In Transit

Going home for Christmas is one of the hallowed rituals of Western culture. Last year I wasn't able to go due to work commitments, but this year I "crossed the pond" to spend a week with my family. In the process I learned the following:

1) Wheelchairs in the US are much bigger than wheelchairs in China and they have seat belts!
2) When you ride in a wheelchair going through customs is really fast.
3) Bulkhead seats really do provide more legroom.
4) Gate changes are the bane of the wheelchair traveler.

My Chinese teacher has a close friend who works for American Airlines, so on my way home she arranged for a bulkhead seat and wheelchairs at all my connections. It was great - the fastest I have ever moved through an airport. If only I could have controlled the weather too.

In Chicago, my flight was delayed for almost 4 hours with 3 gate changes. Flights were getting canceled left and right and a group of us became friends as we commiserated and shared stories about our holiday plans. There was a couple from Melbourne, Australia, a gentlemen from Moscow, me from Shanghai, a group from Southern California, a pregnant college student from Texas, some pharmaceutical reps who had been to Houston for a conference... all going home for the holidays. We bonded, shared snacks and made it as pleasant as possible. Overall, not a bad outcome.

Coming back to Shanghai I also dealt with weather in that my flight was canceled! Fog and thunderstorms resulted in moving back my departure one day. We got a 2am phone call Saturday morning announcing this so I had one extra day with my family which was unplanned but not unwelcome. The flights back went smoothly - I upgraded to business class, had two seats to myself and managed to sleep over 6 hours (a new record).

Question: Any travel horror stories or travel surprises/connections / interesting people you want to share?

Happy New Year! May 2009 be the best year yet.

G

Lucky me

I'm a health care consultant working in China.  I've given speeches on the Chinese health care and insurance system, I've helped clients with plan design questions and researched administrative procedures.  Now I can add first hand knowledge of Chinese hospitals, emergency rooms and medicine.

Lucky me.

Two weeks ago Saturday while at a party, I thought I would demonstrate a yoga pose to some friends.  I started prepping for it, transitioning my weight to my left foot, bent down and then collapsed on the ground.  My left knee gave out with no apparent warning.  My friends laughter (my balance has always been bad) transitioned to concern as they noticed my white face.  Something was wrong.

I sat there for a while, had some water, then tried to stand up.  No go.  I got dizzy and leaned against the table.  My fun night was over.

My wonderful friend Ade went with me to the emergency room.  We went to Hua Shan hospital that was pretty close and I had been to a talk earlier in the week where the hospital director there had spoken about his hospital's prestige and excellent facilities.  The driver dropped us off at the night entrance.  I limped inside, in quite a bit of pain by this point while we tried to figure out where to go.

We found someone who told us that the international clinic was down the hall and to take the elevator to the 8th floor.  Very slowly we made it there, only to discover that was the wrong location.  I waited and Ade went back.  They told her we had to walk across the campus to another building (in the dark).  She threw a fit.  Although we were hampered by not knowing the word for wheelchair, knee or accident in Chinese, she managed to procure a wheelchair and someone to push me across the campus to the "international" clinic.

Five minutes after arriving I was in the room with the doctor.  I started, tentatively, in English to tell him what happened.  "Can you speak Chinese?" he asked.  I sighed, but between the two of us managed to explain the incident in Chinese.  He gave me a brace, told me to wait until Monday and they'd schedule me for a CT scan.  Cost of service - about $90

Monday I had my team ready - my colleague Ma Jian (who has been trained as a doctor) and my good friend Lily (Mike, her husband went to Notre Dame).  They both agreed to accompany me.  However, my CT scan had been pushed back to Tuesday.  My leg, however, still hurt and I couldn't bent it.  Ma Jian knew people at another hospital (Rui Jin); Lily picked me up.

First we went to the emergency room - the doctor there was very nice, but decided it wasn't an emergency and told me to wait for my CT scan on Tuesday.  Cost of consultation - $2, which they refunded because they couldn't help me.

Next we went to see a specialist from Lily's connections (which meant waiting in the hallway of another building for a very long time).  After he looked at my knee he determined it was a ligament or tendon problem - not bone, so he recommended an MRI instead of the CT scan.  That meant going to another building where they scheduled me for an appointment the next afternoon.  I paid in advance - consultation and MRI together was about $185.

Tuesday the drill started again; Lily picked me up and Ma Jian met us at the hospital.  I got a wheelchair and was wheeled into the basement of the hospital.  I'd never had an MRI before - they are very loud.  The technician was startled to see a foreigner.  He rattled off a lot of Chinese at me, then said, "DON'T MOVE!"  I didn't.

Lily and Ma Jian managed to get another doctor to look at my film (after a 45 minute wait).  He was flipping through the pictures making comments - all of which were negative.  "Internal bleeding...tendon damage... ligament...swelling..." At that point he decided that if it was a serious as the pictures were showing I shouldn't be able to stand.  Since I could he decided to examine me.  He looked at my knee, bent it and proclaimed that I should wear the brace for 3 weeks, put Chinese medicine on my knee and I should be fine.  I got the medicine (a poultice and pills for about $10 total) with Ma Jian's help and went home, thoroughly confused.

After all this, I think that I have an overstretched ligament in my knee, caused by the yoga move.  It should heal by itself.  The pain and swelling are almost gone now [2 weeks later], though I am moving really slowly and am not that stable.  I am very lucky to have friends to support me through this process from both a language and cultural perspective.

Lucky me.

Question: Getting sick away from home is never fun. [Christmas 1999; my friend Christa; Austria - enough said] Do you have a story to share?

Happy New Year to all!

G

Notes on Business

I’ve been in my new position about three months now and met with half a dozen clients and just as many vendors, had countless phone calls, given two speeches and worked more hours than I care to count. It’s been a challenge and many thanks to those I’ve forced to listen to me. I’m adjusting to a different work schedule, a different language, new colleagues and time zone differences. I can now direct dial Singapore and Hong Kong without looking up the access codes and I’ve talked to clients and colleagues in Europe and Africa. Mercer is a global company and working out of Shanghai it feels that way.

Today we had a meeting with an employer coalition that we’ve been helping at a multinational level for several years. However, this was the first time local Chinese HR was involved and we had a great turnout. The majority of the meeting was in Chinese, but I (the foreigner) gave the intro in English on the Chinese healthcare system and compared it to the current system and issues in the US. I even got a couple of laughs out of the crowd. It was great.

Looking back I thought I’d document the two most common conversation starters during the breaks.

Conversation #1:

Me: “Are you finding the conference useful?”
Client A: “Your Chinese is so good!” [This is normally spoken in English which I find ironic.]

Conversation #2

Me: “很高兴认识你。我看你的名片，你是经理吗？” [Pleased to meet you. I see from your card you’re the manager, right?”]
Client B: 你很漂亮。(You’re very beautiful.) [This one I’ve only heard so far in Chinese. The first time it happened I thought it was a one-off thing, but it happened multiple times now. I was trying to imagine what some of my female colleagues in the States would do if that happened to them during a meeting. My imagination only gets so far.]

Then the discussion will inevitably switch to why I came to China, how long I’ve worked at Mercer, etc. None of my side conversations actually talked about business, but I figure, eventually…
After the session we took two photos – one with the clients present and one with the vendors. Everyone else was wearing black or navy but I was wearing my dark pink jacket. I stood out for sure – in a good way. Watch out China! I’m here!

Question: Ladies – how would you respond to, “You’re so beautiful?” Gents – would you have the guts to say it at a business meeting?

To surviving!

G

Housewarming photos!

As promised, attached are the photos that I have from my housewarming party. There were several friends who avoided my camera (Curt, Jasmine, Ade, Richard - you know who you are!), but this captures almost everyone who stopped by and shared the evening with me.

Housewarming!

I've just about recovered from the party now - my house is back in order, the leftovers have been eaten or stored away and now I'm looking forward to Christmas. I'll be back in the States in under two weeks.

Enjoy the photos!

Cheers-

G

What do you get when you have...

- 27 friends
- 9 pages of lists
- 5 baguettes with 5 types of cheese
- 4 cakes (3 chocolate, 1 coffee)
- 3 weeks of prep
- 2 sous chefs (Todd & Chris)
- 1 awesome housewarming party

I threw a party on Sunday.
It rocked.

Ever since I moved into my new place at the end of September, I had been thinking about throwing a housewarming. My place is so big, it’s the perfect venue for a party and so after my things arrived I started planning to “warm my house” as one of my Chinese colleagues put it. I am blessed to have wonderful friends in Shanghai and everyone I invited came! There were 7 countries represented; friends from Kaien, or formerly from Kaien, Joy and Huang whose wedding I went to, my Chinese teacher, work colleagues, friends from random meetings…

The food was great, recipes and sauces from my friend Todd, a couple of my own dishes, cakes from Ade and Geoff; wine, cheese… what more could you ask for?

I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday – I worked – but this Sunday was my ode to friendship and support. I could not live here without these people. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to host them and share this time, in this city, together.

A few of my favorite party memories:
1) Chris helping me prep and washing dishes with “Happy Holidays” in the background
2) Ma Jian cooking river fish for us all
3) The corkscrew getting stuck on the bottle and Rolf saying “Violence solves everything!”
4) Convincing a Chinese friend to try cheese and she liked it so much that she tried all five kinds
5) Sampling sweet Chinese warm wine with plum
6) Todd giving a “dumpling lesson” to my coworkers in the kitchen
7) Joy giving me a toaster oven. Now I can bake!

Question – What was your favorite party? I'll hopefully post pictures from mine this week.

I can’t believe it, but I’ll be back in the States in a little over two weeks. I’m only home 8 days, and only in Michigan, so it’s a really short trip, but I’m very much looking forward to it. To a great holiday season!

Cheers-

G

Red?

I wore a bright red pair of tights to work yesterday. I think I may be starting to follow Chinese fashion.

A couple weekends ago I bought some new clothes at a very fashionable boutique. A pair of black velvet pants, a black cashmere sweater with a shawl attached that can be swept to one side, or in four other positions, a black ruffled shirt and a black structured dress with elbow length sleeves and pleats on the sleeves and at the bust. The unifying factor is that all of them were black. The sales girls (two of them) were incredibly helpful, bringing me over a dozen things to try on, necklaces, belts, shoes….As I was checking out with my purchases one of them disappeared, telling me to wait. She came back with a bright red pair of tights and told me that it was a free gift that I should wear them with my black dress. I looked at her and smiled and said – “But everything I bought is black, why the red tights?” She laughed and said, “Trust me.”

That was two weeks ago. The dress has been hanging in my closet, but yesterday I bravely put it on with the red tights. My cleaning lady complimented me as I left the house, then in the elevator, someone else complimented me. At work – I received five or six additional compliments. “Your tights look great!” “Beautiful color.” “Where did you get them?” Now that I think about it, no one actually commented on the dress, just on my legs.

The sales girl was right. At least in Shanghai.

Question – Any fashion stories? Things you thought were great but looking back you can’t believe you wore them? Share!

A big Happy Birthday to my dad for today!
Cheers-

G

Free

The weather the last two weeks has been pretty nasty overall. Rain, fog, pollution, mist, wind … we’ve had the entire spectrum. Yesterday morning as I was struggling down the driveway of my complex I saw a pair of men’s underwear (boxers) by the side of the road. The picture that immediately came to my mind was someone stripping off their clothes and dancing in the rain, free from everything. The less romantic vision is that someone didn’t securely fasten the boxers to the clothes line and the wind had carried them away. I prefer my initial thought.

Question – Have you ever danced in the rain?

A Real Anniversary

Yesterday I was walking back to the office after eating lunch when it hit me. I am living and working in China. This is real. This is my life.

I almost missed the moment in the normalcy of it. I was waiting to cross the street, thinking about my tasks for the afternoon, when I looked up and noticed for the first time in a while that I was the only westerner in the crowd. But, this time it was different. I was part of the crowd, just another worker heading back from lunch.

You may say, “Of course – this is real, you’ve been writing about it for the last year. If you’re not living and working in China, where are you?” and that would be a fair question. I can answer it this way. When I was teaching it was temporary – for the first time yesterday it felt permanent and I was okay with that.

It seems fitting that this moment of illumination occurred almost exactly one year to the day after I first arrived in China. The last year, as detailed in my blog, has been wonderful – full of friends, food, adventures, language, stretching and growing. As I contemplated my anniversary post I thought of lots of possibilities. Top 10 moments in Shanghai, best restaurants here, places to visit, things never to say as a foreigner; but instead of looking back, I’ve decided that I’d like to look forward. Here are my goals for the next year:

1) Get comfortable enough with my Chinese to give a short speech at an internal work meeting.
2) Ride the bus in Shanghai.
3) Learn how to cook one traditional Chinese dish well.
4) Visit one smaller Chinese city (less than a million people); travel to Hong Kong for pleasure (not business).
5) Develop a KTV (karaoke) repertoire of more than two Chinese songs.
6) Buy a bicycle.

Happy Anniversary to the blog and to me!

Questions – Do you have any goals that you think I should add to the list? Please share.

Cheers!
G

Three Strikes...

Today I decided to skip my planned yoga class and head to my favorite spa to get a massage. The tension in my neck and shoulders has been returning since I started work again and it seemed like the perfect solution. It was a beautiful night and I bounced along ready to be kneaded and pressed until my shoulders relaxed and the tension drained away.

I arrived without an appointment, per the normal, but this time when I put in my request at the front for a body massage the receptionist just looked at me. I knew she understood my order because she then repeated it back, but instead of telling me to wait a minute or ask how long I would like, she said that they were booked. It was really disappointing, I was ready to spend the money, had cleared my schedule and now – no massage. Strike 1.

However, I had a back-up plan. Every day when I walk to work I pass a Spa 88 on the way. It looked very nice, probably more expensive than my preferred place, but still – a good retreat. Retracing my steps I entered and asked if they did body massage. This time the receptionist told me that they only service clients of the hotel, but I could get the price guide from the front desk. Strike 2. I explained that I live here and he said, “Oh, I can suggest a good place.”

Thus, directions in hand I attempted my third massage of the evening. However, the seemingly simple directions wound up getting me lost. At this point I was tired and hungry and after inquiring with a couple of security guards at various corners I couldn’t manage to find the place. Strike 3 - I went home.

I really am starting to dislike the phrase “不好意思” (bu hao yisi). The literal translation is “Not good meaning.” Contextually it’s kind of “Sorry to bother you” or “The situation is not good.” Or “I apologize for inconveniencing you.” or "I have absolutely no idea and you're a foreigner so I'm not going to figure it out because you wouldn't appreciate it anyway." People here use it a lot, especially tonight.

Question – What is your technique for coping with multiple disappointments? It seems like such a minor thing, but by the time I made it home I was wiped and my shoulders still hurt. What’s your preferred relaxation method?

On a lighter note, The Shanghai Chronicle has now been in existence for over a year! I’ve been contemplating the appropriate anniversary post and will hopefully post it this weekend. Thank you to all of you who’ve read and commented on my story here in Shanghai. Hopefully it will continue (with more massages) for quite some time to come.

Cheers!

Pajama Talk

While I was home over the summer I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how men’s fashion labels are starting to launch new collections with fancy pajamas. Photos of the runway shows included guys wearing pajama pants, Henley tops, fancy slippers, big robes, etc. The article went on to talk about the challenges in the United States of getting men to spend money on pajamas and that most guys will sleep naked or in underwear and a t-shirt. That columnist predicted an uphill battle in sales and that the trend would soon diminish. As I’m re-acclimating here in China I think that those fashion houses should launch the pajamas here. Pajamas are everywhere.

Last week at dinner, Chris told a story about a friend of his who went to a wedding and after getting there discovered that she was very overdressed. One guest was even wearing pajamas! Pajamas at a wedding?

The topic came up again at another dinner I was at. One of the guys commented that he has started wearing pajama bottoms now for the first time in his life. They were a gift, he said, but he is considering buying some more because they are so comfortable. He’s been in China about a year. Hmmm…

When I walk to work in the morning and home at night there are always men on the street wearing pajamas. Sometimes it is a two piece number, the pants with matching button-down top and sometimes it’s just the bottoms with a t-shirt or a wifebeater. You see pajamas hanging from clothes lines and for sale in lots of shops, right in the front window. Lest you think this is merely a male phenomenon, there are also female pajamas all over, some trimmed with lace – lighter, summer models as well as flannel pajamas. The fruit and vegetable market by me is filled with people in pajamas. I don’t really wear pajamas myself – normally it’s shorts and a tank top or sometimes a nightgown, but if I am ever tempted to wear them outside – someone stop me!

Question – Where is the strangest place you’ve worn your sleeping clothes? Or, where have you seen someone wearing pajamas that made you do a double-take?

Cheers!

Meetings

This past Friday I had five meetings, each with a distinct tone, each presenting a different picture which together represent my China.

The first meeting was a lunch meeting; I invited one of the members of my team to go eat so that I could find out more about her in a less formal setting. She picked a sushi restaurant and we sat at the counter, speaking English, about my history and her history. She’s almost done with her ASA and I gave her some gentle encouragement to take the last set of modules and finish. It was a low pressure situation, conversational, easy.

Number two was the monthly leadership call for China H&B- Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong were all represented. This meeting was also in English and my role was to absorb current state and client lists and names for future reference. It lasted a little less than an hour which then flowed into meeting #3.

Meeting #3 was the monthly H&B practice meeting. All offices were represented again but the major difference here was that almost the entire meeting was in Chinese and it lasted 2.5 hours. My boss had told me before the meeting that it just didn’t make sense to conduct that meeting in English. I agreed with him – I’m one person in a group of about 40. In theory this is what I need to do to improve my Chinese. It also made it a very long meeting for me. I was able to follow what was going on and probably understand about half of what was said. I also learned a new word (yin xiang – impact/effect). To add to the pressure I had a speaking role, I had been asked to give a short presentation on the importance of peer review and peer review under company policy (in English). Talk about a tough crowd: 1) I’m speaking English, 2) it’s 6:45 on a Friday, and 3) there was cake to eat after I had finished. It went really well (thank you Kaien and my teaching training) all told, so after eating my cake I hurried to the basement of the office.

In the basement is a large health club which had been running a promotion for membership. I had stopped by earlier in the week to check it out and was supposed to have met my sales rep around 6:30 to sign a six month contract. He was still there and he and this personal trainer guy gave me the final sales pitch. All in Chinese, relatively low key, except that I was already running late for my last meeting. We ended by scheduling an appointment with the trainer on Sunday (his English name is Hero) to measure my baseline, discuss my goals and see how much I want to train.

I raced home – 18 minutes flat— and made it to my apartment at five minutes to eight. I was supposed to interview a prospective ayi (maid) at 8pm. Luckily, she was a little late. It turns out that she cleaned this apartment before, under the previous tenant last year, and she lives five minutes away. We’ve arranged for a test cleaning on Tuesday to see if we get along and then tentatively set up a schedule going forward. I had a little trouble with her accent (she’s from Anhui province) and she had a little trouble with mine. There was a lot of pointing involved, especially when it came to talking about tools that you need for cleaning, but I remember the first time Mollie (our ayi at the old apartment) came and how I couldn’t say anything to her. I’m also proud because I set up this meeting by calling her and actually talking over the phone, which would have been impossible a year ago. She left about 9pm.

Five meetings. What a day.

Question: Do you have a marathon meeting story? Share.

G

A Tour

My new apartment is spacious and open and bright. It is furnished - beds, sofas, desk, chairs, but by no means full. There is definitely room to expand. This week I took some photos to give you a sense of my space for the next twelve months. Welcome to my home!

Virtual Tour - Living in South Shanghai

For those of you in Shanghai, the housewarming party will probably be at the beginning of November, after my things arrive from the States.

Hope you are enjoying the fall. The weather here has cooled down in the last week or so, but that means highs in the upper 70s and lows in the mid60s. There were even clear blue skies here last week. No complaints!

G

走路 (On foot)

One of the reasons that I chose my apartment is that it is very close to my office. Tonight I walked home from work for the second time, making my way along streets that will soon become very familiar. I skirted the touristy Xintiandi area and progressed into my neighborhood. I didn’t see any other foreigners and it was a beautiful evening – clear, crisp and everyone was outside enjoying the air.

I stopped into a convenience store to buy some more minutes for my cell phone and the cashier complimented me endlessly on my Chinese. I walked by a grandpa holding his new granddaughter and he stopped me and said, “Hello! Hello!” and I smiled at the baby and said, “Ni Hao! Ni Hao!” There are restaurants that I want to try (even though or maybe because the menus are all in Chinese) and clothing stores that look like they might have my size.

As I strolled past the security guards in my complex they said, “Ni Hao!” and gave me a big smile, really making me feel welcome. Each time I come home it is a treat, I know they recognize me and I’m already looking forward to seeing them each day. The vibes are good here. I think the only thing that would make it better would be someone to share it with. Any takers?

Next week is one of the Golden Weeks – this one for National Day, so I have a full week off of work. It’s more time to explore and get settled in. Maybe I will buy a bicycle.

G

Office Space

Technically this is a lateral move from Chicago to Shanghai. My career grade stays the same (the ever popular “F”), benefits are comparable or a little better, etc. However, in terms of office space – Shanghai wins hands down. The Health and Benefits team moved into new office space on the 31st floor of their building over the summer while I was back in the States. It is a beautiful office.

I have…drum roll please…a window office with three live plants in it! Everything is new and clean, right down to the Mercer blue pencil cup and stapler. There are two visitor chairs, a large work surface and a filing cabinet included, although the paper storage provided is definitely less than Chicago. The bathrooms are lovely (a great improvement over Kaien). My keycard has been activated. I received my new computer and allowed 10 months of emails to load, which took 3 hours. I think I’m working at Mercer Shanghai.

Office hours are slightly different here – technically they’re from 9 to 5:30, but I think more realistically from 9:30 to 6 or 10 to 6:30. The office space is very quiet, the cubes are open style and so four people are working in each corner with their backs to the middle. The cube walls are lower – there is no overhead storage space which gives a different atmosphere, more hushed.

My boss is in the States right now on business, so I have a week to scope things out, get settled in and then I have a week off because of the Chinese holidays next week. It’s a good way to acclimate myself to the environment, take care of those endless details when you start somewhere new and remind myself what office hours mean.

The attached slide show shows you my office.

Office Space

Question – What has been your worst working environment? Why?
G

The Great Apartment Search

I knew that finding an apartment would take a significant part of my time when I moved back to Shanghai. My friend Ade recommended a real estate agent and even before I left Chicago I was contacting her with my wish list. My wish list included:
- 2 bedrooms
- Balcony
- Wood floors
- Good security in the complex (preferably 24 hours a day)
- Within walking distance of my new job
- Under 10,000 RMB (about $1500) per month

I arranged to meet Jessica my first full day here to begin to look at apartments. At 10am on Wednesday, the 10th I met her in the lobby. She shook my hand and said, “Very nice to meet you – today we will see 12 different apartments.” I was slightly taken aback, but said, "Ok– let’s go." That first day we wound up seeing 15 different apartments. They were all over the city, but most all (except for 3) were within walking distance of my new office and met all my criteria. Jessica was good.

I was pretty jet lagged though and after looking at so many places, needed some time to evaluate. There are plenty of available apartments, especially those focused on expats because many expats left when the visa laws changed because of the Olympics. Rents have also come down lately which is to my benefit as well. On Thursday I walked the distance between my office and a couple of the complexes and decided that I would focus my search on the Laoximen (老西门) area of Shanghai. I contacted Jessica and we made another appointment, this time for Monday, the 15th. On Monday we saw 6 apartments in two different complexes – 3 that I had seen initially and 3 new apartments. The last apartment that I saw was bigger than the rest and slightly out of my price range. It had a window in the kitchen, higher countertops, three bedrooms (one set up as an office), 2 bathrooms, a balcony, a storage room. There was also a two bedroom apartment in the same complex that I liked as well and I was debating between the two. Finally, I told Jessica if we could negotiate with the landlord on the larger apartment, I would take it – if not, the other was already under my budget and I would take that one.

Jessica negotiated the three-bedroom down to meet my budget. It’s over 150 square meters (1600 square feet) which is double the size of my place in Chicago. The utilities will probably kill me, but it’s on the 22nd floor, is quiet, bright and really nice. There is a big supermarket at the corner, it’s close to the line 8 subway station and there is an excellent health club in the complex. As my former students would say, “It is a very convenient place to live.” 这个地方很方便。

China is still very much a cash-based economy, especially for deposits and initial rent payments. Needless to say, it took a while to get that much cash. At home it would have been so easy to just write a check, but not here. On Tuesday I put down a deposit and today (Friday) I paid the balance and signed the lease.

My landlord and her husband are both Americans and own a company that focuses on Balanced Scorecard Management Consulting. They told me that their initial company was bought out by Hewitt (after offers from Towers, Hewitt and Mercer) in China in 1997, but they think Mercer has better brand recognition now and is growing more quickly. What a small world. My main contact will be my landlady’s secretary (Tracy) who will take care of all the details. I think we might go out for a drink some time together too. We really connected over the last week as we waited for approvals and sat in cabs together babbling in a mixture of English and Chinese that many people would not understand.

I’ll be moving in sometime next week and am looking forward to decorating my place and putting some personal touches in it. When my things that are getting shipped arrive, it will really feel like home and I’ll be ready for visitors!

Please – come to China to see me! I’m going to be here three years (maybe not in the same apartment, but still, here) and will always have space for guests. Shanghai is a vibrant city – a good place to get over jet lag and serve as a springboard to the rest of China and the rest of Asia. You have time to make plans, so come!

Question – What has been your favorite or least favorite house/apartment that you’ve lived in? I love my condo in Chicago; we’ll see how this new place turns out. Please share.

Cheers!

Wandering

Going back to a place where you once lived gives you a new perspective. The place has changed, as have you. Shanghai is a city of constant change and after my relaxing summer in Chicago, I’m not the same either. Today is cloudy with hints of rain in the air and after lunch with a friend I took a long, meandering walk back to my hotel. This wasn’t my neighborhood before and it won’t be after I move in a week or two, but the cooler air made me want to explore.

I saw children chasing their grandpa as he bicycled down the street. I saw a store called “Meat Puppets” (not sure what they were selling), I saw dumpling vendors and flower shops and cute little clothing stores. I smiled inwardly at the Shanghai men carrying their girlfriends’ purses. I stumbled across one of the Blue Frog locations (a western chain known for its burgers). I watched people buy moon cakes to celebrate the festival on Monday.

As I wandered I thought about why I came back. When I’m here I feel an energy – this sense that I can try anything. It’s difficult to describe. From the fashion to the food to the crowded subways to the relief on people’s faces when they realize I speak some Chinese, it calls to me. In being so different, I am more me.

I start my job in a week so I have one free week to wander (and find an apartment, get my banking set up, see tons of friends…) before the real world intrudes on my fantasy or the fantasy becomes the real world. 谁知道？Who knows? Anything is possible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Birthday wishes go to my friend Joseph and my cousin Matt. It’s not Friday the 13th this year, but hope your birthdays were great just the same.
Cheers!

A Serviced Apartment

Last night I was picked up at the airport by a Mr. Yun and whisked away to my temporary home for the next couple of weeks. I’m staying at a serviced apartment in Puxi, about a 20 minute walk south of the Mercer office while I get my bearings and look for a place to live. Serviced apartments are part of the typical expat experience in Asia – my apartment is bigger than a hotel room, with its own washing machine, living room and kitchen, but maid service every day, a concierge downstairs and other hotel perks like a swimming pool and fitness club.
My room is on the 30th floor with a balcony and last night was a rare clear night in Shanghai. I surveyed the neon lights around me and followed the moon across the sky, reveling in the energy and motion that is this city. I am extremely happy to be back.

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Weight

Today I finished packing for the big trip. I have two huge suitcases for which I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to pay an additional baggage fee. If you assume each is 50 pounds and then add my carry on, my computer and my purse, my luggage weighs just about as much as I do. That’s slightly scary. I’m really hoping that I can find a luggage cart at the airport!

Question – What trip did you take where you packed the most stuff? Those of you with children will probably win this one.

Thanks for the suggestions for blog title changes. I also got several emails with additional ideas. I’m mulling them over currently and will decide soon.

The next post is from Shanghai-
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The adventure continues…

About 10 months ago I opened this blog with my question about what I should pack for my trip. I got lots of great ideas – deodorant, a special occasion dress, chewing gum, a travel towel… I used all of that advice and as you know had an absolutely wonderful experience living and teaching English in Shanghai. My sabbatical has been a resounding success. Now, I’m continuing my adventure.

In just a little over a week I am going to be returning to Shanghai, this time on a three year assignment with MERCER, the company that I worked for in Chicago for over five years. I’m transferring to the Shanghai office and will be a “Regional Consultant.” I am excited to have the opportunity of being an actuary in China and apply my technical, logical, actuarial brain in this developing and dynamic country. People keep telling me that they’re living vicariously through me. Well, I’m enjoying being me too.

The last two months in the States have been a whirlwind of friends and family and cleaning and packing. I still am waiting for a couple of loose ends, including my visa paperwork, but I’m sure that it will all work out. I’ve gotten quite a few questions if I’m going to be continuing my blog. Right now that is the plan, but I will need a new title. It’s not “The Shanghai Chronicle – my experiences in China in 2007 and 2008” by “An Actuary on Sabbatical” anymore. It’s morphed into something new.

Question: What should my new title be? What advice do you have as I start this adventure again?

Cheers!
G

The Cruise photos

This album is from the cruise and our tour of the Three Gorges Dam. I tried to comment on the water color and how it changed as we moved. One of many interesting things to look at. Enjoy!

The Cruise

The Cruise

When I lived in Spain we used to make fun of groups of Japanese tourists who would come to Toledo, following their guides with a flag and crowding through the narrow cobblestone streets. At that time – over 8 years ago now, I decided that I would never be a part of one of those groups – following the leader, waiting for the bus and looking for the little flag. The last step of our China trip, I had to eat my words.

The cruise that we went on down the Yangtze River was gorgeous. The scenery and gorges called for photos as we drifted down the river. The first full cruising day mom and I went on the shore excursion – along with 80 of our closest friends. We had cruise ID badges, obediently waited for our bus, and were tagged after by the ship’s photographers (who were really cute) as we explored a temple at the top of the hill. Travel fatigue was setting in for me – the site was nice, but not the same magnitude as Xi’an or Beijing and I wound up with a lot of mosquito bites!

That day at lunch we met our dining companions for the next several days – a family from Egypt (mom, dad, daughter and grandmother). They were very interesting tablemates and had taken a trip to India last year that was very similar to ours two years ago, so we had lots of travel stories in common. Our table was always one of the last to finish meals as we shared stories.

As we went through each of the Three Gorges, there would be commentary over the public address system detailing what we were seeing. First we listened in English, then in Chinese, then in German which formed a cycle. I could understand the English, kind of the Chinese and kind of the German – so I felt like I could give the commentary by the end.
The second day we took another excursion in small boats that were rowed by local people up stream where our large cruise ship could not travel. It gave me a better idea of the size of the natural formations and our guide (once again we had cruise ID badges) sang us several folk songs. We sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” back at her and our oarsmen raced another boat, getting us wet in the process.

On the final day of the trip the boat traversed the locks at the Three Gorges Dam and then we were able to take a tour (with yet another ID badge) of the site itself. The size of the dam and the amount of water that it is able to control is astonishing. The dam will be finished next year – causing the water level to rise another 20 meters upstream. I heard numbers that the amount of power generated will be over 10% of China’s total. My sister found a technical book that explained the building and plans of the dam and my mom bought another that detailed the impact of the dam. It was a fitting way to end the trip with this technological marvel after we looked at the beauty of the gorges.

China is a fascinating country – the old and the new coexist. Ancient customs and traditions are being preserved (at least for tourists) as infrastructure and commerce are pushing on the boundaries set for the last 60 years. I want to see what happens in the next 60.

Question: Have you been part of a tour group before and followed a guide’s flag? Where were you? Was it voluntary? Tell me a story about your favorite guide.
I have cruise pictures to post and then one more post to wrap things up (and maybe begin again). Thank you for reading.

G

Chongqing photos

Here is a link to my Chongqing slideshow. Enjoy!

Chongqing

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Chongqing

Chongqing is a city built beside and over rivers. There were about thirty bridges that crisscrossed the city with another twenty in the development stages. We probably crossed ten of them in our day and a half there and then when we got on the cruise went under another couple. The hills were steep – a completely different landscape than the other cities we saw. There were very few bicycles because of the hills and traffic seemed to move more quickly as well.

It’s never a good sign when your tour guide takes you to a museum, tells you to wait for a minute while he gets the tickets and then returns, saying, “The museum appears to be closed today.” It only happened once during our trip and it happened when we were in Chongqing at the Three Gorges Museum. Our guide, Richard, was very apologetic and thinking on his feet, suggested that we go to the zoo and see the pandas instead.

The Chongqing Zoo was amazing and we managed to see all seven pandas in residence. We arrived at feeding time, so they were out and active. One of the younger pandas was climbing a tree. Richard told us that when they’re young (until about age four) pandas are more active but after that they get lazy and pretty much eat and sleep.
The next day we went to Dazu Grotto about a 2.5 hour drive outside the city. We were winding through the rice paddies and were much more “off the beaten path” than the rest of our journey. Some of the roads reminded me a little of India, in that we were bouncing around the back seat of the car and were definitely ready to get out at the end. The intricate Buddhist carvings have been preserved very well and we were able to visit two separate sites. Since the site was so far outside the city it managed to survive the destruction of the Red Guards and really maintains a sense of history. I wonder what it would have been like when the pilgrims walked for days to pray there and the air was full of incense.

After our trip outside the city we headed back before boarding the boat that would take us down the Yangtze River. Before dinner we walked through a flower and bird market and marveled at the huge ornamental stones and urns. The smells of the flowers and calm evening made it a great transition to the restaurant. While there we had another excellent meal including a rice cake that was then covered with a pork stew. It was an enticing blend of crispy rice and creamy pork which we hadn’t had before and was one of our favorites.

After dinner we headed to the docks and the boat which would be the last step of our journey together.
Question – Care to tell about any travel mishaps? Did you make it somewhere only to find out it was closed? How did you deal with it? Share!
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Reacclimating

Tonight I went to meet my friend Annette and one of her colleagues from the Chinese Mutual Aid Association. I volunteered there for almost 6 months before I came to China. We caught up over iced chai and coffee and stayed until the coffee shop closed. Annette has been a faithful reader (and commenter) on my blog and has recommended it to other people as I found out.

As I rode the El home I thought about the questions I’ve been asked over the last couple of weeks. What do you miss? What do you notice about Chicago when you’ve come back? What have you been eating? I thought I’d take a break from my travel blog (Chongqing and the Yangtze Cruise) and answer some of them here.

The first thing I noticed when I got out of the airport was the blue sky. I didn’t realize the true amount of pollution in Shanghai until I came back. The sky is blue here, the water is blue or green depending on its mood and puffy clouds float above.

I love being able to drink the water from the tap, to eat raw salads and fresh fruit without peeling it. Mexican food here is awesome – I’ve had guacamole three times already in the last 3 weeks and bread is so good. Sandwiches, cheese, pasta – are cravings that I haven’t had in a long time. Desserts are too sweet, I got used to eating fruit or nothing for dessert and now when I try to eat cake or cookies or muffins it is too much. Prices seem so high, I miss the lady on my street where I could buy lunch for 10 RMB ($1.50) with rice, meat, tons of veggies and all fresh and good.

I’ve enjoyed riding the bus over the last couple of weeks – buses always intimidated me in Shanghai. But, Shanghai’s subway is head and shoulders above the El here. Maybe when they finish the brown line/red line work it will improve. I hope. Driving is fun – the streets are so much more orderly than China. People follow traffic laws and wait for pedestrians. My little car is happy to see me and just passed its emission test this week, so it’s good to go for another two years.

My condo seems so luxurious. I have so much stuff! I’ve been sorting and recycling and tossing things while the mood holds. My brother was a great caretaker. Cooking and cleaning and being domestic have taken up a lot of my time since I’ve come back from DC. Hearing Spanish all over and being able to understand it and having conversations with everyone here in English is so much fun. I am talking everyone’s ears off – my doormen, the garage guys, my dry cleaners, the guy who sells me newspapers in the morning….

Above are a couple of pictures of my apartment here so you can make the comparison yourself.

Question – What do you notice about your place when you come back from a trip?

Cheers!

Xi'an photos

Xi'an

Above is the link to my Xi'an photos. My favorites in this batch include dad and I posing with the fake warriors, mom and Anne dancing in their booties and dumplings (and dumplings and dumplings....)

Enjoy!

G

Xi’an - Booties, Buddhas and Dumplings and Walls and Warriors

Xi’an was a nice contrast to the bustle and politics of Beijing. After getting off the plane we were met by our guide Sally and headed straight to our first destination, a Han Dynasty Mausoleum with wonderful views of small warriors, clay pots and other artifacts. The statues were naked (and anatomically correct) and Sally explained that in the time of the emperor they would have been clothed in silk and armor and put into place. This is different than the famous Terra Cotta warriors that we would see on the second day where the armor and clothing were made of clay. The museum was very well done with glass floors so you could walk directly over the pits under excavation, but the most amusing thing – by far – was the bright blue booties we had to wear to protect those glass floors.

The next destination was the Wild Swan Pagoda, a working Buddhist temple in a park closer to downtown. Most everything has been recently renovated, but it was pretty to look at and get reminded of the Buddhism I learned in India. Unfortunately the tower was closed because it had been damaged by the earthquake which occurred in May.

For dinner, at the suggestion of our guide we went to a dumpling banquet and Tang Dynasty show. We were served 14 different kinds of dumplings over the course of about an hour – everything from pork dumplings shaped like little pigs, fish dumplings with tails, fig dumplings, fried dumplings – dumpling soup, the courses just kept coming. After getting stuffed, we watched a great show with singing, traditional musical instruments and beautiful dancing and fell into bed exhausted and full.

Day 2 Xi’an - Walls and Warriors
Our second day in Xi’an was damp. It never rained hard, but it rained steadily pretty much the entire day. We started at the city wall. It is one of the few in China that is still complete, delineating the borders of the old city. If the weather were better we could have bicycled on the top, but instead we just took the opportunity for a couple of pictures. Since my sister never did learn how to ride a bicycle, she was very relieved that it was raining.

Before visiting the actual warriors we visited a factory where they make reproductions of them. It was interesting to learn how the process worked. For example, the heads are made separately and then inserted into the necks because if they were made in one piece they would explode in the kiln. Mom succumbed to the “garden size” statues and bought a couple. Then we visited the actual warriors. My grandparents had the opportunity to visit Xi’an in 1984 when there was little more than a tent covering the warriors. Now there are three main pits with enclosures and museums. The number of figures is overwhelming – close to 6,000 between the pits. It was special to be there and think of Grandma and Grandpa covering the same ground. As long as someone remembers you – whether you leave a huge tomb full of warriors, or just memories with people who love you, you continue.
Our final tourist stop was to visit the mosque in the old part of the city. It was a mosque but entirely Chinese architecture which was unique. Anne finally got to do some shopping in the bazaar and we all ate this dried peanut paste – kind of like the inside of a Butterfinger candy bar as we walked through the streets.

That was Xi’an. I’d like to go back and ride a bicycle on the wall and maybe eat some more dumplings. I’ll post links to photos in the next day or two.

G

Beijing photos 2 and 3

The following links are to two more albums containing the rest of our Beijing pictures. Album 2 has various locations - Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Cloisonne Factory, Drum and Bell Tower and Hutong Tour. Album 3 is exclusively photos from the Great Wall. There are some things that inspire you to take photos and the Great Wall is one of those for me. I tried to put captions on to give you a little more detail and insider info. I know there are a lot of photos, so browse as you wish.

Beijing - 2

Beijing - 3

This past Friday I finally received my FSA at the Fellowship Admissions Course in Washington, DC. It was the cumulation of over seven years of exams and really a truly great event. This next week since I'm back in Chicago I hope to post the rest of our family trip including Xian, Chongqing and our Yangzte River Cruise.

Cheers!

Beijing pictures - part 1

Beijing - 1

This slide show links to pictures at the Summer Palace, view of the Olympic venues, the Temple of Heaven and from inside the silk store where mom purchased her quilts. More pictures to come, but thought I would post a few to get started.

Question - Which is your favorite picture? I have several - I like dad and the dragon, I like the family picture in front of the Temple of Heaven and many more, but what is yours? Why? What did it make you think about or notice?

Cheers!

G

Beijing: Do you need to go to the happy house?

June 17 – 20
We collected our luggage at the Beijing airport and met our guide, May. The question above was the first thing she asked us. I’ve never heard the bathroom referred to in quite such a way. She continued to use that phrase the rest of the day. I know four different words in Chinese for bathroom, but I think “Happy House” is my favorite.
It was a busy first day. We visited the Summer Palace where we marveled at the Long Corridor, enjoyed the lake and saw a short musical performance.

On the way back we drove by the Olympic Village and saw the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the Olympics. It’s impressive on TV but even more impressive in real life – modern lines but an ancient shape. There are 88,888 seats and the opening ceremony will start at 8pm on August 8, 2008. Eight is a lucky number here. People pay big money for telephone numbers and license plates that include 8s. The Olympic organizers aren’t leaving anything to chance.

The second day we got to sleep in until 9 o’clock and then headed out to explore the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven includes a huge park where in the mornings people come to dance, exercise, practice instruments, play cards. The weather was beautiful and we would have been happy staying there all day, but when you have a guide, things keep moving. We had a little time before lunch, so we went to a silk factory. They showed us the stages of a silk worm and we got to attempt to spread out a layer of silk that would be used inside a comforter. I don’t think we’ll get hired anytime soon because our layer developed a hole. Mom was very impressed with the silk quilts and bought three and Anne and I bought some silk tops.

After a huge lunch, we headed to Tiananmen Square. We saw soldiers and tourists and the big portrait of Mao hanging there. May told us that it’s replaced once every year. Crossing the square, we then entered into the Forbidden City. I have seen Versailles, visited the Vatican, explored castles in Spain but the immense scale of the Forbidden City took my breath away. The emperor had complete power and the palace was built to instill that symbolism into the hearts and minds of his subjects. Five toed imperial dragons are everywhere. I tried to close my eyes and imagine how everything looked when it was furnished – full of luxury and courtiers and concubines. We spent several hours there and ended in the gardens before exiting to the street and our waiting coach.

Day three was the Great Wall at Mutianyu about two hours outside of the city. On the way we received a demonstration of how to make cloisonné. After the demonstration, we made it to the wall. May suggested that we take a cable car up and back, but Chris and Matt had told me that there was a toboggan run, so we all took the cable car up (posed for the required pictures) and then mom and dad went back down and Anne and I hiked several towers to the toboggan and zipped down the side. The day was slightly cloudy, but you could still see the wall continue to the horizon line. One of the great wonders of the world and I was there!

The final day in Beijing was a little more low-key. We actually spent over an hour at the post office because mom decided that the three quilts she bought were too heavy to pack in her luggage. My mom also found some great holographic Olympic postcards that they agreed to mail on the day of the opening ceremonies. We wrote 福禄寿 (Happiness, Prosperity and Longevity) on the cards to be sent next month. Other activities included lunch in the home of a woman in the Hutong district, a bicycle rickshaw ride, the obligatory tea ceremony and visiting the large drum tower that used to be used to signal the time of day for the city. That night Anne and I went exploring down one of the pedestrian streets and bought too much in the Olympic store.

Beijing was a success. It is full of history and government – a mix of new and old. My Chinese allowed us to find a laundry outside the hotel and order dinners and navigate the subway system. After four days there, we were ready for the next city – Xian.

I will post more pictures later when my parents and sister get back from Hong Kong. I have some, but want to share all of them with you.

I’m back in the States now, so hope to see you all soon!

G

Eight Hours in Nanjing (with apologies to Chris)

I have only woken up voluntarily at 6am a handful of times since I’ve lived here, but last Tuesday in the spirit of adventure I rolled out of bed, threw on my clothes and headed into the misty morning towards Shanghai’s main train station. The streets were hushed as I walked to the subway, but the train station bustled with people as I made my way to the 7:38 express train to Nanjing.

The ride itself was fairly uneventful. The man next to me fell asleep and wound up putting his head on my left shoulder (despite constant shrugging) and my right shoulder got soaked when someone put a wet umbrella right above my head. Other than that – no issues.

When I told people I was going to Nanjing, to a person, they all said, “Alone?!” And I would laugh and say, “Of course! It’s a Tuesday, I’m not worried, I’m a grown-up and I want to take a trip.” Traveling alone is so different than traveling with someone else. You’re not tied to another schedule, another stomach, but you have no one to share the views with or take your picture. Nanjing’s train station is located next to a very pretty lake and park. I headed out to take a peek and noticed the light rain falling. The rain became my companion for the day, following me to each of the sites. We suited each other well – my mood was subdued and it kept many other people from being tourists so it provided me a private tour of sorts.

Because of the rain, my first destination MingXiaoLing was almost deserted. I walked the grand pathway to the tomb almost alone, wondering at the carved stone elephants, lions, unicorns and other animals. It’s on a high mountain above the city. I could hear no cars and smell the rain on the trees. I wandered for almost two hours and then attempted to take a bus to the city center. The very nice man at the bus stop assured me that the #9 would take me there, but after 25 minutes I got off and took a cab to my next destination – The Nanjing Holocaust Memorial.

The Memorial was recently renovated and just reopened in December. It is striking and elegant, hopeful and horrifying. At one point walking through the exhibition hall I thought I was going to vomit as I stared at the skeleton of a young woman whose head and pelvis had been pierced by nails prior to being shot. Over 300,000 people died during those weeks and the museum is at the site of a mass grave of 10,000 people. At the end after all the horror is a calm reflecting pool and magnificent statue for peace. There were paper cranes everywhere as the rain continued to fall.

A second bus ride (I had to try again) led me to the city center where I found a late lunch. I then explored the Confucian Temple and its grounds. Turns out I went through everything backwards, ended at the beginning, but I saw lots of neat things including examples of traditional crafts. I posed for pictures with a little girl whose parents wanted to remember the strange foreigner in the glasses and with a woman from Guangdong who couldn’t believe I spoke any Chinese at all. By accident I heard a traditional musical performance and got an almost solo demonstration. The statue of Confucius in front of the temple was so kind and wise, very approachable. I had someone take my picture next to one of his disciples (Duanmu Ci) who is the philosopher in charge of languages. Figured a little good language karma (I know, that’s the wrong religion) couldn’t hurt. After wandering around the bazaar I eventually took the subway back to the train station, ready to go home.

Questions – Do you like to travel alone? What’s been your favorite solo trip? What did you learn about yourself?

My parents arrive today (Thursday) and after spending a couple of days in Shanghai we will be traveling together until the 28th. The 29th I’ll be heading back stateside, so it might take me a while to update the end of the trip. Maybe I will have them do a guest post. Hope you all are well.

G

If I were you...

Asking for advice – it’s something we do all the time without even thinking about it. Last night I consciously asked my friends here the following question:
“Give me advice! What should be next for me?”

Let me back up a bit.

Last night was my going away party. My ticket home is June 29th, but my parents come on Thursday and with the Dragon Boat holiday and scheduling, I decided to throw it last night. I invited my friends to one of my favorite places, the Party World karaoke club by Jing’ an Temple. As you know, I love to sing and so it was an easy choice. I’ve been to a couple of other places, but this one has the best selection of English songs and as I can only sing 2 songs in Chinese (with a cheat sheet), that was paramount.

Despite a slightly rocky start – the volume of the music kept getting softer for some reason and Curt had to leave just about as soon as he got there because of a work emergency, everything worked out great. Jane serenaded us with current Chinese pop. Geoff and I reprised our hit “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and added “Rocky Mountain High” to the mix. We all embarrassed ourselves by knowing the words to a Back Street Boys song. Sean did Blondie’s falsetto to perfection. Todd and Karen sang several ravishing duets at the front of the room and we chilled to “Day Dream Believer.” Then, for the grand finale we all stood up, abandoned the microphones, and sang Sinatra’s “My Way.” Iain attempted to use my camera to videotape this, but unfortunately (or rather fortunately), it didn’t work.

As we sang and ate and drank, I passed around a small notebook, with the first page stating what I mentioned at the beginning: “Give me advice! What should be next for me?” It moved from person to person, collecting in the process – a limerick from Sean:

“There once was a lady named Greta // Who really could not have been better // At K T V // She made a fool of me // And now I wish that I’d never met ‘er!”

A quote from Karen: “Yesterday was history, Tomorrow is the future, Today is a present!” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Functional language from Amber: “In my opinion / To be honest … maybe you should consider a future in singing.”

The resounding themes in the 12 entries were follow my bliss, have fun, stay in Shanghai, travel, open a KTV bar, enjoy the present and work towards finding happiness. Good wishes, good friends and singing – what more can a girl ask for?

Wrapped up the evening by taking a jaunt to the corner on the back of Geoff’s new electric bike and then since I didn’t have to get up today, went out to a couple of clubs with Sean where he cheerfully carried my dictionary (present from a friend) and tried to get me drunk. Didn’t succeed really, but the DJ at Shelter was phenomenal. Great pulsing beats – dropped in bed about 3am. Good party overall.

Question: It’s pretty obvious, I think. Give me advice! As I finish this chapter in my life, what should be next for me?

I expect a lot of comments on this one. I know you’re still reading, right? The blog will continue at least for another month or so, but there will be a break when I’m traveling with my folks. Then we’ll see what happens.

Faces of Kaien

When you start a new job you have lots of questions. Who will I work with? Where will I work? What are the bathrooms like? Will I like the people I work with? How much time will I be spending in this building? Will I like my job?

When you finish a job you have a completely different set of questions. How in the world did the last seven months go by so quickly? Will I ever have to do an English Club again? Why did the women's bathroom never have any paper towels? How do I get used to not seeing these great people everyday? What was the most important thing that I learned here?

I'm at the end now. May 31st was my last day of work at Kaien. Seven months exactly since I left the US on Halloween. Over the last seven months I have taught English, but I have also learned about myself. I know now that I'm capable of talking about anything for 45 minutes. I learned how to describe how to pronounce the "th" sound. I know that fourteen, forty and fortieth are very difficult to tell apart. I've gained confidence and board skills and learned how to monitor a room. I have come to appreciate having two days off in a row and that in the US if there is a three day weekend you don't work on one of the weekend days so it's really a two day weekend. All of these things I will take with me into the future.

I wouldn't have learned nearly as much without the people that surrounded me during this experience. My fellow teachers, managers, the sales staff and receptionists really supported me. At the beginning Charlie, Chad, Curt and Erica made my transition into the crazy Shanghai world much easier. Erica trained me and helped me buy my first cell phone. Curt (my old manager) picked me up after the health check before my visa process. Chad and I ventured out to Carrefour together and Charlie just projected confidence about everything which made me feel much more comfortable. Amber then came back from Australia and fit into our core group. We made our own rules and laughed and ordered too much take out together.

The Chinese teachers also helped and spoiled me. Rose bought me dice from a street market so I had a game that my students could play while I tested them. Maria was my language exchange partner who was the one that I called for silly things and help and laughs. She encouraged me to send my first text messages in Chinese. Jane with her unending puzzles and jokes - some of which I swear had no punchline.

At the new year I had a new manager, Jonathan, and after Spring Festival a whole new corps of teachers. Geoff, Karen, Iain, Richard - we've had a great three months as our ranks grew and more classes started and we worked and complained about hours and "non-native" thinking. For a long time, no one left, just more people starting and so you forget that teaching in Shanghai is a transient pursuit and people come and go.

And two weeks ago Chad left, and last week I left and in a month Charlie will leave and... the cycle continues.

I am planning a big karaoke party for tomorrow night and just about everyone has promised to stop by. It's a fitting way for me to say "再见！" to this group of friends because I truly hope I will see them again. Shanghai has me hooked - let's see what happens!

Kaien Friends and Faces

Enjoy the photos of the people I referenced above and some I didn't, but all are connected in some way to Kaien. I have tried to write captions that capture something about each person, so don't forget to read them!

Question - What is your biggest pet peeve in your current (or former) workplace? The no paper towels in the bathroom in Pudong was definitely one for me. Share!

G

Wake Up Call

The sun in Shanghai rises incredibly early - at the moment it rises about a quarter to 5 in the morning. Since my roommate went back to the States I've been waking up earlier and earlier, then dozing until 7 or 8, whenever I force myself to get out of bed. Part of it is I'm not used to being in the apartment alone, but part of it is the fact that the sun is up and my body clock tends to sync with the sun.

China is on a single time zone, "Beijing Standard Time." I've heard a couple of theories about this: 1)It is a holdover from the days of the emperors and since the emperor was in Beijing that was the official time; 2)Mao insisted that since all people were equal in China, everyone should have the same time.

Like anything, there are pros and cons. You can schedule a meeting with representatives from anywhere in the country and not have to worry about time zone changes. There's also no daylight savings time, so as far as programming computers and clocks it is more straightforward. Train, bus and airplane schedules don't require conversions because "local time" is the same everywhere. But, if you live in Tibet in December the sun won't rise until almost 9am. Talk about going to work in the dark!

I love late summer twilight but since it the sun rises so early it gets dark about 6:30pm. I remember late summer evenings as a kid, softball games ending at 9pm in twilight, long walks for ice cream, sitting on the hill waiting for the fireworks to start at 10pm. It's a different rhythm here.

Question: What do you do when you can't sleep?

Happy Belated Memorial Day to you all! No holiday here, obviously, but this Sunday is Children's Day and a week from Sunday is the dragon boat festival. Then that week my parents come!

Cheers!

G