King Kab

I attended a workshop yesterday in the middle of the afternoon. This workshop was all the way on the other side of Shanghai's inner circle. This would mean crossing over the river and passing the downtown area. I was running a little late but wasn't too concerned since it started with lunch.

When I first stepped into the cab, I noticed it's appearance. In the cabs here, all seats are covered with a very white cloth - which this one had. The standard door molding was a light gray. This one had turned to a brown/ black from longtime wear and tear. In addition, there was a piece of duct tape by my foot, right by the door. Creatively, the duct tape was painted red to match the frame. I decided to sit a little closer to the center of the car.

I call this man the King Kab. He not only got me to the other side of town in under 20 minutes, I left the cab intact. There were some moments where I felt like I needed to whip out my inhaler like Albert Brenneman in Hitch. The good decision I made to up my life insurance also crossed my mind. Just to put it in perspective, it usually takes me 25 minutes to get to work, this location was at least 2.5 times further. King Kab would start turning into a lane when the car in the other lane was halfway up to his vehicle. This allowed the other driver to give me the "*$&% look", like I had control of the wheel. In addition to King Kab's expert driving skills, he was also able to "groom" himself by 'brushing' his moustache with two coins. A few times, he started singing to the tunes on the radio - an upcoming China Idol. I don't think the rides at Six Flags was as fun as this one.

It's just money

Well, it was bound to happen sometime. I lost my wallet today. Between the taxi and the lunch place, I seem to have lost it but I'm pretty sure I was pick pocketed. It was just my building card, copies of my passport and some cash. I was really mad at myself for letting it happen. Thank goodness I was with Tamika. Did I tell you about Tamika? She's also here on a one year assignment but in IT. Well, we still continued to go to the grocery store as planned. If I was by myself, I would've probably stewed about it for days - just disappointed in how I could let it happen. For those of you that know me, I'm super organized and this is just not me! Oh well. I cancelled my credit cards and I'll get a new building card tomorrow. Good thing I didn't have my important documents with. I also put my door key in a separate 'coin purse' so at least I'm able to get back in the apartment. Ugh - not happy about it but it was great to have Tamika around, she just took my mind off of it and we laughed the day away as we tried to figure out "what's in that package of ramen" by looking at the picture..."looks like beef flavor, or is it pork? Well, this is definitely chicken b/c it's yellow..."

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

One of the workshop activities on Thursday was a walk/ hike to Emerald Valley Scenic Spot. It was beautiful. The mountains were abundant with pine trees and bamboo trees, which I thought was a very interesting mixture. The light color bamboo's are a year old. The darker color ones are older. In addition, there's crystal clear water that runs through the mountains. The Emerald Valley Scenic Spot is located in Anhui, famous for their tea and a dish called stinky fish. As I started the trek up, I was very excited - had my SPF, insect repellent, walking shoes, thick socks, bottled water.. I was ready. Half an hour into it, I asked, "How long does it take to get to the top?" Well, turns out I haven't reached the entrance yet! The entire trek up and down the trail was 3 hours. I was soaked in sweat but I didn't feel too bad b/c even the healthiest were dripping. Oh yes, it was also a balmy hot day, probably high 90's with high humidity. The views were spectacular so it was well worth it. I was also told that parts of the fighting scenes from the movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was filmed here.

Who Moved My Cheese?

The theme of the workshop was "Change Management". Our HR group kicked off the meeting with a very fun and educational "Who moved my cheese" skit. I had the opportunity to meet the Leadership group from Greater China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. We arrived on Wednesday and did a walk through and rehearsal. In the evening, we toured the Tunxi Ancient Street. The workshop went from Thursday to Saturday. For the first two days, the activities went from 8am to 9pm. On Saturday, we ended around 4pm, then took the bus back to Shanghai (5 hours). I almost caught myself drooling during my nap on the ride back. I was really afraid that I wouldn't be able to catch a taxi back to the apt. b/c it was raining. Fortunately, one of the HR girls gave me a ride! I was very, very thankful. Although she didn't think it was a big gesture, it was HUGE to me. The fear of being stranded in an unknown place with no way of getting back home in the middle of the night is ... scary! It's times like this when I realize how much I take for granted.

I really like the HR team here. The group is really nice and extremely helpful, both at work and figuring out the 'mystery hot dish' during meals together. There's a lot of creativity in the practices and many idiosyncracies are very similar to the US and many that are very different. I feel very fortunate to be warmly welcomed into the group here. My mandarin is not good enough to speak at work, but it's fine for regular conversation. Everyone's English here is very good yet they sometimes may be shy to speak English because they don't think they're good. So wrong! If I can only speak mandarin as well as they can speak English. I regret not paying more attention at Chinese school every Saturday when I was in elementary school, but I am VERY thankful my Mom forced me to speak the language. Like a 'know it all', I use to tell my Mom, "I live in America, everyone here speaks English, I will never need to learn Chinese... "

Tunxi Ancient Street:

All Aboard

On Tuesday night, I went with our HR group to a celebration dinner at Las Tapas. True to form, they had great tapas. Afterwards, we headed out to the train station for Huangshan for a development workshop. The train ride is 12 hours (no express) and I heard it will be quite an 'experience'. I'm all about a truly unique experience and I certainly accomplished this. The waiting area was a little.. unclean. My ticket indicated that I was on the lower section. It can't be that bad if it's three sections! Besides, I'll be with my peers, no worries.

I headed up to segment 6, row 4, lower section. Indeed it was a lower section. It was like a 3 tier bunk and I was on the lower bunk. The sheets looked pretty clean and there was A/C. No complaints. Well, the conductor got on and stated the following: Keep EVERYTHING with you at ALL times. Do not EVER LEAVE your belongings unattended. I decided not to go to bed but it was 10pm and I was really tired! Oh well. Gripping onto my purse like it had the winning lottery ticket, I laid in my bunk and listened to the old lady next to me cough up a lung. I will spare everyone the details on the restroom. I still get the goosebumps thinking about it. Well, needless to say, I was more than excited when we arrived. Right as we got off, they released the restroom fluids. I can say that I've experienced the ultimate train ride, one that I may not want to repeat again.

He works hard for his money

On Thursday, I moved into my apartment. We did a quick walk-through in the morning, make sure everything is in working order and I was off to work. Upon arriving home, I cranked the A/C. The controls were pretty straightforward: + / - , "set", and low/med/high. An hour goes by and this place has not cooled down one bit. I called downstairs and the engineer came up. He immediately detects the problem - there is a main control in the kitchen and after a complex code entered, it will recognize the room temperature and kick in. After it kicks in he tells me, "Never turn it off! If you're cold, just turn it to low and turn up the temp" Trust me, the A/C will not be "off" anytime soon. Then he proceeds to show me how to turn the water heater controls on in the bathroom, which was very helpful since it was all in Chinese.

It's Saturday today and the temperature is 90 degrees, feels like 104, according to weather.com. Indeed it did. I went out, picked up some groceries and came back. The afternoon was met with severe lightening and thunderstorms. Outside my living room window, I can see construction on building 5 (odd since I live in building 6 and buildings 1,2,3,6,7,8 are up). With the severe weather I assumed that work would cease. First mistake - making this assumption. As I watched the rain come down, I see the construction workers still working with no cover!

Here's the picture

and

close up

The Gold Leaflet

For those of you that don't know, when I first started at Medtronic, I worked for Brad. In the 'get to know you stage', I heard many stories all very funny and entertaining. One day, I decided to ask Brad about the rows and rows of these.. yellow/manila folders on his desk. This started the journey of the Gold Leaflet.

I have to preface this because it's been some time, I may not have all the details correct, but you'll get the gist of the story. It started with a reply to my question of the yellow/manila folders, "oh, no, no, no, do not mistaken these with manila folders, they are called Gold Leaflets. When Brad started his first job, he was met by the group admin, who wasn't exactly excited about this young, handsome and eager talent. However, she did pass along the Gold Leaflets and explained that once you use them, "you will never use anything else".

As I was packing, I noticed a handful of gold leaflets. I won't be needing these... but just in case, I decided to pack them. Besides, I felt a connection to these leaflets and also learned of the long saga on ordering gold leaflets these days. One difference here is that the standard paper size is slightly larger than 8.5" x 11". Not a big deal, but none of my plastic folders worked. I sifted through my box and at the bottom, I discovered the gold leaflets that I packed. Ah yes, the journey of the gold leaflets continues...

A Warm Welcome

This weekend was hotter than ever! Even the locals said it was very hot. How hot you ask? One sign indicated it was 41 degrees celsius. I don't know about you, but I'm still doing the ol' covert to Fahrenheit deal - 105.8. Hot enough for you? No? Well, let's add in a few other factors:

*Humidity of 75-80%
*UV index of 10
*Smog
*Sardine packed metro's
*People who eat mystery food on the metro that smells worse than sardines
*People who do not believe in deoderant, standing next to you and holding on to the hand rails that they can barely reach while eating mystery food with their other hand (great at multi-tasking)

I think China definitely rolled out the red carpet and gave me a warm welcome :) No complaints though - I get A/C at home and work. I've heard that some offices don't turn on the A/C unless they really need to. I would like to know the definition of really need.

My times spent outside is often filled with thoughts of how to stay cool. Here are a few options:
*Ice Paks - the ones that you use when you sprain your ankle, except it wraps around you like a mummy
*Wearing a little fan around my neck
*Wearing one of those hats that hold drinks cans - one on each side of your head. Football fans and infomercial watchers, you know what I'm talking about
*Bottling the MN winter and releasing it around me

Please feel free to send me your ideas. Or, if you design the mummy ice pack, I will pay the FedEx charges.

Golden Arches - Home Sweet Home

OK - so this is another food post. Every night, when I go to bed, I see the golden arches. Well, I had to get some today. I went in and ordered the double cheeseburger value meal. In addition to the standard Big Mac, Fries and Milkshakes, there's also - the "mystery" burger (I think it's tofu of some sort), burger with an egg on top, spicy chicken wings and an assortment of pies - Pineapple, Coconut and Sweet Taro, no Apple. Don't want fries (unheard of!), no problem. You can substitute corn niblets.

Of course, I had to get the sweet taro pie. What is Taro? It's like a sweet potato but it's purple.

Mmm - delicious.

As most of you have heard me mention before coming to Shanghai - McDonalds delivers.

Yes, you're reading this correctly. Most of the golden arches are open 24 hours and will deliver to your door. Don't worry, I actually expended a calorie or two b/c I went to pick mine up. It was really funny, there were 4 delivery drivers by the counter, dressed in their red uniforms. They hop on a moped and wiz through traffic to bring you your #1 super sized with a diet coke. In addition, if you ask them to pick up some beer or cigarettes, they will do that too! They do not guarantee that your fries will stay hot and fresh but I think that's asking a bit much. You do need a minimum order of 50rmb (about $7) which isn't too hard.

In case I forget the number, it's conveniently located on the bag. There's also a website: http://www.mcdonalds.com.cn/ And in case you were wondering, I do not have them on speed dial. I still need to figure out how to do that on my new asian mobile :)

Happy 4th!

Buns for Breakfast

On my way to work yesterday, I saw a bunch of food vendors on the street - soy milk, pancakes, crepes, buns, dumplings... they all looked so good! I figured that if they're out during the AM rush, they'll probably be back during the evening rush. Wrong! I guess breakfast is the big meal here. You're suppose to eat a hearty breakfast consisting of anything from sweet to savory. When I was talking to my relo consultant today, she laughed at the thought of street vendors in the evenings. She said - "You need to eat a big breakfast! Diet coke or Starbucks? Not good!"

Well, on my way to work today, I saw the same vendors. Then all of a sudden, they started to make a mad dash. I nearly got run over by one of the wooden carts full of pork buns. Turns out the police pulled up and I guess they are illegal. I assumed they were like the hot dog carts in New York, there's one around every corner. All of a sudden, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. These vendors were both young and old. One girl couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall, 100 pounds at most, hustling her wooden cart, buns were flying all over the place. I felt sad all day. I've seen plenty of vendors in New York, some legal, some not so legal, but for some reason, this was different. It made me realize that living in the US, I take a lot of things for granted and that I have the freedom to make my own choices. I am very thankful to my parents who made the choice to come to the US so I can make my own choices and have opportunities. I think they realized that at an early age, I would not be a good bun maker more like a good bun eater.