Celebrating Chinese New Year in the United States

Like I said in the previous blog, family members are suppose to gather up during our new year festival. However, everything has changed here, in the United States.

If you win something, you must lose something, just like a coin always has two sides. Here I'm experiencing and learning something that would influence me in a positive way lifelong time, but on the other hand, the time I spend with my family and my friends back in China are reduced. This year is my fifth year studying in the United States. The lunar New Year is around February, it's during the middle of the semester here so I have not celebrated the Chinese New Year with my family for five years. To spend the New Year by myself seems no problem at first because I have spent 15 times with my family before, actually it was kind of special experience for me at 16. However, things started to change, and I think that is the common issue for those students who study abroad, we feel lonely sometimes, like extremely lonely...

Instead of spending time with family, here most of Chinese students would gather up and have dinner, or I would say a party together, just like families to each other. We would watch the Spring Festival gala online because there is no CCTV in the channel lists here, and this is what we usually do back in China, watching the show for over four hours.

Chinese Education

As I mentioned in the previous blog, students in China are studying in a strict and boring environment. Most of them are stressful because of huge amount of "competitors". If you want to go to a high-ranked collage in China, you have to beat millions and millions of other students from nationwide, in a annual Collage Entrance Examination in order to get in a desired collage.

For some reasons people can't completely blame the education system in China and promote foreign education system such as in the United States, to copy exactly the same educational structure because the circumstances are varied among countries. In China, there are over billion people of population and there are about 200 millions of students in the country, that is the number close to the whole population in the United States. So it would be against the reality if the American education system is transferred into China.

 Chinese students have to fight others in that annual Collage Entrance Examination, which we called "single-log bridge", not all of them, sometimes even just few of them could get a desired score and get into the collage they want to.

It is unfair because under this education system, students are taught to be test machines, most of them have lost their right to enjoy studying, lost their ability of being creative. But what else can I say, life is unfair. The only thing we can do now is to face the truth, but we won't forget how terrible these educations are, so that some day when some of us are in the position which he/she will be able to change the situation, and let our offsprings to have a better education.

Chinese New Year

Like the Christmas in the United States, Chinese New Year is the longest holiday in China and it lasts 30 days. Unlike many other new year, Chinese New Year is in accordance with the ancient Chinese calendar. So our new year begins some time during February and it varies every year.

There are many etiquettes along with Chinese New Year, in the place I grew up, we eat rice dumplings on the first day of new year because its shape of circle is the symbol of reunion, and family would live together happily in that year.

   

On the Chinese New Year Eve, which is the day before new year. During the night on that day, family members (not include relatives) would gather up and sit together eating dinner, after that, it would be the most exciting time when I was a kid, fireworks. 

On the first day of that year, we have to wear new clothes indicating everything would start from new. We would visit our relatives one by one and it won't stop until the seventh day of that year. During that week, we visit each other, seniors would give young people, especially kids a red envelope with some   "New Year Money", but in my memories, I did not receive them at all, they all go to my parents' pocket because I was too young (that was the typical excuse my parents would use).

New Holiday Emerged From the Internet

November 11 is a Veterans Day in the United States, it is a formal holiday. But on the other side of the world, November 11 is becoming a new holiday which it used to mean nothing.

As the growing of the internet, it has become one of the most important things in our life, just like air and water, contemporary people cannot live without it, especially the generation Y. People spread words online, exchange information with each other; as a result, more and more new ideas have been invented by the internet, by those "creative" internet people.

November 11 used to mean nothing in China, however, because of its four ones combination, "11.11", people start to add meaning on it, and ideas spread rapidly on the internet. Today the day has been defined as "Single Day", to celebrate those who are still single and to "despise" those couples. And companies are using the day to promote their items even though they have nothing to do with singles. Everything happens gradually, no one really knows the reason and the "holiday" is just invented somehow.

I know other asian countries such as Japan has defined the day as "Pocky Day" because "11.11" looks just like Pocky.

Distugsting Haze Happening in Shanghai

If you follow the Chinese news, you must notice that air, such a fundamental and necessary element in our daily life, has became a deadly weapon to half of the Chinese people, especially in Shanghai, the place where I live.

According to the department of weather, Shanghai has ranked No. 1 on the nationwide air pollution city list. Based on the atmosphere particulate matter (PM) scale, the air condition in Shanghai is counted as heavy dust, the most serious situation on the PM scale, and the number is over 600.

                                                                     1 DAY AGO

                                                                      ORIGINAL

I believe it is the result of rapid development of  industrialization. Shanghai is walking on a path which London city has been through during 18th century. We appreciate those advantages, those amazing skyscrapers that the government keeps building in the past few years to make our city modern, but could the country slow down its development pace just a little bit and care a little but more about citizens, about us, about our health?

Thanksgiving Break

For foreign students in the United States, Thanksgiving doesn't mean family gathering because most of our family members are living back in China. Instead, we spend our Thanksgiving with our friends.

For the last few Thanksgivings, my friends and I spent whole night on Black Friday shopping at outlets such as Woodbury near Boston. These were such horrible experiences to me because it was raining every time when we were shopping, and temperature was below zero, and it was such crowded. I bet more than half of the crowds were Chinese because you can see and hear people talking Chinese everywhere. Chinese people like to shop I guess, especially when those luxury brands are on sale, some of us are just addicted to brands...

I have to say it is phenomenon that is happening among Chinese today, some of them are just buying those brands no matter how it looks when they wear them. It is kind of shallow that some of Chinese are focusing too much on materials instead of spiritual nowadays. I hope the situation would improve someday in the future.

So for this Thanksgiving, we rent a big house in Maine near the the Sunday River Resort. It is a huge place for skiing and snowboarding. We had a really wonderful time there. We have nine people living in that house during Thanksgiving and in that time period, we were just like a family, we cook, we drink, we party, we chat and laugh.

Chinese Food 1: scrambled egg with tomato

One of the most important reasons I love China and proud of being a Chinese is because of Chinese food. And I think the thing that suffers me the most when I am studying abroad in this country is about eating. I'm not saying the American food is bad, it is good and healthy but as a person born and grow in China, I just cannot get used to the food here. And personally, I think most of Chinese restaurants located around New England area are kind of "fake", just like the feeling of an American goes to China and eats the burger there. 

Here I want to introduce a very "famous" dish called "scrambled egg with tomato". It is "famous" because I think that is the first dish that most Chinese people since they were a kid learnt how to cook it. It is easy cooking and the procedure is relatively easier compare to many other Chinese food. Below is the recipe (actually it is the way I cook it):

materials: 3 eggs (usually enough for two people to eat it), 2 tomatoes, a scallion, salt, vegetable oil

(the number of the picture does not match the step, and skip the picture 8)

Step 1:

wash and clean the tomatoes, cut them into small pieces

Step 2:

crack eggs into a bowl and beat it up, then put half spoon of salt in to it, and stir it evenly.

Step 3:

Place a wok on a cooker, heat it a little bit, then put some oil in it (about 5 spoons). Add in the eggs you just stirred and stir fry it for about a minutes until it forms yellowish, then cut it into chunks.

Step 4:

Don't turn off the heat, pick the egg out and put them into the bowl you used, then directly put those tomatoes into the wok, stir-fry them for about 2 minutes until you can see the tomato juice.

Step 5:

After you see the juice, put those eggs back into the wok and stir-fry both eggs and tomatoes for about 2 minutes, mix them together.

Step 6: 

After stir-frying, heat it for about 1 minutes and put some scallion into it. 

Finished! Pick it out of the wok and place in a dish! Ready for eat!

Chinese culture: education, part 1

First of all, I have to say that Chinese's education has a long way to go... and that is the reason why I study aboard in this country.

Below is a typical academic schedule of a Chinese student for a day: (before college)

7:30am: you have to enter the main gate of school before that or you will be late, even though the first class starts at 8:00am

7:30-8:00am: This period of time you have to turn in all of your assignments and do the morning exercise. (be honest, I used to arrive  before 7:30 so that would leave me enough time to copy others homework...)

8:00-12:00pm: typically four courses in the morning, and 40 minutes for each. 10 minutes break between classes (I hate that so much!!! beacuse most of the teachers would delay the class if they want)

12:00-1:00pm: Lunch time and break time

1:00-4:00pm: three classes in the afternoon, also 10 minutes break between classes, and then school's over. (If you get lucky, your day will be ended at 4:00pm but sometimes, students would be forced to stay at school and do their unfinished works for that day...)

So, this may seem not that bad but trust me, it is that bad...

This is only part 1 of Chinese education industry and I'll explain more, a lot more in the future posts...

Chinese culture: Karaoke

Karaoke is a term comes from Japan and it is the place where people gather together and sing with the recorded music. We usually call it KTV. After KTV has been invented in Japan, this activity spread out very quickly and China is one of the countries that has been influenced. KTV was becoming popular gradually after it came to China and now, it is the most important place for people holding a party and hanging out together.

The evolution of KTV is significant in the past 10 years. As I mentioned in the first post, KTV now is not merely a place to sing with each other but a crucial part of social interactions. I think it is like the pub culture in the United States. People drink (no matter how old they are), smoke, sing and play game with each other, also do a lot of silly things in that room. Furthermore, it is also the place where one-night-stand frequently happens.

For people who don't know each other, it is the place that can build up relationships in a second. For friends, it is one of the choices to maintain their relationships. Also for some adults, it is the place to do business.

Chinese culture: mystery, something cannot be explained

Sleep paralysis is the situation when a person is awake but losing the ability to move during sleep. In China, we call it "Ghost on the bed" (it is kind of hard to translate, I just translate it directly). First of all, I want to claim that in China, people are using the term "ghost" much more than "demonic".

I know there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon but to me, I would rather treat it as paranormal power because of my personal experiences. I experienced "ghost on the bed" for two times in my entire life and if there is a way to stop it happening again, I would do it whatever it takes. It is just so horrible... To tell the truth, I used to trust science, I believe that everything happens on this planet would have some sort of rational explanations and "ghost on the bed"??? What a BS... until the first time I experienced this phenomenon.

I was in a hotel room and sleeping, it is new hotel but is decorated with ancient stuff like old paintings. When I woke up in the morning, it was such a special feeling because I just couldn't move except my eyeballs. I wish it could be that easier but then I heard of something, and I swear I heard that sound, a female sound saying "Go die!" (Of course it was in Chinese) I tried so hard to move but I just couldn't and I knew it was not in a dream because I could feel things like goosebumps. It lasts for about 10 minutes and it was the most horrible 10 minutes in my life. The second time was better than the first one because I've learnt something after the first one. There is a saying in China that if you are in this phenomenon, just curse.

Chinese culture: Cigarettes

In China, smoking cigarettes is not all about lighting up and smoking but more importantly, it involves a lot of social etiquettes. It is not  a personal activity but a complicated process in any public spaces (just for those who smoke). 

Sharing cigarettes with whether your friends or your peers is the most important etiquette. For example, when four or five people gather together and one of them want to smoke, he or she cannot, or would be impolite if he or she just takes out a cigarette and smoke by him/herself. Instead the person should give each person a cigarette unless someone doesn't want it. Furthermore, if someone is lighting up a cigarette for you, you should tap his/her hand softly two times with one of your fingers to show the respect.

The previous situation is just about smoking with your friends, or someone who has the same social status as you. If you are in a situation with your boss, or someone you try to please, there is a different "rule". First of all, you have to prepare a high-class cigarette, not something cheap. Then you cannot share the cigarette with your boss by throwing or give it to him/her in one hand, like you do to your friends. Instead you should give it to your boss by two hands, hold it steadily like you are holding something heavy. Finally, light it up for your boss, and it doesn't involve "tap" etiquette because he/she has a higher social status than you.

Those are not social rules or norms that everyone has to obey them, but potentially it is a social etiquette to show the respect, and leave others a good impression.

(Sorry I can't find a image associate with this topic....)

Alcohol, an important part in Chinese Culture

Alcohol really plays an important role in Chinese culture, and drinking is a necessary procedure in social life, whether for the teenager or the adult. Unlike the United States, there is no drinking age for the Chinese, a five years old kid can get alcohol in any liquor stores and he/she can drink it without any law punishments. I still remember my mom used to give me some cash and asked me to get some beer when I was a kid because she was too lazy to get some... For me, I started to drink when I was in the secondary school, about 15 years old. Students like us in China (moderate academic grades, but not all of them), drinking is an important part when we hangout. We like to drink (not all of us), or to tell the truth, I think we enjoy the feeling of pretending to be an adult when we are drinking. 

When kids get older become adults and step into the society, alcohol is still an important part in their life. This is only my point of view and I'm not sure if it is right or not, I think Americans usually talk about business in a meeting room, or through interviews, but we usually talk business in restaurants or clubs (any kinds of clubs...). In the restaurant for instance, adults would like to sit around a big rounded table and order many expensive dishes even though they would not consume the food at all, but that is a necessary step to show your (if you want to talk business to others) sincerity. And alcohol is a significant procedure to success in business. In order to get a big contract, you really need to drunk yourself to the "death" and that's the way to get the other side happy. My father used to bring me to those adults parties sometimes when his business was still in fledgling, and the only thing I was thinking during the party is that I really admired their courage and how and why a person would damage their body like that... It was really crazy, drinking to the "death"... 

There are three major types of Chinese alcohol, beer of course, yellow rice wine and white spirit. The white spirit really is a kind of alcohol that adults would like to drink in China, and in average it is about 40% alcohol. The highest one I have ever seen is 67%.... close to the industrialized alcohol... so crazy... I‘ve tried once and I drink about 1.3 pounds that night, really the most I can drink, and I only remembered the first hour of that party... It took me about two days to get my body back to the right track...

These are only the parts I have experienced in the past 20 years, it may seem a little subjective but I think that's what most normal Chinese people would experience, just like me.

New here...

Hi there and welcome to my blog! As the only chinese student in this class, I think it might be interesting to write something about the chinese. Unlike the chinese you heard or watched through various media stations, I'll write about chinese in this blog based on my personal experiences, more real and vivid. And this is the second time writing blogs in my life, so if something terrible happen, please forgive me....
Thank you for reading my blog and see you in few days!