Off the wall

Good evening everyone.
Here in Beijing it is 08:30 in the morning.
I never get bored of thinking about the time difference.
We got up early this morning, Caroline has a busy day at work.
So anyway, up at 06:30 I realised that back in Newcastle it is only 23:30 and 00:30 in Germany. It feels strange looking out at a beautiful sunny morning, feeling ready to meet the day ahead when a lot of people back home are about to go to bed in the dark of night. Maybe you're thinking this is all a bit pedestrian and I should just get used to it and shut up - well don't worry, I probably will, just at the moment, the idea of it still interests me.

I haven't blogged since April. As Caroline has helpfully been able to point out, that's because this website, along with youtube and other less useful sites, have been blocked by the so called Great Firewall. Censorship is better discussed elsewhere, but I will say that if I can set up a free VPN in order to circumnavigate the GFW, then it can't be too difficult. It often seems to me like the Internets exist to get around any restrictions people invent to prevent or limit its potential.

And what has happened since then? Well we've been home to Europe and seen most of you reading this. I wouldn't kid myself that my observations are sufficiently insightful to attract any readers that don't know us. Not yet anyway, China/Beijing like most places seems like somewhere it takes a little while to get beneath its skin.
But we're getting there and learning more every day.
I'm still fascinated by the differences and enjoy every day, seeing something new, understanding something a bit better, overhearing snippets of conversation I can now understand - at least parts of.

We've also been to Hong Kong and Macau, which I enjoyed immensely. Hong Kong is at least as cosmopolitan as Shanghai, but in my opinion the difference is that Hong Kong has character. Mostly because it's a pretty beautiful city (I like urban landscapes) built on beautiful hillsides and bays. I definitely feel like there's more to see there. The combination of Chinese and British architecture, conventions and culture is also a big selling point. However I'm so familiar with the British stuff that it almost doesn't register. It simply looks like buildings, roads, buses, etc. Just as I'm used to them. Not so in Macau however, which also has this cultural schizophrenia, but this time the Portuguese influence still stands out in strong relief for me. Great mix of food too. Especially little custard tarts - which amusingly when I worked at Asda Bakery I thought were the ultimate in bland elderly British taste, always bought by the pensioners, little did I know their exotic provenance. I did of course have a brief gamble in one of the huge casino's in Macau and thanks to Stanley 'Wagons' Ho (my addition to his name) I came away a winner - yes I do still remain lucky.

We have also welcomed our first major visitors from Europe. Sven, Martin and Adam made the trip from Berlin to come for an 8 day sprint introduction to China. We didn't give them much chance to relax, but I do hope they had a chance to see some of the conflicting faces of Beijing and China. We also enjoyed a return (for me) trip to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. A lot of people are unimpressed by these, especially since there is more than a suspicion they've been somewhat repaired in recent years. I've always been susceptible to my imagination though, so for me, the story of the Qin emperor, his hubris and the ultimate destruction of the army is one of the great stories. Especially when supported by the fantastic visual spectacle.

Other than that we have been working and enjoying our day-to-day lives in Beijing. The weather is beautiful at the moment and we're making the most of it whenever possible on roof terraces. When it's particularly hot we/I am often the only person on a terrace as all of the sensible people luxuriate in the air conditioned interior. I'll get used to the sunshine eventually - just not yet.
The outdoor pool at our apartment opened yesterday too and I intend to spend a couple of hours enjoying that tomorrow morning.

I've had a few job offers recently, but am limiting myself to the two. Still teaching business classes at my original university coupled with some part-time work at the microfinance / non-profit organisation. This allows me to combine excellent working hours and holiday which are absolutely necessary to match Caroline's 12 weeks off. I certainly didn't come here to be stuck in an office while she is off exploring China. However, job #2 importantly allows me to maintain a policy / governmental focus and I'm learning so much being involved with a start-up enterprise with strong Chinese characteristics.

Caroline's work remains stressful, challenging and as far as I can tell brilliant. She works very hard, but I am forever impressed by the experience she is gaining and how quickly she is able to adapt to the large demands placed on her. It's no stereotype to say that the Germans I know have a damn strong work ethic.

You can see photographs of our latest trips on flickr. A slideshow should be playing just to the bottom right of this page.

I realise I haven't yet mentioned the relatively large and important event which is looming (can good things loom?) on the horizon. I think that probably deserves it's own post.

So, here I am, back on-line and with no excuses over the summer, I'd better try and keep this slightly up-to-date, particularly if I want to attract back our seven regular readers.

See you all soon.

20 years

I have to apologise again for our lack of blogging, but as you may have read, several websites are now blocked on the Chinese internet: Apart from YouTube (which has been offline for a couple of months), WindowsLive, Yahoo and Google (inlc. all their twitter, vlogspot etc. websites)have been offline now too, just in time for the 4th June 20 years anniversary of the events in the largest square of the world. Only one Chinese newspaper mentioned this date yesterday, but in Hong Kong, Taiwan and outside of China candles were lit in most squares and streets.

For Mark and me it's a bit bizarre to think that by taking off certain websites, this event would just be buried, but apparently young people in China are generally oblivious to politics and this seems to be no exception. With the increasing wealth of Chinese families shopping seems to be more interesting than historic events. Seems strange? Not really I guess when you look at history: Wealth numbs political and social conscience, at least for a while until you feel that you should really share a little bit and start donating or doing voluntary work. Chinese people (more specifically the younger generations) seem to follw the same pattern and who can blame them?

China still amazes us every day and by meeting different people from different parts of the spectrum it just becomes more and mysterious. When Michael and Shelley came to visit us with Shelley's mum a couple of weeks ago, her Mum's greatest experience of Beijing (never having been here in her whole life) was to get up at 5.30 in the morning and wait patiently outside the Mao Mausoleum, just opposite the Forbidden City to see the body of China's modern emperor. I can't see any of Mark's little students do that, Mark is struggling enough to engage them in an overview of the EU.

And then there is Hong Kong.... Formally part of China now, but so different in language, culture and attitude. When we were there last weekend, they were just selling the book of Zhang Ziyang describing the events that happened to him. In mainland China this book is not being sold. So, another piece int eh puzzle of understanding China, maybe.

So, I will try and keep yo uas updated as I can under these circumstances and hope that I can put up some pictures soon again too.