Chinese find opportunity in Latin America

The development of the Brasilia Chinese company is a textbook example of the success of Chinese entrepreneurs in Latin America. With China's economic development, there is a growing Chinese population in Brazil, Argentina and other South American countries. Most enterprises generally started as small businesses.

Most of Brazil's Chinese businesses import from China or the local Chinese businessmen. There is a closed network of importers, wholesalers and manufacturers in China. Chinese products, with their high quality and low prices, are popular in the lower class families.

Chinese businessmen began to enter industry, set up factories or operate restaurants, supermarkets, and further expand the scale of operations.

On March 25th Avenue in Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, Brazil Customs Street in Rio de Janeiro and Peru's Chinatown in downtown Lima, Chinese restaurants are everywhere. All around are Chinese signs and Chinese store names. In Argentina, there are thousands of small supermarkets operated by Chinese.

However, there has been somewhat of a backlash against Chinese businessmen. The cheap price of Chinese goods in Latin America has upset some of the local vendors. Some local businessmen even complain to the police. Therefore, some Chinese shops in densely-concentrated places are often raided by local police, especially before the hot sale season.

MLA Citation

Salisbury, Joyce E. and Andrew E. Kersten. "Work in the 19th Century." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Snow Flower chapter sons

  According to book, how many times a wife have to be pregnant?

They must get pregnant every one or two years. They hope to have 5 children who reach adulthood. Many of those babies die through miscarriage, at childbirth or from illness.

Who was the first to get pregnant Snow flower or lily?

Snow flower was the first to have a son and she immediately wrote a letter to lily. Lily gets pregnant one month later.

Why do they call these RICE and SALT days?

Because they are composed of common chores, making shoes, cooking meals, washing the dishes, cleaning the house, and being ready at night to do bed business with a man you still don’t know well.

 What did Snow Flower’s husband think about she gets pregnant of her daughter?

Snow Flower told Lily that she was pregnant and she wanted that the baby was a boy because her husband said that it’s better to have a dog than a daughter.

How many years pass when lily gets pregnant again?

Three years after Lily’s first son was born, the second son arrived. Snow Flower didn’t share the good luck of the Lily’s destiny because she was sad.

Why snow Flower didn’t get pregnant again?

Because she tries many times after her lost but nothing happened.

OPINION:

What we learn about this chapter is that many children died due to the miscarriages and illness. Stillbirth was considered dreadful only if the baby was a son, if a stillborn child was a girl, parents were usually thankful.

They suffer a lot because they not only have to marry with someone that they don’t know but also have children when they are not preparing yet. They were very young and had to leave apart of their real family.

Last Train Home

The movie that catches my attention was last train home. This movie is about a family who lives in village and has economic problems.  For that reason the parents have to move to the city because they have to work to support their family. In the city many people work in the factory and receive a few salary to do this hard work. They sleep together and the food is terrible. These parents didn’t see their children who live with their grandma for too many years. The kinds work too in the farm but it is just for eat. When the family finally be together the father told to his daughter that he only wanted that she studied and prepared for her future because they didn’t want that they passed for the same thing. When the daughter grows up she feel the necessity to work then she left the school and never back. They don't want to be A students like their parents expect, don't want to spend their lives sacrificing themselves in the name of the future. She decides to go to the city at the age of 17. The parents feel very sad and worried; this life was very hard for her. These children grow up without the love of their parents and with the necessity in the village. I know that the Chinese people work hard. They export almost everything but I didn’t know that most of them live in misery. Now I understand why they left their country and abandon their family due to the necessity. 

The panda bear 

The panda bear has been loved by children and sought after by photographers, zoologists and hunters everywhere. Since its official discovery in the remote, mountainous regions of western China over a century ago, the Giant Panda has intrigued and baffled naturalists like no other animal. Since there are so few captive pandas, the Chinese government has officially banned hunting them and only rarely permits their export. The panda bear remains one of the world's most mysterious creatures, almost as baffling a subject of investigation in captivity as when free.

It has been estimated in 2006 that there are more than 2,000 giant pandas in the wild, showing a recent increase in their population. However, some researchers claim that this apparent increase could be the result of a more detailed survey rather than an actual increase in the bear's number. Giant pandas in captivity have lived up to 35 years. However, their average lifespan in the wild is 15 to 20 years.

Viña, Andrés (2010) Range-wide analysis of wildlife habitat: Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 143(9)

Feng shui

Feng Shui is the Chinese art of placement and its main purpose is to create harmony in the surroundings so that the flow of energy is positive. This art has been practiced in China for more than 4,000 years. Feng Shui is not an art frozen in time. It is very relevant to modern living. It teaches us how to live in the world, how to live with our environment and how to be attentive to the energies that flow through it."

Today, Feng Shui is practiced not only by the Chinese, but also by people from all over the world. Even today It is so important to some people that they use it for healing purposes, guide their businesses and create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes.

"Common sense feng shui." Business Times [Malaysia] 1 May 2010. General OneFile. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.

Chinese New Year

I choose this article because I think that it is very interested how the Chinese celebrate the New Year. For they, this is considered the most important holiday of the year. Superstition and symbolism are also important to most activities, behaviors, and routines during this time.

I learn that the Chinese receive the New Year, cleaning the house repairing or replacing broken objects, settling debts, washing old clothes, and buying new clothes if they can be afforded. Cleaning is done because it is believed that any dust or dirt left lying about might fly into someone's eye and blind him, while the other activities are associated with preparing for a completely fresh start for the New Year. This time is also considered to be magical, with ghosts and spirits lurking about that have to be defended against or appeased with protective symbols, visits to temples, and incense burning.
 

In many countries of Latin America Chinese festival are very common in Chinatowns, lion dances scare away bad spirits or troubles of the old year and welcome the new year, bringing good luck to all. Colorful acrobatics, loud cymbals, gongs, pipes, and drums, and the accompanying firecrackers make for a very festive scene.

The curious thing is that the culture of the Chinese New Year is very similar to us. We not only accepted them in our countries but also adopted part of their tradition and believe. 

Taylor, Karen Lau. "Chinese New Year." Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.

A Chinatown grows in Buenos Aires