I don't want to go home...

The final day in Macau was quite simple. I basically went on another food tour, and checked out all of the things that I had missed. I had completely overlooked the fact that I didn’t go to Macau tower, and went to the top in the evening. The city was gorgeous at night, and you could see each island defined by its lights. I got a good view of the prettiest church in Macau, and stood near the bungee jump platform. It was a nice relaxing finish to an awesome trip.

The food needs some attention, as it was out of this world. The day began with a little hole in the wall place where people grab a hearty and quick lunch. I like these places, because they are often frequented with manual laborers, and with hard work comes hard food. This assumption has never worked better than for this place. I ordered the “usual”, and a steaming plate of crap was placed in front of me. It was a pile of spaghetti, with a hotdog, a pork chop, steamed ham, deep fried ham, fried chicken, and an egg on top. On the side was a piece of French toast with butter and honey. Apparently, this was as Macanese as you could get, and I was eager for an explanation. I didn’t get one, but I did enjoy this delicious meal. It was top notch delicious, despite the description and appearance, and it’s just one of those things that you gotta try to understand, despite it’s rather humble ingredients.

The next place we went was a Macanese restaurant with a bit more pizzazz. I was eager to try this place, as it was quite famous. We all went out with Vivi’s Cantonese friends, and that meant that although I couldn’t participate in conversation, I could give the amazing food all of my attention. We started with some beef carpaccio. It’s basically raw beef marinated in balsamic vinaigrette and a hundred other spices. You scoop it onto some homemade garlic bread, and enjoy. It is by far, one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted. The Cantonese girls were reluctant to try it, but judging by my reaction, they couldn’t hold back. It was gobbled down in a heartbeat. The following dish was a Macanese specialty. It was king prawns in a sauce salted eggs, cheese, milk and garlic. I wouldn’t say no to seconds of that either. The next dish was a fine plate of stewed chili crabs in onions and potatoes. It was nice as well, and at this point I began to feel like a king. Despite it’s humble appearance, the next dish was incredible. This normal plate of clams was simmered in a lemon alcohol, and a vinegar, garlic, and citrus sauce. They were so fresh, and some of them had bits of black sand inside, which proved they were from the black beach just down the road. I didn’t get a picture of the salad, but it was incredible, and had duck and abalone in it. The final dish was a rice paella with all kinds of fresh sea food in it. It was a good, clean palate cleanser. I was stuffed, and after 3 Portuguese beers, I was quite sleepy as well.

I guess her friends were still hungry, so afterwards, we went to the ol’ cow organ meat shop. I didn’t partake.
My trip to Macau is not going to be forgotten. I know I sounded like a travel commercial in these last few posts, but let me tell you, this place is incredible. I really recommend that on any trip to Asia, Macau is not overlooked. I have had a whale of a time here, and I will be back at least once more before I leave. Awesome…

Macau tower

Delicious crap plate with soy milk!

Crap plate

Beef carpaccio

Egg shrimp

Stewed chili crab

Delicious clams

Seafood Paella stuff

At the Macanese restaurant

Fried beef organs!

Quiet time with Kim Jung Il...

Third day in Macau began with a bowl of hell noodles. We went to a place that Vivi and other students frequent. It was a whole in the wall noodle shop with a tendency to make their customers cry. I can safely say that it was one of the spiciest dishes I have ever ate in my life. It was a hellish, steaming, fire breathing soup of noodles, vegetables and fat oysters. This little place is famous for breeding their own oysters, and force feeding them until they are bloated and creamy. It is similar to goose pate. It was cool to see so many local students on their lunch break. I felt like I was sampling a local treasure.

From there we went to Lowan island, the southernmost island of Macau. We hobbled around the little Portuguese/Chinese villages, and savored the fresh air, trees, and quiet. It was so peaceful, and I will always remember that little place. We finished the walk with the black sand beach at the end of the road. We had some snacks, and Vivi taught me some things about the island. In the past, and now, it was a popular place for Chinese to swim across to escape from China. We saw some immigration police walking down the bay road, and I felt sympathy for the Chinese who have been shot when trying to cross. We also saw the vacation home of Kim Jung Il’s son. He bought a little house on the shore of Macau to wash his dirty money. It was time to head back, so we met Vivi’s friends back home, and got the details for the Macau food festival.

We grabbed the bus, and headed toward my dream endeavor. The theme of the festival this year was all of the different parts of China, and the food that accompanies them. We ate from about 10 different provinces, but that left us with a lot more untouched. We were just too full. After that we went to the arcade, and the bar. It was an awesome day.

I just want to post the pictures from the day and explain them. Tomorrow I will write my conclusion about my trip to Macau. I can tell you right now that it was one of the coolest places I have ever been in my life, and I won’t soon forget my journey.

Student noodle joint
Early bowl of hell noodles
The hell embodied
Home bred oyster pizza
European scene with an Asian flare
The sky in China (Zhuhai) polluted
The sky in Macau (clean)
Village square on the Southern Island
One of the little village churches on the island
Hiking in a graveyard- Chinese people are NOT fond of graveyards
Immigration police, keeping the coast clean of mainlanders
Typical house on the island
Down a little road
Kim Jung Il’s son’s house on the end
Black beach
Taiwanese dumpling stand at the Macau food festival
Mongolian man cooking delicious bbq beef at the Macau food festival
Mongolian beef
Smelly tofu (they rot it and allow it to grow mold)
Smelly tofu close up (it was amazing!)
A drink we got made of some bizarre eyeball like fruit
Crocodile meat (it was great!)
Reptiles are delicious!
Vivi eating Taiwanese chicken (she loves it)
Taiwanese ladies cooking the chicken. It was crazy to meet Taiwanese people
View from the food festival
Beer to finish it off

I'm getting fat...

It's been another day of exquisite eating, and awesome times here in Macau.
Yesterday, I began the day with a nice mass at an old Portuguese church, followed by a breakfast of some of the most delicious pastries I have ever tasted in my life.

The Church was built a few hundred years ago, and has been recently been made the focus of the Philippino community who have restored it. Everything was the same as back home, but the songs were a bit different, and the topics of conversation were a bit more personal to the Philippino community. It was a beautiful mass shared with great people. Breakfast followed, and I sampled some Portuguese (Macanese) pastries, which consisted of the most flaky and buttery crust you have ever tasted, and a filling of heaven. One was made of egg and vanilla, one of some custard type stuff, and one was filled with fried coconut. All are made hot and ready for you to eat. Belly full, and a meeting with God was a good way to start the day.

After a short rest in the park, we headed out to Vivi’s University to have a look, and ate the famous sandwiches from her canteen. They were in Portuguese style, and I ordered one with crab, bacon, cheese, and lettuce, and one with onion, chicken, olives, and some other stuff. It was very tasty, but could have been bigger. I was to finish it all off with a big slice of blueberry cheesecake though, and I was plenty full after that. Good meal for a lot of walking ahead.

We walked around the roads surrounding her campus, and I was blown away by the view. The highways through the sea, the crashing waves on the rocks, and the ridiculous buildings in the distance. Too bad I couldn't get any pictures from up there. It was just too hot and hazy yesterday.

We got the bus to mainland Macau, and I was amazed by the skills of the bus driver. The turns are so narrow, but they can turn on a dime, just when you think you are going face first into a wall. When we got the mainland, we walked the whole thing basically, and I got to see all of the famous districts, both Chinese and Portuguese. I ate all kinds of famous Macanese snacks, like deep fried pork neck jerky (amazing), and different ice creams and cookies. We visited a Qing dynasty era house, which had been completely preserved down to the chairs. The Chinese family that lived there were the main intermediaries between the Chinese government and the Portuguese colony of Macau. After that, we visited a few Churches, and I explained some things to Vivi. From there, we visited Macau's most famous tourist attraction, St. Paul's cathedral. It was pretty cool. In the 1600's, they were having mass there, per normal, but they got wind of a massive typhoon coming in there direction. Since the Church was on a hill, right on the sea, it was the focal point of all ships returning to bay. Before the typhoon struck, they began to worry about the fishing boats, and the navy ships that had not come back yet. Paul had an idea, "let's burn the church down!" So that's just what he did. The people on the boat saw the fire, and they headed back in. Most of them were saved, and everyone braved one of the biggest typhoons in the history of occupied Macau. All that is left is the stone entrance. Cool story I thought.

Next, I walked around some more, and eventually found the Chinese district. The people lived in identical little houses, and they were full of incense, Buddhas, Confuciuses, and all kinds of traditional Chinese things. It was a staggering contrast from what you see in the homes of mainland China. Everyone is trying to be as bland and western as possible. Here, everything that I have seen has been so well preserved. What a time capsule this place is! Snacks were savored, and it was about time to get home. We got the bus back to Taipa, which is still my favourite, and debriefed over some hamburgers and onion rings. It was Vivi's first, and she liked it. I was surprised at how much she could eat!

Today it's off to the last island! Can't wait to see what this one is like!

I will guard that coconut pastry with my life
Can’t describe how tasty those were
Graveyard near the Uni
Sandwiches in the canteen
View of a piece of the mainland from Taipa island
A church in the middle of the city
Inside
Chinese district. I just liked the nice man who decided to pose for the picture
St. Paul’s cathedral remnants
On the way to the cathedral. People mountain people sea.
Me and Vivi, Qing dynasty style
Square
Tree growing out of the Catholic charities building
How does that not fall over in the typhoon？
Blurry picture of the Chinese houses
The hamburger looks huge next to Vivi
Pretty small next to me
Pretty paintings on the ceiling of the Venetian
Venetian casino
Cross
Church I went to at night
Little Portuguese house
Little temple we found
Mid autumn festival tradition: Use clues to find something in the city, get a prize if you find it

Where am I???

Macau day one: I left Huizhou around 3 o’clock, and took a rather uneventful bus journey to Macau. I didn’t really know what to expect.
I got to the border city of Zhuhai, and was very unimpressed by the yellow sea, and the severely limited view, completely hampered by the horrific pollution. An old feeling came back, and I realized that I was going to leave China for the first time in a long time. I got off of the bus and headed for the border.

When I crossed, I was struck by the inevitable stark differences in front of me. People drove on the other side of the rode. There were tuned cars and scooters everywhere. People dressed very well, and it was dead quiet. I headed down to grab the bus to Taipa, one of the islands.

Before I go on to what I saw next, you should know a little about Macau’s very interesting history.
Basically, the Portuguese saw this place on the coast of southern China, and noticed its lawlessness, and decided to conquer it. This was about 500 years ago. The Chinese ceded the territory, and Macau was officially established as a Portuguese colony. The Portuguese presence became so strong that the Catholic diocese of Macau was established, and it came under Catholic rule. Blah blah blah, time went on and Chinese people escaped from China into Macau, and eventually it became a dual-race nation. The funny thing is, Hong Kong has a huge Chinese feel (be it a self decided Hong Kong one), and when I go there, it feels totally foreign, but I know that home is 100 miles north. However, Macau is a whole different kettle of fish.

Despite the handover in 1999, and a huge reputation for being Asia’s Vegas, Macau is Portugal. The government has retained almost complete sovereignty, and a huge welfare state is still intact. There is government housing (incredibly nice), and a huge amount of yearly benefits, health and economic stimulus alike.

There is about 2% pure bred Portuguese left, but about 15－20％ who live here. All of the signs are dual language, and all government dealings are in Portuguese. Most of the people here can't speak Portuguese, because the official second language is now English. Cantonese is the main language here, and Mandarin doesn't get me anywhere. If anyone hears you speaking Mandarin, it labels you as a Mainlander, and that is someone that you don't want to be here. Mainland Chinese (all 1.5 billion of them) are the bottom of the barrel here, and can be compared to the image of Mexicans in the US. It makes me feel very strange to speak English everywhere, but I am going to have to get used to it

The feeling of this place is indescribable. I think if you mixed Portugal with Hong Kong, and then mixed that with the Las Vegas and Taiwan, and then threw a splash of the Philippines in there, you would have something resembling Macau. The lifestyle is crazy. The Chinese here live like Europeans, and walking down the narrow cobblestone streets, you can see children playing soccer, and men sipping beer outside of their stucco, mud brick houses. Everything is quiet and calm, and China seems like a distant memory. I have only been here for one day, but I felt compelled to write about it, because it’s just that weird.

Last night, I had Portuguese food, and let me tell you; it was amazing!I had ribs, a full salad, garlic bread, soup and beer. It was some of the best food I have ever eaten. I also had some Macau frozen custard, which was very good as well. I visited the Venetian casino, which was a whole different world unto itself. I will take advantage of unblocked internet, and post everyday that I am here.

A Taste Sensation...



I have had many requests to write more about the food that I eat. Although today's post contains nothing overtly strange (which I do consume on a regular basis), I will show you a normal meal that I ate tonight. This meal was enjoyed at a local "Northern" restaurant. Keep in mind, there are 8 different "schools of cooking in China." Let me show you each. And please don't generalize Chinese food. It is more diverse than any style of cooking in the world.

Shandong Cuisine (Northeast-ish)

"Consisting of Jinan cuisine and Jiaodong cuisine, Shandong cuisine, clean, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness. Shallots and garlic are frequently used as seasonings so Shandong dishes taste pungent. Soups are given much emphasis in Shandong cuisine.
Thin soups are clear and fresh while creamy soups are thick and taste strong. Jinan chefs are adept at deep-frying, grilling, pan-frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong chefs are famous for cooking seafood with a fresh and light taste.
Typical menu items: Bird's Nest Soup; Yellow River Carp in Sweet and Sour sauce."

Sichuan Cuisine (Central-west-ish) (one of my favourites)

Sichuan Cuisine, known more commonly in the West as Szechuan Cuisine, is one of the most famous Chinese cuisines known to the world. Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavors, Sichuan cuisine, with a myriad of tastes, emphasizes the use of chili.
Pepper and prickly ash are always in accompaniment, producing the typical exciting tastes. Garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process.
Wild vegetables and meats are often chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are used as basic cooking techniques.
It can be said that one who doesn't experience Sichuan food has never gone to China.
Typical menu items: Hot Pot; Smoked Duck; Kung Pao Chicken; Twice Cooked Pork; Mapo Tofu.

Guangdong Cuisine (Cantonese Cuisine) (South, my province)

Tasting clean, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually has fowl and other meats that produce its unique dishes. The basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Steaming and stir-frying are most frequently used to preserve the ingredients' natural flavors.
Guangdong chefs also pay much attention to the artistic presentation of their dishes.
Typical menu items: Shark Fin Soup; Steamed Sea Bass; Roasted Piglet.

Fujian Cuisine (North of my province, southern)

Combining Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is renowned for its choice seafood, beautiful color and magical tastes of sweet, sour, salt and savory. The most distinct feature is their "pickled taste".
Typical menu items: Buddha Jumping Over the Wall; Snow Chicken; Prawn with Dragon's Body and Phoenix's tail.

Jiangsu Cuisine (East)

Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Using fish and crustaceans as the main ingredients, it stresses their freshness. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known.
Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, and simmering. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and its presentation is delicately elegant.
Typical menu items: Stewed Crab with Clear Soup, Long-boiled and Dry-shredded Meat, Duck Triplet, Crystal Meat, Squirrel Mandarin Fish, and Liangxi Crisp Eel.

Zhejiang Cuisine (Central east)

Comprising local cuisines of Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing, Zhejiang Cuisine is not greasy. It wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, and smoothness of its dishes with their mellow fragrance. Hangzhou Cuisine is the most famous one of the three.
Typical menu items: Sour West Lake Fish, Longjing Shelled Shrimp, Beggar's Chicken.

Hunan Cuisine (Southern, again, directly north of my province) FAVOURITE!

Hunan cuisine consists of local cuisines of Xiangjiang Region, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi coteau areas. It is characterized by thick and pungent flavors. Chili, pepper and shallot are usually necessities in this variation.
Typical menu items: Dongan Chicken; Peppery and Hot Chicken.

Anhui Cuisine (poor province in the east)

Anhui Cuisine chefs focus much more on the temperature in cooking and are good at braising and stewing. Often ham will be added to improve taste and candied sugar added to gain freshness.
Typical menu items: Stewed Snapper; Huangshan Braised Pigeon.

Living in Guangdong, a large melting pot of China, I am lucky to be able to sample genuine, and rare tastes of every province of this country. It gets me excited everyday because there are few things more pleasurable than food in this world.

This is a very cheap, and quite average Northern (Dongbei, Heilongjiang, Jilin area) meal. Given it's proximity to Russia, it borrows heavily from it's neighbors, and gives way to one of my favourite styles of food in China. This food would represent the polar opposite to the cuisine of my province.
To order food, you choose many dishes, and share them with the table. It's rude to have a single serving meal, because the purpose of meal time is to bring people together. If you think it's dirty, then go away haha.
The first dish is a staple among Russian influenced northern food. It is diced wild cucumber and carrots, doused in a sauce of vinegar and soy, and infused with bits of coriander, and other spices that I am not aware of. It's very refreshing, and a great intro to the following dishes.

The next two are two different types of dumplings. They are a staple up north, and are often used as a substitute for noodles or rice, which are both used as flavour neutralisers. The first is full of chopped pork and garlic, and the second is full of wild spinach and ox. You dip these into a cold bath of vinegar, soy, and liberal amounts of chili. Despite the dumplings, I still need to use rice, as I have grown accustomed to it at the table at all times. It's a Guangdong thing.















The next dish will need another explanation, as I know none of the names of these dishes in English. It is strips of pork belly, which are breaded in a crispy rice dough, and are fried until golden, in a sugar, tomato, and sour mixture, and then heated slowly to solidify. It's very tasty.








The next dish is heavily Russian influenced. It is salt cured meat, cut into sausage-like strips, and used to dip into a brown type sauce, full of chunks of garlic.














The last dish is toothpick lamb. It is marinated with a peppery sauce, and then slowly roasted until crispy and firm. A dry rub of peppercorn, salt, and different spices is added, and it makes for an explosion of meat on a stick goodness.
I will do a few dish explanations whenever I blog now. After writing this, I feel that it is quite enjoyable to write about!

Quality control...

My battles with the Chinese censors have been won... at least partly so. I found a fairly reliable anti-firewall weapon, and it seems to be working.
I last left off with the purchase of my motorcycle. Since then, I have finished teaching summer camp, as well as my holiday, and now I have resumed work as usual. I feel like I have left a lot of ideas behind due to my restriction, and it seems like the Chinese government has been very successful in stifling my ideas for some time. So much so that I forgot half of the stuff that I cared about. Well, I am going to vent a little bit anyway.
A country without morals. It's an interesting concept, but that is exactly the kind of country I live in. It's legally atheist, so religion is never a deciding factor in the Chinese lifestyle. That's not to say that Chinese people are unkind, cold or at all bad people. I am simply saying, that in China, what is expected of man is completely different than what we expect in the west. But is it really a lack of
morals? Or a different set of them. I have been reading Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, and I partially agree that there is a basic law for mankind to adhere to, but when I think about it, I think it does differ across borders.
I could talk about the child trafficking, the disturbing number of abortions the rampant prostitution, one child policy, the neglect of the dying, the complete apathy towards strangers in need etc etc... till I am blue in the face. But what I would prefer to talk about is the fact that despite all of these atrocious things, the average Chinese person won't acknowledge them as a necessary worry. It's easy to point the "your evil" finger, but consider this; The Chinese exhibit hospitality, kindness, blind friendliness, and a love for their family like no other. It makes you step back and really have a look at the grounds and definitions of morals.
Take the government for example. Chairman Mao killed anywhere from 30 million to 70 million of his own people under his regime. He is still regarded as a national hero. The Japanese, who killed 2% of that amount, are regarded as worse than Satan himself, even under their new government that isn't responsible for the atrocities committed. China not only celebrates a super villain, but places his ugly face on every bank note in the country. It gets worse. His practice of Maoism, and his communist government is still in power today! It's easy to say China is changing, and although we wouldn't call it communist by today's standards, as there technically nothing evil with that title, we can surely call it an authoritarian, totalitarian, capitalist regime, not unlike Hitler's Germany. Fascist, if you will.
Why?
The Chinese mentality is different.
There is no other answer. The country has been through more than basically any other nation. It has been heavily influenced by Confucian ideals for thousands of years, and that is difficult to change. Their fortitude has been tested in the past when the entire country was massacred by a dozen countries, and not to mention their own government. You can't wrap your mind around how much these people just want to relax and get rich like the rest of us. Unfortunately, the influx of money into the country has not necessarily brought a western morality. Every Chinese person is now at each others' throats, trying to get rich as possible. There is no religious guidance, and they have about 50 years of catching up to do if they want to be a world leader. There is no doubt that they will do it, but the scary thing is, what will it be like when they are?
I am in no way advocating politically correct tolerance, but China needs to be gently prodded in the right direction. What that direction is, I don't know. There are so many beautiful things in the Chinese mentality, but if they are going to embrace western capitalism, then they need to adapt at least a basic sense of, western, right and wrong. I have nothing but faith that this will happen, but there needs to be a serious regime change. Hopefully, this will come peacefully, and slowly.
I've heard a lot of environmental concern in the west complaining about China, but excuse me, I have to play apologist here. There is serious, serious, and I mean apocalyptic pollution here. In Guangzhou (2 hours from me), for example, the average traffic police officer has a life expectancy of 43 years, and this is not due to traffic accidents. The 70% remaining living ones have fatal lung infections. There are yellow and black plumes of pollution blanketing some Chinese cities so badly that the people have forgotten the sun. Most of the worlds polluted cities are in China. And guess what?
It's kind of your fault.
I get really tired of westerners talking about the evils of China's effect on the environment. It's simple to pin point where this comes from. Everything that you buy is from China. Why not? It's cheap.
How are cheap things made? They are made with shoddy machinery, using dirty and cheap energy. Oh no! "Those Chinese should get their act together and tell the owners that they are destroying the planet!" Well, I hate to tell you, but the owner of that company is from the US.
In fact most of the factories near me are owned by Americans who visit them about once a year. Chinese factories do use cheap energy, but are forced to abide by Chinese environmental laws. American factories are pumping goods into the west, and pumping money into China, so it's really a love, love, hate a little bit relationship.
I spoke to an American factory owner here, and he told me exactly what he, and other western factory owners do in China. There is a law in China that makes dirty factories shut down after 7 to 10 years, or they must pay an environmental tax, which goes to clean energy technology. The western factory owners simply bulldoze the cheap, and offending factory before the clock runs out, and build a new one on a new, and ever shrinking, plot of land. These types of factories are the worst offenders of dirtying the air. The laws exist here, but westerners are exploiting them. The guy told me that they love when the west complains, because it takes the pressure off of them, and the Chinese government starts picking on the Chinese factory owners. That's not to say that Chinese are not guilty in their own way. Of course they are. The Chinese government has been pretty slow to spend some of their massive surplus on environmental technology. But I don't blame them. Why should they when their biggest market hasn't done a whole lot either? The US is not doing well in the battle to make the earth clean, and still leads the world in carbon emmissions. It's a vicious circle, these two beasts. Things need to be done, and time will tell what will happen.
Anyway, about me. I have had a girlfriend for some time now, and she has taught me a lot about this crazy place. We went to a hidden beach a few weeks ago. I say hidden because most beaches in China are completely swamped. This one had no one. I had never even seen this in the west. There were literally no people there. There were only remnants of an abandoned fishing village. We caught crabs and fish, and swam in the amazingly clean water. A typhoon came, and we managed to summon a little fishing boat just in time.
I have been trying to pick up Chinese study a bit more lately. Next year will be more intensive, because I am getting the hang of teaching. I am on the fence with whether I should stay in Huizhou or not. I am toying with the idea of staying for another six months after my contract ends in December, and grabbing a different job in September. Either way, I will be going up north. I have my heart set on Manchuria. I love my city to death, but it's time to explore China more. I need to wrap my head around this place, so I will head to the opposite end for my next job. Chinese is another big push for me to move there, as the Mandarin is very good in the north. We will see what happens.
Still trying to get my motorcycle license. The test is so hard!!! Third times a charm. I'll take it again this weekend.

Picture: Sunset from my apartment

Picture: White sand on a beautiful beach

Picture: Vivi catching some rays (avoiding them, it's cool to be white in China)

Picture: Coworkers

Picture: Classroom action

Picture: I was the lead singer of a boyband performing in the theatre for the kindy graduation

Picture: My real girlfriend

Picture: Vivi

Picture: My favourite 外国人

Picture: Laurence and I eating sea slugs and other endagered sea creatures

Censored beyond all repair...

It’s been awhile, and I apologise. This and many other blogs have been blocked due to the protests surrounding the 20th anniversary of the murders at Tienanmen Square. China still restricts all information about the events, and has shut down most forms of communication in an attempt to stifle free thinking about the matter, and also to pour water on a possible revolution that could be set ablaze by 1.3 billion people finding out the truth. I am currently behind and illegal proxy to bring you this information.

It’s impossible to believe this, but most people here have no idea what happened. It’s been erased from history, and these people have erased it from their minds. The people who witnessed it, and survived, have either been arrested, forcibly denied it through torture, or have run away to Hong Kong in exile. Even when people do know about it, they will simply ignore the conversation. It’s understandable as well. If the Chinese people slandered their government for killing their own people in a peaceful protest, think of how embarrassed they would be to have any sort of faith or pride in the CCP. Since they have no choice in the matter, having blind faith in this authoritarian party is really the only option.

The world heritage organization ranks China one of the least free countries in the entire world, and politically, this is true. But this makes me step back and re-evaluate what freedom actually is. Many people have such a black and white view on the definition of freedom. Let’s make a simple comparison of my daily life on not only the differences in freedom, but the differences in general.

In America I wake up and go to my car to get to work. Because of societal pressure, and proximity issues, I must own a car to get anywhere.
In China, I simply walk down the street to my job, and on the way, I can grab anything that I might need during the day from anywhere, since there are shops that sell everything, everywhere.
In America, if my car breaks down, I might end up paying anywhere from 500$ to 1000$ to fix the problem.
In China, chances are, my product will be fixed for free. If not, the cost will be negligible, and even cheaper when considering that no one needs to own a car to get anywhere. The public transportation is so incredible here, that I can get to any major city in the entire country by bus at any time I want. Domestic flights can be booked within minutes as well, sometimes at about 10$ a flight.
In America, as I am driving, there is a chance that I will get pulled over by police, and get a ticket with an exorbitant fine… every time I drive. The regulations on what needs to be on your car, what it looks like, how old you are, how fast or slow you are driving, and numerous other issues determine whether you will be hassled by the police. Really, it just depends on whether the cop wants to mess with you.
In China, you get in a car and go.

4. Since housing is normally provided by your employer in this country, there are no contracts, insurance, leases, mortgages, and all kinds of paper work that you can find in the US. Also, it’s a cash based society, so don’t worry about debt, credit, or qualifying for loans, etc… There are none. You have a bank account? That’s all you need.

You want to have a pee on the street at night when no one can see? Do it. It’s fine. In the states, you will go to jail and be labeled as a sex offender your whole life. Throw some litter in the road? Do it. You are giving someone a job since street cleaners get paid by how much trash they pick up.
You want to walk across someone’s property to get somewhere? Go ahead; no one owns property here, so you can go wherever you want. You do that in the states, you can get arrested for trespassing, or even get shot by the property owner.

7. The food is more delicious in China than the rest of the world for many reasons, but one large one is that there is no regulation on what food to sell, who can have a restaurant, no health regulations etc… It’s purely based on competition, and that gives you some good eatin’s, let me tell you.

I could go on for days, but the point is, day to day life is freer here. The freedoms in America that people value so much are simply in name only. Freedom of speech. How many of us have fully used that in our lives? I can talk about whatever I want with my friends, and I never have to fear being stigmatized for being non-politically correct; there is no such thing here. There is so much focus in America on ownership, and possession of material objects, and although that is catching on here quite rapidly, it comes with a lot less paper work and hassle. You want to buy something? Earn it. Trust me, it makes everything so much easier.

I have had numerous journeys here lately. I went to Guangzhou, and I saw an enormous park commemorating the Communist soldiers’ victory over the nationalists. It was quite sobering to be in a park honoring the very ideal that the west so despises. I have had a few epic bike journeys as well. The quest to find a motor bike continues as well.

I will be doing summer camp for my school in a couple weeks, so I will be away from every form of communication really.

Went to the beach and had a great time. Got really sun burnt though.

Update: I found a motorcycle, and am in the process of getting a license. It is impossible without having ridiculous connections, but I will not give up!