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11月22日 Chinese Music Part 10B: Rock Bands and Singing Groups, 2000sThe following is a continuation of Peltonator's series on Chinese rock music, the previous entry of which can be found here:
The first entry in the series can be found here:
Chinese music has predominantly lain in the arena of pop singers whose material has been handed to them by separate composers. The idea of forming a rock band who played their own instruments and composed their own music, though occurring occasionally in the history of modern Chinese pop music, has been rare. The tragic demise of the foremost Chinese rock band, Beyond, served as a huge setback to the formation of rock bands in China.
In the new millennium, however, things began to change. Bands that performed serious rock music as opposed to the so-called bubblegum pop that dominated the airwaves, began to form. While this phenomenon occurred in Hong Kong with rock bands like Dear Jane and Boy'z or in Mainland China with Beijing's Brit-pop-influenced Super VC, the most successful of the new rock bands formed in the island of Taiwan. The two biggest of these in the 2000's were Mayday and F.I.R. Others include folk-rock band Sodagreen and, in recent years, Lollipop.
In terms of singing groups, besides the aforementioned S.H.E. and Twins, Mainland China provided the male/female duo called Phoenix Legend. And Taiwan gave us the male counterpart of S.H.E., namely the quartet called Fahrenheit.
Mayday
 Band Type: Male "Alternative" Rock Quintet
Debut: 1999
Chinese Name: 五月天
Mandarin Name: Wuyuetian
Region: Taiwan
Members:
A Xin (Lead Vocal)
Guai Wu / Monster (Guitar)
Shi Tou / Stone (Guitar)
Ma Sha (Bass)
Guan You (Drums)
Mayday started out as a garage-rock band and, over the years, with its increasing popularity, has gradually moved towards a slicker production of more anthemic songs. After performing in a music festival, the band sent demo tapes out ultimately attracting the attention of Rock Records. They released their debut album in the summer of 1999 which went on to sell 300,000 copies, an impressive feat for a new band. Their song "Peter and Mary" was one of the 10 biggest of the year in Taiwan. The quintet's second album, Viva Life, exceeded their first in sales and they won Band of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards.
From 2001–2003, the band took a temporary hiatus because Ma Sha was up for mandatory military service. Shi Tou proposed to his girlfriend then went to England to learn production techniques, and Guan You went to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills. When they regrouped, they marked the occasion with a concert in Taibei Stadium which attracted nearly 400,000, breaking the attendance record (previously held my Michael Jackson). Their fourth album, Time Machine, helped them snatch their second "Best Band" award. They embarked on a world tour with dates in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.S. They also performed on top of the tallest building in the world (at the time) – the Taibei 101 tower. In 2009 they went on another world tour which included Australia. That year they won their third Best Band Award.
F.I.R.
 Band Type: Male-Female Rock Trio
Debut: 2004
Chinese Name: 飞儿乐团
Mandarin Name: Fei'er Yuetuan
Region: Taiwan
Members:
F: Faye Chan (vocals)
I: Ian Chen (guitars, keyboards)
R: Real Huang (guitars, vocals)
F.I.R. performed the theme song of the hit Taiwanese TV Drama "The Outsiders", a song called "Lydia". The result was overnight success for the male-female trio. They released their debut album in 2004, aptly named Fairyland In Reality, a backronymn of the band's name. The title-track of their third album Flight Tribe was a number one hit in 2006 in China. The most unique aspect of the band is that it is comprised of both male and female members, which is rare in both the eastern and western worlds.
Phoenix Legend
 Band Type: Singing Duo
Debut: 2005
Chinese Name: 凤凰传奇
Mandarin Name: Fenghuang Chuanqi
Region: Mainland China
Members:
Female vocalist Ling Hua (玲花) from Inner Mongolia
Male rapper Zeng Yi (曾毅) from Hunan
Ling Hua who sings in both Mandarin Chinese and Mongolian teamed up with male rapper Zeng Yi. The result is a unique combination of traditional Mongolian chants and modern rap beats. The duo released their first album in 2005 but it wasn't until they appeared on a TV show called Star Boulevard and performed "On the Moon" (月亮之上 Yueliang Zhi Shang) that they became extremely popular. Their songs are now frequently played in China and the duo has churned out several more hits, including "Fly Freely" (自由飞翔).
Fahrenheit
 Band Type: Male Singing Quartet
Debut: 2006
Chinese Name: 飞轮海
Mandarin Name: Feilunhai
Region: Taiwan
Members:
Aaron Yan (Taiwan / U.S.)
Wu Zun (Brunei / Australia)
Calvin Chen (Taiwan / Canada)
Jiro Wang (Taiwan)
Fahrenheit is a concept band in that each of the four members represents a different season (or temperature) that corresponds to his personality. Calvin Chen represents warm spring at 77 degrees (Fahrenheit), Jiro Wang represents hot summer at 95 degrees F, Wu Zun represents cool autumn at 59 degrees, and Aaron Yan represents cold winter at 41. Note that each of their temperatures is separated by 18 degrees.
Before releasing their first album, which peaked at #2 on the charts, the group had contributed to several TV drama soundtracks. Their first big hit was "I Have My Youth". They performed a couple of songs with S.H.E. and it's individual members. Their second and third albums topped the charts, and they scored a number one hit in early 2009 in China—"Lonely Ferris Wheel". 11月19日 On Beating ChildrenNovember 20th marks Universal Children's Day. I always thought it was June 1st, but I looked it up and found that June 1st is International Children's Day. What's the difference? I haven't been able to find a solid answer.
Anyways, in honour of Universal Children's Day, I wanted to address the issue of beating children. In my travels around the world I have found that most places and cultures, in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, believe that it is both necessary and healthy to beat children. The belief is that children are born bad and this proclivity towards evil can be corrected through the act of spanking or beating. I'm not sure how people came to believe this. But in reading older literature I have found that people used to believe that those who behaved badly were possessed by evil demons. And by beating people, the demons would be exorcized and scared away.
I remember back in 1986, I was walking along at the Expo in Vancouver. I saw a man beating a child (perhaps it was his own; I couldn't be sure). There were security guards nearby, but, though they obviously saw it, they did nothing. I walked along to another zone of the grounds and, this time, I saw two adults engaged in a fist fight. Security guards came running from all over to break it up. I gathered from this that if two equally-matched opponents are punishing one another, this must be stopped. But if one much larger and stronger person is beating a small one, who is too young to defend himself, it is acceptable. Is it just me or is something wrong here?
Nowadays more and more people who are of the reasoning kind (rather than the ignorant who blindly follow tradition) are questioning the whole phenomenon of beating children. They are coming to realize that beating children doesn't make the children good; it makes them more bad. And this creates a vicious cycle. A child behaves badly, the parent beats him causing him to behave more badly, triggering the parent to beat him more.
We are on the brink of decadence if we fail to come to terms with this. What is the truth? Is beating children a good thing? Does it make them better people? Or does it make them all the worse? The one the media called "The Peace Prophet", after a lifetime of Persian and Ottoman prison and exile with his dad for espousing beliefs that upset the authorities of the time, beliefs which we take for granted today, traveled to Europe, then to the United States and Canada back in 1911-12. He said the following on this issue:
"Whensoever a mother seeth that her child hath done well, let her praise and applaud him and cheer his heart; and if the slightest undesirable trait should manifest itself, let her counsel the child and punish him, and use means based on reason, even a slight verbal chastisement should this be necessary. It is not, however, permissible to strike a child, or vilify him, for the child's character will be totally perverted if he be subjected to blows or verbal abuse."
—Abdu'l-Bahá (1844-1921)
From hubpages.com:
10 Reasons to Never Strike a Child
1. The risk of child abuse increases with physical punishment. Hitting too hard can cause severe injuries such as broken bones, bruises, welts, and nerve damage.
2. Physical punishment encourages an erosion of trust between child and parent.
3. Regular physical punishment is shown to worsen, not improve behavior. It often leads to an increase in antisocial behavior such as cheating, lying, assaulting, stealing, bullying siblings or peers, and a lack of remorse for any wrongdoing.
4. Hitting children teaches a pro-violence attitude. It transmits to children that striking people who are weaker and smaller is permissible.
5. Fear is not an effective method of teaching acceptable behavior. Fear can lead kids to obey only when the person who strikes them is close by.
6. Childhood memories of resentment and anger linger in adults who were frequently hit as kids.
7. Often, people hit children for behavior that does not need correcting, but is instead related to basic needs for food, sleep, attention, and exploring.
8. When hitting a child, the caretaker loses an important opportunity to correct the misbehavior and teach a more appropriate behavior.
9. Although striking a child may end a misbehavior for the moment, other methods such as reasoning, time out, time in, talking, and implementing non-violent consequences work even better and do not have the potential for harm that exists with hitting.
10. Better alternatives work! Children learn best through discussing, teaching, and observing adults who model caring, responsible, and self-disciplined behavior.
________
One last note. These days those of us especially in the western world have become obsessed with the whole notion of qualifications. People are not allowed to do something or become something unless they are "qualified". Becoming qualified often means passing some particular set of exams that often cover material unrelated to the subject. And then, if they obtain a certain score, they are awarded with certificates. They have to pay a lot of money in order to write the exams and get the certificates. And sometimes, they have to pay a fee every year to keep their qualification status. Sometimes they are given particular letters that they are supposed to put before of after their surname to announce to everyone that they are qualified to do or be something. With all the trendy fanaticism over this in recent years, here is a question:
What qualifications must a person obtain in order to be allowed to become a parent? 11月18日 Gigi in ShaanxiHere's an interesting question: What is the most valuable treasure a community can possess? Precious metals? Gems? A mammoth shopping mall? A zero crime rate? A park? A hospital?
While all of these, to varying degrees, may be seen as valuable, the most valuable treasure is none of the above. In my opinion, the most valuable treasure a community can possess is children. Without them, a community is living simply to die. It is stagnant and has no purpose.
But these days, with cancerous materialism having infected most of humanity, with the self being placed on the altar, with pleasure and diversion being seen as the most important features of life, increasingly, children are being seen not as a treasure but a burden to society.
People are marrying later and later in life. And many people do not regard the procreation of children as the primary purpose of marriage. Many who marry don't want to have children or want as few as possible. They use every excuse imaginable: it's too expensive to raise a child; I don't have time to raise a child; it would mean sacrificing my lovely career; it's too big a responsibility / hassle.
Rather than spending double incomes on the needs of their children, many prefer to lavish their own lives with extravagance, buying themselves huge homes, fancy sports cars, the latest electronic gadgets, world cruises, what have you.
There are also a number of people who have children simply because they believe in the tradition, but abuse them or neglect them. They think paternalistically, that they needn't teach them anything—no morals, no manners, not how to deal with making a life for themselves in a decadent society—but simply buy them things, lots of things, and provide for them.
As an ESL teacher, I know that most ESL teachers don't want to teach children; no one does. They think it's too much hassle. Classroom teachers of children don't earn much of a living, so why bother, many say and become oil tycoons.
Well, after saying all this, here is a noble thing…
In the summer, Chinese celebrities Gigi Leung, Valen Xu, Charlie, and Angelica Li lent a hand to four representatives of the HOPE Charitable Education Fund by attending a Book Fair called "Summer Bookworm". Gigi wrote a book of stories for children entitled, "Little Flower of the Fantasy World". She personally traveled from Hong Kong to the much poorer Shaanxi Province in Mainland China to hand-deliver the books to children at various schools.
What was really sweet was that, according to her, the children were very orderly, taking the book one at a time, and not opening them until they got approval from their teachers. She also said that one of the principals asked her, "May I have one?" And she commented that happiness can come from simple things. Children in Hong Kong spend a thousand bucks to get a video game console. But here, with her simple gift of a children's book, the kids were much happier.
Well done!
 See the following link for more photos:
11月5日 November 2009 UpdateCarolyn and I have found a new apartment. It's in a good spot in Pudong, close to the subway, closer to my work and to Carolyn's parents' place. It's bigger (113 square metres) and cheaper than our current pad and has two balconies. I told Carolyn we're going to have to buy a barbecue. But she's more into getting a flat-screen TV.
Work is going better now. They gave me a bonus. They're realizing that getting good foreign teachers isn't an easy task, so treating those well who teach well is a must. The least sign of contempt by employers to their employees is usually an act of corporate suicide. But most places don't realize this. The fact that I'm getting paid well for teaching only 13-14 hours a week is pretty good. And now that we're moving I won't have to spend 3 hours on the subway everyday wrestling with kung fu masters for a seat.
Now that our move is official, we're busy packing everyday. Let's hope some ticks and roaches don't sneak inside any of the boxes to infest our new home.
What else is official is that they've just agreed to build the world's biggest Disneyland in Pudong. So, we'll be able to hang out with Mickey everyday, eh. 10月31日 Chinese Number Ones - Part 2/2As promised, here is the list of Chinese Number One songs from December 2005 up to October 2009. There are 75 songs in total. Please note that, normally, the songs went number one a week or so before the date given. The date refers to the time the song was listed as topping the charts. Also note that some weeks were absent from the database so the song wasn't necessarily number one from date to date. There may have been another Number One song in-between two consecutive dates. Take the English translations with a grain of salt. I used a translator that may not be entirely reliable.
Format:
Date Song-Title-in-Chinese (Song-Title-English-Translation) by Artist-English-Name (Artist-Chinese-Name)
2005-12-1 夜曲 (Nocturne) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2005-12-15 不想长大 (Don't Want to Grow Up) by S.H.E.
2006-1-5 让爱靠近 (Spread Love Around) by Jolin Cai (蔡依林)
2006-1-19 冬天快乐 (Happy Winter) by Chris Li (李宇春)
2006-1-26 霍元甲 (Fearless) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2006-2-23 曹操 (Cao Cao) by JJ Lin (林俊杰)
2006-3-23 原来 (Original) by JJ Lin (林俊杰)
2006-3-30 Give Me Five by Chris Li (李宇春)
2006-4-6 天鹅 (Swan) by Bibi Zhou (周笔畅)
2006-4-20 你一定要幸福 (You Must Be Happy) by He Jie (何洁)
2006-5-11 唱得响亮 (Sing Loudly) by Angela An (安又琪)
2006-5-18 舞娘 (Dancing Diva) by Jolin Cai (蔡依林)
2006-6-22 只剩我一个 (I'm Left with Only One) by Bibi Zhou (周笔畅)
2006-6-29 认真的雪 (Serious Snow) by Jacky Xue (薛之谦)
2006-8-3 飞行部落 (Flight Tribe) by F.I.R.
2006-8-17 太美丽 (Too Beautiful) by David Tao (陶喆)
2006-8-24 号码 (Number) by Bibi Zhou (周笔畅)
2006-8-31 千里之外 (Thousands of Miles Away) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2006-10-26 亲亲 (Kiss) by Fish Liang (梁静茹)
2006-11-30 放开 (Release) by Loving (爱乐团)
2006-12-14 黄金甲 (Golden Flower) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2007-1-18 梦里花 (Dream in a Flower) by Angela Zhang (张韶涵)
2007-3-1 爱情转移 (Love Transfer) by Eason Chan (陈奕迅)
2007-4-12 逆光 (Backlight) by Stefanie Sun (孙燕姿)
2007-4-19 发现爱 (Find Love) by JJ Lin & Kym (林俊杰 金莎)
2007-5-10 中国话 (Chinese) by S.H.E.
2007-6-7 说你爱我 (Say You Love Me) by S.H.E.
2007-6-28 杀手 (Killer) by JJ Lin (林俊杰)
2007-7-5 不能说的秘密 (Can't Reveal the Secret) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2007-8-23 G大调的悲伤 (Grief in G-Flat Major) by Jane Zhang (张靓颖)
2007-8-30 如果你也听说 (If You've Heard) by Sherry Zhang (张惠妹)
2007-9-20 玩酷 (Play it Cool) by Wilber Pan (潘玮柏)
2007-10-11 日不落 (Unsetting Sun) by Jolin Cai (蔡依林)
2007-10-18 牛仔很忙 (Busy Cowboy) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2007-11-1 彩虹 (Rainbow Restaurant) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2007-12-6 青花瓷 (Blue and White Porcelain) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2007-12-13 会呼吸的痛 (Pain Will Be Breathing) by Fish Liang (梁静茹)
2007-12-27 投名状 (Warlords) by Andy Lau (刘德华)
2008-1-10 我很好 (I'm Fine) by Rene Liu (刘若英)
2008-1-31 周大侠 (Zhou Heroes) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2008-2-28 我可以 (I Can) by Sam Li (李圣杰)
2008-3-6 依然在一起 (Still Together) by Ma Tian Yu (马天宇)
2008-3-27 为你写诗 (Writing Poetry for You) by Kenji Wu (吴克群)
2008-4-17 越爱越难过 (The More Love, the Sadder) by Kenji Wu (吴克群)
2008-4-24 千山万水 (Numerous Mountains and Rivers) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2008-5-15 舍不得 (Reluctant) by Xian Zi (弦子)
2008-5-29 北京欢迎你 (Beijing Welcomes You) by Various Artists (群星)
2008-7-10 一颗心的距离 (A Distance from the Heart) by Christine Fan (范玮琪)
2008-7-24 风云决 (Storm Rider) by Richie Jen (任贤齐)
2008-8-11 满满的都是爱 (Packed Full of Love) by Fish Liang (梁静茹)
2008-8-21 我和你 (You and Me) by Liu Huan & Sarah Brightman (刘欢 莎拉布莱曼)
2008-9-18 画心 (Art Heart) by Jane Zhang (张靓颖)
2008-10-9 稻香 (Rice Paddy) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2008-11-6 说好的幸福呢 (Say Yes to Happiness) by Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
2008-12-4 深深爱过你 (Love You Deeply) by Jacky Xue (薛之谦)
2008-12-11 属于 (Belong) by Fish Liang (梁静茹)
2008-12-25 花开的声音 (Voices Bloom) by Jane Zhang (张靓颖)
2009-1-15 孤单摩天轮 (Lonely Ferris Wheel) by Fahrenheit (飞轮海)
2009-2-19 爱得起 (Give Love) by Gigi Leung (梁咏琪)
2009-2-26 表达爱 (Expression of Love) by JJ Lin & Liao Zhong (林俊杰 廖君)
2009-3-19 大丈夫 (Big Man) by Jolin Cai (蔡依林)
2009-4-16 妥协 (Compromise) by Jolin Cai (蔡依林)
2009-4-23 关不上的窗 (Don't Shut the Window) by Steve Zhou (周传雄)
2009-5-7 勇敢 (Brave) by BY2
2009-6-4 双人舞 (Pas de Deux) by Wilber Pan (潘玮柏)
2009-6-11 残缺的歌 (Incomplete Song) by Wang Xiao Kun (王啸坤)
2009-6-25 沉默的瞬间 (Moment of Silence) by Nicholas Teo (张栋梁)
2009-7-2 蜀绣 (Shu Embroidery) by Chris Li (李宇春)
2009-7-23 与爱情无关 (Love Has Nothing To Do with It) by Chris Yu (游鸿明)
2009-8-6 灰色的彩虹 (Grey Rainbow) by Christine Fan (范玮琪)
2009-8-13 非常完美 (Perfect) by Angela Zhang (张韶涵)
2009-9-3 我要的飞翔 (I Want to Fly) by Xu Fei (许飞)
2009-9-17 梦田 (Field of Dreams) by S.H.E.
2009-9-24 白白的 (White) by Angela Zhang (张韶涵)
2009-10-9 闪闪惹人爱 (Sparkles Arouse Love) by Elva Xiao (萧亚轩) 10月25日 Chinese Number Ones - Part 1/2Over the past few years, Baidu has been keeping track of the weekly Top 10 Chinese songs. Rather than provide an extensive list of all these, I'm just going to look at the Number One songs. The charts began 1 December 2005 and have been running weekly (with the odd omission) up to the present time.
During these nearly four years (175 weeks listed) 75 songs from some 40 Chinese artists have topped the charts. If we look at the number of weeks a particular artist has topped the charts, Jay Zhou (周杰伦) takes the cake at 37 weeks. Coming in second is Jolin Cai (蔡依林) at 13 weeks. Singapore's JJ Lin (林俊杰) spent 7 weeks as a soloist. If we include his two duets that reached Number One, his total is 12 weeks. S.H.E. spent 11 weeks on top of the charts and Malaysia's Fish Liang spent 10 weeks at Number One.
Artists with the most Number One songs were Jay Zhou with 12; Jolin Cai and JJ Lin (including his two duets) with 5 apiece; Fish Liang and S.H.E. with 4 apiece.
In terms of trivia, there was one foreign artist who topped the charts in a duet with a Chinese: Sarah Brightman. There was a song sung by many Chinese singers together: "Beijing Welcomes You". And, as I mentioned, there were a couple of duets involving JJ Lin: one with Kym and one with Liao Zhong.
Below is a summary. Bolded artists are those with more than 5 weeks on the charts and/or at least 3 No. 1 hits.
1 December 2005 – 9 October 2009 Artist's English Name (Chinese Name), Weeks at No. 1, No. 1 Hits:
Andy Lau (刘德华), 2, 1 Angela An (安又琪), 1, 1 Angela Zhang (张韶涵), 8, 3 Bibi Zhou (周笔畅), 4, 3 BY2, 2, 1 Chris Li (李宇春), 5, 3 Chris Yu (游鸿明), 2, 1 Christine Fan (范玮琪), 3, 2 David Tao (陶喆), 1, 1 Eason Chan (陈奕迅), 6, 1 Elva Xiao (萧亚轩), 1, 1 F.I.R., 2, 1 Fahrenheit (飞轮海), 3, 1 Fish Liang (梁静茹), 10, 4 Gigi Leung (梁咏琪), 1, 1 He Jie (何洁), 2, 1 Jacky Xue (薛之谦), 6, 2 Jane Zhang (张靓颖), 4, 3 Jay Zhou (周杰伦), 37, 12 JJ Lin (林俊杰), 7, 3 JJ Lin & Kym (林俊杰 金莎), 2, 1 JJ Lin & Liao Zhong (林俊杰 廖君), 3, 1 Jolin Cai (蔡依林), 13, 5 Kenji Wu (吴克群), 4, 2 Liu Huan (刘欢) & Sarah Brightman, 4, 1 Loving (爱乐团), 2, 1 Ma Tian Yu (马天宇), 3, 1 Nicholas Teo (张栋梁), 1, 1 Rene Liu (刘若英), 3, 1 Richie Jen (任贤齐), 2, 1 S.H.E., 11, 4 Sam Li (李圣杰), 1, 1 Sherry Zhang (张惠妹), 4, 1 Stefanie Sun (孙燕姿), 1, 1 Steve Zhou (周传雄), 2, 1 Various Artists (群星), 5, 1 Wang Xiao Kun (王啸坤), 1, 1 Wilber Pan (潘玮柏), 4, 2 Xian Zi (弦子), 1, 1 Xu Fei (许飞), 1, 1
Next I'll provide a list of all the Number One songs. Pudong or BustWe're moving to Pudong. We'll be somewhat closer to my work, farther from Carolyn's and closer to Carolyn's folks. Pudong is more spacious in general and newer in development. Carolyn's parents have renovated their pad. It looks choice. Apparently, they had a bit of a spat when picking out the kitchen cabinets. Dad wanted blue and mom wanted red. Because dad does the cooking, he won. Carolyn had told me before we went over there to see the completed renovations. They showed me around. While in the kitchen, I told dad that the cabinets looked good and I liked the colour. He first looked surprised, then gave a triumphant, sneaky grin.
Things have been insane at work lately and I've even considered moving back home. A recent dream of my maternal grandfather convinced me to stick it out a bit more in the Orient though. Carolyn's work is going better. She got a decent raise this time around. But the one whom she assists is quitting, so she doesn't know what the near future holds.
We've been so busy I haven't bothered updating the site. But I'll put up a couple of older things I'd already completed now that I have a breather. ... 10月7日 AmoyWe went to Amoy, a coastal city on the east coast of Asia. It is also known as Xiamen which means "Down Door". Downtown Amoy is an island. Over 60 photos of our holiday can be found in the photo album section of Peltonator's, entitled Amoy. Without going into the history of the city which can easily be found elsewhere on the web, here is a summary of our 4-day, 3-night excursion.
We flew from Shanghai. Shanghai to Amoy seems comparable to the distance between Vancouver and Calgary; the flight time was under an hour and a half. We stayed at a Chinese-style hotel called the Hilford, located south of downtown, near Amoy University.
The first day, we climbed a mountain called Nanputuo and visited its Buddhist temples. After this, we headed to a large botanical garden called Wanshishan, wherein there was a beautiful tree planted by former Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping. Tired from the hikes, we got foot massages at the hotel.
   The second day, we went to the most famous tourist attraction in the city—Gulangyu Island. It's accessible only by ferry which is a short ride. We walked around the seawall which reminded me of Stanley Park's, though it's a much longer trek. The city is full of coconut trees and I enjoyed drinking straight out of a coconut with a straw.
 The third day housed Amoy's best-kept secret and the highlight of the trip: Riyuegu Hot Springs. We took a tour bus to the mainland section of the city. The entrance fee was a bit pricey (by Chinese standards), though well-worth it. The compound has many hot spring pools, each with a large "teabag" of a particular item: coffee, apples, rosemary, ginger, lavender, and so on. There must have been at least twenty different ones. Some of them have waterfalls, water jets, and sprays. There are also saunas and steam rooms. If you're in the mood for something cooler, there are three swimming pools. You can also pay extra for a massage on a bed of warm, flat granite slabs, heated from beneath the surface. For dinner, we enjoyed a Chinese barbeque at one of the dining halls. The facility has a website, located here: http://www.riyuegu.com/english/index.php. I'd return to Amoy, just to visit this place again!
 The fourth and final day, we went to one of Amoy's best beaches, Yefengzhai, dipping our feet into the western Pacific.
 Some people like to go on vacation to visit various tourist attractions, which can mean doing a lot of walking; while others go simply to relax. The nice thing about Amoy is that you can do either or both. If you just want to go somewhere to relax, you can go to the beach and the hot springs. If you want to explore, you can go to the mountains, gardens, and walk around Gulangyu Island. 9月28日 Work, Work, Work, Part 4: No Consultation Leads to ChaosPreviously, I wrote about the revolutionary practice of consultation:
In short, consultation is the process of a group of people making a decision. Its purpose is to show that decisions made by several individuals are always better than those made by a single individual, even if the group are non-experts and the individual is an expert. This has been scientifically proven to be true.
The other advantage of consultation is that, if an individual makes a decision, he is held accountable for its failure. Often, in order to save his own skin, he covers up the failure. Sometimes he bribes others to hush up about the failure just to save his own public image. This is a horrible way to operate. When a group makes a decision that proves to be ineffective, no one is to blame. The group can reconvene to discuss what went wrong and alter their decision.
In some parts of the world, companies use some form of consultation, though not done in an ideal way, nor used as often as it should be. Sometimes, for example, a board of directors at a large company will discuss certain issues and arrive at decisions together. In smaller companies, occasionally all the employees will assemble to discuss things. In such instances, usually, employees brainstorm or give suggestions and then the boss makes the final decision. But the standard for consultation should be "a process in which individual participants strive to transcend their respective points of view in order to function as members of one body with its own interests and goals. Through participation and unity of purpose, consultation becomes the operating expression of justice in human affairs."* In such a process, the final decision is made by the group, not the "boss", as the spark of truth becomes evident only after the clash of differing opinions are voiced. I provided a list of steps or rules for effective consultation in the link above.
As I touched upon in the pervious blog entry, it is very important to consult with those affected by decisions being arrived at. And this does not mean that you've already decided to go ahead with something regardless of what he says. If he says he doesn't feel comfortable with it, then you have to respect this.
Let's look at a true story that demonstrates how important consultation is.
At an educational institution in a non-English speaking country that hired foreign teachers to teach English in local kindergartens, a single individual or a couple of individuals working as administrators made a decision without consulting those affected by it. The results were just shy of catastrophic. The decision was that, at local kindergartens, the local teachers need not be present in the classroom while the foreign English teachers were teaching classes.
The administrators did not consult the foreign teachers first to see if they were comfortable with this arrangement. The parents of the children were not consulted, nor their permission requested. One administrator went ahead and communicated this decision with the kindergarten principals.
Because the foreign English teachers cannot speak the local language, the classes became chaotic. Within the first couple of weeks, two incidents occurred which led to possible lawsuits from parents. In the first, one child bit another, and the victim's father was now seeking to sue the educational institute. In the second, the children ran out of the classroom into the playground and one was almost injured.
If, before this decision was made, everyone involved had consulted about it—whether or not it was wise to leave local kindergarten children (who cannot understand English) alone in the classroom with a foreign teacher who cannot speak the local language—including parents, the foreign teachers, the local teachers, and the principals, surely a better decision would have been arrived at. Because of the biting incident, the foreign teacher was fired. If the institute cannot find a replacement within a month, the remaining foreign teachers will be asked to work overtime to cover his classes. Which may lead to some of them refusing or resigning. Chaos comes out of a lack of consultation.
____________
* "The Search for Values in an Age of Transition", paragraph 13. 9月27日 Canadians and Chinese - What's the Difference?As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, rather than writing a nine thousand word essay on the difference between Canadians and Chinese, here are nine pictures. The left / blue side represents Canadians; the right / red side represents Chinese. I found these on the web.
1. At Parties:
 2. Vocal Noise at Restaurants:
 3. At the Cashier:
 4. Showering Time:
 5. Feelings:
 6. Relationships:
 7. Making a Point:
 8. Dealing with Problems:
 9. The Boss:
 9月24日 Work, Work, Work, Part 3: Courtesy, Consultation, and CoercionOne of the last points of my previous entry was about making decisions affecting someone without consulting him first as well as issues like privacy and coercion. Let's look at another true story as an example of these.
Somewhere on planet earth, a business school is sending foreign teacher Jane to teach English at a local kindergarten. One day today at work, someone from HQ came to the local school saying that the principal had set up a nice new office for her and asked why she was still in her old "office" and not the new one.
Last week, Jane was suddenly told that the principal had moved her "office" (desk) to a room at the front entrance of the school. He told her that he wants her to sit at the desk from 8:30 to 9:00 just so that the parents arriving can look at her. The new desk is situated in front of a large window.
Jane found this offensive, that she was being used me to show off that the school had a foreign teacher. She also found it humiliating, being subjected to involuntary confinement so that people could stare at her white skin. Moreover, the room which is Jane's "office" doubled as the reception room for people waiting to meet with the principal whose office was next door to hers. There was a sofa right beside her desk, giving her no privacy and subjecting her to potential theft of her belongings, noise, and cancerous cigarette smoke.
Jane stood up for herself and told the principal in a nice way that she did not feel comfortable with this arrangement. Every morning, she did not accede to his request (read: order) and continued sitting in her old office where it was more private and quiet to prepare her lessons.
The principal telephoned HQ telling them that Jane was being a bad, disobedient employee, that he had gone out of his way to set up a nice new office for her and she didn't have the gratitude to sit at her new desk.
What's the problem with this? Most people in the world would agree—the principal didn't consult Jane first. Before going to all the trouble to set up this new "office", all he needed to do was, in common courtesy, approach Jane and say, "We are thinking of moving your office to a room at the front of the school so that arriving parents can look at you. Do you feel comfortable with this arrangement?" If she said she didn't, he could politely enquire why she felt uncomfortable but would, nevertheless, respect her wishes. But because he didn't consult her first, now it becomes coercion. If she refuses, a guilt trip is put on her: the principal out of the kindness of his heart made a nice new office for you, why are you being so stubborn and ungrateful? 9月22日 Work, Work, Work, Part 2: Rome Holds No WaterLast time I talked about two work systems: sports club and military. Sometimes, a person who is used to one of the systems moves to another region and works for a company that uses the other system. This can be catastrophic. Let's look at a true story.
John, who grew up in an English-speaking country, moved to another non-English speaking country to teach English. He ended up working at a school that used the military work style.
One day, he went to a school to teach. When he walked into the classroom, he noticed there was a guy there with a video camera. He thought he'd taken some footage of the kids and would be leaving when he began the class. He was wrong. When he began teaching, the camera started rolling. The school hadn't asked his permission beforehand, hadn't even told him that a guy would be subjecting him to the embarrassment of being captured on video for God knows who to watch.
He called HQ who explained to the school that this was inappropriate of them. The school talked to John afterwards apologizing but also telling him that this was normal in the country, and arguing, since he was now working in their country, he should get used to it and accept it.
This was the old argument about "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", an argument which, in my opinion, doesn't hold water.
Sometimes when a person moves to another country, he is seeking to become a citizen of that country. In becoming a citizen, he is affirming that he accepts the new country's way of life and is agreeing to adopt it. Sometimes a person moves to a country that has a multi-cultural policy, meaning that, even if he becomes a citizen, he is encouraged to keep his culture. Sometimes a person moves to another country whose laws prohibit anyone from becoming a citizen of that country. So, he is not there to become a citizen and adopt a new way of life but simply feels attracted to the place and has come to help the country develop. Regardless of which of the three cases applies, an adult who moves to a new land has been raised with his own culture and beliefs. While he should certainly respect and abide by the laws and government of the country in which he is now residing, an employer would be foolish to try to impose cultural ways, styles, or habits of living on him.
Beyond culture, there are some universal behaviours that anyone with a basic understanding of ethics and morality would see as just plain wrong because they violate the principle that all were created equal. These might include the following on behalf of the employer:
- reprimanding an employee
- asking him to be grateful
- expecting him to work overtime for free
- not allowing him to have a life outside of work
- using him to show off
- interfering in his personal affairs
- violating his privacy
- constantly making requests of him at the last minute
- using various forms of coercion
- placing him in an environment which threatens his peace of mind, exposes him to constant interruptions
- asking him to return a favour
- making decisions that affect him without consulting him first
- lying to him, cheating him, or in the habit of breaking promises 9月21日 Work, Work, Work, Part 1: Sports Club versus the MilitaryWe all work. Some because they feel they must in order to survive. Some because they see it as a way of using their natural talents to contribute to society. Perhaps some because they want to make a name for themselves. Many people I've talked to don't like to work. They try to make as much money they can so they can retire early. Some enjoy the work itself but don't like the way they are treated by their fellow workers, including their employers. Many of us agree that how we treat one another is the most fundamental factor contributing to the well-being of society.
One of the problems, when it comes to work, is that, throughout history, despite our having been created the same way, we have come to believe that some people are more important than and therefore superior to others. We see differences in people which make us beautiful as a human race. Some of us are male (those designed to beget children) and some are female (those designed to bear children). Due to the respective climates of where we've lived on our planet, some have developed darker skin and some lighter skin. Due to the brightness of the place, we've also developed different kinds of eyes. Some parts of the world have managed to prosper materially and some not so much. These differences make us beautiful like a garden of various colours of flowers is more pleasing to the eye than those that all look the same. The problem is that an enemy has invaded our thinking and that enemy is prejudice. Prejudice makes us think that one kind of person is better than another. For example, those with lighter skin are better than those with darker skin. Those from a complex region are better than those from a simpler region.
This dark thinking has clouded our vision. When we look at people, we don't see ourselves as equals. Equals doesn't mean that we have the same role but that one role is superior to another role. We have carried this view with us into the workplace. In a company, for example, some have the role of sales. They find customers to buy products. Some have the role of advertising - to promote the company and its products. Some have the role of designing the products. Some make (manufacture) the products. Some are responsible for managing the finances of the company. In short, there are many different roles workers play in the company. But problems arise when we think that some are more important than others, and one group exalts themselves over the other group and assume an air of superiority and authority.
In a private school, for example, one group has the role to serve as teachers and another group as administrators, who manage the affairs, and promote the business of the school. The administrators take it upon themselves to evaluate the work of the teachers and become judges. The teachers, however, do not evaluate the work of the administrators. So, the administrators become the superior group.
In our world, two systems have developed, both of which, many of us would argue are faulty. One system echoes the style of a sports club and the other, the military. Let's take a look:
1. Military Style
2. Team Style
Most of us would probably prefer the team style to military style. The latter one might argue, though, is more effective for developing an economy quickly, for getting the job done. Both of these systems, however, are flawed at the fundamental level, flawed because they are materialistic and more concerned with material prosperity than human betterment. 9月14日 The United States' Kent State MassacreAs a teacher of children, I often witness these youngins getting into arguments. One accuses the other of something, then the other accuses him of something. The blame and the insults swing back and forth, escalating until they begin fighting. But as adults, we don't do that, right? Certainly, governments of nations wouldn't do that with each other, right?
Alas, it happens all the time. I can't but sit back and laugh at how these so-called professionals behave like little kids with their hypocrisies, finger-pointing, and blame. A few months ago marked the 20th anniversary of a notorious incident of the national guard breaking up student protests at the public square of the capital of Cathay. Apparently, it was all over the news in the U.S. With all the criticism it engendered, no-one in the U.S. bothered remembering their own Kent State massacre, an incident which went pretty much the same way as the one in the east. Hypocrisy is an interesting thing. It allows one to find fault with another person or country when the same fault exists in the blamer or the blamer's nation. So rather than going into details of the incident in the east 20 years ago (which Americans have talked about endlessly), I'm going to relate the horrible incident that happened in the United States in 1970.
The leader of the United States at the time was a man named Richard Nixon. He had promised to pull the U.S. out of their war with the Asian nation of Vietnam. Not only did he renege on this promise but instituted conscription in 1969, calling it the "draft". This means that the nation that prided itself on "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" decided it could undemocratically deprive someone of his freedom, order him to join the army against his will, and send him to the war in Vietnam where there was a good chance that his unhappy time would end in his death. Secondly, Nixon decided to invade another Asian nation, namely Cambodia.
Concerned students began a series of protests on university campuses, leading to a nation-wide strike of post secondary students. At Kent State University in the American province of Ohio, a protest by some 500 students was staged on campus May 1st. One student buried a copy of the United States' constitution and another set fire to his draft letter. The students agreed to hold a noon-hour follow-up protest on the 4th.
University faculty attempted to ban the protest by handing out 12,000 leaflets stating that the event was to be cancelled. The students ignored the ban and 2,000 of them gathered. Due to some looting over the past couple of days, the authorities feared the worst about the protest and called in the National Guard to disperse the crowd. Sound familiar?
The campus patrolman rode up to the crowd in a jeep and read them an order to disperse or be arrested. The students ignored the summons, some throwing rocks at the jeep which led to its retreat. The National Guard returned again ordering the crowd to disperse, then used tear gas, which was ineffective given the breezy weather conditions. The students picked up the gas canisters and hurled them back at the National Guard.
When it was obvious the protesters were not going to disperse, the National Guard troops, with bayonets fixed on their rifles, began to advance on the crowd. The protesters retreated, being pursued by the troops. The students knew the campus better than the soldiers (obviously), and went around an athletic field. The guards, hoping to catch up, marched straight ahead, eventually becoming blocked by a chain link fence that encompassed most of the field and now separated them from the students.
Of the 77 soldiers, 29 of them opened fire on the students using a total of 67 bullets. Some fired in the air, some aimed at the ground, and some fired directly at the students. Some of the students fired at were not among the protesters but were simply walking from one class to their next class in an adjacent building. The result of the shooting was that nine students were wounded, including one paralyzed for life. And four students were killed. Of these four, only two were protesters.
When the firing stopped, students were crying and screaming, calling for ambulances. Initially, most of them thought the guards were just firing blanks to scare them. But when they looked up they saw their fellow students lying on the ground in pools of blood.
The names of those killed:
Allison Krause (shot in the chest)
Jeffrey Miller (shot through the mouth - killed instantly)
William Schroeder (shot in the chest)
Sandra Scheuer (shot in the neck)
The names of those wounded:
Alan Canfora (hit in his right wrist)
John Cleary (upper left chest wound)
Thomas Grace (struck in left ankle)
Dean Kahler (back wound fracturing the vertebrae - permanently paralyzed from the chest down)
Joseph Lewis (hit twice in the right abdomen and left lower leg)
Donald MacKenzie (neck wound)
James Russell (hit in his right thigh and in the right forehead)
Robert Stamps (hit in his right buttock)
Douglas Wrentmore (hit in his right knee)
The Guard left shortly after the shootings. Initial newspaper reports lied by stating that a number of National Guard members had been killed or seriously injured. In truth, only one Guardsman—Lawrence Shafer—was injured seriously enough to warrant medical treatment. In a later interview, Shafer admitted to firing on Joseph Lewis.
Just five days after the shootings, 100,000 people demonstrated in the capital city of the United States against the war and the killing of unarmed student protesters. The Kent State Massacre led to protests on university campuses throughout the country, including a student strike of 4 million that closed over 900 campuses. The Kent State campus, itself, closed for six weeks. Ten days after the Kent State incident, police shot two students to death at Jackson State University under similar circumstances, but that event did not arouse the same attention as the Kent State shootings.
Canadian rock star Neil Young wrote the song "Ohio" for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young about the Kent State shootings.
 9月12日 September 2009 UpdateSeptember 23rd, Carolyn and I will celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary. And it will mark exactly 5 years since we first met.
China's "October holiday" will extend from October 1st to October 8th this year. Normally, it's actually only a three-day holiday. But to give the Chinese a week-long break from work, two of the working days are made up for by working on the weekend prior to or following the holiday. For example, in a year wherein October 1st is a Monday. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are true holidays. Working on Thursday and Friday is moved to Saturday and Sunday September 29 and 30. So, Monday October 1st to Sunday October 7th is a holiday, and everyone in the whole country will spend their week's vacation by travelling usually. So the flights are all booked and the nicer cities and resorts are swarming with people.
This year, the Moon Festival (which has recently been made a holiday in China) will take place on October 3rd. Its date changes every year (as do most traditional Chinese holidays) because it is based on the lunar calendar. Because it will occur during the October holiday this year, it will be a four-day instead of a three-day holiday. We will work Sunday September 27th and Saturday October 10th to allow for an eight-day stretch from Thursday October 1st to Thursday October 8th. The reason for having a holiday in October is that "modern" China (since Mao's regime came to power) was founded on October 1st, 1949. This year will mark the 60th anniversary (which in the west we consider "diamond") of "modern" China.
The Moon Festival is celebrated by having dinner with family usually, kind of like Thanksgiving. Apparently, the moon is the fullest and brightest on this day. Chinese usually give gifts of "moon cake" to one another. These are pastries of filled dough that are flat and round, usually several centimetres in diameter and 2-3 centimetres thick. Fillings vary but the most common (besides the mince meat fillings) are:
l Lotus seed paste (with or without a dry egg yolk in the center)
l Red bean paste
l Coconut paste
l Sweet paste with assorted nuts and seeds
My favourite is the lotus seed paste without the egg yolk. Moon cake tends to be quite expensive. I asked Carolyn why and she said it was because the factories make it only seasonally (one time per year), so in order to survive they must charge a lot.
Carolyn and I will be going to Amoy (Xiamen) for four days during the holidays. It will be the first time for both of us.
Work is continuing to worsen but I'll write more about that later. 9月3日 Work UpdateWell, as it turns out, my previous blog about the lack of Chinese teachers in the classroom was a bit premature. It looks like things will be as they were last term. I composed a letter to the principals and had my Chinese wife translate it into Chinese. I outlined things I needed for the term, one of which was in regards to the presence of Chinese teachers. What I wrote was that, because I cannot speak Chinese, it is impossible for me to control the children, and I require that a Chinese teacher be present in every class for the full duration of the class, actively involved in maintaining order in the classroom. Then I said that for any class that had no Chinese teacher present, I would be unable to teach that class.
But that ends the good news. I am with a large school in the city that has a partnership with local schools. They farm me out to teach at two. Last summer, I signed on with them and they had an opening for only these two schools. They are both far from my home and far from each other. It takes me 3 hours return to travel to either of them (1.5 hours one-way). For a teacher, it makes the week very gruelling. They compensated me, however, by giving me Fridays mostly off. I had only to go to the main headquarters (which is closer to my home) every second Friday afternoon. Having the Fridays off also enabled me to prepare my lessons in the convenience of my own home.
Last June I met with the manager to sign my new contract (contracts are renewed once a year). She told me there would be two changes. One was a raise in salary (not much though). The other was that I was to go to the schools Friday mornings, not to teach but to assist with activities (quite vague). I told her that the kindergartens were too far from my home and requested that I be transferred to schools nearer, especially if I was to go Friday mornings. One of the foreign teachers had left to return to her own country and her schools were closer to my home. Also they got into a bunch of new schools. The manager seemed to agree.
I waited to hear back from her as they were hiring some new foreign teachers to decide who'd be teaching where. I didn't hear back from her. In Canada I emailed her reminding her about it. She never replied. When I returned to Shanghai I was told that I would be teaching at the same two schools. I noticed a couple of interesting things about the new contract. First, it doesn't state which schools we'd teach at. Second, although we're told we must be at the schools from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Thursday to teach, it doesn't say what times we need to be there Friday mornings.
I was told by the supervisor that if the school had nothing for us to do Friday mornings, we didn't have to go. But, having lived in China for several years now, I know better. If you give any Chinese employer an inch, she's going to take a mile. For sure they're going to cook up something for the foreign teacher to do every Friday morning. Sure enough, the first week, one of the schools asked me to come Friday morning (tomorrow). But even worse, they asked me to come to teach a class. As I mentioned, the manager assured me I wouldn't have to teach. With Friday mornings taken up by going to the schools and afternoons taken up by meetings, I will now have no time to prepare my lessons.
On top of all this, I have now been asked to teach "Tuo Ban" classes. These are classes for 2 year olds who can't even speak Chinese. (They can't speak.) I taught them before at a previous school and hated it. It was a complete waste of time.
It may be time, once again, to change jobs in China.
8月30日 Canada's Health Care SystemI have a number of American friends who are talking a lot about health care these days (perhaps unhappy with their own system) and are asking me about Canada's system. I'm not an expert but can give a simple rundown of how it works. Interestingly, one of the first Canadians to suggest such a system was Dr. Norman Bethune who is, even today, considered a hero by most Chinese who are required to learn about him in school (but China, like the U.S., doesn't have a public health care system). The Canadian who really pushed for such a system, however, was a politician named Tommy Douglas. On a side note, Douglas' first daughter, Shirley, married famous Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, making Tommy Douglas the grandfather of actor Kiefer Sutherland.
Tommy Douglas became premier (leader) of the province of Saskatchewan, the first to adopt a public health care plan. Although Douglas devised the plan, it was his successor, Woodrow Lloyd, who launched it in 1962. Saskatchewan doctors were very pessimistic about it, fearing a loss of income and that the government would interfere with medical decisions. Despite many reassurances from the government and proponents of the system, the doctors went on strike. Gradually though, the province worked hard to gain the doctors' trust. The federal government observed the province for a couple of years to see how the new system went and were pleased with the results. Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson (Nobel Peace Prize winner for his handling of the Suez crisis) was the one who launched the system nationwide in 1966.
So, how does it work? First of all, public health care is different from the public education system. In the latter, public schools are paid primarily from taxes. From what I gather, this is the same in both Canada and the United States. Elementary and Secondary public schools, therefore, are free (no tuition). Canadian health care, however, is an insurance system. But the insurance isn't private; it's public. In other words, the insurance isn't provided by businesses looking to make profits. The reason why Canadians never bought into this should be pretty obvious. Private insurance means that the company has the authority to refuse providing reimbursement for medical services based on particulars in the plan. They are out to make a profit, so obviously they're going to do everything they can to find a legal precedent to deny the coverage. For other kinds of insurance (fire, auto), this is usually acceptable to people. But when it comes to a person's health, which is absolutely vital, such a system would be seen as evil.
Canadians believe, in principle, that health is not only a vital need of individuals, but of society as a whole. If a country's population is sick, the country will suffer because the workforce is impaired. This is why the education system is paid for by taxes; it is in the best interests of the government or nation to have an educated population, because this will benefit the country economically, scientifically, artistically, and otherwise. Likewise, it is in the best interests of the government to have a healthy population, for the exact same reasons.
So, Canada's health care uses public insurance; namely government insurance. Every Canadian pays some $50 a month, and whenever he sees the doctor - for any reason (check-up, surgery, what have you), he doesn't have to pay. No questions are asked. No forms are filled out to determine whether or not a particular procedure or reason for visiting the doctor / hospital will be covered. Everything is covered. The department of health consults everyone's income tax files as well, because, if a person has low income, their rate of insurance is cut. So, instead of paying the 50-some-odd dollars per month, they pay, say 20 dollars. If a person's income is below the so-called poverty line (around $20,000 annual income), then the insurance fees are entirely waived.
Yes, there are some glitches and problems with the system, but, on the whole, most Canadians are happy with it.
Now, having said that, Canadians still have to pay for their prescription medicine. And any treatments outside general medicine are not covered, such as cosmetic ("plastic") surgery. Also, dental and optical services are not covered. Last month I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist's and it set me back 200 bucks. Even worse was getting a new pair of glasses which set me back $725 ($100 for the eye exam, $100 for frames, and $525 for lenses). Most Canadians accept paying for this stuff though because these things aren't as vital.
I can understand that many Americans are terrified of health care reforms in their country - just as Canadians were in the beginning. Part of it is a trust issue. Government has throughout history demonstrated that it is untrustworthy (as have corporations). When you delve into any new system - especially when it is a vital thing like health - it's scary. It's never been done before. "What if this happens or that happens". If the U.S. government is smart, it should say, "Look, let's just try this out and see how it goes. If it's a disaster then we can always go back."
One last point is that many Canadians are anti-American and don't want to see the U.S. adopt a system like Canada's. As a result, Canadians (who, in reality, love Canada's system) go down to the U.S. to go on the air (TV or radio) blasting Canada's health care system to scare Americans away from it. They want Canada to stand alone in a civilized world. Perhaps we will. 8月28日 Discipline The Chinese WayI have been teaching English in China for several years now which is more than most expatriates can stand. Chinese employers should be grateful if a foreign teacher ends up staying for a full year. What's the problem? Well to quote Lando in The Empire Strikes Back, as we are told things from our employers piece by piece over the course of the first few months, we often find ourselves mumbling, "This deal's getting worse all the time!"
There is supposed to be a partnership in EFL/ESL schools in China. The foreign English teacher works with the Chinese English teacher to teach the classes. The latter focuses more on maintaining order in the classroom (as this is pretty much impossible for the foreign teacher who can't speak Chinese) and supports the foreign teacher. They plan the classes together. The Chinese teacher advises what might be too difficult for the children or too easy, keeps attendance records, explain to the children how to play a game, what to do in their workbooks, what they need to bring to class, what the classroom rules are, and so on. The foreign teacher focuses mainly on the teaching itself. It is a brilliant collaboration and works well.
At my school, however, there was a looser collaboration last term. The foreign teacher taught by himself and the Chinese classroom teacher attended the class, to help with discipline, and to get an idea of what was going on, so she could review by herself the next day. We recommended to the administrators that the collaboration be tighter, as outlined above. But things went very much in the opposite direction. We found out today (just four days before we commence teaching for the new term) that there will no longer be any assistance from Chinese teachers. The foreign teacher will be alone with the kids in the classroom and will be responsible for everything.
I don't know how comfortable the parents will be with having one teacher who can't speak any Chinese alone with their kids in the classroom. But, having by now gleaned the way things are done here, I know that the parents were never consulted before the decision was made, their permission wasn't obtained, and they are probably completely ignorant of the new arrangement. Of course the foreign teachers themselves were never consulted about this. Chaos is a much sought-after and cherished state of environment. I'm now wondering how to maintain order in the classroom without being able to speak Chinese and the children knowing little English. Perhaps I should do things the Chinese way...
EAT THE COCKROACH!
Last term, the kids were acting up. Fortunately in this class, the Chinese teacher was in attendance. There happened to be a dead cockroach in the classroom. The Chinese teacher asked me for a tissue. I gave her one. She used it to pick up the cockroach. From my limited understanding of Chinese I could understand what she told the kids. "If you don't be quiet, you must eat this cockroach!" she shouted. The kids fell into immediate silence but I could also tell by their facial expressions that their stomachs were churning. One girl kept talking. The Chinese teacher shouted at the top of her lungs at her, "I mean it!" She began to cry. The teacher put the cockroach a centimetre away from her lips and said, "If you cry, you must eat it". She stopped crying. The teacher placed the roach on a shelf facing the kids at the front and center of the classroom as a reminder.
In Canada or other western countries, a teacher who did this (although there are no cockroaches in Canada - substitute a spider) would, I'm sure, be fired or at least threatened to be. But, hey, it's China, a much freer country! But I'm terrified of cockroaches myself, so I don't think this approach would work for me. Let me think of another strategy...
BANG THE TABLE
Some Chinese teachers will bang the table with their hand when the kids are acting up. During one class when I was alone in the classroom with the kids I tried it. Afterwards, one by one, the kids went up to the table and banged on it with a facial expression as if to say, "This is fun!" I ended up teaching them to bang on the table. This didn't work.
SLEEP IN THE WASHROOM
At a kindergarten in Shanghai, one of the kids would come home very sad everyday. She was terrified to go every morning. Her mother wondered what was going on, so she used technology as her ally, and planted a recording device in her daughter's sweater. When the child came home from school, the mother listened to it and was horrified to find that the teachers were scolding her all day long (simply because she was crying) and forced her to sleep in the washroom. The mother marched down to the school the next morning, grabbed the teachers and went into the principal's office. She gave the teachers a chance to admit what they did first, asking them if they had scolded the girl (repeating the words they used) and had forced her to sleep in the washroom. The teachers denied it. Then the mother pulled out the tape recorder and played it back to the teachers and principal. "You must pay me 90,000 yuan (about 15,000 CAD) or I'm going to put this on the internet with your school's name." They gave in to the blackmail and paid her. She put it on the internet anyway. So, I guess I can't force any kids to sleep in the washroom, speaking of which...
GOING IN ONE'S PANTS
Last term, during a class at which I was alone with the kids in the classroom, one of them kept shouting at me something in Chinese. I didn't understand. I told her "Ting bu dong!" (I don't understand). But she kept saying it. All the other kids pointed to her and shouted at me the same words. I told them all to be quiet. About ten minutes later, the same girl started bawling and another - her friend - ran out of the class to fetch an "ayi" (caretaker). The ayi came in with a mop and a rag. Apparently the girl had been telling me that she had to use the washroom very badly. She ended up going in her pants. Did the kindergarten take a hint that it is unwise to leave a foreigner, who can't understand Chinese, alone in the class with the kids. Nooooo!
I expect this school term to be completely chaotic. But that's the way the Middle Kingdomers like it. Will keep you posted on the happenings. 8月27日 20th Golden Melody Award WinnersThis is old news. I was so busy with my holiday in Canada and my series on Canadian music that I neglected to post the results after the nominations (http://peltonator.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!184A2363AD187F54!3886.entry) to Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards. I'll recap the nominees for selected categories and mark the winner.
Album of the Year Nominees
If One Thing Is Important (如果有一件事是重要的), Sandee Chen (陈珊妮)
Don't Want to Let Go (不想放手), Eason Chan (陈奕迅) 100 Ways of Living (100种生活), Crowd Lu (卢广仲) We All Lay Down in the End (最后只好躺下来), Stanley Huang (黄立行) Capricorn (魔杰座), Jay Zhou (周杰伦) And the award went to...
Song of the Year Nominees
"Hold You Tightly" (甲你揽牢牢) from Hold You Tightly, Jody Jiang (江蕙)
"The Next Dawn" (下一个天亮) from The Next Dawn, Claire Guo (郭静) "100 Ways of Living" (100种生活) from 100 Ways of Living, Crowd Lu (卢广仲) "You're Not Truly Happy" (你不是真正的快乐) from Poetry of the Day After, Mayday (五月天)
"South of the Border" (国境之南) from the Cape No. 7 Soundtrack, Van Fan (范逸臣) "Fragrant Rice" (稻香) from Capricorn, Jay Zhou (周杰伦) And the award went to...
"Fragrant Rice" (稻香) from Capricorn, Jay Zhou (周杰伦)
The Other Winners
Video of the year: "Mr. Magician" directed by Jay Zhou Best Composition: Crowd Lu, "100 Ways of Living" Best Lyrics: Wu Yuxuan, "In the Trollycar" Best Arrangement: Martin Tan, "As Love Begins to Mend" Best Album Production: Chen Jiannian, Nanwan Sisters Self-Titled Album Best Produced Single: Wang Zhiping, Guo Wenzhong "Gaze" Best Male Mandarin Singer: Jay Zhou, Capricorn Best Female Mandarin Singer: Sandee Chan, If One Thing Is Most Important Best Band: Mayday, Poetry of the Day After Best Performing Group: Nanwan Sisters, Nanwan Sisters Self-titled Album Best Newcomer: Crowd Lu, 100 Ways of Living New Site LaunchI've launched a new website. It's called the Canuck Caboose:
Peltonator's will continue to be my main site and will be mostly about life in China. I will be moving blog entries that are Canadian-related from Peltonator's to the Canuck Caboose, including my recent entries on the history of Canadian music. From now on, new blog entries on Canadian-related issues will be posted on the Canuck Caboose, and all other entries, especially those related to life in China will be posted here on Peltonator's. Blogs related to both countries, such as my series on the history of the Chinese Canadian community, will be posted on both sites. |
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