7 o'clock Saturday morning. A fragrance of female perfume is coming from my bathroom and 3 beautiful ladies just left my apartment. Did I have female guests last night? Yes I did, but no, it's not what you think.
A few days ago one of my best friends asked me if I could facilitate 3 German girls for 2 nights while they make a pit-stop in Gothenburg. For some reason I agreed to this even though my schedule was filled to the limit. I guess I just can't say no to my friends's requests. It was a nice experience though. It was a long time ago since I met such nice and polite girls and they seemed to enjoy the stay here. As thanks they invited me to a really nice dinner yesterday at an Italian restaurant. Me, tired as hell after 2 successful examinations on Tuesday and yesterday and they, exhausted due to an intensive day of shopping, fell asleep right after 23:00 last night. They just left to catch the 08:02 train to Stockholm and then go by ferry to Finland where they are currently studying.
I'm just going to write some stuff that is going on right now because I had some complaints obout my blog never being updated. Think I will start writing about my plans.
Lots of thought is spinning in my head and the reason for this is an opportunity that came up 2 weeks ago. I am thinking of reopening this blog and move back to China. On the other hand my previous plan was to graduate as Master of Science in just a few months and then settle down here at home. I may look like 25 but my real age is 31 and it feels a bit late to move around. Will I enjoy China? Will it be worth it? I can't remember my feeling when I left Ningbo exactly 3 months ago. Could I imagine a life there? At least for a few years. Should I wait until graduation or try to finish whats left on distance? By the way, can you believe it? I will be an engineer, something I always wanted to be!
Wow, when I think back on the year that passed I made some huge changes in my life that turned me back to the person I once was and wants to be. Sure, I had a downtime this summer. Guess it was aftershocks after what happened a bit over a year ago, but now I am much clearer.
People often tell me that "Wow you did this and that!" but I cant really feel that I did something special, just what I had to do in order to catch up time that I've lost. However, I can clearly see the change in my attitude towards everything. All the negativity is gone and I gained lots of energy and motivation. I feel good and I smile a lot! This hasn't been the case for the past years due to stupid priorities and a burnout, but at least I have learned from it. I am glad about the outcome but still sad what my behavior did to people around me. Strange, how the person that was closest to me couldn't see how I felt. But then even I didn't see it so maybe that isn't so strange. Now I am trying to deal with old ghosts. A betrayal and broken trust is hard to fix but I can't do it alone.
Anyway, let's move from my mind reflection and on to the offer I was talking about. A friend told me that a headhunter in China is looking for an adventurous person who is willing to move over there for a job. A large fashion company in Sweden is expanding their business to China and they want someone to open and be responsible for the new office. The job is to recruit the workforce and be responsible for them and the economy and keep the business running. I was asked if I wanted to be recommended for this job. After 5min of thinking I answered "Hell yes!". Being manager in China could be a real career booster. Also, could you imagine a Swedish salary in China? I could save a fortune every month. Sadly, the headhunter said "Fredrik seems to be a person who is on the right level for this kind of job. But, he lacks a background in textiles and this is vital for the job.". I felt bad for a few minutes and then I saw the bright sides. Someone believed in me and I am on the right level for that kind of job. So, it made me realize that I could imagine moving to China and start a career. Subsequently I started to apply for jobs and am awaiting answers. I do want a good career and I am aiming high, even higher now with my boost in confidence. This doesn't mean that I have decided to move, but I want to keep many doors open. I want to be able to provide my children with things like travelling and a house, something I wanted when I was a kid. Spending some time in China would make the career leap forward and I have time to catch up. However, I can do good stuff here as well.
We will see. No one knows what is waiting around the corner and for that we should be thankful.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
And a heavy arrival
It's not that I'm not glad to be back in Sweden, because I am glad. I am happy to meet my family and friends and I do spend lots of time with them. I am gradually adjusting myself to a life here in Sweden, but it seem to be a slow process. There are many things about China I miss to much. Going back wouldn't help, since what I miss are spread over Europe and not China. I can't listen to Shakira, Akon or Lady Gaga without feeling a bit sad but also happy. It makes me wanna be in Laowai tan having fun with my friends. Good times! I think this is because I have nothing special to do here for another 4 weeks. I know that I really need a vacation and take care of myself, but that is just not me. I need some kind of action, something to engage in. However, I must force myself to just relax. It's been some years since last vacation. Even if I had something to do I am not sure that Sweden is the place for me to be right now. After just one day in Sweden I started to wonder where to go next. I have some ideas, but I guess time will tell. Funny, while being in China I didn't miss much from home, but now when I am back I miss a lot from China.
I hope I will see my friends soon.
I am not complaining, I have a good life going on here. But over one year ago I knew exactly where I was going, but that changed over one day and maybe I am still facing the consequences. I think I do. My friend told me 2 weeks ago that I am lost, and I think that's a pretty good way of describing it. OK, I have done countless things the past times to secure my future, and the next 9 months will give me a solid foundation. I am not known to be patient, that's all. Again, I am not complaining, I am just explaining the situation to myself. Also, I was asked by several people how it feels to be back and what I have been doing.
As I wrote in an earlier post my friend was killed on an open street not far from my apartment. Soon after my arrival I visited the place of murder and it was a bit weird. 2 days later I attended his funeral and that was even more odd. Not saying good bye to Jori, but facing so many of my friends from the past. That was both good and tragic. If I think that I am lost, that is nothing compare to what most of them are right now. Some of them had just been released from prison and some was on probation from rehab. Yes, tragic. I think I was the only one with a collage education, except for Amir who has one year left in medical school. That made me really happy to hear.
The funeral was very personal and the church was overfilled with friends. Some even had to sit outside. Even the priest was a friend to us all, and he made the ceremony a bit joyful. One of the songs that was played during the funeral was Slippin' by DMX, and I have it in my head since.
I took a walk down The Avenue in the center of Göteborg a week ago. The big street was filled with tourists in the sunny weather. Even if there was more crowd than Ningbo, somehow it felt more calm and quiet. No one was looking and shouting at me(!). Wow, if felt good to be anonymous. I really do love this city during summer. Just hanging around at some cafe or taking a walk on the beautiful streets, breathing the atmosphere is a feeling. This is what I have been doing since I came back, and spending time with loved ones of course. Every evening since my arrival I had a drink with different friends. Good stuff, and right now I am waiting for one of my best friends Michael to show up. We will catch up the past 6 months. And to have a drink of course!
I hope I will see my friends soon.
I am not complaining, I have a good life going on here. But over one year ago I knew exactly where I was going, but that changed over one day and maybe I am still facing the consequences. I think I do. My friend told me 2 weeks ago that I am lost, and I think that's a pretty good way of describing it. OK, I have done countless things the past times to secure my future, and the next 9 months will give me a solid foundation. I am not known to be patient, that's all. Again, I am not complaining, I am just explaining the situation to myself. Also, I was asked by several people how it feels to be back and what I have been doing.
As I wrote in an earlier post my friend was killed on an open street not far from my apartment. Soon after my arrival I visited the place of murder and it was a bit weird. 2 days later I attended his funeral and that was even more odd. Not saying good bye to Jori, but facing so many of my friends from the past. That was both good and tragic. If I think that I am lost, that is nothing compare to what most of them are right now. Some of them had just been released from prison and some was on probation from rehab. Yes, tragic. I think I was the only one with a collage education, except for Amir who has one year left in medical school. That made me really happy to hear.
The funeral was very personal and the church was overfilled with friends. Some even had to sit outside. Even the priest was a friend to us all, and he made the ceremony a bit joyful. One of the songs that was played during the funeral was Slippin' by DMX, and I have it in my head since.
I took a walk down The Avenue in the center of Göteborg a week ago. The big street was filled with tourists in the sunny weather. Even if there was more crowd than Ningbo, somehow it felt more calm and quiet. No one was looking and shouting at me(!). Wow, if felt good to be anonymous. I really do love this city during summer. Just hanging around at some cafe or taking a walk on the beautiful streets, breathing the atmosphere is a feeling. This is what I have been doing since I came back, and spending time with loved ones of course. Every evening since my arrival I had a drink with different friends. Good stuff, and right now I am waiting for one of my best friends Michael to show up. We will catch up the past 6 months. And to have a drink of course!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Heavy departure
I don't think I could have asked for a better ending of my time in China. The last evening Senthil took Céline, Emilie and me to Shangri La, a hotel down town, to have the buffet. The food and wine was great, and so was the company. We had some laughs and I think we all enjoyed the evening. Afterwards, a bit to full, we took a walk down to The Londoner where we had a drink. Echo joined up later and it was nice to see the weird China-man before going home. I had to go home to pack the last of my belongings so we didn't stay to long. After saying good bye to everyone I was companioned for a chat and tea at my place. While talking about our memories in China it all felt so distant, and first then I realized it would all end. A bit sad, yes, but it felt like it was time to move forward as well. Saying good bye to everyone that evening was surprisingly easy. It felt like we will see each other soon enough anyway.
After a good bye hugs I had to continue packing with swift. I went to bed at 03:00 and my alarm clock woke me up one hour later, at 04.00. 50 minutes later I grabbed my bags and went looking for a taxi to take me to the McDonald's next to the bus station. This was the biggest mistake of that day. The coffee was great, but there was something fishy with the omelet, or maybe the chicken burger. Just a few minutes after my meal I felt ill. I had a 22 hour journey ahead of my and I was about to spend it being food poisoned. At this writing moment I am still not recovered. Maybe the stress had something to do with it. Not only the packing had been stressful, but also realizing that the time in China was over. Also the good byes took it's tolls of course, but I am about to come to the most stressful thing that day.
Just after arriving Shanghai I changed bus and headed for Pu dong airport, a one hour drive. At the check in desk they didn't say anything about the 2kg overweight of my check in luggage. However, I was told to remove 2kg from my hand luggage. I was only allowed to carry 12kg, and that includes accessories like my camera bag. I took my bag and went around the corner to KLM's information desk. I asked them if they could keep an eye of my 3kg laptop for 10 minutes. The pretty lady behind the desk refused but after putting on a smile and bribing her with some of my travel candy (thanks Helen!) she finally gave in. I returned to the check in with one laptop less in my hand luggage. OK, 11kg and my bag got a tag showing that it was approved to carry aboard. I went back to the help desk and reclaimed my laptop and put it in the bag. At the security check a guard stopped me and asked why I was carrying 2 bags. He pointed at my camera bag that the lady at the check in didn't notice earlier. I explained with poor Chinese that one small bag is also allowed. Then he placed both bags on a scale and the meter shower over 19kg. I was screwed. The guard told me to redo the luggage check and get a signature from the check in that confirms my bags are in order. What was I suppose to do now?
I felt a bit silly when I handed in my laptop a second time at the help desk. But what about my 5kg camera bag? It was stuffed with several things. At this point I was glad I saved a small camera bag I bought in Beijing. I moved the camera over to the small bag along with some other articles. I managed to hide the small bag from the lady in the check in while she checked the hand luggage and my big camera bag. "Everything seems to be in order", she said and gave me the signature. Once I got all my stuff together I went back the security guard who saluted me and asked for the paper. Still he was not satisfied, since my luggage was over 19kg also this time. After a minor argument he took a note about my passport number, flight number etc and let me go. He was to check it out later, I was told. To my enjoyment I made it all the way home with my luggage without a 100 Euro fee.
The flight went smooth but it was a minor hell feeling like I did, because of a bad stomach. Funny, I made it without any problems for 5 months in China and I become food poisoned the last day. Due to my condition I could not sleep for more than a few minutes every interval. It made me feel worse, and I had to force myself to eat anything on the plane.
I promised the day before that I would smoke my last cigarette in Amsterdam and be smoke free in Sweden. That cigarette tasted so bad that I could only smoke half of it. It almost made me vomit so I threw it. I know what you are thinking and no, I have not started to smoke. For the past weeks I have been smoking every day, but not even during my long flight I felt the need of nicotine. I just enjoyed the smokes in China and my last time there was all about pleasure. Stupid, people tells me. Yes, but I enjoyed it, and that is my rock solid defense.
I arrived Göteborg at 23:00 and my mother with man picked me up. They saved me some barbecue at home but unfortunately I could not eat that much. I crashed at their apartment that night. I only had 1 hour of sleep in 37 hours so I was beyond exhausted and sick. For some reason I could only sleep until 07:00, so that morning I had a long chat with my mother in the balcony, along with a black cup of coffee.
I planned to write about my first day back home, but now I realize that the post is already to long. I chose to stop here and continue after the weekend. Now I must try a few of my dark suites and find a black tie. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow morning...
After a good bye hugs I had to continue packing with swift. I went to bed at 03:00 and my alarm clock woke me up one hour later, at 04.00. 50 minutes later I grabbed my bags and went looking for a taxi to take me to the McDonald's next to the bus station. This was the biggest mistake of that day. The coffee was great, but there was something fishy with the omelet, or maybe the chicken burger. Just a few minutes after my meal I felt ill. I had a 22 hour journey ahead of my and I was about to spend it being food poisoned. At this writing moment I am still not recovered. Maybe the stress had something to do with it. Not only the packing had been stressful, but also realizing that the time in China was over. Also the good byes took it's tolls of course, but I am about to come to the most stressful thing that day.
Just after arriving Shanghai I changed bus and headed for Pu dong airport, a one hour drive. At the check in desk they didn't say anything about the 2kg overweight of my check in luggage. However, I was told to remove 2kg from my hand luggage. I was only allowed to carry 12kg, and that includes accessories like my camera bag. I took my bag and went around the corner to KLM's information desk. I asked them if they could keep an eye of my 3kg laptop for 10 minutes. The pretty lady behind the desk refused but after putting on a smile and bribing her with some of my travel candy (thanks Helen!) she finally gave in. I returned to the check in with one laptop less in my hand luggage. OK, 11kg and my bag got a tag showing that it was approved to carry aboard. I went back to the help desk and reclaimed my laptop and put it in the bag. At the security check a guard stopped me and asked why I was carrying 2 bags. He pointed at my camera bag that the lady at the check in didn't notice earlier. I explained with poor Chinese that one small bag is also allowed. Then he placed both bags on a scale and the meter shower over 19kg. I was screwed. The guard told me to redo the luggage check and get a signature from the check in that confirms my bags are in order. What was I suppose to do now?
I felt a bit silly when I handed in my laptop a second time at the help desk. But what about my 5kg camera bag? It was stuffed with several things. At this point I was glad I saved a small camera bag I bought in Beijing. I moved the camera over to the small bag along with some other articles. I managed to hide the small bag from the lady in the check in while she checked the hand luggage and my big camera bag. "Everything seems to be in order", she said and gave me the signature. Once I got all my stuff together I went back the security guard who saluted me and asked for the paper. Still he was not satisfied, since my luggage was over 19kg also this time. After a minor argument he took a note about my passport number, flight number etc and let me go. He was to check it out later, I was told. To my enjoyment I made it all the way home with my luggage without a 100 Euro fee.
The flight went smooth but it was a minor hell feeling like I did, because of a bad stomach. Funny, I made it without any problems for 5 months in China and I become food poisoned the last day. Due to my condition I could not sleep for more than a few minutes every interval. It made me feel worse, and I had to force myself to eat anything on the plane.
I promised the day before that I would smoke my last cigarette in Amsterdam and be smoke free in Sweden. That cigarette tasted so bad that I could only smoke half of it. It almost made me vomit so I threw it. I know what you are thinking and no, I have not started to smoke. For the past weeks I have been smoking every day, but not even during my long flight I felt the need of nicotine. I just enjoyed the smokes in China and my last time there was all about pleasure. Stupid, people tells me. Yes, but I enjoyed it, and that is my rock solid defense.
I arrived Göteborg at 23:00 and my mother with man picked me up. They saved me some barbecue at home but unfortunately I could not eat that much. I crashed at their apartment that night. I only had 1 hour of sleep in 37 hours so I was beyond exhausted and sick. For some reason I could only sleep until 07:00, so that morning I had a long chat with my mother in the balcony, along with a black cup of coffee.
I planned to write about my first day back home, but now I realize that the post is already to long. I chose to stop here and continue after the weekend. Now I must try a few of my dark suites and find a black tie. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow morning...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A few days left
I have been quite productive the past week and it feels great. I managed to solve many problems and I also received some good news. That feels extra great because lots of things have been stressing my mind way over my limit the past weeks. I do need a vacation now and just take care of myself.
Where was I? Productive, yes! Seems like I have something to go back to in Sweden. How long I will stay I don't know. I figured that if I went to China I can go where ever I want, and I am a bit curious about France. We will see. Things can change really fast, and that has been proven to me several times the past weeks, for good and bad. I don't really know what to write in this post so I will just see where the words are taking me.
It's time to go home now. I will go to Shanghai early on Tuesday morning to fly home via Amsterdam. I will leave this country with split feelings. Sure, it will be nice to go home, but I'm sure I will miss China a lot. The thing that keeps me here right now is my friends, even if I unfortunately don't get along with all of them at the moment. Hopefully that changes before I leave, I still love them. However, they will leave as well, so there is no reason for me to stay because of that. Travelling inside Europe is simple so the distance should not be an excuse for not meeting again. Now it is time to get serious and move along. Time to stop playing and make some money. That is what I plan to do next. My time in China enhanced my opportunities for the future. I made more friends here than I could wish for and I plan to stay in touch with them. My dear friends really made my time in China the best time in my life so far. Also I made lots of connections, and I hope they will be beneficial for my upcoming plans. The Chinese people calls it GuanXi, relationships and personal network.
On Sunday I will have a dinner with one of my former students to discuss what we shall do next. Our plan is to do some kind of join venture when I am back in Europe. This will be very exciting for all of us I think. It's hard to find people in China that you really can trust while doing business so I think I am lucky. I don't know what will come out of this, but if I fail I have at least tried and learned something along the way. That is the story of my life so far and I believe that it can be time to enjoy the fruits of it in a near future.
I planned to write about my sisters visit and a song performance I did a few weeks ago, but I feel to tired so I will leave that for the weekend. Now it is time to relax with a coffee or a cold beer as only company on my balcony. Thanks for reading, more to come!
Where was I? Productive, yes! Seems like I have something to go back to in Sweden. How long I will stay I don't know. I figured that if I went to China I can go where ever I want, and I am a bit curious about France. We will see. Things can change really fast, and that has been proven to me several times the past weeks, for good and bad. I don't really know what to write in this post so I will just see where the words are taking me.
It's time to go home now. I will go to Shanghai early on Tuesday morning to fly home via Amsterdam. I will leave this country with split feelings. Sure, it will be nice to go home, but I'm sure I will miss China a lot. The thing that keeps me here right now is my friends, even if I unfortunately don't get along with all of them at the moment. Hopefully that changes before I leave, I still love them. However, they will leave as well, so there is no reason for me to stay because of that. Travelling inside Europe is simple so the distance should not be an excuse for not meeting again. Now it is time to get serious and move along. Time to stop playing and make some money. That is what I plan to do next. My time in China enhanced my opportunities for the future. I made more friends here than I could wish for and I plan to stay in touch with them. My dear friends really made my time in China the best time in my life so far. Also I made lots of connections, and I hope they will be beneficial for my upcoming plans. The Chinese people calls it GuanXi, relationships and personal network.
On Sunday I will have a dinner with one of my former students to discuss what we shall do next. Our plan is to do some kind of join venture when I am back in Europe. This will be very exciting for all of us I think. It's hard to find people in China that you really can trust while doing business so I think I am lucky. I don't know what will come out of this, but if I fail I have at least tried and learned something along the way. That is the story of my life so far and I believe that it can be time to enjoy the fruits of it in a near future.
I planned to write about my sisters visit and a song performance I did a few weeks ago, but I feel to tired so I will leave that for the weekend. Now it is time to relax with a coffee or a cold beer as only company on my balcony. Thanks for reading, more to come!
Friday, July 9, 2010
An update
I haven't updated the blog for some time now. I have been quite busy with many different activities. Mainly because my sister and a friend visited me for almost 3 weeks so I spent most time with them in Ningbo and we even went to Beijing for a few days.Other than that I have been busy with several activities such as studying for my last exams and I passed them all. I will write all about it later, but now I need to write some sad stuff off me.
Today, as yesterday and the day before, I feel very bad. The class along with many other international students went on a day trip to several locations. It was a very good day, but when I came home later that evening I read on Facebook that several friends wrote "rest in peace" on a friends wall, Jori's wall. A bad feeling rushed through my body. I tried to find out what happened but no one were online to respond my questions. I found out by reading the local newspaper on the Internet. Apparently there were a fight just 300 meters away from my apartment in Sweden, involving my friend and another man, both armed with knives. The fight resulted in the other man being severely injured and my friend was stabbed in his chest and his life could not be saved due to his injuries.
Even though I haven't seen him for a while I felt chocked and very sad, and I still am. It's quite hard to write now and keep tears away from my eyes.
Later that evening I planned to go out with friends for drinks and karaoke. After the news I wasn't in the mood for doing anything at all. A friend persuaded me from staying at home alone so I went out anyway. We had a really good time at first and it felt nice to have lots of laughs. At this point I was happy for letting me being persuaded. We ended up at the KTV for singing songs and it was fun at first. But after some time and a few beers later that changed. One of the music videos was about a knife fight that didn't end well, and while watching it I could feel the bad feeling to rush through my body once again, since it reminded me of what happened to Jori. I felt really sad but didn't really show it, I was silent. When I think I had to much I tried to seek some support with a friend. I really needed to talk to someone or just get some company. My friend gave me a very harsh respond and that surprised me and made me even more confused. While being emotional and a bit drunk I made things more complicated and instead of saying what really was on my mind about my dead friend I started to raise questions. This was received in the wrong way and we had an argument.
It is very easy to say "If you need a friend I will be there for you", but really being there is another thing it seems. I needed a friend at that time. Of course I understand the reaction, especially after the amount of alcohol my friend had been drinking. But then why can't people be more understanding about my behavior just a few hours after losing a friend in a knife fight?
To my friend Jori: I know we haven't spent time in some years but I still remember the time we had with a smile. I am writing this with tears in my eyes. Rest in peace my friend, I will always remember you.
Today, as yesterday and the day before, I feel very bad. The class along with many other international students went on a day trip to several locations. It was a very good day, but when I came home later that evening I read on Facebook that several friends wrote "rest in peace" on a friends wall, Jori's wall. A bad feeling rushed through my body. I tried to find out what happened but no one were online to respond my questions. I found out by reading the local newspaper on the Internet. Apparently there were a fight just 300 meters away from my apartment in Sweden, involving my friend and another man, both armed with knives. The fight resulted in the other man being severely injured and my friend was stabbed in his chest and his life could not be saved due to his injuries.
Even though I haven't seen him for a while I felt chocked and very sad, and I still am. It's quite hard to write now and keep tears away from my eyes.
Later that evening I planned to go out with friends for drinks and karaoke. After the news I wasn't in the mood for doing anything at all. A friend persuaded me from staying at home alone so I went out anyway. We had a really good time at first and it felt nice to have lots of laughs. At this point I was happy for letting me being persuaded. We ended up at the KTV for singing songs and it was fun at first. But after some time and a few beers later that changed. One of the music videos was about a knife fight that didn't end well, and while watching it I could feel the bad feeling to rush through my body once again, since it reminded me of what happened to Jori. I felt really sad but didn't really show it, I was silent. When I think I had to much I tried to seek some support with a friend. I really needed to talk to someone or just get some company. My friend gave me a very harsh respond and that surprised me and made me even more confused. While being emotional and a bit drunk I made things more complicated and instead of saying what really was on my mind about my dead friend I started to raise questions. This was received in the wrong way and we had an argument.
It is very easy to say "If you need a friend I will be there for you", but really being there is another thing it seems. I needed a friend at that time. Of course I understand the reaction, especially after the amount of alcohol my friend had been drinking. But then why can't people be more understanding about my behavior just a few hours after losing a friend in a knife fight?
To my friend Jori: I know we haven't spent time in some years but I still remember the time we had with a smile. I am writing this with tears in my eyes. Rest in peace my friend, I will always remember you.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Birthday dinner
My birthday was only 2 weeks ago, but I've been quite active since so it feels so long ago. For example I went to a camping trip with Céline, Emilie, Viyaleta, Marizol and Isis to Putuo shan. We came back last Monday and we had a great time. We set up our tents on one of the beautiful beaches of the island and stayed there for 3 days. The weather was perfect and so was the company. To our surprise Céline and Emilie only got half a tent when they bought it so we shared mine. It was a bit tight and I think the girls wished for less snoring from me. When the tidal water set in our tents were located only 10m from the ocean, and I must say it was magic to fall asleep to the mighty sound of heavy waves. During the night the waves were glowing like neon and gold because of the plankton. Beautiful! In the morning we woke up at 08:00 AM with sunny weather and to the sound which took us to sleep. It was nice to leave the tent and walk right into the ocean for a swim. This was not supposed to be the main story of this post so I will move on. I just had to mention it while it's still fresh. I posted pictures from the trip on Picasaweb along with a few other albums. Please have a look.
Pictures of the camping trip to Putuo shan (普陀山)
My albums at Picasaweb
As i wrote in the previous post I was surprised by my closest friend on my birthday. The next day we went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. A few days earlier I sent out invitations on Facebook and via SMS to friends in Ningbo. 18 people responded positively to the invitation and to my joy 18 people showed up. It was a mix of foreigners and Chinese friends.
The restaurant is one of my favorite places in this city which I have visited once before. They offer a buffé for 98 Yuan and it is just delicious. Besides the dishes around the buffé table, very frequently a waiter comes out from the kitchen with barbecued meat on a sword or a stick. If you allow it he slices a piece of the meat and puts it on your plate. Every time he shows up he brings a new kind of meat from moo moo, oink oink and baa baa. Even chicken rolled in bacon...mmm, even better than it sounds. For 168 Yuan open bar is included in the buffé, but I chose not to. I really did not want to get to drunk and now I am happy I didn't.
For my Chinese friends I think this event was especially pleasant. They have probably never eaten so much meat before. Kevin misunderstood and put everything on the plate at the same time, even the food from the desert buffé. I wonder how the mix of vanilla yogurt, cake, fish and mashed potatoes tasted like.
I spend the whole Friday stressing around down town doing preparations before the dinner. Everyone, including me was a bit late for the reservation and it didn't really make me less calm. I did now show it though. I really tried to be a good host, but when I finally sat down it was hard to stand up due to tiredness. Therefor I did not greet every new arrived guest in the correct way. Anyway I improved during the evening and tried to have a chat with everyone around the table. As the Chinese tradition I went around the table, cheering and had a drink with every one, one by one. A nice tradition, but I did only drink small zips every cheer.
Angela brought me "a humble gift" as she put it. It was a beautiful Chinese fan which she painted her wishes on with Chinese characters. Kevin gave me a small wooden turtle with the Zodiac. The turtle symbolizes long and healthy life, and by giving me this gift he shows that he wishes me this. I think I have written about Paypay before, my Chinese friend. He is a extremely talented photographer and I am learning a lot from his works. His gift was a bunch of pictures, samples of his best works. It may seem silly if you don't understand the Chinese customs and culture, but this is really a precious gift and it means lots to me. Also he gave me a 3D puzzle of an old Chinese building. I will put it together when I find the time. Benson could not attend the dinner due to a business trip, but he prepared a special gift to me earlier that Armin delivered to the happening. It was a wooded 'doll' that you uses for drawings of humans, painted as Bruce Lee. When I turned it up side down I found a painted portrait of me. This was a thing that pushed me over the edge to become a bit emotional, but I did not show it. My friends brought me so personal gift and of course it's impossible not to be moved. I hope they could see my appreciation.
After the dinner we moved down to Lao waitan for drinking and dancing. I had a pain on my right side of the chest that reminded me of the lung problem so when people asked me to dance I had to refuse. They told me I had to dance on my birthday and it was hard to come up with an excuse. I kept it a secret to everyone except Armin because I didn't want to worry anyone. We were there to have fun.
We were all a bit tired and the parties in Ningbo starts at 24:00, so the bar was a bit empty. Moving on to a dance club, spending the night in the bar chatting with friends. I had a really nice time filled with excitement. One by one people started to drop off and return home, a bit early but they were tired. When I shared a taxi home with Céline and Kevin, Fredrik were still dancing salsa with Ruru in an ally.
All in all the Friday evening was great with a perfect ending.
Posting a few pictures from the Thursday and Friday, taken by Vincent and Armin.
Showing off with the watch
Cheering with Viyaleta
Boris and a piece of moo moo
My reaction when I opened Bensons present
Showing the portrait
Céline with my present from Angela
Emilie with the Zodiac turtle
Emilie and Vincent
Ruru and Fredrik
Pictures of the camping trip to Putuo shan (普陀山)
My albums at Picasaweb
As i wrote in the previous post I was surprised by my closest friend on my birthday. The next day we went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. A few days earlier I sent out invitations on Facebook and via SMS to friends in Ningbo. 18 people responded positively to the invitation and to my joy 18 people showed up. It was a mix of foreigners and Chinese friends.
The restaurant is one of my favorite places in this city which I have visited once before. They offer a buffé for 98 Yuan and it is just delicious. Besides the dishes around the buffé table, very frequently a waiter comes out from the kitchen with barbecued meat on a sword or a stick. If you allow it he slices a piece of the meat and puts it on your plate. Every time he shows up he brings a new kind of meat from moo moo, oink oink and baa baa. Even chicken rolled in bacon...mmm, even better than it sounds. For 168 Yuan open bar is included in the buffé, but I chose not to. I really did not want to get to drunk and now I am happy I didn't.
For my Chinese friends I think this event was especially pleasant. They have probably never eaten so much meat before. Kevin misunderstood and put everything on the plate at the same time, even the food from the desert buffé. I wonder how the mix of vanilla yogurt, cake, fish and mashed potatoes tasted like.
I spend the whole Friday stressing around down town doing preparations before the dinner. Everyone, including me was a bit late for the reservation and it didn't really make me less calm. I did now show it though. I really tried to be a good host, but when I finally sat down it was hard to stand up due to tiredness. Therefor I did not greet every new arrived guest in the correct way. Anyway I improved during the evening and tried to have a chat with everyone around the table. As the Chinese tradition I went around the table, cheering and had a drink with every one, one by one. A nice tradition, but I did only drink small zips every cheer.
Angela brought me "a humble gift" as she put it. It was a beautiful Chinese fan which she painted her wishes on with Chinese characters. Kevin gave me a small wooden turtle with the Zodiac. The turtle symbolizes long and healthy life, and by giving me this gift he shows that he wishes me this. I think I have written about Paypay before, my Chinese friend. He is a extremely talented photographer and I am learning a lot from his works. His gift was a bunch of pictures, samples of his best works. It may seem silly if you don't understand the Chinese customs and culture, but this is really a precious gift and it means lots to me. Also he gave me a 3D puzzle of an old Chinese building. I will put it together when I find the time. Benson could not attend the dinner due to a business trip, but he prepared a special gift to me earlier that Armin delivered to the happening. It was a wooded 'doll' that you uses for drawings of humans, painted as Bruce Lee. When I turned it up side down I found a painted portrait of me. This was a thing that pushed me over the edge to become a bit emotional, but I did not show it. My friends brought me so personal gift and of course it's impossible not to be moved. I hope they could see my appreciation.
After the dinner we moved down to Lao waitan for drinking and dancing. I had a pain on my right side of the chest that reminded me of the lung problem so when people asked me to dance I had to refuse. They told me I had to dance on my birthday and it was hard to come up with an excuse. I kept it a secret to everyone except Armin because I didn't want to worry anyone. We were there to have fun.
We were all a bit tired and the parties in Ningbo starts at 24:00, so the bar was a bit empty. Moving on to a dance club, spending the night in the bar chatting with friends. I had a really nice time filled with excitement. One by one people started to drop off and return home, a bit early but they were tired. When I shared a taxi home with Céline and Kevin, Fredrik were still dancing salsa with Ruru in an ally.
All in all the Friday evening was great with a perfect ending.
Posting a few pictures from the Thursday and Friday, taken by Vincent and Armin.
Being surprised by Céline, Emilie, Armin and Vincent on my birthday at Starbucks
Showing off with the watch
Cheering with Viyaleta
Boris and a piece of moo moo
My reaction when I opened Bensons present
Showing the portrait
Céline with my present from Angela
Emilie with the Zodiac turtle
Emilie and Vincent
Ruru and Fredrik
Monday, June 7, 2010
Suplise!
Tired and late for class. This is how my Thursday started. Still I decided to start the day slowly so I took my time getting ready to face the sunlight. I arrived in the classroom more than 10 minutes late. To my big surprise I was met by smiles and applauses. "What have I've done?", I was thinking, but when my dear class started to sing Happy birthday in Chinese it came back to me: It was my birthday. With a smile on my face I took a seat and enjoyed the singing. It turned out they had practiced the song in Chinese before I arrived at class. I felt surprised, happy and appreciated.
After class my friends joined me for lunch at a restaurant of my choice and it was my job to order the dishes. I tried to order to satisfy everyone around the table but failed. The restaurant is specialized in spicy food and the French girls are not so fund about hot spices. Anyway we enjoyed nice company during the meal. Time for coffee and we moved out business to a cafe near by. This was especially nice, because normally only Armin and I drink coffee after lunch. We played a game of "Fia" and once again I totally dominated the board game! OK maybe not dominated but I left the cafe with another win in my record.
After class my friends joined me for lunch at a restaurant of my choice and it was my job to order the dishes. I tried to order to satisfy everyone around the table but failed. The restaurant is specialized in spicy food and the French girls are not so fund about hot spices. Anyway we enjoyed nice company during the meal. Time for coffee and we moved out business to a cafe near by. This was especially nice, because normally only Armin and I drink coffee after lunch. We played a game of "Fia" and once again I totally dominated the board game! OK maybe not dominated but I left the cafe with another win in my record.
Pleased with my friends attention this day I took a taxi to the center of Ningbo for shopping before my teaching class later that evening. My plan was to buy for new clothes for the dinner Friday night. I've booked a table at a Brazilian restaurant to celebrate my birthday and to have a good time with my friends, and for this event I needed a new outfit. I did not find anything to buy that afternoon, but I received a present from a friend who is manager of a store down town, a new belt. This was very welcome because I wanted to buy a new one for some time.
For a few weeks I wanted to buy a new wrist watch and I found just the one I want. Two weeks earlier Emilie and Armin helped me pick a watch I really like but I wasn't sure I could spend the money so I decided to wait. This Thursday I went back to the store to see the watch again and my opinion had not changed, this was the watch for me. I checked the watch for a few minutes but asked the owner to keep it for me for a few more days, until Sunday at the latest. It is not that often a man buys a new watch so I wanted another opinion and maybe some help with the bargain. It was now time for me to head towards work. The office is located 15min of walk away from the city center. I put on Daniel Merriweather in my earphones and started to cruise the avenue in the sunlight. Even though it was rush hour in this huge city and everyone was looking at the foreigner, I felt swallowed by the music and atmosphere and had a nice feeling of being alone for a moment.
My class turned out great and everyone was happy with the evenings agenda. Armin called me during the break. He told me that he and Benson was shopping down town and wanted me to join them for a beer after my class. Not a bad idea, even though I was a bit tired. Benson, who is Chinese, could help me bargain for the watch. We decided to meet at the big Starbucks after my work and one of my students offered me a ride which I accepted.
At Starbucks I found Armin to be alone. Benson left to see a friend so no watch for me. Armin suggested that we should have a quick coffee and then head down to Lao Waitan for beers. This made me a bit worried because I talked with Céline the day before about doing something back at campus. We ordered coffee and when I asked Armin about the others he told me that they are back at campus doing nothing and he looked a bit nervous. I became a bit suspicious and Armin looked over my shoulder. I turned around and to my big surprise I see Céline, Emilie and Vincent walking down the stairs from the second floor, carrying a cake with burning candles singing Happy birthday! I was stunned and it was to impossible to hide my joy. After blowing out the candles I hugged them all, obviously happy, and they handed me a present. We went upstairs, sat down and cut the cake. I was extremely curious about the present and was ordered to open it.
I could not believe my eyes! They bought the watch! Just one hour after I left the store they arrived to buy it. A perfect gift, because apparently I really wanted that watch. They, along with Helen, Charles, Viyaleta and Fredrik, have truncated money to buy the watch for me.
I could not believe my eyes! They bought the watch! Just one hour after I left the store they arrived to buy it. A perfect gift, because apparently I really wanted that watch. They, along with Helen, Charles, Viyaleta and Fredrik, have truncated money to buy the watch for me.
We ate the delicious cake and I felt surprised, chocked and mostly appreciated. This was a great ending of a great birthday! I went to bed that night with a big smile on my face and I am not sure that I ever felt so appreciated. I am grateful for my wonderful friends who paid lots of effort to show it to me!
I will soon update the post with more info about the dinner party we had last Friday.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Teacher Kerry
0
comments
Labels:
Daily life
Today I am feeling the result of yesterday's activities. The tennis session was a bit too intensive. We played between 13:00 to 17:30 in 30°C and compensated with many bottles of water. The tennis courts were all available for a reason and the activity must have looked stupid to others. It was fun though, and I really enjoyed playing double with a Chinese student called Mosquito against Armin and a girl called Maggie. We were leading in the beginning but somehow we ended up losing. Probably because of my mistakes. I was expecting pain all over today but I am just a bit stiff in my back and ankles and my suntan is slightly improved, as well as my back hand. I must admit I took a break from writing this post to play tennis for another 2.5h today before going to cooking class. This weeks dish was fried pumpkin with egg and salt, my favorite! I know I should take it easy due to my lung problem, but I cant. For me it is worse watching the other kids play basketball, tennis or practice Kung fu from the bench than worrying about surgery. I need to move! And I really enjoy these sports. If I feel bad I will just take it easy.
Céline is back in town after some travelling and that is good news! We decided to study together at the library more frequently and I really need it. She is an excellent study-partner. Somehow I learn a lot studying with her and it seems that she thinks the same about me. I know that the French girl also improves her English with me so it is "win win". The past weeks have been really "easy living" so not it is time to get a grip of the Chines language again. My score in Chinese writing and reading exam went down from 81% to 70%. Not so bad, especially considering that the last exam was totally in Chinese characters, but I can do better.
Teacher Kerry, that is me. As I wrote in the last post I took a part time job as English teacher, offered by James. Every Thursday I meet my class of Chinese businessmen to teach them the English language and also exchange some cultural knowledge. The job is very satisfying in many ways. I found out I really enjoy teaching and think that I am pretty good at it. Of course, I am a rookie and there is much to improve but I have a solid base in my opinion and my students seems to be pleased. Another positive side about this new friends and connections. Already the first session I got a few hints from one of my students who owns a shipping company and a trading company. If I will leave China she talked about an agency in Sweden and that might be interesting. Almost everyone is involved with trading or shipping here so there are many opportunities if your'e just a bit curious, social and open minded. Not sure yet, I might have other plans, but maybe trading as a side business isn't a bad idea.
Teaching my class i relatively easy. All of my students are somewhat advanced with Chinese measurement, and they are very curious about western culture so we never run out of topics. My job is mainly to make them speak and use the English language. The first lesson I got instructions from my employers how to run the class and I followed the orders. The next lesson after that I totally ignored it and ran my own race. A session often starts with small chat about work or activities that took place the recent week. When I think we had enough of it I read an article to them and they follow and they are trying to learn how the words are to be pronounced. Then we have a discussion about the article and I can hear if they understood the text or not, and what to improve. The last hour we play a game and they really enjoy it. I prepare words for them and one by one they will explain the word to the others without revealing it. If they succeed they receive points. This forces them to speak up and practice. I am there to correct and encourage. I see huge improvement compare to the first session. Mainly that is because they are more comfortable about speaking up now I think. They told me that they feel relaxed with me as their teacher, and I hope it is true.
Last week James asked me if I could do a private English session with a 19 year old man to prepare him for a test that would take place 3 days later in Shanghai. He applied to an English university and needed to take test in writing, reading and attend an oral interview. As normal, James asked me 2 hours before the session would start and it was 2 days before my exam. I accepted though, thinking it could be an experience and some extra money could not hurt. The kid was son of a successful businessman who owns a large factory in Ningbo.
When I entered the classroom the kid instantly stood up and greeted me in the most polite way. I could tell that his kid have been drilled in behaving properly. Probably through his fathers business events. It was very clear when I gave him my business card later that evening. He made all the correct steps by the book in how to receive a card properly.
It took almost 5 minutes before he could say one word correctly, except his name. I was thinking that it would be a long lesson and he cannot speak English at all. It turned out he was extremely nervous and I could see him shaking. This was his first meeting with a foreigner and to many people here that is a big thing. The day at the opera a girl approached me and said "Hi, this is a big honor for you. This is the first time I speak to a foreigner and it has been one of my greatest wishes for years". I was not really surprised but it felt a bit weird. I greeted her and I could hear her heart beat like a drum-set. "Wow, you are so handsome! Now I need to go because I have something to do. Bye!", she said and disappeared quickly. I wonder how much courage it took before she decided to talk to me.
It took a few minutes before I found out what kind of interest the kid has, and I tried to make him talk about them and be curious. His nervousness suddenly took a change. He traded his seat for another one next to mine and explained about Taekwondo with glowing eyes. Until he started to study English for real he used to practice Taekwondo 6 days a week and he has a black belt. The Chinese humor is not like mine, but after I tried some jokes with him he was much calmer. After the first hour his English was not so poor after all.
I did a fake interview to prepare him for the real one. I have received questions from James earlier, but it was obvious that the kid had practiced the questions over and over again. If I asked something else he was totally lost. Even if I did ask the right questions but in the wrong order he was confused. So, I threw the paper and started to perform a quite hard interview with him with my own questions. He gave me some real good answers after some guidance, and they sounded much better than the standard replies he was provided with.
I met his parents after the lesson and he seemed quite happy with the past 2 hours. His mother thanked me I don't know how many times. They asked me if I could teach him for another 2 hours on the day before the interview and I accepted. It was the same day as my ordinary class but a few hours earlier. I spent the gap shopping so it was perfect. Our office is located in the center on Ningbo.
His parents drove me home in their brand new Audi S8 after both sessions, which is much better than the taxis' here, and fortunately not faster.
He called me last Saturday just after the test and interview to tell me how it went. He said that the writing was very easy but the interview was a bit tricky. All in all he was happy with his performance. I was very pleased to hear it. I was also very happy that he called to let me know.
Last week James asked me if I could do a private English session with a 19 year old man to prepare him for a test that would take place 3 days later in Shanghai. He applied to an English university and needed to take test in writing, reading and attend an oral interview. As normal, James asked me 2 hours before the session would start and it was 2 days before my exam. I accepted though, thinking it could be an experience and some extra money could not hurt. The kid was son of a successful businessman who owns a large factory in Ningbo.
When I entered the classroom the kid instantly stood up and greeted me in the most polite way. I could tell that his kid have been drilled in behaving properly. Probably through his fathers business events. It was very clear when I gave him my business card later that evening. He made all the correct steps by the book in how to receive a card properly.
It took almost 5 minutes before he could say one word correctly, except his name. I was thinking that it would be a long lesson and he cannot speak English at all. It turned out he was extremely nervous and I could see him shaking. This was his first meeting with a foreigner and to many people here that is a big thing. The day at the opera a girl approached me and said "Hi, this is a big honor for you. This is the first time I speak to a foreigner and it has been one of my greatest wishes for years". I was not really surprised but it felt a bit weird. I greeted her and I could hear her heart beat like a drum-set. "Wow, you are so handsome! Now I need to go because I have something to do. Bye!", she said and disappeared quickly. I wonder how much courage it took before she decided to talk to me.
It took a few minutes before I found out what kind of interest the kid has, and I tried to make him talk about them and be curious. His nervousness suddenly took a change. He traded his seat for another one next to mine and explained about Taekwondo with glowing eyes. Until he started to study English for real he used to practice Taekwondo 6 days a week and he has a black belt. The Chinese humor is not like mine, but after I tried some jokes with him he was much calmer. After the first hour his English was not so poor after all.
I did a fake interview to prepare him for the real one. I have received questions from James earlier, but it was obvious that the kid had practiced the questions over and over again. If I asked something else he was totally lost. Even if I did ask the right questions but in the wrong order he was confused. So, I threw the paper and started to perform a quite hard interview with him with my own questions. He gave me some real good answers after some guidance, and they sounded much better than the standard replies he was provided with.
I met his parents after the lesson and he seemed quite happy with the past 2 hours. His mother thanked me I don't know how many times. They asked me if I could teach him for another 2 hours on the day before the interview and I accepted. It was the same day as my ordinary class but a few hours earlier. I spent the gap shopping so it was perfect. Our office is located in the center on Ningbo.
His parents drove me home in their brand new Audi S8 after both sessions, which is much better than the taxis' here, and fortunately not faster.
He called me last Saturday just after the test and interview to tell me how it went. He said that the writing was very easy but the interview was a bit tricky. All in all he was happy with his performance. I was very pleased to hear it. I was also very happy that he called to let me know.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
On Chinese TV once again
I want to start the post with expressing my gratitude to special people. Sometimes I receive emails and IM's from friends that tells me positive things about my blog. I am really grateful for the kind words. That you are taking yourself time to write such messages warms my heart. Thank you! Just to brag a bit I will post what a friend and novelist from England wrote to me 2 days ago.
"Hiya Fredrik, just wanted to send you a mail to say hi, I still read your blog and I love it, its kind of like a serial television program for me! I wish I had had the courage to do what you are doing, back when i was single."
Thanks Nicholas!
I am aware that I need to update the blog more frequently. People have sending me friend-requests on Facebook with the message "I am a reader of your blog", and this is more than flattering and very encouraging! When I started the blog I thought only my family would read it. Glad I was wrong!
Enough foreplay!
The past week have been filled with action so it is hard to pick a starting point. I have been on Chinese TV once again, ridden a horse, starting to teach English to business men, arguing with a taxi driver etc etc. I will start with the TV-happening and leave the other things to a post later this week. Here we go:
Four times during my stay here in China I have been in front of a TV-camera. I don't know why, but somehow they think foreigners are interesting. A few weeks ago I wrote about being on 6 o'clock news and last Thursday it happened again.
"Hiya Fredrik, just wanted to send you a mail to say hi, I still read your blog and I love it, its kind of like a serial television program for me! I wish I had had the courage to do what you are doing, back when i was single."
Thanks Nicholas!
I am aware that I need to update the blog more frequently. People have sending me friend-requests on Facebook with the message "I am a reader of your blog", and this is more than flattering and very encouraging! When I started the blog I thought only my family would read it. Glad I was wrong!
Enough foreplay!
The past week have been filled with action so it is hard to pick a starting point. I have been on Chinese TV once again, ridden a horse, starting to teach English to business men, arguing with a taxi driver etc etc. I will start with the TV-happening and leave the other things to a post later this week. Here we go:
Four times during my stay here in China I have been in front of a TV-camera. I don't know why, but somehow they think foreigners are interesting. A few weeks ago I wrote about being on 6 o'clock news and last Thursday it happened again.
James, a student coordinator asked a girl named Sandra, Armin and I if we could do a favor for the government. We were suppose to show up at some kind of ceremony and just be there doing what we do best, being foreign people. We accepted, because I usually turn down James's requests due to lack of time. At arrival a man opened the door to our taxi and said the words "Hello my best friends!". Of course, we had never seen him before, he is just interested in foreigners like the rest. We entered an old opera-building. I must say it was quite impressive and the architecture was stunning. It was recently restored with the cost of about 70 million Yuan. (~$10m)
Instead of posting the pictures here I will publish them at http://picasaweb.google.com/hanfre79
We had a guided tour around the complex when suddenly a cameraman, reporter and a photographer shows up. While walking around the area we tried our best to please the cameramen and our hosts. From time to time they interviewed us and asked weird question. Armin was their favorite target and he did a great job! We heard later from one of the hosts that the mayor watched the news and he was more than pleased. Frankly I have no idea what was said during the show because they dubbed it to fast Chinese, but they seem happy with it. I think the whole idea was to promote a government paid service for foreigners who visits the word expo. When we left our host escorted us out and got us a taxi. His farewell was even more odd than his greeting. While closing the door to the taxi he said "Good bye my best friends, I love you!". I responded with "We love you too". What else could I have said?
The event was broad-casted the next day, last Thursday, at 18:00. I did not see it myself but one of my students said the same evening "I saw you on TV!".
The newscast can be found below and out part starts at 08:00 minutes:
http://www.nbtv.com.cn/video/index.asp?channel=1&contentid=120100514062000
Moving on to the arguing with the taxi driver.
As a foreigner in China I must be aware that people are trying to trick me from time to time in order to earn more money. This does not bother me really because I am on my guard most times, and sometimes I even play along depends on who it is. A poor man who tries to earn extra 10 Yuan selling me something with a hopeful smile on his face, well then it is OK. 10 Yuan for him is food for a whole day. But when people assume that I am stupid or fool be because I am a foreigner, no then it is not acceptable.
Armin and I took a taxi from a shopping center called Wanda Plaza to our university. The trip is under 3km and that mean the fee is 10 Yuan + 1 Yuan in fuel compensation. We entered the taxi and I said to the driver "To Wanli University, back gate" in Chinese. The driver repeated it and I confirmed that he understood correctly. In the next crossing he chose the left lane and waiting for the green light, but we know that Wanli is located to the right. I once again told the driver that we wanted to go to Wanli university and pointed in the right direction. "Yes yes!" he said, but turned left anyway. This triggered Armin who tried to connect with the driver. "Hey! Where are you going?", he yelled a couple of time in Chinese without any reaction from the man behind the wheel. After a few minutes without any connection Armin called James and gave the phone to the driver. Their discussion went on for 2 minutes or so and finally the driver made a U-turn and headed for our school. It was obvious that he was trying to fool us. I told Armin that I would not accept paying a single Yuan over 10 + the fuel consumption, and noticed that the value on the taximeter showed a "0". We could not see the number before the "0" because it was covered by a recipe. Armin asked it I was ready to deal with it and mentioned that he police might be involved. I was in the mood for arguing and knew that we had the law on our side. I think if anyone would call the police it would be us, not him.
When we arrived at Wanli university the driver moved the recipe and the number "20" appeared on the taximeter. "20 Yuan, please" the man said. Both Armin and I burst out in a short laughter followed by the words "NO WAY!". "Wanda to Wanli is 11 Yuan, always!", we told him but he did not accept it. 2 minutes later without any progress we called James once again and a wild discussion went on in the front seat over the phone. We heard that he said something about not understanding and our poor Chinese confused him. We know that this was not the case. The only poor thing in the taxi was the drivers ability to hustle. We suspect that he put the taximeter to 20 when we entered and then he just drove around to make the time go, hoping we would not know the way home. Finally he gave the phone back and said "OK". We just gave him 11 Yuan and exited the car, a bit pissed off.
It had nothing to do with money. We give more to beggars. We just can not accept that people are trying to fool us because we are foreigners. If we allow it once it will happen again.
"Här plockar du inga Svenska liljor"
- Stefan Andersson
The event was broad-casted the next day, last Thursday, at 18:00. I did not see it myself but one of my students said the same evening "I saw you on TV!".
The newscast can be found below and out part starts at 08:00 minutes:
http://www.nbtv.com.cn/video/index.asp?channel=1&contentid=120100514062000
Moving on to the arguing with the taxi driver.
As a foreigner in China I must be aware that people are trying to trick me from time to time in order to earn more money. This does not bother me really because I am on my guard most times, and sometimes I even play along depends on who it is. A poor man who tries to earn extra 10 Yuan selling me something with a hopeful smile on his face, well then it is OK. 10 Yuan for him is food for a whole day. But when people assume that I am stupid or fool be because I am a foreigner, no then it is not acceptable.
Armin and I took a taxi from a shopping center called Wanda Plaza to our university. The trip is under 3km and that mean the fee is 10 Yuan + 1 Yuan in fuel compensation. We entered the taxi and I said to the driver "To Wanli University, back gate" in Chinese. The driver repeated it and I confirmed that he understood correctly. In the next crossing he chose the left lane and waiting for the green light, but we know that Wanli is located to the right. I once again told the driver that we wanted to go to Wanli university and pointed in the right direction. "Yes yes!" he said, but turned left anyway. This triggered Armin who tried to connect with the driver. "Hey! Where are you going?", he yelled a couple of time in Chinese without any reaction from the man behind the wheel. After a few minutes without any connection Armin called James and gave the phone to the driver. Their discussion went on for 2 minutes or so and finally the driver made a U-turn and headed for our school. It was obvious that he was trying to fool us. I told Armin that I would not accept paying a single Yuan over 10 + the fuel consumption, and noticed that the value on the taximeter showed a "0". We could not see the number before the "0" because it was covered by a recipe. Armin asked it I was ready to deal with it and mentioned that he police might be involved. I was in the mood for arguing and knew that we had the law on our side. I think if anyone would call the police it would be us, not him.
When we arrived at Wanli university the driver moved the recipe and the number "20" appeared on the taximeter. "20 Yuan, please" the man said. Both Armin and I burst out in a short laughter followed by the words "NO WAY!". "Wanda to Wanli is 11 Yuan, always!", we told him but he did not accept it. 2 minutes later without any progress we called James once again and a wild discussion went on in the front seat over the phone. We heard that he said something about not understanding and our poor Chinese confused him. We know that this was not the case. The only poor thing in the taxi was the drivers ability to hustle. We suspect that he put the taximeter to 20 when we entered and then he just drove around to make the time go, hoping we would not know the way home. Finally he gave the phone back and said "OK". We just gave him 11 Yuan and exited the car, a bit pissed off.
It had nothing to do with money. We give more to beggars. We just can not accept that people are trying to fool us because we are foreigners. If we allow it once it will happen again.
"Här plockar du inga Svenska liljor"
- Stefan Andersson
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Incy wincy spider
This is starting to become a habit, but I must once again apologize for not updating the blog frequently. I had an exam this Friday in mathematical statistics so I spent the week doing nothing more than study for it. Therefore I chose to prioritize that instead of the blog. Usually I am lousy making the right prioritation but this time I think I made the right one. The almost 5 hour long exam went well. At least I could not perform better than I did so I am happy with it. Afterwards I could enjoy a quiet evening outdoors playing cards and drinking Martini and beer with Celine, Emilie and Armin. Well deserved but I was exhausted. Last night I hit Lao wai tan with the same group of people as Friday evening for drinking and dancing. Armin had to bail out quite early. He did not feel to well after the slimy Chinese red wine we tried earlier that evening. Was good to have fun after this week but maybe we stayed out a bit too long. The sun was shining when we took the taxi back home.
To the topic. A few days ago Simon had a visitor in his room in the form of a scarab. The scarabs in China are quite big and they sound like a helicopter when they attempt to fly. Maybe the sound makes them appear more vicious than they really are. This made Simon a bit afraid of it and I had a good laugh until he managed to trap it inside a shoe-box and throw it out on his balcony.
Later the same evening it was my turn. I could hear the helicopter sounding just outside the balcony door and I did not like what I heard. My balcony is equipped with sliding doors and also with a net door for keeping spiders, mosquito's and helicopters out of the apartment. This didn't seem to bother the scarab much because he kept on trying to penetrate the net, which isn't 100% proof. The door is a bit distorted. First I thought that he was after my cucumber flavored chips and there is not way I would surrender them to the noisy hooligan. But after analyzing the situation a bit more I realized maybe he was interested in the light in my room like other bugs. I now had 3 choices; I could just wait until he manages to enter the room or I could confront him now hoping I could still use the moment of surprise. I don't think he had noticed me by that time, but I really was not in the mood for a fight with it. Now I understand what Simon was screaming about. The third option was to turn of the light and just pray for him to leave. Said and done. I turned of the light and sat behind the bed, just waiting. After about 15 minutes the muffled sound of its wings suddenly stopped. What does that mean? Either he lost interest and left or he managed to enter my room. I hoped for the first, so after a few minutes I turned on the light to find out. Phew, I have outsmarted the scarab! Happy with my triumph I returned to my computer to continue the studying. Almost immediately I saw something moving in the periphery. It was clear that I had an intruder in the room. I was a spider.
The spider was not big at all, maybe 1.5cm long including the legs but he looked scary. Yes yes, a bit girly maybe and I admit he made me feel uncomfortable. I understood that I need to deal with the new contester fast while I had the chance, because he was moving rapidly. This round could not be won by passivity. I grabbed the first tool I could find to catch him with, a thermos that I recently bought for tea-purposes. I had to stand on a chair to catch him since he used my ceiling as his playground. Yes it was a he by the way. Had to be. My first thought was to throw the trapped spider out on the balcony, but this action may be an opportunity for helicopters and others to invade my room. I decided to use the kitchen window. This was easier said than done. I shook and shook the thermos in order to get him out. Did not work. He was grabbing the wall of the container like crazy and refused to let go. And then, to my great horror, I see how he moved to offensive. He was climbing the vertical walls without any problem. This was a big problem and I paniced! He was heading for my fingers and I tried to dodge him by keeping on turning the thermos. In the dark kitchen it may have looked like I was trying to beat the record in solving Rubiks cube. After maybe 30 seconds he entered the thermos again. I placed it near the window taking a combat break. I needed to think about my next move. A decision was made and I tried the shaking-method once again, but more rapidly this time. It had no effect at all, except it made my arms hurt. I took a peak inside the spider-container and soon I had the answer to my in-success. The little creature had created a web inside the thermos! And in almost no time at all, I can't believe it! There is no way that I would allow my thermos to facilitate his business. With a few smooth and fast moves with a chopstick I messed up his new crib. Now he seemed really pissed off, running like crazy. The thermos is not transparent and therefore I could not see what was going on inside it without getting uncomfortable close to it. I decided to place a class over the opening and turn it up side down. After a few minutes the creature relocated himself to the glass and it was time for my move. I once again opened the window and with a sudden move I managed to throw him out of the glass and out into the dark night. But then the most amazing thing happens. Attached to the glass with a string of web he bounced back like a gypsy doing a bungee jump! Quickly I placed the glass near the window and he climbed out of it. Back to square one. To my surprise he crawled very near the window and I took the chance by blowing at him, subsequent he flew out and landed on the sill. Of course he just jumped back inside faster than he left, amazing! But I just repeated the same procedure and this time I shut the window faster than the speed of sound. I could see him outside looking at me with a desire of revenge. It was not time for bed. The battle between the man and the spider went on for over 30 minutes.
Back in the room I saw something I hate on the wall, a mosquito. This is a time when a spider could come to use, keeping the other bugs away from me. Unfortunately I no longer had a spider so I had to do the dirty job my self. I was not planning to be kind this time. The latest number of China Daily was to become my weapon of choice. Carefully I aimed at the little bugger and with a rapid move I released my fury in his direction. I must have missed and hit him on the heel or something, because he was now airborne and I could see that the little flying drill-tower was fully operational. I had to act quickly once again, so I reloaded the newspaper and took another shot in the air. This time it was a confirmed hit and I could see that he landed somewhere in the other side of the room. I am not sure that the hit killed him, but I did not see him after that so I claim victory by walk over. I went to bed with the feeling of a job well done! Fredrik vs. Mosquitoes: 2-3
And oh! I must take this opportunity to flag for new uploaded pictures from our day-trip to Dong qian lake: http://picasaweb.google.com/hanfre79/DongQianLake#
To the topic. A few days ago Simon had a visitor in his room in the form of a scarab. The scarabs in China are quite big and they sound like a helicopter when they attempt to fly. Maybe the sound makes them appear more vicious than they really are. This made Simon a bit afraid of it and I had a good laugh until he managed to trap it inside a shoe-box and throw it out on his balcony.
Later the same evening it was my turn. I could hear the helicopter sounding just outside the balcony door and I did not like what I heard. My balcony is equipped with sliding doors and also with a net door for keeping spiders, mosquito's and helicopters out of the apartment. This didn't seem to bother the scarab much because he kept on trying to penetrate the net, which isn't 100% proof. The door is a bit distorted. First I thought that he was after my cucumber flavored chips and there is not way I would surrender them to the noisy hooligan. But after analyzing the situation a bit more I realized maybe he was interested in the light in my room like other bugs. I now had 3 choices; I could just wait until he manages to enter the room or I could confront him now hoping I could still use the moment of surprise. I don't think he had noticed me by that time, but I really was not in the mood for a fight with it. Now I understand what Simon was screaming about. The third option was to turn of the light and just pray for him to leave. Said and done. I turned of the light and sat behind the bed, just waiting. After about 15 minutes the muffled sound of its wings suddenly stopped. What does that mean? Either he lost interest and left or he managed to enter my room. I hoped for the first, so after a few minutes I turned on the light to find out. Phew, I have outsmarted the scarab! Happy with my triumph I returned to my computer to continue the studying. Almost immediately I saw something moving in the periphery. It was clear that I had an intruder in the room. I was a spider.
The spider was not big at all, maybe 1.5cm long including the legs but he looked scary. Yes yes, a bit girly maybe and I admit he made me feel uncomfortable. I understood that I need to deal with the new contester fast while I had the chance, because he was moving rapidly. This round could not be won by passivity. I grabbed the first tool I could find to catch him with, a thermos that I recently bought for tea-purposes. I had to stand on a chair to catch him since he used my ceiling as his playground. Yes it was a he by the way. Had to be. My first thought was to throw the trapped spider out on the balcony, but this action may be an opportunity for helicopters and others to invade my room. I decided to use the kitchen window. This was easier said than done. I shook and shook the thermos in order to get him out. Did not work. He was grabbing the wall of the container like crazy and refused to let go. And then, to my great horror, I see how he moved to offensive. He was climbing the vertical walls without any problem. This was a big problem and I paniced! He was heading for my fingers and I tried to dodge him by keeping on turning the thermos. In the dark kitchen it may have looked like I was trying to beat the record in solving Rubiks cube. After maybe 30 seconds he entered the thermos again. I placed it near the window taking a combat break. I needed to think about my next move. A decision was made and I tried the shaking-method once again, but more rapidly this time. It had no effect at all, except it made my arms hurt. I took a peak inside the spider-container and soon I had the answer to my in-success. The little creature had created a web inside the thermos! And in almost no time at all, I can't believe it! There is no way that I would allow my thermos to facilitate his business. With a few smooth and fast moves with a chopstick I messed up his new crib. Now he seemed really pissed off, running like crazy. The thermos is not transparent and therefore I could not see what was going on inside it without getting uncomfortable close to it. I decided to place a class over the opening and turn it up side down. After a few minutes the creature relocated himself to the glass and it was time for my move. I once again opened the window and with a sudden move I managed to throw him out of the glass and out into the dark night. But then the most amazing thing happens. Attached to the glass with a string of web he bounced back like a gypsy doing a bungee jump! Quickly I placed the glass near the window and he climbed out of it. Back to square one. To my surprise he crawled very near the window and I took the chance by blowing at him, subsequent he flew out and landed on the sill. Of course he just jumped back inside faster than he left, amazing! But I just repeated the same procedure and this time I shut the window faster than the speed of sound. I could see him outside looking at me with a desire of revenge. It was not time for bed. The battle between the man and the spider went on for over 30 minutes.
Back in the room I saw something I hate on the wall, a mosquito. This is a time when a spider could come to use, keeping the other bugs away from me. Unfortunately I no longer had a spider so I had to do the dirty job my self. I was not planning to be kind this time. The latest number of China Daily was to become my weapon of choice. Carefully I aimed at the little bugger and with a rapid move I released my fury in his direction. I must have missed and hit him on the heel or something, because he was now airborne and I could see that the little flying drill-tower was fully operational. I had to act quickly once again, so I reloaded the newspaper and took another shot in the air. This time it was a confirmed hit and I could see that he landed somewhere in the other side of the room. I am not sure that the hit killed him, but I did not see him after that so I claim victory by walk over. I went to bed with the feeling of a job well done! Fredrik vs. Mosquitoes: 2-3
And oh! I must take this opportunity to flag for new uploaded pictures from our day-trip to Dong qian lake: http://picasaweb.google.com/hanfre79/DongQianLake#
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Mayday
0
comments
Labels:
Daily life
I woke up from a nice dream about one hour ago, at 06:00. I dreamed that I was photographing a sports event in a stadium and my pictures were marvelous! Of course, I woke up empty handed but at least I had some inspiration. I decided to go out for a walk. It would be nice with a shower or a bath, but I lack a bathtub and I do not want to wake up my 'wife' Simon with water-pipe music. Even though I only had 5 hours of sleep I feel like a million bucks today. 06:20 outside I was met by bird-songs and pleasant fragrance from unknown flowers. The birds sounds nothing like home, but then again; neither do the people here. The sun was already high on the sky filling the campus with light. I grabbed my camera and started a walk around the lake located in the area. There were no wind at all so the reflections on the surface were really great so I had a few good pictures. Posting a sample below.
Main library building
I was surprised to see how many students that were active at this time of day. Guess that many are heading for their homes in other cities. Today is a holiday, labor day, and most people are having 3 days off. The Chinese call it May day. Hmm...May day. Makes sense now when I write it. People have been talking about "mayday" for a few days now and I was wondering if they were in some kind of distress.
Anyway, I was glad to see that the food stands were already open because it was time for breakfast. I went to a hole in the wall that serves some kind of pancake. You can fill it with different ingredients, and I chose egg, leek, tea-leaves and some kind of tortilla. A pretty good meal for only 2.5 Yuan (~2.5 SEK).
I love working in the morning and now I really need it. Got tons of things to do. The fragrance of fresh coffee has already filled the room, but I will move the laptop to the balcony. It is a good morning!
Main library buildingI was surprised to see how many students that were active at this time of day. Guess that many are heading for their homes in other cities. Today is a holiday, labor day, and most people are having 3 days off. The Chinese call it May day. Hmm...May day. Makes sense now when I write it. People have been talking about "mayday" for a few days now and I was wondering if they were in some kind of distress.
Anyway, I was glad to see that the food stands were already open because it was time for breakfast. I went to a hole in the wall that serves some kind of pancake. You can fill it with different ingredients, and I chose egg, leek, tea-leaves and some kind of tortilla. A pretty good meal for only 2.5 Yuan (~2.5 SEK).
I love working in the morning and now I really need it. Got tons of things to do. The fragrance of fresh coffee has already filled the room, but I will move the laptop to the balcony. It is a good morning!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Exotic, fantastic!
2
comments
Labels:
Culture
One thing I can't get used to is all the attention we foreigners receive. In Shanghai foreigners are a common sight but here in Ningbo we are more rare. When we arrived here we were chocked about the response from the locals. For example; Simon and I went shopping the first days here. When we entered a Jack and Jones store we thought that the staff had confused us with celebrities. In a flash of a second we were surrounded by each and every girl in the staff, 12 of them. Simon was more popular due to his height and blond hair. The girls were staring at him like being stunned. They bombed us with words we could not understand. Then they tried to rephrase again and again. When this method didn't seem to have any affect they took help from a friend who did the procedure all over again. At that time all our Chinese vocabulary was limited to "Hello" or maybe a few words more. The girls seemed to be so happy and excited to have us in the store that they refused us to leave.
Several times girls have approached us and asked for having our picture taken with them. Now this does not surprise us anymore. Sometimes we can see that they want to ask for it but don't have the courage to do it, so then we offer the service which is always received with joy and excitement. I have noticed that Chinese people, girls as boys, really want to connect with foreigners but are to shy or have no idea how to act. Mostly this is because of the language. They think that all foreigners are rich and speak perfect English. This makes them feel a bit inferior subsequent they don't dare to use the English they really do know. OK, most of them speak extremely poor English and most often none at all, but we are surprised how many that really know a few words if we just encourage them a bit like asking for direction. Chinese people, at least in Ningbo, loves to help foreigners in need. This is one of the things I love here, and nothing seems impossible. That is another story for another time though.
If I am walking with a friend in the streets people does not express their curiosity that obvious, they just turn their heads to look whilst passing us. If I am alone they are much more brave, especially if they are in groups. 2 weeks ago I took a walk to a shopping-center not far from here. The walk is about 20-15 minutes. At this time people on mopeds passing by have sounded their horn at me 2 times and shouting "Hello!" a couple of times. That is another thing, they assume that we all are Americans. Maybe this is not so strange. If we see an Asian back home we might assume he/she is Chinese.
Armin I and I went to Wanda Plaza a few weeks ago to shop at Walmart. For some reason 5 girls in their 20:ts followed us where ever we went, giggling and pointing. If they were trying to hide their curiosity they sure failed. Armin had enough after a while, turned around and said "What the f'***!?", subsequent the girls aborted their stalking-tour and disappeared with a distant giggle. It does not bother me that much, I think it's kind of flattering to be honest. Sure, I know that it has nothing to do with my personal skills, only that my appearance is different from a Chinese, but still. Sometimes I gets to much though. When lots of people are pointing and shouting "Hello! Hello!" it can become a bit annoying.
Especially girls looks at us with big eyes while walking the streets. You can almost see the dreams in their eyes about marrying a westerner man. A cute girl and I was entering the same store once, and when she noticed me she looked at my face totally speechless. She had probably never seen a foreigner before. I opened the door for her and made a gesture that indicated "ladies first". She did not really know what to do and her nervousness was obvious. After a few seconds she entered the store with her eyes still attached to my face but now her face had turned red. At this point I was kind of mean and gave her a smile. For a moment I really did think she was going to faint. I think that a western smile at a Chinese girl can be a potential heart-attack.
Almost every day I receive comments about my different looks. People in stores have been pulling my jacket saying "You look cool and handsome". When I bought furnitures for my balcony the sales lady said "He is very beautiful" in Chinese, thinking I wouldn't understand. A new Chinese friend told me last week that "You are the most handsome man I have ever seen". What?! How am I suppose to deal with such comments? I must admit that it is very hard not to get big-headed when hearing such compliments. I guess we appear to be unique because many people here haven't seen many or none foreigners before. But still it does miracles for your self esteem.
When I was moving to China I thought I would to be taught a lesson about how it's like to be a foreigner and being treated as an outsider. But I can assure you that it is hard to feel like an inferior when you get this kind of attention every day.
Several times girls have approached us and asked for having our picture taken with them. Now this does not surprise us anymore. Sometimes we can see that they want to ask for it but don't have the courage to do it, so then we offer the service which is always received with joy and excitement. I have noticed that Chinese people, girls as boys, really want to connect with foreigners but are to shy or have no idea how to act. Mostly this is because of the language. They think that all foreigners are rich and speak perfect English. This makes them feel a bit inferior subsequent they don't dare to use the English they really do know. OK, most of them speak extremely poor English and most often none at all, but we are surprised how many that really know a few words if we just encourage them a bit like asking for direction. Chinese people, at least in Ningbo, loves to help foreigners in need. This is one of the things I love here, and nothing seems impossible. That is another story for another time though.
If I am walking with a friend in the streets people does not express their curiosity that obvious, they just turn their heads to look whilst passing us. If I am alone they are much more brave, especially if they are in groups. 2 weeks ago I took a walk to a shopping-center not far from here. The walk is about 20-15 minutes. At this time people on mopeds passing by have sounded their horn at me 2 times and shouting "Hello!" a couple of times. That is another thing, they assume that we all are Americans. Maybe this is not so strange. If we see an Asian back home we might assume he/she is Chinese.
Armin I and I went to Wanda Plaza a few weeks ago to shop at Walmart. For some reason 5 girls in their 20:ts followed us where ever we went, giggling and pointing. If they were trying to hide their curiosity they sure failed. Armin had enough after a while, turned around and said "What the f'***!?", subsequent the girls aborted their stalking-tour and disappeared with a distant giggle. It does not bother me that much, I think it's kind of flattering to be honest. Sure, I know that it has nothing to do with my personal skills, only that my appearance is different from a Chinese, but still. Sometimes I gets to much though. When lots of people are pointing and shouting "Hello! Hello!" it can become a bit annoying.
Especially girls looks at us with big eyes while walking the streets. You can almost see the dreams in their eyes about marrying a westerner man. A cute girl and I was entering the same store once, and when she noticed me she looked at my face totally speechless. She had probably never seen a foreigner before. I opened the door for her and made a gesture that indicated "ladies first". She did not really know what to do and her nervousness was obvious. After a few seconds she entered the store with her eyes still attached to my face but now her face had turned red. At this point I was kind of mean and gave her a smile. For a moment I really did think she was going to faint. I think that a western smile at a Chinese girl can be a potential heart-attack.
Almost every day I receive comments about my different looks. People in stores have been pulling my jacket saying "You look cool and handsome". When I bought furnitures for my balcony the sales lady said "He is very beautiful" in Chinese, thinking I wouldn't understand. A new Chinese friend told me last week that "You are the most handsome man I have ever seen". What?! How am I suppose to deal with such comments? I must admit that it is very hard not to get big-headed when hearing such compliments. I guess we appear to be unique because many people here haven't seen many or none foreigners before. But still it does miracles for your self esteem.
When I was moving to China I thought I would to be taught a lesson about how it's like to be a foreigner and being treated as an outsider. But I can assure you that it is hard to feel like an inferior when you get this kind of attention every day.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Cloud connected
1 comments
Labels:
Daily life
Yesterday started much better than it ended. We celebrated Viyaleta's birthday at a nightclub located in Lao wai tan. The party was great, but I had way to much to drink, way over my limit. Armin and I drank a few beers at my place before we hit Bass clef for more drinking. We were in a hurry because of the party but managed to sink 3 beers in less than 30 minutes. Was only going to have one beer but the manager insisted and treated me more. Not a very good start, especially since I have not eaten anything since lunch. The evening was fun, but somehow I ended up having a discussion with a dear friend that did not end so well. I did not want to have this discussion but I think I was the one who started it. Mixing alcohol and emotions can be a dangerous combination. The worst thing is I have no memory of what was said during the evening because I was to drunk, but I remember feeling shocked afterwards. Therefore the day today was filled with agony and feeling very bad physically and emotionally. So now I am writing it off me. For some reason I seem to express myself better in written words than spoken ones. I don't know what happened to me yesterday, but I have been storing lots of stress and emotions inside me for the past time and I think the bauble burst. Can't say that I feel better today though. I hope it has not affected my friendship with her. First think, then drink.
As I wrote, the day yesterday started good and the whole afternoon was filled with laughter. Armin and I took a walk towards Wanda Plaza with the cameras, mostly just to have a walk. On the way there we passed a huge hotel building which we photographed like many times before. Armin had the idea that we could enter the building and take some pictures from the top floor, if we could get the permission. We decided to give it a try so we entered the hotel and walk up to the reception after passing an uniformed man who welcomed us. The woman in the reception did not seem to understand our business so she called the hotel manager. The manager arrived within one minute. He was a bit taller than an average Chinese and his appearance was irreproachable with a perfect shave and a dark suite. He introduced himself and he offered escort to the sky restaurant located in the 52:th floor of the building. We could really feel the pressure-difference while we ascended 52 floors in 34 seconds and I was a bit worried about my aching lung. The restaurant wasn't what we expected. It contained several dining rooms for private dining, and not a larger hall. We entered one of the rooms and were first impressed by the decor and then stunned by the amazing view. The sight was very good this day and watching Ningbo from the blue sky was a mighty experience. We felt cloud connected.
A quite tall woman in a traditional red Chinese dress with a slits that reached all the way to her waist entered the room. With a face like a goddess and a body from hell she managed to diverse our attention from the view to what might be the most beautiful Chinese woman I have met so far. She introduced herself as Sabrina and I think she was some kind of boss for the hosting service. The question about our business in the hotel came up, and I felt really silly about the photographing now when more people were involved, so I told her that we are hosting a dinner party and were looking for a suitable facility. She guided us around the floor and we followed with the cameras like Japanese tourists visiting Disneyland. Each room were more beautiful than the other with the crystal chandeliers 7m up in the air. It was interesting to see the table setup with exclusive chopsticks instead of knives and forks.
The tour continued to a function hall. We were escorted by both Sabrina and the manager during the whole tour and we kept the conversation going about the "dinner party". We had to wait for about 5 minutes in the hall until a woman from the staff turned on the lightning for us. The beautiful lights were made of seashells. I can not even guess how much they cost to be manufactured. Sabrina told us that the hotel is not a 5 star hotel. It is a 5 star deluxe hotel. I believe her. The building was finished 6 years ago but the hotel opened 24 days ago. I am guessing that is a long time for preparing a hotel.
We took a glass elevator down to the lobby. I always wanted to take a ride in a glass elevator in a 5 star 'deluxe' hotel. Down in the lobby they followed us to the entrance where we said good bye, after receiving Sabrinas business card. I accepted the card in the correct Chinese way by the book, just as we have been taught. With both hands, look at the card, memorize the name and repeat it loud to show that you know it. Out in the street we were giggling like schoolgirls, still a bit amazed by what we have just experienced.
Armin with the manager
Sabrina in the function hall
Lighting made of seashells
Glass elevator
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Pneumo what?
Pneumo Thorax. I've had it two times before. No, you cant eat it. Basically it is collapsed lung and it is not very pleasant. Yesterday I was studying in the library with Céline, Emilie and Armin when I felt a familiar pain in the right side of my chest. I think I got it because of too much laughing at Armin's jokes.
Céline helped me to see the doctor at our campus. The communication whould be bad but luckily we met a Chinese friend named Kevin who helped us translate. Also a masterpiece of a Thorax with lungs on a piece of paper got the conversation in the right direction and the doctor understood my problem. She advised us to get X-ray of my lungs at the hospital and off we went.
As a person I have problems when people are concerned about me. It is the same when I get a compliment from some one. Don't really know how to handle it so I use jokes to ease it up a bit. I know that my condition is some what serious, but it is not that painful so I look totally OK on the outside. Also I try to have a positive state of mind which makes me less worried. Unfortunately, when people around you are concerned and you act like you feel like a million bucks even if you aren't, it can have an undesirable effect. I now understand that it can be confusing and my behavior did hurt someone who was worried about me. Not my intention.
There seemed to be no structured system at the hospital. The people at the information-desk showed us to a reception where I signed in and received a journal and payed the fee for doctors consultation, 5.5 Yuan. There were no queue to the reception so we applied Chinese methods. Next stop was the doctors office. No queue here either. It seemed like the patient who got the doctors attention first got to talk. Once again Kevin described my symptoms and we were redirected to another location with a CT-scanner. First we need to sign in at the CT-reception, we were told. The staff at the CT-reception told us to go back to the first reception to pay for the treatment. So we did, 249 Yuan, which is amazingly cheap. Back at the CT-reception the nurse asked me to report in the room where the scan would take place.
The equipment in the room looked quite advanced but very dirty. I noticed blood stains on the CT-scanner, quite large ones. The hygiene was beyond criticism. I lay down on a stretcher and were prepared for being sent into the tunnel shaped machine. I don't know why, but I had the feeling that they would to a scan of my head so I asked the nurse about it. She pointed to the head and said "X-ray". I pointed at my chest and she looked surprise. Long story a bit shorter, I had the scan and we waited an hour for the result. At this time I was dull and more worried about the impact of my behavior earlier rather than my health.
I received a plastic bag with the sheets and a message to a doctor. Kevin had a look at it and told me that it said something about serious and a spot on my right lung. An ugly feeling rushed through my body and I could picture myself staying in the terrible hospital for a long time being treated for something that might be fatal. This was a totally new feeling to me and I felt very much awake and alive. At this moment Céline calls me to check up on me. I did not know what to say but asked to call her back later and wondered how I sounded over the phone. We went to see a doctor for instructions. Kevin and the doctor had a chat for I don't know how long and I did not understand much. Mostly because my mind was elsewhere. Kevin woke me up and told me not to worry. I did not have a spot on my lung, it is an air-bauble, and not that urgent. See what damage miscommunication can do. The doctor instructed me to be very carefully or the situation might be dangerous. I could have a surgery to remove it but it will probably heal itself. If I chose the first option I will most probably do it in Shanghai and not at "The second people's hospital". my condition means I cannot continue with Kung fu or practice tennis that I wanted to do for some time now. But that is all in the shadow of the fact that I do not need to stay in the hospital or have a surgery. The situation could be much worse and I know it.
This post became a bit longer than intended and contains too many "I:s" and "me:s", but I guess I just had to write it off me. Still feel kind of weird after the shock.
I got a bit worse today and realized that I need to take the doctor's advice seriously, so I went home to do nothing more than laying in bed. It is a bit boring though.
About the job offer I wrote about in the last post; I accepted it and was suppose to work this weekend. This will not happen. I will relax and take care of myself. It was hard to turn it down, the money is too good and I really need it, but it is just money and money can be replaced.
Céline helped me to see the doctor at our campus. The communication whould be bad but luckily we met a Chinese friend named Kevin who helped us translate. Also a masterpiece of a Thorax with lungs on a piece of paper got the conversation in the right direction and the doctor understood my problem. She advised us to get X-ray of my lungs at the hospital and off we went.
As a person I have problems when people are concerned about me. It is the same when I get a compliment from some one. Don't really know how to handle it so I use jokes to ease it up a bit. I know that my condition is some what serious, but it is not that painful so I look totally OK on the outside. Also I try to have a positive state of mind which makes me less worried. Unfortunately, when people around you are concerned and you act like you feel like a million bucks even if you aren't, it can have an undesirable effect. I now understand that it can be confusing and my behavior did hurt someone who was worried about me. Not my intention.
There seemed to be no structured system at the hospital. The people at the information-desk showed us to a reception where I signed in and received a journal and payed the fee for doctors consultation, 5.5 Yuan. There were no queue to the reception so we applied Chinese methods. Next stop was the doctors office. No queue here either. It seemed like the patient who got the doctors attention first got to talk. Once again Kevin described my symptoms and we were redirected to another location with a CT-scanner. First we need to sign in at the CT-reception, we were told. The staff at the CT-reception told us to go back to the first reception to pay for the treatment. So we did, 249 Yuan, which is amazingly cheap. Back at the CT-reception the nurse asked me to report in the room where the scan would take place.
The equipment in the room looked quite advanced but very dirty. I noticed blood stains on the CT-scanner, quite large ones. The hygiene was beyond criticism. I lay down on a stretcher and were prepared for being sent into the tunnel shaped machine. I don't know why, but I had the feeling that they would to a scan of my head so I asked the nurse about it. She pointed to the head and said "X-ray". I pointed at my chest and she looked surprise. Long story a bit shorter, I had the scan and we waited an hour for the result. At this time I was dull and more worried about the impact of my behavior earlier rather than my health.
I received a plastic bag with the sheets and a message to a doctor. Kevin had a look at it and told me that it said something about serious and a spot on my right lung. An ugly feeling rushed through my body and I could picture myself staying in the terrible hospital for a long time being treated for something that might be fatal. This was a totally new feeling to me and I felt very much awake and alive. At this moment Céline calls me to check up on me. I did not know what to say but asked to call her back later and wondered how I sounded over the phone. We went to see a doctor for instructions. Kevin and the doctor had a chat for I don't know how long and I did not understand much. Mostly because my mind was elsewhere. Kevin woke me up and told me not to worry. I did not have a spot on my lung, it is an air-bauble, and not that urgent. See what damage miscommunication can do. The doctor instructed me to be very carefully or the situation might be dangerous. I could have a surgery to remove it but it will probably heal itself. If I chose the first option I will most probably do it in Shanghai and not at "The second people's hospital". my condition means I cannot continue with Kung fu or practice tennis that I wanted to do for some time now. But that is all in the shadow of the fact that I do not need to stay in the hospital or have a surgery. The situation could be much worse and I know it.
This post became a bit longer than intended and contains too many "I:s" and "me:s", but I guess I just had to write it off me. Still feel kind of weird after the shock.
I got a bit worse today and realized that I need to take the doctor's advice seriously, so I went home to do nothing more than laying in bed. It is a bit boring though.
About the job offer I wrote about in the last post; I accepted it and was suppose to work this weekend. This will not happen. I will relax and take care of myself. It was hard to turn it down, the money is too good and I really need it, but it is just money and money can be replaced.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hi, my name is Kerry
2
comments
Labels:
Daily life
Right now I have to much to do. More than I can handle really, and that is why I have no time to update the blog. I am doing it now because I find it relaxing and I've noticed that my blog has some readers. Thanks for reading by the way! I really do appreciate it. Near loved ones got a bit worried that I have been away for a couple of days now. Sorry for making you worried, but I have been and am still very stressed and busy. But, I am also having the time of my life!
We meet many interesting people here almost every day and I have received many business cards. I have understood that these cards are quite important to have here for a foreigner, even if you don't do any business. Armin and I decided to print a bunch of cards. Even if I like a clean card I wanted some symbol on it. Ruru picked bamboo for me because in China it symbolizes honesty and rightness. When I told my friend Jonas about this he said "two attributes that suites you well!". Thanks Jonas, it really made me happy! Here is a pic of the result:
The name on the card says Han Kai Rui, which is my Chinese name, and is pronounced Han Kerry. Han is the surname and refers to my Swedish surname Hansson. I changed it from Lee to Han recently.
"Excuse me, can I have a photo taken with you?" is a common question
This Friday Armin, Emilie, Vincent, Helen, Charles and I went to a school to hold a presentation due to a request from James, our student coordinator. The school is teaching English to Chinese businessmen, students and others. As always we were informed with a very short notice so it was very stressful to assemble information and create presentations about European economy and culture. Celine, Emilie and Vincent did a great job doing this. I was part of it but can't say I provided much, my head was to slow that afternoon and felt useless and I hate doing a bad job. Anyway, we were picked up by a guy named Echo and he drove us to the school in a brand new Jeep. Vincent and I held the presentations for the audience of about 25 Chinese people with different backgrounds. Vincent did a great job as always. He presented 90% of the information himself. I got a bit stressed when I noticed that the audience did not pay much attention to us so I thought it seemed like a waste of time. During the talk afterwards I understood that it was because of their poor knowledge of the English language. They simply did not understand what we were talking about. I really did enjoy the discussions afterwards and a girl even offered me a part time job. Will find out more about it tomorrow but it seems interesting and the pay is extremely good. I really need the money because I am probably going to Greece this summer and the plan is to visit Tibet before that.
When we finished the job James drove us down town to what he said was going to be a party. He assured us that he had no idea what was going on, but in fact he planned the whole evening him self. The cars rolled up in front a huge karaoke-bar and we were shown into a nice room. On a table inside the room we found lots of beer, wine, snacks and many different types of fruit. This was mostly welcome because we had no food since lunch and the time was about 20:00. It was so nice to enjoy the flavors of dragon fruit, litchi and watermelon along with a glass of red wine mixed with sprite. Yes I know, it sounds awful but it was not to bad, in fact it was kind of refreshing. The night went on and we played games, drank, ate and had a good time. A few hours later we started so sing karaoke. I just had to participate in a few Abba songs, and "Somebody told me" by The Killers will never sound the same again. After loosing a round in a dice game I had to taste duck tongue as punishment. I know, it sounds terrible but it was OK. The taste was not too bad but the consistence was not inviting at all. After a few hours we were served typical Chinese food such as dumplings and a soup. Oh I love the dumplings! We had a great time until about 02:00 AM when it was time to head home. It is not that late to be China. Most parties starts around 23-00, but we were exhausted because of the intensive day and partying the night before.
Need to run. We are having a cooking session in 15 minutes. I have been whining about learning Chinese cooking since I arrived here, and now Helen and Linh fixed a cook who teaches us a new dish every week. This will be the second time today. I don't really have the time for it but my stay in China should not be all about work and study. Will probably brief you about the sessions in a post further on.
Tomorrow I will have a meeting to check out the job offer I got this weekend. Update will follow when I know more.
We meet many interesting people here almost every day and I have received many business cards. I have understood that these cards are quite important to have here for a foreigner, even if you don't do any business. Armin and I decided to print a bunch of cards. Even if I like a clean card I wanted some symbol on it. Ruru picked bamboo for me because in China it symbolizes honesty and rightness. When I told my friend Jonas about this he said "two attributes that suites you well!". Thanks Jonas, it really made me happy! Here is a pic of the result:
The name on the card says Han Kai Rui, which is my Chinese name, and is pronounced Han Kerry. Han is the surname and refers to my Swedish surname Hansson. I changed it from Lee to Han recently.
"Excuse me, can I have a photo taken with you?" is a common question
This Friday Armin, Emilie, Vincent, Helen, Charles and I went to a school to hold a presentation due to a request from James, our student coordinator. The school is teaching English to Chinese businessmen, students and others. As always we were informed with a very short notice so it was very stressful to assemble information and create presentations about European economy and culture. Celine, Emilie and Vincent did a great job doing this. I was part of it but can't say I provided much, my head was to slow that afternoon and felt useless and I hate doing a bad job. Anyway, we were picked up by a guy named Echo and he drove us to the school in a brand new Jeep. Vincent and I held the presentations for the audience of about 25 Chinese people with different backgrounds. Vincent did a great job as always. He presented 90% of the information himself. I got a bit stressed when I noticed that the audience did not pay much attention to us so I thought it seemed like a waste of time. During the talk afterwards I understood that it was because of their poor knowledge of the English language. They simply did not understand what we were talking about. I really did enjoy the discussions afterwards and a girl even offered me a part time job. Will find out more about it tomorrow but it seems interesting and the pay is extremely good. I really need the money because I am probably going to Greece this summer and the plan is to visit Tibet before that.
When we finished the job James drove us down town to what he said was going to be a party. He assured us that he had no idea what was going on, but in fact he planned the whole evening him self. The cars rolled up in front a huge karaoke-bar and we were shown into a nice room. On a table inside the room we found lots of beer, wine, snacks and many different types of fruit. This was mostly welcome because we had no food since lunch and the time was about 20:00. It was so nice to enjoy the flavors of dragon fruit, litchi and watermelon along with a glass of red wine mixed with sprite. Yes I know, it sounds awful but it was not to bad, in fact it was kind of refreshing. The night went on and we played games, drank, ate and had a good time. A few hours later we started so sing karaoke. I just had to participate in a few Abba songs, and "Somebody told me" by The Killers will never sound the same again. After loosing a round in a dice game I had to taste duck tongue as punishment. I know, it sounds terrible but it was OK. The taste was not too bad but the consistence was not inviting at all. After a few hours we were served typical Chinese food such as dumplings and a soup. Oh I love the dumplings! We had a great time until about 02:00 AM when it was time to head home. It is not that late to be China. Most parties starts around 23-00, but we were exhausted because of the intensive day and partying the night before.
Need to run. We are having a cooking session in 15 minutes. I have been whining about learning Chinese cooking since I arrived here, and now Helen and Linh fixed a cook who teaches us a new dish every week. This will be the second time today. I don't really have the time for it but my stay in China should not be all about work and study. Will probably brief you about the sessions in a post further on.
Tomorrow I will have a meeting to check out the job offer I got this weekend. Update will follow when I know more.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Waiter! A who** to go, please
The Chinese language is a very complex language and it takes lots of effort to learn it. For me, the most tricky part is the tones. A single word can mean many things depending on how you pronounce it. Mandarin is spoken based upon 4 different tones and something they call "toneless". Because of this it is very hard to make a sentence that the local habitants understand. Even if you know the words and pronounce them in a not so bad way, it is not for certain that the taxi driver has a clue of what you are talking about. It can be even worse than that, you might say something that means totally different. If unlucky, it can go very wrong. For example, the words for saying "Excuse me, I have a question" are "qing wen". A quite common mistake is to pronounce the last word with a slightly different tone, and the result can be "Excuse me, can I have a kiss?". Not a normal kiss, a French kiss.
My dear friend Armin wanted to buy lunch a week ago. He is, like I am, very much into dumplings. A sort of round dumpling is called "baozi" in Chinese. He knew that a very much similar word, "biaozi", is to be avoided when you order the dish. It means prostitute. So when he is standing in line, ready to order, he cannot figure out which word is for the dumplings and which is the bad one. He approached the waiter and sad his line to order the lunch, hoping he would say the correct words. When the people around him in the restaurant bursted out in laughter, he got the answer.
My dear friend Armin wanted to buy lunch a week ago. He is, like I am, very much into dumplings. A sort of round dumpling is called "baozi" in Chinese. He knew that a very much similar word, "biaozi", is to be avoided when you order the dish. It means prostitute. So when he is standing in line, ready to order, he cannot figure out which word is for the dumplings and which is the bad one. He approached the waiter and sad his line to order the lunch, hoping he would say the correct words. When the people around him in the restaurant bursted out in laughter, he got the answer.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Guests of honor
0
comments
Labels:
Culture
There is one thing in this country I can not get used to, and that is all the attention we foreigners receive. I will write a special post just about that subject so I will not go any further into it at the moment, but here is an example.
Today Armin told me about a photo-competition that was taking place in our campus. Since I am also interested in photographic I decided to join. A Chinese man named Kevin met us up and escorted us to the assembly room that facilitated the event. We were a bit late and the room was crowded. We could immediately feel that all eyes went from the present participant to us, even if we kept a low profile while entering the room. Kevin did not know that I was coming so he only reserved a chair for Armin, so I settled with a spot in a stair. Within a few seconds I was offered chairs from the other observers and I knew that I could not turn it down. That would be rude and would make them feel awkward. Chinese people, at least in Ningbo, values hospitality high and are extremely helpful, especially when it comes to foreigners. I took a seat between Armin and Kevin.
The event was fully in spoken Chinese and it was difficult for us to understand, but the pictures were lovely. The photographers were very skilled, even if most of them were normal students and amateurs in the subject. We enjoyed the event and after an hour one of the arrangers approached us. He told Kevin that he is glad that we were there. They were honored and our presence was a highlight of the evening. Kevin told us that we were asked to say a few words to the audience. This gesture would complete the event, they have said. Of course, we could not deny this request, even if I felt the adrenaline flowing. I was nervous.
In the end of the competition the hostess said something and looked in our direction. I only understand a few words, "...our friends...", and the audience suddenly bursts out in massive applauds. It was a bit embarrassing because we got more applauds than any of the competitors. Armin stood up and told them that we are honored to be there and gave his thanks to the people in the room, followed by a new wave of applauds. Now the microphone was passed over to me. I prepared a few words a earlier before and I think it sounded something like this:
"My Chinese is poor so I will take this in English. I have not understood many words that were said here tonight, but I did understand the photographs. I want to thank the photographers for the lovely art. You are an inspiration to us. Thank you!"
I do not remember if I received any applauds due to nervousness, but I was kind of satisfied with the words. I do not think many persons in the hall understood what we said. It does not matter, they were happy any way. Afterwards we could feel many people seeking eye-contact with us to show a gesture of appreciativeness.
Even though we showed up unexpectedly, we understand that we were the evenings special guests of honor.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
