China Musings

Alright, i know it has been a long time. But I’m back. I actually got 2 emails from people besides my mother who watched these podcasts, so I have been meaning to continue, but a rather busy few weeks of work and I just haven’t had the time to sit down at the computer. Well, actually all I do is sit at the computer, but anyway… In addition, now that I have my new mac, I really wanted to do something other than paste some clips together.

So here, it is: a new, iMovied, video podcast.

This was taken in the morning before I left for HK on that ill-fated trip. It is footage of a local jook joint (jook is the cantonese pronunciation, mandarin is zhou 粥) that must have been in business for several years. It might look kinda sketchy, but this place is solid, and the food is good. They only make jook, dumplings (jiaozi), and changfen, typical cantonese breakfast/snack foods.

So everyone, practice your cantonese:
“mmm goy, aw you yut go show yo jook”

“I want one lean meat rice porrige, please.”

CM #22 Breakfast at Cheung’s

I suffered the rather dubious humility of being stopped at the entry point to China yesterday after a 2 hours train ride from HK.

The guy said, sorry, there’s no visa.

What? But I have plenty of time left…

Nope, just this one, which ran out March 30.

Oh no…

The following was recorded in my detention room, within the border zone at the Guangzhou east station.

CM21 - Caught!

Update:
I may have been a little bit melodramatic. I made it though a day in HK without incident, although I had no change of clothes and I was running out of HK money. Well, this photo is a good summery of the incident, 4 train tickets on the GZ-HK through train. Almost $100US for this trip… an expensive mistake.

OK, I know, why have a pic of SF if I am blogging from China?

Well, I like the picture. Also, we just got back from our US trip. We had a great time, but now its back to work.

I promise, when I get a good pic of Guangzhou that matches this theme, i’ll put it up here.

Now that I am back, I promise to get  back to my semi-regular schedule of 1 podcast a week. Maybe. How’s this. If anyone emails me asking for a new episode, I’ll put one together. I’m not sure anyone is paying any attention.

Finally, after 3 years of waiting and 2.5 years after officially filing the petition for Alison’s Visa, it was approved friday afternoon.

We have already booked tickets for Jan 21 (in 2 weeks AHHH)

Maybe we’ll see you then!

Last week I had to take care of some errands so I grabbed the camera so I could give you guys a tour of Guangzhou.

We start off at the riverside near my house. This area is pretty nice, but its a little too far to walk from our house, so we don’t come down here all that often.

The next location is the Guangzhou Train Station 广州站. Every time I pass here, it is like a beehive with all the new arrivals pouring out, and people flowing out to destinations all across the country. It is also surrounded by 4 long distance bus stations, and there is a Metro station underneath. Madhouse!

After that, rode the metro to the Tian He district, and hopped on the brand new #3 line. The #1 line has been here since we first came to GZ, and the #2 opened the first year we were here. This #3 line should be pretty useful, and of course it is decked out with all the latest technology, with flat screens showing ads and the train even has a map with LEDs embedded to show where you are.

Finally, I went to CITIC Plaza 中信广场 to meet Pietro in his office there. CITIC is the tallest building in GZ at 88 stories. I don’t know how tall it is, but it really stands out.

Finally, I took some shots from the park that lies north of CITIC Towers. Between CITIC and the Guangzhou East Station there is a large green area. I can’t really call it a park cause you are not allowed to sit on it. It makes for a nice view from the office buildings though.

CM #20 GZ Highlight Tour Part 1

If you have been paying attention, you will remember that Alison and I live in a district of Guangzhou called Liwan 荔湾区. This is one of the 5 main Guangzhou City districts, and maybe the 3rd oldest in terms of history. In terms of urban renewal, however, liwan certianly lags behind more central parts of the city and is just now receiving its fair share of skyscrapers.

Guangzhou as a city has been around for ages (predates Song dynasty ~900AD), and so while Liwan is not the oldest, it certianly isn’t new. In fact, on this little tour, we pass the alley where my Grandfather’s house used to sit, before it was torn down in 1992 to build one of the early high-rises. In fact, problably the thing I like the best about living here is that truly, this is where my grandfather grew up. Literally. He must have walked these streets on his way to primary school, or ran around with his friends in the Liwan Lake park down the street. When I mention a large tree, it excites me that my grandfather, at 10 years old in 1921, might have seen that very same tree get planted for all I know. My grandfather left home in his early 20s to study abroad, and most likely 95% of the buildings are no longer standing, but I am sure that the flagstone alleyways are the very same ones he and his cousins and brothers must have run down, giving their caretaker’s heart attacks. He’s #11 in this photo.

Anyway, this little tour takes us from my street, Duobao Lu 多宝路 down Longjin Xi Lu 龙进西路 to the parking lot where Alison was getting her driving lesson. Sorry about the wind noise…not quite sure what to do about that though.

CM #19 Motorcycle Tour of Liwan

Alison’s closest co-worker (seated in the next cubicle and working under the same boss) announced she was pregnant soon after Alison arrived at her company. Alison watched as her friend’s belly grew and grew, and we visited the new mother and new arrival 2 days after the baby was born. Now, the healthy little girl is 7 months old and under the care of both of her grandmothers while mom went back to work.

We decided to go visit the baby the afternoon after our trip to the consulate. We had a very nice afternoon with this baby. We were feeling kinda bummed, but the child was oblivious to this and easily brought smiles to our faces.

Also, our friends live in a Small District 小区 that is designed in a very different way than out little neighborhood. This kind of apartment complex is very common, and most new housing built since the 80s is in this format.

CM #17 A Visit with Yuanyuan

Coming home late Monday evening, I decided to put together another story podcast. This one tells the story of my first day teaching in China. The first class did not end up being a good indicator for the rest of my classes thoughout the year. I really enjoyed my time teaching and the students and classes, in general, were the best part of my first year in China. The little altercation regarding my first class was, however, a good indicator for my relationship with the administration. We can leave at this, communication was not their strong suit. Maybe some other day i can talk more about the politics and psycology of teaching in China, and why ultimately I couldn’t take it anymore, even though I truly did enjoy my time.

The links mentioned in this episode are:

Lance Anderson’s Verge of the Fringe

and sponsored by:
The Camel’s Back - Discover Central Asia, Visit The Camel’s Back.

CM #16 The First Day of School

As many of you know, Karaoke 卡拉OK is very popular in many Asian countries. I have managed to miss out on this particular leisure activity for quite a while, but my streak ended Friday night. Alison and a friend she had been dining with got an invitation to join some other co-workers in a hotel’s karaoke floor(? I don’t know what quite to call it). In the US, karaoke is often a very public thing, where people go up on stage in front of a lot of people, and they are expected to be good. In China, and I assume other places in East Asia, this singing sensation is far more private. Groups of friends or business partners rent a room and order a boatload of drinks - everyone sings, drinks, and makes merry. It doesn’t matter how bad you are, ’cause you are all friends anyway. I think this set-up makes a lot more sense, since everyone can get into the spirit of things and relax without worrying about getting booed off-stage.

So we went up to one floor of the hotel that had maybe 10 seperate rooms for people. They were already partying when we got there, and I am sure they carried on for a while after we left. We had a good time. I even sang the current pop hit “Mice Love Rice” 老鼠爱大米, whose chorus states:
I love you! I’m loving you 我爱你，爱着你
(wo ai ni, ai zhe ni) [woh ai nee, ai juh nee]
Just like mice love rice 就像老鼠爱大米
(jiu xiang laoshu ai dami) [jiu sheeang lou-shoo ai da-mee]

A-a-anyway - it was a nice time. I didn’t know anyone, and I think Alison didn’t know most of them very well, but that didn’t stop them from sharing their drinks and snacks with us. The group we joined were having a great time, and it was fun just to see them bond and let loose.

CM#15 Karaoke Night

I got a new phone today. After a week with no mobile pone - it was like a vacation - I finally went out and let Alison splurge on a new one. We got the Motorolla RAZR v3, and despite my rather pointless opposition to the entire affair, the phone is really cool. And yes, the phone is much cheaper now than when it came out a year ago.

The backstory is the phone that I have had for the past 1 year and 1 month (warranty was of course, 1 year) completely died. It had been struggling for months, but nothing horrible. It would just shut down unexpectedly while in my pocket, and I would have to turn it back on. Finally it stopped turning on, or would only stay on for 1 minute. So I took it to a local phone store to ask them to fix it since the warranty was gone anyway. They said no prob, pick it up in a couple of hours. So when we came back, they told us they could not fix it, take it to the service center. Ok, no problem. I took a morning and went to the Siemens service center here in GZ. They took my 20RMB and asked me to wait.

When they returned, I was informed that since a third party had opened the phone and attempted to fix it, and the evidence of their clumsy attempts were quite obvious, I had no alternative other than to replace the phone’s “motherboard.” On a cellphone, the motherboard is basically the phone without the plastic, and of course costs almost as much as a new phone.

I argued with the lady, but ultimately gave up and just stewed on my way to the office.

Well, if they are still selling these phones, beware of the Siemens CX65 or its descendents. Piece of CRAP! I had really liked the phone and actually wanted nothing more than to have it simply usable again , but alas I cannot. So I have moved on.

Rest in peace CX65.