Month: June 2017

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Day 3 – Morning thunder & lightening

Well that put a damper on my plans for the day; waking up to a pretty good thunder and lightening storm dampened (ha!) my plans for exploring a new part of Suzhou this morning. The weather appears to be getting nicer after lunchtime, but not sure if I’ll be headed out or not just yet. Maybe at dinner time!

I ran into my first “well it works fine in the USA but not here in China” issue: My electric clippers. You see, I was going to give myself a haircut today as I’m getting a little shaggy on the sides. I plugged my clippers into the 115v outlet (using an adapter, not a converter) and turned them on. WHOAH did they make way too loud of a sound, almost chainsaw level. Guess that extra 5v isn’t good for my tried, true, and trusty clippers that I’ve owned since 1999. The $30 I paid for them in a Walgreens back in the day is more than paid off. It looks like I’ll have to find a place to buy a 115v-to-110v converter or find a new pair of clippers made to work here specifically in China.

Since a lot of my days right now revolve around foraging for food at nearby restaurants (that may or maynot have menus with pictures on them … ), I started finding websites that help you navigate restaurants with common words and phrases. One such site helped me learn today’s word of the day: 面条 (miàn tiáo) meaning “noodles”. Yes, there’s tons of different types of noodles and I’ll eventually have to learn those, but for now I’m happy with 面条! Progress, one noodle at a time!

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Day 2 – Food and beer, cheap!

Day two and jet lag is still getting me good. This morning I was up by 5am. Hopefully my first jog here in China (3.4 miles) will help tire me out so I can sleep longer and through the night. Oh, the air quality today was pretty good and as the sun is setting I can actually see across Dushu Lake — the view is pretty stunning!

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Today was my first trip back to the office since the interviews in February. The idea was to introduce me around to the team but turns out most of them left a bit early today after a great product review with the corporate VPs. My new manager decided it was time for some food and beer so we hopped into his car and went to a place he’s been before. Needless to say this was my first litre — yes 1L — of beer and man did it taste good with those skewered meats, dumplings, and boiled crawfish!

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Today’s word of the day is 鸡 (Jī), meaning chicken. 鸡胸肉 (Jīxiōng ròu) though, is chicken breast, probably more useful.

Oh, and for some reason I cannot get my VPN to work on my iPad 🙁 Seeing as that tablet is 5 years old that doesn’t surprise me much, but it’s a shame … there goes my favorite Netflix watching device!

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Words of the Day

Below is a list of words or phrases that I’m learning to help get me settled into China. Please comment if you read Chinese or speak Mandarin and have an alternate suggestion for the translation!

  • 2017-06-20: 花园 (Huāyuán), meaning garden.
  • 2017-06-19: 雨 (Yǔ), meaning rain.
  • 2017-06-18: 总线 (Zǒngxiàn), meaning bus. NOTE: This might not be the correct translation!
  • 2017-06-14: 手机 (Shǒujī), meaning cellphone.
  • 2017-06-13: 技术 (Jìshù), meaning technology.
  • 2017-06-12: 出租车 (Chūzū chē), meaning taxi.
  • 2017-06-11: 地铁 (Dìtiě), meaning subway.
  • 2017-06-10: 面条 (Miàntiáo), meaning noodles.
  • 2017-06-09: 鸡 (Jī), meaning chicken. 鸡胸肉 (Jīxiōng ròu) is chicken breast, probably more useful.
  • 2017-06-08: 星巴克 (Xīngbākè), meaning Starbucks.
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Day 1 – Getting Settled

8 Dollar Lunch

What the equivalent of $8 will buy you for lunch in SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park)

It can’t be blamed on leaving the drapes open last night, but rather the inevitable jet lag that caused me to be wide awake at 5:15am, even after taking a sleeping pill before bed last night! Not being able to sleep in allowed me to settle into the apartment by putting away my personal items.

As I was putting things away I kept cursing myself for not purchasing any Starbucks Via or packing my french press in my carry-on luggage. Guess I’ll have to get used to having tea in the morning instead of a cup of joe!

In hopes of speaking better Mandarin, a word or phrase a day is being learned. Today’s word is 星巴克 (Xīngbākè), meaning Starbucks. Yup, I had to find the closest one too me to pick up some decent tea as the stuff they stock in my apt (which is in a hotel…) is just meh.

While I might not post a picture every day on this blog, I am occasionally going to post a shot looking out of my apartment window that depicts the air pollution. This morning started off a lot worse, but as the day went on the buildings across Dushu Lake (独墅湖) could be spotted off in the distance.

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The view across Dushu Lake with the air quality index around 115

Maybe one of these days I will have enough pictures to show a range of AQI (Air Quality Index) for the same view! To be fair, an AQI of 115 is listed as “lightly polluted” and I did not have much in the way of issues walking around or breathing, even with the humidity about 55% and the temps reaching 30C (86F).

Not sure what is on tap for tomorrow, but I’ll see how much of an adventure can be had!

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Day 0 – Arrival!

After a pretty uneventful flight (only some light chop when I assumed we passed through the jet stream) where I watched five movies in hopes of staying awake for as much of the 13 hours as possible, I made it into the country safe and sound.

Getting through immigration and customs was a breeze. Not sure if it’s just luck or if they’re really speedy at processing people, but it only took five minutes. No questions were asked, my passport was stamped, and I was on my way!

The drive from the Shanghai Pudong airport (PVG) is much more interesting this time than when I came for the job interviews in February. Why? It’s light out and I can actually see things!

The apartment I’m staying in is rather nice. When I get more time I will post some pictures and provide more details. Location-wise it’s near perfect for a 20 minute walk to the office once I do start working.

First thing on tomorrow’s agenda: Find the nearest Starbucks to where I’m staying then find an ATM. It’s not as easy as it sounds: Google Maps doesn’t really work in mainland China and I can’t read enough Chinese to use Baidu Maps!

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Moving Day!

Moving Day 2017 Lunch at Amex

All good trips should start with delicious food and a good glass of wine. This beauty is compliments of the American Express Centurion Lounge at SFO.

So today is the day! After months of preparation (interviewing, getting the work visa, selling most of my personal goods, saying goodbye), the day to say goodbye to the USA and say “你好，中国” is here. And while I’m excited — and understandably nervous — about this big change, I can’t really look forward to it without first looking back at the past six years living in San Francisco.

While my professional life was doing great, my personal life didn’t really get started until 2014 when I joined a softball team for the SFGSL. That first season, as I was getting over an ankle injury, I was scorekeeper and really enjoyed being part of a team again. Having grown up playing team sports it was something that was missing from my life. Over the next four seasons I’ve made most of my good friends through the softball league. Those friends and being able to play with my teammates is something I’m going to seriously miss. If anyone saw what an emotional wreck I was on Sunday during my team’s most recent fundraiser, you’ll know I’m telling the truth! LOVE YOU BOMBSHELLS!

While people will be the number one thing I miss most about SF — ok, maybe the clean air and water too — the list of things I won’t miss at all is a bit long. The homeless problem, the crazies, the drug epidemic, the traffic, having to share an apartment at age 40 because rent prices are crazy stupid… I don’t want to dwell on bad things, so I’m going to end that thought right there.

Though I am moving to the orient, I should be back in the USA a number of times a year. And if there is one thing in life that I know is true, the paths of good people will always cross; you never know where or when, but they do. As I hate saying goodbye, because it is never the end, I’m closing this post with a “so long for now, and thanks for all the fish!”