I woke up to the pleasant sound of rain today in Northern California. It’s amazing how context affects the perception of weather, because I remember just several months ago how dreadful rain would be in China. Since much of China is still undergoing infrastructure growth, a slight drizzle can totally throw your day off. Rain means the probability of your chance to find a taxi diminishes to 10%..basically if you’re lucky you’ll step into a taxi as someone steps out of one. Rain also means getting your socks wet; you can’t even imagine how many streams and mini-lakes get created out of poorly planned pavement. Come to think of it, the Teva close toe sandles my mom got me really came in handy since I hate getting my socks wet!

Looking outside my house windows I witness the beauty of good infrastructure, rain streaming gracefully into two bigger streams on either side of the street. I’m in the land of milk and honey when it comes to conveniences, which is why rain in dry California is a treat and not a threat to a good day. Rain means clean air, a free car wash, and snowboarding. Rain doesn’t mean buying another umbrella at the nearest convenience store since I travel by car anyways and the most I’ll be exposed is from building to car to building.

Might as well enjoy it while I’m here…

It’s never happened to me before, blazing through airport check-in and security in no more than 3 minutes. From San Jose airport, I hopped out of my parents’ van to Sky Cab, where the good folk at Southwest Airlines checked in my baggage and checked me in simultaneously. “Your wheelchair will be here in just a second,” perked the service lady. It took literally 3 seconds. My chauffeur carts me to a secret elevator, where people who look like pilots enter in and out of. We exit right next to a security checkpoint where the nicest guards ask if I’m able to somehow go through the normal people scanner machine…you know, the one you walk through. I obligingly nod, ready to accommodate since I’m feeling pretty good by now because of this free wheelchair ride. Hopping on one leg through the scanner and feeling proud of myself, I was met by a rigid lady who exclaimed to other security, “he hopped through, that’s not allowed!” I was about to offer to drag my body through the scanner when another guard sympathizingly questioned how I was supposed to do that if I had one good foot!

That’s when the awkwardness began. The ride to Gate 2 took forever. The guy assigned to me drove me at a pace of about 1 mph, allowing any whizzing passerby to get a good look at me. I think the average human walks about 3.4 mph. It was strange looking up at people looking down at me. Usually I’m the one looking down..or looking at all, as I enjoy people watching. But even after I was parked in a disabled area I noticed that people were looking at me, or the thing I was sitting on. Is this what wheelchair faring people go through every day? I suddenly became aware of how self conscience I’d become. Luckily I had my long crutches with me to prove to people that I needed the wheelchair. My mom also called me..and suggested I put my knee brace on to legitimize my situation!

If you’re guessing what happened to me, I dislocated my knee playing beach volleyball. Now I’m considering ACL surgery. Uggh, I was supposed to be in the U.S. only for visa purposes.

I can’t wait to get onto the plane, where I’m sitting on a normal chair like everyone else. SJC airport has amazing free wifi. I’m out!

I love how competitive sports brings out passion in people. Ok,..I’m not talking about the “Passion” that comes out of brutes that would cause another person injury physically or emotionally. I’m talking about the love of the game and the expression of it that tends to be drawn out when in adversity.

I remember about three Summer Olympics ago, Chinese athletes had a reputation for being stoic, remaining emotionless through win or loss. I understand retaining focus in certain sports..but gosh, show some emotion after you win a gold, some sort of emotional response releasing the years of hard work and thanking your supporters for rooting you on. I’m watching men’s volleyball, China vs. Bulgaria… every member on the team is howling, grunting, pumping fist.. what a change!

If you ever come to China, and a local person discovers that you are a foreigner, there are a few questions that will always be asked: Where are you from? What are you doing here? Are you married/do you have a girl friend?

For some reason Chinese people really enjoy helping you find a mate for life, especially if you’re friends with them. I have a few friends who often times bring up the fact that they have a few friends who are also single…leading to the topic of where the most beautiful Chinese girls are from. I don’t even ask about it, but people just like bragging about their hometown girls. So I listen.

To a local this seems to be a topic of pride…which I understand because I am also proud that USA produces very attractive Chinese American people. I’ve come to appreciate this FACT ever since I’ve moved to China…maybe it’s the food or the water or the people you grow up around in America, but Asian American females just look better.

A friend from Harbin reminds me constantly that the girls from Harbin are the best looking and that it’s obvious during the summer as opposed to the winter, hah. I have friends from Sichuan who tell me their best looking women there are known to be have a “spicey” personality. And there seems to be a feud between Shanghai and Dalian. Shanghai girls supposedly have a beautiful face, but so-so body…and girls from Dalian have the reverse..an o-k face, but really nice body. These are NOT my personal observations, but what I’ve been told. The only observation I am willing to admit is that northern gals tend to be taller than their southern counterparts. Oh, and Shanghai women are aggressive.

Notice that the fact is not seemingly backed by reasons supporting the fact. Does spiciness lead to good looks? Does obviousness in beauty during a particular season contribute to one’s physical rating?

I believe culture plays a huge factor for judging looks. A local friend of mine was saying how he saw some of the scandalous pictures of Edison Chen and a well known Chinese actress. He said every time he sees this woman in a movie or photograph, he will not find her attractive. I’m not sure if I’m right, but it seems Chinese people seem to see a person as a whole instead of modularizing characteristics. My friend may think the Chinese actress is physically attractive, but knowing her past will be difficult for him to separate the two aspects of the girl. In the same way, if a girl is known positively for something unrelated to looks, her physical rating will be higher. Sorry if this is confusing. Let me throw in another example. Guys from the States will readily admit a girl is hot, and even if they know something completely horrible about that person they won’t mention it…the girl is just hot. Chinese guys might admit a girl is still really good looking, but they will usually point out that flaw that tarnishes their total image of the girl.

So don’t be surprised if a guy from China tells you about his hometown’s women being the best looking for reasons that you may not be used to!

I’ve been thinking about the concept of community as of late. Just a couple quotes:

“God creates inside this man a kind of “human-shaped void” that God himself will not fill.” – John Ortberg

“God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” – Genesis 2:18

When I first read #1, I felt a little awkward. Is it saying that God can’t do something?

If #2 is true, then I shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting community. I did a little research on that quote and found that #2 was spoken before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit…so it’s saying that we were designed to have community…to enjoy friendship! #1 is now more clear in that God planned to use people to fill the human-shaped hole.

I went to Seoul in hopes of getting my China Z-Visa, unfortunately a new law was passed right before I got there saying Americans had to go back to the U.S. to apply for any visas. Luckily, it was a good time to be in Seoul during Spring when people like to be out and about. That weekend happened to be the same time the 2008 Olympic Torch relay came through Seoul. Oh yes, and the most awesome event in Seoul was eating a bowl of expensive pho.

See Video of my olympic coverage in Seoul:

Cramming for class combined with sleeping on the floor everyday made for an exhausting yet exciting week in Shanghai, or as I say "Shangheezy". It brought me back to the good old days of playing hard that forced all nighters, which led to a day by day accumulation of tiredness since I still needed to wake up early for class. Shanghai was fun because I know already knew a bunch of people coming in, I also reconnected with some friends I wasn't expecting to see, and I met new folks of course. What a contrast to my social life in Dalian! My community in Dalian is quite good right now, but it took about half a year of working at it.

A consistent theme that stood out in Shanghai was my lackluster response every time anyone asked me how Dalian was. One guy noticed this and asked me specifically what I LIKED about Dalian. The truth is that Dalian is one of the best vacation spots for relaxation in China. We're located on a peninsula so there's plenty of sea and beaches. We also have an abundance of hills and greenery which means accessible hiking and outdoor activity. We have wonderful summers..ie today I was walking around without the constant sweatiness I experienced while in Shanghai's hot humidity. Oh, forgot to mention that the President of China has a "Camp David" retreat area he chills at in Dalian.

Anyways, I'm here in Dalian for the time being so I'll make the most of it, positively. Unlike Shanghai, Dalian is on the cusp of blooming,..it just seems like this flower is one of those types that bloom after 100 years of incubation. I need patience, NOW!

Today I got up from my programming posture because I heard a great deal of honking outside. I look outside and see the traffic on the Yanan Xi Lu slowly come to a halt. Accident perhaps? No, something much bigger. A chilling sound filled the air, it was a siren..the ones you'd hear in the movies when a city was under aerial attack.

About to prepare for my fate, a friend notifies that me all this noise is in memory of the earthquake victims in Sichuan. We stood there for about a minute as Shanghai came to a deafening halt, and then life went on.

There is no question that China is so much more open than before according to my local friends, but I get the feeling that China is hesitant with the new change. Here are some of observations and experiences that give me mixed feelings about China’s openness.

China closed
A couple weeks back I visited Seoul in hopes of getting my Z-visa, which would allow me to stay in China for a year at a time…quite a contrast to my current F-visa which gives me 60 days before I need to exit and reenter the country. Long story short, my Z-visa application was denied because China had just passed a law that foreigners from certain countries (including the U.S.), must return home to process visas. My Chinese visa officer didn’t even know this!

China open
A few months ago, an announcement was made that less websites would be blocked from being accessed from within China. The reasoning was so that foreigners would have full access to their resources while in China for the Olympics (which promotes liberty and life). So now I can access Wikipedia freely! However, I’m still blogging through VPN.

China open
I visited a bar that was decorated with slogans and words that were popular when America was about to separate from from England. I felt a bit uneasy in the place although it was very open!

China mixed
China finally started to accept foreign aid workers from Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Singapore after a few days of hesitation. I hope that the aid from the International community will bring reconciliation and harmony between countries.

One thing I love doing in Dalian is hopping on a bus for “yi yuan” (1 RMB), and seeing where I’m taken. Quite a contrast to the soaring gasoline prices back in California! So I get one of the many parks in Dalian, called Labor Park. You might’ve seen pictures of it with it’s giant soccer ball in the center. If you are looking beyond the park, you’ll notice the TV Tower, an even more impressive structure that governs where the sky and mountain meet. I decide to venture up to the TV Tower via taxi (impossible to walk!). Once I get to the top the taxi takes off and I notice I’ve been stranded on top of the mountain while it’s nearing dusk. The only other sign of life is this tourist bus with a handful of folks, so in my best chinese I ask “wo keyi gen nimen?” (can I go with you?). The tour guide and driver humor me and I hitch back down for free!

On the bus I get to talking to this girl,…no no, before you start thinking things, this girl is plain looking, no makeup or done up hair and I could tell her clothes haven’t been washed in a while because they look like my clothes! I find out she just graduated and is touring China. She tells me she’s been to about 48 different locations in China already since last year and is on her way up the eastern coast of China to Harbin. Somehow we got to the topic of purpose in life, using an english-chinese dictionary of course, and I tell her I’m still finding mine. I tell her that God loved me, so in turn I want to love others…just to see her reaction. She says she doesn’t understand my interests today, but perhaps tomorrow she will. Anyways, she explains that she believes in herself and that she’s most happy when she could go wherever she wants to go.

I share this because it’s not everyday I run into tourists who would have the audacity to ask what I wanted in life. I’ve so badly wanted to live and work in China, but now that I’m here I gotta be honest and say I’m discontent. Is it my location? It just seems that there are so many other cities that have some sort of historical or cultural significance. I know one thing is for sure, and that is that my work-life balance is out of whack. Since I used to live in Orange County, California, I know how it is to live in a sterile environment, but at least I had tons of friends to do nothing with. In Dalian, I just do nothing by myself. So when I met the tourist girl, I wondered whether she was truly content meandering from one city to the next. Would I be happier if I went to other cities? Would I end up finding out that Dalian really is paradise?

BTW, Listening to Colbie Caillat soothes.