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| Translated sign above a urinal |
Another week has flown right by here in the PRC – that’s the People’s Republic of China for the uninitiated. I started my new job and the kiddos started school, so we’re all off in different directions. On top of work, I’m still in the middle of the visa/work permit process, which seems to be the most difficult of all the countries we’ve lived. They need all kinds of documents – birth certificates, passports, diplomas, last will and testament, a library card, my 3rd grade journal assignment, and a partridge in a pear tree. Obviously, I’m joking about some of those, but China does indeed require quite a lot of information to set up a residence visa.
Last week was the police station and the medical check, this week it was visiting government buildings with documents in tow. Speaking of the medical check – I got a little book, not unlike a passport that has my medical results in them. Most of all the categories resulted in a “No abnormal findings” verdict, but the Chinese doctors were concerned on two accounts – my ears and my kidneys. The findings showed I had impacted cerumen in my ears. I have earwax. Ok. Next, they said, and I’m quoting, “The left kidney stones”, which I assume means they found kidney stones on the left side. I’d had them once before, WAY back in 1997, but that was accompanied by some major discomfort, and so far… I feel fine here. Maybe the Chinese are confused about my stones. I dunno, and I’m not really concerned.
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| Medical Report |
We’re slowly settling into the Chinese way of life. In many ways, the country has such a traditional, ancient value system, but in other ways they are beyond what one would be used to in the states. Technology, for example, is everywhere here and central to all that you do. The most popular App in China is WeChat. This app is Facebook, Messenger, Video chat, Twitter, Instagram, News and everything else all rolled into one. Everyone has it. You use WeChat to pay for things – every… thing. You link a bank card to the app, and then scan a QR code in places to make a payment. While this is something that some people do in the States, it’s the norm here. Some places only take payments from WeChat. It does make things easier and faster. You can also send money directly to people through the app as well.
Another interesting tidbit about China – the delivery system in general. There is no Amazon here, but there is Taobao, or Baopao, or JD.com or TMall. Think Amazon, but on crack. Crack cocaine. You can pretty much order any and everything you need (or don’t need) through these Amazon-like websites. Some crazy stuff too. Try this – Go to Baopals.com, if it will let you. Find the CCC section up top. That’s Cool, Cheap, Crazy. The Crazy section can be very NSFW. Shipping items can be one day or a couple, and they will drop stuff off at your door in the middle of the night. China never stops working. More on that later too. Alanna ordered an item from an actual person selling something. This was around 8:00pm at night. The woman who sold the item to Alanna told her she would have a “shipping service” bring her purchase to her… that night. So get this – you can find a service, at 8:00pm, to come to your house, pick up something you’re selling and then they’ll bring that item to the people who are buying it from you. Like, that night. An hour later. And it is dirt cheap to do it. China never sleeps. Same with construction here. There is construction everywhere. But the projects get finished so quickly! One day there is the massive road construction going on, the next day, boom, done. It’s because they always have people working – morning, noon and night. When one shift leaves, another one comes in. And then there are weekend shifts too. So a project is always being worked on, and finishes up quickly because of it.
I hope my southeast coast friends are staying safe as Hurricane Dorian draws near. Its much more difficult to keep up with anything going on over there, but I’ve seen 100 memes about that storm. Here in China, I’ve got one Typhoonish storm passing through right now, and a larger one heading in our direction at week’s end. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you guys if you’ll extend the same courtesy to me!
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| Two Typhoons heading to China. |
And now, random goings on in no particular order:
- Logan lost two teeth in one day, then another one the following day. The Chinese Tooth Fairy worked overtime this week. Abby also has her first loose tooth, but it may be awhile before that one comes out.
- I ordered an Electric Bike. Think of a cross between a bicycle and a scooter. More on that when it arrives.
- Yes, I did indeed try Grilled Eel flavored Lay’s Potato Chips. There are more weird flavors as well. I plan on trying to eat as many weird unusual things as I possibly can, all while trying to maintain some sort of diet.
- I was almost late to work one morning this week. I took the bus, cause I’m trying to adapt to the culture or something like that. When the bus pulled out in the morning, it was about 99% full. Then 10 people got on. They were hanging out the doors. I chose to stay behind and wait on the next bus, which came 10 minutes later. It was only 98% full, so I was able to squeeze in while everyone stared at the bearded white man.
- Daddy likes steak. So Abby likes steak. She wants some whenever I ate it. She had some at school the other day. It looked like steak, so Mommy told her it was steak. It was, in fact, duck, which is pretty common here. She was none the wiser so we ran with it.
- All apartments are not equal. Ours is really nice, I’m not going to complain. But… you are at the mercy of what people leave behind for you who lived there previously. Ours was good. We have a comfy couch, beds, TVs, all the bells and whistles. One of our teacher couple friends? They got a piano and a massage chair. I’m just saying…
- They have a nice gym at our complex, complete with all the bells and whistles. I joined the other day. Only problem? No AC. At all. And it’s close to 100 here and the humidity is off the chart. The Chinese must think Americans are sweaty pigs because that’s exactly what I look like after I finish a workout.
- We visited an IKEA here. It’s pretty much the same as in the States, just more Chinese. The hotdogs are not as good I am saddened to report. The instructions on how to put that stuff together is still just as confusing.
Ok, I’m Audi 5000.
Pics –
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| Pineapple Dragon Bus |
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| Menu Translation |
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| My Name… in an elevator |
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| Chinese students at work |
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| My path to work |
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| Sunsets aren’t too shabby |
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| Building translation |
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| You can order this… |
