Dinner last night was at a hot pot place with some Chinese people from the placement agency. I had a long conversation with a guy named John (that's his English name. Many Chinese people choose English names in addition to their given names and end up with "funny" names often-- Cup, Batman, etc.). It started when he asked me what I do for a hobby and I said I really like music, that my favorite band is Nirvana and he liked them too. His knowledge on Kurt Cobain was interestingly spotty... "stomach problems, sick, suicide, Nevermind.." He said his favorite album was Nevermind and he didn't like Unplugged very much but then said, "Do you know that song 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night'?" I said, "Yes, of course, I quite like it. Do you know its origins?" And he said, "I know it is very old. I heard the old version once and it was much slower and deeper." I said, "Yes, that was Leadbelly." Then he started singing it Leadbelly style to me! It was so surreal to sit in the middle of the Chinese hot pot restaurant listening to this young Chinese man who's spent his whole life in Shanghai singing a 1930s delta blues song. He said he felt very strongly about the end of the song when Kurt Cobain sighs and opens his eyes then wails. This is what I like about China-- people speak very plainly about these sorts of things.
He played guitar in a band and was very interested to know what was the most popular music in America. Maggie is also usually interested to know what is popular in America, and how much things cost there (cigarettes, clothes, particular brands). He suggested Green Day and I said Maroon 5 but beyond that I didn't know what to say besides Christina Aguilera and solo pop artists. I tried to explain why I think rock is a little better in China (in some ways) and why it is very difficult for American and British bands to make any money. "Hiphop is more popular than rock," I said. This brought him onto the plight of blacks in America-- "It's much better now for them, yes? They have many opportunities now that there is the NBA and Michael Jordan." I said, "Uh.. well, things are a better for them than 50 years ago but it it is still more difficult for blacks than for whites to succeed. There are opportunities for everyone but it is hard for many blacks and Hispanics. The average income for blacks is much lower than whites and the crime rate is much higher." He was very surprised at this and I struggled to put the socioeconomic situation of race relations in America into a few sentences.
We discussed censorship on CCTV9 (the English language channel. The government runs every channel on TV, there is no private television media as far as I can tell). He said CCTV9 [Central China Television] is full of rubbish, completely useless. He felt very strongly about this and I was surprised he told me. I wouldn't go that far but it does only air positive news, or news of no consequence. He said Chinese language CCTV is the same way and I replied that though all television is private in America, we're not without our own propaganda especially now with the stratospheric rise of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Private individuals like Murdoch and Ted Turner dictate what the average American knows if they don't care to dig any deeper than TV.. which most of them don't.
I feel much safer in Shanghai than in America and asked him if there is much crime here-- he said no. It really is difficult to assess because the news outlets are not allowed to air it, nor are they allowed access to the statistics, I'm sure. A taxi driver was murdered in his neighborhood earlier this year because the fare didn't have any money to pay but this was not on news; people find out about these things from word of mouth alone. This morning on the way to work, a car almost hit a bike and the driver and biker got into a huge argument. I stuck around to watch even though I didn't know what they were saying, like any Chinese worth his salt would. I would never do this in America as my immediate thought is that someone's going to pull a gun so get the hell away and around the corner as soon as possible! They were really screaming and eventually two random women stepped in to make peace so that neither of them would lose face.
Back to John: "Do the American people like your president?" More complicated questions! I found that I was the one saying "It's complicated" a lot... which is just what Chinese people often say to Westerners who don't understand a certain aspect of the culture. I said people in the south and midwest tend to like him, and people on the coasts tend to not like him. He found this geographic split baffling. "Why!?" "Well, uh... people in rural areas are often Republican, and President Bush is Republican. People in cities, many of which are on the coasts, are mostly Democrats." This didn't help at all... "Why are people in rural areas Republican? Why do cities support Democrats?" Uh... I babbled a little about small vs. big business, morality, religion, defense/offense and Iraq. "What do you think about the war in Iraq?" I hemmed and hawed while he thought we should not be there at all.
One of the other women at the table had an older sister. This is super rare. The one child policy is still in existence and going full force. When she was born, the government withheld her family's income for five years. I tried to ask her how they lived but all I could understand was that her parents had to go outside of the city to find work in addition to their regular jobs. Black market work, maybe.. I'm not sure.
Shanghai is the rising middle class heaven. My Chinese friends are all a part of this group.. they have ｓｏｍｅ disposable income in China, but they would be poor with the same salary in America. There are professional recyclers here (the bike carts with incessant bell ringing) because the money they get for the scrap they pick up is more than they would make at another job. Shanghai is definitely the most economically diverse city I've ever been in. I would say the gap between the rich and the poor is wide, but the ever-larger middle class must mean that the gap is lessening... ? Unless the poor are getting poorer at their expense. Hard to tell; very different economic environment and history than what I know best.
The People's Liberation Army [PLA] (Chinese army) is celebrating its 80th anniversary this week with "Peace Mission 2007" -- joint training with Russia. Seems the world is going backward rather than forward and isn't that a bit scary.. Russia and the UK at diplomatic ends, Russia and China joining forces.. it's like the beginning of the Cold War all over again because I can't imagine these sorts of actions are going to go terribly far without panicking the free world.
On a lighter note, the hot pot restaurant was very near The Statue so I went to sit there a spell after work and before dinner. The park is dominated by old men and women fanning themselves in the heat and walking around and around the sidewalk path. My presence obviously caused quite the stir in their daily routine; one thin old man stared at me for at least 10 minutes straight and another slightly younger guy in boxers and a wifebeater kept passing by, then came back pushing his friend in a wheelchair and whispered in his ear; they both laughed and giggled as they passed me, then turned around and did it again. I am so interesting and funny, I know! Just kidding, a young foreign woman is obviously not the usual park patron but that's ok, I didn't mind at all.
People's Square at rush hour
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