Prison Break

I just got out of my morning one-on-one class, where my professor actually thought my paper wasn't bad - he wanted to know if I had written it myself, which is sort of a compliment, I guess... actually, I was kind of annoyed, and showed him my outline.  I may have taken more sentences from the book than I should have, but it was me taking them!

 

In any case, the highlight of my day yesterday by far was watching "Prison Break" for four hours straight - one of my roommate's friends had dropped off a super-pirated copy in our room a few days ago, and not having anything better to do last night (and not wanting to re-read my paper at ALL), I decided to start watching it and see if it was any good - and also try to figure out why every Chinese person I've ever talked to about it is just totally addicted.  I had to make myself stop watching it at 2:00 AM and go to bed... it's really, really good!  The picture quality was pretty bad, and it was all subtitled in Chinese, but it was still impossible to turn off.  I was talking about it in class this morning with my teacher, and he said he's going to head across the street later this morning and buy a pirated copy himself.  My roommate and I have plans to watch it again tonight - we both really like 迈克尔-斯科菲尔德!

 

Now off to get lunch, and (possibly) watch another Prison Break episode.  SO much more fun than studying!

Techno Motorcycle

This morning started off with me going for my first real run since getting sick last week - made all the more auspicious by the motorcycle blasting techno music REALLY LOUDLY which passed by right at the beginning of the run.  I mean, I like techno as much as the next person (probably more), but not really at 6:45 in the morning.  And on a motorcycle.  The weather was perfect, though, and the guy with the saxophone was out again, accompanied by a number of people singing what sounded like traditional Chinese folk songs.  Didn't really jive with the saxophone, but then again, it didn't really matter. 

 

The definite lowlight of my day was sitting down and pounding out a 2500 character essay on intellectual property rights.  Back in college, I used to have this thing where I'd compare papers to ski races - a ten page paper was like a 10k race - you needed to have some basic aerobic conditioning and the right wax in order to have it not be too painful ( i.e., you needed to do at least some research and have some idea of what you were trying to say).  A two page paper, on the other hand, was like a sprint.  Even if you had no idea what you were doing, you could still just double pole your way through.  I decided today that a 2500 character essay is like a 25k race - a skate race.  Like Middlebury Carnival my sophomore (?) year, where it was about 38 degrees with new snow, and it seemed like the hills never ended.  Just endless marching through snow the texture of mashed potatoes, where every stride was agony.  Writing the paper today wasn't quite as physically painful, but I can hardly see straight right now from staring at the computer screen (and characters!) all day, and the horrible insult to the Chinese language I've managed to crank out is small comfort.  I've adopted a new writing style while in China, called "Taking It Almost Directly From The Book"... we'll see what my teacher says tomorrow!  The thing is, Chinese teachers tend to have a very black and white approach to right and wrong - the book is right, therefore whatever is taken directly from the book is also right.  The minute you start changing things around and adding your own personal viewpoint is the minute you start veering into "wrong" territory.  I did add a little bit of my own opinion regarding intellectual property rights in China, but I guarantee you it will be the part of my paper which my teacher likes the least.

 

Man, it's so liberating to be able to write stuff in English!  Writing in Chinese feels like building walls with Legos, only they're enormous, cumbersome Legos, and you're not sure if they have any solid foundation at all.  I'm heading over now to print out what I've written, but I have more than a little trepidation about showing it to my roommate tonight.  I'm a 29 year old writing like a 12 year old, but hey - I'm writing in Chinese, which is still kind of cool!

 

So, off to enjoy the last of the perfect weather evening - the chicks were out in force outside the computer lab earlier today - it's amazing how fast they're growing, and how quickly their "big" feathers are coming in!  In other news, the water was turned off in the dorm again last night with no warning, from 11:00 until midnight.  No one knows why.  I have stopped questioning the logic behind the decisions around here, and just accepted that there really is no logic - and somehow, that just makes things easier.  As long as the water comes back on eventually... well, that's all you can hope for.

Why Is There A Donkey In Front of the Trademark Office?

People back home often ask me what the biggest difference is between China and the United States, and most of the time it's hard to even start comparing.  On the most basic level, there are a lot of similarities -- human societies tend to function in much the same way.  We build apartment buildings, streets, schoools.  People wake up in the mornings, eat breakfast, take the kids to school and then go work in an office.  There are hospitals, firemen, and police. 

 

All the most basic stuff is the same, it's just... in China, added on top of everything are donkeys and cars with three wheels.  There are tractors pulling carts loaded with watermelon.  There are enormous trenches dug in streets and then covered over for no apparent reason.  And to top it off, the people driving the tractors, and digging the trenches, and grooming the donkeys will all look at YOU like YOU'RE the one who's doing something really strange, just because you're standing on the sidewalk in a place that feels like it's a million miles from home -- a place where you feel like there must be rules that make it all make sense... if you could only figure out what they were.

 

This morning I went to the Harbin City Trademark Office with my one-on-one teacher and one classmate.  It was located in a nondescript office building in the Harbin Economic Development zone -- and, as the title indicates, there was a donkey parked in front of it.  It was a rather mangey donkey, and its owner kept pulling enormous hunks of fur out of it as he watched us get out of the car.  I really felt bad for the donkey -- it didn't look too happy.  In any case, after a brief staring contest with the donkey's owner we went into the building and walked up to my teacher's friend's office.  It was a rather disorganized meeting, as I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to ask, and my classmate isn't studying trademark law at all and just kept reading the newspaper, but I did manage to learn some interesting, if not exactly relevant stuff.

 

For instance, did you know that in China it is illegal to name your dog Hu Jintao?  We were talking about what you can and cannot use as a trademark in China, and while in the US it's OK to plaster American flags all over everything, in China the use of the national flag is strictly controlled, and cannot be casually used on clothing or packaging.  I then tried to make a joke involving "Hu Jintao Cookies", which turns out is also illegal - the names of politicians cannot be used for anything, including pet names.  However, you CAN name your dog Chen Shuibian (the Taiwanese president).  Naming your dog after the current prime minister of Japan is also OK.  Celebrity names are fair game, however, which makes me wonder: how come no one has come out with "Jackie Chan Cookies"?  hmmm....

 

I also found out where the illegal sock capital in China is located - it's in Wenzhou.  This came from me asking what the most common sort of trademark infringement was that they dealt with - interestingly enough, it's people ripping off the Nike logo.  My classmate helpfully demonstrated how prevalent fake Nike logos are in China by showing off the socks he was wearing, which he bought outside the school gates.  I've also seen "NKIE" brand stuff, but his socks were spelled correctly.  From our conversation, I gathered that cracking down on that kind of trademark infringement is like fighting a forest fire with a garden hose - they know it exists, they know it's illegal, but there's nothing they can (or will) do about it.  Apparently, the factories in Wenzhou are starting to legally register their own trademarks, so progress is being made (if slowly), but how can you resist fake Nike socks at four pairs for 10 kuai (about $1.50)?  The woman whose office we visited didn't seem incredibly overworked - the biggest trademark violators are in the south, and I never learned exactly what it is that they're up to in Harbin - got too distracted by the sock story.

 

They go after trademark infringers through a combination of their own sleuthing and people turning other people in.  Apparently, if you report someone for trademark infringement, you get 13% of the reward money.  I didn't ask the obvious follow-up questions - how often this happens and how much the reward money is - but I think it has to do with the severity of the case.  There was a huge scandal involving a factory producing fake medicine at the end of last year which the trademark office was involved in - though I think the matter was passed up to the Public Security Bureau when it became apparent that the matter was criminal instead of administrative in nature.  (As the trademark office, they have the power to fine people for trademark infringement and improper use of trademarks, but don't have the power to impose criminal penalties.)  I asked the woman to give me an example of improper trademark use, and she gave me the example of someone changing the color of their trademark from red to yellow, which could cause a consumer to confuse that trademark with a competitor's.  It sounded a little too minor to me, when there is so much rampant trademark infringement going on of a much more insidious nature, but maybe they're just trying to focus on the stuff they can easily target.

 

When we left her office to go get lunch, we discovered that our teacher had locked his keys inside his car.  No problem, he said - he was going to call the local police station and have a police officer come unlock his car for him.  Seeing our confusion, he explained: the police in China have keys that can unlock every car, and every apartment in the city (to assist them with searches).  I don't know if I believe this, or if I heard him correctly, but that's what I think he said.  To him, it made perfect sense: how can the police search an apartment if they can't get in?  I guess the police having a key to every car is a lot more efficient than calling AAA or breaking a window... but also kind of scary, in a way.

 

So, all in all, a very worthwhile trip, but unlike anything I was expecting - pretty much a normal day in Harbin.  Off now to go to my last class of the day - going to try not to fall in the enormous trench they've just dug outside the computer center.  Repairs are in full swing on campus -- I actually am going to one-on-two class a bit late today, as my classmate showed up at my dorm room earlier to ask me if he could switch class times with me.  "They're using a blow torch in my bathroom," he said.  "I'm scared.  Can I go to class now, and you go later?"  China may be many things, but it's never boring...

two weeks...

Despite the fact that my roommate keeps asking me if she can take me to the hospital, my cold is actually a lot better now (I spent all afternoon napping, which helped a lot!)  I can't remember if I've mentioned this before in my blog or not, but the Chinese have a very different attitude towards hospitals and doctors than we do.  They'll go to the hospital with what we would consider to be incredibly minor ailments, and will see nothing wrong with bothering a doctor to get a prescription for medicine to help treat a sore throat.  As for me, I can't imagine walking into a hospital and telling a doctor, "My throat hurts."  I mean, it's only a cold.  I ran in a track meet on Saturday (which is probably contraindicated for cold treatment) - but the point is, colds are inconvenient things, and make you feel pretty cruddy at times, but they're nothing you need to go to a hospital for.  I've got enough cough drops, Robitussin, Nyquil, Dayquil and Benadryl stockpiled in my room to treat a small army... I'm going to be OK!  Now if only I can convince my roommate of this....

 

As an aside, it rained all day today (again), and there was no water in the dorm (again) - but they tore out all the rusty pipes from our bathrooms and dumped them in the hallway - pretty interesting to see how corroded they all got, and I was going to take pictures earlier today but forgot - hopefully they'll still be there when I get back.  I'm getting more and more immune to the no-water phenomenon, and pretty unfazed by the rain as well -- was just thinking today how much easier life in the US is going to seem when I get back (two weeks from today! can't believe it's gone so fast...)  I was thinking as I was walking to dinner that what I really want is cranberry juice and lemonade... cranberry juice is what I really missed when I was in Germany, and what I still miss here in China.  Kind of random, the things that pop into your head at the most unexpected times... I hope they have cranberry juice at the Chicago airport.

 

My one-on-one teacher just called, and I am going to be meeting him at 10:10 tomorrow morning (and not a minute later!) to drive over to the Harbin copyright office.  I've been looking forward to this trip for a while - unlike the court, I think we're officially allowed to be there, or at least, no one's empowered to kick us out - and they know we're coming, which is also good.  I really don't know what there will be to see, or to talk about, but I'm going to head back to my room now and look over my copyright notes, both in preparation for tomorrow and in preparation for the horribly long paper we have to write (due on Thursday, in my case).  off now to start working - copyright report to follow tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

Track and Field Craziness

I have secretly always wanted to be part of a mass Communist-style rally -- the pageantry, the kitschiness, the marching.  I think the closest I'll ever come to that goal was on Saturday morning, when I got roped into participating in the opening ceremonies for the school's annual track and field meet.  Only Communists would schedule opening ceremonies for 7:30 in the morning, and only Communists would require everyone to meet up an hour beforehand, to "organize".  The few Americans who managed to crawl out of bed and show up at 6:30 AM, upon finding out that the thing wasn't going to start for another hour, immediately revolted and escaped to go get breakfast.  When we made it back to the staging area, we discovered that the teachers in charge of the Foreign Students Center were giving everyone balloons (the idea was to have every department in the school march in as separate teams, everyone wearing different uniforms).  If you want to see a picture of all the foreign students holding balloons, and the athletes wearing our warmup uniforms, check out this page, and scroll down to the fourth picture from the top: http://news.hit.edu.cn/articles/2007/05-26/05184915.htm.  I'm easy to spot, as I'm pretty much the only person with blond hair.

 

People kept asking me if we had this kind of track and field meet in the US.  It really wasn't that easy a question to answer, as we have plenty of track and field meets in the US, but none at all like the one I participated in yesterday.  For instance, you would NEVER get Americans out of bed at 7:30 in the morning to come watch an opening ceremony like the one that was held on Saturday, but yet the stadium here in Harbin was packed - all because everyone who was there basically had no choice.  Faced with dire threats of course failure and doom, you're going to be in your seat in the stands at 7:30, even if you're there reading a newspaper (as many students were).  That being said, there were really a number of students who got fairly into it, and a lot of people cheered for me when I was out running (which I really needed, especially in the last leg of the 4x400) -- all in all, it was pretty cool to get cheered for, even if running in front of all those people did make me really nervous!

 

The best part about the whole thing is that I think we're going to get to keep the uniforms they gave us - at least, they haven't said anything to us yet about turning them back in.  I was one of the fortunate people whose uniform fit, and while the shorts are really really a bit too SHORT, the top is fine, and the warmups fit great.  It just seemed like an incredible amount of energy spent on organizing what in the US would be a pretty routine event - just minus the marching-filled opening ceremonies and the tug-of-war (which we didn't wind up participating in because we all had class - who schedules a tug-of-war for 8:30 in the morning on a Friday?  Communists).

 

I am now off to head back to my room, and possibly venture out this afternoon in search of presents.  My departure date from Harbin is all-too-rapidly approaching, and I'm realizing now that I've got to figure out what I'm going to bring back to give to people!  off to see what's out there...

Chinese Thunderstorm

I was getting ready to head out to the computer lab when I heard a strange rumbling.  Really, it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before - just a low growl coming from the sky.  It wasn't until I got outside that I saw flashes of lightning in the clouds, and realized that it was a thunderstorm - but a constant, rumbling thunderstorm, not at all like what I'm used to hearing at home.  Maybe it's the fact that I have a slight sore throat (and possibly a fever) that's making what I'm writing not make any sense, but it was really kind of creepy!  I hurried up the street to the computer lab as fast as I could, passing lots of people huddling in doorways waiting for the rain to pass.  It was POURING by the time I got here, and I am just passing time right now, waiting for it all to end.

 

This week is just flying by... can't believe I only have a little over two weeks left in China, and then I'm home!  I just checked the Red Sox schedule, and they're going to be at Fenway the week after I get back -- my plan right now is to fly back to NH, spend a week at home wtih the parents recovering from the jet lag, and then drive my car back June 17th.  don't even want to THINK about having to unpack all my stuff again - it was such a hassle packing in the first place, and I was so stressed and chaotic at the time I don't know where half the stuff went -- I have all these grand schemes about making sure everything is perfectly organized this time, but I'm sure I'm just going to wind up chucking it all in my closet again and forgetting about it... how am I ever going to find anything again???

 

The one disappointment is that I'm not going to be able to run the mile in the university track meet - as it turns out, it's on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday, and I have a class conflict.  I will, however, be able to participate in the tug-of-war, which should be fun, provided we can drag enough people out of bed - who on earth schedules a tug-of-war competition for 8:30 Friday morning?  Hopefully I will have recovered from my sore throat by then - I have a ton of throat drops and some tea, and just napped all afternoon, so now feel much better... we need four girls to form a team, so I've got to show up!

 

Other than the throat, life in China is moving along as usual - when I got back to the dorm yesterday, there was a Chinese worker calmly smoking a cigarrette while leaning on the "No Smoking" sign - they've been using torches attached to highly explosive tanks of gas to cut through the rusty iron pipes they're replacing in the dorm... but he didn't seem too worried.  I really wanted to go grab my camera and take a picture, but by the time I got back he was gone. 

 

What else?  My roommate taught me to put up my hair in a twist and secure it with a chopstick - it actually looks really cool!  We had a lot of fun playing with my hair - it was very pajama-party-like.  Much more fun than homework!

 

Nuts - I just remembered I have calligraphy class in ten minutes.  I'm not planning on going - I'm still kind of sick - but I still need to head over there and tell the teacher I'm not coming.  that's all for now!

Where the Cute Chicks Are...

...is right outside the computer lab.  I saw eight of them last Friday, and there were five of them hopping around as I walked in today.  Also two big chickens out front looking incredibly disinterested.  The chicks' big feathers are just starting to grow in, although they're really only about five inches long still.  SO cute!

 

I was thinking this morning, as I was out running, about the random stuff you (quite literally sometimes) run into when you venture outside in Harbin.  This morning I saw several motorcycles veering all-too-close to the pedestrians on the bike path, two carts piled high with sacks of indeterminate nature, and passed underneath the railway bridge where yesterday I saw teenagers throwing rocks into the muck below with unabashed glee (the rain last week, combined with the city shutting off the water for two days, has turned the drainage ditch which runs parallel to the bike path into nothing less than an open sewer.  The rocks the kids were throwing yesterday made a horrible "SPLAT!" sound, which the kids thought was absolutely second-to-none).  The bike path I run on leads to a city park, which at quarter-to-seven this morning was full of people singing in chorus, practicing tai chi, playing badminton, just out walking, or in one guy's case, playing the saxophone in a run-down pavilion overlooking the river (the park at this point is more of a river and less of a drainage ditch, the more noxious stuff having settled downstream).  The saxophone really made me wonder -- where did he get it?  Who taught him to play it?  It's not every day you see a saxophone in China.

 

The more I think about it, the more I realize how likely you are to run into totally random things here, and how normal crazy randomness has become -- and also, how we as students have become more open to the possibility of just about anything happening, the impossibility of doing much to control it, and just accepting what we get and making the most of it.  If you like to complain about the small stuff, you'd have a hell of a time here.  A lot of the time, the general attitude is like that of a stewardess I once overheard telling a passenger on a plane what his dinner choices were: "Well, you have two choices.  You can eat it, or not eat it."  You just sort of have to do the best you can with what you've got.

 

One final note: a group of us CET'ers are currently getting ready to participate in a HIT track meet to be held this weekend - apparently, every department in the school is sending a representative team, and a couple of us are going to help represent the foreign students (and CET as well).  We had an incredibly disorganized "tryout" today at noon, which meant that we were supposed to run 100 meters to see who was the fastest foreign student (in order to form relay teams).  I surprised myself by being the fastest girl (not bad, 29 year old!), but the victory was tempered by the fact that most of my competitors were wearing jeans.  There was one Russian girl who showed up later who looked fast, but she was also very clearly a cheater (those Russians!).  Anyway, it should be an interesting time this weekend - I'll be running in the 4x400, the 1500, and possibly also the 4x100.  They are going to give us all special "track uniforms" to wear -- we'll see what those look like.  In China, if you are going to participate in a track meet, proper attire is requested!