Crossing Cultures: expatriate life in Guangzhou China, ordinary life in small town USA, and an ocean of thoughts in between...

17 March 2009

My roots stem from a farming family.  The term "farm" means many different things to many different people.  When I went to China, I was shocked to find that there seemed to be no equivalent word in the Chinese language which matches what we Americans call a "farmer".  In my experience (and correct me, dear Chinese friends, if I am wrong), one Chinese word which we would translate as "farmer" really kind of means, "hardscrabble, dirt poor peasant," and the other word translates more like "rich landlord". 

Each plot of this land in China is being farmed by a different family

The American concept of farmer is, historically, somewhere in between.  The pioneers who typically became our "farmers" were peasants of some sort in Europe who sold all that they owned and took a voyage on a small boat, sometimes at great risk.  When they got off the boat, they put all their possessions into a wagon and headed out to find a plot of land on which to build a homestead.  At first, they would build a small cabin and clear out a few acres for a vegetable garden, then over time they would build an enclosure to protect domestic animals and eventually clear field for plowing.  That's the basic history of my family's farm, as well as many others. 

Most people in the USA, when they think of a farm, probably think of a farm much like my family's.  Although our farm has been planted in pasture for some time, prior to that the fields were terraced and plowed. 

Regardless of its size, whether 20 acres or 2,000 acres, the main thing (I think) is that most people in the USA think of a "farm" as a place where a family lives and makes a living from working the land.  In many parts of the world, people live in a village and then walk out each day to tend the land which lies outside the village.  Not so here.  It's more typical for each plot of land farmed by a particular family to have a house in the center, where that family lives.  

Unfortunately, one can no longer assume that the food one eats comes from such a farm. 

The big picture is that in the USA, small family farms are becoming extinct.  What has taken their place are huge corporation-owned mega farms.  At some of these farms, for example, as many as 20,000 hogs are housed in one spot.  My personal belief is that if ordinary consumers knew what conditions are really like for animals on these farms, they would never purchase meat produced on them.  For one thing, the animals are fed hormones and antibiotics that artificially cause them to gain weight faster; but that's not the worst of it.  Rendered parts of dead animals are mixed back into the animal feed, forcing the animals to eat things that God (and their vegetarian digestive systems) never intended. 

(Think about it this way:  if the difference in price between the "all natural" chicken and the "ordinary" one is 50%, ask yourself what led to that price difference.  The difference is a monetary quantification of difference in quality between those two animals' feed and living conditions.)   

For commodity crops like corn and beans, fields on industrial, mega-farms are sprayed with herbicides that kill all plants.  The fields are then sown with seeds from crops that have been genetically modified so that only that the type of seed is resistant to the herbicide.  (One fear of anti GMO people is that one of these freak genes may make its way into a weed plant, resulting in a weed that is resistant to all efforts to control it.)  These mega farms also utilize only certain varieties of seeds that are grown specifically to optimize production and ship-ability. 

Tomatoes and peaches are two crops that immediately come to mind when discussing shipability.  Delicate or unusual varieties such as Georgia Belle or Cherokee, which don't ship well, will never be found in a megafarm.  This reduces genetic diversity of the seed stock, ultimately making the food supply more vulnerable to blight.

It is also argued that corporate megafarms have little regard for workers and communities.  They are highly mechanized and employ as few workers as possible.  Moreover, U.S. migrant worker policy allows corporations with the wherewithal to import alien workers, who are then exempt (to their own detriment) from laws which protect citizen workers.   Mega farms have the same effect on small time farms that Wal Mart has on its small time business, except that Wal Mart is subsidized by American consumers rather than the U.S.Department of Agriculture.  

U.S.Department of Agriculture subsidies flow disproportionately to these farms, reducing the production cost of commodities like corn and milk.  As a result partly of U.S. farm subsidies, it's cheaper to buy a fully processed McDonald's hamburger than it is to purchase a wholesome all-vegetable meal grown on the more environmentally friendly, "green" family farm next door.   

That's a gross oversimplification of the situation, of course.  Of course, if I'm wrong I would appreciate comments to help me get the story straight, but please don't get bogged down in the details.  My main goal here not to provide painstaking detail but rather to paint with a broad brush, get you thinking, and to provide a starting point for further research (if you are interested). 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

One web page (click HERE), states (with supporting footnotes) the following facts:

• According to the EPA, 3,000 acres of productive U.S. farmland are lost to development every day.

• Between 1974 and 2002, the number of corporate-owned U.S. farms increased by more than 46 percent.

• 82% of Americans are somewhat or very concerned about the decreasing number of American farms.

• 85% of Americans trust smaller scale family farms to produce safe, nutritious food.

• In the US, the average principal farm operator is 55.3 years old.

• Between 2005 and 2006, the US lost 8,900 farms (a little more than 1 farm per hour)

A study by U.S. Department of Agriculture which shows the big picture is titled “A Time to Act: A Report of the USDA National Commission on Small Farms,” January 1998 (click HERE).   It recommends specific policy goals as being:

• Policy Goal 1: Recognize the importance and cultivate the strengths of small farms;
• Policy Goal 2: Create a framework of support and responsibility for small farms;
• Policy Goal 3: Promote, develop, and enforce fair, competitive, and open markets for small farms;
• Policy Goal 4: Conduct appropriate outreach through partnerships to serve small farm and ranch operators;
• Policy Goal 5: Establish future generations of farmers;
• Policy Goal 6: Emphasize sustainable agriculture as a profitable, ecological, and socially sound strategy for small farms;
• Policy Goal 7: Dedicate budget resources to strengthen the competitive position of small farms in American agriculture;
• Policy Goal 8: Provide just and humane working conditions for all people engaged in production agriculture

Here are some interesting facts from this report:

• Even though only about one-third of U.S. farmers have participated in Federal farm programs, these programs have historically been structurally biased toward benefiting the largest farms. Farm payments have been calculated on the basis of volume of production, thus giving a greater share of payments to large farms, enabling them to further capitalize and expand their operations. Attempts to place caps on the amount of payments per farm have not resulted in their intended effects.
• The present system of “transition” payments perpetuates the large-farm bias because the amount of payment is based on historical payment levels. A new risk management tool, “revenue insurance,” also perpetuates a large-farm bias through its provisions of coverage for the few major program commodities with no limit on the amount of coverage provided. Additionally, recent changes in Federal tax policy provide disproportionate benefits to large farms through tax incentives for capital purchases to expand operations. Large-scale farms that depend on hired farm workers for labor receive exemptions from Federal labor law afforded workers in every other industry, allowing them the advantage of low-wage labor costs.
• Another popular statistic used to describe the structure of agriculture is the contribution of value of production per sales class. Farms with gross sales under $250,000 make up 94 percent of all farms. However, these farms receive only 41 percent of all farm receipts. In other words, out of 2 million farms, only 122,810 of the super-large farms receive the majority of farm receipts.

Barack Obama’s position statement on rural issues (small family farm issues) states (for link click HERE ) that Obama will: 

• fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. They will implement a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers - not large corporate agribusiness.

• provide capital for farmers to create value-added enterprises, like cooperative marketing initiatives and farmer-owned processing plants.

• improve rural quality of life by combatting methamphetamine use, improving health care, improving education, and upgrading infrastructure in rural areas.

The current proposed budget of the Obama Administration is being targed by organized lobbies of large, industrial farms because it eliminates subsidies of farms with net income of over $500,000 per year.  On its web site, the nonprofit group Farm Aid (click HERE)discusses the probable effect of the federal stimulus package effect on small scale, family farmers. 

The web link provided will take you to a petition to ask your Congressman to make family farmers part of economic recovery package: ensure access to credit, give small family farmers same protection as other homeowners against loss of homes

I have mentioned that industrial agribusiness is very different from small family farming.  A web link which compares and contrasts sustainable versus industrial farming is HERE. 

If you are a small farmer struggling to make it, and trying to find ways to stay on the farm, my sympathies are with you.  My personal belief is that the way forward must include educating consumers about the benefits of buying locally produced goods from small family enterprises. 

One successful co-op is Organic Valley Farmer's Cooperative.  Their web site (HERE, and specifically http://www.farmers.coop/resources/farmer-links/ ) gives information about the products they produce and what it takes to join. 

Another excellent web site is posted by the Koinonia community (click HERE ).  This site even has links to videos which may give you ideas about what to farm, practical tips on running a farm, and even videos devoted to how to market your farm products.   

1 May 2009

In this blog entry, I argue the notion that the method by which medical students are trained screens out those who are most concerned with the value of life and alleviation of suffering.  Namely, by forcing medical students to experiment on animals (euphemistically referred to as “sacrificing” them), the medical establishment itself selectively screens out the very same potential physicians who are most concerned with life.

I know this self-selection happened in my own case. I was wildly enthusiastic about biology.  Beginning in 6th grade, I happily rode two hours on a public city bus several days per week to study biological science at the Science Center of Pinellas County, a nonprofit devoted to children's science education.  Originally started by a scientist who taught local children out of his garage, the programs I fell in love with were in animal science taught by Dr. Ramstein.  I took his course in microbiology and couldn't wait to take the next course that he taught.  Only six youngsters would be allowed in the course, and it required several prerequisites.  while I was on the waiting list for his class, I took other classes on entymology, herpetology, and marine biology.  Finally, I was one of the lucky children who drew the straw to take that class.  Funny, I don't even remember the name of the class now, because I never took it.  That's because, during an open house for parents, I heard Dr. Ramstein telling visitors about some of the experiments we would be doing.  I couldn't quite believe my ears.  It was things I couldn't do. 

The class required that mice be “sacrificed”.  I vividly remember my shock at the thought of killing animals.  The extent of my horror and disbelief was such that, once I got home I decided that I must have been mistaken.  Surely this was a class about LIFE.  Surely each child in the class would not be required to experiment on animals and then kill them.  So, at the next opportunity, I talked with Dr. Ramstein about it.  Gingerly, of course, because he was almost like God in terms of my child-like estimation of his stature.  His reply?  He reassured me that the animals were treated humanely at all times.  It was quite necessary, he insisted, and besides, it was "just" mice. 

Well, mice are living creatures, too.  With great sadness and disappointment, I decided that "sacrifice" of animals was not within my values.  For the record, my decision was not for lack of passion or talent.  Though I never took another biology course, six years later as a senior in high school I placed in the 99th percentile on the Florida state biology exam.  I also exempted a year of college biology, never having taken a single biology class in high school.  I don't say that for the purpose of bragging, but rather to make the point that a qualified student was weeded out on account of adherence to a standard of ethics that placed a higher value on life than that adhered to by the professional teaching the class.

If the path toward medical education were to be visualized as a sifter, there are many things that sift young students out of the path.  Some get sifted out because they don't have the grades or talent for it.  Some get sifted out because they have other interests or passions.  Some, like me, get sifted out by the requirement that they lose their squeamishness about killing animals.  Who is left; who is the square peg who finds that medical education is the square hole that fits them? 

Well, first of all, they are smart.  Students who get into medical school can memorize and parrot back formulas, chemical compositions, and diagnoses.  Second, they don't mind spending time in a lab and doing precise work.  Third, they have stamina and social tolerance for the long hours required.  Fourth, they have monetary resources to attend school for many years.  Fifth, many of them are also highly motivated by the promise of rich monetary reward that awaits a successful physician.  And Sixth, yep, they can tolerate doing awful things to innocent animals. 

A girlfriend of mine who used to work in the animal lab at a medical school told me why Golden Retrievers are one of the dog breeds preferred for medical school experimentation.  The medical students are required to do various surgeries on the animals.  These surgeries become progressively more involved, such as amputation of the animal's leg, and then end with something like open heart surgery so that the medical student can see the beating heart.  And then the animal's heart is stopped and it is euthanized.  The reason Golden Retrievers are preferred is because of their sweet temperament -- they keep wagging their tails and loving on their owners even as they are having their legs cut off. 

It's possible to argue dozens of reasons why vivisection is a necessary requirement of medical education.  Indeed, just recently I read a column by a physician who argued that dissection of a human cadaver was a necessary means of preparing future physicians for the emotional challenges of cutting on (and doing medical procedures to) a living human being.  A doctor can't afford to be squeamish about jamming a knife into a person's body, if that's what it takes to cut out a tumor. 

But cutting on a cadaver is different in both kind and degree from inflicting pain on, and then killing, a non-consenting, sentient, being.  I'm continually amazed at the artificial rationalizations people will create to justify decisions they have already made.  The notion that babies -- or fish -- don't feel pain is one of these outlandish notions.  Of course they feel pain.  Even amoebas react to painful stimuli, that's one of the central functions of the central nervous system. 

This is only the beginning of where those arguments could go.  The most important fact to consider is that by sifting out young people and eliminating from medical education those who cannot stomach animal experiments, Medicine as a profession eliminates the very people it ought to be seeking out:  those persons who place such a high value on life that they refuse to degrade it. 

When I was ten years old and lacked perspective, I made the mistake of thinking that my qualms, and my resulting inability to engage in higher medical education on account of it, was just personal to me. However, since that time I’ve become aware of this happening in a more systematic way.  Through the years, I’ve become aware of many other people who were also thwarted from medical education because of their value of life.  

For example, I once knew a promising premed student who got further than I did in her quest toward a medical education.  She had nearly a 4.0 GPA in her college premed courses; and she obtained a prestigious internship / fellowship to work for a neuroscientist. Part of the plum was that the student’s name would be included in a research publication. 

Part of this students’ job was to prep animals for surgery. The surgery was not supposed to proceed until the animals were fully anesthetized. Well, you can guess right here what happened. The surgeries would proceed before the animals were anesthetized. When the student objected, the neuroscientist supervising the research grew irate. The student then had to make the choice whether to take her concerns to the university ethics committee, which could cause severe stigma and backlash, or whether to do nothing. The student could not bring herself to do either. She didn’t just quit her internship. She thought this was the tip of the iceberg; she decided to quit premed altogether. I’ve since heard of more, similar kinds of decisions.

How many students have pulled themselves out of the premed or medical school track on account of ethical qualms about medical education?  If I, in my personal experience, have known two or three, how many more must there be? 

As a result of this self selection which eliminates an entire class of moral people from the list of potential physicians, the entire “pool” of future physicians is skewed toward those who are less concerned with ethics, who are less concerned about life and the very values that a medical education is supposed to protect. As a result, our physicians are those who don’t mind tolerating “animal sacrifice” and pain. 

If our educational system is designed to screen out students like my friend, who had qualms about doing surgery on conscious rats, then we shouldn’t be surprised when our physicans are more like that neuroscientist who got so angry at my friend — willing to overlook ethical qualms, willing marginalize those who disagree, willing to overlook suffering and pain in the interest of "science".  If we teach students to be callous and to rationalize away suffering, why would it surprise us when our physicians are callous to pain and rationalize away suffering?  It is our medical education system that selects for training only those who don't have qualms about it. 

Alright, I'm certain that a physician reading this is up in arms at this point.  YOU care about ethics, you care about suffering, that's the reason YOU went to medical school.  Yes, I don't dispute that.  I'm speaking in terms of the outside edges of the bell curve.  It's not YOU that I'm worried about.  The fact that YOU are reading this article at all is an indication that you indeed have concern for ethics and that, in your case at least, I am preaching to the choir. 

But what can we do about that small minority of students who could care less?  And, more importantly, how can we move the bell to capture more of the students who are most concerned about life, even those students who are loathe to engage in animal experimentation? 

Talking about ethics is a good first start. Too many physicians have spent all their time in a biology lab.  Because they have never systematically studied philosophical ethics, they fail to appreciate the fact that ethics and morality is not just a matter of opening one's mouth to voice the opinion du jour. They fail to understand that there are various analytical frameworks which can be used to discuss ethics and to inform the process of making ethical decisions. 

When I was in graduate school studying medical ethics, I telephoned a few of my local hospitals and a few large medical practices, to survey them about the resources they devoted to ethics.  My initial thought was to write a paper about ethics procedures at the hospitals. 

All of them had ethics committees, because they were required to do so as part of their federally mandated certification requirements.  However, none of them had a system in place to ensure that the members of the committee had any training in ethics, and none of them had devoted significant, institutionalized resources (such as library budget or training) to development of expertise in the ethical decision making process.  At the time, I thought that there was inadequate source material from which to write a paper.  On the other hand, perhaps the fact that ethics was just getting lip service within the medical establishment is the material itself, needed to jumpstart a discussion about the role that ethics plays (or ought to play) in medical decision making.  Is it really enough to give a nurse a beeper and tell her that she now has ethics duty?  And what about the role of patient advocate?  Is a patient advocate merely someone who can write down a complaint voiced by a patient, or is it someone who has the authority and backing to go head to head with a blustering, loud, and red faced surgeon who resents being told what to do? 

But this is almost beside the point.  At the present time, medical education itself sifts out as chaff all potential physician candidates who have moral qualms about medical education.  While it would be outrageous to call all physicians a-moral (because most of them are moral people) I would urge that medical education, as it's currently practiced, sifts away those who are most concerned about life and pain and other, more ephemeral, values which ought to be sanctified by the medical profession. 

No amount of “training” in ethics can impart a basic,  foundational, fundamental respect for life. Until medical education is fundamentally altered by finding ways to include those who are most concerned with the sanctity of all life, it will always be skewed away from sanctity of life and toward the less ethical among us.  I am not saying that the middle portion of the bell curve of physicians is unethical or amoral.  What I am saying is that the profession ought to rise to the challenge of finding ways to include the most morally sensitive members of society in medical education and, in so doing, shift the paradigm of medical education toward even greater respect for the value of life and alleviation of suffering. 

"First, do no harm," is more than an ideal, it is a moral imperative. 

2 April 2009

Every government intercepts electronic transmissions.  Don't forget that!  The only thing we're aware of is whether the bars on our individual cages are transparent or not. 

I really enjoy my friendships with people from other cultures, but there is one area which I don't usually engage in conversation.  I don't usually engage in any discussions with them online which I think might pose the slightest risk in terms of causing problems for them in their own country.  I have broken my own rule from time to time, sometimes inadvertently. 

One time, for example, a chat popped up on my screen.  I don't usually chat online, but my friend and I started "talking" online, and the conversation drifted to some things I had been told might not be a good idea to talk about.  So I told him, "we shouldn't talk about these things."  He replied there was no need to fear, because things had improved in his country and there was now more tolerance.  He typed, "things are different now".    I replied with six words:  "You still don't have free speech." 

No sooner had I typed the words and hit the "send" button, than my internet connection went dead . . . .  Dead as a doornail! 

The phone company said there was nothing wrong with my connection.  They said that my computer must have malfunctioned.  I tried everything.  First of all, I had done nothing to change anything about my computer prior to the disconnection.  Second, I even got an IT guy to look at it.  There was nothing wrong with my computer.  The phone company insisted it wasn't them.  A week or so later, my internet connection mysteriously started working again. 

I got the message.  Whomever it was that was monitoring my computer -- the person who had been reading that chat in real time --  had slapped my hand by shutting off my connection.  What was ironic was that they cut off my internet because of the fact that I told someone they didn't have free speech!  The point proved itself! 

Well, apparently it's not just emails and chats that are being intercepted.  Entire computer systems are being mined for information.  Not just this, but there's active listening going on, too.  Computer worms are now being used to turn computers into spy machines.  The headlines for the web site Democracy Now reported on 30 March 2009:

A team of Canadian researchers have uncovered a vast electronic spy network that infiltrated the offices of the [DL], the Asian Development Bank, the Associated Press and many foreign embassies. Researchers linked the spy operation to servers in China but cautioned that there is no direct evidence implicating the Chinese government. Intelligence analysts say many governments, including those of China, Russia and the United States, use sophisticated computer programs to covertly gather information. The spy network known as Gh*stN*t infiltrated nearly 1,300 computers in 100 countries. Once a computer is infected, the spies gain the ability to turn on the camera and audio-recording functions of the computer, enabling monitors to see and hear what goes on in a room. The spy network also gained control of mail servers for the [DL's], allowing the spies to intercept all correspondence.

Hmm.  I wonder if my virus and firewall protection is good against this?  Somehow, I doubt it.  I think that the countries specifically named in this report have especially sophisticated monitoring systems.  Other countries aren't quite as advanced -- we hope -- or, are they?  We never know until it's too late.  I would be especially concerned for my friends in countries that are known for harsh punishment of those who speak their minds. 

My father had a saying, that "sometimes discretion is the better part of valor".  Sometimes, it's better to avoid the fight than to engage in a losing battle.  I think of years wasted in prison or house arrest, as well as years in exile, would probably be better spent working quietly as agents for good in one's community.  There are many ways of being effective.  All things in good time. 

As for me, if someone were to monitor the camera on my computer, I'm afraid it wouldn't be very interesting at all.  My computer is in the room where I do laundry; so they'd get a big eyeful of unwashed clothing.  Once in awhile, they'd get the thrill of seeing one of us do some ironing.  Wow.  Now that's some big stuff. 

30 March 2009

The song Guantanamera is a Cuban folk song.  It is based on the poem Cultivo Una Rosa Blanca by the poet and hero of the Cuban revolution, Jose Marti.  It's a song of revolution, as well as a song of peace.  Marti wrote:  "Life on earth is a hand-to-hand mortal combat... between the law of love and the law of hate" (letter dated 1881). 

I created this hermeneutic translation a year ago.  I re-post it now for benefit of my Chinese friends who would like a translation of the song from Spanish to Chinese (Zhongwen).  On this 50th anniversary of Chinese rule of Tibet, I post it as a reminder that Revolution can come in many ways, sometimes through cultivation of a white rose.  

GUANTANAMERA

Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera

[Guantanamera means a song of Guantanamo

Guantanamo is a town on the Eastern coast of Cuba

Guajira is slang for a peasant from the countryside

Guantanamera]

民歌从关塔那摩在古巴

Guajira

是俗话为一个农民从乡下

Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma
Chorus

I am a sincere man from where the palm trees grow
I am a simple man from the land of palm trees.
And before I die, I want to pour out these verses that flow from my soul

我是一个恳切的人

我的家园是棕榈增长的地方

我是一个非常简单的人

我是非常认真的,

我死了以前

我想要倾吐这些诗歌

流动从我的灵魂

Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido
Que busca en el monte amparo
Chorus

My verses are brilliant green, and also fiery crimson; my poems are clear green, and also flaming carmine; My poems are like a wounded fawn seeking refuge in the forested mountains;

我的诗歌是精采绿色

他们是还火热的绯红色

我的词是软的绿色

我的词是火焰状胭脂红的颜色

我的诗是伤害小鹿

寻找的避难所在树木丛生的山

Cultivo la rosa blanca
En junio como en enero
Qultivo la rosa blanca
En junio como en enero
Para el amigo sincero
Que me da su mano franca

Chorus

I cultivate a white rose in June and in January; I cultivate a white rose, in June and in January, for my true friend who lends me his steady hand

在6月和于1月

我耕种白色 玫瑰花

在6月和于1月

我耕种白色 玫瑰花

给我的恳切朋友

使用他平稳的手帮助我

Y para el cruel que me arranca
El corazon con que vivo
Y para el cruel que me arranca
El corazon con que vivo
Cardo ni ortiga cultivo
Cultivo la rosa Blanca

Chorus

And for the cruel one who would break my heart; And for the cruel one who would pluck out my living heart, I cultivate neither thistles nor nettles; I cultivate a white rose

我的心

并且给残暴人拔了出来

我的心

并且给残暴人拔了出来

我不耕种蓟或刺

我耕种白色玫瑰花

Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
El arroyo de la sierra
Me complace mas que el mar
Chorus

With the poor people of this earth, I cast my lot; With the poor people of this earth, I throw my fate, for the brooks of the mountains please me more than the sea

与这地球的世人

我熔铸了我的命运

与这地球的可怜的人民

我一起安置我的命运, 因为

山的小河比的海洋使我愉快

(重覆合唱)

Enjoy: 

For more, see my Original Post

_____________

18 March 2009

What’s There To Do in Columbia, SC?

Here are some suggestions from the official city web site  ( http://www.columbiasc.net/columbia/259 ) :

See a concert at the Colonial Center. an ice show at the Carolina Coliseum. a Broadway show at the Koger Center. a national dance touring company at The Township. a regatta at Lake Murray. a replica of a three ton white shark at the State Museum. historic homes from the 16th century. festivals, concerts and an amazing view at Finlay Park. Catch a theatrical production at one of Columbia's many theatres. Walk through the tallest trees on the East Coast in the Congaree National Park. Tailgate at Williams-Brice Stadium as the University of South Carolina battles in Southeastern Conference football. Enjoy food from around the world at one of many festivals. Listen to one of music's hottest performers at the South Carolina State Fair. Play challenging golf course. Visit Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, consistently rated one of the nation's "10 Great Zoos." In short, Columbia really does have it all!

Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden http://www.riverbanks.org/

You can easily spend a full day at Riverbanks Zoo. When you purchase your ticket, check to see the times for your favorite animal feedings (penguins, seals, birds, sharks) and then schedule your visit around that.

Until the Charleston Aquarium was constructed, Riverbanks was the largest Aquarium on the Eastern seaboard between Sea World in Orlando and Sea World in Williamsburg.

Depending on your preference, the botanical garden (across the river on a footbridge from the zoo) is lovely and includes a trail that goes through remnants of a pre-Civil war encampment. It was from this location that Sherman bombarded the City.

State Museum http://www.museum.state.sc.us/

The State Museum is housed in a former textile mill building that at one time housed the first electrically powered mill in the USA. The building is constructed by master craftsmen using construction techniques that are no longer available in the USA. Taking up four floors, the first floor is Art, second floor is Natural History as well as various traveling exhibits, 3^rd floor is Science and Technology, and 4^th floor is Cultural History. The Cotton Mill gift shop has gifts and souvenirs made by local artisans and with themes unique to the state.

University of South Carolina http://www.sc.edu

This is the flagship university for the state. It is one of the oldest public institutions in the USA. Within easy walking distance of the State Capitol building, the historic portion of the campus is centered around the “Horseshoe,” which includes the buildings which house the McKissick Museum and the South Caroliniana library (below). The Law School is home to a Children’s Law Center. The Koger Center for the Performing Arts, Town Theater, Workshop Theater, Township Auditorium, and Colonial Center are all within a ten minute walk of the University.

General site for visitors, with athletics and arts calendars,

http://www.sc.edu/visitors/

McKissick Museum http://www.cas.sc.edu/Mcks/exhibitions/

South Caroliniana Library http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/

Athletics http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/#00 (last athletic events for spring appear to be April 17^th)

Campus Tour, MP3 files: http://www.sc.edu/mp3tour/tour.html

University of South Carolina Children’s Law Center: http://childlaw.sc.edu/

Finlay Park: http://www.midnet.sc.edu/parks/finlay.html

This is an award winning park located at 930 Laurel Street, which is near Assembly Street about nine blocks north and two blocks west from the state capitol building. Unfortunately, either due to budget constraints or simply because of winter, the beautiful fountains are not currently operational.

Tour of State Capitol Building http://www.scstatehouse.gov/studentpage/tour.htm

The four city block area that makes up the State Capitol Complex is a very nice garden in and of itself. There are state-run souvenir shops in the basement of the Blatt Building and on the first floor of the Rembert Dennis Building.

Congaree National Monument http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congaree_National_Park

One of the few old growth forests remaining on the East Coast (spared because the swampy wetlands are too low for logging), has a boardwalk of about half mile from a parking area to the river as well as some miles of hiking trails.

Lake Murray is a popular destination for fishermen, the following web site has links for fishing guides: http://lakemurraycountry.com/thingstodo_boatingfishing.html

Local Event Schedules and Tickets

Koger Center for the Arts http://www.koger.sc.edu/02cal/index.html

Trustus Theater http://www.trustus.org/

Workship Theater http://www.workshoptheatre.com/season.html

Colonial Life Arena http://www.stubhub.com/tix11-ticketcenter/colonial-center-event-tickets/?gcid=C12289x331&keyword=Colonial+Center;colonial%20center

11 March 2009

A few days ago, I wrote about International Women's Day, celebrated on 8th of March each year.  The name of this festival is "San Ba Jie," or "Three Eight Festival" (for third month, 8th day).  It is a festival day in China to celebrate the equality of women in society, particularly in Communist societies.  Women in China, Chairman Mao said, "hold up half the sky."  The only problem is, that ordinary citizens in China don't really see women that way.  Women may hold up half the sky, but they are not viewed as equal with men. 

Nor are women valued as highly, literally.  If they were, it would not have been necessary for the Chinese government to ban the storefront ultrasound businesses, which would tell people whether the baby they were expecting was a boy or girl, so they could selectively abort the baby if it were a girl.  It would not have been necessary for the government to institute a campaign in the countryside to convince parents that "Every child is precious." 

How well I remember the days in the USA when women who agitated for equal rights were viewed as abrasive.  Let's put it bluntly.  They weren't just viewed as pushy.  They were viewed as something akin to lesbian bitches.  Well, ... in China, to refer to a woman as a "san ba nu" (three eight woman) has somewhat the same connotation.  It's not a nice term. 

That's why, when I recently referred to myself as a "san ba nu," one of my Chinese friends wrote to me:  "It is not a positive comment for you. Stop using that word. :)"  She didn't realize that I knew it wasn't a flattering way to refer to one's self.  But, I've already been there, done that.  I've battled those barriers of sexism in the workplace.  You don't make progress by being sweet and playing by the same rules that kept women in their "place" for centuries already. 

Thus, my reply to her?

"Wo zhidao [I know]. My point really is that, it just goes to show how far women still have to go in a society -- how small our gains are -- when the mere fact of seeking equality with men is equated with being an annoying, yacking, gossipy, complaining, bitch! I utterly disagree with the Chinese use of the term we westerners would call "liberated woman" as being the equivalent of what we would call "bitch", MOST ESPECIALLY when the term itself (directly translated "March 8th woman") is a direct reference to International Women's Day, which is about nothing more than seeking equal rights for women! I PRAY that the future for you (and for all sisters) will be much better than this cultural stereotype indicates!!" 

Another of my friends wrote to me a really sweet note, which in part says:  "I don't think we need a worldwide banner proclaiming how great we are. We already knew."

To which I reply, "zhende, zhende [truly, truly!]"!!! 

8 March 2009

Have you ever wondered just what was the spark that ignited the flame of the Russian Revolution in 1917? Russia was at war in on its eastern front and sending supplies to support that effort.  In St. Petersburg, it had been a long winter.  The men had largely been conscripted into the army, leaving women to support their families alone.  There was hardship and hunger.  On International Women's Day in 1917, thousands women marched on the Palace to demanding "peace, bread, and land." 

Fearing unrest, and with most of his Army away from the city, the Tsar Nicholas II was desperate enough to keep order that he commanded the Palace Guard to fire on the marchers.  The guards refused to fire on the unarmed women, and joined them instead.  One thing led to another; things snowballed and escalated.  The rest is history. All because of International Women's Day and the distaste of the Palace Guard for firing upon women who were marching for food for their children.  [For one reference available online click HERE].

I was shocked to learn, however, that the first precursor to International Women's Day was in the same year my grandfather was born, in 1908.  In the year of my grandfather's birth, 15,000 women marched in the streets of New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights [for full reference click HERE].  In 1909, the National Socialist Party in the USA declared the first IWD. Once the ball was rolling, the cause was also taken up in Europe.  At a conference attended by women from 17 countries, Clara Zetkin proposed that one day in particular be designated internationally, and the date was standardized.  Well, guess what day that is?  Today!  March 8th!* 

The link of IWD with socialism and condition of the working class is significant.  IWD has particularly been associated with class struggle of socialism and the seeking of worker rights.  Immediately after the Russian Revolution, great advances for women were written into Russian law.  Some of those changes are written about HERE.

Women still have a long way to go.  Statistics show that women still earn a FRACTION of the pay of similarly situated males.  (I note that in the USA, women received the right to vote some decades after did the freed male slaves.  Perhaps we'll have a female president in about the same amount of time after we have an African American, male president?) 

Women still have a long way to go in China in terms of reaching equality in that society.  While it is possible for women to achieve positions of leadership in government and business, it is more often the exception than the rule.  More typically, a woman considers herself "middle aged" in the working world when she is over 30 years old.  As just one example, I one time asked a tour guide how she chose that profession.  She replied:

I used to work as a waitress in a restaurant, and then I became the manager.  I worked as a waitress for two years.  I worked several more years as the manager.  About four years.  I really loved my job, and I was good at it.  My boss was great.  He was the owner.  I did really well and the business grew by leaps and bounds.  But after a few years he told me, "You're not so young any more.  I really like you, but I'm going to have to hire someone younger.  Take some time, maybe a year, but you need to find another position."  You know [she explained to me], when people come into a restaurant, they want to see a really pretty face.  I wasn't so young anymore.  I wasn't so pretty as I had been when I was younger.  So, that's when I started to look around.

Advertisements sometimes plainly state that only pretty girls need apply, and many women over age 30 believe they are no longer marketable.  I had one friend, for example, who had worked for a large multinational corporation until her first (and only) child was born.  Now that he was older, she wanted to return to work.  I suggested that she reapply to the same company where she had previously worked.   "Oh no," was her reply.  "I'm much too old.  I'm all washed out.  They'd never hire me."  This was a woman who was 36 years old when we were speaking. 

I also noticed a double standard socially, in terms of behavior that was accepted for women and men.  I once turned heads when I ordered beer in a restaurant, because all the other people with me were Chinese women.  In my group of friends, women did not generally order beer.  Old enough to have lived through the Cultural Revolution, they still thought it was unladylike.   I had not realized this, because when I had been out with Chinese people before it had always before been in mixed company.  Under the particular circumstances, I decided that I would break the rule and have the beer anyway.  One of my friends asked me, "In America, do all women drink beer?" 

"No," I replied, "Only San Ba Nu. Wo shi [I am a ] San Ba Nu." 

To explain what is a "San Ba Nu," I refer you to this video!  Enjoy! 

And ....  San Ba Fu Nu Jie Kuaile!

三八妇女节快乐!

____________________

*According to one web site, IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.   For a more detailed history with references see THIS history by Alexandra Kollantai, translated from its original 1920's source.

26 February 2009

"Music has to be recognized as an ... agent of social development in the highest sense, because it transmits the highest values -- solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion. And it has the ability to unite an entire community and to express sublime feelings."  Jose Abreu 

I recently was listening to the radio when the news reported that some national leaders in the USA had objected to the recent Congressional economic stimulus bill on the basis that it included funding for the arts.  The radio included clips where Senators and Representatives were speaking in scornful tones about fluff arts programs that had no real substance and didn't create "jobs". 

Excuse me?  I just can't take that sitting down. 

This is a long blog post with some in depth discussion of the many reasons why public funding for the arts is a good idea.  For those who want just a brief list, here is a summary of the reasons:  (1) the arts improve individual mental ability and personal skill that crosses into all other endeavors in life, (2) the arts elevate the individual from a mere animal existence toward a higher and more enriching experience of human life, (3) the arts strengthen social structures at the level of the family, community, nation, and world. 

The arts solidify and build social structures as follows:   by strengthening the individual within the family and thereby strengthening the family unit, by building local communities through community networks that are drawn together and unified through their support of the arts, by contributing to the development of the national consciousness through the medium of art and, ultimately, by enabling nations to contribute to the greater world of ideas and the general uplifting of mankind.  So, the detail follows: 

First of all, there is no merit in the claim that funds distributed through arts programs do not create jobs.  A job created by or for an artist is no less a job than a job created for a plumber or painter.  The fact that the job is in the arts does not diminish its economic effect.  I am reminded, as an example of value, of the art and social history created and documented as part of FDR's New Deal package. 

But even more than this initial red herring error, of their argument, I find myself deeply disturbed by the implied message that arts are somehow an extravagance unworthy of public funding in and of itself.  What an impoverished viewpoint concerning mankind!  Art, music, culture, spiritual pursuits -- these are the very things that elevate mankind and distinguish us from beasts.  Without art, without beauty, without an aim to a higher or more noble purpose, what do we have but a vain existence trudging along the path of life toward certain death?  

A. BENEFIT TO THE INDIVIDUAL:  Each Individual Participant Benefits From Art, Not Just Because It Strengthens the Mind and Academic Pursuits, but Because Art Pulls Us Toward Experience of a Higher Level of Existence than the Mundane

Certainly (as it is said in Ecclesiastes), whether or not we have beauty in our lives, we all toil under the same sun and end up in the same place.  Yet Art (in the broad sense of the word, along with love and laughter) makes the journey so much more meaningful and worthwhile.  While gruel with some roots added in will nourish the body, a sumptuous buffet makes life better.  In the same way, art adds both light and levity to an otherwise base existence.  Why should we settle for gruel if we could have a life full of sumptuous buffet, in the spiritual and artistic sense if not the material one? 

There have always been people who believe that art is not a worthy pursuit.  The Calvinists, for one, banished art from religious services.  Always at risk of being perceived as worthless vanity, art faces danger whenever schools facing severe budget constraints must decide which subjects or programs to cut. 

Some years ago, I remember hearing an educator fighting on behalf of continued funding of the arts in public schools.  She tried to justify art and music by pointing out that children who take these subjects do better in their other academic subjects.  This is true.  Children who participate in music have significantly higher scores in both math and reading.  As a result of studies making this very point (and written about in books like The Mozart Effect), some educators play Mozart in their classrooms or during school math tests. 

This is rather simplistic, because in actuality real benefit from learning Mozart comes from the diligence of practice, from experiencing and learning about the internal structure of the music composition, not just as a side benefit of the fact that the music is soothing and will help children concentrate.  Though children do, indeed, perform better on their math tests even if all they do is listen while they take the test, they get the most out of music when they actually become immersed, embedded, and live and breathe it for a time each day.  However, for all of its many benefits for other academics, I would vehemently disagree with the notion that music is nothing but a means to a higher math score or simply another tool to use in fighting dyslexia.  To me, this concedes the argument much too quickly. 

The arts -- uniquely -- foster an experience that transcends the mundane, our daily experience of the world.  Through this transcendence, we are ourselves changed, transformed into something better, into a new and better realm of existence.  It is this capacity deep within our soul, which we glimpse through art, that elevates us above skin and bones and hunger and toward experience of the divine.  Art gives us a window into a higher plane of existence.  

One influential philosopher of music, Schopenhauer, tied this notion of transcendence into the concept of Plato's ideal forms.  The form of music, in the platonic sense of form (I rudely paraphrase), draws our mind toward the the Telos of pure thought, rationality, and a type of mathematical experience.  I've read other philosophers who discussed how music operates in the mind in another dimension beyond time and space.  While I'm not going to try and re-find the article I read one time, about multidimensional experience and thought, I think I recall that the advent of PET scans has enabled proof that music does expand the mind and mental capabilities, in and of itself.  It's theorized that this multidimensional, nonverbal aspect of music is the reason that music and mathematical ability is closely connected.  Yet I would argue, vehemently, that while music's stimulation of the mind may have positive effects on other aspects of thought, this is not the most important aspect of arts education.  The experience of music (of art generally) -- in and of itself -- is sufficient to justify arts education, without regard to the effect that art has on other subjects. 

That's because Art is enriching as a means to its own end, not just as an adjunct to other academics.  My 97 year old grandmother can recite Chaucer she learned as a school girl.  Yes, the act of learning how to memorize Chaucer created a skill -- the skill of how to memorize -- which surely served my grandmother well for 90 years.  But as much as this memory trick, knowledge of Chaucer's poetic form has also enriched her life by adding a dimension of poetry that influenced her entire perception of and relation to language for all of her days.  Without regard to effect on memory, poetry is worthwhile for its own sake, for the beauty that it brings us. 

But wait, there's more!

B. BENEFIT TO SOCIETY:  The Arts Enrich All of Society by Strengthening Families, Building Communities, Strengthening Nations, and Inspiring the World

Beyond enriching academic pursuits and bringing beauty to life, the social and uplifting function of art also serves to build communities and move people out of not only cultural but also economic impoverishment.  "How could this be," you ask? 

Today, I stumbled upon an interview of one of the 2009 TED* prize winners which enunciates some of the profound factors which give art a transformative role in society, perhaps our surest arguments that art SHOULD receive public funding and support. 

This talk was eloquent, and so moving, that I transcribed it.  It wasn't how I had planned to spend my afternoon, but I felt as if the speaker captured thoughts that I've struggled to form in my own mind, about why art has had such a profound influence in my own life. 

Music has been a part of my life since I was a small child.  My mother was a professional musician, and some of my earliest memories are of playing underneath her piano while she practiced.  In my own household, participating in music was not optional.  I was expected to choose an instrument and practice as part of my daily routine.  And in addition to French horn, my chosen instrument, I was expected to learn "keyboarding" (piano) because that was part of being musically literate.  In high school and in college, I played in various bands and orchestras.  As profoundly influenced as I was by the deeply meaningful experience I had of playing music in an orchestra, it was hard for me to express exactly what that experience had entailed for me.  Even now, when I have friends and family who devote very significant time to the arts, I wonder what driving force motivates them to work so hard for their art.  

But today, I found that explanation in eloquent form.  The interview I watched was a video of Jose Antonio Abreu, a 2009 winner of a TED prize.  I was so stunned by his words that had to share them. 

But before I share them, I will answer the questions, "Who is this man?" and "What does he do?"  Maestro Abreu is a Venezuelan who in 1975 started a project, called El Sistema, to bring music instruction to at-risk children in Venezuela.  Today, El Sistema is a nationwide program in Venezuela.  It brings music to 250,000 children through participation in 102 youth orchestras, 55 children's orchestras, and 270 music centers.  His program began in 1975 with 11 boys and now boasts one of the premier symphonies in the world, the Teresa Careno Youth Orchestra, the national high school age youth orchestra of Venezuela.  (Click HERE for a link to a video of this orchestra.)

His words are so inspiring!  Hear what he has to say: 

[After discussing the beginnings of El Sistema and how it has grown into a national program  ...  ]  "Today we can say that art in Latin America is no longer a monopoly of elites and that it has become a social right, a right for all the people. …

***

In its essence, the orchestra and choir are much more than artistic structures; they are examples and schools of social life, because to sing and to play together means to intimately coexist toward perfection and excellence, following a strict discipline of organization and coordination in order to seek the harmonic interdependence of voices and instruments. That’s how they [children in the el Sistema program] build a spirit of solidarity and fraternity among them, develop their self esteem and foster the ethical and aesthetical values related to the music in all its sense. This is why music is immensely important in the awakening of sensibility, in the forging of values and in the training of youngsters to teach other kids. After all this time here, music is life, nothing else. Music is life.

***

The structure of El Sistema is based on a new and flexible managing style adapted to the features of each community and region, and today attends to 300,000 children of the lower and middle class all over Venezuela. It’s a program of social rescue and deep cultural transformation designed to the whole Venezuelan society with absolutely no distinctions whatsoever, but emphasizing on the vulnerable and endangered social groups.

The effect of El Sistema is felt in three fundamental circles: in the personal / social circle, in the family circle, and in the community. In the personal / social circle, the children in the orchestras and choirs develop their intellectual and emotional side. The music becomes a source for developing the dimensions of the human being, thus elevating the spirit and leading man to a full development of his personality. So, the emotional and intellectual profits are huge: the acquisition of leadership, teaching and training principles; the sense of commitment, responsibility, generosity and dedication to others; and the individual contribution to achieve great collective goals. All this leads to the development of self-esteem and confidence.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta insisted on something that always impressed me: that the most miserable and tragic thing about poverty is not the lack of bread or roof, but the feeling of being no-one, the feeling of not being anyone, the lack of identification, the lack of public esteem. That’s why the child’s development in the orchestra and the choir provides him with a noble identity and makes him a role model for his family and community. It makes him a better student at school because it inspires in him a sense of responsibility, perseverance and punctuality that will greatly help him at school.

Within the family, the parents’ support is unconditional. The child becomes a role model for both his parents, and this is very important for a poor child. Once the child discovers he is important for his family, he begins to seek new ways of improving himself and hopes better for himself and his community. He also hopes for social and economic improvements for his own family. All this makes up a constructive and ascending social dynamic. The large majority of our children belong, as I already mentioned, to the most vulnerable strata of the Venezuelan population. That encourages them to embrace new dreams, new goals, and progress in the various opportunities the music has to offer.

Finally, in the circle of the community, the orchestras prove to be creative spaces of culture, the sources of exchange of new meanings. The spontaneity music has, excludes it as a luxury item and makes it a patrimony of society. It’s what makes a child play a violin at home, while his father works in his carpentry. It’s what makes a little girl play the clarinet at home, while her mother does the housework. The idea is that families join with pride and joy in the activities of the orchestras and choirs their children belong to. The huge spiritual world that music produces in itself, which also lies within itself, ends up overcoming material poverty.

From the minute a child’s taught how to play an instrument, he’s no longer poor, he becomes a child in progress, heading for a professional level, who’ll later become a full citizen. Needless to say, music is the number one prevention against prostitution, violence, bad habits, and everything degrading in the life of a child.

A few years ago, historian Arnold Toynbee said that the world was suffering a huge spiritual crisis. Not an economic or am social one, but a spiritual one. I believe that to confront such crisis, only art and religion can give proper answers to humanity, to mankind’s deepest aspirations, and to the historic demands of our times. Being that [arts] education is the synthesis of wisdom and knowledge, it’s the means to strive for a more perfect, more aware, more noble, and more just society.

With passion and enthusiasm, we pay profound respects to TED for its outstanding humanism, the scope of its principles, and its open and generous promotion of young values. We hope that TED can contribute in a full and fundamental way to the building of this new era in the teaching of music, in which the social, communal, spiritual, and vindicatory aims of the child and the adolescent become a beacon and a goal for a vast social mission. No longer putting society at the service of art, and much less at the service of monopolies of the elite, but instead art at the service of society, at the service of the weakest, at the service of the children, at the service of the sick, at the service of the vulnerable, and at the service of all those who cry for the vindication through the spirit of their human condition and the raising up of their dignity.

Wow.  He says so much!  I know that what I've written is far too long, but I hope, just hope, that if you have read this far, you will become or continue to be a passionate supporter of the arts in your community.  In your schools, in your home, in your own life.  Maestro Abreu was asking for the support of TED to build art in communities.  I would ask that you substitute the word "YOU" in place of TED in the paragraph above.  Won't YOU support art? 

And as for this historic moment, congratulations to Maestro Abreu on his award!  His wish, granted by TED with funding of $100,000 for one wish to change the world?  His wish is this: 

I wish you [TED] would help create and document a special training program for at least 50 gifted young musicians, passionate for their art and for social justice, and dedicated to developing El Sistema in the US and in other countries.

May this wish come fully to life! 

Here is the video, if you'd like to listen to the entire interview for yourself: 

PARTICIPATE IN AND SUPPORT THE ARTS IN YOUR OWN LIFE, IN YOUR HOME, AND IN YOUR GREATER COMMUNITY! 

____

*TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design.  TED is a new think tank, pulling together the best of modern ideas and communicating those to the rest of us.

25 February 2009

The Washington Post reports that Hillary Clinton says economic sanctions against Myanmar (Burma) have been a failure and the Obama Administration may consider other options.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021800273.html?wpisrc=newsletter

I, personally, hope that some sanctions will be lifted, particularly to allow more trade that benefits sustainable industries and tourism, as these are more likely to benefit people rather than the government or large corporations.

I have had personal reason to consider the sanction issue carefully. I traveled to Myanmar last year in spite of the sanctions, but only after careful consideration of the issue of whether I could, ethically, go there. My experience highlighted, in my mind, the complexity of the issue but also the very real need to bring responsible economic development and dialogue that will eventually create an unstoppable force for free speech and human rights.

Sule Pagoda in Yangon

There are those who would say that my travel to Myanmar was ethically wrong. As a practical matter, even if one avoids government-run hotels, it is impossible, they say, for one to travel to Myanmar without putting tourism dollars into the hands of the Military Junta. The countervailing argument is that travel to Myanmar increases contact with and economic support of local people. Many who travel to Burma attempt, by catering to small, family run businesses, to tailor their travel in a way to avoid enriching the Junta and instead to put money into local pockets. The isolationists reply to this that the benefit to the Junta overwhelms the small support that local people receive from tourism; they also reply that the people of Myanmar do not need support or solidarity from outsiders who fail to understand and do not truly partake of Burmese culture. These views gave me great pause for thought before I traveled to Myanmar, but in the end I am very glad I went.

Parade for a young novitiate

In my view, the benefits of engagement between Myanmar and people from outside cultures result in more good than harm. First of all, my small engagement in dialogue with the people I met was extremely meaningful and educational for me, personally. There's nothing like being in a place to spur development of deeper awareness and understanding. It gave me a deeper appreciation for and knowledge of people, culture, and situation.

Impromptu English lesson in a small rural school

This spurred me to do more research, to be more aware of the issues on an ongoing basis, to befriend Burmese immigrants in my own community. My deeper awareness and understanding, in turn, has made it possible for me to communicate to others, to raise awareness about what the situation is in Myanmar.
I hope that my trip also lent support and encouragement to the people I met, all of whom appeared to be ordinary citizens just trying to make it during difficult times. I pray that my continuing dialogue with them bis post and email does not jeopardize their personal security (recently a college age blogger who spoke in favor of free speech was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment), but on the other hand I'm aware that my support may be a force that can sustain through tough times.

Seamstress earning her living in Yangon

The second reason I disagree with sanctions is that they don't work as one would hope. When Western countries pull out of an economic void in response to human rights concerns, what really happens is that other countries, from cultures less concerned with human rights, move in quickly to fill the void. Just because Western based businesses are not engaged in economic development activities in Myanmar does not mean that there is no economic development. Just as in Sudan, when western companies pulled out that left a vacuum that was quickly filled by China. Even now, the government of Myanmar considers China to be its friend while lack of engagement encourages mental vilification of the USA.
Even now, China is investing in an oil pipeline directly from Myanmar to China and selling arms to the Myanmar government. I believe that consumers from Asian countries could care less about working conditions in the mines that produce their rubies; and when I saw the throngs of people collected around Burmese jade or rare wood in the markets of Guangzhou, I don't think I detected concern for the effects of strip mining or of clear cutting timber. (Full disclosure, I purchased a piece of jade in China without asking about its origin.)

Restaurant at a quarterly night market

In my view, Myanmar presents the West with a golden opportunity to help a fledgling economy build itself in a sustainable way, even if to do so requires an end run around the Junta. If the populace is engaged, and as the country becomes woven into the web of the global economy, the Junta will have to give way. This policy has been largely successful in China, as one example. While there is much room for improvement of human rights in China, its economic engagement with the West has made it much more of a challenge for a totalitarian government to control information, contacts, and awareness of global issues. This has resulted in a government that, while still totalitarian, is in fact more responsive to public opinion than it would at times prefer to be. I hope for a policy change in Washington, D.C.!

A worker in a textile factory near Lake Inle

On the other hand, I would hope for a policy that would be carefully and sensitively tailored in such a way as to benefit local people in sustainable ways. The world does not need more colonial powers exporting ideology from the top down, nor does Myanmar need huge capital projects wrecking the environment and traditional culture, financed by large corporations fueled solely by greedy stockholders. Myanmar presents an opportunity for investment in small scale, sustainable micro-enterprise that directly benefits people, operating within and accountable to local communities. I hope that future U.S. economic policy will be directed toward this aim.

Building a road outside Mandalay

10 February 2009

In South Carolina, we are familiar with the legend of The Swamp Fox, whose real name was Frances Marion.  Hiding out with his men in the swamps of the low country, he and his rag-tag band of men managed to stage surprise raids on the British during the Revolutionary War.  They waged a type of guerrilla warfare, staying in the swamp until they attacked, and then disappearing back into the swamp from which they emerged.  Using the strategy of hiding in the swamps, they "outfoxed" the British, hence the name "Swamp Fox". 

The British were not able to follow Marion into the swamps, for three main reasons.  They did not know the geography of the land, they had no supply of food there, and the swamps were infested with deadly malaria-carrying mosquitoes.   Food in the remote, swampy wilderness was a major issue, as indeed it was across the entire frontier. 

I once visited the remnants of a British outpost in the low-country of South Carolina.  It was built upon a high "Indian Mound" in the middle of an expansive marsh.  The literature at this outpost stated that the supply chain was a crucial, and ultimately fatal, issue for this particular outpost. 

The Patriots (those seeking independence from Britain) were able to defeat the soldiers at this outpost only after they broke the supply line and stopped the supply of food reaching it from the British garrison at Charleston, about 100 miles away.  What was most interesting was the presence in that museum of letters which had been written by the commanding officer of that outpost to his superiors concerning their food supply.   

The commanding officer, basically, said that the British soldiers could not be expected to eat the same wretched, inferior, local food which was relied upon upon by the Patriots.  The Patriots, it was said, lived on native tubers which were most distasteful and base.  It was implied that the Patriots' ability to eat the native foods was evidence of their crude and lowly way of life, a lifestyle scorned by the more upper class British soldiers who were disgusted by this kind of diet. 

What were these native tubers?  The food that enabled Frances Marion and his fellow patriots to survive in the swamps (and which was scorned by the British) was the yam, or sweet potato. 

I understand that sweet potatoes are remarkably nutritious, particularly when combined with some dairy.  (And while there was not yet any cure for malaria, it is said that the Swamp Fox improved the odds for his men somewhat by having them mix in a teaspoon of vinegar into their drinking water.  This caused a slight alteration of their blood chemistry so that they were less prone either to being bitten by mosquitoes or to developing malaria.) 

Since the sweet potato was crucial to the Patriots ability to function, and since the disruption of the food supply chain was a critical component of the British inability to defend its frontier against the Patriots, I would say that this little tuber has also had a role to play in the formation of the United States!  The sweet potato continued to be a staple of the pioneer diet long beyond the time of the Revolutionary War.  In records of my own family's farm dating from the mid 19th Century, sweet potatoes and corn were the two staple food crops, accounting for about 90% of the land under cultivation. 

Needless to say, then, sweet potatoes are a significant component of traditional family dinners in the American South.  Particularly at Thanksgiving, practically no Southerner considers her table complete without the presence of a casserole made from sweet potatoes.  These casseroles generally fall under the category of being sinfully rich -- usually mixed with sugar and eggs and cream, then sprinkled on top with a crust and baked so that it resembles a dessert more than a vegetable.  (Yum!  Just thinking of my Aunt Barbara's casserole makes me covet her recipe!)  But, my goal of cooking yummy food for my family must be tempered with the need for healthiness and nutrition. 

Speaking of nutrition, sweet potatoes are packed with it.  Because of this, they continue to play a role in nutrition around the globe.  One sweet potato, by itself, has only 95 calories but delivers more than twice the daily requirement of Vitamin A.  Sweet potatoes are also rich in Vitamin C, manganese, copper, fiber, Vitamin B 6, potassium, and iron.  They are often baked and sold by street vendors in China.  People purchase them, peel them with their fingers, and eat them as a street food.  Indeed, for a tourist concerned about germs in food (food poisoning) sweet potatoes are a pretty safe bet as long as one is sure they are fresh and hot. 

In South Carolina, I was only familiar with one kind of tuber we call the "sweet potato," but when I got to China I encountered many, many more varieties.  Orange, white, blue, yellow, large and small.  Some are sweeter, some more tender, others more starchy.  I don't have a complete sampling, but here are two shots from one food market in Guangzhou: 

Indeed, I think I purchased some of those sweet potatoes in the upper photo and used them to make the recipe which I will now give instructions to make -- Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole.  The good thing about my casserole is that by eliminating some of the animal fat and reducing the sugar, it's still pretty healthy, yet addition of some vegan butter, fruit, sugar and spice means it's pretty tasty, too.  Because it's so light and fluffy, I venture to call it Sweet Potato Souffle. 

Ingredients:  3 large sweet potatoes (about 1 and 1/2 pounds total), 1 cup fresh, chopped pecans, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granola, 1/3 cup vegan margarine, 1/2 cup white flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder (preferably Borwicks brand), 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 orange, 1 teaspoon vanilla, Egg Replacer equivalent of four eggs.

First, boil three large sweet potatoes until they are soft enough to mash easily with a fork.  Use a variety that is large and orange colored.  While these potatoes boil, peel an orange and remove the pulp.  Then, chop the orange flesh into pieces the size of the tip of your finger. 

There is also going to be a topping on top of this casserole.  To make this topping, mix 1/3 cup vegan butter, 1/2 cup granola, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup chopped, fresh pecans.  Place this mixture aside. 

In another bowl, mix together 1/2 cup white flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder (preferably Borwick's brand), 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup pecans.  (This will be mixed in with the potatoes after they are mashed.)  Set aside.   

After the potatoes are soft, mash them with a fork.  Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Then, mix up enough "Egg Replacer"* brand powder to make the equivalent of four eggs, and add this into the sweet potatoes.  Then add in the oranges, and finally add in the dry ingredients which you had previously set aside.  Mix together.  If the mixture seems too dry, add some oat or soy milk until it is soft like congealed pudding. 

Spread this into a casserole dish, then spread the brown sugar topping over the top of the dish.  Finally, bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes or until it has risen and set. 

Now, enjoy some good, Patriot roots and tubers! 

*If you don't have access to Egg Replacer, mix 3/4 tsp rice vinegar into some soy milk and use that as a leavening agent.  It won't work as well to lighten the sweet potato, but it will work a small amount.  The casserole will still be tasty but just not as fluffy. 

9 February 2009

When my daughter became a vegan, I made a commitment that there would always be food on the family table that she could eat. 

Thanksgiving that first year was a real challenge.  All but a few of our traditional family recipes had animal products in them.  Sure, a vegan can eat a veggie wrap, but who wants to eat a veggie wrap all the time, especially at Thanksgiving or Christmas?  So, I began to experiment.  By stretching my mind and being creative, I gradually developed vegan variations of many of our favorite holiday foods.  Even the most creamy, luscious ones! 

This year, I realized that some of these recipes were turning out pretty good and even, in a few cases, barely distinguishable from or better than the non-vegan variety.  I decided to write down a few of them.  Here is my recipe for Vegan cornbread stuffing. 

First, make a vegan cornbread.  (So, I guess my recipe for vegan cornbread stuffing is going to also include a recipe for vegan cornbread.  Two for the price of one!) 

The easiest way to make a vegan cornbread is to use a vegan cornbread mix.  You may not find a mix that boasts "vegan" on the label, but you can ascertain the ingredients by reading the label.  In place of cow milk, substitute soy milk.  In place of egg, use a product called Egg Replacer.  Here is a photo of the Egg Replacer box:

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The only thing tricky about using this product is that you must measure exactly.  Mix the powder with the water in exact amounts, and then add this to the mixture last (after the other wet ingredients) just before you bake it. 

If you have to make a cornbread from scratch, or if you don't have access to Egg Replacer product, it's a bit trickier to make the cornbread but it's still possible. 

Here's how to make a vegan cornbread from scratch (without a mix and without Egg Replacer): 

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F.  Take a normal sized (8 inch) skillet, or else a square cake pan that is approximately 8 x 8 x 2 inches, and place 1/4 - 1/3 cup vegan margarine into it.  Then, place the pan in the oven to get hot.  As it melts, the margarine will coat the bottom of the pan. 

Mix together one cup corn meal with one cup white flour.  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and about 3 Tablespoons of baking powder.  Many cooks put just a bit of sugar into the mixture, but I do not (especially not if the cornbread is for use as stuffing).

Next, mix 1 teaspoon rice vinegar into 1 and a half (1.5) cups of soy milk.  Then, using a spoon or rubber spatula, quickly mix the liquid into the flour mixture, stirring just until it's mixed.  Immediately pour the batter into the hot, preheated pan.  When using this recipe, time is of the essence because the reaction between the baking powder and the vinegar is what makes the batter rise.  You want it to get hot and set quickly, while there are still bubbles in the batter. 

Hopefully, the pan will be hot enough that the oil sizzles when you begin to pour the batter into the pan.  This makes for a nice crust on the cornbread bottom.

Once poured, place the batter back into the preheated oven.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for a 10 inch skillet or 25 - 30 minutes for an 8 inch skillet or pan. 

The way to tell if a cornbread is done, really, is to look at a couple of different clues.  For one, the cornbread should separate a bit from the edge of the pan all the way around.  If it hasn't shrunk back from the edge of the pan at all, then it's probably not ready.  Second, it should rise in the middle.  But cornbread (and cakes) will rise before it "sets" in the center, so rising alone is not enough to tell if it's done enough.  If it rises so that it cracks, then you can peek down into the crack to see if it appears to be firm.  Third, look at the color and see if it has browned.  Fourth, go by the time in terms of having been in the oven for a reasonable amount of time.  Fifth, you can insert a knife into the center of the bread.  If the knife comes out clean, the cornbread has most likely set and you can take it out.  

Whatever you do, however, do not continually open and shut the oven door when you bake.  This lets all the heat rush out.  Not only do you lose your heat so that you set the cooking time back, but also when the bottom burner comes on repeatedly it will cause your pan to overcook on the bottom.  Best to shut the oven door, set the timer, and not look again until the timer goes off. 

Okay, let's assume now that you have a cornbread in the oven.  While it's cooking, dice up 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup celery, then saute them together in a skillet or wok.  Sauteeing is when you cook something in a little bit of oil at a medium rather than hot temperature, so that it turns translucent but doesn't turn color.  You want these veggies to get translucent but not burnt. 

After you've done sauteeing the veggies, add in 1/2 cup fresh, chopped pecans.  Avoid "last year's" pecans if at all possible, because pecans do get rancid and it affects their flavor even after a month or two!  Next, remove the crust from and then dice up four slices of vegan white bread, and add to the mixture.  Put this veggie-bread mixture aside, to be mixed with the cornbread after it comes out of the oven.

When the cornbread is done, let it cool, then crumble it into crumbs.  Add 2 teaspoons dried sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and toss it.  Then, add the other ingredients. 

This mixture will be rather dry.  Add vegetable broth to reach a desired level of moistness.  (This is the only flavor difference between this stuffing and non vegan, since the liquid in a traditional stuffing would come from the turkey broth.) 

Finally, place into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees F until brown on top.  Considering that you have added an 8 x 8 inch cornbread together with about 2 1/2 cups of other ingredients, this should be enough to fill a fairly large casserole dish!  It serves about 8 people.  Enjoy! 

29 January 2009

I am changing the video links on my main page, so I'll preserve my guzheng and erhu links in this blog entry. 

1.  I really love this clip of guzheng music, which is called "Autumn Waterfowl Playing in Cold Lake"

2.  I also enjoy this animation of a variation on (I can't properly translate) Cherry Blossom Dream.  In this particular variation, it's called Drunken Cherry Blossom Dream.  You'll see why: 

3.  The erhu is a phenomenal instrument.  The name literally means "two strings," and that's exactly what it is.  Two strings played with a bow running in between them and no frets.  The range of expression and emotion is astonishing.  I find the instrument extremely difficult to play, both because of bowing technique and also fingering. 

4.  Drumming is just too cool!  It is an integral part of lion dances and folk life.  This demonstration is in Chinatown in New York, but I think it's nice: 

28 January 2009

Before we went to China, my daughter had studied American Karate.

We promised her that she could continue these studies after we were in China.  This was a bit ignorant on our part. For reasons that don't need to be stated, Japanese martial arts are not popular in China.  We were also hampered in our efforts to find a martial arts teacher by a couple of other factors.  For one, there is the idea of just finding out where to go.  If you don't speak the language, how can you even find out where to study?  Secondly, there was a factor involving safety. 

Some of the places we visited were unsafe.  Some didn't use any safety precautions when they were sparring.  Others used training methods which could damage the body.  One place seemed safe enough, but nothing seemed to be taught, either. 

Fortunately, we eventually found a man I only know as Shifu.  Shi fu is the term which means "Master".  His real name is Wong Nim Yi, and he is a master in the form of martial art called Wing Chun, or Ving Tsun (an alternate spelling).  Here is the English version of his school's web site: 

click here for Mai Gei Wong Wing Chun

A demonstration of the form may be found at these links: 

Click HERE for Wing Chun Demonstration

and at:

(The pole he so deftly maneuvers in this video is about 10 feet long and weighs about 20 lbs., just guesstimating.  About double the length and bulk of a bo staff.)

On a much more personal note, here is a collection of our family photos, along with some video clips, which I've made into a slideshow at the following link :

CLICK HERE   (link to slideshow)

(THIS SMILEBOX SLIDE SHOW HAS SEVERAL VIDEOS EMBEDDED SO IT TAKES QUITE A WHILE TO LOAD):

Finally, here is a bit more information.  The Wing Chun school of martial arts has a long heritage that was almost wiped out during the civil war and, later, the cultural revolution.  A museum devoted to Ving Tsun martial arts has been opened at the Wong Fei Hung Temple in Foshan.  The museum has a room dedicated to photographs and history of the art, the Masters, showing as well some equipment.  One of the most interesting things to me was an interactive  video which had demonstrations of various forms such as the "crane" or the "tiger".  Each animal has a characteristic which the practioner seeks to incorporate into the form. At last report, I was told that demonstrations are held every Saturday mornings at 10:00 A.M.   The demonstration includes a Lion Dance.  There are other activities at the temple on Saturday mornings, such as demonstrations of Chinese opera as well.  Like many temples in China, the main part of the temple doesn't seem to get much use but it has been generally rehabilitated to use as a public gathering place to demonstrate or preserve some shadow of pre-cultural revolution culture. 

To get the temple, take the bus from Guangzhou to Foshan, and exit at the main bus station.  It is just a five minute walk (East, I think) from the bus station to the temple.  The temple itself is a fascinating Daoist place, so plan to spend several hours.  One word of warning, however: do not go unless you are with someone who speaks Chinese.  No English is spoken in Foshan, and this temple is not a well known tourist spot, so a foreigner attempting the trip alone could well run into difficulty.  Taxi's in Foshan are also not well regulated, and your taxi driver may try to cheat you (not that this doesn't happen elsewhere, but my luck in Foshan has been particularly bad). A day trip to Foshan ought to also include a trip to the Nanfeng Kiln, the oldest continually operating pottery kiln in the world.  The travel guidebook Lonely Planet has links to these places, but even with the addresses it may be hard to find them without a strong knowledge of Chinese.  There is public bus service between the two locations.  

If this has whetted your appetite, here are two more videos from YouTube.  You can also do a web search for " mai kay wong wing chun kuen".  If you do so, it's likely you'll find links to Bruce Lee, because he studied Wing Chun in Foshan (and then added in additional forms of kickboxing to his technique later).   Notice the perfect balance and centering.  When Shifu does a demonstration, at times his hands move so fast that it is not possible to follow them with the eye!  This is a particularly suitable form of martial art for someone with a smaller physique. 

            


An American version with American language explanations: