Movies and Military

Movies because I went with hubs yesterday to see Batman and Military because it was a short drive and a long walk to the theater. The entire main road near our neighborhood that leads 75% of the way to the theater was blocked off by police last night in Beijing. Why? The dispute over who owns the Diaoyu (Chinese name) / Senkaku (Japanese name) islands. Their has been a growing "anti-Japanese sentiment" here in China and after some particularly heated rioting around their embassy, the police and military took over. At first we just saw police cars but then we saw military trucks, military paddiwagons and finally military tanks that hubs explained were for shooting out streams of water to disburse a crowd...I felt like I was in occupied Germany. Apparently all buses that make stops near the Japanese embassy have also either started passing over those stops or have been put temporarily out of commission. Very eery evening but at least the movie was awesome.  

Yuck

This is a small post but it just had to be repeated. I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before, but in case I am wrong, a lot of Chinese people have a very different way of cleaning things. While I don't believe that everything needs to be doused with chemicals to get it clean, I also do not believe that cold water disinfects.

The other night, Will and I went out to one of our neighborhood restaurants. We were having a great time and then after 5 drinks, I needed to pee (shocking, I know). This is a pretty nice place, although at night it definitely has more of a bar feel. Anyway...I walk into the bathroom, wait for the stall and then walk in...and my first thought is "Shit, why did I wear flip flops". That should give you a clear understanding of what the floor looked like, which is also what the seat looked like. Add to that, that bathrooms in Beijing almost never have toilet paper and I was really wishing I did not have to pee. This place rivaled just about any gas station bathroom I have ever seen.

So, I finish up my business and start to wash my hands. The ayi must have been waiting to get into the bathroom to clean it, so she pushed past me to get started. As I turn to dry my hands, I see her one single rag cleaning the seat of the toilet, the floor covered in all manner of fluids and then the counter-tops of the sink. I swear on everything that is holy that I almost threw up right on the spot. Instead though, I just said to myself (in my head) that this is China, so don't be surprised. I have heard worse stories and before I leave, I may witness things more shocking. Yet...ick.

Customer Service

Subway in China is quite an experience. Not THE subway, although that is an experience in and of itself, but in this case I mean Subway the restaurant. Yesterday while standing in line waiting for my sandwich this is the thought that was running through my head...


While I stand in line watching the girl who is the first person in the assembly line that is Subway I am struck by her hatred of her job. It is evident to anyone that watches her make a sandwich. She Hates it. Why should her disdain for her job be taken out on my sandwich though? She shreds the bread, attacking it with the knife, tossing it down on the counter and throwing on the meat, followed by the cheese. It's almost like she is intentionally making them uneven so only every other bite will have both tastes. She does all of this, again, with a clear hatred for the menial task. 


She does this regardless of whether you are sweet as can be or curt with her. Some people are just content being surly. Motivated enough to ruin your sandwich but not to change her circumstances. 


Other than my lunch experience, this week was busy. Last week was busy and this coming week will be busy. My boss is back in town, we are slammed with work and we are expecting to get 2-3x the amount of work we have now coming in over the next few quarters. Certain people in my team are under preforming and have been for quite a while and nothing has been done. That is all changing now and over the next month people's weaknesses will need to disappear...if they don't, next month, people will be fired. It's tough but it needs to happen. So sorry for the hardly ever blogging over the past month but work has ratcheted up and I have had to spend the weekends trying to relax, work out, shop for the next weeks groceries and work on school. Soon I will find my balance and blogging will come back in!


Rejoice! Winter is almost over!

 <---------------Goodbye 




Hello --->

Banana People and Lung Cancer

My title and the two things it describes are not connected but they are both interesting. One in a funny way and one in a "how the f*** did they let this happen" way. I was at my weekly Mandarin tutoring session with my amazing teacher Vivian (if anyone is ever in the market for a tutor in Beijing, please let me know) when I saw THE cutest little mixed toddler. Chinese and Caucasian babies combine the cutest features. This child in particular had beautiful black hair, light colored skin (which every Chinese person woman wants) and pretty blue eyes. Plus she had on the most adorable dress and was running around like a crazed maniac...which I thought was hilarious. Her mother...not so much.

Anyway, I pointed out this little cutie to Vivian and she asked if I knew what Chinese people called Chinese Americans. I said no because I had no idea...Race traitors? I hoped we were not about to venture into an uncomfortable conversation...as I have apparently been falling into those lately. She revealed that they were referred to as Banana People...because they are yellow on the outside and white on the inside. I thought this was hilarious and just had to share.

As for the lung cancer...where to start with the Beijing air? It is pretty well accepted fact that it is best, health wise, for expats to live in Beijing for 3 years or less. After 3 years, permanent damage is done to your lungs...lovely I know. When we first arrived I was curious about what Chinese people thought about their air quality. Nothing...it turns out. Most days I hear it referred to as FOG...yes, the water in the air type of fog. I laugh when I hear this and am quick to correct. FOG is close...but the word is SMOG. Since the government could do something about it and chooses not to (ie. before and during the Olympics they had the longest streak of good air in quite some time) its best not to get to hot and bothered over it.

My point...this week at a friend's birthday party we were told a story about 2 avid runner expats that were here last year. After 9 months of continuing their outdoor running practices here, apparently with no mask on (extremely big mistake), they were both diagnosed with lung cancer. Only in Beijing, are 2 runners rewarded for their hard work with lung cancer...LUNG: the very organ it is supposed to strengthen.

Back to studying now. Hope you like my new background! I love Halloween!

Just for fun...

I see these pants everywhere but I never have the opportune time to take a picture. Thus, I stole this picture from Beijing Kids

Oops...forgot one

Jackpot! Twins aka one of the only ways to have two kids in China! Congrats! 

Bad Mixes...Easter and China...

Thoughts?
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/24/china.easter.crackdown/index.html?iref=allsearch

Spring Festival and Lady Street

Spring Festival in Beijing has been...interesting. When our friends told us that there were going to be fireworks for 2 straight weeks, we thought they might be exaggerating. Turns out they weren't. The first night we expected that they were going to be crazy, and they were. They were also crazy on the second day, the second night, the third day, the third night...you get my point. On the sixth night at 1 am when my husband had to be at work the next morning and I just wanted to sleep, I had had about enough. Our best guess was that the fireworks stand right outside of our apartment complex was trying to empty their inventory. That is what it sounded like. There were no pauses for hours and they weren't even the pretty fireworks, they just shot up and made an impossibly loud noise, right by our 20th story window! My husband was saying last night that if there is anyone on earth addicted to fireworks, they need to be in Beijing during Spring Festival. They won't feel the same when they leave...I think thats called immersion therapy.

The one thing I have really liked about Spring Festival has been all of the decorations. I missed the heavily decorated streets of home during Christmas time, but now I realize that they decorate very similarly for Spring Festival. I love all the red and white lights! The only big difference is that along with the lights, there are tons of really beautiful lanterns. I haven't taken pictures yet at night, but I will soon.

Anyway, about Lady Street. My friend took my there today and I loved it. You walk to the inside portion and all you see are thousands of plants and every beautiful thing you could ever want. Glass blown vases, outdoor stone fountains, beautiful craved wood sculptures and TONS of plants and flowers. I recently watched an online video about how to "grow oxygen" inside your home to fight the awful pollution in Beijing, and it pretty much suggests that you tun your home into a greenhouse. So thats what I am going to do! As soon as we move into our new place and I buy all the plants, I will make sure and post pictures. I attached the link for the video so that anyone that's interested can watch it.  http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air.html

01/18/2011

     I am finishing my third week of Chinese classes today. After three weeks of learning 200+ words a week, I feel that I have the speaking ability of a 2-3 year old Chinese child. Compared to where I was when I started, that is saying a lot. I still don't understand 90% of what people say, but I am able to pick up on key words which is surprisingly helpful. Next week is Spring Festival, so I get one week off of school, then I go back for one final week. Fun's over after that...time to get a job. I have already applied for tutoring positions and have emailed a local western hospital's hiring manager about the possibility of trying to get a family liaison type position.

     So, back to Spring Festival...for those of who have never heard of it, it is a two week long holiday for the Chinese. This is typically the only holiday that they get off of work, and they take that opportunity to go home. It is custom to bring back whatever percentage of your yearly income you can part with and give it to your family, either in the form of straight cash or gifts (the sales right now are great by the way). The subways on the other hand are not great...everyone either has 50 shopping bags with them or they have multiple suitcases. Another holiday custom is to give children red envelopes with money in them. They have a saying here “紅包拿來” or in pinyin “hong bao na lai”. Give me money please. I will update you more on Spring Holiday once I have experienced it if I am not deaf or blind. What I mean by that is that fireworks are illegal in China except for during the Spring festival...so they shoot off fireworks for 2 straight weeks ALL DAY.

     Today got off to a rocky start. I ordered some vitamins on Amazon China several weeks ago and after two weeks I started to wonder where they might be. I finally found a number and had a friend of mine call the postal service that delivered it. After quite a while on the phone, they told her that they delivered my vitamins to a post office (I do not live in a post office). They told her that this is where my package now resides. So I went there with my order number and after being shuffled around between several postal employees I was told that they were going to ship it to me. So why did the postal service tell my friend to go pick it up at the post office? In the end, who knows! It was about the same helpful experience that you encounter going to an American post office (or any social service agency)...except with the added issue of the language barrier. Not fun. Every time I tried to speak in Chinese they would either laugh (great for my confidence) or scream at me in Chinese. Screaming here is the regular speaking volume, but it still shocks me from time to time. If they don't understand what your saying, I have been instructed to scream at them quickly and its like a light goes on in their head. No joke.  

01/15/2011

     Well, we've been in Beijing for almost 2 months now. It already feels like we've been here for so much longer. I've already made more friends here than I made in a year living in Atlanta. I have one major thing in common with every girl I've become friends with and that is that they all moved to Beijing for their husband's career. That takes a certain kind of wife and a certain kind of marriage so we all get along great.

                                                                  Beijing Subway

     I see some very interesting behavior on a regular basis here. Some of it is getting easier to ignore, while some of it still makes me stop and stare. The spitting is gross, but you get used to it. Mostly older men, but older women and everyone else will suprise you with their spitting. They will cough up some nasty spit and just spit it whereever. Trash cans are a nice suprise...and I see that occasionally, but not as much as I see it all over the sidewalk and sometimes even inside. One thing I have not yet gotten used to is the children's public peeing etc...they have these special pants here that are cut from one end of the undercarriage to the next, so that if nature of any form calls, you can just squat down. Peeing on the sidewalk is not at all uncommon to see here, but peeing on the subway, in the supermarket and in the trash can is still stare worthy. I'm sure that sounds better than alternatives...but there is a bathroom not 100 feet from the trashcan and someone is going to get a nasty suprise when they have to take that trash bag out.

     Behavior on the subway takes some getting used to as well. Not only are the subway station and trains sometimes very crowded, but people will mow you down to stand in the front of the line to get on the subway...even if its not rush hour and the subway is completely empty. One thing I find impressive, is the fact that (to my American eyes) I see a rush hour subway train that is completely full, but they manage to shove themselves in and get 4-5 more people into literally no space.

     Food is hard for me here. Well to be fair, food is hard for me everywhere, but it is especially hard for me here. I am allergic to gluten and less severly to milk. I need to eat...but for the first few weeks here, I either went with something I knew might make me sick, or I ate oranges and bananas. I have eaten a life time supply of oranges and peanut butter covered bananas since we arrived here. There is no Whole Foods here with gluten free bread and goodies and food at the Western markets is easily twice as expensive as regular Chinese markets. I found one place with gluten free bread already made...and it was disgusting. My husband agrees...and he is much harder to disgust. It was hard as a rock and once you broke it, it crumbled to pieces...and then you ate it...and it tasted like week old rotten cheese with yeast in it. Not pleasant. Ovens are not common in housing here, so I think I am going to buy a bread maker and try to make it myself. Thankfully I have found stores here that carry other gluten free things. One place has cereal, several have Silk soy milk, all western stores seem to have gluten free bread mix...so I can make it. Some things I will just have to make by myself...and I am not much of a cook. Not great at it, and I don't really care for complicated recipes. But I'll keep you updated.

      Look for housing here is a semi nightmare. Real estate sites are hard to navigate if you don't speak Mandarin and many of the English pages are limited or have broken links. People post on Thebeijinger and City Weekend, but the pictures are horrible most times and/or were taken when the place was built...5 years ago. Places don't stay nice that long. Migrant workers building highrises sounds great...but unskilled workers do not tend to build things that withstand the test of time. We finally found an apartment, but its not someplace we want to stay for all three years...so we may let our deposit go and move sooner rather than in 9 months. Turns out that the commute to my husband's office isn't that great. Only thing now is that we want to be super close to the subway, in a nice area, in a nice building and close to his work. Wish us luck...we will need it.

     Cab drivers can make or break your day here, says a friend of mine. The subway is cheaper, but cabs are better with a lot of groceries in hand. They do not speak English (none of them) and most can't read a map...makes for interesting trips. We know how to say our street, “subway”, right, left and straight...so we do ok, but we both are excited for the time when we can speak and understand Mandarin. Today was the first trip where I felt like I understood 50% of what the driver said. He asked us what country we were from and which part of america. After that we didn't talk much.

     I plan to start language learning on the 10^th of January. 40 hours in a month, ten a week, 2 hours a day on the week days. I am hoping that I can start to feel more comfortable soon. Again...wish me luck.

Taken from our apartment