Adventures in Guangzhou!

The book does a great job of illustrating various points through short vignettes and engaging character portraits. This method is great because they don't claim to be publishing truths; rather, they only write about (mostly) objective perceptions and personal experiences. I think this is incredibly important when dealing with China because it's such an unknown to any foreigner. Even speaking the language and knowing a fair number of native Chinese, Kristof and Wudunn were never 100% sure about a great deal of Chinese culture. This is both encouraging and depressing at the same time. On one hand, I don't feel so bad that there is still so much here that mystifies me. On the other, it tells me that even if I become fluent in the language and spend many years here, I will never fully understand my surroundings.

Regardless, the book was extremely informative. Parts of it are amazingly disturbing (e.g. the retarded Chinese man who was "eliminated" because the IOC was in town) and other sections are highly optimistic (e.g. the improvements in standard of living for peasants). Not surprisingly, the book meant quite a bit more since I'm here experiencing so much of what they write about. When he mentions the chaotic streets of Guangzhou, I can certainly relate. When she mentions the coming boom for Shanghai, I can verify it firsthand. I've decided to take a brief hiatus from China books though and have started the latest biography about Sandy Koufax. I mean who can resist a book on Jews & baseball?

In other news, there is an *enormous* dead rat outside my kitchen window. I noticed the other morning and it is truly disgusting. What Steven and I can't quite figure out is how it got there. We live on the second floor and the overhang is definitely inaccessible from the ground. This suggests that it fell down from a higher level but it seems to be in too much of one piece for that to be the case. The bottom line is that this is one of those "This is China" (TIC) moments. Our school is the equivelant of an Andover or Exeter in the U.S. and I just can't picture a rodent of unusual size hanging out by the kitchen window of the faculty there. Maybe I'm being naive.

Besides that, it's business as usual here. I did find out that I don't have to teach this Friday and I'm trying to figure out if I can organize a last minute trip up to Wuhan. Central China is supposedly remarkably different than the coast, so I would enjoy a look-see in those parts...