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lördag 29 januari 2011
torsdag 27 januari 2011
Post no 399
Yep, almost up to 400 posts!
Here is one example of loading a tricycle, no way near the maximum limit though, there is heaps of space left on this one =) And because it is so cold they wear all sorts of things to protect themselves, like back to front coats, I saw someone with plastic bags on their feet, a plastic apron. And they have like a glove thing that is stuck to the steering "wheel" which they put their hands in to keep warm, not sure how to explain it. And I saw one guy yesterday with a helmet, not a regular helmet but like the ones you wear on building sites, so if he would fall off the bike, so would the helmet off his head. But maybe he felt safer...
What could be a chinese little shopping centre, similar to the one we had down the road from Melville street of which I cant think of the name of it right now. It could also be something completely different, if I could red Chinese I could tell you!
Here is one example of loading a tricycle, no way near the maximum limit though, there is heaps of space left on this one =) And because it is so cold they wear all sorts of things to protect themselves, like back to front coats, I saw someone with plastic bags on their feet, a plastic apron. And they have like a glove thing that is stuck to the steering "wheel" which they put their hands in to keep warm, not sure how to explain it. And I saw one guy yesterday with a helmet, not a regular helmet but like the ones you wear on building sites, so if he would fall off the bike, so would the helmet off his head. But maybe he felt safer...
What could be a chinese little shopping centre, similar to the one we had down the road from Melville street of which I cant think of the name of it right now. It could also be something completely different, if I could red Chinese I could tell you!
Last night we stayed at a beautiful little hotel, neat and tidy and modern but still very traditional. And the red lanterns were everywhere, in trees, at shops and hotels, hanging from stoby poles, they really were everywhere. Maybe it is because of Chinese New Year, I am not sure but I think they are beautiful. Maybe because red is my favourite colour.
A little court yard at the hotel, or yard might be the wrong word as it has a pond in the middle but you know what I mean, this was part of the hotel. I am not sure why the colours are so pale though, maybe wrong setting on the little camera I have...
What a trip!
(This post was supposed to be uploaded yesterday but for some reason internet didnt work so here it is today instead)
Sea cucumber, fermented and fried tofu, and live little prawns in some wine marinande, together with warm brown rice wine! That was part of my dinner tonight at a very old and well renowned hotel in the town we are in, Shaoxing, 2,5 hours from Shanghai.
And on top of that they only spoke Chinese, pretty much the whole day and 90% of the dinner. In a way I don’t mind cause then I don’t have to worry =) If it is something important they will translate. I just do what they do and it is normally fine. The food comes in, dish after dish, and goes on the lazy susan in the middle and it is just to pick a bit of what ever you want straight from the plate and everyone shares. Nothing that the “germophobic” would be interested in! The only thing that is a bit tricky is that the guest of honor always begins to eat, and the guest of honor happened to be me quite a lot if the trip. Most of the time I am decent with my chopsticks but not when there is a whole fish, with skin and bones and head, on a plate I have reached my limit. It is very difficult to do anything but mashing up the whole thing.
Last night we were invited to join the annual dinner of the supplier that we visited. Next week is Chinese New Year and the spring festival and the annual dinners are normally just before this public holiday. It can be compared with our Christmas and New Year. Anyway, the main purpose of this thing is to eat and drink and toast. Everyone toasts with everyone. The owner of the company held a little speech to start of with, and especially presented the honored guests, miss Emma and Leef and Johnson. Me and my colleagues that is, never have I had 200 people staring at my like I did last night, the only non-chinese in the whole room. Then they started smoking and drinking and eating and the brave ones came up to our table to toast with me and my colleagues. It was quite and interesting experience. And after they had eaten and toasted with everyone they just left, it didn’t take more than 1,5 hours. I guess that is what differs from Sweden and Australia, it just keeps going to the last man standing. I am really glad we got invited as I think it is something special to join these local traditions.
Another addition to the driving skills here is that everyone has to come first and there is no way they are gonna let anyone else in if they can get in front of them. They rather speed up and honk and mutter something that I don’t understand and make sure that they get first.
And I can not remember last time I was this cold, the ice hotel was nothing and living in northern Sweden was a summer holiday compared to this. Australia has the best heating in the world! And it is not even minus degrees out side! It must be the “humid” cold. Dry cold is easy to handle but when it gets cold in humid areas it just goes through the skin and bones and it is impossible to stay warm. And there was no heating in the meeting room where we spent a few hours today, well actually there was but no way near enough. I was sitting with my jacket all zipped up and a scarf and almost shivering. Terrible! And on the way to the hotel my colleagues are NOT using the heating in the car. And they are as cold as I am. I don’t understand it. But I think there is something with Chinese people and using ventilation in the car. Almost every time we drove through toll gates on the way here he opened all the windows to get some fresh air in the car. Well, if you turn the fan on there will be plenty of fresh air in here the whole time, hello! But I don’t want to be rude so I just sit there and take it. That is who I am, so maybe I should not complain.
Another peculiar thing is that my Chinese colleagues, very lovely young men, share a twin room while I have one on my own. I don’t know if it is to save money or what but I would never share a hotel room with a colleague unless it was an emergency. But China and the Chinese are very different, very different indeed.
The food has been delicious as always, even the above mentioned dishes was not too bad, maybe they are not on my top ten list of foods I love but they are certainly not the worst things I have tasted.
To summarize it I think it is a bit of a love-hate relationship between me and China. On the one had it is such a fascinating country and such a different culture; I don’t think it will ever stop to amaze me. They are so incredibly polite. And no one can stack and pack a three wheeled motorbike like they can! I will try to get a photo from the car tomorrow. On the other hand it can be so frustrating when no one speaks the language and they can be really rude, at least compared to my standards. Pragmatic is a word a Swedish colleague used to describe them, I didn’t really know what it meant so I looked it up on Google. It was spot on I think. See for yourself here.
Sea cucumber, fermented and fried tofu, and live little prawns in some wine marinande, together with warm brown rice wine! That was part of my dinner tonight at a very old and well renowned hotel in the town we are in, Shaoxing, 2,5 hours from Shanghai.
And on top of that they only spoke Chinese, pretty much the whole day and 90% of the dinner. In a way I don’t mind cause then I don’t have to worry =) If it is something important they will translate. I just do what they do and it is normally fine. The food comes in, dish after dish, and goes on the lazy susan in the middle and it is just to pick a bit of what ever you want straight from the plate and everyone shares. Nothing that the “germophobic” would be interested in! The only thing that is a bit tricky is that the guest of honor always begins to eat, and the guest of honor happened to be me quite a lot if the trip. Most of the time I am decent with my chopsticks but not when there is a whole fish, with skin and bones and head, on a plate I have reached my limit. It is very difficult to do anything but mashing up the whole thing.
Last night we were invited to join the annual dinner of the supplier that we visited. Next week is Chinese New Year and the spring festival and the annual dinners are normally just before this public holiday. It can be compared with our Christmas and New Year. Anyway, the main purpose of this thing is to eat and drink and toast. Everyone toasts with everyone. The owner of the company held a little speech to start of with, and especially presented the honored guests, miss Emma and Leef and Johnson. Me and my colleagues that is, never have I had 200 people staring at my like I did last night, the only non-chinese in the whole room. Then they started smoking and drinking and eating and the brave ones came up to our table to toast with me and my colleagues. It was quite and interesting experience. And after they had eaten and toasted with everyone they just left, it didn’t take more than 1,5 hours. I guess that is what differs from Sweden and Australia, it just keeps going to the last man standing. I am really glad we got invited as I think it is something special to join these local traditions.
Another addition to the driving skills here is that everyone has to come first and there is no way they are gonna let anyone else in if they can get in front of them. They rather speed up and honk and mutter something that I don’t understand and make sure that they get first.
And I can not remember last time I was this cold, the ice hotel was nothing and living in northern Sweden was a summer holiday compared to this. Australia has the best heating in the world! And it is not even minus degrees out side! It must be the “humid” cold. Dry cold is easy to handle but when it gets cold in humid areas it just goes through the skin and bones and it is impossible to stay warm. And there was no heating in the meeting room where we spent a few hours today, well actually there was but no way near enough. I was sitting with my jacket all zipped up and a scarf and almost shivering. Terrible! And on the way to the hotel my colleagues are NOT using the heating in the car. And they are as cold as I am. I don’t understand it. But I think there is something with Chinese people and using ventilation in the car. Almost every time we drove through toll gates on the way here he opened all the windows to get some fresh air in the car. Well, if you turn the fan on there will be plenty of fresh air in here the whole time, hello! But I don’t want to be rude so I just sit there and take it. That is who I am, so maybe I should not complain.
Another peculiar thing is that my Chinese colleagues, very lovely young men, share a twin room while I have one on my own. I don’t know if it is to save money or what but I would never share a hotel room with a colleague unless it was an emergency. But China and the Chinese are very different, very different indeed.
The food has been delicious as always, even the above mentioned dishes was not too bad, maybe they are not on my top ten list of foods I love but they are certainly not the worst things I have tasted.
To summarize it I think it is a bit of a love-hate relationship between me and China. On the one had it is such a fascinating country and such a different culture; I don’t think it will ever stop to amaze me. They are so incredibly polite. And no one can stack and pack a three wheeled motorbike like they can! I will try to get a photo from the car tomorrow. On the other hand it can be so frustrating when no one speaks the language and they can be really rude, at least compared to my standards. Pragmatic is a word a Swedish colleague used to describe them, I didn’t really know what it meant so I looked it up on Google. It was spot on I think. See for yourself here.
måndag 24 januari 2011
Photo update
Ok, here are some mixed photos from China, mainly Shanghai, maybe even only Shanghai, I cant remember which photos I have down the bottom.First one is from last night at the house of jazz and blues, highly recommended, maybe not very chinese but anyway, the black guy is a legend on harmonica!
Then we get to the famous skyline of Shanghai, taken at the Bund.
Here is just outside old town of Shanghai, Yuyuan, in the background you can see the sky scrapers, in contrast to the old buildings in Yuyuan.
Nice springrolls with a beautiful lotusflower decoration cut out of some vegetable.
There are decorations everywhere for Chinese new year which is in early February, I cant remember if it was 5th or 6th or maybe even 7th. Anyway it is the year of the rabbit that is starting.
Of course I had to take a photo of IKEA in Shanghai, or Itcha as they pronounce it here...
The view from my hotel window, a bit foggy maybe but I think you get the picture.
Last but not least the flamed dessert we had at a Teppanyaki restaurant, they cook all the food at the table and the dessert was flamed bananas and ice cream, yummy. And this was in Shenzhen, not Shanghai =)
lördag 22 januari 2011
Sorry
Ok, maybe I owe China an apologie, I might have been a bit harsh. I just had a bad start to the trip and the area around Shenzhen might not be the most civilized part of China. I am now in Shanghai and it is a BIG city. There was a traffic jam last night at 10.20 on the way from the airport. At 10.20 pm in Älmhult all cars have gone to sleep. But they do drive a little more sensible here, still Chinese style but not as bad as Shenzhen. But if you look at it from the other side I guess they are quite skilled drivers because there are not a lot of car crashes and there are not a lot of dents and scratches on them. Look at the cars in Paris in comparison, it is hard to find a car without a dent or a scratch! Somehow here they just know how to look out for each other and honk and flash the lights to "warn" the other drivers that they are coming instead of driving in only one lane and indicating when turning. And they are not very aggresive either, they might drive aggressive but they never act aggressive if that makes sense. I couldnt imagine them tailgating each other because they were cut of or pointing the finger.
This weekend I am gonna catch up with one old friend from Adelaide that lives in Shanghai since a bit over a year I think. And also catch up with a new friend from Sweden that just moved here with her partner, believe it or not he works at IKEA =)
This weekend I am gonna catch up with one old friend from Adelaide that lives in Shanghai since a bit over a year I think. And also catch up with a new friend from Sweden that just moved here with her partner, believe it or not he works at IKEA =)
torsdag 20 januari 2011
Note to myself
Learn how to communicate with Chinese people in English; even if we both speak English it is still very hard to understand each other. Question or statement; that is the question!
Toilet paper goes in the bin after use, not in the toilet!? I don’t even want to think about what happens after no 2...
There is a hand washing instruction in the rest rooms!? How hard can it be!? “Only wash hands when visibly soiled, otherwise use hand rub” What the @#% is a hand rub???
Elevator room and buttons are disinfected every hour, BUT you don’t wash your hands properly and don’t flush the used toilet paper!
Toilet paper goes in the bin after use, not in the toilet!? I don’t even want to think about what happens after no 2...
There is a hand washing instruction in the rest rooms!? How hard can it be!? “Only wash hands when visibly soiled, otherwise use hand rub” What the @#% is a hand rub???
Elevator room and buttons are disinfected every hour, BUT you don’t wash your hands properly and don’t flush the used toilet paper!
Grrr
Unfortunately the internet connection at the hotel is everything but reliable so I am updating the blog from work. I hope it is OK with Ingvar.
Yesterday was not a good day but today is better, no big deal but too many little things and the lack of English speaking people in this country, very frustrating when you have started eating and you realise that you have to pay for the food up front and they dont take credit card and you dont have enough cash and the only ATM you have seen doesnt take VISA or mastercard or anything... but it went well in the and I didnt have to go hungry last night. And in the morning I took at taxi to the wrong place, I went to IKEA components instead of IKEA store where the office is. Luckily we were going to a supplier that was only 15 minutes from there so I was not too far out of the way and could be picked up on the way, I could have been going for an hour in the wrong direction!
So what is there to tell about China this time? I dont think I want to travel here alone again, it really is no fun, luckily I met some colleagues from Sweden at the hotel, there are always people from the office here, so tonight I will have company for dinner. The traffic is the same as last time, a honking hell pretty much, going the wrong way in the round about, driving in the "middle lane", driving straight in the right turning lane, driving in the opposite direction etc, the list is endless. There are lots of electric bikes and scooters and helmets are very rare, but I did see one person wearing a helmet yesterday! And I also saw a mother driving her son on a scooter, he was standing in between her legs and holding on to her while she was driving, in the opposite direction to the traffic!
And on the way to the office this morning a colleague pointed out a tree to me and asked if I saw anything that looked strange about it. Nah, I said, not more than it lookes like the top has been chopped off. He then told me that it is a plastic tree with speakers, probably to share some propaganda with the people. I saw several of them on the rest of the way to the office, I will try to get a photo of them if I can. Interesting stuff in this country...
Yesterday was not a good day but today is better, no big deal but too many little things and the lack of English speaking people in this country, very frustrating when you have started eating and you realise that you have to pay for the food up front and they dont take credit card and you dont have enough cash and the only ATM you have seen doesnt take VISA or mastercard or anything... but it went well in the and I didnt have to go hungry last night. And in the morning I took at taxi to the wrong place, I went to IKEA components instead of IKEA store where the office is. Luckily we were going to a supplier that was only 15 minutes from there so I was not too far out of the way and could be picked up on the way, I could have been going for an hour in the wrong direction!
So what is there to tell about China this time? I dont think I want to travel here alone again, it really is no fun, luckily I met some colleagues from Sweden at the hotel, there are always people from the office here, so tonight I will have company for dinner. The traffic is the same as last time, a honking hell pretty much, going the wrong way in the round about, driving in the "middle lane", driving straight in the right turning lane, driving in the opposite direction etc, the list is endless. There are lots of electric bikes and scooters and helmets are very rare, but I did see one person wearing a helmet yesterday! And I also saw a mother driving her son on a scooter, he was standing in between her legs and holding on to her while she was driving, in the opposite direction to the traffic!
And on the way to the office this morning a colleague pointed out a tree to me and asked if I saw anything that looked strange about it. Nah, I said, not more than it lookes like the top has been chopped off. He then told me that it is a plastic tree with speakers, probably to share some propaganda with the people. I saw several of them on the rest of the way to the office, I will try to get a photo of them if I can. Interesting stuff in this country...
onsdag 19 januari 2011
Shenzhen
I made it, even though the spanish couple next to me on the plain didnt speak a word of Enlglish nor did they follow the same travel "etiquette" as me. I really dont appreciate being woken up every time I manage to go to sleep just because you couldnt get up to the toilet when I was up anyway 30 minutes ago. But anyway, things could be worse and here I am. About to go to bed. Probably should have answered some emails but I am sure I wont be able to sleep all night anyway so I can do it early tmrw morning, Chinese time. It is 3.45pm in Sweden and here it is 10.45pm if I am not mistaken. So I should go to bed, maybe I'll play my new favourite game, angry birds, I am stuck at level 1-19 and it is annoying me, I think I have tried 100 times soon and still havent managed to get past it.
Here is a link to another house that is up for sale, not sure I think it is a good one yet but Stephen will go to the open viewing and if he thinks it is worth it we might go back for me to have a look.
Now it is time for bed!
Here is a link to another house that is up for sale, not sure I think it is a good one yet but Stephen will go to the open viewing and if he thinks it is worth it we might go back for me to have a look.
Now it is time for bed!
måndag 17 januari 2011
Terrible
I am a nervous wreck when it comes to movies, I am watching Jurassic park and it is as if I was sitting on needles, I am jumping up and down and had to walk out of here for a second when it was too exciting. Riddiculous, especially as I have seen it before. Stupid dinosaurs...
söndag 16 januari 2011
just one more...
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My new favourite app!
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Saturday night
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still winter
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onsdag 12 januari 2011
sourdough time
My jar of sour dough in the fridge has been staring at me for a while every time I open the fridge, I think it has felt a bit ignored in there. So tomorrow it is sour dough time and we are making pizza! And mum and dad are coming over as well to try this delicious dish. I am even making my own tomatoe sauce, it is bubbling away on the stove as I type. I just love it! And tonights bed time story is a new gardening book that I got in the mail yesterday. Oooops there is the beep from the kitchen timer, gotta go!
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måndag 10 januari 2011
test no 2
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Testing testing
I have bought myself a smartphone and am trying out the blogger app. Supposedly with ads so I wanted to see what it looks like doing it from the phone, maybe there will be more short updates from now on. At least to start with before I get sick of the mini keyboard...
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onsdag 5 januari 2011
We went to look at the yellow house yesterday and it is not the house for us, too small and too many little things that needed to be done, it felt like we would only have to fix boring things and be up for some nasty surprises like water damage etc. It looked so promising online and there were heaps and heaps of people on the open viewing, so far there is one bid on it for the asking price. We will continue our search for a house just as perfect as the one on Melville street, just a bit bigger...
This Thursday is a public holiday in Sweden, and a lot of people will take Friday off as well. Not me. Or Stephen. But we might go for a little weekend getaway on Saturday instead. And it is always nice with a day off, there are plenty more public holidays in spring than in autumn here in Sweden.
This Thursday is a public holiday in Sweden, and a lot of people will take Friday off as well. Not me. Or Stephen. But we might go for a little weekend getaway on Saturday instead. And it is always nice with a day off, there are plenty more public holidays in spring than in autumn here in Sweden.
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