Rock Star - Dashan

Apparently, being white and living in urban but not Beijing or Shanghai, China makes one a bit famous. Children rush to you on the street to say hi. Managers and officials introduce themselves. Your anonymity is gone.

This has been the experience of a friend of mine, Lucas, who recently moved from St. Louis to Liaoyang, China. A city with more than 10 million people, Liaoyang is larger than HK, but Lucas finds himself one of two white people living there, at least that he has seen. Working at a small university/vo-tech, is certainly having an interesting experience and one very different from our HK adventure.

Apparently, the most famous westerner in China is a man name Dashan. As a student in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, Dashan stayed unlike most westerners. This apparently cause Dashan to be catapulted into high regard by the Chinese government and now Dashan has made a career of being Dashan, China's white man. More information on his website:

http://www.dashan.com/

Lucas' students think he looks like Dashan, and he receives a smaller but similar rock star public reception. So, here I am with Liaoyang's Dashan. Lucas stopped over for the day in HK this weekend as he wraps up an 8-week vacation from school and heads back to Beijing and then home.

Take Care of Yourself so You Can Take Care of Those You Love

I've been going to yoga this week and loving it. It is such an amazing feeling. Sometimes I enjoy the tidbits of commentary and insight on life, like the title for this entry, but other times they make me want to scream. I decided to share this little bit of advice because it really resonnated with me when my yoga instructor said it. It's something I don't think I really realized until this last year, and everyday I realize more and more what a better friend and love one I am to those I care about when I take care of myself.

3 Pieces of Randomness

First, Hong Kong must have more delivery carts per capita than any other place in the world. I walked to the gym (about 3 blocks) and saw ten carts loaded with stuff. Each cart is about 2' by 4', metal, and built to fold flat. Very smart. Reminds me of another cool delivery invention I saw two days ago at the store. It was a Park 'n Shop (ironic that it's the biggest HK chain but no one drives) that was in the basement of a main street. At about 9pm, the delivery truck had arrive and the staff set up a massive chute to send packages flying down and thus to save their backs, though I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a 12 pack of coke on one of those things.



Second, I just made "silver" in the Marco Polo Club, Cathay Pacific's (HK airline we fly most) frequent flyer program. No longer "green", I will now get to go into the fancy dancy lounge that Eric raves about. It's a whole secret world of business travelers and the luxuries they use to stay sane on the road. I will report.

Lastly, I wanted to bring up sailors. From what that paper said another US ship is docking here for the weekend. These are big events in HK that happens a couple of times per year. Many US families that are involved in the formal expatriate community host sailors for dinner. What is more interesting to me though is how all of my friends with daughters talk of these docking sailors as all their parental concerns incarnate. You'd think they left the ship like a band of roving plunderers and that their daughters were powerless against them.

My Chinese Valentine?

It was a surreal Valentine's Day here in HK. Chinese Valentine's Day was the 13th and so we expected little hoopla on the 14th but were met with streets that were filled with flowers. We kept it low-key and enjoyed an evening at home.

Today though, our maid, Hua, put me on the path to meeting my Chinese valentine. We have a hard enough time talking about the shopping or cleaning, let alone things related to life partners. Eric and I were sure she understood we are gay, in a committed relationship, and well, I guess that is about it.

Here is a snip-it of my IM session with Eric describing the situation. A couple of comments are added in --.

Eric says:
what did she say exactly?
E.J. says:
I feel tramatized by the afternoon
E.J. says:
Well
E.J. says:
First off
E.J. says:
She got stuck in here yesterday
E.J. says:
Wednesday
E.J. says:
and the once a month the elevator shuts down
Eric says:
what does that mean, 'stuck'?
E.J. says:
No sign was posted -elevator maintenance can sometimes cause surprise-
Eric says:
ohhhh
E.J. says:
Yeah
E.J. says:
Freaked her out
E.J. says:
she had to have her friend explain to me on the phone
E.J. says:
she was so upset
Eric says:
ohhh no
E.J. says:
I showed her how to get out the back
E.J. says:
Lots of hand shaking
E.J. says:
In any case
Eric says:
oh god
E.J. says:
after 20minutes of that I get to work
Eric says:
I'd be tramatized too i think
E.J. says:
and she starts cleaning
E.J. says:
Then she grabs the trash from my office
E.J. says:
including Heidy's chocolate box -great little dark chocolate present from our friend and Eric's coworker Heidy-
E.J. says:
She grabs and points to the heart
E.J. says:
And after much thinking
E.J. says:
Says that she has a friend in Shenzen
E.J. says:
I am just like, great, she has a friend
E.J. says:
But there was obviously something else
E.J. says:
She says something about girlfriend and me?
E.J. says:
Who knows what is being communicated at this point!
E.J. says:
I just tried to get back to work
E.J. says:
but she kept going
E.J. says:
Boss...told her friend her boss really tall
E.J. says:
I think she may have said something about meeting but I am not sure
E.J. says:
And then she whips out her phone
E.J. says:
Picture of friend
E.J. says:
Picture it...
E.J. says:
Confident woman sitting with legs crossed, hair back, and cigarette hanging from her mouth!
E.J. says:
What was I supposed to say?!
E.J. says:
I said it was great she had a friend
E.J. says:
and put my headphones on
E.J. says:
AH!!!
Eric says:
Heidy doesn't understand how she coudln't know that we are a couple.
E.J. says:
I know!
Eric says:
I told her people thought we were brothers
E.J. says:
It is insane!
E.J. says:
It is a funny story but I don't want to offend.
E.J. says:
Maybe you and I can have a double date with your reporter friend and Hua's friend Maybe they are meant for each other.
Eric says:
LOLOLO
Eric says:
maybe the reporter friend IS her friend
Eric says:
even weirder!
E.J. says:
Well
Eric says:
very funny
E.J. says:
It is a funny story
Eric says:
yes...very
Eric says:
but I still want to know why I'm not good enough -There is a whole subplot here with Eric wanting to know why he didn't get set up by our maid. I've edited out most of that for simplicity but leave a bit here.-
Eric says:
maybe because you're taller.
E.J. says:
You need to look scruffy to match her friend -I am two days unshaven and wearing a t-shirt. Eric made fun of me at lunch.-
E.J. says:
Believe me
E.J. says:
If you saw the picture it was no complement
E.J. says:
I think you orchestrated it all to give me incentive to shave and look nice
E.J. says:
I don't mean to be rude
Eric says:
haha
Eric says:
ohh nooo
E.J. says:
the cigarette
E.J. says:
it haunts me
Eric says:
hahahaha
Eric says:
So, did you end with her understanding that you dind't want to be set up??
Eric says:
or is there a date planned that you don't know about
E.J. says:
Who knows?! We'll see if she brings it back up or I just have to avoid the aptartment everytime that she comes.

Another Comic Disaster?

The recent protests over the Danish comic depictions of Muhammad has been quite interesting and surreal to watch unfold. It still seems as if I am reading the Onion every time I open the paper to headlines like, "Virgin Sacrificed to Protest Danish Newspaper Etiquette." Add to that headlines about VP Cheney's shooting practices and it for sure is the Onion, or not...

But I did have a point or a story here from a friend, Terri, that I heard tonight and wanted to share. She and her husband just got back from a week in Istanbul and along with the great castle they stayed in, friends they saw, and rugs and towels they brought back, Terri and her husband were one ring away from potential political disaster. As curious people they were fascinated by the call to prayer that occurred several times a day in Turkey. Apparently it is an impressive chanting...rhythmic in many ways...so much so that Terri recorded it for her ring tone for her cell phone. Luckily, they thought better of actually using this little melody or releasing the tone online.

Saguaro

This week is my week of travel in the U.S. for work. It started in Tucson, where the following picture is from, and continues today in Champaign, Illinois.



The desert southwest struck me more than I was expecting. Combining the mild weather with the striking mountain-lined horizons creates a relaxing environment. I was surprised to find Tucson a much more laid-back college town that would be expected. The cactus that shares the stage with me here is a saguaro and is likely over a hundred years old.

"Eric and E.J.-"

"My intention was to write something deep this year, tying together the book I am reading about the Revolutionary War, my mother’s obsession with genealogy, the importance of preserving the written word, and making a New Year’s resolution to contact your legislator about something important to you in 2006. Alas, time has won the race this Christmas. If this should find you before December 25, Merry Christmas. If not, Happy New Year!"

I wanted to post the message from a card we got this year from a college friend of mine, Regina. It captured more clearly my feeling about the holiday season than I even knew was possible. Some great intentions have been fulfilled, many have not, and so 2006 begins.