Shanghai from the Bund

Alas, we, meaning the children and I, are back in America. Chris is still living and lovin' being in China!! The transition back is almost as rough as the transition going to China. The one difference is that everyone here speaks English. Not that anyone understands me any better, they just supposedly speak the same language. I guess my body language has changed significantly enough that I connot convey my meaning to my fellow Americans - or at least the ones that work the register at Petco!!

You see, Denali's pet snake, Nagini, escaped from the cage. Notice that I refrain from using his or her since we do not know which it is. I know it is still in the living room somewhere, because our dog won't go in there. I think he was attacked by it. Off, I go to petco to see if they sell snake traps, food that my lure a snake out of hiding, or just have a suggestion on how to catch the thing. I think they were trying to tell me to stand there with my mouth open and hope that the snake finds this warm moist spot. That is what they had to be saying as no words came from their open mouths.

You know that guy that lives with me, well he suggested that the workers might not have the ability to speak. Fine, can the write? If not, they should not be working the front counter. Is that to harsh of me? Well, I have a snake loose in my house and my dog will not come out of his cage and my children call me a mei guo hater. Mei Guo is America in Chinese. So one can figure out their implications....

I am not a mei guo hater. I love America. I just think that someone at Petco should have some advice on catching a snake - Afterall, they sold my husband the thing. I also am very mad at Verizon Wireless - Not America. Although America is letting Verizon get away with it. I bought my cell phone them. I fufilled my 2 year contract with them. I pay my bill on time. Why then, can I not get the pictures I took with my camera off my phone and onto my computer using my USB connector without paying them $1? It's not like I am sending it to anyone!!! It's robbery I tell you.

Alright already, let's get on with our Shanghai adventure. It is Chinese New Year and everything in Qingdao is closed. Not a restaurant open anywhere. We are five hungry people. Chris does not have to work, so we had to Shanghai for a few days. If a Westerner is going to live in China - this is the place to be. Some signs are actually bilingual. Some people even speak English. It is very easy to find familiar food. We actaully went to dinner on the Bund and met an American family that had three children. Not only that, they used to live in Henniker, NH. What are the odds of that? 5000 people live in Henniker and 18 million live in Shanghai. We even had a mutual friend! The odds are actually a bit better then expected, if you consider it was an arranged meeting with a friend of a friend of friend of a friend....but it is still a story worth telling!

In Shanghai we meet Alex. (Chris's translator) He is from Shanghai so he was home for the Lunar New Year, hui jia. Day 1 we spent at the Aquarium without a camera. My pictures are on my cell phone, but Verizon wants to charge me $1 per picture to get them off my phone. Can you believe it!!! There were far more Westerners there then we had seen in months, but far fewer then I had expected. Apparently there were also alot of visitors as people still wanted to pose for pictures with my children.

Day 2 we went to the zoo. It was a wild animal zoo, with a safari section. The safari included a bus ride. We saw every kind of animal you can imagine...kangaroos, cheetahs, lions...They even had a liger - lion father and tiger mother - pic below. Chris thought it to be an abomination. I thought it was gentically pretty cool. Outside the bus window we saw some yaks. Everyone thought it was a cow. I told them that cows are girls, they laugh at me and ask if I have ever seen "Back to the Barnyard". No wonder milk tastes so different in China.

At the panda cage, Jackson has his picture taken as much as the pandas!!! For a fee, you could pose for a picture with an elephant and/or Jackson - He has started charging at this point. So we did...charge, I mean take a picture with an elephant. I have posted a video. The girls got on top of the elephant and Jackson got to sit on the trunk and get lifted. Never in America!!! Listen closely to the voices in the video. I am nowhere to be seen or heard - I was hiding from fear. Chris is telling the elephant that it is OK to eat Jackson and all the Zhong guo ren (Chinese people) can be heard yelling "Mei You" - Never!!!!

We went to the Yu garden. Apparently this is a must for the Chinese people to do over New Year and during their life. One must also walk across the bridge for good luck. This place was so crowded, that when I lifted my feet, I was still suspended. The kids pick out some traditional Chinese clothes. For the next three days, I could not get these outfits off of them!! Denali dress size was a women's Large - Obviously I wasn't buying anything for me!!!

If you look right under the camera in the center of the picture, you can make out Jackson's eye!!!

We also went for a drive across the longest bridge in China. It is 30km long. there is no turning around either. Once you are on the bridge you are committed to getting to the other side. The weather was quite bad, but we perservered. I wondered aloud to where the bridge lead and was told that it went there - with a point in the direction we were heading. What is there I question. "That is where we are going." Hey, at least it was an answer, which is more than I got at Petco!!!

After arriving there...it turns out that this bridge leads to an island that is in deep water so that cargo ships can load and unload. The weather is terrible, but the is a huge set of step that will take you to the top of the island to get a better view. We all say it is to cold and wet to climb, so we head up the steps. The view was worth it in the end and the weather began to clear.

We had spent the day with Alex and his family. Alex's dad kept calling Jackson "Tiao Qi". I thought it meant cute. Actually it meant naughty. Someone to see thru Jack's cute facade.

Down the hill we go so that we can drive the 30km back across the bridge and into Shanghai where we all went to a fairwell dinner. The next day we were flying back to Qingdao, to pack and get ready to go home!!

Golden Hans BBQ

Since we came to Qingdao I have wanted to try this one restaurant. It is a South American bar-b-Que with draught beer. How could I go wrong? I have driven passed in a taxi, I have driven passed it on a bus, I have flown over it and even have walked passed it on an occasion. Every time I tried to get there to eat, I never made it.

I took a bus there once. The bus stop was opposite on the opposite side of an 8 lane road with a divided 4 lane highway in the middle. I could not cross the street. I asked a few passersby how I could get to the other side of the street and they indicated by gesturing, that I should just walk. This was early on in my Qingdao experience and thus I could not thank them properly for their advice. You see the streets here in China are equivalent to the game croaker. At least, that is how my three kids see it. We see how far we can get before we have to side step a car or jump out of the way of a motorcycle or duck under a bus. Much to my chagrin Jackson and Denali try to see just how close they can get to a car that is speeding by. McKinley on the hand, clings to my side and tries to convince us to wait for the light to turn red. I have explained to her that his would work if 1.there was a light to turn red and 2. drivers actually paid attention to them.

I tried to get there by taxi, but never made it. Apparently I told the driver I wanted to go buy some gold and ended up in a jewelery store. Did I mention that there is "gold" in the name of the restaurant and so I really wasn't that far off.

I tried to get Chris's co-workers to take me there and they never did. Apparently I speak a foreign language and could not convince them where it was that I wanted to go eat. People in China, Zhong Gua Ren, answer their phones by saying wei (pronounced way). I think it is short for Dui (pronounced dway) which means yes. In any case, all I have to do is answer a phone with "wei" and I can confuse them. By them I am referring to Alex whose picture is in the previous post. I think it is such an unexpected way for a Mei Gua Ren (American) to answer the phone that it catches him off guard. So, if you have have a Zhong Gua Ren call you try answering with "wei".

We have just about 2 weeks left in China and thus I had to get to this restaurant. Armed with my maps, the name of the restaurant in English, Chinese and pinyin I marched the family off for dinner. I had the phone number, and as a back up I brought a picture of the restaurant I had cut out of a magazine. The advertisement said that a highlight of this restaurant is that one can find "cowboys in lederhosen". Have I mentioned that there is a big German influence in Qingdao? Seriously, cowboys in lederhosen I just had to get there.

Well I should have known that I was in for a treat when the cab driver, upon realizing where I wanted to go, became very animated. He told me that the food there was great. The beer was even better. He has eaten there many times. My Chinese is much better.....he understands me and tells me that I should have a great time.

After 2 months in Qingdao, we have come to disagree with the American sentiment that if a lot of Chinese folk eat in a restaurant it must be good Chinese food. We, in fact, look for the places that are mostly empty except for say a few foreigners - us!!!! We arrive at the restaurant and it is full of Zhong Gua Ren - not a Mei Gua Ren in sight. Turns out that it is quite a nice place. The cowboys walk around and serve you each of 20 different BBQ foods. then there is a large hot and cold buffet to choose side dishes from. I knew things were not going according to plan when the waiter came to ask our beer choice. Chris's remark was, "don't get me any of that sh@#." What - what, where is his sense of adventure - i order two mugs of whatever is "Yellow"

The first food brought to our plate is shrimp. I am still conversing with the waiter trying to get 3 glasses of apple juice when Chris says, "Whatever you do, don't eat the shrimp." WTF. The next selection that is brought to our table is a skewer of chicken hearts. Saying, "I'll pass", did not prevent the cowboys in lederhosen from serving it anyway. Jackson is green. Denali wants to dissect it and look for four chambers. McKinley asks, "Mom is it OK if I don't eat anything?"

By this point my head spins, my eyes are bulging and then vein in the middle of my forehead is pulsating!!! Do you get the picture. We all head up to the buffet. McKinley and Jack return from 4 huge table of food with watermelon and cucumbers, Denali has a plate of rice and corn and Chris come back with nothing!!!!!!! Luckily when we return to the table, our plates are filled with 18 more BBQ items. Every will try one or I will kill them!!! The desert selection was rather good and in the end the wait staff all paid 10RMB each to Jackson to pose for a picture with them.

Throughout the whole dinner we had a large audience. it wasn't till the bill arrived that I understood why....here are some of the things that were BBQ'd:

• Pickled Ox Tongue
• Black Pepper Bowel
• Roasted Squid
• Shu Joss-stick of falty cow - "Male member" - I actually enjoyed this one. Yes, Chris tried it too. I hear the jokes now......
• Pickled Chicken Heart
• Fragrant Pig Foot

So, if you ever find yourself in Qingdao, China looking for a place to eat, may I recommend Golden Hans, South American BBQ and Beer Garden.

A Second Opinion on China

This Blog installment is a guest submission. The author would like
everyone to realize that his China experience is not as easy as I make it
out to be.

The Work-a day world:

Daily life in a Chinese factory is much like in the US but with many more people and no heat in the winter. This means we sit in the office wearing sweaters and winter jackets, Alex the translator models the normal office attire below. The amazing part is that nobody thinks anything of sitting in an office at 50F for eight hours clutching a hot water bottle to keep your hands warm enough to type. We’re lucky in the office. The plant has absolutely no heat and the workers deal with whatever the weather brings.

The plant staff, like most people in China, are a good spirited group with a lot of enthusiasm for the new things going on at the plant. They get a big kick out my attempts at Chinese. I can generally break up the room with any three word Chinese sentence. Guess I’m funny.

There is one big difference between my Chinese office and any plant in America where I have worked. The facilities are lacking as you can see below.

Now, I’m not generally squeamish. I went to camp. I’ve roughed it. I’ve even had to make my own TP on occasion from whatever mother nature offers. These things raise all kinds of questions. By the way, this is actually a nice bathroom in comparison to many of the more “local” offerings.

The Chinese exchange teacher at the kid’s school came to our house for a dinner just before we left for China. She actually sat on the couch and said with a straight face, “Oh, we don’t have any squat toilets in China anymore. You won’t see those.” I kept my mouth shut so as not to scare Jill and the girls.

The room itself raises questions but is pretty typical of Chinese plumbing outside the big hotels. Straight and level are not part of the work instructions when hanging fixtures, pictures, walls, masonry, plumbing, electrical lines, road signs or really anything that will not fail structurally or functionally as a result of being off-plumb.

The really interesting part, aside from the craftsmanship, is the stuff growing on the wall above the tile. It’s not just mold from a roof leak saturating the block. It is actually a very fluffy mineral secretion coming out of the wall with the consistency of cotton balls. The wall has actually sprouted a two inch thick snowy white beard. Really neat. I have seen this stuff all over China even in the lobbies of 5 Star hotels. A little water damage doesn’t seem to bother, see the comment above about structural impacts.

The prospects of anything but a short visit (read as standing up) to these things means you take extra special care in planning your day. This is a whole new meaning to daily planning – the consequences of going off-schedule are not to be considered. At least for me, I’ll go back to the apartment by claiming to have a case of the vapors.

We found out early in our stay in China that water is served warm to hot. Cold water is considered bad for your stomach whereas warm water is good for your Chi. Initially, hot water was undrinkable with meals. Now, meh! Not so much.

The other benefit of hot water is the HOT part. When your office environs are at 50F for eight to ten hours, your body begins to give up on heating some of the extra bits like feet, arms, fingers, ears and noses. Again, typing suffers and reduces productivity forcing the hiring of several more people to cover the work load. At 1500 – 2000 RMB a month ($200 - $400), still cheaper than heat plus we’d need another three or four guys to shovel coal into the furnace.

Well, once you discover that drinking hot water improves the flow of blood to your extremities (not to mention the Chi benefits), you drink hot water all day long. I literally drink eight or ten big travel mugs of hot water, with or without instant coffee crystals, during the course of the day. This requires me to visit the room of requirement every 30 minutes without fail.

Since I’m in their so much, I’ve been thinking about upgrading the facilities. Nothing fancy, just something to improve the atmosphere. The owner told me I could do anything I wanted to make my time in China more pleasant so I pimped that puppy. Now that’s good for my Chi.

Beijing

As I begin the installment of Chinese Budlight I shall diverge for a moment and explain the 2 week delay in posting. The last 2 weeks have been packed with excitement and plenty of material to include in a blog - Like Chris singing Karoke - but occasionally computer glitches, camera problems, all sort of things come up. I persevere. I do not give up and after so many tries, I think this entry may finally get uploaded.

After a few attempts and rewrites, the blog will be posted. You see my father has finally seen and read the blog. He resents the fact that I resent the fact that he is living in my house, has burned thru my 2 cords of wood and was instrumental in having a tree limb crush Chris's car. This would not be so bad, except that while I am in China being resentful, he is my house hosting a family from Delaware. Mother, father, sister, husband, two kids. Apparently, they bond so well over the blog and the fact that they have children in China. They bond so well, that that they forget they have children in China. That is not really fair, my father did call to tell me he resents that fact the I refer to him as the man in my house.

Let's say there is this lady from Delaware that has been married to the same man for 44 years. Let's even say that they have a son. This son and his family are living in China. This son and his family go out of the way to set up online accounts, local phone numbers, everything , so that people can contact them. Well this lady was able to contact the family to ask if she could stay in their house - but once at the house, no Christmas call, no New Years call, no how are you and the kids call. Now lets say that this lady married to this man for 44 years does not even think to mention to this man not to mention the blog to the father. I know, the blog is public domain. Anyone can read it. It would have gone over so much easier, if I showed it to my father, if he stumbled upon it himself, anything other than this man that has been married to this lady for 44 years pointing out the blog to him.

I guess I should thank them though. They brought their other two grandchildren with them. You knows the ones that got wished a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Well one of these two grandchildren left a Thomas the train tank engine in my father's shoe. First it was nothing. then it was a bloody mess, then it required a podiatrist and antibiotics. Well now I find out that it requires surgery. They can't do surgery until his circulation improves and the medicine he is on is changed. What will things be like when I return. I guess the good thing is at least that guy in my house is talking to me again. Dad - I did not refer to you as the guy living in my house this time.

As of today, we leave China and hui jia mei gua - head homeward to America - in 3 weeks!!! It's hard to believe that our time is almost up. It is with such mixed emotions that we prepare to leave. Even Jackson said, "mom part of me want to stay and the other part really wants to go home." I just told him that it is a good thing that the decision is not ours to make. Would we actually go home right about now, or would wait until the whole toe saga is over?

Picking up where I last left off.....the day after Christmas we get up bright and early and catch a plane to Beijing. We are checked into a hotel and Chris is off at work by 9am. Our Beijing host arranged for a walking tour of Beijing for me and the children, so we head into the city. We walk over to Tienanmen Square and the Mao Mosuleum. Then we head into the Forbidden City. This tour guide knew everything and anything you could imagine about Beijing History, the forbidden city, the Qing dynasty and the Ming dynasty. He also did not understand a word of the Chinese I spoke. Apparently I speak Chinese with a Qingdao accent and mispronounced everything. I tried to tell him that I mispronounce everything in Qingdao as well, but they still understand me!!!

Beijing is a much bigger city then Qingdao. 18 million compared to 7 million. Needless to say that there were also many more Westerners, so at least we did not stick out like sore thumbs. At least that is what I thought until we got to the Birds Nest stadium where Jackson charged everyone 10RMB to pose for a picture with them. He earned our entrance fees!!! Next year in school Denali will study China, so she made the guide repeat everything like 5 times. If I hear one more word about mythical creatures, you know those fictitious animals that are all around the palaces, I may scream. That mythical creature is a dragon in a turtle shell and that one is a phoenix and the number of mythical creatures upon the roof of the buildings indicate how close the family that lived there is to the emperor. Wait...I need to type s-l-o-w-e-r so that Denali can write each word for school. M y t h i c a l.....McKinley and Jackson are sick and tired of walking at this point and want to go home. We have been walking for more the 4 hours and are just getting to the far end of the forbidden city.

I convince the guide that we do not need to walk back thru the forbidden city and can leave the back gate. "But, But you have not finished counting mythical creatures". Oh yes I have. We get into a taxi and take a driving tour of the other side of the forbidden city. This is were actual people actually live. Inside the wall of the forbidden City Suddenly the kids see a frozen lake. The once tired and drained of all energy children are out of the cab and running on the lake. I rent two carts for them to scoot around on. I know, I should have rented three - but they were 2 seaters. McKinley refused to share hers, no surprise there. Jackson just wanted to sit and Denali wanted to push a cart and run around like a maniac. No surprises there either. I thought the arrangement was fine and headed up off the ice. OMG - I can't leave me kids alone on the ice - they may get hurt. Believe me, they may get hurt even if I am there. My tour guide tells me I am a brave mother, it is brave not to be so overprotective - i tell him my favorite quote - There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. We leave and the guide stuffs us into a taxi and tells the taxi driver to take us back to our hotel. I get that feeling again....

....I just started getting comfortable in Qingdao taxi's, now I am in Beijing. This cab driver is not happy about something. Not that I could understand him, but he was gesticulating wildly and kept pointing to his clock. We stop at a red light and he jumps out of the cab. OMG. The light turns green, horns are honking, McKinley is screaming and Jackson and Denali and fighting!!! I look out the back window and see our cab driver giving the cab driver behind us some money. We are then ushered out of his cab and into the cab behind us. I don't have a lifeline, I don't have a hotel card, I don't have any idea where I am. Did I mention that my cell phone is dead!!!! There must have been a hint of panic on my face - you think- because this cab driver seemed to take pity on me. Either that, or he really wanted to practice his English.

Between his English and my Chinese, we actually communicated rather well. I think they call what we were speaking Chinglish. This driver gets us safely back to our hotel. It is 6pm by now. Do you think Chris was at the hotel waiting for or worried about us - no he is still off playing with his friends.

The next day the company driver picks us up and we are off to the Birds Nest stadium and the Summer palace. Truly amazing. Not only do we have a driver, but we have Kelly with us. Kelly speaks very good English. Her job with Paragon is as a translator. Chris does not understand why things so hard for me in China. Everything so easy for him. It has nothing to do with the fact that he goes everywhere with a driver and translator, while the four of us are left on own. We make the mistake of driving past the frozen lake again - can you tell the kids are from NH - and everyone jumps out of the car and goes running down to the lake. That is everyone except the driver, Chris and Kelly. I eventually convince the driver that he and Kelly can leave, but they must not take Chris with them!!! Guess who won that battle. I rent two more carts.

Things not go so well this time. Apparently, a catastrophic event on the ice caused Jackson to run for shelter behind my leg. Out of pure hatred Denali returns her cart to punish herself. McKinley not wanting to be left on the ice alone returns her cart. This made no sense to me, because McKinley was ignoring her brother and sister anyway. At this precise moment Denali decides her punishment is over and want to go back on the ice. Both carts were returned - she is SOL. The tears, the screams...what to do. We head off walking and find a Reggae Bar - yes, a reggae bar in China!!! Bob Marley, cervesca, dread locks!!!! Things really get rocking as we are the only costumers.

It's getting late so we decide to head back to the hotel in as much as we have to catch a train in the morning. Only where to find a taxi, where is our hotel, what to do - sound familiar? Everything so easy for Chris in China - I leave this up to him. We end up walking thru alleys, thru backlots, stuck in dead ends, thru dark streets of Beijing - McKinley is crying again why we always lost mommy, why? I see a cab, no lights, but it is a cab. He off duty. I talk Chinese to him, make him laugh. Jackson pours on the charm......he will take us to the hotel. Chris is saved once again.

The next day we catch the high speed train from Beijing to Qingdao. Nice train, nice train station, nice people, but the bathrooms were bad. I mean they triggered my gag reflex. We finally make it back to Qingdao - it's good to be home - hey this isn't home. Here is a final pic of us arriving in Qingdao and heading home. Next installment - Xin Nian Hoa - Happy new Year