Eric's Beijing Diary

Melissa invited me to her place for the Lantern Festival last night. She and her roommate had invited some Pakistanis who are here on a short term training visit.

In China, the Lantern Festival marks the end of Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. So basically, the Spring Festival period lasts two weeks. Fifteen days, to be exact. New Year's day this year was the third of February, and the Lantern Festival was yesterday, which would be the fifteenth day of Spring Festival. The loudest time of the whole period, of course, would be New Year's Eve (except in Hong Kong, where there were NO fireworks on New Year's Eve), which fell on February 2nd this year. The second loudest time of the whole period is the evening of Lantern Festival, both because it is the last celebration of the Spring Festival period, and because everybody has to use up all the fireworks they haven't blown up yet.

I was talking to one of the Pakistani guys about my interest in Afghanistan. I told him that there were two million children there who had no school. He said the number was probably larger than that, and the ones who did have schools, did not have very good ones.

Interestingly enough, these guys are studying at my previous university. I guess that's where they have the short term training set up. Lots of folks come to China from developing countries to get training or advanced education. They are taught by Chinese professors who "speak English a little."

Our dinner was a little awkward getting started, because the hostess had gone to quite a bit of work to prepare a Chinese hotpot without being fully aware of the exigencies of Muslim dietary laws. Muslims cannot eat food which does not meet the standards of Halal. It isn't good enough that you don't serve pork. Even meat that is permissible must be slaughtered in a certain way. Unless a strict Muslim can be assured that the animal was slaughtered according to strict Halal standards, he will not partake. The hostess had decided to compensate by making a rice dish for them, but I said, "We can make this work. Let's put the vegetables in first, and then we can add the meat after they have had a taste of Chinese huo guo [huo=fire guo=pot or pan]." It took a little talking to convince the guests that there was nothing sacrilegious in the water, but they finally decided that it would be alright to have some boiled vegetables. We kept the mutton out until they had had their fill. The hostess (bless her heart) had kindly prepared some mutton for them because she knew that they would not eat pork. But she didn't realize that they won't eat mutton either, unless they are sure that the beast was slaughtered in the proper manner. It worked out, though and turned out to be a very nice dinner.

Went to the local police station this morning to register, since I just entered the country again yesterday. One of the young police women there asked me how much vacation American police get. I told her that most working people would get a two week vacation each year, and then after working for the same company for a period of time, their vacation time would be increased. She told me that in China, the police get one week a year. Hats off to those folks. They make China a much more livable place than what it was years ago when the countryside was inhabited by bandits, and you couldn't travel safely from one place to another. There are still plenty of hustlers trying to take your money in China. The cops cannot always spare you the consequences of your own stupidity. But generally speaking, China is considered a safe place to live.

Met the folks from the St. Andrews Church at the Tung Chung metro station (you can actually ride the metro across the causeway to the island now), and rode the bus with them to the old Cantonese village of Tai O. Really touristy today, but it was interesting none the less. I usually stay away from places like that on holidays, but there are some things you would see at a festival time that would probably not be seen ordinarily, such as the lion dance (above), which I filmed with my pocket camera. So, sometimes for the sake of culture, one must suffer.

I got into a conversation with a Canadian guy who has lived in Hong Kong for 12 years and speaks Cantonese. I asked him if it was really possible for a Westerner to learn Cantonese because of its many tones. Mandarin has four basic tones, and everybody knows what they are. When I first started learning Chinese, my tutor used some books for elementary children she had brought with her to Arizona. The beginning of the book introduced the four tones of Mandarin using four little drawings. The first little drawing showed a car driving on a road. The second showed a car driving up a hill. The third drawing showed a car driving down the hill and up the next one. And the fourth showed a car driving down the hill. Mandarin is like that. It is a tonal language to be sure. But the tones are simple and straightforward. Cantonese is so different in that respect. I have never been in a conversation with more than one Cantonese speaker at the same time and had them agree on how many tones there are. Seven. No nine. They always argue. And forget about asking them to tell you what they are. So learning Cantonese seems a hopeless endeavor. But the Canadian guy told me that because Cantonese has so many tones, it is a bit more forgiving. You can get a few wrong, and still be understood. He's probably right about that. When I am speaking with Chinese people who do not speak English, especially when I am asking for a specific item in a store, or something, they just cannot understand me if I don't get the tone just right. It can be really frustrating. There are fewer tones to learn in Mandarin, but there are so many words that sound exactly the same, except for the tone, so if you don't get the tone just right, it is really hard for them to guess what you are saying.

Took the ferry out to Lantau Island today. St. Andrew's Church is having an outing there tomorrow, so I am going to spend the night at the youth hostel there. On the way out to the island, I saw these barges doing an offshore load/unload. Not sure, but it looks like the barge on one side is loading while the other is unloading. I don't know what is the reason for this offshore approach--lack of birth space at the dock, or just simplicity.

I can't say that I recommend this youth hostel. The hostel is nice, actually, and the site is rural. But it is right near the tourist area surrounding the giant Buddha. The website said there were plenty of places to eat in the village. But "the village" turns out to be a modern shopping area. Everything is expensive. And another thing. Bus fares on the island are astronomical. I know, I am spoiled. I am used to Beijing, where the standard bus fare is 4 mao (about 7 cents US).

The most depressing thing, though, is the pervasiveness of Hong Kong's pollution. It fills up the area near the mountain, seeps out across the bay, and covers the outer islands. Makes one feel a bit dismal about the future of this colony.

Had dinner this evening with Robert and his wife. Robert was a colleague of mine at the Software College when I first came to China. I can't remember what brought it up, but we got into a conversation about health care. We were comparing health care in Hong Kong, China, and the US. The thing I always say is that if you don't have an unusual condition that requires development of a completely new procedure, China is the best option, because it is a pay-as-you-go system and the costs are much lower than they would be in the States. Robert mentioned that he had a condition that the doctors in Hong Kong had not been able to treat properly because they did not know what it was. He said one visit to a doctor in California solved the problem. He could be right about that--diagnosis is probably better in the US than in other parts of the world. And the United States is definitely the location of choice for rich people with life threatening conditions, such as heart problems. But I personally don't like to go to a doctor until I am pretty certain I know what the problem is. Then it's just a matter of getting the right treatment.

Thailand always comes up in discussions like this. I mentioned the Bunrungrad Hospital, and Robert had also heard of it. This hospital has quite a reputation among English teachers because they say you can get world class treatment for a very low price. I don't know if that's the case anymore, though, because once the word gets out, medical tourism increases, and with it, the prices. But even if the prices are a lot lower, you don't always have the luxury of delaying treatment until you get to a distant location.

Been talking with a guy from Korea that I met here at the youth hostel who is interested in my idea. He is in the process of getting a business license in Beijing, and is exploring ways that a business could be combined with the kind of thing I am talking about. I told him that I tend to move toward George Muller's model. George Muller fed and clothed ten thousand orphans in England and never solicited funds. I saw a book at St. Andrews church the other day about Hudson Taylor referring to him as the "father of modern faith missions." Close, but not quite. I have a great deal of respect for Hudson Taylor, and his determination to depend on God for the support of the China Inland Mission. But it is only fair to point out that Hudson Taylor was able to do what he did because he was bankrolled by George Muller, who was the father of modern faith missions.

The Korean guy emphasized to me that George Muller's model was not the only model. He's right. Paul the Apostle talked about the importance of supporting those who are working for the cause of the gospel. But he was also determined to support himself, so as not to be a burden on people. Still, after living in America for forty years, and seeing the way non-profits who bill themselves as "faith missions" actually raise gargantuan amounts of money by making strong emotional appeals, I am definitely turned toward George Muller's approach.