Long weekend in Sanya

Yalong Bay Beach

Monkeys on Monkey Island

John feeding the monkeys...this can be dangerous! I have bite marks to prove it.... @_@

On the gondola to Monkey Island

We got engaged!!!

And they say Chinese people aren't creative...

Self-harm gang jailed over construction scam - Chen Qian

"A GANG of nine men who helped break each others' arms then pretended to fall off building sites were jailed yesterday for extorting 100,000 yuan (US$13,000) in compensation from construction bosses.
Jinshan District People's Court said the gang was led by two men from Anhui Province surmaned Cheng and Yang, who were both jailed for three years.
The other seven were given lesser sentences.
Cheng and Yang arrange for the seven men to get jobs in separate city construction sites.
Shortly after the men started work, Cheng and Yang would visit them and fracture their arms with iron bars.
The men then threw themselves off heights in the building site, pretending to have broken their arms in the fall.
After the construction worker was taken to hospital, Cheng and Yang would pose as relatives and demand compensation from site managers, claiming the fracture was the result of an industrial accident.
In October, Cheng and Yang extorted 16,000 yuan from a construction boss in Jinshang District after they broke the arm of a worker surnamed Su.
In November, they claimed 8,000 yuan from another construction site in the district.
The gang also extorted money from construction sites in Putwo and Luwan districts. Police said they extorted 100,000 yuan from seven bosses between October and January. Cheng and Yang told police they got the idea from Anhui friends, who told them the scam is very popular in Zhejiang Province."
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That story was recently published in Shanghai's daily English paper and while it may sound like an isolated incident committed by a group of desperate individuals...it isn't. There is constantly news of some group (whose members typically "hail" (I love that) from Anhui province, which I plan on staying as far away from as possible :P ) who scammed thousands of RMB in an equally unbelievable ways. Living here has prompted me and John to be ultra-suspicious of everyone and everything; while scams like this certainly happen between Chinese people, being a foreigner is like walking around with a bull's eye painted on your forehead.

Anyway, I told you that story to tell you this story. Recently, while I was walking Cleo, one of our neighborhood's security guards approached us. In the past, Cleo had interacted with him several times and they had become friendly. Before I go on, here are some facts concerning dogs, China, and Cleo

1. Chinese people are terrified of dogs, especially big ones. (Yes, I know mass generalization, but you know what they say about stereotypes...there is typically some truth behind them)
2. In addition to the one child policy, there is also a one dog per household policy. And in addition to that, all canines must be registered with the government. Failure to do so, can result in death for said dog.
3. Most dog owners do not register their dogs, b/c of the heavy cost associated with doing so. Depending where you live, it costs approximately 1000-2000 RMB/year ($120-220 USD). This is very high for a city whose per capita is approximately $7000 USD/year. On a side note, this is very high compared to other cities in China.
4. Cleo is not yet registered.

OK, moving forward. While the guard was playing with Cleo, who throughout this entire ordeal is on a leash, she gets excited and stands up on her hind legs. In doing this, she inadvertently scratches or bites the guard's wrist. It wasn't serious, but a drop of blood(and when I say drop, I mean drop) did break through the skin. While concerned, the security guard shrugged it off after I provided him with a copy of Cleo's vaccinations.

THREE weeks later our property management company calls us into a meeting w/ the manager of the security company (all security is outsourced and guards are rotated every 2 months). The manager (who btw looked more like a vagrant than the manager of a security company) proceeded to tell us that the guard was requesting compensation via him.

1. Medical expenses: 20, I say again, 20 vaccinations/hospital visits, including transportation costs. Approximately 3500 RMB ($450 USD)
2. Time off work: 30 days, i say again, 30 days off work for which we should cover his normal salary. Approximately 3000 RMB ($390 USD)
3. Pain & Suffering: A per diem for time off work to compensate him for the horrible ordeal we put him through. 2000 RMB ($260 USD)

Enter confusion (and I won't lie...a little bit of rage). Are we even talking about the same guard? Because $1,000 USD for a scratch seems a little (actually WAY TOO MUCH) compensation for someone who in all likelihood makes 1500 RMB/month, not 3000 RMB/month. John and I happily agreed to pay for medical costs provided all relevant receipts were provided and that money did not go through an intermediary (i.e. we could deal with the guard directly). For items two and three we requested time to stall...oops, I meant think it over.

Funny enough, after insisting on dealing directly with the injured guard, and a mention of contacting our lawyers...we have not heard back from either our property management group or the security company. Maybe they forgot? @_@

America spelled with an “H”…

That was the nickname John gave Hong Kong. >_< I guess after being in a country, where he is limited to communicating with <5% of the population, a weekend in Hong Kong was just what the doctor ordered. We visited with old IU buddies (Go Hoosiers!), were able to communicate in English, bought American snacks like Cool Ranch Doritos, and had a USD steak! Huge thanks to Maggie, who was the perfect tour guide and host!!

Previous to visiting, I imagined HK as a modern, but overly condensed and polluted city. And while it is modern, condensed, and even a “bit” polluted, it is also situated on mountainous islands and blue green ocean. Another oddity of the city is it’s obsession with material goods, i.e. shopping. The airport alone is like a miniature 5th Avenue. Needless to say, I am still recovering (financially) from that 2.5 day trip. @_@

The Great Wall of China

There are certain websites in China, which you can not access. Previouslly, sites have included myspace and wikipedia. Recently, they have added blogger to the list. Basically, I can post entires. I just can't view my own or any other blog. @_@

A couple days ago, on a shanghai expat forum, someone posted a link to download software, which would allow its users to bypass China's firewall (i.e. "Great wall of China"). Two days later...that site was also blocked.

If anyone (brent/mike) knows how to get around this, could you please email me: shih.is.jenny@gmail.com? Sorry Mike, I know you sent me a previous email, but I can't seem to find it! Don't post comments (for now) b/c we can't see them!

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The Laziest (Albiet Cutest) Animal on the Planet

My parents recently came to China; my father to work, my mother to keep him company, and both to visit their favorite daughter. :) On their trip, they visited 4 cities, one of which was Chengdu. Chengdu is located west of Shanghai and is home to the world's largest panda reserve, which we had the pleasure of visiting.

I was absolutely thrilled, as the last time I had seen a panda in person was when i was about 2 feet tall. I must say, I didn't remember them to be such...dirty and lazy animals. One of the pandas was laying on it's back, muching on a stick of bamboo (much like the one pictured above). Without moving an inch, it shit on top of itself and instead of getting up to shake it off, it just laid there...looking quite happy indeed.

Chengdu is located within Sichuan province, which is famous for it's local food because it is notoriously spicy. The type of flavoring is referred to as "mala", which literally means numbing spice and it tastes exactly as it sounds. Eating mala food, which I'm convinced is how they flavor all the food in the entire province, makes your mouth feel like it was lit on fire and then injected with a dental anesthetic. It will also make you sweat profusely. Some people love it...I just don't get it.

Papaya & Frog Ovary Soup

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be treated to dinner by my closest Chinese friend. That same night, I had the misfortune of eating an entire bowl of papaya & frog ovary soup without realizing what it was. Only after I had finished did I ask the name of the soup. She showed me the menu and when my mouth fell open, she assured me that the translation was faulty....right. Thinking back on it, I probably would have eaten it regardless of when I knew what it was. Rude not to....(John has a funny store about the differences in food culture).

I was telling this story to a friend of mine and he replied, " Can’t trust people who eat reptiles and/or ovaries." True, but my previous thought (and it is solidifying itself more and more nowadays) was, "Can't trust people who eat their pets". Not that people who eat dog here are actually eating their own. Truthfully, I'm fairly certain that dog owners here find digesting their canine pals just as repulsive as most westerners. However, I can't help but wonder at those people who grin at me when I walk past them while walking Cleo (new puppy). Are they grinning because they find her cute...or because she looks tasty? >_<

Plus one...

HOME SWEET HOME

Need we say more? ;)

FYI for those of you who don't know. We'll be in the US from 01/25-01/30. Peoria, IL from the 25th-26th. Indy for the duration. Hope to see as many familiar faces as possible!

Anything is Possible if you Know how to Ask

**Majority of post accidentally deleted.



Let me first preface this entry by saying, I like living here. Simply put, China has a lot to offer and I will never forget her genorosity to me. That being said, there are also times when the saying, "you can't live with her and you can't live without her" has never made more sense. Better yet, "you can't live with her and you can't kill her" downright makes my heart hurt on account of how accurately it describes my once-in-a-while feelings towards China. >_<>

Swan Lake and Kentucky Fried Chicken

Last night, I watched the Russian Ballet perform Swan Lake and my primary thought throughout it was not how beautiful the dancers danced or how lovely the musicians played. No, instead of focusing on the visual and audio marvel before me, I could not get my mind off of one thing…Kentucky. Fried. Chicken.

As previously stated, many things here have been counterintuitive. For example, when your friend invites you to a private showing of Swan Lake preformed by the Russian Ballet, one would expect it to be an intimate and tasteful event. And while the dancing and music was fantastic, the venue, patrons, and Kentucky Fried Chicken...left me completely befuddled.

This ballet was preformed in a venue the size of a Top 10 college basketball stadium. In fact, when the taxi driver dropped me off, I thought he must be mistaken. Typically, when one thinks of a ballet venue, balcony seats are expected...but nose bleed seats?? Interesting, but OK.

The atmosphere during the performance resembled that of a three ring circus. People talked, answered cell phones, laughed, and booed during intermissions. They also ate everything from popcorn to ice cream to sunflower seeds, which leads me to my new association of Fried Chicken to Swan Lake.

I went to watch the ballet with three girls, all of which just got off work and hadn’t had time for dinner. In order to squeeze everything in, they brought takeout to the ballet. Kentucky Fried Chicken takeout. So, while we were watching swans dance on stage, the only thing I could focus on was the smell of fried poultry permeating the air around me.

While the night was still a wonderful one, I can’t help but feel slighted. That is, my strongest impression as an American born Chinese watching the Russian ballet perform in China, was…that’s right, Kentucky. Fried. Chicken. *sigh*

So, where was I…

Oh yeah, Zhengzhou, Shaolin, our new Ayi and earthquakes. Let’s get the simple stuff out of the way first and leave the long-winded stuff for last.... [that was a self-inflicted joke].

A) Earthquakes - Obviously from my past couple entries everyone should be aware that a huge earthquake struck Taiwan a little while ago. Interestingly enough it broke or damaged communication cables, I guess between the mainland and the island. And a result of this disruption was that “external” internet sites are now “down” or are EXTREMELY slow (14 - 28k: that’s pre 56k days for some of us). Which… is becoming an ever-increasing pain in the ‘you know where’ – not because I’m cut off from ESPN online or my favorite gaming site, but because that I can not depend on email or internet connections with any great reliability. Funny, I find myself asking the question: “what did I do before the internet?” And magically it all seems like a distant memory or some type of weird dream, life without “connectivity”. Hmmmm, never knew how much I would feel so isolated and cut-off from the world without something as simple as email. I guess that the effect is over-personified being in a foreign country and our personal and professional network is still in it’s infancy. No worries, although I’m usually ‘plugged-in’ in some form or another – I at least remember what it is like pre-Bill Gates and Al Gore (that was a joke). So, until I’m back on the grid, it’s back to circa: < 1991 [which is the time roughly that the internet was made open to the public - fyi].

B) Ayi - Our trip to Zhengzhou was interesting to say the least, about a 90 minute flight west / north-west of Shanghai – but still south of Beijing. Our trip was relatively exhausting, both mentally and physically. We traveled around the province: Henan, and visited some really cool things there. This is the approximate location we met and hired ourselves an Ayi. Pronounced: "I – e". Ayi’s here are looked at as essentially hired help for personal living. In the West these people are usually butlers or maids, but here in the East these people more often than not perform multiple other functions than just cleaning and taking out the garbage. They are sometimes engaged in raising the children of the people they work for and are sometimes a little closer to the family than ‘off the street’ hired help. Although we don’t necessarily need someone of this capacity at this point in our lives, there is a longer and deeper backdrop to the reasoning why Jen and I hired this particular individual. Unlike hired help in the States, we pay this person more than the waiters and bellhops in the better hotels in Shanghai and that still only costs us $10 U.S. dollars a day. Hardly the sacrifice for the benefit. More on this topic later… Jen.

C) Shaolin Warriors - One of the coolest things I’ve probably done in my entire lifetime combined was experienced on our trip in Henan. Although some of you might not know it I am a huge fan of nerdy stuff like Star Wars and Ninjas. As Jedi are just ninjas in the future, I am a big fan of any and all of the martial arts. No, Ninjas and Samurai are both Japanese, but the Chinese have their version of these great ancient warriors: The Shaolin. Unbeknownst to me the Shaolin Temple is located in the Henan province, just a 90 minute drive from the city of Zhengzhou. Can you imagine my excitement… it would be like meeting Luke Skywalker or Bruce Lee in person. Jen and I made the exhausting trip to the Temple and toured the grounds. We watched a martial art demonstration by several of the Shaolin Warrior Monks. These monks practice traditional Wushu, which by the West is known as Kungfu. ALL of these masters were extremely skilled in their art and ability. There were so many different types of weapon demonstrations I could not name them all… but if you’ve seen the movie the Matrix Pt.2 in the foyer of the Merovingian house that’s what it was like, only better. One of the monks demonstrated their mastery of the physical by throwing a needle through a pane of glass breaking a balloon on the other side. The glass was inspected by the crowd before he threw it and then immediately after, with a hole in it that looked like a bullet was shot through it. AMAZING, I tell you… and not just the monks and their ability, but the location and the temples were really inspiring to say the least. Something else that amazed me was the shear number of followers the Shaolin have. Camps and camps and camps, of Wushu warriors in training – by the thousands. The Shaolin are so good at what they do the Chinese government recruits cadets for their military from them. I will be making another trip back to see them as soon as I have time. Really awe inspiring – hard to put into words.

D) Stress – It’s only been two full months since Jen and I arrived in China, a lot has happened in that short amount of time. I’ve traveled to several places, 8 different cities, and experienced a lifetime of new things. Through all of this so far I’ve been keeping a relative calm about myself being in a new land, new culture and new environment… but I know now what people that have lived here before kept calling the “stress factor”. Like a lot of other things if you are able to maintain your mental focus somewhere else and not get pulled into the daily friction that comprises life here, then you’ve conquered 90% of the battle. But, sooner or later I think things eventually get to you no matter who you are or how strong you are. I will hold my tongue for fear of saying anything that I might regret later, but what I can tell you is that there is a far share of stress that goes along with being surrounded by so many people, for so long, ALL THE TIME. I hope that in time I will not become callused and start becoming like those people I see here with 1000 yard stares in their eyes. At least in the meantime I can always go to my “home away from home” and close the door – isolating myself from the insanity of the masses. On to better topics…