Happy Niu Year

I think most of my readership does not know Chinese. So I have to explain the pun in the title. Its a new year in China! Year of the cow/ox (I prefer cow, but I think its officially the ox). In Chinese, cow/ox is Niu (pronounced something like Nee-oh). Sounds like New, get it? I think its cute.

I am amazed this is the 4th Chinese New Year I have been in Asia. The first year was 2002 and I was on vacation from teaching. My friend and I were in Dali, a small tourist town in the warm southwest Chinese province of Yunnan. We learned quickly that New Years meant firecrackers being set off on every inch of the street. (Firecrackers are supposed to scare ghosts of the past year away. Well, they also scare foreigners away). Just crossing the street, we got hit with the leftovers of the firecrackers. We ducked into a bookstore and didn't dare leave until the coast was clear. The next year, 2003, I was in Cambodia on a more extensive vacation than the previous year. Cambodia has a lot of Chinese people. There were fireworks, but nothing close to what I had experienced the previous year. I was also here in 2005. I was lucky enough to spend the New Year on a 48 hour train ride from Beijing to Kunming, capital of Yunnan. We could see fireworks out the window, but were safe within the confines of a train. Believe it or not, there were no firecrackers allowed on the train.

So now it is 2009. I am in Beijing. Being close to the city center, I thought I would be safe from fireworks and firecrackers being set off within 5 feet of me. On the eve of New Year's I stayed inside and watched a movie. I had to keep pausing the movie because the firecrackers going off right outside were too loud and I could not hear. As it got closer to midnight, the firecrackers switched to fireworks. I had a great show from the living room of the fourth floor apartment I am staying on.

The next day (Monday-the first official day of the 2-week festival), my Chinese friend Fang and her husband picked me up to go on a New Year's Day adventure. We ended up at a garden park in southern Beijing. It was a carnival inside. People were everywhere. There was cotton candy, carnival games with stuffed animal prizes, song and dance performances, and street food.


Lots of cows for sale.

Fang and I.

A unicyclist on a rope carrying an acrobat below him. This was done over a frozen lake.
Cute kid with a flower.

Fang and I burning the evil spirits away. (She was more serious than I).

So after the park, Fang and her husband asked me what I wanted to do next. They suggested a trip to the countryside. It was 2 pm and I wondered what we would possibly do in the countryside once we go there, but I agreed. I am always up for farmland and chickens and dirt. Well, we drove north and crossed a river that separates Beijing from Hebei province. Then we drove into a gated community filled with large single-family houses. I had heard about these suburban developments, but never seen one. Most urban Chinese live in apartments so houses are rare.

So most gated communities in the US have homes that all look alike. Here, we had streets that were all the same. Each had a different theme.
This was on the 'American style homes' street. The street ended in a cul-de-sac.
This was the Japanese style home street.

It was a bizarre experience. I could reflect on it more, but I think it speaks for itself. We got out of the car and Fang's husband told me to breath a lot because the air here in the 'countryside' was much better than in the city.

Super Bowl + New Prez

I keep writing posts about the Steelers or Obama. They don't have much to do with rice. I know and I apologize. But they make me happy so I want to write about them. Maybe this will be the last post.

Its been a good 2 days. Really good 2 days. The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!!! Feb 2 they will take on the Cardinals in Tampa. No one expected the Cardinals to make it this far. It will be a tough game, but things are looking good for team in Black and Gold from the Steel City. That happened Monday morning. I watched it and then went to my market. I brought a Terrible Towel to show some people there. Explaining American football in Chinese is hard. Explaining that people wave gold towels around and call them 'terrible' doesn't really translate. At all.

Then I woke up Tuesday and went back to the market. I told me 12 year old friend there that today was like an American holiday and tonight many people are very excited to see a new President take office. She said she didn't know who China's President was. Then she asked me what singers I know. Right. Not everyone shares my excitement.

Luckily I have the internet to resort to to get my Steeler and politics fix. As political blogs are filling up with analysis of Obama's speech and fashion blogs interpret Michelle's clothes, I will spare you the details of my views. But I do want to say one thing [NOTE: let this be a warning if you are sick of hearing about politics you do not have to read anymore].

I just read Obama's biography. The story ends before he goes to law school, but he has an epilogue about what he has done since then. About law school, he said:

"The study of law can be disappointing at times, a matter of applying narrow rules and arcane procedure to an uncooperative reality; a sort of glorified accounting that serves to regulate the affairs of those who have power....But that's not all the law is. The law is also memory; the law also records a long-running conversation, a nation arguing with its conscience."

I have never wanted to go to law school. Ever. But I took a lot of Political Science classes in college with people who wanted to go to law school. We had completely opposite interests. I wanted to discuss the reality of society; they wanted to discuss laws, regulations, policies. Class conversations would often not be productive because people were talking past one another. Reading Obama's articulate insight into law school, I think I finally really understand the value of studying the law. I think it takes an intelligent person to be able to have that perspective into law that can make him put his degree to use in productive ways.

There is a lot of discussion about high expectations for Obama. I'm not sure I fit in that category. My concerns this election had little to do with so-called 'political issues' (environment, health care, taxes, etc). Call me a cynic, but I have little hope that the federal government will be able to take care of many of these issues in a clean way based on the structures within which they work. My concerns are much more fundamental, dealing with decision-making and transparency in government. I think many decisions made over the last eight years have been made with ideological hopes and little concern for the reality of society. I trust that Obama is an intelligent guy who wants to make decisions in a way that will be more open and transparent and include a variety of voices.

Such governance has worked for some presidents and it hasn't worked for others. Charisma and intelligence do not automatically guarantee a successful presidency. Although there are plenty of issues Obama has to dig his way out of, for now the 'hope' and 'change' do not come in the form of issues that will change right away, but in integrity and trust.

Research in Action

This morning I had a friend request that I put more pictures of me in my blog photos. By shear coincidence, I also received a request today from the person who administers one of my grants to send in a picture of me 'doing' my research. Had it just been my friend requesting, I would have (politely) ignored it. But then it became official. I've been cornered.

So I walked across the street to the home of my new favorite hangout--the back room of a Beijing vegetable market where grain is sold. I was planning to do surveys there anyway, so I brought my camera along. I handed it over to my 12-year old friend working behind the counter of his mother's shop. Here are the results.
Sifting rice through their hand is something customers do when deciding which rice to purchase. I thought I would try.

Do I look official? Do I look like an expert? Or do I look completely posed for this 'in action' picture?

Now the fun begins. Which one do I submit to my fellowship as evidence that I am here working hard and putting their money to good use? VOTE, please.

Harbin Ice Festival

Its that time of year in Harbin. Residents talk of the biggest tourist attraction throughout the year. Every January to February is the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. Ice is extracted from the Songhua River in blocks. Holes are drilled in to make room for lights. And the blocks are piled together to take the form of representations of famous castles, churches, buildings, etc.

I had high hopes of attending this year's Ice Lantern Festival in Harbin to take great pictures with my new camera. I took pictures, but I have to say as I was taking them, the last thing I cared about was getting good shots. It was COLD there. Almost too cold to be enjoyable. Here are some of the pictures. Enjoy from the warmth of your home.


The five flags below represent the other countries which also host similar ice festivals (though Chinese people will tell you Harbin's festival is the biggest).


A close-up. I like these colors.

In addition to castles, the festival also incorporates hands-on attractions such as ice slides.


Must be nice to have such a festival in a country where the threat of being sued is absent [People were going down these slides FAST. They slowed down by crashing into piles of snow at the bottom.]

The festival also offered ice bicycles for rent to ride on the ice. I passed on this option.


If you look closely in the middle of this picture, you will see a familiar face. I am on the ground. Unintentionally. Ouch! I'm not sure what hurt more-the impact of tailbone on ice or the cold seeping through my jeans as I waited for my friend Kayte to capture the moment on film.

There were also large structures made entirely out of snow.

And, finally, the evening would not be complete without the opportunity to cuddle with snow foxes.

Ice Cream in Winter

One of the important tricks I have learned about surviving cold winters in China is warm beverages. I live on tea and coffee and straight-up hot water during the winter. In Sichuan, people would often tell me that drinking warm things in the summer is good for you because it makes you sweat and cools you off. Just like I like hot beverages in the winter, I personally prefer cold things in the summer, especially ice cream. Many Chinese don't like to eat things that are too cold because of the drastic temperature difference between what they consume and their body temperature. They say its good for your health. But nevertheless there are ice cream vendors lining the streets in the summer. Maybe its common knowledge that ice cream in summer is good, as is tea in winter, even if it doesn't always follow traditional Chinese beliefs about food and eating.

Yesterday I was at the entrance to my university in Harbin when I saw two long tables lined along the street. Most of the street food and other vendors in Harbin close from November through March due to the lack of comfort found in standing outside in negative temperatures with howling winds. I completely understand. So imagine my surprise when I saw these table lined up piled with ice cream. This was not like the small vendors in the summer, but there were people selling ice cream in mass quantities. And its so cold out that they don't have to worry about it melting.



I asked why they were selling it and, just like people who like to drink tea in the middle of hot summer days, they told me it is good for your health to eat cold things in the winter. For the five minutes I could stand to stand still outside and watch, I observed some people buying bought small quantities to put in a bag to take home, but they sure did not open it up, toss the wrapper on the ground, and eat it right away as is common practice in the summer.

Christmas at the Olympic Venues

The weather has been beautiful for January in Beijing. Yesterday I went to check out the stadiums where the Olympics were held this summer. Aside from the buildings themselves, what did I find?

The stadiums decorated for Christmas.

Complete with [fake] Christmas trees outside the bird's nest.

And in front of the water cube.

And a big [fake] tree inside the bird's nest.And a Santa sleigh with reindeer (complete with a real guard).
Plus a performance by the Olympic fuwa (good luck doll) mascots.


For a country that claims not to have religious beliefs, China has certainly embraced Christmas this year. But what we find are the fun, non-religious symbols of Christmas. Stores are decorated with trees and tinsel and Santa Clauses. Christmas carols are played. Wreaths decorate lamp posts. But the real story of Christmas is not told.

And here in the symbolic place where China showed itself to the world, China embraces customs of a global holiday. But of course, its a holiday with Chinese characteristics. A holiday lacking in meaning. But full of kitschy decorations. Especially when combined with the fuwas.

New Year's Resolutions

So I have always thought the idea of New Year's Resolutions is silly. I've never really participated. Nobody ever follows them beyond February anyway, do they? But as I was on the plane coming back to China, I started to think that maybe the idea of resolutions is to get through the months of January and February. Otherwise, there is nothing great about these two months. I don't mind cold weather too much. I hate the darkness that accompanies the winter months more than the weather itself.

Anyway, on the plane I was trying to think about things to look forward to doing with my research. I need things to look forward to, otherwise the prospects of what January and February bring are not looking so great. Usually when I get to China, I am excited to be here and spend my days being busy and not feeling the effects of jet lag. Today I took a four and a half hour nap after getting a good ten hours of sleep last night. Uh-oh. Not good. I take it as a sign I need to get excited about being back. Its not that I am not excited to be here, but rather that I need some structure and motivation in my daily life. So what can I do to spice up my research and make it more interesting? I have three ideas. Dare I call them New Year's Resolutions? At least until February, then, hopefully, they will be routine habits.

1.) Journals and Lists. Of course, every researcher is supposed to take extensive field notes. But when I was in Boulder, an anthropologist friend suggested a new idea of journaling. Each day, make a list of what you plan to do. On the opposite page, make a list of what you actually do. The lists are not supposed to match up. If they do match up, there is a problem. Instead, the idea is to chronicle how your ideas evolve and change as you experience new things. It sounds like things I have been doing already, but visually placing the lists together, side-by-side in a notebook is intriguing. I'll let you know how it goes...

2.) Photos. I returned to China bearing a new camera. I spent much of my break at home in my parent's house capturing images of our dog, Cozmo, with the new camera. Cozmo's a great subject because she's nervous and jumpy and never stays still. So I got the learn how to use the camera while working with a less-than-ideal subject. Maybe taking pictures here of everyday life on the street will be easier than a nerve-end of a dog (but a very cute one). In any case, I want to take and post more pictures here of everyday life in China. Critiques and suggestions for better pictures are always welcome.

3.) Hanging out. I don't think I hang out enough on the streets or in random restaurants in China. By hanging out, I mean sitting around and striking up conversation with random people about random topics. Harbin in the summer was a much different place than in the winter. In the summer, there are street food stalls set up all along the sidewalks. Beer flows from kegs at each stall. Conversations with strangers happen. Its difficult to hang out in the winter when everyone is running from one indoor place to another. So home is a good place to be. But home is isolated from Chinese society. But there are teahouses and other places where I can make myself go. If I make myself go to these places, I may meet some interesting people.

So we'll see how these work. Stay tuned for updates. And I am happy to accept other ideas and suggestions of how to make my time feel productive. I am staying in Beijing for a while to hopefully get some rice surveys done in supermarkets here. But I will try to make it to Harbin for the famous Ice Festival.

Happy New Year

I've had a great time catching up with friends and family over the last couple weeks in CO, PA, and MD. I head back to China in a few days and look forward to continuing to blog about rice and research and China. Seriously, its been refreshing to be able to catch up with everyone. I spent two holiday seasons in China in the past and, while I am not really a fan of the commercialism of the holiday season in the US, its nice to be able to be here with family and friends.

I haven't posted anything lately because, well, I have to admit I have done little thinking about rice in China for the last two weeks. So I haven't had anything profound or reflective to write about. But I wanted to do one last post in 2008 to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

The biggest question I have been asked since I have been home is: when will I be back for good? My initial answer has been whenever either my 1) time, 2) money, or 3) mental health runs out, then I need to get back. With the hopes that 2009 will be fun, prosperous, and I maintain my sanity to live in China for 10 more months, I am planning to return to the US around October of next year. So you can count on many more updates to come from me until then. And I hope you have all had a relaxing, stress-free holiday season.

UPDATE: I posted this at 4:00 Eastern time, but my blog is set to China time, so it says its already January 2009. I guess I am living in the future and I don't even know it.