Lessons (Part 2)

1. It is perfectly acceptable to take a nap in the office. In fact, bring your pillow and eye cover. This is usually done during/after lunch.

2. Squatting is also perfectly acceptable. In fact it is considered very comfortable. And no, I do not mean taking over a place illegally, I mean the literal act of squatting... be it as a toilet, or just on the sidewalk to take a rest from the long hot day.

3. Speaking of sidewalks, want to dance? Then join your local sidewalk dance class! They meet at least once a week on random street corners. (Note: this is a formal activity with dance instructor, choreography and specific dance tracks).

4. Diapers are for foreigners. Children in China have split pants so that they can take care of business anywhere, anytime. (This fashion trend comes in shorts for summer and fleece pants for winter, and is unisex).

5. It is perfectly acceptable to smoke, burp, and spit in public. Blowing your nose, however, is not.

6. One way streets only apply to cars (and even that is debatable). Bikes and scooters can go both ways on every road. *Moral of the story: as a pedestrian, ALWAYS look both ways multiple times and still be prepared to get honked/yelled at for crossing at the right/wrong time*

7. Bills can be paid at convenience stores, in cash. They cannot be paid online.

8. When preparing your lunch in the office, please make sure to "queu" your food for microwave use. This quite literally means lining up your tupperware next to the microwave and waiting your turn. You are not allowed to "skip" in line, even if the person in front of you is nowhere to be found and the microwave is not in use.

9. Fireworks are more about noise than lights. In fact, most fireworks seem to be set off during the day.

10. Who you know is more important that what you know. Regardless of how it may affect others around you.

The Sisters China Adventure (Long Overdue)

Vacation Adventure

Sis Arrives

So I moved to Shanghai! Hurray! Hard to believe that it took four months to actually make it here, amazing. The move was a bit hectic, but then again this is China.

I moved on Tuesday December 20^th. That day I left Shenzhen with my two very full suitcases, arrived in Shanghai in the morning, headed straight to the office, picked up my boxes (with the help of a “moving company”) and moved into my house. That night was the office Christmas party, after which I did some unpacking.

Wednesday, December 21^st. I feel like I am dying. I can hardly breathe but I am at work and have to pick up my sis from the airport. After about three hours of feeling miserable at work, I finally go to the doctor. “Upper respiratory track infection” she says. Antibiotics. Home. More unpacking and trying to find a supermarket (got lost and walked for like an hour in the cold). Run to catch the subway to the airport, do no realize I have to switch trains at some point. Lose 20 mins, late to pick up sis, she is not happy, I can’t breathe. She sees I’m sick and is not longer mad. We go home.

Thursday and Friday: go to work and leave early (the bosses are out of town, and I don't have anything to do). Explore Shanghai with my sis. We visit exciting places like “Carrefour” and “Tesco.” We also do some touristy things like visit the Jing’An Temple and the Shanghai Bund. Sis is fairly impressed.

Sat (Christmas Eve): Sis and I walk around neighborhood. (I live in the old French Concession. It is quite nice.) We wait for arrival of boy. Boy arrives. We all exchange gifts haphazardly around my 10 inch tree and with my three different poinsettias. It doesn’t quite feel like Christmas but we are all happy to be spending it with good people.

Vacation has really started, we are getting ready and excited for our whirlwind trip.

Beijing

Christmas Day: We wake up to get ready to pack and make it to the train station. We are taking the Bullet Train to Beijing. The station was actually much cleaner and easier to navigate than I had expected (read: easier than any train station in Europe). We board our train, and we’re off at 300 KM/HR. Train ride takes us through mainland China. It is very grey and cold outside. There is not “Food Coach/Restaurant” on the train. We are hungry. We arrive in Beijing. Take taxi to friend’s house. Friend meets us. We drop stuff off at his house and head out for Christmas dinner at a Spanish restaurant. Cheers to spending Christmas in China with friends.

The trip in Beijing was full of memorable moments. We visited the Forbidden City and nearly froze. However, what was most striking was the number of children still wearing split pants! For those of you who are unaware, small children in China (between the ages of 1-3) do not wear diapers. They were pants with a bit split down the middle so that if the mood takes them, they can simply squat in place and take care of business. This means there is a whole bunch of little stuff hanging out all the time. This is moderately entertaining in warm weather, but in 1-2 degrees Celsius, it just seems a mean. We also had the opportunity to visit the Great Wall and just get to know the city. It was lovely.

Xi’an

Terracotta Warriors. Simply, amazing. The city of Xi’an however, was very polluted… to the point where you could barely see 15 feet in front of you. It was as if mist, fog, and all around ick had just gotten together in the city. I now see the appeal of facemasks.

It was even colder than Beijing had been, so we visited the warriors, by finding an un-marked bus that charged us 7RMB (equivalent to about 1USD) for a 45 min ride out to the site. On said bus, we were entertained by what I can only describe as a Chinese soap-opera turned mystery movie (I still wonder how it ends).

Hong Kong

The last leg of the trip. New Year’s Eve in HK. We spent the actual evening in the company of one of the Scottish Cultural groups of the city and were surrounded by kilts, bagpipes and lots of dancing. It was great fun.

In the city, my sis and I ventured up “the peak” on New Years Day. It was quite the hike (particularly because we got lost more than once and I’m pretty sure were in someone backyard at some point) and we managed to make it to the very top. We also visited Kowloon, the Jade Market and the Big Buddha.

Shanghai

Next thing I knew, our time was over and we were back in Shanghai. It flew by but we had a great time and I am very thankful to have spent the time with people that I care about. Now, I’m ready to take on whatever this city (and country) send my way. 

The Christmas Spirit

*This is a post I wrote a while back, but forgot to post*

Can it be? Has Christmas really arrived? Wow. Perhaps I spent too much time in a country with no Christmas, but this year I’m actually really enjoying the fact that Christmas apparently starts in November… even in China (and particularly in Hong Kong). The fake Christmas trees have started to pop-up in malls, the lighted snowmen decorate windows and Christmas music can be heard in every Starbucks along the way.

This is a time for family and friends, and positive thinking. It is, as the song says “the most wonderful time of the year” and yet, to those who live away from family, it can be a difficult time. We are reminded that there are many Christmas traditions we will not be sharing this year. For me, there will be no “novenas” to attend, no “villancicos” to sing with family, and no “amigo secreto” to exchange. It is the time of the year when homesickness becomes a little more acute. The time of the year when you wish you could do a little bit more than just call home. The time of the year when you feel a little further away than you actually are.

Nonetheless, this year I get a special present. My sister is coming to town! While this will be the second year I spend Christmas without my parents, I do get to share this very special time of the year with my favorite person in the world (sorry mom and dad). In case you hadn’t picked up on this already, my sister and I are uncommonly close. In many ways, we had to be. We grew up in an expat family and moved around so many times as children that we learned to lean on each other from a very early age. Today, my sister is still the only person who can tell me I’m being a moron and I will not take it personally (and sometimes, it even works both ways). My sister is my best-friend and perpetual sounding board. She is the smartest person I know (she hates it when I say that) and certainly the person who knows me best. And she arrives in one month!

Christmas in China will certainly be another adventure, but I am so happy that this year I get to spend it with someone who understands what I mean even when I don’t say anything. This year, Christmas will be about family, even if we are so very far away from home.