Dour, 電通-controlled, family-centric Belgian Neocolonialism, enthusiastically jaded observations, support for state-owned neoliberalist media and occasional rants from the twisted mind of a privileged middle-class expatriate atheist Crypto Jew and とてもくだらないひと projecting some leftist ideals with my ridicule of Tucker Carlson, all while taking America's blood money and cashing out that pension and TSP (from The Blogs Formerly Known As Sponge Bear and Kaminoge 物語)
*see disclaimer below
The wife has been away for three weeks now, which if you followed this blog the last time she went to visit family in Taiwan, is the cue for another whining, pity party of a post. Off we go again...
The first time I arrived in China was back in the summer of 2013, when the family and I showed up in Shanghai 上海 for my first posting in the Foreign Service. It was something I was very much excited about, especially as it meant finally escaping the more than year-long trauma that was language learning at the Foreign Service Institute. It was an interesting time to be in the People's Republic, with the bilateral relationship being on steadier ground compared to now, and with many Chinese curious about the outside world. Shanghai itself was a fascinating place, and because we assumed we would never be back in the country, the three of us traveled extensively to various places within China. However, as you're probably well aware, we would return, first to Beijing 北京, and then Guangzhou 广州, where we're currently ensconced. These assignments were not the result of professional development, but rather represented failures in bidding - I had preferred to do another tour in Africa, or perhaps a stint in one of the southeast Asian countries (such as Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand). Poor networking skills instead means I'll end my career with half the time spent here in China.
Whenever Shu-E goes back to Taiwan I find it difficult to cope on my own in the PRC. There's no motivation to do anything - I don't want to go out anywhere on the weekends, don't want to interact with anyone in my free time and don't want to try and make myself better understood in Mandarin. Having been diagnosed with depression means that having to deal with China on my own, even if for only a few weeks, is even more of a spirit-breaking challenge, especially as the wife unfortunately doesn't understand or want to undertand what depression is or what it entails. When you're a middle-aged Taiwanese woman who grew up in a conservative rural area during a time when the country was under the rule of an authoritarian regime, it's only natural to think men should just silently endure and accept their impending earlier demises due to excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption.
Still, I completely understand why the wife needs to see her family from time to time, and for this most recent visit of hers I was hoping to make a better go of enforced, albeit, temporary bacherhood. What follows is how I tried to cope this time around...
Home, sweet home:
The boys weren't too happy, either, to see Shu-E go:
Every weekend I tried to get out of the apartment if even for just a short amount of time. Like this walk around Huacheng Square 花城广场, where a large boulder rests in front of a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China 中国农业银行. There was no information I could find on how or why it is there:
The tons of cash that have flowed into many of China's biggest urban centers in recent decades have resulted in some interesting architecture, similar to what it was like in Japan's big cities during the asset price bubble バブル景気 of the late 1980s:
Parklife on a drizzly weekend afternoon:
A rehearsal for...something. I arrived home from work one evening to find my living room lit up with flashing strobe lights that continued until well after midnight. According to signs onsite it appeared related to a "520 Carnival", although other signage referred to a "Guangzhou Betel Nut Street" 广州槟榔街. The wife pointed out that businesses often rent out sites for promotional events but hadn't a clue what was going on here. Whatever it was, it only lasted for a few evenings and appeared to have wrapped up even before the 20th of May:
A dance club trying to appeal to as many kinds of clubgoers as possible that I passed on the way to the Taikoo Hui Mall 广州太古汇, and in particular the Fangsuo Commune bookstore 方所. Back in the day in Shanghai there was the Foreign Language Bookstore, a great source for books in English on Chinese subjects ranging from history and travel to language study. It's still around (the one in Beijing was closing its doors at the time I visited), but there doesn't appear to be a branch here in Guangzhou. Fangsuo, unfortunately, only has a few titles in English, mainly focused on the arts. There were some interesting books on architecture, including some on noted Japanese architects such as Kengo Kuma 隈研吾 and Shigeru Ban 坂茂, but selections in other genres appeared either limited or non-existant (despite one website claiming 40% of the stock to be in foreign languages). The mall meanwhile has the usual collection of designer shops, with the more proletarian businesses consigned to the basement floors:
The Central Business District (CBD) on a relatively dry evening (Guangzhou is currently in its rainy season)...:
...and on a rainy one:
Memorial Day weekend. Three consecutive days off with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Bored as always, I went for a walk down to the Pearl River 珠江:
The CBD looks more attractive at night, which could be said for most large Chinese cities (as well as Las Vegas). Walking by the Guangdong Museum 广东省博物馆:
A drone show, a common sight these days all over China:
Tianhe 天河 becomes much more subdued after 23:00:
On Memorial Day I finally dragged myself out of the CBD by revisiting Enning Road 恩宁路, an older section of Guangzhou that is home to some fine examples of Qilou 騎樓 architecture. It's an area we've been to several times; for this occasion I brought along my seldom used these days Canon to take some photos, starting with the Bahe Academy 八和会馆, a guildhall for Cantonese opera performers. The 3 meter/9.8 foot-tall wooden door dates from 1889, and somehow managed to survive Japanese bombing in 1937. It also managed to recover from being used as a parking plank for heavy vehicles during the Great Leap Forward :
Luanyu Tang 銮舆堂 is a 200-year-old union hall for Cantonese opera actors who perform martial arts and acrobatic roles:
The ancestral home of Bruce Lee, whose father was a Cantonese opera actor and member of the above union. I went inside (again) to have another look, but it was surprisingly busy for a Monday and so I left:
Passing by the Cantonese Opera Art Museum, which was closed this day. A pity as I could've availed myself of the air-conditioned restrooms inside:
At 35°C/95°F and being very humid I gave up after the temple and returned in the early afternoon to the air-conditioned comfort of our apartment
The uncomfortable weather keep me mostly confined indoors this past weekend as well. Still, I made a feeble effort to get out on Sunday. I had hoped to check out Li's Ancestral Temple 李氏宗祠, a walk of fewer than thirty minutes from our building. Unfortunately, the entrance was blocked by a sea of banquest tables being set up (the previous weekend I had also tried to visit, only to encounter a large wedding party in full swing out front). So instead I crossed the street to a smaller temple which I believe is called Huaguang Temple 华光庙. There wasnt much to see, but it was further evidence that traditional forms of worship are far more prevalent in this part of China compared to in the more ideological north of the country. And by the time I returned home after this short excursion I was drenched in sweat:
If nothing else the relative paucity of photographs connected with this post should be indicative of just how dull and spiritually-sapping these past several weeks have been. At least this time around I was slightly less of a hermit, having enjoyed myself at a trivia contest on one Friday evening, as well as a recent Sunday brunch at a colleague's house. And having the cats to take care of and keep me company this time did much to make the time spent at home a bit less tedious, even it meant having to keep a constant eye on the Siamese to make sure he didn't tear into any packages to get at the cat food inside (like he did one recent night while I was asleep). Still, all things considered, I still do not like being on my own in China. Not one bit.
The wife returns tomorrow, which should put an end to this self-pity party. It's too bad Shu-E won't be able to do anything about Guangzhou's increasingly uncomfortable temperatures. At least all that rain offers temporary relief:
How I hope the soundtrack to my retirement years sounds like:
