Da da da da da da da da!

I so wish I could do music clips on my blog...because if I could, the title would make more sense.

During my time in Mengzi, the most convenient mode of transportation is by bicycle. It is quite a ride from the university where my friends live and work; however, it is beautiful and a nice way to get some exercise. Well, every time I would get on the bike with the huge comfy seat all I could think about is the music from Wizard of Oz when Ms. Gulch is riding her bike in her pompous posture in the tornado. That would have been the theme music to my riding the bike if my life had a soundtrack.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a few more pictures. I mentioned before that Mengzi has this beautiful lake in the middle of the city. We stopped and took some pictures.

Jack - Two Thousand EIGHT - Thanksgiving

So as I continue rambling about my trip to Mengzi over the holidays, I just wanted to make sure you got to see some of what Thanksgiving was like for me this year.

It began waking up to this incredibly beautiful city, which I had only seen at night so far. The sky was blue. The air was clear. The temperature was comfortable. It was perfect! An incredible break from the big city. About lunch time, we headed over to the Kim and Katie's friends' house before we headed off to lunch. I got to meet the Rice's. Such neat people. Their 2 children went with all of us to eat at the Brother's Jiang. It is apparently some very famourse noodle place they eat at every Sunday. It was good but I am not a big fan of noodles. It was however, very enjoyable to be riding bikes everywhere. When we got back to the house after lunch, we started gearing up for the Thanksgiving feast. I played games while everyone else helped do something useful for the feast - my normal role. At home in America, it is mom who cooks all the dishes. It is dad and mike who wake up around 5 am to smoke the turkey. It is mine and Kris's job to relax and be entertainment...or is that be entertained? Well, whatever it is and whatever I was doing at the RIce's was not much different from what I would be doing at home. It was so familiar. They had a piano too. I got to play. Unfortunately, I have never sucked so bad at the piano. Maybe I am not that good after all. Still, it is fun to tickle those fake ivory keys. We also played Chinese Checkers. You know, the Chinese checkers we play in America with the star shaped game board. I am pretty sure it isn't Chinese at all.

Well, eventually it was time to eat. I was so excited. There was everything you could imagine to eat: deviled eggs, strawberries dipped in chocolate, carrot cake squares, turkey, gravy, jello, desserts, sweet potato pie, and vegetable sticks. Amazing. We even had football going in the background...never mind that it was 3 years old. I wonder if it will continue to be played if only as a tradition from now on. I kind of like that. I never watched the games anyway. It was just always nice to be around my family while they were screaming about plays and tackles and whatever other football things they know about. I really missed being with my family for the holidays but it was nice to be around people that reminded me of my family back home and how blessed I am.

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.