Going backwards, with a forward outlook!

Apparently, Karl Marx thought that once humans push capitalism to its extreme and realise how horrible it is, they will, naturally and in an informed manner, change their societies back into the communal style societies we started from.

The idea was that we would evolve. We would not be going backwards, because we would be choosing a more simple, natural life rather than the industrialised horror we have created. We would be moving forward into a way of life we have chosen (neither Lenin nor Mao, understood this, it seems!)

Regardless of whether Marx actually thought this, I think that time has come. For me at least.

I have embarked on an interesting journey to try and live a more natural life. The journey is long, and difficult, and I get the sense from where I sit at the moment, that the truly natural life that I am envisioning is impossible. Nevertheless, I think the journey is valuable.

The first step is health. I'm trying to eat healthy wholesome foods. I'm experimenting with walking barefoot (however, in China this requires minimalist shoes, rather than actually barefoot - I know what your thinking, but spitting is just too popular here!) Both of these steps (pardon the pun) are about allowing my body to start to revert to it's natural state, to start to repair itself.

After 4 weeks of healthy eating, I can say that the process is working. I feel different, I feel healthier. I've lost large amounts of weight (I'm guessing mostly sludge from my intestines!), I am more alert and I can concentrate for hours, rather than minutes!

After a week in the minimalist shoes, well, my feet hurt, but in a good way. I'm using muscles in my feet, ankles and calves that have never been used! Plus, even after a week, I am gaining control and movement over all of my toes...

I have even experimented with a natural skin cancer cure. I don't have skin cancer (at least i hope I don't!) rather I had a small sun spot that could have potentially become cancer. Anyway, I tried the natural alternative to having the doctor burn a hole in my face with a liquid nitrogen. It worked. It sought out the damaged abnormal cells and killed them. It still left a hole in my face, but after 1 week it is already healed (panic not, my friends, my ruggish good looks have remained).

So why am I telling you all this? I'm hoping to stimulate thought on these issues. The diet seems obvious, and everyone knows what is good and bad. But the barefoot walking and alternative treatments are less understood. I think everyone should investigate these things. Think about our long history as humans. We have been barefoot for tens of thousands of years, there must be a reason for that! We have also been healing ourselves from illness, without the need of very expensive, dangerous, laboratory drugs and surgeries.

So, if you have weak ankles, shin splints, bad knees, a sore back, toes that you can't move without using your hands... look into minimalist shoes.

If you have skin cancer, of any degree of severity, see a Doctor. Ask them how they will fix it. Ask them if they can remove just the abnormal cells, or whether they will just burn indiscriminately hoping for the best. Then research "black salve".

Do the research, use your intelligence, make your own decisions. Don't let "experts" dictate your future, choose it for yourself.

Oh my GOD!

God is either lazy, an arsehole, or simply doesn't give a shit anymore.

If I hear another person tell me that God is all loving and forgiving, i'll demonstrate the flaw in their argument by beating the shit out of them with a clear conscious knowing that their God will love and forgive me.

The fact of the matter is, regardless of whether you believe in a higher power, the universe, oneness or nothing, humans, by and large are messed up. And, given an opportunity will do whatever they can to get ahead, be safe or be powerful.

Ok, I know, this is a negative take on the world. I know there are wonderful people out there doing wonderful things, but you realise why they are doing wonderful things don't you? because someone has already done something messed up.

Mother Teresa is a saint because she helped people that someone else screwed. Mandela and Gandhi saved their people from slavery. Dr. Martin Luther King drew attention to the abuse of his people by the majority. The list goes on, and I promise you, in almost every case the hero is restoring people to a happy state. A state robbed from them.

God is not great. He's a just a bloke that got this cool new toy and played with it for a while, then got bored, put it into the cupboard and forgot about it.

God is not dead, he has just moved on. And I think it's high time we did the same.

Learning

I broke up a fight yesterday at school. Standard procedure I guess for teachers, albeit unusual in an international school in China.

It was an interesting punch on. One of our students was involved and about 10 chinese students from the Chinese school that shares our campus. One vs Ten, not good odds, but as it turns out, our lad can handle himself (after all he was raised on the mean streets of Mexico) and so he managed to inflict a fair amount of damage until he was overcome by the sheer weight of numbers.

By the time I ran down the 10 flights of stairs to rescue him, the fight was in a lull and had descended to yelling abuse while both sides re-grouped before starting again.

My presence alone was enough to end it. I didn't have to say or do anything. Our man was more than happy to see me, and the other 10 fighters with another 30 abuse yellers were suddenly scared and backed off. The power of a foreign teachers 'status' on students in this country is amazing.

However, what I found particularly interesting was that when I arrived at the football pitch where the stink was unfolding, I didn't arrive as a teacher. I arrived as a mate and supporter of my student who was being attacked my another group that were not related to me. Had the fight continued in my presence I think I would have quite happily weighed in to rescue my kid. I'm not suggesting I would have fought anyone, but I wouldn't have hesitated to knock some of those little pricks on their arses to protect my student.

It seems clear to me that despite my belief that I'm not really a team player and so prefer solo sports and activities, the reality is, I am hard-wired to protect my own, be they family, friends or community members against attack. And, when that instinct is activated, there seems a sudden and clear 'turning off' of all rationalisation. I revert back to some animalistic state.

Who would have thought that a simple school yard punch up could provide such invaluable insights. I say again, the students teach me far more than I teach them!

Why?

I had the following email conversation with UPS China regarding the delay in delivery of some stuff I ordered from the US. I had previously order the same things 3 times, without ant great problem, except filling in customs declarations. This time they said I had to pay taxes.

The money is no problem, but I thought I'd ask the question just in case it was a mistake.

"You need to pay 71rmb in taxes" wrote UPS

"OK, but why do I need to pay the taxes this time, when last time I didn't have to?" wrote I

"good. please complete the form and email it back to me." wrote UPS

"Done, completed form attached. Why do I need to pay the taxes?" wrote I, wondering if UPS misunderstood my question.

"receieved. thanks." wrote UPS

"Why do I need to pay the taxes?" wrote I, becoming frustrated at the lack of response.

"you can pay the driver when he delivers it." wrote UPS

"thank you, thats helpful. But WHY do I need to pay the taxes?" wrote I, wondering why UPS mistook a why question for a how question.

"no problem." wrote UPS

"WHY DO I NEED TO PAY THE TAXES?" wrote I, wondering if the isolation of the question would force her to provide an answer.

"it is necessary." wrote UPS

"thank you for all your help." wrote I knowing that the sarcasm would be lost.

"no problem." wrote UPS, demonstrating my point.

I spend a lot of time in philosophy class teaching the difference between why and how. They are not the same. Why is the foundation of all wisdom, how is a practical realm which only becomes useful once why has been established.

Without why, how is redundant.

After this email conversation and doing further research* I have concluded that our society is moving further from wisdom and closer to redundancy.

It is true we know how to do things now that were previously only the imaginings of crazy people on acid, but it would appear we have no idea why we do any of it.

It's true that my friend at UPS probably just doesn't know why. They probably didn't tell her. And that my friends is the first sign that the end is near.

Here's the advice I give my students everyday. The advice that makes me unpopular amongst the other teachers. If you don't know WHY you are doing something, DO NOT DO IT! Reflect, ask questions, discover the answer, then act.

The only way to get our society back on track is to start asking why. Ask everyone, everyday. Pretend you are 5 years old again, and keep asking until you get an answer that satisfies your soul.


*Further reading:

Alain de Botton - any and all of his books
Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation (doco Food Inc)
Peter Singer - any and all of his books

A tale of two racisms

We all agree that racism is bad, right? Especially when it's happening to us or someone we know or a black guy.

For example, on return from Cambodia Skye and I were treated to a wonderful display institutional inequality from the Chinese customs police as they picked out the only black guy in the line of maybe a thousand people to be searched. Sure, he's black, he stands out. But then I'm pale blue with non-descript (some say greenish) hair and a feral beard, I stand out too (did I mention I was wearing fisherman's pants...). Oh that's right, he's black. My mistake.

You see, I'm getting fired up about this disgraceful attitude of the Chinese customs police. I'm feeling outraged on behalf of the black guy. I was ready to smash the place up and force a new revolution in China.

It should be pointed out that the black guy didn't seemed fussed. After all, a black guy with a Nigerian passport, traveling into Beijing from Phnom Penh is just damn weird. right?

Anyway, my point is that obvious racism against the minority, the little guy, always fires us normal people up (by normal I mean non-KKK or non-Liberals party members). I know it fires me up.

Yet, when the roles are reversed, when the discrimination is against the majority, in particular against the racists, I laugh and joke and make blog posts about it!

On arriving in Phnom Penh, Skye and I bought our visas and made our way to customs. Tragically, there was a bit of queue, the two customs officers had decided to open and fully search everyones bags. Bummer! Just when we thought we would be stuck there for half an hour of so, the grumpiest of all grumpy customers officers looks down the line and makes eye contact with me, then I see a flicker of recognition on his face, and wham, I get the biggest smile in the world, gleaming teeth and sparkling eyes that only Cambodian people can muster, and of course, the waive through. No line, No Search, No problem.

We didn't know why. Was it because he thought I was David Beckham? Skye quickly and in my opinion harshly, ruled that out. No, it wasn't because of my charms and good looks, it was because we were not Chinese!

Every Chinese person had their bags opened and searched, and everyone else got the smile and waive through. I laughed and thought, suck shit, as I got into the tuk tuk.

Does that make me a bad person? maybe. I know it certainly makes me a human being with passions and emotions that at times are out of my control. I know that I favour the 'underdog' and will always side with them.

But who is the underdog? who decides who is in power and who deserves the 'suck shit' laugh and apathy when in need?

Surely all inequality is bad, regardless of the victim.

But then, what is inequality. What's the difference between racism and statistical probability?

I have met at least 6 Nigerians in Beijing. And all 6 have, at some point in the conversation, tried to sell me drugs. I have also been in lots of airports, in and outside of china, and witnessed the amazing array of weird, wonderful and often illegal objects Chinese travelers stuff into their cases.

Maybe the statistics support both groups of customs officers, but does that make it OK?

Half Measures

There is no such thing as half measures in Beijing, or it seems China as a whole. The motto seems to be, 'If a jobs worth doing, its worth doing outrageously over the top.'

At first I thought this motto only applied to Public Address systems, as everytime I've ever seen a Chinese person operate a PA, they have gone straight for the iconic, setting 11, on the amp. After all, if you can't hear it on the moon, there's no point using the bloody thing.

Then I noticed that the extreme view of public address had spread to all areas. It was no longer just the opertors of PA systems. I've started to notice that anyone tasked with addressing a crowd of more than one, needs a loudspeaker, and you guessed it, the volume is set to 'bleeding ears.' Nothing says, please wait behind the line more than burst ear drums.

Now, this half measure problem is not just isolated to sound. Ah no, we also have the internet problem. You know the one, there are about 3 websites in the world that write bad things about the Chinese Govt, so, the Govt has simply banned all websites that are slightly interesting. Facebook, Twitter, all blogs, all data sharing sites, Youtube, google... the list goes on. Why ban one when you can ban them all!

Nor is it isolated to the Govt. Just the other day and perfectly normal farmer, put down his plow, picked up his pig sticking knife and went down to the local kindergarten and started slashing the kiddies. There seemed to be no motive (according to the papers) except that he was somewhat unwell mentally! (luckily Freud was on hand to work that mystery out)

You see, there is simply no middle ground. Normal one day, psycho the next.

For a while I couldn't figure it out. Then it hit me this morning. Picture this:

Two saturday's ago I went hiking. At the top of the mountain there was snow. On the sunday, it snowed heavily on those very hills just outside of Beijing. Last saturday, one full week later, I went hiking in the same hills. It was 32 degrees celsius.

Winter lasted for 7 full months. Thats below zero temperatures for 7 whole months. Then, with one weeks turn around time, its 32 degrees.

Spring and autumn simply not exist in Beijing. And so, there is no role model for the local punters to follow. Beijing weather is all or none. And its people are exactly the same!

Now, where did I put my knife...

Clap your hands.

I'm not sure exactly how it happend, but somehow since I've been back in China I've managed to get lost within myself.

I'm not sure what caused me to get lost, although to be fair I've never been famous for my sense of direction or overall spatial awareness. But there I found myself, lost, not sure how I got there and definately no idea how to get out.

It reminds me of the time I got lost walking home from the train station in Richmond! Wandering around in the dark without any real reference point, except the same street sign that I kept walking past.

Then suddenly, last saturday, I had a moment.

I took 20 of my students on a huge 12km clean-up hike in the mountains surrounding Beijing. The idea was simple, we would walk to one of the most famous scenic campsites in the Beijing countryside and pick up all the rubbish along the way... anyone who has been to Beijing knows, thats a lot of rubbish.

So anyway, we were in the final stages of the walk when a student, who I only teach one period a week and so I don't really know well, comes up to me and says sheepishly,

"ahh, Mr Fleming, um, I was wondering, you teach philosophy club right?"
"yeah" I responded
"oh cool, I was wondering, like, maybe I want to join, but I don't know what its about, can you explain it?"
"can I explain philosophy?" I said, a little taken aback
"yeah, like, what you do in the club and stuff."
"it's pretty easy really, we just talk about topics, philosophical concepts, like freedom"
"freedom... wow, I've always wondered about freedom. what do you think it is?"
"good question..." I then went on to have a discussion for about an hour with her and three other students about what it means to be free.

Thats when it hit me.

Here I am, walking in the mountains on a perfectly clear, warm spring day, discussing deep philosophical concepts with great students who are not only interested but want to know more and more. I'm doing a job that I absolutely love, I'm edging closer and closer to teaching just philosophy full time, I'm positively influencing young people by getting them to think and I'm doing it in a great country where life is easy. And what's more, Skye will be arriving here in a matter of weeks. The circle is almost complete.

I'm not lost at all, I thought, I'm happy.

I've never been happy like this before, and so, like wandering in Richmond at night, I didn't have any landmarks or guidelines to follow. I just didn't know what I was feeling. I didn't know I was happy.

But thanks to this student, I'm now clapping my hands.

Think about it.

That's right,

sing it with me...

I'm happy and I know it!

Teaching -

I passed a major teaching milestone yesterday; I kicked a kid out of my class. It was a surprisingly difficult thing to do. Not because the circumstances were questionable or potentially unfair, she deserved to be chucked out, no, it was difficult because I suddenly realised I have an unhealthy need to be liked by everyone. Even in relationships where it actually makes little difference if you are liked or not, ie Teacher/student.

Naurally of course, if your students like and respect you thats great, but its not the purpose of the relationship, the purpose is learning. So if they learn and they hate you, so be it.

Well, as I found out yesterday, its easier said than done. As I listened to her pleas for clemency, and hollow promises of change, my almost overpowering emotional reaction was to give in and let her off with it, rather than have her and her mates hate me. weird!

I didn't give in, thankfully, and then, interstingly, learned my second great lesson for the day when my other students commended me for kicking her out, and suggested that its about time!

So, I'm left wondering (yet again), who's doing the teaching here? Obviously I provide the English content, but it seems my 14 year old students are providing the life lessons. Who said teenagers don't know anything!

Beijing - a winter wonderland?

Anyone who followed this post last year will know by now that Beijing winters suck. They are cold, long and drier than a mouth full of sao's. However, this year is a little different; it's snowing!
That's right, there is moisture in Beijing, sure it's not in the air, that's still outrageously dry, but it's falling from the sky, and in buckets full. It's now been snowing for about two days... simply amazing! here's the pictures to prove it:

Of course, Beijing winter lasts about 5 months, so two days of snow won't change the overall description; winter here sucks. But at least this time around it has pockets of beauty!

China Top Ten

Top Ten (in no particular order):

1) Playing 5-a-side football with and against guys from all over the world. I made some good mates!

2) Getting kicked in the head during an all in brawl whilst playing football! Who would have thought there was some truth to the stereotype about Chinese people and Kung Fu

3) Travelling throughout the Tibetan lands in Yunnan, Sichuan and Gansu.

4) Hanging out with Renko and his family in the grasslands of Langmusi

5) Teaching my Chinese kids English and a little about life too.

6) Learning about life and myself, with the help of my students

7) Yoga!! I would return tomorrow to Beijing just to go to a class at Yoga Yard. God I miss that place.

8) My local fruit sellers. Lovely people and ready to serve 24/7. By the end they would pick out the best Xia Guar (watermelon) and save it for me!! Great People

9) Gan Bien Dou Ja, Bu Fang La.

10) The lifestyle. Having the time to go to Yoga every morning before work, eating out twice a day everyday, going out with good mates, hanging out with cool students, going for massages whenever I wanted, etc

The list could go on. All in All, China was great. It wasn’t all sunshine and lolly pops, but those dark times led to some huge breakthroughs and some very happy times.

I do miss it greatly.

It tolls for thee

The bell is tolling. And yet no one attends. In fact, I can’t even see messengers lining up to ask for whom. There is no sadness, no regret at the waste of life; just a gaggle of angry commuters.

A human lost their life this day, and yet, here I sit, more concerned with bejewelled than with the personal tragedy that is unfolding.

It seems that it would be easier to teach a duck to play the flute than to explain why this death is important to all of us. No matter how hard I ponder this point, no matter how hard I try to find a reason to care, the best I can do is think about whether I should rest my eyes and fingers now or keep pushing on.

What is wrong with us? Why don’t we care? Why will I be more likely to discuss my bejewelled success rather than take a few minutes to mourn the loss of a fellow human?

I know what you are thinking, it’s just you. You and you alone are cold hearted. Maybe that’s true, maybe I am particularly cold and disinterested, but if it’s just me, then why is no one attending to the deaths of millions on a daily basis. Why is the price of fuel more important than how we get it? Why is it ok to sell coal to countries that kill there own people? Why do we all suffer at the hands of each other, when with a bit of charity and love we could all prosper equally?

And that, my friends, is the rub. For we no longer want to prosper equally; we wish to be individually the biggest, the best, the brightest, the richest, or whatever other superlative floats your boat. Being average is no longer good enough. Hell, being great isn’t either, unless you are the superlative, you are nothing.

I’m not sure when exactly it happened, maybe between oil wars or as a result of globalisation, but suddenly and for no good reason we ceased to be a beneficial society that applauded itself for being communally the ‘greatest’ and started striving to be superlatives in our own right. The result is that we all suffer, for as John Donne so rightly points out, “no man is an island…”

I am not asking anyone to join Medecins Sans Frontieres, hell, I’m not even asking that you to pause bejewelled; all I am asking is that next time you hear the rail guard announce a fatality, take a few moments to mourn. For with each moment taken you move closer to the ultimate goal; to once again be considered part of humankind.

Beijing where art thou?

well its been exactly two weeks since I said Zaijian to the Middle Kingdom, and i have to say, I miss it.

Work is fine, the house is fine, my friends are fine... but i want the excitment of not knowing what people are saying, of figuring it out and making new friends because of it. I want a fruit vender right outside my front door in case i suddenly decide I want watermelon at 1o o'clock at night, I want a transport system that can take me anywhere, anytime. I want taxi drivers that call their friends for directions when they don't know where to go, I want to be the odd one out, I want to be stared at, I want to be a laowai. I want to be in Beijing.

Reverse culture shock is f**ked, totally and utterly.

Blocked!

Hello dedicated followers of Alan. It would appear that the Government has decided to block just about every decent website available. That's right I said decent, so youtube and blogger are blocked, but facebook is ok!

With the help of a proxy server i'm able to post this, but alas, the proxy doesn't give me full functionality and so I can't post photos! and so, i just can't get motivated to tell you about my travels to Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri La, Chengdu, Songpan, Langmusi, Lanzhou and Xining, without being able to show you the photos.

However, I will tell you about my non-visit to Xiahe, a wonderful Tibetan Lamastry village that despite my best efforts and thanks to the wonderful efficiency and helpfullness of Chinas Finest, I DID NOT visit.

But not now. I am planning on heading back to Sichuan with Skye next week, and i really don't need any dramas, especially as the police took photocopies of my passport.

I know, I know, you think i'm paranoid. But remember i'm writing this post through a proxy server onto a banned website, oh and don't forget the incident with the pot (sorry Teresa, 'potted') plants. I'll post my stories when i'm back in Oz.

A Day In The Life...

A day in my life (in pictures!)...

It all begins with a walk through the glorious old hutong.

Check out the bicycle utes!

After the walk, I hit the subway! Dongsi Exit B...

Why don't Aussie train stations look like this?



The queue for the escalators is the same everyday. Wake up people! its not a magic stairway, it's a bloody escalator!

Ahh, the benefits of getting off the train at the end of the line!

Its about a 10 minute walk for the subway to my school. In Beijing, the 'Permit to Park Anywhere' is considered a basic Human Right!

"Yi, Er, San... PUSH!" After 10 months, i am no longer shocked by bizarre acts. These guys were actually trying (successfully I might add!) to push start a fully loaded 3 tonne truck!

My School's front entrance. Classic Chinese design, if you don't know where it is, and how to find, then you're not welcome!

Disabled students need not apply.

Who needs teachers when you have TV!

The staff room. And the irrepressible local teachers, Seven, Nyah and William. Don't panic, Nyah is actually very tall, she's just sitting down.

My Favourite class. Learning how to colour in and cut out... er... in English!

Shy kids. Charlie, Eric, Frank, Simon, and the lovely Hannah at the back. After saying my final farewells to them yesterday, Hannah came running back in, gave me a hug and said, "Teacher, I miss you!" I tell you what, the pollen count was outrageous at that moment, because my eyes were watering badly!

Frank my absolute favourite student, giving me the stink eye after I told him off for being naughty.

Frank just can't control himself!



Not a happy camper. Eric lost the place all together after a run in with Frank. Not that I take sides, but Frank got a sticker and Eric got told to HTFU

Well, that's pretty much what my life (on work days) has looked like for the last 10 months!!

What a great life! I'll be sorry to leave this place.

Swine Flu, Muppets and Red-necks

Isn't it funny how just about every serious contagious disease starts with "flu like symptoms" (Dengue, Malaria, Swine flu, Avian flu, SARS, Ross River Fever), and also how as soon as the latest outbreak makes the news the hospitals the world over get flooded by Muppet's with "flu like symptoms" claiming to have swine flu even though the closest they've come to Mexico and a pig is a microwave pork burrito from a service station. Amazing!

Whilst I don't believe this latest outbreak is quite the threat that the media is making out(although I do feel for the families of the people who have lost their lives), I do hold grave concerns about the lasting effects the outbreak will have. I sense that as more people lose their lives in America, more and more rednecks in Texas and in fact all over the world will start sprouting rubbish about how this is perfect evidence of why immigration needs to be controlled.

If you are currently harbouring these thoughts as you read this, I beg you, please just take the time to think about it. Illegal immigrants don't spread contagious diseases; they simply die from them. These outbreaks are spread by rich people like you and I who jet around the world at an alarming pace! Then when we get sick, we simply pop a couple of codral and soldier on, ensuring that our germs are spread to every poor bastard on the subway/bus/train.

And for those currently suffering from "Flu like symptoms": WAKE UP... Its a COLD!

The darkness lifts

For those that haven't had the pleasure of basking in a glorious Beijing winter you may not be able to fully understand how it feels to have all the colour sucked out of your surroundings and life. For the last four months everything in Beijing has been grey. The leafless trees, the buildings, the cars, the hills in the distance and most disturbingly the people.

Case in point, the man in our building who is charged with the protection and general safe keeping of everyone's bikes has been very dark of late. No matter how cheerily I say 'Ni Hao' the response is always silence and the stink eye.

However, now that the mercury has tipped 27, and the blossoms are blooming, the birds are singing and the insects are buzzing, his mood has changed. He whistles, sings and has even started trying his best English impersonation with the occasional, 'Good Evening' (regardless of the actual time!)

Point is, the darkness that had descended on both Beijing and me, has lifted. The colour is back, the life force is back and anything is possible!

In response to this revival I decided to get a good old fashion beating at the hands of a Chinese masseuse to get the life force pumping again. However, my energy flow was more blocked than I originally realised and so she suggested an age old technique to clear the channels; a scraping.

Please see the physical results below... and watch this space for updates on whether it worked or not.

Spring has Sprung people... anything is possible!

Power!

There is little doubt in my mind that every human being is aware of the suffering and pain that is caused everyday by powerful people, powerful companies and powerful institutions. Pain and suffering that could so easily be avoided if only the people at the centre of these 'powerful machines' opened their eyes, hearts and minds and decided that people and all the associated emotions, feelings, wishes and desires are more important than the dollar.

But this is a funny thing. Why do we sit back and wait for the these powerful few to take pity on us, wait for them to realise their mistakes. Why don't we stand-up and fight against them; buck their system; demand change; demand a better life for ourselves and our children?

Oh, that's right, they are too powerful; they call the shots.

Bullshit!

It seems to me that power is not gained, it is given.

People, companies and institutions are powerful because we allow them to be. Whether it's your partner, McDonald's or the Government, the reason they have power is because we, the masses, give them that power. We allow them to dictate what we want and how we want it. We allow them to control our thoughts, desires and dreams. And in doing so, we make them powerful.

Then once we are depleted, we sit back, resigned to our 'destiny' and claim there is nothing we can do.

Bullshit.

The problem is that we have been supplying power to the 'powerful' for so long that we have been sucked into their reality. A reality where personal wealth, safety and security are more important than the overall well-being of our fellow man. We may often get upset, angry and frustrated by the state of our world, but when push comes to shove, we look after ourselves first, after all, who would benefit if I make a protest and quit my job because of their unfair policies. No one, because I'm just one person, a single individual who is easily replaced.

You see, this is what they want you to think. This is how they continue to feed off our power. You are not living in isolation. You are part of a massive ecosystem, where your thoughts, words and actions are powerful. When you speak, people will listen. When you act, people will follow.

But here's the clincher - you MUST speak out, you MUST act.

Do not allow fear to get in the way of your conscience. And do not allow the powerful to exercise your power against you.

Only once we all realise this. Once we all break free from their spell, will we be able to create a world that we want and love.

ACL – Beijing Style

The below can be found on 'back-of-the-net.com'

Pre-match warm-up

In order to score good seats, I wandered down to the stadium early on match day to purchase the tickets from ‘the gate’; the early worm and all that. I could have been even earlier and secured the tickets online or something, but that task seemed about as easy in Beijing as finding the lost city of Atlantis with a snorkel and dolphin touch. No, this one was convenience all the way, and anyway, how many punters were really going to turn out on a chilly Beijing evening to see Guoan take on The Jets (the powerhouses of international football that they are!)

I strolled up to the security guard who was guarding the main entrance gate Chinese style (that is to say, he was all dressed up in a beautifully manicured uniform, but slumped on a stool playing video games on his phone) and asked where the ticket booth was. He gave me a huge smile, and started waving his arm like a cricket umpire announcing another Ponting boundary. At that exact moment, I heard a small rumble and when I turned I was nearly trampled by about 25 scalpers.

They were yelling and screaming, and pulling me this way and that, they all had the best deal and could all offer me more. Not convinced, I made my way to the booth, well, I say booth but I mean trestle table with a picture of the seating outline taped to it, and two very bored and disinterested young guys sitting behind it. As I approached, they waved me away, and simply pointed back to the gaggle of scalpers. Fair enough too, no need to sell direct when you’ve just unloaded most of the tickets onto the black market.

After about 15 minutes of negotiation, not over the price, but rather to secure 3 tickets with sequential numbering, I was holding in my hand three glorious Category A tickets (sequential) for the princely sum of RMB150 (approx AUD36). Bargain!

Funny thing about the sequential seating; the scalper just couldn’t comprehend why I wanted them. My Chinese is sketchy at best, but he seemed at a complete loss! Still realising that the sequential seats was the clincher for the sale he sorted it out for me. This was, of course, a warning sign but I missed it.

I had no doubt the scalper’s tickets were legit. I mean sure, they were on flimsy paper, and had the seat numbers stamped on, but its China right, no drama. That was of course until I met up with some friends pre-match, and noticed their tickets were card-board, printed and clearly had been purchased from an official ‘booth’ that more than likely had a roof! Still, it’s China right…no drama!

Kick-off

I should have known better. Never, repeat, NEVER agree to meet up with non-football fans before a match. Firstly, because you spend the whole time explaining what the ACL is, what a league is, how you qualify, why it’s important, and YES football is popular in Australia, just not in your rugby orientated mind… and why are you wearing a Wallabies Jersey again?

Too late; the mistake was made. Don’t get me wrong they are all lovely, and I guess its more people that are being introduced to football and so, more people that may support it when they return to Oz. But the main reason you should never meet up with non-football fans before the game is because they don’t understand the importance of getting to a stadium that you have never been to before early to; a) soak up the atmosphere and b) find your seat.

Needless to say, we missed the kick-off. I was running up the stairs when I heard the whistle blow. Not happy.

Interestingly, at the top of the stairs I suddenly realised two things; firstly, if you remove ‘most’ of the people from Beijing, that still leaves a lot of people. Hence, whilst most of the people in Beijing have no interest in local football, there are still a lot that do. So many in fact that even after you remove the very poor (who can’t afford tickets), the people that hate the cold, and those that prefer to watch the Beautiful Game on TV or in the pub, Beijing Guoan can still pull a crowd of over 30,000 screaming fans. Unbelievable!

The second thing was why the scalper couldn’t understand my insisting on sequential seating. As it turns out, your ticket is for the bay only, once in, it’s every man for himself and as we arrived moments after kick-off, the steward smiled and pointed to the top of the stand… the nose bleeds. This was going to be the true long march!

Luckily, another steward took pity on us and pointed us to three cheeky seats down near the front of the first tier hidden amongst the masses, with a cracking view and surrounded by some seriously noisy fans. Things were starting to look up.

We managed to squeeze our way past the people who arrived early and so had better seats closer to the aisle and settle in just in time for Beijing’s latest Aussie import to slot home a lovely goal and put Guoan one up, and send the fans around the stadium into a complete frenzy.

The Match

As a general rule Chinese people are both patriotic and reserved. The former is clear at a football match, as they cheer and chant with every touch of the ball for the home team. The latter is not so obvious as they hurl unbridled abuse at the away team with every touch. Now I’m not just talking about the usual taunts, of ‘go home’, ‘you’re rubbish’ etc, but nasty, racist and sometimes just down right rude comments. For a long time they were chanting “big nose” and “donkey penis”. The first insult is obvious, but I’m still at a loss how suggesting a man has a penis like a donkey’s is insulting.

No-one, except the Guoan players (many of whom are big noses and donkey penis’ themselves) were immune from the chants. The referee, as one would expect, received several choruses of “sha bi” (excuse the spelling) which means in English… well… ahh… let’s just say it rhymes with punt.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s the same everywhere; people fall into the group mentality and go mental. They become momentary thugs and racists as the emotion of the moment takes over. And I agree, it’s just whilst Beijingers are emotional, they very rarely show it, and it is pretty unheard of that anyone except a taxi driver would drop the C-word in the company of anyone except their drinking buddies. But on that chilly Beijing evening, even the young kid sitting on front of us, was chanting whilst occasionally smiling at his father.

Ah football… what does it do to us?

Of course, Beijing being Beijing, it wasn’t all aggression and racism. In fact, there was a large contingent of the crowd that were fantastic and completely taken in the moment. Naturally the die-hards were behind the goal and managed to sing, chant, wave flags and do the ‘bouncy bouncy’ throughout the whole game. But the best fans, and this is something that is possibly unique to Beijing, were the “child-like” adults; the grown men that would giggle like school girls as they punched the giant beach ball back into the air, or the old men, getting angry because the next bay failed to continue the wave. This is why I love Beijing and love going to any sporting event held here. The crowd is devoted to their team and also able to release and have a good time. Granted that comes with some bad elements, but for the most part its hilarious and fun to be a part of.

I would love to comment here on the Jets fans that travelled half way around the world to support their team, and show the Guoan punters what true devotion is. But alas, if there were any there, I didn’t see them. Despite a heavy security presence in the ‘away’ section behind the goal, there was not one single Jets jersey amongst the green of the security uniforms. Poor show Jets, poor show.

Post Match

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but for some reason I absolutely loved watching The Jets get pumped by an equally poor Guoan outfit. Let’s not beat around the bush, the game was poor, neither looked particularly impressive and beside a few good runs by the Guoan players there was very little happening. I know I should have been supporting my countrymen, but the reality is I’m a Sydney fan – fullstop.

There is nothing better that watching players your team has rejected play horrendously bad on the world stage. I know, I know, if Petrovski had slotted home late the in second half (and he should have, it was a massive sitter) I would have been claiming that he was a Sydney man originally. But still, he missed and we were right to shift him. As for poor ‘old’ Topor Stanley, I thought he was OK, but the crowd seemed to hate him. They booed his every touch. I like to think that the instant hatred was nothing more sinister that the fact that he’s rubbish and was wearing the dreaded number 4 (never underestimate the power of a number).

This game was clear evidence of the power of the ACL. If 32,000 devoted punters can turn out on a chilly Beijing school night to watch their side pump a ‘not-at-the-top-of-their-game’ Jets side, then imagine the draw for Guoan vs Urawa Red Diamonds, with all that simmering hatred between the Chinese and Japanese. They’d be erecting outdoor screens across the city for that clash.

All we need now is to develop a bigger Australian travelling contingent and, oh yeah, more competitive A-league sides!

A quick word on face.

I'm sure you have all heard people talk about 'face' and the saving thereof, when others discuss Asian cultures. After 8 months in Beijing I have encountered the concept of face and had to deal with its bizarre ramifications a few times. But yesterday, Skye and I were presented with the perfect example of the bizarre mind-set that Beijing "Face" creates, and i believe the perfect way to explain it to people from outside a 'face' culture.

Yesterday Skye and I went to a Chinese cooking class (it was fantastic by the way! thank you Fairweathers and Hobbs'). During the seasoning and knife work section of the class, we were rudely interrupted by what sounded like a massive tree smashing against the roof of the beautifully old Hutong house and kitchen in which we were working. The whole building shook with the force of the blow.

Our teacher, shocked by the noise and a little concerned about the well-being of her home/workplace went to investigate. Now, neither of us speaks Chinese, nor did the two other blokes taking the class, but what we heard went something like this:

Teacher: "excuse me kind sir, I have several people next door working, and I would appreciate that you were a little more careful when pruning your trees"

Neighbour: SCREAMING "shut up, I didn't mean to do it, how dare you come here and tell me off for something i didn't mean to do, get the hell out of here, you idiot"

Teacher: "thank you, please just be more careful"

Neighbour: SCREAMING: "DIE YOU IDIOT DIE!!!!!!!"

(please note, this is a dialog was based on the tone of the conversation, the decibel level, and the look of shock on the teacher's face when she returned, NOT on my understanding of Chinese language)

Naturally, when the teacher returned, we all had a giggle at the expense of the retard neighbour and how quite clearly he is a mental patient. And, with that, we continued on learning about the wonders of Soy Sauce.

However, the crazy neighbour didn't stop, he was still yelling, even though there appeared to be no one out there with him. Then, "BANG!"

the front door gets kicked in, and its the neighbour, completely unhinged and threatening to kill everyone and smash the place up, except, what he probably didn't realise is that the tiny little teacher wasn't alone in her little kitchen, and so just as he prepared to burst through the door and "sort the situation out", he was confronted by 4 foreigners, 3 of them men, and all of them standing in shock holding massive meat cleavers!!!

Luckily, he made the wise decision to retreat, and just yell from outside. Our teacher, an old hand at dealing with Beijingers, simply slammed the door in his face and bolted it shut.

This commotion and carry-on was the result, not of the tree falling on the house, but rather because the neighbour, needing to protect his Face and manhood, could not admit he made a mistake. So, rather than simply saying to the teacher, "yeah sorry, I dropped the ball with that one, won't happen again", he takes the offensive and tries to demonstrate to everyone who will listen that she is mental, and crazy and attacking him for no reason.

I mean after all, what sort of weirdo would come and investigate a massive tree smashing against their roof? why wouldn't they just accept that the person cutting down the tree didn't mean it, and its all OK... why cause a fuss?

Face makes some people mental, beyond all belief.

It seems that very few people here have figured out that in saving your own face, you end up making a complete tit out of yourself. It's like the person who doesn't like to be the centre of attention and hates the spotlight, so instead of making the speech, bursts into tears in the middle of the room and then storms out all snot and wailing. That is, they end up getting exactly what they didn't want.

This idiot was no different. He made a complete and monumental tit of himself and in my opinion lost the respect of everyone that lives within that hutong, and the respect of all of you, because his behaviour is now on my blog. What a complete knob! All this rubbish because he has no idea how to cut down a tree!

The concept of face is yet another example of the contradictions of Beijing. That said, it made for a bit of excitement, and another entry to the blog, and for that I am grateful. And, more importantly opened my eyes to another interesting aspect of the human condition, something I am becoming more and more interested in.

Cambodia - 2

Random pictures of Cambodia!

Cool entrance


A massive tree growing on the temple.

ditto

us

The Big Man.

Skye doing what she loves... getting her photo taken by me!

Three shrewd businessmen, and the best tour guides you could ask for, standing in front of a 'locals only' temple, that they happily took us to.

haven't seen one of these in months!

the temples are full of cool doorways, leading to millions of little nooks and crannies

sunset over the disappearing lake in Phnom Penh...

one of approx 10 zillion carved dancing deities on the temple walls at Angkor

Sunbathing elephant

Angkor towers

"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto", arriving at the Siem Riep port.

On the boat to Siem Riep. We choose to sit on the roof for the experience and later discovered how good our choice was, when we ducked inside to use the toilet and realised the interior was full of diesel fumes and toilet fragrances. The boat trip took 7 hours, and crosses one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. At one point the lake is so wide, you can't see land in any direction.

A graceful and ugly stork!

My mate the monkey. Followed us around the zoo all day. His cheeks are stuffed with banana, I gave him too much, and he didn't want to waste it (or share with his mates)

"What you talking about Willis?"

"Whatevverrr!"

Cool bird.