Blend in or Stand out? September 20, 2007

Just a question that I have been thinking about lately…

When I first decided to go to Spain, I was excited to finally study in a country where I would blend in. I was done with the touristy, foreigner look, and ready to actually immerse myself in another country. This would be a completely different experience from my time in China. In China, I was clearly an outsider, and this affected the way I was treated – not necessarily for worse, but just differently. People talked slower, and expected less. If I made a cultural blunder, or did something just straight up dumb, I could write it off as being a ’stupid American.’ The standards were pretty low.

But now, studying in a country where by all basic appearances, I fit in, things have changed. Now, walking down the street, or into a store, people expect me to act like, and speak like a Spaniard. I get asked directions on the street, and have people strike up conversations with me on the Metro. But as soon as I open my mouth, it is clear I am a foreigner. Although my Spanish is fairly good, I have a pretty interesting Chinese-Italian-German-American accent going for me, that stands out right away. And then there’s the slang language, the words that we never actually learned in school, but end up being essential for living and speaking in Spain. Learning that is definitely on my to-do list.

And so, the question is, is it better to blend in, or stand out? In China, I sort of enjoyed the apparent excuse of being an outsider. Here, when I make mistakes, instead of people writing it off as a foreign faux-paus, it’s just assumed I’m actually that dumb. Although there are perks to fitting in. I am no longer an easy target for pick-pocketing, and no longer hear comments about ‘Waiguoren’ (foreigner, in Chinese). I can explore the city without looking too much like a tourist, and things seem to come a bit easier now. For now I think I like being one of the Europeans. It’s a good life!

A Lonely Republican in Liberal Europe September 17, 2007

Spain, and Europe in general, is not the most friendly place for a card-carrying Republican Bush supporter these days.  I got my first taste of the widespread disdain of our endearing president yesterday, while watching the Spanish news.  Immediately following a segment regarding one of Zapatero’s new policies, featuring the stern-featured Spanish president in his suit and tie, passionately proclaiming his economic plans for the country, the news station turned to other news – American politics.  Catching my attention, I looked closer to see this rather unflattering picture of Bush performing an African tribal dance, which was paired with news regarding the war on Iraq.  Juxtaposed with this image was a video of explosions in Iraq, and commentary about the latest deaths and attacks within the country.  The message was clear – look at the bumbling idiot of an American president, and the havoc he is wreaking upon an innocent country.  Exactly the reaction my senora (a 60-something year old grandma figure) had to this commentary.  Shaking her head in disapproval, she commented to me about how awful this war is, and how she’s heard that all of the Americans dislike Bush just as much as the Europeans.  Interesting.  Sensing it was not the time to get into this political debate (although I am excited to get into it in my Spanish politics class!) I just took it all in.

Then today, there was “breaking news,” on the Madrid channel that Alan Greenspan had finally admitted that the Iraq war was only about oil.  The commentator went on to cite the latest death tolls and pessimistic outlooks for Iraq,  while comparing these facts to the United States’ oil consumption.  After what seemed to be an outright attack on the Bush administration, the segment closed with the commentary that for the first time, a member of the U.S. government was “revealing the truth about its motives” in the war on Iraq.  I was shocked.  This didn’t sound right to me.  After doing a bit of research beyond the propaganda of European media, I found that, no, in fact Greenspan didn’t say that the administration’s motive for the war was oil; in fact he made it quite clear that this was not his intention.  Although Greenspan makes a rather pointed comment about this connection in his recently released book, “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” a deeper exploration finds this allegation rather misplaced.  Greenspan made it clear at the time of invasion that he believed, like Bush, that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, because “Saddam was acting so guiltily trying to protect something.”  Despite the rather one-sided, anti-Bush European media’s portrayal of these latest statements as the leaking of an inconvenient truth, it is clear that there are two sides to every story.

Ghosts of Spain – The Franco Effect September 16, 2007

Even after only having been in Spain for about a week now, I have noticed the incredible influence of Franco’s regime on this country – over 30 years after his death. Interestingly enough, since the death of Franco and the ensuing backlash of excessive liberalism, there seems to have been a great deal of discussion of the Franco government, and its historical and lasting effects. Perhaps it is because I am accustomed to the concealed, unspoken atrocities of Mao in China, and the acquiescence of the Chinese people, but I am surprised by the openness and honesty with which people in Spain discuss Franco.

First, a bit of background. Franco took power as dictator in 1939, when he announced the end of the Spanish Civil War and the defeat of the Republican regime. Immediately after the war, and continuing for decades, Franco’s government sought to punish the alleged war crimes committed by the Republicans, eventually executing, jailing, and forcing into labor thousands of former Republicans. After Franco’s assumption as dictator, his party – the Falange – became the only legal political party in Spain, and he sought to centralize the state completely under this regime. This was achieved through a wide variety of measures, including censorship, a strict cultural policy essentially forbidding any expression of minority culture (a measure quite reminiscent of Mao’s Cultural Revolution), and a policy of political isolationism.

Bian Lian, 变脸 July 28, 2007

 

Today in Chinatown, there was a Bian Lian demonstration featuring one of the performers from the Cirque Shanghai (the acrobatics troupe that is visiting Chicago for the summer. I got a front-row view of this unbelievable art, and was amazed at the performer’s skill. It was similar to the performance we saw in Sichuan during our last trip to China. Above, you can see the Chinatown performance on the left, and the authentic Sichuan performance on the right. It was a great reminder of one of my favorite provinces in China!

Bian Lian, 变脸, or face-changing, is an ancient Chinese art that originated as a part of Sichuan opera, but has since been incorporated into more general Chinese art performances such as acrobatics shows. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and a long, flowing cape, and as they twist their head and flourish their arms, they change masks instantly and suddenly. Face-changing began over three hundred years ago, during the Qing dynasty. Originally, the art was performed by blowing into a bowl of colored powder, which would adhere to the performer’s oiled face, appearing to change their face. By the 1920s, opera performers began using layers of masks made of oiled paper, and later layers of extremely thin silk. The masters could peel one off in the blink of an eye, and can be worn in layers as many as two-dozen thick. The exact mechanics of this art are such a closely guarded secret, that it is said there are less than 100 people nationwide in China who have mastered it.

 

Dragon Boat Festival, 端午節 July 22, 2007

The Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwujie, 端午節, is a traditional Chinese festival held on the fifth day of the fifth month in China. While several myths exist about the origins of this exciting sport, the most common view memorializes the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. As legend tells, he committed suicide by drowning himself in a river, disgusted by the corruption of the Chu government. The local people who deeply respected Qu Yuan decided to protect his body by keeping vigil in long, narrow paddle boats, attempting to scare away fish and evil spirits by the thundering drums mounted upon the boats, and by the fierce carved dragons on the boat’s prow (dragon’s have long been a guardian symbol in the Chinese culture).

Since that time, the tradition of dragon boat festivals have been popularly celebrated in China, and increasingly in Chinese ethnic communities around the world. This weekend was Chicago’s Chinatown Dragon Boat Festival!

Chinatown Summer Festival July 16, 2007

What a day! The summer fair reminded me so much of night markets in Nanjing – tons of Chinese vendors selling everything from plastic bins to socks to flowers, and tons of pirated goods – designer purses, DVDs, and anything else they could get their hands on. After doing some shopping, we walked over to Ping Tom Park to see the Chinese version of the Chicago Park District. It had beautiful views of the Sears Tower and the Chicago skyline, right along the Chicago River. Dinner at Dragon King finished off an amazing afternoon in Chinatown!

The Best of Both Worlds July 1, 2007

Working in Chinatown has been such an amazing experience this summer! I’ve been keeping incredibly busy as the business manager of the Chicago Chinese Cultural Institute right in the new section of Chicago’s Chinatown. We manage a Chinese cultural bookstore with hundreds of American and Chinese published books, as well as the Cultural Institute which offers tours of Chinatown and a corporate series to teach cross-cultural training to companies like Motorola and the FBI. I’ve been learning so much by working here, and it is a great opportunity to practice my Chinese by interacting with our customers. I am also making lots of really interesting connections that will definitely be helpful in the future with my senior thesis and eventually job searches, so that is pretty exciting. There are always so many new and interesting experiences to be had in Chinatown. It really is like a whole other world… It is incredible to have a job where I am essentially traveling to China every day, with only a one hour commute!