Today I went to the US embassy with Hsing. We just wanted to check the place out, but it turns out that we also registered there. When I go to Chendu and Shanghai (or anywhere else) I will also have to register with the US embassy there. I showed the guards my US passport, and he let us into the embassy. After stepping on American soil again after about 6 weeks and seeing the American flag waving in the wind, I felt a strong sense of security, safeness, and contentment. I don't know why I felt this way, but the feeling just dawned on me. Maybe after seeing how life is like in China and actually living here, I now see things from a different frame of reference than I have before.
I have to say that I am to a certain extent paranoid while living in China. I am always suspicious about the food I eat, the cleanliness of the bowls, dishes, cups, and silverware (or plasticware, for chopsticks sometimes), and I've heard things about thieves and pick-pocketers, so I look behind and around me pretty often when I walk the streets with that in mind. For example, whenever I go to a restaurant, I always clean the bowls, dishes, cups, and chopsticks. I also smell the food and drinks before I taste it, as I know they can do some screwy things to it. (The nose doesn't lie right?) Of course this may not be enough, but it's all I can do. Another example is bargaining. Aside from the big malls, you have to bargain everywhere you go. Also, you don't have a good idea of what the "actual" price of an item is, so you just go with the flow. So first thing you do is ask for the price, and you already know they charge you at least double the price. After bargaining and some tactics, you may or may not get the item you want. I think this is part of the Chinese mentality also - to try and screw you over, with a smile. This just adds to my paranoia. (This may sound extreme, but I just keeps things in the back of my mind...)
Back to the food... The worst part of the food, besides the cleanliness, which I really don't know how bad it is, is how greasy all the Chinese food is. I'm glad that I recently found a restaurant that actually serves a decent amount of grease instead of the usual grease-drenched food with their dishes, so I think I will go there from now on. Even some of the veggies, when you hold them up with chopsticks, just drip-drop grease... I think the grease may also be a reason of why I get LaDuZhe (diarrhea). Although, my LaDuZhe is nowhere near as bad as when I just arrived here, probably due to my body adjusting to the food.
------------
So I left for dinner and just came back now to continue writing...
So our dinner was spectacular! I should've taken more pictures, but after a few, I just kept eating and forgot about my camera haha. So Ryan's mom and sister just came yesterday from San Francisco, and his mom wanted to treat us (Ryan, his mom, his sister, me, Hsing, Alex, and Ocean) to dinner, so, of course, we let her. Ryan's sister is vegetarian, so we went to a vegetarian restaurant (my first time!). After finding out that the vegetarian place was being renovated (or something) and thus was not open, Ocean suggested that we go to this other vegetarian place. Let me just summarize that the food was amazing, truly delicious, every dish, and the menu had the most interesting names for food. Most of the waitresses (fu2 wu4 yuan2, literally "service person") were really friendly and had smiles on all the time, or were very nice. Also, the place was really clean for a restaurant in China. The food price is comparable to a standard dinner (10-15 USD) in the States, so I guess it's somewhat pricey in China but for the food it was totally worth it. I guess the only thing is that this restaurant is pretty much hidden, as you have to go through a couple of minutes of walking through apartments before you get to the place.
Backtracking... for lunch we ate near the US embassy at this American-style place called Steak and Eggs. The food was impressively American-tasting. So I got scrambled eggs, home fries, and a biscuit (Y19) and Hsing got shrimp linguini (Y50). The eggs and fries actually smelled and tasted the same way they prepare it in the States, but the biscuit still smelled like it came out of a Chinese bakery. The linguini was impressively tasty as well, very American-style and taste. However, Hsing also got a milk shake, which tasted Chinese-y, probably due to the fact that all their dairy products just taste different. Oh and they have American pies (many different kinds) so we have to go back and try those next time.
It's 4am. I'll post more later. Goodnight.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Great Wall - Si Ma Tai
Yesteryday I went to Si Ma Tai (a section of the Great Wall with amazing views) with Ryan, Ocean (a guy from English Corner), and Connie (Ocean's friend). The climbing of this section of the wall is extremely strenuous. However, there are watchtowers spaced pretty evenly along the Wall, and they always appear right when you need to take a rest before going further. You may view the pictures I took here.
I got up a little past 6am, then Ryan and I met up and took a taxi to a bus stop that would take us halfway to Si Ma Tai. At the bus stop we met up with Ocean and Connie, and hopped into the air conditioned tour bus. This was 14 Yuan per person. At this point it was about 7:30am, and I ate yi long BaoZhi (4 Yuan) for breakfast. Once we got off the bus (9am?), we found a driver to take us to SiMaTai (there is no direct bus route, subway, or train route to this place). The driver wanted 160 Yuan, but Connie haggled it down to 120 Yuan (30 Yuan pp). This was a long drive. It turns out that they were fixing a bridge, so they had to block off all the lanes except for one lane. Although we had no A/C here, but we rolled down the windows and it was quite breezy. Luckily I had brought my cards, so this passed the time. The scenery along this part of the trip was beautiful. I got to see rural parts of China and village life, many farms and plantations along the way, and a couple of wild donkeys and a heard of sheep.
Finally once we got to SiMaTai it was about 11:30am. All the villagers there were yelling out "ice water" or "ice cream" to sell to us, and all the other tourists there. Of course since it's the Great Wall and you have no choice, they overcharge you about 3 times over at the bottom of the Wall. It turns out that they charge you about 6-7 times over while you're climbing the Wall. Luckily I had brought 2 bottles of water for myself, but I ended up buying another bottle and also a bottle of OJ (total = 8 Yuan) while coming down the wall. I also brought a cap, which came in handy, to block the scorching sun. Ryan had brought sun screen, so I used that, and re-applied every 2 hours. It turns out it worked, I didn't get that much tanner today, and I'm not burning anywhere or peeling. Ocean and Connie didn't put on the sunscreen as they said "it doesn't work", or something to that effect. But I think they will be in pain today..
As we started climbing the Wall, the villagers there carry souveniers, and they try to sell it to us. Then this one really annoying 50 year old supposedly farmer lady kept on talking to us, following us, trying to sell us souveniers. But once we got to the first watchtower, I think she lost her energy to go further, so we lost her! This was a relief, as now I could finally enjoy it. I should've brought some food in my backpack (it was pretty light anyway). However they had overcharged snacks and beverages at each watchtower, so I wasn't worried. It turns out I didn't buy any of the snacks, and I felt fine (I would've bought some if I started to feel a little fatigue or faint, etc...).
One thing that amazed me was how 50year old and over folks could climb that wall. I had a tough time myself, but there were a lot of old folks climbing the wall, no sweat. But I think if you're in your 60s or younger, it's still actually physically possible to do it. Still, from seeing those old folks to a few people walking up the Wall with a cane, its just amazing. There were actually a lot of French people climbing the wall. Also, it is said that after a male climbs the wall, he becomes a Man. So, finally, after nearly 21 years, I've become a Man!
At about the 3rd watchtower we got to, I noticed Connie's face had turned purple. After resting for a few minutes, we goaded her to keep going, so we climbed to the 4th watchtower. However, before we got there, she said she couldn't breathe, and that was pretty scarry. So we helped her to the watchtower, and rested there for a longer time. It seems that she was hyperventilating, so we told her to take long, deep breaths. If it was worse, we would've had her breathe into a bag that Ocean was carrying. She said she hadn't really exercised in a few years, which may explain what happened. However, it was also the beginning of our climb, so I think we were really excited to scale the Wall and did so very quickly. After that, we took it easy.
I must say, the first 2-3 watchtowers were a tough climb. But after that we took it slowly, and the climb was pretty enjoyable, especially with the beautiful views all around. The higher we got, the more beautiful the scenery. However, between the 12th-13th watchtowers, they forbid us to keep going because it gets dangerous to climb that part of the Wall. So of course, we turned back and climbed back down. Throughout the whole climb, it was breezy, so that made things better. Also, it was supposed to have been overcast the whole day and rain at night, but right when we started climbing, it became sunny until the rest of the day, and it didn't even rain that night. While climbing down we got the chance to take a Flying Fox back down, but we decided to just climb down. Then towards the end there's a zipline Ryan took, but the rest of us felt like walking down, so we did.
While walking down the Wall, we got one of the villagers cell phone #'s so we might call them at the bottom of the wall to take us back to the bus stop. Connie talked to them about the price, and they "matched" her price of 120 Yuan. So as we kept walking down, I asked her why she didn't just say we got here by 100 Yuan only, so we could pay less? Then she agreed, and I think she also felt bad that she didn't think about that herself while "haggling", and that she should've done so so that we all paid less.
Back now at the bottom of the Wall (3:30pm?) we rested a while, and found a local to take us back to the bus stop for 100 Yuan, after haggling (good job Connie). I think we got jipped when we paid 120Yuan coming to SiMaTai, but at that point it was too late. Anyway, the trip back only took 1 hour (as it should). This villager knew the backroads, and we skipped a lot of the traffic. Also, we also saw even more rural parts of the town, with a lot of fruit trees and plantations, and true village life. He told us stories along the way, some of his thinking and childhood, and other interesting things. One little tidbit was that there's a type of pear that once you bite into it, you can leave it on the table for a whole day, and the color won't change (as in it won't start rotting). None of us believed it, but he said it's true. He also said he tried it when he was 6 years old. Also, that type of fruit is exported, so people are not allowed to eat in China, only they sell it to export for money. And he even said he knows we won't believe it, but it's true. I asked him if it only grows in this neighborhood, and he said "Dui", literally, "yes" or "right". Haha. Oh and he said to look on the internet and we would find information on that fruit. I have yet to do so, but I'm interested if any of you know...
Once he dropped us off at the bus stop, Connie paid the 100 Yuan, but I only had 23 Yuan on me, so I told her that I would give her this now, and give you 2 Yuan later, but she said "mei shi" which means, literally "no problem", which further means that she didn't want me to pay at all. But once we got to the subway to go back home, I got change and forced to give her back 25 Yuan. She probably thought that I was thinking she jipped me by not haggling enough, so she was going to cover the tab. But that's not nice, so I gave her what I owed her. Honestly, I was just content knowing that I made it back, and made it back safely.
At the subway, Ryan and I took one subway, and Connie and Ocean took the other one. I honestly don't know if I'll see them ever again, but I had fun. The trip itself was very exciting, and I actually want to go back, as the scenery is just fantastic! I think that the sunrise and sunset would be one of the best sunrise and sunsets in the world to see, so if I ever do go back, I'll be sure to stay overnight.
Finally I got back to my hotel (9:30pm?), had dinner, showered (this was very refreshing, after a whole day of sweating and climbing), and went to sleep.
I got up a little past 6am, then Ryan and I met up and took a taxi to a bus stop that would take us halfway to Si Ma Tai. At the bus stop we met up with Ocean and Connie, and hopped into the air conditioned tour bus. This was 14 Yuan per person. At this point it was about 7:30am, and I ate yi long BaoZhi (4 Yuan) for breakfast. Once we got off the bus (9am?), we found a driver to take us to SiMaTai (there is no direct bus route, subway, or train route to this place). The driver wanted 160 Yuan, but Connie haggled it down to 120 Yuan (30 Yuan pp). This was a long drive. It turns out that they were fixing a bridge, so they had to block off all the lanes except for one lane. Although we had no A/C here, but we rolled down the windows and it was quite breezy. Luckily I had brought my cards, so this passed the time. The scenery along this part of the trip was beautiful. I got to see rural parts of China and village life, many farms and plantations along the way, and a couple of wild donkeys and a heard of sheep.
Finally once we got to SiMaTai it was about 11:30am. All the villagers there were yelling out "ice water" or "ice cream" to sell to us, and all the other tourists there. Of course since it's the Great Wall and you have no choice, they overcharge you about 3 times over at the bottom of the Wall. It turns out that they charge you about 6-7 times over while you're climbing the Wall. Luckily I had brought 2 bottles of water for myself, but I ended up buying another bottle and also a bottle of OJ (total = 8 Yuan) while coming down the wall. I also brought a cap, which came in handy, to block the scorching sun. Ryan had brought sun screen, so I used that, and re-applied every 2 hours. It turns out it worked, I didn't get that much tanner today, and I'm not burning anywhere or peeling. Ocean and Connie didn't put on the sunscreen as they said "it doesn't work", or something to that effect. But I think they will be in pain today..
As we started climbing the Wall, the villagers there carry souveniers, and they try to sell it to us. Then this one really annoying 50 year old supposedly farmer lady kept on talking to us, following us, trying to sell us souveniers. But once we got to the first watchtower, I think she lost her energy to go further, so we lost her! This was a relief, as now I could finally enjoy it. I should've brought some food in my backpack (it was pretty light anyway). However they had overcharged snacks and beverages at each watchtower, so I wasn't worried. It turns out I didn't buy any of the snacks, and I felt fine (I would've bought some if I started to feel a little fatigue or faint, etc...).
One thing that amazed me was how 50year old and over folks could climb that wall. I had a tough time myself, but there were a lot of old folks climbing the wall, no sweat. But I think if you're in your 60s or younger, it's still actually physically possible to do it. Still, from seeing those old folks to a few people walking up the Wall with a cane, its just amazing. There were actually a lot of French people climbing the wall. Also, it is said that after a male climbs the wall, he becomes a Man. So, finally, after nearly 21 years, I've become a Man!
At about the 3rd watchtower we got to, I noticed Connie's face had turned purple. After resting for a few minutes, we goaded her to keep going, so we climbed to the 4th watchtower. However, before we got there, she said she couldn't breathe, and that was pretty scarry. So we helped her to the watchtower, and rested there for a longer time. It seems that she was hyperventilating, so we told her to take long, deep breaths. If it was worse, we would've had her breathe into a bag that Ocean was carrying. She said she hadn't really exercised in a few years, which may explain what happened. However, it was also the beginning of our climb, so I think we were really excited to scale the Wall and did so very quickly. After that, we took it easy.
I must say, the first 2-3 watchtowers were a tough climb. But after that we took it slowly, and the climb was pretty enjoyable, especially with the beautiful views all around. The higher we got, the more beautiful the scenery. However, between the 12th-13th watchtowers, they forbid us to keep going because it gets dangerous to climb that part of the Wall. So of course, we turned back and climbed back down. Throughout the whole climb, it was breezy, so that made things better. Also, it was supposed to have been overcast the whole day and rain at night, but right when we started climbing, it became sunny until the rest of the day, and it didn't even rain that night. While climbing down we got the chance to take a Flying Fox back down, but we decided to just climb down. Then towards the end there's a zipline Ryan took, but the rest of us felt like walking down, so we did.
While walking down the Wall, we got one of the villagers cell phone #'s so we might call them at the bottom of the wall to take us back to the bus stop. Connie talked to them about the price, and they "matched" her price of 120 Yuan. So as we kept walking down, I asked her why she didn't just say we got here by 100 Yuan only, so we could pay less? Then she agreed, and I think she also felt bad that she didn't think about that herself while "haggling", and that she should've done so so that we all paid less.
Back now at the bottom of the Wall (3:30pm?) we rested a while, and found a local to take us back to the bus stop for 100 Yuan, after haggling (good job Connie). I think we got jipped when we paid 120Yuan coming to SiMaTai, but at that point it was too late. Anyway, the trip back only took 1 hour (as it should). This villager knew the backroads, and we skipped a lot of the traffic. Also, we also saw even more rural parts of the town, with a lot of fruit trees and plantations, and true village life. He told us stories along the way, some of his thinking and childhood, and other interesting things. One little tidbit was that there's a type of pear that once you bite into it, you can leave it on the table for a whole day, and the color won't change (as in it won't start rotting). None of us believed it, but he said it's true. He also said he tried it when he was 6 years old. Also, that type of fruit is exported, so people are not allowed to eat in China, only they sell it to export for money. And he even said he knows we won't believe it, but it's true. I asked him if it only grows in this neighborhood, and he said "Dui", literally, "yes" or "right". Haha. Oh and he said to look on the internet and we would find information on that fruit. I have yet to do so, but I'm interested if any of you know...
Once he dropped us off at the bus stop, Connie paid the 100 Yuan, but I only had 23 Yuan on me, so I told her that I would give her this now, and give you 2 Yuan later, but she said "mei shi" which means, literally "no problem", which further means that she didn't want me to pay at all. But once we got to the subway to go back home, I got change and forced to give her back 25 Yuan. She probably thought that I was thinking she jipped me by not haggling enough, so she was going to cover the tab. But that's not nice, so I gave her what I owed her. Honestly, I was just content knowing that I made it back, and made it back safely.
At the subway, Ryan and I took one subway, and Connie and Ocean took the other one. I honestly don't know if I'll see them ever again, but I had fun. The trip itself was very exciting, and I actually want to go back, as the scenery is just fantastic! I think that the sunrise and sunset would be one of the best sunrise and sunsets in the world to see, so if I ever do go back, I'll be sure to stay overnight.
Finally I got back to my hotel (9:30pm?), had dinner, showered (this was very refreshing, after a whole day of sweating and climbing), and went to sleep.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
First Entry
July 3 2007 Tues 12:40AM in China
I'm one of the late ones to start a blog. But better late than never.
Note: exchange rate: 1dollar = 7.6RMB
Also note that my first entry is rather lengthy, so I tried to separate it by days, and there is a lengthy commentary section towards the end of random thoughts, just separated by paragraphs.
Week 1 (week of 6/24/07)
Sun/Mon
I'll start with the flight to China. I woke up around 3:30am, get to LAX by 4:45, and caught my flight with about 25 minutes to spare. The international terminal at LAX was really packed. I get to SFO, met up with Hsing and Alex, and flew to Tokyo. Then we transfered to Beijing. By the time we found our luggage, hosts, and checked into the hotel, it was already 10:30pm. Then I had to get ready for my presentation the next morning at 9am...
At this point I was already exhausted, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do the work. So I made a decent ppt presentation, and got three hours of solid shuteye.
Tues.
My presentation went well. So did Alex, Hsing, and Ryan's presentations. After the launch meeting (introductions, etc) we found our cubicles at CNIC, tested the connection, and went to lunch. Boy, the cafeteria near CNIC is very cheap. I spend on average 6-8RMB ($0.80-$1.00) on lunch there. We took the rest of the day off, mostly to catch up on much needed sleep. At this point Hsing and Ryan's dorm didn't have working AC yet, but our hotel does.
Wed.
After waking up the next morning I get a msg from one of the hosts saying that they want us to take the entire day off to settle in and get well rested. So after sleeping in, we got some lunch and went to Walmart.
I like China's take on Walmart. The shelves and entire store is very organized, in contrast to the Walmarts I've been to in the States, where many things are thrown about and just cluttered. A distinct scent I will remember from Walmart is the bakery section. The little breads and pastries smell so good. I always want to buy something whenever I walk by those pastry stores on the street as well.
The tap water is not healthy, so I got a couple of 4L water bottles (even that's questionable..) and some other things.
Thurs.
It rained. And when it rains, it pours. It also seems like whenever it rains in Beijing, expect lightning/thunder. However, the day after the rain, the weather is actually tolerable. It's a lot cooler and less humid than usual (but not cool).
Anyway, the first day of actual work. I find my desk, sit down, and basically don't know where to start or what to do. So obviously I ask my host where my mentor is, as he wasn't sitting in the same area any of us were. Once I find them all four mentors stand up, and as it turns out we had a meeting. The meeting was really helpful, as I got a lot of supplementary reading material for specifics on what I will be doing. Then they suggested to have a weekly meeting, but didn't specify when, so I guess it's to my discretion...
We ate at the cafeteria again for lunch (its really cheap but the food is really good, and it various everyday somewhat), finish work, and decide to check out the tech district. It's about a good 10-15 minute walk, but there's so many shops and gadgets that are really interesting.
Fri/Sat/Sun
The weekend was a blur, but we played a lot of mahjong, cards, checked out different parts of the tech district again, and ate at a Thai place for dinner on Sat. The food was really good, on the expensive side in China, 74RMB = $10.00, and it solved some of our diarrhea problems. They even had entertainers who would sing classic American songs like the Beatles, etc which was pretty cool. Also, their menu was huge. Not only that, but each item had a picture next to it. The menu book itself took 10 minutes just to run through it once, before we would go through and decide what to get. My favorite dish was the chicken fondue. It's like a cheese fondue where the bowl is white bread, and they fill it with chicken curry. Yum. This will be the place we go to clean our system if need be again. We all had diarrhea at one point or another, before the Thai restaurant. I think our stomachs were just getting used to the food here.
Sometime during the weekend we also went to a bookstore to get some DVDs and shop around. It was about a 30 minute walk. It was springkling so of course we brought our umbrellas. We get to the bookstore, find what we want, and before we step outside, it was pouring cats and dogs, with the occasional lightning. We wanted to see the other shops, but decided it was best to just take a taxi back.
On Saturday we went to walk around near Tienanmen. We took the subway there, which was also an interesting experience. We checked out the shops and food. At one outside food vendor they sold "on a stick" food. Basically it's food on a skewer, and if you want something they put it on the grill and you eat it. They had scorpions on a stick! They were live, as the legs were moving. I didn't try it, and neither did anyone else. They have the standard chicken skewers and other meat. Also they had cicada skewers and seahorse skewers, but these were dead (obviously).
On Sunday we went to the tech district again (the place is huge, spanning a few blocks). I got a 1GB memory stick for my camera for cheap ($17.00?) although I desperately need to improve my haggling skills. It turns out I did the wrong things at first. I wanted to ask them how much it was and to bring the price down, then go to other shops and find out how much I can haggle it down there, etc, and eventually make my decision and buy the cheapest one (the so-called US "smart buyer" right?). No! Once you haggle them and they bring the price down, you cannot walk away. Otherwise you will loose the deal. For instance, I got the price down, then told them I'll come back in 5 min to buy it. Once I came back they told me they won't give it to me for the previous haggled price anymore, basically no matter what I said or did. Anyway, now I know how haggling works in China!
We ate at a Korean restaurant for dinner on Sunday. I found out Koreans use metal chopsticks which is pretty cool. I thought everyone who used chopsticks used wooden ones. (Besides, isn't is cheaper?) But from what I understand is that metal was cheapest for Koreans back in the day, that's why. I'll post up the pix next time.
Week 2 (week of 7/1)
Mon.
Work again, lunch in cafeteria. After work we were all pretty tired so we just played some more mahjong. I think things may begin to get routine now until the weekends. For dinner I had cold noodles. This is a Chinese dish and it was cheaper than I had before, 5RMB instead of 8 at the restaurant near my hotel. It actually was tastier, but the portion may have been a little smaller. Then I got some baozhe. They give you 9 small bao zhe for 4RMB. The place outside of Ryan and Hsing's dorm sells these, and they are very scrumptious. Hsing and I also got a haircut for 10RMB. I like it better than supercuts actually, as they pay attention to detail. Also the hair wash before and after the haircut is included. It's a lot cooler now with my haircut.
The weather is always just hot and humid. You want to stay indoors as long as you can. At work today the AC broke, and my legs were sweating (while wearing shorts). They're pretty lax on our dress. They pretty much said we can wear whatever we want, so sometimes I just go in with flipflops/shorts/t-shirt, although you have to walk everywhere so I think I'm going to wear my jogging shoes all the time.
Commentary
The streets smell really bad. Pretty much the air is polluted, and stinky. Usually you walk down the street and random wafts of stinky air just get into your lungs. It's really unpleasant, but that's just the way things are in China. I don't know if its the sewer system or just the air outside, or both. There is also a lot of construction going on, and even now as I am writing this at 1:10am I can hear some construction going on outside. This makes the pollution worse, as it kicks up a lot of dust in the air, and coupled with the already hot and humid weather, makes things worse.
Many things don't make sense in China. From the way the traffic signals work, to the poles being in the middle of the sidewalks, etc just don't make sense. I was even talking to one of the employees at CNIC and he agrees. I guess they just want to get things built, up and running as quickly as possible, since the demand is so high and there's just so many people in China (reference to what Hsing said in his blog's first entry.)
Another cultural difference is the traffic. Cars follow the signals, but everyone jaywalks. When in China, do as the Chinese do. So of course we jaywalk. In China, the right-of-way is whoever got there first basically. Either that or the cars have the right of way since they are bigger and would do more damage to you than you to the car. It's amazing how close the cars can get to a jaywalker and just drive how they drive normally. Even Hsing didn't want to jaywalk at first, but I think he's used to it by now.
It turns out that the bathrooms at CNIC are all squatdown bathrooms. They have urinals for #1, but basically a hole in the floor for #2. My first day of work I had to use it, and I must say I almost puked. For some reason, I felt like an animal, because I was picturing in my head what I look like going #2. Anyway, I had to use it another day and I guess I got over it. Luckily the toilet in my hotel is a regular sitdown (regular) one.
One problem that I did not foresee were the power outlets. In China, all the outlets are 240VAC, while in the US everything is 120VAC. I realized this after I blew my alarm clock. So I went to Walmart and got a 240 to 120 converter. I don't think it works though, since Alex plugged in his cell phone charger with the 120converter, but it blew. Luckily everything else I use is 240 compatible, so it shouldn't be a problem.
The people in China are generally nice. Maybe this is because we're being taken care of by our hosts, but people at the outside shops are nice too. The only place is at the places where you have to bargain. First you ask "how much". Then they tell you a price that you can tell they just made up in their heads right then and there. This price is usually at least twice what you can bargain it down to. The rest is up to the haggler.
So far I've had a very interesting experience in China. It's interesting to see a completely different culture's thinking, attitude (also in certain situations), actions, and many different customs are. I also found out that it's actually rude to tip in China! That just blows my mind, because you would think "more money = better service".. but apparently this is Western thought (it would be interesting to find out the roots of tipping/no-tipping).
That's a good gist of what I have to say. I will try to add an entry at least twice a week.
I'm one of the late ones to start a blog. But better late than never.
Note: exchange rate: 1dollar = 7.6RMB
Also note that my first entry is rather lengthy, so I tried to separate it by days, and there is a lengthy commentary section towards the end of random thoughts, just separated by paragraphs.
Week 1 (week of 6/24/07)
Sun/Mon
I'll start with the flight to China. I woke up around 3:30am, get to LAX by 4:45, and caught my flight with about 25 minutes to spare. The international terminal at LAX was really packed. I get to SFO, met up with Hsing and Alex, and flew to Tokyo. Then we transfered to Beijing. By the time we found our luggage, hosts, and checked into the hotel, it was already 10:30pm. Then I had to get ready for my presentation the next morning at 9am...
At this point I was already exhausted, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do the work. So I made a decent ppt presentation, and got three hours of solid shuteye.
Tues.
My presentation went well. So did Alex, Hsing, and Ryan's presentations. After the launch meeting (introductions, etc) we found our cubicles at CNIC, tested the connection, and went to lunch. Boy, the cafeteria near CNIC is very cheap. I spend on average 6-8RMB ($0.80-$1.00) on lunch there. We took the rest of the day off, mostly to catch up on much needed sleep. At this point Hsing and Ryan's dorm didn't have working AC yet, but our hotel does.
Wed.
After waking up the next morning I get a msg from one of the hosts saying that they want us to take the entire day off to settle in and get well rested. So after sleeping in, we got some lunch and went to Walmart.
I like China's take on Walmart. The shelves and entire store is very organized, in contrast to the Walmarts I've been to in the States, where many things are thrown about and just cluttered. A distinct scent I will remember from Walmart is the bakery section. The little breads and pastries smell so good. I always want to buy something whenever I walk by those pastry stores on the street as well.
The tap water is not healthy, so I got a couple of 4L water bottles (even that's questionable..) and some other things.
Thurs.
It rained. And when it rains, it pours. It also seems like whenever it rains in Beijing, expect lightning/thunder. However, the day after the rain, the weather is actually tolerable. It's a lot cooler and less humid than usual (but not cool).
Anyway, the first day of actual work. I find my desk, sit down, and basically don't know where to start or what to do. So obviously I ask my host where my mentor is, as he wasn't sitting in the same area any of us were. Once I find them all four mentors stand up, and as it turns out we had a meeting. The meeting was really helpful, as I got a lot of supplementary reading material for specifics on what I will be doing. Then they suggested to have a weekly meeting, but didn't specify when, so I guess it's to my discretion...
We ate at the cafeteria again for lunch (its really cheap but the food is really good, and it various everyday somewhat), finish work, and decide to check out the tech district. It's about a good 10-15 minute walk, but there's so many shops and gadgets that are really interesting.
Fri/Sat/Sun
The weekend was a blur, but we played a lot of mahjong, cards, checked out different parts of the tech district again, and ate at a Thai place for dinner on Sat. The food was really good, on the expensive side in China, 74RMB = $10.00, and it solved some of our diarrhea problems. They even had entertainers who would sing classic American songs like the Beatles, etc which was pretty cool. Also, their menu was huge. Not only that, but each item had a picture next to it. The menu book itself took 10 minutes just to run through it once, before we would go through and decide what to get. My favorite dish was the chicken fondue. It's like a cheese fondue where the bowl is white bread, and they fill it with chicken curry. Yum. This will be the place we go to clean our system if need be again. We all had diarrhea at one point or another, before the Thai restaurant. I think our stomachs were just getting used to the food here.
Sometime during the weekend we also went to a bookstore to get some DVDs and shop around. It was about a 30 minute walk. It was springkling so of course we brought our umbrellas. We get to the bookstore, find what we want, and before we step outside, it was pouring cats and dogs, with the occasional lightning. We wanted to see the other shops, but decided it was best to just take a taxi back.
On Saturday we went to walk around near Tienanmen. We took the subway there, which was also an interesting experience. We checked out the shops and food. At one outside food vendor they sold "on a stick" food. Basically it's food on a skewer, and if you want something they put it on the grill and you eat it. They had scorpions on a stick! They were live, as the legs were moving. I didn't try it, and neither did anyone else. They have the standard chicken skewers and other meat. Also they had cicada skewers and seahorse skewers, but these were dead (obviously).
On Sunday we went to the tech district again (the place is huge, spanning a few blocks). I got a 1GB memory stick for my camera for cheap ($17.00?) although I desperately need to improve my haggling skills. It turns out I did the wrong things at first. I wanted to ask them how much it was and to bring the price down, then go to other shops and find out how much I can haggle it down there, etc, and eventually make my decision and buy the cheapest one (the so-called US "smart buyer" right?). No! Once you haggle them and they bring the price down, you cannot walk away. Otherwise you will loose the deal. For instance, I got the price down, then told them I'll come back in 5 min to buy it. Once I came back they told me they won't give it to me for the previous haggled price anymore, basically no matter what I said or did. Anyway, now I know how haggling works in China!
We ate at a Korean restaurant for dinner on Sunday. I found out Koreans use metal chopsticks which is pretty cool. I thought everyone who used chopsticks used wooden ones. (Besides, isn't is cheaper?) But from what I understand is that metal was cheapest for Koreans back in the day, that's why. I'll post up the pix next time.
Week 2 (week of 7/1)
Mon.
Work again, lunch in cafeteria. After work we were all pretty tired so we just played some more mahjong. I think things may begin to get routine now until the weekends. For dinner I had cold noodles. This is a Chinese dish and it was cheaper than I had before, 5RMB instead of 8 at the restaurant near my hotel. It actually was tastier, but the portion may have been a little smaller. Then I got some baozhe. They give you 9 small bao zhe for 4RMB. The place outside of Ryan and Hsing's dorm sells these, and they are very scrumptious. Hsing and I also got a haircut for 10RMB. I like it better than supercuts actually, as they pay attention to detail. Also the hair wash before and after the haircut is included. It's a lot cooler now with my haircut.
The weather is always just hot and humid. You want to stay indoors as long as you can. At work today the AC broke, and my legs were sweating (while wearing shorts). They're pretty lax on our dress. They pretty much said we can wear whatever we want, so sometimes I just go in with flipflops/shorts/t-shirt, although you have to walk everywhere so I think I'm going to wear my jogging shoes all the time.
Commentary
The streets smell really bad. Pretty much the air is polluted, and stinky. Usually you walk down the street and random wafts of stinky air just get into your lungs. It's really unpleasant, but that's just the way things are in China. I don't know if its the sewer system or just the air outside, or both. There is also a lot of construction going on, and even now as I am writing this at 1:10am I can hear some construction going on outside. This makes the pollution worse, as it kicks up a lot of dust in the air, and coupled with the already hot and humid weather, makes things worse.
Many things don't make sense in China. From the way the traffic signals work, to the poles being in the middle of the sidewalks, etc just don't make sense. I was even talking to one of the employees at CNIC and he agrees. I guess they just want to get things built, up and running as quickly as possible, since the demand is so high and there's just so many people in China (reference to what Hsing said in his blog's first entry.)
Another cultural difference is the traffic. Cars follow the signals, but everyone jaywalks. When in China, do as the Chinese do. So of course we jaywalk. In China, the right-of-way is whoever got there first basically. Either that or the cars have the right of way since they are bigger and would do more damage to you than you to the car. It's amazing how close the cars can get to a jaywalker and just drive how they drive normally. Even Hsing didn't want to jaywalk at first, but I think he's used to it by now.
It turns out that the bathrooms at CNIC are all squatdown bathrooms. They have urinals for #1, but basically a hole in the floor for #2. My first day of work I had to use it, and I must say I almost puked. For some reason, I felt like an animal, because I was picturing in my head what I look like going #2. Anyway, I had to use it another day and I guess I got over it. Luckily the toilet in my hotel is a regular sitdown (regular) one.
One problem that I did not foresee were the power outlets. In China, all the outlets are 240VAC, while in the US everything is 120VAC. I realized this after I blew my alarm clock. So I went to Walmart and got a 240 to 120 converter. I don't think it works though, since Alex plugged in his cell phone charger with the 120converter, but it blew. Luckily everything else I use is 240 compatible, so it shouldn't be a problem.
The people in China are generally nice. Maybe this is because we're being taken care of by our hosts, but people at the outside shops are nice too. The only place is at the places where you have to bargain. First you ask "how much". Then they tell you a price that you can tell they just made up in their heads right then and there. This price is usually at least twice what you can bargain it down to. The rest is up to the haggler.
So far I've had a very interesting experience in China. It's interesting to see a completely different culture's thinking, attitude (also in certain situations), actions, and many different customs are. I also found out that it's actually rude to tip in China! That just blows my mind, because you would think "more money = better service".. but apparently this is Western thought (it would be interesting to find out the roots of tipping/no-tipping).
That's a good gist of what I have to say. I will try to add an entry at least twice a week.
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