Thoughts and Reflections of China
DeeAnne Peterson-Meyer
DeeAnne Peterson-Meyer
Monday, May 21, 2012
Minneapolis-Chicago-Detroit-Hong
Kong
What
a day!! We’re traveling at 31,000 feet
and it is -57 degrees outside right now.
Our route has taken us north over Canada, over the Hudson Bay and the Davies
Strait – it appears we are traveling north by northeast. We had a real nice dinner and afterwards we
were asked to shut the window shades. I
guess people are trying to get on a sleep schedule.
We
are now at 33,000 feet it crossing the Kara Sea and the Ural Mountains. We have almost 9 hours left to go and already
crossed over the polar ice caps. Pretty
cool!
We
have crossed the Laptev Sea and are down to 6.5 hours to go. My rear end feels permanently flat! They served us a sandwich and cookies and
banana….nice snack. Since we crossed the date line its actually Tuesday, May 22nd. From the inflight map it appears we are
crossing the Asian Continent. Right now
it’s 12:13 AM at home. We are still
experiencing daylight…two days without darkness – it’s pretty strange to say
the least.
We
were served another hot pasta dinner because it is now dinner time in Hong Kong
and we are landing soon. We flew
straight down through the center of China.
I suppose we don’t want to
get into Korean or Pakistani air space.
We flew over China at 36,000 feet.
I can see small islands in the Yellow Sea. Pretty cool.
As we’re flying in I can see the Yellow Sea dotted with oil platforms
and tankers scattered like toys throughout the Yellow sea. It appears volcanic activity has created an
outcropping of “unattractive” islands – not very green at all!
We
are here!! It is 6:42 PM Hong Kong time
(4:08 AM U.S. time)
Tuesday,
May 22, 2012
Hong Kong
It’s
just midnight and I’m finally tucked in bed.
It was a long day. It was so cool
to see Jean when we came around the corner!!
Seeing a familiar face in a sea of strangers is a welcoming and warming
feeling that makes one feel a strong sense of pure joy. We waited another hour, sharing our traveling
experiences (mine were not so good between Chicago and Detroit) and listened to
Jean fill us in on her adventures thus far.
We took a train to the drop spot and then a shuttle thru downtown Hong
Kong. Joni almost got left behind by an over-zealous driver!! He tried to take off without her!!! It is
crazy!! I cannot imagine navigating
around the city. It reminds me of the
movies. I’m looking forward to this
adventure.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
We
had an incredible meal at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile. Definitely a high class
place. Then we took a shuttle to the
Ferry. Seeing Hong Kong in the daylight
was eye-opening. There are very poor
looking sections intermixed with wealth.
You wouldn’t want to get lost on a side street. I look forward to returning and going on a
few adventures around this massive city.
We
arrived at CKS Ferry (our transportation to Zhuhai, in Mainland China) early so
we used their free WI FI and touched based with home. The 45 minute ferry ride was a different
story. I got so seasick. I thought I was going to toss my awesome
breakfast but managed to keep it in.
After four hours I was still trying to recover and was probably still
green. Not a way to meet my buddies for
the first time! Should have taken the Dramamine I had packed (but way too deep
in my big suitcase and little access – not smart).
Zhuhai
Our
Jinan University buddies were at the terminal to meet us. We had to go through customs again to get
from Hong Kong into China. Then we took
a small mini bus to the Junlin Hotel.
Before we left the terminal we were able to get Yuan without any cost at
the machines in the terminal – simple process with a debit card.
The
Junlin Hotel is definitely old and compact but it worked for us. All we need is “air” and we have it! The walls in the bathroom are glass so Joni
and I agreed to stay away while each other are using the facilities.
We
went out for dinner tonight with our Jinan buddies. We took the bus there and
cab back. Dinner was at a cheap
restaurant. It really sucked!! My first real Chinese dinner should have been
at a nice restaurant with classic Cantonese cuisine. Everyone in there was laughing at my feeble
attempt to use chopsticks. We I asked
for a napkin they brought a package of Kleenex.
My buddy actually had to pay for it right on the spot. Apparently, napkins and Kleenex are a premium
and luxury, rather than an everyday item.
My do we take things for granted back home. We also noted that toilet paper is in the
same demand….very little of it anywhere so always carry your own!
I
am exhausted and glad to get to bed tonight.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
We
were up at 4:30 AM. I don’t know if it
was the time difference, jet lag, or if it was pure excitement. I imagine a little of both. Since we are close to the equator the sun
comes up much earlier here.
We
walked to campus this morning which is about one mile and there were signs all
over welcoming UWEC. They had a super
nice ceremony for us and then a nice tour of the campus. They went out of their way to make a warm and
hospitable welcome for us. It was a good
sign of what was to come in the next two weeks.
These are clearly and kind and proud people and I cannot wait to get to
know them better.
(with me, Joni and Greg)
The
days’ highlight was our fancy Cantonese lunch – chicken heads and all! There was a large glass lazy susan on the
table with many different dishes. I ate
prawns and several types of fish and a very large clam – a first for me.
After
lunch we were on our own. We shopped a
little with our buddies but mostly, jet lag is still a problem. So we rested while the other students went
bike riding. I do miss my family but am
looking forward to this new adventure. I
have to explain my feeble attempt at translation while at the grocery
store. We were asking our buddies where
the breakfast aisle would be with all the cereal and other morning breakfast
snacks. They did not understand what I
was trying to so in my zest to communicate in a common language I asked, “do
you know Tony the Tiger, there grrrrrreat!!” I guess I said this a little loud
because Joni looked around and then proceeded to crack up!
When
we returned to our room, the red message light was blinking on the phone. I had expected my family to call and was
anxious to hear the message.
Unfortunately, everything was in Chinese. After much frustration, I went downstairs to
get help. Using a lot of sign language,
I attempted to communicate my dilemma to the desk clerk and bellman. They clearly had no clue as to what I was
saying or attempting to communicate. I
have to wonder just how ridiculous I might have looked. Finally, (and I think due to frustration on
their part), they gave up and the bellman came to our room. I pointed to the phone and the light and
attempted my best pantomiming. He
finally nodded his head, smiled and quickly left the room. I wasn’t sure where he was going but a short
time later he came back with another phone.
He simply disconnected the phone, hooked up the new one, pointed to the
light (that was no longer lit up) and smiled as though he just figured out a
complex puzzle. Apparently, he thought
the light was bothering me. He has no
clue that it was really the message I was after. Joni and I laughed so hard we almost cried!! Now it was really time to go to bed.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Up
early again today but I feel so rested.
We were off to school by 8:30 but only after eating breakfast. We have a limit of 20 RMB which translates to
approximately $3.20 (trading at 6.25 RMB/$1).
The problem is that no one could read the menu. We could see the ‘20’ and knew this was our
limit but had no idea what it was for.
So we ordered one of everything.
We had some very disgusting dishes but more than that, not one of them
was a breakfast dish! Things like
chicken soup, pork and noodles, beef and noodles, rice and fish, were all
common breakfast items – something I would have to get used to. Actually, a couple dishes were so bad. I am craving pancakes and waffles
though.
We
walked to school and were amazed at the sights we took in. The housing units are several stories high
with bars on all the windows. I will
have to ask about that. We walk under
Mango trees on the way to school – now that is cool. We pass the police station and there is a
guard who stands like he’s protecting the Queen of England – fully erect,
straight back and looking forward at nothing in particular. He doesn’t even flinch when we gawk and take
pictures. He probably thinks we’re
nuts! Good representation for the United
States, eh?
Being
day two and walking, I noticed other things that escaped me the previous
day: the Cannas were in full bloom
everywhere! The streets are two lane
with dividers in between and are covered in beautiful cannas. You can smell magnolias all over Zhuhai and
the Phoenix flower is blooming from trees all over campus. Incredibly beautiful to behold.
Class
started at 9:00 and our first lesson was on the Chinese language. We had class
again at 10:00 on the Chinese culture. It
was extremely interesting enlightening. One
of the things I learned about today was the food. There are 8 different types of Chinese
cuisine.
Cantonese Hunan (spicy)
Sichuan (hot) Suzhou
Shandong Zhejiang
Anhui Fujiah
They are all from different
provinces. We will be enjoying a
Cantonese diet for the most part.
Today we also learned about
tonation. This would have been nice to
know when we were working on our Chinese before we left on our trip. There are four different tones in the Chinese
language. I also learned that the
Chinese language doesn’t use tense in their language (past tense, future tense
and current tense). It is captured in
their writing and when they speak, the words convey the meaning based on how
they put the words together. There are
no transitional verbs in their language.
We talked about Opera in class
today and we were told that the men in opera dress like woman, so they don’t
use many woman. A man will have the part
of both males and females. It was hard
to tell when looking at the opera singers.
We talked about the shape of China
– a rooster!!. Guangdong (where we are
located) is in the belly of the rooster and located along the South China Sea. The Yellow River is called Mother River. And the Yangtze River is the largest river in
all eight provinces. Zhuhai is basically
a fishing village, although with a population of more than a million people!
Afterwards
we went to lunch with our buddies and ate on campus. They took us to their bookstore where I
bought a few school supplies and snacks.
On the way we got a tour of their dormitories. It’s is interesting to note that every single
balcony had laundry drying on it! Yes,
they wash their cloths and hand it out to dry.
Considering the problems with heat, I imagine that using dryers creates
more heat in an area that it already too hot!!
And it could also be to conserve energy.
They are always conscious of wasting very little. We could learn from these smart people.
(student dorms - notice how they use the umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun)
Our
lunch room was a large open area and was similar to any other large
lunchroom. We had choices of dishes and
were served on large metal trays. The
food was terrific.
I
made some observations while visiting the bookstore. First, the lights are kept off during the
day. I imagine this is to conserve on
energy and reduce the heat in the store.
There are no real doors to get in.
It is very open and accessible.
That’s the only way a person can see inside. There was a dim lamp in the back of the store
so we could see the items on the shelves but still it was very dark.
Also,
when I paid my bill I noticed that the cashier did not use a cash
register. The money was thrown
haphazardly in a drawer and when I needed change, he simply sifted through the
bills all mixed together until he found the ones I needed. I had to wonder about their accounting
system!!
Another
noteworthy item I should convey. Rather
than using air fresheners in the bathrooms, they use Incense and I have to say,
it smells very good. I imagine there is
little cost to incense and nothing to dispose of.
After
all that we went back to our hotel to take a little break and regroup. At 3:00 our buddies came back and Joni, Greg
and I, along with our buddies hopped the bus and went to a new part of town
where the Zhuhai Museum is located. We
spent several hours touring the museum which was dedicated primarily to the
history of Zhuhai and the people of Zhuhai.
It was incredible. There were rooms filled with large scale photos of
people of all ages doing numerous daily tasks and enjoying life’s events. It was interesting to see their own
perspective of how they look and behave.
It was like getting an inside tip on people. Much of the artistic pieces were ivory
carvings. The intricate detail of each
carving tells a story of a people who have outstanding abilities to work with
detail unlike anything I have ever known before. Afterwards we shopped a little and I was able
to find some very nice gifts to take back home.
And we found a Starbucks!! The
truth be told, the coffee just isn’t that great because of the water
quality. It just didn’t taste the
same. But it was good to see
nonetheless.
I
should clarify a few things. At every
meal we ate, we would have to take the boiling hot tea and wash our teacups,
chopsticks, bowl and plate with it in order to remove any germs or residual
water on the dishes and ‘utensils’. Then
we would dump the excess tea in a bowl on the lazy susan. Then we would have our tea to drink. This is how everyone in Mainland China
prepares to eat on a regular basis. One
of our group members got very sick because of the water. Morning tea in China is called “Yum Cha” and
considered part of the social communication process. People get together for yum cha. It is typically made from green tea and floral
teas in the summer months and black tea in the winter to help keep you warm.
Every
hotel room has large electric kettles to boil water. We would pour bottled water (our greatest
expense) in the kettle and boil it and then use it to brush our teeth. We could have boiled the water from the sink
but we didn’t want to take any chances.
We never ran our toothbrushes under the faucet in the sink.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Traveled
by King Bus Lines
Shenzhen
What
a day today was!! Off to Shenzhen!! Today we are taking a very nice tour bus to
Shenzhen and then off to Guangzhou – still trying to get the names of these
cities right. Breakfast is another
guessing game. It we stick with white
rice and tea, we’ll be alright.
We
boarded our bus at and no one had to share a seat. We were taking King Bus Lines, a coach that appeared
to be almost brand new. They were comfortable and we able to just sit back and
enjoy the ride.
There
is only one main road between Zhuhai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou and all of
Guangdong Province I am told. There are
no exits along the 150 mile stretch, like we see in the United States…just a
long road through the countryside. It is
so different from home. I miss having my husband here to talk about all the
beautiful flowers, shrubs and plants that are carefully sculpted along the
highway. I have never been anywhere in
the United States that took such care and created such beauty along the roadways. It is so pristine and cared for that it’s
hard to find the words to describe it.
They obvious take great pride in their landscaping and design and put
forth a great deal of labor hours in maintaining it. There are plush greens, magnolias, azaleas,
and the Phoenix flower, along with many other types of flowers that I’ve never
seen before. The beauty is endless and
of course, I took tons of pictures.
Perhaps
this is a good time to introduce my traveling companions:
Jean Pratt: Our
leader with a gentle and kind spirit.
Her quiet demeanor and subtle way of handling issues has helped us all
feel cared for.
Scott Swanson: He was quiet in the beginning but his sense of
humor came out finally!! He is our
second leader who is constantly bringing up the rear and ensuring that we all
arrive in one piece.
Joni Staack: My roommate and traveling pal. Joni keeps me laughing (along with everyone
else) much of the time. She has a lot of
energy!! Joni and I have gone through the MBA program together for the most
part.
Barbara Arnold: She was not in our class in the
MBA program. Barb joined our group and
is one of the most knowledgeable when it comes to the Chinese. Barb has a
‘Chinese daughter’ that she hosted back home.
She has a curiosity like no other.
Alexis Wong: Our Chinese/American student who knows no Chinese. Alexis is a tall beautiful young woman who
has had the unfortunate time of having to tell our Chinese pals so many times
that she doesn’t speak Chinese. They
just assume she does and they start talking to her in Chinese!
Beatris Mendez-Gandica (Bea): We love Bea!
She is such a smart young woman (who has lived a life much older than
she should for her young years) who speaks several languages fluently! I wish I had a brain like hers.
Christopher Dressen: Chris is quiet but adventurous. He is a very independent young man who has
already done some traveling in his life.
I venture to guess that he will do much more before his life is done!
Samual Roedger: Same is a fun young man who seems
to be a walking computer. He has a great
deal of knowledge about numerous things.
Greg Jaggeman: Last, but not least, my good
friend and MBA pal Greg. We have worked
together on many projects throughout our degree and it’s like having a little
brother on the trip with me. He looks
out for me!!
Our
group grew on this trip. One of the high
level faculty members, Mike, came with us along with the tour guide. I don’t our guide knows English real well. He defers to Mike a lot. Not long into our journey, we stopped along
a wayside. There were vendors selling
their fresh produce and our guide bought us all a whole bunch of bananas. Now this was a treat like no other. Now I know what a banana is supposed to taste
like. The size is much smaller than we
are accustomed to but nice and yellow.
Bananas are sweet!! I have never
had a sweet banana before! We all ate
them and had to have seconds. After
that, I looked for bananas where ever we went to eat.
Mike
(took pictures for us): His real name
and title are:
Lv QingwenDeputy Administrative Director
International Business School – Jinan University
But he just had us call him Mike, which was very nice!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Guangzhou
We are on our way at this very moment to Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. We just enjoyed an amazing day and night in Shenzhen on Saturday. We arrived in Shenzhen approximately 11:00 AM via a tourism bus. Let me first tell you about this. We have a driver who has never spoken to us or even glanced our way. He is very dedicated to his service and let me tell you, driving here in China is nothing like driving in the US!! These people must be very skilled drivers to navigate the roads here. For example, when we arrived for lunch yesterday, we were on a street similar to a residential street in Eau Claire. Our bus driver was driving up the center of the road with vehicles in the oncoming lane on our left AND right!! Those on the right side of the bus were going both directions depending on whether or not there was space available. The Chinese people truly take advantage of every possible space with NO WASTE!!! Even while driving!! So kudos to our driver!! We have much confidence in his skills!!
Back
to our arrival in Shenzhen. We first
visited the Shenzhen Museum. It is
difficult to put to words the historical significance of this visit. Personally, I am in awe of the Civil War
Museums in the United States. But it is
nothing like the museums here in China!!
Imagine capturing a history more than 2,000 years old. There was so much to see and truly, not
enough time. The people of China take
great pride in their history and it is reflected in the Shenzhen Museum – a
master piece both inside and out.
Regarding
the exterior of the building and all buildings here – it is something to
behold. There is no such thing as
square/rectangular buildings. There
structures are carefully designed and we believe (and will confirm later) that
it has something to do with Fung shuay.
The tops are general rounded or oblong in some way. If the building has square corners then it
has rounded/oblong shapes somewhere in the design.
We arrived for lunch at a Cantonese Restaurant. Prior to leaving the Museum we were joined by Melody, a representative from H & T Logistics, Ltd. Lunch was served family style and again, the chicken head sat proudly on the plate. There is no waste here in China. As Melody informed us, it is very important that they serve the animal whole – meaning all parts are used in the meal. The feet may be used in the broth that is served first. Otherwise, it is as though they took a cleaver and hacked it up and then put it on a plate – fully cooked and appealing in appearance (minus the fully intact chicken head).
After
lunch we went to H & T headquarters where Melody served us tea while responding
to questions from eager students. She
was very forthcoming in her responses which were refreshing. Afterward she took us to the Yantian Port,
the largest port in Mainland China. It
was quite an experience. The people that
work at this port live there as well. It’s
as though they set up their own city in order to be more efficient in accessing
employment. Restaurants are stores are
everywhere and laborers are moving large containers of fresh fish (some of
which we could only venture a guess as to what is).
Following
our port visit we checked into our hotel:
The Perthden Hotel. It was a very
nice luxury hotel and we enjoyed a nice Cantonese dinner family style. By the time we were done, we were all
exhausted and went to our rooms. This morning
we met for breakfast and are now on the road again. I will check in again later!
Today,
Sunday, we had breakfast that included toast, peanut butter and
jelly…yeh!! On our way to breakfast
there was a man in front of Joni and I who stopped and gobbed a big spit into a
spittoon and then entered the restaurant.
It was gross!! We had a wonderful
breakfast though.
Guangzhou
is beautifully manicured with a landscape of magnolias, cannas, azaleas and
much more. Grape leaf-like plants cover
the cement on overpasses and bridges within the city making them actually quite
beautiful. This area reminds me of San
Diego. There were three toll booths on
our trip. I also noticed people here do
an awful lot of honking. We could learn
from them.
We
stopped at the main campus of Jinan University and took some pictures. It is a beautiful campus from what we could
see. Mike bought us key chains and
postcards when we visited their Olympic stadium. We had lunch today with Mike Schroeder,
Economic Officer of the U.S. Consulate.
The restaurant was called “366”.
This one actually had real toilets but no toilet seats! Yuck….
One
thing that stuck in my mind as we listened to Mike was that the garbage here is
very picked over. I had noticed
everywhere we went that the garbage cans were very little. Now I know why. The people here will strip everything down
and save every bit or garbage, either to recycle or reuse for something else. They simply do not believe in waste. My could we learn from them!
We
all went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River.
I have never seen a light show like this before. Every building seemed to participate in the
show and even the bridges over the river lit up in a rainbow of colors,
changing moment by moment. It was such a
wonderful evening and food was great to boot!!
Monday, May 28, 2012
One
of the things I noticed today while traveling is that all the road signs are
similar to that in the United States. We
spend so much time seeing and looking at the differences that I forget to look
at the likenesses. They use the same
green reflective road signs that we do.
You just cannot always read what they say!!
Traveling
today is quiet on the bus. As I watch
out the window I am struck by the poor village areas. It reminds me of a shanty town. You can see people working hard in their
gardens and fishing on the river in their flat bottom boats. The roadway is impeccable and we see many
workers along the highway cleaning up the roadways and manicuring the beautiful
landscape that surrounds the highway.
Back home we would call them master gardeners. It somehow reminds me of the highways in
North Carolina during blooming season.
One
of the many places we visited today was the Cuiheng Village of Zhongshan to see
the former residence of Sun Yat-sen. It
was interesting to see his wife Soong Chingling, who attended Wesleyan College
in the United States and wrote four articles, published in the Wesleyan Paper
“The Four Dots”.
There
were bananas hanging in the trees everywhere.
It was an entire old village and museum.
What a site!
As we traveled, I
noticed (or didn’t notice) there were NO BILLBOARDS anywhere! How refreshing! Instead, I could see how into the plush
mountainous terrain – so green and healthy and thick that I imagine it would be
easy to get lost up there. Also, road
construction crews work barefoot!!
This
afternoon we visited a park and also the Hengqin Nea Rea, Zhuhai China. That was really interesting. It is supposed to be done in 2020. We ended our day in a park where my traveling
companions climbed to the top and road down in go-carts. Obviously, with my fear of heights it wasn’t
happening for me!!
We
had dinner tonight at the Yue Pin Xuan Restaurant. It was supposed to be our seafood dinner but
I think our tour guide took a short cut.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Back
to school today. Today’s topic: International Trade with Instructor Guoqin Bu. We discussed Global Production Networks,
Knowledge diffusion and local capability formation. Today we also visited Gree.
Gree was an interesting place. The people we met with could not answer our questions at the end of our tour. They took us through the facility and I felt bad for the people working on the assembly lines. They work at the same job day after day and hour after hour. They live on ‘campus’ and work overtime as needed. Everyone was kind to us but I had a bad feeling about how employees were really treated. It was just a feeling…
Tonight
is laundry night. Yes, our hotel room
looks like a Chinese laundry!! And it’s
only Joni’s stuff. I still have to do
mine. Fun!!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
One
of the things I noticed about their culture versus ours has to with translation
from Chinese to English and capitalization of titles. For example, Mike (Lv Qingwen) is the Deputy
Administrative Director; this is what is written on his business card; however,
it is written like this: Deputy
administrative director. They do not
capitalize any of their titles or names of cities and states in the U.S. I noticed that with Gree, when their
documents indicated they just set up a business in Tennessee, they did not have
the state name capitalized. Most things
that we feel as important in America we will capitalize the first letter; but
here, the significance fades. It’s as
though some things are not important enough to warrant the respect of a capital
letter...interesting.
Map
of United States and China: We have a
map with the US centrally located and the remaining countries around us. While in China, I had to do a double-take on
the map hanging on the wall. It looked
wrong; that is, until I realized that China was centrally placed with all
remaining countries located around it!!
Today
we visited Print Rite today and met with Arnold Ho. What an exciting day this was!! My notes are attached at the end of this
document but I must say, he is such a cool guy.
Mr. Ho provided us with a question and answer forum. He began working at the age of 13; now
celebrating 40 years of working. Jimmy
Chan is the Marketing Director and he spoke to our group first. The dress code is quite casual at Print Rite. Mr. Ho started in Hong Kong in 1981
distributing stationary and printable solutions. Print Rite can now print on anything!! F (We
were given I-phone cases with a unique printing on them including our first
names!!
Business Philosophy? “Sleep Well At Night”: He indicated that he sleeps well when they do
business correctly/legally/tax/environment/people/employees,etc. I took a lot
of notes while we were visiting Print Rite.
I really enjoyed listening to this mastermind of business. Yes, I was in awe! I am a fan!!
What can I say?
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Today
I walked to school alone. And I got the
crap scared out of me!! I think it was
a chameleon. I got pictures after my
heart returned to normal. We have
certainly seen some interesting sights here in Zhuhai. I Hope I can return someday.
In
a million years I could never have envisioned how this day would end for
me. It was life-altering but not in the
way I would have thought. Let me
explain. Macau is like a combination of
Las Vegas meets Portugal with a Chinese city intermixed. It is a gambling mecca with hotels and
casinos that match and surpass, in size, their counterparts in Las Vegas. They have the Winn, MGM Grand, and the Sands
along with many more. This is a Portuguese
village, if you will, with a population of more than 4,000 – very small in
comparison to other places we’ve been. It is considered a SAR (Special Administrative
Region) and this have significance later on as I explain. Macau maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs
policy, and immigration policy.
Our
journey started when Greg, Lexi and I shared the cab ride of our lives. I am talking grand prix! This driver flew through the streets of
Zhuhai at such a high speed I was sure he would get pulled over. The streets were two lanes in each direction
and most of the time he was in the fifth lane!!
In the middle of the road! ! You could either laugh or freak out so Greg,
Lexi and I laughed our butts off!!
We
arrived at the gates into Macau alive and met up with Barb and Scott along with
Manny, our Zhuhai buddy. WE met up with
Roland, our local Macau buddie…he lives in Macau and goes to the University of
Jinan so he travels back and forth on a regular basis. So why didn’t everyone go? Well, Bea is from Venezuela and her VISA
wouldn’t allow her to go to Macau.
We
had a grand time going from historic site and tourist sites one after
another. We took so many photos of beautiful
places along with the goofy poses that we had all become accustomed to taking
(self-entertainment?). We ended up at
the MGM Grand at the Starbucks of course!
After relaxing over some good coffee and dessert, we felt it was time to
head back. It was after 11:00 after
all.
By
11:30 we were at the checkpoint to come back into Zhuhai. Everyone had passed through but me and Scott.
And then it happened. I got flagged and
was not allowed to pass through. After
some yelling in Chinese (I had no clue) and some assistance from Manny
(Roland’s English was not very good), we figured out what the problem was. I had only one entry into China on my
VISA. Everyone else had selected
multiple entries because the cost was the same.
My advisor had told me to select one since I was not returning to China
again within the next three months. At this point, I did not even know that we
left Mainland China. But as I mentioned
previously, Macau is a Special Administrative Region and apparently, separate
from Mainland China. They were not going
to let me back in.
I
felt a flood of emotions as I stood there is a secure zone, staring out at my
friends who had already passed through.
The look on their faces said it all – they were scared too. They were scared for me and for leaving me
behind. I am sure they were all thinking
“I am glad it’s not me” and I wouldn’t blame them. I would have thought the same thing if I had
been in their position – but I wasn’t.
My
mind raced and came to terms with what was happening to me. I could not go back. There quite simply was not a damn thing I
could do about it. Scott didn’t know
what to do. His hands were tied. So he went through and joined the group. Roland, our guide, looked at me and said, “I
brought you here. You are my
responsibility. You will stay with my
family tonight”. Keep in mind that I had
just met Roland briefly the previous night at dinner. So I knew nothing about him. He was a college student who help his youth
well – he looked like he was about 14 years old.
As
I waved goodbye to my traveling companions, I had to smile. I smiled because if I didn’t, I knew I would
cry. And the look on their faces showed
the fear I felt deep inside. I knew I
needed to let them feel I would be alright.
And the only way I could do this was to smile. And they were gone.
There
I was in the middle of customs with a strange young man who was speaking
rapidly in Chinese on his cell phone.
Apparently, he had called his mom and said he was bringing an American
woman home to spend the night. Can you
imagine what she thought? He said he was
parked below in the underground ramp and I was relieved to know we didn’t have
to catch another cab or take the bus.
However, my relief was short-lived when I saw my ride – a high speed
motorcycle! I hadn’t been on a
motorcycle in years. He had two helmets
so I put mine on, said a quick prayer, and got on. I had my backpack with my camera in tow, a
sweatshirt and the clothes on my back.
Off we went. I guess in China you
don’t put your arms around your driver – you grad the little bar on the back of
your seat and hold on tight!
Macau’s
landscape is no different than that of Mainland China – enormously steep hills
(felt like mountains) and we zipped through traffic, in between cars and buses,
at a high speed. I closed my eyes and
thought “DeeAnne, you can have the biggest anxiety attack of your life, or you
can pretend you’re 25 again and grab life by the horns and enjoy”, and that is
exactly what I did. I surprised myself
in that I remembered how to be a good rider on a motorcycle. There was a time in my younger years when I
spent a great deal of time on the back of a Harley Davidson.
We
stopped for water and for me to get some more Macau cash. Yes, there is Hong Kong dollars, Chinese dollars
and there is Macau dollars. Talk about
confusion!! And we headed to Roland’s
house.
It
was an apartment several stories up. I
followed Roland up many flights of stairs and then we arrived at the door. It was first what we would call a screen door
only theirs had bars on it and it was made of a heavy steel. When he unlocked the screen door, the next
door surprised me. It was a beautiful,
large ornate wooden door that you might find on a million dollar home in Eau
Claire. It was beautiful and heavily
locked. We entered and were greeted by
this petite woman who clearly had worked every day of her young life and it
showed on her face. The first thing she
did was give me a brand new toothbrush!
Can you believe it? And then she
spoke Chinese to Roland who then translated telling me he would sleep with his
dad, his mom would take the ‘couch’ and I could have his room.
The
entire place was not more than 400 square feet – a three bedroom
apartment. My bed was plywood with
bamboo. Roland had a small desk with a
laptop that he kindly allowed me to use to communicate my dilemma to the
outside world. No, I did not have a
phone or any numbers to reach anyone. I
let my family back home know I was stuck in a foreign land and could not return
to China. I imagined what their thoughts
might be. Thankfully, they didn’t get
the message until after I was safely in Hong Kong. Roland’s mother brought me her slippers
before she went to bed.
I
went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
When I entered I noticed the first item – a round washing machine. It didn’t take up much space but that was a
good thing. Next came the bathroom sink
but no running water in it. Then the
toilet which also didn’t operate. Beyond
the toilet was the shower. It only came
up about three feet off the ground. It
was open and you had to fill a bucket to dump into the toilet to flush it. Water is like gold in China. It is very costly to use so people are wise
about it. The bathroom was also the
storage place for all the kitchen cooking and prep materials – bowls and such
hung above the shower on the walls. They
make use of every little piece of space available.
The
kitchen was basically a cubby with a hot plate and toaster. The living room held a large storage cabinet
with lighted candles and a catholic statue and incense – obviously a place for
them to worship and pray. The ‘couch’
was a wooden bench with storage underneath and about four feet long. I felt bad thinking of his mom sleeping
there. And then there was another table
with a large flat screen television on it.
It was such a paradox – what appeared to be a poor home had a high tech
television.
(Ruins of St. Paul’s
Cathedral: The only thing left standing
after a fire is the façade)
Well,
back in Hong Kong. Jean, true to her
word, brought my entire luggage and the two of us, with an escort all the way
to the boat by Roland, took a Ferry back to Hong Kong. It was a long day and I had little
sleep. Jean and I had the luxury of
traveling my high speed ferry so the ride wasn’t as bad on the way back.
(This
is Roland. While we shopped that morning
in the market I bought myself a t-shirt.
I had slept in my clothes and really needed to put something else on.
What a perfect shirt!!)
Friday, June 1, 2012
I
slept little that night thinking of what I needed to do the next day. Roland had thought we could go to the
consulate around ten but I wanted to be there when the doors opened. Turns out people don’t get up so early in
Macau – the doors didn’t open until nine.
Anyway, the next morning I brushed my teeth, sent out some emails and
went out to the living room. I passed
Roland’s sister’s room and it was just big enough for a single bed and space to
walk out. That was it. His father was busy doing laundry in the
living room. It had been washed and he
was painstakingly putting it all on hangers.
Then he went out on the veranda/deck (completely barred in) and began to
hang the clothes out there to dry.
Roland
was finally ready to go and had made the decision to take me to a local
restaurant – the best in Macau but unknown to tourist. It was a local hangout. When we arrived (by cycle) we went upstairs
to eat. I experienced for the first time
in my life what it feels like to look different from everyone else. The stares were many. I stood out with the only white face, tall,
and blond hair. People openly stared but
smiled all the while. That’s ok. But now I know that I will never do that
again!!
We
had the most delicious pastries that just melted in my mouth and a cup of
coffee! Yes, coffee!! And then Roland
took me to all the back markets of Macau where the local bought and traded
their wares. The produce was like
nothing I had ever seen before. There
were seafood markets, poultry markets, clothing markets, and more, all
outdoors. We walked and I gazed.
After
we had killed lots of time we headed to the Chinese Consulate so that I could
purchase another VISA to get back into Mainland China. After all, it was Friday and tonight was our
big going away celebration and the time to say goodbye. I surely didn’t want to miss this event. My buddies had grown to mean a great deal to
me. But it wasn’t meant to be. The consulate was not going to give me a VISA
until Saturday at 5:00PM. They said if I
were from the U.K. or Austrailia, I could have gotten a VISA today at
5:00. But I was an American and
therefore, I had to wait an additional 24 hours. What does that say about us? So I made the decision to go on to Hong Kong
by myself. Roland called Jean on his
cell phone. I bought him time on his
phone for all he had done for me.
Jean
had said, in no uncertain terms, that she would join me and together we would
travel on to Hong Kong. Joni was going
to pack my suitcase and Roland would meet Jean in a couple hours at the customs
gate and help her bring my things through.
In the meantime, we had a couple hours to kill. So Roland took my on a sight-seeing trip of
Macau and the historical sites. There
were times that my knees almost touched vehicles and city buses as he
maneuvered through traffic on that motorcycle.
We went back to places our group had visited the previous night but
couldn’t see well in the dark.
What
started out to be a scary event ended up being the adventure of a life
time. I am so glad to have had the
opportunity to be a part of the true culture of Macau and the Chinese
family. I will be forever grateful to
Roland and his family.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Jean
and I got up early and went down for breakfast.
Yes, we were back at the Golden Mile Holiday Inn with their incredible
breakfast!! I had pancakes piled high
and sausage and waffles too!! It felt
great to eat a real American breakfast!
I
couldn’t wait to get going. We were
catching the train and heading to the ferry to meet the rest of our group. I knew they had all been worried about me and
I couldn’t wait to let them know I was safe and just as happy to see them too!! I have to say, the underground train system
in Hong Kong is quite amazing. You can
get anywhere is a very short time. It’s
all color-coded so there is no way to pick the wrong line. But the escalators are another story. I am not much for heights so having to get on
escalators that are as big as three stories is a little scary for me!!! But the city if full of them. They use escalators instead of elevators
(although they have elevators). I assume
that with the population, if they didn’t have escalators people would be
spending half their lives waiting for elevators.
Jean
and I made it to the ferry early and waited…and waited…the excitement was
almost too much!! It wasn’t long and our
tour guide joined us. Yes, we were
traveling throughout Hong Kong today.
And he was taking us. So he was
there to meet all of us and was surprised to see Jean and I already there. After a long wait (they had to go through
customs when the ferry arrived) our companions finally arrived. I held the sign up high that our tour guide
had that said “UWEC” and waved it in the air!!
When they all saw it they laughed and you could see the relief in some
of their faces. As they made their way
to the entry, I was greeted with many hugs and some tears. I knew I had discovered a new family in these
people I had been traveling with – they had all become my friends in the truest
sense of the word. We were all back
together again and ready for another adventure – as a group!!
We
all hopped on a bus and headed to our hotel where everyone got registered and
put their bags in their rooms and then we were off to see Hong Kong. We went to Victoria’s Peak (I didn’t walk
around the outside but stood, feet planted firmly, right outside the door on
the rooftop and gladly gave my camera to Bea to take pictures for me.
We
went to Repulse Bay and the Stanley Market.
And then went on the Aberdeen with Sampan Ride. That was cool. Boats were packed in the bay, side by side,
as though it were a neighborhood. You
could see that people lived there because there was laundry hanging (common
indicator) and decorations all over.
It
was becoming a long day. We ended up with dinner at a downtown restaurant and
once again, enjoyed a typical Chinese meal. Following dinner we ran down to the
water the capture the night light show in Hong Kong. But it was raining at a pretty steady
pace. We were troupers. We stood there for at least 30 minutes before
we decided that it was time to head back.
We were wet, tired and ready to go to bed.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Today
I had the opportunity to meet with two people who live in Hong Kong. I arranged this visit prior to leaving the
United States. I was going to meet with
Ben Furneaux, Strategic Director - Global HL&A, CIGNA International
Corporation and Natasha Hung, Analyst, Bloomberg. Along with two other MBA students Joni and
Greg, we shared a lunch with Ben and Natasha (as we were advised to address
them) at The Royal Garden, a luxurious restaurant in the center of Hong Kong. They shared their stories of what business is
like in Hong Kong and Mainland China. We
enjoyed hearing about their lives and how they ended up in China. It was great!! I am so grateful to them for sharing their
time with us.
I
should make note of a few things I noticed in Hong Kong. There is no such thing as pedestrian right of
way. In fact, there are bars alongside
sidewalks as though they are intended to keep people from getting pushed out
into the street.
Today
we are on our own. Once again, we
traveled the underground trains and in the station you see signs like this
everywhere!! Yes, spitting is a problem
in China and Hong Kong. It is such a
problem that we are given disposable slippers to wear in our hotel rooms. Each day we get a new pair!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Today
we visited the ICAC. They handle all the
fraud and corruption in Hong Kong. Too
bad Mainland China doesn’t have something similar. I have to say that I really enjoyed this
place. I loved learning about all they
had accomplished and the challenges they faced.
I could have spent all day here!
We
went for lunch and afterward headed to our next stop: the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. We had to kill time so we walked around the
waterway. I got to see the Batman
building over the harbor in Hong Kong.
It is the building that Batman fought the Joker in the movie. It is a cool building!! We learned that there
is a landfill area around Hong Kong harbor. Victoria Harbor is getting smaller. Our tour guide filled us with tidbits of
information. December too hot and July
through August is the rainy season. We
were seeing signs during the day as we traveled through town: “Drug Driving may be Your Journey to
Death”. They don’t mince words here!
Notice
the next photo. They use bamboo here for
building and construction. It is what
they climb on to get up many stories.
How scary?!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Ocean
Park! Greg, Bea, Chris and I spent the
entire day at Ocean Park. I did not want to leave China without seeing
the panda bears. This place is like
Disneyland, Marineland, Valley Fair and Seaworld all rolled into one enormous
park. It was a truly fun and enjoyable
day. I have included a panda photo for
your enjoyment!!
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Streets
of Hong Kong:
I
went to the local 7-Eleven store. I say
local because there are probably 12 of them within a block of this hotel in
each direction. Anyway, I was on my own
and took a wrong turn. I ended up in a
dead-end ally and to be honest, frightened for a moment when I took in my
surroundings. It was dirty and the odor
started to assault my senses. I quickly
turned and went back the same way I came.
I just couldn’t get my bearings.
When you follow a group of people for days on end, you forget to pay
attention to the details of your surroundings.
Although I had been to the 7-Eleven many times I had never really paid
attention to my location as it related to our hotel. I went back to the hotel and went out another
entrance. Again, I could not find this
store!! I was hot and frustrated and it
was the first time I was completely alone in the city. I went back to the hotel and asked a bellman
to tell me where to go – quite simply it was straight out the door one block,
turn left and you’re there!!
I
bought my soda and M&M’s – the plain ones do not taste the same so I opt
for peanut and then purchased a Coke ‘Light’.
On my way back I realized that there were bars along the sidewalks
everywhere you go in Hong Kong. They
reminded me of guardrails in Wisconsin only much taller and in lengths of about
12 feet. I imagine they are there to keep
people from crossing the street in the middle of the block rather than using
the crosswalks; in addition, with the millions of people in Hong Kong it would
be very easy to accidently get ‘pushed’ into the street – and let me tell you,
oncoming traffic does NOT STOP! And you are sharing the street with quite
literally millions of people!!
At
this moment, I am attempting to catch up on homework and notes for the
week. The week in Zhuhai left me with
little to no internet time unless I wanted to stay up until my roommate
finished. So I opted to go to bed. Trying to recall all the moments of this trip
will be very difficult.
I
am also waiting for room service to change our room (again). The room we are currently in is the second
room this week. The first room was
horribly wet and damp and cold!! So they
told us they were moving us in a newly renovated room. Well, imagine our surprise when we found out
that the ‘newly renovated room’ had a television set that was 18” DEEP!!! Very old model!!....there was nothing even
remotely new about this room other than the bedspread (they changed color to a
navy blue sash across the bottom of the bed).
So our last night here (and I cannot wait to go home) is dedicated to
packing and moving to another room only to pack up and leave very early in the
morning. Oh well.
Now
we are moved into our new and improved room (ha!) It has reading lights and a
flat screened TV and a nicer bath. Other
than that, there are no real major improvements except space and a better
view. There is more space and the one
thing that stands out for me in China is the lack of space!!!
Our
evening ended with some gold old fashioned shopping. We walked for miles and went up and down the
streets of Hong Kong at night. We had a
blast on our last night of fun. I will
miss this place.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Homeward
Bound!!! Leave today and arrive today
but after 20+ hours of travel I get home 7 hours after I leave. Basically, I am going backward in time. Greg and I took a cab together but were on
different flights as he was going to Japan for the day. I was excited but not looking forward to the
long journey home. It took a long time
to board my flight. I had lots of
luggage to go through - mostly gifts for my family. I should have purchased another
suitcase.
We
are about 30 minutes into our flight and according to the map, we have already
flown over Macau (been there, done that) and Guangzhou, one of our weekend
destinations and Shenzhen. This moving
map in the back of the seat in front of me is great! I am sitting in the same
seat (41A) as I was in coming here. But
this time no one is next to me. I am
hoping to see the Great Wall as we fly over.
We are traveling straight over Beijing at 950 KM/hr. and 31,500 feet up.
Amazing. We are traveling over the
country itself and not the water.
It’s
noon and our first meal is arriving. I
am so tired I’m afraid I’ll sleep over the Great Wall.
OK,
I saw it!! Unfortunately, from this
height it is just a thick line over the mountains of Northern China. But at least I saw it. We flew north over to Russia dn east over the
Sea of Kotosk. It appears we are heading
right over to Greenland again.
Now
is it -68 degrees outside – darn cold!!
We’ve had some bad weather a few times and the pilot made us put our
seatbelts on. It now appears we are
heading toward the northeast most corner of Russia. I am thinking we might come over Alaska on
the way back. Everyone on the plane is
sleeping and all the windows must stay closed – darn.
Update: We just flew over the Russian city of
Magaden, located on the coast of the Sea of Okhostk. I can see the ice caps on the map and cannot
wait to see them out the window. I slept
through that the first time.
Update: We are now headed straight toward
Siberia. We are almost to the East
Siberian Sea just on the other side of Russia.
We have about eight hours left.
The landscape over Russia appears so barren. I noticed a hole in my window!! OMG!
It looks like a bullet hole. I
called the stewardess over and she wrote down my seat number. I hope it doesn’t break and I get sucked out
over Siberia! Well, I guess I’d freeze
before I ever hit the ground!!
Our
mid-flight lunch is being serviced. To our right is the Chukchi Sea and the
Bering Sea. You can see the little strip
of land that almost connects us to Russia (Alaska). Also, we can see the Isles of Aleutians. WE have just over seven hours to go.
Update: We are now across the Siberian Sea and the
large masses of ice are absolutely incredible.
There’s an island in the middle of the sea and it is mountainous with
lots of snow and nothingness. That must
be where the bad guys go! I can see
Alaska on our map and the city of Bethel.
However, we are flying up and over the top of Alaska.
Update: When you see the United States on that map in
front of you it is a wonderful feeling – home.
It sounds so good. I cannot
wait. I feel so fortunate – particularly
after having been held by the Chinese Government and now allowed to access the
country and friends. That was so scary.
We
are now in North America and almost home.
We have flown over Alaska Brooks Range, the Chukchi Sea and over
Wainwright, Barron and Prudhoe Bay.
We’re above the Yukon Territory ( I know a song about that). We are over the Beaufort Sea and flying over
the top of Canada. I don’t remember many
of these places in my geography classes.
Note: The bullet hole is getting bigger and ice is
building up on the inside of the outside window!!
Well,
another flight with no darkness. We are
headed into Detroit. Home…How blessed I
am.
June 14, 2012
Read
today’s Volume One Magazine, Page 6. It
was story about one writers (Kinzy Janssen) time in China and the appreciation
of our democracy. I was thinking, “how
timely”. I couldn’t’ wait to read the
article. The author had spent a year in
China and was talking about the control the government has over everything,
including Google. She speaks candidly of
the issues that the Chinese people and students face. But the purpose of the story is really how
fortunate we are to have a democratic nation.
We can disagree, speak our minds and live our lives according to our
faith, beliefs, etc. without government intervention and attempts to change our
beliefs. There is free speech. I just
couldn’t believe the article’s timing.
It is a good read if anyone is interested. Check it out.
July 4, 2012
I
know the trip is over and there are no longer requirements to keep a journal;
however, today is Independence Day – July 4th. We just got home from watching the most
impressive display of fireworks I have ever seen in my life. These fireworks were sponsored by our local
Lions Club here in Altoona, Wisconsin.
They started 15 minutes before Eau Claire’s and last 15 minutes
longer.
But
that’s not what I’m writing about. While
I lay there on my blanket staring up at the beauty overtaking the sky above me,
I really thought about today – Independence Day. Although I have been home from China for
almost four weeks now, China is still a part of my conscious brain every
day. And tonight that was all I could
think about as I watched the firework’s beauty above me. It reminded me of just how fortunate I am to
live in this country, where I can speak my mind if I choose, peruse the
internet without my government blocking my attempts to visit different website,
and practice my own religion if I so choose.
These are only a few of the liberties I enjoy each and every day and
yes, I take them for granted; but not anymore.
My friends in China are not as fortunate as I am. Their government watches everything they do
on the internet. They are not allowed to
openly practice their religion in most places.
They do not enjoy the liberties that I have so often taken for granted
or simply forgotten about.
I
also noticed the moon. Although no
longer a full moon (waning) I recalled the night in China when I looked up at
the full moon and realized just how connected we all are. I stared at the moon that night knowing my
family was looking up at the very same moon.
And tonight, as I looked at the moon low on the horizon, I was reminded
that my new friends in China were looking at the very same moon. How close we all really are!! It’s simply a matter of perspective.
I am left with some thoughts to share. First, the people of China are the most kind
and gentle people anyone could want to me.
They out of their way to ensure we were happy and cared for. I will miss them terribly. This trip has been far more than I had ever
expected or could have imagined. I am
grateful and thankful for having had this opportunity. 