China

Guys, let's talk about China.

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No, no, not the country. The dishware. Bone china. You know what I'm talking about. This is one of the first fights discussions that Mr. Candy Apple and I had after getting engaged. Well, registries in general, actually. But china specifically.

Before we talked about it, I had never really thought about china. Sure, I knew it was one of those things that couples registered for, and that I ate off of china every holiday at my aunt and uncles' houses, but that was about it. Didn't really care. Oh how silly I was.

I didn't care, that is, until I discovered the world of china. The patterns. The styles. The adorable creamers and sugar bowls and platters. The teacups. Oh my. Yes, I became obsessed with china. I spent waaaay too many hours trawling through macys in search for the perfect china. Which is a problem, because Mr. Candy Apple does not think that we need china. Very, very adamantly.

Hence, the first large fight discussion.

Mr CA: why do we need china? we don't host people for dinner.
Miss CA: that's because we live in the middle-of-nowhere and we don't know anyone that lives within a 100 mile radius of us! we will have people over eventually, once we move to dc and actually know people who can come over.
Mr CA: why can't we just eat off of normal plates?
Miss CA: well, because... because... it's nice! and, and...the patterns! and it's fine china! and the cute little teacups!
Mr CA: why do you need cute teacups?
Miss CA: because i drink tea!
Mr CA: but you don't have other people over to drink tea. you already have a mug
Miss CA: well, i would have people over for tea if i had adorable china teacups

And so on.

Don't get me wrong, I totally see his point. We don't throw fancy dinner parties. China is certainly not something we need, particularly at this point in our lives. Our place in DC next year will most likely be smaller than the massive apartment we're in now (yay, low nj apartment prices!), so we won't have much storage space. And, it's expensive.

However. I feel very strongly that we will, at some point, want china. It's just, well, nicer than regular dishware! Duh. It gussies things up a bit, and makes the meal feel fancier. It provides that WOW factor on the table. It's something that I don't really want to deal with buying for myself, later on down the road. And, to be perfectly honest, I am a sap, and love the sentimental idea behind china. I think it epitomizes the whole concept of wedding registries/ gifts: people giving you housewares and things that will help you start your life together. This china will be an heirloom, and will stay with us throughout the marriage, and will possibly be passed on to our children. It will be our wedding china.

So, we added china to our registry.

Don't worry, not fussy-looking china that has kittens and flowers on it, like in Professor Umbridge's office (Harry Potter reference, what?!). This china

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Classy. Elegant. Cute little grosgrain. I am obsessed with it. I fantasize about serving roast chicken on those plates. I wanted something more modern and fresh, but also something that I would not get tired of 20 years down the road. I think this pattern is very timeless (although maybe a tad boring?), and one that I can also mix and match easily. Mr. Candy Apple even liked this china, too, over some of the other patterns. And, really, how can you resist the adorable teacups?!

I had originally registered for this china, because I totally love the pattern, but I worried that I would get sick of it. I still love it, though, and will try to force all of my friends to register for it when they get married.

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I also liked this one, but I didn't really want gold. I seriously heart the navy and polka-dots, though.

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I really appreciate that Mr. Candy Apple is understanding, and was willing to cave on this one (I'll just need to be sneaky and hide the china so that he can't secretly return it). 

Did you register for china? If so, what patterns drew you in? Was there any disagreement with your fiance over wedding china? If you're married, do you use your china?

.seeing red.

.the summer 2008 olympics hype has drawn an incredible amount of attention to china. many things have been argued recently - by both the chinese government and outside media sources - but perhaps the most disturbing part of all of this frenzy regarding china is what is not being said.

first and foremost, let me clarify - my beef is not with the majority of the 1,330,044,605 chinese people, the majority of which are rural peasants. no, my problem with china lies in the government and its policies of suppression. communist china has long quelled the media and the freedom of the chinese people. while this has been most recently highlighted with the often brutal suppression of tibetan buddhist protesters and the systematic lack of media coverage of the 2008 sichuan earthquake (69,197 officially confirmed dead), it seems as though the government has long had a gag over the mouth of the chinese people. what comes most readily to mind for me is the vicious suppression of the falun gong movement, often involving brutal torture.

the wide-spread pollution in china has also been pointed to in terms of the upcoming olympics - athletes have been trying to acclimatize themselves to preforming in more polluted environments, some even running behind cars to get the exhaust. cases like this are a bit extreme, but it is troubling to note the belching smokestacks of china's factories, and the raw human sewage and debris clogging china's rivers. while many people welcomed factories into rural villages because they would provide people with opportunities for employment, the people are now facing increased health problems due to the pollution-spewing factories, including an increase in cancer rates.

another thing that worries me about china is the treatment of women there. the government crackdown on family planning has led to a disparity between males and females - their 'one child' policy applies only if the first child is a male; if the first child is a female, you can try again in the hopes of getting a male. orphanages are full of female infants whom parents did not want. the literacy rate, too, is somewhat telling: 95.1% of males are considered literate, whereas only 86.5% of women are. the practice of the woman moving into her new husband's family's home is also detrimental to women - it can lead to the woman feeling ostracized and alone, particularly if her marriage was arranged, and not rooted in love. china has one of the highest female suicide rates in the world. perhaps more disturbing - in a country dominated by men, it is the only country where the suicide rate of women is higher than men. one every four minutes.

i am by no means saying that china is a bad place. i think the rich cultural heritage of china is incredible, and i hope to visit some day. but there are clearly problems in the industrialization of this behemoth. i think that things are slowly starting to change as more and more women leave rural areas for the better jobs in urban centers. however, i think that the mentality against women is still prevalent, and that the government does little to change this. the government also does little to change the environment. the government basically does little, except deny that there are problems. there is no system to which the people can take their grievances.

the rest of the world should keep an eye on the rapid industrialization of china. i think that it is providing people - particularly women - with increased opportunities and independence, but it is also unearthing some disturbing facts about the communist country. what this one-party country needs is a way for people's needs and grievances to be addressed.

let's just see how the olympics play out. i am not boycotting the olympics, as some people are doing due to the human rights abuses there. i do, however, have my eye on you, china.

.cheers.

ps. i love kristin