WORLD CUP FEVER HITS CHINA HARD

On June 14, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Beijing, China, Shanghai, UncategorizedLeave a comment

World Cup Fever has taken over China. It’s pervasive in the media, merchandising, and, of course, the bars. In no way, is the World Cup as big in the U.S. as it is in China. The World Cup is a huge part of life here in China for the next month. Stay up all night watching games? No problem. To call off sick here, you need an official hospital note, which you can obtain online from various nefarious sites. The article in the paper yesterday said that interest has surged for these notes so that people can watch football all night and call in sick the next day. There is even a special insurance policy offered for Cup excesses. The article in China Daily today details how for only 48 cents U.S. (3 yuan) you can get the “World Cup hooligan insurance package” guaranteed to compensate you up to 10,000 yuan if you are attacked or robbed by thugs while out partying hard during Cup games. Another policy pays out for sickness caused by alcohol poisoning to cover inpatient and outpatient costs.

Why the rabidly scary interest here? China didn’t qualify this year and has only appeared in the World Cup once in 2002–can’t even imagine the partying going on then. While there is great international presence here in Beijing due to the Embassies, from what I have read, the Chinese will root for anyone except Japan. The drink deals are plentiful–buy 5, get 1 free on beers could be renamed the “good luck walking home” offer. At the fake market, the sellers were doing a huge business in selling football shirts in all sizes. You want it, they got it–“lookey, lookey, best friend” discount and all. At the Blue Frog, my new favorite Western style restaurant, they even have a machine counting down to the opening with an embedded Kinect to play soccer games while dispensing special edition Budweiser Beer World Cup bottles–what an all purpose machine!

The Blue Frog manager quickly looked up for me when the US plays–at 6 a.m. this coming Tuesday vs. Ghana. I am hoping that my Shanghai TV package gets these games live. I get to go home tomorrow! CCTV has boots on the ground covering tape delayed games but as much as I would love to work on my Chinese, I would love to hear the game announced in English. So, I’ll be up early cheering on my US team and dodging the early morning drunks on the Shanghai streets as I go to work and the World Cup partiers struggle to make it home in the morning hours. Work? No Way-not for them for at least a month and even then it might take another month to get the alcohol out of their blood system. Party on, World Cup Fans!

Early Morning Walk in Beijing

On June 7, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Beijing, China, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Up at 4 a.m. to catch the sun rise, I was in awe of the morning sky. The strong wind and rain yesterday cleared out the air and, for the first time, I got to see blue skies and the mountains surrounding Beijing. Who knew??? Obscured by thick, grey pollution almost all the times I’ve ever been here, it’s quite lovely when the pollution is washed away. Too bad they can’t program a typhoon every week to clear it out.

After Skyping with Thom, Hannah and a sleeping Mia, it was still only 5:30 a.m. so I decided to do a walkabout and see who else was up in my neighborhood. Surprisingly, I did see some joggers taking advantage of the clean air. Run while you can breathe! The street vendors were just hauling their carts out to make the morning breakfast for the commuters. That could be onion pancakes, eggs or steamed buns. Traffic was light and not the usual clogged mess on the “ring” roads. This trip I’m staying at the Westin near Sanlitun. I like this neighborhood more than the Grand Hyatt near the Forbidden City–too touristy for me there. Here I can walk to more Western restaurants in the Sanlitun Mall and there is a nice canal next to the hotel. When I say “nice”, I mean picturesque but I would never, ever dream of swimming in it unless I wanted to die quickly of many and varied diseases. Walking by today, several gents were bathing/swimming in the canal in the early morning. One had on a bathing cap–cute but what you really need is some scuba gear and a full body suit!

Guard at one of the Embassies coming to get me because I'm taking his picture! — Guard at one of the Embassies coming to get me because I’m taking his picture!

Canal near the Westin and bathing pool for some gents I saw today.

I continued down Embassy Row where the guards were at attention protecting the occupants. As I looked at the bars on all the windows of the buildings inside the locked gated areas, I thought to myself that they probably need those precautions in case of a protest or attack but it wouldn’t make for very comfortable living. As I took a picture of the guard, he immediately started to come at me. Yeah, right buddy—you aren’t confiscating my phone. No way. No how. I just started walking fast and he backed down, returning to his post. I can’t even imagine how boring it would be to just stand in one place for hours. I wonder what he thinks about while he is standing prone watching and waiting. Are they so bored that they actually wish someone would attack them so they have something to do? I feel for them. No job is really easy but being bored is the worst.

It’s the weekend but I am working straight through on my current project. No rest in sight and no Thom until July. Then, life will get better. In the meantime, I will put one foot in front of the other and wake up each day to appreciate the chance to live in the moment and look to the future. The blue skies today helped for sure! Yesterday, there was even a rainbow after the rain. Everyone was stopping to take pictures-I’m sure rainbows are unusual in the gloomy Beijing grey skies. I’ve always loved rainbows and think they are a sign of hope and renewal. As they say in Hawaii: No Rain, No Rainbows. Bring on the typhoons baby–I could get used to these blue skies in Beijing.

Finding my smile again

On June 2, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

Last week, I went to Hong Kong to find my smile. You see, I lost it when I arrived in Beijing from Boise, and experienced a very bad lonely “life really, really sucks” moment in my life. What happened to me???? I’m the one who always says “YES” and smiles and gets the job done. I’m the one who never complains because, really, no one wants to hear anyone whine…ever. Poor Thom had to listen to me whine BIG time. I’m the one who takes pride in supporting my family and values the great company I work for and the unique position I have been given to positively influence and impact lives.

Yet, this week, I found myself being very sad and frustrated. What kind of life is this? Why should I continue to work so hard when life is so short? I began to imagine what it would feel like to quit and move back home where everyone else is having a grand old time enjoying the clean air. It should be my turn to enjoy no responsibilities and have someone else take care of me before I die. Who needs money and medical insurance?? Forget that house I just bought in Boise or the business I want to launch with my daughter—other people get by on much less than I do and they have no stress whatsoever. They go for picnics, ride bikes, hang out endlessly at coffee houses and have friends. All of a sudden, it felt like everyone was having fun but me. I had lost my smile and it hurt.

So, taking a break to Hong Kong has been meaningful. Not only did I get to breathe in some badly needed clean air but I have had a chance to let go of the toxic self pity that infected my soul. I’ve always believed that no one can make you happy. You have to make yourself happy. I have to take better care of myself. No one makes me work as hard as I do-it’s self inflicted no doubt. My health and happiness needs to take a front seat, not a back seat, from now on.

I’ve often gone years without a vacation due to my hectic work schedule and that can’t happen again, especially living so far away from everyone. So, in July, I’ll take a few vacation days to introduce Mia to her Great Grandma Gene and enjoy some Chicago time with my sister. My best friend, Patty, will come to visit us in China for a month in the fall with her hubby, Larry. No matter how busy I am, I will take time off to show her around my new hometown. I so appreciate them coming to visit. I booked my son James to visit for two months this summer, thrilling him to pieces with a day layover in Tokyo on the trip over. He’s been dying to see Japan and this will satisfy that itch. We will go to Hong Kong for a long weekend to renew his Visa when he hits 30 days in China. Having James with us will be so wonderful. He will have wonderful adventures with Thom all over China. While Hannah with her asthma shouldn’t visit us in China, I look forward to taking the whole family to Hong Kong or Europe in the years ahead. Little Mia will use her passport often to visit us and be a world traveler. And, finally, Thom will return to China in July after being in the U.S. taking care of the purchase of our home in Boise. Being apart for two months, I realize even more how much I love him and depend on him to be happy. It has been a difficult separation and we’ll try not to let it happen again no matter what. We’re in this adventure together and without him, it’s definitely not as much fun.

Our Hyde Park cottage in Boise. — Our cottage in Boise, where we will be for Christmas this year.

And, yes, WE ARE GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! Just thinking of this in my future made me smile again. It was sad last year being apart from Hannah and Mike, though we enjoyed having James with us in Shanghai. So I will save up two weeks vacation and go home to Boise, to our new home, to spend time with my precious family because, really and truly, family is the only thing that matters in life. Thank you, Hong Kong, for giving me back my sense of humor. We all go through hills and valleys in life and it feels good to be back on top of the hill viewing life in a positive way again through the hazy (aka polluted) skies of China.

Where’s the Ayi???

On April 26, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Seattle, Travel, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Using the Hyatt gym in Seattle to try and stay healthy on the road, we aren’t feeling the love. At home, we are used to being greeted by an Ayi, who hands you a towel and makes sure the minute you finish your bottled water, another is handed to you while you are on the treadmill. In the US, you are on your own–no greet, no water bottles and get your own damn towel. WHAT?? No pool shoes provided, no bathing suit “squeeze out the water” machine in the locker room and where the HELL is my personal hot tub to relax in after a swim?? Oh yes, you might say we are spoiled rotten by the higher level of service found in hotels in China that we are lucky enough to stay at when travelling. I acknowledge that and feel a great level of appreciation for those perks I have become accustomed to. It makes up for the polluted water, air and food. Small trade offs.

Thom's looking for the Ayi and bottled water...keep looking! — Thom’s looking for the Ayi and bottled water…keep looking!

One other bitch about the gym here–you have to walk by the ballroom through a maze of stairs and hallways to get to it in an attached building. Last night, there was a big shindig going on and since it was from my company, I was afraid to walk by in my gym clothes dare I walk into the CEO or someone I know so we had to find an alternative way to get there by going outside in the rain. Again, first world problems but still….

Being a Diamond level member of Hyatt loyalty program, I get to visit the Regency Club wherever we stay so we can get treats and beverages. The Beijing Grand Hyatt Club is huge and puts on a feast every day for every meal with unlimited adult beverages. Oh Yaaaahhh Baby! The Seattle Hyatt is being very judgmental and must think I don’t need unlimited wine because when we tried to get in around 9 p.m., it was locked and closed for the night. Obviously they don’t understand how hard I work. Room service please!

I will say the room service is better in the US having lived through the Nanjing incident where it took 4 attempts to get milk for my cereal. Being hermits, we love room service so we have feasted on lobster mac & cheese, crab bisque and Cobb salad, and were mighty impressed at the yumminess factor. I almost licked the bowl after finishing the cheesy crab bowl of heaven. After that meal, we need to go back to the gym and work out a little more. On to NYC tomorrow so we’ll be walking all over town from Central Park to Madison Square Park, checking out all our favorite haunts. HELLO MANHATTAN!!! HERE WE COME!!

Happy Day!!

On April 26, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

My stomach turned over as I saw I had missed a call from Dr. K. You know in the movies that they only take the time to call their patients personally to deliver bad news. After a quick prayer, I called him back hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. “Not lung cancer” was all I heard and let out a big sigh of relief. Hallelujah! I appreciate everyone’s concern and wanted to update you as soon as I heard. I will need further tests to see if the nodules seen on my lungs are from either having TB in the past unbeknownst to me or possibly still having active TB, which can be treated with a 9 month round of meds and is NOT contagious. I will test soon and take care of myself. Dr. K. was happy that we caught this when we did so I can treat as needed to be healthy and live a long, long life with my family and friends. I love you all. Have a HAPPY DAY-I certainly will!

A lazy Sunday in Shanghai

On March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Shanghai, Travel, Uncategorized3 Comments

After a hectic seven day straight work week in Beijing and Nanjing, we got home last night to Shanghai ready for some serious R & R. Don’t get me wrong, we stay in nice hotels and love seeing different cities but there is nothing like being able to go to your own kitchen for a snack and our Slumbermax memory foam mattress=heaven! Though it takes a VPN and more patience than I can muster, I was able to catch up on episodes of Nashville on HuluPlus while munching on Girl Scout cookies. Wild Saturday Night in the George house!

Sunday dawned with sun and mild pollution so we were anxious to get out and enjoy the spring day. As we headed to the gym, I think every kid was out playing and driving their parents crazy in the common areas of our complex.

Green & Safe-a restaurant expats love in Shanghai

After gym and church, we started to wander around the former French Concession and stumbled into expat central. I have never seen so many Laowais milling around especially at the grocery/wine/deli called Green & Safe. What a great descriptive title, right? In polluted Shanghai where food safety is questioned at even the nicest places, some genius built an oasis where organic stuff sits next to a carb wonderland with fresh baked breads and pies/tarts/oh my! The salads, soups, sandwiches and pastas were gorgeous and tasty. Yes, it was very green and hopefully safe. Of course, it is China so you just never know but you can always hope. If I’m not sick within an hour of eating, I consider myself lucky.

Thom had a Pink berry lemonade with lemon & mint-very refreshing and healthy and not the slightest bit girly or anything. I sipped on the free, pour your own sample sparking wine. So I’m thinking the owners might want you to only have one sample but I was thirsty. Since this is an easy walk from our church, I think we have found our new Sunday brunch spot. Free wine samples and all that green & safe food. I feel healthier already. The inside is very concrete, wood, stone, hipster styling. We sat at the ledge looking out into the street and played guess the nationalities of the customers–French, German, Italian, etc. were all there.

A busy week again for me with a work retreat for a few days and then off to Hong Kong, so I had to work in a mani and shopping to look good. Nothing like light blue nails and a few new outfits from Gap and Zara to gain some confidence and energy. Of course, I wear the largest size they carry at the Gap so THAT was depressing–yep, size 8 is the BIG size here in China. They carry XXXS, which I didn’t even know existed in sizing. As I walked home in the dark along the quiet streets in Pudong, I reflected on how safe I felt. I would never walk alone in downtown Seattle after dark. Of course, after the train attack with crazy machete-wielding terrorists indiscriminately chopping away at innocent people and the possible plane going down due to terrorists, I am starting to feel some apprehension as I travel around a country that will definitely have to strengthen their safety procedures to prevent future problems. Here’s hoping for that! Wand me, pat me down, scan my stuff and do it with diligence and attention to detail with everyone PLEASE!

Smooth moves in Shanghai

On January 25, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn Shanghai, Uncategorized1 Comment

Wouldn’t life be better if we started our days dancing like these folks do? Every morning I walk by this grooving group of locals on my way to the subway and admire their grace and smooth moves. Enjoy and have a happy day!

Sightseeing in Shanghai!

On January 21, 2014January 21, 2014 By Travels with MelindaIn adventure, Shanghai, UncategorizedLeave a comment

WP_20140121_017 — Bund Sightseeing Tunnel

I got to play tourist late this afternoon with Thom! After yesterday’s soul-crushing and cough inducing pollution AQI 250+, we needed a break and, surprise, we got a beautiful sunny day with AQI under 100, which in Shanghai is good though in the U.S. it would be considered unhealthy. What can I say–our standards have slipped drastically since moving to China. After doing my work duty checking out the competition, we walked down Nanjing Road East to the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. We have been meaning to experience this tourist trap since we moved here and finally we took the gondola through the psychedelic light show. Reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean but China-style, we were treated to weird commentary in English and a relatively quick trip under the Haungpu River as we marveled at the colorful lights pulsating on the walls.

While this is truly just for tourists–the ferry across the river for locals runs 2 RMB vs. this trip was 50 RMB, which is a big difference to the average citizen–it was something you should experience if you are visiting the city. Arriving near the Pearl Tower, the iconic highly photographed anchor to downtown Pudong, we walked home under sunny skies enjoying a beautiful Shanghai day!

WP_20140121_019 — Pearl Tower under rare blue skies in Shanghai!

Shanghai Sassy & Stubborn as a Mule

On December 31, 2013December 31, 2013 By Travels with MelindaIn Shanghai, Shopping, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“You stubborn as a mule, Lady!” Really??? My husband later called the stall vendor a shaman for knowing me so well after a short, tough negotiation session for a jade Buddha I wanted. After the mule reference, he turned flirty and called me his girlfriend and told James that he was lucky to have me as his Mom. Then, talking man to man with Thom, he shook his head and said, “You get to go home with her!” and I’m not sure if he was saying that in a good way or a bad way but I think he respected my sassy and firm style of negotiating. In all fairness to my new friend, many of my ex-bosses have called me stubborn as a bulldog but, again, I always took that in a positive way, probably because a bulldog is cuter than a mule or that could just be me rationalizing but I digress.

Our Sunday was spent wandering Dongtai Antique Market (or Diagon Alley which is what it looked like to me–I expected to see a wand store at any time), I bargained hard for lots of cool treasures. Thom wanted a large and extremely heavy stone horse statue to celebrate the Year of the Horse coming up in 2014–got it for 150RMB (starting price I think was around 800RMB). Thom had a moment of panic when we got home and he wiped the grime off the horse and it changed colors…oops! It changed back when it dried but Thom is now threatening to put it out on the balcony so it can accumulate smog dirtiness and restore it’s antique luster.

James had a hankering for dragons (probably because we just watched The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug at home on DVD and, yes, it is still in the U.S. theaters) so I negotiated for him and got an intricate dragon statue and a dragon pocket watch as well as some beads and figurines for his friends back home. I also started our Beijing Opera mask collection with the goal to get several and hang on our wall. They are so colorful and full of emotion. So many treasures, so little time!

In between shopping, we enjoyed a vendor serenading us and watched some serious mah jong being played. Ahhhhhh….Sunday in Shanghai is a treat for the senses.

Shanghai vs. Vegas

On November 19, 2013 By Travels with MelindaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I left on an extended work trip to the U.S. just days after moving into our apartment in Shanghai. My poor hubby stayed behind to get us settled in and will spend Thanksgiving all by himself. He’s a trooper! But the last two weeks I’ve been in Las Vegas working hard…really–very little gambling and shopping going on! But talk about a clash of cultures. Shanghai vs. Vegas…there were some remarkable similarities as I compared the two cities, walking to get to work via the Vegas Strip. Thoughts popped up like:

Would the Shanghai citizens be able to resist pushing to get out of the elaborates door turnstyles as found in the casinos or would they rush forward in their excitement to shop and gamble and surely get stuck as the doors stop when touched even lightly….Caution: follow the directions or risk being caught until a security guard can spring you.

Would the Nearly Naked Cowboy fly in Shanghai? He wasn’t nearly as naked as the original Naked Cowboy in Times Square that liked to strum his guitar in front of where I used to work but, still, I laugh out loud when I think of how often the Nearly Naked Cowboy would be photographed if he were to pop up in the middle of the fancy Xintiendi courtyard….I think he would be a crowd pleaser for sure.

What do these cities have in common? Well, an obsession to light up buildings at night, serve grandiose buffets, perform lavish acrobatic shows and shop at Prada, Prada, and more Prada. There is also a mutual love of water, whether in koi ponds or soothing waterfalls or over the top volcanoes, water features are everywhere in both cities.

In Shanghai, the few homeless you do see on the street begging are quiet in their demands, shaking a cup to get your attention vs. Vegas where the homeless travel in groups, strategically placed along the Strip with signs that read “Sugar Mamma needed” or “Need Weed”–can’t imagine that on the streets of Shanghai for some reason.

One unique idea I saw in Vegas would do well in Shanghai where the lovely fashionistas wear their stilettos to work. Imagine dancing the night away and then, feet bleeding, you just can’t take another step in those heels..but, wait…there is a convenient shoe dispenser right on the street that beckons you for a hideous yet comfy alternative.

The Vegas Strip and Shanghai have hordes of people walking the streets and also have great wealth positioned right next to great poverty. When I first saw the name of the apartments across from my office, I did a double take–Richgate–that is really the name of the apartments and is descriptive of the super luxury apartments that are over $6,000/month U.S. in the heart of the Xintiandi area. Just a block away, locals live in one room with no inside plumbing and cook on the street with oil drums heating their food.

I wonder how the locals feel about the Richgate residents. Do they resent their wealth? Do they welcome their money into the local economy? Do they aspire to be like them or consider them a necessary evil? Do they make fun of their decidedly different lifestyle? The same in Vegas-do the locals who work at the casinos resent the wealthy throwing their money away at the craps tables or do they welcome their business, creating jobs that do pay decently.

Thousands of miles apart, Shanghai and Vegas, but the wide disparity in the income levels is still the same no matter where you live in the world.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: