Apt. hunting complete! I ended up signing with #3 of the 3 we saw yesterday. I’m not exactly “living it up” in Shanghai in the way that I had dreamed and thought I would. But it’s a start. it’s certainly no luxury high rise with all the services, but it’s a high rise. I’m located on the 8th floor. 8 is a lucky number in China.
I will take better pictures soon and show off my new “crib.“ I have to explore the surrounding area a little bit more. I had just gotten quite comfortable with the area surrounding my school’s office since Ryan and I have to go out to eat every day (or starve). We had tried all the reputable looking restaurants in the area and our next step was probably going to be heading down another small street for “street food.”
Anyway, back to the topic. So I’ll be moving into my apt tomorrow on Monday. Nancy, my welfare officer, said she would help me. And hopefully one of the school’s drivers can help me transport my luggage. I’m going to need to get settled, buy bedsheets that sorta thing. On top of that, I have some lesson planning to do and I also need to do my MAIS grad school work. Classes started this week and we have assignments due already. I need to get my hands on a daily planner so that I don’t miss deadlines or teaching schedules. On top of THAT, I need to learn how to survive in Shanghai by myself. Such as the public transportation system and paying bills. Buying food. Now that my schools (Shane and Concordia) are basically releasing me into the wild, pushing me out of the nest, throwing me into the pool, etc etc. My roommate is still in America awaiting her working visa. I’ll probably end up visiting Lisa’s apt and Ryan’s apt quite a bit.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Apt. Hunting pt. 1
Yesterday (Saturday), some guys from my school/company took me on a motorbike ride through Shanghai to find apartments. I had originally thought that Mr. Lu (Big Boss) was going to be driving his car over to meet me, but instead two guys show up on bikes. And when they said, “get on, let’s go” my first thought was, “really?”
I have been on those Asian motorbikes before in Taiwan. They are pretty fun and you start to feel kinda native to the land, except real natives can probably tell right away that you are nothing more than a foreigner. We rode from the Minhang District to the Xuhui District, which while they are right next to each other, it still made for approximately a 30 minute bike ride. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of me on the motorbike, though Ryan said he wanted a picture I have no idea whether he was able to take one before I left him at the hotel.
To be frank, the first apartment we saw was crap. The hallways were pitch black, the space was tiny, and the owner thought Leo (the younger of the two guys who was taking me around) and I were a married couple and was questioning why we would even need two beds. Dodgy old man. The only good thing? It was located in the middle of town. Literally. I could see the big ball-shaped building (recognizable landmark!) from the window. Though not worth it. I think the guys could tell that I didn’t like it because we didn’t even bother asking for the rent.
The second place, while the area was an upgrade, the inside was for a lack of better words, even crappier. The kitchen was the living room and the living room was the kitchen. One of the beds was a futon/bamboo cover. The bathroom was old and gross looking. I guess I’m American and have high standards.
The last place we saw was a whole lot better. It was better lit, the space was bigger and it just felt more comfortable. The old guy that came with me said, “This place doesn’t even compare to the first two. Those first two were too ”bad“.” And apparently it is convenient to things as well. Such as IKEA. Which I could see from the window. LoL. I think this place may be the default if I don’t see anything better. Now, if only I can get Sina to respond to my emails and constant badgering so that we can come to an agreement. Let me tell you, apartment hunting is hard if your roommate is in another country, in a different time zone.
Today, the plan is for Leo to take me and Ryan out to look at some more places. Ryan wasn’t able to make it on Saturday because he was doing observations. And me, well because I guess I am picky. I want to live it up in Shanghai, with the nice apartment and my “Western” salary, but Shanghai is probably like the West LA of California. Hard to find a nice apartment with a set budget. If only I had an unlimited fund. I would then be so cool.
I have been on those Asian motorbikes before in Taiwan. They are pretty fun and you start to feel kinda native to the land, except real natives can probably tell right away that you are nothing more than a foreigner. We rode from the Minhang District to the Xuhui District, which while they are right next to each other, it still made for approximately a 30 minute bike ride. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of me on the motorbike, though Ryan said he wanted a picture I have no idea whether he was able to take one before I left him at the hotel.
To be frank, the first apartment we saw was crap. The hallways were pitch black, the space was tiny, and the owner thought Leo (the younger of the two guys who was taking me around) and I were a married couple and was questioning why we would even need two beds. Dodgy old man. The only good thing? It was located in the middle of town. Literally. I could see the big ball-shaped building (recognizable landmark!) from the window. Though not worth it. I think the guys could tell that I didn’t like it because we didn’t even bother asking for the rent.
The second place, while the area was an upgrade, the inside was for a lack of better words, even crappier. The kitchen was the living room and the living room was the kitchen. One of the beds was a futon/bamboo cover. The bathroom was old and gross looking. I guess I’m American and have high standards.
The last place we saw was a whole lot better. It was better lit, the space was bigger and it just felt more comfortable. The old guy that came with me said, “This place doesn’t even compare to the first two. Those first two were too ”bad“.” And apparently it is convenient to things as well. Such as IKEA. Which I could see from the window. LoL. I think this place may be the default if I don’t see anything better. Now, if only I can get Sina to respond to my emails and constant badgering so that we can come to an agreement. Let me tell you, apartment hunting is hard if your roommate is in another country, in a different time zone.
Today, the plan is for Leo to take me and Ryan out to look at some more places. Ryan wasn’t able to make it on Saturday because he was doing observations. And me, well because I guess I am picky. I want to live it up in Shanghai, with the nice apartment and my “Western” salary, but Shanghai is probably like the West LA of California. Hard to find a nice apartment with a set budget. If only I had an unlimited fund. I would then be so cool.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Expensive & Cheap Chinese Food
Yesterday (Tuesday) after training, Lisa and I headed out to her apartment to meet up with some MAIS people who had just arrived today/finally made it out to visit. We got a cab and rode through rush hour traffic. When we got there, we could hear their voices from outside!
Walked in to see Brian (he lives there), Jess, Daniella, Nicolle, Michelle (not Lisa’s rommie) and Bennett. A whole room of MAIS people! We did some mini-catching up and tried to figure out a place to grab some dinner. Brian suggested this one place in Shanghai that is filled with Western style restaurants. The name escapes me at the moment.
To get to the area, we had to take the metro. Since many of us still have to learn how to navigate the metro, we let Brian take the lead. We were a giant group of foreigners trekking through the station. Since Nicolle and Michelle (and Bennett, but he stayed) had just flown in that day, they were understandably jet-lagged and decided to go back first to rest. The rest of us continued on our journey.
Brian led us in an unnecessary circle around the block before realizing that all we had to do was cross the street. It was a nice stroll through some city life I guess, lol. Except many of us were tired and hungry. When we arrived, I was amazed at how many foreigners there were! Everywhere I turned there was a non-Chinese face! And in China, if the number of foreigners increase, the prices increase as well. Our bill for 6 people came out to over 1100RMB ($160USD) which is a bit pricey even in the States (we are grad students after all) and practically a fortune for the majority of the Chinese (especially just to eat a meal). I didn’t realize it until later, but my can of coca-cola was 40RMB ($5.85USD). In the States, I can get that for 0.75cents from some vending machines!
We told ourselves not to calculate the price. We were treating ourselves to something nice after finally meeting up and arriving at our destination. We walked around the plaza for a bit and since Bennett needed to buy some bedsheets, we stopped at a mall to buy some. Even the bedsheets were expensive. Luckily, I was able to ask them to find some cheaper ones (they were also on sale) otherwise his bedsheets would have cost more than our meal.
After everyone kinda dispersed to go back to their respective districts, Lisa, Brian, Bennett and I headed back to Xujiahui (where Lisa and Brian live) and then Lisa and I took a taxi back to Minhang (the district that Lisa and I’s hotel for training was). Got back around 10:30pm, took showers and promptly fell asleep.
Oh! Today (Wednesday) I had finally worked my way down to my first street food. During the lunch break at training, Joey took us to a noodle place that he was familiar with. He said the bowls of noodle were about 5RMB each and we all thought that was just dandy. We really needed to start eating like real Chinese people in order to make our RMB stretch. We walked a couple blocks and it was this little family run place that was so happy to see a bunch of foreigners wanting to come in to eat their food. They even went out of their way to buy us some cold bottles of water (we paid the price of course). In total, the 8 bowls of (huge) noodles + 4 bottles of iced water bottles cost us 40RMB ($5.85USD). Total. That was how much my can of coca-cola alone cost the night before. So divide that price by 8 and you can figure out how much each individual meal was.
Visit me in China!
Walked in to see Brian (he lives there), Jess, Daniella, Nicolle, Michelle (not Lisa’s rommie) and Bennett. A whole room of MAIS people! We did some mini-catching up and tried to figure out a place to grab some dinner. Brian suggested this one place in Shanghai that is filled with Western style restaurants. The name escapes me at the moment.
To get to the area, we had to take the metro. Since many of us still have to learn how to navigate the metro, we let Brian take the lead. We were a giant group of foreigners trekking through the station. Since Nicolle and Michelle (and Bennett, but he stayed) had just flown in that day, they were understandably jet-lagged and decided to go back first to rest. The rest of us continued on our journey.
Brian led us in an unnecessary circle around the block before realizing that all we had to do was cross the street. It was a nice stroll through some city life I guess, lol. Except many of us were tired and hungry. When we arrived, I was amazed at how many foreigners there were! Everywhere I turned there was a non-Chinese face! And in China, if the number of foreigners increase, the prices increase as well. Our bill for 6 people came out to over 1100RMB ($160USD) which is a bit pricey even in the States (we are grad students after all) and practically a fortune for the majority of the Chinese (especially just to eat a meal). I didn’t realize it until later, but my can of coca-cola was 40RMB ($5.85USD). In the States, I can get that for 0.75cents from some vending machines!
We told ourselves not to calculate the price. We were treating ourselves to something nice after finally meeting up and arriving at our destination. We walked around the plaza for a bit and since Bennett needed to buy some bedsheets, we stopped at a mall to buy some. Even the bedsheets were expensive. Luckily, I was able to ask them to find some cheaper ones (they were also on sale) otherwise his bedsheets would have cost more than our meal.
After everyone kinda dispersed to go back to their respective districts, Lisa, Brian, Bennett and I headed back to Xujiahui (where Lisa and Brian live) and then Lisa and I took a taxi back to Minhang (the district that Lisa and I’s hotel for training was). Got back around 10:30pm, took showers and promptly fell asleep.
Oh! Today (Wednesday) I had finally worked my way down to my first street food. During the lunch break at training, Joey took us to a noodle place that he was familiar with. He said the bowls of noodle were about 5RMB each and we all thought that was just dandy. We really needed to start eating like real Chinese people in order to make our RMB stretch. We walked a couple blocks and it was this little family run place that was so happy to see a bunch of foreigners wanting to come in to eat their food. They even went out of their way to buy us some cold bottles of water (we paid the price of course). In total, the 8 bowls of (huge) noodles + 4 bottles of iced water bottles cost us 40RMB ($5.85USD). Total. That was how much my can of coca-cola alone cost the night before. So divide that price by 8 and you can figure out how much each individual meal was.
Visit me in China!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Orangized Chaos
What was supposed to be a relatively quick 30 minute drive from our office to the head office (for training week) turned into an unexpected tour of the city of Shanghai. Warning: this is long.
I woke up at the early hour of about 6AM to the sound of thunder. I peeked out the room window but saw no rain, but there was no mistake for that rumbling sound in the sky. Before I knew it, it was raining like no other. As a purebred SoCal girl, any form of precipitation falling from the sky is enough cause for excitement. But here was window-rattling thunder and pouring rain. It was like God suddenly decided to empty his bottomless pool over onto the city of Shanghai. I tried going back to sleep but the sound was too much for me so I woke up and went online for about an hour or so. Finally deciding that I would need all my energy for the full day of training, I tried to go back to sleep and was able to get maybe all of a 10 minute extra sleep.
Lisa (who pretty much slept through the whole morning) and I woke up to get dressed to go to the office to meet our driver. We braved the streets of backed up, non-moving cars for the short walk from hotel to office. When we arrived, the only people in the hallway was a Chinese guy and Ryan. Turned out that no one else had made it in on time. We wait around for awhile, standing near a window for ventilation when an office worker arrived, recognized Lisa and we went in to wait in the waiting room. We were supposed to leave the office at 10am to make the 11am training sessions. Our driver calls and informs the office that he was going to be running late because of the traffic. Not a problem, so the three of us went down to the convenience store to pick up some breakfast and snacks.
Driver arrives at 12noon. Actually, driver calls office to have them bring us down to the street corner to meet him since it would take too long to turn into the drive way and come back out. Office Man takes us down, tells us to wait at the street corner, and that he was going to run back to the office to grab his cell phone. We wait and the driver shows up. He shouts out the window to get our attention and we quickly ran through the rain to the door. We move halfway down the block and Driver gets a phone call from Office Man who says that he was to come with us to the office. It’s not like we moved far down the street so Office Man runs into the crowded street to search for us.
Keep in mind for the rest of this blog that the streets are filled with cars. x1000. Two lane streets turned into a random jumble of 7 “lanes”. Cars started to drive in the direction of opposing traffic and even on the sidewalks. If there was a sudden empty space you can bet that some car will find its way into that spot within seconds. There was complete disregard for the street lights and all laws of driving safety. There are really no words to describe it. You had to see it. But there were no accidents and no cars were bumping into each other. It was pure organized chaos.
We are driving ever so slowly. We were once stopped at an intersection for so long that we were debating whether to get out of the car and grab some lunch. Right on the corner was some sort of food place. We literally had enough time to get out, order our food, eat our food and get back into the car. And the car MIGHT have moved one foot.
The car ride was getting boring since we would stare at the same scenery for a long time. The endless car honking was getting annoying and we wanted to sleep. That was when things started to get interesting. We see a group of men standing outside of their cars yelling at each other. Fight! It would have been so cool if they started punching each other, but that didn’t happen. The cars didn’t even hit. They were just yelling at each other. Our driver used that to his advantage because he followed the car into the opening that it had created and we were able to turn onto the next street.
Circa 2pm (you do the math) we started seeing a lot more water on the ground. As we continued driving, the water level rose higher and higher on the sides of the roads. Pretty soon we saw that some of the streets were flooded. The motorbike lane (kinda like the bike lanes in America, but a separate area on the street barred off for motorbikes) was flooding. In some parts it had raised to the level of the sidewalk. Some brave walkers were trudging through it and it was up the their shins. Driver tells Office Man that we should get out and take the metro since we were near one of the stations by now. 2 hours to drive about 10 blocks!
So glad that I know Mandarin because it made the whole sudden change of plans a lot smoother. We got out of the car in the middle of traffic and had to cross a flooded street. Ryan was able to jump over it and Lisa had boots on but I had flip flops on because of my bum feet. So Ryan was trying to help me across but I’m not tall enough to jump when Office Man finally pointed out a shallow area. Office Man led the way and kept nervously glancing back to make sure that the three of us were keeping up. I bet he didn’t want to lose the three American teachers he was responsible for. The three of us had no clue how to navigate the metro so we just followed Office Man and he would speak to me in Mandarin and I would translate for Ryan and Lisa. I think that put a lot of people at ease because there was effective communication. While on the Metro, Lisa and I would watch each other’s bags since we were facing each other and couldn’t see behind us. We just kept following Office Man through the maze and crowd of people to another Metro line, got off, walked a few blocks through Shanghai and then finally arrived at the head office. At 3:30pm.
Office Man dropped us off and then disappeared. He told me to call Mr. Lu when we were done and “he would take care of how we would get home.” They were already wrapping things up so we got maybe about 30 mins of training. We finally saw Karol and she was questioning why we were so late. So Lisa, Ryan and I stayed behind for a bit to get a quick crash course of what they went over that day. Driver and the office call us to let us know that Driver had finally made it to the head office and was waiting downstairs. He basically spent the whole day driving to and from head office. There was no abnormal traffic on the way back to our district (Minhang) and all the flood water had disappeared. Driver dropped us off on the corner of the office and said he would meet us at 10:30am the next morning to take us back.
Lisa, Ryan and I got out of the van and immediately wanted to get some food. We had not eaten the whole day except for the little bit of breakfast snacks we had managed to buy before leaving our office. We walked down the street and stopped at the first place we saw (and felt safe eating). We were looking at the menu outside trying to figure out whether we would eat anything there when we realized that we were so hungry that we didn’t really care anymore. As we walked in I saw that it was a restaurant with a Tainan theme (which means it was Taiwanese style) so I figured that I would be able to find something to eat. It wasn’t really Taiwanese style, it was more a mixture of just Chinese food. Which was good because there was more variety. Best part? They are open 24 hours. I guess we found our Chinese Denny's restaurant. And it’s pretty cheap, too.
It’s only about 8:30pm but all of us are so exhausted for a day where we spent sitting in a car all day with a brief walk through the Metro and Shanghai. Great team work today team with not losing each other. And especially appreciative of our awesome Driver and Office Man who were so determined to get us to head office. Especially Driver with his mad driving skills.
I woke up at the early hour of about 6AM to the sound of thunder. I peeked out the room window but saw no rain, but there was no mistake for that rumbling sound in the sky. Before I knew it, it was raining like no other. As a purebred SoCal girl, any form of precipitation falling from the sky is enough cause for excitement. But here was window-rattling thunder and pouring rain. It was like God suddenly decided to empty his bottomless pool over onto the city of Shanghai. I tried going back to sleep but the sound was too much for me so I woke up and went online for about an hour or so. Finally deciding that I would need all my energy for the full day of training, I tried to go back to sleep and was able to get maybe all of a 10 minute extra sleep.
Lisa (who pretty much slept through the whole morning) and I woke up to get dressed to go to the office to meet our driver. We braved the streets of backed up, non-moving cars for the short walk from hotel to office. When we arrived, the only people in the hallway was a Chinese guy and Ryan. Turned out that no one else had made it in on time. We wait around for awhile, standing near a window for ventilation when an office worker arrived, recognized Lisa and we went in to wait in the waiting room. We were supposed to leave the office at 10am to make the 11am training sessions. Our driver calls and informs the office that he was going to be running late because of the traffic. Not a problem, so the three of us went down to the convenience store to pick up some breakfast and snacks.
Driver arrives at 12noon. Actually, driver calls office to have them bring us down to the street corner to meet him since it would take too long to turn into the drive way and come back out. Office Man takes us down, tells us to wait at the street corner, and that he was going to run back to the office to grab his cell phone. We wait and the driver shows up. He shouts out the window to get our attention and we quickly ran through the rain to the door. We move halfway down the block and Driver gets a phone call from Office Man who says that he was to come with us to the office. It’s not like we moved far down the street so Office Man runs into the crowded street to search for us.
Keep in mind for the rest of this blog that the streets are filled with cars. x1000. Two lane streets turned into a random jumble of 7 “lanes”. Cars started to drive in the direction of opposing traffic and even on the sidewalks. If there was a sudden empty space you can bet that some car will find its way into that spot within seconds. There was complete disregard for the street lights and all laws of driving safety. There are really no words to describe it. You had to see it. But there were no accidents and no cars were bumping into each other. It was pure organized chaos.
We are driving ever so slowly. We were once stopped at an intersection for so long that we were debating whether to get out of the car and grab some lunch. Right on the corner was some sort of food place. We literally had enough time to get out, order our food, eat our food and get back into the car. And the car MIGHT have moved one foot.
The car ride was getting boring since we would stare at the same scenery for a long time. The endless car honking was getting annoying and we wanted to sleep. That was when things started to get interesting. We see a group of men standing outside of their cars yelling at each other. Fight! It would have been so cool if they started punching each other, but that didn’t happen. The cars didn’t even hit. They were just yelling at each other. Our driver used that to his advantage because he followed the car into the opening that it had created and we were able to turn onto the next street.
Circa 2pm (you do the math) we started seeing a lot more water on the ground. As we continued driving, the water level rose higher and higher on the sides of the roads. Pretty soon we saw that some of the streets were flooded. The motorbike lane (kinda like the bike lanes in America, but a separate area on the street barred off for motorbikes) was flooding. In some parts it had raised to the level of the sidewalk. Some brave walkers were trudging through it and it was up the their shins. Driver tells Office Man that we should get out and take the metro since we were near one of the stations by now. 2 hours to drive about 10 blocks!
So glad that I know Mandarin because it made the whole sudden change of plans a lot smoother. We got out of the car in the middle of traffic and had to cross a flooded street. Ryan was able to jump over it and Lisa had boots on but I had flip flops on because of my bum feet. So Ryan was trying to help me across but I’m not tall enough to jump when Office Man finally pointed out a shallow area. Office Man led the way and kept nervously glancing back to make sure that the three of us were keeping up. I bet he didn’t want to lose the three American teachers he was responsible for. The three of us had no clue how to navigate the metro so we just followed Office Man and he would speak to me in Mandarin and I would translate for Ryan and Lisa. I think that put a lot of people at ease because there was effective communication. While on the Metro, Lisa and I would watch each other’s bags since we were facing each other and couldn’t see behind us. We just kept following Office Man through the maze and crowd of people to another Metro line, got off, walked a few blocks through Shanghai and then finally arrived at the head office. At 3:30pm.
Office Man dropped us off and then disappeared. He told me to call Mr. Lu when we were done and “he would take care of how we would get home.” They were already wrapping things up so we got maybe about 30 mins of training. We finally saw Karol and she was questioning why we were so late. So Lisa, Ryan and I stayed behind for a bit to get a quick crash course of what they went over that day. Driver and the office call us to let us know that Driver had finally made it to the head office and was waiting downstairs. He basically spent the whole day driving to and from head office. There was no abnormal traffic on the way back to our district (Minhang) and all the flood water had disappeared. Driver dropped us off on the corner of the office and said he would meet us at 10:30am the next morning to take us back.
Lisa, Ryan and I got out of the van and immediately wanted to get some food. We had not eaten the whole day except for the little bit of breakfast snacks we had managed to buy before leaving our office. We walked down the street and stopped at the first place we saw (and felt safe eating). We were looking at the menu outside trying to figure out whether we would eat anything there when we realized that we were so hungry that we didn’t really care anymore. As we walked in I saw that it was a restaurant with a Tainan theme (which means it was Taiwanese style) so I figured that I would be able to find something to eat. It wasn’t really Taiwanese style, it was more a mixture of just Chinese food. Which was good because there was more variety. Best part? They are open 24 hours. I guess we found our Chinese Denny's restaurant. And it’s pretty cheap, too.
It’s only about 8:30pm but all of us are so exhausted for a day where we spent sitting in a car all day with a brief walk through the Metro and Shanghai. Great team work today team with not losing each other. And especially appreciative of our awesome Driver and Office Man who were so determined to get us to head office. Especially Driver with his mad driving skills.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Shanghai'd - First Impressions
First impression as my plane was landing and I was looking out the window? Why can I see the air? It looks ... thick.
So my luggage and I made it to Shanghai, China safely. The airport was pretty quiet when we got in (6:15pm China time, 3:15am USA time). I had to go through the “Foreigners” line (go USA!). My plan was to just to smile nicely and not speak Chinese. Play the clueless American card. Went through everything pretty quickly, claimed my luggage, x-rayed my luggage again (If I can get on the plane with it, why can’t I leave the airport with it? Oh yeah, it’s China) and went through the exit. They had told me that there would be someone holding up a sign for me, but I saw no one. I decided to circle and look again and that’s when I saw this Chinese girl run over to the area and I was able to catch a glimpse of my name on it. Woot, my ride!
First impression as I stepped outside into Chinese air? Omgosh ... why is my body wet? The humidity!
Grace (the girl picking me up) was relieved to hear that I knew Mandarin. She knows English but she said my Mandarin was better than her English. We’ll see. We got in the van shuttle and drove somewhere. I was assuming that I was heading into Shanghai/my hotel/meeting place. There wasn’t much to see yet because it was getting dark and we were on the freeway. There’s a lot of Beijing Olympics advertisements everywhere though. The mascots are everywhere. Shanghai is one of the co-host cities for the games.
We arrived at the hotel, dropped off my luggage and then went over to the hotpot restaurant where I would meet the rest of the teachers as well as my manager. We got treated to very good service because we were a table of a bunch of foreigners. The funny thing is that because I look Chinese, (real) Chinese people automatically assume that I know Mandarin and that I’m the one taking the white people around the city.
First impression of me being a foreigner-Chinese in China? This can probably work to my advantage as well as my disadvantage.
But according to some people, natives are able to tell that we’re foreigners (even if we look Chinese) because of the way we walk and carry ourselves. Having a white person in your walking group also means that service is faster but it can also mean that all the attention is on the white person and the Asians get neglected ... except when translating is needed. Take for example the little Chinese girl selling roses to pedestrians. Lisa (Chinese), Ryan (white) and I were walking back to the hotel from the restaurant and the girl runs right to us, right past Lisa and I and started badgering Ryan to buy a flower. He tried to out maneuver her and asked us how to make her stop following us and even with his attempts at waving her off and saying “no” she kept following (she followed us for a long block). While Lisa and I were able to walk peacefully, looking over at the two of them. We realize that because we are Chinese, we are just “another” Chinese. Perhaps it’s good they don’t know we’re American; less bothering? We’ll see how this all play out.
Today (Sunday) is also the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Just about every channel on TV is showing Olympic stuff. And there is also some Taiwanese programming here. Shows that I’ve seen before. And the music channel plays Chinese and American songs. Sometimes more American than Chinese.
My first day of training is tomorrow (Monday)! Will meet other foreigners! And speak English!
So my luggage and I made it to Shanghai, China safely. The airport was pretty quiet when we got in (6:15pm China time, 3:15am USA time). I had to go through the “Foreigners” line (go USA!). My plan was to just to smile nicely and not speak Chinese. Play the clueless American card. Went through everything pretty quickly, claimed my luggage, x-rayed my luggage again (If I can get on the plane with it, why can’t I leave the airport with it? Oh yeah, it’s China) and went through the exit. They had told me that there would be someone holding up a sign for me, but I saw no one. I decided to circle and look again and that’s when I saw this Chinese girl run over to the area and I was able to catch a glimpse of my name on it. Woot, my ride!
First impression as I stepped outside into Chinese air? Omgosh ... why is my body wet? The humidity!
Grace (the girl picking me up) was relieved to hear that I knew Mandarin. She knows English but she said my Mandarin was better than her English. We’ll see. We got in the van shuttle and drove somewhere. I was assuming that I was heading into Shanghai/my hotel/meeting place. There wasn’t much to see yet because it was getting dark and we were on the freeway. There’s a lot of Beijing Olympics advertisements everywhere though. The mascots are everywhere. Shanghai is one of the co-host cities for the games.
We arrived at the hotel, dropped off my luggage and then went over to the hotpot restaurant where I would meet the rest of the teachers as well as my manager. We got treated to very good service because we were a table of a bunch of foreigners. The funny thing is that because I look Chinese, (real) Chinese people automatically assume that I know Mandarin and that I’m the one taking the white people around the city.
First impression of me being a foreigner-Chinese in China? This can probably work to my advantage as well as my disadvantage.
But according to some people, natives are able to tell that we’re foreigners (even if we look Chinese) because of the way we walk and carry ourselves. Having a white person in your walking group also means that service is faster but it can also mean that all the attention is on the white person and the Asians get neglected ... except when translating is needed. Take for example the little Chinese girl selling roses to pedestrians. Lisa (Chinese), Ryan (white) and I were walking back to the hotel from the restaurant and the girl runs right to us, right past Lisa and I and started badgering Ryan to buy a flower. He tried to out maneuver her and asked us how to make her stop following us and even with his attempts at waving her off and saying “no” she kept following (she followed us for a long block). While Lisa and I were able to walk peacefully, looking over at the two of them. We realize that because we are Chinese, we are just “another” Chinese. Perhaps it’s good they don’t know we’re American; less bothering? We’ll see how this all play out.
Today (Sunday) is also the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Just about every channel on TV is showing Olympic stuff. And there is also some Taiwanese programming here. Shows that I’ve seen before. And the music channel plays Chinese and American songs. Sometimes more American than Chinese.
My first day of training is tomorrow (Monday)! Will meet other foreigners! And speak English!
LAX --> PVG
Because I need to go through proxies to access my regular blog site, I have moved house for the time being.
Friday Aug. 22: Hello, I am currently at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Airport Gate 105’s waiting area. Waiting to board my plane from LAX --> PVG (Pudong, Shanghai, China) as evidenced from the title of this entry. Surreal that I’m going to be leaving the good old US of A for 10+ months. I’ve never been away for so long. I should treat it as if it were just a long vacation.
I am also low on lappie battery. And I’m too cheap to pay t-mobile to use their airport wifi. So this entry will be posted up onto the Internet (granted the Great Firewall of China does not block LJ, though from what I’m hearing from people already there, it is blocked.) when I’m in China. I’ve never been to China. This will be an interesting experience. I wonder if it will be everything people say it is, or whether it will be everything I think it is. And at this moment, I’m not entirely sure what I think about China. I’ve heard the horror stories and I’ve heard the stories of good fortune. People either seem to love or hate China. I hope I don’t hate it.
China Eastern’s gate is near a bunch of other asian airlines as well. We are currently next to Korean Air’s. They just put a broadcast out calling for final boarding and they are still looking for a passenger named Kim Ji Yong. But in reality, it sounds more like they are saying “Kimchee Ya!” The hilarity of this is ... hilarious. There is also a fat baby in the aisle next to and in front of mine. He is a fat baby. Huge face cheeks. I wonder if he is a product of the One Child Policy.
Ok lappie off for now.
Later on the plane...
I believe I am now a little bit more than halfway to Shanghai. As typical of international flights, they watered us and fed us about an hour into the flight. Then they started dimming the cabin lights as a subtle message to us that we should now sleep. I have a side aisle seat which makes bathroom breaks a lot easier.
A couple hours into the flight, a page comes over the intercom with the cabin crew requesting anyone with some medical knowledge to identify themselves to the crew as a passenger needed medical attention. This was a couple minutes after I had read an article in the airline’s (China Eastern) magazine about a cabin member performing CPR and saving the life of a passenger who had suddenly become unconscious. Turns out that fat baby mentioned earlier in this entry kept crying and crying. I know this because I am a few rows behind the family. A guy (I presume a doctor of some sort) and then later on two more guys (I am assuming more doctors) determined that the baby was having a stomach problem and since he is too young to say exactly what is wrong, he just kept crying. So as typical of Chinese people everyone wanted to know what was going on and a few middle aged - elderly women offered their advice on how to make him stop crying. Flight crew was also all gathered around offering things. So far, fat baby with stomachache has been more interesting than turbulence.
Ok I take it back. A flight video just came on right now as I was typing of the flight crew teaching passengers how to loosen up our muscles. Such effective movements like: rolling head/neck in a circle, using arms to pull head to the side (and now the other side!), place hands into prayer-hands and then open and close them in a clapping style, place hands into Buddhist prayer style and raise to the sky, and half of the Macarena (I made the names up, but it’s descriptive!). And other great movements. The best part? Half of the passengers are doing the movements. I was typing the movements as they came onto the screen and when they got to the Buddhist prayer to the sky movement, I looked up after typing it out and I think all of the Chinese women in my section had their hands in the air. Now, more and more people are joining in on the exercises. This kinda reminds me of when I see crowds of old Chinese people on TV doing synchronized exercises in a town square. LOL! Now there is a movement that is a bit like cross your legs, raise your arm up and over your head and twist. I think I will call it, the be-a-hussie move. One thing I don’t understand though, is why they show the flight crew demonstrating the move, and then will show plain clothed people (flight crew in disguise) in a park doing the same movements. Are they telling me that these exercises are not limited to the flight crew but that I, as a regular person can be successful in muscle loosening as well? What a great collectivist society!
Since this is my first time to China, this is also my first time on a flight with the majority being Mainlanders. So it’s interesting to observe and hear all the different dialects going on around me. Also, I have never seen so many people wanting to buy duty-free goods. Seriously, when a flight attendant came down my aisle about 6 people around me immediately called out to her saying they wanted to order some duty-free. She had to make multiple trips to get the products and the monetary change. In addition, as we were at the waiting area back at LAX, they wheeled a shopping cart in and called out names for people to pick up their previously ordered duty-free products. I am assuming the Mainlanders are bringing these luxury goods back for people. Since it is a bit cheaper and it’s duty-free.
I brb. I have about an hour until I land and I need to fill out a form to let the Chinese government know that I am a US citizen. 13-14 hour flight almost over! Maybe I’ll read until I get there. Yup, getting ahead in class already!
Friday Aug. 22: Hello, I am currently at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Airport Gate 105’s waiting area. Waiting to board my plane from LAX --> PVG (Pudong, Shanghai, China) as evidenced from the title of this entry. Surreal that I’m going to be leaving the good old US of A for 10+ months. I’ve never been away for so long. I should treat it as if it were just a long vacation.
I am also low on lappie battery. And I’m too cheap to pay t-mobile to use their airport wifi. So this entry will be posted up onto the Internet (granted the Great Firewall of China does not block LJ, though from what I’m hearing from people already there, it is blocked.) when I’m in China. I’ve never been to China. This will be an interesting experience. I wonder if it will be everything people say it is, or whether it will be everything I think it is. And at this moment, I’m not entirely sure what I think about China. I’ve heard the horror stories and I’ve heard the stories of good fortune. People either seem to love or hate China. I hope I don’t hate it.
China Eastern’s gate is near a bunch of other asian airlines as well. We are currently next to Korean Air’s. They just put a broadcast out calling for final boarding and they are still looking for a passenger named Kim Ji Yong. But in reality, it sounds more like they are saying “Kimchee Ya!” The hilarity of this is ... hilarious. There is also a fat baby in the aisle next to and in front of mine. He is a fat baby. Huge face cheeks. I wonder if he is a product of the One Child Policy.
Ok lappie off for now.
Later on the plane...
I believe I am now a little bit more than halfway to Shanghai. As typical of international flights, they watered us and fed us about an hour into the flight. Then they started dimming the cabin lights as a subtle message to us that we should now sleep. I have a side aisle seat which makes bathroom breaks a lot easier.
A couple hours into the flight, a page comes over the intercom with the cabin crew requesting anyone with some medical knowledge to identify themselves to the crew as a passenger needed medical attention. This was a couple minutes after I had read an article in the airline’s (China Eastern) magazine about a cabin member performing CPR and saving the life of a passenger who had suddenly become unconscious. Turns out that fat baby mentioned earlier in this entry kept crying and crying. I know this because I am a few rows behind the family. A guy (I presume a doctor of some sort) and then later on two more guys (I am assuming more doctors) determined that the baby was having a stomach problem and since he is too young to say exactly what is wrong, he just kept crying. So as typical of Chinese people everyone wanted to know what was going on and a few middle aged - elderly women offered their advice on how to make him stop crying. Flight crew was also all gathered around offering things. So far, fat baby with stomachache has been more interesting than turbulence.
Ok I take it back. A flight video just came on right now as I was typing of the flight crew teaching passengers how to loosen up our muscles. Such effective movements like: rolling head/neck in a circle, using arms to pull head to the side (and now the other side!), place hands into prayer-hands and then open and close them in a clapping style, place hands into Buddhist prayer style and raise to the sky, and half of the Macarena (I made the names up, but it’s descriptive!). And other great movements. The best part? Half of the passengers are doing the movements. I was typing the movements as they came onto the screen and when they got to the Buddhist prayer to the sky movement, I looked up after typing it out and I think all of the Chinese women in my section had their hands in the air. Now, more and more people are joining in on the exercises. This kinda reminds me of when I see crowds of old Chinese people on TV doing synchronized exercises in a town square. LOL! Now there is a movement that is a bit like cross your legs, raise your arm up and over your head and twist. I think I will call it, the be-a-hussie move. One thing I don’t understand though, is why they show the flight crew demonstrating the move, and then will show plain clothed people (flight crew in disguise) in a park doing the same movements. Are they telling me that these exercises are not limited to the flight crew but that I, as a regular person can be successful in muscle loosening as well? What a great collectivist society!
Since this is my first time to China, this is also my first time on a flight with the majority being Mainlanders. So it’s interesting to observe and hear all the different dialects going on around me. Also, I have never seen so many people wanting to buy duty-free goods. Seriously, when a flight attendant came down my aisle about 6 people around me immediately called out to her saying they wanted to order some duty-free. She had to make multiple trips to get the products and the monetary change. In addition, as we were at the waiting area back at LAX, they wheeled a shopping cart in and called out names for people to pick up their previously ordered duty-free products. I am assuming the Mainlanders are bringing these luxury goods back for people. Since it is a bit cheaper and it’s duty-free.
I brb. I have about an hour until I land and I need to fill out a form to let the Chinese government know that I am a US citizen. 13-14 hour flight almost over! Maybe I’ll read until I get there. Yup, getting ahead in class already!
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