Page 46 - link magazine

46 The Link Magazine • April 2005

' 1\\lLL) Q . Quality hairdressing Chinese experience
^ ^^^ by an experienced Registered Childminder
/ stylist who will listen Flexible, friendly, negotiable rates Former Greendown student Lucy Proctor
and advise you with
all your hairdressing 8 years experience. One week free describes a land of mystery and surprise
9 g .9 needs. using
t ' 5 the latest cutting and Available Monday to Friday, 6am to 9pm. Seven years ago I was struggling with the Chinese characters I used
9S y cobs ri fly techniques including school drop-offs and pick-ups.
^r HA i eCe on my GCSE art coursework. After six months living in China, the
For free advice or appointment call Also weekends & late evenings beautiful alphabet is proving to be one of the few things I am
JACQUI on 01793 327563
Call 07957 166529 or 871466 beginning to understand about this isolated, perplexing place.
Email: [email protected]
I came in search of a culture
SPANISH APARTMENT shock, to work as a teacher, a last
fling before settling down to life in
- COSTA BLANCA the real world. Talking to fellow
Luxury apartment in Los Cristianos
Swimming pool Sunny May Special Offer teachers and travellers, there are
Sleeps up to 6 people One weeks accommodation in a few places on earth that satisfy this
Reasonable rates. luxury apartment only 100 yards desire more.
from the sea front for only £200. Here Wal-Mart and McDonalds
Call 01793 700253 or visit:
For more details call 334380 operate around the corner from
Iww.soain-holidav-aoartment.co.uk email [email protected] shops selling textbooks about the
LW Cl C[ Cfl l STHRT imperialist, capitalist West. It is a Lucy and guide at the Longman caves
place where you can travel by train
DISC SERVICES/ Domestic Cleaning Services from a tropical rainforest to an arc- village in the hope that they will
tic ice festival and not cross a bor-
We transfer anything onto DVD Disc • Regular weekly cleans der, where the oldest unified state return and bring fortune.
- Cine Film, Video tape, Wedding Photos • Fortnightly cleans on Earth is home to many who The pressure to succeed is in-
WE MAKE MOVIE CLIPS OF • One-off Spring cleans cannot speak the official language, tense, and depression is common.
YOUR CHILD GROWING UP Call Christine Mandarin. English is also a key to unlocking
Tel: 01793 705333 on (01793) 701413 (9am - 5pm)
The Chinese are very proud of secrets kept from the people by the
Mobile: 07831 575758 Mob: 07951 184424 their 5,000 years of history, and government, through the internet.
wandering around cities like So far the freedom that was pre-
DECOTEX 9±D. 21pho(stery Beijing and Xian, this sense of time dicted as a result of economic re-
form has not materialized. Party
strikes everyone. Imperial palaces,
huge cliff carvings, city walls, pa- membership and guanxi (connec-
Repairs & Recovering
Painter & Decorator Antique and Modern godas. All reveal a once great peo- tions) are the best way into any
ple, far advanced of the West. Yet high position.
Large range of fabrics
Specialist Artexing these relics, the lucky ones that The events in 1989 in Tiananmen
Call 871808 escaped the Cultural Revolution Square are still a secret, and typing
Tel: (01793) 791388 in the sixties and seventies, also the words into an internet search
for competitive priceses
reveal a great loss. engine is dangerous. Teaching con-
Spirituality, intellectualism and tracts for foreign teachers include
individuality were almost wiped a clause that prevents any discus-
out during the darkest years of Mao. sion of politics or religion with
The country has not recovered. students, an offence likely to lead
Despite the excitement in the to deportation. The Chinese in-
Western media about China's eco- volved face harsher punishments.
nomic growth, it lags behind other The frustration among them of-
developing countries in terms of ten manifests itself as tirades
social change and internationalism. against America. Unable to criti-
Attitudes to foreigners range from cise their own government, young
the absurd to the offensive, a result men in particular seem to enjoy
of centuries of self-imposed isola- heckling Westerners. This often
tion and more recent propaganda. puts me in the strange position of
The exception is Da Shan, a Cana- defending American foreign
dian who has made his name as an policy, which though flawed, did
English language guru with fluent not cause the Korean War. Of
Mandarin. The Chinese love him. course, there comes a point in every
His fame is an indicator of the argument that touches on politics
rush to learn English. It is a pass- where no more can safely be said.
port out of drab, identikit villages, One year in any country is only
where most of the population still long enough to scratch the surface.
lives. In some cases, students from The language alone, where the
the countryside are bankrolled word inc can mean horse, mother,
through university by their entire balance or question, depending on
the way you
Lucy, left, at the ancient Longman caves say it, makes
China a closed
door to most.
I have six
months left to
make sense of
this noisy,
crowded,
confusing,
and ulti-
mately mes-
merising
land.