Adventures in Guangzhou!

1. China is a wasteful country.
I'm not sure that anyone can really argue this point, especially in the cities. As I have mentioned, it's pretty darn hot down here in Guangzhou and, thankfully, most places are air-conditioned. One thing I don't understand is why every building seems to blast the AC and yet leave their doors open to the outside. I'm talking about office buildings, schools, restaurants, and stores-- everyone leaves a large gaping hole to the heat outside, and you can almost see the cold air pouring out, much like opening the freezer door on a hot summer day. I can't help thinking that it's an enormous waste, especially given the number of people that are consuming energy here.
By the same token, China is currently entrenched in the throw-away generation. That is, recycling has yet to take off and most people don't seem to know what it is. Despite the fact that there are waste and recycling receptacles all around the city, the most common way to dispose of trash is to simply toss it down on to the ground. I may have mentioned this already, but if the city didn't employ a small army to constantly clean the streets, we'd all be wading through it up to our necks here. How long will it take before people change their habits? Obviously we still produce FAR too much waste in the U.S., however I think we have more of a grasp of how precious our natural resources are. Then again, maybe I'm being naive here. I do know that I can go running in Boston and not feel like I'm breathing down smog. The same cannot be said for any Chinese city yet.

2. China has seemingly illogical standards of respect.
The other day, Steven and I were invited to a student presentation recounting a school-sponsored summer trip to the states. It was held in a large auditorium where there were several teachers present and approximately 300-400 members of the student body. The students started their lecture/presentation to encouraging cheers and wide-eyed wonder at the photos on the screen of VT and the Green Mountains. They were attentive and interested... for about five minutes. After the initial novelty wore off, they got restless and began talking amongst themselves. I don't mean talking as in whispering quietly, either. I mean talking to the point where there was such a loud din in the room that I couldn't hear the presenters, and I was sitting in the front row! The teachers merely sat by and let it all happen without so much as a glance backward at the misbehaving students. I couldn't help thinking that if this were the U.S. and I was a teacher in there, I would have stopped the whole thing and waited for everyone to shut up, at which point I would have given the room the "you-think-I-won't-suspend-you-but-I-really-will" look. I was doubly shocked by this, given that students are, for the most part, extremely respectful during class.
On the flipside, I noticed some odd behavior by teachers the other day. I was at the gym playing basketball after classes with the students as I waited for the rest of the teachers to show up for our bi-weekly game. A trio of teachers showed up and started dribbling on the court and shooting on the basket that was clearly in use by the students for a pick-up game. They made no effort to say anything like, "It's time for the teachers to have the court," or "Hey if you don't mind we're going to start playing on this hoop--can you move to the other end." Nothing like that. I simply can't see that happening in the U.S. without so much as a comment to the kids. It seems strange to me, then again, we have no cultural standards that have been around for thousands of years. I suppose it's the case that teachers have always had the power and authority to do as they wish in China (minus, you know, during that small Cultural Revolution-thing). It's also interesting that sometimes it feels like we are getting the royal treatment from students, faculty, and staff. Other times it feels like we're a complete after-thought and that we're getting the shaft from the school. We have yet to figure out what determines the treatment.

3. China has yet to actualize any real protection of I.P.R.
Okay, I'll admit it--one of the things that I was psyched about before I came to China was that I'd heard I'd be able to buy any American movie on DVD for about $0.25-0.50. And yes, it's true. There are people who sell DVD's on street corners and even in some legitimate shops. The covers of the movies are clearly done without any care for accuracy or detail, and the spelling, grammar, and information on the boxes are always wrong. A small price to pay for such a luxury though, right? Well, I've actually found that it makes me somewhat uncomfortable and unsatisfied to buy and watch these movies since the quality is so inferior. Sometimes the music overshadows the dialogue. Sometimes the picture is so dark you can't tell what's going on. Sometimes it's just a really muddy picture and sound at the same time. I find myself thinking that I'd much rather pay a bit more and have there be a nice crisp picture and 5.1 sound (not that I have my sound system here with me). Am I quality snob? Maybe. I think it goes beyond that though because for some reason it bothers me that there is no protection for intellectual property rights.
The majority of people involved in hollywood are probably too rich to deserve any pity from this, but someone spent the time to write that movie. Someone spent the time to do sound on that movie. Someone put a lot of thought into the angles and the lighting (unless we're talking about "House of Wax" which was just downright crap). You know what I mean. Those people deserve some credit which they definitely don't get from the Chinese market. It goes beyond movies as well. I'm sure most people heard that the new Harry Potter book came out here in Chinese, months before the official translation was released. The cover looked exactly the same and you'd never be able to tell that it was unofficial except for the fact that apparently it had some sloppy syntax and muffed up minor aspects of the story. For a culture that has long respected the arts, it seems strange that acts like these go mostly unacknowledged by the bigwigs in the Party.

4. Chinese bars overcharge for beer in a major way.
Okay, a comparatively small issue here, but I don't get it! Beers here are generally comparable (if not more expensive) to going out in the U.S.--somewhere between $4-6 for a 12 ounce bottle of Budweiser. A Tsing-tao, probably the most popular domestic, is about the same or slightly cheaper. This is perfectly acceptable in America but completely ludicrous by the Guangzhou standard of living. In comparison, I can go to the grocery store/corner market/7-11/man-on-the-street and buy a 24 ounce bottle of Zhujiang beer (the tasty local brew) for the equivelant of about $0.26. Yes, twenty six cents. What accounts for this difference? I can't be sure, but I'm guessing that the places I have been to thus far have been targeting the small population of foreigners who are here on business or doing what I'm doing, and thus slightly more apt to throw down that kind of money. Not me--I can tell you that much. I think I will be embracing the tried and true method of "pre-partying" at my apartment before I go out in the future. On a side note, I found an Irish pub that serves Guinness. Thank the good lord.