Things to love about China: 25 of 100

Chinese Buddha

No one really knows what The Buddha looked like when he walked this earth over 1,500 years ago. Each culture depicts The Buddha in a slightly different way. In Thailand he is depicted as an elegant, slender man. In Japan he is a sad, solemn man. In Korea he is thoughtful and his eyes are always closed. In India he is beautiful and radiant, often with a golden halo behind his head.

China, however, is home to the most distinct Buddha of all. The Chinese Buddha is short, fat, bald and laughing. So what’s with the difference? In my research, I was surprised to find that the difference is that the Chinese Buddha isn’t Buddha.

Really, how could the short fat statue be The Buddha? Siddhārtha Gautama (The Buddha) was a prince who denied his father’s thrown after seeing the suffering of his subjects. Gautama journeyed into wild and found “enlightenment” and detached himself from all worldly desires. Buddha lived simply (like Ghandi) he travelled on foot and walked many miles through many lands. Buddha wasn’t fat.

So where is the confusion? It turns out that the “Chinese Buddha” isn't Buddha at all. He is actually Budai, an eccentric Chinese monk. His name means “Cloth Sack” and he is basically the Buddhist Saint Nick. Legends tell of him bestowing candy upon poor children. He is the fat and happy god of abundance and good health and rubbing his belly is good luck.

So how does a thin & slender founder of a religion get confused with a jolly, fat monk? There are many reasons. First of all Budai was Buddhist and Budai sounds like Buddha. Second-of-all Westerners are pretty ignorant of Eastern culture so they would be easy to confuse with each other. And third of all, Buddha is not a name, it is a title. Buddha means “one who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment” and though it is most commonly used to refer to “The Supreme Buddha”, other people in history have been given this title. Indeed, Budai is thought by some to be the successor of The Buddha.

All of this may sound confusing, but what I am really looking forward to is buying those tiny fat Chinese Buddha statues. The figurines, which depict Budai, are a symbol of happiness, joy, and prosperity. The only question now is: what shall my statues be made of? Wood or Stone? Plastic or Chrome? So many choices....

Things to love about China: 24 of 100

Dim Sum

So imagine you are Marco Polo. You’re seventeen. No European that you have heard of has ever travelled much further than Egypt. The world is a giant, mysterious place and then, one day, you and your family set out on the trade routes- The Great Silk Road. You travel through Central Asia, you meet Kublai Khan, and then you set your sights further- much further than any man has ever traveled. You set your sights on China.

The journey through China is long. You have had many adventures thus far. You have traveled for over twenty years and over 7,000 miles and you are starting to think about going home. Your feet are tired. The winter has been cold but you are heading south now, the air is warmer here.

The people in this region are different than most Chinese. They don’t speak Mandarin and they call themselves Cantonese. You stop in a small hut to buy some tea, but when the tea comes it is served alongside of many baskets, with various snacks inside. The snacks are tasty, very tasty! They may be among the greatest delicacies of your entire journey. Congratulations, you are now the first European to eat Dim Sum.

Dim Sum is the Chinese equivalent to “Tea Time” and if you are going to drink tea, then why not eat some tasty snacks along with it. Try the bean-paste-filled-sweet-buns. Have some chopped-up-shrimp-stuffed-in-starchy-wheat-dumplings. Eat the deep-fried-chicken-feet-marinated-in-black-bean-sauce. This is what junk food tastes like in China.

Dim Sum comes from the Guangdong province, which has a different history and culture than the rest of China. If Guangdong is the land of Dim Sum, Hong Kong is the capital- and in a few months from now, I will be living in the Dim Sum capital of the world.

Though Dim Sum is tasty, people often forget it is a sometimes food. Originally, Dim Sum was eaten as a special treat for tea-time, but in the fast-food-age people forget the difference between treats and meals (even the Chinese). Dim Sum is now even being sold as a frozen microwavable snack (like TV dinners). Health officials in China have issued warnings about the fatty content of the food.

So here I come bamboo-juice-water-chestnut-cake. Get ready for me Orange-flavored-steamed meatball. Your days are numbered chilled-almond-flavored-tofu-served-with-sweet-fruit. Brock Raabe is coming to the Land of Dim Sum.

Things to love about China: 23 of 100

Feet-Eating Fish

They wait in the watery-depths to attack. They hunger for human. If they catch a single whiff, they will swim to their prey and swarm their victim. For hours the monsters will feast… feast on your feet!

Doctor Fish, which are outlawed in much of the US and Canada, are common in Eastern Europe and Asia. These tiny fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. They are meant to help treat patients with skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, but they are also great for anybody who wants to get dead skin off of their feet or get a "fish massage".

Garra rufa (the reddish log sucker) is native to Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The fish have no teeth, so when they nibble at you, it is said to be painless. I had firsthand experience with the little nibblers during a recent trip to Thailand. My friend Kyle Mims described the bites as “little tiny champagne bubbles”. My take was slightly less romantic: When I felt the fish eat my foot, it felt as if hundreds of tiny creatures were viciously attacking at my feet (which, of course, is what was happening).

Still, I wouldn’t object to trying Dr. Fish again. After all, I have eaten many, many fish in my life, it’s time I return the favor.

Things I am going to Love about China: 22 of 100

Rickshaw

Richly Robed Rhinoceroses Riding in Rickety Red Rickshaws: This page is from the book Animalia, by my favorite children’s book author, Graeme Base.

There is something about robots pulling rickshaws that really speaks to me. Think of the symbolism: robots are built solely to serve and there isn’t a more raw image of servitude than a rickshaw. The idea behind a rickshaw is that some wealthy person sits in the carriage, and then it is pulled by a non-wealthy person (as if the puller was a horse or some other animal bred for working).

Rickshaws originated in Japan and were very popular throughout Asia. The vehicle starkly divided the elite class (the rickshaw riders) from the working class (the rickshaw pullers).

Rickshaws were most popular in Beijing during the early 20^th century. At that time one-sixth of all males were employed as rickshaw pullers. A few decades later, when China became a Republic, rickshaws disappeared because they were considered a symbol of oppression.

As with all fads, the rickshaw had to evolve to survive. The adaptation? A third wheel was added. Thus the cycle-rickshaw was born. Called a pedicab in the west, this invention can be found all over the globe. Cycle-rickshaws are still owned by poor laborers, who depend on the fares to feed their families.

Though cycle-rickshaws have economic benefit for the working class, they are notorious for clogging up the roads and slowing down traffic; Therefore they have are outlawed in many cities around the globe.

Thus the rickshaw goes through another adaptation. To avoid slowing traffic, the rickshaw would need power to compete in this motorized age. Evolution occurs again and the result is the auto-rickshaw. This new rickshaw (commonly called a tuk tuk) carries the spirit of the original vehicle into the 21^st century. Tuk Tuks are very popular throughout Asia and they can be a good deal if you are prepared to haggle, but beware, tourists are often overcharged if they don't barter.

Into the Future

The rickshaw, like most vehicles we use today, has had to evolve through the ages to survive. But where does the rickshaw go from here? Will we see a flying model? A submarine-model? The answer to this pondering lies in a tiny village outside of Beijing with an incredible farmer named Wu Yulu.

When Mr. Wu was eleven he dropped out of school and started building robots on his farm. Since he did not have a formal education, he had to learn robotics through trial and error. For the past two decades, Wu has built robots to climb walls, serve water, light cigarettes, play musical instruments, write calligraphy, paint, massage, and a variety of other things.

Wu builds his bots in his backyard from old scraps of metal and wire. He openly admits that he loves his robots more than his children. Wu calls his robots his sons and names them each accordingly. Wu’s 32^nd son is a robot built to pull a rickshaw. “Wu Yulu is my Dad,” the robot declares in Mandarin, “I take him out on the town.”

China has come a long way in the past hundred years. The working class of China use to pull the rickshaws and now they are the ones building robots to pull them. One cannot help see this irony as Wu-32 pulls the old farmer down the street.

Things to Love about China: 21 of 100

Easy Travel

It’s not easy to get out of Kazakhstan. Every time I try to escape the middle-of-nowhere steppe of Central Asia it costs me almost a thousand bucks. This makes vacations costly and a little stressful. No longer, my friends. The Hong Kong airport offers cheap flights to some of the world’s most brilliant vacation spots. The following is a list of a few of the places on my radar for the next few years. The ROUNDTRIP price of the ticket is listed

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - $205. You know that flag that looks exactly like the American one but has an Islam crescent moon instead of fifty stars? Well, that’s Malaysia. Malaysia is a great vacation spot with much to see including the Borneo Rainforest and the world famous Batu caves. A trip to Malaysia isn’t complete without seeing the Petronas twin towers, the tallest twin buildings in the world.

Tokyo Japan - $322. Japan has been on the top of my list forever. As a kid, there were always Japanese exchange students living in my basement (I think my dad forced them to paint the walls or something) and I have always loved Japanese culture. Kurosawa! Miyazacki! Nintendo! It would be my dream to live in Japan someday, but for now I’ll take a quick visit. I could go on and on and on about Japan, but maybe that’s a future blog (100 things Brock is going to love about living in Japan 2015).

Singapore - $169. The small island of Singapore is also a great nation. Singapore currently claims the fastest growing economy in the world and it is the least corrupt country. It is also one of the cleanest, considering you could be caned just for littering. Singapore’s beauty can clearly be seen in the Orchard Road District which offers a variety of landmarks, parks, shopping centers and zoos. As you stroll through this district, animals and plant life from all areas of the world surround you. The ‘open zoo’ concept ensures that there are no cages between you and the wildlife- and don’t worry, it’s safe, the animals know that if they attack, they get caned.

Bangkok, Thailand - $151. I gotta tell you. I just spent a month in Thailand and I would go back any day. To me, Thailand feels like the 51^st State. This might be an odd thing to say about a monarchy, but everyone speaks English (in an American accent, nonetheless). It’s also cheap. I spent a month zip-lining, elephant riding, paragliding, snorkeling, whitewater rafting, monkey-watching, sea kayaking, beaching, and eating (God bless Thai food!). It’s settled, I’m going back.

Manila, Philippines - $221. The Philippines were named after the Spanish King Phillip and because of the European influence, your visit may feel like a visit to Europe (lots and lots of churches). But if this is Europe, it is a tropical paradise Europe. There is surfing, there are volcanoes, there are mountains, cliffs, and waterfalls. It is a vacation spot fit for a king.

Seoul, South Korea - $282. Now I have to admit, before 'Lost,' I didn’t know much about Koreans. Nowadays half of the students that I teach are Korean: So Young, Sung Hee, Se Ho, Mi-Sug, Ji Hyun, Yun Jin, - the list goes on. In the past few years, I have grown to love Korean culture (especially Korean food) and have always thought a trip to the DMZ would be quite interesting. Here I come Korea!

Sydney, Australia - $824. Australia is a little more costly and a little bit more of a jump from Hong Kong, but Australia is first on my radar and my tickets are practically booked for next Christmas. Australia has been in my sights since fourth grade and I cannot wait to get into the outback and see some Kangaroos. I would love, someday, to pack some John Locke Knives and walkabout through the great desert of Uluru. The Australian accent alone holds some mystical power over me. In ten short months from now I aim to be sitting in an Aussie bar, sucking down a tall glass of Aussie beer, and watching the clock strike midnight as 2012 is heralded in with a blast of didgeridoos.

Things to love about China: 20 of 100

Slippers

One popular question that foreigners ask is “Do Americans really wear shoes inside the house like in sitcoms?” Oddly, I’ve never really noticed this on sitcoms, but the truth is that in many households in America people really do wear shoes inside. This is especially true in the South, where people have cowboy boots, which are difficult to put on and take off without use of some sort of boot-removing device.

Like many issues in the States, Americans seem to be split on the shoe-in-house rule. Some people will insist that you leave your shoes at the door while others will insist that you absolutely do not remove your shoes in their house.

I myself am a remove-your-shoes-at-the-door man. I think that this is the norm in the Midwest. I like my feet to be comfortable, which is why I love that fact that Asian countries take this custom a step further: Slippers. If you enter an Asian household, the shoes come off and the slippers come on.

I have always loved slippers and I find it odd somehow that few people in the States where them. They are comfy and practical, they keep your feet warm, and –let’s face it- they look cool.

When I moved to Kazakhstan last fall, it was the first time that I had an entire home to myself and it wasn’t long before I got the idea that I needed slippers for guests. So in Uzbekistan last year I bought a bunch of gorgeous Uzbek, Dr. Suess-ish slippers. I haggled with an old lady and managed to get 11 pairs for fifty bucks.

These slippers have aided my friends and I through many Wii nights and theme parties. I was so taken by the usefulness and decorativeness of the slippers that I bought five pair of Kazakh ones last spring.

So that’s it folks, if you come and visit me in China, my beautiful central Asian slippers will be waiting to crawl onto your feet and make you comfy. Just don’t bring cowboy boots into my home- I cannot stand men in high heels.

Things to love about China: 19 of 100

Jackie Chan

There are few men today who are living national heroes. There are also few living men who have their own cartoon series starring themselves. As far as I can tell there are only two people on Earth that are cool enough to fit this bill: Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan.

I will be the first to admit that I have never seen -even one- episode of “Walker Texas Ranger” and that I have never seen any movie or TV show featuring Mr. Norris. I have heard hundreds of Chuck Norris facts, but not even these have convinced me that his films would intrigue me (nor have they inspired me to study “Chun Kuk Do” the martial art he created.)

Jackie Chan is a different story all together. Where Norris is a symbol of Christianity, the Republican party and the American South, what Chan symbolizes is not so apparent, at first.

Chan was born in Hong Kong when it was still a British colony- a place where the cultures of the East and West would grow and thrive together. Because of this, Chan’s influences came from both of these cultures. Chan’s first hero: Bruce Lee, the Chinese-American martial arts star of the silver screen. Chan’s second hero: Buster Keaton, the most famous silent-film star of all time.

Bruce Lee is the obvious choice for a little Hong Kong boy interested in martial arts, but it was Keaton’s influence is what made Jackie Chan a star. Chan admired Keaton’s comedic timing and the fact that Keaton performed his own stunts (Bruce Lee used a stunt double). Chan began his career as a teenager in the 70’s where he took roles as an extra or a stunt double in Hong Kong films.

Chan never met Keaton (who died when Jackie was young) but at the age of seventeen he did have the opportunity to work as a stunt double with his other hero. Chan appeared in Bruce Lee’s “Enter the Dragon”. Unfortunately, this would be the last time Chan and Lee would appear in a film together. During the making of the film, Lee suddenly took ill. Lee died just before the film’s release and was buried in Seattle Washington (Chuck Norris was a pallbearer).

With one great martial arts stars gone, it seemed that the universe had found another. Later that year, Chan took his first starring role in the film “Little Tiger of Canton”. It would not be long until Chan found his way to Hollywood.

Though Chan mostly stars in comedies, he takes his career very seriously. Chan holds the Guinness World Record for most stunts performed by a living actor. Chan also vowed never to play a villain (to avoid being typecast). He even turned down the lead villain in the film Demolition Man. Chan also wants to be a role model for children, so he rarely swears in his films.

Chan is also the ultimate good-guy in the real world. One of Jackie’s biggest regrets in life is never having a formal education, so he has helped to fund many schools worldwide. He also appears as the spokesperson for a “Clean Hong Kong” campaign that helps keep litter of the streets.

Eventually Chan became tired of Hollywood. He felt he had been typecast, not as a villain as he feared, but as “the humorous acrobat who must often improvise and use any near-lying object as a weapon”. He has been type-cast as the image he had created for himself.

In the last few years Chan has begun to take on different roles. He played a pawn shop owner in “The Forbidden Kingdom” and starred along side of Jet Li. He voiced the Monkey in “Kung Fu Panda”. He starred in the “Shinjuku Incident” which has no martial arts sequences and he played the Mr. Miyagi character in new “Karate Kid” film.

As a boy I frequently watched Chan movies with my friends, even before he was a household name in the States. But, other than Jaden Smith’s Karate Kid, I haven’t watched a Jackie Chan movie in over a decade. Now that I am moving to Chan’s home country, I think it is time I take a look at some of his classic films.

I conclude this blogpost with Jackie Chan singing “I’ll Make a Man out of You” from Dinsey’s “Mulan” (in Cantonese). Enjoy!

Things to Love about China: 18 of 100

Fireworks

When I was a child, I believed in fireworks. There is something wonderful and mysterious about a pyrotechnics display and throughout history people have associated fireworks with magic, rather than science.

As a kid I always thought fireworks were capable of more than they were. Have you ever seen a firework that took the shape of a heart when it exploded? (Or rather something that crudely represented a heart). Well, my misconception as a child was that people could build fireworks that took the form of shapes- not little things like hearts- but think when Gandalf makes a dragon at Bilbo’s birthday party. It’s not a horrible misconception as a child (as far as misconceptions go), but even as an adult, I have always believed that somewhere out there, there were fireworks that could take shapes.

I blame “Full House”, of course. Here’s why: In 1993 the Tanner Family on “Full House” went to Disney World and right after Uncle Jessie plays “A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes” on his guitar in front of thousands of fans, there is a scene where Danny proposes to his girlfriend during the fireworks display. In the sky, above Cinderella’s Castle, this firework explodes and spells out “Vicky, Will you marry me”. When you look back at it, it is an unbelievably bad animation, but at the time (when I was nine) I believed it.

I guess it was around the time that YouTube came out, that I finally convinced myself that nowhere in the world (not even Disney World) such firework technology is possible. Not even in China, the birthplace of the firework.

Over a thousand years ago the Chinese invented four great things: Papermaking, Printing, The Compass, and Gunpowder. The Chinese serendipitously invented gunpowder while searching for an eternal-life elixir and once they had gunpowder, fireworks were not far behind.

Here’s how it went down- A monk named Li Tian had the idea of placing the gunpowder into a stick of bamboo and throwing it into the fire. The result? BOOM! Fireworks originally were meant to chase away evil spirits, but it helped that they were loud and pretty (and people could shout “Oooooooooo!”)

Today, the Chinese are the biggest makers and exporter of fireworks, as well as the biggest users. Where the US has one fireworks holiday, the Chinese have at least five. Firework designers are often seen as artists as it is not a simple thing. Pyrotechnics are as much chemistry, as they are magic. Twenty-one different elements are used to create the different colors, sounds, and shapes.

I know now that (unless firework technology increases dramatically) I will never be able to spell phrases out to my loving fiancé or see a Smaug-shaped dragon-work fly over my head. But I did find this video on YouTube, which I think is really cool! Go you Chinese firework makers!

Things to love about China: 17 of 100

The Internet

The internet in Kazakhstan isn’t as slow as one would think for a

post-soviet country. I can watch YouTube videos and even stream TV

shows. I can download all the movies in the world and I will never get

a letter from my cable company or from the MPAA. There are, however,

downsides to the system.

The real sucker-punch is that you only get a finite amount of

downloaded information before you reach your limit. Once you reach

that limit, you are S.O.L until the next month. Sometimes it is the

last few days in the month in which my internet gives out. Sometimes

it is only after a couple weeks. I can limit the amount that I

download, but I never know how much I have used or how much I have

left.

So will China be better? Absolutely! Hong Kong has the 2rd fastest

internet in the world. You can download as much as you want, as fast

as you want. The speeds are much faster than in the States and you can

download anything without getting in trouble.

“Hey wait a minute,” you say, “China has almost every website blocked

including Wikipedia.” Well, the answer to that is yes… and no.

Yes, China does block a lot of websites.

No, it is not hard to get around them.

One Chinese citizen informed me, “The blocking is pointless. Every

elementary school child knows how to use a proxy-server. It is so easy

to do.” I guess the ‘Great Firewall of China’ is not so great after

all.

My friends in China are very impressed by the internet in their homes as well as the accessibility in restaurants and most public places.

There are more Chinese internet users than any where else in the world and that number is growing. Will the Chinese government continue to try and block the net to their peoples? With what is happening is Egypt, it will probably continue for now. But China is the future and I foresee a time when China will become the internet.

Things to love about China: 16 of 100

Mount Everest

(Mount Chomolungma in Tibetan,
or Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng in Chinese)

When I think of Everest, I think of Nepal. I recall the smell of incense, the colorful prayer flags, the smiling people and rooftop cafes. I remember warming my hands near the yak-dung-burning stove and eating warm soup and pasty dumplings. I remember how thin and clean the air was, I remember the rocky paths and the snowcapped mountains, I remember gazing off into the distance at the great mountains- at Everest.

Nepal stands as the highlight of all my travels. I loved my adventure there and I will always long to return. Someday I will return. But every mountain has two sides and, before I return to Nepal, I feel compelled to explore the other side of Everest- China.

China hasn’t always been “the other side of the mountain” but when the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet in the 1950’s, they made sure Everest would thereafter carry a red flag. Not as many people try to climb Everest from the Tibetan side, but people do.

I stated before in my blog that there are four types of people in the world. One of these types is the Mountain Climbers. Only about two-thousand people have climbed the beast, in the history of man, and I have met some of them- these mountain climbers. Mountain Climbers are people who must conquer something- get to the top of something- and they will risk everything to do it.

I’ve hiked to the south base camp (just over 17,000 feet) and that did me in, but if someone wants to climb to the top (29,000) you’ll need some help. You’ll need money, you’ll need oxygen, and you’ll need a Sherpa.

Now, technically Sherpa is an ethnicity of people who live in the Himalayas, but it is also what people call the guides they employ to get them to the top of the mountain. Sherpas have evolved -from us lesser men- to climb. They can run marathon’s in the Himalayas. What took my group five days to hike can take Sherpas two hours. While we carried small day packs, our Sherpas carried our bulky supplies (they carried over a hundred pounds each)

Sherpas are born Mountain Climbers, but even Sherpas must fear “The Death Zone”. Everest’s death zone is located in the last three-thousand feet of the climb. This is where oxygen starts to drop and any parts of your body exposed to air can be frost-bitten- the cells die and never recover. While you climb this zone you will pass a hundred or so dead bodies- climbers who didn’t make it- climbers who needed to reach the top.

People climb Everest because it is the biggest that there is and- unless you want to go to Mars- one cannot find a bigger mountain. Men searched for decades to find the highest mountain and once they had found it, it wasn’t long before people wanted to climb it. Why? Because it is there.

Now I’m not going to lie. If I were to win the lottery tomorrow, I would climb the mountain. In these days all it takes money and a drive to succeed (Same as anything else). Several years ago I met the oldest man to climb Everest- it took him four tries and millions of dollars to do so, but he did it at the ripe old age of seventy-two. I have to admit that much of my personality is a Mountain Climber personality, which is why being in the presence of the mountain is so awing to me.

Will I gaze upon Everest again? Undoubtedly I will (or die trying). I’m sure many adventures await me on the other side of the mountain (the Chinese side of the mountain) So, here I go again… Everest, here I come.

Things to Love about China: 15 of 100

The Dragon

Níðhöggr, Jörmungandr, Fafnir, Smaug, Ghidorah, Falkor, Draco, Elliot, Mushu , Norbert, Haku, Saphira & Toothless.

These are just a few names of the great Dragons in cinema and literature that we have come to know and love in our time- and there are so many nameless dragons beyond these.

Dragons are born of the imagination of man, and though no creature quite like it has ever actually crept upon this Earth, dragons are real in the minds and hearts of those who live in this world.

No one will ever know how the “Dragon” came into being. Perhaps while gazing on the bones of dinosaurs, the human race concocted a tale of giant reptilian beings that once walked our planet. Perhaps we invented the creature as an amalgamation of our greatest fears. In this world, there are two main lines of dragons- European Dragons and Asian Dragons- the difference lies only in how we approach our enemies- will we defeat them or will we become them?

In the western world, European Dragons are the most common image. The wyrm of Europe is usually winged and dwells in dark caves and guards treasure. They breathe fire, they are greedy and evil, and they are old. Over three-thousand years ago the epic tale of Beowulf features a fire-breathing dragon very similar to the dragons we see depicted today. St. George slew a dragon, a dragon is features on the Welch and Maltan flags, and then there is J.R.R. Tolkien, who brought us Smaug, the dragon that would inspire every serpent of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. In Europe, dragons are dark and evil beings. They eat men and horde their riches.

In the Chinese zodiac dragons are proud, noble, and generous. They are the only creature in the zodiac who cannot be found in the real world. In fact, eastern dragons are a mix of every other creature of the Zodiac. They have the whiskers of the rat, the horns of an ox, the claws and teeth of a tiger, the belly of a rabbit, the body of a snake, the legs of a horse, the beard of a goat, the brain of a monkey, the crest of a rooster, the ears of a dog, and the snout of a pig. January 23^rd 2012 will mark the beginning of the “Year of the Dragon” Since Dragons are seen as powerful, there are more babies born in the year of the dragon than any other year.In the eastern world , however, dragons are not evil and greedy. In Chinese mythology, dragons control the weather. They are a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. People compared to dragons are people who are excellent and high achievers.

The Asian dragon is whiskered and is usually wingless. They have four legs and three to five toes (depending on the culture). In Asia, the Dragon is depicted on the Bhutan flag.

Some anthropologists, namely David E. Jones, believe that it is no coincidence that dragons resemble many creatures. If you look back into the roots of our ancestors (the line of mammals), we were hunted by birds of prey, reptiles, snakes, and great cats, (such as the tiger). Perhaps somewhere, in the caverns our brains, we fear still fear these creatures and we meld our ancestral predators together into one super-predator.

Jones suggests that to different cultures this predator represents itself in different ways. People in the East try to become this great beast, while people in the west try to conquer it. Though our cultures divide how we view our greatest enemy, we must treat it with an awesome respect.

Yes, the dragon is a legend, but no other legendary creature is as famous or fabled or as real to us. The dragon is both our greatest fear and our greatest aspiration. We fear it and we love it. We hate it and we want to become it. The dragon is both man’s greatest enemy and man’s greatest invention.

The year of the dragon is less than a year away. When it arrives it will mark my five month anniversary of living in China. Perhaps it is with good fortune that I move to China at the dawn of the dragon, or perhaps it is with great threat. But, however the new year greets me- and whether I am seeking to destroy the dragon or become it- it is sure to be great year for a great nation, the nation of China.

Things to love about China:14 of 100

Umbrella傘

Umbrellas are believed to have originated in China and today they are everywhere.

The Chinese carry umbrellas not only to fend off the rain, but also the sunshine.

Today is more of a picture blog, but remember if you are ever in China, you can stand under my umbrella, Ella ella, ay, ay, ay

Things I am going to Love about China: 13 of 100

Beer

As a Wisconsinite I feel obligated to love three things: Beer, Dairy Products, and the Green Bay Packers. Because of these three things, my time in Kazakhstan has been tough.

I did not see one single Packer football game in the 2009 season. This season I was fortunate to have attended a preseason game in Lambeau this summer. I streamed a Monday night game, two play-off games and the Superbowl. That’s five games of twenty-four and I consider myself lucky.

As for dairy products in Kazakhstan, they are subpar. The milk is especially yucky. I never imagined that milk could taste so bad and often wonder what they do to it (or to the cows).

The beer here is a different story all together. It’s not that Kazakh beer is bad. It’s not that I can’t get a variety of beers here. It’s that I come from Central Wisconsin and my standards are so great.

I have tasted beer from over two dozen lands. I have been to Germany twice. I have drank hundreds of varieties of beer in my life and let me tell you, nothing compares to Central Wisconsin Beer!

It’s an art form really. Take the deep rich flavor of Central Waters Mud Puppy Porter. The thick flavor hits my mouth like a deep, cold, river of dark chocolate. Satin Solstice Imperial Stout, also from Amherst Wisconsin, hits you like a liquid coffee bean; strong and creamy.

New Glarus Road Slush is bitter and sweet at the same time. The tastes of Oatmeal and Mocha hit your mouth in perfect harmony.

Even Plover’s own Oso’s Night Train is a force to be reckoned with. It’s flavor is complex; smoky and bitter but, oh, so pleasant.

By now you’ve figured out what kind of beer-man I am. I need the darkest and richest blends that most would find "too strong". But outside of Central Wisconsin I have never found such a blend.

Even living as far as I could possibly get from my hometown, two Wisconsin beers can be found a hundred yards from my apartment. The little store under my complex sells two Miller products, MGD and Miller Midnight (A beer unheard of in The States). Miller midnight is one of my favorites here, but it does not come close to satisfying the hunger I have for amazing Stouts and Porters.

So what could moving to China possibly do to aid me in my cause? How could alcohol brewed in Asia come close to matching the Germanic rooted beers of Central Wisconsin? Surprisingly there is an answer. While my father’s grandparents were leaving Germany for the States in the early 20^th century, other German’s were fleeing to China!

Tsingtao Beer is China’s largest brewery and claims 15% of its market. Men with names such as Jurgen and Heinrich founded the company about one-hundred years ago and it has been a national treasure ever since. The beer has been seen in many films. Harrison Ford’s character, Deckard, was seen sipping the beverage in the futuristic world of Blade Runner. Even Clint Eastwood tasted the drink in Gran Torino.

Most of Tsingtao’s beers are Pilsner’s (good, but not what I’ve been looking for), however one variety known as Tsingtao Dark Beer promises the taste of the stouts and porters that I’ve been missing.

I look forward to the day that I can sit in a Chinese bar and toast my neighbors with the phrase “To Booze and Friends!”, but moreover I yearn to be home, sitting on a barstool in Guus, sucking down a tall glass of Mud Puppy Porter.