Signs Gone Wild: World's Yummy Drinks

Hm~ Drinks from all over the world? World's YummiEST Drinks? Who knows really. China is full of these little gems. Stay tuned for more as I discover them!

A Stereotype Long Lived

China is well known to all of us for many things, such as their long history, influence in scientific discoveries and their ability to copy virtually anything. What one of the most well known facts about China is that it has been the world's biggest source of cheap labor for many decades. Most of the world's biggest multinational corporations have factories here in the land of the Yellow Dragon making use of workers who can assemble and construct products very fast at a fairly small price. Sounds like a sweet deal right? For the multinationals at least it does. Maybe even for some of those workers who are able to live off of this small pay, but that would probably apply mostly to several years in the past. Times have changed now as more and more Chinese are getting well-rounded educations by exploring the western world or coming into contact with western culture in general.

One of these people is my own future spouse, an intelligent young woman who has done her fair share of hard studying, sportsmanship and part-time work as a student. Her English is at a very advanced level and has a deep understanding of western way of life and culture. Studying and living in England alone was definitely a big eye-opener for her. With all of this in mind, her hopes and dreams are that much greater than most of her fellow countrymen. Working for a foreign-owned company, though, has proven that despite her background she is still viewed merely as cheap labor. I am almost 100% certain that there are others riding a similar boat and I find that this stereotype should be broken. I am biased as I do not know the circumstances under which foreign owned companies treat their Chinese workers, but I feel that it is not fair nor respectful to assume that a certain person is almost trash because of his or her heritage and origin. More or less so when the company is run in the country in question.

More after the jump

Japan Nuclear Crisis and Us

Hello guys! I'm writing this to let you all know that we are both alive and well here. I know that the disaster in Japan right now has the entire world on the edge of their seats and it does appear that neighboring countries might be caught in as well. From my own research, the Chinese State Council has reassured that the country will not be affected by this crisis. Furthermore, they have conducted preliminary investigations on the east coasts and have found no signs of radiation but they will continue to monitor. I don't know much about radiation but I have done some homework and I remain optimistic that all will be well. Beijing is upwind of the disaster area so all is looking like we will be fine.

Unfortunately, due to some messages that have been spread to create panic, people are going nuts buying salt and "radiation medication". There is literally no salt to be found - unless you go on Taobao (China's equivalent to eBay), which has been flooded with salt sellers.

I will give an update when and if something changes, hopefully for the better. I'll also come into contact with the Greek embassy to see if the motherland has issued a warning of any sort. In the meantime I am hoping the Japanese will avert this crisis swiftly and hope they can recover from their misfortunes. I urge anyone with an iPhone/Pod/Pad to purchase Street Fighter 4 from the iTunes store. Capcom is putting the app up for 1$ and all earnings will be donated to support Japan's rescue and recovery operations.

New Beginnings

What a long strange trip it has been so far. With almost 1,5 years living in Beijing under my belt I already feel as though it has been at least 5! With the good times and the bad I've gained a lot from this experience and I will continue walking the path I've chosen for myself with even more confidence. Now I'm a few days away from returning to my home and I simply can't wait. I've missed my family, my friends and the cozy weather of Athens. I'm also looking forward to relaxing and regaining my focus. This is a good opportunity to reflect on what I've done so far and consider future possibilities for myself and my beloved Kimy.

What does this mean for the blog? Honestly, I don't know yet. I've been absent...a lot. Work has been taxing. Coming to terms with having less time to do other things that I enjoy is probably the biggest culprit. But now I have a much better grasp on managing my time and I want to focus on getting interesting and high quality content out there. Kimy and I have been toying with the idea of starting a language podcast. I have some more things that I would like to do as well. Regarding GMB (fancy acronyms in dramatic moments are cool) I've come to terms that it will probably never be anything more than just a diary of sorts. A way to sort of portray my life here in China. I'll continue writing here as much as I can but I feel that my inspiration will be a better fit for other areas. The only possible change I foresee is moving to Wordpress which I find to be a much more versatile platform.

Chinese New Year is almost upon us so I wish you all the best and hope to catch some of you in Athens after I arrive!

恭喜发财 (Congratulations and be prosperous)