• Fireworks that go till the wee hours of the night, and then start again before the sun has risen. There is no way to get a decent amount of sleep when people light fireworks like this. People really have no respect for the sleeping habits of others. Classic mentality here: “It is 5am. I want to light fireworks. OK…good call. Let me walk out in front of the multi story apartment building where everyone is sleeping and set a few off.”
• Fireworks that have no purpose. The most basic firework out here is your long string of firecrackers. This long string of firecrackers also happens to be the most frequently used type of firework, which leaves me a bit confused. You see, these fireworks are not very attractive to look at. All they do is make a TON of noise and disturb everyone who happens to be close by. The people who light these fireworks also don’t really seem to care, as the frequent habit seems to be to light a string, walk far away, and then not pay attention at all. My question then is why spend the money to buy these fireworks!?!?!? Why light them off and disturb everyone around you!?!?!? You may as well just burn your money and blare an air horn at everyone in the surrounding area!!!
• Stupid television specials that EVERYONE watches and then complains about. OK. The Spring Festival Galas shown on Chinese T.V. are TERRIBLE. It seems that this is common knowledge out here. Every one sits through them year after year board as can be, yet comes back the next year for another dosage. I just don’t get it.
• Everyone uses the holiday as an excuse not to work. Your visa expired….no luck. You need to handle something at the bank….sorry buddy. You need a bottle of water…..no dice. Why is it EVERY business stops. I would understand if a good chunk closed up shop for a few days, but having every company close the doors for at least 8-10 days in NUTS!
• Transportation is so overbooked that you may as well give up before even thinking about traveling. EVERYONE in China seems to head back to their family home in another city. Train tickets get sold out weeks in advance. Highways become a trafficy mess. Plane tickets are overpriced and also sold out. It is basically impossible to get anywhere unless you are willing to pay through the nose and suffer through an uncomfortably overbooked mess.

John at Sinosplice created a similar post about why he hates Chinese new year, and I think it is right on the money. A good read if you have the time:
10 Reasons I Hate Chinese New Year

Anyway….sorry to put a negative spin on this as I try to wish everyone a happy new year. I wound up spending New Year’s Eve with Leo and his family. We ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, 浴园广场, and then lit fireworks at both Leo’s school and at 康丽. I always enjoy how chaotic 12 midnight is, and this year was no exception. It seemed like the city had become a total warzone as everyone was lighting fireworks at the same time. No matter what direction you looked, there were multi-colored explosions that filled the sky. Truly a uniquely Chinese situation

To wrap this up…..HAPPY YEAR OF THE PIG TO ALL

Things here are going quite well and I will try to start posting to the blog regularly to fill you in on all the new stuff. Christmas has been…..ummm….painful. I detest the Chinese version of the holiday in which people do nothing but spend cash.  Many people think that the holiday in the states has been comercialized.  The holiday in China is at a whole other level.  I detest the shopping centers that have transformed the day into a spend-a-thon via dozens of sales and promotions, and I detest all the hotels that offer banquets at 10 times the normal price. Anyway, we are almost through the holiday season, and life will be back to normal (until Chinese New Year starts )

My love to all…..

Andy

My vonage box has been broken for about a month now (long story), so I haven’t been able to keep in touch with many of you back home. The new box has been shipped out and will hopefully get here soon.

Today’s quirky fact is this: My friend’s company had some workers go home for the holidays. He needed to find some part time workers to fill the night shift from 6pm to 10pm. He decided to advertise at the local university, and found many students willing to take the job at the offered salary. He was able to pick and choose the best of the bunch, and when one didn’t work out, he brought a different one in. The stated salary, however, is what cracked me up. For 4 hours of labor, the students were paid 5 RMB. That works out to be $0.16 US an hour. I was shocked when I found this out, and didn’t believe that there were that many students looking for that type of work, but I guess there are, and they were happy to have the salary!!!???!!!!

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

• 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).

After clearing customs and getting my bags, I met Dad and Krista, who were waiting for me just outside. It was great seeing them again, and they really hadn’t changed.

Our first stop was In-n-Out Burger. I couldn’t believe how different it was from a Chinese restaurant. We waited in line patiently, no one screamed at the waiters, and then we waited around for our food.
Once I got used to the fact that everything was different, I really enjoyed the burger, which I’d been craving for so long. It was great to sit outside and watch the airplanes landing at LAX while we ate.

The very next morning, at 4 a.m., we caught a flight to Telluride, CO. We had to first fly to Denver and then take a very small airplane (Beech 1900) into Telluride. I really enjoyed the flight because the cockpit didn’t have a door and I could watch what the pilots were doing and see the view ahead.

The view, once we got to Telluride, was amazing. The air was extremely fresh and my jaw kept dropping at the beautiful mountains and natural features of the countryside. We had a nice Mexican lunch, which I hadn’t had in forever. Our hotel, which was more of a house than a hotel, was huge and amazing. It had a wonderful kitchen, huge TV, wireless Internet, and a private Jacuzzi. I unfortunately wound up spending a lot of time there, as I got sick on the second day. Everyone actually got sick, including my little brother Mikey.

My sister Rachel arrived three days later. Dad, Krista and I went to pick her up at the airport. I couldn’t believe the reaction I got when she saw me. She let out a huge scream, ran over and gave me a great hug. She was visibly excited, as was I. We quickly caught up, discussed our lives, and got right back into our old routine.

Over the next few days, we spent many hours watching movies, playing games, taking pictures and just catching up. It was a great trip, great environment, and the company was great. It is very nice to be home, but I definitely miss China, my apartment, my Chinese friends, and definitely my girlfriend, 申琦.

The problem was that the train times were not ideal. There was a 2:20 PM train that got to Beijing around 5:10 PM, but I was worried that with Beijing’s horrendous rush hour traffic that I wouldn’t make my flight. The next earlier train was at 11:00 AM, getting to Beijing at around 2:00 PM. This meant that I would have 6 hours in Beijing before my flight left. I would be safe, but have some time to kill. This made the most sense to me.

My teacher Mary and my maid Wu Jie met me at my house around 10:00 AM. Wu Jie brought some jian bing for breakfast, which we ate before leaving for the train station at around 10:40 AM. Getting into the train station was, as usual, fun. There were 200 people trying to fit through the only door out of 3 that was open. Mary and I found our seats on the train without problem, but when I moved the bag of the guy sitting next to make room for mine on the overhead rack, he through a big fit and got all pissed….ahhhh yes…..this is why I need some time in the states. Instead of moving his bag 6 inches to the left, he prefered that I crush it under mine. Go figure.
The train was completely full, and there were people standing in the aisles. I have still not understood why tickets without seats cost the same price as those with seats. I managed to sleep a bit on the train, and the 3 hours to Beijing passed quickly.

Getting a cab from the Beijing train station took 30 minutes. The system there is even worse than the one at the Shanghai airport. There is an actual line, but only 1 exit from the line. The cabs pull up, 3 people walk back to the first 3 cabs, load them, and then another 3 people from the line of hundreds take their turn.  It takes 20 seconds for the first cab to leave, 40 seconds for the second one to leave, and 60 seconds for the third one to leave.  Lather, rinse, repeat as my patience wears thin.
From the train station, we went to a hotel that had a restaurant recommended by my friend Leo. When we got there, however, they had closed for the afternoon. DOH! We walked across the street and managed to find a REALLY good restaurant. I can’t remember the name of it though.

After lunch, we headed for the airport bus which ran every 15 minutes. It cost 16 RMB a person ($2 US) and took just over an hour to get to the airport. I arrived at the airport with plenty of time, but once again found myself in a grossly understaffed area. The line to check in for my flight had over 100 people waiting, and 2 agents working. There was a first class area with 3 agents and no clients, a group area with 2 agents and 1 client, and a special services area with 4 agents and no customers. The kicker, however, was that behind the 2 agents checking in my flight, there were about 9 employees just watching and chatting. GREAT PRODUCTIVITY china airlines!  For each person in the line, it took about 8 minutes once it was their turn.  I couldn’t believe how slowly it went.  That is probably why the flight eventually left late.
When I finally got to the front of the line, the agent spoke such poor English that I couldn’t even follow what she was trying to tell me, let alone convey anything to her. I finally just started speaking in Chinese, and things got done right away.  Very strange for someone working a flight headed to Los Angeles, consisting almost entirely of Americans.
Security wasn’t bad and about an hour and a half later, I boarded the plane. The first thing I noticed when I stepped onto the plane, however, was that it was EXTREMELY hot. The 747 was full (300+ people) and didn’t have an air conditioner that they could use on the ground. Now for those of you that don’t know, the temperature in Beijing can reach nearly 100 Fahrenheit during the summer, which is not comfortable at all. The flight got started late, which meant I sweated profusely for over an hour in that metal tube. Grrrr. My clothing was dripping wet by the time we got airborne, and in no time, the cabin had cooled to about the temperature of a meat locker (the perfect climate for my now wet clothing).

I had the aisle seat of the middle section, and sat next to a cute Chinese kid. Before I knew it, he was joking with me and helping me with my homework. We watched 1 movie during the roughly 13 hour flight.  It was called Firewall and stared Harrison Ford.

The movie wasn’t too bad, my homework wasn’t too tough, and before I knew it, we were making our approach to Los Angeles …….