But enough techno-babble. Today I was thinking about all of the odd things we've learned since we've been here, but that we haven't blogged about. So here goes:
- Do not give clocks as gifts to Chinese people
Clocks as gifts are signs of impending death in Chinese culture, so naturally the ordinary Beijinger gets taken aback when receiving time-pieces for a birthday. One has to wonder, then, why the Forbidden City has an entire building devoted to the Emperor's clock collection. - Furnishing your home with Ikea means you're rich
While Ikea furniture in America usually marks the domain of a college student or young professional just starting out, in Beijing Ikea furniture makes its way into the homes of the nouveau riche or, in some cases, simply riche. - You are the host
If you invite people out to dinner at a restaurant, it means that you have to order all of the dishes. And if you're over the age of about 40, it means that you're buying as well. - Dating your sherpa
Throughout Haidian you see young women sitting side-saddle on the backs of bicycles driven by men. This is a sign that the passenger and the driver are a couple, so generally female friends of males will refuse a ride to KFC for the sake of keeping up appearances. - Don't trust the police
This will come as no surprise to anyone that had David Hill as a law professor, but the police are particularly untrustworthy--in China, at least. To quote one of our professors, the difference between police in the west and police in China can be described as follows: if you were lost in London, the first person you would ask for directions is a police officer; if you were lost in Beijing, the last person you would ask for directions is a police officer. So stay away from the cops in Beijing, and you'll be much happier. - Beijing-ese
Though Mandarin is the official language of China and presumably the dominant language in Beijing, it turns out that Beijing has its own dialect. It's closer to Mandarin than other Chinese dialects, in that it mostly consists of slapping the "ahr" sound on random words. And most Beijing natives can switch flawlessly between clean Mandarin and Beijing-ese without even noticing they've done it. But Beijing-ese is enough of a stumbling block for a foreigner in a taxi cab that it's worth knowing about. So just remember that even if a map refers to Tian'an Men, the true Beijing native calls it Tian'an Mar. - Rudeness, or lack thereof
When people don't apologize for bumping into you or even almost causing your death in a Beijing street crossing, it's not because they're rude. Contrary to United States, there's simply no expectation among the ordinary Chinese that others will apologize for invading their personal space or causing accidents. As our student host explained to us, what Americans would deem courteous behavior is generally reserved for friends and close acquaintances in China. So read a little bit about moral relativism, and you won't be nearly as ticked off when a cyclist mangles your foot. - Beijing Language and Culture University is simultaneously the best and worst place to learn Mandarin in China
Just south of our apartment lies BLCU. It's essentially an entire University geared towards teaching Mandarin to foreigners. As a consequence, it's also where all of the foreigners go to learn Mandarin in Beijing. So, while the instruction is apparently excellent, all of the students enrolled in BLCU programs simply want to speak English, including those from places like Cameroon. So take a class at someplace like Tsinghua--it won't be as well-structured, but at least you'll be around native speakers. - Tsinghua has all of the money
If you are choosing between the LL.M. programs at Peking University and Tsinghua University, you need to know that Tsinghua has a lot of extra cash lying around, which translates into nicer buildings and a nicer campus. Nevertheless, I would argue that the LL.M. program at Beida offers a better experience: the classes are smaller and more generalized than the corporate-specific program taught at Tsinghua, the professors are more well-reknowned, and the Beida name gets a lot more traction inside and outside of China than Tsinghua's ever will. Also, the fact that Deng Xiaoping's grandson graduated with an LL.B. from Beida and not Tsinghua should not be lost on anyone. So, in a sense it's like choosing the University of Colorado over Denver University for law school. - Test out the DVDs
If you chose to buy DVDs in Beijing, do not buy them off of a street corner. And even if you are in a shop, make sure that you test out the products on the shop's DVD player before you buy anything. This helps you to avoid poor-quality products, not to mention the illegal exports. - Ask for the better quality merchandise
It turns out that there's at least two grades of knock-off clothing to be had in China. In Beijing, you can buy the stuff off of the rack, which tends to be the bottom of the barrel. Or, you can ask the vendors for the better-quality items, which will cause them to break out the better-quality stash. From what we've been told, the stuff on display starts to fall apart in about two weeks, while the stuff that's hidden will hold up for about a year. But, you get what you pay for; Katie's had a North Face jacket for about ten years that looks as good as new, and the difference between hers and the knock-offs is palpable.
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