Birmingham Post - Lifestyle Blog

What I Learned Today

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:45:30 +0000

They say that you learn something everyday. While this may be far from true for many people around the world, I can confidently say that for me, it really is true. Everyday I see something in Beijing that fascinates me. From a man cycling a rickshaw with a colossal mountain of plastic bottles on his back; or a lover's squabble on the subway that results in the boyfriend breaking into romantic song - an idea no doubt lifted out of a cheesy boy band music video. Most days I also pick up a new phrase or new word to expand on my growing Chinese mandarin vocabulary. What interests me most about China, however, is the profound difference in culture and way of thought. Chinese people my age often have radically contrasting feelings towards many things, most notably for me, is their priorities in life.

Today I read an article published by the Shanghai Metropolis Daily, which featured a list they called a "Hierarchy of Snobbery". The lists, which cover everything from taste in the opposite sex, to favoured brands, music, and movies, are, what the paper claims, reflect a person's intelligence, class, and even how "international" they are.

Here are a few of my favourites...

Cell Phones:
1. Blackberry
2. Apple
3. Xiaomi
4. HTC
5. Samsung
6. Sony Ericsson
7. Nokia
8. Motorola
9. Lenovo
10. ZTE
11. shanzhai mobile phones.

(Original Chinese text) 手机：黑莓>苹果>小米>HTC>三星>索爱>诺基亚>摩托罗拉>联想>中兴>山寨机

TV Shows:
1. British TV shows
2. American TV shows
3. Japanese TV shows
4. Korean TV shows
5. Taiwanese TV shows
6. Thai TV shows.

(Original Chinese text) 电视剧：英剧>美剧>日剧>韩剧>港剧>台剧>内地剧>泰剧

Coffee:
1. Costa
2. Starbucks
3. Left Bank
4. U.B.C.
5. Typhoon Shelter (Tea House)
6. McDonald's/KFC
7. Nescafe Instant

(Original Chinese text) 咖啡：COSTA>星巴克>左岸>上岛>避风塘>麦当劳、肯德基>雀巢速溶

Most desirable Women:
1. Light-skinned, rich, slim, beautiful, and with big boobs
2. light-skinned, rich, slim, and beautiful
3. light-skinned, rich, and beautiful
4. light-skinned and rich
5. light-skinned and beautiful

(Original Chinese text) 女神：白富瘦美挺>白富瘦美>白富美>白富>白美

Second generation Chinese:
1. PLA second generation (children of People's Liberation Army officers)
2. Government official second generation
3. Rich second generation
4. Children of coal mine owners
5. poor second generation
6. children of farmers

(Original chinese text) 二代：军二代>官二代>富二代>煤二代>贫二代>农二代

What I Ate Today

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:35:12 +0000

If there's one thing that unites the Chinese nation, it's a love of food. Upon arrival in any city in China, the air is filled with an aroma of food and exotic scents. Rather than just refueling the body, mealtimes are regarded as the most important times of the day. All work stops for lunch and dinner times, and it is considered highly inappropriate to skip a meal due to work commitments. In China, no business deal is finalized nor relationship formed until you have sat down and shared a meal - more often than not, washed down with a few shots of Baijiu, a paraffin-like tasting strong Chinese liquor. Food is so important to the Chinese people, that conversations are initiated with a casual, "have you eaten?", rather than the western counterpart of "nice weather we're having" or "how's it going?"

With this in mind, it's unsurprising that among the rows and rows of restaurants, a number of entrepreneurs are keen to locate a niche market. Low and behold, the themed restaurant landed. Although the older generations of Chinese prefer to stick to traditional Chinese restaurants, teenagers and young adults, possibly in a bid to rebel from their disciplined school and work lives, are keen to try something new and unusual. So, as disturbed as I was to come across a restaurant that had a chosen the universally-acknowledged unappetizing theme of poo poo as its premise, I nevertheless found myself inside the restaurant, perched upon a toilet seat and browsing the poo-inspired menu.

With dishes such as a beef curry served in a tabletop commode, and mashed potato swirled into a turd-shape and served in a urinal, I had clearly entered some kind of doodoo dream-world. Even my drink came in a curly-poo cup...I was relieved to discover the content was orange juice. Chocolate milkshake may have been too much for my reserved English insides to handle. However, while the food looked very good, the concept of eating out of a commode left me feeling quite uneasy. Nevertheless, the House of Poo Poo restaurant was bustling with potty young Chinese diners enthusiastically licking the toilet bowl clean. However friendly the staff are and no matter how many cuddly poo toys decorate the walls, a walk on the stool-side of dining left me feeling like ****.

Materialistic Offerings for China's Qingming Festival

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:38:17 +0000

Last week, people across China enjoyed a three-day holiday to mark Qingming festival. But rather than enjoying a break somewhere nice, or putting their feet up in front of the TV, many Chinese people will have spent the holiday spending time with family or visiting cemeteries to pay respects to their ancestors.

Qingming Festival, which fell on April 4th this year, is also known as tomb sweeping day. It is a day set aside for Chinese people to remember family members who have passed away. Like most Asian countries, family plays a major role in the lives of the Chinese people. Therefore, it is considered essential that Chinese people of all ages make a special effort to honour the dead.

For those that have the opportunity to visit cemeteries on this day, the standard ritual is to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the dead. It has long been a tradition for families to burn fake money, which is peculiarly printed in the style of dollar bills. As the fire eats away at the money, it is believed that the 'money' is passed over to their family members on the 'other side'.

A Chinese friend of mine once told me that his grandmother, who had passed away a couple of years earlier, visited him in a dream. He noticed that her clothes were shabby and her hair unkempt. So, come Qingming festival, he made sure he bought plenty of paper money to burn for her. The next night he dreamt that she visited him once again; this time wearing her lovely new clothes. Rather than query the belief, with questions such as 'is currency necessary in heaven?' or 'where would one buy clothes in heaven?', I choose to respect the belief. The emphasis and consideration that Chinese people attach to the importance of family is admirable and something I consider to be severely lacking in British society today. However, I can't help but smile at how much emphasis cash has in Chinese society. If Qingming festival proves one thing, it's the belief that even in death, money and possessions are indispensable.

Since China's 'opening up' 34 years ago, the significance of money and status have become even more magnified. It is no longer simply a car, apartment, and job that prove your worth, it's also your partner, where you eat, and of course, your mobile phone, handbag, and a whole host of other materialistic paraphernalia. So it came as no surprise when I discovered that this year, it wasn't just paper money that Chinese families were buying as offerings for their ancestors, but also paper Apple iPads and iPhones.

At 80 US dollars per iPad, and iPhones for around 4 US dollars, these paper offerings do not up at a snip. In an attempt to drum up enthusiasm, sellers on popular Chinese shopping site, Taobao.com, offered discounts to bulk buyers. How many iPads does one's deceased relative require? For those really wanting to splash out and treat their deceased loved ones, then paper villas, cars and even houses are also available.

A majority of Chinese people that I spoke to about Qing Ming festival plans told me that they will not be bulk-buying paper iPads just yet. In recent years, as the Chinese people have become more aware of eco-living, people have been encouraged to commemorate relatives on QingMing festival by planting flowers and trees around gravesites. However, the traditional way of commemorating Qingming festival remains the most popular option.

Blue Skies in Beijing

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:33:08 +0000

Blue skies are a rarity for us Beijingers. So rising on a Saturday morning to a view like this is the ultimate way to shake off those city blues. I guess the best things in life really do come for free!

China Fever Goes Global

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:10:09 +0000

This week, the news has been inundated with footage of people all around the world celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Today, I saw images of dragon dances and kung fu acts on the streets of London, Ontario, and Madrid.

The first thing that stuck me was how these celebrations seemed far more stereotypically 'Chinese' than celebrating New Year in the Chinese capital has ever been for me!

I've spent my fair share of Spring festivals in China, but i'm yet to see a dragon or lion dance parade through the streets of the city.

Beijing's being Bombed!! Oh no, it's just Chinese New Year

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:31:53 +0000

"Hello Birmingham, this is Kate Adie reporting from some horrifying war-torn land"...Oh no, wait, that's not right...

This is in fact Nikki Aaron coming to you from Beijing. Differences? Many. Similarities? Also many. For those are not bomb blasts, machines guns and screams of horror upon the streets of China - they're fireworks, firecrackers, and squeals of excitement, as the nation welcomes the almighty Year of the Dragon.

Kissing & Cannibalism

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:46:35 +0000

Nothing can dampen the process of falling in love quite like a bad kiss.

That first kiss that you've imagined over and over in your head to be nothing short of perfection. A teeny-tiny orgasmic lip lock.

But then, as you bob your head to go in for the kill, lips pursed in anticipation of making your dreamy kiss a reality, you're met with a soggy mouth full of disappointment. The dream is shattered, rose-tinted spectacles shaken and blurred.

It really has been a while since I enjoyed some decent lip action - a kiss that gave me butterflies in my tummy, and made my right leg kick back with a pointy toe.

I can't help but wonder whether this has something to do with the fact that I have limited my lip-locking over the past few years exclusively to Chinese men...

Of course it would be uncouth of me to generalize; just because the Asian men that I've kissed came at me like a starving man at a giant ice cream cone, it doesn't mean that every single man in Asia would do the same.

However, it does pose the question as to whether different nationalities have their own preferred kissing styles.

I mean, just because I don't get off at being suffocated by a kiss, it doesn't mean to say that another girl somewhere else in the world might think it totally hot.

The Great Divide: Dating Differences of Chinese & Western Men

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:18:27 +0000

Most western girls in China have at some point met a Chinese guy who rattled her cage, got her heart racing, and made her question everything she thought she knew about her preferences and types.

Pre-China, 99.9% of my non-Chinese female friends never expected to find themselves entangled in a love affair with a Chinese man. But somewhere along the way, there have been dalliances and romances with the locals, and I'd be lying if I said that many of them ended happily ever after.

Having 3 failed relationships with Chinese men under my belt, I'm ready to return to the security I'll find in the big hairy arms of a western man.

But having only dated Chinese men (and one wretched Korean) over the past 5 years, I'm feeling quite out of touch.

As many of you ladies will know by now, dating Chinese men and dating western men require two very different game plans, strategies, and, let's say, styles. And here are just a few of them...

I Don't Drink Coffee, I take Hot Water, my Dear

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:18:49 +0000

The first time I realized that living in China had changed me, was when I was back in the UK visiting family and friends a couple of years ago. My best friend had dragged me out on a double date with two very nice English men. When one of the guys asked me if I'd like a drink, I replied "Ohh just a glass of hot water for me please."

An exchange of glances between him and his friend, and a sharp elbow in the rips from my friend, and I knew I'd said something 'weird'. But the thing is, I really did just fancy a glass of hot water.

If you've never tried it before, let me tell you, there is nothing more refreshing or hydrating than a glass of warm water. Still think I'm weird? Well, there was a time when I would think me weird too.

Please Sir, Can I have the Relationship AND the Career..?

Sat, 01 May 2010 04:31:22 +0000

It doesn't matter who we are, every one of us has a motive for staying long-term in Beijing, and it tends to fall into one of two categories; for career or for love.
If you have the best of one of them already, then you count your blessings, but is it really possible to have both the great career and the great relationship?

The Curse of the Expat Women

Sat, 01 May 2010 04:14:44 +0000

Ask a majority of the expat women in Beijing about their dating habits and they will tell you the same thing; that there is a distinct lack of nice men in Beijing, and how they all end up dating men whom, if they were in their home country, they would never have given a second glance.

The lucky, lucky expatriate men find that in Beijing they have super powers. Suddenly they're getting all this attention from pretty Chinese girls. The female expat community watch in horror as they see the class nerd strutting down Sanlitun like he's John Travolta, and feel their standards slip even further down their leg as they find themselves thinking, "hmm, he's looking quite hot tonight."

Why are there so few Western girls who date Chinese guys?

Sat, 01 May 2010 04:10:13 +0000

It has become a normality of everyday life to see a foreign guy with a local Chinese girl on his arm, but still a rarity to see foreign girls walking hand in hand with a local Chinese guy.

It has been speculated that this is because a lot of people haven't moved past the traditional perception that Chinese guys are shorter and weaker than their western counterparts, and therefore unable to satisfy the needs of a western woman. Surely this cannot be true?

Dry Humour

Sat, 01 May 2010 04:05:12 +0000

When I first moved to shanghai, my roommate and I would babywipe our arms and "ew" at the amount of dust we found on our skin after being outdoors.

Shanghai, like Beijing, is one of China's busiest and most integral hubs. Being on the coast, however, has significant advantages to the climate and pollution levels.
I now live in Beijing. What can I say, I LOVE this city. The culture, the history, the Beijing people... But being the Chinese capital and the centre of attraction has it's negatives. The air in Beijing is so dry that I need to slather five or six layers of moisturiser on my face before it feels normal and soft again.

Actually, I hadn't realized how scaly I was becoming with just my single layer of lanolin cream twice a day, until my 11-year-old Korean student touched my face and remarked on how differently my skin felt to his. I now take the liberty of covering my entire body in baby oil bother morning and night - which may sound extreme, but is entirely necessary.

The dryness of the city, which is down to the heavy pollution here, can cause nosebleeds and eczema. A number of my foreign friends have also developed asthma and sometimes have panic attacks when they can't catch their breath.
Health is a heavy price to pay for living in China's capital. So, regardless of how much we adore this place, we all know that sooner or later we need to escape to a place where the air is fresh, the climate soothing, and the grass green.

Taking a Breather in Singapore

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:30:26 +0000

After the suffocating sandstorms in Beijing recently, it's been good to escape the organised chaos and take a trip to Singapore.

I've been to Singapore twice before, and coming from Beijing, it never ceases to amaze me just how clean, controlled and so much more practical so many things are in comparison to the city I have come to call "home".

The Case for Not Having Kids in China

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:25:59 +0000

I have given China 3 year of my life so far, and estimating another 2 here before I move on. But recently, as most late twenties girls do, I've been secretly evaluating living styles of the more family-esque type.
Yes, I am feeling the urger, the biological clock, or whatever it is called, and I've started thinking less like the single woman and more in the sense of when I'd like to start a family, what type of mother I'd be, and most pressingly, where would I most like to raise my family.

And I have come to one decision quite easily. Beijing is not the place to raise a family.