Upcoming Travel
Tomorrow I head to Hangzhou for a quick day trip. This isn't anything special as I can jump on a local bus and be there is 40 minutes. The trip is to get some paper work that I need for my trip to Hong Kong on Sunday. Yep, I am off to finalize my work visa. That means a quick trip to HK. I fly in on Sunday afternoon, stay for all Monday, half of Tuesday and jump a train back to Linping finally getting back on Wednesday morning. Quick trip, but it is just a paper chase.
Now onto some things that I have learned in my 45 days of being here...
1) Durian REALLY stinks. It is a mix of raw sewage and cat feces. I am not sure how the locals eat the stuff, but they do as I can smell it everywhere.
2) I now cross the street one lane at a time. That is just the way it is done here.
3) It takes about 30 days to start thinking financially like a local. Now when I see a Dolce and Gabbana t-shirt, I no longer think "Wow, what a deal, that's only like $3" I now think "Holy crap 21 Yuan is so much"
4) People LOVE foreigners. Or at least to stare at them and take pictures. Ok, some do seem to really like us. Or at least they are really friendly. More on that later.
5) Chinese beer is really weak, so they make the bottles ridiculously big. 3% and 750 ml. So I guess it evens out.
6) It rains a fair bit in the spring.
So onto my story about friendly people. I was walking to my apartment one evening last week. I was approached by a young kid on a bike. I immediately see that he is wearing one of the trademark school uniforms. He says hi, we make some small chat about where I am from, how long I have been here. He then tells me that he is applying for University in USA. He asks me all sorts of questions about University applications. I tell him what I know. He then asks me is I would proof read his application letter. I was in a good mood so I gave him my e-mail address. He soon emails me, I proof his application, and think that is the end.
I soon get a reply and a phone call from Frank graciously thanking me and asking me over to his families house for supper. Never one to pass up a meal, I accept.
Not to draw anything out, the meal was amazing. His Mom prepared a traditional meal with SO many different dishes. There was duck, bamboo, beef, rice, fish, beans, cucumber, egg and more. His uncle cracked a bottle of wine. We ate like kings.
China rocks.
Now onto some things that I have learned in my 45 days of being here...
1) Durian REALLY stinks. It is a mix of raw sewage and cat feces. I am not sure how the locals eat the stuff, but they do as I can smell it everywhere.
2) I now cross the street one lane at a time. That is just the way it is done here.
3) It takes about 30 days to start thinking financially like a local. Now when I see a Dolce and Gabbana t-shirt, I no longer think "Wow, what a deal, that's only like $3" I now think "Holy crap 21 Yuan is so much"
4) People LOVE foreigners. Or at least to stare at them and take pictures. Ok, some do seem to really like us. Or at least they are really friendly. More on that later.
5) Chinese beer is really weak, so they make the bottles ridiculously big. 3% and 750 ml. So I guess it evens out.
6) It rains a fair bit in the spring.
So onto my story about friendly people. I was walking to my apartment one evening last week. I was approached by a young kid on a bike. I immediately see that he is wearing one of the trademark school uniforms. He says hi, we make some small chat about where I am from, how long I have been here. He then tells me that he is applying for University in USA. He asks me all sorts of questions about University applications. I tell him what I know. He then asks me is I would proof read his application letter. I was in a good mood so I gave him my e-mail address. He soon emails me, I proof his application, and think that is the end.
I soon get a reply and a phone call from Frank graciously thanking me and asking me over to his families house for supper. Never one to pass up a meal, I accept.
Not to draw anything out, the meal was amazing. His Mom prepared a traditional meal with SO many different dishes. There was duck, bamboo, beef, rice, fish, beans, cucumber, egg and more. His uncle cracked a bottle of wine. We ate like kings.
China rocks.
posted by Blue4130 at
4/15/2008 10:28:00 AM
1 Comments:
HI. I am a friend of barbs, I believe we may have met at a party or 2 long ago. I admit I have been following your web site. She has you linked to hers. I must say you depict China through your words as if I was there myself. Well done.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home