APRIL 30, 2007

Our adventures in Shanghai continue with many positive results to report. Things are looking up!

As previously mentioned, I signed up for the Mandarin language class with quite a skeptical view of the entire situation. But, a couple of days prior to commencement of the class, I answered the door in response to a knock to find a couple of Chinese women with instructions (in English) for the class to meet in two days time. I was relieved that something was finally going to take place that might make me feel "connected" here!

Since that time, I have noticed that most of the postings in the lobby have been in both English and Mandarin, so the management apparently is doing their best to include the non-Chinese speakers amongst the residents. Good improvement!

My class is being taught by two residents of Yanlord Garden. One is a retired Chinese-American man (born in Shanghai, but lived most of his life in the U.S.) who has retired to the place of his birth, and a local Shanghaiese gal who speaks 4 languages (Mandarin, Shanghaiese, Japanese, and English). This seemed a wise plan to me as the class could (and indeed does) include folks who not speak English. Also, another Chinese American woman who has retired from the L.A. area joins us occasionally to assist (and believe me, we can use all the help we can get).

The class includes two Japanese women (who speak very little English), a German, an Australian, a Finlander, a Thai, and me. Quite the diverse group ... our own little U.N. "Jane," the multi-linguist has her hands full to make sure that the Japanese women understand what is happening, but we all manage pretty well actually. We are meeting once a week for an hour which in my opinion is not quite enough, but we have a CD and a lesson book. Our "homework" is to work daily on these lessons, but never having been good at the discipline of schoolwork, I don't get to it every day. Luckily, my Pimsleur CD lessons have come in handy, and so far, I seem to be a little ahead of the group. In fact, the instructors have complimented me on my pronunciation ..... nice to hear.

I have become friends with the Australian gal, Toni. After the last class, Toni and I took a walk to the ATM where she had some banking to do. She is a wonderfully chatty woman and, as I've been dying for female companionship, she was like a breath of fresh air to me. She has three children all under 6 years of age, so her life is rather complex. We've agreed to stay in touch and have made plans for a lunch date next week (to the Dumpling Place, as Toni calls it).

Since the weather has become quite pleasant (almost hot at times), I've been trying to get out for morning walks in an attempt to stay fit. I had been noticing a group of ladies doing Tai Chi in the garden while I've been walking. Sometimes I would sit down and just watch them for a while. So beautiful and graceful. So I talked to Jane about this group of ladies. Jane is part of a group of fan dancers that are preparing for a competiton of some kind (and I have been watching them also), so I thought she might know about the Tai Chi ladies. Good thought ... she told me that the Tai Chi ladies meet daily at 8:30 and anyone is welcome to join. Jane agreed to meet me in the garden the next morning so she could introduce me to the ladies. Great!

I showed up a little early thinking I'd see Jane, but she was not present. The ladies started the music and began their routine. These are always the uncomfortable moments. Do I simply join in? I assumed that they spoke no English, and I didn't want to barge in where I might be unwelcome. So I sat down on the bench right in front of them. Finally, one of the ladies waved me over to join. Oh, joy!!!

The first 20 minutes or so are simple stretches and movements designed to warm up the body and get the blood moving a bit (like simpler yoga positions). Then we do a Tai Chi routine which we run through twice. When the warm up was finished, one of the ladies from the other side of the group came over to me. "Where you from?" I told her Michigan in the USA. She translated to the rest of the group. They all smiled and clapped. They seemed really happy to have me with them. We then started with the Tai Chi. I'd done Tai Chi about 16 years ago so I have a little familiarity, but in no way am I proficient. The ladies were very sweet about placing me in the middle of the group so that I would have someone to watch (and imitate) no matter what direction we were facing. It seems to be something that most people over here have learned (must be taught in school). Folks strolling past would step in and join for a few minutes, and then be on their way again. The ladies seemed to be quite proud of their newest member. Every once in a while, someone would stroll past, and they would point at me and smile as if to say, "See who we have HERE!" Jane did eventually show up, waved to me and gave me the thumbs up!

After having attended the first Tai Chi gathering, I decided to call Toni and Katja (the Finlander) as they had also expressed interest in the Tai Chi group. Toni is having difficulties with child care right now and begged off until she can get that arranged. Katja said she was indeed interested and would try to join us in the morning. Katja has experience with Tai Chi in the last ten years and looked like she knew what she was doing when we met the next day. I told the ladies that she was from Finland, and they were happy to have another newcomer.

In spite of the fact that I don't know much Mandarin, and the Tai Chi ladies (as I have come to call them) don't know much English, we actually communicate pretty well. I have managed to communicate to them that we have four children and their ages (all in Mandarin), and the fact that they live in the U.S. Also, on Friday when Randy was home feeling poorly, I was able to tell them that I left my sick husband home in bed (at least I hope that's what I said). When we met yesterday, one of the ladies said something to me in Mandarin that was going straight over my head. She persisted, and finally I recognized "Finland, Finland?" They wanted to know where Katja was. I spread my arms like an airplane, and said, "Banzhi (flight)" OK, they understood. She has actually flown to Singapore, but Singapore wasn't connecting ... must be another word for Singapore in Mandarin. Anyway, they got that she was away for the holiday. There is a Japanese lady in our group who speaks a few words of English so she tends to be our translator although she wasn't there yesterday. At the conclusion of our meeting yesterday, the leader said to me, "May 8 continue." OK, we're off for the weeklong holiday, and commence again May 8.

I also have made friends with a Ukranian gal, Ludie (short for Ludmilla), who lives here in our building with her husband and 6-year-old son, Andre. But the universe is conspiring against us to meet in any meaningful way other than running into each other on the sidewalk. Seems like every time we try to make a plan, either she has guests or we're unavailable. We've agreed to continue to try though.

As previously mentioned, this is a holiday week. China has three weeks of holiday, the New Year in February, the May holiday, and another week in October. It is our hope to meet with our friends, Rich and Magali, for a day or two this week, and also get some shopping done for my upcoming trip back to the states (as detailed below).

I have made plans to fly back to the states on May 14 for a couple of months. Randy will stay and work here until sometime in June when he comes back to the states for a vacation, and we'll fly back to China together in July sometime. At least that is the plan right now. I have to say that I now have mixed feelings about leaving China right now. I feel as though I have finally made some positive steps toward making some great connections and feeling more vital in our new community, just in time to leave it all behind. But I have to say that the fact that I have some friends now to which I can return makes me very happy! The instructors of the Mandarin class have agreed to continue the class as long as there is interest, so I plan to catch up with all my new friends upon my return. Life is good!

APRIL 16, 2007

Spring has sprung in Shanghai! Our apartment complex is quite beautiful right now, and the temps are currently in the 70's, sometimes even hits 80. There are several kinds of blooming trees that are quite splendid right now (many are fruit trees, I think), and the shrubs are also in bloom, and many seasonal flowers have been planted. The ones I recognize are azaleas, hibiscus, pansies, petunias, and marigolds. There seem to be a lot of mistletoe shrubs and weeping willows as well as palms and ferns. Reminds me of Florida. They have also started piping music through some hidden speakers throughout the garden for about an hour every morning and again in the afternoon which is quite pleasant. Seems to be a mixture of Chinese and Western music ... a little something for everyone. I'm looking for them to open the pool soon!

So rather then despairing that we were not going to have a visit by the Easter bunny, Randy and I decided to arrange a weekend trip and do a bit of exploring for Easter weekend. Randy took Friday off, and we made a reservation at a Ramada in Hangzhou, about 2 hours south of Shanghai where there is large lake that is frequented by the tourists here.

Our driver, Shao, was kind enough to fetch our train tickets for us a few days prior, so all that was left to us was to get ourselves to the train station on the south side of Shanghai. There are two train stations in Shanghai, an older one to the north, and the newer South Station. Subway Line 2 which is very close to our apartment runs directly to the South Station so getting there was not a big deal.

We arrived quite early as having never taken the train, we were not sure what to expect. Nice station, but signage can be quite confusing when one is functionally illiterate. We wandered around a bit, were able to ascertain that our train was posted and on time, and we discovered a Chinese couple with the same train tickets who were kind enough to allow us to stick with them so we'd know where to go cool our heels until the riders were called to the platform.

The trip to Hangzhou was taken on what is known as the bullet train, the newest and fastest train available out of Shanghai (except for the previously mentioned super fast Maglev which only runs between the city and the airport). It was a quite pleasant and comfortable ride, and only took about an hour and a half as the train zipped along pretty quickly.

Our arrival into the train station in Hangzhou was rather confusing. Crowded and noisy, we hadn't a clue as to how to get to our hotel, but assumed that hailing a taxi would be the solution. After standing in front of the train station for about 15 minutes waving our arms like fools, we were completely frustrated as all the taxis just simply zoomed past us. I asked Randy, "Do you think they're prejudiced against Westerners?" Didn't seem likely as we'd never had a problem in Shanghai.

We decided to walk a bit to see if it made a difference if we were a block or two from the station. It's a bit daunting to be in a completely foreign city and have no idea where you are heading or how you will get there. We must have looked fairly bewildered because finally a Chinese man spoke to us. "My English no good, but I try help?" Another fellow stopped as well ... better English. Between the two of them, it was decided we should cross the street to flag a taxi that would apparently be heading in the correct direction. After a bit of confusion about the hotel (technically, it's called the Ramada Hua Hai, so the locals call it the Hua Hai ... we were saying Ramada and they didn't have a clue), we were on our way.

OK, arrived at the hotel. Very nice. Great view of West Lake from our room (actually a really nice suite). We were on an Executive floor and as such, had access to a lovely lounge and rooftop patio that overlooked the entire lake ... beautiful!! There were foggy mountains behind the lake and mysterious looking pagodas poking into the sky here and there. Boats floated lazily in the water, some motorized and some paddled by drivers. The only boats allowed on the lake are those that can be rented for pleasure rides so there is no private boating to muddy the waters.

We settled in and immediately set out for a walk along the lake. There are beautiful walkways, bridges, gardens, and lovely cafes and kiosks all around the entire lake. One can walk for hours and enjoy the amazing scenery!

Dinner was in a traditional Japanese restaurant where we left our shoes at the door and were seated upon the floor to dine behind sheer screens pulled down for privacy at each table. Our meal consisted of sushi, sashimi, and tempera, and we decided to turn in early so that we could get an early start to our walking tour of West Lake in the morning.

Saturday, we enjoyed breakfast in the executive lounge on the patio watching the hazy sun rise over the lake. Probably the only downside to this area is it's popularity. There was quite a crowd gathering quite early in the morning clamoring along the lakeside to have a morning boat ride or commence their walking like us.

The entire day was spent strolling around the beautiful lake. Our guess is that it was an eight to ten mile walk around the whole lake, but we took our time, stopped to take in the scenery and relaxed quite often, took photos, and simply people-watched to our hearts content. There were temples to be explored, costumes that could be rented for photo opportunities, many types of pleasure boats for little cruises, and numerous vendors selling beverages, snacks, and souvenirs. This is also a popular spot for kite flying, and the kites are often quite unusual animal shapes ... birds, sharks, and various other critters create an interesting menagerie in the sky. Also, a Goodyear blimp zoomed across the sky dipping and weaving above the crowds.

Unfortunately, Sunday was not a great day for me in Hangzhou. I woke up feeling horrible, and soon found myself running to the bathroom with a rather severe case of Montezuma's revenge. Cursing the buffet that we'd eaten for dinner the previous night as well as my failure to bring along the Immodium, I apologized to Randy for the inconvenience of having to plan for only going as far as the nearest bathroom. We remembered that the Starbucks was only a short distance on foot, and mentally calculating where all the public restrooms were located, we set out for coffee on the water's edge and where we assumed a nicer bathroom would be available. I opted for a large hot tea, and we sat for well over an hour watching the locals stroll past sipping our beverages. I kept thinking, "How the heck am I going to ride a train for a couple of hours today?"

Finally, we headed back to our room where I went back to bed for a bit while Randy scoped out the gift shop to see if he could find Pepto or Immodium. He came back with something called 999, a Chinese remedy that the clerk assured Randy would do the trick. He mixed up a packet of crystals into a glass of water (and I'm thinking that quite possibly, it's the water CAUSING the problem), and handed it to me. It looked like mud, but tasted like strong tea with a healthy dose of molasses in it. Not that bad. Considering the alternative, I forced it down.

Surprisingly, it didn't take long to show a positive effect, and I was feeling somewhat better (albeit quite fatigued) so we decided we would head to the train station. Upon arriving at the station, we realized that the reason we were having such a difficult time flagging a taxi upon our arrival was the fact that the taxi queue was located downstairs from the arrival area, and the taxis were not allowed to stop at the area where we were waving like fools. OK, figured that out for future reference.

The train home to Shanghai was not the bullet so it took more than two hours to get to the station. Also, we came into the North Station and not the South from whence we'd departed, but we knew that a subway line was there, so being that we are becoming subway experts, we assumed we'd be on track from there. About five minutes from our arrival into Shanghai, the women behind me jumped up to retrieve her carry-on bag from overhead. She pulled it out, and it fell right onto my head. Now, this was a hard-side (think Samsonite), heavy piece of luggage ... I SAW STARS!!! Oh, well ... took my mind off the other end!! She felt terrible! Rubbed my head and kept saying, "Solly, solly, solly!!!" She continued combing my hair with her fingers and rubbing the rather large bump that had raised on my noggin until the train slowed. Finally, we stopped and she helped me up and off the train. I thought she was going to try to take me home!!

It had turned cold and windy in Shanghai during our train ride, and we were glad to get home where we didn't have to fight any more crowds. That is something that we seem to only be able to tolerate in limited doses ... the crowds. Those are the days when we are grateful for our lovely apartment complex and the large areas of open air, green lawns, and beautiful foliage where we can "spread our wings" a bit ... saves our sanity!

All in all, Hangzhou was a great experience, and we'd definitely try it again now that we know better how to handle the transportation. I'll take the Immodium and wear a helmet next time!

APRIL 10, 2007

In my conversations with my family back in the states, I have often related little details of the differences in culture and the problems with the language barrier (all while trying not to whine TOO loudly). My mother has suggested several times that I write about this so I will attempt to document the cultural struggles of an expat living in China.

One thing that causes us to often pause with the response "Say WHAT?" is the use of what we expats commonly refer to as "Chinglish." This is the Chinese attempt at signage in English which seems to be the second most common language in the country (and let me add, a DISTANT second). As the Mandarin phrasing can very seldom be translated literally, often the Chinese attempt at English is very literally lost in translation.

Some examples of Chinglish as witnessed by us are as follows:

BABY GRASS GROWS BENEATH THE FEET (keep off the grass)

NAKED FIRE CAN BE DEVASTATING (no open flame, or possibly no smoking)

DRIVING WHILE FATIGUED PROHIBITED (Huh? Everyone here is fatigued. They all sleep on whatever form of transportation they are utilizing. I swear, when the buses roll past, everyone aboard is sleeping.)

ANUS HOSPITAL (Proctology Clinic)

STRENGTHEN URINARY HOSPITAL (Not positive, but I'm thinking Prostrate Clinic)

Some of the funniest examples of Chinglish are seen while viewing one of the aforementioned pirated DVD's to which the Chinese have added their own English subtitles. In the movie, Happy Feet (which is an animated movie about penguins), the penguins were referred to as "waiters" which had me in stitches for the entire movie. I suppose you see all those guys in "tuxedos," one might suppose they were indeed waiters! And a phrase such as "Get outta here!" or "Get outta town!" (meaning "You must be joking!") comes out like, "Please leave now!" I swear the Chinglish was more humorous than the movie. I believe subtlety and innuendo are completely lost on the Chinese who are much more direct than we Americans are.

Indeed the spoken language can have it's moments of hilarity as well. Randy had taken some Mr. Muscle (like Formula 409) cleanser to work with him as the cleaning being attempted at the plant was performed with only a wet rag with piteous results. He showed the bottle to Vita, the secretary/receptionist, and requested that she get a case of this cleanser. She looked at it and replied, "This is for cleaning your chicken!" Randy appeared bewildered, and she repeated, "You mean you want CHICKEN cleaner!!" Finally, Randy had one of those "I could've had a V8!" moments as he realized she was trying to say "kitchen cleaner." OK, chicken, kitchen .... I could understand the confusion there. We've had several good laughs about that since then. Every time I use the Mr. Muscle, I grin about using the "chicken" cleaner.

Another of the cultural differences which I find peculiar is the inability of the average Chinese person to think on their feet or utilize their imagination in day to day situations. For instance, the apartment complex in which we live is probably at least half expat inhabited. As such, the vast majority of these folks do not have a common grasp of Mandarin language, especially the written form as the characters used are completely foreign to those of us who utilize an alphabet for written communication. I have lived here since the middle of January, and have never noticed until last week, any communication posted in anything other than Chinese throughout our complex. Finally, last week I noticed a posting for a Chinese language class to commence soon with the instruction that registration is at building 20, apartment 101. So Randy and I went there to sign me up (class is during the day which precludes Randy's involvement as he'll be at work). Well, they'd had the foresight to post the notice in English, but when I arrived at the office, there were 6 or 7 people working there, and not one person on hand who could speak a word of English (they did, however, bring us coffee .... sigh). I said to Randy, "What were they thinking? If I can't speak Chinese, how was I going to sign up for the class if nobody could understand me at the place of registration?" Very typical of how things are done here. We finally took somebody out to the lobby where the sign was posted and pointed to it. They, in turn, got somebody on the phone who could speak about 10 words of English, and I am not yet sure that I am signed up. Somebody is supposed to get back to me.

It's something that Randy calls the "herd" mentality. The Chinese have been instructed their entire lives by their government how and what to think, what to do, what to say, and they don't question anything or think beyond that possibility. I believe the Chinese on the average are very intelligent, please don't get me wrong. And they are very creative when it comes to aesthetics and first impressions (especially when it might affect business dealings). But as the "whole" is far more important than the "individual," the attempt at "out of the box" thinking in general is discouraged, and is even questioned by those of us thoughtless enough to try it. An attempt to change a train or flight ticket is met with a blank stare. "Why would you do that? You have a ticket so that is the one you should use." There are no contingencies for anything that might change or be different than the standard, and to do so would upset the entire system of balance and order.

The entire idea of space is a bit of a foreign concept in China. As the cities here are very densely populated, personal space is indeed a luxury. Our apartment would be considered average sized in the States, but I'd imagine three families would live here if inhabited by Chinese locals. I think I've mentioned being jostled rather aggresively in the Carrefour store in our misguided attempt at shopping on a Sunday afternoon. Just attempt a weekend shopping trip (ALL Chinese locals shop on the weekend) and you'll quickly understand that the only way to get from point A to point B is to push and shove (and believe me, you'll BE pushed and shoved too) until you reach your objective. Just this weekend, I was pushed quite firmly into a subway car as the woman behind me thought I was boarding too slowly for her taste.

The Chinese have learned the concept that if anything is to be achieved, one must be fairly aggresive. That is not to say they are rude. Verbal rudeness is quite unlikely. But it is quite acceptable to have someone jump in front of you in the street as you attempt to hail a taxi in order to get the one that may be slowing to pick you up without so much as a "Dui bu qi" ("pardon me"). It would be simply considered quick thinking and good strategy, not rude in the slightest. Forming a line (or queueing, as the English say) is hardly attempted. Rather a mass of people all attempting to step in front of one another is more likely the case. I have gotten in line to pay at a cash register only to have someone come from my right or left to hand their money directly to the cashier right in front of me ... perfectly acceptable.

These are all things that require a bit of adjustment on our part. We have accepted that we are indeed the foreigners and as such, the burden of the communication problems and cultural differences fall on us. I will say though that I am a bit disappointed in the owners and management of our apartment complex who clearly have courted the expat establishment to fill the complex (and therefore their bank accounts), but have done little to accomodate the non-Chinese patrons. I am hoping that the classes will help me meet some folks here, and give me a forum to communicate with the management and service folks here. Who knows? Maybe I can be of service in some way as a liason between the expats and the locals in our complex. Communication has always been my strong suit.

Having said that, there are signs that they may be making progress here. Last week, a fellow showed up at our door speaking Chinese. When that attempt at communication failed, he finally was able to say, "Check da gas." OK, THAT was clear. I let him in and he proceeded to check the carbon dioxide detecter above our gas stove. With the help of a English speaking Chinese friend called on my cell phone, I was able to ascertain that he needed to replace our detector and would be back with a new one (free of charge) within a couple of weeks. Yesterday, a similar man showed up and was able to hand me a piece of paper stating that he was doing a routine check of the water heater as a free service offered by the apartment management. A good step forward, I would say, at least having it in writing so we could understand what was happening.

Along with the concept of the good first impression, there is also that entire "saving face" situation that must be considered when dealing with the Chinese. They are quick to offer assistance when our bewilderment is obvious (especially if they know any English), and that is a wonderful thing for which we are grateful, but often the answer given is incorrect. A Chinese person is unlikely to admit that they do not understand or don't know the answer to your question, therefore it is perfectly acceptable to give a wrong one in order to avoid the appearance of inadequacy (one must "save face"). Unfortunately, the effect is an added air of paranoia to any conversation you have with the locals as it forces you constantly question whether or not you are getting the truth.

While keeping in mind that we'd like to save our own "face" by not being Ugly Americans, it is a fine, thin line we walk to try to assimilate ourselves into the Chinese society while still feeling somewhat comfortable in our own skin. I have to admit that there are days that I simply retreat into the walls of my apartment and swear I won't come out until it's time to head back to the states. But eventually, the sun comes out, I hear the children playing in the garden outside our apartment, and I take a deep breath and attempt meaningful communication again. I heard somewhere that when life is at it's most fearful, that is when you are learning the most. I think we are currently living that statement which is not a bad thing.

APRIL 9, 2007

Our good friends, Rich and Magali Easley, live in Suzhou which is a little over an hour west of Shanghai. Rich is a former coworker of both Randy and I, and Randy, Vance, and Rich go WAY back (don't worry, guys .... I won't divulge any secrets). We thought that a visit to Suzhou would be a grand thing while Vance was visiting as he is also a longtime friend and coworker of ours.

David Gray accompanied us on our first visit to Suzhou. We met Rich and Magali at their apartment in what is known as Suzhou Industrial Park (or the SIP, as the locals call it). Suzhou itself is a very ancient city also known as Pearl City or also the Venice of Asia due to it being built on a lake and having many creeks and canals running through it. The six of us departed the apartment complex and went to the Drunken Chef, an English Pub, for lunch and a little billiards for the guys. I believe Rich has found a "home away from home" as he is on a first name basis with the owner. Good food, large portions, English menu .... AND a pool table. What's not to love?

We were met there by the plant manager for ADS, Lifeng Wang, and we all left for a little shopping. Shopping in Suzhou is a bit more of a relaxing event than in Shanghai. Suzhou has a population of (only) 6 million (as opposed to Shanghai's 20 million plus) and seems to be a bit less frenzied. There are lovely shops, and the vendors are not quite as "in your face" as in Shanghai. But dickering is welcome, and the deals are just as sweet. Randy purchased a Polo all-weather jacket (and surprised us all by finding his size ... larger sized men don't usually find much to fit in China).

Eventually, we strolled to an area that was basically a shopping mall built around an old Temple. The Temple is still in use as a place of worship. There were large pits burning incense, and tall wrought iron "trees" holding candles where a few folks were lingering and praying. We picked up a few items for the apartment ... a large paper fan, a smaller sandalwood fan, four embroidered framed pictures, and some scrolled wall hangings. We aren't allowed to put any holes in our apartment walls so we are restricted to lightweight items that we can hang with semi-permanent adhesive hangers. The white walls of our apartment will be a bit more cheerful with a little local flavor added to them.

Dinner was Lifeng's treat at a Chinese restaurant lakeside. The lake seems to be newly developed, and there is a beautiful walkway with lots of new restaurants on either side. The lighting along this walkway is traditional, over-the-top, wonderland style (think Disneyland at Christmas time) with beautiful bridges and landscaping appointing the area. At the restaurant, we all sat around a large round table (which is the traditional Chinese custom) and Lifeng ordered for the group. All the food was traditional Chinese, some cold vegetables, some hot meals prepared in various traditional Chinese style, a soup, and of course steamed rice. Dessert was fresh fruit.

Something worth mentioning is that as the food was served, a large platter of chicken was placed in front of me. In China, one simply uses the chopsticks and grabs a piece of whatever is desired from any platter on the table. There is a small plate for bones, shells, etc. but other than a small bowl for soup, there is no dinner plate per se. I grabbed a piece of chicken off the platter in front of me and put it in my mouth to take a bite. Immediately, I noticed that it was very hard, and mostly bone, so I spit it back onto my plate (again, perfectly OK in China, they are constantly spitting out bones, shells, and seeds even while conversing). Upon further inspection of the morsel, I realized I'd managed to grab the head of the chicken!! It looked like a regular piece of meat (no feathers or eyeballs or anything), but yep, there was no mistaking it ... it was the head, beak and all. I leaned over and whispered to Randy, "I think I've got the chicken head on my plate!" He looked. Yep, he agreed ... that was indeed the head. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to continue the meal with this chicken looking at me so Randy rescued me by scooping it up, putting on his plate, and placing another plate on top of that so nobody would notice it (hopefully). OK, deep breath ... let's see. Ah, yes ... rice looks like a safe bet!!

Our next visit to Suzhou the next weekend was a bit more relaxed. David departed for his native Scotland on Saturday morning, so Vance, Randy and I headed back to Suzhou for more fun with Rich and Magali. We started out at Drunken Chef again ... lunch and a few games of pool. The guys decided to give the pool a break and we took a tour of Lingering Gardens, one of the many gardens for public viewing in Suzhou. Suzhou is known not only for canals and pearls, but also for it's lovely gardens, and was highly recommended as a great place for a springtime stroll.

Lingering Gardens is the former residence of a local Chinese official from the Qing Dynasty. Obviously, this guy was one important dude because this residence is HUGE. Instead of a separate room for eating, sleeping, entertaining, doing business, etc., there was a separate BUILDING for each of these events, as well as quarters for all the staff it must have required to keep this place going. It was full of beautiful Chinese antiques, calligraphy, and statuary, as well as beautiful gardens and ponds full of big red and white carp. The really incredible thing about these gardens though was the bonsai. I don't know a LOT about bonsai, but I DO know that the larger the stem or trunk of a plant, the older it is. Some of these bonsai plants had to be over a hundred years old. And they had managed to bonsai innumerable varieties in every shape and size imaginable (and some I hadn't imagined). It was very interesting. We had a great time walking through the residence, the gardens and stone pathways, and taking lots of photographs.

After the gardens, we went to another local establishment near the lake for more drinks and pool playing. I enjoyed chatting and getting to know Magali better while the guys shared a nostalgic afternoon from days of all being on the same pool league when they were young guys at Kaumagraph. Rich had selected this particular place as it was very close to where a great water fountain and laser light show took place at the water's edge every weekend. Rich announced that it was time for the show, and wouldn't you know, it started pouring rain. Well, undaunted we pushed on. Rich knew of a place where we could watch under cover, and we saw much of an incredible show of water fountains, music, lasers and lights, fireworks, and shooting flames ... quite the spectacular event!

Once the show was over, we enjoyed a few rounds of Liar's Poker punctuated by shots of tequila for the losers of each round before calling it a wonderful day and heading back to Shanghai. It was one of the those days when we were very grateful for our driver, Shao, who takes very good care of us.

APRIL 2, 1007

We have had visitors lately from both Scotland and the states to help Randy with the delivery, assembly, and set up of the equipment and machinery. David Gray from Scotland, and Vance Smith from the states arrived two weeks ago. While there have been some long hours for these guys, we have also managed to pack in quite a few adventures while they have been in Asia.

One of the first adventures embarked upon was a trip to ride the Maglev, a super-fast, high speed train that runs from the southwestern outskirts of Shanghai to the Pudong International Airport to the east of Shanghai. The Maglev was the creation of a joint venture between the Chinese government and a German company, and was supposed to go from the airport well into the city of Shanghai. So the story has been related to me, the German company went belly up prior to the completion of the Maglev train, so it was stopped on the outskirts of town (or the middle of "nowhere" as David Taylor puts it). Luckily, the Maglev station is located on a subway stop on Line 2 (which is the line nearest our apartment) so it was decided we'd take a trip out and back on the Maglev just for the experience.

The Maglev costs 50 RMB one way, or 80 RMB round trip. We purchased round trip tickets and boarded the Maglev much in the same way one boards a plane. The train runs every 30 minutes and takes approximately 7 minutes to complete a one way trip reaching speeds of 436 KPH (or 270 MPH) at full speed. This trip could take an hour or more if traveling by conventional vehicle on the expressway (depending on traffic), so you can imagine the excitement of riding a train at this speed. Full speed is only achieved for about a minute or so as the train is either accerlating or decelerating for most of the ride. It's hard to believe that one can actually go that speed on land!! There are two trains each traveling opposite directions simultaneously. As such, they pass one another at full speed. As they pass, the air that each train is pushing hits the other at such a rate as to create quite a loud BANG (enough to scare the living daylights out of me!!). The Maglev is definitely a not-to-be-missed experience in Shanghai. If one does not have too much heavy luggage, this is a great way to travel to and from the airport. But the need to go up and down stairsteps and through turnstiles makes schlepping large loads of luggage quite difficult, I would imagine.

One of the other adventures taken with our visitors was a number of visits to the "dodgey market" (another of David Taylor's euphemisms). There are actually a number of these markets (or rather malls) in Shanghai where you can visit many different vendors selling name brand products for NOT name brand prices as these items are actually copies (or knock-offs as most folks say). Some of the items available include jewelry (Tiffany & Cartier), watches (Rolex, Cartier, Omega), handbags (Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dulce & Gabbana, Coach, Versace), shoes (Nike, Addidas, Diesel), clothing (you name it, they had it), designer sunglasses, DVD's, and many, many other items all for a pittance of what you'd pay in the "real" store.

One must be prepared mentally for a trip to the dodgey market. The vendors are quite vocal and aggressive. They will pull at your shirt sleeves, follow you down the hall, and shove products and brochures into your face in an attempt to get your attention .... "HEY lady ... looky, looky, REAL DEAL, NOT knock-off ... YOU my FRIEND ... I make GOOD DEAL for YOU!!!" There is very little leisurely browsing because the moment you show any interest in a product, a calculator will be shoved into your face so that you may begin the bargaining.

Having said that, if you're up for the task, some great deals CAN be had at the dodgey market. David Gray arrived in China with print outs from family, friends, and coworkers that could have filled a 2-inch three ring binder, and a mission to fill those lists. Randy and I accompanied Vance and David to the market, and we decided to split into pairs with the thought that Randy and I should probably look after Vance and David as we have a dozen or so phrases in our Chinese vocabularly and these guys were the newbies. I went with David. We were soon on the third floor of the mall looking at some handbags. Next thing I knew, we'd been whisked into a back room hidden behind the store (and the actual store is not much more than merely a store FRONT) so that David could go over his list. Also, they try to convince you that the back room (and every store has one) contains the better (read "not knock-off") or more desireable products. David ended up handing his list to this gal, and off she ran to find the items on his list. Some of these folks are basically "runners" to whom a commission is paid, and they run from store to store to see if they can find these items. I have to admit that I was a little freaked about being lock in what was basically a room about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, but David was pretty calm about it, so I perused the bags hanging all over the walls.

The gal returned with quite a few of the items on David's list, and the bargaining began. The first thing they want to do is bargain for the entire purchase for one price. David didn't want to do that as he would be reimbursed for each item and as such, needed to know what he was paying for each item. Then they try to convince you that everything is REAL so you should pay a larger price. By now, we all know that the items wouldn't be at this particular market unless they are knock-off, but you must go through this process to get down to what you might actually pay. It appears that the price paid usually ends up between a third to half of whatever they are asking. But of course, you must start pretty low or there's no room to bargain. David had a great technique of offering a price, and then actually going lower which usually prompted a reponse of "You CRAZY, mister!!" Cracked me up!

We've been in and out of the dodgey market a few times now, and we're getting the hang of it. It actually requires a bit of practice, as well as some finesse. If you act like these vendors are your long lost cousin from Des Moines that you haven't seen in ages, they seem to give you a better deal. They love feeling like they have made a friend, not just sold an item. We have purchased sunglasses, a handbag, and a pair of shoes so far (and made some pretty good deals). Yes, the knock off market is definitely one of the more colorful experiences we've had in Shanghai.