Foodie fest!

Went to FHC Beijing this morning, and it was loads of fun to see what the Chinese people are eating, what's "hot", as they say. The short of it: coffee, chocolates, cheese and wine! Strange, you would think the expo was in Europe, huh?

FHC is the biggest food industry, food services and hospitality event. It's mostly a B2B event, so it's food producers/exporters reaching out to importers or co-operators/partners. Therefore, the range of products at the expo were from food to fridges, grills, fresh seafood, even brands like Metro were there, for wholesale services.

I just went there as a consumer, just to see what's happening in the industry (good for client work and also personal interest-- due to my hotel background), and to see how the booths competed for my attention. ;) It was fun! I had espresso coffee, chocolate ice cream, tried "natural" water, tasted American cheese, Chinese canned fruits and another cup of espresso!

Spain and Greece had the biggest booths. Guess that is because of their rich cuisine and flavor, such as oils, wines, spices? Australia and New Zealand had lots of cheese and there were some Chinese companies with seafood (of course, it's not a real China experience without the fish, hehe).

I saw a barista competition, where an handsome American man was demonstrating how to mix a perfect espresso. There were chef's competitions too. Even food media had their booths!

But my favourite interactive booth was the French one: they had a super techie chef, hooked up to headset mike and all, explain about French breads and how to make them! Haha, the biggest crowd was around that booth, both tasting and watching!

Have taken a few photos, bit blurry, but will upload tomorrow. Hope some hotels and restaurants start importing those goodies that I tasted today!

Down time

Took a day off today due to eye infection. It’s really weird, and I am not sure for the cause of it: my left eye got swollen and itchy. I guess it is due to stress, dust, allergies and air con. Hope to be up and running by tomorrow.

As I wanted to rest my eyes, I could fully focus on my ears! :) I finally managed to catch up on my favourite podcasts and heard a ton of fun stuff: CC Chapman from Managing the Gray, Inside PR and Frank McMahon of Media Artists Secrets. These guys are all really inspirational and fun, yet very ground to earth and very "guy next door" type- encouraging and approachable. It's fun that they also share listeners' comments! Maybe I'll send it a comment too. ;)

I even sneaked a peak at one interesting blog about getting from 7 to 10, by Steve Pavlina. Fun guy, goes to prove "where there's a will, there's a way". It's amazing, what he talks about is very basic, with lots of common sense, but seems that he has a good group of followers (mostly geeks) who appreciate, and stick to, the advice as if it were an evangelism. Well done, Steve, you found your audience!

The Handy Heroes: interview with Mr. Magic about his new book on Chinese heroes

China is full of opportunities. Here's how a smart man and a dear friend, Christopher Parsons (better known as Mr. Magic) published a book in Chinese and English for Chinese kids. Below is a transcript of the interview we did, as I have not managed to get the hang of podcast technique yet... grrr... sorry for the late post, Parsons, hope it helps to spread the work on creativity though!

(Interview done sometime in Feb 2007, at coffee shop in Blue Castle)

Ivana Vuckovic (IV): Hello, I think it’s counting now, there’s a recoding sign, I think it should be ok now…(giggling) OK so, I don’t want to do this very official, I want to chit chat as friend, but I’ll edit later….
Christopher Parsons (CP): Chit chat, I like that.

IV: Yes, it’s a very PR term.
CP: Cut out the chit, it’s just the chat. It’s too much hanky-panky, so now we just get down to the panky.

IV: Just chatting here with Parsons, he is a good friend of mine, and you’ve been in China for…
CP:…12 years…. for too long.

IV: (giggling) No, that’s alright. And now you came up with this wonderful book. So the reason for this interview now is to talk about this book a little bit, to share, because it’s so creative: a foreigner would write a book in China.
CP: And it’s to help Chinese kids, kids, just find a new hero. Because Chinese kids, if you ask them “Who is your hero?”, they would say Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King. But he’s been around for 2000 years and he has nothing that relates to them. Or they might say Jiqimao, who is Japanese and also has nothing that relates to them. Some might even say Sponge Bob, which is totally out there, it does not even relate to most American kids. So I made a series of stories about some heroes that have similar trouble as Chinese kids do in real life. Like, one kid dreams to be an Olympic cyclist, he buys the nicest bike and it gets stolen.

IV: Yes, that’s very common in Beijing.
CP: It’s so common that you don’t ask somebody “Have you had a bike stolen?”, you ask, “How many bikes did you have stolen?” I’ve had 3. How about you?
IV: I’ve had 2 actually.
CP: You’re lucky.
IV: But I’m not a big cycling fan.

CP: But there are some kids they would say 6 or 7. And there’s also… he has to learn what’s important. He loves his bike, thinks it’s the most important thing, and then a stealing master steals his sight, so he realizes: “Oh, there is something more important than my toys, it’s my health”. His grandmother gets sick and falls asleep and won’t get up, so he realizes there is something more important than just your physical health, like your family. So he gets help from his hero friends, and they each have their special abilities, it shows how friends should help each other. Of course, they have a mascot, which you always need, like the Scooby Doo.

IV: So who are the heroes?
CP: I’ll tell you later, they become friends later. The mascot is Yaya the Duck, and he is half burnt as he escaped from Beijing Duck Restaurant, he escaped from the oven. Yeah, he’s great! There is Wild, who is sort of like Tarzan (you can see here). And Tarzan was raised by apes in the jungle, and she was raised by rats in the concrete jungle of Haidian.
IV: City jungle, very cool.

CP: This is Jim. He is from like from 2000 years ago and he hates guns. He takes a gun and made it into time machine, because guns are stupid.

IV: And who are the other, this is the main character?
CP: The main character is Holly. You know, my wife’s name is Holly, so my hero is my wife.
IV: Oh, that’s so cute.
CP: She told me an adventure she has as a kid, so I tried to incorporate that. She’s into mysteries.
IV: This is her with magnifying glass.
CP: She follows the tears of the kid who lost his bike in the beginning. Her cousin is the By-Accident Kid, always runs into accidents. And that’s a name my mother came up with when I was younger, she used to call me the By-Accident Kid.

IV: I don’t want to reveal the ending, but how does the kid reveal all these challenges, does he find another bike?
CP: You need your friends, that’s what it’s all about. You gotta… we all need friends.

IV: There are other books about similar topics?
CP: Well, they address different challenges. But it’s the same team, they work together, it’s funny, and there’s games in it and songs, and it’s in English and Chinese, so a lot of people can appreciate it.

IV: It’s very unique, that you did the English and your wife the Chinese.
CP: Yeah, and we discussed…we interpreted rather than translated, and she could talk to me about it, we would have long discussions about a sentence.

IV: How long did it take you to write it?
CP: Well you know, writing is a hobby, but publishing is a pain in the BEEP… it’s a job, publishing is a job. It did not take very long to write, but to publish it, like a year and a half. For the whole process.

IV: And this was the biggest challenge of doing this?
CP: Right. But you know, I’ve published 20 books/series before, but never novels, they were always educations materials, but some were stories for younger kids. And this is meant for 12 and up, even adults who like Harry Potter, like to just imagine, if you like stories about kids. There are people who are pompous, and just want sophisticated stuff. But I think if you forget the basics, then sophistication’s wasted.

IV: Sounds very interesting, very cool. How did the idea come about? You were doing other writing before, so why this now?
CP: I kept doing complicated adult books, and then I decided to add something to where I live, in China. But to do that, I had to make it simpler. Simplify a lot of things, and I heard this Johnny Cash song, he was talking about: just stick to the basics, get to the basics. If you write a song, it should say exactly what you want it to say, no need to fluff it out. So I went back to basics.

IV: Good. Yeah…. and I wanted to ask you what are the biggest benefits of writing a book in English in China, as it’s a different market.
CP: Right. The biggest benefits, I’m hoping, well, the money isn’t the big motivator, as I’ve done books before, and they don’t make much money, they make a little money. But here it’s easier to get your books made into a play or a TV show. That’s a big benefit. That’s much easier to get done here.

IV: And how about some recommendations for the young writers, young kids who want to get involved in writing?
CP: Definitely get involved in writing…write, write, write…stick to basics, and just realize that writing is different than publishing. And if you are the greatest writer in the world, it’s not going to matter if you don’t have the skills to push your own art, which is a problem. I’d much rather just write and give to somebody else, but you know, I had to go to publishers, and then teach the publishers exactly what to do, and you have to stay within the whole process, to push them, do your own promotion, you have to be shameless.

IV: Did they ask you to revise a lot, according to their own ideas?
CP: They did not do that. I stayed away from political, as I am not a political person. But they asked me strange questions, like they would question my English, like they would say “This is not English, this is not correct”, I get that a lot. “It should be 'I very like English', and I’m like, "No, no, that’s wrong". Many times they only look at a dictionary, they don’t listen to normal speech. So I had a couple of arguments about the language

IV: The so called Chinglish (note: Chinese + English). Still very prevailant.
CP: Right. Well, they have that red Oxford book, it tells them how to pronounce things, but it’s just not right. “Ay-pple!”, "No, I’m pretty sure it’s apple". No...and we had this recording and would argue for an hour.

IV: And this time you wrote in English, but you speak Chinese very well. Is there a chance of you writing in Chinese?
CP: (speaking in Chinese slang!) Deleba, ni! Wo de zhongwen hai cha shiwanbaqian li. Wo gaor ni….

IV: That should be your next challenge, undertake to write it in Chinese. Come on, a foreigner writing in Chinese. So far, I only heard of the Swedish woman who wrote about her life in a hutong (note: small alley) in Chinese.
CP: I perform in Chinese, a couple of times per week. And there’s a play where I perform, and there’s a character Mr. Magic, which is me. In the book, he teaches these kids, he guides them, and of course he has trouble too, so at one point they have to save him, so I think that’s important, to let them know that kids can help the adults as well. It’s not always a one way street.

IV: So Mr. Magic is also in the book.
CP: Yes, yes, and that’s based on me, because I teach magic for kids, I do shows.
IV: Are you still active with that?
CP: Well, it pays the bills! Birthdays… I also do some for adults, office shows, and stuff.
IV: Where do you learn your magic tricks?
CP: I had a teacher, a shifu (note: master) in America. His name was Mr. Ay-pple.
IV: (laughs) Hahahaha
CP: Mr. Apple.

IV: You plan to continue with acting, writing, creative stuff, in China?
CP: Yes, and it’s getting better. They crave it. They’ve learned English, but don’t get a chance to use it for something fun, or interesting, so I will try to focus on that.

IV: That sounds like a good plan. Though here there are plenty of intl school, still the theatre scene is very small.
CP: Right, very small. I’ve worked with some of the plays. Did you see the Xmas Carol. But I think they tried too much, they had 80 cast members, I would have kept it smaller. And they did it all in English, so it’s only for the foreign community….
IV:…who already know the story…
CP:…and I’m taking these stories to the Chinese public, in Chinese.

IV: And your book is a great way to start.
CP: Yes, so if they are reading the book in Chinese, and they just to wonder “Oh, I don’t know how to say that word”, they can look. They don’t have to read the whole book, but get a couple of words…and all the songs are in English.

IV: Inotice you have some songs, you wrote them?
CP: Yes.

IV: OK, last question: what is your favorite thing about Beijing?
CP: I think because a lot of things are new in Beijing so that’s very interesting. And you never know who you’re gonna meet. And you can be unemployed, and down on your luck one day, and just sit down, and this director will sit next to you and ask you, “Can you speak Chinese?”, “Yeah, I can speak Chinese”, and “OK, I would give you an opportunity in my next film". Well, it’s happened before, so…this does not happen where I’ve been before.
IV: I agree. People you meet here are so diverse, and you never know what’s going to happen next, just like in a book.
CP: That’s right, you don’t know what’s going to happen on the next page.

IV: Thanks so much for the interview, Parsons, and I look forward to going home and reading this, in Chinese and English! Thanks so much for taking the time.
CP: Excellent. And good luck with your website. Web on!
IV: Thank you!

Scaffolding

Found this in a magazine, and really liked it, as it can be used for any relationship: with friends, family, boyfriend, clients.

Masons, when they start upon a building,

Are careful to test out the scaffolding;

Make sure that planks won't slip at busy points,

Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.

And yet all this comes down when the job's done

Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.

So if, my dear, there sometimes seems to be

Old bridges breaking between you and me

Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall

Confident that we have built our wall.

By Seamus Heaney

Do you read and write Chinese?

Today, I was reading a report in Chinese. And when my colleagues saw me, all I got was looks surprise.

In the morning, my South-East Asian colleague stopped by my desk and dropped a 100% surprised “You’re reading in Chinese?” comment. Then, my Chinese colleague came by and her “You’re reading in Chinese” comment had a bit of contempt in her tone, as if to mean “Why on earth would you be reading Chinese?” Finally, a foreign colleague came by. (Yes, I was still not done with my report :) ) Her “You’re reading in Chinese?” sounded more as a sign of bewilderment, and a bit of guilt, as she followed by saying, “I have not brushed up my Chinese in a while”.

I am always a bit of a shock that people would be surprised that I read Chinese. I am a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese language and literature. I have spent 4 years in university studying Chinese language, both written and oral, and countless numbers of hours reading books, articles, magazines, writing papers and expressing my thoughts in the language. I have written for college competitions articles in Chinese too. Anyone undergoing such a study for a degree would have to learn fully to read, write and speak the language. It’s actually just like any other language.

Would you ever ask an Italian language major: You’re reading in Italian? Or French? Or English? When you learn a foreign language, do you only learn the spoken word, and not the letters? So why should it be different with Chinese language? Only because it takes a bit more efforts to study the characters and practice? If you were only to learn to speak a language, you would be half literate, right?

I still need a bit more time than a Chinese native to go through an article, but any Chinese language major would not let himself or herself give up if faced with a Chinese report. After all, language is a tool, a tool to communicate and learn about the country and its customs. So I hope next time you meet a Chinese literary major of foreign nationality, do not ask them to explain why they are reading in Chinese. On the contrary, ask them how they are progressing, what they have read in Chinese recently, or, better yet, give them a language challenge so that they can hone their skills! :) No true language major would refuse nor would they have it any other way. :)

New kind of retail therapy in Beijing- Shin Kong Place

Long anticipated Hua Mao Shopping Center finally opened in Beijing! I visited it this Saturday, and because I liked it so much, went back on Sunday again. It does not look anything like the malls in Beijing, but very much resembles Hong Kong and Singapore's shopping malls, even the name is very "foreign"-- Shin Kong Place (mandarin pinyin: xinguang tiandi).

The first thing that strikes you as you enter is the interesting design. It's clean and simple, with lots of interior art, such as a waterfall expanding 2 floors and one section decorated with hanging red flowers, so it looks like a red ceiling. The ground floor has the usual brand names in make-up and luxury goods (Coach, Fendi, Prada, Givenchy--- and a huge counter for Bobbi Brown), but the second floor has quite a lot of surprises, and brands that are not otherwise available in Beijing: Jil Sander, Bang & Olufsen, The Bridge, and a cool shop for shirts with a super cool shop window - Thomas Pink. All along the shopping mall, there are nice coffee shops in open places, so I tried a coffee at Ciao Cafe and did some people watching.

5th floor mainly features home collections and stuff for bathrooms and kitchen, as well as fine porcelain pieces. That's were we had the most fun and spent a bit too. I got lost in Alessi, with cute (but very overpriced!) pieces that make you laugh in the kitchen, and then walked over to a store with imported Italian goods, such as fingerprint-free cans, espresso machines, olive oil. They had a live cooking demo and kindly offered to show how to make espresso in those small tins. I had before burnt myself on one of those, and even now remember such excruciating pain, so kept away from the pot-monster, but tried the coffee that they made. Right after, we got offered another espresso at the counter next door, this one made in an automatic coffee machine. By now, already hyper from all the coffee, I just walked by Nespresso shop though really wanted to try one of their blends too. The shop had their new ad playing with George Clooney and a tall, dark, handsome Italian staff who really looks like he belongs in an Italian coffee shop. :)

Bathroom stuff was also completely overpriced, but guess they can charge premium rates as no other shop in Beijing has such a selection. Bjorn bough some stuff at Natural Mill, a store with lovely cream colors and good quality.

Top floor features restaurants such as Ding Tai Fung and Bellagio, set to open for May holidays. So we ended up going to the food court at B1, for Bread Talk snack.

Anyway, the Natural Mill stuff arrives today, and I have a feeling we'll be dreaming Shin Kong dreams in our new, natural, covers! Looking forward to it!

"Young green hand"

I love the Chinese language, it is very descriptive and sometimes very visual, and here are a few recent words I learned, all with the theme "hand", but all with different meanings.

At the tennis court:
Forehand: 正手
Backhand: 反手

At the bar:
The other day, we were at TGI Friday's and a rookie barman was juggling cocktails and mixing drinks to lively music. He was very bad at it, with bottles dropping, drink spilling, but the guy kept a smile on his face all along. My Chinese colleague turned to me and, pointing with discontent at the young barman, said: "小绿手(read:xiao lvshou)". It literally means: "young green hand" and it is used to describe a beginner, a newbie, a rookie.

:) I guess I am a "xiao lvshou" at blogging too, but enjoying it immensely!