I should be working on student journals, but I'm not, and I'll be cursing myself later for it, but right now I want to share with you the new yarn I bought! I love yarn.




It's super soft and I've no clue what to make with it, but I don't care, it's lovely. Sorry the photos are fuzzy, if I had taken them wish a flash they would have looked worse.

Edit 4/1/2008: Sorry I should have given specs on the yarn, it is 100% wool, but oh so soft, I think it's DK weight. I bought 500 grams and am making this with it, but I don't think a) it's going to be big enough and b) I'll have enough yarn. I really should swatch.

The Chinese government, trying to convince the world of its openness has unblocked the BBC's webpage. Which means I can share with you a good Q&A they've posted about the situation in the "West".

(Yes, I am completely consumed by the situation. No, it's probably not healthy.)

Many Tibetans disagree, pointing out that the Himalayan region was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant.

For example, after a brief military conflict between China and Tibet in the early part of the 20th Century, Tibet declared itself an independent republic in 1912.

Although its status did not receive widespread recognition, Tibet functioned as an independent government until 1951.

China sent troops to Tibet in 1950 and summoned a Tibetan delegation the following year to sign a treaty ceding sovereignty to China.

Since then there have been periods of unrest and sporadic uprisings as resentment to Beijing's rule has persisted.

Although China has invested in the economy, rights groups point to widespread mistreatment of the Tibetan population and a denial of religious and political freedom.

Will the two sides be able to resolve their differences?

The Chinese government has been engaged in low-level talks with Tibet's government-in-exile, based in India, over recent years.

But the BBC's Michael Bristow, in Beijing, says the talks have not got very far, and do not show much hope for the future either.

The gulf between the two sides is too great, our correspondent says.

China insists that the Tibetans in exile, led by the Dalai Lama, want nothing less than to separate Tibet from the motherland.

The Dalai Lama - Tibet's spiritual leader and head of the government-in-exile - says he wants nothing more than genuine autonomy for the region.

Why is the Tibet issue so well-known?

Perhaps one of the reasons Westerners know so much about Tibet is because of the Dalai Lama.

Since fleeing Tibet following a failed uprising in 1959, he has travelled the world advocating more autonomy for his homeland, yet stressing non-violence.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 1989.

But Beijing faces disputes from other quarters, as well as Tibet.

The island of Taiwan has essentially been self-governing for half a century, but China regards it as part of its territory - and has said it is willing to use force if necessary to make sure this remains the case.

Uighur separatists in Muslim-majority Xinjiang province have waged a low-level insurgency against the Beijing government for many years.

The Beijing government frequently claims it faces "international terrorism" in Xinjiang, and that the Taleban is active there, but human rights groups say these claims are exaggerated.

Will there be further protests?

China has responded to these protests with a show of force. There is now a heavy military presence in Lhasa and in other areas where unrest was reported. Officials and state media have vowed to "resolutely crush" pro-independence sentiment.

But the fundamental cause of the demonstrations has not been resolved and so tension is likely to persist, correspondents say.

Also, the Olympics will be held in Beijing this summer and campaigners both inside and outside China have already started using the publicity surrounding the event to highlight their particular concerns.

It is highly likely that those who want greater autonomy for Tibet will continue their campaign.

One potential flashpoint could come when the Olympic torch arrives in Tibet in a few months' time.

I bought this book last summer before heading back to China.



It was one of my "intellectual" reads for the year, pretty much everything else I brought I had considered to be fun. I bought it because it got amazing reviews and since I'm spending another year in China I should understand the political situation more. I kept putting off reading it, avoiding it even though deep down I knew it needed to be read. Then the "situation" happened out West and I thought that there was no time better than the present to start it.

I highly recommend this book, if you have any inkling of what's going behind the news reports, you should read it.

Found this via China Law Blog

"Gulf Between Foreign and Chinese Expectations of the Olympics"

In the past couple days, ok since the protests in Tibet started making news, I've become obsessed in Chinese politics not seen since I did my Participation in Government presentation on human rights abuses in China when I was a senior in high school.

I can't stop reading about what's going on. And obviously I can't stop linking to what I'm reading.

I've never been a big fan of China getting the Olympics, I always thought it was a bad idea, not just from the human rights standpoint but also from the environmental standpoint.

Should countries start boycotting? I'm completely torn. The radical in me, would love for it to happen, but the realist wonders if anything would come from it. On one hand I think boycotting would send a strong message to China. But on the other the government will become more steadfast in it's belief that the West is trying to bully them. 

No matter what happens, I don't think the next few months are going to be pretty.

I'm finding it harder and harder to be here while the situation in Tibet continues. If I were back in the States I could write letters, protest, rant and rave to my friends and family about what's going on. Alas, here I cannot. I can't talk about it with anyone other than Niels. If a student asks me my opinion in class (which they won't because the Party has pretty much quashed all news about it) I have to say "It's complicated." and leave it at that.

This is the first time since coming here that I've had to really bite my tongue on an issue and I find it really uncomfortable. And I want to break misconceptions about what's going on there but I can't, even if I could talk about it, I wouldn't be believed, that's how deep rooted the stereotypes and distrust is of the Tibetans.

The situation is complicated.

There has been some great articles on what lead up to the protests and the protests themselves here, here, here and here.

Not surprisingly China's blocking media access to what's going on in Tibet. So much for allowing a semblance freedom of the press this year. Putting journalists into "protective detention" isn't helping the government's image. It's sometimes really hard to believe that progress is being made in this country after they do stunts like this. Because ignoring the situation is going to make it go away and have you be more loved in the international community.

Asshats.

I'm sure you've heard there's some "conflict" going on in Tibet right now, in case you haven't, you can read some articles here and here. I don't have time to go into how I feel about it, right now, but I'm sure most of you can guess.

Not surprising, it's barely making news here, because as the Party likes to say there is no strife, everyone gets along.

From this week's issue of The Economist:

The country accounts for about a fifth of the world's population, yet it gobbles up more than half of the world's pork, half of its cement, a third of its steel and over a quarter of its aluminium.

The next time a Chinese person tells me I'm fat because I eat so much meat I'm going to tell them this little statistic, but of course they're not going to believe me.

This semester's gotten busy already. My evenings and free time have been sucked up by correcting papers and reading journals. I love teaching, I just hate grading!! Poor Niels, we share this desk and with all the work I've been bringing home he doesn't have a place to work!!

Dear Mother Nature,

I know you've been having a rough go the past few years decades with all the crap we're polluting you with and that I've no right to ask for any favors... But can I have Spring back? This winter was rough, cold, snowy, and then very dry and I should be grateful for the warmer weather. But it's too warm too soon. It went from Winter to Summer practically overnight. It shouldn't be so warm so early in the year, it doesn't feel right

So, pretty please, can you give us a proper Spring?

Spitzer Is Linked to Sex Ring as Client

This headline was the first thing I saw this morning before I headed out the the kindergarten and it really bummed me out for a while. I've been a big fan of his for the past few years he's fought for the underdog, and he just seemed like someone I'd want in my corner if I got stomped on by big business (yes I'm aware of his reputation/potty mouth). He fought against stuff like this! He fought hard against human trafficing and forced prostitution. This just makes me really sad. I don't know if he'll resign or not, it's New York State, after all, and not a southern state where governors seem to be able to weather sex scandals better.

The 11th National People's Congress started today. Because of this copious amounts of websites have been blocked all day and I imagine that the blocking will continue the meeting's over. The censorships is so fierce that even government approved news sites are down.

How am I to find out what's going on in the world if I can't access the Internet???

Ahhh, censorship, it wouldn't be China without it.

(Thank goodness for g.mail & their document's function.)

Saturday night, Niels, B (one of the other foreign teachers) and I had dinner with one of our best Chinese friend’s Mom, Ling, a friend of hers and her daughter, Evania. Normally when we’ve had dinner with Ling in the past it’s always been a really nice time. When we got back from Guangxi we had dinner with her and Evania and it was quite lovely.

Last night was the total opposite. It started out well enough, but as the meal progressed it became very apparent that a conversation about us, that wasn’t too nice, was going on between Ling and her friend. At one point while the younger people we were talking B suddenly said that the topic of conversation needed to be changed and she’d tell us why later. On the cab ride home she told us that derogatory things were being said about us, all foreigners are fat and they don’t take the time out to learn the language. B is highly conversational in Chinese and she was able to steer the conversation to make sure it was more inclusive of the parents, translation duties were traded back and forth between her and Evania.

Towards the end of dinner Ling told me that I needed to eat more, when I told her I was full she kept pushing the issue, but I held firm and told her that the food was fantastic and that I had enough, and once again she said I needed to eat more. I left it alone and conversation carried on. But not less than 5 minutes later she told me I was fat. Not in so many words, but in the way it’s been said to me before, “Are all women in America fat?” I was a bit shocked because this was the first time that she had something insulting to me. I’m not sure if it’s because she had a friend over or what. But it was upsetting.

No matter how we tried to engage them in discourse (“Caren eats much less than I do, she just has a different body type.” “Most women in America are average weight, but the media, fashion and entertainment have done things that make them hate their bodies.”), it was like we weren’t talking. Ling told us that she only eats breakfast and lunch and was really excited that we were coming to dinner so she could eat dinner. She said that when she saw herself lose weight from doing this, she became very happy. It was another way for her to insinuate that if I were thin I’d be happy.

I wanted to ask her if she thought it healthy that she starves herself but I didn’t. I really wanted to say to her, I’m sorry you hate your self image so much but don’t try to push it on me, but I didn’t. Even if I did I don’t think she would have understood what I was trying to say.

There is a double standard in China, all the things that you wouldn’t say or do to a fellow Chinese are ok to do to foreigners because we’re not really people. The biggest reason I was so upset by all of this is because it was said by our friends, not people we’ve just met. (When I first met the president of the university he said to me “Tell me about all the delicious foods you eat.” You have to give him credit for being creative in how he insulted me.) Where I come from you don’t invite a friend to your home only to insult them. I get insulted enough by complete strangers when I walk down the street I don’t need it from people who say they are my friends.

It is situations like this that make living in China difficult and is my number one dislike of living here.

For my ESL program I'm required to have 12 credit hours of a foreign language before I can graduate, on the undergraduate level, but I only have 6. Oops. (When I was an undergrad I was able to test out of six of the required 12 credit hours. Back then I was excited, but now it's caught up with me.)

So, I'm going to have to take a language, with FRESHMEN, when I start grad school. The big question is what do I take? I found out I don't have to continue on in French, I just need the hours. That is a big relief because I've not had French in 15 years, and I'd have to take an advanced class and would be completely lost.

My dilemma is I don't know what language to take.

I was thinking of taking Chinese. Niels and I have been seriously considering moving back to China is 5 years when we're both done with school and have a little Eva-Sofia or Konrad running around. If that happens, knowing Chinese would be very useful.

BUT

I also want to learn German. It's something I've been wanting since Niels and I started dating, and it's important to us that our kids also know German. If I can speak it I'll be able to be more hands-on in their language learning.

Any ideas?

P.S. I was accepted at NYU. It only took a month for the acceptance package to make it to me. Got to love China Post.

This past week I took a break from working on Lady Eleanor to make the One Day Beret. But because my schedule's been so buy with teaching starting up, it took me a couple days.

The first one I made didn't come out so well.

I didn't knit enough rounds so it wasn't floppy enough, and then when it came time to reduce the number of stitches for the brim, I didn't reduce enough, so the brim's way too big.

The second one came out much better.