Time: 1:30pm
It has been more than a week since my last blog post. Living at Minhang is deceptive because it feels like I have nothing to write about. It feels that way until I make a list of observations, then I end up with a list of 10+ things to talk about and I feel silly for not writing more often. I am still enjoying making photos to use on the blog hopefully to add a bit more depth to my text.
Caption: This is an example of the grass / weed puller's work. They will move up and down the field by hand and leave piles where they've worked. Then this guy comes around and sweeps it up. Zoom in with the plus button or go full screen with double square button on the right. Hit escape to exit full screen. Clicking the leaf in the upper left will take you to the bigger picture at the photosynth website.
8k Race
Last Sunday a group of us went out to Pudong and ran in the Jinqiao 8k race. A few folks kept asking me if I was "going to be in the race." I did not know how to reply to this because I clearly was not going to "in the race" for the gold, but I was going to participate. I just told them I do not think of it as a race but more of a fun run. The group did very well overall with our best runner getting 64th overall. I did not do quite as well because I did not do very much training for the race. I ran it in 41m40s. I was not in the front of the pack but I was not bringing up the rear either. I am quite sure that is the longest I have continuously run ever. It was an interesting experience. I am not about to go sign up for a marathon, but maybe in the future I would consider this.
Dinner with ex patriot family
One of my friends on the trip knew a local family from when he was a kid. He had not seen them since they moved away at the age of seven and now fourteen years later invited him to dinner and asked him to bring a friend along. He was generous enough to invite me along. The whole thing was a great experience. I went into it not knowing anyone and left with a few new friends. The company and conversation was interesting and enlightening. The food was a fantastically prepared southern pork roast with mashed potatoes, veggies, and garlic bread. Desert was a strawberry cobbler and it was fantastic. It was nice to go back to America for a few hours in a Shanghai 25th floor apartment.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Junior is located in People's Square in the heart of Shanghai. It is a fantastic burger shop that is a sibling of Hardee's. The burger I had was nothing short of America. I can't express how difficult it is to find a good piece of beef over here. I am looking forward to returning to some homemade burgers this summer with watermelon and chips. This visit to China really changes the level of appreciation for some many things back home.
The United States of Awesome
I really can't put all of my thoughts into words here. There is so much about China and living in another country that makes America so appealing. I can truthfully say that I miss many things about home. I made a list the other day talking to my girlfriend about the mid-west and why is it such a great place to live. America is great because of how it well it accommodate the people that live there. Food is cheap here, but it is not the quality found in the USA. I think the experience is so difficult to put into words, that I will just have to blindly encourage people to live abroad.
Ping pong with chinese student
I went out to play ping pong with a chinese student I have met since I arrived. He is a very nice guy. The way friendship works here is different than in the United States. The fundamental principle that helps form relationships is being in debt to someone else. When going out to do an activity for the first time, the activity is paid entirely by one person and they will not let you pay for any part of it. This creates a debt, but you are not suppose to pay off the debt immediately. The long term debt is a sense of trust and longevity of the relationship. So when we went to play ping pong, I could not even give him the money to rent the ping pong table and equipment.
Ping pong was pretty fun though. I had a friend with me and there were some other chinese students that this guy brought along. As I started to show my amazing american ping pong skills (volleying the ball) they showed their chinese prowess for the game. Just as I was starting to get the hang of it again, he went into over drive and spiked the ball at 120 mph. I just looked at him like, "Seriously? Do you know where I am from this game is for tennis players who can't hustle across the court?" I tried to take my game up a notch to compete, but it was nothing compared to their life long love for the game. Basically, I sucked at it. No one seemed to care that much, as it was just a friend game.
Science & Technology and Urban Planning Museums
Last week I spent a morning at the Urban Planning museum. I can summarize this trip by saying, "They are not moving toward the future, they are sprinting toward the future." The plans they have for this city in the next 10 years seem unaccomplishable in the United States. To a small extent, this is obviously true because we don't have the work force that can do this. I think the United States really needs to reconsider the high speed rail system.
Science & Technology was kind of cool. It felt like it was geared more for children than a twenty something year old engineer, probably because it was for the most part. There were some attractions there that were more for late teens than elementary school children. I saw manufacturing robots with some AI playing games with some of the people I was with. I had an archery competition with a robot (I lost). I saw some robots dance, it was terrible. It was cool enough I would go back, but only visit some of the exhibits again.
Chinese haircut
I went to a barber shop here on campus. I went in and asked the question, "Duōshǎo qián" while making a scissor motion in my hair to ask how much it costs for a haircut. She said 8RMB, $1.17 a good price. There were quite a few differences here than an American haircut. First off, I was watching her the entire time because rather than facing away from the mirror I was positioned directly towards it. She did most of the haircut with a comb and scissors.
I was pretty satisfied with the haircut as she was putting on the finishing touches so when she took the cloth off of me I got up and got my wallet out. She pointed over toward the sink and I thought, "Alright, thats cool." She washed my hair in the lay down chair, soap and rinse. She then dried it back at her cutting chair with a hair dryer and towel. Then she got her scissors back out and cleaned it up once more to make sure she didn't miss any spots.
I was impressed by the quality and the time she spent working with me for nearly 25 minutes. I was not expecting this for 1.17usd. It is not EXACTLY what I wanted, but my reference pictures aren't the best. She did very good work and it was surprising how much value there was for the money I spent.
Food (update)
-Vitamins
In January I started out not really ready for the chinese food. It was difficult to adjust to eating in the dining hall and I was often found off campus eating some higher quality chinese food with a bit more selection or some american food occasionally. It took some adjusting to get to that point, one of the student on the trip ended up in the hospital because he was not eating enough food. He was malnourished and was in the hospital for nearly four days.
Moving to the new campus, we no longer have all these great dining hall alternatives. I have had been adjusting to learn what can be eaten easily in the dining halls here. I have found that for almost the same amount I'd be spending in the slop line I can get some meals prepared for me, on demand, so it is actually warm. It has taken a bit of chinese language to learn how to order something I will like. I also enjoy these on-demand meals because they are typically boneless. The down side is that it is usually noodles or rice with some veggies and meat. My meat consumption throughout the day is less than 5 oz.
I decided that along with some supplementation of items from the store like crackers, snacks, and other things I should likely be taking vitamins. I bought a bottle of 60 and have been taking one per day for the last week. I am hoping it will help improve the last two months in China.
Apparently, one of the students on the trip saw a rat in the dining hall today. That is super reassuring for eating food there.
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| From J Biber |
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| From J Biber |
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| From J Biber |
Time Wasters
-N64 Emulation
-How I Met Your Mother
We have found that there is much less to do on this campus, so against my better judgement I bought a USB game controller. We have been playing Mario Kart 64 as a group of 4 players recently. It is a great way to pass some of the nights. The controller was only about 3usd. We have been having fun, but I do not think it really is progressive in terms of experiencing China. I am still trying to get out and experience it for all it is worth and this seems counter productive.
Occasionally our late evening are filled with a couple episodes of "how i met your mother." I was quite a big fan back in the States and I have enjoyed watching it again from the pilot with a group of folks. We just finished season two last night. The positive is that it beats what some of the other students spend their evenings doing, just consuming lots of carbs. Granted, a bottle of carbs here is about .50usd for 600mL so it is not too expensive just plain unhealthy.
Expo 2010
The World Expo 2010 in Shanghai will be starting May 1st. In the States it'd be called the "World's Fair." This will be the first one the US has participated in for a couple years. It is some political game that we are showing up to show the strength of the US-China relations. It will be a cool place to go and visit. I am not sure that it will be super informative, but I will let you know when I go to it.
Man Law / Bro Code Failures
China does not have the masculinity complex that America has. There seems to be a mutual agreement between all chinese men that riding on a bike or moped broke back style is legit. I do not mind it, but it is an obvious difference with the American culture.
Men are also often seen carrying purses for the women; at least here in Shanghai.
Urinal rules are often broken as well. It is not surprising to see two urinals being used side by side with others still being available. I do not really think it is a big deal at all, just a difference. My guess conclusion to this point is the smaller amount of personal space. Growing up with so little space around seems to have shrunk all the "personal bubbles." Since I have arrived, I know I am more comfortable than expected with folks being in my bubble. I just have learned to shrink it a bit. Just another reason I really enjoy the USA, personal space is awesome.
Upcoming Travels
-Sanya
-Guilin
Next week, I'll be traveling south. I will be visiting an island city of Sanya off the southern coast of China, but will remain within China's boarders. There is a nice beach down there with some fairly cheap hostels to live in for a few days. There is a small group of us adventurers that want to see the island and get some time in the ocean and on the beach. I do not really know what to expect, so I am not going to set my bar too high.
Next month, I will be going to Guilin in a southern region of China. I believe this will be a fun trip of hiking and biking. I think we may also take a short river cruise. I will experience the chinese sleeper car on the train during that trip.
Just before Guilin, I will spend a weekend traveling back and forth to northern Shanghai to the international raceway to watch the first Formula 1 race of my life. I am looking forward to the race and I am expecting rain. It is the rainy season so I am told to expect rain everyday of April.
Please share your comments and email me! Thanks for reading. My blog posts have slowed down substantially since the move to Minhang. I am trying to keep it up to date for the benefit of the readers and for my own personal record of what has happened since I arrived in China!
I will be coming back from China on May 17th and I will likely be very tired from the time change. I look forward to seeing everyone when I get home before I move to Cincinnati for the summer!
Biber
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