafeteria. Compared to Linyi, this is practically a village, with less than a million people.

It’s a friendly place, and I have to admit that even though I grew up in the South, I feel a little bit weird when total strangers are so nice to me. Everyone is full of friendly greetings and it’s all”thanks” and “hello!” and “have a great day” everywhere I go. I’ve gotten used to a different kind of “Hello!” in China. And I often forget that store clerks and people around me can freely communicate with me. I am no longer in a language bubble! I can ask any kind of question I want! It’s crazy.

I’ve been busy! You know, doing stuff like:

• Watching TV - Actually, more like feeling overwhelmed by the 400+ channels everyone gets these days, still, there’s nothing much on any of them.

• Visiting grocery stores - I’ve been doing this much like normal people visit museums. Whole Foods market is beautiful! HEB (Texas grocery store) has an entire aisle devoted to cheese. I find myself at times shocked, repulsed, amazed, impressed and jealous. This truly is the land of the giant PX. (Purchasing exchange, the military’s Wal-Mart, found on all military bases.)

• Going to movies at movie theaters - Much better than watching those pirated DVDs filmed in theaters and much better than Chinese movie theaters. At least in Linyi, Chinese movie theaters are very loud since everyone talks and carries on cell phone conversations. (Movies seen: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones, Sex and the City, Kung Fu Panda)

• Shopping - Not unlike China, there is a shopping opportunity around every corner here. The difference is, I keep exclaiming with joy and recognition at every corner. It is nice being able to browse and try on clothes without a crowd of Chinese shopgirls watching my every move and giggling.

I have not experienced full on culture shock, but I do feel surprised a lot by things I see. I realize how much pop culture I’ve missed out on over the last few years. (And music! I just don’t have a clue who anyone on the radio is.)

A few things I’ve noticed:

Everything really is bigger in Texas - cars, people, food portions… Maybe this will change with gas at nearly $4 a gallon, but there sure are a lot of SUVs and trucks in Texas and Oklahoma. I’m not shocked by the newness of all the cars, like I was after returning from Costa Rica in 2001, there are a lot of new cars in China, too. It is the size that surprises me.

Excessive seems to be a theme here… The smallest drink available at a fast food restaurant is the large size at McDonald’s in China.

Watching a channel called HGTV - Home and Garden Television - one could easily believe that Americans are completely obsessed with their homes. They probably are, but I have to admit I LOVE the comfort and convenience of the American home. It’s a change from the starkness and utilitarianism of our home in China. (My belongings pretty much fit into two suitcases.)

Traffic rules here are not just considered suggestions, as they are in Linyi. I feel fully confident driving, although I have noticed I am maniacal about looking both ways - multiple times - before entering a road or crossing one as a pedestrian. I’m often amazed that there are no cars coming straight at me, traveling the wrong way down the road and the fact that there are so few pedestrians, bicyclists and absolutely no tricycle cabs.

And perhaps my favorite thing about being here right now - looking at the sky. My sister-in-law thinks I am a freak because I regularly comment on the state of the heavens. “Hey! I can’t look directly at the sun! Wow! Look at those individual fluffy white clouds against a backdrop of pure blue! OMG! Where is the pollution ring!?” There are even stars visible at night. It’s a beautiful thing.

One month down, one more to go.

I’m back home at my parent’s house, staying in what was once my bedroom. The teen idol posters have been replaced with family photos, my old brass single bed with a queen full of pillows. Even the carpet has changed. I hardly recognize it.

As I drift to sleep with my head on one of the uncharacteristically fluffy pillows, I feel the familiar light shaking of the walls and I listen to the distant rumble of the train cars, loaded with coal, being dumped onto a massive pile, where they will eventually be scooped up and converted to electricity at the nearby power plant. It is a sound I have listened to off and on for 20 years. My family has grown accustomed to the way the plates in the kitchen cabinets sometimes rattle, the noise that no longer makes us check the sky for thunder clouds. In a way it is a comforting sound, the way that an approaching snowstorm can make you feel all cozy and warm when you are safe indoors with a cup of something hot.

Yet tonight, as I try to fall asleep, it is a different rumble I am thinking of, that of the earthquake that has wreaked such devastation on the Sichuan countryside, half a world away. I have finally heard from my friend Ivy, who lives just outside the capital city of Chengdu. Fortunately, she and her family are safe, although they’ve been forced to relocate their home outdoors out of fear of the frequent small earthquakes and aftershocks hitting the province. She was at work when the big quake struck, on the 7th floor of an office tower. The shaking nearly threw her from the window, but she was able to make it out and home to be with her parents and dog.

The quake has not left her untouched, however. In her words:

These days, when I listened to the radio, and watched the tv programmes, I shall cry. There are lots of people that I know, they were buried in the buildings, till now we still can’t find them, we don’t know whether they are still alive. Sometimes, I even feel that I am still in a nightmare, but the sound of helicopters as well as the ambulance always remind me all these are true.

This is the biggest disaster since our China is set up. The number of the dead people announced by our government is not true, the real one is much much bigger than that. You can’t imagine, when you walk in a city, all you can smell is the dead body, the dirty water, the chemicals from the factory, when you walk around, you can find dead body everywhere…

thinking of this, i shall cry.

I am posting her words here because they are so honest, true and heartbreaking. We all shall cry. From the other side of the world, all I can do is send out positive thoughts and hope for miracles in the ongoing rescue efforts. My thoughts are with you, Ivy and I am so sad for China today.