I had brown rice for the first time in over a year tonight. It was amazing. Everything about it tasted so good.
Ever since I began focusing my research on rice (over 2 years ago), I've tasted a lot of different rice. Sometimes I prefer good, fragrant white rice. Other times I prefer good, nutty-flavored, healthy brown rice that I ate before starting this research. In China, white rice is the only option.
Except when you go on a quick trip in the rice displays in a Shanghai supermarket. And before your eyes rests a bag of organic brown rice. And all of a sudden nothing in the world sounds better. So you buy a small bag and bring it back to Harbin with you. And cook it in your rice maker. And eat it after you spend a long Monday writing and swimming.
I know people in Harbin who spend 4 months of the year in Hainan island in southern China who make sure to pack a big 50 pound bag of northeast rice with them for the winter so they don't have to eat that 'bad southern rice.' I have access and connections to the 'best' rice grown in China. But all of that rice is white. And my own cultural background has taught me that white rice is bad, brown rice is good. I've looked past that white/brown dichotomy to do this research and to understand what makes rice 'good' to Chinese people who dismissed brown rice long ago. Brown rice never comes up. I almost forgot it existed until I saw it there in Shanghai, labeled in English, probably for all the Shanghai ex-pats.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
3:43 am
Happy Summer Solstice! Just want to point out that this morning the sun rose here at 3:43 am. At its peak, Harbin gets 15 hours and 43 minutes (plus 13 seconds) of sunlight. The long days of sunshine and the contrast in temperature between night and day are two reasons people often give me for why the environment here is conducive to growing high quality rice.
In the countryside, most people are up and moving by 4 or 4:30 in the summers. By then it is bright outside. The sun does set early (@ 7:30) so the reason for the early sunrise is both a matter of being east (thanks to China's one country, one time zone policy) as well as north. [On a side note, when I was in Kashgar last month, the sun did not set until after 10 pm.]
In the city, I think people do not tend to get up with the sunrise as much as in the country. But as I've learned from my morning market trips and morning runs, quite a few middle aged and older people tend to be up and out by 6 am to get to the markets early.
In the countryside, most people are up and moving by 4 or 4:30 in the summers. By then it is bright outside. The sun does set early (@ 7:30) so the reason for the early sunrise is both a matter of being east (thanks to China's one country, one time zone policy) as well as north. [On a side note, when I was in Kashgar last month, the sun did not set until after 10 pm.]
In the city, I think people do not tend to get up with the sunrise as much as in the country. But as I've learned from my morning market trips and morning runs, quite a few middle aged and older people tend to be up and out by 6 am to get to the markets early.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Representing Dongbei Cai (Northeast food)
It was a cold and rainy morning in Harbin today. I mean like downpour rain where there was really nothing productive to accomplish outside. So I grabbed a list an acquaintance had given me of the most authentic dongbei (northeast) restaurants. I wanted to go visit the restaurants in Harbin that prided themselves on having the most traditional northeast food in the city. My acquaintance is part of what I would call a very well-off Harbin family and I trusted that she would know some of the best restaurants.
In my recent conversations with farmers, the most interesting discussions have been about what they eat, rather than what they grow. Either I need to do some more digging to find more interesting questions to ask about production or I have to accept that much of my project is going to be about consumption rather than production. Anyway, what I find interesting is how simple they all claim dongbei food is. While there is certainly an art to cooking and presentation, dongbei does not have the same reputation as other regions of Chinese cuisine. Because of these conversations, I wanted to see how people in the city-which is easily and constantly influenced by new trends-present dongbei food.
The first restaurant I visited was a surprise upon entry. I really had no idea what to expect. I walked in to be greeted by 5 servers standing at the door dressed in Mao uniforms. In front of me was a large picture of Mao Zedong. I had walked into a Cultural Revolution-themed restaurant! I had heard of these existing in Beijing; here it is in Harbin! I sat down with the boss and she showed me the menu and explained each dish to me. The themes were the same that I have seen in Harbin and in the countryside: hardy, big chunks of meat, corn, eggplant, potatoes, and carrots alongside fresh leafy lettuce, garlic, and onion.
When we got to the back of the menu with the staple foods (rice, corn, noodles, etc.), I began to ask about Harbin trends for consuming staple foods. The boss got up and showed me a framed picture of old grain tickets that had been used during the Cultural Revolution. We talked about the differences in food preparation and consumption between then and now, this restaurant, and current Harbin eating trends. She took me on a tour of the restaurant, which had plenty of references to the countryside. The was a replica corn barn holding old, dried cobs of corn, a well, wood decor, fake grapes hanging from vines overhead, and pictures of Cultural Revolution leaders working in the fields. Rooms off to the side (for private parties) had tables on a lifted floor, like many of the houses in the dongbei countryside. Old newspapers from the late 1960s were posted on the walls of these rooms. The boss pointed out to me that now many of these rooms (in contemporary restaurants) have televisions, but they chose to put newspapers on the wall.
It was a fascinating visit, and a place I am sure I will go back to with friends. The other restaurants on the list were nice, fancy, non-themed restaurants. Now I need to talk to my friend again to ask her why this particular Cultural Revolution-themed restaurant made it on her list of 'authentic' dongbei restaurants.
In my recent conversations with farmers, the most interesting discussions have been about what they eat, rather than what they grow. Either I need to do some more digging to find more interesting questions to ask about production or I have to accept that much of my project is going to be about consumption rather than production. Anyway, what I find interesting is how simple they all claim dongbei food is. While there is certainly an art to cooking and presentation, dongbei does not have the same reputation as other regions of Chinese cuisine. Because of these conversations, I wanted to see how people in the city-which is easily and constantly influenced by new trends-present dongbei food.
The first restaurant I visited was a surprise upon entry. I really had no idea what to expect. I walked in to be greeted by 5 servers standing at the door dressed in Mao uniforms. In front of me was a large picture of Mao Zedong. I had walked into a Cultural Revolution-themed restaurant! I had heard of these existing in Beijing; here it is in Harbin! I sat down with the boss and she showed me the menu and explained each dish to me. The themes were the same that I have seen in Harbin and in the countryside: hardy, big chunks of meat, corn, eggplant, potatoes, and carrots alongside fresh leafy lettuce, garlic, and onion.
When we got to the back of the menu with the staple foods (rice, corn, noodles, etc.), I began to ask about Harbin trends for consuming staple foods. The boss got up and showed me a framed picture of old grain tickets that had been used during the Cultural Revolution. We talked about the differences in food preparation and consumption between then and now, this restaurant, and current Harbin eating trends. She took me on a tour of the restaurant, which had plenty of references to the countryside. The was a replica corn barn holding old, dried cobs of corn, a well, wood decor, fake grapes hanging from vines overhead, and pictures of Cultural Revolution leaders working in the fields. Rooms off to the side (for private parties) had tables on a lifted floor, like many of the houses in the dongbei countryside. Old newspapers from the late 1960s were posted on the walls of these rooms. The boss pointed out to me that now many of these rooms (in contemporary restaurants) have televisions, but they chose to put newspapers on the wall.
It was a fascinating visit, and a place I am sure I will go back to with friends. The other restaurants on the list were nice, fancy, non-themed restaurants. Now I need to talk to my friend again to ask her why this particular Cultural Revolution-themed restaurant made it on her list of 'authentic' dongbei restaurants.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
North Korea Telephone Game
I have heard some other crazy things lately about the US. I think I mentioned before how everyone has been talking about swine flu. They are telling me America is not doing enough about it and the situation in the US is very severe right now. And they attribute the problem to the American economy collapsing and a lack of a stable health care system. That sounds like a bit of a stretch to me.
Lately I am intrigued by what I am hearing about North Korea. On a bus the other day, a guy was saying that the US and North Korea had begun fighting a war. I could have turned around and told him (and his surrounding audience) the truth, but I did not want to cause a scene.
Later that afternoon I was on a return bus when a guy sitting behind me started taking to the guy sitting next to me about the Russian girl next to him. I turned around and politely informed him I am American, not Russian to let him know I can understand what he says. Talk about starting a scene! I had no idea, but the guy was drunk or crazy. In a loud, confrontational voice, he started asking questions about the US. He asserted that China is not afraid of Obama and it can do whatever it wants but it will not be able to defeat China.
Today I was visiting some friends in a rice store. A customer came in, saw me, and asked who I was. My friends told him I was an American graduate student who wants to understand rice. He asked me what I study and I said geography. He told me geography is good, its a peaceful thing to study. 'What', I asked, 'does a peaceful major mean'? His response was that unlike international politics or economics, geography is a good thing to study because there is no conflict. Well I could argue with that, but instead I asked for some examples. North Korea, he told me, is an example of a country with good relations to China but not to the rest of the world. So now China is caught in the middle because China also has good relations with the rest of the world, so there is conflict. International politics have to look at this problem and figure out a solution.
I think he, like many people I meet, do not have a solid understanding of geography. I know plenty of geographers who study conflict. But again, there was North Korea at the center of his thinking. I guess we are close to North Korea here (468 miles from Harbin to Pyongyang) so when the US gets concerned about nuclear testing or American journalists sentenced to prison, it will be big news here. But its sometimes like a game a telephone where you whisper a word into someone's ear and by the time you get to the end of the circle, the message is completely different.
Sometimes I try to explain the reality of the US to people (like, no we really all do not keep guns in our homes), but other times I am amused by their perceptions. I like to just listen to people talk. I know I should be more of a so-called cultural ambassador, but I am fascinated by how skewed the stories they get are. Its sad, really, but I guess misperceptions happen everywhere (though the state-run media here does a good job at making it happen often here).
Lately I am intrigued by what I am hearing about North Korea. On a bus the other day, a guy was saying that the US and North Korea had begun fighting a war. I could have turned around and told him (and his surrounding audience) the truth, but I did not want to cause a scene.
Later that afternoon I was on a return bus when a guy sitting behind me started taking to the guy sitting next to me about the Russian girl next to him. I turned around and politely informed him I am American, not Russian to let him know I can understand what he says. Talk about starting a scene! I had no idea, but the guy was drunk or crazy. In a loud, confrontational voice, he started asking questions about the US. He asserted that China is not afraid of Obama and it can do whatever it wants but it will not be able to defeat China.
Today I was visiting some friends in a rice store. A customer came in, saw me, and asked who I was. My friends told him I was an American graduate student who wants to understand rice. He asked me what I study and I said geography. He told me geography is good, its a peaceful thing to study. 'What', I asked, 'does a peaceful major mean'? His response was that unlike international politics or economics, geography is a good thing to study because there is no conflict. Well I could argue with that, but instead I asked for some examples. North Korea, he told me, is an example of a country with good relations to China but not to the rest of the world. So now China is caught in the middle because China also has good relations with the rest of the world, so there is conflict. International politics have to look at this problem and figure out a solution.
I think he, like many people I meet, do not have a solid understanding of geography. I know plenty of geographers who study conflict. But again, there was North Korea at the center of his thinking. I guess we are close to North Korea here (468 miles from Harbin to Pyongyang) so when the US gets concerned about nuclear testing or American journalists sentenced to prison, it will be big news here. But its sometimes like a game a telephone where you whisper a word into someone's ear and by the time you get to the end of the circle, the message is completely different.
Sometimes I try to explain the reality of the US to people (like, no we really all do not keep guns in our homes), but other times I am amused by their perceptions. I like to just listen to people talk. I know I should be more of a so-called cultural ambassador, but I am fascinated by how skewed the stories they get are. Its sad, really, but I guess misperceptions happen everywhere (though the state-run media here does a good job at making it happen often here).
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
One Year Mark
So I happened to look at my passport today and realize that I arrived in China a year ago. Really? Minus the 2 weeks at home for the holidays, I've been in China for a year. Added to the two other years I spent here and a couple 2-3 month trips in between, I've spent about a tenth of my life in China.
Well, I guess this year has gone by fast. I've learned a lot. The work is making it go fast. I can always change and move on to something new if I get bored. I've moved around a bit, too, so that makes it go fast. Four and a half months to go.
Still having issues uploading pictures. When it works, though, I will have lots of pictures to share.
Well, I guess this year has gone by fast. I've learned a lot. The work is making it go fast. I can always change and move on to something new if I get bored. I've moved around a bit, too, so that makes it go fast. Four and a half months to go.
Still having issues uploading pictures. When it works, though, I will have lots of pictures to share.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Transplanting rice
Most of the rice in the northeast was transplanted from the greenhouses to the fields over the past week. I have some interesting photos of this, but for some reason, my internet is not loading them here.
Could this be because technically blogger is blocked in China right now?
I am grateful that my university offers a virtual private network to download to my computer. When I log into this, I can access all sites that are currently blocked in China. In addition to blogger, you tube, twitter, and flickr are all blocked because of a certain event that happened 20 years ago in Beijing this week. There is a lot of good commentary on the web about this anniversary. Not many people are talking about it here. I am choosing to practice self-censorship for the time being, even though I have always been (and will always be) fascinated with the events that took place in Beijing in 1989.
I did get caught in a big thunderstorm in the rice paddies the other day. Its a pretty muddy place and trying to run out of the paddies proved to be quite difficult, as I was walking on dirt dividers that quickly became mud alongside the paddies. I hope I can load the pictures soon...
Could this be because technically blogger is blocked in China right now?
I am grateful that my university offers a virtual private network to download to my computer. When I log into this, I can access all sites that are currently blocked in China. In addition to blogger, you tube, twitter, and flickr are all blocked because of a certain event that happened 20 years ago in Beijing this week. There is a lot of good commentary on the web about this anniversary. Not many people are talking about it here. I am choosing to practice self-censorship for the time being, even though I have always been (and will always be) fascinated with the events that took place in Beijing in 1989.
I did get caught in a big thunderstorm in the rice paddies the other day. Its a pretty muddy place and trying to run out of the paddies proved to be quite difficult, as I was walking on dirt dividers that quickly became mud alongside the paddies. I hope I can load the pictures soon...
Monday, June 1, 2009
What makes research 'research'?
Over the past month or two, I've talked to several recent college graduates from the US who have been awarded some type of fellowship or job to come to China next year. They have contacted me with a series of questions about what it is like to do research here. I've tried to do the best I can to answer their questions based on my experience(s). China is a large place and, while many patterns of research challenges can be similar, it is difficult to know what to expect. I am glad I can be of help to people who are coming to China or tackling social science research for the first time. But the truth is, I often question if I am doing research the right way (assuming there is a 'right way').
What exactly counts as research? What makes research 'research'? I feel like so much of my time is spent wandering around, talking to random people, trying to figure out what it is I want to get from interacting with them. Sometimes I ask irrelevant questions, hoping to strike an interesting topic with them. Other times I have my camera with me and I ask to take some pictures of what they are doing. I explain that I am a researcher and I want to understand northeast rice. The camera helps to open doors of communication. When I need to fall back on something, I have a large, carefully worded dissertation proposal to remind me what I want to get out of my research. But that proposal says nothing about how I will actually find the right people to talk to or what I will say to them.
I think so much of my time is spent trying to figure out how exactly to carry out the things I say I will do that once I actually do them, they are quite easy. So the wandering and the randomness are about me testing the types of questions I think might be useful to me. Its trial and error about what is an appropriate way to approach someone or how to phrase a certain question. Once I figure out what works, I can get things more efficient. And then by the time I ask those questions, more questions come to me.
This is how I feel right now. I hope this trend continues for the remainder of my time here. Even on days when I feel like I haven't done much 'research,' I still talk to people, take note of what they (and I) say, and think about the next steps.
What exactly counts as research? What makes research 'research'? I feel like so much of my time is spent wandering around, talking to random people, trying to figure out what it is I want to get from interacting with them. Sometimes I ask irrelevant questions, hoping to strike an interesting topic with them. Other times I have my camera with me and I ask to take some pictures of what they are doing. I explain that I am a researcher and I want to understand northeast rice. The camera helps to open doors of communication. When I need to fall back on something, I have a large, carefully worded dissertation proposal to remind me what I want to get out of my research. But that proposal says nothing about how I will actually find the right people to talk to or what I will say to them.
I think so much of my time is spent trying to figure out how exactly to carry out the things I say I will do that once I actually do them, they are quite easy. So the wandering and the randomness are about me testing the types of questions I think might be useful to me. Its trial and error about what is an appropriate way to approach someone or how to phrase a certain question. Once I figure out what works, I can get things more efficient. And then by the time I ask those questions, more questions come to me.
This is how I feel right now. I hope this trend continues for the remainder of my time here. Even on days when I feel like I haven't done much 'research,' I still talk to people, take note of what they (and I) say, and think about the next steps.
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