Walking the Path

Guo Jingjing

I’m probably a little late on this issue, but I was surprised to hear that Chinese diver Guo Jingjing had symptoms of detached retinas in both eyes (due to the impact of repeatly diving). I was shocked to also hear that this was the second time she had done this. 

As somebody who has detached their retina before, one of the things that I have always been told is to avoid sports. Therefore I am really surprised that Chinese diving officials — and doctors — allowed her to continue after detaching her retina the first time.Was the Chinese government after a gold so badly that they were willing to possibly blind their athletes for life? I sure hope not.

I’m also a bit surprised that Guo Jingjing wanted to keep diving. I’m sure she was driven by the desire to succeed in front of the home crowd and wanting to gain another gold medal, but risk your vision even for that? I sure wouldn’t want to do it. It would mean the more than just the end of a person’s career, one would have very few opportunities here. I don’t see blind people working in offices or really doing anything but begging on the street. Now I don’t know any famous Chinese blind people so maybe things are different with them, but something tells me they aren’t.

And if Guo wanted a seeing-eye dog here she might get one but I don’t think she’d be able to take it anywhere. Seeing-eye dogs here are treated the same as pets and are not allowed on buses or public transport. I used to see a man training with one on my way to work everyday during the Olympics, he was so proud of the progress he and dog made everyday when they walked along Nanjing Xi Lu — and they should be — I hope China is making progress to recognize his rights to have his dog assist him in everyday life too.

As for Guo Jingjing I hope she is really thinking things over during this resting period and will really weigh the pros and cons of continuing with her diving career vs. losing her sight. Just a word of advise from someone who has been in her situation. Go for the sight! You’ll feel better later.

On another note, I am currently recovering from some emergency laser surgery on my left eye to mend some holes in my retina. Hopefully I’ll be back to full steam after the National Day holidays.

J.

Gilles Peterson

Last night Winnie and I went to the opening of Shanghai’s Jazz Festival. I really enjoyed the night (except for the cheesy Jing’an government opening ceremony — which nobody seemed to like). The highlight had to be Gilles Peterson. 

I had to admit he was the reason I went to the Jazz Festival, but still watching old Chinese people along with young people and foreigners dancing to I Heard It Through the Grapevine all the way through to African jazz and house was amazing. Well worth the RMB 100.

J.

Market on Dongtai Lu (Image courtesy of GQ)

I’ve been spending this evening catching up on my reading and I came across this great fashion spread on seersucker suits in the June issue of GQ. It was shot in Shanghai and shows the best parts of old and new Shanghai simultaneously. At the same time it still makes the clothes look great.

Check it out online here. This is one of the better shoots that GQ has done in the five-plus years I’ve been reading the magazine.

J.

This week I read a really interesting article in The International Herald Tribune about how web apps such as Twitter have increased people’s weak social connections and in some ways brought people closer to their friends.

I really enjoy Twitter and it does help to keep me in touch with my friends particularly those that I don’t see very often. But I don’t know if it makes the connections any stronger. I am able to see what my friends are doing and thinking. However, I always wonder if Twitter is preventing me from going out and engaging with them when I can listen to what they’re doing in the comfort of my own home at my laptop.

Maybe I am just too much of a computer nerd.
J.

After five years in China there is one thing I don’t understand, Chinese store keepers reluctance to change 100 kaui notes. This morning I paid for my RMB 20 breakfast with a 100 kaui note. The waitress response was “YI bai kuai ayah!” It was like I presented her with an impossibly large amount of money. She did change though without much fuss which is more than I can say for the ayi at my local C-store.

I could see this if the notes were rare, but this is the standard denomination of notes that you get when you go to any ATM in China. It’s the equivalent of getting CDN$20 from an ATM in Canada. You would think that stores would be prepared to change a 100 kaui note because of this. And I think the worst thing is that I will buy more things sometimes to get around the store keeper’s whining particularly if it is an old lady as she seems to make feel as though I am personally responsible for the Opium Wars and the century of humiliation the Chinese endured just because I brought a 100 kaui note with me.

Any one else experience this?

J.

Last Sunday, I attended the Glamour Bar’s Blue Dragon literary event with Canadian writers Rawi Hage and Madeleine Thien.  Hawi was reading from his new book Cockroach  and Thien read from her 2006 book Certainty.

I really enjoyed myself at the event but I had some issues with the way the event was organized. I was really surprised that only 13 people showed up. I know that CanLit is sort of considered Canada’s great little secret but still — this was disappointing. The Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, the Montreal litfest that brought the authors over, could have done a better job promoting the event. I wonder if they even mentioned this to the Canadian consulate in Shanghai (I didn’t see any consulate staff there). Blue Metropolis could’ve promoted the event through the Consulate’s database of registered Canadians in the city.  I found out about the event on Shanghaiist, but the only other places I saw the event listed were SmartShanghai.com and the Glamour Bar’s own website.

My other disappointment was the fact that only Thien’s Certainty as well as books by the Australian moderator were available for purchase. You could order Hage’s first book, De Niro’s Game (which I did), but Cockroach was unavailable even for order.  I ended up turning to Amazon.com to get it, which I normally don’t mind doing, but when an author gives a reading I like to purchase their books at the venue so that I can have them sign and to show my appreciation for their work.

I guess that is my biggest gripe about the event I felt that the writers weren’t appreciated there. From both readings I can tell that these are great books, but did anyone else notice that? When I had Thien sign my copy of Certainty her face lit right up — I didn’t see anyone else get their books sign and Hage left right after the event finished. I am happy that I can make somebody’s day by doing that but in a case like this I don’t like to be the only one.

J.