The City of Flowers, Sort of. Maybe Just the Mall of Umbrellas.

I am hanging out in Huadu, which used to be its own city, the city of flowers, and now is a suburb (population: approximately 2 million) of Guangzhou.  I have work to do, really, I do.  But I'm with friends.  They are persuading me to abandon my Peace Corps ideals and embrace materialistic consumerism, and it's awesome. 

Today, we went to a mall.  There were many brightly colored umbrellas in the air above the outdoor walkways.  I don't know why.

There was a fashion show featuring many improbable headdresses, I don't know why.

I like being a tourist in China.  The people stare, sure, but they are polite!  People don't yell "foreigner!" at me except for some small children who are quickly hushed by their parents.  People don't get in my face, ask me to marry them, or otherwise harass me.  It's great.  Mostly, we were there to eat real ramen (because real Japanese restaurants exist in China) and drink kumquat tea (which is really good) and see Pacific Rim at a 3d Imax because giant mecha versus monsters.  I think I would have enjoyed the movie much more had there been less plot.*  Nevertheless, life is full of good food and leisured pursuits.  I am not building anyone's capacity.  I am not doing anything sustainable.  I'm not even being an educated tourist and learning about the culture.  I'm just going to the mall, and I am completely okay with this.


*Or maybe not.  With less plot about how everyone who isn't an American (blond, blue-eyed man) either dies, screws up, or passes out before getting to be a hero while the exactly 2 scientists researching the problem take at least 6 years (I'm not really clear on time line) to figure out basic things about the monsters by writing on old chalkboards (how did the earth get it together enough to build giant mecha with that kind of investment in research?), I have nothing to focus on but how the earth doesn't have any battle plans other than giant anthropomorphic robots or a giant wall.  The latter hasn't been an effective defense since the invention of the ladder and the former is inefficient and unsustainable.  You don't build giant, difficult to replace things to battle giant things in the inefficient manner of tailless obligate bipeds.  Even if the tailless obligate bipeds have swords.  If you can only think of building things, you build small things, suited to the battle environment.  Mecha sharks, people.  Ideally, mecha sharks that can also fly.  Packs of the things would work so much better than anthropomorphic robots (it's like how a wolf pack can overwhelm a much larger moose) and you can't tell me that mecha flying sharks wouldn't be awesome.  Also, you don't get to sneak in messages about pollution while touting the awesomeness of energy inefficient giant robots.  I love giant robots as much as the next nerd, but come on.  Particularly when we are told that the giant robots are powered digitally.  Digital has not heretofore been known as a power source.