Best Gift EVER

During the cultural revolution in China, most of the photos, journals, heirlooms, and other relics that belonged to my family were either thrown away, burned or buried somewhere forgotten, for fear of being caught with these items by the Red Guards or other telling eyes. During this period, whole histories were vanished overnight, replaced by the ideology that we must start from a New Beginning, to improve the new China. This was called the Great Leap Forward. Good job Mao.

I never had it in me to dig in the past. I've been pounded by the mantra, "never look back." Sure, I love books. History too. But my parents were never big on letting us in on their history, let alone show us photos they probably don't remember having from an era they long forgot. (Useless sidenote: It took my dad twenty eight years just to reveal to me that, back in his days in Guangzhou, he was a baller. My response: Um, ok dad. Thanks for the memo.)

Last night my dear sister sent me this photograph of my dad's family from the 1960's. It made me feel like a little boy in a dream I had... He stands with his large family in a busy restaurant... he seems happy, content. He's holding something in his hands carefully, as if not to be too rough with its contents. He walks up to his parents, and shows them what he's been holding. His face beaming of a combination of pride and a careless embarassment, he opens his hands and says, "Look! I've got the whole world in my hands!" He was holding a pencil.

That's the dorky pride I feel right now, sniff sniff. Thanks Lisa for making this the best gift ever, Stephen for making me a proud sibling, and I thank someone somewhere for allowing me such a great pack of kinfolk to be so proud of.

Happy Holidaze!

China Update #1

How is my mandarin coming along? I can now argue with a taxi driver if he's taking me for a spin, tell the lady at the local market that she's got to be kidding for trying to rip me off, order food at a decent pace, and, most importantly, people on the phone no longer hang up on me after 10 seconds. Can you say that I've assimilated with Shanghainese culture? Hell no. Have I made a difference in the environment? Not really. Every morning I say hello to a couple that collects recyclable materials from the six buildings in my apartment complex. Out of habit, I still separate my recyclables from my trash and set it aside for them. My impact on Chinese social progress? Perhaps 0.00000000000000000000000001% change.

Sometimes when I'm spacing out in my taxi ride I wonder what would happen if I launched a campaign to end child begging. Hell, I wonder what would happen if I threw a really insane sex party. I'd probably get a call from the Chinese government for doing either.

It's a doggy dog world out here. 4 am and people are still trying to sell flowers in the cold, cold weather to four very lonely, very straight men on the bund. Child-beggars and their supposed mothers greet you the minute you step outside your taxi, pushing, begging and sometimes stealing. There are four sex parlors (oops, I meant "hair salons"- they aren't just massage parlors, they're also "hair salons") within a 5 minute walk from my apartment. And somehow, this all has become very "normal" in just four months of living in China. What drives you? What make you passionate? What brings tears to your eyes? I guess these are question that are hard to answer when all these people around us are just trying to make it to see another day. I live in a place where the meaning of "social justice" is allowing the pedestrian in front of your car to pass first. I recently solicited some strange looks by mentioning the word "non-profit." What the hell is that? Did you just say corporate awareness? Social enterprise? Strategic corporate responsibility? Recycling??

A recent search on Google for NGO's in China yielded this article about philanthropic organizations in China. Although all organizations need to be registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, China has still come a really long way since its cultural revolution days. From a time when the handicapped were disregarded and deemed useless, China will soon host the next Special Olympics World Game in 2007. Non-profit corporate relationship? Not anytime soon, but it is a start for the country that will soon become the most influential power that will shape the future of this earth I call home. But until then, I'll continue working on the Mandarin.

Thai Boxing

Phuket
Originally uploaded by sherryworld.

7 fights, one bloody eye, and two K.O.'s... First thing I did in Thailand was watch a kickboxing match. Remember that game Street Fighter 2? That Sagat character? The hypnotic music that goes with it? This is the real deal, complete with a live eight-piece traditional Thai ensemble. The "girl match" was between two children, ages 15 and 16, both very capable of kicking my ass. Their under-aged-ness, however, isn't exactly what I would associate with proper child labor laws. That may soon change though, with the new military regime that recently ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Is that wishful thinking? Perhaps, but in a conversation with my taxi driver from the airport, I found out that over 80% of the people approve of the new government. What does that mean? Probably not much to a seasonal tourist like me, who's only interest lies in beaches, girl-boys, thai boxing and food. For the average Thai, let's hope the change is for the better.