An Inspirational Story

My boss showed me this article on the New York Times website a couple of days ago. An African-American man moved from Brooklyn to Beijing to teach English only to find himself buying the crumbling institution he worked for. Some may say that he is just mad, others may believe he has made a good financial investment and he'll make millions. I believe he is one of very few humanitarians who's struggling to keep a good educational establishment afloat because he cares.

My hat's off to you Mr. Cabo. Keep up the good fight!

Decompressing Subway Stations

This just in! According to this article on The Beijinger, Beijing Subway officials are planning on using limitation measures and tactics to relieve the congestion that plagues certain stations. While they are targeting a very small number of lines, I've been unfortunate enough to be using one of them! Personally, I don't see how such measures will make things any better. People here always find ways to bend the rules and do what they want, especially when their convenience and speed are compromised. But I can only hope that this might be a step in the right direction as I think it's just another one of those "we're doing something for the sake of doing something" tactics.

C'est la vie!

Ask the Greek: Mandarin vs. English - Battle for World Domination

Greek Man in Beijing proudly presents a new interactive column called "Ask the Greek". Here I'll be answering questions you might have about China and living here! Now, I haven't exactly fleshed this out entirely so I may be answering one question or multiple ones, depending on the topic. What I can say for sure is that it will be done on a weekly basis and you can e-mail me your questions at shinnkun@gmail.com. For the first post, I will just simply state my opinion regarding a certain belief that many people have about Mandarin Chinese. More specifically, there are many people and experts out there who believe that in a few years time, the Chinese language will overtake English as a global tongue. Personally, I feel there are many reasons to believe it is possible but I highly doubt it will happen. Not for a while, at least.

Mandarin Chinese is a language that has been developing for a very very long time. Much like the Greek language, it has influenced the mother tongues of other neighboring countries and has more than a dozen different dialects and forms that are spoken even nowadays. As a language it is very efficient, mainly because it doesn't rely on tenses (past, present and future). Furthermore, it is a highly contextual language, a fact which makes conversations in Chinese quite speedy at times. On many levels, Mandarin sounds like a pretty simple language to learn...on paper. The differences it has from the English language are great and herein lies the problem I, and probably most people, face when trying to learn it.

High Voltage: You stay Classy, Beijing

I like Beijing a lot. I really do. It's a city that still holds many secrets for me to uncover even after over a year's worth of living here. One of the most interesting of these legendary mysteries of the East, for most people at least, is the way Chinese people behave and interact publicly. Most are quite familiar with the Japanese who bow, present themselves in such a formal way it boarderlines to the extreme and tend to apologise deeply even for the slightest of errors.When it comes to the Chinese, though, you're dealing with the exact opposite, and this is where most of my gripes are derived from. I find the Chinese to have an extreme lack of courtesy. Now I don't mean this statement as a comparison to the Japanese. I haven't been to Japan yet, sadly, so I can only use my possibly misguided and ill-informed idea I have of the way they behave. I also do not believe that people should be so courteous and considerate, they have to apologise by bowing 100 times in a row yelling "I am so so sorry for bumping into you". But I do believe the line needs to be drawn somewhere and quite  frankly I feel that the average Beijinger has yet to do so.

After the jump I will take you for a ride into what I consider the blacker side of Beijing and its society. Bare in mind I am expressing my own opinion here. I've heard the line "Oh but this is Chinese culture" or just simply "This is China" one too many times and I still do not agree with it. My girlfriend, born and bred in Beijing, has never shown any signs of such lack of consideration for the people surrounding her. Nor have the rest of the locals I interact with almost every day. So, yes, expect a good amount of ranting and opinionated statements this time.

Enter at your own risk!

Guess who's back...?

Yeap! It's me again! Back to tell more tales about my epic adventures in China! Oh don't look at me like that. They are epic! Oh...you mean where have I been all this time? Right...Well you know how it goes. You get a job, you make some money, you rent an apartment and before you know it your filled with responsibilities that turn your whole world upside down. Work has been hectic, especially with so many things my boss needed done before my trip to Greece. Even more so, getting my life in order. Nevertheless, I'm still here and with more tools to enhance the blog even further!

Check in after the jump!

Spring, where art thou?

大家好！

Doing my thing once again giving you all the "hot" updates from Beijing. The weather still refuses to do us a favor and make everything nice, warm and flowery as good old fashioned spring tradition dictates. I still walk out of the house with the usual shirt-sweater-jacket combo, which I'm kind of sick of these days. Seems like the weekend will bring us temperatures around 20 C but I'm not going to hold my breath just yet. Hope always fades last though right?

I've got a few updates for all you faithful readers so click the jump!

High Voltage: Don't want to know how you are

Welcome to the first post of High Voltage, a column where I will be introducing all the wonderful culture shocks I come across. As you all have probably realised by now, Chinese culture is greatly different to that of western countries. The gap becomes even more apparent when you start actually studying their language, and more specifically their greetings. Think for a moment how we usually start our conversations:

"Hello, Mike! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Pete! How about you?"
"Not too bad."

Click the jump to learn an interesting fun fact.

Hi-ho! Hi-ho!

大家好！
Greek man is back bigger and better than ever! I apologise for my absence but I can say that it is clearly justified. As of last week both my oriental significant other and myself have stepped into the light of professionalism. Our lives have pretty much turned upside down as we have to adjust to a different lifestyle. It's possible that I will need to make a short trip to Hong Kong for visa purposes at some point. Should be fun. All that's left now is to go apartment hunting and make all the necessary plans that come with living on our own. So, yeah, I'm pretty much swamped with things to do. But have no fear as I will be bringing up several new posts during the weekend! Stay tuned for a new "Sweet and Sour" and much more!

Take care~!

Sweet and Sour: Skewered Delights

大家好！

Greek Man here with the first installment of "Sweet and Sour", GMB's column regarding all the fine things you can eat in China. And what better way to kick it off than with something all Greeks are familiar with: skewered food! That's right, not only do the Chinese love skewered meat, they skewer EVERYTHING. From vegetables to bean curd (tofu) to...bugs!?

Click the jump to find out more!

Happy Tiger Exploding Dragon

大家好！新年快樂！
It's officially 2010 for the Chinese and the year of the Tiger is upon us! Best wishes to all for the new year! It's a very fun time of the year to be in China right now because the Lunar New Year (or Spring Festival as they call it) is one of the most important Chinese holidays. A whole week of visiting family, partying with friends and...playing with fireworks. Yes that is correct! Since the bell tolled on February 14th at midnight Beijing has turned into a battlefield of sorts with all kinds of colorful and loud explosions filling the air. Yours' truly also participated in the fun and all I have to say is "4th of July, eat your heart out!"

Join me after the jump!

Time to Grow

大家好！
Greek man here reporting from...Greece! Been here for about 4 days now for some time with family and friends. Kim's coming in on the 29th too so I'm pretty excited. Can't wait to show her around Athens and stuff.

I've been sitting around a lot lately so I got into some thinking of how I can improve the blog and make it more fun. So far I've followed the standard procedure of just writting about the things I do as they come to mind. But I feel that this isn't really enough to really capture the marvels of this incredible experience I'm living through.

After the jump I'll be breaking down what I'm considering.

Avatar

大家好！
Greek Man here with a slightly different topic. I recently saw James Cameron's Avatar and I thought I would share my thoughts on the film. As you all probably know by now, I'm a major sci-fi and fantasy buff. Naturally I would go check out a film like this one. And besides, it's James Cameron!

Before I begin, I would like to point out that first and foremost that everything I state here is my own personal opinion. You are, of course, welcome to comment. Also, I am obligated to inform you that there might be some major spoilers here and there but I'll try and keep it at a minimum. If you want the movie to be a complete surprise though, do not read after the jump. xD

So to start off, I'm going to say just one thing: WOW! That pretty much sums up my entire impression because I really thought it was one of the best movies I've seen for at least the past five years. Why?

- Solid story
- Amazing CG and special effects
- Memorable characters
- Highly imaginative elements (creatures, environment, etc.)
- Good and convincing acting/voice acting

The whole movie is a spectacle that takes you on a wild trip to a beautiful place filled with vibrant colors, floating mountains and giant trees.

Many will argue that the story is not unique and it borrows too many elements from other movies, the likes of Pocahontas and Ferngully. I agree, it's not something entirely new but it's solid. There are no loose ends, everything that needs to be explained is explained more or less and, most importantly, it doesn't try to be something more by over complicating things. Some also go on to say that this is just "another tree-hugger flick" that's all about loving nature. I don't believe in the derogatory meaning of "tree-hugger" because there is simply nothing wrong with loving our planet and its environment, and yes the movie is trying to deliver such messages. ***SPOILER ALERT START*** Personally, when the humans were about to open fire on the Hometree I was at the edge of my seat thinking "Wait, their really doing this? Somebody stop them!!" If you really felt nothing at that point, then I guess you don't feel that burning all our forests is wrong either.***SPOILER ALERT END*** There's not much more to say about the story really, because it's pretty much straight forward. For some this may be a deal-breaker, but in all honesty I've seen so many movies that attempt at doing something different and fail miserably either because they end up with a bunch of loose ends that may or may not be tied (unless they are gunning for a sequel) or because the film makers tried to cram inside way too many elements.

From a technological standpoint, this movie is a gem. The CG used is, I believe, by far better than Transformers 2. They have managed to create an entirely new world with its own animals, plants and people. It's not just the high quality of the graphics but also how it all manages to blend in perfectly with the live actors. Kim and I saw the regular version since the tickets 3D were being sold for double the normal price. After we walked out we both agreed we needed to see it again in 3D. ***SPOILER ALERT START*** I definitely want to experience all the flying scenes in 3D. Those were by far my favorite. ***SPOILER ALERT END***

I'm not going to go into anymore details really. Just go see it. I'm sure that most people really enjoyed it. Whether you are a sci-fi fantasy buff such as I, or just enjoy good movies I feel that it has a little for everyone.

Zai jian 2009...you won't be missed

Ni hao everyone^^ Happy New Year! Ah~ Smell that? It's the air of 2010. A new fresh start to what we all hope to be a better year. I send out all my best wishes to my family, whom are currently in Florida and I hope they are having a blast! I love you all and miss you more than anything. Can't wait to come back on the 20th. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm returning to Greece for 3 weeks? Yeap! Also, my best wishes go out to my all my friends back at home! Missing you guys loads too! Sorry I'm not on MSN frequently but I'm doing my best.

So what about my new year's? Well, I spent it with the three lovely ladies in the picture above. After some less than awkward conversation blended in a mix of broken (on their part) English and hideously broken (on my part) Chinese I taught them some really basic poker. We had a lot of laughs! It was a great start to what I'm hoping to be a better year. 2009 was just...meh. As for my resolutions, read after the jump.

For starters, I'm not one for resolutions really. Maybe because sometimes I tend to not follow them and other times I just plain change it all up along the way. So I decided that this year will be no different. I'll make them and then whatever will be will be. It's worked out for me so far. I'm alive, I'm healthy, I have an amazingly supportive family, I have the most fun friends in the world, I've got the best girlfriend I can possibly hope for and, most importantly, I'm me. I like me. And these people like me too. So why change? If it ain't broke don't fix it, right? Well ok, there's always room for some improvement and tweaking. I'm not big headed nor some elitist jerk. But I do have the confidence that ME as ME can go a long way.

First off, I plan to stick to one of my most crucial changes. I will not smoke anymore. I've been doing it for awhile now and I plan on keeping it that way. Ever since I got over that 1-week-hump of frustration (the horror!) I can safely say that I feel happier, stronger and, believe it or not, more stress free. Now of course it ain't over 100% yet. I still can't brush off completely the smell of that sweet...ahem...disgusting smoke every time I have a smoker standing next to me puffing away. I also cheated. Yes, I admit it right here for all the world to see. I bumped a Marlboro Light's from one my Korean classmates. I was ashamed and disappointed in myself. But the fight goes on! I urge you all to do the same. Especially YOU (you know who you all are). This is a resolution I will darn right stick to.

Second, I will try to think more outside the box. What does that mean? Well, it differs from situation to situation really. For me here it mostly means, I will not look at my degree and think "Hm, I will be a manager". In all honesty, I don't want to be a manager in another person's company. Why? Because in most cases those managers end up losing their souls. They become mean evil dictators because they have to play by rules set by someone else. I'm a firm believer that each person should stand by their own beliefs and resolves. OK, I've taken this too far. My point is I won't lock myself down to just what a piece of paper says. I'll find my path by expanding my field of vision.

Third, and I know my bro's gonna scoff at this yet again, I will find the discipline I need to finally learn to play SOMETHING on my Epifone Les Paule. I know I know shame shame shame and I should be thrown into the deepest darkest pit for letting such a beauty sit there without being caressed and loved. Seriously, I don't know what it is but I get extremely discouraged very quickly. Maybe I haven't found the right way yet. But I haven't given up the search yet.

Forth, and this is for me exclusively really, I will be a way better fighting game's player. I love the scene and watching players here just gave me that urge I had back when I was part of the Greek Dojo community. I don't care if I become the best or what have you. I like playing Street Fighter and others of the sort. Their fun games and be a very interesting hobby if you get into them a little more deeply then just mashing away buttons (which undeniably can be fun as well).

Fifth, I will lose more weight. That's pretty much all there is to say about this. I'm still not where I want to be (believe me I'm pretty far off) and I'm pretty sure my trip back to Greece is gonna set me back (Curse you Simply Burgers with your unbelievably juicy and delicious...burgers!)

Finally, concerning social networks and my...not so social "behavior" the past few months. I have managed to find a general pace in my life here so from now on I'll be doing some more posting. But I also have a few things in mind I want to do for the blog. I won't say now but whatever I end up doing I hope you all will like.

So that's it from me for now! I'll catch you all on my next post!

Yannis