14. The AQI of Death

There was another index that put us over 500. Try waking up to this in the morning and tell me it has no impact on your mood. Still have hot water issues in March.

10. The Bombshell

We're fast approaching Chinese New Year and I hate that I haven't been consistent in documenting this adventure. Apart from this past week has been hectic, there's been hella drama constantly unfolding every step along this journey. I plan to go back and revisit some of the highlights along the way to give them the courtesy they deserve, but we'll see.

On Wednesday and Thursday (January 30th and February 1st), teachers were moved back to the Holiday Inn Dongzhimen near Sanlitun (the second hotel we stayed in when we first arrived) because of a power outage on campus. We took two mini busses at around 1pm which were quickly packed, making it necessary for some colleagues to catch a Didi to the temporary accommodations.

Leading up to the move there were some concerns about food spoilage, as many teachers just so happened to have food in their refrigerators and freezers. The idea was that the school would collect our perishables and store them in the cafeteria's freezer, which would be sealed until our return to campus. Some of us figured it would be just as viable to bag our items and hang them out the window of our apartments (the weather has been in the negative single digits on the celsius scale). I'm not sure how many, if any, went with plan A or B, but Dea and I ended up just trashing a bunch of leftovers and taking some "snacks" to go.

The Didi actually beat us to the hotel. Once we arrived, we exchanged our visas for room keys, dropped off our bags, and took advantage of the opportunity to visit a favorite spot, the Great Leap Brewery, with the best burgers I've had in Beijing. I got a little happy and ordered two - a lamb blend with tzatziki sauce, and a cheeseburger. We also had some hot wings. I washed it all down with a banana wheat brew that was pretty tasty... and Dea had a coke.

We slept in until around eleven and got a WeChat from Chuan asking what we wanted to get into. We went back and forth before deciding on the National Museum of China. It was a great day.

Thursday evening we ended up at the In & Out Lijiang Restaurant where I had a papaya salad that wasn't anything like what I thought it would be. Afterwards we walked over to April Gourmet, an international grocery mart, to pick up some Delirium Red beer, some gummy colas, and some sea salt & vinegar chips. Okay, and I went back to GLB and grabbed a burger... in case I got the munchies. We witnessed that rare super blue moon eclipse that occurred that night. Dea thought it looked weird... like a planet.

We were up and out early Friday morning. This time we enjoyed the luxury of a charter bus. While everyone else was hanging out in the lobby waiting for the bus to pull up to the entrance, Steven and I, following our instinct, took the thirty second trek up the block and grabbed some seats. My phone was acting funny so while we debated on how we would notify the rest of the crew that the bus was just up the street, the principal showed up looking for the bus. Dea was right behind her. She figured since she hadn't heard back from me, I must have been seated comfortably and unwilling to go back into the cold. Awkward.

I caught some z's on the way back to campus. Traffic wasn't bad at all. Once we arrived, we shot up to our apartment for a quick change and then to classes to finish setting up for the student-led conferences. It was a long day but the conversations made it worth while. A couple of parents even asked for pictures with me. Because my day was fully booked, the conferences went on until 5pm. I was looking forward to heading back to the apartment and calling it a night, but "the crew" wanted to get together and head to the Gem Mall for dinner at one of our favorite spots.

Because we had Wednesday and Thursday "off", we had to make up for it by teaching on Saturday. That was as weird for me as it was for the kids. We spent half a day "catching up" before heading to the Arts Center to practice for the Spring Festival Celebration in some refrigerated temperatures. No recess after lunch meant that the kids were off the chain! Because it was so cold in the theater, we went back to the classroom after our rehearsal and watched Moana before dismissal. Hey... it was Saturday.

Sunday was the first time ordering delivery and was sadly disappointed with the results. Delivery time was 2 hours and as one might imagine... the food needed to be warmed.

Monday, just before lunch, the email was sent out that sent all the balls on the billiards table scattering into their respective corners whispering about the latest bombshell: The head of school is being replaced. The other shoe finally dropped. Funny watching personalities "adjust" themselves. Politics is shameless creature. The remainder of this week will be spent practicing for the Spring Festival Celebration Thursday, and then we're on break at the end of the week.

8. Game of Thrones

Our first group meeting went well. The director ran through all the expected perfunctory presentations before breaking us into our respective groups (elementary and middle school) to ascertain what kind of further training we would require with respect to our existing knowledge and competency implementing the International Baccalaureate program followed by the school.

The group of around twenty two teachers, the schools first cohort, is a decidedly diverse group with a few people having previous international teaching experience. There are representatives from Israel, the Soviet Union (his words), Ireland, Scotland, Venezuela, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and various places within the United States. At least four other colleagues brought along their families which included children and their were two other teaching couples.

Maatie had initially come down with us, and as soon as she found out that she didn't have to stay, she was out of there. We called her when we broke for lunch and enjoyed another buffet style meal in the hotel restaurant. Lunch was green beans, pot stickers, watermelon, cantaloupe, some sliced meat I thought was beef that I need to put out of my mind because it din't taste like anything I've had before or would want to eat again, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and jasmine tea.

After lunch we left Maatie to her own devices and rejoined the group to review the week's schedule and expectations, then proceeded to sign contracts, fill out paperwork for banking, submit our travel and visa reimbursement receipts, and get our settling in allowance.

Once we concluded our business in the meeting room, we went back up to our apartment to get ready to go shopping. During the meeting we learned, among other things that, because Beijing air is so dry, using the provided  drying racks after washing clothes is quite efficient. We took a trip via the train to the TIANTANDONGMEN station (translated Temple of Heaven), four stops from RONGJINGDONGJIE station (the nearest station to the hotel) where we were told by Omar, one of our colleagues, that there was a mall where the prices were more reasonable and there were an abundance of American shops like The Gap, McDonald's, etc.

Dea and I were issued transportation cards but needed to purchase a third for Maatkara. It was a good ten minute walk to the train station, which we navigated based on the general directions we were given and a bit of common sense. First we went to the kiosk to figure out how to get a card for Maatie. It was awkward. We debated about which stop we had to get off at for about five minutes until we found the button that translated the screen to English. Finally in agreement, Dea purchased a ticket for Maatkara from the station agent, and wanted to verify we were heading in the right direction. All the while, the line behind us started getting longer...

When we finally make it to the platform, I can't help but notice the similarities between the trains in Beijing and the trains in San Francisco. Lots of similarities. One thing I noted in particular that was different, was that there were no doors between the cars, just one long open space.

In the mall Dea got some new kicks, some fingernail polish remover, and we went grocery shopping. I ran out of gas as the girls explored the aisles. When we got back to the hotel, we broke down and got some fast food - chicken sandwiches. I tried to tip one of the patrons at the second restaurant but she chased us down and gave it back. Took a shower, ate, almost fell asleep on Black Mass with Johnny Depp, but woke up for (drum roll, please) Game of Thrones! I watched Game of Thrones in Beijing!

Chara called me at three in the morning. Gotta get used to having a life in two time zones.

7. Sunday, Sunday

Glad I didn't purchase an adapter for my Macbook... turns out that if you are just looking to charge your electronic devices (e.g. cameras, phones, laptops),which come with their own charger, where the charger itself indicates an input voltage of 100-240V, then you are good to go, as the operating voltage in China and HK (which are 220V) is different to North America (120V). Guess I can scratch that off my list of things to do.  

Today was a day to chill. Housekeeping came in and provided us with more water bottles, emptied the trash, replaced the towels and linens, and even did some cleaning. I know it's her job, but it still makes me feel awkward for some reason to be present while she's doing it. We're definitely going to have to leave her a gift at the end of our stay. 

I wonder if the hotel staff have been directed to practice their English. The young lady manning the breakfast entrance always says "good morning" and "bye-bye" when we come and go... even when I greet her in Mandarin. I can't tell yet if I'm using the correct pronunciation. I hate courtesy.

Speaking of which, there are these signs asking guests not to waste food in he breakfast buffet, but it never fails - folk leave plates full of food on the table and walk out. It's a pet peeve of mine - especially when someone grabs the best slices of watermelon and doesn't bother to eat them! Breakfast was eggs, toast, chicken sausage, watermelon, cantaloupe, kimchee, apple juice, and jasmine tea. Took a walk around the hotel afterwards and stopped in to look at a pastry shop Dea eyed the other day. She wants to go back so bad, but cake makes you fat, and I can't have that. I should know. I've had my cake, and eaten it, too!

Started getting sleepy so we got in a workout at the gym for a little over half an hour - didn't want to overdo it. On our way back to our room we saw that the hotel had billiards and table tennis, so we took a detour. Turns out that the billiards table was in the parking garage. Security caught us exploring the sub basement maze trying to find it, provided us with the balls and rack, and shooed us down the hallway in what we presumed to be the right direction.  At the other end of the hallway, a maid took pity on us and escorted us to the garage. When in China...

The first game I lost by sinking the eight ball. The second game I won. Dea called the best two out of three and commenced to having her way with me having teamed up with lady luck. Every now and then an employee would walk through and either congratulate one of us on a good shot, or snicker to themselves at how awful we were playing. Once Dea won, there was no chance for a  few more games. Winners don't gamble. They quit while they're ahead.

Once we got back to the room, we showered, ate a cup of noodles and reviewed the schedule for the week so tomorrow morning we'll hit the ground running. Oh! On a positive note, the smoke stacks were shut off sometime this morning and boy did it make a difference! By noon the sky was just as blue and beautiful as it could be. Talk about a dream come true...

In the news, NPR reports that VPN services are under threat, so we'll see how that affects my ability to post. Stay tuned. 

6. Hitting the Streets

Got up from a long after-breakfast nap looking forward to getting some grocery shopping in, then realized we had no RMB (Chinese money). Dea felt guilty for not getting the currency exchange done at the airport, but I wasn’t studying that because I heard what the fee was (something like 10%). We arrange something with Yolanda and tried to make it clear that we could try and take care of it ourselves if she would just point us in the right direction (she was on duty at the hotel for the other KaiWen guests), but she insisted that it wasn’t a problem and so we were off to hit the streets… as soon as it stopped raining.

The rain didn’t come down hard or long, and afterwards you could actually see a bit of blue sky. We met Yolanda down in the lobby and were out the door without any lallygagging. As Maatie and I trailed behind Dea and Yolanda like two little kids entertaining themselves with silly conversation, the heat decided to hitch a ride on my shoulders. Being a big guy, I didn’t complain, but I’ma tell ya… it didn’t take long for me to start sweating like I was in a sauna.

The banks we went to first were all closed, so Yolanda called a cab and we tried another location. The cab driver passed us up, but Yolanda had her phone. After some quick biting phrases the reverse lights came on as the cab backed up to where we were waiting. 

The cab had a dashboard machine that reminded me of something that would fit in the movie Blade Runner. A micro-sized dot matrix printer that took forever to produce a receipt. We exited the vehicle at some corner and hiked it the rest of the way to our destination - a storefront bank. 

I never really gave it any thought before, but it was interesting noticing the different phenotypes in Beijing. It made me recall that there were different ethnic groups, each with their own culture and history within the land we call China. The Chinese, like any other nationality, are not a monolithic people.

The service person on duty at the bank informed us (Yolanda) that in order to do a currency exchange we would have to be card members at the bank but that we could try the Bank of China which was about a mile up the street. While she explained this, Maatie and I took note of the B-movie storm trooper on guard. The security officer didn’t carry a gun, but wielded a big black night stick, wore a vest, and had a helmet on. Dea insisted that we could make the trek to the other bank ourselves, trying to be respectful of Yolanda’s time, but Yolanda insisted that it was no problem.

It wasn’t a terrible walk. The biggest thing was crossing the intersections. Yolanda made sure to follow the rules by the book, whereas I was eager to jaywalk and play chicken with traffic, like the natives. I got my chance later, but on the way to the bank, we were obliged to suffer the heat and amused expressions while waiting for the appropriate traffic signals.

When we entered the Bank of China, a branch no doubt that resembled a city permit office back home, the security guard gave us a once over, probably because I was the only person in the room sweating like a thief in a room full of cops. Mattie said I wasn’t allowed to leave the hotel anymore without a handkerchief or towel. The tension was palpable. While he circulated the room, he kept his eye on me, prepared to demonstrate some Kung-Fu should I get out of line.

The service agent behind the window pushed his buttons, scanned documents, ran calculations, and consulted with his supervisor for about 45 minutes… slowly eating into the time Yolanda had to be back at the hotel. Dea was feeling guiltier by the minute as Maatie and I, oblivious, cracked jokes about phrasing and translations. 

When it came time for the actual exchange, I dug into my pocket and pulled out the last of my cash. Dea took it all without so much as a thank you and handed it over. Of course she kept the new currency as well. Women.

When we left the bank, the security guard’s disposition went from that of a suspicious detective to that of a starstruck fan. He was all smiles, breaking character as we walked out the door. 

Zài Jiàn (Tzi Chyen - my phonetics) means goodbye.

We caught another cab leaving the bank. It was a female cabbie. We got dropped off at the Mall while Yolanda presumably went back to the hotel. The Mall wasn’t that different from Water Tower Place or Circle City Mall. There was a floor for fashion goods. There was a floor for food. There was a floor for kids, with toys and indoor playrooms (probably because of the outside pollution). There were even areas for electronics and knick knacks. What it didn’t have was a grocery store. Something must have gotten lost in translation. Speaking of translation - Maatie was a lifesaver, when she could be found. We often found ourselves looking around desperately to have her facilitate communication with the vendors.

Word to the wise: if you’re a spendthrift, patience is a virtue. Having a currency exchange app on my phone was useful when it came to figuring out if an item was overpriced based on its equivalent value in the United States. While there were quite a few great deals, like anywhere else there are items strategically advertised that are grossly overpriced. Smart shopping skills are invaluable no matter where you are.

wo bu zhidao means I don’t know.

We remembered passing a WuMart (not a Chinese Walmart) on our way to the bank, and decided to find our way back there. 

Although nearly everything was labeled in Chinese, I didn’t feel like such a stranger finding my way through the aisles and produce. A couple of things I noticed were that the eggs were not refrigerated and came in many colors, including black, while others were spotted and mottled. Needless to say I highly doubt that all of them were chicken eggs. There were foods I wasn’t familiar with, many vacuum packed, and meat and fish were set out like in a traditional fish or meat market, artfully presented, but unrefrigerated. Although I wanted to get ingredients for cooking back at the hotel, Dea was hungry and irritable, and in a “right now” kind of mood, so we ended up getting cups of noodles, fruit, and even some respirators.

Many stores had brand specific sales people whose job it was to push certain products on customers. Hand gestures for waving them off were an effective substitute for not speaking the language. I couldn’t find an adapter for my laptop and had to resign myself to the idea of ordering one online. In the meantime, I had to make do with Maatie’s power cord. 

As soon as we left WuMart, Dea and Maatie donned their masks. I caved and put mine on after about a block and was self conscious about how many looks we attracted. We weren’t the only ones on the street with masks on, but we were the only troop on the street wearing them. I couldn’t tell you how effective they were other than to say that I didn’t smell the pollution while wearing it; but while walking behind someone smoking, I still smelled the cigarette smoke. So many smokers in China! As if the smoke stacks belching pollution into the air wasn’t enough!

We had a decent walk back, and this time didn’t wait for signals. Cars did drive up on your ankles, though.

When we got back home, Maatie did a video on what we got and how much we spent. I got in the shower, ate, watched some television, and went to take a nap which turned into a coma lasting until 10pm. I’ll have to go back some time to take some pictures to go along with my accounts.

4. The Ride

Leaving the parking garage, I couldn’t help but notice the high end cars with their private parking spots. It looked like a very stylized movie set from the next sequel for The Transporter. I guess it should go without saying that Western luxuries come off like the default status symbols in Beijing, but it gets kind of annoying seeing the Western graffiti of capitalism scrawled all over a foreign country. Call me romantic and naive but I really looked forward to seeing cultural distinctions rather than cultural assimilations.

In preparing for our trip to Beijing, we heard somewhere that traffic signals or lines were more like suggestions. I don’t know about the traffic lights, but the lines definitely lack the authority they have in the states. Between the airport and the hotel, I noticed, among other things, that people drove like those erratic drivers in Chicago, well... like me in my twenties... rushing to get nowhere fast. But where my aggressive driving was colored with impatience, frustration, and some mild road rage, I noticed that when one car cuts another one off, it’s more like a chess move: impersonal, strategic, and matter of factly. 

There is this weird flow to it, arterial, like blood pumping though veins, that kind of breathes in and out in a steady kind of rhythm. It can come off as disrespectful and self centered, but something about it also feels very natural... everything moving according to its nature in response to an invisible wind. Like a drunk person who doesn’t like touching people walking home in a crowd. 

The abbreviated character for Beijing prefixes most of the city's vehicle license plates. I noticed on more than one occasion that when the flow of traffic was disrupted, the culprit usually had plates from outside of Beijing. Drivers who are indecisive, drive too slow, or otherwise provoke the use of horns, seem to have kindred spirits all over the world.

There are, as one might expect, a large variety of automakers I wasn’t at all familiar with. Most branding medallions were complemented by Chinese characters, including models made by automakers I was familiar with. I even saw a few trucks that looked like they popped right out of a Richard Scarry book… tiny vans on little wheels just putt-putting their way along. I saw a Nissan Altima that also had “Teana” and “VIP” letters affixed to the trunk and pillar respectively. At first I thought they were stylish personalizations, but Dea said she saw them on more than one vehicle. 

Motorcyclists are daredevils out here. That, or they have incredible spider senses. They just find openings and go for it… using Jedi mind tricks, no doubt, to prevent cars and trucks from unexpectedly cutting them off. 

A bit unnerved from trying to make sense of the traffic patterns, I turned my attention to the heavens. The pollution in the sky was thick, though there were spots where the sun broke through the dirty clouds like the mirth of angels. As Maatie chatted in Mandarin with the driver, who offered corrections here and there, I wondered how long it was going to take me to get some basic conversational Mandarin under my belt. Had Maatie not been engaging, it would have been a pretty quiet and long ride.

When we finally reached our destination, a Holiday Inn Express about 30 minutes out from the airport, we unloaded our bags and dragged them into the lobby of the hotel to find out about next steps.

1. Leaving San Francisco

The initial plan was to take the BART to the airport, as it is only two stops from South San Francisco. It would have been a chore lugging our baggage down the hills for what promised to be a fifteen minute walk, but Tiana had a rough week and she very much needed the rest.

Got up a little before 6am and started peeling the leftover shrimp from The Boiling Crab so I could either have it for breakfast or take it with. 

Sidebar: I’d have never thought I’d be comfortable pinching off the heads and shelling whole shrimp if you put the idea to me a year ago, although after watching Beasts of the Southern Wild, I have to admit it did look like fun. Maybe it was because I was hard up for some decent eats in San Francisco. The great company was definitely a major influence. I was hungry, the food was delicious, we were being treated, and it was a new experience… so I got to pinching and shelling. Dea called it “an interactive experience.” I loved it… all of it. Two pounds of boiled shrimp, seasoned with “Tha Whole Shabang" and mild seasoning. Good eating!

(Out with family at the Boiling Crab in San Jose, CA. Lachiya and Leland are the BEST!)

Anyway, I’m over the sink shelling shrimp and thinking I could mix it with some rice made the night before, but my stomach is telling me I’m not thinking straight. It is full. But I don’t want to waste it, cuz it was so good! Tiana doesn’t like seafood, so leaving it behind isn’t an option. Dea suggests I ziplock it and bring it with. I feel a little bad because the garbage truck has already come and I’ve got the house smelling like reheated shrimp heads.

Just when we’re about to head out, the thought occurs to me to ask Mia, Tiana’s roommate if she likes seafood. BINGO! So she has some dinner to look forward to. 

We drag the luggage out to the car and pile it in, Tiana throws on some Prince, and like a true Cancer, points the car toward the airport. Dea offers up that ole “TT, you don’t have to…” half hearted protest, but I’m ignoring it cuz I know Tiana’s saving us from the cussing and bad attitudes that come with trying to coordinate such a trek on foot.

After our goodbyes, we tag our bags at the self-check in kiosk, check our luggage, and make our way to the departure gate. We sit down and catch our breath with a little over an hour to spare. An old white haired man sits down in our area and starts coughing. A lanky asian youth, with no sense of personal space, nearly climbs over Dea’s luggage to get to the perfect spot to take a photo of a plane at the terminal window.

United Flight 888 is scheduled to leave at 11:30am but Maatkara says that boarding begins at 10:45am, so we head downstairs and get in our assigned cue for boarding. Once on the plane, I’m glad I upgraded our seats to an exit row. Boarding was smooth and pretty roomy, though I did notice that some asian folk have a tendency to just push past you instead of being patient while you stow away your carry ons.

I suggested that Dea and Maatie put their bags up, too, but they wanted to hold onto them and set them on the floor in front of our seats. After the plane had filled up, a stewardess informed Dea that they needed to put their bags in the overhead. Of course the one most convenient to us was already full. I bit my tongue and looked the other way while they had to figure it out.