The pollution in Beijing, moving to Kunming and an unusual marathon.

07.11.2014, Episode 1

Owen in China

Hi there, my name is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 7th November, 2014. If you listen to Gerry’s Diary, you may know my
name. I’m Gerry’s son and I live in China. I would like to welcome you all to the first episode of my new podcast, Owen in China. I’m
going to tell you all about my life and experiences in China. And what it’s like to be a foreigner here. Today I am going to talk about the
pollution [1] in Beijing, my move from Beijing to Kunming, and the sort of work you can find as a foreigner in China.

***

For three years I lived and worked in Beijing, the capital of China. But I decided recently that it was time for a change. One of the
reasons I wanted to move is the pollution in Beijing. In recent years the capital of China has regularly made headlines [2] for its poor
air quality. It is a big problem. Lots of locals [3] as well as expats [4], foreigners like me, are leaving the city because of the pollution.
The reasons for the air pollution are not only the heavy traffic and heavy industry but also the unfortunate geographical position of the
city. The city lies in a low, very dry area, like a desert, and all the pollution just hangs over it. When I lived in Beijing there were days
when I could only see a few hundred metres. I sometimes woke up in the morning and coughed up grey dust. When I went to work in
the morning my eyes would burn. And in the afternoon all I could taste was pollution. In the evenings cigarette smoke could sometimes
feel like fresh air. Cigarettes actually tasted healthy in Beijing! There are also no rules there about smoking in public. Beijing is a
smokers’ paradise, one could say. But it’s not all bad news about pollution in Beijing. The city had some of its lowest air pollution
counts [5] this summer. A friend of mine wrote on a social networking site: "I will have to park my scooter [6] in my living room and
leave the engine running! All the fresh air is making me feel dizzy [7].“ The air pollution is, of course, a big concern for everyone who
lives in the city. Especially for those people with a child. For a country that is changing so quickly, it is a big challenge to continue to
grow in an environmentally friendly way. China is facing many problems and the environment is one of the biggest.

This was perhaps a rather negative introduction to the city that was my home for three years. I fell in love with Beijing. I promise you will
hear all about Beijing and what makes it such a great place in future podcasts from China. Things improve. And I’m sure the air in
Beijing will too.

***

My new home is in the south-west of China. The name of the place is Kunming. Kunming is actually a twin city [8] of Zurich. Kunming is
the capital of the Yunnan province. The Yunnan province has borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Kunming is also known as
‘The City of Eternal Spring’ because of its pleasant climate. I can’t confirm that it has a pleasant climate yet because it’s rained every
day since I arrived. It reminds me of a warm North Wales - big showers followed by bright sunshine. Kunming does, however, lie at
nearly 2000 metres, so the air is a little thinner here than you would expect in North Wales. To the west the province stretches into the
Himalayan foothills. Yunnan is just under ten times the size of Switzerland. It is a varied and beautiful province. Yunnan is popular with
tourists because it is home to many minorities [9]. Kunming - with just under seven million people - isn‘t one of the big cities in China.
And compared to Beijing there are not many foreigners. This means I get quite a lot of locals staring [10] and pointing fingers at me.
They also like to shout ‘dà húxu!’, which means ‘big beard’.
A few weeks ago the Yunnan province was hit by a large earthquake. The centre of the earthquake was north of Kunming on the
border to the Sichuan province. We also felt the earthquake here in Kunming. But there were no reports of damage or any casualties
[11] in the city. The following weekend there was a fundraiser in Kunming for the people affected by the earthquake. A fundraiser is an
event to raise money for a good cause. It was held in a live music venue [12] here in the city. There were a number of local bands
playing lots of different styles of music. A lot of the bands played western styles of music, though. There was also a raffle. A raffle is a
type of lottery where there are a number of prizes to be won. The prizes included vouchers [13] for local restaurants and fancy hotels.
The whole event was a great success and they managed to raise a large amount of money for the victims of the earthquake. For me it
was also a great opportunity to meet some new people and to listen to some of the local bands. The crowd was a mix of Chinese and
foreigners. And the bands were also a mix.

***

My next steps in Kunming will be to find some work. I taught English in Beijing and I hope to find teaching work here also. There is a
great demand for English teachers. But I want to take my time to find a good school or university. An important concept in China is
‘guanxi’ which translated means ‘connections and relationships’. People in China often use their network of family and friends to help
them. I have to meet some more people here in Kunming first to see what is possible for me. Luckily, the Chinese are usually very
friendly and helpful towards foreigners. On one of my first days here I was invited into a jewellery [14] maker’s studio for a cup of tea.
Tea drinking seems to be how people like to socialise in Kunming. Everywhere you go people are sitting around drinking little cups of
tea. So when I sat down for tea in the jewellery maker’s studio, there was a small group of locals there. Most of them were about my
age. We introduced ourselves and started chatting. They immediately wanted to help me find a job through the many friends they have.
They said things like: ‘A friend of my friend’s cousin who has a school is looking for teachers.’

In the meantime there are lots of unusual ways of making easy money as a foreigner in China. Just a couple of weeks ago I was asked
to take part in a marathon. After I told you about smoking in Beijing you can probably guess that I’m not a great runner. But that is not
why they asked me. This marathon took place a few hours from Kunming and the organisers advertised [15] it as an international
marathon. The problem for the organisers was that they only had Chinese runners. So the organisers paid a group of professional
runners from Kenya in Africa to fly to China and compete in the race. But that wasn’t international enough, so then they paid foreigners
from Kunming like me to run in the marathon as well. Well, to tell you the truth, we didn’t have to actually run. We just had to stand at the
starting line next to the professional Kenyans and look like runners. Imagine the picture: a group of very tall and slim Kenyans
surrounded by a bunch [16] of white people, not very sporty, not always very slim - and then thousands and thousands of Chinese
behind us. There was a Pakistani man who didn’t even have any running shoes. He was wearing a pair of black leather boots. Then
there was a French girl smoking cigarettes and wearing a pair of cut-off jeans. There was also a rather overweight Israeli girl. And me,
Big Beard. In the end both the male and female winners were Kenyans. And the white foreign runners? I don’t think many ran more
than two kilometres. Why? Because that is where our hotel was located [17]… and our well-earned money!

Can you call this work? I don’t know. We call this sort of paid activity for foreigners in China ‘monkey show’. The kind of work you get
just for being foreign, most of the time for being white. It’s more common in Kunming than Beijing, I’ve noticed.

***

And that brings us to the end of my first podcast from China. Thank you very much for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. My father, Gerry,
will be back with a new podcast in 2 weeks. And you will hear from me again on December 5th. Just go to www.podclub.ch and click
on ‘Owen in China’ to listen to me then. I will tell you about life in Beijing. I will also talk about the Chinese national holiday. In October
everyone in China gets a week off. I took the opportunity to explore a very remote [18] and quiet part of the country. Have a wonderful
month! Until next time.

Glossar: Owen in China

[1] pollution: here: air pollution, dirty air

[2] made headlines: was in the news (in the newspapers, on television, etc.)

[3] locals: here: Chinese people from Beijing

[4] expats: people who are not living in their country, people who are living in a foreign country for a period of time (short form for:
expatriates)

[5] counts: here: numbers, figures, measurements

[6] scooter: here: small motorbike, e.g. a Vespa

[7] dizzy: a feeling that the world is turning round you and that you are going to fall down

[8] twin city: partner city

[9] minorities: here: ethnic groups that are not Han Chinese (the main ethnic group in China)

[10] staring: looking hard, intensively (at something)

[11] casualties: people who were hurt/injured or killed

[12] venue: a place where something happens (Example: We need to find a venue for our wedding next year.)

[13] vouchers: pieces of paper that you can exchange for something; for example you can buy things in the Migros with a Migros
voucher

[14] jewellery: decorative things, for example rings or necklaces, usually made out of metal such as gold or silver that you can wear
on your body or your clothes

[15] advertised: publicised, told everybody through posters, newspapers, etc.

[16] bunch: group

[17] located: situated

[18] remote: far away, distant