There probably won't be much activity here for the next couple of weeks as we are heading home for the holidays. We're flying out of Shanghai Wednesday evening, which will put us in Cincinnati around 11:00 Wednesday night. This is a busy time for everyone but we really hope to have a chance to see everybody. Look us up if you're in Madison and have a few minutes to spare.
On a completely different note, I've been playing around with Google Earth (or Google Earf' as we call it in the 'hood) lately. I've been adding placemarkers to some of sights and scenes around Shanghai, several of which I've mentioned here in this blog. I was hoping to be able to add these markers to the blog so you could get a better feel for what it's like here but have had no luck. However, I can send them in email. So, if you use Google Earth, and if you are interested, shoot me a note at baamick@gmail.com and I will send these to you.
And lastly, don't forget..."Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Eat Your Heart Out, Charlie Brown
When it comes to sad looking Christmas trees, Charlie Brown's got nothing on us. We had decided that we weren't going to bother with putting up a tree since we're going back to the US for Christmas, but anyone who knows me knows that I can't pass up a bargain. The school was selling trees for 120 yuan ($15) at their Christmas bazaar. It wouldn't fit in our van so we had to pay some guy another 10 yuan to haul it to our house on his bicycle (actually it was a flat bed, three-wheeler). So we got a live tree, with a pot and delivered for about $16. But then, it looks like a sixteen-dollar tree.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Christmas Wishes (Lost in Translation)
I believe I've mentioned Shen Bo in a previous post but in case you missed it, he is our driver. He takes us anywhere we need to go, helps carry groceries, runs errands...in short, anything we ask. He is safe, professional, and polite, unlike many of the other drivers. In a way, he has also become part of our family. When he showed up this morning, he brought some Christmas presents for us. I really wish he hadn't done this. He doesn't make that much money and he has a new baby so I'd rather he spend it there. Anyway, a thank-you note was attached to the bottle of wine he gave to Kristi and me. He signed the card with:
Dear Brian,
Wishing you every happiness when Christmas is near and expressing appreciation for your care and concerns during these months.
Sincerely,
Shenbo
Shen Bo's English skill aren't that good so he obviously had help and went to a lot of trouble to do this. We were very impressed and touched that he would do this. Anyhow, later Emily was looking at the card and she actually read the embossed printing on the front. It said:
Thank You. These lonely nights have taught ne a lesson. Now I appreciate your love more than ever.
You know, I've been staring at the draft of this post for about ten minutes now trying to come up with something witty to say about this. I don' t know what to say other than I really, really hope he has no idea what this card said.
Dear Brian,
Wishing you every happiness when Christmas is near and expressing appreciation for your care and concerns during these months.
Sincerely,
Shenbo
Shen Bo's English skill aren't that good so he obviously had help and went to a lot of trouble to do this. We were very impressed and touched that he would do this. Anyhow, later Emily was looking at the card and she actually read the embossed printing on the front. It said:
Thank You. These lonely nights have taught ne a lesson. Now I appreciate your love more than ever.
You know, I've been staring at the draft of this post for about ten minutes now trying to come up with something witty to say about this. I don' t know what to say other than I really, really hope he has no idea what this card said.
Monday, December 3, 2007
The Good and the Bad
This blogging thing is not easy. When I started this, I had no idea how difficult it would be to come up with interesting stuff to write about. Alright, maybe I'm giving myself too much credit - I hope you've found this at least mildly interesting. Anyway, at first it was pretty easy as we started finding our way around the city and seeing some of the sights but now that we've been here a few months and gotten into a routine, it's a little more difficult. On the other hand, there is one advantage to being settled in. We have started to get some idea of the things that are better here, as well as the things that are worse. In the past few months, we've also began to discover the things we really miss about home and the things we don't miss at all. So to fill this space until we do something interesting, I'm going to post a few entries here about the good and bad of living here.
The first bad thing is easy - the water. The tap water here is unfit for consumption, at least for Westerners. It doesn't bother the locals, who drink it like - well, like water - but it has some serious adverse effects on foreigners (think Mexico). It's not too bad in our home, where we have a filtration system that cleans it up pretty well but in some of the hotels I stayed in before we moved here, the water was a little yellowish and had a definite odor to it, kind of like kerosene. Our filtration system, however, doesn't do anything about the microbes so you still can't drink it. It's fine for bathing, washing dishes and laundry - I even rinse my toothbrush with it. You just don't want to drink it, but it's almost impossible to avoid entirely (ice at restaurants, washed produce). I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but think about how many times you grab a glass of water as you pass thru the kitchen or open your mouth in the shower. Those things are so common that you don't even realized it until you can't do it anymore.
So we have to use bottled water for all cooking, drinking, ice, etc. Fortunately, bottled water here is pretty cheap. We have a dispenser in our kitchen that takes the big bottles. We use a brand called Sensation, which is a Coca-Cola product. The bottles are 18.5 liters (almost 5 gallons) and cost about $2. The best part is that we don't have to go out and buy them. We just call the service center for our apartment complex and someone shows up with a new bottle.
Perhaps the worst thing about not being able to drink the tap water is that you can't just order a glass of water with your dinner. The only water you can get at a restaurant is a small bottle (usually Evian) that costs about 30-35 yuan ($4-5). Actually, mentioning restaurants gets into a whole other good/bad topic but it's getting late so we'll save that for later.
The first bad thing is easy - the water. The tap water here is unfit for consumption, at least for Westerners. It doesn't bother the locals, who drink it like - well, like water - but it has some serious adverse effects on foreigners (think Mexico). It's not too bad in our home, where we have a filtration system that cleans it up pretty well but in some of the hotels I stayed in before we moved here, the water was a little yellowish and had a definite odor to it, kind of like kerosene. Our filtration system, however, doesn't do anything about the microbes so you still can't drink it. It's fine for bathing, washing dishes and laundry - I even rinse my toothbrush with it. You just don't want to drink it, but it's almost impossible to avoid entirely (ice at restaurants, washed produce). I know that doesn't sound like a big deal but think about how many times you grab a glass of water as you pass thru the kitchen or open your mouth in the shower. Those things are so common that you don't even realized it until you can't do it anymore.
So we have to use bottled water for all cooking, drinking, ice, etc. Fortunately, bottled water here is pretty cheap. We have a dispenser in our kitchen that takes the big bottles. We use a brand called Sensation, which is a Coca-Cola product. The bottles are 18.5 liters (almost 5 gallons) and cost about $2. The best part is that we don't have to go out and buy them. We just call the service center for our apartment complex and someone shows up with a new bottle.
Perhaps the worst thing about not being able to drink the tap water is that you can't just order a glass of water with your dinner. The only water you can get at a restaurant is a small bottle (usually Evian) that costs about 30-35 yuan ($4-5). Actually, mentioning restaurants gets into a whole other good/bad topic but it's getting late so we'll save that for later.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Black Friday
You may recall that I posted earlier about Thanksgiving being a non-event in China. One tradition, however, we did keep this year was our Black Friday shopping trip. There are no "Day After Thanksgiving" sales or anything like that here so we just went over to the Old Town area where there are thousands of small shops. And by small, I mean really small. Some shops are no bigger than 100 square feet. Those are the exception though. Most shops in this area are more like 300 square feet - still pretty small by US standards. It's very crowded and there is a lot of junk for sale but it's a good place to get stuff cheap.
Whenever we go to this area, we know we are going to see something that just leaves us scratching our heads. In one shop, we saw the owner watching his surveillance monitor. He was using four video cameras in one of these little bitty shops.This would be like you using four cameras to keep an eye on your living room. I don't think anything in this store cost more than $3 but this guy has installed a couple of hundred dollars worth of equipment to make sure that no one steals a refrigerator magnet. I guess if he prevents a hundred magnets from being stolen, then the equipment has paid for itself.
We also saw people watching the stock market, which was a first. A couple of times, we ran across shop owners with laptops watching every movement of the Shanghia Stock Exchange. At first, I thought it kind of funny but then I found it a little disturbing. Don't get me wrong - I think it's great that these people are investing their money but when a guy who sells zippers for a living starts day-trading, things may be getting a little overheated.
We managed to get a few pictures, which you can find here.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Yao Ming and Other Sights
Last Sunday afternoon, Kristi and I wanted to get out of the house for a few hours so we rode the subway over to Puxi. We really didn't do anything too exciting - just walked around People's Square for a while.
The subway was a little crowded. Actually this is about normal for a Sunday. Weekday afternoons are the worst. The ride to Puxi cost 4 yuan (about 55 cents) each.
Yao was in town - signing autographs, posing for pictures, visiting the little people. This is wax
figure on display and Madame Tussaud's in Shanghai. This was on display back in August 2006 when I made my first trip here and people would line up to pose for a picture with it. Now, almost a year and a half later, they're still lining up. Unless you've been here, you can't understand how big of a deal this is. The Chinese people don't line up in an orderly fashion for just anything. Usually it's just a mass of people pushing and shoving - survival of the fittest, in a way. So it's pretty amazing to see them wait their turn for a picture. They really love Yao and consider him to be a national treasure. Kristi and I jumped in line with them just to mess with them a little as they get very curious when Westerners do Chinese things.
A couple of other pictures from that day. This is a statue in People's Square. I have no idea what it commemorates but thought it looks kind of cool. I'm guessing that, like
every other statue here, it has something to do with communism or revolution or fighting the Japanese.
Here's another shot of the JW Marriott hotel, which you may have seen
previously here. The restaurant on the 40th floor offers a pretty good view of the city. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures as it's a pretty swanky joint and we didn't want to look like a couple of tourists.
The subway was a little crowded. Actually this is about normal for a Sunday. Weekday afternoons are the worst. The ride to Puxi cost 4 yuan (about 55 cents) each.Yao was in town - signing autographs, posing for pictures, visiting the little people. This is wax
figure on display and Madame Tussaud's in Shanghai. This was on display back in August 2006 when I made my first trip here and people would line up to pose for a picture with it. Now, almost a year and a half later, they're still lining up. Unless you've been here, you can't understand how big of a deal this is. The Chinese people don't line up in an orderly fashion for just anything. Usually it's just a mass of people pushing and shoving - survival of the fittest, in a way. So it's pretty amazing to see them wait their turn for a picture. They really love Yao and consider him to be a national treasure. Kristi and I jumped in line with them just to mess with them a little as they get very curious when Westerners do Chinese things.A couple of other pictures from that day. This is a statue in People's Square. I have no idea what it commemorates but thought it looks kind of cool. I'm guessing that, like
every other statue here, it has something to do with communism or revolution or fighting the Japanese.Here's another shot of the JW Marriott hotel, which you may have seen
previously here. The restaurant on the 40th floor offers a pretty good view of the city. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures as it's a pretty swanky joint and we didn't want to look like a couple of tourists.
Happy Thanksgiving
Hello everyone. We hope that everybody had a great Thanksgiving holiday, complete with tons of food and time to reflect on all our blessings. Here in Shanghai Thanksgiving is pretty much a non-event. It was a regular school day for Kate and Emily and my office was open like normal. This is when you realize that this a strictly an American holiday. Still, we've done our best to make this Thanksgiving as "normal" as possible. School was closed Friday and I burned some vacation time so we can have a long weekend together.
Some of our friends here really made an effort to make this a normal holiday, even going so far as to cook a traditional dinner. We, on the other hand, chose to take the easy way, joining some friends for dinner at Cafe du Monde. The original Cafe du Monde is in New Orleans and is supposed to be pretty famous from what I hear. The one here in Shanghai is a Chinese version of the original but maintains the whole cajun/creole/jazz atmosphere. No one here has been able to figure out if the Shanghai store is affiliated with the original or if it's just a knock-off, like many things are in China. We've even tried to get the owner, who is Chinese-American, to talk about it but he avoids the subject. However, he does claim to have been a manager of one of the restaurants in New Orleans.
Regardless if it's the real-deal or a copy, the food is good, service is friendly, and you always have a good time. Thanksgiving evening was no exception. Seating this night was by reservation only and the regular menu was replaced with turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and all the good stuff. We all still missed our families back in the States but we made the best of it and enjoyed each other's company. I wanted to get a couple of pictures to post here but the camera batteries were completely dead.
Some of our friends here really made an effort to make this a normal holiday, even going so far as to cook a traditional dinner. We, on the other hand, chose to take the easy way, joining some friends for dinner at Cafe du Monde. The original Cafe du Monde is in New Orleans and is supposed to be pretty famous from what I hear. The one here in Shanghai is a Chinese version of the original but maintains the whole cajun/creole/jazz atmosphere. No one here has been able to figure out if the Shanghai store is affiliated with the original or if it's just a knock-off, like many things are in China. We've even tried to get the owner, who is Chinese-American, to talk about it but he avoids the subject. However, he does claim to have been a manager of one of the restaurants in New Orleans.
Regardless if it's the real-deal or a copy, the food is good, service is friendly, and you always have a good time. Thanksgiving evening was no exception. Seating this night was by reservation only and the regular menu was replaced with turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and all the good stuff. We all still missed our families back in the States but we made the best of it and enjoyed each other's company. I wanted to get a couple of pictures to post here but the camera batteries were completely dead.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
I told you Carrefour was crazy.
If you've been following this blog for a while, you might recall that I posted some pictures of Carrefour, our local superstore. I think I described it as "Wal-Mart on steroids." Well, the chain made the news this week.
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Four people were trampled to death and 31 were injured in a promotional event at a supermarket owned by Carrefour SA in the Shapingba district of China's western Chongqing city.
You can read the story here. It would be interesting to know what the "promotional event" was for. Probably a big sale on chicken feet.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Catch-All Post
Since I really don't have that much to post about - just a few little things to comment on - I'm going to lump them all together in this one post.
First, I now have access to this blog from our apartment. One of the subtle reminders that we are living in a co**unist county was the fact that any web site with "blog" in its name was blocked from the internet service in our apartment. I finally found a way that I could post from home but then I couldn't see how the posts looked until I got to the office where access is unrestricted. Anyhow, having access from home will make updating the blog much easier.
Along these same lines, YouTube had always been available here but it was suddenly blocked about a week ago. Now it is back and available again. I'm not sure what happened (it's not like they report this stuff in the news) but maybe they found a way to block only certain content.
Second, if you looked at the pictures I took in Wales, you might recall my sweet ride, the Passat wagon. Well, earlier today I was working on my expense report for that trip and I ran across the receipt where I filled the car before returning it. I'm not sure what fuel prices are in the States but I'm assuming it's still around $3.00/gallon so I was curious how that compares to prices in the United Kingdom. I filled the Passat with a little more than 33 liters of diesel, which cost 33 British pounds. This converts to 8.7 gallons and cost $68, or $7.80/gallon. Interestingly, there were no SUVs to be seen, except for the occasional Range Rover. I guess if you can afford a Rover, $8 for a gallon of fuel shouldn't be a problem.
Lastly, we are being treated to a fireworks show tonight. I don't know what the occasion is but we've had a steady barrage of fireworks for the last two hours. This is not really uncommon but has been happening more frequently lately. Sometimes they don't even wait until it's dark and just set them off in the middle of the day. Someone told me that the Chinese believe it brings good luck to shoot off fireworks whenever you move into a new house or apartment. I don't know if this is true or not - sounds to me like an excuse to play with fire. And these aren't your ordinary, out-of-state, buy-one-get three-free fireworks. This is the good stuff like the pros use. After all, the Chinese did invent gunpowder, you know. This did provide an opportunity to try out the "fireworks" mode on my camera. The pictures didn't come out that great but I think part of the problem was that I was too close (easily within 100 yards). Here's a link to them anyway. http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Fireworks
First, I now have access to this blog from our apartment. One of the subtle reminders that we are living in a co**unist county was the fact that any web site with "blog" in its name was blocked from the internet service in our apartment. I finally found a way that I could post from home but then I couldn't see how the posts looked until I got to the office where access is unrestricted. Anyhow, having access from home will make updating the blog much easier.
Along these same lines, YouTube had always been available here but it was suddenly blocked about a week ago. Now it is back and available again. I'm not sure what happened (it's not like they report this stuff in the news) but maybe they found a way to block only certain content.
Second, if you looked at the pictures I took in Wales, you might recall my sweet ride, the Passat wagon. Well, earlier today I was working on my expense report for that trip and I ran across the receipt where I filled the car before returning it. I'm not sure what fuel prices are in the States but I'm assuming it's still around $3.00/gallon so I was curious how that compares to prices in the United Kingdom. I filled the Passat with a little more than 33 liters of diesel, which cost 33 British pounds. This converts to 8.7 gallons and cost $68, or $7.80/gallon. Interestingly, there were no SUVs to be seen, except for the occasional Range Rover. I guess if you can afford a Rover, $8 for a gallon of fuel shouldn't be a problem.
Lastly, we are being treated to a fireworks show tonight. I don't know what the occasion is but we've had a steady barrage of fireworks for the last two hours. This is not really uncommon but has been happening more frequently lately. Sometimes they don't even wait until it's dark and just set them off in the middle of the day. Someone told me that the Chinese believe it brings good luck to shoot off fireworks whenever you move into a new house or apartment. I don't know if this is true or not - sounds to me like an excuse to play with fire. And these aren't your ordinary, out-of-state, buy-one-get three-free fireworks. This is the good stuff like the pros use. After all, the Chinese did invent gunpowder, you know. This did provide an opportunity to try out the "fireworks" mode on my camera. The pictures didn't come out that great but I think part of the problem was that I was too close (easily within 100 yards). Here's a link to them anyway. http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Fireworks
Cellular, Modular, Interactive-odular
Someone sent a comment in response to the post below about the lack of activity. Evidently he was not expecting peanut butter jelly time. Instead he was expecting this classic. So here it is - you want banana phone, you got banana phone. Be warned. This will stick in your head and you will hate yourself (and probably me) for having listened to it.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Lack of Activity
Hey everyone. I apologize for the lack of activity here. I had been home from my trip to Wales for only a few days before Kristi had to return to the US to attend to a medical emergency in her family. With her being gone, I'm staying busy working and taking care of the kids and haven't had much time for posting new updates. Kristi returns home in a few days and I don't have any plans for travel so maybe things will get back to normal. Here is something to keep you entertained until then.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Cymraeg
Cymraeg. That's "hello" in Welsh. Yes, I am in the land of Tom Jones. I'm in the middle of a two-week visit to Wales, home of the world's largest second-hand bookstore. This is actually a working trip so I'm by myself. It's my first real business trip since we moved to Shanghai. I did take a quick trip to Korea back in August but it was so short, it doesn't really count. This time really felt different from other trips I've had to take. It was weird leaving Kristi and the girls back in China. And it's also weird to be looking forward to returning "home" to Shanghai.
One good thing about this trip is that I get to drive again. We're not allowed to drive in China and have to rely on a driver to take us everywhere so it's been great to be able to come and go as I please. It's a little unsettling to be driving on the wrong side of the road and on the wrong side of the car but I'm getting used to it. I think it has helped that I haven't driven at all for a few months. I still haven't figured out the rules for the roundabouts but I'm not so sure there are any. Everyone handles them a little differently but it works. I must be doing alright though because no one has gotten too upset with me. However, there was one guy who was so impressed with my roundabout skills that he honked his horn and told me that I'm #1, if you know what I mean.
I had some free time Sunday so I spent a couple hours driving around the area. Once you get away from the towns, it's nice and peaceful. In fact, some of the land here looks a lot like home. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing hills and trees with all the fall colors, and cattle, and horses, and birds, and farm land. It wasn't easy to drive and take pictures but I did manage to get a few. You can find them here http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Wales.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Hangzhou
The first week of October was a national holiday in China. Actually it was two holidays - one traditional and one modern - rolled into one. The traditional holiday is the Mid-Autumn Festival (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival). The modern holiday is National Day, which celebrates the formation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, kind of like our 4th of July.
There are only three holidays in China (this one, Lunar New Year, and the May Holiday) but each lasts for an entire week. Since this is the only time many people get off work, it is common to travel during these times. We decided to act like the locals and take a short trip with a couple of other Dow Corning families.
We visited Hangzhou (pronounced hong-zo), which is about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai. It's an old city built around a large lake named Xi Hu, or West Lake. The city is modern, clean, and with only 4 million people, much smaller than Shanghai. In the 13th century, Marco Polo declared the city to be "paradise," but I wouldn't go that far. The surrounding area has several museums and Buddhist temples. We took lots of pictures, which are here http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Hangzhou.
More information about the city can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangzhou.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
World Cup Video
Here is a short video of the team introdcutions. It has audio but doesn't capture fully the volume or intensity of the crowd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBSLk-0vato
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBSLk-0vato
"We will not only beat the Germans..."
"...we will castrate them!" So said these Brazilian fans prior the the World Cup finals in Shanghai last week. However, I don't know if they considered the fact that these were the women's teams playing. Anyhow, here are some pictures from the matches. http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/WorldCup
In the first match, the USA beat Norway by a score of 4-1 to capture third place. In the championship match, Germany defeated Brazil 2-0.
A couple of observations...
- People like Americans. Several times outside the stadium, we were stopped by people who wanted to know where we were from and asked if we would have a picture taken with them.
- People like to root against Americans. This was interesting in light of what I mentioned above. Maybe it's people's natural instict to cheer for the underdog but the only people rooting for the Americans were other Americans.
- Brazilians are absolutely insane about soccer. Their fans were few but very vocal. They live and breathe this stuff.
- Germans are also pretty crazy about soccer but these fans are just obnoxious. With the Brazilians, it's all about having a good time and supporting their team, win or lose (even the comment about castration was done if good humor, if that's possible). The Germans don't just want to win - they want to dominate their opponents. They don't just want their team to win, they want you to know that your team is inferior in all ways.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Zhouzhuang
Last Sunday, we took a day trip to Zhouzhuang, one of the many nearby water towns. The area surrounding Shanghai is very flat lowland, just a few feet above sea level so there is water everywhere. Centuries ago, several towns were built in and on the water. Many of them still exist today and are promoted as historical attractions. Zhouzhuang bills itself as "Venice of the Orient" but that might be stretching things a little. While it is neat to see this, the primary focus of these towns is tourism and shopping, not history. Still, it was a fun day that we wrapped up with some good Mexican food at a place called Zappata's. Here is a link to more info about the town http://english.people.com.cn/english/200004/26/eng20000426_39741.html.
And here is a link to some pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Zhouzhuang
And here is a link to some pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/Zhouzhuang
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Rain Video
It started raining as the storm approaced this afternoon. Here is a link to a short video taken looking out our back porch. It's not all that impressive - just some wind and rain. We've had a couple of downpours but now it's settled into a steady rain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKrZKiUBcG8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKrZKiUBcG8
Women's Soccer World Cup
The 2007 World Cup tournament is being held in China this month. The US played Nigeria last night and we had already bought tickets so we weren't going to let a little rain keep us away. We suited up in our rain gear and headed out for Hongkou Football Stadium. One a good day, the stadium is usually about a 20 minute drive from our house. Last night, it took 45 minutes, which really isn't that bad considering the rain and increased traffic as people scurried around getting ready for the storm. The stadium seats 30,000 people and last night was technically a sell-out but the rain kept a lot of people away. Official attendance was 6,100. We had great seats on the third row but you could pretty much sit anywhere. Kristi and Kate headed for shelter in the upper rows but Emily and I toughed it out. The US started out strong, scoring a goal in the first minute. It turned out that that was all they needed as they went on to a 1-0 victory.
Typhoon Wipha
I don't know if this is making the news back in the States but there is a typhoon heading for Shanghai. Typhoon Wipha made landfall south of here as a Category 4 storm. It appears that it will weaken to a Cat 1 or even a tropical storm before it gets here. It rained all day yesterday but today we're just getting some pretty good gusts of wind. Just to be safe, all schools in the city are closed today and many people are stying home from work - including me (can't be too safe, you know).
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The Story of the Dragon
If you look at the pictures taken at Yu Yuan, you'll see several of the dragon that sits atop the wall surrounding the garden. This is one of the key features of the garden and it pretty neat to see but didn't really seem all that special. But then we overheard one of the guides telling the dragon's story. I can't remember all of it but will try to hit the main points.
This is no ordinary dragon. This one has the mane of a lion, the horns of goat, the teeth of some other critter, etc, etc. If you look closely at some of the pictures, you can see a ball in the dragon's mouth. This is his pearl and it is the source of his power. The only catch is that the dragon has to hold the pearl in his mouth and if he loses it, he loses all his strength. Now as you can imagine, doing this makes him slobber a lot. Or as the guide said, "He makes lots of saliver." She meant saliva but saliver is a whole lot funnier. Anyway, the slaiver runs down his chin whiskers and tickles him, which makes it even more difficult to hold on to his pearl. This is where the toad comes in.
Looking at the pictures, you can see a toad under the dragon's chin. The toad lives there and spends the day lapping up the dragon's saliver. This relieves the tickling for the dragon, while the toad absorbs some of the dragon's power. I have no idea what the toad does with this power as he never leaves his spot under the dragon's chin.
Another interesting fact the guide pointed out is that this dragon has only three claws. However, the imperial dragon, which represents the emperor, has four claws. The designer of this one wanted to make it clear that this was a lesser dragon so as not to offend the emperor.
Yu Yuan Pictures
Here are some pictures taken at Yu Yuan a couple of weeks ago.
http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/YuYuan
http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/YuYuan
And you complain about the lines at Wal-Mart
This is the line to checkout at the local Carrefour. This is pretty typical for a weeknight and it's even worse on weekends. You just don't go unless you really need something. On this particular night, we thought we really needed something (I can't even remember what it was now) but when we got to the line, we realized that we didn't "need" it so badly after all.
Notice that this is at register #54. Unlike Wal-Mart in the US, this store actually opens more than 4 registers. I didn't bother counting but I would guess that there were probably at least 30 registers open. There is no express lane or self checkout, which is probably a good thing as these people would only screw it up.
I doubt we'll ever see a self checkout lane here as this would eliminate jobs. And China is all about maximum employment. It's not uncommon to go to a store or restaurant that has more employees than customers. McDonalds even has a person whose only job is to tell you which line to get in to order. This is probably a good thing though as the Chinese people have no concept of what a line is for.
What did the necktie say to the hat?
You go ahead. I'll just hang around.
Any man with a tie like this must be compensating for other shortcomings.
Hungry now?
This is on Nanjing Road in Puxi. You know, I have no desire to eat squid on a stick but if I ever did, I would want it to be cooked by this guy. How many people do you know who could be this happy doing this kind of work. I have no way of knowing but I doubt he makes more than $1/hour - maybe $1.50 tops.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Traffic leaving Yu Yuan
Here is a short video I shot out the car window as we left Yu Yuan last Saturday. I was using my little digital camera so the quality is not that great and there is really nothing amazing in the video. However, it does give you some idea of the traffic we deal with everyday here. Actually, this was pretty light for a Saturday.
This is the first time I've tried posting a video on YouTube so email me if it doesn't work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgIPm8O5e6M
This is the first time I've tried posting a video on YouTube so email me if it doesn't work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgIPm8O5e6M
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Puzzle Progress 4
We finally finished the 2000-piece puzzle. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it before Kristi took it apart. Actually she took it apart in big chunks so we can take it back to the shop where we bought it and have it mounted. I'll get a picture as soon as we get it back. I'm sure you all have spent many sleepless nights wondering how the puzzle was coming along so you can rest peacefully now.
Finally
We finally received our air shipment Monday. We've been living for the last month with only 4 forks, four spoons, four plates, etc. It is so nice to have pots and pans and dishes. I actually made coffee this morning. I had a coffee press coming in my shipment so I refused to go out and buy a coffee maker here. Instead I went to Starbucks everyday and spent $3 on a cup of coffee. I probably could have bought three coffee makers with the money I spent doing that.
We also got our new van Monday. Up til now, we'd been riding around in a loaner that had seen its better days. It was nice and served its purpose but it's always fun to have a new car. The best thing about the loaner was that it was white. All the other vans here are dark blue or silver (like ours). The white van made it easy to pick ours out of a crowd. Now we have to memorize the license plate number so we don't try to get in the wrong car.
We also got our new van Monday. Up til now, we'd been riding around in a loaner that had seen its better days. It was nice and served its purpose but it's always fun to have a new car. The best thing about the loaner was that it was white. All the other vans here are dark blue or silver (like ours). The white van made it easy to pick ours out of a crowd. Now we have to memorize the license plate number so we don't try to get in the wrong car.
Apologies...
for the lack of activity here on the blog. Things have been pretty busy since the last update. Kate and Emily are getting settled in at school. We've had two back-to-school nights to attend where we go in and meet their teachers and get a feel for what their normal school day is like. Kristi is still busy getting our apartment set up. She has also joined a women's Bible study and has started taking Mandarin lessons. And I've been putting in some hours at work and even spent a couple of days in Seoul, Korea, last week.
Don't get me wrong - it's not all work here. We've also found time to have some fun. On Sunday before last (Aug 26?) we went to the airport and picked up a friend coming in from the US. Alan Batman (yes, that's his real name) came to Shanghai for a short business trip. 
We brought him over to our place, gave him a tour of the neighborhood, then headed out for a little sightseeing. We wrapped up the evening with dinner and a stroll down Nanjing Road, which is a huge pedestrian mall. 
We brought him over to our place, gave him a tour of the neighborhood, then headed out for a little sightseeing. We wrapped up the evening with dinner and a stroll down Nanjing Road, which is a huge pedestrian mall. 
Last Saturday we visited Yu Yuan, or Yu Garden, in the Old Town section of Shanghai. The garden was built in the 1500's during the Ming dynasty. It covers about five acres and was originally intended to be a place for rest and meditation. It also has several buildings, or pavilions, that were used for public meetings. We took plenty of pictures that I will try to post here in the next few days. In the meantime, if you're interested, you can read more about the garden's history here.
Yu Yuan is a big tourist attraction so of course it has to have a tourist trap associated with it. Here it is the bazaar. We also have pictures of this and will try to get them up soon.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Puzzle Progress 3
We're making some headway now. You'll notice in this picture that we got a sheet of plywood under the puzzle. We were getting tired of not being able to eat at the table.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Puzzle Progress 1
Here's a little taste of the glamorous lifestyle we're leading here in the big city. We have a 2000-piece puzzle we've been working on for the last couple of weeks. It's been pretty slow going but we've made some pretty good progress the past few evenings.
Here's what it should look like when it's finished. It's kind of hard to tell but it's a collection of soda cans. 
Monday, August 20, 2007
How to get a soft bed in China
We've been pretty busy since we arrived here in Shanghai and we've had some crazy experiences. Everyday - sometimes several times a day - something happens that leaves you shaking your head. I would like to pass all these along but they often slip our minds by the end of the day or we just don't get around to it. Here is a good one from a couple weeks ago.
Our apartment was supposed to be ready when we arrived. The day after we landed here, we met with our realtor and the leasing agent from our complex to do a walk-thru, inspect everything, and take possession. Well, the place was close to being ready but a few things were missing - like most of the furniture. However, they did have all the beds set up.
Now I have to stop here to explain something. In China, the mattresses are hard. I don't mean they're firm - these things are like rocks. Sleeping on these suckers is like sleeping on the floor. So when we made an offer on this place, we told them we wanted soft mattresses. They told us this would not be a problem as they had some in the warehouse. Now back to the story.
While doing our walk-thru, we noticed that one of the mattress was still wrapped in plastic but two of them weren't. At the time, we didn't think much about it and went ahead with the inspection. Later after everyone had left, we took a little closer look at the unwrapped mattresses and it appeared that they weren't new. They weren't old and ratty but they did look a little worn. We brought this up with the leasing agent and her response was, "Of course they're used. You said you wanted soft mattresses." Apparently the only way to get a soft mattress in China is to let someone else wear it our first. In her mind, she was giving us exactly what we asked for. Needless to say, we told her that this wasn't going to work and the next day we had brand new mattresses. I guess it just proves the old sayng, "Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it."
Our apartment was supposed to be ready when we arrived. The day after we landed here, we met with our realtor and the leasing agent from our complex to do a walk-thru, inspect everything, and take possession. Well, the place was close to being ready but a few things were missing - like most of the furniture. However, they did have all the beds set up.
Now I have to stop here to explain something. In China, the mattresses are hard. I don't mean they're firm - these things are like rocks. Sleeping on these suckers is like sleeping on the floor. So when we made an offer on this place, we told them we wanted soft mattresses. They told us this would not be a problem as they had some in the warehouse. Now back to the story.
While doing our walk-thru, we noticed that one of the mattress was still wrapped in plastic but two of them weren't. At the time, we didn't think much about it and went ahead with the inspection. Later after everyone had left, we took a little closer look at the unwrapped mattresses and it appeared that they weren't new. They weren't old and ratty but they did look a little worn. We brought this up with the leasing agent and her response was, "Of course they're used. You said you wanted soft mattresses." Apparently the only way to get a soft mattress in China is to let someone else wear it our first. In her mind, she was giving us exactly what we asked for. Needless to say, we told her that this wasn't going to work and the next day we had brand new mattresses. I guess it just proves the old sayng, "Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it."
I can access the blog now...
I have found a backwards way of seeing our blog now. Unfortunately I still cannot get to some features. I can see that someone has left a couple of comments but I can't read them. If anyone wants to leave comments, please email them to me at baamick@gmail.com. Thanks.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Morning bike ride
Kristi and I got up early and took a ride around the neighborhood this morning. Here are a couple of pictures of some of the things we saw.
Here is a guy walking around with two sacks of turtles. I think he was selling them and I would guess they are for cooking, not for pets. I tried to get him to stop for a picture but he waved me off so I snapped one after he walked by. The sewer worker in the photo stopped him and appeared to be admiring his wares. I can only imagine what the conversation was like. "Hey, those are some nice turtles you've got there."
"Thank you for noticing"
"That one right there looks like he'd make a great soup."
"Oh no. That one is young and tender and will make some great kabobs. This old one here will be for soup."
Here is a sign that hangs over the street a couple of blocks from our apartment. You may not be able to read it but it says:Economize the energy resources,
The realization keeps on the development,
Develop the ecosystem industry,
Improve the ecosystem environment
Perhaps something is lost in translation.
These last pictures are a little distrubing. I wanted to get a picture of the church we are attending over here. When we rode up, we noticed that one of the widows was broken. It's pretty obvious that it is a case of vandalism, which is suprising. From what I've seen, the locals really don't pay any attention to the church. Of course, I'm assuming it was a local but it could have just as well have been a Westerner. It'll be interesting to see if anything is mentioned about it at church tomorrow.
Please email me...
if any of the posts or pictures here are not showing up correctly. I still cannot access this blog from our house so I can't see how the posts look online. Please let me know if anything is messed up. Thanks.
If it was easy, everyone would want to do it.
Excuse me mornig good I am now butwith go to buy the skyood I am now butwith go to buy the sky and raise the air.
No, I haven't gone off the deep end. This is a text message Kristi received from Shen Bo, our driver, earlier this week. Over here, you pre-pay for your cell phone minutes and are charged for every call. However, text messages cost a fraction of the cost of a phone call so people text whenever they can. Shen Bo's English skills are not that good so for the first week or so we would always call him but now we are trying to use text messaging. I made up a cheat sheet listing some common messages I might send him, such as "come to our home" in English and in Chinese. But I didn't give him anything he could use to text me. The message above is his first effort at sending a message to us. I don't know if he used a Chinese to English translator or if he typed this in himself but I bet he spent a considerable amount of time on this and was probably quite proud of himself when he was finished.
After scratching our heads for a while, we finally realized that the message makes sense - well, kinda makes sense. The previous day, I had asked Shen Bo to go pick up a bottle of propane for our grill. I think he was trying to tell Kristi that he was on his way to do this. "Buy the sky and raise the air" means buy some propane, which is a gas similar to air. At least that's what I think he meant. If anyone has any other ideas about what it might have meant, I would be glad to hear them.
No, I haven't gone off the deep end. This is a text message Kristi received from Shen Bo, our driver, earlier this week. Over here, you pre-pay for your cell phone minutes and are charged for every call. However, text messages cost a fraction of the cost of a phone call so people text whenever they can. Shen Bo's English skills are not that good so for the first week or so we would always call him but now we are trying to use text messaging. I made up a cheat sheet listing some common messages I might send him, such as "come to our home" in English and in Chinese. But I didn't give him anything he could use to text me. The message above is his first effort at sending a message to us. I don't know if he used a Chinese to English translator or if he typed this in himself but I bet he spent a considerable amount of time on this and was probably quite proud of himself when he was finished.
After scratching our heads for a while, we finally realized that the message makes sense - well, kinda makes sense. The previous day, I had asked Shen Bo to go pick up a bottle of propane for our grill. I think he was trying to tell Kristi that he was on his way to do this. "Buy the sky and raise the air" means buy some propane, which is a gas similar to air. At least that's what I think he meant. If anyone has any other ideas about what it might have meant, I would be glad to hear them.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Lots of catching up to do...
OK...it looks like I've found a way to post here even though I can't directly access this site. As the title of this post says, we have a lot to catch up on. You could say that we've had a pretty eventful week. Let's start with our trip over here and try to get everyone up to date.
We checked out of the place we were staying in Madison on Monday morning, July 30. I've got to stop here to tell everyone again - if you ever have friends or family who need a place to stay in Madison, we highly recommend you call Sam at the Hendricks-Beall B&B. You will be well taken care of (and well fed). Anyway, back to our story. We made it to the airport and checked in without a hitch, especially considering we checked 12 bags - several of which pushed the 70 lb. limit. Our flights were smooth, connections were on time, and we actually arrived in Shanghai a little early. We had no problems with the customs and immigration checks and all our luggage even showed up. At this point, however, the trip took a turn for the worse. We were supposed to have two vans meet us at the airport - one for us and one for all the luggage we brought with us. Well, we found our driver but he know nothing about a second van. So there we are with five of us (counting the driver) and something like 18 bags with only one van. Oh yeah, this would be a good time to mention that the Pudong airport has to be one of the hottest places on earth. We were able to squeeze all the bags in, then we all piled in for a nice, sweaty ride to the hotel. We found out later that Shirley, my HR rep, forgot to schedule the second van but we made it work.
So, 26 hours after we pulled out of Madison, we're finally at the Ramada in Pudong. We stayed at this hotel back in June and it's definitely not one of the better ones in Shanghai but it's only two blocks from our apartment so it's really convenient. When I made this reservation in June, I told them exactly which room I wanted. I should clarify here - these are suites with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two bathrooms means two showers, right? Well, for some reason, at the Ramada both showers are in one bathroom. Now don't get me wrong. We like each other just fine and I like to think we're a close family. But we're not so close that we're going to double up when it comes time to take showers. So, from previous experience I knew which rooms had showers in each bathroom and they assured us that we were getting one of those rooms. Needless to say, they lied. Of course, one would probably be available the next day and we could have it then. And of course, I knew this was a lie too but at this point, we're just want to get some sleep so we go along. The room has been closed up with the air conditioning off so we turn on the AC, crank down the thermostat, and - nothing. They didn't bother to tell us when we checked in that the air conditioning in the whole building was messed up. It was working but just barely. It would be like trying to cool your house with your car's AC. To make a long story short, we made it thru a restless night, checked out in the morning, and headed for the Marriott. Oh yeah, we got to cram the 18 bags in the van again. Believe it or not, the guy at the front desk when we checked out just couldn't understand why we didn't want to stay there for another two weeks or so. After one night at the Ramada, the Marriott was like heaven.
I mentioned our driver earlier so let me tell you a little about him. There are two ways to get a driver here. You can interview them yourself and try to find one who suits you or you can take your chances and have one assigned to you. Well, I told Shirley what I wanted in a driver and left it up to her. She did the screening and sent me a couple to choose from. We ended up hiring a gentleman named Shen Bo. He is 30 years old, married, and expecting his first child this fall. He drove a taxi in Shanghai for three years and spent the last four driving for some German expats. He is safe (unlike many Chinese drivers), clean and polite (unlike many Chinese men), and knows where everything is in this city. He speaks very little English, but we are still able to communicate and get where we need to go. He's really pretty sharp. Somehow he always manages to get the best parking spots. And when he drops us off at a store, he's always waiting for us at the exit. Some of my Dow Corning colleagues went thru 4 or 5 drivers before they found a good one so we're very fortunate to have a driver like Shen Bo.
Now, back to our story. The day after we arrived, we met our realtor and checked out our apartment. It's pretty much ready - we're just missing a couple pieces of furniture. In the meantime, we settled into the Marriott while we wait for our stuff to arrive from the States. Before we can get our shipment, we have to get an import permit. Unfortunately, we have to get our residency and work permits in hand before we can even apply for the import permit. This whole process will take up to a month so we probably won't see our stuff until the first week of September.
In the middle of all this, we got work that Kristi's brother, Mike, was having some medical problems. He hadn't been feeling well even before we left home and had an appointment to see his doctor Monday. However, Sunday he was having trouble breathing and went to the emergency room. His kidneys were failing and lungs were messed up so he went to Norton's Hospital in Louisville. He's spent the last several days on a respirator in an induced coma. It took a few days to diagnose but it looks like he has Goodpasture's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. It's still touch-and-go but it looks like he is turning the corner. He's still looking at several more weeks in the hospital, followed by many months of recovery. It's really been hard on Kristi because she can't be there to support and help her family. She fighting the urge to catch the next flight home but has decided to sit tight for the time being. Of course, any and all prayers are greatly appreciated.
Even though the Marriott is nice and we don't have any dishes, pans, blankets, or pillows, we went ahead and moved into our apartment this weekend. It's going to take a while to get everything set up and we're still eating most of our meals out but it is so nice to finally be in our own place. I'll try to post some pictures of our apartment soon so keep checking back here.
We checked out of the place we were staying in Madison on Monday morning, July 30. I've got to stop here to tell everyone again - if you ever have friends or family who need a place to stay in Madison, we highly recommend you call Sam at the Hendricks-Beall B&B. You will be well taken care of (and well fed). Anyway, back to our story. We made it to the airport and checked in without a hitch, especially considering we checked 12 bags - several of which pushed the 70 lb. limit. Our flights were smooth, connections were on time, and we actually arrived in Shanghai a little early. We had no problems with the customs and immigration checks and all our luggage even showed up. At this point, however, the trip took a turn for the worse. We were supposed to have two vans meet us at the airport - one for us and one for all the luggage we brought with us. Well, we found our driver but he know nothing about a second van. So there we are with five of us (counting the driver) and something like 18 bags with only one van. Oh yeah, this would be a good time to mention that the Pudong airport has to be one of the hottest places on earth. We were able to squeeze all the bags in, then we all piled in for a nice, sweaty ride to the hotel. We found out later that Shirley, my HR rep, forgot to schedule the second van but we made it work.
So, 26 hours after we pulled out of Madison, we're finally at the Ramada in Pudong. We stayed at this hotel back in June and it's definitely not one of the better ones in Shanghai but it's only two blocks from our apartment so it's really convenient. When I made this reservation in June, I told them exactly which room I wanted. I should clarify here - these are suites with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two bathrooms means two showers, right? Well, for some reason, at the Ramada both showers are in one bathroom. Now don't get me wrong. We like each other just fine and I like to think we're a close family. But we're not so close that we're going to double up when it comes time to take showers. So, from previous experience I knew which rooms had showers in each bathroom and they assured us that we were getting one of those rooms. Needless to say, they lied. Of course, one would probably be available the next day and we could have it then. And of course, I knew this was a lie too but at this point, we're just want to get some sleep so we go along. The room has been closed up with the air conditioning off so we turn on the AC, crank down the thermostat, and - nothing. They didn't bother to tell us when we checked in that the air conditioning in the whole building was messed up. It was working but just barely. It would be like trying to cool your house with your car's AC. To make a long story short, we made it thru a restless night, checked out in the morning, and headed for the Marriott. Oh yeah, we got to cram the 18 bags in the van again. Believe it or not, the guy at the front desk when we checked out just couldn't understand why we didn't want to stay there for another two weeks or so. After one night at the Ramada, the Marriott was like heaven.
I mentioned our driver earlier so let me tell you a little about him. There are two ways to get a driver here. You can interview them yourself and try to find one who suits you or you can take your chances and have one assigned to you. Well, I told Shirley what I wanted in a driver and left it up to her. She did the screening and sent me a couple to choose from. We ended up hiring a gentleman named Shen Bo. He is 30 years old, married, and expecting his first child this fall. He drove a taxi in Shanghai for three years and spent the last four driving for some German expats. He is safe (unlike many Chinese drivers), clean and polite (unlike many Chinese men), and knows where everything is in this city. He speaks very little English, but we are still able to communicate and get where we need to go. He's really pretty sharp. Somehow he always manages to get the best parking spots. And when he drops us off at a store, he's always waiting for us at the exit. Some of my Dow Corning colleagues went thru 4 or 5 drivers before they found a good one so we're very fortunate to have a driver like Shen Bo.
Now, back to our story. The day after we arrived, we met our realtor and checked out our apartment. It's pretty much ready - we're just missing a couple pieces of furniture. In the meantime, we settled into the Marriott while we wait for our stuff to arrive from the States. Before we can get our shipment, we have to get an import permit. Unfortunately, we have to get our residency and work permits in hand before we can even apply for the import permit. This whole process will take up to a month so we probably won't see our stuff until the first week of September.
In the middle of all this, we got work that Kristi's brother, Mike, was having some medical problems. He hadn't been feeling well even before we left home and had an appointment to see his doctor Monday. However, Sunday he was having trouble breathing and went to the emergency room. His kidneys were failing and lungs were messed up so he went to Norton's Hospital in Louisville. He's spent the last several days on a respirator in an induced coma. It took a few days to diagnose but it looks like he has Goodpasture's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. It's still touch-and-go but it looks like he is turning the corner. He's still looking at several more weeks in the hospital, followed by many months of recovery. It's really been hard on Kristi because she can't be there to support and help her family. She fighting the urge to catch the next flight home but has decided to sit tight for the time being. Of course, any and all prayers are greatly appreciated.
Even though the Marriott is nice and we don't have any dishes, pans, blankets, or pillows, we went ahead and moved into our apartment this weekend. It's going to take a while to get everything set up and we're still eating most of our meals out but it is so nice to finally be in our own place. I'll try to post some pictures of our apartment soon so keep checking back here.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Access problem
Sorry about the lack of activity here on the blog but I can't access the site from our hotel. I am posting this from my office. These are the little things that remind me that I am in an environment where some personal fr**d*ms are restricted. Anyway - I will update as I can from my office and perhaps once we are in our apartment, I should have access from there. If not, I'll switch to another hosting service. In the meantime, you can still email us. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.
Monday, July 30, 2007
On our way...
Well...we're finally on our way. So far, we've made it from Cincinnati to Detroit and are waiting to board our flight to Shanghai. Everything is good so far except for the plane from Cincinnati that had no air conditioning. At least it was a short flight. I'll try to post more details about our trip later as time allows. Take care.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Getting Closer
We are now literally counting down the hours until we leave for Shanghai. This past week has been incredibly busy for all of us. We've spent most of this week tying up loose ends and making sure everything is in order. Address changes, mail forwarding, garage sales, selling cars, and saying goodbye to friends and family have kept us hopping.
The movers showed up Thursday morning and moved the remainder of our furniture into permanent storage. They also packed up our air shipment that will be shipped over once we are settled in our apartment. We are allowed 500 lbs. each (2000 lbs. total) and somehow we came up with over 1800 lbs. I have no idea how we ended up with so much stuff. For some crazy reason, our stuff can't even leave the US until we have our residency papers in China. This process takes 3-4 weeks so we will be carrying over a lot of stuff with us on the plane.
Since we don't have any furniture or dishes - or a home - we are spending our last few days here in a bed & breakfast on Main St. in Madison. We are staying at the Hendricks-Beall Home until we leave Monday. This place is really nice. Sam is a great host and a fantastic cook. I would recommend this place to anyone who might have visitors coming to town and needing somewhere to stay.
That's it for now. Check back in over the next few days. I'll try to keep things updated as we make our way to the East (we actually travel west to get there).
The movers showed up Thursday morning and moved the remainder of our furniture into permanent storage. They also packed up our air shipment that will be shipped over once we are settled in our apartment. We are allowed 500 lbs. each (2000 lbs. total) and somehow we came up with over 1800 lbs. I have no idea how we ended up with so much stuff. For some crazy reason, our stuff can't even leave the US until we have our residency papers in China. This process takes 3-4 weeks so we will be carrying over a lot of stuff with us on the plane.
Since we don't have any furniture or dishes - or a home - we are spending our last few days here in a bed & breakfast on Main St. in Madison. We are staying at the Hendricks-Beall Home until we leave Monday. This place is really nice. Sam is a great host and a fantastic cook. I would recommend this place to anyone who might have visitors coming to town and needing somewhere to stay.
That's it for now. Check back in over the next few days. I'll try to keep things updated as we make our way to the East (we actually travel west to get there).
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Mailing Address
We have a mailing address where you can send us first class mail in China.
Brian Amick (or Kristi, etc)
c/o Dow Corning Corp
International Mail
PO Box 994
Midland, MI 48686-0994
Letters and cards sent to this address will require only first class postage. Dow Corning will collect mail sent to this address and send it by courier to my office in Shanghai so it may take a week or so for us to get it.
Brian Amick (or Kristi, etc)
c/o Dow Corning Corp
International Mail
PO Box 994
Midland, MI 48686-0994
Letters and cards sent to this address will require only first class postage. Dow Corning will collect mail sent to this address and send it by courier to my office in Shanghai so it may take a week or so for us to get it.
821-650-0157
We have a phone number where you can reach us in China. We were unable to get a Madison number and had to settle on one in the Bloomington area. There is a possibility that we will be able to get a Madison number in the next few weeks and I'll update it here if we can. In the meantime, the number is 812-650-0157. If you call this number from outside the Bloomington area, you will pay normal long distance rates, just like you were calling someone in Bloomington. It may be best to use a cell phone, especially if you have free nights and weekends.
This number probably won't be active for a couple of weeks after we arrive in Shanghai. But even if the phone is not connected, you can still leave voice mail. Once it's up and running, feel free to give us a call. Don't forget about the time difference though. Shangahi is 12 hours ahead of Madison (13 hours in the winter). We want to hear from you but not at 3AM.
This number probably won't be active for a couple of weeks after we arrive in Shanghai. But even if the phone is not connected, you can still leave voice mail. Once it's up and running, feel free to give us a call. Don't forget about the time difference though. Shangahi is 12 hours ahead of Madison (13 hours in the winter). We want to hear from you but not at 3AM.
Michael Vick is indicted for running dog fights. The evidence is pretty convincing that Barry Bonds has used steroids (plus by all accounts, he's a real jerk). And it seems that everyday another one of the Bengals is arrested for something. Of course, this handful of people are not representative of all the players in the NFL, NBA, and MLB but they are the ones we hear about. In light of this, it's refreshing to see an athlete who gets it right, understands how fortunate he is to be paid to play a game, and recognizes his responsibility to the community.
Last week Tarik Glenn announce his retirement after 10 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. His remarks explaining his decision included this:
I will always be indebted to this franchise for allowing me to be a part of a special journey. I have accomplished more than I ever could have dreamed. As I have played and established myself in the Indianapolis community, I realized where my destiny rested. I began to see that God had bigger plans for my life through football and outside of football. I also had a strong conviction from God to maximize the platform football had given me. As much passion as I had for winning games, I have the same if not more passion to make a difference in the inner city of Indianapolis.
It's worth reading the entire letter here.
At the press conference Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke about Glenn as a player and as a person.
“He is,” Irsay said, “what the Indianapolis Colts are about.”
Left tackle Tarik Glenn, Irsay said, was about class.
He was about consistency.
He was about excellence.
And he will be missed, Irsay said. A lot.
The rest of his speech is also worth reading.
Go Colts!
Last week Tarik Glenn announce his retirement after 10 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. His remarks explaining his decision included this:
I will always be indebted to this franchise for allowing me to be a part of a special journey. I have accomplished more than I ever could have dreamed. As I have played and established myself in the Indianapolis community, I realized where my destiny rested. I began to see that God had bigger plans for my life through football and outside of football. I also had a strong conviction from God to maximize the platform football had given me. As much passion as I had for winning games, I have the same if not more passion to make a difference in the inner city of Indianapolis.
It's worth reading the entire letter here.
At the press conference Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke about Glenn as a player and as a person.
“He is,” Irsay said, “what the Indianapolis Colts are about.”
Left tackle Tarik Glenn, Irsay said, was about class.
He was about consistency.
He was about excellence.
And he will be missed, Irsay said. A lot.
The rest of his speech is also worth reading.
Go Colts!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Some pictures
Here is a link to some pictures of the apartment comples we will live in. These are not pictures of our apartment but will give you an idea of what our's will be like. I've never tried linking like this before so please let me know if the link doesn't work.
http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/GreenCourtPhase1
http://picasaweb.google.com/baamick/GreenCourtPhase1
Friday, June 29, 2007
Playing Catchup
Let's try to get everyone caught up on what's going on. For anyone who may not know, I have accepted an assignment with my employer that will take us to China for a few years. So far we have sold our house and motorhome, as well as some of our personal belongings. We are now living in an apartment overlooking the marina in downtown Madison. We'll be here until late-July when we fly to Shanghai to begin our lives there.
A few weeks ago, we took a house hunting trip to Shanghai. It was the first time for Kristi, Katie, and Emily to see their new hometown. We found an apartment, hired an ayi (maid), and introduced the girls to their school. We even found a church.
Shanghia can be a little overwhelming at times but the area we will live in is pretty laid back. The Huang Pu river divides the city into two parts. The area west of the river is called Puxi ("xi" is Chinese for west and is pronounced shee). This is the old part of the city and is very crowded, has narrow streets, and is full of skyscrapers. 
To the east of the river is Pudong ("dong" is Chinese for east and is pronounced - well...dong). This is the newer part of the city; most buildings were built in the last 10 years. The streets are wider, there are fewer skyscrapers, and everything is more spread out. By Western standards, Pudong alone would be a large city (~2 million people) but it's a small part of Shanghai.
Being smaller, more modern, and less crowded than Puxi, Pudong is attracting a lot of the Western expats who are swarming to Shanghia right now - including us. Specifically, we will live in an area of Pudong called Jin Qiao ("Jin Qiao" is Chinese for golden bridge and is pronounced jin chow). We chose a ground floor apartment in Green Court. Green Court is a pretty big complex that houses mostly Americans and Britons, as well as a few Asians. Our apartment is 2700 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Being on the ground floor, we also have a garden. Evidently "garden" is Chinese for a 3-foot wide strip of grass because that's all we got. Actually it's a pretty nice little secluded area that's going to be great considering that most places have only a small patio for outdoor space.
One of the primary reasons we chose this apartment is it's location. It is only a couple of blocks from the school Katie and Emily will attend. The school is Concordia International School Shanghai http://www.ciss.com.cn/. CISS is a medium-sized school with approximately 1,000 students in K-12. It teaches an American curriculum and is owned by the Lutheran church. Like everything else in China, it's growing at a rapid pace. Presently, they are finishing construction on a new fine arts center and a new elementary school. It's a fantastic school that will give the girls opportunities they never would have had elsewhere. Emily's first field trip this fall will be a week-long trip to Beijeng, while Kate has a variety of programs she must choose from. In the past, some of the choices have included hiking the Three Gorges area, taking a train trip thru northern China, or learning to scuba dive.
If you've read all this, you must really be interested in what we're doing. Or you've just got too much time on your hands and you need to find a hobby. Whichever the case is, check back here often as we plan to post regular updates. And please keep us updated on what's going on in your lives. You can reach us at baamick@gmail.com or kristiamick@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.
Brian, Kristi, Katie, and Emily
A few weeks ago, we took a house hunting trip to Shanghai. It was the first time for Kristi, Katie, and Emily to see their new hometown. We found an apartment, hired an ayi (maid), and introduced the girls to their school. We even found a church.
Shanghia can be a little overwhelming at times but the area we will live in is pretty laid back. The Huang Pu river divides the city into two parts. The area west of the river is called Puxi ("xi" is Chinese for west and is pronounced shee). This is the old part of the city and is very crowded, has narrow streets, and is full of skyscrapers. 
To the east of the river is Pudong ("dong" is Chinese for east and is pronounced - well...dong). This is the newer part of the city; most buildings were built in the last 10 years. The streets are wider, there are fewer skyscrapers, and everything is more spread out. By Western standards, Pudong alone would be a large city (~2 million people) but it's a small part of Shanghai. 
Being smaller, more modern, and less crowded than Puxi, Pudong is attracting a lot of the Western expats who are swarming to Shanghia right now - including us. Specifically, we will live in an area of Pudong called Jin Qiao ("Jin Qiao" is Chinese for golden bridge and is pronounced jin chow). We chose a ground floor apartment in Green Court. Green Court is a pretty big complex that houses mostly Americans and Britons, as well as a few Asians. Our apartment is 2700 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Being on the ground floor, we also have a garden. Evidently "garden" is Chinese for a 3-foot wide strip of grass because that's all we got. Actually it's a pretty nice little secluded area that's going to be great considering that most places have only a small patio for outdoor space.One of the primary reasons we chose this apartment is it's location. It is only a couple of blocks from the school Katie and Emily will attend. The school is Concordia International School Shanghai http://www.ciss.com.cn/. CISS is a medium-sized school with approximately 1,000 students in K-12. It teaches an American curriculum and is owned by the Lutheran church. Like everything else in China, it's growing at a rapid pace. Presently, they are finishing construction on a new fine arts center and a new elementary school. It's a fantastic school that will give the girls opportunities they never would have had elsewhere. Emily's first field trip this fall will be a week-long trip to Beijeng, while Kate has a variety of programs she must choose from. In the past, some of the choices have included hiking the Three Gorges area, taking a train trip thru northern China, or learning to scuba dive.
If you've read all this, you must really be interested in what we're doing. Or you've just got too much time on your hands and you need to find a hobby. Whichever the case is, check back here often as we plan to post regular updates. And please keep us updated on what's going on in your lives. You can reach us at baamick@gmail.com or kristiamick@gmail.com.
Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.
Brian, Kristi, Katie, and Emily
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