corrinao_swam - Part 2

Social Morals and Pornography

Published on February 12, 2010 at 03:05

Recently, I learned about Japanese “AV” girls, professional or careered pornography girls. They act in solo films, nude photo shoots, and even group sex. There are lots of AV girls in Japan, and being an AV girl is just like any other career choice. Most of the girls are very good looking and young. I assume their parents know of the career choice they have made, and even though I hope they are not proud of them, I believe it is the opposite. I learned about these “AV” girls from a female Chinese friend of mine.

In China, there is no pornography. The internet has been censored, and the sale of pornography is prohibitted. To a more serious extent, the production of pornography in any form is illegal. The Chinese government has asked the citizens to report websites and services, and has even offered rewards for people that do so. There is very little pornography that is exported, or circulated domestically, from a nation with the world’s largest population. Hard to believe, right?

Recently, there has been a big push in China (locally) to eliminate pornography from the web and cell phones. I’ve been reading about it in the local news. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-02/11/content_9465127.htm

I was thinking about the, primarily, social implications this has on China. First and most importantly, the girls. This is obvious. Secondly, the users and viewers of pornography. What effect does this have on them? Is this why Chinese girls are so conservative? Some Chinese girls I have talked to, do not fully understand their bodies, and simply do not know what it takes to become pregenant. Their parents did not tell them, and sex education was very limited at school.

What about adult men? Does this make them more loyal to their wives, or not? Does this lead to other negative behaviors such as alcohol abuse, or gambling? Adult women?

The girls here are special and have a sense of individualism and modesty. The boys show a natural respect for females and their friends that is unique to being in China. Dating often starts after high school, something I know is different in the United States.

I think pornography and it’s effects would only complicate this relationship.

I respect China and the Chinese government. It is sometimes frusterating here, but overall the fact that the government has so much control, and the ability to mobilize an entire civilization very quickly, is an awesome power.

I know I have more to learn, but I guess I can say, I’m glad I don’t live in Japan! haha

Tags: 中文. Categories: Life and Inspiration

3D fractals

Published on February 12, 2010 at 00:30

WOW!! Take a minute to read about this: http://www.skytopia.com/project/fractal/mandelbulb.html

Categories: Computing

Thinking about studying Chinese

Published on February 11, 2010 at 23:23

I’m thinking about studying Chinese next semester here in Chengdu!

Tags: 中文. Categories: Uncategorized

Appears my domain is blocked in China

Published on February 11, 2010 at 12:54

So stupid.. hope it’s not true Site still running, host was down for a bit today

Tags: Computing. Categories: Uncategorized

A Few Films I Recommend

Published on February 8, 2010 at 03:04

Spirited Away

Howl’s Moving Castle

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Avatar

Winged Creatures

Interception

Babel

Categories: Life and Inspiration

Skateboarding

Published on February 8, 2010 at 02:53

So, we are on vacation right now. The Chinese Lunar New Year is approaching on Februrary 14, which is like the equivilent of the Western world’s Chirstmas. My friend Sam from Britian and I have been skateboarding every day. I brought my skateboard to China and he bought one here. He’s a decent skater, has been for his whole life, and he’s teaching me the ways of a skater.

First, you have to learn the language: Ollie, Shove It, Fakie, Nollie, Frontside Shove It, Switch, Backside Shove It, Fakie 180, Backside 180, Kickflip, Heelflip, Manual, Riding Goofy, Riding Regular, etc. Second, you have to learn the technique. Skating is all about technique: balance, foot placement, and focus. Third, you have to practice. Practice, practice, practice. Every day, practice.

The cool thing about skating is that you actually get better. There is a Chinese saying that reminds me of this. Every Chinese student knows this. It is posted in all the classrooms, and if you begin to say the phrase, they will chime in. It goes:

好好学习，天天向上
Hao Hao Xue Xi, Tian Tian Xiang Shang
Translation: “Good Good Study, Day Day Up”
My intrepretation: everyday use your mind and be productive.

Skating is about the mental game. You have to be sharp, focused, on point, ready to take risks. You have to be able to trust your body and mind. You have to use your judgement, and think fast. You have to be confident. You have to be cool. You have to be disciplined, and well-trained. You have to be yourself. You have to know yourself. You have to push yourself. You have to be somebody else. You have to wear a helmet. You have to be in shape. You have to exercise. You have to see your skateboard as a tool. You have to know your tool. You have to use the tools you have. You have to respect the tools you have. You have to love being outside. You have to love wasting time. You have to drink water. You have to keep a mean face. You have to keep a game face. You have to love being a superstar. You have to love being yourself. You have to love what you are doing. You have to love skating.

Peace.

Tags: skateboarding. Categories: Life and Inspiration

Peanuts

Published on February 8, 2010 at 02:30

Honestly, I eat a shitload of peanuts everyday. I found out by reading Wikipedia that China is the world’s largest producer of peanuts, and because they are so readily available, cheap, and most importantly, taste familiar, I eat a lot of them each day.. I’d sayon average about 50 peanuts. In China, they come in all sizes and flavors. My friend from Australia said the ones I was eating this past weekend tasted like garlic. I prefer the cheap ones 5 yuan/half-kilo. So about $1.50 for a kilo (big ass bag) of shelled, roasted peanuts. You can buy them anywhere, but I ALWAYS taste one from each bag because like I said they taste different. Sometimes, when I’m eating them, the peanut was cracked open in the ground and I get a big mouthful of dirty instead of a peanut. Now, I’ve learned to be selective by actually looking at the nut before I eat it.

Anyways, peanuts are very nutritious. You should eat more nuts!

Categories: Life and Inspiration

Emei Shan Photos and Travel Blog

Published on February 6, 2010 at 20:40

I went to Emei Shan (Emei Mountain, 峨眉山 ) during the Spring Festival holiday. I had a good feeling for good weather…. needless to say, we arrived on the clearest and most beautiful day!

Wayne and I took the 19:30PM bus from Chengdu to Emei. We arrived in Emei at night.

Woke up at 06:30 and took a bus half-way up the mountain. This was the gate to buy tickets. 150元

After about 1.5 hours, we suddenly broke above the clouds and were surrounded by blue sky in every direction.

This was the moment of decision we had been waiting for, cloudy or not. Beautiful beyond your wildest dreams.

Looking straight down!

Above the clouds!

Vertical cliff. The birds are flying UP

A sea of clouds

A monkey, Don’t fall!

Icey steps, had to purchase cramp-on spikes for our shoes.

Close to 2000 meters elevation

Me standing at a large temple before the trail begins.

Chris taking a few pictures before we start.

Wayne took the chairlift (can’t see him here)

We met Michael along the way

Ice-covered Path. Be Careful of Slippery.

Some roosters

A Buddhist monastery along the way

Gorgeous woods

Chris and Michael. Almost there!

Me and Wayne at the top

Friends

We are the best

Awesome

Mt. Gongga, the tallest mountain in China

Me posing for a picture

Some cool trees

A Red Panda! Incredible!

Getting tired

ME at the top

A glimpse of the Golden Summit!

WOW

Elephant

On top of the world

The Golden Summit

Some cool people from Chongqing

Buddha

The Silver Palace

Amazing View!

Amazing

A sea of clouds

Michael and Chris

The Golden Summit

At the top of the world

Me Excited

Relaxing for a bit

Relaxed

A monastery where the monks pray

Awesome Elephants

The view of a temple

Looking Down on the Mountains

At Sunset

Sunset

Morning

Sunrise

Mission Accomplished. Emei Shan was spectacular.

Tags: 峨眉山. Categories: Travel and Photography

Mianyang

Published on February 6, 2010 at 02:05

I know a woman who runs a popular backpacker’s hostel in Chengdu, Sim’s Hostel. After the quake, because of its convenient location, Sim’s Hostel became a meeting and working place for many of the organizations offering relief to the disaster area. Maki invited me to come visit some friends who live in the disaster area, after I had expressed some interest in the earthquake. I was curious to know more, and since I had never experienced an earthquake, she invited me to go with them one Saturday. You can read about the actual earthquake on wikipedia.org. The town we visited was in Mianyang City, about 2.5 hours from Chengdu via minibus. For the most part, the highways were very clear, it was only when we got into the country that the roads became bumpy and unpredictable.

When we arrived, the family we were visiting had prepared us a large lunch. We spent most of the day outside, lighting fireworks with the kids and staying warm near a fire. I was feeling adventurous and did a little hiking on the terraced hills that had been cultivated to grow all sorts of vegetables. The small village probably only had 500-1000 people and was located in a valley, surrounded on both sides by large mountains, that were generally unhabited, except for the first 500 meters was had been turned into farm land. The soil in the valley was wet, and agriculture was very important.

The houses had almost all been rebuilt. Maki and a few others that went with us had helped them enormously with the rebuilding process. They had stayed in the village and worked there for weeks with the local families. The new houseses were very nice and seemed comfortable. Our host’s house had a tv, stereo, a nice leather furniture and glass coffee table, and tiled floors. Most other houses seemed the same. They had constructed a brick factory for making bricks, because of the demand for bricks. Most of the old houses were wooden with slate roofs, all the new houses were brick with tiled walls and floors. The focus of the village was still farming though. Here are some of the pictures. I would like to learn more about the familiy, personally, and would like to go back some time.

Mountain terrain

Hill side temples

An old bridge

Rubble

A warm welcome

Looking at pictures

Daily life

Family

这个是鸭子 “Zhege shi yazi” (this is a duck)

Annie and Old man

认识你很高兴 “renshi ni hen gaoxing” (it’s very nice to meet you)

Family

Click to see more pictures. 点击观看更多图片

Tags: 绵阳，四川省. Categories: Travel and Photography

School Pictures

Published on February 6, 2010 at 00:11

The school I work for in Chengdu is called SanYuan WaiGuoYu XueXiao （三原外国语学校） which means SanYuan Foreign Languages School. It is located in a ’suburb’ of Chengdu city（成都市）called XinDu Qu （新都区）. The school has Primary, Middle, and High School and is very famous and many kids from Sichuan come here. It is a private school, and the students stay in dorms on campus. From my understanding of college education, the dorms are probably bunkbeds with about 8 students per room with a sink and area to hang their clothes. The girls and boys dorimtorys are strictly seperated. There is a school cafeteria that is between the primary and middle/high school campus. The students will eat all their meals there, and spend the rest of the day in the classrooms. They have a 2 hour lunch/nap break at noon. Sometimes they will be in class untill 22:00. Here are just a few pictures I have taken recently of the school.