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.