Ho ho ho! CounterStrike invades Christmas!

So, it's been a while since I was a crazy about playing video games like Counterstrike for hours on end, and you wouldn’t think that I’d pick up that habit while I’m here. But I have to confess that I spent a couple hours of my Christmas day playing CounterStrike! But before you make too many assumptions, let me clarify that it was actually an indoor laser tag facility that they called Counterstrike! And it was an absolute blast!

Chances are, if you are a guy who likes video games, or you know someone who does, you have probably played laser tag some time in your life. Two teams – running around and shooting each other – Trying to get as many kills – using any technique possible to avoid being shot -- when the buzzer sounds, whoever has the most points will be the next James Bond! Great! Right?

That’s fun but, this laser tag adventure was a little unique, due to the fact that we had army camouflage vests, headphones providing real-time combat sound effects, only three lives rather than an unlimited number (headshots were twice as lethal as chest shots) and a real filthy concrete facility! The best part of it all was that when you got shot, you didn’t just hear something or see yourself blink (how realistic is that!), but you for sure when you were hit because you got a little (notice I said little) electronic shock when you are hit. It made for quite the effect and gave a little more of a feeling of paintball where you work a little harder not to get hit because of the slight discomfort of the occurrence. I’m not sure it would fly in the US, but its great fun and though I’d much prefer spending time with the family during this season, it at least gave me short term high!

*Note I was not hired by any laser tag company to post this blog entry, will receive no commission on laser tag visits from viewers, but honestly just wanted to share with you what I consider to be a freakin fun adventure for the whole family (well, as long as your kids know the difference between a real gun and a fake gun. Then it might be scary!)

3 … 2 … 1 … Foreigners in Action!

My classmate and I are seriously considering writing a list, which soon could turn into a book, entitled: “You know you are in [my city] when…” The most recent addition to that list would have to be an event I took part in last week: “…You’ve only been in your city 3 months and you are asked to shoot a commercial that will be shown to a European government to try to bring investment to your area!” It makes me feel like such a good citizen to contribute to my community by leveraging my white skin to bring some more business to this already booming area!

The commercial was broken up into 2 parts. One in a shopping mall and the other in a bank. After arriving at the mall, we were told our clothes weren’t quite up to par. So we perused around the ritzy mall for an hour trying on $100-200 shirts to borrow in order to appeal more stylish from a Chinese standpoint for the impending shoot! After 3 hours of repeating scenes to get them exactly right, we finally satisfied the director’s fancy.

Next, at the bank, we got decked out in suits and pretended to be brokering $100 billion dollar deals. In actuality we were carrying 5 cent folders and talking about why people liked staring so much (Yes, our words will be dubbed over so they really didn’t care what we said).

Though I’d like to think we acted so well that other companies would want to pay to also use our amazing performances, we didn’t actually sign any kind of waiver or identity protection. So who knows, maybe next week I’ll show up on a slew of those huge billboards plastered along roadsides throughout the city! Regardless, its one more thing I’ve already done in this country that I’ll probably never be able to do back at home!

Tired of school?

“What a long day“ “I have so much homework?” and “Because the teacher said so” all have new meanings after spending a morning in a local high school last week. Let me explain my perceptions…

What a long day… Things like school sports teams, extra-curricular activities, and part-time jobs just aren’t even on the radar! It was pretty depressing to me that students arrive by 7:00 AM and don’t finish until after the sun goes down, around 6. And after school many students go to evening school where they study 2-3 more hours until 9 or 10, at which time they begin their homework. High school students commonly stay up well into the wee hours, only squeezing in a few hours of sleep before they have to start it all over again. Often at least 6 days a week!

I have so much homework: That’s life! When I asked a current college student, who often have much more free time than in high school, what her memories were of high school, she visibly did not want to think about it. Then, she simply said “fear”. Fear of not living up to her family’s reputation or not getting into good enough of a university (based upon a big test at the end of high school).

Because the teacher says so: Whenever a student thinks they have the answer to a question they promptly stand up in front of the class of about 50 students and recite the answer. If they are lucky, they might get a “very smart” from their teacher. If they’re wrong usually its “Come on!” or “Sit down!” Not the most edifying environment I’ve ever been in. Furthermore, in the English class that I attended, where there’s often more than one right answer, the only acceptable response was the one the teacher thought was best.

And we wonder why they are able to learn the thousands of words (pictographic characters) in their language? I was told yesterday, it takes them 7 years to learn the most commonly used 2,000 words. Though its much more strict environment than we are used to, with little room for error, they sure do create a lot of very bright, disciplined, and ambitious students. Students who are ready and determined to be the future business leaders of our world.

So, the next time someone you know complains about their unbearable time at school, now you can teach them a little bit about what life is like for the first 12 years of a children’s life in this country. Is this the way children should be taught? Do we need more of this kind of environment in American schools? Ultimately, it all comes back to a society’s values…

Rules of the Road…

So, I remember seeing pictures when I was a kid of the streets of China awash with what seemed to be thousands of bikes every which way in total chaos. Though in the last 5 years the number of cars has grown so much that they sometimes have to parallel park 3 cars deep on the roads in some places, the bicycle still rules the road! The largest bike company in the country is in my city and I’ve also heard my city has the most bikes in the world! But, before I give you an idea of what its like for me to bike in this land (a future post), I need to draw a picture for you of what I’ve observed in my first couple months:

• Bikes are actually faster than a car at many times of day (although with the overwhelming pollution, I’m sure it's not as good for my lungs)

• Careful to judge your speed when approaching a stopped bus (of which there are many), if you are going fast enough and several people are getting on/off, you can go on the inside of it by the traffic, but if it is about to accelerate or few people are exiting/entering, you might stay on the outside of the bus.

• If you are rapidly approaching one or more bicycles and it is apparent that they will momentarily impede your progress, you should confidently ring your bell once, while moving to the side that appears to be a gap appearing. No matter how frustrated you are don’t verbally express anything.

• If you ever want everyone to know you are a foreigner simply stand up on your bike. No one in this country ever does it!

• Just about anything that can be transported in a car (dozens of pounds of coal, 10 foot stacks of cardboard, gobs of styrofoam, trash-most of the city’s trash pickup is done, hundreds of vegetables) can be just as easily (almost) transported on a bike or some kind of two-wheeled geared-machine

• At a 4-way stop with a red light for bikes/pedestrians, wait until the perpendicular street’s crosswalk begins to blink green and begin to pedal. Then you will have a good chance to be the first across the street.

At first, it was hard not to take off like a jackrabbit on my bike as soon as the light turned green and the traffic guard waved me on. That’s because I felt so much like I was at the starting line at the beginning of a cross-country race back in high school (or the starting line at the Brickyard 400!). But alas, I have restrained my competitive juices and at least pretend that I've been riding around these thoroughfares my whole life.

The Most Patriotic Day of My Life...

If it wasn't bad enough that I am one of few Americans in my city, we made ourselves stand out even more last night. When we heard about the Women's World Cup having games in Tianjin, my friends and I were pumped about the chance to see the US. Our chances came last night against England!

After our carefully planned out purchases of water-based paint,brushes, baby powder, hair spray, and a flag, we got together a couple hours before the game to prep! Myself and 6 other guys got decked out with "GO USA!" on our dark red chests and parts of the American flags on ours backs. We then made haste to the stadium!

Wow, its not everyday you lead cheers for the loudest group in a stadium of 60,000. Apart from the hundreds of pictures, and smiles from other entertained fans, the highlight of the night was our "lap of patriotism" in the beginning of the 2nd half. With red, white and blue hoisted high, 15 of us ran around yelling USA at the top of our lungs and going ballistic! This inspired thousands of fans to to get up and cheer as well as conjuring up quite a few amused smirks from security guards. But the highlight had to be the first goal the US scored during the middle of our lap only to be followed by 2 more insurance goals soon after! It was quite a rush and I think I know what they mean when they talk about the 12th man!

The match left us with having lost our voices, in dire need of some long showers, and the feeling that we had truly done a service to our country. Not to mention that we were celebrities for a night and had made absolute fools of ourselves (which could have resulted in a possible loss of face if we had been nationals). On the bright side, we even had some other American fans tell us that they thought our run around the stadium in the second half inspired the fans and players so much that they gave us four free tickets to the following night's match!

Then I began thinking about professions in cheerleading (well, not really, but it did make for an unforgettable experience!)

The Ultimate Sport

In looking for some sports to partake in here, my roommate introduced me to a sports college ultimate frisbee team! After my first practice with them last week, we took the field today, to be a part of a special television documentary on ultimate frisbee in my city.

Ultimate frisbee is definitely a new thing here. The team's captain/coach has been very influential in growing the sport in this country. He was explaining the rules to the television camera and an American guy who was the MC for the whole gig.

Not only that, but the field we were playing on was surrounded by over 500 young people, all in full military regalia! No, they weren't there to escort us away if we didn't perform well, or stand in awe of our mad skills (though I think many of them did during their breaks). It was a group of freshmen from the sports college who all (by law) were doing military training (chanting, marching, pushups; the whole bit) as part of their kickoff to college. How 'bout that for New Student Orientation at college!

To top it all off, my team (who had very little English background) closed our time singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to thank the other team for playing. Good times!

Eating Like Chinese

Meals with Chinese food is always so much different. Firstly, I know now know the reason for why the FDA exists, and everyone now knows that Chinese people don't have the same constraints. Anything from what is called street food, (served everywhere on the side of the road and with undoubtedly hefty doses of dirt and germs swarming the kitchen) to what is cooked in our not so spotless kitchen, isn't the safest in the world. And they're certainly not like the Sino-American restaurants in the States we like to call Chinese Buffet. When in reality they are endless supplies of food are oftentimes filled with obese European Americans looking to gorge themselves with a slightly different flavor with more food than is ever necessary.

Chinese restaurants, are often quite dirty and can range anywhere from being given nice menus with pictures (always a plus) to no menu and you have to write down your order on a blank piece of paper (in Chinese characters mind you!). Since anything you order is a larger portion of one type of food, it is much more conducive to coming with friends and each ordering a dish to share it amongst each other, the Chinese way of eating in community.

It has been a gut check for me because every time one of my favorite dishes is about to run out, my automatic reaction is to grab the rest of it myself instead of waiting for others to have their fill. Then I started thinking how many times finding what was best for myself regardless of other people's needs took priority in my own life ... getting the best seat at a sporting event, merging (or letting someone merge) on the highway, expecting immediate and superior service at a department store, taking time for what I want and giving other people what's left. Its like we think we deserve so much. Why us and not someone else? Can I even practice a mentality that is not me first? Maybe I can start with how I eat Chinese meals.

Ups and Downs...

My initial arrival and settling into the city went great. I haven't had
any issues with jetlag and after the first night I had my first team
meeting, purchased a bicycle, went for a run though the city streets,
listened to a group sing songs to honor their ancestors and met and
settled in with my new roommates! Don't interpret that as meaning that
all has gone totally smoothly...

-Only a few minutes after coming through immigration at the airport
during my first 5 minutes in the country, all the lights in the airport
went out and stayed that way for a while.
-During my second night in my apartment the lights suddenly went out in
our apartment (apparently because we had almost run out of the amount
of electricity we paid for this month)
-On my first taxi ride by myself, the driver had to ask six or seven
different people on the street and before reaching the intended
destination.

But He is good. I have been here 5 days, only known what half of the
stuff is that I've been eating, and still haven't gotten sick. Its also
great that I somehow managed to avoid getting in any accidents on my
bike as the flow of traffic  here isn't quite as structured as I am
accustomed to. 

Each New Day

Receiving college mail as a 9th grader, your 4-year plan of classes at
college, post-graduation plans, thinking about where to take our next
vacation. Our world is full of preparing for what comes next. And
preparation is good. As Benjamin Franklin said: "By failing to prepare,
you are preparing to fail." But how far should we go in
preparing for one thing that we fail to see what the circumstances
around us look like or what we look like.

I've been reminded recently as I prepare for this next year and
thought about what I might be preparing for in the future, that I need
to take things one step at a time. Any recent college graduate like me
is going through a lot of different experiences right now. I am about
to have my socks blown off by being in the thick of the manufacturing
capital of the world!

I hope to see each new day as a gift to savor and enjoy, being
sensitive to how I am molded and directed through the happenings of
life in this Eastern metropolis. Do not worry about tomorrow, live each
new day with eager expectation and an open mind. 

The Greyhound Express

During these past 4 days I had orientation for my time in East Asia. Some people left at the end of the conference for their trip and other like me still a couple months away (August 20th). The most memorable experience I had was not in Pennsylvania, but my trip there.

Being my frugal-driven self, I decided that because I don't have a dependable car (17 year old minivans don't qualify as good candidates for long trips) and instead of flying, I'd take the Greyhound bus. Bear in mind, I had been on long bus rides before, but those experiences were primarily in Europe and Africa, but never in the US.

Though it turned a 9-hour ride into 17-hour adventure, I was struck by the people I ran into. From the first two hours I sat beside and even got to share my faith with a Sikh in medical school, to the Haitian lady that said I didn't look Indian when I told her I was from Indiana, to the scruffy-haired, compassionate man in one of the bus stations who was clearly yearning for any amount of food and fellowship from anyone as we talked for close to an hour and he inhaled the cookies I offered to him. I continue to come to grips with the great needs of this world. I know God is just preparing me know for a glimpse of what I might see and experience while I'm on my trip.