What are you allergic to?

There’s no better way to follow the digestive discussion, than one on allergies. To my knowledge, I have never had an allergic reaction. That all changed as I was happily noticing my digestive difficulties seemed to be subsiding.

Yesterday I awoke in the middle of the night with rashes breaking out in multiple areas of my body. They were quite bothersome, and especially considering I did not see a Chinese Translation for Benedryl in my dictionary. After a somewhat restless night, and much time spent pondering what I had eaten recently, I was able to get help from people at work. While they had no idea what Benedryl was, they immediately understood when I raised my shirt sleeve and they saw the inflamed red dots.

One of my co-workers insightfully pointed out I must be allergic to something-I responded that I thought he was right without punching him…

Two of the women in the office took me to the local pharmacy and I picked up something that was supposed to help. As all instructions were in Chinese, I didn’t know if I was taking Viagra, or a possibly morphine, but as long as it calmed the itching I was OK with any other side effects.

Whatever it was, it kicked in almost immediately. While the itching started to sub-side, I was suddenly incredibly tired. During the afternoon session, I had difficulty keeping my eyes open, and felt like I might have had a few drinks. As it was Saturday anyway, I made the decision to cut the day short. I could tell those in my class were actually a little glad I had broken out like Will Smith in Hitched…

It’s back to the airport, as I am heading back to South China for next week. I did go out and do some sightseeing in Shanghai. Spent quite a bit of time along the river and "areas in the middle of the city. Shanghai is much more westernized than the other areas. I was amazed at the sheer size and scope of the “Supermall”. It was 5 stories and the size of a regular mall all the way down. Tons of Starbucks, and other western treats, including an authentic O’Malley’s, and even the 1st Hooters in China… as I demand authenticity, I had to have a beverage at each to ensure authenticity and quality. I was not disappointed.
One last note- I never did figure out what caused my allergic reaction. I have narrowed it down to some of the Chicken and Rice, or squid I had tried. My next theory has to do with the laundry detergent. In any case, I have extra Viagra/Morphine on standby in case I have some again.

Let's talk about the Digestive Tract

All of you who know me knew this one was coming...

Up until this point, I have purposefully refrained from discussing the end results or outcomes of some of my more adventurous dining experiences.

It all caught up to me this week. In a scene from the worst Pepto Bismol episode you have ever seen, I have spent many moments this week paying homage to the porcelean gods. I have quietly pledged many sacrifices in exchange for a return to normalcy in the digestive area...

Without sharing the more intimate details, the situation has been worsened by logistics in several areas. There are many toilets that have no seat. Instead, the Chinese somehow hover over an open hole, and precede to take care of business. They are no magazine racks, or reading material of any kind. I won't even get into how your leg and buttock muscles begin to cramp, keeping your balance is even a bigger challenge. There were several times yesterday I throughout a vein would burst in my head as I attempted to remain vertical to a hole in the ground. There's not even handlebars or poles you can lean on for support...in any event, all good things do ultimately pass, and I'm starting to feel better-

I am back in Shanghai through the weekend conducting training. The weather here is fantastic, and the air quality is much better. I arrived last night and had another exciting travel experience. Small items taken for granted include finding your gate, picking up your ticket, and/or communicating with gate agents as most signage and no people provide English help depending on the location.

While I noted it in a previous post, Shanghai is massive. After my flight I was trying to pick up a taxi, and the line was longer than any Disney line I've ever seen. (The novelty of my arrival in China has worn off, so the local team no longer sends a car-either that or I have found a way to greatly offend or insult...)

The Taxi line took my 1 hour and 15 minutes to navigate, almost as long as my entire flight from Guangzhou-an industrial engineer could re-arrange and cut the wait to 15 minutes in about a day.

Loving Shanghai though-
All of you watch what you eat, -and especially not the worms-

Basketball anyone???

In an especially humiliating episode, it was the first time I had ever played basketball and been the tallest person on the court. I felt especially confident as I entered this pick-up game. While no one spoke much English, the universal "let's get ready to rumble" was ringing clearly from the anxious crowd...

Most people would assume that due to my size and obvious athletic abilities (go with me on this one)- that I might dominate a pick-up game of basketball in China. Let's face it, we have been playing basketball for years in the US, and it is a relatively new Phenomenon in the mainland. (Yao Ming is huge...) However, I quickly realized I am getting old-

Yes, it is slightly disappointing-the Chinese players were younger, quicker, shorter, and yes, in general much better basketball players...
granted, this outcome might have been slightly driven by the fact that I was gasping for oxygen most of the game, and received several IV's to assist my fluid intake. I even think I heard a little Chinese girl say the old American guy not gonna die is he Momma???

Well, I might not have been hanging off the rim, but we sure had fun.

To my new Chinese teammates- Kingsway "Dunka on U" Chan and Roy "Dunk Man Fu" Zhong

I 'm looking to try ping pong next weekend.

A few sights around town-

Hello all,

I have a few of you requesting some pictures of the local sights. As I have been working a ton, I don' t have many tourist like pictures. However, I did take the initiative of taking my camera with me today on the way to work and to several meetings. These were taken by me today.

These were a couple of typical intersections. I still find it amazing that there is no real since of yield here, but somehow they work. You will also see one picture with a small bike in the upper right. That was a bike that we passed that was carrying at least 12 large bags of what appeared to be Styrofoam. You could not even see the driver as we approached, and I have no idea how he could see. There is also a man on a bike who had what appeared to be 3 large containers of some sort of sludge attached to his bike. (Again, nothing remarkable, but just a few local sights for your viewing pleasure.)

I personally think a few of you might have just thought I was vacationing in key west...

The hospitality continues to be wonderful in China. As I have said, one example lies in the gracious hospitality displayed in meetings. You are almost always served a beverage, normally tea, and it often comes on formal china. I am having to be much more careful with my words and mannerisms. While I have talked about how literal the Chinese can take messages, there are other issues. The body language and formality of certain situations lends itself to sending the wrong message if you are not careful... while I have many examples, they are much more sensitive to who sits where, who is introduced first, how you greet etc...but most certainly remain friendly and helpful. I have drank so much tea over the last few weeks, that I am visiting the washroom hourly. (I feel like you have to drink at each, or it is insulting.)-Much like at several friends homes...when in Rome...

Shenzhen, China-Is this Chicken???

This shall be another exciting installment in the "I am eating what" series...

Ok-exciting may be an overstatement, but it's more thrilling than watching Chinese ping pong matches as I have been doing-

To all of you who have eaten a big fat Ribye recently, I would like to live vicariously through your experience-please drop me a note and remind me what it tastes like.

I was in Shenzhen over the weekend conducting a training session. While most to the time was in the office, I did have the chance to get out a little. Shenzhen is located on the southern coast of China in close proximity to Hong Kong. It is a city of tons of trade and has grown to around 10 million people. Last night, a group from my training session took us out to dinner after we wrapped up. I received several compliments that my chopstick skills were improving. I can translate this for all of you into what was really meant. The group was pleased that there were no longer pieces of food on the lucky diners to my left or right.

Previous dinner engagements had not been so kind to my dining company. As in many restaurants we have dined, we were seated at a large table with a huge "lazy Susan" in the middle where food is placed. This "wheel of fortune" is then spun and while everyone serves themselves off the plates with chopsticks.

I am still not recognizing most things. The assorted last night included snake and crab still in the shell. There was also chicken (which would have been good to go) -that was whole with the head still attached. I was told it was not good luck to have the head of the chicken pointing at me. I responded it was ok, because based on earlier revelations, the dragon and the phoenix have my back...

The chicken that is served normally has bones in it. I can assure all of you there is no graceful way to retrieve bones from your mouth as you are eating. The customary expulsion seems to be to spit bones onto your plate as you eat. I haven't quite mastered this technique either as several bones ended up close to the table next to us.

On the drive back this evening I continued to enjoy the sights. One gentlemen was riding a bike with no less than 25 Styrofoam coolers tied with string to the back. What really make it interesting was several also had crabs in them-you just never know.

Enough for tonight!-wishing you all well.

The Dragon and the Phoenix

Greetings!

Last night I met a local Chinese man at the restaurant who shared with me the story of the dragon and the phoenix. While he spoke broken English, I think I digested the meat of the message.

As we discussed where I was from, and family, I showed a picture of my children Sam and Aly. Upon seeing them, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed-you have received the gift of the dragon and phoenix! He went through a lengthy story that I didn't really understand, but basically told me that good luck and fortune would follow the arrival of these 2 together. Apparently the dragon represents male as close as I can tell, and the phoenix represents female. Their union (without getting into the other areas I believe he was insinuating, (or in this case arrival together) represented the perfect balance of harmony with nature and future family happiness...

In China, couples who have twins are more rare from what I am told, but it is said to be a great omen.

Of course, I could have misunderstood this story entirely, and it really meant they should be sent to military school as soon as possible..

After he saw a picture of my wife Abbey, he started to tell me a different Chinese fable about the Frog and the Princess, but I'm not sure where that was going-

Can't wait to rough up the dragon and phoenix upon my return-

Language difficulties

Aside from the fact that most Chinese are unaccustomed to a southern drawl, communication continues to be a challenge.

The Chinese language is more difficult than I imagined. The language itself has only 4 tones, but one word can have 4 different meanings depending on tone used. In addition, there are tons of regional dialects, and even those who speak Chinese may not be able to communicate.

I was in a meeting today, where several spoke Mandarin, and several spoke Cantonese, and they were unable to understand each other. I am picking up a few basic phrases, but anything more than that is incredibly difficult.

The Chinese seem to be quite ticked off with the latest posturing by North Korea. I think they are beginning to grasp their economic future, and don't like the idea of a wildman in their back yard. Times are definitely changing, and while China is still communist, you can detect the global understanding of actions and repercussions.

There are many things I find right about the society. A murder was committed in a rural northern province which launched a manhunt involving over a thousand police officers and citizens. Crimes involving firearms seem non-existent as the punishment is quite final. I rarely hear (or see) sirens/lights. Most officers I see do not carry firearms.

The ones that do, are typically military, and have a rifle or machine gun. That would normally be one I have seen armored car movements and/or banks.

I have shared with many of you that the news is much more global in perspective. Their news (regional) is typically involving many countries in Asia, and they provide extensive coverage of activities in west as well. I even found an article on the Jags victory over the Jets in the South China Post...they also cover Ping Pong, Snooker, Soccer adnauseum, and a ton more-....There are still bizarre public policies such as a limit on number of children, no (or very few)credit cards, no foreign ownership of land, and little traffic oversight-but that is just because I haven't grown up with it.

I continue to learn much, and am enjoying the hospitality of the locals-even if they can't understand a southern drawl-

Observations-

Hope all are well,

Work has really been heating up-today was Sunday, but we had all day session, and it may be getting even more hectic. So I may be slowing down a little on posts, just didn't want anyone to get concerned. I will still look to post a couple of times a week.

Today we were in Guanzhou for most of the day.

Since I'm getting similar questions from some of you, thought it might be a good time to share some general observations regarding China in general, and they are of course skewed by my own warped perspective.

Here's a few top of mind-

1. The Chinese are extremely literal people. I can give many examples, but here's a good one. I have met several other English speaking people, and one told me the story of trying to get something printed and asked "I need it printed just like the sample I gave you". After a week, the printer called back and stated they were unable to complete job, and they were very sorry.

When asked why, they responded and acted embarrassed that they had failed. As much as they tried, they could not reproduce the poor print quality from the sample from the US...True story. They tend to translate everything extremely literally-I can't even begin to capture the beauty of the stories when I've worn some of my favorite t-shirt...They loved "who's driving this crazy train" but were really concerned on where the train was, and when I was able to drive it.

2. It seems to be ok to spit in public (some people only), but it is an offense to show your teeth as you use a toothpick after a meal-
3. Chopstick etiquette: Much more to come on this one, but never reach into the serving tray with your chopsticks (learned that one the hard way)-most meals are served family style, and everyone shares.
4. There is no limit to the number of occupants on a given motorcycle, moped, or bike-or age requirement.
5. I think I've figured out that honking when approaching from the left ensures your right of way no matter what-
6. If you are a pedestrian, you never have right of way no matter what...
7. Lots of holding hands, and walking arm in arms-families do seem close.
8. Saving face is a huge deal-never publicly question and or challenge-counterintuitive to west, you will get answer you want regardless of actual facts.
9. Fascination with West-even though people can't speak English, they will often listen to western music. In fact several bands have been playing English songs, and when I've approached them to talk, they can speak no English...wild...because I can tell you there is no way I could sing a Chinese song right now...

Not that any of you could stand that much pain to your ears anyway -have a great one.

Saturday fun-

Hello all,

I broke down and had a Chesseburger with Fries today. Found an Irish pub in the Expat area of Dongguan. This was driven by my need for some western food at this point.

My MOP has been to not ask many questions about what I'm eating, and I've found that everyone stays happier that way. That is driven in part by what happened last night. Found a great buffet, and was enjoying the food, until one of the english speaking people I've met, asked how I liked the dog. As I glanced at my plate, not recognizing most things, I realized I must have FIDO on my plate. In their defense, it really was pretty good, and the Chinese think nothing more of the food, than steak or chicken.

When asking the locals about it, they do inform me they don't eat their pets. There are dogs especially raised for food. (FYI)

I visited several of the parks and gardens around Dongguan today. Many beautiful areas, and no charge to get into any of them. I have several pictures attached including a hike through the woods when I suddenly stumbled onto on old temple.

There is also a picture a a shrine to Buddha that I visited. I am told men come there to pray for wives, when they are single, and married men come there to pray to be single-not sure what that means-must be old Chinese proverb...

It defintitely does not apply to this married man-I've been missing mine as well as the 2 wonder twins-Sam and Aly!

Birthday-Dongguan Style!!!

Hello to all-

Thanks to those of you who sent b-day wishes, and if you didn't that's ok too-I'm terrible about remembering birthdays including my own.

This morning I received a call from the hotel manager wishing me a happy birthday. I honestly did not recall that it was Oct 5th, and the greeting caught me off guard. (Apparently they pulled the date off my passport) In addition, his sales manager, Jackie-(It's what I call him, no way to prononuce Chinese name) wanted to take me to dinner tonight as I was alone, and he would not take no for an answer.

This evening, we spent at a 3 hour dinner with 2 other Americans from Virginia. Had a great time, and food was varied and fantastic. We were overlooking lagoon, with red globes everywhere. Food was multi-course, and kept coming. Waiters would bring skewers of meat, chicken, several things I didn't recognize, and scrape them on your plate once you were done with the portion preceding it.

Upon retrun to my hotel room, there was a birthday cake waiting in my room. As I didn't plan to gain another 15 pounds, I decided to pack it up and take to the "karoke bar" downstairs.
I shared cake with the staff at the bar, and the band that was on stage. (This one was different band, who actually sang pretty good english tunes.) They were from the Philipines, and are pictured here. Had a great time-band, and room sang happy birthday, and they dedicated "Hotel Califmimfornia to Me"

Wishing so many of you were here.

Electronics/shopping anyone???

I visited one of the largest electronics malls I have ever seen. Cell phones for miles with every imaginable component to accompany. MP3, MP4 players for around 50-100 USD. Cell phones are actually more expensive, but I am told that is due to you don't buy any phones with plans.

All are sold "unlocked", and most in China buy minutes from whatever provider they choose. Minutes are cheap, and no one in China tends to have home phone. A partner I was with had 2 cell phones with him from the states he wanted to have repaired. One was a Motorola razor that had been dropped in a pool. We dropped them off, and they were both repaired in an hour.

I also found more "copy watches", and found out I actually made a good buy in Hong Kong. I had one watch with me, and was shown how to set, and correct.-(I guess I will have to find different X-mas gift for certain attorney)

The quality of these watches seems to vary dramatically, and can vary in price from 20-100USD. Some of the higher end are beautiful, and while I am not an expert, seem difficult to distinguish from the original. I am told 40% of the worlds shoes are manufactured in the area outside of Dongguan where I am now located. I found name brand kids shoes for $10 USD , and adult shoes (Nike, Reebok, Converse) for around $45 USD. Tons of clothes and assorted jewelry. I saw Calloway Golf shirts for around $12.00USD.

There is even a Walmart in Donggaun, but it looks like no other Walmart you have seen.-

More to come on this later...

Trains, Cabs, and a baby on a motorcycle...

Hello all,

I made the trek from Honk Kong to Shenzen, and Dongguan, China yesterday. Due to my last travel experience, I elected to try the train instead. If not a little pricier, ($25 USD), this was a much more enjoyable trip. Not as crowded, chance to read and see the sites. The downside is the train station was no where near my hotel. Not knowing this in advance, I simply thought "how big can Donggaun be, and jumped on the train.

Upon exiting the train station, I showed a cab driver the card with my hotel's address as usual. I should have known something was up, when he didn't recognize address. Finally, one of his buddies helped him with a vivid description in Chinese of just how many mountains and oceans we would have to pass in order to get to this hotel.

It was over 50 KM, or about an hour and 10 minutes to the hotel. Lots of sites along the way including a motorcycle with a man carrying a baby in his lap. The baby could not have been more than 6 months. -The fare for the cab ride was 97 RMB-or about $12.00.

For those of you kind enough to donate me DVD's in advance of the trip, I found that none of them worked over here. While I do have a DVD player in this hotel room, the reader shows them as "wrong format". However, I did find a local store selling DVD's last night, and picked up 5 in English (or so I hope) for 33 RMB, or about .80cents each, and I'm sure I overpaid-but I am starved again for English dialogue. Titles are current in selection, and I found everything from Superman to Star Wars Trilogy, while selection is much more limited in English section.

I immediately notice the difference in and around Dongguan in comparison to Hong Kong. While everyone is trying to sell you everything in Hong Kong, I am back to having the kids stare at me, while some run up and say "Halllooo"-then when I smile, or say hello back, they giggle, and run back to their parents. Street vendors really haven't tried to sell me anything here. Probably because very few speak any English, but also because they have seen few westerners and haven't correlated their presence yet with spending money. This area has so much potential. The minimum wage in the province is RMB 780 per month, or about $98 a month. For that, they are working tremendous hours, and incredibly driven to succeed and do better for their family.

The car I was riding in is pictured above. (Quite roomy...)

Enough for now-hope you all are doing extremely well.

Top of the world baby!!!

Saw more sights in the hustling city of Hong Kong. Went up to peak tram with awesome views of harbor and city below. Hong Kong is framed by mountains and sea, so density and magnitude of construction is mind boggling. (They have no way to grow but up)

Space is at such a premium, that they have begun to build into the harbor. The hotel that I am staying used to be on the waterfront. It is now 4 blocks off. They either use fill or build on support pilings.

Toured Bank of china building, hard to imagine this is communist enterprise. Marble, sculptures, and ornate decorations throughout.

Last night after dinner, went for walk on famous Nathan Street. They tell me it is the most densely populated shopping area in the world. Lined with neon lights, street vendors, and every imaginable store, it was quite a site. This is probably a good time in my reporting, to give you all a waning for your future trips.

I made the mistake of listening to one of the thousands of people trying to sell me jewelry, watches, suits, etc, on the street. He wanted to make me "very amazing deal"... Before I really realized what was happening, I was ushered into a side "alley" where his watches were. While I know all about these scams, this was a smooth operation. Upon entering the door, it latched behind me, and there was no handle on my side. 5 Asian men were standing around display cases of fake rolex's, tag's, and cartier. A couple were large, and gave the impression that Americans were not their favorite nationality.

Immediately sensing i had made a huge error in judgment, I bantered with the men, and let them know I would definitely be buying a watch. (Found it a much better alternative than not leaving that room...)

Needless to say, I have 2 Rolex's that I am unable to change the time, and the second hand ticks loudly-I think I got a good deal! All is good-will make good Christmas gift for an attorney I know...

Hong Kong Sights

This really is an incredible city. Tons of action everywhere, and lots to do.
So far I have toured the waterfront, and visited museums of art and space. International flavor to all. In the art exhibit, I saw an entire floor dedicated to works involving human hair. One room had a few hundred pair of children's shoes made out of children's hair. Sort of bizarre, but visually impacting.

Lots of women carry and walk with umbrellas opened, even though it is not raining. You can see many nationalities on every block, and it is not an exaggeration to hear 8 or 9 different languages being spoken in a one block trip. Shopping is key in Hong Kong. While I'm not a huge shopper, I could see the appeal for anyone. Street vendors are peddling everything from fake Rolex's to jade on many sidewalks.

There is also an extreme amount of wealth from what I can observe. One hotel I visited, had only Rolls Royces as their "hotel Cars". The lobby was done completely in decorated marble, and servers are everywhere. The "shops" off the lobby were many names I recognized including Cartier, Rolex, and Versace. Several watches I looked at were over $30,000 USD. I did not buy one.

I really like Hong Kong. Lots of English, and univeral acceptance for all cultures and nationalities. Hustle and Bustle prevalent everywhere.

Due to Chinese influence, I find it amazing that there are "no spitting" signs everywhere. Not that I ever knew that you needed a "no spitting" sign, but apparently it is a big problem with Chinese nationals. The city however, seems remarkably clean and safe, compared to some of the other areas I have been in China.

and they have Starbucks!!!-I had a super grande this morning....Coffee in general in china has not been one of their strong points.

Hong Kong Arrival

I arrived in Hong Kong this morning, and will be here the next few days. What an awesome city!!! The pictures I have seen on movies does not do it justice. Miles of skyscrapers touching the ocean with all the energy and excitement of NYC. Tons of action everywhere, and is evidently a truly "international" city. In just a few hours, I have met people from Europe, US, Africa, and other parts of Asia.

Unlike most of the parts I have been in China, I am having no problem finding people who speak English, which is quite nice at this point. My travels here from Dongguan and Shenzen, were very much like planes, trains, and automobiles. I switched on 3 different buses, rode 2 trains, and finally got a cab to my hotel. While this would normally just be inconvenient, no one speaking English added a whole new level of complexity. I found myself constantly pointing at a map, and saying slowly -need to go here-I don't know why I said it slowly, they would not understand regardless if I spoke at normal speed. The map was in Chinese, so they must have gotten the idea. (On the bus in China, there was actually a man with a chicken in the seat beside him)-I did not sit there.

Nice cab driver. He indicated little has changed since HK had been handed back to China. Still allowed to vote. He was extremely proud that he could voice his dissent against gov't or public officials in Hong Kong. He also indicated he actually had relatives still in jail in China for doing same thing. He shared with me that most Americans do not value what they have in comparison to rest of world. (I'll keep political tangents at a minimum in this blog, but I found his insight interesting)

After I explore a little more, I'll update you all on my findings.

Be careful what you order???

Hello all-

Sorry for the delay, but I am having intermittent IT issues with connectivity depending on where I am-the hotel I am now in has access, so bear with me.

I have yet to devote any of the time required regarding food, and there should be pages spent on it. While I do like Chinese in the States, nothing prepared me for the variety and unusual dishes I have sampled. The food is varied and generally very tasty.

It is easiest when the dishes have pictures, but they are not always available depending on the restaurant. Last night, I ordered what the waitress deceived as Coconut Shrimp with fish. While it sounded like something I might have at Lobster Shanty in Cocoa, what arrived was entirely different.

At the center of the platter were 2 whole coconuts. Splitting the coconuts was a whole fish including head, that had been opened along the back. The innards of the fish had apparently been fried and were served with peanuts as a bed for the fish. As in most dishes, white rice was served as well. (I did try everything)

While I'm not going to bore all of you with a menu list, I have thus far tried octopus, chicken feet, and squid. (whole-not what you're thinking)-In any event, I am finding Chinese food tasty, well seasoned, and for the most part delicious as long as you don't think about what you're eating.

I'll address more about the food in the coming weeks, just didn't want you to think I was avoiding it.

There are also plenty of western options although I really haven't had to go that route yet. KFC is huge, as is McDonalds, and other dishes that seem common in expat areas. (Burgers, Steaks, and Pasta)

I am concerned about gaining even more weight. Diet anything is tough to find (as if the Chinese need it)-so hopefully I don't come home with another 50 pounds or so-I already have the locals looking at me like I'm Godzilla- Yes, I know that is Japan, but he's very popular in China as well.