|
"Red Heart Moon" a WEST MEETS EAST China Weblog -- by Kevin Hart
Cross-cultural musings about life straddling the Pacific.
last modified Jun 16, 2004 at 17:43
Last year when we went back to Canada in the summer, we had to fly Chongqing-Shanghai, Shanghai-Vancouver, Vancouver-Toronto, and our home town of Sudbury is still a 4 hour and many minutes drive north after that. Total travel time was about 26 hours straight without a rest. Passing customs in Vancouver was an ordeal in spite of the smell of Starbucks coffee and Tim Horton donuts permeating the air (or was it the other way around!).
To worsen the trip, we almost did not even get started, as a tropical storm hit Shanghai the day we were to leave, and we got delayed 4 days until we could rebook.
Now, there is a direct flight from Beijing to Toronto, and I love how it arrives an hour and a half after it takes off (thanks to the wonders of crossing 12 time zones). Leave in the afternoon, arrive in the afternoon, and you will soon forget where that day disappeared to (in actuality, somewhere over the arctic).
That will be nice!
While China does not have a team in the World Cup this year, they are still very enthusiastic about the tournament. It could be argued that they are more into it now that national pride is not at stake because four years ago, they failed to score a goal in any of their matches.
While I personally like to pull for the underdogs (Serbia-Montenegro, Mexico, and Togo are my teams!), most Chinese like to side with the winners, and I would have to estimate that over half the country is cheering for Brazil. Then Italy, then Argentina, then Spain, perhaps in that order. I guess backing a powerhouse team makes them feel good about themselves, again, not having to worry about being embarassed about losing 3-nill to some team like Algeria.
They sure were happy when Australia upset Japan in their first match, the cheers could be heard ringing through the entire 1.3 billion population! It is funny to hear reports of white-collar workers quitting their jobs so they can go home and watch the games all night and sleep it off all day.
They rebroadcast the matches during the day, but what fun is it watching the action when you know how it turns out? Still, viewership must be very high. I wonder how many Chinese are gathered right now, this afternoon, with their trouser pants hiked up above their knees, T-shirts pulled up exposing plenty of belly flesh, fanning themselves to keep the heat and humidity at bay, all the while smoking a cigarette, and yelling at the TV screen when their favorite team is scored on?
In the next World Cup they qualify for, the national team will play in front of 3 billion Chinese eyeballs, and at their first goal, it will be bedlam here. Their first victory will bring about pandemonium. Making the round of 16 would lead to hysteria! (You get the picture). I wonder how many years it will be by the time China hosts the World Cup? Shall I hazard a guess of 12 years from now? Maybe the Chinese team would be ready to put on a good show by then. Oh what fun it would be!
Over the last few days my family and friends have been leading an election campaign here in China. No, not voting for government officials, but for our three and a half year old daughter. She is one of the 20 finalists in the "Three Deer" Milk Formula Healthy Kids Contest being put on by Chongqing television network.
Voting takes place by sending brief text messages by cell phone. One text message sent costs one yuan, and after 6 days of "voting", Perin now has about 2400 to her name. One cell phone is limited to 15 votes. Perin is currently in second place for number of votes, and of the three highest vote-getters, the milk formula company will choose a "spokesperson". It is rumored that the current leader is the son of a big boss who ordered all of his employees to vote for his son or else!
While Perin deserves to win hands down (no, I am not biased at all!), as she is so healthy and so cute, she is at a bit of a disadvantage as she is the youngest in her age group. Some of the 5 and 6 year olds are already veterans on the performing arts scene!
Perin will sing "On a Good Ship Lollipop" come showtime on June 18th, and I will let you know of the results! Our cheerleading squad, (Pull Pull Team), led by mom, will be choreorgraphing her every step and wiggle! Go half Finnish-Canadian, half-Chongqingese Shirley Temple!!
PS. The result - She placed 6th, not bad at all, considering she was competing against 5 and 6 year olds. Good on you Perin, you did everyone proud, and looked like you had fun doing it too!
Life on the river can get a little stale at times, and we crew members always look for ways to spice up the daily mix of catering to tourists. I guess everyone is getting a little anxious for their summer break, as we all have been going straight without a day off from cruising now since early February.
Our latest sarcastic joke, one started by yours truly, is that they decided to blow up the Three Gorges Dam today! (Actually, they just demolished the last remaining coffer dam, but we love to sensationalize things.)
I can't believe how much press the dam is getting both here in China and abroad. Two weeks ago it was the completion of the concrete pouring for the permanent structure making headlines all over the world, this week it is the demolition of the last coffer dam splattered all over the news.
I am very concerned about the water quality and had to scratch my head when a local official, when responding to criticism about the reservoir, blurted, "Does it look dirty to you?"
Let me tell you, I work here every day, and the water is FILTHY and getting worse. When are those water treatment facilities supposed to come on line anyway? The sooner the better.
My daughter Perin, now 3.5 going on 35, is participating in a marathon talent contest hosted by CQTV and sponsored by a popular Chinese brand of formula milk called San Lu (Three Deer).
They put on an ad campaign and "interviewed" over 400 local children to participate in the show, and have narrowed the finalists to 20. Perin is one of them. I thought it would all be over after her first appearance on national TV the other day, but Jennifer told me that was only the first show, and that there are three segments left before it all wraps up July 1st. Both the TV station and San Lu stand to make big money for the advertising being bought during the show times, the publicity gained by the formula company, and the voting system also will make for some nice income.
Voters are encouraged to send text messages, 1 Yuan a piece, to vote for their favourite contestants. Perin already has over 1,000, but is far behind some of the better coordinated families who have simply paid their friends (and even strangers, I am sure) to send in their votes. One cell phone can max out at 15 votes.
No wonder the production is going on so long. While it is a good experience for Perin to be in the limelight for a while and will teach her to be more outgoing perhaps, the children (and their parents) are expected to rehearse almost daily, with long hours and long waits stage-side. Only in China! Some of the parents are so intent on getting their kids "discovered", they are staying in hotels next to the studio, and eating and sleeping this show. We are not into it that much, and just reflect that parents would not go for this kind of thing back in Canada. It is just too demanding for the little tykes. What a contrast with the Chinese mentality that if you think it is too hard, showbiz is simply not for you.
We will see where all this ends up in 3 weeks time!
|