Haier

Unfortunately, I wrote a pretty complete account of my first
impressions and my first day here yesterday but due to a technological
failure, I lost a lot of it and I haven't had the energy to rewrite
it. For now: Haier.

This is the brand of all of the appliances that my dad's apartment was
furnished with. This decal caught my attention for a couple reasons:
1. the logo; 2. the China energy meter. First off - what is that logo
supposed to imply? It's possible that it was an entirely random "cute"
image commissioned to serve as an attractive face to put on all of
their otherwise pretty boring and straightforward appliances. But I
still want to question why the clearly subordinate one is the
blond-haired, blue-eyed one clinging and looking adoringly at the
dark-haired, dark-eyed one. I don't know about the ice cream either.

Secondly, the China Energy Label: it's a little ambiguous as its exact
purpose. In the United States, it clearly would have been related to
environmental causes; the results of some hard environmental lobbying
to increase consumer awareness of their environmental impact. I'm not
sure if this is the case here. While in the Beijing airport, there was
a pretty decal on the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom that had
English saying something like "Use less, conserve more and be green"
(my understanding of the Chinese characters was more direct such as
"Please use only one sheet" and then something about green). Now, the
Beijing airport is likely not an indicator of "the Real China", so
much as "the China that China wants you to believe exists" due to the
Olympics. This apparently includes some degree of environmental
awareness.

Seeing this label, however, definitely leads me to wonder how much of
a facade that environmental awareness is. Is this label an indicator
of the movement extending further than a surface level? Or is it more
based on a goal of energy efficiency for pure economic purposes? It
might be a little clearer if I had any idea whether it was a voluntary
decision of the company or whether it was required of all new
electronics after a certain date of manufacture.

After all, in contrast to the cute face of this possible
environmentalism, there appear to be some pretty large storm drains
going down to beach, dumping runoff from the streets into the ocean
shore. Who knows what's in that water. I'm pictured trying to blend
into Yantai while standing on them. Also, I have definitely noticed
the air quality in my attempts to wear contacts. I read some warnings
about it generally not being a good idea, but I figured that I would
give it a try. I think I might give up a few days, but I'm still
trying. And if it's this bad here, I'm pretty sure that there is just
no hope for in Beijing.

Alright. I'm out for breakfast. More accounts, especially catching up
on the adventures of my first day, to come.