Creativity, the Coconut and China

As Michael and I were waiting at the train station to leave Beijing on an overnight speed train (traveling 140 miles per hour!!) to Shanghai, we started to get peckish. It just so happened to be the 17th of Tammuz, a Jewish fast day, and my husband and I had spent the day on tour at the Great Wall and Ming tombs- plus we were still jet-lagged from our flight into China two nights before! We were exhausted mentally and physically, but enjoying the prospect of the next 5 weeks of our honeymoon traversing the Asian continent.

20 minutes before sunset (and the end of the fast) I left my hubby to watch the bags and went to hustle up some fruit for our dinner. Since I stand out slightly as a foreigner (yeah, strangely enough, I don’t look very Chinese. Who knew? ), it seemed I was quoted higher prices. Being an Israeli with chutzpah, I don’t take kindly to this differentiation. I insisted on prices I saw other people paying and found that the Chinese, once confronted, would comply without complaint.

So, I proudly arrive back at the station with coconuts, peaches and mango and some bottled water. We promptly consumed the juice and fruit, my husband grateful that I was the one who insisted on the bargaining process. That’s all part of the kick I get out of traveling; for him bargaining with the locals is just a pain in the touches (guess that’s why we get along so well).

Feeling brave after my successful shopping expedition, I decided my next adventure would be attempting to find a kind and generous local in the very large station that would cut open the coconut so we could feast on its meat. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one to help. So being the go-getter that I am, I got myself a small fruit knife and a pair of scissors. After about 10-15 minutes hacking at my coconut, I thought about giving up and just going without the coconut, but I knew that after all that hard work, I just couldn’t quit. One of us was gonna win that battle, and it wasn’t going to be the coconut! The fascinated stares of the locals around me just added to my determination. After working myself into a sweat, I finally managed to crack it open was able to enjoy the sweet taste of my well-earned coconut.

Upon my return to hubby, I found he had been yelled at by a local until there had been a veritable coup to take over my treasured seat. Without missing a beat, I strode through the reception area until I spied another comfy chair, lifted it high above my head and carried it back to our spot. My husband giggled and remarked how he was unsure if China was really ready to handle a Taviv such as I. Perhaps I should have warned them that I was coming…

There is certainly something to be said for the way the 1.2 billion people in this country have managed to expand to this size while keeping their cities clean and efficient. The people here teem the streets: walking, on bicycles, driving electric motorcycles, scooters and cars. I am unsure of the rules of the traffic flow but somehow it seems to work. The taxi drivers are some of the most aggressive I have ever witnessed (even more than Israeli cabbies!) and zooming between cars on packed highways to reach a destination had us clinging to our seats as if on a rollercoaster ride.

A luxurious 12-hour train ride on the bullet train with soft, comfy sleeper couches, tv and soft comforters was a nice way to travel from Beijing (which has an est. 15 million people) to Shanghai (which has about 18 million). Once we had checked into our hotel, we realized that fruit will only last you so long so after the twelve-hour ride we were starving again. So we began our search for the nearby Shanghai Jewish Center, aka the good ol’ Chabad. After getting slightly lost due to Shanghai’s construction (they are literally rebuilding half the city in preparation for the expo in 2010) we made it into the air-conditioned goodness of the Center. I have never seen Mike so happy to see other Jews!

We wolfed down the first kosher full meal we’d had in days, and for the first time in months I did not bother counting points or calories and devoured everything they put in front of me.

Shabbat gave us some much needed time to rest and recover for our persistent jet lag. And as a bonus, we got to be part of the diverse and unusual Shanghai community for a short time and even felt at home there (in large part due to the tunes and services and meals at the Chabad house). It’s amazing how even in such a remote location a Jew can find such familiar surroundings! It gave us respite from the alien feeling we’d had since our arrival.

After Shabbat ended, we went downtown with another couple and hung out on a rooftop bar overlooking the impressive city skyline. The amount of neon lighting used here is phenomenal and the big cities here make The Big Apple seem small. It was fun to get into political debates and learn about other people’s experiences here. It seems many Westerners move here for business opportunities that are not available elsewhere- that is, once here they learn Mandarin and become a part of the country.

But the differences between the Western and the Chinese mindset is painfully obvious.

As ancient a culture as China represents, my first impression was that there is a lack of creativity here. This, in large part, comes from a consumption and absolute commitment to the way things have always been done. Anything outside of their framework is not understood or accepted easily. Even something as monumental and earth-shattering as the Great Wall (a project that took four Dynasties to complete) shows how the Chinese dedication to their leaders’ wills is unmatched.

Here, they strive for the greater good. Their slogan for the 2008 Olympics, hosted in Beijing was:
“One Dream, One World”

When I asked about the massive population, I was told that Chairman Mao implemented the push to increase the Chinese population to have more manpower in order to crush China’s enemies by sheer numbers. The idea of a whole country unquestioningly following the vision of their leader, whether by having more children, less children, rebuilding a city, destroying heritage sites that are thousands of years old or starving huge numbers of people to create economic reform is radical and hard for us to understand. But in China that’s the way things are done.

So far, I’ve taken away two lessons: 1) the putting aside of certain personal needs (for example, limiting families to only 1 child in the city or 2 in the rural areas to ensure the rest of the population will have what they need); and 2) that we shouldn’t take for granted the extraordinary freedoms that we enjoy both in America and Israel.

As a Western minded, determined and capable individual, ‘chasing the coconut’ is what I believe I was born to do. I find it not only tempting but natural. However, in this country, the mindset is that it’s not always necessary or useful to pursue things that will only benefit oneself or one’s family. We also have to take into consideration those around us who also have needs. As this journey continues, I consider the somehow capitalist yet stated communist country I find myself in: it’s an enigma and a challenge… and I am enjoying every sweaty minute!