Journey to the center of Nowhere: 3D

As some of you know, I had the blessing of spending Thanksgiving with 2 of my old friends for Yichang where I used to live. No they are not Chinese. They are Kim and Katie. They have been in China for maybe 6 years now - several years in Yichang and they just moved to Mengzi in Yunnan Province. It was a great vacation from Shanghai but it started out as expected.

I left my apartment on a Wednesday morning. Apparently, I have never been up that early because the whole area I live in is pitch black before the sunrise. I mean all lights were off. Even the 24 hour convenient store had turned off its outside lights. Its early and the only way to the airport that is 20 mins away is by taxi. Of course, in their normal fashion, the taxi drivers speeding by in packs of 20 or 30 would just look at me as I was waving one of them towards me and they would wave back. Maybe I have the signal down wrong because often they just wave back they don't stop to pick me up. After walking for 35 mins in the dark and frigid Shanghai air, I finally got one to pick me up. My flight leaves in an hour and a half.

As I walk into the airport, my heart begins to race. 1 hour and 10 mins to go and all 171 ticket counters are lines at them. (Oh and I am not kidding about 171.) I find one that is moving quick at get checked in. No problems. Phew, I am at ease...until I see the security line. 50 something or so counters of people have to go through a security check point that is made up of only 3 lines. My heart begins to race more. I think this time things start to go black but I fight the anxiety. I get in line. I wait. My plane now leaves in 45 mins. Somehow I made it through the check point with 20 mins to spare and less 1 anti-bacterial hand sanitizer bottle. I suppose I could have caused some real damage on the flight: Die you bacteria scum!

20 mins to spare and on the plane. I am happy and ready to be leaving Shanghai for the first time since I came back. Well, turns out there was more waiting to do. We sat on the tarmac for 1 hour and a half before take off. They served us part of our breakfast while we waited for Air Traffic Control. In a lapse of judgement, I turned to my neighbor and said, "What is the deal with this waiting? The weather is beautiful and the airport just opened. How can we be backed up? Was there a plane crash?" She wasn't the same after that.

We landed in Kunming after 40 mins of circling the airport with the plane banked at what had to have made us nearly perpendicular with the ground. By the way, I loved it, my neighbor...terrified we might crash. I flew out of the airport on to make next stop: a drive through McDonald's. I have never seen on in China until that day. Very cool. But nobody was using. "If you build it, you will probably lose money." I hopped on a bus to Mengzi and enjoyed the ride down. It was good to be in the countryside away from buildings, smog, and traffic. One thing I want to mention about the trip down: Kim and Katie both said there is construction and so it will take longer. It took about 4.5 hours. No big deal. What they didn't tell me was that by construction they meant the whole road was missing for near 1 hour of the trip. I lost my cookies. And by lost my cookies I mean they fell out of my cookie bag and onto the floor to be crunched by all the passengers who found out why they believe all Americans are fat.

Anyway, around 8:30 or so I finally made it out to Mengzi - the center of nowhere. Kim and Katie met me at the bus stop and quickly whisked me through town on a whirlwind introduction of Mengzi which included massive government buildings, a beautiful lake, a hotel that reminder me of that pink hotel in Florida, shanti town, and my personal favorite the golden calf. It is the largest steel sculpture I have seen in China yet. At night with the lights on it, it is golden. It is just ridiculous. (Sorry no picture of it. We were too busy stuffing our faces with Thanksgiving and leftovers.)

Here are some pics. My arrival in Kunming.

The drive through McDonald's. It would be better if you could read Chinese.

The floating heads. Picture fun.

Saved by the Bell? Anyone?

And the highlight of my day (besides seeing K&K): A desk full of my favorite snacks: Little Bear Cookies!

Katera's Coming to Town...

Well, the truth is that Santa is coming to town and Katera has already graced Shanghai with her presence.

Katera came to see me near the beginning of November. It was so good to finally catch up with her in another country. I didn't know what to do at first. I mean, how to be a good host. Turns out things worked out really wow. I have seen a lot of the touristy stuff in Shanghai and because I had to work 2 of the days she was here, she got to do that. Unfortunately for her, she got to see the Shanghai that people come to hate - rainy Shanghai. To be honest, I have loved Shanghai's weather until the last 2 days. Starting Oct 1 or so the weather was perfect - sunny and comfortable. The last 2 days it has been hovering around freezing. If I am not in the office, I am basically a popsicle. Anyway, it hadn't rained very much until she came, then it poured for a few days straight. After work, I was forced to meet her beat down look for dinner. Actually, she was surprisingly relaxed even after 2 days of rain.

While she was here, we discovered an area near my house - Hong Mei Road. This road is basically heaven for me. It has a walking street with restaurants of every fare - Greek, Mexican, Indian, French, and many others. There is even an Iranian restaurant. I might try that soon. Another cool thing I discovered (other China friends don't hate me, please) is that all these restaurants deliver. So now, I live next to a hospital, my office, an incredible mall with DQ, Starbucks, Papa John's, McD's, KFC AND there are western restaurants galore and a store that is better than Carrefour which carries everything I could ever need if I was living in America. Unfortunately, my salary can't keep up with my wants...but can anybodies? Oh, have I mentioned that KFC and McD's delivers too? Come to think of it, Starbucks delivered too for a while but only after morning rush. So, Katera and I indulged in our favorite foods.

The Sat and Sun she was here, we walked around different shopping areas, looked for French chocolate for her friends...which I don't think we found so I am missing that here in Shanghai. One of the nights we wanted to go see an acrobatic show. I thought we left with enough time but since it was raining no taxi wanted to pick us up. So we walked towards the acrobatic theater for 2 hours and never got there. We gave up and went back to watch episodes of some of our favorite shows. I know her trip to Shanghai wasn't as incredible as it could have been but it was good to have a friend to just watch TV with for a little while. Hopefully she will come back in the spring and I will give her a better tour of Shanghai.

Anyway, enjoy some of the pictures that I have included. Thanksgiving pics are coming soon! Tomorrow?

Randomness

So since I have been here I have seen a few things that humor me so I thought I would share them with you.

The first picture is of a birthday cake. This is a Chinese stye birthday cake. I have eaten my share of these. Not exactly like this one but I have. When I lived in Yichang I would go to the cake store and buy a cake, sit down and eat the whole thing while watching House, MD or some movie. I have to admit that they aren't my favorite cakes but they do the trick. This one is just huge. It was for a student's birthday. Look closely. It is covered with fruit. It doesn't taste bad but nothing can beat mounds of extra icing shaped into flowers or racecars or cakes that are made out of ice cream like this one I bought a few weeks ago. Mmm, Dairy Queen.


One time I was shopping, there was a man playing the sax on a balcony over Nanjing Pedestrian Street where all the shopping and tourist activities usually occur. This was a nice break from walking that long mile of the black head sea. Shanghai is very big and there are many people hear. All of them have black hair except the occasional purple haired boy or the baldy. It was also a nice break from those people that run up to you and ask "You want cheap watch? iPhone? Polo shirt? Looky looky. Cheap. Don't buy? That's ok. Just looky. Sports shoes? No? Lady massage? Nice beauti..." Well you get the picture.

Another place that got my attention was the Coca Cola Bar. Look at this. It is merely a place where you go to drink coke. Its pretty nice for the Coca Cola company. Probably why they're sales and profits are expanding faster in this country than basically anywhere else in the world. Well, actually, the reason could be this. Chinese guys like to play basketball. There are lots of Chinese guys. They like to drink coke but only because they think all the famous athletes drink it while they play sports. They usually don't like sweet things. They don't like western candy and chocolate. Argh. Why am I friends with them? Anyway, that's true right? Athletes drink soda. You've seen it in the commercials, haven't you? I've experienced it first hand on the rare occasion I played basketball with my students. I've also experienced red bull and snickers as a half-time snack but I think I have covered that before. Anyway, millions of basketball playing chinese guys, a society obsessed with all things western, misleading commercials, ergo, Coca Cola makes millions. Brilliant.

And the last picture of Randomness for today is a yurt. Have you ever seen one of these in real life? Maybe you have if you have been to Mongolia. I have never seen one until I moved to Shanghai. Guess where this thing is? That's right, it it the annex for the place where I work. How crazy is that? I wonder if what I have seen on the inside is like inside of a real yurt. I don't know that anyone knows why the yurt was chosen as the additional building but it was. And it serves its purpose well. Needing to expand? Consider a yurt - with a glass corridor.

Well until next time, looky looky!

2 pieces or 4?

Sometimes it is hard being a resident in a foreign land. For anyone anywhere, it can be difficult finding all the right places to shop for food, clothing, and other desirables. Everyone wants fair treatment right? We want good quality at reasonable prices. We want convenience. It is just the consumer's way. As a foreigner, though, sometimes such idealism is too much.

It has been my experience, and I am sure many others' experience, that, when we go shopping, we are targeted because we are the rich Americans. First of all, I love this because the native residents just assume everyone who looks Caucasian is American. What about the light skinned guy from one of the easter European countries or Uzbekistan? Will they be rich Americans? Of course not. So when we are seen, prices are automatically inflated. How much is that? For you? I give you good deal. 200 RMB. Very good deal. It is always fun to have a Chinese friend with you who bought before whatever it is you are buying now. "What? 200 RMB? It is only worth 10 RMB! 太贵了！" Everything is always, 太贵了, meaning too expensive - at least in the Chinese people's mind. Of course, when we foreigners calculate the exchange rate, we go, "Not bad." And so we pay it. So maybe when I deal with being charged too much, it is for good reason too. The Chinese people know the foreigners will pay it. I am suffering from the mistakes of the previous foreigners who bought from the venders. What I tell people, especially those who live here, we must think about it in terms of price level. Of course, we will pay anything that is the same price in America because it doesn't seem like it isn't a deal. But, why do people buy shirts or cups of coffee that would equal the cost of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 2 weeks? Anyway, a lot of these decisions are based on information, and let's face it. As a foreigner, we are hard-pressed to have all the information we need to triumph over the savvy entrepreneur.

This last week I purchased 2 things that really got me upset about this lack of information and about being a foreigner in China. First, I joined the gym. Cost me a pretty penny, but I thought that it was a pretty amazing place so I decided it was worth it. My mom scared me by telling that I will probably gain weight over the next few years because I now have a desk job. Working out at the gym has become a necessity - not only to stay in shape, but to keep my heart healthy. It occurred to my that sitting at a desk won't help me exercise my heart. Walking everywhere might keep me thing, but I need aerobics. I joined and paid the fees. I am now called a VIP member. And I get 2 free sessions with a personal trainer. You see, I paid the price they showed me on their fee schedule, but I never thought about asking a Chinese person what they paid. For all I know I paid 3 times as much to be called a VIP with no other benefits than 2 sessions (already used one) with a personal trainer who has no boundaries. It is hard to work out when the guy is screaming at you in broken english, "Keep going. You lose fat. 5 more time" and he keeps pulling at the skin on your stomach and screaming 5 more times even though now you are up to 35 reps on the bench press. I would have been happy with regular member.

The 2nd thing I purchased was a nice Italian BMT from Subway. The subway opened in time for October holiday. I am pretty happy about that. Sometimes I get this craving for a nice thick sandwich with meat, cheese, and mayonnaise that it often unquenchable in China. Anyway, the guy asked me, 2 pieces or 4? I looked at the menu, and this time I thought I had all the information. 4 RMB or 8 RMB. Obviously, 4 RMB was the 2 pieces and 8 RMB was the 4 pieces. I said 2 pieces. Fooled again! I went to pay and the prices was significantly higher than what I expected. The man looked at me and said, it is 4 RMB for each piece. Then why the heck offer an amount different from the prices posted! Again, I didn't have all the information.

I suppose that even knowing some of the language has helped stem the frustration of this information asymmetry but still it is frustrating. I wonder what I will experience next. 20 RMB for a hair cut. "That will be 600 million RMB." What? I am not paying that. "But you must." Why? The sign said 20 RMB for a hair cut. "Well, sir, we counted how many hairs you got cut. The sign is singular. A hair. 20 RMB for A hair. Not hairs."

2 pieces or 4?

More of the surrounding area.

Apartments on the road to the subway. The subway is 15 min walk from my apartment. Father than I wanted but I am close to the office.

My office. It is on the 6th floor. My building is on the right, which you could see if it was in the pic.

My apartment complex, again.

Another little river flowing through the area. Nice but smelly.

Is it fall?

The first week of work is finished. Just in time too. Next week is October Holiday or "Golden Week" as the locals call it. Having a real job is going to put a crimp in my vacation style. The past 2 years yielded me a great deal of free time. This year, I will not be travelling over October Holiday because businesses only get 3 days during the week - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of OCT. Workers can take a whole week but they actually make it up during one of the weekends surrounding the holiday. So, I will go in on Monday and Tuesday and take my 3 days of holidays. And since it is the end of the fiscal quarter, I will probably end up going in on Sat and Sun of next week to catch up the work. If I knew more about how to do the work at the office, I might be a little more efficient. Don't get me wrong, 1 week at work has certainly increased my knowledge and experience but I have a long long way to go. A long way to go.

Anyway, when I first go to Shanghai, I realized this might actually be a hotter and more humid place than Yichang. I walk to work every morning and it is a terrible 7 min walk. The whole time I am freaking out about how bad I am sweating. Let me tell you, showing up the first day drenched in sweat was a nightmare...but it soon dissipated when I realized everyone else sweats on the way to work too. Luckily, we have A/C all day. Half way through the week it stopped raining everyday and was suddenly breezy and chilly. I wonder, could this be fall? It reminds me of that scene from Harry Potter where the weeping willow just drops all its leaves in a flash signaling the change of a season. It is amazing outside. My clothes and sheets are drying in hours and retain a soft and breezy quality. So much better than that crunchy-ness associated with washing things in hard water and having no dryer.

Well, it is the weekend and so I am going to continue relaxing. Here are some pictures of the area near my apartment. No building is over 7 floors because it is near the airport...and by near I mean 25 mins away. It is a really nice area. If I haven't mentioned it before my apartment is a in a city block with my office on the city block on the north side, the hospital on the block on the east side, and a fabulous shopping mall on the west side. You will see a picture of a wall with a lot of names. Among them are: Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Papa John's, KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Subway, and Paris Baguette. And the grocery store sells cheese and TWIX! I hope I can control myself.


Here is a pic of a hotel that you might stay at if you come to visit and you don't want to sleep on the floor at my place.

Suburbia is nicer than downtown.

Maybe one day I will live in one of these.

Here is the hospital. It is amazingly busy and very good. Mother, you can rest at ease. Not like the experience in Yichang.

And here is the mall.

It has begun...

2 days ago, I finally started my job. Well, I haven't exactly started
as much as I have had 2 days of orientation. Monday will be my first
real day. I am looking forward to using everything that I learned in
university - which isn't too much. Ok. Maybe I learned a lot more, but
it has been 2 years since I had classes in the Swang Building and so
recalling it is more of an issue.

Anyway, orientation was just 2 days of going of procedures and safety
precautions and such. I learned how to fill out a time sheet. I
learned what all the codes mean. Of course, I was at an advantage when
it came to hospital lingo. Thank you, Dr. House. Actually, I was the
only foreigner taking part in this orientation. The other 5 were
Chinese. An interesting thing to remember is that the main language
for all hospital operations is English. I kind of felt guilty because
I could understand everything the instructor was saying. I wonder if
my peers could. I am sure they understood a lot. My instructor kept
asking me if it was ok for her to use Chinese. I am totally ok with
that but she was uber-sensitive to my needs. Yeah for hospitality. I
just felt bad about that. In fact, I would rather her review
everything in Chinese.

One of the things that really stuck with me from the orientation was
the electrical safety guide. Don't get too excited. This is just me
being nerdy. You know some electric cords have 3 prongs? Well, I had
no idea what its purpose was until yesterday. It is a ground wire. If
the appliance malfunctions, any electricity that some how makes it to
the casing of the appliance is rerouted to this 3rd prongs and
grounded. I had no idea. We just cut them off when I was younger so
that they would fit in the 2 prong holes. I never got shocked because
of a malfunction. It was always because I was plugging things into the
socket in the dark and I was using my fingers as a guide by laying
them on the metal prong and feeling for the hole. I'll say it isn't a
terrible feeling but if the shock was larger I may have met my doom.

My office is about 10 mins away from the hospital by walk and on the
opposite side of my apartment. Did I mention my apartment was in
between the hospital and my office and one of the other sides of my
block holds the largest and best mall in the area? It could only be
more convenient if the subway stop was a half a kilometer closer.
Anyway, I sit at a cubicle. I am thinking about changing my blog name
to "Life from the Cube".

Well, off to learn some Chinese and find out what else is around here.