So Thursday night, June 21st, there was a huge storm in Beijing. It
flooded some of the roads, and even required that subways be closed
down. It made the world news if you are interested. The storm hit at
around 5:30pm that afternoon. I was still at work, but probably 80%
of the other employees had already gone home for the day. At first it
was just like any other storm, but then the rain came extremely heavy,
and extremely quick. The few of us that were left in the office, were
standing by the windows watching the rain pound down. We then noticed
that the windows behind us (the ones looking into the shop-floor) also
had rain pouring down them as well. This is indoors, and is not
usually a good sign. A few of us ran through the double doors into
the shop floor, having to pass through a literal waterfall in order to
do so. The water was pouring in through the seam connecting the front
office and the shopfloor. From there, it was rushing towards all of
our production lines and equipment. The other manager's and I
frantically ran through the whole factory telling workers to get all
of the valuable machinery and parts off the ground, in case the water
passed by their workstation. We then immediately started killing
power to everything that might cause electrical damage. Once we had
eliminated any immediate danger, we started having the employees
(using brooms and boxes and whatever else we could find) steer the
water through drains and double doors back outside. After this, we
went back into the front office, only to realize that the front seam
of the building (office side) had had a similar problem, and was
leaking inside the office. Water had poured into the ceiling, making
the ceiling tiles fall left and right above our heads. We grabbed
hard hats from the warehouse, and started checking for high-risk
areas. The servers (which control our SAP system for all of China)
were one of those risks. We looked into the server room, and saw
water dropping all around and on top of the servers. However, the
doors are magnetically locked, and cannot be opened without the proper
badge. No one in the plant had this type of badge. We called someone
who did, and they braved the storm to come open the doors for us. We
started wiping down the servers, and covering them with whatever we
could find to protect them from any further damage. This all went on
for the rest of the night. I was fortunate enough to be able to leave
around 9pm, but I know that some of the team worked all through the
night, and then a second crew came in the next morning. In fact, I am
writing this on Wed the 29th, and we are no where near back to normal.
Everyone is now working, and production has resumed, but there is
water damage all around us.
-JASON
Sunday, July 17, 2011
GuiLin
Kamala and I took a four day weekend and went to GuiLin in Southern
China. GuiLin is famous for having the most beautiful scenery in all
of China. This trip was part of a group outing, sponsored by
Schneider Electric, and was supposed to take place from Friday June
24th to Monday June 27th. Due to flight delays, the trip actually got
extended, and we in-turn, left a day later, and arrived a day later.
This was by far one of the most amazing… and interesting vacations
Kamala and I have ever taken. There is so much to write about, that
we have broken it down into several blog posts, enjoy!
-JASON
China. GuiLin is famous for having the most beautiful scenery in all
of China. This trip was part of a group outing, sponsored by
Schneider Electric, and was supposed to take place from Friday June
24th to Monday June 27th. Due to flight delays, the trip actually got
extended, and we in-turn, left a day later, and arrived a day later.
This was by far one of the most amazing… and interesting vacations
Kamala and I have ever taken. There is so much to write about, that
we have broken it down into several blog posts, enjoy!
 |
| Our Group |
-JASON
The initial flight to GuiLin
Friday, June 24th we were supposed to fly out to Gui Lin. So we pack
our bags and leave early that morning to arrive at the airport around
7:30am. At check-in the attendant told us that the flight was delayed
and we could not check in until 10am. So we waited and waited, and
finally checked in around 10. We get to the gate, and waited around
until about 11:30 to find out that our flight was again delayed. The
airline was not sure how long the delay would be, so they sent us, and
the rest of our tour group to a hotel while waiting. This was very
strange to me, but was something our tour host had negotiated with the
airline. At the hotel, Kamala and I sat around for a while admiring
the amenities. The beds for instance, were miniaturized. It wasn't
that they were that small, about the same size as a twin, but they
were very thin, and very low to the ground.
I think the picture does it justice.
The bathroom was by far the best part though. The shower
and toilet shared the same space. Basically, there was no shower area,
just a shower head in the wall of the bathroom.
Thankfully, we wouldn't be staying the night. Around 1pm, they served us
lunch. I won't go into details, but it is in the top 3 worse lunches
in Beijing… Afterward, we waited around until about 4pm. At that
point, they told us the bad news that our flight had been delayed
until the next day. The good news, was that we could stay the night
in the hotel… right… So Kamala and I hopped a taxi back to our house
and spent the night at home. We did call up some friends and had
dinner at a local Southern style BBQ place. It was awesome! Finding
a place in Beijing that sells a pulled pork BBQ sandwich is like a
small glimpse of heaven. The next morning, we started the whole
process over, luckily to be met with success.
-JASON
our bags and leave early that morning to arrive at the airport around
7:30am. At check-in the attendant told us that the flight was delayed
and we could not check in until 10am. So we waited and waited, and
finally checked in around 10. We get to the gate, and waited around
until about 11:30 to find out that our flight was again delayed. The
airline was not sure how long the delay would be, so they sent us, and
the rest of our tour group to a hotel while waiting. This was very
strange to me, but was something our tour host had negotiated with the
airline. At the hotel, Kamala and I sat around for a while admiring
the amenities. The beds for instance, were miniaturized. It wasn't
that they were that small, about the same size as a twin, but they
were very thin, and very low to the ground.
I think the picture does it justice.
The bathroom was by far the best part though. The shower
and toilet shared the same space. Basically, there was no shower area,
just a shower head in the wall of the bathroom.
Thankfully, we wouldn't be staying the night. Around 1pm, they served us
lunch. I won't go into details, but it is in the top 3 worse lunches
in Beijing… Afterward, we waited around until about 4pm. At that
point, they told us the bad news that our flight had been delayed
until the next day. The good news, was that we could stay the night
in the hotel… right… So Kamala and I hopped a taxi back to our house
and spent the night at home. We did call up some friends and had
dinner at a local Southern style BBQ place. It was awesome! Finding
a place in Beijing that sells a pulled pork BBQ sandwich is like a
small glimpse of heaven. The next morning, we started the whole
process over, luckily to be met with success.
-JASON
GuiLin Normal University
Our first stop in Guilin was the local university. From our
understanding the university has historical significance to the GuiLin
area. Unfortunately, the entire tour was in Chinese, and we were only
able to understand small pieces here and there. One of the best part
of the university though was climbing (using stairs) to the top of
central mountain. This mountain is very cool, and literally juts
straight up in the center of the city. By climbing to the top, you
are able to get a 360 degree view of the whole area. Also, at the
top, you can pay 10 yuan and wear Chinese warrior costumes…
The stairs here were very steep. Each step was only about 7 to 8 inches,
and was barely big enough for my feet. At some points you had to walk
sideways to get your foot on the step. I thought going up was the
harder part, but it turns out going down was much more intimidating.
If you lost your balance, it could be a long trip down.
-JASON
understanding the university has historical significance to the GuiLin
area. Unfortunately, the entire tour was in Chinese, and we were only
able to understand small pieces here and there. One of the best part
of the university though was climbing (using stairs) to the top of
central mountain. This mountain is very cool, and literally juts
straight up in the center of the city. By climbing to the top, you
are able to get a 360 degree view of the whole area. Also, at the
top, you can pay 10 yuan and wear Chinese warrior costumes…
The stairs here were very steep. Each step was only about 7 to 8 inches,
and was barely big enough for my feet. At some points you had to walk
sideways to get your foot on the step. I thought going up was the
harder part, but it turns out going down was much more intimidating.
If you lost your balance, it could be a long trip down.
-JASON
Lake front park
Our next stop in GuiLin was a local lake front park. I don't know the
significance of this park (again because the tour was in Chinese), but
I do know there was some very interesting stone carvings, and teapots…
As well as some interesting phallic plants.
-JASON
significance of this park (again because the tour was in Chinese), but
I do know there was some very interesting stone carvings, and teapots…
As well as some interesting phallic plants.
-JASON
Singing Park
Part of GuiLin's history revolves heavily around singing. I don't
know the whole story, but from my understanding in older times, people
would discuss important topics through song. The song had a preset
rhythm , and you would discuss your topic, rhyming where appropriate.
Whoever could best express their argument through song was the victor
of the discussion. The story goes that a farmers daughter was able to
out sing (debate) all of the cities wise men, and win respect and
honor for her and her family. This woman and her story are very
famous in Southern China. I'm sure I'm not getting this exactly
correct, but I think the gist is pretty close. So our final stop for
the first day in Guilin, was a park dedicated to this story and
practice. It was very cool to get to see the local traditions of this
Chinese people group, including a traditional wedding ceremony that
involves dancing on tables. Not unlike a local redneck wedding. They
end the night with a special performance/play in a large theater.
Kamala and I could not understand all the words, but the play
basically tells the story of this famous singer, and her love
interest. At the end, they both sing a romantic duet to each other.
We are not sure exactly the meaning, but the words sounded remarkably
like "shut your face". So Kamala and I are in the back of this
theater holding in laughter while the two love birds tell each other
to "shut your face" in melody. After the show, we head outside for
the next event. A crowd starts gathering off to the side, and we go
over to check it out. It's a cock fight.
Even though Kamala and I claim to be Carolina fans, there was
no way we were going to stick around for a cock fight.
So we headed over to the side and met up
with some friends. This is also where we ran into evil Mickey.
Evil Mickey is a costumed man/woman that looks remarkably like Disney's
Mickey, but with more of an alcoholic demeanor. So evil Mickey
wonders over to Kamala and I and starts putting his/her hands around
us for a picture. We think, oh this will be great for the blog… we
were right. After the photo, Mickey opens up his belly button zipper
and starts pointing inside. Mickey wanted money for those photos… and
you had to stick it in his belly button. It felt wrong… very wrong.
We paid Mickey his money, and he left us alone. Just in time for the
huge traditional bonfire to start.
The bonfire ends with a massive conga line and a foot-stomping dance.
No kidding, they have a dance where 5 or 6 people hold hands and try to
stomp the crap out of each others feet. Overall, this park was probably the
highlight of the day… minus the creepy Mickey.
-JASON
know the whole story, but from my understanding in older times, people
would discuss important topics through song. The song had a preset
rhythm , and you would discuss your topic, rhyming where appropriate.
Whoever could best express their argument through song was the victor
of the discussion. The story goes that a farmers daughter was able to
out sing (debate) all of the cities wise men, and win respect and
honor for her and her family. This woman and her story are very
famous in Southern China. I'm sure I'm not getting this exactly
correct, but I think the gist is pretty close. So our final stop for
the first day in Guilin, was a park dedicated to this story and
practice. It was very cool to get to see the local traditions of this
Chinese people group, including a traditional wedding ceremony that
involves dancing on tables. Not unlike a local redneck wedding. They
end the night with a special performance/play in a large theater.
 |
| We were the only westerners! |
basically tells the story of this famous singer, and her love
interest. At the end, they both sing a romantic duet to each other.
We are not sure exactly the meaning, but the words sounded remarkably
like "shut your face". So Kamala and I are in the back of this
theater holding in laughter while the two love birds tell each other
to "shut your face" in melody. After the show, we head outside for
the next event. A crowd starts gathering off to the side, and we go
over to check it out. It's a cock fight.
Even though Kamala and I claim to be Carolina fans, there was
no way we were going to stick around for a cock fight.
So we headed over to the side and met up
with some friends. This is also where we ran into evil Mickey.
Evil Mickey is a costumed man/woman that looks remarkably like Disney's
Mickey, but with more of an alcoholic demeanor. So evil Mickey
wonders over to Kamala and I and starts putting his/her hands around
us for a picture. We think, oh this will be great for the blog… we
were right. After the photo, Mickey opens up his belly button zipper
and starts pointing inside. Mickey wanted money for those photos… and
you had to stick it in his belly button. It felt wrong… very wrong.
We paid Mickey his money, and he left us alone. Just in time for the
huge traditional bonfire to start.
The bonfire ends with a massive conga line and a foot-stomping dance.
No kidding, they have a dance where 5 or 6 people hold hands and try to
stomp the crap out of each others feet. Overall, this park was probably the
highlight of the day… minus the creepy Mickey.
-JASON
Riverboat Ride
On the second day, we got to enjoy a riverboat ride from GuiLin to YangShuo. The trip took the majority of the day, and was by-far the highlight of the trip. We took many amazing photographs of the unique mountain landscape, and some of the local farmers living there. Some of the more interesting things noticed was the river merchants. These are farmers floating on river rafts made of bamboo. When your boat gets close they hook up to the side, pirate style, and offer fresh fruits and vegetables to the passengers.
-JASON
I won't try and talk too much about this ride, but let the photos do it justice.
 |
| It was weird having the Chinese flag on the boat. |
 |
| This is the location depicted on the 20 rmb (from a different angle). |
Rafting
So later that day, we go on a rafting trip with some of our friends from work. The raft is made of bamboo sticks with a couple of lawn chairs secured to it. It is pushed by Chinese men who come from
families that would have been formerly river fisherman. These kinds of fishermen, instead of using fishing rods and nets, have specially trained birds.
The birds, which we call mud ducks in the US, are trained by their fishermen masters to dive into the water and bring back fish. The fishermen tie a loose knot around the birds neck to keep it from swallowing the fish. In return, the bird knows that if it catches fish and returns it to the master, he will in turn be rewarded of a fish of his own. This practice has since been over-taken by modern fishing techniques, but it is kept alive for historical reservation and tourists. So we board the river raft and our fishermen driver pushes off down the river. It is us and about 50 other boats.
We had been handed a squirt gun by one of my coworkers, and quickly realized that it was an integral part of the trip. Every boat we came across, and there was a ton of them, had squirt guns. We were hitting people left and right.
These guns, consisted of PVC pipes, and could squirt about 50 feet. And of course the drivers are in on it, so they would sneak your boat about behind people, and just let you blast the crap out of them with water. The bad part was, that we were the foreigners, and EVERYONE wanted to get us. We couldn't pass another raft without getting drenched. You could even hear them shouting "Lao Wai" and pointing to us. "Lao Wai" literally means "Old Out" which is loosely translated to outsider or foreigner.
-JASON
families that would have been formerly river fisherman. These kinds of fishermen, instead of using fishing rods and nets, have specially trained birds.
We had been handed a squirt gun by one of my coworkers, and quickly realized that it was an integral part of the trip. Every boat we came across, and there was a ton of them, had squirt guns. We were hitting people left and right.
These guns, consisted of PVC pipes, and could squirt about 50 feet. And of course the drivers are in on it, so they would sneak your boat about behind people, and just let you blast the crap out of them with water. The bad part was, that we were the foreigners, and EVERYONE wanted to get us. We couldn't pass another raft without getting drenched. You could even hear them shouting "Lao Wai" and pointing to us. "Lao Wai" literally means "Old Out" which is loosely translated to outsider or foreigner.
-JASON
Cave Turtles
On the last day of the trip we got to visit some caves formed in the mountains by shifting of the earth millions of years ago. The caves were enormous and amazing. The local government had stepped in and modified the caves with lights and passageways to make it easier for tourists to get in and out, and to enjoy the show more.
I will admit, it made it more interesting, but it also felt like it was violating the naturalness of the cave. Something else, that was an interesting cultural difference, was the cave tour. In the US, a cave tour would consist of the cave's history, and the difference between a stalactite and stalagmite. Here however, the cave tour was more focused on what the cave looked like. For instance, this rock looks like a mother lion and her cubs… or this one looks like a giant fish. There would also be a story to go along with the different rocks.
I find no fault in this, and it was very interesting, but realized it is a difference in our two cultures. At the end of the cave tour there was a chance to see some cave turtles. Supposedly, when the cave was first discovered, there were native turtles found living in the caves. These are very big turtles, and are probably more tortoise related than traditional turtles. They had some of the turtles in this cave, and you could pay 5 yuan to go see them. I love a good animal site, so we decided to go. What we saw irritated me to no end. We walk through the cave, and find these turtles on table tops for display. They had put glass down so that the turtles could not move (too slippery) and covered them with Chinese decorations and ornaments. People could come up and touch the turtles and take a picture with the turtle. The turtle could not move, literally trying to escape his own pile of waste that kept smearing on the glass. If that wasn't bad enough, there was also a sea-turtle kept in a tank the size of a large bathtub where people could throw money in for good luck. This was too show the difference between sea-turtles and land turtles. In all honesty, it was very disturbing to see, and something I wish I had not paid to support.
-JASON
I will admit, it made it more interesting, but it also felt like it was violating the naturalness of the cave. Something else, that was an interesting cultural difference, was the cave tour. In the US, a cave tour would consist of the cave's history, and the difference between a stalactite and stalagmite. Here however, the cave tour was more focused on what the cave looked like. For instance, this rock looks like a mother lion and her cubs… or this one looks like a giant fish. There would also be a story to go along with the different rocks.
 |
| The lower half is a reflection of the cave over a lake. The tour guide told a story about how it looks like a foggy and snowy mountain. |
-JASON
List of interesting foods
I've decided to keep a running list of interesting foods eaten in China.
Sea-Cucumber
Shark's fin
Snail
Jellyfish
Duck's tongue
Bull frog
Eel - I actually really like this and have eaten it several times
Chicken's feet (they refer to it as Phoenix feet)
Goose Liver
-JASON
Sea-Cucumber
Shark's fin
Snail
Jellyfish
Duck's tongue
Bull frog
Eel - I actually really like this and have eaten it several times
Chicken's feet (they refer to it as Phoenix feet)
Goose Liver
-JASON
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Amazing Show:Impression Sanjie Liu
We saw "Impression Sanjie Liu" on our vacation to Guilin, and it was by far the most beautiful and amazing performance I have ever seen. It was produced by Zhang Yi mou who was the genius behind the 2008 Olympics Ceremony.
There are more than 600 people involved in this play. Most of them are fishermen from the villages along the river.They work on the river in the daytime,and participate the performance in the evening with their bamboo rafts.
Everyone should see this show!
-KAMALA
The theater is the nature itself.
Notice how they light up the mountains..it's beautiful!
Everyone should see this show!
-KAMALA
Playing with your Food
I have heard over and over again not to play with your food. Here in China it is almost impossible for a kid not to play with the food, becuase the food has a face. In the picture below a kid was playing with a chicken head at the table!
I haven't gotten used to seeing the faces of the animals we eat.
We had a great time at lunch, and we played together until .... the kid asked me to kiss the chicken.
-KAMALA
We had a great time at lunch, and we played together until .... the kid asked me to kiss the chicken.
-KAMALA
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