Expats

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland), and is sometimes misspelled (either unintentionally or intentionally) as ex-patriot or short ex-pat (because of its pronunciation).

Lyman's thoughts: 'Being here, or being an expat makes me loose contact with my past. It is a way of erasing my past. My history dissapears. The life of the expats is the life of those who live to the day. I should move to another place every two years.'
That is a way of of running away from yourself, I said. He agreed, and I felt that algo de hueso habia tocao,no en el sino en mi. Maybe I have done that myself as well.

Selina always tells me: 'If you come to China you should have a mission, a purpose otherwise you will loose yourself.'

http://www.evadefilter.com/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL2VuLndpa2lwZWRpYS5vcmcvd2lraS9FeHBhdHJpYXRl

The earth rooster

This is what my Chinese zodiac tells me:
'No major problem to fear healthwise. Perhaps a slight drop in vitality and tonicity, or mild cardio-vascular troubles for those who are predisposed to them. Some of you will show signs of fatigue which are only manifestations of your mild anxieties or of your interior tenseness. A first remedy in this case: to lead a wholesome and well-regulated life. And do not consider recreation and rest as useless or superfluous. Continue to do sport. Don't hesitate to do siestas during the week-ends'.
No te digo, si parece que me conocen! Signs of fatigue!!!! I have the feeling I haven't slept for months. Como si no hubiera pegao no ojo en meses. Pues ale, I will live a more wholesome life, will that mean that I have to start eating wholesome bread as well?! Todo sea por empezar a sonyar de nuevo. I need to have my dreams back.

De carton piedra

I came across this, and it is soooooo true!:'There is nothing very authentic about this great city, yet you can't help but enjoy the charade' Shanghai Chic, nov 16 2005 Telegraph.co.uk

Theatre etiquette

Last Friday I went to to the Shanghai Grand Theatre, mainly to see the building inside. It was impressive. It is an immense theatre. The building was designed by French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier and covers a floor area of 11,528 m². Interior design was by Studios Architecture.

They were showing 'Princess Yang Guifei' dance and drama. Lots of dancers on stage....Fuck! I have just lost everything I wrote. Now I have to start again... Anyway, como iba diciendo: lots of dancers on stage ( lo que sobra aqui es gente, por figurantes que no quede!) nice costumes and settings but no soul, no passion (mas bien soso). The theatre was chock a block( hasta la bandera, a rebosar). Throughout the whole show people did not stop talking, oblivious to what was happening on stage. There was a constant murmur that was more noticeable when the music was softer. Habia tal guirigai que parecia una verbena, solo falto que los de la fila de enfrente sacaran una fiambrera con unas noodles o unos bocatas en papel de alumino o unas empanadillas flitas. Yo flipaba. I was astonished everybody took that as normal behaviour. Only a couple of times, I could hear someone shushing the public. Mucho teatro pero pocos modales. The same thing happened a few weeks ago in a concert by Marta Sebestyan. People were talking when she was singing. It might be the norm here, but I think that is bad manners, a mi no me jodas!

Yang Guifei

Notorious beauty and concubine of the great Tang emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712–756). Because of her the emperor is said to have neglected his duties, and the Tang dynasty (618–907) was greatly weakened by a rebellion that ensued. Her story has been the subject of many outstanding Chinese poems and dramas, including Changhen'ge (A Song of Everlasting Sorrow), a narrative poem by Bai Juyi; Wutongyu (after 1262; “Rain on the Phoenix Tree”), a Yuan dynasty zaju play by Bai Pu; and Changshengdian (1688; “The Palace of Eternal Youth”), a play by Hong Sheng, one of the most notable Qing dynasty playwrights. The daughter of a high official, she was one of the few obese women in Chinese history to have been considered beautiful. She became a concubine to Xuanzong's son, but the 60-year-old emperor found the girl so desirable that he forced his son to relinquish her. Soon her two sisters were admitted into the imperial harem, and her brother Yang Guozhong became the first minister of the empire. Through Yang's influence, An Lushan, a cunning young general of Turkish origin, rose to great prominence. Yang adopted him as her legal son and is said to have made him her lover. With such powerful patronage, An Lushan came to control an army of 200,000. He was jealous of the power of Yang's brother and soon turned against the emperor, leading a great uprising (the An Lushan rebellion) against him. When the capital was captured in 756, Xuanzong and his court were forced to flee to the south. On the road the imperial soldiers became enraged with members of the Yang family, whom they blamed for the debacle, and executed both Yang and her brother.

country bumpkins party

Queridos todos,
este anyo, por razones geograficas no podre estar con vosotros celebrando el cumpleanyos de Jose (con acento en la 'e'). Espero que lo paseis muy bien y echeis muchas fotos para que las ensenyeis y asi poder hacer esos recuerdos mios tambien. Si hay fotos me podre acordar y pensare que yo tambien estuve. Pensare en vosotros este fin de semana y en en especial en ti. Feliz cumpleanyos!

Os quiero.

Esta casa ya esta limpia!

Acabo de limpiar mi casa y es un placer sentarme a tomar un cafe, mirar a mi alrededor y verlo todo limpio y ordenado. No se cuanto durara, no importa, difrutare del momento. Me he encontrado 1000RMB en un sobre,debajo de una caja. Me dao un alegron, pues en el monedero solo me quedaban 200. Me voy a duchar y a vestirme, llevo todo el dia en pijama; aunque la verdad si saliera en pijama, no creo que nadie se sorprendiera. El otro dia estaba en el Tesco haciendo la compra y me encontre a una senyora con un pijama de de felpa, con estampado de ositos, con tacones, el bolso debajo del brazo y tirando de un carro haciendo la compra. Esto de salir en pijama a la calle se estila aqui mucho.Super casual! Como iba diciendo, me voy a ir al Carrefour a comprarme un reproductor de DVD para verme una peli esta noche.El vino y la peli ya los tengo.

Ruan Ling-Yu

Ruan Ling-Yu is probably the most talented, most famous movie star in 20s and 30s Chinese silent film era. In her short life she had starred in more than 20 films, many of them are regarded as masterpieces. Ruan Ling-Yu was born in Shanghai in 1910. Her family was a poor migrant family from Canton. Lost her father in the early age, she had to help her mother who worked as a house maid. However her mother managed to send her to a school where she recognised her passion for stage performance the first time. Ruan Ling-Yu was discovered by director Bu Wancang from Star Film Company and starred in her first film The Couple in Name (1926). The film was a mild success and she starred several films for Star in the next few years. Her career took off when she left Star and joined Da Zhonghua Baihe Film Company which merged with other companies and became Lianhua Film Company later. The first film she starred for Lianhua, A Dream in the Old Capital (1929) was a huge success and made her name. In Lianhua, Ruan Ling-Yu worked with a group of creative and exciting young directors and writers and starred in a dozen of critical acclaimed yet commercially successful films, including Wild Flowers by the Road (1930), Love and Duty (1931), Little Cuttie (1933), Goodbye Shanghai (1934), New Women (1934), The Goddess (1934). Her ability to understand and convey the director's intention was universally praised by the directors she worked with.Contrast to her success on the screen, her personal life was a tragedy. She fell in love with Zhang Damin, the young master of the house her mother worked, before starting her film career. They lived together eventually. But in a class-divided society they couldn't get married because of the objection from Zhang Damin's mother. Their relationship deteriorated when she became successful. She later left Zhang and lived with a businessman Tang Jishan. When Zhang sued Tang for damage this became a scandal in 30s Shanghai and Ruan Ling-Yu was hounded by the tabloid press. Under severe pressure, Ruan Ling-Yu committed suicide by sleeping pill overdose in the early morning of 8th March, 1935. Her sudden death ignited fierce debate on the behavior of tabloid newspapers and the protection of women in public life. Her funeral was attended by thousands of people.Ruan Ling-Yu's screen charisma and tragic life have since been fascinated by many people. Hong Kong directors Stanley Kwan's The Actress (1991) starring Maggie Cheung tells the story of Ruan Ling-Yu poetically which won Maggie Cheung the Silver Bear in Berlin Film Festival and several Hong Kong Film Awards.

La primera generación de estrellas femeninas ejerció una enorme influencia sobre una sociedad dominada tradicionalmente por el hombre. Sus imágenes comenzaron a invadir publicidades y carteles, y sus voces inundaban la radio, promoviendo un sinfín de productos. Estas pioneras demostraron a sus coetáneas que la mujer “moderna” no tiene por qué amilanarse ante prejuicios; por el contrario, debe bregar porque salga a flote su personalidad y pensamiento

Ruan Lingyu, la Marylin Monroe de Shanghai
Fueron estas actrices precisamente –o al menos una buena parte de ellas– quienes desde la pantalla promovieron el uso de la moda occidental: zapatos de tacón alto y medias de seda, cejas depiladas y arregladas en un ligero arco, boquitas pintadas en forma de corazón y cabello corto y ondulado. Excepción entre las actrices europeizadas fue la diva del cine mudo Ruan Lingyu, una mujer dotada de una mística belleza oriental. Sus personajes encarnaban las virtudes tradicionales chinas. Fuera de la pantalla usaba el tradicional qipao y se desenvolvía como la personificación misma del garbo oriental. Su máxima ambición era “vivir felizmente con un buen hombre”. El carisma y atractivo sexual de Ruan Lingyu actuaron como especie de bálsamo mental para millones de almas chinas, que pasaron por incontables sufrimientos durante la guerra de resistencia contra la agresión japonesa. Sus cualidades y su biografía han sido comparadas con las de la estadounidense Marilyn Monroe, pues ambas sucumbieron en plenitud de facultades, físicas e histriónicas, bajo los embates de numerosas y aún imprecisas presiones. El suicidio fue el camino escogido por las dos para apartarse de un mundo que las empujaba sin remedio contra la pared. Sus muertes misteriosas las vinculan, creando un vínculo inefable entre los iconos de la feminidad del Oriente y el Occidente. Ruan Lingyu dejó una simple nota: “Los rumores infundados son temibles”, poco antes de tomar una dosis excesiva de tranquilizantes. El 14 de mayo de 1935, 300.000 admiradores siguieron su cortejo fúnebre por las calles de Shanghai, para rendir un homenaje postrero a la sufrida diva, cuyas alas se había calcinado trágica y tempranamente en las llamas del morbo social. Otra víctima de los “rumores infundados”. Wu Shouzeng, "Bellezas de carne y celuloide" www.chinatoday.com.cn

I like you very much!

Click hereI, YI, YI,YI
(LIKE YOU VERY MUCH)
.
I, yi, yi, yi, I like you very much,
I, yi, yi, yi, I think you're grand;
Why, why, why is it that when I feel your touch,
My heart starts to beat, to beat the band?
I, yi, yi, yi, I like you to hold me tight,
You are too, too, too, too, too divine;
If you want to be in someone's arms tonight,
Just be sure the arms you're in are mine.
Oh I like your lips
And I like your eyes;
Would you like my hips
To hypnotize you?
Si, si, si, si, si, si, see the moon above,
Way, way, way, way, way up in the blue;
Si, si, si, senor, I think I fall in love.
And when I fall, I think I fall for you
I, yi, yi, yi,
Si, si, si, si
I, yi, yi, yi
Can see, see, see
That you're for me.

About love..

"Aimer, ce n'est pas se regarder l'un l'autre, c'est regarder ensemble dans la même direction."
Antoine de Saint Exupéry.

"Tolerancia, amor sin interés, compartir cosas, no mezclarme con el otro, separar lo que quiere el otro de lo que quiero yo, compaginar gustos y voluntades." Guilherme

Velos, filtros, versiones...

Listen to the French version


À la claire fontaine, m'en allant promener,
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle que je m'y suis baigné.
Il y a lontemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai.
Sous les feuilles d'un chêne, je me suis fait sécher.
Il y a lontemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai.
Sur la plus haute branche, un rossignol chantait.
Il y a lontemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai.
Chante, rossignol, chante, toi qui as le coeur gai;
Tu as le coeur à rire, moi je l'ai à pleurer.
Il y a lontemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai.
J'ai perdu mon ami sans l'avoir mérité.
Pour un bouquet de roses que je lui refusai.
Il y a lontemps que je t'aime, jamais je ne t'oublierai.
Je voudrais que la rose fût encore au rosier,
Et que mon douce ami fût encore à m'aimer


Listen to the Chinese version

By the clear running fountain
I strayed one summer day.
The water looked so cooling
I bathed without delay.
Refrain:
Many long years have I loved you,
Ever in my heart you'll stay.
Beneath an oak tree shady
I dried myself that day
When from the topmost branch
A bird's song came my way.
Sing, nightingale, keep singing,
Your heart is always gay.
You have no cares to grieve you,
While I could weep today.
You have no cares to grieve you,
While I could weep today,
For I have lost my loved one
In such a senseless way.
She wanted some red roses
But I did rudely say
She could not have the roses
That I had picked that day.
Now I wish those red roses
Were on their bush today,
While I and my beloved
Still went our old sweet way.

I bought this DVD not knowing it was filmed in China. I knew it was a story that happened somewhre in Asia. It could happen anywhere. At some point one of the characters tells the other something like: 'it was silly of us looking for qualities in each other that we never had'. It made me think how many times I have been in a similar situation.Expecting others to be something they are not, not wanting to see the reality, blinding myself, refusing to see the obvious. And also, how many times I still want to find qualities in myself which I do not have, instead of opening my eyes and accepting myself the way I am.

So far, so close

Click here to watch video



CHINA

China all the way to New York

I can feel the distance getting close
You're right next to me
But I need an airplane
I can feel the DISTANCE as you breathe...

Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes

Another beautiful song from Marco's music calendar 7th week. It is freaky. So far, all the songs chosen relate to my mood at the time of listening to them. It feels as if he is next to me, feels my mood and plays a song. The reality is that he prepared this calendar many weeks ago. Today it moved me more than before, maybe because I feel a little bit more sensitive than other days. I know I do.

Shanghai...again

La ultima de Ang Lee.


click here to watch trailer

Empanadilla de noche...

The Three Basic Listening Modes

Competitive or Combative Listening happens when we are more interested in promoting our own point of view than in understanding or exploring someone else’s view. We either listen for openings to take the floor, or for flaws or weak points we can attack. As we pretend to pay attention we are impatiently waiting for an opening, or internally formulating our rebuttal and planning our devastating comeback that will destroy their argument and make us the victor.
In Passive or Attentive Listening we are genuinely interested in hearing and understanding the other person’s point of view. We are attentive and passively listen. We assume that we heard and understand correctly. but stay passive and do not verify it.
Active or Reflective Listening is the single most useful and important listening skill. In active listening we are also genuinely interested in understanding what the other person is thinking, feeling, wanting or what the message means, and we are active in checking out our understanding before we respond with our own new message. We restate or paraphrase our understanding of their message and reflect it back to the sender for verification. This verification or feedback process is what distinguishes active listening and makes it effective.

I have been thinking about this for the last few days. How many times people talk to me and I just hear what I want to hear, not what they are telling me! I believe that to be able to listen to someone is difficult. Sometimes I am not even able to listen to myself, let alone someone else. I am going to try to notice my conversations over the next few days, to find out when I am really listening and see what difference do I notice when I change the way I listen.

Shanghai Triad

There is nothing like a bit of old glamour.I saw this film years ago and I loved it. The story, the era,the atmosphere,the clothes, the music, Gong Li are fantastic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8R-pE8OQ_A

Shanghai Triad. Zhang Zimou (1995) .

Another boardgame?

Courtship, traditionally the wooing of a female by a male, includes activities such as dating (dinner and a movie, a picnic, or general "hanging out"), along with other forms of activity, such as meeting online (also known as virtual dating), chatting on-line, sending text messages or picture messages, conversing over the phone, writing each other letters, and sending each other flowers, songs, and gifts. Courting usually involves getting to know the family (especially the parents) of the one you are courting. Most of the time courting will be done somewhere public, to lower the chances of anything going on between the couple. Some couples who court do not even kiss until marriage.
Do you think our relationship is less of a relationship because temporarily we are no physically together?

You are good at boardgames, I'm sure you will win this one!

Bird's eye view

One evening we went to the Hyatt to drink Cosmopolitans and Dry Martinis. We looked at the city from up there and we talked about her, him, you, me, the past, now, the future. We talked about expectations, commitment, deception, hope, happiness.

Tokyo

I always thought Tokyo was a big city full of big buildings and lots of neon lights everywhere. There are some areas like that but I was pleasantly surprised to discover Shimokitazawa, where Yoshiko lives. It is like a little village, with lots of trees, narrow streets, small houses and a smell in the air that reminded me of burning logs in the fire place. I had a week off, so I decided to visit Yoshiko. She took care of me all the time, showing me around her city. I felt very loved and special.

Love bicycles

Click here for video

Nine Million bicycles.

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die.

We are twelve billion light years from the edge,
That's a guess,
No-one can ever say it's true
But I know that I will always be with you.

I'm warmed by the fire of your love everyday
So don't call me a liar,
Just believe everything that I say

There are six BILLION people in the world
More or less
and it makes me feel quite small
But you're the one I love the most of all

[INTERLUDE]
We're high on the wire
With the world in our sight
And I'll never tire,
Of the love that you give me every night

There are nine million bicycles in Beijing
That's a Fact,
it's a thing we can't deny
Like the fact that I will love you till I die

And there are nine million bicycles in Beijing
And you know that I will love you till I die!

Katie Melua

Leaving my flat every morning is an adventure because I don't know whether I am going to get to work or to the hospital, after being run over by a car, bus or bicycle. In this city, nobody respects cebra crossings or traffic lights neither drivers nor pedestrians. I am learning not to respect anything either. In theory the biggest vehicle has the right to go first. This is every man for his own. Salvese quien pueda es la ley de la selva!

And this bus goes where?

I have decided to catch the bus to go to work every morning. It's only three stops and it costs me 2 yuans, its is cheaper and quicker than a taxi. At 7-730 am it is not always quick to find an empty taxi. I am the only white person on the bus and even while I am waiting at the bus stop I feel the inquisitive look of the other people who are waiting there. As soon as I get on the bus I notice how the rest of the passengers look at me with a mixture of curiosity and rejection. The other day I sat next to this little old lady. She looked at me, realised I was foreign and immediately moved to another seat away from me, bitch!
I've never felt that kind of racial rejection. I have been in situations where I've been an ethnic minority, but never rejected because of that.
As Lyman says, he also uses buses: Put three white people on a bus full of Chinese and you will create an national identity crisis! They find it really difficult to see us like normal people. This might look like a very futuristic city but in some ways they are still in the Middle Ages; well I suppose that is what makes them interesting.

Mein Liebling

I can not promise that I will wait for you, because I AM with you. I can not promise I will have a relationship with you when I go back, because I already HAVE a relationship with you.

Metropolis

The other day when I got a taxi to go to that party, the taxi driver drove me through the elevated roads. It was amazing I thought I was a character from Metropolis the film by Fritz Lang.
At the moment my feelings, my life...look a little bit like them.

La vida es sueno-Life is a dream

My computer is fucked. I need a computer to be able to connect with the world, without it I feel isolated, scared, alone; with it I feel connected with my reality, with the reality I am used to, with the people I love. Sometimes I find my everyday life daunting and I need a window to breath fresh air and not this warm, humid air that surrounds me.

Vertigo-Acrophobia-Grand Hyatt-Shanghai

Acrophobia (from Greek ἄκρος, meaning "summit") is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.

Acrophobia can be dangerous, as sufferers can experience a panic attack in a high place and become too agitated to get themselves down safely. Some acrophobics also suffer from urges to throw themselves off high places, despite not being suicidal.

"Vertigo" is often used, incorrectly, to describe the fear of heights, but it is more accurately described as a spinning sensation, which may be caused by looking down from a high place, as well as by some other stimuli. Vertigo is qualified as height vertigo when referring to dizziness triggered by heights.

Last weekend I went with Mi General and MariaJo to the Grand Hyatt to have a coffee. The lifts took up from the ground floor to the 58th floor in seconds, when we arrived we felt dizzy and nauseaus and even more when we looked up to the ceiling up to the 85th floor. I have the same kind of feelings being here when I think about the time I will spend in this city, and when I think about the future.

MILAGRO!!!!

Finally I have been able to write in my blog. Apparently my blog was blocked, I hope they let me keep posting. I don't give a shit about politics, I am not here to save anybody. I only want to write about myself. This week I have realised how lucky I am coming from where I come from.
Last weekend I met up with Fer Mi General and his Mrs MariaJo. It was soooooooo nice seeing familiar faces. I did not fell so lonely. I was sad to see them catch the train back to Beijing.
And then we had the famous typhoon I never saw. Everybody kept ringing me and emailing me worried about it, but at the the end it did not pass by the city. Although, I must say the weather was pretty unbeareable, about 30 degrees, and raining at 6am, I thought I could breathe. Luckily, now it is a bit cooler.
Today is friday, last day at work.I will do some sightseeing in town.

Friday night

Lyman, one of the teachers at college got invitations for the Dolce&Gabbana 1st anniversary party at the Matini Bar,1/F 6 Bund Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road. Free champagne, apparently!

I will have a shower, get dressed and go. I have no idea what to expect. If Mi Capitan and his girlfriend, call me tomorrow I might take them there for a drink.

They would sell their own mothers!!!!

On my first night after arriving I decided to go for a walk towards the Huangou River . As soon as I passed by The People's Square and got into Nan Jing Road every second minute I had some blooming Chinese boy or girl talking to me in English trying to sell me the same things: 'Rolex watch, Prada bag, Gucci bag, foot massage, sex massage, pretty girl' At the beginning I tried to reject them politely, after half an hour I started ignoring them rudely.

After walking for three hours I felt very tired, jet lagged and confused. I just wanted to go back home, to London, or at least back to the hotel. I missed Marco, I missed London, I missed the comfort of my house. I felt anguished about the perspective of spending a whole year in this country away from them all. I tried to use the underground, I went downstairs and I couldn't work out how it worked. They did not speak English. I went out, I cried. I tried to get a taxi, he refused to take me. I tried a second one and finally he accepted to take me! I got a text from Jose in which he reminded me that going through new experiences with joy makes them more fruitful. He also reminded me of how lucky we are. My mood and my attitude changed. I am going to try to get the most out of this new chapter, as Marco calls it.

10 September 2007

After an 11 hours flight, I finally landed in Shanghai.