Archive for October, 2009

I live in a city that was built less than 30 years ago

By On October 26, 2009 In China, Latest With No Comments Permanent Link to I live in a city that was built less than 30 years agoPermalink

As you know, I am living in Shenzhen, China. The city is one of China’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Without going into too much history, it’s basically a city that was designated by the government to have more flexible economic laws. SEZs were created as part of China’s Economic Reforms (改革开放 or Găigé kāifàng; literally: “The Reform and Opening Up Policy”) of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

I’ve been told by many people here that the Shenzhen as we know it now did not exist 30 years ago. It’s been hard for me to picture this bustling city as a small fishing village.

That is, until I recently discovered these photos of the city from 1980 by Flickr user Leroy W. Demery, Jr.

Continue Reading →

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or an eggfruit by its appearance. [EDITED]

By On October 24, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With 5 Comments Permanent Link to Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or an eggfruit by its appearance. [EDITED]Permalink

EDIT: Commenter Aswin points out that this is actually passionfruit, and not eggfruit like I originally said.

Today, my neighbors offered me 鸡蛋果 (jīdànguǒ). Literally: Eggfruit. It’s just as weird as it sounds.

This is an egg fruit. It looks like an egg. Wonder where the name came from?

This is an eggfruit. It looks like an egg. Wonder where the name came from?

WTF.

WTF.

It took a moment for me to muster up my courage and give this fruit a try. When I finally did, I was impressed. It was absolutely delicious. I can’t really describe the taste too well, but it was a little bit like a pineapple and orange fused together.

I want this shirt.

By On October 21, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With 2 Comments Permanent Link to I want this shirt.Permalink
The shirt reads "Beijing Huar." It's making fun of the distinct Beijing accent which sounds a little bit like that of a Pirate.

The shirt reads "Beijing Huar." It's making fun of the distinct Beijing accent which sounds a little bit like that of a Pirate.

Back in August, I spent close to three weeks training in Beijing to receive my TEFL certificate. One major difference I’ve noticed between Beijing and Shenzhen is the accent people in both cities have.

Beijing ren (Beijing people) tend to add a distinct “arr” to the end of words. Nanfang ren (Southern people) avoid the “arr” because they believe it is bu hao ting (hard to listen to).

The “arrr” is known as erhua or the “Beijing huar.” It has the tendency to make speakers sound like a pirate. (Pirates say “arr” a lot, get it?)

Taxi drivers in Beijing had some of the thickest erhua I’ve ever heard. Their words seemed to be slurred, making it difficult to get around the city.

The concept of the “Beijing huar” amused me, so I decided to look it up online. The first thing I found was a website selling these t-shirts making fun of the accent.

Says the homepage:

“A distinctive feature of Beijing Mandarin is the “arr” sound at the end of many words, making you sound like a pirate! Celebrate this cultural synergy!”

Brilliant.

My school tries to keep me safe by … giving me a second door

By On October 20, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With No Comments Permanent Link to My school tries to keep me safe by … giving me a second doorPermalink
100_0254

Two doors? Why not?

Just a few hours after my iPhone was stolen yesterday, I came back to my dorm to find a man installing a steel-frame door with bars. I’m not sure if this was my school’s way of responding to the incident — I was pickpocketed on the street, after all — but it’s an interesting solution given my dorm already has a metal door with three locks. And bars on all my windows. And a bao an (security guard) that has to buzz me in everytime I come to the building.

Better safe than sorry, I guess.

It is entirely possible to have your iPhone stolen while you are using it

By On October 19, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With 1 Comment Permanent Link to It is entirely possible to have your iPhone stolen while you are using itPermalink

IMG_9198, originally uploaded by Sheryl McKee

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way today.

I was on my routine 10 minute walk to teach classes and had a lot of bags in my hands. I placed the iPhone in a side pocket of my bag — a different pocket than I normally use (and a mistake I now deeply regret).

I was listening to music at the time when it suddenly stopped. Normally, I would have instantly reacted, but my iPhone has been starting to randomly pause music in the middle of songs. I figured it was just another one of these instances.

I took a moment to set my bags down. When I looked in the pocket to press the play button, the iPhone was gone. My earphones, meanwhile, were still in my ears.

To say I’m devasted would be an understatement, but luckily my contacts and music were synched with my computer. Canceling the service and changing passwords won’t be difficult either.

Moral of the story: even if you’re using your device, nothing will stop a determined pickpocketer from taking it.

This warm weather thing will take some getting used to

By On October 18, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With No Comments Permanent Link to This warm weather thing will take some getting used toPermalink
SEZweather

This was Shenzhen's forecast for today, October 18.

Meanwhile, back in Michigan — the land of college football, crunchy leaves, warm cider, candy corn and Pumpkin Spice Lattes — it’s a cool 30°.

An apology to grade school teachers, on behalf of bratty students everywhere

By On October 16, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With 6 Comments Permanent Link to An apology to grade school teachers, on behalf of bratty students everywherePermalink
Me, age 6. Don't be fooled: behind those big eyes and that gap-toothed smile is a devil in disguise.

Me, age 6. But don't be fooled: behind that gap-toothed smile is a devil in disguise.

I have a confession to make: I was a brat in grade school.

In Kindergarten at St. Michael Catholic School, it was almost guaranteed that you could find me sitting in the corner on a daily basis. My teacher, Mrs. Pavelek, frequently sent me there because I never shut up.

That same year, I stole toys from class, Latchkey and even store displays. My mom, a city prosecutor, gave me a tour of a jail cell and told me I’d end up there if I continued my thievery.

In first grade, I got a C in conduct.

At the end of recess on a cold day in second grade, our principal, Sister Dolores Ann, pulled me out of line and took me back to her office. She wrote me up because I was being too loud.

And in fourth grade, I got a B- in conduct because I did self-assigned art projects in the middle of other classes. My teacher that year once endearingly referred to me as a motor-mouth.

This confession comes about after recent encounters with difficult students. As you know, I am an English teacher at Luoling Primary in Shenzhen, China. Each week, I teach 15 classes — 10 fourth grade and 5 third grade. Each class contains around 50-60 students, of which there are bound to be troublemakers.

Continue Reading →

You don’t say.

By On October 16, 2009 In China, Latest With No Comments Permanent Link to You don’t say.Permalink

Via the NYTimes: “High Blood Pressure Tops the List of Preventable Deaths in China.” Can’t imagine why.

They even use annoying font decorations in China

By On October 14, 2009 In China, design With 2 Comments Permanent Link to They even use annoying font decorations in ChinaPermalink
aiguo

This sign outside my school reads: "I love you, China." The bottom part says something about China's 60th birthday.

National Day was a very big event for China this year. Businesses and workplaces went out of their way to make the perfect 60th anniversary decorations. In the weeks leading up to the festivities, it seemed like the entire city of Shenzhen was covered with ads for 60% off specials.

My school, Luoling, also got caught up in the guoqing (National Day) spirit. The week before the October 1 holiday, I noticed that they changed one of the signs to the entrance of the building (pictured above).

Naturally, my designer instincts kicked in. I began to analyze the sign by guessing how many Photoshop layers and techniques (i.e. filters, feathering, gradients etc.) the artists used.

The word for "love" in Chinese (pronounced "ài"). Their use of hearts as strokes would be equivalent to us dotting i's with hearts.

The word for "love" in Chinese (pronounced "ài"). Their use of hearts as strokes would be the equivalent of us dotting our i's with hearts.

Then my eyes were drawn to the fonts. Upon closer inspection of the character for “love,” I had to laugh.

Apparently the graphic artists, in keeping with the theme of loving China, replaced some strokes with little hearts in the character for the word “love.”

How … cute.

On that note, I’ve been studying the signs across the city, and I’m beginning to get a good idea of what the main typefaces are for Chinese characters. From the looks of it, there are very similar classifications (i.e. serifs, sans serifs, slab serifs and decoration fonts). In a later post, I will discuss these.

The Malaysia Diaries

By On October 11, 2009 In China, Latest, Personal With 3 Comments Permanent Link to The Malaysia DiariesPermalink

I recently traveled to Malaysia as part of my National Day Holiday break. Malaysia sits just above the Equator, so the weather was warm and sunny throughout most of the trip.

I traveled with five other people from my English teaching program — Leah, Steph, Katie, Katie and Al. Here’s a rundown of what happened, along with a few of the 200+ photos I took while there.

Day 1: A night at the “Fook Kiu” Mansion in Hong Kong
After what seemed like hours of filling out immigration and health forms, our group made it to the New Territories. Having spent two months on the mainland, it was refreshing to find signs in English and restaurants that weren’t just Chinese or McDonald’s. At night, we celebrated Leah’s birthday before returning to our interestingly named hostel.

We spent the night at the "Fook Kiu" Mansion. And I used to think signs like these only appeared in photoshopped memes.

We spent the night at the "Fook Kiu" Mansion. And I used to think signs like these only appeared in photoshopped memes.

Continue Reading →

← Older Entries