September 18, 2012 Part 2

Today I had the mandatory medical exam, required by the Chinese government, to obtain my work visa.  It took place at a clinic designated specifically for this exam and it was a strange experience to say the least.  I was shuffled, half-naked, between 10 different rooms to receive all the components of the medical check.  Each part of the exam  (blood drawn, chest x-ray, ultrasound, height and weight, eye exam, blood pressure, etc.) was done by a different person.  30 minutes and 12 staff members later I was out the door!  The efficiency was actually kind of amazing.

Afterwards, Disney gave us the rest of the day off.  Still suffering under the jet lag I went back to my room to relax and later I decided to venture out on my own and walk around the neighborhood of my hotel.  Two blocks away is one of the largest parks in Shanghai: Zhongshan Park.  It is a lovely place filled with beautiful trees, lakes, and green fields.

There were lots of locals there doing typical Chinese park activities including...

Couples dancing.  I see middle aged and elderly people there doing this everyday, they even tango

There are large groups of men everywhere playing some kind of checkers game.  Two men play at a time and 10 or 12 men surround the game and kibitz 

                                                                                 Fishing!

 Seniors and middle aged people doing Tai Chi.  Exercise is very important in Chinese culture and there we senior citizens everywhere in this park doing fitness activities, sometimes even dropping randomly to do push-ups!

 Everywhere I looked there were grandparents with small children.  It's clear that the they dote on these sweet little ones.

Many, many toddlers wearing traditional "split pants".  (So if you don't know what this is it it's a common practice in both rural and urban China.  Parents either buy pants with a hole cut down the center seam or just cut one themselves.  The child wears these pants with no diapers and then poos and pees whenever and WHEREVER they want.  In the park today I actually saw a Westerner pull the pants off her 3 year old and let her pee right there on the grass in front of everyone.  Nobody batted an eye.)

 

 

So, so much singing in the park.  Random people with small head microphones and hand held speakers stood in park singing (not for money or anything...just singing!)  Also elderly people singing as they walk the grounds, and picnicking groups of college aged students taking turns standing and singing then applauding for each other. I watched one of these groups for a long time and eventually they started taking turns leading group games.  Some of the games were ones that I used to use in my classroom and watching them have fun made my heart hurt a little bit missing my dear SSA kids.

                                                        Men reading the newspaper

                            Kids taking roller blade lessons (man in the yellow is the instructor.)

                         Lots of musicians gathering to jam on traditional Chinese instruments. 
                                                 It was a lovely day to be in the park!

Before I go I want to mention that today is the 81st anniversary of the Japanese invasion of northeast China.  This is an event that is as fresh in the hearts of the Chinese as if it took place five years ago, and with the escalated tension over territory disputes between China and Japan all anyone is talking about are the potential protests that might happen in connection with this anniversary.  I saw nothing out of the ordinary today but have been hearing many dramatic stories.  Many Japanese businesses in China have closed down for a few days to avoid problems.  
I think it's hard for Americans to understand the intensity of the Chinese' feelings about Japan.  I can't imagine a teenager sitting in my class and weeping when she thinks about the attacks on Pearl Harbor...but that's exactly the kind of thing that happens on this date.  For some, the pain is still fresh four generations later.   
The week before I left for Shanghai I rented The Flowers of War from Redbox.  This is a Chinese film starring Christian Bale and it was the highest grossing film of 2011 in China.  It's based on an American book and takes place during the Nanking massacre, and event that killed 250,000-300,000 Chinese people.  The violence in the film is hard to watch but the story is totally absorbing.  It's incredibly grim but it gave me insight into the strained relationship between these two countries.  My heart goes out to the Chinese who are morning this terrible moment in their history.

     

September 18, 2012

Today I had an absolutely fabulous training day with Disney English!  It consisted of orienting ourselves with the history and traditions of the Disney company, extensive explanation of company policies, lunch with the new Chinese Assistant Trainers, an overview look at the goals and curriculum and sitting in on a demo lesson with an experienced Foreign Trainer and Assistant.

I found myself dumbfounded by the scope of the Disney company.  The possibilities for career advancement are endless and it sounds impossible but when you really look at all of the things Disney does it is clear that there is no corner of the globe that they haven’t touched.

Also, it might be silly but hearing the Disney songs, and seeing all of these iconic characters which are so familiar to me is so comforting.  I grew up with this stuff so it’s like going home again.

Still fighting the jet lag, during breaks we would run down to the Mr. Bean themed coffee shop.  I made Cam and Chelsea pose with the décor. (Neither of them was successful at looking like Mr. Bean but it was a noble attempt.)

Chelsea just spent the last year teaching English with EF in Guangzhou.  I almost chose to live in Guangzhou, after talking to Chelsea I’m glad that I didn’t.  When I started sending out applications to teach English, EF was my top choice…after talking to Chelsea, it’s clear Disney is a MUCH better fit.

Cam spent that last 8 years working at Disney World, primarily recruiting and training cast members from Australia and New Zealand.  Everything about him screams Disney (in the best possible way) and I have spent the past couple of days grilling him about his experiences working for the company.  He is so enthusiastic about everything Disney does and it makes me excited too. I’m totally jumping onto the Disney bandwagon.

After work, I wanted to try Chinese Hot Pot so I went with Krit and Chelsea to a place near our hotel.  On the tables there were large stone bowls attached to some kind of heating system that boils the broth and cooks everything right there in front of you.

No one in the restaurant spoke any English but we were able to select mushroom broth, potato noodles, lotus root, a mixed vegetable plate which turned out to be a bowl of lettuce and sprouts, and tofu.

We were happily eating when a mysterious black spongy thing bubbled to the top of the bowl.  What is it?  Maybe a mushroom?  Chelsea dared me to eat it so I fished it out of the bowl and put it on my plate, just as I was about to pop in my mouth I distinctly saw bone and then I realized....it was some kind of bird's foot!  We inspected the soup bowl more and managed to pull out FIVE birds' feet, I don't think they were from a chicken.
It's pretty funny that we ordered an entirely veggie meal and ended up with birds' feet.  In China, they don't really understand the concept of vegetarian.  Meat is synonymous with wealth so the general thought is if you can afford to eat meat why wouldn't you?  I've been here less than a week but already I've eaten some mystery meat morsels mixed in with my veggies, I'm glad I was able to avoid the feet...this time.  

September 17, 2012

What I did on Sunday....

I met up with friends for breakfast at the hotel but had to cut out early so I could make my Skype date with Kerry, Rachel and Kevin.  I miss you guys so much and wish you could be here to see all this crazy things I don't have time to blog about!  Then I met up with people in the lobby for a day out on the town.

 

 

My friend Krit is obsessed with this “tea” place called Coco where they make drinks that have gelatin pieces at the bottom of your cup.  Here I am drinking Lemon and green tea with cucumber jelly, the next day I had Mango with aloe jelly.

In Shanghai you see hundreds of bicycles and motor bikes everywhere... even on the escalator.

Last time I was in China I visited the Jade Buddha so I was eager to go to the next most popular place of worship; Jing’an Temple.  It was packed with locals worshiping ancestors and throwing coins into a 25 foot tall urn as a means of praying for financial success

Classic image of Buddhist Temple with Shanghai skyscrapers behind.  And I'm relieved to find blue sky!  My throat has been telling me that the air quality is not as good as I'm used to but it's much better than I expected. And though it's humid, the weather here has been breezy and beautiful!

A group of us went to Yu Gardens a famous shopping district that attracts lots of tourists.  Filled with everything from kitschy souvenirs to traditional Chinese medicines, it’s a good place to practice your haggling (I bought a watch for about $7.50 but I think I should’ve held out to pay less.)

                       The buildings here are not really old but look fanciful and traditional. The marketplace was a mad house so, since both Krit and I had been before, we broke off to find some lunch.

 

I ignored the CDC warning and ate street food.  Grilled Squid!

 

This is Krit ordering us the flat pancake on the right.  It was crispy, greasy and filled with chives, afterwards we found a quiet outer space themed noodle restaurant to sit and chat.  (By the way, when we walked up to order a female Chinese employee was standing on the stainless steel counter adjusting the overhead menu...my restaurant family would've freaked out.)

In places like NYC and Paris I’ve seen street vendors everywhere selling bags and scarves.  Here I see carts everywhere on the street selling food- especially fruits and vegetables.  This is Jackfruit but I see tons of watermelon and hot yams cooked on top of steel drums.

Later in the afternoon Krit, Tanya and I broke away and headed over to Shanghai Community Fellowship for church.  In 1996 China changed the law so that foreign passport holders are able to gather publicly and worship (Chinese Nationals must attend separate religious services.)  We were lucky to come on a day when they were focusing on welcoming new people.  I learned that this church has members from over 60 countries and it sounds like it’s population is pretty transient since it’s common for people to stay in China only 1-2 years. The sermon was all about living a life of purpose while you are in China.  The pastor kept emphasizing that you don’t have to come here and go into survival mode but rather, by connecting with a community and following the will of Christ you can thrive.  He said your year in China can be one of the best years of your life. What a cool message to hear my first week in China!

So far in Hangzhou (a city of 8 million) I’ve found one Christian church that holds services for foreigners but I won’t have much opportunity to attend because soon I will be working every Sunday.  I still hope to get involved in church activities but I’m seizing the chance to attend service while I’m in Shanghai.  

At the end of this very full day the jet lag hit me in a big way.  I ended up going to bed at 7:30pm and sleeping for 11 hours!  I'm hoping that my body adjusts soon and I can get myself on a regular schedule!