In a city that's constantly filled with pollution and dirty air, a person can't help but be slightly suspicious when there's a long period of blue skies. Maybe I've become a little more cynical since living in China, but when I look out a window and see a blue sky, I no longer think, "Wow! What a beautiful day!" I immediately think, "Is there an international politician coming to China?" Some days I have the urge to look through the news to see what's happening to make the skies blue.
I know that people visiting isn't always the case. I know better than to think that. Sometimes rockets are shot in the air to clean it up. Sometimes, it's a big event like APEC. Other times, it's because there's a sudden holiday coming up involving a military parade.
At least that's part of what's happening this time around. In the beginning of September there's a random holiday coming up. China has a habit of throwing in random holidays. This one is celebrating the 70th anniversary of China getting Japan out. What's not mentioned is America pretty much did that, but they're just going to let that slide.
While I do enjoy the nice weather we've been getting, it does make for some difficulties. The week of the holiday, there's going to be subway closings, and things are just going to be inconvenient. It'll be really easy to get out of the city, but it'll be a bitch to get back in. So I've been debating if visiting another city in China would really be worth it for this holiday. I'm not completely sure. Probably not. But you never know.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Unicorns in China Part 1
The Beijing Bikini. Or Beijing-kini. When it's ridiculously hot, as it usually is in the summertime, men with lift up their shirts so that it's just above their stomachs. While it looks ridiculous, many people do it.
Anyone that tells you that there's no fat people in China have clearly never visited the country themselves. The guiltiest of the Beijing Bikinis are the overweight men. The shirts rest perfectly on the tops of their pot-bellies, almost like showing them off with pride. It's really strange. It's always these kinds of men that do this. The men you don't want to see sporting that around.
Most of the time. This week, Persia and I had seen not one, but two unicorns in Beijing. Men with decent bodies sporting the Beijing-kini. The one that Persia saw was a man that had muscles. Jacked. While the one I saw wasn't muscular, but he still had a fit form. Thin, but toned.
These unicorns do exist. There are probably more unicorns in this city that I realize. Maybe I'll find others. Not just with the Beijing-kini, but maybe I'll find a place where people know what a line is. You never know. Unicorns are real, people. Unicorns are real.
Anyone that tells you that there's no fat people in China have clearly never visited the country themselves. The guiltiest of the Beijing Bikinis are the overweight men. The shirts rest perfectly on the tops of their pot-bellies, almost like showing them off with pride. It's really strange. It's always these kinds of men that do this. The men you don't want to see sporting that around.
Most of the time. This week, Persia and I had seen not one, but two unicorns in Beijing. Men with decent bodies sporting the Beijing-kini. The one that Persia saw was a man that had muscles. Jacked. While the one I saw wasn't muscular, but he still had a fit form. Thin, but toned.
These unicorns do exist. There are probably more unicorns in this city that I realize. Maybe I'll find others. Not just with the Beijing-kini, but maybe I'll find a place where people know what a line is. You never know. Unicorns are real, people. Unicorns are real.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Crack Noodles
One of the greatest things about Beijing is that there are many different types of restaurants in this city. For a noodle-lover like me, this means that there are many different kinds of noodles that I can try. This also means many different types of restaurants I can try food at that I'd never be able to try being in small-town Michigan. Ex: Muslim food, Thai food, Vietnamese food, etc. One of my favorite places is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in Japanese Ramen. Persia and I have nicknamed the noodles there "crack-noodles."
The ramen there is the closest to real Japanese ramen that I've ever eaten. There's always a slice of meat, a soft-boiled egg, and the delicious broth that I can't describe. A hint of soy, but the right amount of salt and meaty flavor. The version that I get always has a little seaweed square that I can eat. I honestly wish they'd give more seaweed. Persia likes to get the spicy version. They always serve it with chopsticks and a wooden spoon that you can use to either drink the broth or put the thin noodles on to slurp up that way.
Today, Persia and I were both craving the crack noodles. We ordered, and were a little too happy about our huge bowls of ramen coming our way. Red bowl for the spicy, white bowl for the regular. The restaurant was inside of a mall. We sat next to a window with a fountain-like water display. I had a bad habit of sticking my fingers in the water while waiting for our food. There wasn't an actual window, so when people walked by, we could hear every word they were saying. Bonus points if we both understood that Chinese they were saying.
While we were eating, we heard someone say, "Excuse me!" We looked up. There were two guys looking at us through the invisible window. They looked about 25, with huge grins on their faces. They both had bags from the same store on them. Persia and I looked at each other before saying hello to them. They said hi back while staring right at me. It was pretty awkward.
"Hello," one said after a few awkward seconds, "can you speak Chinese?" Persia and I looked at each other again, smirking.
"A little bit," I replied. They blinked at me, then looked at Persia, who repeated, "just a little bit."
"Okay, thank you!" they said. Then, they giggled and practically ran away from us.
Persia and I sat there in silence for a minute. What just happened? Was I hit on? Was this a weird way to try and get us to buy something? The whole thing was really strange. They never tried to find us again after we left the restaurant. Maybe it's a mystery we'll never solve.
The ramen there is the closest to real Japanese ramen that I've ever eaten. There's always a slice of meat, a soft-boiled egg, and the delicious broth that I can't describe. A hint of soy, but the right amount of salt and meaty flavor. The version that I get always has a little seaweed square that I can eat. I honestly wish they'd give more seaweed. Persia likes to get the spicy version. They always serve it with chopsticks and a wooden spoon that you can use to either drink the broth or put the thin noodles on to slurp up that way.
Today, Persia and I were both craving the crack noodles. We ordered, and were a little too happy about our huge bowls of ramen coming our way. Red bowl for the spicy, white bowl for the regular. The restaurant was inside of a mall. We sat next to a window with a fountain-like water display. I had a bad habit of sticking my fingers in the water while waiting for our food. There wasn't an actual window, so when people walked by, we could hear every word they were saying. Bonus points if we both understood that Chinese they were saying.
While we were eating, we heard someone say, "Excuse me!" We looked up. There were two guys looking at us through the invisible window. They looked about 25, with huge grins on their faces. They both had bags from the same store on them. Persia and I looked at each other before saying hello to them. They said hi back while staring right at me. It was pretty awkward.
"Hello," one said after a few awkward seconds, "can you speak Chinese?" Persia and I looked at each other again, smirking.
"A little bit," I replied. They blinked at me, then looked at Persia, who repeated, "just a little bit."
"Okay, thank you!" they said. Then, they giggled and practically ran away from us.
Persia and I sat there in silence for a minute. What just happened? Was I hit on? Was this a weird way to try and get us to buy something? The whole thing was really strange. They never tried to find us again after we left the restaurant. Maybe it's a mystery we'll never solve.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Dear China, What the Hell?
It's been a long time since I've written here, but things have been very hectic. Works has been awesome. Things to do outside of work has been awesome. I even managed to travel to another country on vacation and visit other cities. Life's been pretty good so far.
But there are still some parts of China that make me think, "What the hell?" The best way I can explain them would be writing a letter to China. Why? Why not? That's the best way I can think of to vent at the moment.
Dear China,
First off, I would like to say how much I enjoy spending time in this country. The food is delicious. I don't have to do anything to lose weight. As I've found out recently, it's starting to just slide off. I don't have to do much except walk more than take the subway. However, there are some things in this country that make me question how you do things. Seriously, China, what the hell?
The first thing I question is the videos that appear when a person sings KTV. Some of the videos, I applaud. Well done. However, there are other videos that are a bit concerning. The best example that I have is the video for the Bloodhound Gang song, "Bad Touch." It starts off nice enough. Pretty beach, clear shores. Nothing too crazy. Just enough that it's easy to tell no one really understands what the song is about... And then there's a clip of children playing on the beach while the raunchiest part of the song is playing. Really? Please, look up what the songs are about before putting children into the music videos.
The second thing I need to say, "What the hell?" to is your sense of efficiency. When something as big as APEC is in China, wouldn't it make more sense to make the subways more efficient? Example: Opening both ticket booths so it doesn't take so long to buy a ticket. When you're running late because you had to run home to grab your uniform, it's not exactly a comforting thought to have to wait in line forever for a very inefficient subway.
Fortunately, that's all I need to question today. I still enjoy this country. I still enjoy being able to live it up. And I definitely enjoy the thought of having my own mysterious theme music if my neighbors had movies about their lives because I'm the foreigner next door. Yeah, I said it. So until next time, cheers!
The Curious Foreigner.
But there are still some parts of China that make me think, "What the hell?" The best way I can explain them would be writing a letter to China. Why? Why not? That's the best way I can think of to vent at the moment.
Dear China,
First off, I would like to say how much I enjoy spending time in this country. The food is delicious. I don't have to do anything to lose weight. As I've found out recently, it's starting to just slide off. I don't have to do much except walk more than take the subway. However, there are some things in this country that make me question how you do things. Seriously, China, what the hell?
The first thing I question is the videos that appear when a person sings KTV. Some of the videos, I applaud. Well done. However, there are other videos that are a bit concerning. The best example that I have is the video for the Bloodhound Gang song, "Bad Touch." It starts off nice enough. Pretty beach, clear shores. Nothing too crazy. Just enough that it's easy to tell no one really understands what the song is about... And then there's a clip of children playing on the beach while the raunchiest part of the song is playing. Really? Please, look up what the songs are about before putting children into the music videos.
The second thing I need to say, "What the hell?" to is your sense of efficiency. When something as big as APEC is in China, wouldn't it make more sense to make the subways more efficient? Example: Opening both ticket booths so it doesn't take so long to buy a ticket. When you're running late because you had to run home to grab your uniform, it's not exactly a comforting thought to have to wait in line forever for a very inefficient subway.
Fortunately, that's all I need to question today. I still enjoy this country. I still enjoy being able to live it up. And I definitely enjoy the thought of having my own mysterious theme music if my neighbors had movies about their lives because I'm the foreigner next door. Yeah, I said it. So until next time, cheers!
The Curious Foreigner.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
The Reason to Never Forget Laundry
For the past few months, I've been all but begging to get my air conditioner fixed. At least three of my Chinese co-workers had talked to the agent I worked with until finally I enlisted the help of Wu, another co-worker. I'm still not exactly sure how she did it, but she managed to make my life easier when it came to getting the A/C fixed.
Before today, two men were sent, at different times, to see what was wrong. Both had said the problem was the A/C was too old to fix. I also learned that five years of Chinese doesn't pay off when trying to talk to your agent about broken appliances. Especially when there's a chance of talking mechanics. So when Wu stepped in, it was like a miracle.
Fast forward to today. After three hours of waiting around my over-heated apartment, a third repairman stepped in to check out what was wrong. It took him a little bit, but somehow he managed to get the air conditioning working again, despite its age.
As the repairman, or shifu as he's called in China, was working on the A/C, my agent came in. Both men stepped outside so they could talk about the air conditioner a little bit. And by stepping outside, I mean stepping out into my enclosed balcony. Shifu could point out issues with the A/C.
Going back in time a bit! Last week, I had a massive laundry day. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was washed. Unfortunately, due to both laziness and forgetfulness, I didn't put my clothes away after they'd been dried. So when Shifu and my agent went out to my balcony, the first thing they saw was underwear looking at them. I'd never felt so awkward in my life.
Moral of the story: Put your damn laundry away. Especially if the first thing you see when you walk out are bras and panties.
Before today, two men were sent, at different times, to see what was wrong. Both had said the problem was the A/C was too old to fix. I also learned that five years of Chinese doesn't pay off when trying to talk to your agent about broken appliances. Especially when there's a chance of talking mechanics. So when Wu stepped in, it was like a miracle.
Fast forward to today. After three hours of waiting around my over-heated apartment, a third repairman stepped in to check out what was wrong. It took him a little bit, but somehow he managed to get the air conditioning working again, despite its age.
As the repairman, or shifu as he's called in China, was working on the A/C, my agent came in. Both men stepped outside so they could talk about the air conditioner a little bit. And by stepping outside, I mean stepping out into my enclosed balcony. Shifu could point out issues with the A/C.
Going back in time a bit! Last week, I had a massive laundry day. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was washed. Unfortunately, due to both laziness and forgetfulness, I didn't put my clothes away after they'd been dried. So when Shifu and my agent went out to my balcony, the first thing they saw was underwear looking at them. I'd never felt so awkward in my life.
Moral of the story: Put your damn laundry away. Especially if the first thing you see when you walk out are bras and panties.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
A Post of Appreciation
For the past year, I've noticed that I'd been getting a lot of messages on facebook from people telling me that they love my posts, and they love how I've been doing. Not exactly in those words, but the gist of what they were saying is there. These messages stuck out to me because I'd get these messages from people whose facebooks I'd look at to see how they were doing, but I hadn't talked to in a long time. But I still had an interest on how they were doing in life.
These messages would make me smile all the time. It was actually pretty awesome knowing that someone that I didn't normally talk to was liking what I'd posted. Some have said it was inspiring. That was something that really struck me.
To me, it was really humbling to see that something I was doing was making an impact on someone's life. It was the coolest thing ever.
For those of you that have been sending those different messages, I thank you. It's been inspiring to me to receive these messages, regardless of who you are.
These messages would make me smile all the time. It was actually pretty awesome knowing that someone that I didn't normally talk to was liking what I'd posted. Some have said it was inspiring. That was something that really struck me.
To me, it was really humbling to see that something I was doing was making an impact on someone's life. It was the coolest thing ever.
For those of you that have been sending those different messages, I thank you. It's been inspiring to me to receive these messages, regardless of who you are.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Captain America
Finally, I saw Captain America, The Winter Soldier. I've been wanting to see this movie for a while, despite never seeing the first Captain America movie before. Luckily, I didn't need to see the first one to follow along with the second one. I was able to catch up nicely. Maybe that was because the movie ws doing a pretty good job setting up for what will be the second Avengers movie.
Either way, the movie amused me greatly. There were some parts of the movie that I saw coming, but at the same time, I almost feel like it was set up for a third Captain America movie. We'll have to see after the next Avengers movie comes out. For I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Third Captain America movie after Avengers.
Either way, the movie amused me greatly. There were some parts of the movie that I saw coming, but at the same time, I almost feel like it was set up for a third Captain America movie. We'll have to see after the next Avengers movie comes out. For I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Third Captain America movie after Avengers.
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