Our blog...for your eyes only...

Well, Stacey and I enjoyed a solid three week run with our basic American rights. We have really had a good time posting our experiences and receiving feedback from many of you. There is a definite sense of satisfaction after posting a story, then pulling up the blog and examining how it looks in print. Sadly, we have discovered it is ok to "wok the wok", but "talk'n the talk" is not always allowed out here. Just last week we tried opening our blog only to find the dreaded, "The page cannot be displayed" notation. Upon encountering this message in the U.S. one might assume the server is down, traffic on the site is too high, etc., but when you find that message here it means one thing: the Big Firewall in the Sky says you can't look at it. While I'm not sure our "investigative reports" have been very hard-hitting, I guess we'll just make-do with what we have. We will continue to do our best at presenting the sights and stories we come across during our adventures and hopefully they will look ok on the main page--as we won't be able to proofread the blog any longer.

More Faces & Places

(1) "I Love You" and "I Know" t-shirts. I snapped this shot in Shanghai. Couples in China love wearing matching outfits or at least outfits which compliment and/or complement each other.



(2) People's Square, Shanghai.



(3) People's Square, Shanghai.



(4) & (5) Little boy and his mom on the hectic streets of Shanghai.





More postings to come soon! Derek and I still need to upload pictures of all the tourist sites we hit when we were here for our one-week-pre-move-visit in June (2006).

And we also have some great shots of Shanghai to share with you all from our trip there last weekend. What a fantastic city!

Faces & Places

(1) The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) in the distance. Many locals spend their free time walking around on these grounds, dancing, playing music and selling Rolexes.



(2) The Chinese KFC Colonel. The funniest thing about this picture is that there is a real KFC ten yards down from this pseudo-KFC.



(3) The extremely fresh markets of Wangfujing. One can find anything from fresh frog legs ready to be fried, to chicken feet, to scorpions on a stick (which are still alive).



(4) An alley near Tiananmen Square.



(5) No rain, but even when it is sunny there are umbrellas everywhere to protect the local ladies from the harsh sun. Try climbing the Great Wall with hundreds of umbrellas beside you on a clear sunny day.

Beijing's Face-Lift

The one thing every visitor will notice about Beijing is the tremendous amount of construction taking place in the city.

As deemed by the government, all building must be completed by the end of 2007--in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Everywhere you turn, there are cranes! The two shots shown below were taken from the window of my dad's hotel room during his visit. Derek counted 22 cranes.

I have also included a close-up shot of a typical Beijing apartment complex. Having a single-family home is extremely rare. Generally speaking, only for expats along the 6th ring is such a large home possible. Instead, usually three generations cram into an apartment much like the one pictured.

This complex is considered above average. It sits just half a block down from our apartment and the building itself is only 15 years old. However, with poor upkeep and much pollution, the structure appears much older than its actual age.

And prior to the establishment of these more modern apartments over the course of the last couple of decades, the even older neighborhoods--called Hu Tongs--better reflect traditional Chinese architecture. Derek and I hope to post pictures of these neighborhoods shortly. Unfortunately, due to Beijing's strong desire to become more modern, Hu Tongs are of a dying breed.

10/5/06-10/9/06 Our First Visitor

Of course...it's Dad!

With only one relative in Beijing (my second cousin, Denise, who just happens to also be studying Chinese here--she moved to China from NYC in late August 2006) and none of our friends around, it was great having a visitor so early on in our stay.

Much of our time together was spent attending business meetings with my dad. It was a great lesson for both Derek and I on how to conduct business in China (especially with respect to the importance of developing guan (first tone) xi (fourth tone)--meaning relationships). Many of the meetings took place over a 10 course meal. So by the time my dad left, Derek and I must have gained 10 pounds each...easily.

We also had the opportunity to visit an orphanage/foster care facility that my dad has been active with here in Beijing. What an awesome place. I would encourage everyone to visit their website and to read about their mission--it is just incredible: http://www.philiphayden.org/

The pictures below (except for the dinner shot) were taken in the China World Hotel, a very popular hot spot for those conducting business in Beijing and all high-ranking political officials.

Another Gorgeous View

And here is the view from our living room. This construction project involves an extension of the existing Beijing subway system. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the city is building a bullet train from just outside of our apartment to the airport (which is otherwise a 30 minute drive barring any traffic).

The city of Beijing (population 15 million people) consists of 6 rings which encircle the city. In the center, the Forbidden City forms the first ring. From there, in a concentric manner, each ring gets larger and larger as it expands out from the Forbidden City. We live on the northeast corner of the third ring road, close to the Central Business District and much of the action.

The View

Here is the view from our guest bedroom. Gorgeous, isn't it? As you can see, more apartment complexes are being built in addition to some restaurants and shops. The workers work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Much of the machinery they use is quite primitive, but they get the job done.

Apartment Photos

As you can see, we have an extra bedroom. So if you are interested in coming for a visit, we would love to have you.

More Apartment Photos

And here is Derek showing off the two things he loves: Frosted Flakes and Newcastle. And the one thing he is lukewarm about: studying.

Booties

Here I am demonstrating how to put on the outerwear bootie one would need to wear if they were to enter any Beijing home with their shoes on.

Apartment Photos

Here I am chatting on Skype. It has been awesome talking to many of you from back home. Derek and I encourage all of you to give us a call on our 612 area code Skype number. It works just like any other Minneapolis 612 number, there are no extra charges. So pick up the phone and give us a call--it works like any other phone-to-phone call. And don't worry about waking us up, if our computer isn't on, voicemail will pick up so feel free to leave us a message and we will give you a call back. And if you don't have our number, we can email it to you--so just drop us a line.

Home Sweet Home

Welcome to our home. It came fully furnished and is a brand new unit. Although it doesn't represent our decor, we are very grateful to have found such an up-to-date apartment.

Unfortunately, even though we are the unit's first residents, the place was absolutely filthy when we arrived (even after a thorough cleaning by the landlord). Much of the furniture was covered in soot, the floors were incredibly dusty, and the bathroom was wretched.

But after days of cleaning, it is now definitely livable. However, with all the construction taking place around our building, there is a never-ending supply of dust and dirt seeping in through our windows and air conditioning units on a daily basis. Beijing is so dusty that if Derek and I were to wear our shoes inside our apartment, dirt tracks could be visibly seen throughout. Not a zen environment for a clean freak like myself.

Overall, many of the buildings and their units within are not well kept. With the wear and tear of pollution and overall poor upkeep, many of the structures are rundown and appear much older than they actually are.

The Courtyard

More photos of the courtyard.

The Courtyard

Here are some pictures of our apartment complex.

9/11/06 Move-In Day

So we moved in on Monday. A crazy process. Not only is there the hassle of a move...but there is the purchase of hot water, electricity, gas, and "flushing" water prior to moving in. And it's not like you pay a fee, you need to tell the agencies (and I use the term loosely because they are located all over the place including--the basement of our building, the bank down the block, another bank across the street, etc.) how much of each commodity you want for the month. Which leads us to, how many flushes do Derek and I go through on a weekly basis? Seriously, how are we supposed to know the answer to such a question? So, I guessed. The employee helping me laughed...and said the amount I stated should be enough to last Derek and I 6 months.

PS--we have two "flushers" on our toilet (one is for #1s and one is for #2s), so when you all come and visit please use them accordingly.

PPS--Derek is now watching a special on Taiwan Pigeon Racing, apparently it's a multimillion dollar business...so I guess we are now raising pigeons.

9/7/06 There's No Place Like Home, Because We Cannot Find One

A comfortable home is hard to find. Apart from poor upkeep of the units themselves and of the actual buildings, Derek and I are having a heck of a time finding an apartment because of Beijing's different sense of decor. No longer can I retreat to my safe haven of the Pottery Barn. Instead, the furniture is either super traditional oriental furniture that is made out of wood (not comfy) or hideous "modern" furniture that is framed in black wood with either red, purple or gold colored cushions. But as Derek positively spins it, if we do a combination of purple and gold it would be his Viking's dream room. Shoot me now.

Other units have been decorated with very dangerous looking samurai swords. Derek's positive spin on those units is that we could pretend to be ninjas. I'm Leonardo and Derek is Donatello. Turtles in a half shell, turtle power.

8/30/06 Wo men dao le (We Have Arrived)

Beijing greetings to our family and friends!

We (and our 6 pieces of luggage--sigh of relief) have arrived in China. Derek and I sincerely apologize for the delayed launch of our much anticipated blog. As many of you already know, we left our digital camera back in Minnesota--in the depths of our storage unit. Derek was especially bummed because he was looking forward to documenting each step of our journey, including our reenactment of Snakes on a Plane starring our gummy worms. However, my loving brother, agreed to traverse the complicated maze of our packed locker in order to rescue our camera. Thank you, Gavin.

A 15'x20' Cell

and packed up our belongings...

This process was absolute torture. After many sleepless nights, empty stomachs, sore backs, drained brains (from configuring and RECONFIGURING the unit) and some bickering--we barely fit our three bedroom home into a 15'x20' storage locker.

Goodbye South Minneapolis

We sold our house...

8/28/06 Getting Off The Bus!

A term coined during our quarter-life-crisis Spring Break vacation in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico (2006).

On a spotty showered morning, five of us spring breakers ventured into Playa del Carmen. After a day filled with shopping, exploring and Coronas, night set in as did the looming storms. It began to downpour, and the group meandered to the local bus station in order to purchase five return tickets back to Puerto Aventuras.

It was on el autobus where Derek and I met our inspiration: Michael, the Canadian importer/exporter. Backpack in hand, he had arrived in Playa earlier that day. With no plans or reservations scheduled, all that was confirmed was Michael's airline ticket from Costa Rica back to Canada three months later. From that point in time until his departure from Central America, nothing was planned.

After learning more about Michael's upcoming trip, he inquired as to our occupations. With none of our responses being in or around the same ballpark as his traveling importing and exporting status, his look was despondent, as if immediately bored with us.

And that is when the five of us got off the bus--pushing our way from the back of the packed vehicle in order to free ourselves onto the rain soaked streets of Playa del Carmen.

The evening was filled with 1980s jams, dancing in the rain and adventure. Adventure which confirmed the cliche that the best fun is unplanned fun.

Derek and I have always toyed with the thought that if the occasion arose, we would jump on the next bus to adventure. But after getting off the bus in Playa, we decided to take the plunge and actively create our own portal to adventure. And so here we are, a hemisphere away from home...