I've been censored

Sorry not to have written for awhile guys. I've been blocked, the red tape finally gagged me. Fortunately, I have a VPN because Levy would never be able to get any research done without it so I'll write soon. The Husband has to do research now but I wanted to let you all know, things are going well, I'm still alive and I'll be home in a month. ttyl.
xoxo Lolo in China

The Big City

It's when I get out of the Yang Pu district and closer into the city that I enjoy myself here the most but it's also then that I dislike it the most. I love the adventure of exploring, to observe the drastic differences in neighborhoods, what difference 1 block can make. You can be crowded by old buildings and run down old apartments, half knocked down by the government while some still have laundry hanging from their windows, getting swarmed by local chinese staring and begging you to buy their trinkets. Then you turn the corner and there are parks and pristine businesses, chic restaurants and tall, luxurious apartment buildings. I love imagining how it must have looked in this same place 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 2000 years ago. I'm captured with intrigue as I meander through the small local alleyways within the local housing complexes, as people gather to watch a riveting game of old folks playing mahjong or cards in every corner. It's delightful to watch grandparents appreciate their grandchildren whose chubby little behinds bear themselves for all to see. I get a kick out of watching women and men hang their laundry on the small trees out in the middle of the sidewalk, with no shame in the fact that their granny panties and armpit stained undershirts are on exhibit for all to witness. Most of all it feels invigorating to know that I am a piece of it all, that I am here witnessing a time when both worlds exist in this world center, this metropolis.
In a land that has written history dating back 4000 years, I can see some traces of that history and simultaneously witness a drastic and rapid modernization of this city. I can still see, hear and feel the politics that have barely changed form, moreso in name, that have ruled here for thousands of years. I can smell and taste the food whose recipes have been passed down through so many generations. I can indulge myself in their healing massages where they use their long existing understanding of pressure points and healing abilities of touch. I can hold the relics that represent the history here but now are only fake reproductions. My Lonely Planet has a very valid point that the only thing real you can find in Shanghai are the fake things. This leads me to my dislike.
Where is the creativity??? Lost with the overly restrictive policies? I believe so. If they teach people to think for themselves, not to just follow rules and obey the teachers, take notes and memorize, then they will be rich with knowledge but won't ask questions or UPRISE. If creative thinking is praised then people will start critically analyzing and searching for freedom and possibly soon desire to make choices for themselves AND the one party system does not want freedom of thought, availability of intellecual choices. I think you get my point, with choices come the yearning to choose governing bodies and eventually, the breakdown of a one party system to one that includes more parties...Well, I mention all this becuase here in China, each store sells the same things, all the clothes are rip offs of top foreign brands and designs, same goes for cars, toys, fast food and advertising, etc. As a matter of fact many of the Chinese brands advertising prefers to use western models instead of Chinese models. While they mimic the western world because there is a either a lack of or a disinterest in creativity within the commercial arena, questions arise. Will this affinity for western lifestyle lead them to desire a more democratic or even socialist political system, even while creativity is suppressed so to avoid such a thinking??? I dislike that everything is fake because it promotes the theory of branding which our world has quickly adapted. Although I am a player in this market, I do not really like the idea of buying things based soley on the initials on the tag, instead of for the quality or creativity of it. I would much rather see a new designer create an interesting style, quality made purse that does not have initials printed all over it as do most designer purses in the US.
When I leave my house and go into the Chinese areas my least favorite thing is the staring. Don't get me wrong staring is not a new phenomenon for me, I have been stared at my whole life but China staring is different. They feel no guilt, no need to justify their stares, no warm embrace in their stares or inquisitions, no further interest than to stare. They (stares) are very rarely complemented with a smile and even more rarely with a greeting of any sort. Although I often smile and occasionally offer a "Ni hao", it is few and far between that either are returned. Sometimes, I find myself acting a clown, giving a wide exaggerated smile and a loud and slow "Ni Hao ma?" "How are you", because this can get a good smile and chuckle out of them. Aside from the staring it's all the other things we consider, "common courtesy" that are disregarded in these areas that I do not like. I hate being pushed and watching people pee in the middle of the street or pick their nose and stare at their findings. I especially hate when people violently hawk up a lugie and spit it near you but even worse is when they are the one who serves your food. I don't like loud belching in restaurants and find it gross when the majority of locals leave the restrooms without washing their hands. I get bothered by the fact that when the street sign finally turns green for pedestrians, the bikes and motorbikes just keep going and you have to jump out of the way even if that means pushing someone else out of the way. These are the things that I'm sure people who stay longer get accustomed to but I have not yet.
I try to let those annoyances rest in the background and soak up all the jy and excitement I can though. I am reading a great book my younger sister gave Levy, "China Road" which puts words to so many of my curiousities and revelations about society and modernization here. I am enjoying the observations of how people are adjusting to the drastic changes in a land that has remained focused on preservation of tradition and obedience. While the government is so narrowly focused on economic development, morals and ethics, culture and ideology get trampled on. The author, a British NPR correspondent poses the question, in a society that is so rapidly taking on capitalistic characteristics, where the goverment is offering more and more freeedoms, how will they maintain a one paty system? However, China for since it's existence has more or less had a one party system, can they actually change that???? The future of China will be a fascinating one and I, personally, am curious to see what unfolds. How will they transform their economy to keep meeting the needs of the world if they keep teaching people to follow orders and prevent them from thinking on their own? Their is no promotion of creativity here, it is moreso a fight to make the best repilcation of some other countries systems.
Stay tuned...
xoxo Lolo in China