xx
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Summer in China (Among other things)
Summer is officially declared in China when there are 10 or more consecutive days of 30 degree Celsius weather or more. Well, summer was declared last week when the city baked in temperatures of 35 degrees and higher. Now that’s hot!
The Chinese are incredibly intuitive when it comes to their weather; it must come with the fact that weather and seasons have been studied in detail for thousands of years and it’s a huge part of their culture.
Coming from Canada, where weather is always part of day-to-day conversation but never goes past the obvious “Well it’s a hot one today”, I am constantly surprised by how much they know here. I always relied on weather forecasts in Canada to tell me how to dress and when to plan for things but as we all know, the weather guy on TV is never always right.
The Chinese teachers at my school have gotten into the habit of telling me what kind of weather to expect and they have been spot-on every time. “It will be a hot day today, but tomorrow I think it will rain and be cool”, and of course, a scorcher is followed by a cooler day with showers. My own personal weather forecast!
Here’s a link to some more info on Seasons here in China. So far it’s been right-on.
http://www.geocities.com/zhen_qi/02chineseseasons.html
Along with their knowledgeable weather conventions, the Chinese follow slightly funnier ‘seasonal’ customs that sometimes make me giggle.
Among one are the umbrellas. This is one of those everyday necessities that the Chinese have with them at all times. They use them to protect themselves from the rain and of course, from the sun. The Chinese, or more respectively, the Chinese women are incredibly careful not to darken their skin during the hot summer months. They even go as far as purchasing skin-whitening lotion to enhance, or create certain “radiance”. And they take it very seriously... I have yet to find skin lotion without bleach in it. Yuck.
This must come from the fact that the middle class is a new and growing population within China and they are very adamant about separating themselves from the large working class population that spend their days working outdoors.
Another funny custom is the use of split pants for toddlers and infants. This is something that is used all year long but it much more popular in the summer months. Known in Chinese as "kaidangku" (literally "open-crotch pants"), the principle is clear: no-fuss waste disposal. They're split down the middle-in front and back-and provide what many parents say is maximum convenience with minimum coverage. For one thing kids here are potty trained in half the time as they literally have the streets to practice on. As soon as children learn to walk they are taught to pee just like they would on a squat toilet. I must admit the first time I saw this I was a little uncomfortable seeing a child pee on the side of the road like a pet dog but one of my teachers mentioned the incredible speed at which a child is toilet trained, as well as the amount of waste that is saved from Chinese parents refraining from using diapers. As some of you might know, diapers are a huge concern in terms of the environment because they don’t decompose. Can you imagine how much waste is saved due to the Chinese population choosing to have their children squat and pee instead of using diapers?
Much like their knowledge of the weather, the Chinese follow a certain number of rules when it comes to seasons as well. I remember pulling out my sunglasses back in march when the sun started to shine a little stronger and asking one of my teachers why I never saw anyone else wear them. Her answer to this? “Because it isn’t May yet. Summer is not here yet”. You must be able to imagine my confusion because coming from Canada; the majority of people wear their sunglasses for sun protection... and not just in the summer. If it’s sunny, you wear your sunglasses! No need to have anyone tell you when and how right?
This was also the case with open-toed shoes. We had a few hot days last month, some exceeding the 30 degree mark and so I took out some of my open-toed shoes and started to wear them around school. Well, the looks I got from those shoes were anything but puzzling. “Noémie! Aren’t your feet cold? You will get sick!” said one of the Chinese teachers at my school. It was 31 degrees outside but because we were still in April, it was still designated as spring weather which meant that open-toed shoes were inappropriate!
These are the moments I came to China for. As confusing and nonsensical as they might be, I love to see how other cultures react to mundane things like the weather, or potty training, or even sun protection. These are sometimes the little things that some foreigners become increasingly frustrated with in China if they can’t assimilate, but I think that if you have a sense of humour you can turn anything into a good story.
(This post was originaly set to be up around May 10th)
Love you all
xx
The Chinese are incredibly intuitive when it comes to their weather; it must come with the fact that weather and seasons have been studied in detail for thousands of years and it’s a huge part of their culture.
Coming from Canada, where weather is always part of day-to-day conversation but never goes past the obvious “Well it’s a hot one today”, I am constantly surprised by how much they know here. I always relied on weather forecasts in Canada to tell me how to dress and when to plan for things but as we all know, the weather guy on TV is never always right.
The Chinese teachers at my school have gotten into the habit of telling me what kind of weather to expect and they have been spot-on every time. “It will be a hot day today, but tomorrow I think it will rain and be cool”, and of course, a scorcher is followed by a cooler day with showers. My own personal weather forecast!
Here’s a link to some more info on Seasons here in China. So far it’s been right-on.
http://www.geocities.com/zhen_qi/02chineseseasons.html
Along with their knowledgeable weather conventions, the Chinese follow slightly funnier ‘seasonal’ customs that sometimes make me giggle.
Among one are the umbrellas. This is one of those everyday necessities that the Chinese have with them at all times. They use them to protect themselves from the rain and of course, from the sun. The Chinese, or more respectively, the Chinese women are incredibly careful not to darken their skin during the hot summer months. They even go as far as purchasing skin-whitening lotion to enhance, or create certain “radiance”. And they take it very seriously... I have yet to find skin lotion without bleach in it. Yuck.
This must come from the fact that the middle class is a new and growing population within China and they are very adamant about separating themselves from the large working class population that spend their days working outdoors.
Another funny custom is the use of split pants for toddlers and infants. This is something that is used all year long but it much more popular in the summer months. Known in Chinese as "kaidangku" (literally "open-crotch pants"), the principle is clear: no-fuss waste disposal. They're split down the middle-in front and back-and provide what many parents say is maximum convenience with minimum coverage. For one thing kids here are potty trained in half the time as they literally have the streets to practice on. As soon as children learn to walk they are taught to pee just like they would on a squat toilet. I must admit the first time I saw this I was a little uncomfortable seeing a child pee on the side of the road like a pet dog but one of my teachers mentioned the incredible speed at which a child is toilet trained, as well as the amount of waste that is saved from Chinese parents refraining from using diapers. As some of you might know, diapers are a huge concern in terms of the environment because they don’t decompose. Can you imagine how much waste is saved due to the Chinese population choosing to have their children squat and pee instead of using diapers?
Much like their knowledge of the weather, the Chinese follow a certain number of rules when it comes to seasons as well. I remember pulling out my sunglasses back in march when the sun started to shine a little stronger and asking one of my teachers why I never saw anyone else wear them. Her answer to this? “Because it isn’t May yet. Summer is not here yet”. You must be able to imagine my confusion because coming from Canada; the majority of people wear their sunglasses for sun protection... and not just in the summer. If it’s sunny, you wear your sunglasses! No need to have anyone tell you when and how right?
This was also the case with open-toed shoes. We had a few hot days last month, some exceeding the 30 degree mark and so I took out some of my open-toed shoes and started to wear them around school. Well, the looks I got from those shoes were anything but puzzling. “Noémie! Aren’t your feet cold? You will get sick!” said one of the Chinese teachers at my school. It was 31 degrees outside but because we were still in April, it was still designated as spring weather which meant that open-toed shoes were inappropriate!
These are the moments I came to China for. As confusing and nonsensical as they might be, I love to see how other cultures react to mundane things like the weather, or potty training, or even sun protection. These are sometimes the little things that some foreigners become increasingly frustrated with in China if they can’t assimilate, but I think that if you have a sense of humour you can turn anything into a good story.
(This post was originaly set to be up around May 10th)
Love you all
xx
China's Censorship
So a few weeks ago I discovered what most have already: China's Mighty Censoring.
Along with Youtube, I could no longer access my blog.
China seems to be intensifying their controls of the growing numbers of bloggers using the internet to lay bare their thoughts and politics, most probably because of the increased interest in China due to the Expo which is being held next May. I only cringe to think of what will come next as time draws closer to the opening date.
Until then I will keep blogging when possible using Web Proxy Blockers that enable me to bypass The Great Wall.
Thanks for keeping up with me and sorry for the wait!
Lots of love xx
Along with Youtube, I could no longer access my blog.
China seems to be intensifying their controls of the growing numbers of bloggers using the internet to lay bare their thoughts and politics, most probably because of the increased interest in China due to the Expo which is being held next May. I only cringe to think of what will come next as time draws closer to the opening date.
Until then I will keep blogging when possible using Web Proxy Blockers that enable me to bypass The Great Wall.
Thanks for keeping up with me and sorry for the wait!
Lots of love xx
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