The flight was also not full and I had an aisle seat in the middle with no one sitting next to me. I was able to sleep a bit on the flight and we made it to Beijing right on time. I got my bags, and met dandan from my school and the drivers who were going to take me back to Shijiahzuang. I decided that since I was getting in so early and had sooo much baggage that I didn’t want to hassle with the train. Normally taking the train home winds up being 6-7 hours from the time you leave the airport. Taking a car made the trip a much more comfortable 3 hour ordeal, with no baggage lugging at all

I got back to Shijiazhuang and saw Shenqi after nearly a month and a half apart. It was the longest we had been apart since we met back in December 05, and we had a lot of catching up to do. My maid Wu Jie came by and cooked us a big lunch including my favorite shrimp dish. Being in the states, I didn’t get Chinese food anywhere near as good as the stuff she cooks.

I was shocked at how quickly I feel back into the Chinese language groove. During the first hour speaking was tough, but within a day I felt I was roughly at the same level as when I left. Sweet.

Since then, I have been busy catching up with everyone and getting back into my routine.  I am trying to get started doing some business out here, which has kept me REALLY busy. Things are just begining, and I am thus not going to post details here yet, but I will be sure to do a full write up with all the details once things get locked down

During my time in China, I didn’t manage to see a single team sporting event, and going to the Dodger game really reminded me of how much I enjoyed it. It was great to watch the game, eat a dodger dog and choclate malt, and spend time with my Dad and Sister. The game was a great game that went until the 15th inning. We didn’t stay until the end, but it was fun nonetheless.

• Seeing my family (dad, mom, sister Rachel, step mom Krista, step brother Mikey, Grammy Elaine, and Grandma Alice)
• Seeing a number of my friends – Justin Klein (you can read his take on our get-together here), John Medina, Jeremy Sultan, Susanna Hyatt, Chuck McGill, Ross, Davide, Madeline, etc. and talking with many others
• Flying my old airplane
• Taking some great pictures
• Riding horses with my sister and Dad up at Will Rogers’ park
• Swimming at the Brentwood country club
• Taking a family trip up to Telluride, Colorado
• Eating some In-N-Out and many other things that I had been craving
• Shopping for all the stuff I can’t find in China
• Visiting the Getty Center
• Showing everyone pictures of my girlfriend Shenqi, and seeing everyone else’s pictures
• Drinking some good Italian wine
• etc.

While all of this has been really nice, I miss China, my friends, my house, my girlfriend 申琦, and my life there. The U.S. and everyone here just seem so foreign to me now. I am having a lot of trouble getting used to the slower pace of life in general here, the MUCH higher price of everything, and, I can’t believe I am saying it, but how inefficient many things are. When I first got to China, I would have never dreamed of saying that America was less efficient, but in some aspects it is quite true. I can’t stand how long it takes to wait in lines here, shop, pay for things, wait in restaurants, etc. Having an unlimited cheap labor force really makes many things run faster in China. I had to valet my car today when I went to visit my dad’s new office, and the valet took 5 minutes to get to me, get me a ticket, and take my car. I couldn’t believe it, but it wasn’t like it was anything weird by U.S. standards. That situation just doesn’t occur in China. I then waited 30 minutes for a table, only to get served SLOOOWWWWLY by a waitress who was overloaded and couldn’t handle all her tables. It took forever to order, get our food, get a check, and get change. I missed China.

Also, making plans with people requires much more notice and planning than it does in China. If I want to meet with someone in China, it happens that day, not a week later. There is no telephone tag, schedule checking, planning, etc. It just happens. Everything for the most part is on a much more accelerated schedule.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not saying that everything about China is better. All I am saying is that there are a few things about life there that I really really miss.

I have a few more days here in L.A., and then Labor Day weeked in Las Vegas before I fly back to China. I intend to savor every minute of my time here in the states, but will definitely be happy to get back to 中国 (China).

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I had some time to do this assignment and decided to try and get it done in advance so that I might actually have a chance to modify or re-shoot if necessary. My photographer friend Ross came over to help me figure out the best way to shoot this. I had thought of either shooting the dining room or living room, and decided on trying to shoot the living room and highlight the two grand pianos.

Getting both grand pianos in the picture, the scene properly lit, and no funky distracting shadows turned out to be impossible. We decided to go to plan B and shoot the living room and back into the dining room. While this wouldn’t feature the two grand pianos, this was much easier as there were no harsh reflections or shadows to tame.

We setup one Canon 580EX clamped to the curtain above the flowers. This was pointing down onto the flowers to the right. Another Canon 580EX was set on top of a book shelf in the dining room just out of frame to camera left. It was bounced off the ceiling illuminating the dining room. A third Canon 580EX was fired into a silver Westcott 2002 umbrella to camera left and high up on a stand on a table. The umbrella was pointed at the couch and table to illuminate the overall scene. You can see the overall setup in these two shots:

My final exposure settings were 28mm f/6.3 1/30s at ISO 640.

Here is the origonal unlit shot, followed by the final shot:

Technical Details:
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Digital
Lens: Canon 24-105 F/4.0 L IS USM
Memory Card: Ritek Pro-2 8GB
Wireless Device (x4): Pocket Wizard Plus II
Flash(x3): Canon Speedlite 580EX
Umbrella: Westcott 2002 Silver
All images shot in RAW
Used Adobe Camera RAW to convert to JPG

Many thanks to my buddy Ross,

-Andy
http://www.andrewstrauss.net

Anyway, a few things led me to want to head home for a few weeks (in no particular order):

1. My step brother Mikey, who is just over a year old, has really grown up while i have been away. When I left, he was a tiny little guy who couldn’t even crawl. Now he is talking, walking, and eating solid food. He has gotten much bigger and heavier, and I generally feel as though I am missing a huge part of his development
2. The little things that I don’t like about China are getting on my nerves more and more and I am finding that I am focusing on them and taking for granted all the things I love about this country. A little time at home will help put things in perspective and remind me of how much I really do love this place
3. I miss western food. It isn’t that there are a ton of things that I miss, or that Chinese food isn’t good (It is VERY good), but more that I am craving a few specific items. A good hamburger tops the list right now. I have yet to find one here in 石家庄(shíjiāzhuāng). The other foods I have been missing (mac & cheese, Mexican food, potato salad, etc.) are not quite as critical, but will definitely be consumed while I am at home.
4. Shopping. I can find most of the things I need here with the exception of English books, specific movies, sticky Velcro, and some photo equipment
5. I miss my friends and family
6. I miss flying
7. I miss driving
8. I need a break from studying ~6 hours a day. I think that coming back refreshed will allow me to restart and continue at a faster pace.
9. I want to go out and not have to speak Chinese for a whole day
10. I am sick of bargaining for EVERYTHING I buy.

So if you will be around and would like to catch up, shoot me a line and we will meet up. See you all back in the states ….

pool and swimming

• I have started to swim laps in the pool under my school
• I started only being able to do 5 out-and-backs in a row….that was REALLY tough for me
• Before I left for the US, however, I got to the point where I could do 5 sets of 5
• I had to buy a Chinese bathing suit since I didn’t bring one from America. Chinese bathing suits are rather tight fitting and some people would even refer to them as banana hammocks. I feel strange wearing it, but I sort-of fit in

coming back to the USA for new years

• My teacher Michael went with me to Beijing to see me off
• I go the flight times wrong so we had time to wander around and see a few of the sights (tiananmen square)
• The Chinese airport was WAY chaotic, and they asked me a dozen questions, but it worked out
• The flight home was long, but I slept, watched movies, and listened to my mandarin MP3s.
• In Canada, I went through US customs so that the Vancouver-Los Angeles flight was “domestic”
• The x-ray guy in Canada was Chinese and saw me wearing my HUGE green Chinese army jacket and started speaking Chinese He was amazed when I was able to respond
• When I got to LA, my sister and her friends Rishi and Justin were there to meet me
• They were cool enough to bring me the thing I had been craving most – an in-n-out burger
• They, however, had a Laker game to get to and couldn’t stick around . I wanted to go, but was dead tired and needed to work on College apps. My goal was to finish them before going to Japan

Vegas New Years

• I flew out to Vegas with my dad, Krista, and my little bro Mikey. We met my sister’s friends Bobby and Chris at the airport and took a limo to the hotel
• The idea was that a dozen of my sister Rachel’s friends would fly in from all over the world and celebrate her [belated] 21st birthday and new years at the same time
• We stayed at the Rio in a 2 bedroom palazzo and 3 other suites
• Dad, Krista, Mikey, and the Nanny took 1 bedroom in the Palazzo, Rachel, Minali, and Stefi took the other bedroom, and the guys all shared the suites
• We used the palazzo as a meeting area
• Over the 4 days, we saw Cirque Du Soleil’s o-show, had numerous Texas-hold-em games, a few spa visits, a TON of craps sessions, and more meals than I can remember
• On the last day, both Ross and I got really sick, and both threw up a number of times
• Basically everything that was in my body came out some way or another, and then for 4 or 5 days, my body needed to “refill” and nothing came out

I drove back to L.A. with Scott, Zack, Ross, and Rishi

• Scott drove the Mercedes while Rachel drove my Explorer
• We hit 120mph out in the middle of the desert
• There was a TON of traffic so we spent around 8 hours driving home, stopping once for gas and once for in-n-out burgers
• It really reminded me of how much nicer it is to be able to fly your own plane out there

Two days later, Rachel, my Mom, and I went to Hawaii

• My mom flew from Boulder, Colorado and met us at LAX, where we flew to Oahu (Honolulu)
• My aunt Terry picked us up at the airport and took us to their condo in Waianai, one of the few cities that is still mostly native Hawaiian
• We had rented another condo in their complex so that there would be room for all of us
• The condo was right on the beach and had an AMAZING view.
• During the 5 days in Hawaii, I spent 3 solid days trapped in the room working on my applications
• I finished all the essays and spent 2 days just relaxing.
• It was great to get a chance to see my aunt Terry and uncle Gary again, but I was sad to have missed my cousin Summer who had just left for Europe to play professional Volleyball (She just signed to the Austrian team….Congratulations )

Back to LA

• I spent a day hanging out with Dad, Krista, and Rachel before they left for Palm Springs and the Bob Hope Desert Classic golf tournament
• I had wanted to have dinner with my friend Susanna Hyatt but she was too busy and couldn’t drive down from San Francisco
• I did get a chance to see John Medina (el viejo) which was fun. We spent almost 2 hours conversing only in Spanish. It reminded me of how much Spanish I have forgotten, and how much Chinese I have learned

Then it was off to JAPAN!!!……………………

cell phone expenditure – about 20 yuan a month ($2.50).

• China is all prepaid which makes it easy

lunch w/ Aaron, Willa, and Ivy at restaurant with a giant seal in the center

• You could go up and feed it or give it a kiss.
• other tanks with crabs, lobster, fish, eel, shark, etc.
• Dining so close to a seal was very strange

buying gloves w/ Michael

• had to get the biggest ones they had, but they were still too small
• not very thick, but only cost 7 yuan (Just under $1)

I went with Ivy to get my hair cut

• There was a funny looking Chinese guy with a leather shirt and leather pants
• He had this leather fanny pack “thing” over his crotch with 20 combs, scissors, and other instruments
• The shop was kinda grungy, but not too bad, and it turned out fine in the end
• I am usually really picky about my hair and had been worried about getting it cut in China.
• I was glad Ivy went with me to translate and alleviate my fear
• The cut took an hour, and cost 10 yuan (just over $1)

I am starting to feel a lot more confident with my Chinese

• I have mainly only learned tones and pronunciation, which may sound strange, but the same word pronounced slightly differently or with a different tone is like saying horse instead of small and makes no sense, even though in English both would mean the same thing.
• I am finding that the grammar is much easier than I would have thought, but the pronunciation and tones are much more difficult
• At one point, I wrote nine Chinese words on the board, and the 70 Italian “words” that you needed to express the same things
• I can say many basic things now, and pronounce everything in Chinese if it is written in pinyin
• I am able to have very long (but simple) conversations with Chinese people that don’t speak English if they speak slowly
• Now that I am able to pronounce the language, I need to start to “learn” the language
• I know about 35 characters at this point, but don’t really care about learning the characters as I mainly want to learn how to speak

popcorn vendor

• It is very common to see popcorn stands on the street where they make different types of popcorn to order
• Flavors: chocolate, butter, strawberry, apple, pineapple, etc.
• got strawberry flavor, and chocolate with butter which was my favorite – it tasted more like marsh-mellow than anything else….mmmmm….marsh-mellow popcon

flute concert

• I went to a flute concert at the university with a Chinese girl named golden and two other American friends
• When we walked in, everyone stopped talking and stared at us. We were more of an attraction than the performers
• People were taking tons of pictures and running up to the stage and flashing the performers
• There were two guys who played beautiful music, but the speakers were way too loud for the room
• The audience was not respectful at all – talking and making noise, going in and out
• after every song, people would run up to the stage and give the performers flowers, and sometimes they would put a flower lei around the performers while they played
• After the show, we got to go back stage and meet performers, try the instruments, and take pictures

Bath house insanity

• I spent 20 hours one week getting massages
• for $10 US, I get 3 hours of massage, dinner, unlimited tea, and use of one of the cleanest spas I have ever seen
• I get an hour long foot massage every day, and an hour on two other body parts (feet + arms + legs, feet + head + shoulders, etc.)
• It is great because it is 3 hours with a native speaker who has to sit there and talk with you. This serves the same purpose as a conversation class, but costs less and includes a 3 hour massage
• I have the stupidest conversations (IE what is you favorite color, what color is this, etc.), but doing it every day has REALLY improved my Chinese

Xmas in china

• It is very common to create log cabins in entry halls, so when my bath house got theirs, they wanted me to decorate it with some American things.
• I decided to write my name, and draw a few Jewish stars and a menorah
• My buddy Aaron and I also bought Santa Claus outfits from the states to wear around town
• Everywhere we went, we got mobbed by kids
• At one point, we went to buy something in a large supermarket and a circle of 50 Chinese people could not stop starring at us
• I spent Xmas with my friend Leo and his family at Jazz Island Coffee.
• Leo asked me what I typically ate for Xmas and I didn’t know what to say so I just said Turkey. Leo than decided to have a Turkey flown in special from America just for us. It cost him 580 kuai (about $125, and more than a typical monthly salary here) and led to some hilarity. You see, Turkey isn’t common in China so they don’t really understand the difference between chicken and turkey. A lot of the time, they say Chicken when referring to Turkey. They also don’t learn the word chicken, but are more often taught the word cock, and use this to refer to Chicken. Anyway, I asked Leo why he had to have a turkey flown in from America and why not some place closer like New Zealand or Australia, and as he doesn’t speak English very well, he thought I was asking about why he just didn’t get a Chinese Turkey. He struggled with how to form the right sentence for a few seconds and then started to scream at the top of his lungs so that the whole restaurant could hear him “Chinese cock is very small, American cock is very big!” Now this was sooo funny for me and my American friends as Leo is a big Chinese guy and was banging his fists on the table screaming this repeatedly
• The Xmas story is also very different here. There is a lady who wants to get married but doesn’t have enough money, so Santa Claus, AKA a generic old man, puts gold in a stocking she hung over her fire place