Back in the USA

My apologies to all for the lack of entries while I was in China. I only have lame excuses (lots of work hours, difficulty posting entries with the restrictions in China, blah blah blah), so I thought I'd post an entry with some random observations and thoughts now that my 4 month assignment has ended and I am back in Topeka, KS USA.

Things I missed from the US while abroad:

I never knew what I'd actually miss from my life until this opportunity. I'm going to not mention the obvious (friends, family, etc) and look at the more mundane and, to me, surprising. The other thing that was surprising to me was that I missed "things" very little. But of the things I missed here were my top ones:

• Being able to drink water straight from the tap
  I learned this lesson the hard way (and found a great doctor in She Kou, the area where I lived). Every day (after that experience) I used bottled water - for drinking, for my waterpik - and every day I spent at least some time considering when I would purchase my next bottle (I bought 6.5 liter bottles from Wal-Mart at least twice a week). Thankfully I never had to worry about not having water, but I became a regular water mule around Shenzhen. I also never considered what effect cool water in my waterpik would feel like on my teeth ... ouch!
• My flavor of toothpaste.
  I took over a couple of tubes of the stuff, but ran out about two months in, which led to a great experiment in, and understanding of, the differences in flavor profiles for China versus the US. I thought, when I bought my first tube of Crest toothpaste that I mistakenly picked up shampoo, but it tasted almost exactly like the shampoo I use. The next tube I picked up tasted vaguely like a floral bouquet. Although I never found one that was similar to what I'm used to in the US, I did have a chance to try other flavors besides shampoo, and bucket of flowers - lemon zest was the best I could find.
• A place to get my haircut
  I should have found this early on, but I put it off and by the time I got ready to come back, I found myself rocking the mini-mullet. This is the longest I've gone without a haircut since I was probably an infant, although I have no memory of that stage due to significant repressive abilities. I knew going in that Asian hair has a completely different texture, so you want to select the barber carefully. What I didn't know was that most haircuts in Asia also include a shampoo and numerous scalp massages. The latter did not appeal to me, so I decided to become shaggy-doo and relish the vast amount of long, gray hairs. Not to worry, haircut happening at noon today!
• Chipotle
  This may seem a little weird, but while I loved the varieties of Chinese food I ate and found great Indian, Greek and Thai restaurants, the one restaurant I found myself missing while in China was this one. Perhaps it was simply missing the ability to consume three times the normal amount of needed caloric intake in one sitting, but I did have a couple of food dreams involving a big veggie burrito. 'Nuf said on that!

And these were the big ones ... there were lots of things I did not have (super high-speed internet with a stable connection, US ESPN (there is a ESPN Asia, but I could only watch so many recaps of the Rubgy World Cup), Facebook and Social Media (I had Twitter twitches from withdrawal initially), my car ... but, as Alisa Saville Lybbert has discovered (check out her blog at http://livingoutsideofthebox.com), there is much "stuff" that simply clutters my life and inhibits my enjoyment. That, to me, was one of the best insights from this experience. I think I'll be more mindful of the important things, as well as some of the little things that I've taken for granted.

I miss Shenzhen, the team and the friends I made there and it is also good to be back home. I'll post a few more entries of thoughts from this experience and then make some other entries as I return to Asia for shorter trips in the future. I've got to figure out a way to turn a trip to Jakarta to another jaunt down to Australia, as it's only about 4.5 hours more on a plane. As long as you are already nearby ...

Mas Culture/Custom Observations

One thing that has taken some getting used to in Shenzhen - Spitting. It seems to be even more prevalent here than in other cities I've visited. So much so it seems expected to expectorate. I'm sitting at the top of a "mountain" just a little way away from my apartment and it sounds like the dugout of a major league baseball team (that would be like the Yankees to all of you people in Kansas City). It just goes to show you, you can take the person from the farm, but ....

My guess is that this horking habit still exists because just a generation ago or so, Shenzhen was a sleepy backwater, rural village with not many people and almost no modern buildings. However, in the past twenty-five to thirty years, the government of China decided (as only they can do) to create a modern city in Southern China to be a rival to Hong Kong. So now Shenzhen is a good-sized city (about 17 million people) with modern skyscrapers and more under construction all the time. The average age in the city seems to be in the low-thirties, which is amazingly young when you consider China's one-child law. I think I've only met one person during my trip here who is actually from Shenzhen; everyone else is a transplant whose huoko is in a different province, town or village where their family home is located. And how that relates to spitting? My theory is that these folks came largely from rural villages to urbanize and brought their local habits with them. And with so many of them here, fallen fresh from the tofu truck, it's hack-spit-hack-spit all the way down Nanhai Avenue. Not that I'm not accustomed to this. My neighbors where I grew up could spit many different substances (baccy, seeds, etc) with the best of them ... the main difference is the way the population makes an exponential difference. I grew up outside of a town of 300 people and we had about eight neighbors within a square mile. If you spit in a timber and no one is around to hear it ... not the case in this city.

So come on over, enjoy the culture of the city and spit where you please. At least they haven't brought some of baseball's other onerous customers.

Observations in Taipei, Taiwan

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post ... I've been in the PRC, which means very little access to blogspot or Facebook. However, tomorrow I head to Jakarta, Indonesia (bring on the durian ice cream, durian donuts, etc) and so I'm staying the night in Hong Kong prior to flying out. Time to update the blog before heading out into this exciting city. By the way, the best way to come into this city is on the ferry from Shenzhen, right into downtown. It costs a little more than taking the train, but what a great way to see the skyline.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Taipei, Taiwan and had a chance to enjoy the city and the people while visiting our office. Posted a pic on facebook of a cool bookstore, but had a chance to go to a night market and really see the local action. and that led me to the discovery of ...

Stinky Tofu! when you are the city, and you want to truly experience a local custom, you must must must try this. The number of people who asked me to try it made me think this was a trick played on most visitors, but it is truly considered a delicacy, so if you want local flavor, then start achompin'. Given some of the other things I've seen eaten, this one didn't seem so bad.

More on "The Stink" in a sec ... first a comment on food at the night market. Mostly it resembles what you might get at a state fair or carnival in the US. Lots of fried and double-fried foods, bold colors, et al. Even though blue is not a food color that occurs in nature, it does occur at the aforementioned state fairs, carnivals and Taipei. Eat at your own risk, but it is pretty fun. I had a bottle of fresh squeezed sugar cane juice and no illness descended upon me. But do treat as a religious mantra "do not drink the tap water."

Back to Stinky Tofu - according to what I was told, given the amount of tofu produced in Taiwan, there are times when production surpasses consumption. I didn't realize this, but tofu can go bad. At this point, it normally gets discarded. However, where some people see waste and loss, one guy saw an opportunity. He took the risk to try deep frying the curdled curd and then serving it with a sauce on something like a piece of flat bread or on a stick (state-fair certified!). It had a distinctive wang, but a few adventurous folks took a nibble, liked it and a local culinary treat was born. To me, it had a flavor a little bit like blue cheese. So if you have the opportunity (and the stomach for it), give it a try. Bon appetit!

5 Reasons to live in Shenzhen, China

Some thoughts after living in Shenzhen, China for a little over a month - walking the streets, taking the Metro and enjoying the overall vibe. Here are the 5, in no particular order:

Safety - It's easy to forget this is a city of about 17 million people ... I was out the other night as the University Games were ending and kids were riding back on the subways with their friends. I've trekked through many neighborhoods and it certainly feels safer than a number of places I've been in the US. On other note ... I've seen about four traffic accidents since I've been here. they've all been minor fender benders, mainly because people don't speed. There are tons of cars on the road, and they don't always (or often) follow the painted lines, but they keep the speed down and use their horn to let other drivers stay aware. It is pretty amazing in a city of this size.

• Food (and value for the price) - I can eat a well-balanced vegetarian lunch in Shenzhen for about $3.50 US. Four courses with a beverage (purple sweet potato juice - yummy!). If I want to go out for a nice Western-style dinner (for those nights when nothing but a burrito (or the Chinese version of it) will do) and have a beer, it will cost about $15 US. Compared to other places in China, Shenzhen is considered quite expensive, but it is still less than Hong Kong and the variety is nice. I can eat tapas, Indian, Thai, Italian, Mexican, as well as many varieties of regional Chinese cuisine.




• Hong Kong - just an hour away, by train or by ferry (and I recommend the ferry, even though it costs more). HK is perhaps the most exciting city I've been to in the world and has a great vibe - like Manhattan, NY on a perpetual endorphin drip. Shopping, dining, both high and low end right next to each other and a mish mash of cultures that might be unparalleled (although I haven't been to Singapore). Prices are expensive there, but just over the border you're back in a less expensive Shenzhen.




• Metro (subway) - new and modern with six lines (four of which just opened in June of 2011 for the University Games. You can go almost anywhere for one or two dollars US. On most lines its not too crowded, although I think there is a game played by the Shenzhenians in trying to see how many of them can fit into a metro car. I think the slogan of the game is "there's always room for one more." The same game seems to apply to elevators, as well, although there is a buzzer that sends an alert when the max is surpassed on the elevator, and then everyone seems to understand that one of the last people on gets off, one at a time, until the buzzing stops. Very orderly. No such limit applies to a subway car ... the game stops when the doors close and everything can become quite intimate.




• People - it's a young city with young people who are surprisingly friendly for a place this populated. It's not difficult to stop someone to ask for directions and there seems to be an enthusiasm for things West, so a lot of curiosity. Aside from the children staring at me because of my size, I've had people come up just to try out their English and so I regale them with the little Mandarin I know. If they want an even more hilarious experience, I try out a little Cantonese, as well. I talk like a two year old ... thank you, hello, good morning, puppy, coconut, coconut juice, correct, incorrect. Most of the time I point at things I know the word for and say it. I'd be cuter if I tottered on my legs and had pudgy little arms.

If you have a chance to travel here, I recommend it, especially if you can stay for a week or two.

Hong Kong!

Wish I had a cool photo of my first trek into Hong Kong, but alas my blackberry was too low on juice. So instead I will insert a photo of the breakfast of champions for The Hulk ... a Green Tea latte. It may not come across in the photo, but this was a nice, vibrant green. The taste was not to my liking, but I'm trying out everything I can that has green tea in it. Dunkin' Donuts even has a nice green tea cruller.

Will likely only be in Hong Kong for a day as I renew my visa. However, assuming I am able to obtain a multi-entry F visa good for six months, I am hopeful that I'll be returning a few times. Initial impression of Hong Kong is that it is like Times Square on growth enhancing hormones. Took the metro to my hotel at about 10:30 PM and streets were crowded, lights were flashing. I was fading, but the city was definitely very alive. Will be back over during holiday week (Oct 1-7) with Meredith and Max and that should be outstanding. They will have fireworks over Victoria Bay when they arrive and we should be able to view them from the exec. lounge at the Marriott where we are staying. Crossing the border from Shenzhen to Hong Kong ... it seem like you are entering another country, which you are to a certain extent, as China has a one country, two systems approach for Hong Kong. More English is spoken, the cars drive on the British side of the road, it's a little cleaner and the service at the restaurants is impressive. Shenzhen is also quite nice, but Hong Kong steps it up to the next level.

Where Shenzhen is better and more modern than Hong Kong is in two areas: the subway and electric current. Because Shenzhen is a city that has been developed over the past 30 years and is still heavily under construction with new high rises being built, I haven't yet found a need for a converter. All of the outlets are built to handle both types of plugs. Not the case in Hong Kong, although converter kits are ubiquitous. The second area is the subway ... because Shenzhen just opened up three of the five lines in June (the other ones had opened a few years before) everything is clean and smooth running. A new subway car does not have a new car smell, but it does have a new "subway car" smell, which is vastly superior to the subway smells I've encountered in New York or Chicago. The subway cars in Hong Kong seem to be clean, but they are a little older and more rickety than the ones I've experienced just over the border.

My visa documents are with the courier, so should know by early evening what, if any, visa I'm able to secure. Hopefully the adventure will continue! If so, plans for the next two weeks are to go to Shanghai, Xiamen, Indonesia and Taipei.

Beijing - Day 1

Friday, August 12, 2011


As I sit in a Pizza Hut in Beijing, I weep for the future of the Chinese children. After a lunch in the outskirts of Beijing that was extraordinarily healthy with crisply cooked vegetables, sticky white rice and green tea, what China's youth is being introduced to (at least in the major metro areas) can do nothing but train their taste buds to want the things that are exactly contrary to good health and proper nutrition.

Having said that ... I never thought I'd see escargot on a Pizza Hut menu, or any number of other things. I ate a large garden vegetable pizza (green peppers, mushrooms, corn and pineapple), drank a red bean smoothie, a 7-Up, and then topped it all off with a slice of Green Tea ice cream cake (kind of like an Asian tiramisu). Yummo!

I chowed like a hound because it was my first chance to eat some serious calories in about three days and I tried to take advantage of it. My tour tomorrow ends late in the day, depending on Beijing traffic, so want to be sure I have Carbo-loaded. Today I found the challenge of a lifetime (for someone else, not me) as I visited The Great Wall. Words can't express how awesome it is. You have to see it and walk on it to believe it. It is a wonder of the ancient and modern world. It stretches about 6,000 miles and took over 1000 years to build. Designed to keep out the Mongol hordes (and other minorities) from the Han people, it is now serviced by a ski lift going up and a toboggan ride going down (think a luge on wheels going down a stainless steel track - really fun and not necessarily something you can do in a country with stricter safety laws).

I hiked (and it was a serious, sweat-inducing-wring-your-shirt-out-at-the-end climb) from tower 6 through tower 14 and saw beautiful lands. If I were to go back, I would have taken the lift to tower 16, walked over to tower 20 (which seemed to be the highest nearby) and then walked back to tower 6. However, this structure is awesome. I have a friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail in the US, which is something like 2,172 miles ... I have a new challenge for him. Our guide told us that Olivia Newton John hiked 220 kilometers of The Great Wall as a Climb for Cancer fundraiser in the mid-2000s. She hiked about 10 k a day and I thought, before going onto the wall, that it was not a bad achievement for someone a little older than me, but probably no big deal for someone younger. Holy Misunderestimation, Batman. I'd be lucky to make 10k the first day and I'd sure not make it hte second. If you ever have the chance to go to it, make the time - it is worth it. Also, go to the Mitianyu section and not the Badaling section (which is closer to Beijing). The Badaling section is the one that is most crowded and the pictures you take will not be as good. It's worth it to go about 50 miles out of town (although still in the pollution!) and enjoy a more relaxing time.

Tomorrow four more treats are lined up: Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace

Here comes the rain ...

I woke up this morning at 5 AM to the sounds of heavy rain, strong winds and thunder; almost sounded like Kansas in April. Wondered if I'd need to take my umbrella to work today, but just a light sprinkle as I set out, so decided to leave it at home. As I walked in, I was struck by two things ...

#1. How much more I pay attention when I'm not in a familiar environment. Even this will change as I get used to my daily route from She Kou to the office, but for right now I notice buildings, colors, smells, sounds as a constant frame of reference. I know, for example, that in the morning when I smell garlic, I am about two blocks from the subway station. Happens every day in the same place. I also know that the highest number of people I've seen packed into an elevator (that I was also in) is sixteen. Fortunately, none of them weighed nearly as much as me or we would have been exploring floor -3 instead of going up.

#2. How much rain improves the smell of the city. We had gone a little more than a week without a good shower and the smells of thirteen million people were starting to get a little pronounced. But today I could smell flowers, trees, cologne/perfume, and even baked goods. (Which smell a lot better when not mixed with the smell of fermenting trashpiles.) Even the streets looked better with all of the dust cleared off. I think Shenzhen employs a huge number of people to go around with brooms to sweep up debris as I see them everywhere. They pick up leaves, spare bits of trash and wear uniforms. Even with all of these people, an hour of rain does quite a bit more effective work than this (probably) several hundred thousand people workforce.
Nature is powerful.

Off to one of our factories tomorrow and then heading to Beijing for the four-day weekend!

Two weeks in ...

Sunday, August 7, 2011

A slow start to a Sunday, but with some big plans. Laundry day! I had to saunter up to WalMart today to pick up some launcry detergent and some other items. I learned that one of the great things in living in the city and walkin geverywhere, is that it limits how much you purchase. You can only buy what you can carry and it may only seem like a short walk when you are going, but it can feel like an epic journey when returning, depending on how much stuff you are carrying. I've learned my limit ... I can successfully carry a medium-sized rice cooker, 5kg white rice, 4L water, 10-pack of toilet paper, small bag of snack-sized Snickers (luxury item) and two plastic containers for luncher. Doesn't seem like much, but I wasn awkward-lookin gmess by hte time I arrived back at my apartment.

Now that I'm back, equipped with Tidd, I've fired up the washer/dryer. It's a two-in-one unit and I had to estimate the amount of soap I should add, as the machine is smaller than our jumbo-sized unit at home. If I had to guess, I'd say I was a little generous as the front-load window is full of white suds. Might have to do an extra rinse cycle on this one.

No big plans for today ... will likely head down to a nearby restaurant district called Sea World and check it out. Very touristy and designed for expats, so not a place I'll frequent very much, but they do have a Dunkin Donuts! I'm actually dining on crackers and white rice for a couple of days to sooth an upset stomache I acquired a couple of days ago. I anticipate being back on full feed in a day or two, which will be good because I'm now down about ten pounds since arriving.

My workmates took me to a great vegetarian restaurant for lunch on Friday and that was a great treat. Mushrooms, tofu, chilli oil, rice and watermelon juide ... felt great after eating such healthy fair and I'm even getting better with chop sticks. No pieces went flying onto my clothes and I was even able to secure the most slippery edibles. I'm hoping to look at least like a ten year old with chopsticks by the time my assignment is done.

Tomorrow it is back to work, but it's a short week as we are required to be off on Thursday and Friday for the University Games that are taking place in Shenzhen. I haven't yet secured tickets, but I'm excited to have a four day weekend for more exploring!

Coco Park, Shenzhen China

With this post, I'll add some images I took yesterday as I toodled around ... this is the Civic Center in the Coco Park area in Shenzhen. It's hard to describe the size of the center ... The whole complex is probably five or six city blocks long - this central image makes it look a little like a pagoda-inspired design. The undulating roof is reminiscent of gentle waves in the ocean. I'm shooting this back from a public square in which is looks like the city recently had a festival. The Smiley guy is one of many images and it looks as though there are a number of these running throughout the city ... I think there was a torch relay in preparation for the Asian Games that will be held here in about two weeks.

So yesterday was my first trek onto the subway (very clean, inexpensive and safe) and actual walking about the city. Today I'm headed over to the She Kou area of the city ... this is where my service apartment is located and I'm hoping to move in there later this week. Thus far I've been staying at the Marriott, which is close to the office and convenient, but you don't really get out to explore the city. The She Kou area also has SeaWorld Shenzhen, a large mall called City Garden Mall, and the ubiquitous Wal-Mart. It has a large expat community, so I'll be able to find places to get my haircut, check out movies, etc. This man, at least, does not live by bread, or work, alone.

In the Coco Park area, which I walked around in for several hours, there is also a Mall. I've determined, at least based on one China mall experience, that there is a certain "mall pace" that exists around the world. While the citizens in general walk pretty quickly, like what I experienced in Japan, at the Mall, everyone becomes glacial in their pace. The only Western stores I saw were related to food (McD's, Starbucks, KFC), but all of the stores had a distinctly Western style to them (images, mannequins, etc). The most amazing thing was that, in a city of roughly 12 million people, I bumped into someone from the Human Resource team I'll be working with who was visiting the mall with her family. It was great to meet them all and to have a chance to visit for a bit before I continued my journey.

I'm going to wrap this one up as I'm off to explore some more!

Lost In Translation

Had my first "Lost in Translation" moment yesterday while taking the medical exam in Shenzhen, as a part of the requirement for applying for my residence permit. This is a moment that feels familiar (taking a medical exam) but is just enough off-kilter to feel a little surreal. I was met at my hotel by a wonderful associate from Fragomen (the company helping me with the visa process) and she caught a taxi for us. Off we went to the clinic. We entered a part of Shenzhen without any English markers and headed to get my photo taken (my sixteenth passport photo, for anyone keeping track). If anyone does this in the future" my recommendation is to go to your local Walgreens/CVS and buy the bulk pack. I had to take the photo with my glasses off as they had steamed up due to the humidity when I left the air-conditioned cab.

Once the photos were produced, we headed across the street to a pink-tiled building that was a mass exam/quick treatment clinic, I think. My assistant started picking up forms, pointing out where to sign, talking with the various nurses and clerks and then shepherding me from room to room. The exam choreography was familiar (height, weight, ekg, blood pressure, bloodwork, chest x-ray, ultrasound), but going through each stage without understanding anything being said to me was tricky. I think the purpose of the Ultrasound was to verify internal organs ... I took the examiner for a bit of a loop when he kept trying to find a left kidney, which I haven't had since 1976. I tried to explain, but it seemed like eventually he just gave up and stamped my form.

Thinking back, it was probably a little surreal for the other folks in the clinic as I was clearly the whitest, tallest guy there, toting my work briefcase and standing in slacks with my shirt untucked. I was probably the vision of an US businessman, fresh back from a bacterial-infused cruise to Bangcock.

After just forty minutes, thanks to Ms. Zhu, I was out and on my way to work, looking for a breakfast stand along the way to break my fast. In just four short days, I'll have my results back and will trek with Ms. Zhu to meet with a government official for my interview for the residency permit. So far a fun and interesting experience.

Thunderstorms in the Midwest means ...

Travel delayed until tomorrow. The flight to Chi-town was delayed by an hour, which meant I'd miss the connection to the Hong Kong flight. Many minutes and phone calls later (looking for connections through San Fran, LA, Vancouver, Toronto, Newark, JFK, LaGuardia), I realized that the earliest I could get there was a day later anyway. So, tomorrow I'll start out at 3:30 and take the flight to San Fran, then the direct over to Hong Kong. On the plus side, rented a vehicle from Budget and rode back to Topeka in class in a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The nice man at the counter, after hearing our plight, even lowered the rate. Now I have time to take in a movie with the fam ... Might see Captain America, since that one won't be opening in China anytime soon.

Departing for the East

With much packing still to go, I'm excited about this assignment. Have secured all of the necessary paperwork to enter into China and work for the 4 months ... and learned a lot about how to take a great passport photo. To secure the paperwork, I had to provide twelve photos that then were hand-delivered with the forms to the government buildings in Hong Kong. Thankfully, our consulting company(Fragoman) had the required expertise and made it all happen.
Once I'm in Shenzhen, I'll need to reside there for three weeks, have a physical exam (cough, cough), and secure a residence permit before I am allowed to go to other areas within China (like Hong Kong, Beijing, etc). Let the adventure begin!