lundi 26 novembre 2007
The next morning, Monday, I woke up around 7, got ready, and went for a little stroll. There was a Starbucks across the street. I went in, wondering exactly how to say "Gingerbread latte" in Chinese. Luckily, I wasn't required to mime it, because they had i
t written in English. They also had the Chinese characters, which made me wonder exactly how Gingerbread Latte is translated into Chinese. If someone knows, please tell me. We ate breakfast in the hotel, and then met up with our Chinese hosts and drove to their office/factory. We toured their factory, talked technical and price details, went to lunch, and then early in the afternoon drove back to our hotel in Shanghai near the airport. While the one in Wuxi had been very nice, this hotel was your basic near-the-airport kind. We took a taxi ride back into Shanghai (about an hour drive for a whopping 15€). We walked around, again admiring the lights of the city. There was a park filled with people, mostly middle-aged couples, dancing. No one asked us to dance, but I might have said yes if they had. It was like swing-dancing but slower. We found a restaurant and had dinner. It had a few other foreigners eating there as well. We had some Chinese wine (not terrible) and several different dishes such as tofu (which I normally like but this was too soft), some meat dishes, and then the two guys had crabs. We all got slightly tipsy, but managed to get a taxi and get back to the hotel without any incident.
dimanche 25 novembre 2007
I am now back from my grand tour of Asia (okay, China and Korea for one week, but it was my first time on the continent after all).I left Saturday afternoon from Marseille. Our flight was supposed to be at 12:10. The four of us, mom, dad, Alain and I arrived around 9:45. We sat and had a coffee and waited for my three traveling partners to arrive so that we could all check in together. Turns out, the flight, KLM to Amsterdam, was delayed two hours. Yikes. The airlines thought we would be able to make our connecting flight to Shanghai at 5:35, but there were no guarantees.
The other two travelers with me, T and P, arrived. The fourth was not going to be coming with us after all. We checked in, and then I said goodbye to mom and dad, who were leaving Monday to return to the US, and Alain.
Flights were uneventful, and we arrived in Shanghai Sunday morning at around 11 am. Did sleep a little on the plane, but the sleeping pills I had bought were not as powerful as I had hoped they would be. I wanted total knock-out and got fitful spurts. Ah well.Made it through Chinese immigration and customs just fine, and found our driver. Thankfully the company we were visiting had sent their driver to fetch us. It was a long drive, we were exhausted, and apparently even Chinese have trouble driving in this area. So we made the drive from Shanghai airport to Wuxi, about two hours to the north-west. Three things that amazed my about China:
1) extremely clean, at least where we were. Armies of workers spent their time cleaning the streets.
I wish Marseille would import at least 10,000 of them. There was also no graffiti anywhere. However, it is really true that they spit all the time. More on that later.
I wish Marseille would import at least 10,000 of them. There was also no graffiti anywhere. However, it is really true that they spit all the time. More on that later.2) crazy drivers. They honk all the time, and will do death-defying stunts. I was glad I was sitting in the back. Many many people were on scooters and bikes. No helmets. Going the wrong way on the highway. Child in front (perhaps six years old) standing on the front of the scooter between the legs of the father who was driving, with the mother behind. Wow.
3) tons of new construction. Rows and rows of identical new apartment buildings being built everywhere.
We checked into our hotel and took off to explore the city. We had some horrid tea at this park area on the left, browsed the shopping areas, took photos, then went to eat. We asked at the hotel where would be a good place to eat. They made some recommendations. We went elsewhere. It was horrid- cold chicken and sun-dried hard as a rock shrimp. I could have choked it down, but the others wanted to leave, so we paid for what we had eaten and walked out. I felt bad. We found a place that can only be described as slightly better than hole in the wall. I was sure I would be sick the next day, but wasn't. It was fairly good, except for my octopus egg-crepe thing.
The lights of the city were amazing. Here is a picture of a restored temple. We went to bed early, being jet lagged and all.
mardi 13 novembre 2007
Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We have been quite busy with visiting the sites of Provence and working on the apartment. This past weekend we bought, transported, and installed our new IKEA kitchen! So happy. Will post more about it when I get a chance, but not for another two weeks or so, as I am leaving next week for China and Korea for a business trip for one whole week! Yay!
jeudi 1 novembre 2007
Mom and Dad have now been here for a week. They arrived Wednesday, Oct. 24th. I went to pick them up at the airport, and had bought a bouquet of flowers. It seemed that everyone who walked past said "Oh, are they for me? Thank you." Their flight finally arrived, about an hour late and sans one piece of luggage. They promised it would be delivered the next morning (Thursday). After a day and a half of them waiting in the apartment for it to arrive, it finally did on Friday afternoon. The weekend we spent doing some work on the apartment, such as removing the large ugle glass/metal hood over the stove, sanding the walls, and applying a base coat to make the walls smoother. We also bought the mirror for over our sink, which Alain and I had been searching for for ages. We had found one we liked at Maisons du Monde, but the one that they had was damaged. They were having a "rupture du stock" and weren't sure if or when they would get another one. I called last Friday, just to see if they had received one, and they said yes, so mom, dad, and I braved Friday afternoon traffic going towards the Centre Ville. We parked in a parking garage, went and bought it (119€) and brought it back.
On Sunday we went to visit with Alain's family, to celebrate Pepe's birthday last week. Today, All Saint's Day, I have off from work, and I took tomorrow off as well. We are going to go visit different places in this area, such as perhaps the Camargue, Aigues Mortes, etc.
A year ago yesterday, we bought our apartment. It is finally starting to resemble something livable. But if I had known what I was in for (such as months of sponge baths in winter) I might have thought twice about it.
Happy All Saint's Day!
On Sunday we went to visit with Alain's family, to celebrate Pepe's birthday last week. Today, All Saint's Day, I have off from work, and I took tomorrow off as well. We are going to go visit different places in this area, such as perhaps the Camargue, Aigues Mortes, etc.
A year ago yesterday, we bought our apartment. It is finally starting to resemble something livable. But if I had known what I was in for (such as months of sponge baths in winter) I might have thought twice about it.
Happy All Saint's Day!
lundi 29 octobre 2007
(Note to all: My camera is not working lately, so I am unable to take and post pictures. Perhaps I will borrow Alain's camera til I can get a new one).
I have an alarm clock that is at least 15 years old. It is a Spanish Speaking alarm clock- you push a button on the top and it tells the time in Spanish. We got it as a gift when we were living in Ecuador. I am suprised it has lasted this long, considering the number of times it has been banged around in luggage, falled off the nightstand, etc. I wish I could find a French speaking one. I may have forgotten all of my spanish (besides Hola, que tal? Commo estas?) but if anyone should ever ask me what time it is in Spanish, I will happily chirp "Beep. Las cinco et cinquenta uno de la tarde".
In France there is an expression "parler Français comme une vache Espagnole" (to speak French like a spanish cow). No idea why they decided to use Spanish and cow, but that's how it goes. Sometimes they use it in a self-deprecating way, sometimes they turn it around and say "I speak Spanish like a french cow". Someone said this to me a few months ago- You speak French like a Spanish cow. I was too hurt and insulted at the time to think of a good comeback, but next time it happens I have one already ready "Well, you speak English like a French pig". So there.
I have an alarm clock that is at least 15 years old. It is a Spanish Speaking alarm clock- you push a button on the top and it tells the time in Spanish. We got it as a gift when we were living in Ecuador. I am suprised it has lasted this long, considering the number of times it has been banged around in luggage, falled off the nightstand, etc. I wish I could find a French speaking one. I may have forgotten all of my spanish (besides Hola, que tal? Commo estas?) but if anyone should ever ask me what time it is in Spanish, I will happily chirp "Beep. Las cinco et cinquenta uno de la tarde".
In France there is an expression "parler Français comme une vache Espagnole" (to speak French like a spanish cow). No idea why they decided to use Spanish and cow, but that's how it goes. Sometimes they use it in a self-deprecating way, sometimes they turn it around and say "I speak Spanish like a french cow". Someone said this to me a few months ago- You speak French like a Spanish cow. I was too hurt and insulted at the time to think of a good comeback, but next time it happens I have one already ready "Well, you speak English like a French pig". So there.
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