If the United Nations Really Cared...

Here's my rant about the United Nations. I know that they are working hard on the BIG problems in this world in order to improve our lives. However, in working on the BIG problems, they miss the small problems that really make our daily lives difficult.  In China, these are the things that make my life difficult and I would love for the UN to step in and fix things:

1.  All electrical appliances would accept the following voltages: 100-240v, 50-60Hz. Without exception. This would improve my life immeasurably and would probably reduce manufacturing costs as well.
2. Flogging (or death) for people that violate the "walk left-stand right" rule on escalators and moving walkways (there's even a website).
3. All water faucets must follow the "left hot, right cold" rule.  For circular handles, it's "counter-clockwise hot, clockwise cold".
4. All cell phones (and any battery-powered electrical appliance smaller than a toaster) would be rechargeable using a USB charger. Oh wait, the Chinese government already mandated this for cell phones! Thanks for nothing UN.

Awww... Nuts

Foreigners often try to find foods they know well when they've grown tired of Chinese or just need something familiar. In particular, they get easily fooled by Hua Sheng (花生).  When you order this dish off the menu, you get a small plate of shelled peanuts that look close the right color but are strangely wet.  It seems like a manageable difference.

However, it seems that the Chinese like their peanuts much more "raw" than westerners.  In fact, they are so raw that you quickly associate the peanut with beans (which they are) instead of nuts (which peanuts are not).  It's always fun to see the first bite from people who are visiting.

Me?  I didn't like them at first but now I've really grown to enjoy them.  They taste more fresh, have less salt and are much more amenable to the chopstick grab and toss (as in down your throat).  The western peanuts are starting to taste too salty, too hard and way overcooked.  Are my taste buds starting to go native?

The Westernisation of Food

The rage around the world these days is to complain about how the "Westernisation" of food has caused people in the developing world to become fat, lazy and dangerously obese. I see this a lot in the Chinese press. This is an interesting viewpoint. Actually, what I mean is that it offends me as both an American (the western evil food pusher) and as an Indian (the poor developing country at the mercy of evil). What do I mean?
As an American, I'm offended by the idea that the idea of being "western" is so wrapped up in the idea of over-eating fatty and fried foods. There are plenty of western nations where this is not true and frankly, people are responsible for what they eat.
As an Indian, I'm offended by the idea that we have to rely on foreigners to figure out how to make those super-tasty, super-bad-for-you foods that everyone loves to eat. Indians already have lots of tasty snacks that are completely home-grown and absolutely guaranteed to increase your weight. We don't need to rely on McDonald's for this type of creativity. And we've got stuff that makes Pork Rinds look like health food.
Basically, I don't like the confusion between "Westernisation" and "Modernisation". Just because your society is modernising, don't give all the creative credit to the West! Just because they became modernised first, don't give them ownership by calling things westernised. All societies that are modernising will have similarities that exist because of increased incomes. Don't allow yourself to become confused with cultural westernisation and economic modernisation.