Day 6: Chengdu

We arrived in Chengdu today. Honestly I have no idea where we really are but apparently we're west of shanghai by a good 3 hours by plane. Internet's been a bit sporadic and things like wikipedia and youtube have been sorely missed when I need to look something up. So instead I've had to write most of these posts in notepad and email them to Tru(thanks!) so she can update blogger for me since even that has been blocked over here.

Before we left Mr. Huang in Shanghai, we talked a lot about the differences between America and China. He talks very passionately about the history of China and the progress that it's made. When we got to the topic of the internet and technology though, he spoke of the freedom they possess online and how much closer they are to the rest of the world. I didn't argue the point that the people here are able to access a lot more information than they were used to 10 or even 5 years ago, but I kept thinking that all my favorite sites are blocked by the great Firewall of China. From the standpoint of an infojunkie who loves his wifi, it's cringing to think of being on the internet and not being able to waste my time on facebook, youtube and blogger(and porn). I just am wondering how free you really can be if someone is still telling you what you can and cannot see. Two girls and one cup is not meant for everyone but I'd like the option of wanting to hurl.

When we arrived in Chengdu, our new guide Mr. Wang(which is pronounced just like Mr. Huang) took us to lunch. The food here is in the Sichuan style so it's on the spicier spectrum of Chinese food, and honestly the food so far has been pretty good. One dish we had tonight was a twice cooked pork dish where they boil thin slices of pork and then stir fry it with a vegetable that resembles green onions or chives. Although I'm going to go out on a limb and sound like a white person, the food seems very authentic.

While we were just chatting at the first restaurant, my parents were asking Mr. Wang about his family and when he said he has two sons, we were like 'hhwwaaat?'. Apparently his family is a family of all brothers. His mother always wanted to have a daughter but instead got 3 sons instead. When Mr. Wang and his brothers got married and produced sons, his mother was like 'one of you is going to give me a granddaughter!'. After a game of 'Not It', Mr. Wang was like 'okay, fine. I'll do it'. For those of you that aren't familiar with China's "One Child Act", China prohibits its citizens to have more than one child to help curb the population crisis they're having. If you happen to break this rule, China just charges you an exorbitant amount of money where you'll want to bag it next time you pull it out. Mrs. Wang wanted a granddaughter so badly she actually fronted the money to have another chance but unfortunately for her, that was a bust.

After my parents had my brothers, my mom still wanted a daughter too, but like Mrs. Wang, no such luck. Apparently my mom wanted a daughter enough that she actually had female names picked out for each of us. My brothers would have been Amy and Stephanie, and if she had her way, I would have been a Tiffany(yuck). Coming from a family of brothers, it's interesting to think of a country without siblings. Without someone to fight and bicker with, China's going to be full of lonely spoiled kids that don't know how to share.

Later in the day, we went to Chengdu's most famous attraction, the Panda Breeding Center. For a species that should be the Darwin Award runner up(behind the kakapo), they are pretty damn cute. The weather around here is pretty brisk(10-16C) and when we got to Panda Center, there was a kind of rolling mist that lingered around all the Bamboo. Apparently this is perfect weather for them compared to the weather in San Diego, because most of the young pandas were up and playing. I got some footage of them playing so hopefully I can get that posted. Gonna crash soon, so hopefully the pics will keep you satisfied.