“Welcome Home”- Man at Passport Control

Has it really been two weeks since I was sitting in this same chair typing up the first China trip entry?  In a way it seems impossible and in another it seems like a lifetime ago. So, I am home now- obviously and I can’t wait to go back someday.  I love Shanghai!! Melissa and I stayed at a Marriott because I had some expiring certificates to use and the others stayed at Manhattan Business Hotel near the Bund. Their hotel was $34/night and I totally could have stayed there. It was far better than anything you could get in the states at the price. The Marriott was a nice change of superior service, river view and more wine and food than we could go through. But, it was kind of a pain being far away from the others. We had a hard time getting connected with them so I would probably rethink that decision. Also, the due date for homework was “before you leave Shanghai” so some of us needed to get work done before others and it interrupted some good sightseeing time. I would say- do your class notes each night after class, your plant tour notes each day after the tour and be sure to coordinate with your project partner on a time to work together on the project- especially if you are not leaving on the same day.

Anyway, we left Suzhou to finish our adventure in Shanghai. Our 2.5 bus ride from Shanghai to Suzhou at the beginning was a 25 minute train ride back. My 1 hour taxi ride from PVG to my hotel was a 7 minute train ride back. Traveling by train at 350 KM/hour has its benefits.

Love this city! Walking along the river at the Bund was a favorite. It is just hard to believe that Pudong was farmland 30 years ago- they build cities fast there! We went to Taikang Road twice- that was a very cool place to shop.  Don’t go there for the bargains- go there for the cool stuff. Melissa and I went to Era which is basically Chinese Cirque du Soleil and we would recommend that again. We had a great time and finished the evening with some shopping. Old town is a must see but pushy pushy pushy sales.

Our final dinner was a perfect evening. The weather held up so we ate outside with a breathtaking view of the city, hit a couple of places for drinks and said good bye. These people who were nearly strangers on a long bus ride- seems like I have known them forever. As I sit here now, I know they are over the pacific somewhere trying to sleep and anxious to get home to their families. We were all ready.  

Now it is back to the real life. Xia’s last day of 2^nd grade is today, Reid’s brother is getting married on Saturday and Sydney is busy with final events as she finishes up for the year. I am so grateful to Dr. Donahue and Professor Cooley for leading us on this adventure. To Becky, Kim, Melissa, Scott, Omar, James, Kevin, JT and Thomas- thanks for this lifelong memory, congrats on your graduations and I miss you already!!

China 2011- Success.   

6th and 7th day in Suzhou- Heat and Homesick

Sixth full day in Suzhou- Wuxhong Junior Chamber of Commerce, Williams Control

Seventh full day in Suzhou- Campus Discovery, Bruce, Black and Decker, heat-heat-heat

High heat, no rain………..no Omar. Seems strange not having Omar with us, definitely incomplete. He took a taxi to the train station, train to the airport, flew to Beijing and made it safely there. It will be good for him to polish up his Mandarin and Engrish and we all look forward to meeting up with him in Shanghai.

Over the last couple of days, the pavement has been dry but the air has been wet. On the 97 degree day Kim had enough of her AC being broken. The maintenance man came in, pushed a few buttons and walked away saying it was all fine. We all had a puzzled look as it clearly was not fine. Omar was not missed as much as he had been- the extra air conditioned room was just what we needed. Thanks for leaving, Omar! J

The disconnect from the family is getting more and more frustrating as time goes on. All of the other students have internet and we cannot send a simple email to our families. We can’t check bank accounts, research companies….nothing. I got some internet time at Blue Marlin a couple of days ago so I was able to post some blog notes. The blog and facebook are both blocked in China so I had to vpn to pdx and rdp to desklwebster-not exactly high speed but it worked.  Today, I am going to Starbucks as soon as we are done with our morning meeting and getting online, skyping home and getting some things done. I am so hopeful that we will be there early enough so I am not calling Reid in the middle of the night for him. Should be a good day. I have tried to shop for dresses for Sydney but find myself just wanting to take her shopping instead.  We have a massage scheduled together when I get back and I cannot wait to just be with her. Xia and I are overdue for some park time and this week might be a good time to get rid of those training wheels once and for all. Homesickness is setting in.

So, what have we done other than whine about heat and home? A lot. The Williams Control tour made me want to jump on their career page of their web site. Seems to be an amazing place to work- at least in theory. It kind of opened my eyes to some ideas that could be taken to my work. The Wuxhong Junior Chamber of Commerce was another favorite visit and could be a great opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between Portland and Suzhou. The NOV group spent much of the day keeping Bruce on his toes as he translated for them and then us………….all day. The guy must be exhausted but said he still loves it. In another month, he will be a 1^st year Electrical Engineering Graduate student at Duke University studying in English (his second language). I think he is a little bit smart and might have a few opportunities open up for him when he graduates-maybe. Our final tour was Black and Decker and that was also very impressive. I found it interesting that not only are they and export only company but they are located in the export district- seem strange to have a location specifically for that.

Becky and I have decided on our project. With a spoon and hairclip- we were able to get into the bottle of wine and get some good brainstorming time in. Rain started again and it is still pouring right now- 12 hours later.  Melissa, Becky and I ventured out in it to get dinner, walked through the old campus and strolled down one of our favorite streets. It would be nice to know when the South gate locks and the old campus gate locks. Oh well- our dependable Dong gate was open and we called it a night.

Today, I just finished my instant oatmeal (Thank-you, James!!) and will be leaving soon to meet professor Xu-Followed by internet, cramming to turn in all homework and packing.

Fourth and Fifth Day- Culture, Copy, Dragon Boats and NOV

Fourth full day in Suzhou- Culture class, copy bags and dragon boats.

Still raining

Fifth full day in Suzhou-Culture, Marketing and NOV

Dry pavement!

I am realizing that I need to trim down my rambling for a couple of reasons. I will bore my faithful followers to death and I just don’t have the time to keep it up. It seems like any downtime I have, I fall asleep, email the family or work on this.

So, the last couple of days have been some great cultural experiences. We are getting around very well now and amaze ourselves at our ability to separate and find each other again with no phones. Being forced to use the Chinese language is fantastic- Thomas and Omar are both very good at it, Melissa has her book and I keep my cheat sheet in my bag. Most welcome the opportunity to help us but very little English speaking people. The number of people who have stopped to help, try to communicate, give us directions, anything- unbelievable. These are amazing people. I think in general the trip has surpassed all expectations. For sure the biggest complaints are the curfew at night, being locked in and no internet. All other students have internet. It seems just the foreign dorms don’t.  This blog/journal as actually been referenced as “the blog that can’t be posted”. I am hopeful today I will at least get it to Sydney so she can post it for me. We will see.

Some of the events over the past couple of days have included Guanchian Street where we tried our luck with copy bags….no success there. Scott and Kim experience the mall in a city of 5 Million people on a holiday weekend. Tony from South Africa joined us at the Tibet bar. Omar, Melissa and I hit the streets on a train ticket hunt. I finally got my cart food- yum!! More Chivas, more Chenchen and more fun.  The biggest event was the dragon boat races. For such a big holiday event, the festival had no food booths which would not be the case in the states.

We had a couple of Culture classes and a marketing class. They were both very interesting and opened my eyes to opportunities in China- if done right. We could have had more Marketing for sure – that was so interesting. The culture classes were interesting as well but could probably add more value if we had one taught by an older professor and one by a younger one. It would be interesting to see how the view on culture is changing even between just 2 generations- things are changing fast here.

I was curious about what a Chinese corporate office might look like and the NOV tour gave us a view into that. I was surprised at how clean the warehouse was and wondered if they somewhat prepared for our visit. We heard more about fiberglass than we ever wanted to know. We tried to throw in a question or two to reassure them that we are intrigued by the presentation (well, ‘reassure’ is not quite the right word). Cooley is great at that. He is very good at asking questions when the rest of us go silent or just generating conversation.

Tip of the days:

What I would do for a hot breakfast. I wish I would have packed Quaker instant oatmeal but I have not checked to see if Auchan has it.  

Third full day in Suzhou- “Go in as a silkworm, come out on a runway model” James

Still raining

Today was a day of site seeing and learning more culture.  We went to the silkworm factory which was very interesting but the tour guide was primarily concerned with getting us to the silk shopping area so it went fast. Very cool though and learned something new. Always wash silk with shampoo, dry it in warm shade and save the silkworm poop for to put in your pillow case the next time you have insomnia. I will give 1 and 2 a try and take their word for it on the rest. Many bought gifts and things at the silk store. I thought about it but Holly would ruin a silk duvet cover, Xia would stuff that cat in a silk purse, Sydney wouldn’t like anything that was in the store and I would likely spill red wine on a silk table runner. I am just not in a silk time of my life right now- But already kicking myself for not getting something.

The canal street was culture at its finest. The bargaining skills were put to the test and Melissa and Omar both scored some nice things. I will take them with me when I shop for sure. It is a holiday weekend so it was very crowded of people, cars, scooters and bikes. The poverty and the smog both continue to overwhelm me at times but this experience is worth every minute. Some of us hit the museum and some hit the Humble Ambassadors garden. The museum was too crowded to get in and the garden was very crowded but still impressive.  Our Julie kept us in line and organized and answered any questions we had. We did learn from her today that the Suzhou Dialect is different than Manderin.  This made the dinner order challenge that Cooley had earlier in the week make so much sense but is an odd concept. Imagine if Oregonians could not understand Washingtonians? It is more than an accent but an actual language barrier. Crazy.

I think it is funny how the separation of the boys from the girls in dorms makes us actually refer to each other as the boys and the girls. I digress…

We went to the lake for an incredible evening. It was shocking how different this area was compared to where we were just hours earlier. One person said it reminded them of shopping in Bellevue. Another just said ‘this could be anywhere’….palm trees, new stores, restaurants and the lake view. Across the lake we could see a giant, seriously giant, Ferris wheel and more lights. This could not possibly be the same city we were just in.  I could live here- but it was expensive. No eating amazing food until you could eat no more for 8USD…these were real western prices.

Cooley taught us a dice game in the bar (the guy is constantly teaching- clearly his passion). It was a good way to get to interact with the locals, the bottle of Chivas helped, which was always when we had the most fun. Meanwhile, Omar, James and Melissa were getting their long sought after massages. I contemplated that adventure but decided on dice. They tell the story so much better than I could and it was so funny. Three massage beds next to each other, using elbows and heels to dig deep, tissue paper between the toes…….$24.00.

Barely made curfew, Melissa tried to scale the wall before being let in and scolded and, again, all in safe.

Tip of the day

If you have jewelry on the mind, this is a good time to get that and experience bargaining. Learn to interact with locals- they love and you will too.

Second full day in Suzhou- Falling in love with ChenChen (Monica), Law on the chalk board and Karaoke

I have come full circle in terms of how I feel about the accommodations. At first, they seem better than we thought. Then you start to wonder ‘how will I make this work for the next 8 days?’ and now, it really is all I need and is working fine. The art of improvising and the appreciation for the air conditioner make this room into a living space I can be ok with.  I am not sure what I would do without my hot water pot and instant coffee every morning- Nescafe can almost resemble a Stumptown Americano if you put your mind to it. So, my clothes are drying on my line, my coffee is hot and I can reflect on yesterday and anticipate today.

We successfully brought the Pacific Northwest rain to Suzhou and, as I sit here now, I don’t think it has stopped in 24 hours. So, our day started out with a wet walk to Mandarin class with Xu ChenChen. She was fantastic again and we are all in love with her, her humor and her patients with us as student.  Prof Cooley presented the gifts to her at the end of the last class. Traditional Chinese will not open gifts in front of you but take it home and unwrap it. I wonder if the younger generation has that same tradition as ChenChen didn’t hesitate to take a quick peak in the bag and look at those unwrapped ones. She was happy.

Our Law professor, Sun, oh he was a crack up. With 103 slides he put so much effort into teaching us everything there is to know about the laws in China. In a way it was sensory overload and in another it was highly repetitious of our legal section of international business. I am hopeful we will get a copy of the ppt-it was loaded with information.  Once I get a picture of the chalkboard, it is clear that it was also loaded with information.

While Cooley continuously teaches us the nuances of socializing with the Chinese and Donahue coordinates our classes and events so we get the most out of it, I used my wealth of knowledge showing our youngest traveler how to open a beer bottle without an opener. My work here is complete.

A new kind of taxi ride. They tell you to never get into a private car that offers you a ride in China but there was not a taxi in sight. A van kind of thing pulled up and Chenchen said “trust me” and we all jumped in. As we pulled away, she said “I have never done this before!” and our real life roller coaster ride began. Only the video can illustrate the experience – I hope to be able to post it.

Saturday night out on the town and ChenChen took us to a Cantonese restaurant.  Ate some chicken, pork, some kind of stomach, some frogs, tofu and eggplant.  Of course, some of us would not have likely tried it if we had known what it was but we asked her not to tell us so we could dive in. The food was amazing as always.

Since my group left the restaurant while I was in the bathroom, I found myself lost and the most nervous I had been so far. I knew the taxi drivers did not speak English and I quickly forgot the any Mandarin I had learned. The restaurant staff- no English. I remembered that I had Julie’s business card in my wallet. She had written in Chinese where we are so, in a situation like this, we could give it to a taxi driver. Nervousness went away and I was out on the hunt for the rest. When the 2 guys on the corner responded with a “We sure do” with a Texas drawl when I asked if they spoke English- well, it was like they dropped out of the sky. One was from Houston and the other from Cincinnati. Now there were three of us on the hunt for my “friends”  that included a 6’1” Asian kid, a red head and a bunch of white people- how hard could that be in China? Fortunately, it wasn’t. I wish I had asked them to join us on our night out but I was so busy making sure the others knew just how I felt about that little experience that I only said Thank-you and good bye. I think I was pretty clear and nobody will get lost again.

Within minutes of that minor set back we found ourselves upstairs in some local bar in a private room with a bottle of Chivas and a karaoke machine. I think ChenChen was having as much fun as we were and when she started singing- we all kind of shut our mouths in hopes she is not expecting any type of musical talent out of the rest of us. I wanna hold your hand, lady lumps, a little bit of Brittney, Close to you and more- finished off with country roads and raced back in time for curfew. The boys got in a bit of a scuffle with ‘the lady’ at their dorm- they were not entirely in agreement with the set curfew time.

………a complete day- all in safe.

Tip of the day

When you get the business card from Julie on the first day with your Suzhou home address in Chinese, treat it like your passport!!

For gifts, it would be good to bring gift bags and tissue paper so some gifts can be put in the gift bag unwrapped. Personal opinion really- not sure about right or wrong.

First full day at Suzhou (Soochow)-Mandarin, Finance and Markets

After a night of the constant beeping of some sort of an alarm and a lot of tossing and turning we got up to find we were still locked in the building. The girls paced the halls anxious to get out and very uncomfortable with the fact that we couldn’t.  Finally, with a click of the lock-released.

Everybody was up early this morning and out for a walk/run on the track. There are quite a few people running, biking, playing tennis all at 6am. It was great for everybody to get exercise. I think we are all in the same boat- haven’t exercised much since starting the MBA program and if we did, the “I need to get back and study” is always in your mind.

Our classes were Mandarin with Xu ChenChen and, yes, I know how to pronounce that now. J Finance with Professor Xu. Both were good but I think Xu ChenChen won our hearts immediately. She is just too fun.

 For lunch, we went on the hunt for ‘street food’-which would be the equivalent of Portland’s infamous food carts- just maybe without the ‘infamous’ part. The food looks and smells so so good we were anxious to take our chances. Unfortunately, they were not out today because the ‘anti food cart enforcers’ were out- we will try again.  We ate and went onto to some local shopping. Kind of a combination of the Portland Saturday Market, Pike Street Market and any of the famers markets in the area minus any influence by the county health department or OSHA.  Kim and I witnessed the selecting, weighing, killing and preparing of a chicken…..actually, when I figured out what was after the weighing, she witnessed and I had to turn my head and walk away. At another vendor…I won’t go into the pigeon episode but I didn’t like it.  Disturbing to this foreigner to see but just a way of life for the locals.

Our first taste of internet since we left Shanghai and how sweet it was. You would have thought we had been trapped in some third world country for a year they way we flocked to the machines and almost absorbed the glow from the monitors….ah,  the reading, the writing and the sending of email and the……….BUZZKILL………no Facebook.  It’s a wonder we survived but it’s true- we did. 

Friday night before a 3-day weekend is not the best time for a group of 14 to try to catch a cab……or 4. The harrowing experience of standing as close to the traffic as you can without getting hit by a car, bus, scooter or bike eventually led to us all arriving at the Blue Marlin restaurant for burgers, pizza and beer. It is a nice place and will help fulfill the need for some western food.

Tip of the day

I would recommend encouraging the Blue Marlin later in  the trip when you have had your fill of Chinese food. It is great food but all American.

I am definitely starting to feel like this story is way too Laura centric and there is no way I can be accurately reflecting the experiences of everybody. I think a cool thing to do would be to assign everybody a day to capture what they want including pictures. What a cool blog/story that would make.

1st Full Day in China- Checking into Suzhou

What a 24 hours it has been!  I never found my temple yesterday on my walk- the map was a bit distorted and my 2 block stroll turned into a 2 hour stride. I didn’t care if I found anything. Just walking through the city was amazing until, of course, the torrential downpour. Showing up at the hotel drenched seemed to be quite entertaining to the hotel staff. I grabbed my luggage and was in a cab to the next milestone of my trip- meeting up with the group. I was very happy to see them and I think we all had this sense of accomplishment that we each met at 2pm in Shanghai China as requested.

We boarded the bus for our 2+ hour ride to Suzhou. Those ‘people I hardly know’ that I referenced earlier, yeah…I know them now. This is such a fun group. We have 1 undergrad with his Mom’s credit card (no, we didn’t hassle him about that one at all), an educator in using baseball teams during Chinese massage, one won’t likely put whole crustaceans on my plate again without asking, an IT guy, another Mom with two girls, a guy expecting his first…and second child soon, an ex-kitchen manager, one contemplating San Diego or Brooklyn when she graduates and…..I know I will learn more.

Traveling with Professors is a different experience all together. Just by their nature, they always want us to be learning. So they point out things like architecture, things people say and why, neighborhood developments, etc. They are both fascinated with the Asian culture so, between the two of them, they add a dynamic we would not otherwise experience.

Checked into Suzhou and this is an interesting experience.  We were actually pleasantly surprised in the dorm rooms. They had new laminate floors, we had our own bathrooms, air conditioning, a door to the patio (AKA clothes line), closets, outlets that worked with our things…who could ask for more.  So far, exceeding our expectations. We met our dorm mother outside and the language barrier entertainment began. Melissa grabbed her Chinese book and we laughed with her as we all tried to communicate. We made progress, had fun and definitely broke the ice.

First stop was the local market to pick up things for our temporary homes. Many working at the market are, as expected, students and they seemed excited to practice their English on some real English speaking people. I was surprised that more of them did not speak more English. In fact, some seem to not speak any at all other than a few words. Most of the packaging did not have English on it or maybe just enough to know what is inside. This was all good-adds to the adventure and is a bit of the reality of life in China outside of the American hotel.

Dinner was across the street at the hotel. There are 14 of us so they put us in a private room with the giant Lazy Susan. The servers did not seem to understand much of what Professor Cooley was saying so ordering was particularly challenging. He figured there must be some sort of accent or dialect change.  We ate amazing food and, with most of us hitting the point of complete exhaustion, headed to Auchan to pick up air mattresses, towels and a few things.

……off to bed. Boys in one building, Girls in another, doors locked and lights out.

2012- Tip of the day

Don’t bother packing stuff you can buy here. It is cheap. Our lists included instant coffee, coffee cup, spoon, towel, hand towels, toilet paper, shampoo, soap, laundry soap, hangers, water, beverages and maybe some snacks. Auchan is very close and is like a mega huge Walmart. If you forgot it-it is likely there.

June 2nd

Well, fortunately dreams do not always come true-I did not miss my connection in Tokyo and the ATM machine did work in Shanghai.  There is something about traveling alone that feels so adventurous. That first step outside after airplanes and airports and the realization that I am so far from home in more ways than just distance.  Even from just the airport there is that realization that I remember from my last China trip that there are so many people that are not Caucasian, do not care about the dollar and are more comfortable with a language other than English. I think we forget that sometimes. This is an amazing part of the world and my obsession with what is going on outside the US borders grows.

So, I have had my first night’s sleep and am getting ready for a walk around the area. I should step back a bit- I am a Marriott travelers so that is where I stayed. They had the handy taxi card to print before I left so I could just hand it to the driver and he would know where to take me. I was instantly upgraded and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast in the executive lounge. I guess that does take away from the previous ‘adventure’ comments but  there was something steamed that I could not identify and I ate it so I get some culture points there. Baby steps….things will be much different as I move away from the NYC of China. I got a brief workout in this morning because I HAD TIME TO! and got some helpful hints from Weight Watchers on eating my way through this trip. Hey, if cramming myself into a coach seat for 14 hours doesn’t motivate some sort of weight loss agenda- there is no hope. Consider me motivated (Yes, Chris, you heard that right! I did have an exit aisle in Economy Comfort and the drinks were free so that helped…but I would still question Delta’s definition of ‘comfort’.)

Facebook is blocked in China and actually my blog seems to be too. I posted this by VPNing into my work computer and doing it from Portland-never totally disconnected from there.  Once I am reunited with the rest of my group, I will check on those things to see if there is a trick or if the trick is VPN.

I plan on going to Jing’an Temple(http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/01/content_387373.htm)  because it appears to be walking distance from my hotel. My phone doesn’t work, therefore, I have no Google maps in my hand once I leave the safety net of the hotel staff. Being directionally challenged, this is actually a big deal for me even if it is only a block or two. The thick haze is overwhelming. I tried to capture it from my hotel room but not sure I got the full affect.

Off I go. I should probably end these with a tip to China 2012 group. Let’s see….I would make sure you are staying at the hotel with the group.  The only reason that I am not is because I could not cancel my reservation. Rooms are inexpensive compared to the US so don’t worry about booking well in advance- just book when you know where you classmates will be.  I think that would be fun being with them today but flying solo for a couple of hours isn’t all bad. Print off directions to your hotel in Chinese- this was a lifesaver as I would have had no idea how to tell my cab driver where to go.

Until whenever I can get back online again…….

The Adventure Begins

So, the day is here. For the last 16 months, I have been studying, working and parenting my way through this whirlwind life knowing that, as part of my MBA program, I would spend 2 weeks in China. Now, here I sit just hours before take off sportin' my 11 hour flying attire and my "I hate make-up on airplanes" face. I just returned from the last delivery of the forgotten lunch box to Mrs. W’s class and have paused to think about the 14 days in front of me. What makes this trip so different and my anxiety level so much higher? Maybe it’s the fact that 2 weeks away from my family is..well…simply a painful reality. Or that I am traveling with one person I have spent 16 weekends with and 8 others I hardly know.  My phone won’t work there and I haven’t figured out what, if anything, I will do about that. I could not get my hotel reservation canceled so I am not staying with the others. I leave Portland by myself and go on the hunt in Shanghai for the rest of them. When I return, Xia will be officially a third grader and Sydney will be wrapping up the final days of her Sophomore year.

So, why would I do this? I have not been to China since 1996 when I adopted my beautiful Sydney and any other trip in another country has always been work related. This is different. I won’t have any expense reports, conference calls or attorney driven unrealistic deadlines to meet-and I certainly will not be bringing home a baby. This is all about my learning experience and my passion for everything international. I am limited on time and creative juices right now but look forward to sharing this experience and getting all of those preparing for their 2012 China experience excited about what is to come.

Every link that applies to this trip is here:

This is the program I am currently in and, yes, the countdown to completion has begun.
http://www.cu-portland.edu/som/mba/

This is the school I will attend in China-
http://suzhouuniversity.com/index.php
I will be taking some mandarin and….well, I don’t even know. I am definitely a follower for the next 2 weeks.

For the first week or so, we are in this city-
http://classicsuzhou.com/
I absolutely cannot wait to experience it!!

After a 9 days in the less than luxurious dorm room, I will be staying here (info for my family really- June 11-4)
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/shalu-shanghai-marriott-hotel-luwan/

Then, I come home………….