"And after 'Holiday in Cambodia' we'll break into 'Anarchy in the UK'..."

One other topic that came up at our blog-in the other day is that Brendan is starting up a punk rock band when he gets back to Beijing. Quite properly, he doesn't play any musical instrument whatsoever. He's stumped on a name for his band---his first choice was 雷锋精神 "Lei Feng Spirit". I told him it didn't strike me as very catchy, and I suggested 三个代表 "The Three Represents" instead. The Three Represents is the latest CCP ideological breakthrough and is Jiang Zemin's contribution to the Marxist/Leninist/Maoist/Dengist theoretical canon. Read a good explanation of the Three Represents here. Still don't understand what the hell it is? Join the club. I still think it's a great name for a band, though, especially if Brendan can get that accordion player in the photo to join. The only drawback I can think of is that the name might become irrelevant in two years. But any self-respecting punk band should self-destruct by then anyway. His other idea isn't too bad: 少先队 "The Young Pioneers", but it lacks sufficient currency and punch, in my humble opinion. I found a site called Mr. Wang's Neighborhood Chinese today that looks promising, particularly for Chinese learners stuck outside of China. Devoted to colloquialisms, it is best suited for intermediate students who would like to liven up their spoken language a tad. It appears to offer daily entries. UPDATE: For another perspective (in Chinese) and more photos of our China Blog Mafia Overseas Arm meet-up, head over to Alaric's 中文 blog. I learn something new everyday: the Chinese word for "blog" apparently is 博客 boke. I've got a name in mind for my eventual Chinese-language blog: Prince Roy 的地盘. Can any Chinese readers give me their opinion of that title?
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/27/2004 03:45:00 AM| |

 
Overseas Arm of the China Blog Mafia Undergoes Annual Inspection...
above l-r: Prince Roy, Alaric and Brendan You may have heard about the first-ever China Blog Mafia bash that took place in Beijing back in December 2003. If not, read about it here from a participant, Adam Morris, he of the always entertaining Brainysmurf. That event got me to wondering: why should the China-based bloggers be the ones having all the fun? I decided it might be worthwhile to initiate an informal gathering of representatives in the overseas arm, and just to keep us honest, CBM headquarters dispatched a pezzonovante from the Old Country. It was therefore my great honor and privilege to host two giants in the China Blog Mafia, Bokane.org's Brendan and Alaric of 喜爱学中文的美国老外 fame. Alaric lives in Baltimore, Maryland and his claim to fame is that he is one of the very few Westerners out there blogging in Chinese, an incredible feat in my book. He has a huge following in the Chinese-speaking world, and it is well-deserved. If you read Chinese be sure to check him out. I would have linked to him long ago, but for some reason my computer has a difficult time getting his site to download. He's been studying Chinese for around 20 years and is married to a Chinese woman from Taiwan. He says he's planning on visiting China this summer with his wife and he hopes to meet up with some of his Chinese blogger friends. Brendan is living the dream. He is from Philadelphia and began studying Chinese in high school. He is currently enrolled in Chinese classes at Beijing University, after a year or so teaching English in Harbin. Brendan is in the US on holiday because of the Lunar New Year, and that's why he was able to take the train down to DC for a visit. He's part of that very fortunate generation learning and living in a China vastly different than the one which existed when I was at that stage of my life. For instance, after I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1992, I applied to and was accepted into the master's program of the Chinese Language and Literature Department at Beijing University. I arrived there later that summer a couple of weeks before classes were to begin. However, this was still in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Incident and a chilly, oppressive atmosphere shrouded the campus. I had acquaintances from Oregon studying there at the time who told me how little contact they were able to have with Chinese students and other Chinese in Beijing. I decided Beijing University was no place for me and went to Taiwan instead. The situation is far better for foreign students now. They have a degree of social interaction with Chinese unheard of when I first went there. Of course, this is more true of the larger urban centers like Beijing and Shanghai than other less developed areas, but things are changing even in the hinterland, at least in Chengdu and Chongqing, where I have spent significant time in recent years. I'm glad to see Brendan and other bright young people like him are making the most of it. I am genuinely envious of them. Back to the blog-in: Alaric, Brendan, Princess Roy and I had dinner at Charlie Chiang's at 660 S Pickett Street in Alexandria, VA. It is one of the two passable Sichuan restaurants I know of in Northern Virginia. I will soon post a review of these restaurants, but for the time being I'll just note that this place is part of a culinary empire that controls 8 establishments in the DC area. I can only vouch for this one. Avoid the others, especially the downtown DC location. It was great getting to know these guys. We spoke in Chinese a good bit of the time and I actually enjoyed speaking Mandarin with other foreigners for once. My wife came away quite impressed with their skills, as was I. Brendan has the longest online presence of us all. If he is not the co-godfather of the China Blog Mafia with John Pasden, then he has certainly attained the rank of capo. In a very nice gesture, Alaric presented Brendan and I with a book he co-authored with two Chinese. Written in both English and Chinese, it is entitled "e 代奇遇" e dai qiyu [Happy Encounters in the E-Generation]. Apparently, it is a collection of email correspondence between Alaric and a couple of his regular readers. 江苏少年儿童出版社 Jiangsu shaonian ertong chubanshe is the publisher. I look forward to reading it. Finally tonight, a highlight of our dinner:
A Beautiful Repast in a Sea of Red Oil--Just Look At All Those Lovely Peppers!!!
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/25/2004 11:20:00 AM| |

 
Life After A-100...Chapter II I just finished the first exam in State's Basic Consular Course. Regular readers will know I am just itching to get out to post, but I was not due to begin this course until January 20. Thankfully, a spot opened up in the January 8 class and I moved off the waiting list. Hopefully this means I will get out to Chennai all the sooner, but that is still up in the air, depending on some other classes I need to reschedule. Every Foreign Service Officer will take this course at some point, because every one of us must complete at least one tour in a consular job in order to qualify for tenure. The other requirement for tenure is to test at a designated level in a foreign language. Been there done that: read all about my ordeal here. The Basic Consular Course is 31 work days (six weeks). In this class we learn about all applicable law and procedure governing the issuance of visas (immigrant and non-immigrant), along with passports and other citizenship documentation. We also gain familiarity with how a person becomes a US citizen, whether through jus soli (law of the soil, i.e. place of birth) or jus sanguinis (through descent--this is applied to those born of a US parent(s) overseas). Today we completed the first part of the course, which deals with Citizenship and Nationality. The law has two sources: the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act. This stuff can get nuts. If born out of wedlock, the law treats the child differently depending on whether the mother or father is a US citizen. It also depends when the little bundle of joy arrived, in wedlock or not, because the law has gone through several amendments, most of which are not retroactive. If you're curious about this Act, go here and begin reading at INA: Title III Act 301. It is very important that we master this material, because State constantly drives home the point that our primary mission as FSOs is to aid US citizens abroad, whether it be to replace lost, stolen or expired passports, or to register the birth of a US citizen (or to determine that the child is not entitled to citizenship). And of course, since 9/11 our role in the visa process has taken on unprecedented importance. The lead instructor made an interesting point on the first day that those of us with legal backgrounds sometimes have more trouble with this course, because we are often tempted to look beyond the statute and think of arguments as to why it should not apply. I have to admit that I couldn't help but put on my advocacy hat when reading the hypos in our review assignments. Those without a legal education are normally better able to apply the statute strictly as written. The ironic thing is I thought I was leaving life in the law for good when I joined State, but I'll be parsing statutes as much, if not more, than I ever did in law school! On a side note: personal matters compel my return to The Big Easy (New Orleans) tomorrow for the weekend. Although unanticipated, it is not unexpected. So don't look for any updates until well into next week. Several readers have emailed; rest assured I will get around to replying, though it may take a few days. I appreciate your patience.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/16/2004 04:55:00 AM| |

 
Hey, I knew it all along! But was Einstein a 'leader' in the usual sense of the word? After all, he turned down the opportunity to be the first president of Israel. A shout-out goes to Tennessee Ruck.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/13/2004 03:40:00 AM| |

 
Thatsa one Spicy Meatball I've got good news and bad news for any pasta lovers who are soon-to-be A-100 students. First the good news: you can get a decent lunch in the Foreign Service. The bad news? You can only get it at Main State, which is not where you will spend the bulk of your time. But when your training or bridge assignments take you there, by all means check out The Portabello. It's located in the big cafeteria section of the first floor, but on the side towards the "D" Street entrance. I only discovered this place last week, because I had been eating where most people seem to, on the "C" Street entrance side. Each side has several food stands offering a variety of different choices, from Mexican, Chinese, Deli sandwiches, grilled food, etc. There is Chinese fast food on the "C" Street side. It's cafeteria-style, and almost all dishes here will be way too Americanized if any of you are familiar with and appreciate authentic Chinese food, but the 师傅 shifu is from Beijing and he loves to chat with customers in Chinese, so you can go over and practice with him for a bit. He has a little wok set-up that he uses for a quite passable stir-fried tofu and vegetables as a special order, and he'll even add 豆瓣酱 douban jiang (chili bean sauce---a Sichuan staple) if you ask. The Portabello does specialty pasta of a type. First, you can choose from a variety of fresh veggies. The chef will then saute them in olive oil and garlic along with healthy doses of salt, crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper. Then she adds the sauce of your choice. There are two whites and two reds. I recommend you go with the pesto marinara (red). If you want meat, she'll throw in your choice of spicy meatballs, chicken breast or Italian sausage. Finally, she'll ask you whether you want fettucine or linguini, and she dollops out a huge portion into the skillet. After it all simmers together a few more minutes she plates it up and tops it off with an Italian baguette. Price? An amazing $4.75. You won't find a better value anywhere, and it's delizioso! But the bitter invariably follows the sweet. First, it can take quite a bit of time because of the individual care the chef gives each order. The line gets formidably long at peak times, and so you're better off going really early, say 11 :30 a.m., or towards the end of the lunch period (I think she closes down at 2 p.m). Also, the bread is a major disappointment. A good French or Italian bread complements a meal while a poor one can actually detract. This bread comes close to doing just that, and many people even decline the offer. But I have to reiterate, bad bread or no, you simply will not find a better meal for the price at Main State, both in terms of quality and quantity. And don't even get me started about FSI (Foreign Service Institute) food, which is too dismal to be believed.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/08/2004 05:00:00 AM| |

 
When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth The Ralph J. Bunche Library is the best-kept secret at Main State, at least among the A-100 crowd. It is a fantastic resource and the Orientation should not only make sure we know about it, but take us on a quick tour when our classes bring us to Main State. I went there during my lunch hour last week for the first time and it blew me away. If you love cultural, historical or any other kind of material concerning international relations and country/area studies, you won’t ever want to leave. The China materials are stacks deep, and though much of it is dated, there is plenty enough recent stuff to keep me happy for several weeks. There are lots of foreign language resources too. The staff is super friendly and efficient as well. They had a library card in my hands not five minutes after I asked for it. Not only that, if you tell them where your post is, they will give you a free area map: I’ve got my wall-size map of South Asia all ready for the hanging. When I first visited the library I wandered down to the basement into the diplomatic history section. There are several books there from the 1960s describing life in the State Department. These books were geared towards persons interested in pursuing a diplomatic career. State has long had this image as kind of an elitist, WASP-ish Ivy League organization dominated by white males, and it is a perception State is strongly trying to change. Our A-100 class had several female senior-level Foreign Service officers as guest speakers who told us what it was like in the old days when they first came in. One shocker: up until 1972 a female Foreign Service officer had to resign her commission and leave the Service once she married. It is one thing to hear these stories, but it is quite another to see that kind of cultural mindset in print. I found several gems that I think illustrate my point very well. The first is a book from 1965 by Harry Neal entitled Your Career in the Foreign Service. In it, he described the training content of the A-100 course at that time, and my favorite was the block called: “Wives: Our Strategic Resource”. He listed the qualities a Foreign Service wife must have, which reminded me of the saying we had in the Army: if Uncle Sam wanted you to have a wife, he’d issue you one. He also introduced the recommended career paths for women seeking State Department employment, namely stenographic, secretarial and clerk positions. William Beaulac authored the next book, Career Diplomat, in 1964. And though he observed that in 1963 7.7% of Foreign Service officers were women, I quote: "...Opportunities for women? These are not limitless and won’t be limitless in the foreseeable future. The Foreign Service exists to do a job for the US and that job can best be done by men. When women marry they are lost to the Service..." By that last point, he meant that State invested a large amount of money into the training of FSOs, all benefits of which were lost to the Service when women left upon marriage. He failed to mention, of course, that State forced newly-married female FSOs to leave whether they wanted to or not. As further evidence of female unsuitability, he noted that a woman diplomat might feel embarrassed asking a male host country contact out for social dining/drinks after normal working hours, yet these kinds of settings are when much of a diplomat’s work gets done. And even if the woman was o.k. with it, the man might be uncomfortable because it would make his wife upset. Robert Finley Delaney contributed another classic in 1961: Your Future in the Foreign Service. He recalled with approval the time he overheard one of his seniors offering advice to a young woman interested in becoming a diplomat: “Your best chance of becoming an ambassador, young lady, is to marry a bright Foreign Service officer.” A ‘solid observation’ according to Mr. Delaney. From Chapter XII, “Wives Are More Important Than Husbands”, we learn that the social abilities of a wife in entertaining can make or break a career. The performance of the wife was included in her husband’s evaluation efficiency report, and could prevent him from obtaining advancement. Not only was she expected to entertain, but she was at the beck and call of the ambassador’s wife, and had to ‘volunteer’ for any number of unpaid embassy activities. These included clerical administrative work, charity and teaching in the host country and cooking/baking for parties. In effect, the wife had what amounted to a full-time, uncompensated job. I don’t know about any of you, but if I found myself transported back to that era, I don’t think I would recognize what country I was in. And that’s not even considering the situation of African-Americans and other minorities. Let’s not even go there.
- posted by Prince Roy @ 1/05/2004 01:00:00 PM| |