Back again and riding the subway...

So I have not posted anything for the last month. I, of course, got sick again, plus a bit of laziness.

So back to Nanjing; one feature I do like about Nanjing is its public transportation system. There are is a huge bus system which is dependable (although more often than not, a bit cramped.) And since two years ago, there has been a subways line running north to south with two more lines in the works. (The second line will open next year.)

The subway runs til 11pm, though I wish it ran a bit later.
They are super fast. (Okay not that fast, but tons more faster than buses.)

Another nice thing about Nanjing is "cheap living." Many goods and services are relatively cheap due to unlimited amount of cheap labor and lower standards of living. One of those things is fresh flowers. You can find people selling beautiful fresh flowers for around 2-5 yuan or around 30-70 cents American, and they will also give you a earful about how to rise them.

These are actually wild flowers which I brought for 2 yuan, but they lasted for like 3 weeks.

I think I want to be a pirate....

With all the news about how pirating is so lucrative in Africa. I think its a good time for me to get into the game.

I think I will mark out my territory around the South China Sea around Vietnam and Hong Kong area, there will be a lot of booty and loot their. My crew will be call "Bruce Lee on the Sea," its a bit long, so I should probably shorten it.

Why is there a chicken in the office/workspace?

So when my boss's mom broke her leg, one of the owners of the factory gave my boss a "wild" chicken for her mom to eat. A factory owner brought over the chicken, live, and it got loose in the office while staying overnight.

In the morning I was asked to "catch" the chicken. Being the brave soul I am, I obliged. Thankfully the wild chicken was tired from flapping around in the office and I made a quick grab with some yellow plastic gloves.

Only in China and maybe some third world countries do you find live "wild" chickens as beautiful as the one above in the office and apart of working.

Lets go the countryside...

Last weekend one of the factory owners invited our company members to crab for lunch and we had to visit a new toy factory. Since all the factories are all in the countryside, it was time to get out of the city into the farm fields and factories.

The countryside is a compete contrast to the city. Its less developed, and people have much lower incomes and are extremely poor compared to urban areas. Most people subside on farming a small and limited piece of land.

The man made pond is for raising fish and crab.

The countryside can be beautiful, but pollution is a big problem. The pollution comes from the factories, who come to the countryside for the cheap labor and wages.
On to the crab buns... They were quite good, but you have to like crab in the first place.
People in and around Nanjing eat a lot of crab. You see crab being sold almost everywhere. It takes a while to eat (especially for a beginner like me) but its worth the effort.

Down but not out...

So, its been more than a week since my last post on the blog. A few things have preoccupied me:

• Travel's diarrhea. A whole week of a running stomach and intially fever. I had to go the hospital. China's sanitation is not up to par with the "Western" world. (Not fun.)
• Lose "Wild" Chicken in office.(Will explain in a later post. Quite fun)
• Wondering why I'm staying in China? And how long I will stay? (Not fun)

Expect some pictures and posts about the above topics soon...

Work...in China

Working in China has puzzled me in many aspects.

Our company has been getting ready for international export show. (Its both an import and export, but China doesn't import many goods.) We have been working none stop for the last week. We had to come in on Saturday and Sunday and stay late everyday.

Yet like usual, we take a huge lunch break. From 12:00 to around 2pm, the office stops all work. Some like to nap or play cards, while others go shopping for things. After 2pm though, its all work, and sometimes we go until 8pm or later to finish up on work. (The buses stop running after around 8:30 depending on the route, but the subway runs until 11:30. I have been taking the subway home, because my bus route stops running at 8:30)

Why couldn't we take a shorter lunch break instead of working late or on the weekend? I guess its a ritual in China to take long lunch breaks, and napping after lunch is the norm for most workers. (Even my boss sometimes takes a nap. They also have pillows. They place the pillow on top of the desk and rest their heads on the pillows. I'm not sure if its like this for the rest of China.)

They also take company vacations. (I guess they get a better rate if they go together?) One of the company walls is plastered with pictures of many vacations they have taken together. (Who answers the phones when everyone is gone?) In China, your work family is like your real family. People attach and identity themselves by where they work. I, though do not fully understand.

The Fire

So I was sitting at my desk, filling out some forms for a freight delivery at the office, when I hear a loud bang. I look up and see one of the lights fixtures has gone out and black smoke slowly seeps out. My co-workers and I realize there is a small fire inside the light fixture. I, being native, offer to use water put out the fire. Instead, the fire slowly burned itself out. After a few minutes the flickers of light from flame disappear and all is well in the office. My co-workers shrug off the fire and quickly go back to work.

(For all "The Office" fans, you will probably remember "The Fire" episode in season one, when Ryan starts the fire in the office. Its actually one of my favorite episodes. We didn't evacuate the building or anything though.)

I'm guessing the building codes here are not as strict as those in the States. Public safety also seems to be a issue. One of the factory owner's son (the company buys from many factories) was recently hit by a car and did not survive the accident. I guess I'm living in a still developing country, a "less developed country."

Lets go Hiking up Purple and Gold Mountain

Nanjing is surrounded by a river, the Chang Jiang (translated:Long River) and a mountain call Zi Sin Shan (Purple and Gold Mountain). My co-worker named Jeffery, climbs the mountain (its more of a large hill) quite often for exercise and invited me along. The only thing was he did not tell me it was a hour long climb to the top and he decided to take the hardest path. By the time we reached the top, I was about dead. China is filled with mountains especially in Southern China. People engage mountain hiking as a past time. In Chinese its called Pa Shan.
At the top and about to faint from exhaustion.
The city below lined with skyscrapers. As you can see a cloud of smog steps atop of the city. As I mentioned before the air is terrible, but on top of the mountain is a whole lot better.

My Chinese is not so good...

So for the first time, I think I was of use at work. Its usually me desperately trying to figure out what the Chinese characters in front of me mean. Its made me realize how bad my Chinese is.(The Internet makes looking up things a bit easier.) But today I was finally able to do useful work. The work of course did not involve me reading Chinese, rather I was in Photoshop, editing pictures.

Yet my goal is to be productive and that means the slow journey of learning Chinese. I have to be able to express myself verbally and to read and write. The scary part is I do not how long it will take. It will take time, though. I have been in China for a month and its only the beginning of learning.

On another note, I went to the movie theatre yesterday and watched a Hong Kong/China studio film...it was terrible. For the first time I had the urge of walking out of the movie. Yet, people in the theatre enjoyed their time. I will talk about the matter another time.

China: Becoming Less Capalistic?

I came across quite a interesting article on the Economist. It talks about how a new book purposes the idea of China becoming less, instead of more, capalistic. I'm not a expert on the subject but I actually think parts of the argument is valid. Check out the link below:

http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?source=most_commented&story_id=12333103

First day

So I survived the first day. Everything was lost in translation. Everything was Chinese. (How dare they!)

The most eventful time was lunch. We shared the food like a family and afterwards took naps (or at least some napped.) It was like pre-school except no juice, just green tea. I forgot people in China took two hour lunches and napped, they even have pillows. But instead of going home at 5pm, we leave at around 6:30pm, I guess it makes up for the two hour lunch.

Will work for food.

Christmas came early! I finally start work (actually its more of an internship) tomorrow. Its been a whole month in China and I will finally start. I glad I finally can get my feet wet. I was stuck at the apartment all day studying Chinese and doing household chores, so its a relief to be doing something. I checked out my relatives company today, they manufacture and export collectible gifts such as dolls and lamps. They design the products and manufactures them for export. I'm going to be doing client accounts, although I do not think my Chinese is up to the challenge. (I actually think I will be more of a burden on the company, at least for now.)

So, tomorrow morning I have to be at work by 9. I walk for about 15 minutes, (I'm trying to lose weight so the walk will be quite good,) to the bus station to take the number 4 bus to work. The bus ride takes about 30 minutes. Work ends at 5:30 and (hopefully if I'm diligent) its back to studying Chinese. It will definitely be a learning process. Wish me luck!

To the city wall

The water bill was late and I had to go the water company to pay it. It was quite a journey. (Not really.) I decided to walk to the water company instead of taking the bus. It gave me a chance to take pictures. Unfortunately it started raining by the time I was walking back home.
I think the man on the left was selling razor blades.
I actually live by a river. Its not as nice as it sounds.
The China squat. I have not mastered it.
The streets are lined with shops.

The water company is by the one of the many city wall still standing. Nanjing used to be the capital of China in recent and earlier periods and old protective walls surround the city.
The building is one of the entrances to the city in olden times.
Its the southern "door" to the city.

Its a tourist attraction now fulled with tackiness.
Another "door" to the city.
Nanjing is fulled with artifacts of Old China.

A look though the building though the "door."
Now, cars and bicycles go though "door."
The city walls are flanked by a river. I'm guessing it was for defensive of the city.

I was going to take more pictures but it started to rain. It rains quite a lot in Nanjing.

At the street market

In Nanjing and most of China, people buy groceries at the farmer's market and not the supermarket. Buying groceries is a daily affair because people like their food fresh.
There is a wide variety of vegetables in season currently.
In the morning, around 7 and 8, the market is packed with people.

The Chinese eat more pork than other meats. A pork stand.
Mushrooms and other vegetables.

A View Out My Window: Part II: Night

The sky at night is super bright.

I used long exposures for the night shots.

It was cooler yesterday, so I decided to go down to the river, the "Chang Jiang" which translates into "long river." (The name does not translate well.) Nanjing resides next to the Chang Jiang which flows into the South China Sea next to the port city of Shanghai.

I took the extensive bus system to the river.

Nanjing is under a "etiquette" reform campaign. Wen Ming, or 文明 city reforms are to stop jaywalkers and "non-proper" behavior in general. (Mind you, there is plenty of "reform" to go.)

At the river, and in front of a old port.

Hopefully more pictures to come as I go around Nanjing.

A Whole New World

Its been two weeks since my arrival in Nanjing. The city has changed dramatically since my last visit. Old building being torn down to make way for high rises. Cars clog the streets. The economic development wave has offically hit Nanjing.

Social and economic mobility has increased considerably since the "open-door" policies of the 80's. Many Chinese have moved up the economic ladder in the middle and higer classes. Yet, when I walk around Nanjing I still see a huge informal economic sector based on cheap and abundent labor. These people work in the "street" or informal economy, selling newspaper or flowers in the street or opening doors for clients.

Hopefully economic develpment will give them a chance out of their menial status.

A View out of My Window

Still have not started work yet, so I took some shots from my window view. Its not the best view but one with some character.

People in China almost always hang dry their cloth instead of using a drying machine.
Electric and motor scouters are a stable in the streets of Nanjing.

I (Heart) Wal-Mart

I do not particulary like Wal-Mart. They do have the lowest prices, but the atmosphere is not the most friendly or enjoyable.
Yet, I have gone to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in the center of Nanjing twice since my arrival. Two times in one week. The reason was because it was the only thing familiar to me. Its was rather refreshing going to Wal-Mart and experiencing something familiar and not foreign. I was so glad to see the Wal-Mart sign and its array of products lined up just like in the States. But in China's Wal-Mart, they sell chicken feet.

BBQ Nanjing Style

The Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived and instead of eating Mooncakes, lets do some BBQ, Nanjing Style. One of my extended families invited my grandma and I to a park outside of Nanjing for a little fun in the sun.

The extended family at the BBQ pit. (My grandmother's brother's daughters and their husbands.) As you probably noticed we used sticks of wood instead of coals.
They had bamboo rafts but we ran out of time and did ride them.

A lake in the park.

Dozens of people are able to ride on one raft.

At my extended families apartment. They live on the 17th floor. The view is quite nice.

Night.

Fall is almost upon us and so is cooler weather.