Naekubis Presseschau - Teil 6 (no comment)
Here's a little press review for you without any comment. I bought two fashion/beauty magazines in China, Marie Claire Beauty and Mina (actually a Japanese magazine). I'll just show you a few pages (mostly advertisment) so you will know what's important in Chinese beauty :) - click to enlarge
Slice a banana
...and use this little gadget. Now you can slice a banana in convenient little pieces just in one single step!
"Asiatinnen sind hübscher als Europäerinnen"
Diese Aussage hörte ich von einem lieben Freund. Für mich eigentlich durchaus schmeichelhaft, gehöre ich doch zu den genannten Asiatinnen. Und trotzdem habe ich mich über diesen Satz maßlos geärgert. Warum? Nun...
Ganz oberflächlich gesagt: Ich finde nicht, dass Asiatinnen pauschal hübscher sind. Nicht einmal im Durchschnitt gesehen. So wie überall auch gibt es hübsche, weniger hübsche und gar nicht hübsche Menschen in Asien. Pauschalisierungen machen das Leben zwar einfacher, aber auch undifferenzierter und - dümmer.
Ein bisschen tiefer gehend analysiert handelt es sich bei dieser Aussage um positiven Rassismus. (Nebenbei handelt es sich aus Sicht der Europäerinnen um negativen Rassismus, aber das wirklich nur nebenbei.) Andere Aussagen dieser Rubrik wären "Afrikaner haben den Rhythmus im Blut", "Deutsche sind so pünktlich und gewissenhaft" und "Japaner sind so fleißig und zurückhaltend".
An sich sind das keine Sätze, wo der Integrationsbeauftragte gleich im Dreieck springen würde. Nein, an sich sind sie ja ganz positiv, weil sie als positiv bewertete Eigenschaften in den Vordergrund stellen. Und trotzdem: Es ist streng genommen Rassismus.
Bei den obigen Sätzen handelt es sich um stereotype Bilder, wie bestimmte Nationalitäten oder Ethnien sind. Nun besteht aber bei solchen Propositionen leider die Tendenz, dass sie nicht nur deskriptiv, sondern auch normativ verstanden werden können.
Für Nicht-Akademiker: Solche harmlosen Aussagesätze können auch als Regel aufgefasst werden: Afrikaner sind nicht nur so, sie sollen auch so sein. Ein echter Afrikaner muss den Rhythmus im Blut haben, sonst ist irgendetwas falsch mit ihm.
Ganz oberflächlich gesagt: Ich finde nicht, dass Asiatinnen pauschal hübscher sind. Nicht einmal im Durchschnitt gesehen. So wie überall auch gibt es hübsche, weniger hübsche und gar nicht hübsche Menschen in Asien. Pauschalisierungen machen das Leben zwar einfacher, aber auch undifferenzierter und - dümmer.
Ein bisschen tiefer gehend analysiert handelt es sich bei dieser Aussage um positiven Rassismus. (Nebenbei handelt es sich aus Sicht der Europäerinnen um negativen Rassismus, aber das wirklich nur nebenbei.) Andere Aussagen dieser Rubrik wären "Afrikaner haben den Rhythmus im Blut", "Deutsche sind so pünktlich und gewissenhaft" und "Japaner sind so fleißig und zurückhaltend".
An sich sind das keine Sätze, wo der Integrationsbeauftragte gleich im Dreieck springen würde. Nein, an sich sind sie ja ganz positiv, weil sie als positiv bewertete Eigenschaften in den Vordergrund stellen. Und trotzdem: Es ist streng genommen Rassismus.
Bei den obigen Sätzen handelt es sich um stereotype Bilder, wie bestimmte Nationalitäten oder Ethnien sind. Nun besteht aber bei solchen Propositionen leider die Tendenz, dass sie nicht nur deskriptiv, sondern auch normativ verstanden werden können.
Für Nicht-Akademiker: Solche harmlosen Aussagesätze können auch als Regel aufgefasst werden: Afrikaner sind nicht nur so, sie sollen auch so sein. Ein echter Afrikaner muss den Rhythmus im Blut haben, sonst ist irgendetwas falsch mit ihm.
Und da fängt das Problem an: Rassismus steckt Menschen in ganz bestimmte Schubladen aufgrund von Hautfarbe oder Herkunftsland. Dass das den Denkhorizont einengt, dürfte klar sein. Und was macht man mit all den Deutschen, die notorisch unpünktlich sind und ihr Zeug ständig verlieren, oder mit Senegalesen, die ums Verrecken keinen Takt halten können, oder mit Asiatinnen, die zum Davonlaufen aussehen? Man kann Menschen so nicht gerecht werden.
Hier einmal ein Beispiel aus meiner Kindheit: In der Grundschule wurde ich von Mitschülern immer wieder aufgefordert, ein paar Kungfu-Schläge und -Tritte zu zeigen. "...weil du bist doch Chinesin!" Ich hatte und habe keine Ahnung von Kungfu (bin ja auch keine Chinesin...). Mit meinen beeinflussbaren sieben Jahren glaubte ich jedoch, dass ich das eigentlich können sollte und fühlte mich ziemlich doof und nicht richtig wegen so einem K***.
Die Kinder damals meinten es sicherlich nicht böse. Aus ihnen sprach die Begeisterung für Hongkong-Eastern und Jackie Chan. Als (halbwegs gebildeter) Erwachsener sollte man allerdings von so stereotypen Aussgen dieser Art bitte Abstand nehmen.
Allerdings bleibt jetzt noch das Problem, was ich mit Deutschen mache, die tatsächlich pünktlich und gewissenhaft sind, oder was zu tun ist mit Senegalesen, die jeden in Grund und Boden trommeln und tanzen können oder was mit Asiatinnen, die wirklich wie zarte Porzellanpuppen aussehen...
Nun, die passen sicherlich alle in einen erweiterten Denkhorizont hinein. Neben die leidenschaftliche japanische Tango-Tänzerin, den norwegischen Kungfu-Meister mit dem schwarzen Gürtel und den ghanaischen Trappistenmönch.
(Und als Randnotiz: Die Suchanfragen bei Google zu meinem Blog beinhalten in ausgewogenem Maß sowohl "asiaten sind schön" als auch "asiaten sind hasslich")
Das aktuelle Nagelstudio #22
I actually don't have any new manicure atm because my nails need to recover. I totally underestimated how dry the climate is in China. My cuticles dried out completely and my nails, which weren't in the best shape to begin with, started peeling off.
So instead of a new manicure, you'll see two older ones that I haven't posted yet.
I wasn't too satisfied with this manicure. I imagined it to be better than it actually was on my nails. Yellow polish is always problematic when it comes to application. I think I had to start all over again twice to get it completely even. In this case I used Essence Sundancer and a polish by OluOlu.
This was one of the manis I did for my sister. Again, it was done with Chloe0602's awesome scotch tape technique. I took this photo after one week of wear, and the design is almost as good as new. You can see a bit of damage on the index finger though. The polishes I used were p2 virgin and Essence Choose me! (I love that polish).
That's it for today, I hope I can do my nails again next week... *sighs*
So instead of a new manicure, you'll see two older ones that I haven't posted yet.
I wasn't too satisfied with this manicure. I imagined it to be better than it actually was on my nails. Yellow polish is always problematic when it comes to application. I think I had to start all over again twice to get it completely even. In this case I used Essence Sundancer and a polish by OluOlu.
This was one of the manis I did for my sister. Again, it was done with Chloe0602's awesome scotch tape technique. I took this photo after one week of wear, and the design is almost as good as new. You can see a bit of damage on the index finger though. The polishes I used were p2 virgin and Essence Choose me! (I love that polish).
That's it for today, I hope I can do my nails again next week... *sighs*
Nachtrag - Schlitzaugen selbstgemacht
Poempelfox hat leider weder Foto noch Rezept über Google gefunden, deshalb tippe ich mal schnell das Rezept für diejenigen ab, die in den nächsten Tagen Zeit für Küchenexperimente haben :)
Das Rezept soll für etwa vier bis fünf Personen reichen.
Genießt weiterhin das schöne Osterwetter!
Schlitzaugen
60 g Fett, 1-2 Eier, 50 g Zucker, 1 Packerl Vanillinzucker und je 1 Prise Salz und Zimt rührt man gut durch und gibt 400 g Mehl, das mit 2 gbehäuften Kaffeelöffeln Backpulver gemischt und gesiebt wurde, sowie 50 g Stärkemehl darunter. Der zarte Teig wird mit 1-2 Eßlöffeln Rahm geschmeidig gemacht, dann dicklich ausgewalgt und zu gleichmäßigen Rechtecken ausgeradelt. In die Mitte macht man mit dem Backradl kleine Schlitze hinein und bäckt sie dann in heißem Fett goldgelb. Zuletzt überstreut man die Schlitzaugen mit Puderzucker.
Genießt weiterhin das schöne Osterwetter!
Von den Machern des Mohrenkopfs...
...wird euch heute eine weitere politisch nicht korrekte Spezialität serviert. Das Rezept dazu stammt aus folgendem Werk:
In diesem Buch findet sich unter der Rubrik "Narrische Kuchl" (also "Gerichte für die Karnevalszeit") das Rezept für folgendes Schmalzgebäck:
Für diejenigen, die mit Frakturschrift nicht so vertraut sind: S-c-h-l-i-t-z-a-u-g-e-n. Bilder von dieser Leckerei gab es leider keine, aber es scheint sich um Rechtecke mit einem kleinen Schlitz in der Mitte zu handeln.
Ich muss wohl nicht dazu sagen, dass die Schlitzaugen goldgelb serviert werden.
In diesem Buch findet sich unter der Rubrik "Narrische Kuchl" (also "Gerichte für die Karnevalszeit") das Rezept für folgendes Schmalzgebäck:
Für diejenigen, die mit Frakturschrift nicht so vertraut sind: S-c-h-l-i-t-z-a-u-g-e-n. Bilder von dieser Leckerei gab es leider keine, aber es scheint sich um Rechtecke mit einem kleinen Schlitz in der Mitte zu handeln.
Ich muss wohl nicht dazu sagen, dass die Schlitzaugen goldgelb serviert werden.
Sammelsurium
Seltsam ist es, Dienstagvormittag zusammen
mit meinem Vater vor dem Fernseher zu stehen
und Tai Chi nach einer DVD zu machen.
"Ich weiß ja, dass ich wieder daheim bin.
Doof ist bloß, dass die Leute nicht wissen, dass ich hier daheim bin."
In einer Hängematte im Garten liegen... was gibt es schöneres?*
*Zwitscher* *wasserplätscher* - "Huch, was ist denn das?" - "Mama hat einen Bewegungsmelder in Vogelform gekauft, der bei Besuch zwitschert." - "Ah. Verstört das nicht die Amseln?"
Brot! Oh Gott! Deutsches Brot!
"Was ist denn da an deinem Hals passiert? Ausschlag?" - "Ich habe so eine bleichende Creme ausprobiert. Im Gesicht war's ok, nur meinen Hals hat's verbrannt." - "Sieht nicht gut aus." - "Danke. Es war schon mal schlimmer."
*In zwei Hängematten liegen. Ganz klar.
Das aktuelle Nagelstudio - China Special
Normally, I don't post any "hauls" (how I hate that word!). Nevertheless, I wanted to show you what I hunted down in China. So here's a little pic spam for you!
Meet the whole gang:
And now some glittery/foily/shimmery impressions in close-up:
Those two little pearls came from a shop called COS mart and had a thick layer of dust on them. Can you understand that?
I got this beauty from a FamilyMart convenience store, looks like golden petrol:
Another shimmer/opal flakies/glass fleck polish (cf. HERE):
Never heard of that brand, but I'm a sucker for glass fleck/foil finishes:
Nude polish with a little bling:
I hope these Sally Hansens are not fake:
Scented nail polishes by Sasatinnie:
Those two are supposed to smell like raspberry:
And this one's rose:
More Sasatinnies:
That's it for now. By the way, since I came back I bought two more polishes at a German drugstore... the addiction, you know... ^^;
Meet the whole gang:
And now some glittery/foily/shimmery impressions in close-up:
Those two little pearls came from a shop called COS mart and had a thick layer of dust on them. Can you understand that?
I got this beauty from a FamilyMart convenience store, looks like golden petrol:
Another shimmer/opal flakies/glass fleck polish (cf. HERE):
Never heard of that brand, but I'm a sucker for glass fleck/foil finishes:
Nude polish with a little bling:
I hope these Sally Hansens are not fake:
Scented nail polishes by Sasatinnie:
Those two are supposed to smell like raspberry:
And this one's rose:
More Sasatinnies:
That's it for now. By the way, since I came back I bought two more polishes at a German drugstore... the addiction, you know... ^^;
Metro in Shanghai
Hi everyone, I still have some things to say about China and Shanghai, so here we go...
One of the things I appreciated the most in Shanghai was the metro or underground trains. I've travelled quite a lot in my life and I've tried a lot of Metros, but this here is the no. 1 for me (the Toulouse metro comes in second).
The route network is excellent, all the hotspots, important sights and the airport (very important) are within reach. Most of the stations look neat, very clean and roomy. You never feel claustrophobic or anxious, unlike in the Paris metro. Also navigation is very easy. Every station has a map somewhere with the complete route network, both in Chinese and in English. Even at the platforms there are signs to tell you where you are:
So, the stop you're currently at is Tongji University. You are using Line 10, stop 22. On the left you find your next stop, Siping Road. The past stop is Guoquan Road. How could anyone possibly take the wrong direction or get lost?
The trains are also very generous with space. As long as you avoid rush hours, you will most likely get a seat. Most of the trains have a working a/c, which comes in handy in the warmer season.
A lot of stations have a very nice design and decoration. Here are some pictures taken at the metro line 10 (my favourite line ^^):
Note that the tracks are unaccessible. The newer lines like line 10 are completely closed by glass facades and doors. The train stops right where the doors are which makes it easy and very safe to enter.
Of course there are some things that seem strange for a metro. For example, if you enter the station and want to get to the tracks, you have to pass a security check. Well, actually, your bag has to go through security check. However, the guy working there never seems to really pay attention to what is going on on the screen.
You will also notice the high number of staff working at each and every single metro station. You have the x-ray guy, the other security guy telling you if your bag has to go through x-ray or not, the service guy who handles your tickets (like, when there are problems), the two guys waving flags when the train comes in or leaves again, the cleaning persons who would mop the floor right after you left...
And that's just one single station. Now imagine every station is staffed similarly. Philipp explained this kind of overstaffing as follows: there are over a billion people in this country, and they all need jobs. Not so many have had proper school education. So if you, as a (still socialist) state, need those people get employed (to prevent social riots etc.), you better make (up) jobs for them.
Anyhow, I will always have fond memories of the Shanghai metro. If you try to find the 21st century in China, it is definitely underground.
Wo ich schon mal hier bin...
... wird vieles wieder auf Deutsch erscheinen. Englische Artikel sind zwar ok und bringen viele internationale Besucher (haha), aber mit Deutsch kann ich doch noch besser formulieren.
Ach ja, soeben bemerkt: Mein Blog wird auf maedchenmannschaft.net (einem feministischen Blog) unter der Rubrik www girls vorgestellt. Zum Artikel bitte hier entlang: Klick!
Ach ja, soeben bemerkt: Mein Blog wird auf maedchenmannschaft.net (einem feministischen Blog) unter der Rubrik www girls vorgestellt. Zum Artikel bitte hier entlang: Klick!
I'm back :)
Yep, I am back in Germany. With a gazillion photos, two dozen bottles of nail polish and a whole lot of impressions more I landed safely yesterday. Feels good to be here again, now with spring in full bloom.
It's incredible how vivid nature seems like. Especially after having spent three weeks in China. I've mostly seen cityscapes, yellow-grey dust and a strange washed out sky. Trees or plants were rare, even in the more rural areas. Sometimes the landscape resembled a desert, especially in the centre of the country.
Germany, on the other hand, looks completely different: from the plane I could see green fields combined with clear blue sky and forests. Grass never looked juicier and more soothing to me. Forests never seemed more beautiful.
Maybe it was because I was tired or because I was thrilled, anyways, out of a reflex I started sobbing. Yeah, I know. You can call me thin-skinned or pathetic as much as you want :)
Sometimes you need to step back a few thousand miles to get the big picture, I guess. I realised that no matter if you find that your home (country) sucks, there are always places that suck even worse, be it landscape-wise, pollution-wise or regarding politics and society. Germany might suck sometimes, yes, but it sucks in a way I am familiar with.
And one more thing: home is where you don't have to fear finding dreadful squatting toilets in public bathrooms...
...
Seriously, that's a relief.
It's incredible how vivid nature seems like. Especially after having spent three weeks in China. I've mostly seen cityscapes, yellow-grey dust and a strange washed out sky. Trees or plants were rare, even in the more rural areas. Sometimes the landscape resembled a desert, especially in the centre of the country.
Germany, on the other hand, looks completely different: from the plane I could see green fields combined with clear blue sky and forests. Grass never looked juicier and more soothing to me. Forests never seemed more beautiful.
Maybe it was because I was tired or because I was thrilled, anyways, out of a reflex I started sobbing. Yeah, I know. You can call me thin-skinned or pathetic as much as you want :)
Sometimes you need to step back a few thousand miles to get the big picture, I guess. I realised that no matter if you find that your home (country) sucks, there are always places that suck even worse, be it landscape-wise, pollution-wise or regarding politics and society. Germany might suck sometimes, yes, but it sucks in a way I am familiar with.
And one more thing: home is where you don't have to fear finding dreadful squatting toilets in public bathrooms...
...
Seriously, that's a relief.
Where is naekubi?
Find me on the picture below. I am somewhere among the tourists visiting the Chinese Wall… And this might be the closest you get to a photo of me. ;)
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| Click to enlarge |
See you in Germany soon!
Mosques in China
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| Drum Tower in Xi’an |
So, I’m back in Shanghai. On Saturday I am going to return to Germany. But before that, a few more posts about China.
Before visiting Beijing, Philipp and I went to Xi’an, a city in the middle of China. The climate is extremely dry and desert-like already, leaving Xi’an with yellow-grey dust and a very dry, sometimes cold atmosphere. Xi’an is especially famous for the Terracotta Warriors. (But actually, you have to drive about an hour by car to get to this amazing site. I definitely recommend visiting this place, it is indeed very impressive.)
What I like most about travelling are the little surprises. Of course it’s always cool to visit the hot spots, the places that are very well-known for a particular monument, dish or landscape. The cooler thing is, however, visiting sites which a city or a country is not known for.
Like mosques in China. This country has a lot of ethnic minorities, which isn’t surprising, regarding China’s geographic size. So there are some ethnic groups with Islam as their religion.
Xian has a relatively well-known “Muslim road”, an area with a special feel to it. I’ve never been to any country in the near/middle east, but this is how I imagine a bazaar to be.
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So we tried to get to the mosque of Xi’an. We knew where it was, approximately, but simply couldn’t find it. After one or two hours of circling around the area with drum tower and Muslim road, we finally found an old, almost unreadable sign inside the fake products bazaar showing the way to the mosque.
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| Muslim man with typical headdress in the front |
Visiting the mosque was a true delight. After all the dust, the dirt and the noise, the yard inside soothed our minds. It was peaceful; birds were singing (rare in China), magnolias were still in bloom and trees started to unfold their leaves. The architecture seems to be rather Chinese than Arab, but the yard inside felt more like an oriental garden than a Chinese one.
And even better: There were hardly any tourists here. The Chinese don’t seem to care much about the Muslim culture in their country, which was fortunate for us. It was nice and quiet.
Two oriental looking guys greeted some Chinese Muslims inside with a friendly “salam” and a handshake. Ah, globalisation...
PS: Unfortunately my pictures don’t live up to the beauty and magic of this place, but trust me: I enjoyed it very much.
There are nine million bicycles in Beijing…
... not. Katie Melua is quite wrong. You could get the impression that there were nine million cars and taxis here.
Anyway, here’s a picture of the view from our window at our hotel.
This is a traditional residential area called hutong. It’s an architecture that was inspired by the yurts of the mongolian nomads in ancient times. Back then, four of those little houses built one block with a little yard in the middle. Nowadays, due to lack of space, those yards are practically non-existent. People constructed additional rooms in there like storage rooms or bathrooms.
Because that’s the thing: traditionally, those tiny houses don’t have any water connection and no sewer, either. This is why there are public toilets every 50 metres. For most people in this area, these public toilets are the only option for, well, you know.
Still, the hutong area is quite hip (you can actually see hipsters!), with bars, cafés, restaurants and little shops and food stands. You get churros as well as takoyaki or even a German style breakfast (with multi-grain rolls!). The pictures might illustrate this lively spot:
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You might see the sign of the restaurant „Suzuki kitchen“ on the second picture on the left. Here a little close-up of their entrance and their chalk board outside:
I liked this restaurant because of their service. Normally, waitresses and waiters here are quite rough, don’t speak any English and tend to forget some of the food you ordered. Not here. They speak English and offer good service at ok prices.
So, this restaurant is inside the hutong area, but they have installed a toilet. It is possible to get connection to the water supply and the sewers. However, its usage is rather limited, as the following signs inside the restroom suggest:
This one’s understandable. The sewage pipes here are quite narrow so you better not throw any waste in there. Toilet paper also goes into an extra bin because of this.
Ok... this is... unusual. You’re not supposed to smoke, check. You’re not supposed to squat on the toilet, check.*
But you’re not supposed to poop there, either. I guess, the pipes... you get the point.
*Most public toilets here are those “Turkish” toilets where you squat down over a “hole”.