Those of you who live in the USA know all about the so-called "War on Christmas" which, for those not in the know, is basically the notion that there is censorship on the word "Christmas" and on the celebration of Christmas in the public sector of life in the USA and that this is a bad thing. So for the most part, in the USA whenever you see, hear, or read any sort of message about the holidays in December, you will usually see something like "Happy Holidays", as opposed to "Merry Christmas". This is to be sensitive to the folks (like me) who don't actually celebrate Christmas. Regardless of what you may think, I like this concept because it sends a message that in fact everyone in the USA does NOT celebrate Christmas, and that people must be sensitive to this fact.
However, in Hong Kong it's a completely different story. I'm not going to bother spending time trying to find the statistic of how many Christians there are in HK, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and posit that as a % of the whole country, there are more Christians in the USA than there are in HK (remember I'm talking % people, not hard numbers). Hong Kong is an extremely diverse place, with people from all over the world calling it home. So why oh why are there "Merry Christmas" banners on the lightposts on my street, the entrance to my office building, and on the door to my apartment building (I would post pictures here but my camera sucks)? (I haven't been to any malls lately but I'm quite sure they will be similarly decorated.) It doesn't bother me (trust me, I've gotten used to being in the minority with this), but I just wonder why such a culturally and forward-thinking place (I can't use the word country because in fact HK is not a country) would be so publicly insensitive to the religions of all people. As we would say in the USA, "Why should my tax dollars be spent pubicly promoting other people's religions?" Maybe the reason that people here don't care so much is that their taxes are so low!
Now I know that for many people in HK (and throughout the world), Christmas is less of a religious holiday and more of a frame-of-mind-get-in-the-spirit type of holiday - it's a time for the family to get together and spend time with each other and give gifts and all that fun stuff. And in fact, when I was growing up, all of the stores were closed on Christmas and there was nothing really to do, so by default Christmas was also a day for my family to get together and spend time with each other (because we had no other choice really). We used to go to the movies and then out for, funnily enough, Chinese food (because they were the only restaurants open).
And now that I'm living in Hong Kong, I can safely say that as years past, I will most likely be going out for Chinese food on Christmas (I'll be in Beijing at the time). And this is not because the Chinese food restaurants will be the only places open on Christmas (I'm pretty sure most restaurants will be open on Christmas). In fact, Christmas Day is not a day off from work for people in mainland China, because China is a communist country, and the official religion of China is atheism. This is because the Chinese government thinks that religious belief and membership are incompatible (that is, membership in the Communist party).
So for all of you out there upset with the USA's "War on Christmas", come to Hong Kong and see all the public displays of "Merry Christmas" that you want. For all of you out there who don't celebrate Christmas, come to China and eat Chinese food with me!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Facebook Relationship Status
I was one of those people who used Friendster for a long time starting way back in the early 21st century when it was the most popular social networking site. Then its appeal kind of wore off so I didn't really use it much at all. However, I was bored one day at work a few months ago and decided to join Facebook (most of my friends in HK use it as their main source of communicating and organizing events), as I'd read a lot about it and knew some people who were on it. So I eagerly began filling out my profile, entering details about my university degree, favorite books and movies, employment information, and so on. When I got to the part about relationship status, I had no problems checking the "engaged" button and setting my preferences so that this fact was displayed proudly at the top on my profile (it's possible to either display or not display this status, depending on your preference). This was both a mistake and a blessing in disguise.
It was a mistake because as soon as I became un-engaged everyone who was my friend on Facebook knew it (for those of you who aren't in on the Facebook action, whenever someone's relationship status changes (or anything else about their profile) this change is duly noted in the News Feed of all of their friends, so that whenever my friends logged into their profiles, they would see a little picture of a broken heart and some text that said "David xxxxxx is no longer engaged"). This is bad because one of my friends on Facebook asked my mother (who is not on Facebook) what was going on with me and if I was okay, and my mother had no idea what they were talking about because I had chosen not to tell her about the breakup yet. Lucky enough for me my mom is the type who cares about me, and soon began calling me asking what happened. So after a while of avoiding communications, I finally called her (after my breakup vacation - by the way, I searched the web for "breakup vacation" and since I couldn't find it anywhere, I am officially coining the phrase "breakup vacation" - the definition being a vacation taken by 2 people who were involved in a serious romantic relationship prior to the vacation, but brokeup immediately before the planned vacation and went on the vacation anyways (I suppose breakup up on the actual vacation would also apply)). So the bad part about this whole thing is that people knew about what happened before I was ready for them to know.
The blessing part of this situation is that people knew about what happened before I was ready for them to know. The beauty of this is that people knew what happened, so that I didn't have to actually tell them myself. So just like me and the ex-girl called everyone we knew to spread the news when we got engaged, now it was the opposite - I wouldn't have to call everyone I knew to tell them I was now un-engaged. And so a few weeks or months pass and I get emails like "hey I heard the news and I'm sorry" - which is awesome - what better response could I ask for? I would much rather that than have to go through days and days of calling everyone I knew saying "Sorry, it's over - do I really have to return that picture frame you got us as an engagement gift?" To those not on Facebook and who weren't informed of the situation by someone else, eventually they did get a phone call from me, on my terms, which was just what I needed.
So anyways, after the debacle of making sure all of my friends and family knew what happened, I thought about changing my relationship status to "Single" to let the ladies know that I was back out on the market, and then I thought better of it. I don't want to have to change my relationship status if/when I get into a relationship again, and then possibly go through the same thing of having a News Feed on Facebook of "David xxxxxx is no longer in a relationship". So now there is no relationship status listed next to my name - it's just better this way, and I encourage many to consider this option.
(Side note - to the people whom I haven't yet told that I am not engaged anymore, well...umm I'm not engaged anymore. It's a long story and I'll tell you about it one of these days.)
It was a mistake because as soon as I became un-engaged everyone who was my friend on Facebook knew it (for those of you who aren't in on the Facebook action, whenever someone's relationship status changes (or anything else about their profile) this change is duly noted in the News Feed of all of their friends, so that whenever my friends logged into their profiles, they would see a little picture of a broken heart and some text that said "David xxxxxx is no longer engaged"). This is bad because one of my friends on Facebook asked my mother (who is not on Facebook) what was going on with me and if I was okay, and my mother had no idea what they were talking about because I had chosen not to tell her about the breakup yet. Lucky enough for me my mom is the type who cares about me, and soon began calling me asking what happened. So after a while of avoiding communications, I finally called her (after my breakup vacation - by the way, I searched the web for "breakup vacation" and since I couldn't find it anywhere, I am officially coining the phrase "breakup vacation" - the definition being a vacation taken by 2 people who were involved in a serious romantic relationship prior to the vacation, but brokeup immediately before the planned vacation and went on the vacation anyways (I suppose breakup up on the actual vacation would also apply)). So the bad part about this whole thing is that people knew about what happened before I was ready for them to know.
The blessing part of this situation is that people knew about what happened before I was ready for them to know. The beauty of this is that people knew what happened, so that I didn't have to actually tell them myself. So just like me and the ex-girl called everyone we knew to spread the news when we got engaged, now it was the opposite - I wouldn't have to call everyone I knew to tell them I was now un-engaged. And so a few weeks or months pass and I get emails like "hey I heard the news and I'm sorry" - which is awesome - what better response could I ask for? I would much rather that than have to go through days and days of calling everyone I knew saying "Sorry, it's over - do I really have to return that picture frame you got us as an engagement gift?" To those not on Facebook and who weren't informed of the situation by someone else, eventually they did get a phone call from me, on my terms, which was just what I needed.
So anyways, after the debacle of making sure all of my friends and family knew what happened, I thought about changing my relationship status to "Single" to let the ladies know that I was back out on the market, and then I thought better of it. I don't want to have to change my relationship status if/when I get into a relationship again, and then possibly go through the same thing of having a News Feed on Facebook of "David xxxxxx is no longer in a relationship". So now there is no relationship status listed next to my name - it's just better this way, and I encourage many to consider this option.
(Side note - to the people whom I haven't yet told that I am not engaged anymore, well...umm I'm not engaged anymore. It's a long story and I'll tell you about it one of these days.)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tips for Working in China
So I was going through my regular repertoire of websites that I visit every morning when I came across Penelope Trunk's post Tips for Working in China. Seeing as I'm living in China (well actually in Hong Kong, but it's part of China, well kinda but not really - for those unfamilar with this topic, I will go into this subject matter at a later date), I was obviously quite intrigued to see what she would say. Here are my comments on Trunk's posting (and on some things she didn't post about):
1. Expect weird names - duhh! This isn't America, so the most common names are not John, Rebecca, David, Robert, Michael, etc... Most business people in HK and China choose English names (not American names, you uncultured folk!), and yes some of them are interesting. I have a friend named Destiny, my real estate agent's name is Fantasy, and I currently do business with people named Smile and Rainbow.
2. Put respect above everything else - yes, 99 times out of 100 if you are offered something by someone you are doing business with (or thinking of doing business with), it's always a good idea to say "yes". This applies to food (breakfast, lunch, or dinner dates), massages (be they foot, body, or "other"), karaoke, baijiu (aka white wine, aka Chinese wine), or anything else. Lucky for the Chinese people I do business with that I will do/eat/sing/go just about anywhere/anything.
3. Get a good translator - I'm lucky that all of my colleagues (I'm the only gweilo in my office) speak fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, so as long as I'm with one of them, life is good. And I have a fair few friends in HK (outside of work) who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and English as well, which is always convenient in a taxi or other place where people might not speak or understand English. I like to think that if I was dropped in the middle of China that my Mandarin speaking skills would be good enough to get by on, but I'm just not sure.
4. Distinguish between differences in culture and differences in values - One of our vendors has possibly the nicest car I've ever seen - it's a white BMW that has in-seat TV's with a DVD player and all the other necessary gadgets. If I remember correctly, I think she said that the car cost her around US$100,000. However, her teeth are in horrible shape - dirty, crooked, and overall not well-cared for (many of you know that I am particularly observant of people's teeth since I've had my own teeth-related issues). And the thing is, it's not like she can't afford dental care (which most Chinese people cannot), it's just that Chinese society values items that can be shown off to people (to impress overseas customers, like me), and not some of the basics like having nice, clean, straight teeth.
5. Stay healthy - I agree this is probably a good idea, but it seems like every time I go to China I do unhealthy things - I drink more (I will blame my vendors for encouraging me), I smoke more (I hardly every smoke period, but enjoy a couple of smokes after drinking a bit), I stay out later (letting the vendors entertain me to the fullest), and I sleep less (due to the often busy schedule). I have a gym in my apartment building in HK that I haven't seen for a while - it's probably time I go there soon.
Overall I like Trunk's postings and would recommend them to anybody interested in that sort of thing.
1. Expect weird names - duhh! This isn't America, so the most common names are not John, Rebecca, David, Robert, Michael, etc... Most business people in HK and China choose English names (not American names, you uncultured folk!), and yes some of them are interesting. I have a friend named Destiny, my real estate agent's name is Fantasy, and I currently do business with people named Smile and Rainbow.
2. Put respect above everything else - yes, 99 times out of 100 if you are offered something by someone you are doing business with (or thinking of doing business with), it's always a good idea to say "yes". This applies to food (breakfast, lunch, or dinner dates), massages (be they foot, body, or "other"), karaoke, baijiu (aka white wine, aka Chinese wine), or anything else. Lucky for the Chinese people I do business with that I will do/eat/sing/go just about anywhere/anything.
3. Get a good translator - I'm lucky that all of my colleagues (I'm the only gweilo in my office) speak fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, so as long as I'm with one of them, life is good. And I have a fair few friends in HK (outside of work) who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and English as well, which is always convenient in a taxi or other place where people might not speak or understand English. I like to think that if I was dropped in the middle of China that my Mandarin speaking skills would be good enough to get by on, but I'm just not sure.
4. Distinguish between differences in culture and differences in values - One of our vendors has possibly the nicest car I've ever seen - it's a white BMW that has in-seat TV's with a DVD player and all the other necessary gadgets. If I remember correctly, I think she said that the car cost her around US$100,000. However, her teeth are in horrible shape - dirty, crooked, and overall not well-cared for (many of you know that I am particularly observant of people's teeth since I've had my own teeth-related issues). And the thing is, it's not like she can't afford dental care (which most Chinese people cannot), it's just that Chinese society values items that can be shown off to people (to impress overseas customers, like me), and not some of the basics like having nice, clean, straight teeth.
5. Stay healthy - I agree this is probably a good idea, but it seems like every time I go to China I do unhealthy things - I drink more (I will blame my vendors for encouraging me), I smoke more (I hardly every smoke period, but enjoy a couple of smokes after drinking a bit), I stay out later (letting the vendors entertain me to the fullest), and I sleep less (due to the often busy schedule). I have a gym in my apartment building in HK that I haven't seen for a while - it's probably time I go there soon.
Overall I like Trunk's postings and would recommend them to anybody interested in that sort of thing.
First Post
So I've decided to start a blog, basically because I think my life is somewhat interesting (hence the title) and so I can share my musings with the masses. I'm not quite sure how much of my true identity and/or life I will be sharing with this blog, so I'll just take it one day at a time (and try not to get fired from my job). Let's start with one of my favorite pictures I've taken since I moved here:
This is a picture of where the factory workers store their eating utensils when not in use.
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