skip the city

One of the great things about traveling to China, living there for a year and a half, and then coming back to take up residence in these United States is that a China imprint will forever be left on the makeup of my personality. My experiences in China changed my paradigms and opinions in so many ways that I couldn't catalogue them all if I wanted to.

Here is a great example: I now find it at least marginally annoying and more frequently extremely uncomfortable to walk around my house without footwear. Though I have absolutely no issues with walking around outside barefoot, the feeling of a naked foot against a cold tile floor is something that I may never be able to cope with again. Every time I get out of bed I search absently for a warming pair of slippers that aren't there. Showering barefoot has also become a serious issue, as I cringe in alarm when my exposed foot grates across the drain in the floor.

On top of that, I perpetually feel uncomfortable walking into my house wearing shoes. Open door, remove shoes, put on slippers. It is an instinct that may have been permanently ingrained in my being.

And God help you if you even THINK about putting your feet on my bed with shoes on.

Posted by Nick C. at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

I started this blog in 2005 to be used as a way to keep my friends and family informed of my adventures in the city that once seemed very big to me, Washington, DC. Since that time I've spent just a few months in DC and more than 1.5 years in Shanghai, China. After a brief summer interlude in South Carolina with the family, I have returned to the original "big city" in what was a blog once called "Skip in the big city." Now it is just "skip the city," and for the time being that city will be Washington, DC.

I moved in last week to a crowded three story row house with six bedrooms in the Georgetown district of DC. The place is great- it is located right in the city center, there are grocery stores, bars, and several coffee shops within walking distance, and (wait for it) yes, there is a maid that comes to clean every other week. Magical.

For the next three weeks I am going to be biding time, working, going out to experience the DC night life, visiting with old friends, applying for jobs in the hope of a sustainable future, and getting adjusted to life here. On September 4 I'll be back in school to complete my last year in a Master's Degree in Asian Studies. Don't ask me what I'm going to do after that....

I've never been very consistent with updating this blog, though I do enjoy the thought of maintaining a blog. Maybe I'll do a better job this time around, but I doubt it. Anyways, continue to check back once every few weeks or so to get an update.

Cheers

-Skip

Posted by Nick C. at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am back in South Carolina. The first thing I noticed: THE AIR IS AMAZING!!!!!!!

I can't explain how nice it is to leave the smog behind and arrive at the pristine landscape in Greenville. Green trees, starry skies and fresh fresh air. Please every one join me today in collectively appreciating the beauty of the environment.

My flight back was fine, marred only by a slight delay at the Chicago airport.

It is strange to be back in America and I'll definitely be in an adjustment period for the next few days. If you hear me saying something disgruntled about life in the States, please dismiss my verbiage as the simple rumblings of a jet-lagged traveler.

I guess this excuse will only last for a week or so.

But it is great to be back- the whole family came to meet me at the airport which I really appreciated. My brother got even bigger, my sister even more beautiful. Thanks, Dad, for my first (of many) pizzas, which was consumed immediately upon arrival. Now I'm going to wander off to Barnes & Noble to stare in awe at all the English-language literature- in a country with a free press (sort-of).

See you in Greenville....

Posted by Nick C. at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Nick C. at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

I am at a Chinese coffee shop working right now. Had to get out of the house, and this particular coffee shop is the closest place to where I live.

The Chinese like to take things that are western and contort them. Thus the ubiquitous phrase "....with Chinese characteristics." For instance, "capitalism with Chinese characteristics," which means that the Chinese government took the stuff that they liked about capitalism and utilized it, while continuing to control market investment and currency fluctuations in very un-capitalist ways.

Here is another example: back home we like our coffee shops to be cozy, comfortable, and relaxing. Many of the more successful chains strive to emulate the relaxing atmosphere of a living room, with fireplaces, comfy sofas, and TVs.

The Chinese coffee shop that I am currently patronizing (pun intended) is just a little bit off the mark. The coffee shops here are really posh and classy. Instead of a nice graspable mug, my coffee (imported from Brazil) came in a nice set of fine china with accompanying dish. A bouquet of flowers sits on my table, and a nice water feature with flowing springs and floating water lilies occupies about 20 square feet of space to my right. The place occupies that fine, fine line between classy and chintzy.

And to top it all off, the Christmas song "Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel" is playing in the background. It is May.

I'll take my coffee with Chinese characteristics, please.


UPDATE!!!

I missed this before but can't help but notice it now: there is a big white piano in the middle of the coffee shop. I was listening to jazz on my headphones when I realized that the background music was uncharacteristically loud. When I removed my headphones, my ears were lambasted by the shrill notes of an out-of-tune piano playing "Memories" from the musical Cats about ten feet from my head.

Posted by Nick C. at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

there was a dragon boat race outside in the river next to my apartment today. it was awesome. sort of like crew team back home, except there was a dragon head on the front of each boat. before the race started they had a celebration that included the releasing of what must have been five hundred pigeons at once.

you know you've been in China too long when you think- its a pity they let all those pigeons go, thems' good eats.

Posted by Nick C. at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

I constantly struggle with "fitting in" in Shanghai. As a Caucasian in a place where 1.3 billion people have the same ethnic roots, it is unavoidable. Even in Shanghai, an "international" city with China's largest expatriate population, I encounter conversations like this every day:

Model 1:

Chinese person: "What country are you from?"
Me: "America."
Chinese person: "Whoa! America! You don't look like an American!"
Me: "....."
Chinese person: "Yea! You're too short and too skinny to be an American. You look like a German."
Me: "Ok..... Where are you from then?"
Chinese person: "China of course! I'm obviously from China. Aren't we speaking in Chinese?"
Me: (sweet irony) "Yea, um... what part of China?"

or Model 2:

Me: Minding my own business, walking down the street, getting on the elevator, taking the subway, ordering food, etc. etc. etc. etc.
Chinese people: "Whoa! Look at that foreigner! His hair is so curly! He's so fat! He's so skinny! His nose is huge! He's so handsome! He's so ugly! (etc. etc. etc.)
Me: "Yea, there are alot of really (adjective of your choice) foreigners in Shanghai these days.
Chinese people: "Whoa! Your Chinese is so good! All foreigners speak such good Chinese these days. What country are you from? (refer to model 1).

So I am continuously encountering identity issues here. One of my most common sentiments is the desire to magically transform myself in to a Chinese person for a few hours. Not because I want to be Chinese or because I don't like being a whitey. Standing out and being noticed all the time is just really tiring. Anonymity is a luxury that is totally under-appreciated back home. When I wake up in the morning and take my daily commute to work like all the other 20 million+ people in this city, I just want to be one of the crowd. I don't want to talk to someone about how long I've studied Chinese, and I am tired of people feeling free to talk about me, assuming that I am incompetent or otherwise unable to understand their language. I am tired of people complimenting me on my Chinese and then asking me whether or not I can use chopsticks (are you kidding me?). I'm tired of people yelling "HALLO!!!" to me at the top of their lungs when I'm on a jog, and fed up with hearing the incantation "cheapa, cheapa, cheapa."

But my frustration is doubly irksome because most Chinese people are good natured and genuinely interested to know where I've come from and what I am doing in China. Almost all are eager to compliment my Chinese level and ask questions about America. So it's not that I think (in this instance) that the people are rude. It's just that I'm tired of sticking out. I'm tired of feeling like a tourist in a city that I've lived in for almost two years.

China has a long long way to go before it can be considered an international or cosmopolitan country. I've often referred to Shanghai as an international city, but this city can only be considered international in terms of the strong presence of foreigners. Culturally, even Shanghainese people maintain a culture that is very China-centric; there are the Chinese, and there are the foreigners. Us and them. And with the exception of Hong Kong, Shanghai is the most "international" city in China.

Posted by Nick C. at 1:30 AM | Permalink | Comments