Happy Halloween!!

I found these guys at the entrance to the hotel restaurant. So I actually do have a little of the Halloween spirit in China! Happy trick-or-treating. I love you. Please take pictures of your costumes for me. Love, Mom.

I finally did it!!

Yes - I finally poked around enough and figured out how to get all the blog web pages to show up in English! Now I know what all the menus do. This is 26 days into my trip and I have two days left to go.

Police Car followup

Yesterday Holden told me that the little police car in the blog below was a Volkswagen. I asked him how in the world he knew that?! He just knew. Today I saw another one and guess what - it IS a Volkswagen. Of course you are right, Holden. You sure know a lot about cars!

China update

I have a few minutes, and was actually able to get a connection to the blog site (having a LOT of difficulty from China) so I'll take the opportunity to send a little update... First – a little education on China. (Still homeschooling from the other side of the world.) A quote from 3M security… “Government surveillance is a fact of life in China. 3M travelers should assume (and conduct accordingly) their conversations could be monitored on the telephone, in hotel rooms and in restaurants.” This is definitely a different world. I was told that China does not allow any satellite communication. None. They still want all the information for the Chinese people to come from the Chinese government. The internet has opened a big door, but they still have some country level controls over that as well. I also learned at lunch today (all my cultural learning is over food) that when each person is born in China they are given a registration certificate for the city they were born in. They now belong to that city – forever. You cannot move to another city unless you have already secured employment there and your new company is willing to get you a temporary relocation certificate to live there. So a person born in Shanghai cannot just decide to move to Beijing. If they do, they can get arrested. You cannot choose to move from the city to the country. You do not have that choice. The registration is also tied to medical, school, and other social systems. A Shanghai child will not be allowed in a Beijing school unless their parents have gotten all the proper temporary registration paperwork. Interesting! Government control is heavy here. Another thing I am continuing to learn… the traffic here is TERRIBLE! It’s crazy! I’m glad I’m a pretty laid back person or my fingernails would be embedded in the car right now. It’s NUTS! I have never seen anything like it before. (Got this picture off the internet. Haven't taken my own yet.)

So, today was a bit more challenging at work. People not attending, miscommunications, etc. Also, a big software deal that was nearly complete (back in St. Paul) just fell through. I’ve been telling people it’s almost done - it’s in every presentation I give. It was supposed to be a big success story. (Sigh.) Here is the 3M building I'm in today and tomorrow. It's a brand new research and development center that opened about a year ago. Yesterday I spent time at headquarters.

Personally – I’m just tired. My mouth is tired of trying to pronounce the words. My brain is tired of all the presentations. My stomach is tired of the food. I’m tired of brushing my teeth with bottled water. I’m tired of working long hours and not getting much personal time before I go to bed. I’m tired of not sleeping in my own bed – with my own pillow! My brain is done with this trip but I still have a few days left. Trying not to “check out” early. That’s about all the time I have for now. Today, as well as the next two days, are filled from 7:30 AM until after dinner. Tonight is a bit more relaxing though. An American friend is going to take me out to a good burger joint. I’ll let you know how it rates. (I’m so used to Andy’s burgers – nothing can compare!) I’ll send more later if I can. Love you all.

Marinated ox tendon served in chili sauce

Really tired today. It was a very long day at work. Ate marinated ox tendon served in chili sauce. Tastes about what you'd expect. Similar texture to jellyfish tendrils - a bit chewey - but with a gamey flavor. No, I didn't request seconds. Big presentations tomorrow so I need to get some sleep. More later.

Meetings in China

Hi there. Just taking a quick break. I've been presenting to IT managers for the last two hours and I must say that this was the best yet. Great topics, great discussion - I really kicked... Oh, hi kids. Anyway - this was probably the work highlight of my trip so far. Lots of stuff to work on still though... On another note, I finally found the "Language" button at the top of the blogger log on web page. (I never saw it before because I can't read Chinese/Korean/Japanese.) Clicked around and was able to change my page to English, but sadly when I logged in it changed it right back to Chinese. Oh well. So, I'm learning all the features and functionality by feel. More later. Love you!

For Sydney

Hello, My Dear. I wanted to give you a big thank you for making all those drawings for me. (For all of you reading this, Sydney created special little hand-made envelopes for me to open at each stage of my journey - including one that I could open when I got on the plane in St. Paul. Inside each one were different drawings she had created for my trip. The envelopes were all labeled so I knew which one I could open at each stage of my journey.) They have been so wonderful and I look at them whenever I miss you. I love the penguin because he's so cute, but I also really like the turtle picture that I just opened as I got to China. He looks like he's laughing! You are so thoughtful. I keep the pictures in my carry-on luggage that I take on the plane with me. I want to make sure I have them with me all the time. Thank you very much. Love you! I'll be home soon. Mom.

Dinner out

Tonight the IT manager in China invited us out to dinner. He's from Austin, Texas and has been here for two years. He picked us up at the hotel - actually, he and his driver picked us up. 3M does not allow non-Chinese to drive at all while they are stationed here. He asked me what I did today and I told him I headed to the Maglev and then to the temple. He replied, "So, you're adventurous, are you?" The first thing he asked me was if someone taught me how to cross the street here. (Seems like a simple task, but it's definitely NOT.) I told him I learn quickly and just tried to figure it out as I went. He said he had someone teach him. He learned quickly that you never run across the street to get to the other side quickly. The drivers don't know what to do and how to react to a running person, but they can navigate better when people walk. (They can better time their zooming in front of you without hitting you.) He said it sounded like I did pretty well. I told him that I wished I'd gone to the Chinese Gardens today as well. Then I learned that Suzhou, the place I'm visiting on Thursday, has the best gardens in China! I may have to delay our ride back a little. Anyway - we went to a dinner banquet hall. There was one room, just for our group (5 of us). I have never had a dinner, or service, like this before. It was amazing. There were several people just standing next to the table to quickly address any little thing we needed - and they anticipated our needs. We had 15 dishes, some big some small. The main courses were chicken and fish. They tried to order snake, which is supposed to be very tasty, but the restaurant was out. Just got back and will try to catch the kids on video before I go to bed. I have a VERY busy week ahead. We have 5 completely full days. I'd better get my rest.

Read them all!

Hi Andy. Several blogs today. Read them all. I'll try to catch the kids when they wake up. Love you!

Shanghai

OK - what do to today? I woke up, did a little video session with the kids before they left for a 4H party, and got myself ready for the day. I decided on a few things - not too much - planned my route and headed out. It was not the best start since I was a little nervous about navigating Shanghai by myself (on my first day here!) and then got completely contradictory advice when I asked the hotel staff about my plans. First person said I was all wrong and second person said I was right. (Hmmm. I like the second person.) So, I decided to see if I could walk to the metro station. Left just after 10:00 am. (Since there seems to be now way to break up these blogs with new paragraphs or spaces, I'll just add a few pictures here and there. Here is the view out of my hotel room.)

First thing I learned, be careful when crossing the street - it's REALLY DANGEROUS!! People, cars, bikes, buses, taxis, motorcycyles... There's everything, and none of them seem to care about the others. The motorcycles drive wherever they want. They drive the wrong way down a one way, against the lights (all the time!) around corners as pedestrians are crossing a street, and even down the sidewalks! You can be walking along and have one come up behind you and miss you by a hair! Very unnerving. I walked down some streets and saw small markets, people hanging their clothes out, old men sitting on the steps talking, it was great. I also saw a few things that I would have loved to get a picture of, but thought it best that I keep my camera put away - I don't think they would have wanted pictures taken of what they were doing. A little gambling, negotiating, etc. Interesting, but I just kept walking. (Making mental notes: Remember how I got here - what turns I took - how long it took me.) Finally made it to the metro about 20 minutes later. Nice, easy walk though. I did realize that as I walked I was blogging in my head the entire time - like I was taking mental notes to tell you all about it. I've been blogging too much! So, I was able to figure out the subway system and hopped on. Where was I headed first?

The Maglev - the fastest train in the world. They have only one track from the station to the airport (actually 2 on tracks side by side) and I knew I couldn't leave Asia without taking a ride on a bullet train. But you'll have to hold on a minute, we're not quite there yet

On the subway I sat next to an old man, maybe 80 years old. He saw me get out my map after a few stops and check the stations. I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction. He asked me, in Chinese, where I was going. All the Chinese I had learned (the few words) left my brain and my mouth only found English. All day yesterday I practiced how to say "I don't speak Mandarin." - Where was that now?! I told him I was OK. He understood "OK" but did not believe me. He kept at it and motioned a bit. He was asking me which stop I needed. I told him Longyang. He smiled and put his hands up - that was his stop too! He kept chatting in Chinese and I just smiled. He said "Maglev?" and I nodded my head - "Yes!" He laughed and put one hand over the other, showing me how the train hovers above the track. Then he zoomed one hand over his arm, made the whooshing noise, and let out a big laugh. He guided me off the train and pointed me to the Maglev station. We both shook hands, smiled, and said goodbye. What a sweet man! So, now we are at the station.

The Maglev is the fastest train in the world. (There are several in Asia and Europe.) It uses magnetic forces to float above the track. It goes 431 km/hr (hold on, let me convert) - that's 268 miles per hour! It travels 20 miles in about 7 minutes, though most of that is spent speeding up and slowing down. You don't stay at the top speed for much of the trip. That's almost like going from Forest Lake to the Rosedale mall in 7 to8 minutes. It's fast! The ride is smooth but as you are headed out of town there are a lot of buildings close to the track and they go whooshing by so fast it made me a little disoriented. If I looked out at the land beyond I was fine. On the way back I felt and heard this "Fwoomph!" It was the other train coming the opposite direction, on myside of the train. It was so fast you could hardly even see it! Both trains were going top speed. I got a little video but it's pretty shaky. I can't upload it here but I'll show you when I get home. It looks like I pushed the fast forward button on a movie. So, the round trip was over within about 20 minutes. Back to the metro station to go to the Jing'an Buddhist temple. (Yes, I've seen a lot of temples - I love them.) Actually I was going to stop and see a little shopping first, but the ticket machine wouldn't let me buy a ticket to the People's Square, so I thought I'd just pass and go straight to the temple. I got there and found these two huge lions guarding the place. I went inside to find that it was really quite empty. I'm either early or here on a quiet day of the week. Either way, I was thankful. I walked around a bit and took it all in.

There is this metal tower thing in the middle of the square. It was pretty cool, but I didn't know what it was. (No English literature around at this one.) Later on I sat down and just watched everyone. I found a lot of people trying to throw coins into one of the openings. It's harder than it looks! People would keep trying and coins would rain down on everyone. Sometimes one would go in and come out the other side! I decided to try my luck at it and my coin went in on the first try. Does it count if it gets stuck on the little balcony outside the center? Let's say it does.

I love all the wonderful detail of everyhing - the silks, the carving, the woodwork. There are many wonderful sights. After a while I decided to just sit down next to this tree and just closed my eyes and listened. There was the sound of the city that was really overpowering, but it didn't take long for that to melt into a background hum and you could just FEEL this place. It was really cool. When I was done I headed outside, not sure where I would end up. I started walking and turned a corner to find an old outdoor market. I headed in too take a look. (Making mental notes again - Remember what turns I took and how to get back! How far did I go? What street am I on?) First thing I smelled was food! I realized I'm hungry. Second thing I immediatley smelled was urine and sewage. Appetite just disappeared. I wandered around the market a bit but there was nothing I was interested in. Everything for the house and home but not much for the tourist.

Walked around and saw the popular shopping area. Literally crossing the street you went from downtown China to Fashion Island USA. It was really strange. Grabbed a bite to eat and headed back. Yes, I made it back just fine. Remembered all the turns, streets, and subway stops. Just enough time to blog before going out on a dinner engagement at 6:00. Hope you enjoyed Shanghai.

Police Car in China

Thought I'd send Holden a picture of this little police car I saw out my hotel window...

Korean Family

I wanted to remember to tell you about a Korean family I saw in the airport as I was leaving Seoul. Mother and father, about our age, sitting with their two kids. The girl was about 7 or 8, had long hair in ponytails, was tall and thin and wearing jeans that were way too short for her legs, and she was absorbed in a Korean comic book. The little boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old, was jumping around excitedly and running back and forth to the airport windows pointing at the planes and shouting enthusiastically. He was never still for one minute, even when his father sat him on a chair, and he refused all forms of food given to him by his parents. Sound like anyone we know? Weird.