More food... and preparations for a trip to the N. Korea border

This post was from Sept. 24 my internet access was down so is only being posted now... I have since returned from the trip to DanDong and have stepped into N. Korea territory.... I'll write a post about this later - have to study now.

In less than an hour I will be taking an overnight train to DanDong which is a stones through away from North Korea. We're spending our 4 day break there and will be visiting some nature sites (a forest) and some small beach resorts. Apparently the bridge that was used to ship military equipment from China to North Korea during the Korean war is still partly intact - half of it was destroyed by an American bomb....
I'm looking forward to the break from class and student life and will hopefully get to enjoy a bit of the outdoors before it because frigid. Haerbin is only getting colder from here on out. Today was a nice day but still colder than I'm used to for the end of summer.
Today after class a friend and I decided to break from tradition and skipped the cafeteria lunch and found a small restaurant with a large stream of people flowing in and out, shouting orders, prices and comments. We got caught up in the stream and decided to stay. Turned out to be a good decision because the food was excellent. Usually if there is a large crowd in/around a restaurant in China it means that either the food is excellent or extremely cheap.
We order two plates of xiaolongbao - which turned out to be the only thing they were making and selling. Xiaolongbao is basically stuffed dough that is steamed, kind of like Runza (if you've had one) but steamed, and there are different types of stuffing (rarely do you find the original xiaolongbao which is from Shanghai and stuffed with crab meat! and is very pricey). We ordered two different plates one with shitake mushrooms with pork and one with shitake mushrooms with a lovely leafy vegetable. You can then make your own small sauce of chillies, vinegar (yes Catherine vinegar is the key here!!) and soy sauce and dip the small dumplings in the sauce. It's delicious, but only if they're being made in front of you... They have nearly the same thing at the cafeteria and it tastes like a combination of soggy cereal and overcooked ground round. I still think the Chinese cafeteria's are a slight step up from those in America (although Tom would probably disagree).
We're about ready to leave now and I have not yet packed!!

How to Cook!!

Last weekend I had two cooking experiences. The first was part of a small and informal Chinese cooking class that my program is offering. And the second was at the house of a young family in Haerbin. The class was particularly interesting because of the old man who taught the class. Oddly enough, all of the participants of this class are male. There are five of us in total and every Friday night we walk over to our teacher’s house to learn a different dish. This past Friday was our first class, and we prepared a fairly simple stir-fry. Our teacher is a Chinese relic – he must be 80 plus years old and speaks and acts exactly how you would expect an old wise Chinese man to speak and act. He speaks slowly in short concise phrases that seem well thought out. It’s as if he’s reading from a prepared poem – poetic cooking instructions (my next book). The emphasis he puts on the tones in the language produces a rolling melodic feel which draws you in more in more – whether you understand what he’s saying or not. Perhaps it calls back to a time when spoken word was at the heart of society – meaning story telling, lesson-giving etc. Not to say that spoken word has lost its importance, it just seems like it’s been a while since I was sitting around a camp fire sharing my experience through crafted spoken word, or sharing knowledge that had been passed down to me. Seems to me like there is a lack of that kind of sharing of knowledge these days. In a knowledge rich and hungry world, have we forgotten the most basic tradition of passing on knowledge? That of story-telling? (Becca loves story telling and this week was at a workshop on story-telling, so it has been on my mind.) It seems as though story-telling hasn’t completely died out, at least not in China because our cooking teacher is a master of it. His crafted instruction was accompanied by very crafted and careful preparation of the meal.
We began the lesson with tea and a brief introduction on the ingredients: the importance of good quality fresh ingredients and preparation techniques – use of the knife, types of slicing and chopping, washing of vegetables, and order of preparation. He then began the preparation and frying of our dish. The dish took less than 10 minutes to prepare – we had stir fried bean-sprouts, with thinly sliced pork, and green onions, in a “special sauce”. He came close to us and said in a mysterious whisper (which is funny because he’s 90% deaf) “ Do you know why when I make this dish it always tastes better than the restaurant’s”, we all shrugged, obviously not knowing why, and crowded around him waiting for the answer. He then said triumphantly “It’s because I add the right amount of vinegar!.... and my ingredients are of better quality”. I thought to myself, not much of secret culinary weapon… vinegar? But his preparation of this seemingly simple dish did seem to have a higher goal than just a preparation of a meal. Each step was carefully measured, not with a measuring cup or any sort of units, but with care, experience and commitment, so that not only the proportions were correct but the sizes, shapes, placement, and finally most importantly the timing was correct. After three other students, hurriedly prepared the same dish we then discovered the importance of his magical ‘vinegar’. None of ours tasted as good as his…. Although simple, his trick to making a great dish is something that requires more than just getting the ingredients together. It requires the right preparation, proportions and timing. One flavor cannot overpower the others, an ingredient added too late leaves that flavor lacking and brings out other unwanted flavors. All pieces are important to the meal and when carefully measured produce great food:
‘for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.’ (I believe this is in the Bible somewhere)
And I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. ‘Of course, isn’t it obvious that patience, time and effort produce something of quality?!’ Yes, but it does seem that humans are very good at getting the proportions wrong (whether in cooking or in life) and putting emphasis in the wrong place, and over-looking events, details, people….
If it is patience and an even temperament that produced the most beautiful and full flavors, why are we humans so drawn to the extremes? This imbalance can be as obvious as religious extremism, (in America the Middle East, Europe… etc), and as subtle as a ‘bad taste’ in our daily lives…. And we’re probably not really aware of it… we’re not paying attention. I don’t know how this culinary story turned into a sermon…. But I’ve always thought that the preparation of food was something quite special and this old man reminded me how good food should be prepared: with a bit of love!
Thats why mom’s food is so damn good!

An average day.... in the life of Sammy

I just got back from my 1:1 class (the public health professor). Another pretty interesting class – we spent an hour discussing AIDS and prevention methods, how migrant workers receive and use information, who the waitresses are and where they’re from… etc. It appears that just like America a wide range of birth-control practices are used and condom use (which is the only method that protects against disease) is high is some populations. As I said earlier the cost of condoms is often prohibiting as is the use of other birth-control methods, but the fact that condoms are sold at pubic locations is also prohibiting, especially for people from more traditional societies (as is the case of workers from rural areas). Even when given away free, as is done during AIDS information sessions, servers/workers shy away from taking any. My professor also doesn’t seem to know which birth-control method is used by the waiters/waitresses that she surveys (I would think that would be part of her survey). She suspects that if a waitress becomes pregnant and is not married she secretly has an abortion. So maybe little birth-control is used? I’ll have to look for a study on this. After discussing these issues for a while we went to a tea shop for the second hour of our class. I’m really beginning to enjoy her, in all her quirkiness – for instance she has false teeth and often plays with these with her tongue, and has a very interesting/ slightly wicked laugh. So after all my complaints I’m beginning to like her and she is beginning to like me. She even gave me some Chinese herbal medicine that I think is helping my sneezing fits that plague me every morning. There must be something in the air – I think it’s just dirt because one day of no dusting leaves a layer of dust/dirt on my desk, computer, etc.
It’s also suddenly become cold here, sweater/jacket weather. Cold enough to get you sniffing. I’ll have to buy a specially made goose-feather coat!
I have little else to say… I did find an organization that does some community volunteering so hopefully that will give me a good opportunity to get a deeper look into the Chinese life-style/ society and also give me Chinese practice!
Going to work the rest of the night on some homework and maybe some ping-pong if time allows!

China Public Health - surveys of health knowledge

It’s been an eventful week, and I have yet to put any of it down in words. On Tuesday night I received a call from my public health teacher inviting me to take part in her/their AIDS education and survey activities. The next day directly after class I met her and 10 of her students and then drove to a large hotel/banquet hall in the middle of the city. Once inside the building we were taken to a large hall where four different platforms were set up, two of which looked like they would be hosting weddings and two others that were either birthday parties or some other festivity. Looking down on us were balconies that reminded me of an opera house. Hanging and crisscrossing in all directions were streamers and other superfluous decorations. We were told the hall staffed nearly 200 waiters/waitresses. We were there to provide health information regarding sexually transmitted diseases. Apparently, (and I was told this by some of the students) service work and especially waiting/staffing large restaurants/banquets is linked to a lack of general health knowledge and specifically health knowledge relating to HIV/AIDS. As we walked in the servers were lined up in an army style line while their boss – a very young and cosmopolitan looking man with cell phone in hand and sunglasses propped over gelled head – gave orders. This scene was followed by disappointment because of the 200 or so servers only 20 had shown up. My professor assumed that the owner may have had an impact on the turn-out (perhaps because of the loss of work-hours). After passing out a survey testing current health knowledge and some pamphlets about prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, we had a discussion with the manager and decided that we would come back later that afternoon when more of the servers would be able to join us. I unfortunately had class so I was not able to go. However this was my first insight into how surveys and public health research is done. My discussions with students on the way home unveiled that there really isn’t a study of anthropological health or ethnographic studies. Most of the health research is based on pointed surveys of populations. Maybe it’s the naïve idealistic American in me but all I feel like doing is asking people about their life… where did you grow up? When did you come to the city? How did you find your current job? Do you have kids? I guess that my assumption is that with a little time and effort, issues about HIV/AIDS and general health will eventually come out of those discussions. It’s been fun and useful to watch how surveys are done, and I will continue to work with that group (I still think this is an important part of health research) but I’m eager to utilize some Mandarin and see what’s on the mind of the ‘Fuwuyuan” (server) that serves the masses and then thank him/her for doing so.

Differences of Opinions - Public Health in China

Since I last wrote my relationship with my one-on-one Chinese public health teacher has improved. She has started to share with me more nuanced information, and a slightly deeper analysis of some of the situations in China. For instance yesterday we talked about the affect of the one child one family policy on the use of condoms which also protect against sexually transmitted sexual disease. The name of the policy is a bit contentious because it assumes that children are only born within wedlock - I’m still not clear about how children are classified if they are born outside of wedlock i.e. whether this counts as a child for both the father and the mother, or whether they are forced to marry(by society, family or government) etc. These are things I’ll have to ask her to speak more clearly about. However, the policy has had devastating affects on the use of condoms because it stresses childbearing as the most important event to prevent. Not disease. The cheapest and most effective way to prevent childbearing is not condoms and therefore they are not commonly a first choice among sexually active adults. Additionally, rural married peasants receive subsidized IUDs (Intrauterine Devices) from their local family planning center. They do not receive condoms. This would not be a problem if all families were completely faithful. But like many societies undergoing economic change, husbands are migrant workers and work half of the year (the warm half) in the cities, and some (fathers and mothers) are tempted by other interests. I have not yet seen any stats on extramarital affairs, so I’m not sure how often this occurs.
My time spent with this professor has been more and more useful and interesting, and I’ve enjoyed hearing her analysis. This analysis has not been without an occasional generalization/stereotype, or what I see as oversimplification of the issue. For instance, last week I gave an oral summary of a report published in the Journal of Infectious Disease (one way that I’ve been able to gain her trust and support is by sharing information with her that she would otherwise not have much access to i.e journals written in English). The article was on internet sites that target homosexual men and are used to find friends, partners, and sex partners. It linked the use of these sites to a heightened risk of HIV infection. While there many reasons why this may or may not be true and why it is popular among homosexual men to use websites as a primary social/sexual network (the least among them the secrecy that is required to be homosexual in China), the reason my professor gave for homosexual men having a heightened risk of infection was an inability to control their sexual desires, and an inability to care or listen to advice about how to protect oneself and others from harmful sexually transmitted diseases. Now, I write this in translation so I don’t think her viewpoint is as harshly critical of homosexual men as it sounds in English, but this viewpoint I did disagree with. She did admit that a large problem is that they don’t think they’re at risk (which I think is common in America as well), but she didn’t think more information would necessary help, or that they would listen to advice from health experts. I don’t know much about the HIV epidemic that hit largely gay men in America but I know that the homosexual population organized and responded very effectively to the situation with the popularization of how to protect one-self and others. It makes me think that things are not as hopeless as she puts it here in china.
This is one area where we have disagreed; another is the usefulness of different types of research and information. Her bias is towards statistical information. This bias is understandable because she is an epidemiologist and statistician so her work deals largely with the use and production of statistics. While I agree that stats are important and can reveal useful information about a population, it fails to show the intricacies of the lives represented by numbers. Furthermore statistics in China can (not always) be used to control or to advance a national interest or stereotype. When stats are steeped in prejudice and stigma they only serve to reinforce those stigmas in the mind of a larger public. For instance surveys used to monitor populations would see the gay men in the paper above as first in foremost gay men. This determines their risk of infection and little else matters. However, the survey cannot uncover the daily economic toils, or psychological encounters that may or may not be more important in determining access to health information and the use of that information. My point is, is that I think you need both.
Although everything I have written so far about this professor seem terribly critical, she is actually quite wise and I’ve enjoyed our discussions. Her viewpoints also have there underlying reasons too, which I’m slowly uncovering.

-----
I’m sorry for talking so much about access to health, etc. But it’s been on my mind. Not much else has been happening here. It feels like fall (which it basically is) and I’m enjoying myself for the most part. Also, my dad is volunteering for the Obama campaign which I think is cool and I’m currently wearing my Obama/WhiteSox T-shirt… and the white sox beat the Yankees today 6-2. All is well.

A lesson on relationships

I’m enrolled in 4 classes currently. One is focused on improving our fluency in Chinese, meaning that we’re learning more complicated grammar and a higher level of vocab. I’m also in a ‘reading newspaper’ class, where we read shortened newspaper stories, and discuss them. My third class is focused on improving/correcting our pronunciation. Chinese has four different tones that can change the meaning of the word depending on the tone. So you could think you’re saying something very clever when in fact you’re saying something very stupid – it all depends on the tone. OOOooohhmmmm!!
The final class I have is a one-on-one class with a professor of epidemiology and public health. This class aims at improving my vocab in the field I’ll be studying in China, and also serves as an introduction to public health in China. This is two hours of just her and me, with not much of an agenda other than having a conversation about the state of China’s public health system. It’s actually been quite difficult to navigate. In China there is a very different teaching philosophy and culture than in America. In America we’re encouraged to question, to answer questions, to expound our views as much as possible. So much so that there’s always that kid in class that you wish would just shut-up. In China, you listen, you take notes, and you do the work you’re told to do. There is little in the way of a relationship with the professor. I think this is changing in some of the major Universities like Beijing University, or Fudan University, but for the most part the professors words are not to be questioned. My roommate, who is Chinese, expressed this teaching culture to me and we discussed briefly what the teaching philosophy is in America. I think/hope that University is not to train someone to do a specific thing (it’s not a vocational school), but more importantly its purpose is to prepare a student for a life of learning and creating. My professor and I are working through these differences and I think we are slowly discovering how to make it work. I do not refrain from asking questions in any way, but I restrain myself slightly when I have differences in opinion and find ways to probe the issue without pushing my opposing opinion down her throat (which is really how discussions should be carried out in the first place). She also has adjusted, and I think in order to adjust she views me as a part professional (which I sort of am) and part student (which is also true). Our first meeting went far from well and exposed two other large gaps in our communication. The first was language. Yes, I’m becoming more and more proficient in Chinese, but understanding a woman with a different accent than I’m used to, and an advanced and sometimes specialized vocab (which I’m slowly learning) hasn’t been completely easy. She speaks little to no English which means every word that I don’t understand she has to wave hands, and talk in circles. This of course is frustrating for both of us. However this has not been the end to our frustration. Our very first meeting she had prepared a small introduction to epidemiology and public health in China. The introduction was cursory at best. I with my American mindset, insisted on a more in depth discussion of the subject – give me the juice, what’s really happening or not happening on the front-lines of the war against deadly infectious diseases, where’s all the drama I’ve been reading about. This was probably not the best way to navigate our relationship and she became defensive, and I became ever-more angry. And I think because of this she was not willing give the slightest bit of criticism of China, its government or the way infectious diseases have been handled. She claimed HIV was not a problem in China… the government hands out free drugs, services… everywhere. TB? The same. And migrant workers? The millions of rural peasants who crowd into the city to take part in the largest mass construction project the world has ever seen – that is the building of a 1.3billion strong nation – they’re all fine too. “No their life isn’t so good as mine, but they’re easily pleased.” “There are no problems in China.” Now I had read different and I “knew” better. However, knowledge is irrelevant if someone holds the key to furthering that knowledge and you haven’t yet convinced them to let you in. So I was taken aback, and then finally realized and learned/re-learned a lesson about the humility and trust that is necessary to build a positive relationship. We’ve moved past, or have found ways to deal with these differences, and I am continually building her trust in me and we have finally found ways to talk about sticky somewhat contentious health issues. For instance, I often start off discussing problems in America which by no coincidence also happen to be problems in China. It’s still a struggle because we have different ideas about what is ok to discuss, different opinions on the nature of disease and what forces (whether structural: poverty, or behavioral: drug use, selling of sex) are important in studying a disease. However, I’m enjoying it and have fond that the more effort I put in, the more effort she puts in and the more she is willing to discuss. It’s a pretty simple lesson, but it’s one that I/we sometimes forget in the US-culture of immediate access to information. The sharing of information demands a relationship, and a relationship demands attention, patience, and understanding.

Young at Heart... and currently young in general

I’m currently living and studying at Haerbin Institute of Technology. Before my Fulbright grant starts I wanted to improve my Chinese a bit and so I’ve been spending most of my time in classes through the CET language program. We have roughly 25-30 students 8 of which are also on Fulbrights. Besides the Fulbrights, most of the students are study abroad student from American Universities. I was reminded yesterday how unique of an experience it is for me to be grouped with college students who have a very different prospective and goal for their study here. I had dinner with four other students, all Undergrads and mostly sophomores. We had just finished our first 'Chinese cooking' class, where we will be learning some of the techniques and styles that have sustained millions of people for the last few hundreds of years. After we ate, they were eager to go out, eat and drink in Haerbin's food culture. I decided to go home, because I had some work to do, but I was a little suprised by their excitement and almost Disiney style twinkle in their eyes. Just two semesters ago I was teaching University students, now I’m in class with them and some of them have better language skills than I do which completely flips the power dynamics that would be in place in any traditional society. Yes I’m only two years out of University myself, but for many of these students it’s there first time to China and their first time abroad. Most of them are 18/19 years old, nearly just out of high-school. I often find myself, smiling and remembering my time in University – oh I’m such a wise old man now. As a minority (age-wise) in the group I sometimes play the part of a younger student - excited, maybe slightly reckless. Other times I play the part of the older more experienced student (not that this is always the case), listening, understanding and giving advice. Its botha humbling and youth-feeling experience.
However, I'm by far not the youngest of the group. There are two Fulbrighters that are 30 and 32 years old, yet they are not given special ‘middle age’ treatment. They are as young as the rest of us, as the youngest of us, and in many respects they are more youthful. For instance Jon, is a 30year old Biology Phd student. He’s studying turtles in the Southwestern China. He is more open and inclusive than most of the other students, and is often more eager to go out, whether it’s volleyball, ping-pong or drinking. It’s always reassuring to meet someone like Jon, because he’s not following the traditional path/career. We’re all so eager to get into the real-world, but it turns out we’re already in the real-world. Sure I’m (we’re) not working a 9-5 traditional job, instead I’m navigating along a path that I’ve helped shape. And who says 9-5 is going to be the norm in the next 10-20years. It’s enlightening to meet people like Jon because it releases a bit of the tension felt from the pressures of society forcing traditional maturity on you. So here’s to ‘Young at Heart’, I think it’s a great goal to have.

Food is my Temple

I'm slowly discovering new eatable wonders in Haerbin. Because of the Russian influence there are some very eastern European looking dishes. Probably the most unusual – at least from a Chinese prospective – are the massive amounts and kinds of sausage (Becca is squirming right now). Yes piles of mashed parts… you can be imaginative here – pressed into coils of sausage. Different colors, different sizes, different shapes and supposedly different tastes. I've actually stayed away from most of this and tried to discover what other types of dishes are being prepared. Every night, a few of my classmates and I (there are 3 other students who are also Fulbright'ers who I've been hanging out with), make a point of trying something new and venturing out away from the comfortable cafeteria food (which is actually quite good). A constant theme that we come across, which was also popular in Beijing, is 羊肉串儿 (yang rou chuar). This is basically lamb on a stick fired over a vat of flaming coals. They love to barbecue!!! Which I'm ok with. Men usually stand waving fans on the piles of coals that surround them, meanwhile adding more and more spears of food delicately placed above the fiery pits of...(think puritans), also simultaneously yelling out orders that are ready… Although I'm not sure what they're paid, whatever it is, it's not enough…. I'd compare them to investment bankers… (no offense) taking in (buying), and then immediately selling and relinquishing parts that are hot off the grill. Here the biggest mouth wins – both on the side of customers yelling orders at the nearest 服务员 （fuwuyuan or waitress）, and the man behind the feeding frenzy.
Last night we had an especially interesting and tasty experience at a small roadside 新张 （XinZhang) restaurant. XinZhang is China's Northwest province and is also home to the largest Muslim population in China (I think), and particularly disenfranchised and independant minority group – the Uighurs. This population is very different in appearance, background and culture from the stereotypical Han Chinese. They have also been at odds with the government of China and more recently been stereotyped as Muslim extremists. This stems from the recent terrorist attacks that occurred just before the Olympics. (Note I do not know much about this population or area yet but am interested in learning more, what I'm telling you is what I've heard so take it with a grain of salt). What is also unique about the Uighur population is that they have a rich tradition of song and dance and cultural and linguistic ties to Turkey/Turkish. This is the part that we got to experience as we ate alongside their family who also happened to be breaking their Ramadan fast!! Imagine cooking food for people all day while fasting!!! As they prepared and cut fruit for the conclusion of their fast, we horded hand made food that the whole family seemed to have taken part in preparing. The oldest of the family, donning cap, was cutting up a melon that is a specialty in XinZhang, he came over and gave us four slices with a slight grunt, then went back to the table of fruit and sat with his family prayed and began to feed the children and then slowly himself. The poor men behind the YangRouChuar (lamb barbecue) were then slowly given food as they continued to prepare our food and then woop and holler in what I can only guess was the Uighur language. In the background, or rather being loudly broad-casted into the cook-fire filled air was Turkish style club music. This combined with the roar of traffic and the movement of customers, pedestrians and little kids combined for a chaotic but very sensory experience. It's a stretch but it compares to a very intense experience at a Hindu or Jane temple where all senses must be enacted in order to become fully aware of a sixth sense – that of God. Instead of bells and incense there is a more complex (maybe slightly alarming) mix of horns, shouts, beats and the lifting smells of early evening cookfires. Combined with the colorful clothes, food and hanging smoke. Emerging Church, you've got nothing on this intense experience!!!! So I've over-dramatized it all… as travels tend to do but the point is that in my book the lives of people are God and this is small piece of how its being lived out in one part of the world. I'm slowly learning more and hopefully bridging some sort of cultural, religious and racial barriers. Needless to say, I will be returning to this small temple of experience. I've only got to learn how to say Ramadan in Chinese… and then Uighar!


-----------------
After posting this I decided to look at what Lonely Planet had to say about XinZhang. Generally they have some pretty decent introductions and this one I think is worth putting down so that you get a better idea about what XinZhang is... Because I don't really know...

Here are a few parts that I think are worth noting:

"Fiercely independent, the people f the region have never really been independent. Today Xinjian 'belongs' to China, having been inextricably tethered to the Middle Kingdom for centuries in an enless push-pull relationship, one which China today maintains in strict form.
Xinjiang is like a whole other country enclosed within China's borders. Here the language is not just a different dialect, it's a completely different linguistic family; and it's no longer about whether you dip you dumpliings in soy sauce or vinegar, it's how you want your mutton cooked."

"populated by a mixed salad of nearly 50 ethnic minorities..."

"Oh, and it sits atop 30% of China's oil reserves."

"It's also woefully underappreciated by most of the tourists..."


Hope this helps! It helped me.

Planes, trains and automobiles..... arriving and traveling in China

I arrived in Beijing, China on the 26^th of August. Exhausted from an overnight trip from India, and suffering from heart ache and what I can only describe as Indian food coma: too much spicy, colorful, Indian prepared food. There’s a saying in China which I always used to describe my ability to digest food: 铁肚子（tie du zi ）meaning iron stomach. India has stripped me of that title….

Needless to say I skipped the first night of preparations for the language program that I am currently participating in. However this gave me a little more time to spend with my amazing hosts and one of my former Chinese language teachers. Part of my love for China comes from the amazing displays of hospitality that I have been fortunate to receive. It makes a mockery of the recent wave of American (Western) social networking. I sometimes feel that we (Americans) have co-opted the power of social connections and have compartmentalized them to create a game of self promotion played at bars, meetings, exclusive clubs and now internet social websites. The Chinese however (and I think most Asian countries, including India where Becca and my travels were solely dependant on connections we had made) have a society built on social ties of family, friends and extended to guests. Only it is rooted in the historical traditions, culture, religion and philosophy. In India we discovered the meaning behind the frequently used saying ‘guest is God’, in China a friendship gives you access to an extended family of family, friends and friends of friends of family….. etc. So for the second time in my travels through China (I spent two summers in Taiwan and China in 2005 and 2006) I fell sick and was cared for by worrisome mothers, fathers and friends.

After meeting an overly excited and slightly anxious group of American University students (my classmates for the language program), we took an overnight ‘soft sleeper’ train north to Haerbin. America is missing out on the joys of train travel. After a refreshing 8 hours of sleep I awoke to find myself in a completely different part of the country. All at a fraction of the cost that it would have taken to get there by air travel. Maybe they should just have beds on planes….

I awoke to the highly industrialized (although I have not yet glimpsed much of this industry) and also very agriculturally rich city of Haerbin - just south and west of Russia and north of North Korea. Because of this proximity to Russia Haerbin is a large trading hub for the movement of goods in and out of Russia and has a long history of Russian influence. In fact Russia occupied a large part of Northern China, including Haerbin prior to the era of Chiang Kaishek and Mao Zi Dong. Specks of this history can still be seen in the Russian architecture that is scattered in between communist block high rises.

Just to make the title complete, which I just now typed in .... It should be noted that in Beijing because of the Olympics and the worlds worries over air pollution, the citizens of Beijing can only drive on every other day. This is dictated by the license plates. A way to get around this, which is how the husband of my language teacher gets to work everyday, is to have two cars.... Needless to say he still drives everyday to work..... However the air quality has greatly improved, as has the general scenery of the city, sense my last visit to Beijing just two years ago.... We'll see if Beijing citizens get used to the better air quality and start demanding more lasting improvements to energy use and mass transit after the car restrictions are lifted which will be in another month....

Introduction: Literary allusions…. and delusions of grandeur

The title of this blog is a direct reference to John Steinbeck's book 'Travels with Charlie'. This book chronicles Steinbeck's travels throughout a largely unseen - at least publicly - America. Charlie, of course is his dog who apparently was a good enough companion to warrant a place in literary history.
I'm not pretending to have the literary capabilities that Steinbeck has shown in this book. Nor do I pretend to be a dog accompanying you or anyone else through this journey. I just hope to be as good of a companion as was Charlie. And I hope you will join me in my travels.
I am currently writing this from my dorm room in Haerbin, in the Northwest part of China. I have already spent over a week in India, and nearly a week in China so there is some catching up to do.