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.

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

 Immer wieder verlieren wir Menschen uns auf der Suche nach unserem Selbst, nach dem was uns wirklich ausmacht. Doch wie kann man etwas finden was man doch von Anfang an in sich trägt!? Wahrscheinlich ist es unser Drang alles verstehen und greifen zu wollen, der uns rastlos macht und auf eine endlose Reise schickt, womöglich sogar immer weiter weg von uns selbst.

In unserer Angst uns nicht erklären und unsere Persönlichkeit nicht fein säuberlichst gegliedert und ausformuliert in Form eines Aufsatzes vorlegen zu können, geben wir uns damit zufrieden, kleine Fische aus dem See zu angeln, anstatt einzutauchen und selbst darin zu schwimmen.

Still und heimlich kennt unser Herz längst jedes Geheimnis das in unserer Seele ruht, doch unsere Ohren dürsten nach der Melodie unseres Herzens.

Wir wollen das in Worten wissen, was wir doch längst in Gedanken kennen, legen uns seblst in Ketten, bei dem Versuch unserem Selbst Ausdruck zu verleihen.
Unser Selbst in sich ist das Einzige was wirklich frei ist, es lässt sich nicht mit Worten einfangen.

 Unsere Gedanken sind ein Meer, grenzenlos und unermesslich.

Unsere Angst darin zu ertrinken, treibt uns immer mehr in eine Welt in der wir lachen, aber nicht aus vollem Herzen und weinen, aber nicht all unsere Tränen.

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Sorry to all of my english speaking followers, but this post is dedicated to the Germans only, cause if I translate this kind of poetical text into english it won't be the same anymore. Hope you like the photos though! It is the roof of a traditional chinese temple.The small animals on the roof are not only ornaments, but symbolize that the house is protected against evil spririts. The first figure in line is usually a god riding a phoenix (or rooster). It is said that this god is immortal and has the ability to perceive evil spirits.

“物以稀为贵. (Wu yi xi wei gui.)”– Objects that are rare are precious

 Being a foreigner in China

If you ever plan going to China there is something you need to know: You will get a lot of attention! People will stare at you and talk about you standing right beside you and they won't stop even if you catch them out. The only time that most Chinese have the chance to see a white face or a non-Chinese face is probably on TV or in the movies. Being able to see someone like that, up close and personal, is a pretty big deal for most of them. Toddlers are sometimes pointing at foreigners and yell, “外国人 (Foreigner)!” If you reply to the ashamed moms' "oh sorry, sorry..." with a friendly "没关系(no worries)" they will have an even more surprised face expression than their kids had before. Even if you know only a tiny little bit of chinese you will have a lot of advantages in daily life: you don't have to pay for your drinks in bars, people will not only explain the way to you but give you company to make sure you find the right way and you can easily change from being the last one in row to being the very first one without others complaining about that kind of rude behaviour.

Unfortunately there are also some disadvantages of being white and big eyed here: It can be hard to find friends, at least "true" friends. Europe is trendy, Europe is beautiful and of course everyone in Europe is rich. For some chinese students having a foreign friend is like having a fancy new Gucci bag. Even though it doesn't go with the rest of your outfit you want the world to know that you have it. And to make sure that as many people as possible recognize your new "western accessory" you take photos and share it with headlines like "had an amazing time <3 <3" on Wechat. That this "amazing time" in fact was nothing more than a 5 five minute small talk on the street is irrelevant. If you are looking for a real friendship based on trust, respect and common interests rather than being just a figurehead on someone elses social networks, you have to be both patient and critical. No matter how good it might feel at the beginning on the long run it will make you feel uncomfortable to be put on a pedestal just because of your origins.

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Maybe we have to see China's obsession with Western beauty standards and Western culture as a relict from the past when after years of being dominated by foreign powers they felt they needed to emulate the West in order to modernize. But shouldn't a country whose economy is the second largest in the world, be confident enough to show their face to all the others out there!? It seems like especially China's youth would give anything to be a part of "the western world" which is considered the land of milk and honey. What most people here don't understand is that Europe is not the centre of the universe and just because our beer may taste a little bit better and our eyes are a bit bigger doesn't mean that we are first class people. Instead of trying to imitate the western way of life, chinese people should start to be proud of who they are and what they have achieved so far. It makes me kind of sad that many young people in China are ashamed of being rooted in a cultural background that is so fascinating and unrivalled like almost nowhere else in the world.

Guangzhou night fever

Photo by Maria Hochleitner

Photo by Maria Hochleitner