A Naked Man, Wal-Mart, and China's Course of Development

Email sent to friends and family, October 19, 2006. It inspired many responses, and I look forward to hearing your opinion

Ni hao jiaren he pengyou!
(That means, "Hello family and friends")

I hope this note finds you well.

Living in China has complicated my perspective on international development. It casts a different light on my experiences in Chile and my idealistic Berkeley education. I started thinking about this when I read that microfinance inventor Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I heard Yunus speak at a conference in Chile, which I attended as part of my internship with Acción Emprendedora. Acción Emprendedora helps the poor build small businesses through entrepreneurship classes, one-on-one tutoring with college students, and access to microcredit loans. By facilitating the creation of handmade wooden toys, dried fruit shops, and costume workshops, Acción Emprendedora catalyzes capitalist development in Chile from the bottom up. Through my interviews and surveys, I came to believe that this is the best way to build a better world.

The other day, I came across a New York Times editorial which made me question this belief. John Tierney argues that Wal-Mart has been more important than microfinance in reducing global poverty. In Chile or Berkeley, I would have discounted it quickly, singing the praises of Acción Emprendedora.

But here, I think that Wal-Mart (and other companies that produce things in China for export) has made a huge difference in raising of living. Jiaxing is one of the richest cities in China's richest province. Its name means "Esteemed Prosperity."


Yesterday the sky was blue (a rare event in a place where 80% of the energy comes from coal) so I walked all around town taking pictures.


Most of my pictures were of ladies shocked at my minimal Chinese and funny Chinglish signs.



But there is one shot I just can't get out of my head.


An emaciated homeless man bathing in a city park fountain. His backside scraped and bloody. A police officer scolding him.

I've attached it, and I think it's worth more than a thousand words. Before export-oriented production, there were probably so many more men like him, starving and filthy. Now, China has more cell phones than there are people in the United States. Jiaxing's Wal-Mart (or val-a-ma as the locals pronounce it) opened a few months ago. The mall it anchors also has a Starbucks, a Dairy Queen, a KFC, and a McDonalds. I went there once. It sure looks like any mall in the Bible Belt. My boss was so proud when it opened that she rushed there the first day, only to find it too crowded to go inside.

People are obsessed with money. Everyone asks me how much money I make, from taxi drivers to hole-in-the-wall waitresses. When I plug in my iPod and speakers to play music for my class, I hear echoing whispers of "Duo shao qian?" (How much money?) Migrant workers from the countryside work ridiculous hours (10pm Saturday, 7am Sunday, etc) on construction.

Though my Berkeley side hates Wal-Mart, I do believe that it has brought many Chinese out of extreme poverty. I still idolize Mohammad Yunus. But now I see that there is no one-size-fits-all way to make this world a better place.

I want to know what you think about this. Please write back.

Love,
Leslie

Greetings from Beer Town, China!

From an email sent to friends and family, dated October 11, 2006, less than two months after my arrival in China.

I just got back from an exhilarating trip to Qingdao (which was spelled Tsingtao in an older transliteration system, and that spelling stuck for the beer.) I had a week off for the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival Holidays. I think that traveling alone is the absolute best way to pick up a language. With few English speakers around, I had to strike up conversations in Chinese, at a level that surprised and impressed the locals (and myself.)

Now, when people ask me, "Do you like Bush?" I understand the question, and can respond, "No, I don't like Bush." I don't quite have the vocabulary to give a good reason, but it is a start. It is somewhat of a relief to be in a country where people are not accustomed to asking "why." More commonly I get asked, "Do you like China?" and "Do you like basketball?" And those are much easier to answer with gestures and a limited vocabulary.

One of my most often-repeated sentences was "Ni shi wo de zhongwen laoshi" (You are my Chinese teacher) even to small children. Everyone laughed when I said this, but I truly believe it. I had half of Shandong province teaching me vocabulary and applauding my Chinese.

With one of my many Chinese teachers, on a trip I took to a coastal landmark called Chengshantou with a Chinese tour group. I couldn't understand the guide's endless descriptions, which she said through a megaphone, but I did understand her when she spoke directly to me, since she asked very simple questions.

Qingdao is a charming and prosperous city, with some German architecture from when Germany colonized the area. The beaches were misty, and sometimes crowded, sometimes pristine. I strolled with a French friend I met in the hostel and we saw seriously 200 couples on the beach, in ill-fitting, rented white dresses and suits, taking cheezy wedding pictures with half-smiles and unnatural poses.

"You may kiss the bride!" Never mind that these photos are often taken several months before the real wedding, and printed as life-sized posters for the entrance to the wedding venue.

Couples waiting for their moment in the spotlight. The Mid-Autumn Festival is supposedly the luckiest time of year to get married, and everyone has the week off.

Reflections on Teaching

From an email I sent to friends and family, dated October 11, 2006 (slightly adapted):

Jiaxing University Front Gate

It's crazy for me to think that in the past five months I have gone from being a student of Latin America to a teacher in China. It is also the most empowering thing I have ever done. I did this simply by putting my mind to it, without any specialized training.

I love this picture because it brings together a game created in my home country (basketball) and an icon from my chosen field of study (Che Guevara) and the distinct pose so common in China (which would be called a peace sign in the US but means "victory" in China.)

It's the sixth week of school now, and I am on my third round of lessons. I only see each group of students every other week, so I can use the same lesson plans sixteen times before having to come up with something new. I do vary it, though, because I get bored repeating exactly the same thing.

my students on the first day of school

My first week's topic was ME. (Sounds conceited, but they were incredibly curious, and I stretched their questions into a full hour of role-play, in which they acted as me and my mother, wearing a hat and necklace I brought to represent these characters.)

My second week's topic was LOVE. This is a country of sappy love songs and Hallmark Card imaginations. We discussed and contrasted song lyrics... once I convinced the students to open their mouths. In one class I played a song, asked the students what they thought of it, and waited for an answer. Silence. Finally I called on the most talkative student in the room and asked what he thought. "Excuse me, teacher. I want to know what you think first." This is something that you could never get away with saying at Cal! Once I clarified that they could say the song was romantic, slow, fast, boring, interesting, etc. they started to talk a bit.

Neil Young's "Love is a Rose" inspired the most interesting comments. I had my brightest classes write metaphors in response. One of my favorites was: "Love is a cup of tea. If you smell it then have it slowly, slowly you will taste its sweetness and you'll be relax. You can smell its happiness..." (unedited, of course)

This week we've been discussing MONEY. I've been showing them American money and reading Shel Silverstein's "Smart." They love talking about money, but it is tough to start a substantial discussion because most of them are incredibly literal in their thinking. It's not just that they are practicing a new language. They have never been encouraged to develop their own ideas. Of course, there are some exceptions. My favorite classes are my Math and Fashion Design students. (The above sample came from a Math student named Apple.) My theory is that these disciplines require more creative abilities than, say, Accounting or Chemistry. Also, my Math and Fashion students are mostly girls.

girls staying cool and pale in the sweaty summer heat

One of the most entertaining parts of teaching is taking roll, since the students' English names are often hilarious: Banana, Wood, Fly, Drumdragon, Smile, Snoopy, Cookie, Orange (who always sits next to Apple—in at least 3 of my classes.)

flagpole in the center of campus

Welcome!

Thanks for visiting Quarterlife Abroad!

I am currently in the process of building this blog. It will contain all sorts of stories about young people living overseas. I plan to include sections on preparation, networking, relationships, cross-cultural communication, reverse culture shock, and similar topics. Lots of pictures too!

I will feature articles from friends both old and new who have spent their "me" years overseas. I have lived in China for the majority of my post-college experience, but I do not want this blog to be entirely China-focused. If you have any interest in contributing your stories let me know.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter (@leslieforman) or email me (leslie dot forman at gmail dot com.)

Cheers, and happy travels!
Leslie