Shanghai Diaries - June 24

Lhasa...cool! The yak butter tea is on me!

'He said Beijing is not a good place for foreigners right now'.

I cannot tell you how many locals have said the same thing...

this goes beyond absurdity, even if you throw in xenophobia along with it.

'One World' but it's not a good place to be right now?

I might see ya in Lhasa.

Nahhh Aric, you're not a dick. This is just a weird place to be right now. The China Blues to the max. And it just keeps getting weirder and weirder...I JUST now got a phone call from the foreign affairs guy here at my university. He wanted to know where I was going to be this Summer during my vacation. He said it was urgent and he had to know my son's and my whereabouts in July and August during the break. I asked him why he HAD to have this info. He told me the Zhengzhou Security Bureau had to know our whereabouts. I told him we're going to Hong Kong and Yunnan for a month. I said I might go to Beijing (I have absolutely no intension of being anywhere near Beijing but I just wanted to see what he would say). He told me that was not a good idea. He said Beijing is not a good place for foreigners right now. Now this is just strange. In my five years here NO ONE has ever kept track of us during holiday. I just read a few moments ago that Tibet is open to tourists again. So that's an option. I'm going to see a travel agent friend of mine in the morning and plan out this Summer's travels. I'm hearing the Twilight Zone theme music right now in my head...Whatever you decide to do Aric, all the best of luck to ya!

hi.

again, cannot tell you how much I appreciate the support with this; I took a day off yesterday because I simply didn't have anything nice to say.

today, I'm not sure - I have a video which kind of spurred my decision to leave that I might share, but I don't know.

SDSteve - unfortunately, the good news never really takes its toll on anyone, but the bad (and there's been a lot of it) wears you down. 1/2 of my friends here have left because of visa problems, the others are constantly finding more and more difficulties here (in Shanghai of all places! 2 hours from Beijing) as well. it's simply not a good place to be right now. I'm sure there are little stories of good, etc, but I don't think the current state of China deserves them to be told - that might make me a dick, but it's how I'm feeling.

Aric~

Wherever you end up, I'm sure it will be as interesting as China. Why? Because you are an interesting dude, and interesting dudes draw interesting experiences to themselves. Ah... I can just see it now... Madagascar Diaries or... Singapore?

The diary format is very interesting for sure. But I'm not sure if it will manifest with out some encouragement. It would be cool if current would encourage people to give regular diary style reports in various global "hotspots". That way if an event unfold, they have someone who can be on the scene in a jiffy for an average joe's perspective.

Steve or any one else who's interested. With regards to positive news, it seems to me to be very important that bad news be balanced with good news. But it also seems to me that humans, deep down in there somewhere, really have desire for the bad stuff. This is the human condition. I mean, we've turned negativity into entertainment for crying out loud... movies, video games, etc.

On a positive note... Did you guys see the story on Current about the Chinese Skater Scene. http://current.com/items/76366362_skating_shanghai. Now that is positive news. Don't ya think?

A while back, Aric did a piece on the band Cold Fairyland which was also on the positive side. (It was good to see Aric out on the town too) That band rocks, by the way. With a little more production, that piece should have definitely made it to Current TV. Cold Fairyland deserves more exposure.

Actually... I would love to know much more about the evolution of the Chinese music scene, especially rap artists! What kind of lyrics are coming out Chinese musicians these days? Does anyone have the balls to speak against the establishment? Probably not... but for me, that would be a positive twist to a negative story.

Positive stories are there, I know it. You guys are holding back on us! :) Those stories may not be big stories, so to speak, but they're there. Austinpickers commented on his own experience from the positive side. I loved hearing about that and would also love to see it documented on video. Break out with the camera Austin.

Whether it's a positive twist to one of those big negative stories, or a just a plain old happy go lucky tale with no hint of the bad... there is a way to balance.

Aric~ I still say, before you go you should do something like a final show montage. You gotta do it man. Maybe in that show you could reflect on the positive and negative aspects of your experience.

Steve, I've been to China several times, and taught English in Taiwan for a couple years. It's probably not as extensive as your experience, but still... I think I understand that living in China, especially the big cities, can be a seriously heavy duty experience. Whether it's the over-population or the intense pollution... it's gets to ya... I know.

In that way... my positive jibber jabber hopefully didn't irritate you all.

Anyhway... that's my 2 cents.

Huh Ping (peace)

the idea of a show with only positive news reminds me of this tv station called "supreme master television" .

Those guys do exactly that and you can see them smile 24 hours as if they are on drugs all the time...but if your grumpy and let them brainwash you for a while your mood actually get´s better...
I like it to hear supreme master ching hai talk , she doesn´t only look like "miss swan" from MadTV she also has the custom to constantly say "OK" (even in chinese) ^_^

Yep Steve, you're right. The good news are really the little things and it's the little stuff that keeps me here. I teach here and my kids are the little things that keep me here. There is a lot of BS to be sure. But for all the BS there are a million wonderful moments that make me glad I came. Turning my kids onto The Beatles...My students are 18-20 years old and for the most part have never heard The Beatles. Showing them the Ed Sullivan Shows and A Hard Day's Night and seeing the delight in many eyes. That's a hell of a turn on. I showed them Bruce Springsteen last week and many of them went absolutely nuts rockin' out. I dig the shit outta doing that. Turning them on to my culture and watching them suck it up like a sponge. Wearing my worst president ever T shirt and they stand up and cheer. My new Chinese family and my incredible "mixed blood baby" (their words, not mine).Lots of goose bump moments like that. Lots of BS moments too...it's just a delicate balancing act. And I gotta say...everytime I do think I've had it and wanna go back home I think about all the BS that's happening back in the good ole US of A. Perhaps returning home is a case of jumping out of the pan into the fire. Ahhhh...strange times indeed!

iamean~ I found that the "good news" in China was mostly small news, and what I mean by that was the interaction with the friends you met there, like Aric's dinner a couple of weeks ago, or taking someone to their first ballet, a couple hours in a pool hall, etc.

The "bad news" tend to be big news, things the government is doing, bureaucratic hassles, garbage in front of your apartment, etc. I guess it's easier to talk about big news since that's what's in the papers and what everyone talks about to each other, but what you remember after years have passed is all the small news.

So there's 'China', which is a pain in the ass, and 'china', which is a terrific, adventurous experience.

Aric, austinpickers, other China hands.... do you feel the same way? Do you find yourself frustrated by the big news and comforted by the small? Or do you have a different take on it? Just curious...

iameam - I appreciate that (and the email you sent me, just read that as well). hopefully this will be something more and more folks do in different parts of the world.

kesirui - I plan on going back for projects, but as far as living there, doubt it. it's been more than 3 years for me, so I think it's time for a new chapter. email me before you go though, we'll get you sorted!

Wherever you go you should continue the show in some way or another.

Do you think that you'll go back after the Olympics?

I'm planing on going in November, I hope everything has settled down by then...

Aric,

Just once before you leave China, for your own sanity, and maybe to leave on a positive note, you should do one episode of the Shanghai Diaries that contains only "good news" that you're witnessing there.

Although I wonder if positive news would be as interesting to your viewers. Maybe people just find the dark side of this human drama more exciting.

In any case, just want to express my appreciation of your show. In my opinion, there should be a show like this in every city, every country. In that way, we can get a more honest perspective on the happenings on our planet. Current rocks!