Ramadan

On a walk through Xi'an's Hui quarter two weeks ago, on the last night of Ramadan, I came across an impromptu parade of sorts. Religious leaders and followers circled the streets of the commercial district, where each restaurant and shop had placed a table of offerings on the sidewalk in front of their business. The crowd stopped at each site to say a prayer and take the food and flowers, before moving onto the next table. After circling through the streets for an hour or so, the group dispersed in front of the mosque, where a few entered. They exited shortly afterward carrying bottles of Pepsi.


English translations of Chinese phrases I have learned recently:

-relations of production [Marx]
-site-specific installation [art]
-forced to sign an unfair and exploitative treaty

Infinitely more useful words I do not how to say in Chinese or have looked up ad infinitum but still do not remember because my brain is busy trying to keep track of seven different ways each to say "become" or "protect" under minutely different circumstances include virtually ever fruit and vegetable; it is more more efficient at markets or dining halls to follow others' lead and point - "one of those!" I am on track to, next summer, being able to read legal cases, but not a restaurant menu.

Beijing radio is mostly talk, not music. (One notable exception is the karaoke radio program where listeners call in to sing their favorite songs on air.) I was surprised then to hear the theme music from Schindler's List broadcast recently, as an interlude between traffic and news reports. When I mentioned this to Aki, he wrily wondered if the station had paid the appropriate royalties.

Each of the classrooms at my language center has, among other common features, an enormous box of tissues on the center of the table. It is the only item in immediate reach from all three students' chairs. I asked one teacher if perhaps the administration was preparing for us to burst into tears of frustration. She was not amused, and the box was still there the following day.