June 25, 2010
World Exp(l)o(sion)
While the experience was definitely worth it and some of the countries’ exhibits were really cool, the forefront thought in my mind as I left was that having the Expo in China is possibly the WORST idea ever. Here are my reasons why (and most complaints are echoed by my parents who grew up in China and should technically be “used to” this):
1. Air quality sucks. I don’t mean this for breathing purposes, but purely for the aesthetic value of the architectural designs. The atmosphere is so hazy that one can barely see the really really neat looking structures from a good picture-taking vantage point. Plus, there’s so much pollution/dirt in the air that even though it’s barely been 2 months since the Expo opened, the buildings look like they’ve been around for years, they’re so dirty and worn-looking.
Case in point:
China Pavilion
2. Lines are ridiculously long. In the recent weeks, daily attendance at the Expo hovered around half a million. Ok yes, China does have a bajillion people and most of them would never have a chance of seeing other countries in person, so going to the Expo is a great way for them to learn about other places. But that also means it felt like the whole of China was trying to pack into the park. To give a few examples, a few of the most popular pavilions saw a wait of over 5 hours. Saudi Arabia, by far the most popular, averaged a 7 hour wait. Waiting in line 3 hours was commonplace, even at the lesser popular ones. And the thing is, long lines didn’t necessarily mean better exhibits. When we were walking around and asked people what they were lined up for, many did not even know which pavilion their line was for! (My family didn’t want to do any long waiting in line, so we went to all the countries which had short lines. Still saw some pretty cool stuff though!!)
3. Crowds (un)control. This is my guess, but long lines in any other country (though long) would still be manageable and maintain some sort of dignified appearance. That was totally not the case in Shanghai. It really stems from the culture of Chinese people…the concept of “lining up” to do/get something didn’t really exist until the appearance of McDonald’s in China (someone once said). And the country has always been so poor and has so many people that in order to receive anything, you had to fight the crowds and jostle your way to the front. Even after the advent of China’s expanding economy (gai ge kai fang) people still have this mentality, which meant that the crowds at the Expo behaved as if they were fighting to get the last bit of rations during a famine.
Here’s a mental exercise to help you imagine what its like: Think of Disney World and waiting in line for rides. While some of those lines can be pretty long, there’s always a good personal distance maintained between you and the next person. And anyone who dares try to cut you is automatically wrought with personal shame and kicked out. While you wait, you can leisurely lean on the rails, chat with your family/friends, stretch, etc. Now imagine all the empty space in your nice Disney World line being filled up, every single nook and cranny until you’re literally crammed like sardines into the narrow space the rails delineate. Add to that people behind you pushing to get forward, and you have a sense of what the Expo in China is like. If there’s even a tiny gap in the crowd, people behind you will mercilessly squeeze past you to get further ahead. (In the beginning, my parents and I were completely shocked by this behavior, but we soon learned that the line-courtesy we have in the US needs to be quickly thrown out the window if we expected to get anywhere. So I started jostling people too and when they pushed we pushed back.)
waiting to get INTO the Expo
Anyway, so those were my major peeves about the whole thing. But I’m still glad I went! The crowds notwithstanding, the exhibits were really cool, with Morocco and Chile being my faves (both short lines). France was the largest one we went to, and although that one is also really popular, the line moves very fast and we didn’t wait that long. A few more pictures (since fb doesn’t work here):
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- China Pavilion
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- waiting to get INTO the Expo
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- Japan
June 20, 2010
greetings from the Motherland
I arrived safely in China a couple of days ago. It’s always like stepping back in time at least a decade (minus the random new technology like cable internet and TV) because living with my grandparents means a very quaint lifestyle. It really takes some getting used to and makes me extremely glad my parents decided to move to the States. For one, everyone sleeps on hard wooden beds here, which means my hip bones are all bruised from trying to sleep on my side. Its also really hot and the air conditioning is only turned to 80 F at the lowest. Food is unparalleled though and I think I’ll come back a little fatter. Anyway, can’t stay long on the internet…post more later when something interesting happens.
June 11, 2010
helloooo world
well, it’s the beginning of the summer, and (if i dare say it) the beginning of a different life. moving back to the Midwest means going back to the old but also probably something new. i’m not a person that deals well with unwanted change and i also easily get attached to places and people that hold special meaning. the past 4 years at princeton will soon be a memory, and i’m scared and sad for what that means. i’ve said bye to almost everyone that has been important in my life these past years, and as i soak up my last days on the east coast, my heart breaks for what i will leave behind. so far, this heavy sense of nostalgia has prevented me from moving forward. medical school should be exciting but i’m still hard pressed to feel excited. this old world’s pull on me is still so strong…i feel as if i will see my friends again tomorrow, even though half of them are scattered around the world by now. i feel as if i will soon take the train back to princeton and set up residence again in spelman. this end does not feel like and end yet. but perhaps that’s what the summer is for. isn’t summer kind of like a limbo state: between two school years, two places, two worlds?
i love this place too much to say goodbye. or rather, it is the people who make the place…so i make a promise to myself, my friends: as long as the people i love are here (east coast, princeton), i’ll be back.
August 25, 2009
I guess I’ve decide to stay here. I’m hoping this decision doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt cause I have NO IDEA who (from home) has this link/still checks it. But with important stuff coming up, the option of password protected posts is highly essential. So yay…there, I’ve moved.
I’m keeping the frog though…at least for a little while.
August 13, 2009
to move or not to move
i’m debating whether to continue using this blog or revert to the old one. i do like the features on wordpress a lot better…hmmmmm
June 18, 2009
6/17 9:55 PM
We hiked out to the waterfall this morning (same one as before, where I have pictures in a previous post) to find some mushrooms. I found some pretty large ones, and Tom, who’s in charge of the DNA lab here, found a really really cool pink one that’s in the stink(?) family. It’s pretty, but it stinks (smells like crap, literally). (picture) After we got back, while the rest of the people in the DNA class were doing extractions on the shrooms we just collected, I started preparing my primers for my project. Right now, I’m in the process of testing my primers with positive controls. We have some samples of the chytrid fungus from last year, so I’ll be running PCR (for the uninitiated: that’s polymerase chain reaction, which amplifies DNA, so you can start with 1 copy and end with 100,000 copies. Mad useful since it means you don’t need to have a huge sample to extract DNA from.) on those, just to make sure my primers work. I’m just testing for presence/absence, so protocol is pretty straightforward. It’s pretty funny working in a DNA lab in the middle of the jungle though. The usual things that they emphasize and strictly enforce in a science lab anywhere else, like doing everything in the fume hood, not breathing on samples, using sterile equipment and disposable gloves, refrigerating reagents, no eating in the lab area….all these get thrown out the window here, just because its not feasible (well, maybe the not eating part is, but no one really cares). The “lab” is literally just a log cabin with a few tables and chairs inside. We have various lab equipment, like a PCR machine, centrifuge, pipettes, etc., but no fridge, no fume hood/ventilation. I think if any hardcore scientist came here, they’d have a heart attack at the lack of sophistication. But it’s interesting, cause apparently we still get results, and good ones too. That just goes to show how much all that sterilization and stainless steel in a real lab really does for experiments: not much. Ha.
Other than that, it was a pretty slow day. A guy named Matthew (from England) brought a puzzle book with him, and we did crosswords to pass the time. Also played a few rounds of cards, which consisted of BS and Egyptian Ratscrew (apparently, the British call this Snap, and were appalled at the American name for it). I finally took a shower, after two days. Washing with cold water isn’t exactly the most comfortable experience, but I find it beats being sweaty and gross. It’s pretty cool here though, so that long pants and long sleeve shirt even in the middle of the day isn’t too hot. But that makes showering even colder, which means if I don’t go on hikes (and get sweaty), I try to do without. Being in the middle of a jungle, it’s a bit unavoidable though (both the hikes and showers). No movie tonight, just a talk by Tom, the lab/mushroom guy. Mostly, I learned a lot about fungi today.
