So you remember the Rubik’s snake along with the cube, pyramid
and other 80′s crazes. Well I don’t know if American 4-10 year olds
are still on ‘em like hotcakes, but over here in China this is
definitely the case. You’d think the thing just came out yesterday…
And in their defense, the kids here don’t have as much access to home
gaming systems, prozac, I-pads and whatever else entertains their
American cousins. Anyway, I will often see the things in my classes
and often stop to make the “classic ball” which often draws gasps from
the owner.

I’m back on the rotation where I have to out to the kindergarden in a
rural town twice a week. One of the cutest little girls in my first
class where I run flash cards and try to get a few English words to
stick had one. So I asked for it and started in on the ball, and
broke the thing. There is only like a rubber band string holding it
all together inside, and this was a cheap knockoff anyway. As it came
apart in my hands, I headed for the regular teachers, unsure if it was
a classroom object or her personal toy. They assured me not to worry
about it, truly an accident, and I started back in on the flash cards.
I looked up and saw her silently starting to cry. I didn’t know I
could feel that bad that quickly. She was trying to put on a brave
face, but after all, the Foreign Teacher had specifically asked for,
broken, then tried to slink away with her toy. I could just see
inside her little brain “That fuckin’ “lowi” (ghost – as they call
us) broke my snake, man! This is evidence of an unjust universe!” I
kept trying to tell the teacher to tell her I’d bring another one, a
better one, when I come back next Tuesday. And explain it all to her
parents. Four days is an eternity to a four year old! I asked the
driver to take me to a toystore in town right away, but she was late
anyway, and everyone kept telling me not to worry about it. But I
think I just singled-handedly started a future chapter of Al Qaeda,
the first in Eastern China…

I have to ask myself, as I run around buying yet another pair of
shoes, silly vinyl toys I don’t need, eating in fancier places all the
time as my waistline expands. I mean of course “super-consumer”, my
skepticism about capitalism remains. At a certain point the resources
run out. And all along, someone is on the losing end of the stick:
has to do the shit work, doesn’t have “enough” and can’t afford more.
Since my teenage years I’ve ranted and raved against a culture of
excess. But now here I am, saving money but still with all of this
disposable income.

It’s not as bad as all of that. I haven’t bought an electric bicycle,
as the regular one I was given works fine. Liaocheng is gloriously
flat, a town made for biking and I need the exercise. I’ve also
re-discovered simple youthful cheap thrills like the flying of kites.
And there are no recreation drugs to buy here. Nor records, or books
in English, or movies in English to see in the theaters or things I
would regularly buy back in the States. Beer and liquor are absurdly
cheap, and I’m drinking less anyway. I guess what’s bugging me is the
sorority girlish glee I get when I go off on a weekly buying trip.
Who needs all of this stuff? And I’m just going to have to ship it
home.

I went to Beijing in early March and it was only worse. There is so
much more available there. But ties? Seriously? Why buy more ties -
even if one was a gift. The sales girl was cute and I’m a sucker. A
rich sucker, it’s disgusting. And the street of toy stores – I was
beside myself. But I will vouch for the city – Beijing has only gotten
cooler since I was there in ’06. The 798 arts district is a must see.
And the hutong area east of Houhi as exploded. There is some
“tourist cheesey” factor with Tibetan yogurt shops and fish and chips
places, but some cool bars too and indie crafty type stores that could
only survive in China with the tourist dollar.

How much is it gonna suck to have to go back to being an American poor
person? Hopefully I will have gotten some of this consumption out of
my system by then.