Hong Kong Impressions (2)

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

The day when being allowed to enter China was the greatest gift I could have possibly got...

It was predictable that it's gonna happen: According to chinese law foreigners have to have their passports with them anywhere and anytime, so with carrying it around all day chances are very high that one day you accidently leave it somewhere or lose it. And yes you are right, of course that happened to me.

Some weeks ago Mimmi and me were trying to imagine what our reactions would be like, if we discovered that we had lost our passport. we both agreed that we would be totally upset and probably burst into tears. That my actual reaction was totally different is still surprising me.

It all happened on the day when after spending some days in Hong Kong my parents went back to Germany. Coming from Hong Kong I got off the train in Guangzhou, holding my passport in my hands, ready to pass the security check to enter China again. I followed the crowd of people and started to climb the stairs, but having reached the top, I suddenly realized that that my passport was not in my hands anymore. The first thing that came into my mind was: I have to go back to the train and check if i have left it there, before the doors are closing. So I got onto the train again and after having explained to the staff what had happened, more than 10 people were helping me to find my passport. I was pretty sure that when I got off the train the passport was in my hands, so it was not a suprise we didn't find it.

Of course I don't lose my passport like other people in a cafe or a metro station in China, so that you have time to at least think about the next steps and find out where the next german embassy is... No of course I have to lose my passport in nomansland, havingleft Hong Kong already,but not having entered China yet. So there I was, standing in a place that doesn'tbelong to any country, with my small backpack, no documents, no money and no idea what to do next.
At this point it would have been normal to start panicing, but somehow I managed to remain totally calm and relaxed. I decided to wait until all the people have passed the security check and then ask one of the police men what to do. I have no idea what I was doing or thinking in the following 30 minutes,I just remember that feeling full of joy and gratitude I had when seeing a police man waving with my passport in his hand.
10 minutes later i was back in China, with my passport and my wallet, waiting for the metro and asking myself wether I had been dreaming or all this actually had happened to me...
"All things come to those who wait", how true...

Hong Kong Impressions (1)

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Je suis...

 What we really have to fear

If in the Middle East there would be a newspaper existing publishing sartire, critisizing christians, would we be able to laugh about it !? Actually I am not sure about that. Maybe we would, or maybe the new headlines in our newspapers would say: "Islamist terror has its eye on christians in europe! "

This article is supposed to show my point of view regarding on how we should deal with the tragedy that 12 people were killed for working for a magazine picturing criticism and provocation on political and cultural topics.
We all know that it's going to happen. That this incident is leading to a debate on priciples about freedome of speech, about political correctness and about the vexed subject Islamophobia.

Freedome of speech is an important part of modern society and absolutely essential for building up a political system that people can trust in and identify with, but we should never forget that with freedome comes responsibility. Responsibilty for not making other people feel offended by what we say, responsibility for knowing how far we can go and where to stop. Criticism should be voiced freely. But here the question arises wether we are always able to define that small line that is seperating criticism from offense.
It is good to be critical. I am critical. Also critical of too much criticism.

Of course what happened in Paris on Wednesday is absolutely unexcusable and unbearable no matter what the trigger was, I just want to make clear that this should not be a reason for us to be afraid of Islam and moslem people! The massacre in France has nothing to do with Islam, but with terrorism. We should open our eyes and see that this religious totalitarianism is about to destroy all the progress that we have made so far in trying to bridge the gaps that keep us from accepting and understanding each other.
We all should know that there is a big difference between Islam and Islamist Terror and that by building up this hate and refusal against Islam as a religion we are victimizing innocent people. Extremists like those responsible for the massacre in Paris are abusing Islam and the name of god to justify their immane actions. Hiding behind the name of god they feel strong and untouchable. Regarding this we should find a way to make them feel less strong, we should, instead of judging people for their believe, help to protect those who are themselves fleeing from Islamistic Terror in their countries (Hello Pegida, yes I am talking about you !) and realize that in order to fight against terrorism we all have to unite.
Its not Islam that is threatening us, but  individual persons using religion as a weapon. By being afraid of Islam we are providing them with power, we allow them to control our thoughts and opinions. Control a nations' thoughts just by using two simple words: allahu akbar.

While doing some research for this article I stumbled upon a very interesting article, published by the huffington post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/charlie-hebdo-free-speech_b_6462584.html 
It is analyzing the social and political consequences of the massacre in paris from a in my opinion very downtotheearth point of view, far away from all that "je suis charlie hype"

All I want for Christmas is you !?

Silent time of the year or clever marketing strategy?

Christmas - A time for families to get together, sing christmas songs and devoutly watch snowflakes falling to the earth.
or
Christmas - A time of hectic and stressed out people rushing through the shops at the weekends to buy some last minute presents as they fear to show up at a christmas party without having presents for each and every friend and their friend's friends.

Is Chirstmas really centred around goodwill and meaning or is it all about presents, discounts and getting each other up on serving the most spectacular christmas dinner? Although we would of course never admit, for most of us the holiday season is a discount season that allows us to go crazy on consumerism without having a bad conscience, because "it is Christmas" and we don't buy it for ourselves, we buy it to show our beloved ones how much we care about them. Yes sure. We can spend money on things we normally would never buy because "it is Christmas", and we eat tons of unhealthy food, but who cares "it is Christmas".
Don't get me wrong I don't want to accuse anyone or be the kill-joy, if you enjoy eating something special on Christmas eve that you wouldnt eat every day and if you enjoy your hot chocolate and your christmas cookies while exchanging gifts in a nice family atmosphere, go for it, that's totally fine! But does it always have to be more and more? Why can't we appreciate the simple things anymore? People always emphasize that the most important thing about Christmas is spending time with friends and family and enjoy the peaceful time, but often reality is different and we are blinded by bright advertisements and the handsome guy on TV telling us that without personalized house slippers for everyone we shouldn't even think about showing up at any christmas event.

Of course i also enjoy  receiving a present from someone who really cares about me and has thought about what to give to me to make happy, but when did this gift giving obligation  come up that seems to be totally normal these days and makes us feel embarassed if we don't have a gift for someone we meet randomly on the street and don't even know that well!? I appreciate a gift that comes from the heart, but I don't need gifts or greetings coming from people that I barely know or from those who just feel obligated to do so. ( and: Hey friends, hey family if you didn't find anything suitable for me this year, thats ok I still love you ;) )
Thats not what it is all about, I don't want the holidays to bring my friends and family out in a cold sweat because it is already october and they still don't have an idea what to buy for me. Instead of falling into a frenzied panic for the perfect gift we should concentrate on what really matters to us ans remember that showing love to someone doesn't necessarily have to be accompanied by the latest smartphone. It should be love that is all around us and not advertisements over advertisements encouraging us to buy stuff that we don't need.

Longji Rice Terraces

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

The Longji Rice Terraces are located in Guangxi about 100 km from Guilin. They are reaching an altitude of up to 300–1,110 meters, and the gradients of some rice terraces reach 50°. In june water is pumped up the paddy fields to water the young rice plants and increase fertility.
Longji means 'Dragon Backed Mountain'and it has got it's name because the summit of the mountain range looks like the backbone of a dragon.The Terraces were started to build in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) and then completed in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) by the people of the Zhuang and Yao minority that still live in the area today. Living in their typical old chinese houses mostly built from timber the people from the Yao minority are trying to keep their own culture including food, handcrafts, singing, dancing and traditional clothes. houses.Yao women are famous for having the longest hair in the world. They cut their hair only once in their life: when they turn 16 and start to cover their hair with a black scarf what symbolizes that they are not married. They are not allowed to show their hair to anyone until they are married. Only the husband is allowed to uncover their hair for the first time. Once they are married they start to wrap their hair in a bun on top of their head that resembles a rolled up snake. The "dragon hairstyle" is worn by married women that have children. These rules make it very easy to tell the family status of a woman at first sight and also the "dating culture" of the Yao seems to be a lot easier than what we are used to: If a girl feels attracted by a man she pinches his butt and if the man feels attracted by the girl he will try to touch her shoe with his. 

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

 

 

 

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

All good things come to an end

End of the semester in Guangzhou

It seems like yesterday that i opened the door and saw my roommate Mimmi for the first time, walking down the hallway with her pink suitcase. In less than one week I will see her walking down the hallway again, but in opposite direction. The semester has almost come to its end and most of my classmates going back to their home countries soon. Since I am staying here also for the next semester I don't have to say Goodbye to Guangzhou, but to a lot of amazing people and new friends. The last four months were full of new experiences, friendship, travelling and happiness. I dont want to get too much into detail here, and instead of trying to put in words what the last semester was like, I will just take you with me so that you can see by yourselves: I hope this video, that was edited by my friend Chris, will give you an impression of our student life here in China.