Cami de casa / Going home

Dimecres varem marxar de Singapore despres de passar-hi uns dies, coneixer en Max, el fill de la Patricia i en Mahesh, visitar els Lothgren i veure la Chloe. De fet les noies varen estar a casa la Chloe mentre nosaltres dos ens varem quedar a casa els Lothgren. Despres de mesos de dormir principalment en hostals ve molt de gust quedar-se a casa els amics, sobretot quan aquests et tracten tant be com ho han fet amb nosaltres. A Singapore hem vist moltes botigues i fins fet alguna compra, tambe hem anat al cinema a veure "L'altra Bolena" i hem passejat molt, malgrat la calor i l'humitat que hi fa; el jardi botanic, el del gingebre i el de les orquidies son una mostra extraordinaria de la flora tropical i un lloc molt agradable per passar l'estona. La ciutat combina els edificis moderns, seu de bancs i grans empreses, amb barris com la petita India o el Xines, on trobes una replica simpatica d'aquests llocs que inclou temples, botiguetes i restaurants. Es una ciutat plena de forasters que hi treballen, altres forasters que treballen pels forasters que hi treballen, i uns quants descendents dels seus primers habitants, que sovint no tenen acces a les mateixes possibilitats que els forasters (que hi treballen). Tot sembla funcionar molt be, encara que com que la critica no es permesa, no se sap gaire que es el que va be de debo i el que no.
Ahir varem arribar a un Londres assoleiat pero bastant fred, a les cinc del mati nomes hi feia 6 graus, i es clar, venint del tropic ens va xocar una mica, encara que a Londres, si hi fa sol, tant li fa el fred ja que es quan la ciutat es mes bonica. Despres d'un bon esmorzar a un cafe tipic del centre i de deixar la majoria de les bosses a casa uns amics varem anar cap a Cardiff en autobus, un viatge d'un xic mes de tres hores que ens varen passar volant, al cap i a la fi anavem a veure la familia, i a mes el sol ens va acompanyar tot el cami. Diumenge tornem a la capital i dimecres havent dinat, cap Barcelona! Si tot va be arribarem la tarda de Sant Jordi, com haviem previst. Deixarem enrere molts llocs nous, molta nous coneguts, molts amics, molts llits i moltes hores de viatge, i esperem emportar-nos els records, els bons moments que hem passat, tot el que hem vist i apres durant aquests mesos. Tornarem a casa coneixent-nos bastant mes que quan varem marxar, amb ganes i energia per emprendre una nova etapa, cada un de nosaltres la seva nova etapa, amb un record comu que nomes nosaltres quatre compartim. A partir d'ara, en les nostres vides, sempre hi haura un abans i un despres d'aquest meravellos, unic i especial, i tambe privilegiat, molt privilegiat viatge.

On Wednesday we left Singapore after having spent some days there getting to know Max, Patricia and Mahesh's son, and visiting the Lothgrens and Chloe. In fact the girls stayed at Chloe's whilst we stayed at the Lothgrens'. After so many months of mostly sleeping in hostels, we have really appreciated staying at friends' homes, especially as they have all treated us so well. We visited lots of shops in Singapore and even did some shopping, we also went to the cinema to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and walked a lot, despite the heat and humidity. The Botanical Gardens, which include the Ginger Garden and the Orchid Garden, are home to an extraordinary collection of tropical flowers and plants and it is a really pleasant place to spend some time. The city combines modern buildings, its banks and large corporations, with neighbourhoods like Chinatown and Little India where you find replicas of those places including temples, small shops and restaurants. It's a city full of foreigners who work there, other foreigners who work for the foreigners who work there and a number of descendents of the original population who often don't have access to the same opportunities as the foreigners (who work there). It all seems to work very well, although criticism is not permitted and so it's difficult to know what really functions well and what doesn't.
Yesterday we arrived in sunny London, although it was cold. At five o'clock in the morning it was only 6 degrees and obviously, coming from the tropics, it was a bit of a shock although when the sun is out in London, even if it's cold, it's at its most beautiful. After a hearty breakfast in a typical cafe in the centre, we dropped some bags at a friend's house and headed to Cardiff by coach, a sunny journey of just over three hours which sped by, to see the family.
On Sunday we return to London and on Wednesday afternoon we head to Barcelona. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in the afternoon of St Jordi. We'll be leaving behind many new locations, new acquaintances, new friends, many beds and hours of travel and will be taking with us many memories, goods times we've had, everything we've experienced and learnt over the last nine months. Arriving home, we'll know so much more than we did when we left, with an enthusiasm and energy to start the next phase, each one our own, but with a common experience we four have lived together. From now on there will always be a 'before and after' in our lives marked by our marvellous, unique, special and also privileged, very privileged journey.

Now is Tibet, tomorrow it could be Taiwan / Ara es el Tibet, un dia potser sera Formosa

Haver visitat fa poc durant 3 dies una ciutat de la Xina no em dona cap autoritat sobre el Tibet i els afers relacionats amb els JJOO, pero haver seguit les noticies i la premsa especialitzada, i haver mantingut orelles i ulls ben oberts mentre erem a la regio, m'ha permes formar una opinio personal sobre la realitat xinesa. En la nostra visita a Chauzhou el primer que varem notar va ser una gran inversio en infraestructures, principalment carreteres; tambe varem notar una constant agressio a l'entorn al llarg de les carreteres per on varem viatjar en forma d'abocaments indiscriminats. Mentre que algunes zones del centre de les ciutats, tant a Shenzhen com a Chauzhou, semblaven haver estat desenvolupades recentment, aquesta expansio nomes consistia en edificacions gegants sense deixar lloc a arees de lleure. Els nous enclavaments per a habitatge eren purament funcionals sense deixar arribar la llum natural als pisos que s'amuntegaven en blocs els uns massa prop dels altres. Dels espais interiors no en puc dir res ja que no els varem visitar. Passejant per la part vella de la ciutat varem constatar que els negocis individuals amb prou feines generen el suficient per sobreviure i, observant la vida quotidiana de la gent, semblava que la vida era ben senzilla. El transport en tricicle comparteix els carrers amb cotxes de luxe i molts i molts autobusos La meva primera impressio va ser d'estar en un estat capitalista en gran desenvolupament, sense pero, les llibertats i els dretss a que estem acostumats a l'oest. Jutjant pels resultats economics de la Xina un nomes pot pensar en un estat capitalista molt agressiu amb dos tipus de normes, una cara a fora de lliure competencia i un altre d'estricte control de la produccio i els seus mitjants cara a la seva poblacio. El nombre de vehicles de luxe em fa sospitar que la corrupcio es un sistema ben establert per aconseguir favors o drets especials. L'exit economic de la Xina es d'els xinesos, pero tambe en part es el resultat de les aspiracions de les empreses occidentals-i els seus accionistes-, i a la llarga poden costar car a les nostres economies; potser caldria que pensessim on volem que es fabriquin els nostres bens. Pels seus preus favorables, massa sovint hem mirat cap a l'altra banda, i ara amb els JJOO a sobre, una vegada mes ens taparem els ulls, mentre ens serveixin els seus productes a bon preu... Pero, es acceptable aquest preu? Els abusos de la Xina no es limiten a l'ocupacio i les massacres portades a terme al Tibet des de 1950, tambe impliquen el desplacament constant de la seva poblacio, enviant gent Han a viure-hi per "diluir" la causa tibetana, obligant a qualsevol ciutada xines a canviar la seva residencia quan el govern ho ha volgut, menyspreant els mes basics drets. A la Xina res ha canviat des que els estudiants varen prendre Tiananmen, amb la diferencia que com que l'economia creix rapidament el govern ara pot -si ho vol- comprar tots i cada un dels ciutadans a mes d'utilitzar l'arengada nacionalista per guanyar-se el seu recolzament en grans causes internacionals, sovint fent de victima. Fa ben poc varem escoltar al president xines dir que esta disposat a "parlar del que sigui amb el Dalai Lama, sempre que aquest no questioni la integritat de la Xina, ja que tant en el Tibet com Formosa en son parts indiscutibles".

Having recently spent 3 days in a city in China does not give me any authority on the Tibet and related Games' issues. However, having been following the news and reading specialized press as well as keeping my ears and eyes well open whilst in the region, allows me to have formed a strong personal opinion on China's reality. On our visit to Chauzhou the first thing we noticed was lots of investment in infrastructures, mainly on roads; we also noticed a constant agression to the environment on both sides of the roads we traveled along, consisting of several dumping sites and rubbish landfills. Whilst some city centre areas, both in Shenzhen and Chauzhou, seem to have been recently developed, this has been done on a large scale, with only buildings of gigantic proportions, leaving no space for leasure areas. New housing developments seemed to lack any "luxurious" access to natural light and buildings were piled one next to the other, becoming just functional. As we did not visit any inside, I cannot coment on their living spaces. Walking the old town we saw how individual businesses struggle to generate a sizeable income and from seeing the population's daily activity, I suspect they live a very basic way of life. Cycle richshaws share the road with new luxury cars and many, many buses. My first impression was that of a fast developing capitalist state without any of the freedom or rights we enjoy in the west. Judging by China's economic results, I can only think of a very agressive capitalist system using two sets of rules: free competition towards the outside and strict state control of production and its means towards their people. On account of the luxury vehicles we saw, I can only suspect corruption as a well established system to obtain special rights or privileges. China's economic success is their own doing, but also the result of western companies -and their share holders- greed, and eventually could cost our economies dearly; perhaps it is time we reconsider where we want our goods produced. Because of their favourable prices we have become complacent and often turn a blind eye, and now, with the Olympic Games around the corner, we are once more prepared to close both eyes, as long as we can buy their goods cheaply. But, are they so cheap? China's abuses aren't limited to the occupation and continued masscre of Tibet since 1950, they also involve the constant displacement of their population, sending Han people into the region in order to dilute the Tibetan feeling, forcing anyone the government wants, to move to other regions, in a clear show of disregard for people's basic rights. Nothing has changed for the Chinese since the students took Tiananmen, except perhaps that their economy is growing at such rate that the government can, when they want, buy each and everyone of its citizens, often stirring nationalistic feelings to gain support for big international issues and playing victim. We have recently heard the Chinese president say he is "prepared to discuss anything with the Dalai Lama, as long as he does not question China's integrity, as both Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of it".