Nanjing (Nanking)

At the risk of sounding like I have no life whatsoever, I'm going to talk about books once more. Yey, Emily! You're all the way in China and updating us about your book list again? Go out and explore, you idiot! In my defense, I DO have a life (ask my Dad who emailed me last night that said '3:20AM on Skype? Go to bed!'). It's just that this particular book has to do with my current travel plans. So hush critics and hear me out!

My current book is called 'The Rape of Nanking'. Obviously, with that daunting of a title and the intensity of the cover, you can pretty much infer that it's not the happiest of stories. The book is one of the most complete and historically accurate accounts of what is called 'The Nanking Massacre'. Nanjing is a large city in the South East part of China near Shanghai. It used to be called 'Nanking' but for clarification purposes I'm going to refer to the city with it's modern day name. Nanjing used to be one of the four ancient capitals of China. It was a very prosperous city and one with great historical artifacts. It was known for culture and it's unique setting near the Yangtze River. However, in 1937 one of the worst cases of mass torture, execution, rape, and destruction happened known to history. After the fall of Shanghai the Japanese set their sights on Nanjing. With Nanjing at their mercy, Japan thought their success at taking hold of China would be eminent. But things went really, really wrong.

Even though the Chinese army in Nanjing outnumbered the Japanese, most of the soldiers were unskilled and as young as twelve years old. Therefore, when the Japanese offered peace and fair treatment to the Chinese who surrendered, many did. The problem was the Japanese were never planning on treating the Chinese with any sort of respect and within seven weeks between 300,000 and 450,000 men, women, and children were exterminated. This was also the site of one of the worst mass rapes known to man. 90,000 women were raped... it is said that women were carried off at all hours of the day, some as young as six and as old as eighty. As rape is not sanctioned by the rules of war, the commanders encouraged the soldiers to kill the women (and most of the time - their entire family) to keep them quiet. It was a period of absolute terror, chaos, and brutality.

What is absolutely amazing about this atrocity is that it is not taught very often in the Western World, and let alone Japan. While we focus our efforts in learning everything we can about the Nazis, Hitler, and the German Holocaust, we spare a couple of pages in history books covering Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima / Nagasaki. It is completely unbeleviable that so little is learned about a major crime against humanity. Although the numbers estimated that were killed varies, nobody can debate the severity of the situation. Some Japanese still deny this ever happened, but then again - there are still those who refuse to believe that Hitler's Holocaust existed as well.

I haven't quite finished reading the book and doing research, so my knowledge on all of this is still growing. However, I have a two day holiday next week and just bought train tickets to go visit Nanjing! It's a crazy feeling reading about a place that seems so far away and then being able to click a couple of buttons online and get there in less than a week! The 15 hour train ride gives me time to finish the book, and probably talk Tom's ear off about all the facts, dates, and people. I'm really interested to visit the Nanjing Massacre Museum and see another one of China's beautiful cities.

Sorry about the not-so-uplifting post! But if you're a history buff, or just into reading about new things - definitely go out and get this book. It's eye-opening and really well written.

xo
Em

Quickly! What's Up?

Weather : Bright and Sunny with a touch of Humidity.

Health : Poor. Stomach Flu due to Unknown Reasons.

Songs : Ben Howard - Old Pine & Laura Marling - Ghosts

Movies : Dumb and Dumber & Let the Right One In (Swedish: Låt Den Rätte Komma In)

Exciting News: Jessica L. MacDonald will be arriving in Xi'an on May 7th, 2012!

Best Thing I've Done Recently: Walk Xi'an's famous City Wall.

Current Book : Girlchild by Tupelo Bassman

Current Drink : Purea Tea

Current Food : Toast 

Best Class Recently : Teaching Kangaroo and Lion to my 4 and 5 year olds.

Best Game Recently Played : Scrabble with Tom, Adam, and Adele.


Wish : That I will get better, my Dad will come visit soon, my students won't be crazy tomorrow, and that the smog continues to stay away so we have more clear and beautiful days to spend wandering around and exploring!

Books? They still make those?

I celebrated my 24th birthday back in September in Xi'an after only being here a week. It was AWESOME. The food, friends, gifts, and party were amazing... so different than any other birthday I've had. Shout out to all of those who made it special (what? 6 months later is a bit late for a shout out?). Anyway, I was lucky enough to have seen my Dad in Hong Kong for a couple of days before Xi'an. And not to play favorites, but he gave me the most useful present I could have EVER received. I had no idea at the time that it would save my avid-reader-soul. So what was it????

A Kindle.... (insert God-like 'ahhhh' noise here)

Me and my Kindle hanging out.

Obviously, here in China English bookstores are few and far between. Specifically, I haven't seen one. And I'm a pretty big reader. I always have and always will be. I'm a big fan of getting books as presents and absolutely love getting sucked into other worlds. I've hit my 40th book in 6 months mark so I'm going to start doing sporadic and spontaneous (get excited) BOOK REVIEWS! Although this might not be the direction to head in to up my followers / views (Note::: If you are reading this and are not a follower, please locate the button on the lower left hand side and click. It's easy for you and makes me feel important.) but what the heck... maybe I'll start a book club like Opera someday and be more famous than I already am (see blogpost below).

Let's all start with a list of the books shall we? Then we can get into the nitty-gritty of tearing them apart. Okay don't get bored and minimize me, this might be semi-interesting! Also, as you will notice, my favorite author is Jodi Picoult. Her books are definitely my weak spot (romance, unethical subjects, and court cases - come on!). So although I am rereading all of them, I'll pick one that's my favorite. The ones in RED are the best... aka go out and buy them as soon as you're done reading my blog, commenting on it, and requesting to follow me (I'll most likely accept you as a follower - seriously, you have nothing to lose!).

What I'm Reading Right... NOW - Mike McIntyre : The Kindness of Strangers
Jodi Picoult : Perfect Match

Guy Delise : SHENZEN A Travelogue from China
Jodi Picoult : Change of Heart
Chimamada Ngozi Adichie : Half of a Yellow Sun
Yangzom Breauen : Across Many Mountains
Roald Dahl : The Best of Roald Dahl
Jodi Picoult : Keeping Faith
William Landay : Defending Jacob
Hunter S. Thompson : The Rum Diary
Hunter S. Thompson : Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Jodi Picoult : Lone Wolf
Jasper Becker : Dragon Rising: An Inside Look at China Today
Jodi Picoult : Second Glance

Mark Haddon : The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

Chimamada Ngozi Adichie : The Thing Around Your Neck
Ian Brown : The Boy In The Moon
Jodi Picoult : Nineteen Minutes
Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum : The Woman

Alice Walker : The Color Purple
Chelsea Handler : Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Chelsea's Family : Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me
Tina Fey : Bossypants
Jodi Picoult : My Sister's Keeper
Glenn Beck and Nicole Baart : Snow Angel
Jodi Picoult : Sing You Home
Jodi Picoult : Plain Truth
Jodi Picoult : Salem Falls
Jodi Picoult : Mercy
Jeffrey Eugenides : The Marriage Plot
Vanessa Steel : Punished
Sarah Burleton : Why Me?
Paula McLain : The Paris Wife
Jodi Picoult : The Pact (P.S.)
Judy Blume : Summer Sisters
Jaycee Dugard : A Stolen Life
Emily Griffin : Something Borrowed
Emily Griffin : Something Blue
Kathryn Stockett : The Help
Erin Morgenstern : The Night Circus

Hope this list gets you started for all those in-between moments, long rides, or rainy nights! I'll work on some write-ups for the best ones in that lot! If YOU have any interesting, different, amazing, or favorite books send them my way!!! I'm constantly looking for new authors and subjects to read/learn about!

xoxo

Em

I'm FAMOUS!

So. I was already exactly 4 minutes late for class and scrambling to collect my props ::: flashcards, board markers, erasers, wigs (pink & green), a hand crafted tea pot, and of course - myself. Out of the corner of my eye I catch our boss, Hansen, snapping photos of Adam up against an unforgiving off-white background. I want in on whatever is going on. After settling me against the same harsh wall I get exactly one picture taken and was sent on my way... "Hansen! Is it at least an okay shot?" I yell over my shoulder. "Maybe, not so good." Was his reply.

Fast forward two days and I'm given a four page pamphlet with my face on the back, told it was mass produced with at least 10,000 copies, and distributed all over the city of Xi'an. Oh, and the line in the middle of the page guarantees that us teachers have 10 years of experience. Pshh, so according to the Chinese I am either a 14 year old protege or I age REALLY well. Either way, I'm super pumped about my 15 minutes of fame! Ch-ch-check it out!

Happy March!

... yesterday was February 29th, 2012 aka leap year!!! also known in the UK as 'Women's Proposal Day'. hmmm... better tell the States about that one!!!

Where in China are you again?

Okay, so I've done some updates recently but none really having to do with China. I think that a list of differences between China and everywhere else in the world the States is in order. After being here just shy of six months I feel like I can now properly start having opinions on this incredible country's culture. Some things great, some things bad, and a lot - very strange (at first glance) :::

1) Baby Slit Pants. As weird as this sounds, it is even weirder in

person. The Chinese have come up with a very practical, although cold in winter, solution to their children having to go to the bathroom frequently and unexpectedly. Instead of diapers, baby clothing just comes with a well formed opening from the front to the back of a child's groin. This is an easy way for kids to 'do their business' without the hassle of pulling clothing down/off or traipsing around in a dirty diaper for an unforseen amount of time. Parents carry around items that aren't too different from doggie 'pooper-scoopers' to help maintain the sidewalks, streets, alleyways, gardens, fountains, and any other public areas. At first I was pretty appalled and confused with this infant fashion statement. But honestly, now I just feel bad for these baby's bottoms. They must be quite chilly when the temperatures drop. I even whipped out my creativity in November and fashioned a set of PJs for the same purposes for my friend's birthday. He was turning 37 and they are, obviously, to be worn for his own private use.

2) Slurping / Burping / Spitting / Hawking / Gargling / Snotting /

Coughing / Sneezing. Yep, all of the above are completely normal,

expected, and accepted parts of this culture. Why would you blow your nose if you can just make gutteral animal noises and spit on the street? If you cough or sneeze in someone's face it's their fault that they are standing so close to you. If you slurp or burp it is a

compliment to the chef. Duh, why did the Western world ever make these actions taboo? I vote for the bring back of all of these. 

A-ttractive!

3) Traffic. There is nothing in the world like Chinese traffic.

Thousands of people get killed every day in this gargantuan cluster f* of cars, trucks, pedestrians, bikes, scooters, motorcycles, tuk tuks, and the massive amount of (for no better word) crap that comes strapped to the back of said automobiles. I've seen men peddling their bikes (normal bikes - not motorized) with at least TEN times the amount of their own weight on the back. Where they are going with that amount of stuff I have no idea. I just hope it's not far, for their sake. It's normal to get into a cab and the gas be on empty and the cabbie not to notice (or not to care). Trying to get to the airport one time, my cab broke down twice and he stopped on the side of the highway to pick up a hitchhiker. Everytime we get into a cab it's comparable to a rollercoaster - whether it's 5 minutes away or 45 you'll most likely almost get into multiple accidents and get close to running over a fair amount of people. Oh, and they don't have seat belts in cabs here. Safety first! But for the cabbie's reputation, I would like to point out that many times when I get into the car I am greeted with "Welcome to China". But yeah, that's usually the extent of our conversation.

4) Hot / Luke Warm Drinks. It is a rarity in China to get served a

cold drink. Especially in the summer time. When I arrived in August I was pretty dismayed at the warm beer on the hot, sweltering nights. There are the few gems out there with cold fridges / freezers but the rest just use them as storage. Hot water is the drink of choice for EVERYONE. Cold water is seen as almost unhealthy... why drink it? Whenever I have been sick I've been told to drink hot water, and lots of it. I actually have come to enjoy it now, but it is wintertime. It's nice in the cold months because the street vendor's soft drinks, juices, beer, and water are naturally chilly. But as the weather gets warmer the drinks will start to do the same. However, even though I don't have gas at my apartment I do have a cold fridge. Thank the gods of cold beer for that!

5) Tradition. Although the last 4 differences can be seen as pretty

brutal, China has so many things that are absolutely amazing about it. The day-in-and-day-out traditions and values that are seen wherever you look are overwhelming. In a good way. Everyday I pass walls that are sculpted with stories about tea. I live on Tea Street (Jinkang Lu) and I pass dozons of tea shops to get to the end. I've made friends with a couple of owners and stop in from time to time. I was able to get my parents a beautiful green tea set for Christmas with Chinese tea. It's tradition here to drink tea with strangers, friends, and family to socialize. Tea is a staple in the lives of the Chinese. I've started to crave it when I'm sick, thirsty, or cracking down on my lesson plans. It's amazing. There are so many different types and relaxes you immediately. Back home I was never a tea drinker, and my taste for coffee has definitely taken a toll over here. Sorry Starbucks!

I know this lady doesn't really have anything to do with tea, but she's as traditional as it gets. I took this picture in a Dai Village in Yunnan Provence on a 4 day trek. She has stained her teeth black to prevent decay and because it is seen as beautiful to the locals. Plus, I bet she's had many glasses of tea in her time.

Look out for the next 5 differences soon to come! Am I making you want to come visit me yet? You should, there is an unexpected adventure around every street corner here. Seriously.

...to realizing the differences all around us, and embracing them for what they are. 

Slit pants or not.

xo

Em

A-mazing!

One of the best things about traveling and meeting new people is acquiring NEW MUSIC! Even though I've heard Ed Sheeran is now known in the States, I'm using my "I haven't lived in America for a year and a half so I don't know" excuse. Shout out to Tom Jamieson, Adam Riddy, and Adele Goodricke for introducing me to him... my ipod is pumped, and so am I. AND he looks a lot like Rupert Alexander Lloyd Grint (check out the "Lego House" video) so that's a plus!!!