Ultra Rice

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend who is looking for a job. She found a job advertisement for a position at an international NGO in Beijing looking for an Ultra Rice project assistant. The position required applicants to be fluent in Chinese and understand rice technology. So she sent it to me. At first, I did not really pay much attention to it because I knew I did not have time to be applying to jobs. But then I looked at it more closely and googled 'Ultra Rice,' the name of the rice that the job would center around.

Turns out Ultra Rice is not rice at all, but a manufactured, vitamin-enhanced "food product designed with the flexibility to address specific nutritional deficiencies in populations where rice is a staple food." It is made from rice flour with extra micronutrients added and then molded into rice-shaped grains. In an email to me, they claim to potentially "make a positive influence on health status of common, especially vulnerable people while not to change their cooking and life styles." The Ultra Rice project is funded primarily through the Gates Foundation.

So the job is looking for someone who is familiar with rice technology who can work on introducing the grains to China. Instead of applying for the job, I emailed them and asked if I could interview them for my dissertation research. I feel this weird tug of being fascinated by the project from an academic view and being shocked by it from an activist point of view.

My shock stems from the collaborationbetween an international group focused on being a catalyst for global health, the Chinese government, and rice technology advocates in deciding that a country with thousands of years of rice cultivation under their belt could use some fake rice to increase their livelihoods. I could go on about the politics of food aid, but I will stop here. All I will say is that after spending the last few months in markets and supermarkets asking consumers about their rice-buying preferences, the basic thing I can say is that Chinese people know their rice. After years of eating low quality hybrid rice, people want high quality rice. They consider high quality rice to be "natural." I know Harbin and Beijing consumers are probably not the intended target audience for this rice, but I would be surprised to hear that anyone that knows what real rice is would want to eat fake rice. But at this point its not my job to step in and tell them what I think. Its is my job, however, to find out where and how they are going to try to market this 'rice.' And that is fascinating.

The Genius Bar

Today it was almost 2 pm. I was in a coffeshop. I had bags with me and I was headed to the Beijing airport. I turned my computer off. I got a funny message, telling me to restart the computer or turn it off. I did. I turned it back on and I got the same message. I did this about 5 times, each time getting the same result. I panicked because I needed to leave for the airport right then if I wanted to make my flight. But I also thought I did not want to go back to Harbin if my computer was not working. I have a Mac and Macs are not popular in China. Not many computer technicians are familiar with Mac operating systems. But I know of a big, fancy Mac store in Beijing that has a Genius Bar which diagnoses computer problems. Harbin has no such store.

In a quick decision, I returned to my friend's apartment, risking not being able to change my flight and facing the possibility that my computer only had a minor problem. Within 5 minutes, I had re-booked my flight for the next day (without charge) and had an appointment to get my computer fixed. The first thing the guy asked when he looked at it was 'had i backed everything up?' those are the dreaded words. Of course I am good at backing documents ups, but there are other things (like pictures) I am not so on top of. Anyway, luckily, everything was saved without a problem.

Aside from how lucky I am that I made a quick decision and it turns out it was the right decision, two things come from this story. 1) BACK UP FILES. All the time. Of course, I think everyone knows to do this. I think many people think to do it again after hearing a story like this.

2) I am dependent on my computer. Not only for communicating with the outside world (email, news, and even phone) and doing my research, but I was also scared of going back to Harbin without my computer as a source of entertainment (it plays DVDs, which are widely available here). I've lived in China before for long periods of time without a personal computer and I survived. I written my ideas in notebooks and gone to internet cafes to email. I didn't watch too many movies. Now my computer is just about everything to me, so much so that I would not take the chance to go back to my city without it. And I am so happy it is working. Thanks to the Beijing Genius Bar.

Only in China....

So I have been known to mock crazy reality TV shows broadcast in the US, but this story from China goes beyond extreme. This is not television, but reality. With tragic results.

Harbin in the NY Times

For years, my main news source has been the New York Times. Today I opened the internet and found this article, highlighting the Harbin Ice Festival. This year there was the International Ice Festival and a Disney Ice Festival (in another location of Harbin). This article is mainly about the Disney festival. I did not bother to go to the Disney festival, so here is the scoop. Go Harbin!

A Tribute to Gary

Legend has it he once led a deer into his house by offering food, then could not get it out. He referenced his co-author (nickname: Porkbutt) in the index of the book they edited together. His office walls are covered with (unused) barf bags from airplanes from his travels around the world. He skipped out of the San Fransisco annual Geography meetings early in 2007 to hit the sun and play beach volleyball with his grad school buddies. His wardrobe consists of Hawaiian shirts of just about every color and pattern imaginable.

The field of Geography suddenly lost one of its most forceful proponents this week. I came to the University of Colorado in 2006 ready to do my PhD work in Geography. I was, however, slightly unsure what the field of Geography actually was. But following a semester of 3 hours a week of Professor Gary Gaile's History and Theory of Geography class, I came to appreciate Geography as a discipline. The class was filled with lively debate about what constituted Geography. Us students were convinced anything could be considered 'Geography.' Gary had limits and boundaries to place on works of 'Geography.' Gary was, as he defined himself, a geographer with a capital G, meaning he stood up for and defended the field of geography. By nature, geography is an interdisciplinary discipline. No one knew-or appreciated-that better than Gary Gaile.

I can't imagine half the stories that will be told to celebrate Gary's life. After a semester of class with him, we heard more crazy stories about his academic adventures travelling, publishing, attending conferences, and teaching than we ever thought possible. He limited the stories to the academic world; I am sure we only heard a fraction of his life stories. May his life be celebrated to its true potential.

Interim Report

Back in November, I received an email requesting I write an interim report for one of my grants. At the time, I panicked, thinking I had not done much actual research yet. But I looked at former reports and realized that they just wanted me to make my project sound interesting. So here it is, complete with the picture they chose to include, after I had asked for your help and then still could not decide...

Fireworks Strike Again

Today is two weeks after the official New Year in China, officially marking the end of the two week festival. I've been sitting inside all night listening to the fireworks outside. Today has been the worst since the festival began. Not to sound cliche, but the fireworks are so loud I can barely hear myself think. A couple hours ago, a friend who lives in a different neighborhood in Beijing called to say there was a big fire at an unfinished hotel. He could see it all from his window. Here's the story. Luckily no one was hurt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/world/asia/10beijing.html?hp

About 6 years ago a big fire wiped out an internet cafe in Beijing due to poor wiring. After that, internet cafes were shut down for months. Similarly, for environmental problems to catch the attention of officials, a big disaster has to take place. Same with food safety. I am sure I have not been alone in my complaints of fireworks around the holiday. But no one could do anything about it. Now that a big newsworthy disaster has occurred, it might be different.

I hate to see a big fire as a good thing, but I sure hope fireworks are more strictly regulated in the years to come.

Steeler Nation

I don't know anyone who has actually worked at a steel mill in Pittsburgh. I speak Chinese better than I speak Pittsburghese. Iron City Beer? Yuck.

But I grew up in Pittsburgh and went to quite a few Steeler games. Sundays were Steeler days. When I was a baby and the Steelers were winning Super Bowls, my dad even made me my own baby-sized Terrible Towel from a washcloth (which he has now given to the dog to wear on her back during game days).

I haven't lived in Pittsburgh or western PA since 2001, but I have followed the Steelers. Sometimes I have followed the games and seasons more than others. But what I find fascinating is the community built around Steeler fans around the US. As soon as I graduate and get a job as a geographer somewhere and no longer have time to travel to China to do research, I am going to do research on what has been called Steeler Nation and the high number of Steeler bars all around the US. [Some of the bars won't even let people in who are not wearing black and gold. Crazy.] What I have learned from living outside of Pittsburgh is that Steeler fans extend far beyond western PA. Its interesting because there is a direct link to people moving out of Pittsburgh as steel mills shut down at the same time that the Steelers were at their prime, having won 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s. As a result, I've met hard core Steelers fans who have never been to Pittsburgh, but have parents or grandparents from Pittsburgh.

I had no idea what I would find in the Irish bar in Beijing I went to Monday morning to watch the game. It did not take long for those wearing black and gold to find one another. By the end of the game, I was exchanging email addresses with my new friends (many from Pittsburgh). Throughout the game we had cheered together, hugged, high-fived, squeezed hands, and worried together. I had never met these people before yesterday morning, yet we had all shared a similar experience watching the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII. Even while I watch the games, I recognize the ridiculous-ness of how American football looks to people not familiar to the game.

But I see someone waving a Terrible Towel and know we have a common connection. Its that shared experience with Steeler fans--many times people I don't even know--that makes it an exhilerating experience.

Soon I will get back to rice.