Life lesson from the Banyan tree

In my last post I talked about the importance of Guan Xi in our lives. I would like to expand on that idea by talking about the importance of developing strong support systems. I was walking through Wanshi Botanical Gardens the other day, and noticed this tree, it was no ordinary tree, it is called a Banyan tree. The thing that attracted it to me was its branches-- it had vines reaching the ground that would slowly twist together over time to create a thick vertical branches that is meant to give the horizontal branches support in order for the tree to grow wider and taller.

We as human beings can learn a lot from this tree. If we compare ourself to the tree, we would be the main trunk and the horizontal branches that expand out is the knowledge and experiences we gain over our life -- as we grow our branches become longer and thicker. How can we as human's grow our branches thicker and longer?

Surrounding ourselves with people who are going to lift you higher and help you grow in every aspect of your life. If we learn from this tree, the people we surround ourselves with will become the vertical branches (like he Banyan tree), that can expand our develop our growth. When creating the "support system"  or vertical pillars remember that we need different types of pillars that help us grow in every aspect of our lives. You should have spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and  professional pillars.

Our support system needs to be nurtured, we take from it and we give back to it to maximize our growth as human's. Think about growing your support system holistically like the Banyan tree, don't only fill it with groups of people from one area of development, if you do, you will miss out on opportunities in life and will limit your growth.

Guan Xi

Guan Xi is probably the most important word for you to know when you're living or working in China. What does Guan Xi mean? You all know it if you're in business -- it is something we all do. For those of you who are on LinkedIn-- you do it. It translates into "networking" or "connections". The Chinese have a high regard for Guan Xi, as the basis of it's culture revolves around it. It is a little bit more then networking it is formed around relationships, consideration, honor, and respect.

Let me give you a scenario. Say: I have a Guan Xi with Jen and she is selling some low quality pens for $1 each and I have another supplier let's say Brad and he is selling better quality pens for 80 cents each. Since I have a Guan Xi with Jen, (even though the pens are of lower quality and more expensive) I will buy them from her because I know her and we have a connection with one another.

So when they teach you in business class that quality and price matter-- it's not always true.  To 1.3 billion people in the world, it's all about the relationship you have with the other person. So when you or your company decide to conduct business in China, it is very important to develop a strong Guan Xi with people you plan to conduct business with. Business is personal!

Next time you meet someone, try to build a relationship with them that is mutually beneficiary. Don't think to yourself "what can this person do for me" rather, build a relationship based off of affection, consideration, and respect. See where your Guan Xi takes you!

Leading in today's multicultural world

In the world of globalization with technologies such as Skype, easy access to other countries resources --leadership will need to take on a new form. Leaders will no longer be expected to lead a small group of people who are from the same social background as themselves, but to lead groups of people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

Leadership--the process of social influence and the ability for a person to enlist the aid and support from others to achieve a set goal. Many of you who are reading this have done this is some form, through student groups and associations, at work, or even during class projects. Leadership is a great thing, but if you are an effective leader in one cultural domain does that automatically mean you are an effective leader in a different country?

It is my belief that you should build on your skills and knowledge. Sometimes as a leader we are always the ones who are formulating ideas, talking and making decisions. Sometimes it is just better if we temporarily set aside our leadership role when we are in a new environment (in my case a new country, China!) and listen and learn from others. You can learn a lot from others and the environment around you. Always ask questions and be curious about new techniques. It is okay to dig deeper to understand the reason why they are doing something in a certain way-- you will understand their viewpoint this way. At the same time there will be things that both cultures do the same. It's kind of like when you go out on your first date, you look for similarities and differences, "You love Bad Boys 2? Me too!". These commonalities will help each party with accepting new ideas and beliefs.

For those of you who are in school you don't need to travel to a new country to be able to do this. Universities such as Ryerson (disclosure: Ryerson alumnus '10), are a filled with students from many different cultures, next time you do a group project or work with a multicultural team, step back and embrace a new paradigm of leadership.

After you have been able to absorb new ideas, beliefs, and techniques--review, reflect, and compile what you have learned and apply  it as you lead a new cultural group. Once you can do this you will be able to embrace new cultural norms, and become a cross cultural leader.

Trash it!

Garbage. Trash. Junk. Sewage. Waste. Litter.

All of the above should lead (by some means) to one place... a landfill. It is an understandable fact that some people don't have the time to sit and eat and have to consume food on the go. Many of us have been in this situation or at the least know someone who has. If you're saying you don't.. if you've ever been through a drive thru then you're guilty! Don't worry it's ok if you do!

The problem occurs when you're done with that delicious sandwich, or eating those savory fries, or drinking that quenching drink, the wrappers, the containers, and the bottles should be thrown into the garbage and recycling bins. When people toss their litter on the streets, side walks, parks, lakes etc. they are reducing the economic benefit to the rest of society.

Next time you see someone throwing trash on the ground, speak-up and say something to them! This is our planet and each of us are responsible to take care of it.

If you want to take a further step as a conscious consumer then try to reduce the amount of waste you use. Use reusable containers, think if you really need a hard copy before you print documents, be conscious of the amount of energy you use and turn off lights when they aren't needed. These are all just small examples of things we can do to help reduce our carbon footprint.

Will you speak up? Will you be a conscious consumer? Do the right thing and keep our planet clean.

What's your strength?

So the other day I took a ferry to a small island near Xiamen called Gu Lang Yu. While on the island I noticed workers building steps going down a paved path to the ocean. While the supervisor looked on and encouraged workers to make slight changes in their work, the interesting thing was that I saw the men lifting (approx. 300-350lbs) boulders using a rope and a bamboo stick. They had the ability to use simple tools and science to move these boulders.



This made me think today about the topic "What is your strength?". The idea is this: In order for us as humans to better ourselves and to grow, I believe we should focus on our strengths. Some people spend their life trying to reduce their "weaknesses" and forget to nurture their strengths. Some people have the creativity to be an artist. Some have the ability to audit company financial statements and determine accuracy and fair representation and others the ability to lead a group of people to achieve great heights. What ever your strength may be--know it and use it to your fullest potential.

If you are able to answer the question "what is your strength". Then you will be able to foster your strength and grow in that specific area. We all have strengths. Embrace them and use them not only for our personal benefits, but to benefit society as a whole.

So what is your strength? How do you plan to use it?

Sign of Friendship

So for those of you have seen Russell Peters -- in one of his skits he talks about how Indian men walk down the street holding each others pinky fingers swinging their hands as they walk as a sign of friendship.

In China I see signs friendship in a different form then what I've seen in North America. I see boys as they walk down the street or standing in buses arms wrapped around each others shoulders. I see girls always walking with at least one or two friends holding hands (as they did in elementary school in Canada--except they are probably in High school over here) or while sitting on a bus.

I think it's a really compassionate gesture to see close friends do that with one another. It is very common here to see that happen. I guess it is an eastern thing to do. Let me pose a question: If 1/3rd of the world (India and China) has grown up with this sign as an affectionate gesture, why don't we in North America conform to this standard?

Yes, media has to do with it. Some guys might say it's "homosexual" to put your arm around another guy's shoulder and walk down the street, but would it be any different if the other guy was your dad? your brother?

Next time you feel you want to show a little bit more compassion with your good friends of the same sex (or opposite), instead of a hand shake (or props) reach out and give him/her a hug. I think that they would appreciate the extended gesture.

South Putuo Temple

On Friday I went to the South Putuo Temple which is located at the bottom of Wulao Peaks. There are many caves as you hike up the mountain and the scenery is gorgeous. The location of the temple has been inhabited by Buddhist monks since the last years of the Tang Dynasty (about a thousand years ago). The temple and religious buildings go well with the scenery that surrounds it—trees, rock formations, ponds, and wild life. I will add some pictures to photobucket to give you an idea of what it looks like.

Leap Frog--the next generation

So as a kid we all played the game leap frog. I never knew what the point of the game was and the real application of it until now.

Every time I need to cross a street (doesn't matter if it is a major intersection or not) I feel like the little frog trying to cross a street in the game. I have take a 360 degree look around me before I take 1 step forward. The pedestrian over here has no right of way--even at cross walks! From cars, bikes and buses driving on the wrong side of the road to merging across 5 lanes of traffic instantaneously to realistically a very few traffic laws; it is safe to say I would never drive here. I use to be totally against driving in downtown LA in rush hour (as some of you know)--I rather do that then even think about driving here.

Now to the flip side of the story. Yes driving here may not be a great idea BUT the transportation system here is excellent. They have this above ground bus transit system called the BRT which really takes you any where for really cheap depending on the distance anywhere from 0.50-2.50 RMB (7.5-38 cents CND). The system is ingenious! The above ground highway is only for the BRT buses and has 3 different lines. TTC, you better watch out for the efficiency of the BRT if it comes to Toronto. The system also frees up a lot of space on the main streets for other vehicles.

If you are in a rush taxi's here are very in expensive as well. For example going from Union station to Young and Sheppard would cost around $4 Cnd.

So to sum up....

Drivers in China = Crazy driving skills (Yes skills, because I still haven't seen an accident)
Bus system (BRT) = Efficient + Very Affordable
Taxi drivers = No seat belts in the car + fairly cheap + hold on for your life cause its gonna be a hell of a ride

Link to check out pictures

So due to the firewall in china i am unable to post pictures directly on the blog so to share with you pictures from the trip I have upload some to photobucket. The link is below.

http://s1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/arzanb/

Delicious!

So I have to start this post off with the one thing that makes the world turn (or at least my world) FOOD!

There are so many different types of food, fresh vegetables, and fruits fruits. There isn't a lack of vegetarian food over here from what some of you were thinking. This morning for breakfast I drank some "Dowh Wa", a soft sweeten hot tofu drink, and ate "Pun Mein" and fresh noodle dish made in a peanut sauce. The Pun Mein was so savory that even Ame would have loved it.

So now as the title suggests there is even more food to talk about then the one dish. The fruits here are so sweet and fresh. Today I ate Persimmion's which melted in my mouth like butter and was sweeter than honey. The fruits over here are sold on really every street corner, off of bikes, trucks, every where you go you are able to buy some for literally less then a phone in Toronto. 1 Orange= 15 cents or 2 RMB.

Yesterday as I walked along the beach I ate these fruits called "Hawtorn"'s that were on skewers and were coated with candy. (they looked like baby candy apples 5-6 on 1 stick). They kind of tasted like tamarind but were very flavorful.

Now saving the best for the last. Last night what I ate changed my world! This is not an exaggeration. I ate for the first time in my life a fruit called "Annona Cherimola". It apparently tastes like "custard apple" a similar looking fruit. The way I would describe to you what the fruit tastes like would be, imagine yourself bitting into a custard pastry or turnover and it being so sweet and soft in the inside almost to the point that you could drink it with a straw. It has officially become my favorite fruit to eat. DELICIOUS!

I wish I could post pictures and videos up on the blog but i'm not able to because of the network limitations imposed by the Chinese government. When I have a chance in a couple months, when I travel out of Xiamen I will post them for you to see.

Until next time.

Arzan

Day 1 and 2

Hey Everyone,
I arrived in Xiamen yesterday afternoon (12:30pm my time 12:30am your time) as I walked out of the airport I saw palm trees.... fountains...and mountains-- it is gorgeous! The best way to describe Xiamen is-- it's a cross between California ( the weather, beaches, ocean etc) and New York city ( the tall buildings, millions of people, crazy drivers).

In Xiamen, they built this light rail system (without the light rail trains..it was taking them too long to get approved by the government) and so they have this above ground bridge across the city that is only meant for this one bus company (ex. ttc) and buses come every 2 minutes and they are packed! but very inexpensive to ride; 7-8 cents USD. I had my first experience with street food last night and bought seasoned grilled tofu for 8 cents.

People over here are so friendly and so excited to see foreigners--they get all happy as they don't see many white/brown/other people around. Today I just came back from the largest market they have in the city (its massive!) think of it spanning from dundas to king/front st. and 2 blocks wide. They had live EVERYTHING --regular chickens, white chickens, pigeons, turtles, rabbits, ducks, endangered deep sea crab, eels, and a lot of other fishes, fruits, nuts etc. It was really cool to see but smelly at the same time. There was this one Chinese guy in the market making fresh noodles out of dough. If I can figure out how to post a video on the blog you MUST watch it...you won't believe your eyes.



Over all this place is awesome I really love it so far. It is very hard for me to see China as a developing country but more as a developed country. The city is really clean, maintained and there is a lot going on. Maybe when I travel to other parts of the country I will see a difference.

I tried to write in my travel blog today but found out that the Chinese government has blocked ALL blogs, youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. I have found away around this using a VPN (hence my post)but in the future I may not be able to get a connection.

Hope all is well in T-dot and you're holding down the fort while im gone.

Arzu

And it begins!

So I am at Pearson airport right now waiting to board and figured it would be an appropriate time to write in the blog. I have to say I never thought it would be this hard saying "good bye/see you later" at the airport. Sorry but I couldn't turn around for a final glance...it was to hard to leave you all behind.  I am leaving everything I have known for the past 23 years behind and flying to the other side of the world to learn, serve, understand, and experience a new culture.

I'm going to miss all my friends, and family. You all have been very supportive in my endeavors and you will all be in my heart. The next time I write I will be either in South Korea or China. Thank you everyone for everything. See you all soon.

Love always,
Arzan

T Minus 2 weeks

Hey Everyone,
So I have never written a blog before but have been inspired to start one so I can share my experience in China with all of you. So far my journey to China has led me to take a TESOL Certificate course so I can teach English while in China. The course itself isn't that difficult but there is a lot of written assignments attached to every unit (20 Units total).

I intend to start writing in this blog more frequently when I arrive in Xiamen, China. I will be leaving Toronto on October 27th at 1:30am and arriving in Xiamen in the evening of October 28th.

I look forward to keeping in contact with all of you. Please keep in touch via email (arzanb@gmail.com) for now until I get a phone number/bbm working in China. I still haven't figured out all the tools I can use with the Blog but as I figure them out I'll add picture and possibly videos if I can do that...

Until next time,

Arzan