Earthquake Relief, Police Raids, and Flaming Gas Filled Balls of Glass on My Feet

Viewing my last post now, I regret being so cavalier about the earthquake. At the time I had no idea of the devastation or the human toll the quake exacted in other regions of China. I must apologize for my attitude but I will not delete the post. The post represents how I felt at the time. This whole blog thing is about capturing a moment or two and relating my experiences to those with a passing interest. Since the last post I believe we have all seen the images of collapsed buildings and people being pulled form their rubble. The situation is horrific and especially heart wrenching considering the One Child policy and the damage done to most of the schools in that region. For about 10 days after the quake, Chinese media has been extraordinarily open in the coverage. The media here is more famous for the amount of good news it reports rather than the images of peril and destruction that have flooded the airways recently. This openness is strange but entirely necessary in order to contrast the handling of relief efforts in China to those in Myanmar. The news coverage was immediate and extensive with live feeds from some of the worst hit areas and interviews with top level personnel regarding strategy and government action. I guess the theory is that as long as the government is doing a good job the story will be reported. What has not been reported in the Chinese media is the efforts and donations coming in from abroad. A big deal has been made about the private donations which, in the first week, reached something around 200 million dollars according to some sources in China. There was a telethon about three days after the earthquake. It featured many celebrities and taste-makers pleading with the audience for money. In every taxi I took that day the driver was listening to the telethon. We set up a donation box in our office and collected money from the students and staff. No word yet on how much was collected. During the designated three days of mourning many events were canceled including my weekly soccer game. During the three day mourning period foreign entertainment channels were blacked out and a message explaining the mourning and earthquake took their place. CNN and other foreign news channels still ran but HBO, Cinemax, MTV, and National Geographic were all blocked.

Exactly one week to the minute after the earthquake, China observed a three minute period of silence to honor those lives lost in the disaster. When I first heard this news I doubted very much that China would come to a standstill for three minutes. I was in the silk market getting fitted for s new suit when they announced the period of mourning would be observed. Sure enough even in the bustling silk market, a symbol of the economic voracity and consumerism that China is now becoming known for, all commerce stopped as we all stood in silence alone with our thoughts for those who lost their lives and those whose lives will be forever changed by the tragedy. Moments of silence, both formal and informal, are unheard of in Beijing and China in general. This was the first such event in the history of the country. As such the Chinese have a little to learn about executing such events. As I stood in the silk market I could hear the wail of car horns and sirens coming from the street. People stopped their cars in the road, got out, and honked their horns for three solid minutes. It was a bit eerie and awe inspiring.
The Saturday after the earthquake Bryne's friends Andrew and Paula Smith came to town for a visit. Andrew is Bryne's friend from university and Paula is his wife. They are both very funny and good people. I entertained them on my days off by going with them to Tienanmen Square, Wangfujing shopping street and, how every foreign visitor is treated, taking them to fabulous meals around town. They were with me last Monday at the silk market when the moment of relative silence was observed. During their trip they stayed with Bryne and I in our apartment.

One morning as I was getting ready for work, the door bell rang. Thinking Bryne had ordered a housekeeper to clean I opened the door without a second thought. In stead of a set of housekeepers there were two heavyset cops at my door. I had heard reports that the police were cracking down on all things from drugs to immigration and visas. Some of my colleagues had reported that they were called upon by the police to produce the proper documentation. Hearing this several weeks ago I decided that my time would come eventually so I made sure I had all my documents handy should an occasion such as this would occur. I invited the police in and went to fetch my passport, visa, and proof of temporary residence. I knew my passport and visa were in the room where Andrew and Paula were sleeping so I gently knocked on the door and told them that the police were in the living room and I had to get to my passport. To me this was no big deal but to them it smacked of 'police state'. As I returned with my passport the policeman asked me if there were other people in the house. He knew full well that there were other people and asked me to produce them and their documentation. They were not too comfortable with the whole situation, especially considering the policeman's lack of English skill. I remained calm until I was told that my documentation had 'extinguished'. "Extinguished?!?!", I said. "Extinguished", he said.

As it turns out I gave him the wrong form of temporary residence and it was indeed expired. Not a real difference now that I think about it. Either way I had become an illegal. When the cops told us that they were calling in another officer who was more adept in speaking English I felt a little more relaxed. When the third police officer arrived he was clad in black, which immediately put me on edge. His English was good but a little chilling when he pointed to me and said, "You...have no problem", then turned to Andrew and Paula and said, "You...have big problem."
We were all pretty excited to hear that visitors who come to China and do not stay in a hotel must register with the local police department. Although Andrew and Paula were scheduled to leave in less than 24 hours, the police officer recommended that we all go to the police department that morning to register. I was less than thrilled as I was scheduled to be at work in less than an hour and a trip to the police station is never a good thing no matter which country you are in. We headed down there with our passports and visas in tow, as those were the only documents we would need according to the policeman in black. We got a taxi to the police station and went down the winding alley ways to its front steps. Inside was a crew of crack policemen and women, half of whom were sleeping, the other half filling out dozens of forms in triplicate just to go to the bathroom. Sorry if I seem bitter but hell, how many damn forms and stamps do you need to live in a place and contribute to its economy? Soon it was our turn for scrutiny and we were swiftly rejected for not having the right paperwork. I was furious with my building manager because I was told that all my residence papers were in order eight months ago. Andrew and Paula decided to forget about it as they were leaving the country the next morning anyway. I was not as lucky. That day I just headed for work and decided I would deal with it on my day off.

On Saturday I was at the helm of a mock wedding that we put on at my school. I wrote 20 speaking parts for students to perform during our two hour wedding event. It was a lot like a Tommy and Tina's Wedding thing, although I have never been to one of those. The over all story had no plot. It was basically a two hour role play exercise where the 20 performers were supposed to mingle with the other students and tell them about their problems with the in-laws, unrequited love for the bride or groom, and various other forms of family dysfunction. The students loved it and by all accounts it was a big success. We had 120 students attend. The bride and groom had their first dance to Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler. It was hilarious and the students did a great job. That evening I went out with a young lady and we went to dinner and ended up at a foot massage place. She told me that this place was quite famous throughout China. It turned into one of the mos excruciating ordeals of my life. They kneaded my feet and calves like they were making pretzels. The real surprise came when they (the girl I had to get through a full week before that could happen. A full week of teaching 30 classes can be tiring. On top of that I was planning a mock western wedding for our students. I wrote 20 and two masseuses) were discussing things in Chinese. I was struggling to understand and then I heard words that I had been trained to avoid, 'Ba Guan'. Ba Guan ,or cupping, is by far the most alarming and unsettling form of Chinese medicine. It involves glass bulbs that contain a piece of thin gauze that is soaked in alcohol. The alcohol soaked gauze is then set alight and the bulb quickly pressed against your skin to create suction. The whole process is pretty grand. The girl I was with was afraid of it and refused. I pressed on. It was a strange sensation. They put one bulb on the bottoms of each of my feet. They only left the cups on for about 10 minutes. When they are left on for a long time they leave fantastic bruises and even leech a little blood out. It was fun.

Yesterday I worked a bit of overtime and got one day off today. Of course this is the day I had to take care of all the business with the police. This time I was prepared. I am now a legal resident of China and I can be unafraid. It is like I have a new lease on life. I no longer fear the doorbell or the chubby police or even the black clad ones.

Is this normal?

I was just sitting here doing some work on the computer when I felt like I had been struck with a fit of vertigo. I closed my eyes to try to regain my balance. It wasn't coming back to me. I heard creaking and felt that the whole building was swaying. My curtains were swaying and I immediately began looking for my keys. It was a little difficult to walk to my room. I found them and headed for the door. As I made my way there I saw my clothes on the clothesline. They were swaying as if a breeze were coming through the closed window. A sense of danger and urgency filled me as I hurried out of the apartment. I instinctively hit the elevator button but then realized that was probably a terrible idea. I headed for the stairs and flew down them. As I exited the building there were others behind me. I got far away from my complex of buildings and made my way up the street where there was a crush of people in the street all staring at the top of their buildings. We have had stormy weather recently in Beijing and it was quite windy outside. I assumed that the swaying was due to the high winds. I strolled around the streets contemplating my future in an apartment that can't withstand high winds. I questioned Chinese construction codes and procedures. After walking around, getting a bite to eat, and a careful study of the exterior of my building I returned to my apartment. I left the TV on and CNN was reporting a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Chengdu. I had never been in an earthquake before so now I guess I can check that one off of the list.