在加拿大
去年初次来加拿大，没干别的，就是痛骂加拿大。至今还保留着那些发给世界各地朋友们的电子邮件，代表着一个初登陆的新移民的心里历程。在这里和新老移民们一起分享。也许您会感觉到一些共鸣。时间能医治一切。这里有人说我的“新鲜劲”还没过，其实我早就什么滋味都尝过了。过去看加拿大很消极，如今更多地看好的一面，否则来这里干嘛来了？ 初到温哥华 Hi all, After the ten hours' trip I'm finally in Vancouver, Canada! Believe me, this is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen! I had never seen so many trees in my life and had never seen a city this clean! No wonder Vancouver has been labeled by United Nations five times the most livable city in the world! My friend Zheng accompanied me for the trip and I'm currently staying at his friend's beautiful and stylish apartment by the sea. The sky is crystal clear and air incredibly fresh. Zheng's friend Tony is a nice enough guy, who came to Beijing a couple of times before and even came to my apartment for a short visit. It is strange that unlike Zheng, I don't have any jet lag problems, and so Tony drove me around the Stanley Park just now. The city is better than I had imagined, just like paradise in our imagination, with beautifully painted houses and high rise buildings standing amid green trees, bushes and flowers, or on the mountains by the sea, and people walking slowly and calmly as though they had nothing to do. But soon I've got homesick again. I called friends and my Mom and aunts in Beijing. I miss them so much. I had two farewell parties, one on March 12, and one on the night before I left China. We did bid a hard farewell; I didn't expect that I was so important in their hearts, especially when I saw them weeping and sobbing. We hugged and just didn't want to part. If they are not here to see Vancouver, what am I here for? And as I have ovserved, life here is full of leisure and seems pretty stagnant. People just walk slowly on the street or jog or ride a bike by the park or stay in their houses to let time pass by. I guess if young people live here for an extended period of time, they may easily get laid-back and lazy. I will keep you posted about my whereabouts/adventures. Warm thoughts from Vancouver, BH
评论
Bored to Death!Hi everyone, This is my second day in Vancouver, and I'm already bored to death! I do not have any jet lag problems; I'm not sleepy in the daytime, and I sleep well at night. So I'm eager to see the most interesting and exciting sights in the city. This morning Wang Zheng/Tavio/GFD took me to Vancouver's "Wangfujing"--Robson Street. It is a beautiful street, especially in the sunlight after the rain. We went through one after another small shop or big shopping malls. They are not as great as those fantastic, crowded and visually exciting shops and shopping malls in Guangzhou or Hongkong where there is a much bigger variety for all kinds of merchandises. Electronic appliances are lagging behind Beijing and Hongkong; digital cameras, cell phones, MP3 players and TV sets are all mostly old-fashioned. Articrafts and souvenirs sold here are ten times more expensive than in Beijing. I didn't see many people buying; the high fashion shops were empty while warehouse stores were full of people seeking on-sale stuff. I occasionally came across one or two beggars, and one or two guys dressed like bohemians. Women here all have bigger ass, but like to wear tight pants and jeans. A woman asked me "how are you doing?" even though she was a complete stranger to me. We met a pretty shop assistant who was exceedingly happy when I flattered her that she looked like Hollywood star Meg Ryan. Wang Zheng took me to a pizza shop on the street, saying the pizza sold here was great and cheap. (God, I had way too much fatty food and drink today -- pizza, cheese, coke and icecream). It was a crabby and dark place where a few slovenly dressed men and women were eating pizza and drinking coke. On the table at which we were eating was someone's dirty scrabbling ads -- "for a sexual time please call XXX..." This is my day: walking on the street for nothing, eating pizza and Cantonese food, driving around the Stanley Park again and then coming back home to check emails and watch TV. The night is dark and quiet. There are not many interesting places to go. People are staying home for the night and so far I don't know anyone interesting to hang out with. I've directly and indirectly met a few locals here, but none of them is the kinda progressive-minded and intellectually agressive people I'd like to talk to. None of them, including Wang Zheng, could raise thought-provoking subjects to arouse my interest. Everyone is laid-back and doesn't care if the Third World War is gonna explode. Even the cat here at this apartment is laid-back. She never jumps or make noises. I already miss Beijing. Life there is more cultured. I miss my friends there -- everyone is unique and dynamic, and everyday is different; life is always eventful and full of new discoveries. My friends there from other countries or other parts of China are no ordinary people. They are the best of the human race, all coming to Beijing across the seas and mountains with courage, perseverence, adventurous pioneering spirit and for a dream they have always cherished. But I'm amazed how the people here care about their environment. When can't my fellow citizens in Beijing care about the ancient capital city as much as their own houses seeing we are going to host the 2008 Olympic Games? Tony spends a lot of time categorizing the garbage everyday. He even cleans all the empty cans and pounds the opened can tops flat with a hammer, for the convenience of dustmen. Why doesn't our government teach its people to keep their homecities clean? " BH
评论
美国姐们给我的安慰信……My goodness, give yourself some time! And hey, you can always do what I did when coming to a new city and new culture halfway 'round the world--put an AD in for FRIENDS in the local internet sites! Describe yourself as you would in That's Beijing, and say you would like to meet people, male or female, just to hang out, explore the city, party and the like. Don't make the ad sexual at first, just look for pals. You're in a BIG city, and there is a lot to do, I'm sure. Go to the city's website and look up cultural events, attend art gallery openings, restaurant openings, funky parties at local bars, or take a class in salsa or tango and see who turns up. When I came here, I said to myself, why the hell should I be so alone? I sort of hopped right in and started getting to know people, and that was while I was working nearly full time as well. Good lord, you don't even have to worry about a job right now! Get a bicycle and ride to the parks in search of healthy, motivated, good-looking folks who like to jog and walk and bicycle and enjoy the pleasant weather--strike up a conversation--god knows you're not SHY! Your English is great--nows the time to bring it out and USE it fully! Listen to people talk, copy their phrases, color them and make them your own, improve your vocabulary, listen to all the fun nuances of the language around you, the idioms, the slang, and soak it all in--let your mind open up and enjoy all the different views around you. If anyone I know here in Beijing could make a GO of a new life in the West, it's YOU, Bao. Don't worry if you have lonely days, that will happen. Have a card printed up--something bright and exciting looking, maybe a folding card with an embossed logo, and hand that damned thing out to everyone!Smile, laugh, be friendly as only you know how, and DON'T just hand around GFD and other Chinese. Do there what your are so good at doing here in BJ: finding foreign friends of all kinds: fat, skinny, black, brown, white, rich, poor, students, artists, dragqueens, librarians, dancers, singers, playwrights---you can do it! I have total confidence in you that you can build up, slowly but surely, an exciting new life in Canada, make new friends and connections, and have the time of your life!Best of luck to you, my old friend--Get out there and shake yer booty!Cheryl
评论
Another Raining DayIt's raining again in Vancouver today. It's not a great time to walk out. But yesterday, a sunny, bright and windy day, I met a multicultural television news anchor named Bowen from China through GFD. Born in a small town Anhui Province, Bowen went to Beijing Broadcasting Institute, and worked in Macau for sometime before settling down here in Vancouver with a job offer at the local television for the Chinese community here. We had coffee with GFD and Tony at Bay View Cafe, and then walked along English Bay for three hours. Bowen was a pretty cordial and easy-going guy, telling me all the way about the history of each sight that came into our eyes, as well as his path and his feelings of living in Vancouver. On the beach I met a tall, gap-teethed blondish guy practising what seemed like Peking Opera martial arts with a wood pole. On the sand was his clothes, shoes and an oldish tape recorder which was playing music for accompanyment. I said hello wand asked him if he knew it was Peking Opera marticl arts and where he learned it. He said that he just acquired it from Chinese TV. Telling him that I did Peking Opera before, I taught him a bit more with his two heavy and long wood poles, which should actually be lighter and shorter spears in Peking Opera. This guy opened his eyes wide excitedly as though a kungfu master had appeared before him. He seemed to be into rambling to a stranger, and started to tell me all about himself no matter if I wanted to listen or not: born in Edmonton, no work, like to help people, broken ankles from walking, no cell phone, no computer for internet, worshiper of oriental philosophies... Then after we left him we saw a young girl holding an ugly wood box with traditional style Chinese characters on it. I asked her curiously what that was for and where she got it. She told me proudly that it was a Chinese rice box, which she bought from a nearby antique market. If she is into such stuff, she really should go to Panjiayuan Curiosity Market in Beijing! Around 18:30, Tony made a simple supper. He chopped a couple of carrots and cucumbers, then put them into the microwave oven, then super was done. GFD was out shooting fashion pictures with his amateur model Mirko, a cashier of Safeway supermarket who moved to Canada with his mom as refugees from Slovakia two years ago. A couple of hours later, GFD and Mirko came to pick me up for another dinner. We drove a long way to Richmond, to a Cantonese restaurant for a karaoke party there with a group of East Asian men and women who had nothing to do but ballroom dancing every night. They are mostly from Hongkong, Taiwan, Vietnam or Japan, and moved to Vancouver with their money and emptiness. They eat, drink, sing karaoke and dance every night. I always think that karaoke is low class entertainment; sitting with karaoke fans who are not great singers is torment to me. And these men and women, even though they all drive expensive Mercedes and BMW, made me secretly laugh at their taste for dressing and music and their sharp shieking noises when singing karaoke. After the karaoke, we moved on to what was considered to be the hottest bar in Vancouver. Mirko knew the bar security guard, and so took us into the bar for free, since they charge 10 dollars for each person over the weekend for their outrageous shows. The bar was not as crowded as the bars in Beijing, but had better air, for smoking was not allowed inside the bar. Men, women, white, black, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Southest Asians, Arabs, old, young, drag queens, married or unmarried couples...there were all kinds of people who came either alone or with buddies. Like the bars in Beijing, the folks here didn't mingle with strangers. Those who came alone were standing there alone with their drink in hand all night. And those who came with buddies kept talking and dancing with their buddies all night. Mirko asked GFD if I was too shy to talk to strangers. I could be silent. I could be talkative. It all depends on the person I meet. I cannot force myself to talk things that I don't like, and I'm always not afraid of being considered to have a big attitude if I find certain people not to be my intellectual equals and keep them in the background. This is the way I am. I'm just not a hypocritical person. Today GFD and Mirko took me to a Greek restaurant for lunch. The food was awful but I had to swallow that damned shit. This afternoon GFD and Tony drove me to the International Buddhist Temple in Stevenston, where GFD and I made a lucky draw. He got a middle-luck draw and I a top one. The English translation goes-- "Bless'd is the union of the man and his wife who marry in accord with yin and yang. so a dragon and a serpent join together. United are they in a dream so sweet." And-- "This describes the harmony of the sun and the moon. It symbolizes great good fortune. whatever you wish will materialize. A man and a woman will unite in marriage. There will be abundance of riches, and an even better harvest is to come. Your family and your own safety is guaranteed, and a boy will be born. It is a profitable year for framing as well as raising silkworms and domestic animals. A visitor will come soon, and the missing will reappear. Things lost will be found. Lawsuits will go in your favor, and migration or move will bring you fortune. Sickness gets good treatment. Ancestral graves are sale and sound." This is almost about the same as Madame Zhao and two other great fortunetellers (one Chinese and one Indian) said. I will have to wait and see. I checked GFD's lucky draw sheet. Amazingly, it just suits his current situation perfectly. We are now figuring out where to go tonight. It is a beautiful city but also a boring one. There are not many exciting things going on, and not many interesting people to be around.
评论
shafa
评论
赏 2006-09-16#6 
2,891 $0.00 温哥华朋友的安慰Dear Bao Huai,It was great to meet you as well last night. I can well imagine why it is so difficult for you in your first few days here in Canada. It can get very depressing coming from a place that is so vibrant, exciting and of course your home - to a quiet, unknown and rather mellow small town like Vancouver. Toronto is definetly more of a cosmopolitian city, with much going on, larger population, more business, media and social life.My friend in Toronto is a camera man, who works independently with filmmakers, as well as with TV stations. However, he knows everyone in the scene. He is also a very quirky interesting person. His name is Kwoi Gin. His email is: [email protected]. His phone number is: (416) 607-3523. I'm not sure if he's changed his cell number, but you can get the cell on his answering machine, but the old cell number is: (416) 927-4883. He is originally from Hong Kong, speaks Cantonese and English, some Mandarin, but mostly English.Hook up with him first, keep in touch with me. He knows pretty well everyone that I know. Good luck there. You'll be fine, and will have a good time there. K评论
BC时装周The dull BCFW05 (British Columbia Fashion Week 2005) finally saw some light from the East, as GFD/Wang Zheng/Tavio presented his "Silkman" menswear series yesterday afternoon. Apparently there were far more people in the audience and at the end of his show he was surrounded by reporters and overwhelmed by compliments for the use of Chinese elements in his menswear design. However, I've seen a lot of that before -- using Chinese dragon pattern, colligraphy and Peking Opera masks in modern art, especially in fashion design. I don't understand what the Vancouverites here were really excited about. The after-party was held at Alibi club. There was nothing exciting about it. GFD expected to meet either more reporters or buyers there. But none of them came. Those who came to join us were all his Chinese Canadian friends here, whose great grandfathers came here from Guangdong/Canton a century ago to build railways. GFD didn't meet any interesting strangers, but I did. One of the Chinese Canadian women was a TV documentary producer who wished to expand their market from Canada to China. Since I know some major distributors in Beijing and I know well what TV programs the Chinese audience want to see, she and I were both excited about the possibility of collaborating in the future. Today I finally met a cyber friend whom I first met on ICQ 5 years ago. A divorced Scottish man with two adult children, Matt lives in a fancy apartment at Yaletown. Three walls of his living room are toally glass, which creates a panoramic view of the sky, clouds, the harbor, bridges, highrise buildings and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games construction site. When I was enjoying the conversation with Matt, GFD and Tony came and picked me up to go to China Town to buy a flight ticket. At the travel agency there, the two Chinese managers, one older man from Hongkong and one older woman from Malaysia, called Tony, who is a white Canadian, "that foreigner," which made me laugh out loud. It seems that no matter where the Chinese are, non-Chinese are always foreigners. After supper, we had a long walk along the Coal Harbor at the end of Denman Street. Paradise in my imagination can't be better than here. The dream of building a Utopia of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin has come true here. The Chinese TV series, "Farewell Vancouver," was mostly shot here. I guess soon it'll be time for me to say "Farewell Vancouver" as well. Huai BAO
评论
美国女博士给我的邮件Traveling is a chance to re-evaluate what you believe to be good and desirable.Is publicity important? desirable? Shiny steel and glass shopping centers and other symbols of great wealth? Not everyone agrees. There are even people who have a finely developed appreciation for the casual atmosphere of a local pizza parlor with "for a sexual time call xxxx" scribbled on the counter, for whom that evokes memories and associations that make it preferable to an expensive candle lit meal.I think Americans - can't speak for Candadians - are likely to recognize that there are other values in life besides making money and trying to get rich, since those possibilities are not new here, and have in some periods been taken for granted. Many people think that the idealism and activism of the 1960s, for example, was related to the fact that those kids could take a certain level of wealth for granted. And there are many people in North America - in Canda too - who might not think that crowded expensive looking places are the type of place they like to go. There are lots of people who love quietness of nature more than they love cities, for example. Many suburban Americans think they don't like city life.It is understandable that you miss your friends. Just don't miss your old life too much to learn anything new.To see past the surface of things, and find out what is different and what is the same, you must be involved in something with other people.Meeting people randomly may not be the best way to find the type of people you like. Doing something that interests you with others who share that interest might be a good way to start. If you want intellectually stimulating people try universities. artists' organizations. cities. Look up the types of activities or things that interest you online for that city and find out what other people are doing and where.New York is a stimulating city. I think it would be hard for anybody to visit new york and fail to recognize that. The problem is that people also have to make a living. Often there is a tension between making a living and doing things that are interesting and exciting. It is particularly hard for artists.good luckStefani
评论
到了多伦多……This is my second day in Toronto. My friends here just helped me get an adaptor at a hardware shop, so that I can use my laptop with the North American plug! Anyway, Toronto is NOT as good as I had imagined, NOT as good as my friend in China has told me, and NOT even as good as Beijing! If Vancouver is paradise, Toronto is just a county of Beijing. It's dirty, old and gray. People throw away their garbage everywhere. I always step on damp bare earth, used tissue, waste paper, ugly plastic bags, empty coke cups, cigarettes bottoms...wherever I walk. Take care and keep in touch!HB
评论
美国女博士叫板Hi,Yes, we are so provincial here, Bao Huai, with our exotic electrical systems. It is generous of you to come to these outer provinces of the world, to bestow your esteemed presence on us bumpkins!So, the key word in what you have said is "good." What do you mean by it? Good garbage collection services? Or something more than that. Perhaps you mean the beauty of the architecture. Some places have beautiful architecture and some don't. How important is that to you? As always, "good" is an entirely relative term that indicates nothing in itself. One must know what is important to the person who says it, for it to have any meaning at all. So youmay be more specific, if you like.I do love beautiful architecture. I recently went to chicago for the first time and was very pleased with this aspect of that city. I would say downtown Chicago architecture is grander than New York. And although it is really inspiring, the architecture doesn't tell me so much about the cultural life of the city, or what it is like going through one's day there (except for the obvious fact that it is not a walking city.)And that is something that is very important to me about a city. Although Chicago down town is beautiful (and the outer parts of the city appear poor and dilapidated - I imagine that most people live there, not downtown with the gorgeous buildings built by the big capitalists to show how civilized the west was compared to the East and to New York. But I do like a walking city - and unlike Chicago, New York has shops and people all over the place. The public transportation is convenient in New York, but you can also walk all over the city, and at street level there is much activity to observe. Less so in Chicago.I love Taipei, but certainly not for its architecture, which is mostly unimpressive. And the newer more modern parts of taipei are not the parts I like. I like the old crowded alleyways and night markets, and people selling food on the side of the street. I guess the more modern Taipei gets, the more impersonal it starts to seem. So I don't necessarily find the appearance of"moderness" admirable or desirable. One of the things I have always loved about Taipei is the quality or texture of social interaction. People are more gentle and softspoken than Beijing, and I find it very soothing. So one of the very important things for me about a city is the tone of social relations. New Yorkers have a certain directness, that is acceptable to me. That is one of my qualities. Taipei people often show a gentleness, courtesy or sensitivity thatI love. Beijing people often seem to be competing all the time, and I felt that people do not trust each other or speak the truth to each other. Many big cities - including New York - are places where it is reasonable to not be naive about trusting others, but I guess there are different styles or ways of handling that issue.When you visit a place, you can only get surface impressions. It takes time to understand the mentality of a new place, especially since what is really novel for you is probably something you do not expect and are not looking for.Yours,Stefani
评论
温哥华朋友的致意BH,Beijing can be old and gray in the winter/Spring time too as all old cities can be. You must be patient, and you will find wonderful things over time. Don't be so critical and judge too quickly. All cities have vices, pollution and are subject to weather conditions. Toronto has a life of its own as all places do. It is of course up to you how you discover it that will make all the difference. Be open, and good things will come. Good luck!Karin
评论
中加对比I was in Vancouver for ten days and have been here in Toronto for 4 days. If Vancouver is the world's most livable city, it's primarily because of the geographic advantages that have attracted a lot of investment from all over the world, especially from East Asia. However, with Toronto being a typical North American city, unless you travel here, you will never know what kind of life people here are living. Probably, many Chinese people still think that people here have a much higher living standard; and also probably, there might be people here who still think China is a poor Communist country. But let me tell you about a real Canada. It's not true that the living standard here is high. I have made quite a few local friends who have decent jobs, and have visited quite a few families. I've checked every corner of their houses or apartments, and have talked to each of them about life in Canada. My conclusion is that the living standard here is ABSOLUTELY lower than in BEIJING, at least to me! I have never seen any apartment here better than mine in Beijing, based on interior decoration material such as flooring, wallpaper, ceilings, electronic and digital appliances and the quality of the construction. What's different here is that they all have larger open kitchens. I bought my apartment in my 20s a couple of years ago, and I have never felt any financial pressure. I can still travel abroad, and can still afford the most expensive shows, foods, drinks, clothes... Here, people live for their houses, or simply don't have their own places for their entire life. It is definitely not surprising here that a 35 year old white Canadian with a master's degree still lives in a lousy rented room. It is also not surprising that a 38 year old white Canadian man with Ph.D. is still working at a restaurant as a waiter, or a cashier at a supermarket. I have met QUITE a few of them from Vancouver to Toronto! There are many, many well educated men and women who still have to share an apartment and share a bathroom and kitchen. There's no one here who always takes taxi and who always eats at a restaurant like me in Beijing. One day, when I was walking on the Younge Street, I suddenly got hungry. I decided to eat some Thai food at a well-known Thai restaurant, as recommended by a local friend. I was not only the only customer eating there, but also when I was eating, there were two decent-looking young Canadians -- a man and a woman, coming in just to hand in their resumes to look for a position! In Beijing, from Lufthansa to Scitech to Wangfujing, or in Hongkong, there are always tens of thousands of people shopping and buying and paying, but here most shops have no buyers. People all pass by the shops without turning their heads, and the sales staff of the shops don't care about it either. Here, to make a living means you must have thick skin, you must have no shame, and you must learn to be used to being humiliated. If you hear someone saying they don't care, or they like it, or they find it "challenging", they are probably lying. They do know what kind of work is crappy, and what kind of work is "not so glorious." Who doesn't want a decent job? Who doesn't want a nice apartment? So, if they say they don't care, or they had money before and now they don't need money or they are not money-driven, they are not telling you the truth. It might have a great welfare system, but since I'm young and healthy and can hardly get sick, how can I have a try of the good things of their "socialist" advantages that they all tell me about? And no healthy people want to get sick intentionally to enjoy the welfare. Although Canada boasts its welfare system, there has been lots of strikes going on recently. A local friend's daughter, who is a teacher in Montreal, is on strike now. In China, after the regular DVD player comes the new generation EVD, HDVD or recordable DVD, portable DVD, and every family has tons of DVD movies. But here, some families have a DVD player, but looks very old-fashioned; and some families even still use VCR! And so far I have never seen a family watching a pure-flat or super-flat digital TV set. Indeed, in Canada, I always feel that I was too spoiled in Beijing, and the living standard here suddenly drops down. The days of eating and drinking and chatting at Elephant, Afunti and 1001 Nights one night after another are gone. The days of having shark-fin soup, fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis are gone. The days of sweeping all the shopping streets, markets and malls with bags and bags of stuff are gone. The days of flying to Hongkong for shopping and Qingdao for summer vacation are gone. The days of spending a small percentage of your income for food and housing and saving the rest for future use are gone. Fortunately I will soon be in Beijing again, back to my regular busy and eventful life there.
评论
美国姐们回话Hmmmm. Well, the one thing that would be noticable right off is that the cost of living is much lower in Beijing, which is why you can dine out all the time here, have a nice apartment of your own and take taxis everywhere. As for the standard of living in general, I think you've just met the wrong people. In the states I saw plenty of well-educated Chinese who left China because they couldn't make decent wages at professional jobs--they ended up working in restaurants and bars and making better wages than in Beijing! and they lived hard lives in the US, to save that money and get it back to China so they could buy a home. This kind of thing goes on everywhere, not just Canada. Miserable people in shitty jobs are no rare phenomena.As for shopping, you just gotta know where to go, and you haven't really been there long enough to get really familiar. Also, your tastes are formed by your environment, so what is available here wouldn't be available there many times, so you may feel like you're not seeing what you want. But Canada has opportunities for shopping, working and living that are unique, if you value them enough.You sound as though you are coming back soon--I thought you were planning to stay in Canada for 2 years? Have you changed your mind all ready, or are you coming home for a short visit and then going back west? I myself am considering going to France for 6 months to a year, teaching English, of course, now that my experience has been deepened. I love Beijing, but want to travel, go to other countries. Since I was able to make it here, find jobs, find friends, I think I can do this in another country. Italy is the goal after France, then maybe Greece or Israel. I feel restless and a little unhappy, as though I'm hiding out here, and I don't like that. There is no set plan at this point. I just want to bone up on my language skills in French, and start preparing myself to find work there, probably in Paris, because that is another place I've always wanted to go.If I had a time goal, well, it'd probably be the beginning of next spring. I'd want to do a lot of research, lose a little weight, bone up my resume, study the culture and language. My home base would be Beijing, of course, but I want to be there at least a year and just really experience FRANCE for myself.The sand storms are really blowing here. Even with a new metal door, tightly closed, there is a fine layer on everything in the entry hall. The peach blossoms are a little late this year because it's been so cold, but the haw flowers and others like narcissus are lovely. We went to Purple Bamboo park the other day and the flowers smelled divine, the trees are just beginning to wake up. It's been a long winter though, so the bamboo is rather dead looking, and the waters are not moving in the ponds--I'm hoping by mid-April it will be more alive. Moon Temple park at the Sakura Festival was nice, cool, tranquil, but even there the flowers were not really in full bloom yet, and the tulips looked like they'd just been planted. SanLiTun is kinda dead now--lot's of bars closed, and the places that are open are dull. We tried this Arab place the other night, called Arabesque (supposedly owned by Mustapha of 1001 Nights) and had the absolute shittiest Arab food I'd EVER eaten in my life + it gave both of us (even Mr. Iron Stomach=Peter) diarrhea and headaches the next day!
评论
美国女博士再度叫板Hey, sounds like you should go home, bunny!I don't think you are qualified yet to talk about a "typical north American city". You are talking about a very big place you have no experience of, so you sound like a blowhard.So you've make clear what matters to you in life: flooring, wallpaper, ceilings, electronic and digital appliances and the quality of the construction!I have heard even artists talking like that in Beijing - they sounded like real estate agents - and it sound so crassly materialistic and competitive, to me. It's funny because people must believe Americans are crass materialists, but in fact they are more so. It was more like that here in the 1950s, when everyone was just starting to get rich and standards of living were improving for most people. People in Chinese cities should be happy that the trade deficit our government here encourages is a net transfer of wealth and jobs from the US to China. Our standard of living is indeed going down, here, and many people regard the fact that American corporations have no loyalty to workers in our country as a primary reason. But also, how can you blame people for buying the cheapest goods they can get, especially since salaries have not been rising as fast as inflation over many decades? Of course, all the cheapest goods come from China. If you go to almost any store in the US, everything comes from China and very little is produced here anymore. The reason is that corporations don't want to pay a liveable wage here, where prices are high, and they can pay people in China much less for the same work. So they run off to China. This is what is destroying the standard of living in Germany and Taiwan as well. Any country that becomes wealthy and raises the standard of living, that also raises cost of living and wages, and it is easier to make a profit by moving your factory wherever people are poorer. Some people talk about a "race to the bottom": this type of international capitalism means that no place can get a higher standard of living and maintain it, without their corporations going somewhere else. Profits come from inequality, which is sustained by always shifting production from rich places to poor ones...? If that is so, then under capitalism, there is no way to solve the problem of poverty.Right now China is in a period of optimism and expansion, where people do not yet see any limits on their futures, very much like the United States after WWII, when there were no industrialized competitors to the US. So if you want to be an arrogant snob, as bad as the worst stereotype you have ever had of an American, you are making good progress, my friend! If what you want is what you already know, then go home! go home! Why stay to insult your boring, benighted hosts? Or perhaps these other people, with another way of living, have some different perspectives or insights than you have previously explored. But if you are so certain you know what is good, and so uninterested in anything else, then you should not waste your time bothering. (Or maybe, what is enjoyable for you will be feeling like a British Lord touring India, getting satisfaction from his superiority over the natives?) Your style of arrogance is quite Beijingesque, quite Chinese, I suppose. I never hear people from Taiwanspe ak that way, because they are humble people, and worried about their future so much that they can't appreciate their accomplishments. Big bully China steps on stage! ha ha!So tell me - does a person with money matter more than a person without, to you? Do they deserve less respect to you? Do you admire people because they are rich?Although Chinese think Americans feel this way, there is an American republican political tradition that has been used to assert the fundamental human dignity and worth of people without wealth and privilege. And there is also the history of Christianity in the US that reacted against industrialization by emphasizing altruism over self interest. There are these other perspectives,values and philosophies that challenge and mitigate such strictly capitalist values, which I think many people over here regard as, well, somewhat shallow... There has really been a long history of countercultures in the US like the hippies, who felt that a narrow minded pursuit of wealth was boring... (and unnecessary - weren't they lucky!). I have often felt that Chinese sense of competetiveness toward Americans - always comparing themselves to us in terms of wealth - is boring. Either they feel inferior and resent you, and insist on believing you are looking down on them, or they get satisfaction out of feeling superior. Either way, it's obnoxious. And they don't understand that what matters to them is not what matters to me, and that I am not evaluating either of us in those terms, because I don't think that is what is important about life. Perhaps it is a great luxury that many Americans have been able to grow up thinking that making money is not the most important thing in life. Not sure if conditions will continue to permit this.So, yup, you're right Bao Huai: life in North America - or at least in the US, since I can't speak about Canada - is getting harder. And for you to finally learn this truth - that the Americans that people love to rip off in China, believing that all of us are rich, actually live with very high expenses and a high degree of financial insecurity. No one in China ever believed me when Itold them this. People work their asses off in the US these days just trying to maintain the standard of living they had years ago. People regularly work 60 or 80 hours a week, and both men and women work even though they are raising children. They work more hours and getless vacation time than people in any other industrialized country, I've read. So American competetiveness - the only way the country has been able to keep up with lower wages elsewhere - has come from cutting costs at the expense of workers here: fewer health benefits, longer hours, fewer pay raises, replacing workers with machines whenever possible, cutting taxes on corporations and shifting the tax burden to private citizens, and then providing fewer social services because they get harder to pay for when corporations don't pay taxes, etc. Our government talks nationalism, but it's selling out its people's long term interests right and left.So now you discover for yourself that life in north america is not paradise, that people work hard and don't live like millionaires. How you react to thiswill say a lot about what caliber of human being you are.Stefani
评论
耶鲁小镇老麦克的意见Stefani's description of what's happening to the middle/working class in the USA and to a lesser extent in Canada, is spot on, and for you, it should be seen as a valuable short-period history lesson. As 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' etc for the rest of the developing world (including China), Canada will not have the same precipitous 'sink rate' as seems to be the case in the US.(one reason for the various trading/philisophical disputes between the US and Canada these days). In fact, there is currently so much Chinese investment into Canadian resourse/energy sectors that probably Canada will fare better than the US in future, especially in publically funded social development. Do not overlook the fact that Canada is the second largest country in the world, highly developed, well governed (most of the time), with a (2005) total population of a little more than twice the Beijing population. All things considered Canada has done well since her founding a mere few hundred years ago.Ten days here and four days there does not an expert make.Stefs letter to you is a keeper. Pay heed...As is your wont, I'm certain you'll send this letter of mine all over the map, in which case I say to Stefani "BRAVO". But Stef, watch out for Ann Clouter should she ever hear of you. Mike.
评论
美国女博士回话North America includes the United States, it means both countries.The US itself is economically quite diverse. There is a lot of rural poverty, urban poverty, etc. People living in nice looking suburban houses are up to their ears in debt, since credit cards are becoming our only safety net. We have an unprecedented number of Americans claiming bankruptcy due to credit card debt, and the government recently made it harder to declare bankruptcy. Most of the people declaring bankruptcy got into debt due to a health or employment crisis, although some may just be irresponsible. But if you look at their clothes or their house, you can't see the financial stress of people living just at the limit of their means with no security. It's a strange puzzle, but for about half of all Americans, if you tally up all their debts and all their assets, they have nothing at all. But if you looked at their life on the surface, you'd never know about their financial health. Sounds like you are determined to hang onto your expectations about the US.Perhaps you are like the old time capitalists who think that anyone who doesn't accumulate much wealth in a society like this one is lazy or stupid. It's easy to think that way, I guess, until you yourself face some unanticipated financial fortune. Most of the people living in poverty in the US are women and children. Most women end up in poverty after divorces, and it's hard to support a child alone. Many interesting people one meets in the United States are people who are not wealthy, or even have no property at all - especially the ones who just have different priorities besides working for money.
评论
赶紧回国！姐: 你好! 非常感谢你在百忙之中抽空给我写信. 我很感激. 说实话, 我在这里很无聊. 虽然从温哥华到多伦多一直都有人管吃管住, 省了不少钱, 但我还是觉得极其无聊. 我有时问自己, 好好地在北京呆着, 不愁吃不愁穿不愁挣不着钱, 一个人拎着三个箱子异国他乡瞎转悠, 到底干嘛来了?? 你在上海多保重. 多来EMAIL! 向大家问好! 也许我很快回北京跟大家团聚了!
评论
美国女博士又回话了The strikes you saw are workers trying to defend their standard of living againstcorporations and rich people who don't like to pay taxes to provide basic social services for everyone, like health care. In the US, in 1950 a majority of government revenues came from taxes on corporations, not taxes on the incomes of private citizens. This seems justified, because corporationsbenefit from government investment in infrastructure and education. Also, government compensates when corporations fail to support workers, such as layoffs. Since 1950 the ratio of government income from corporations and from private citizens has reversed. That is because it is necessary to offer incentives for corporations to stay in the United States. Reducing the taxes corporations pay allows them to sustain profits for a while, even though their competitors move to places where they pay much lower wages for the same work, and claim their profits from that. But it can't work for very long. Germany faces the same problem: it is hard in a global economy to force corporations to give back to the countries that support them. So Americans bitch about taxes a lot, and don't want to pay taxes, but rarely recognize that the tax burden has shifted from corporations to individuals, and that there are reasons why thisis so. Also, anti-tax political rhetoric in the US is usually combined with anti-government rhetoric that does not recognize how necessary it is to invest in schools, infrastructure, law enforcement, etc., in order to maintain America's "competitiveness" internationally in the long term. The anti-tax people are talking about short term competitiveness only.The best standards of living anyone achieves in the West seem to come from the political efforts of labor unions and those allied with them, as expressed through a pluralistic political system. Corporations like to make workers compete against each other - if someone else will work for less, I'll hire him, not you. That way wages stay low. And if there is always some unemployment, then workers are forced to compete against each other and it keeps wages low. Because companies go wherever it is more profitable for them, Americans have to get used to losing their jobs periodically. Most people have to switch careers - not jobs, but entire fields of work - about three times in their lifetimes here. It's stressful. No choice but to tiao hai!Any place can be wealthy for a time. The US government does not seem to care about the long term future or the interests of ordinary citizens. The people in power right now do care about securing their own futures - they are getting rich off a war that was not necessary, and they are engineering great giveaways to corporations in the form of tax breaks and subsidies, but at the same time, most people's lives are getting harder. The people's representatives get moremoney from corporations than they get from citizens, so they talk in ways that sound good to citizens and then do what the corporations want. They don't like to pay for really good education, so that people here might be smart enough to recognize what is going on. TheRepublicans use the power of marketing to get their political messages across in a way that sounds persuasive, regardless of what the truth really is, and that way they gain power and stay in power.
评论
多伦多街头的邂逅Had a nice encounter today, actually two, on the way back from the Chinese Consulate, where I had my passport extended, coz it will expire in over a week!Met two elderly women from Beijing, who were handing out Falungong brochures and CD roms to people walking into and out of the Chinese Consulate.Then I stopped by a Chinese restaurant, entered to have a meal there. Again, the food was pricey and not so Chinese. There was an English lady sitting two tables from me who later became a soulmate candidate of mine. With hundreds of brownish African braids and baggy Japnese lantern pants, she seemed to be quite a character. When my eyes met hers, we just naturally and spontaneously struck up a long, long conversation...Then she gave me a warm invitation to her house this coming Saturday night, and she would make dinner for me, plus some good wine. Besides, she would also take me to her friend's bookstore and then to the Canadian Documentary Film Festival.She fantasized about going to Beijing to look for a teaching job. Having traveled all over Africa, South America, and of course Europe, she has never been to China except Tibet. She was excited about Forbidden City coz she loved the movie _The Last Emperor_. I told her about Cheryl Baisden-Zhao, a legendary American lady who is living and loving in Beijing. She immediately asked for her email address and would try to pursue Cheryl's friendship.At her request, I walked her to the theater for the Film Festival. On the way, she pointed to me her house and the bookstore.So, I look forward to Saturday.
评论
美国女博士就我街头邂逅的意见和建议Very good! It sounds like you have met a truly interesting person. Please don't approach her with anything like the xianshi attitude. And that doesn't mean acting like you are not xianshi. It might mean truly, in your heart, not seeking anything for yourself from her. My friendship with you is a troubled one, in part because of how profoundly we misunderstood each other's motivations when we met. You thought I was insincere and just out to get something (sex - older woman exploiting younger man for sex was perhaps your story to explain me) And so you treated me essentially the same way as you believed I might be treating you.It is not kind to play with people by playing mysterious, being coy and cagey, thereby inviting them to project all manner of fantasies onto you just so you can play with them, or get things from them. Can you avoid teasing and manipulating? I'm not sure it is possible for you and I to ever have a peaceful friendship after our first encounter, or that I could ever trust you emotionally again. I've seen you do these moves too many times.But that does not mean that I do not give you good advice when it comes to north american etiquette and values. For example, that certain ways of talking about money and property sound very crass and uncool over here - that's not just me talking, it's me describing the people I have known and the culture in which I belong. On the other hand, if you only change your manner of speaking, but your thinking is the same as ever, then it is better not to deceive people about what type of person you are. As I have mentioned before, in my experience, north americans trust strangers fairly easily, but once they believe you have lied to them or betrayed them, the consequences will be very, very serious for your relationships. "Innocent until proven guilty" is the phrase describing this principle of the American legal system, and it is also the assumption people generally make about strangers. But once there is evidence to the contrary, it may be very hard for a north american to forgive you, and could easily end a relationship altogether.Be honest and open in the manner in which you negotiate relationships, and see what happens. Yes, it involves emotional risk taking, and although one can get hurt, honesty and openness are essential aspects of intimacy, as north americans generally seem to understand it. I recently had a discussion with a friend about lying and betrayal, in which she became very, very passionate about it, and could hardly differentiate the two ideas at all. I think her attitude is quite common.In addition, it is considered very bad form for any adult man to brag about his sexual encounters with women, particularly if that involves compromising her privacy. That too is a betrayal. If a woman decides to sleep with you, it does not mean she meant for all the details to be public for all your friends. It is most rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful to narrate your sexual encounters with someone to others, unless you are quite certain that person doesn't care about it and would not be shocked to discover you did this. When you do something like that, the very clear message is that your ego matters more than her feelings - that you care more about yourself than you do for her, even though you encouraged her to open herself to you in an intimate way.If you want to have sex casually, with no strings attached, that is fine too, but you have to be clear about your intentions up front, so the person understands what they are agreeing to, and will not feel anipulated or deceived. The notion of honesty in negotiating relationships that seems widespread in north america has some connection also to the notion of contracts as a foundation of business activity. People have a right to know what they are agreeing to.Perhaps you might discuss these things that I say with this woman, and find out if her ideas on the topic sound similar to mine.Yours truly,Stefani
·中文新闻 足球明星因“f****t”爆发而被禁赛五场，威尔·鲍威尔在 Instag
·中文新闻 Corporate Fighter倒闭：悉尼健身公司进入破产管理程序，取消所有