Life and Travel in China

I come to the conclusion that the Chinese behave very selfishly and thoughtlessly in their everyday life. They don't think about others, they don't care about others. For example, they can drill walls at 1 a.m. or play mahjong blocks all night long (and the sounds of mixing these blocks are terrible). They park their cars on pedestrian crossings, sometimes there are even barriers, so people have to squeeze through, or preferably fly over. They block the escalators, stop at the entrances and think about something. When using a cell phone in public places, they shout as if there was no world except them and the phone. They can shout in the street, behave loudly in a restaurant, and simply ignore others. They never let anyone pass or apologize on buses. They learned to live in a group like this, these are the rules of the jungle. It's a pity that it looks so hopeless in our eyes.

We are so delighted with the Dalai Lama's visit to Poland... I wonder why? I guess it's just fashion? Are we Buddhists - no. Is this some new pope - nope either. Do we gain anything by defending Tibet - no. I understand ideology, solidarity, compassion. I don't have the slightest reason to like the Chinese government either. But from a political and economic point of view, we will miss Tibet. We received thanks from the Dalai Lama, and we will receive a fig from the Chinese. I was recently close to Tibet, I saw how people there live in harmony with nature. They have their own faith, their own customs, the Chinese (Hans) can actually destroy them. But what role does Poland as a country play in all this? I don't understand... Maybe we will fight for the Basque Country or help the Kurds? Why not? If we can do it in Tibet, why not in other areas?

I spent some time recently in Chinese bookstores. I came across books for learning foreign languages, of course there are English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, even Portuguese. I'll ask why there's no Polish? You say, who needs Polish? But... imagine that two shelves were occupied by books for learning... CZECH. Ha ha! No exaggeration, but Polish seems to me more useful in the world. I managed to order books for learning Polish (Chinese version) through a Chinese online store and I also bought The Alchemist (Chinese translation) as a gift. Besides, I came across our comedy Vinci, also a Chinese DVD release. Still, there's not much of it. Our politicians are so anti-communist and anti-Chinese that it is ordinary people who lose the most. Culture, art, tourism are losing, there is no exchange of knowledge and views, there are not many materials about Poland in China. And then be surprised that the Chinese want to visit Germany, France, Prague in the Czech Republic, and know nothing about Poland. They don't know whether we have mountains, lakes or some sea, what language we speak, and among the cities they only know Warsaw (Hua-Sha). How much do we lose on this! We are becoming a third-rate country in Europe for Asians. And we live in times when Asia has to be taken into account, probably even more than the USA.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and strangers who visit this site. Today I'm preparing Christmas Eve, so I'll be in the kitchen! Yesterday, my Chinese friend was surprised that in Poland we usually have 2-3 days off for Christmas, and children have a week off, because in a country where Chinese New Year is celebrated, we usually have 14-20 days off. On the other hand, they have to travel thousands of kilometers to return to their hometown. Later we went shopping and my friend bought an original white plastic tree, baubles (which won't fit - she bought baubles first) and blinking lights. The Chinese increasingly want to identify with Christmas. Ironically, I received more wishes and e-cards by e-mail from the Chinese than from Poles. Have we neglected our traditions?

Yesterday evening we were at a restaurant and to our surprise - there were not many people there. Has the economic crisis affected Chinese restaurants? It seems so. Fewer people from Hong Kong come to Shenzhen now. The hairdressing salon complained that fewer and fewer people use their services. The Chinese love washing their heads combined with arm, shoulder and head massage. I guess the situation is similar in massage parlors and nightclubs. In casinos in Macao, staff will receive lower salaries. Clearly, the media-publicized crisis is affecting ordinary Chinese. They probably do not feel this crisis personally, but by limiting their expenses and giving up the pleasures of more expensive restaurants, they influence the deterioration of the situation of small service companies and restaurants in China.