I presumed from all the comparisons I hear on the news that China was like India, but it was in fact MUCH different.

I primarily went to Shanghai and then to nanchang which are NOT representative of most of China. It’s like coming to the United States, only going to New York City and presuming the whole U.S.A is like that.
LANGUAGE BARRIER
Here is why India gets all the international call centers instead of China: Very little English is spoken in China. We figured since we’re in Shanghai we would be able to get around very easily with only English...WRONG.

English was a very rare commodity, and when it was actually spoken, it was usually butchered. The Mandarin language is grammatically set up in a completely different way, so their English is sometimes very skewed....understandable....but skewed.

At a lot of restaurants we went to, they could not understand basic things like Coca-Cola, napkin, spoon, soy sauce etc.. If there were pictures on the menu, we would just point. Another tactic was taking picture of foods with my camera, then we would show the waiter and he would know “Ohh, they want dumplings”
FAMILIAR STUFF
Of course there were McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, Pizza hut etc. all over China. McDonalds was relatively the same type of food and menu, I hardly noticed any differences. In these chains you would usually find people who spoke good enough (not good...just good enough) English to get you through an order.
IMPRESSIONS OF SHANGHAI
some of my time was spent in Shanghai where I stayed at youth hostels and hotels both always being quite nice. To me Shanghai felt like a mix between NYC and San Francisco. Just the impression I got.
I really liked it with all it’s very modern buildings, most of which had crazy illuminated tops or some sort of full-building lighting feature.

Pollution was quite bad though, as in on a clear day you cannot see the sun. It didn’t feel the pollution on the street that much, but a quick glance upwards and you can see the thick smog shielding the sun. I only saw the sun peer out fully one morning, and by afternoon it was gone.
The weather however was extremely pleasant and very mild.

The night sky in Shanghai was always lit up near this area along the river called the Bund. Lots of large buildings line the river, including “The Pearl” radio tower which is the big space needle looking thing. It’s like the Chinese equivalent of the Statue of Liberty, except it lights up in funky colors and is like a big lightshow in the night time.

TRANSPORTATION
Getting around was actually pretty easy. The roads & highways were very modern, they drive on the left like in the U.S. and most of the cars were relatively modern too. I was surprised to find out their emissions standards are higher than in the U.S., and also found it odd that EVERY taxi was a Volkswagen Santana 3000. I also see why General Motors is focusing so heavily on China, there are Buicks everywhere.

One highlight of the trip was a 250+ MPH bullet train that takes you from the Pu Dong airport to Shanghai. It’s top speed was 431 KPH which translates into 267 Miles Per Hour! It was pretty amazing since I got out of the airport thinking this was a poor, 3rd world country. The train whizzes by all sorts of farm land, small cities and even by the freeways where you see cars travelling at a pitiful 60 mph as you blow past them like they’re standing still! The bullet train cuts the airport to Shanghai travel time from 1 1/2 hours to 8 minutes!!

So things moving at a steady pace at the moment.lets hope the future holds some good for all of us.
Readers can reach me at-himanshu28102000@hotmail.com
Have an awesome day.

Once I put a quote up, it helps to motivate for a while, but then quickly starts fading into the background. I then begin to stop noticing it when I walk in my room. For this reason, I\’m constantly adding new ones or moving them around.

Here are some of my favorite quotes for whichever reasons, and some of the places I put them around my room:
It is a common oversight in people not to make provision for the bad times while they are experiencing good times.\”
–Machiavelli

\”I\’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.\”
–Thomas Jefferson

\”I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle.\”
–General Dwight David Eisenhower

\”A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner\”

\”When written in Chinese, the word \”crisis\” is composed of two characters - one represents danger and one represents opportunity.\”
–John F. Kennedy

\”The wise person has long ears and a short tongue \”

\”If Columbus had turned back, no one would have blamed him. Of course, no one would have remembered him either\”

\”.....it doesn\’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn\’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and either should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because...All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.\”
–Mark Cuban

\”If you think your actions are too small to make a difference, you\’ve never been in a bed with a mosquito. \”
\”Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.\”
–Barry LePatner

\”Good things come to those who wait. Better things come to those who try.\”

That makes me wonder, time is limited and at the same time we have a lot of more responsibilities coming up in the next few years.thats what life is all about.

I am currently living in an apartment in JIANGXI CHINESE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY,NANCHANG,with my room-mate Mr. Manish and other friends .all of them come from India.

The apartment, my room, and the university themselves are great. The place is a lot bigger than I would have ever expected, with big windows and a nice floor with tiles. The view from my room of the mountains is beautiful, and isn;t a shabby sight to wake up to in the morning by any means.
The bathroom is interesting. There is nothing to separate the toilet, from the shower, from the sink, or from anything else in the room for that matter. The piping system is completely out of wack, with the pipes all going straight down, rather than curving. This means that everyone in the building is sharing the same line. If you haven’t figured it out, that spells some serious smelliness at times. On top of it, the water needs a little encouragement to make “the big plunge,” (down the drain that is), so when you have finished your shower you take a broom and do a little sweeping action to help the process a long.
Just like there are slippers that you wear when you walk in the door and around the apartment, there are slippers that you wear in the shower as well.
Taking a shower is not a daily occurrence here. Apparently to go several weeks without doing so, is not a rare occurrence. To tell you the truth, that’s not going to be a problem for me. I don’t get too stirred about things of that nature... ask anyone who knows me. :)
At meals, it is rare to have a drink. Even water, which is always served warm or hot. Meals are the same way, always hot, never cold. This is seen as being good for ones health.
From the outside it appears as if Chinese people have horrible table manners. But for the people here, it is not seen as rude in the slightest to slurp, burp, spill, or even spit on the table if need be.
So far I have enjoyed most of the food that I have tried. Although, the typical rice soup that is served in the morning. That just isn’t happening for me. It really doesn’t have much taste, but how I imagine it, is like a big bowl of runny snot. That’s really foul of me to say, but in all seriousness that is what it seems like.
Steamed bread and peanuts are typical to have with most meals. You should see me try to pick up peanuts with chopsticks. Straight up entertainment. I’m hoping to be a master with the little doo-hoppers before I come home. It would be pretty sad if I wasn’t, since they are used at every meal.

Speaking of money, the current exchange rate is somewhere around 7 Kuai/RMB/Yuan (depending on who you are talking to) to 1 U.S dollar. Meaning most things are pretty dirt cheap for us. Unless, you are a little stink like me and decide to hit up the local McDonald’s of coffee, also known as SPR Coffee, for a yummy late (the truth is, I am going to try my hardest to make that a once a week ordeal, but I would be seriously impressed if I were to pull that off).

As most people probably know, tea is definitely the drink of choice over coffee and other beverages in China. The deciding factor on what type of tea you drink depends on the time of day and year it is. It would be great, especially for my health, if I could cross over from being a coffee fanatic to a tea one.

As far as study is concerned, its been almost near about 4 years in university here. On my first day, we all met in one of the class rooms and introduced ourselves to one another and to the teacher. Most Chinese people have an English name that they go by. I would like to think that I could memorize all of their given names, but I am going to start off by learning their English ones in order to speed up the process. Besides, I think it is fair to say that they enjoy being called by their second name.

Everyone that works here is very sweet. You can tell that they are genuinely excited to have you around and are eager to learn more about your country and its culture. That is a two way street though, I am just as pumped to learn the same thing: more about who they are, where they come from, the food they eat, the things they do for fun, the language they speak, the holidays they celebrate, traditional customs, and the like .

Patience, is one of many things that I would like to work on while I am here, so I figure that this period of waiting for work through relationship building, will be a great place for me to start.

Well, I suppose this is enough for one sitting. I am looking forward to sharing my different Chinese experiences and adventures with you!! Please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have as well. Have a great day as well.

When I came to China,in 2004 ,three years ago I was completely unaware
or unconscious of personal bias toward, or preconceptions of China and
its’ people. I was aware of course that as an indian I disliked and
disapproved of communism and therefore felt sorry for the Chinese
people. But now after spending 3 years in china, I can say without
qualification, that every day brings for me, a new appreciation of Mao Ze Dong
and the Chinese Communist Government.
If you had ever spent time living in (rural) China, you would know
that the cultural norms here, center around a couple of well used phrases
such as, “It doesn’t matter, it is not important, and don’t worry about
it”. Add to this, ‘It is normal’, and you have a mindset that just
‘accepts’ what happens and otherwise is not interested in doing anything
unless ‘forced’.

A Chinese businessman I met on the plane from nanchang to shanghai
explained to me that he is being paid big money to hold seminars in
Mainland China. He is very happy to take the money, but admits that it is a
complete waste of time, for no one will listen to him or ‘learn’ about
business procedures. ‘The Chinese businessman’ he informed me, ‘thinks
only of the immediate sale and of making the greatest profit possible,
and never considers his loss when the potential customer turns away and
goes elsewhere.’

Now on the point of changing from traditional thinking to something
more modern, I would draw your attention to a press conference I read
about a few months ago. A Chinese politician was being interviewed by the
western press, and was asked about the introduction of Democratic
processes into China. His reply was that ‘this will take a long time. Chinese
people are not very well educated. It will take about 50 years before
the people are ready for democracy.’

I could just imagine what the journalists were thinking. I on the other
hand, just laughed. ‘Fifty years?’ I thought, ‘ More like 150 years!’
Before you condemn me for my particular take on Chinese Democracy,
let me tell you something when I entered into a lengthy discussion with
some of my Chinese friends about china and its future and this is what
they told me- “If democracy were introduced into China tomorrow, next
week we would have a bloodbath. The country would fall apart.” My
personal observations lead me to concur.

We in the india decry communism, because we have a particularly
‘western’ politico/cultural worldview. But China has never known democracy.
The system in place in China today is no different to that under which
the people of China have lived for the last 2000 years. The standard of
living and education of the people however, has grown and progressed in
leaps and bounds under Communism.

I have also been to the rural areas of China. I have come to know the
rich and the poor. I see the poverty and the waste (of money). I see the
disregard for the poor, and the arrogance of the rich. I know the
types of people who are getting rich without paying taxes. I follow the
political scene in China and read the Governments blueprints for the
country’s economic future. I know that the Government is trying to even out
the system, to make it work better, and to make it more honest and
accountable. I know that they are trying to lighten the burden of the
peasant farmers. I know they are striving to raise the standards of living
and education in this country. I see their attempts to keep the country
in one piece whilst trying to bring the people into the 20th century
(forget about the 21st).

In short, my first hand knowledge of daily Chinese life, leads me to
admire the Government’s ability to have succeeded so well, in the short
time it has been in power, and I know that without Communism, China
would not be where it is today. I also know that the future is precarious,
and that at any time, a return could be made to more severe times and
policies.

I have no illusions about the Chinese people, and I no longer hold to
my western preconceptions of them. I know them for who they are. If
westerners have one big flaw in their cultural self perception, it is that
they fail to see themselves as the rest of the world sees them. They
judge the rest of the world by their own standards. They think, for
example, that racism and sexism can be cured by legislation, while in most
countries both are enshrined in legislation. They think that their
cultural beliefs are so admirable, that everyone will race to embrace them.
This is just not so!

People in China see their world as they have always seen their world,
and despite their love of modern technology, have no desire to become
like Indians or Americans. How can they think like this? The answer is
simple. Foreigners are just foreigners. “We are Chinese! Being Chinese is
better than being American”. A foreigner may become a Chinese citizen,
but he will always be a foreigner.

Whether we talk about China, Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other country,
culture or religious custom, we need to understand that our perceptions
of what is ‘valuable and desirable’, is tainted by our national
‘prejudices’, and if we ‘altruistically’ force our ways of thinking and
lifestyle on others, what we so generously offer, may be thrown back in our
faces. Our thinking and many of our cultural beliefs are no less a
result of ‘political and media propaganda’, than are those of people raised
in totalitarian states. Think about it!

———————HIMANSHU SETHIA (ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED)———————-
READERS CAN MAIL ME AT-himanshu28102000@yahoo.co.in

One of the first things you learn about ‘living in China’, is that the way you, a foreigner, views things in general, is generally considered pretty strange and mysterious. What we foreigners take for granted can be completely unknown to the average Chinese person (and totally untrusted), whilst everything we mistrust or fail to understand, is commonplace, rating no particular consideration for the Chinese person. In short, we live and think and approach life from completely different perspectives; perspectives that we have ‘learned’ within our social environments.

The first priority in this article, is to bring to your attention, ways of thinking, acting and living that you might not find appropriate.

In the western countries where young people are encouraged to think for themselves and make their own decisions, but in China, boys and girls will study only what their parents want them to study and if there are two children in the family and not enough money for both to go to school or university, it will be the boy who studies, not his sister. They are also not permitted (by law) to marry until they are 22 and 20 years old respectively.

So what am I on about here? Just this! It is one thing to talk about multiculturalism and how we should ‘respect’ everyone’s culture, and it is another thing, to have to ‘put up with’ that culture in our daily lives, or expose aspects of those cultures to our children whom we have raised to hold contrary values.

Beyond this, there is another more important matter, which is, that many of our cultural values, are truly only relevant to our own culture and society. Idealists like to talk about making our culture multicultural, but we tend to forget or fail to know that some of those customs are things we find offensive in our personal lives. Circumcision (male and female), tattoo’s, alcohol, smoking, modesty or lack thereof, women’s rights, gay rights, general manners and curtesy, religion or lack thereof are just some examples of things in other cultures that we might find offensive.

You have no right to have more than one child in China, no matter what you ‘think’ are your (dare I say it) ‘God given rights’. You have no right to criticize the government, and protesting that the government has no right to silence you might result in being silenced by a bullet.

In China, no one ever tells people exactly what they think. On this score they are very western (politically correct). Much of your ‘common/ordinary’ western conversation will be considered improper if spoken in front of women, children or old people. Say thank you except on formal occasions, and people will look at you strangely.

Family members do not lend money to each other, it is just given. If someone gives you a gift you must return the honour with a gift of your own, even if you have to steal to afford it. There is no need to say thank you to your parents for anything, for everything they do for you is their duty. Washing, cooking and cleaning is woman’s work. When people pay unannounced visits to your house at meal times, you MUST feed them all and smile while they spit out unwanted food onto the table or floor, or blow their noses directly onto the wall or floor.

If you refuse to drink alcohol, even if you are a non drinker, you dishonour the people who force you to drink, and force you they will. They are after all, ‘honouring you’ and displaying their love and appreciation for you. Heaven forbid that you not be a smoker, or worse, that you are, because they will make you chain smoke more than at any other time in your life. Smoking at the dinner table during dinner is usual, and if in a restaurant, the moment the last person takes their last mouthful of food, everyone jumps up and leaves. There is no hanging around for coffee and a chat.

I’ve heard it said that the Chinese are racists. In some ways I think this might be true, but generally they do not hate people based on race. They do not look down on people because of the colour of their skin, or their religion. They merely insist that their Chinese culture is superior to foreign cultures, that Chinese culture ought to be maintained, and that foreigners should not force their foreign ways on the Chinese.

Cultural change can only ever be successful when that culture changes from within by the will of the people. Not by legislation. We cannot force countries to change their social culture, just because we find it unacceptable, and we should not force our own people to accept foreign culture, simply because we undervalue our own national culture.

Final Note:

Should you decide to pay a visit to China, you should not encounter too much of a culture shock. If on the other hand you decide to live here, you had better be prepared to suffer quite a lot. It is amazing at times how (ultimately) easy it is for me to go with the flow; to cook a meal for 6 people without prior notice; to give friends money because they ask; to take in people because they expect it; to not notice a million things that would have upset me two years ago. It is also amazing how assertive I have become in refusing to succumb to manipulation.

In the final analysis, personally I am extremely comfortable in China,and I look forward to explore more new things in the near future during my stay in china.

HIMANSHU SETHIA

How do wealthy people create their wealth? For most of us it seems like magic; and many actually think that there must be a secret formula involved.

In our western world, we are conditioned to always believe that the most complicated solution must be true. That’s why you see the word “easy” in many advertisements. “Easy,” because with all the high tech stuff around us, life has not become easier at all. However, life itself is actually easy, and very simple. What it makes complicated is our perceptions and conclusions.

The same is true with manifesting wealth in your life. If you follow simple steps, you will create wealth in your life. The challenge is that we have forgotten to think in an easy way. Our mind comes up with the most deluded stories to justify why others have wealth and abundance, and we don’t.

To create wealth and abundance in your life begin with one simple step: believe that it is possible for you to have it!

Think about how much time you spend during your day to achieve this goal. Most of us are so busy with our lives that we run almost all day on auto-responder. We have given ourselves a side role in our self-produced movie. We are not present to tell the director what to do in the movie. So our days either go as they have in the past, or just at random.

In order to direct your attention toward something you’d like to achieve, you need to have free attention. Attention is the magnet that will attract new situations in your life. Without free attention, you are back to playing the auto-responder ‘bot.

Start with the intention to be wealthy and to live in abundance. Intend to create prosperity in your life. Make this the first thought when you get up in the morning. However, intention alone doesn’t get you there. Remind yourself constantly about your new goal. This way, it gets imprinted into your consciousness. Your consciousness needs to build new neuronal pathways, and that will take some time. It is like working out - you cannot expect to be in perfect shape after visiting the gym once.

There are also times in your life where you feel discouraged and you just want to say goodbye to this world. Nothing works out, and you think you will never make it. It’s almost impossible for most of us to shift ourselves out of this mood. We have the belief that circumstances outside of our control have contributed to our mood, and therefore our attention is stuck on the outside situation. Bringing the attention back to ourselves is the key to solving this dilemma.

Discouragement is a result of expectations. It happens when you expect something to happen and it doesn’t. It is a confusion about time, because it will happen - just not at the time you thought. So relax, and realign with your intention. This may not be an easy task in the beginning.

What Can You Do to Help Guide Your Attention?

Today, take 30 minutes aside from your normal daily life - sit down, close your eyes, and start dreaming about what you really want to manifest.

- Is there anything you’ve always wanted?
- Is there something you have long given up on?
- What makes you really happy?

I remember my parents constantly reminded me not to daydream. I hated it when they threw me out of my lovely daydreams. They told me I will never make it in this world daydreaming. They probably didn’t know that there are professional people that do nothing but daydream. These individuals have a wonderful life, as they need to be totally relaxed in order to ‘download’ new ideas, and then sell them for millions of dollars.

As an adult I had to re-learn daydreaming, as I had been conditioned not to by my parents. I’ve heard rumors that Google actually gives its employees some extra time during the day, to do creative daydreaming. Dreaming is highly effective for your creativity; many glorious inventions have emerged from it.

However, last night I had a dream that made me analyze my life and my thought processes on a day to day basis.

I was dreaming about taking a test. I am not sure the subject of the test. I do remember feeling under pressure and I was struggling a bit with the content of the test.

Now, I have taken my share of tests in the past and can recall having these types of dreams while in college; but, why now?

I jotted down a few notes before going back to bed and did my best to decipher this brain spark this morning.

I am into several projects right now in which I am under the microscope, so to speak. But, am I? Is this all in my head? Do I bring all this pressure on myself?

Probably.

I try to be the best I can be; mentally, physically, and financially. I try to learn as much as possible to improve my abilities in these areas. This is great as long as I don’t spend so much time trying to improve me that it harms my life in these same areas; i.e. stress, family, friends, health, etc.

We all see the “burn-out” in the self-improvement entrepreneur; the sacrifices made in the “important things” in life such as relationships and peace of mind.

Peace of mind should be a top priority for mental, physical, and financial success. Living life as some sort of constant test will hamper this process.

Realizing that progress is a “you vs. you” phenomenon and that you don’t have to please someone else on a day to day basis is a great start.

There are two things that have worked in the past for me .

One is a daily exercise plan. Even when I am on the road, I usually do some exercise daily, but, there are times I get in a rut and don’t focus on my planning and execution of a said workout. A daily routine helps relieve stress and will bring out creativity and problem solving abilities like no other activity!

It is a “reality check” for me as well. Things are brought into a better perspective after a good workout, no matter how long the workout is.

The second concept is practicing daily solitude. This could be a twenty minute walk, a power relaxation/almost nap, hanging out on a park bench, etc. This is a time to let your mind “go” and let your subconscious work on goals, problems, and/or ideas that are filling your head - a “mind-cleansing” if you will.

I try to do two, one-hour solitude sessions per week to let my subconscious mind take over and do its thing for me. This is a time when I just sit back and take in the world, usually outside in a fairly secluded place without interruptions. I sometimes think about a couple of goals or issues in my life ahead of time, then sit back and let my brain work on things.

I tend to find some answers to problems as well as some pretty great ideas to take back to work with me. They not only help me achieve goals, but relieve stress at the same time. These two activities alone have probably added years to my life and helped me through some potentially stressful times.

Thus, the reason for my dream. I have been in situations recently in which I feel the need to “prove” myself. I am living my life as a series of tests... daily. I have felt out of sorts, not myself, lacking confidence.

All brought on by myself.

Life is not a test. To me, it is a series of learning experiences.

My goal is to strengthen the area between stimulus and response on a daily basis; mentally, physically, and financially. As that space continues to grow with experience and knowledge, my life and dreams will put a smile on my face.

Thanks for letting me think out loud today.

Sweet dreams.

A few weeks ago I found myself in a conversation where the other person became very impatient with me. I, then, became impatient with his impatience. I called attention to his impatience and made it clear I didn’t like it. The next day I asked myself: “Who was I being that the person talking to me became very impatient?” The answer came: “I’m the kind of person who deserves to be treated with respect”. This person wasn’t giving me what I deserved, so obviously he was out of line.

This is the kind of thinking that gets us into more conflict. A Course in Miracles says there are only two kinds of thinking–love and fear. In love, I am caring and responsive toward myself and others. I am able to see the good in the other person. In fear I feel threatened and resistant both toward myself and the other. I tend to add up the faults of the other person and, of course, affirm my virtues. I tell myself this other person is disrespectful, impatient, unappreciative of me, and doesn’t listen. I tell myself that I am respectful, communicating well, and would never treat her disrespectfully. This is how the image justifies itself. Does this sound a little silly? I hope so, because it is silly. It is also common, everyday, insane communications between people.

Here’s the rule of thumb: if I think someone else is a problem person, then I’m the problem. This doesn’t mean people don’t do inconsiderate and even horrible things. This doesn’t mean that I never talk to someone else about their poor behavior. It means that my discomfort, my anger, my resentment, and my irritation are not about them. Who am I being that I felt and spoke and acted the way I did? As Stephen Covey has said: “How you see the problem is the problem.”. Yet, it goes beyond perception. It’s who I am being that is the problem.

If I am going through my day and I feel great, my relationships feel great, and I feel in alignment with my Self I get to say, “Great! I’m doing it. I’m in the flow. I’m responding to people and to life. I’m expressing love.” If things aren’t going well, people are impatient with me, and I feel uncomfortable, I get to ask myself the question: “Who am I being that these things are happening?” Am I the kind of person who prizes suffering? Do I maintain it by refusing to forgive others? Am I the kind of person who likes drama? Am I starring in a drama where everyone else is wrong and I, alone, am right? Am I the hero who is going to set everyone else straight? Who am I being?

It can be difficult to get past our self justifying images because we have spent so many years crafting and protecting them. The truth is, these images are a lot of work to keep up. We must be constantly vigilant and on the defense. Wouldn’t it be great to let go of the job of image management and just respond to people. Once you have decided to become aware of self justifying images and let them go the results are immediate. You extend an open invitation to all others to do the same. A sense of ease flows through you. Relationships become easier when you are responding, recognizing the humanity in others, and seeing the good in them. Others begin changing because you have given them someone different to respond to. Your love inspires, uplifts, and enlivens each person you encounter. It’s not what you do for others that uplifts them; it is who you are being.