The heat is.....off!

Hello bloggees (being my new term for people who read blogs).  Welcome to my latest blog entry, all the way from Beijing China.  It has been 2 months since my last confessi....I mean blog entry.  Things have been a little bit crazy over the last couple of months.  Let me quickly bring you up to date.

Chinese New Year has come and gone, and I spent 2 weeks back in Australia during the start of February - a few days in Perth, and the rest of the time back with mum and dad in Picton.  It's probably appropriate that I compare my new home town to my old home town (for those that don't know Picton, or Beijing for that matter).  Beijing, where I currently call home has a population of 20 million people.  I have walked down streets in Beijing for the 9 months I have been here, and not met anyone I know.  Picton has a population of 3,000 people.  I was home for 5 minutes, went into the town, and heard my name yelled across the street.  Got to love small towns!

I arrived back in Beijing mid February to enjoy the last few weeks of winter.  I have to admit that as much as I thought I could handle winter, it was harder than I thought.  Bitterly cold days, heavy pollution, having to put on 3 layers of clothes to pop out and get some milk. Give me Australian seasons any day.

This is a photo of me travelling to Changchun, where the temperature got to -35 degrees!  You can see how excited I am to be travelling to such a cold place.  

It was a crazy week after arriving back in Beijing.  For those that don't know, mum broke her hip and had to be hospitalised for a few weeks.  Through the joys of social media, I found out what happened before mum and dad had a chance to tell me.  Got to love Facebook!  The good news is mum is back at home now, recovering well.  

It was time to hit the road again, and spent some time in Nanchang, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hefei.  One of the great things about travelling is not just visiting some amazing cities, but also working with the local teams and enjoying the many different cuisines throughout China.  In my stop in Nanjing, we went out to an Oyster themed restaurant where they serve many different types of oysters.  The attached photo is oysters covered in grilled cheese.  Not bad.  

These were Chinese oysters (I can't remember exactly where from), but they were very tasty.  There were garlic, curry and many other styles.  Between 6 of us, I think we had about 25 oysters.  It took me a while to explain to the locals the word aphrodisaic. 

The photo on the left is where we went after the Oyster restaurant.  It was a club in the 1912 district of Nanjing called "Enzo's".  Lots of tables (which is wise to book), a DJ (but no where to dance), and a drink menu that included a champagne package valued at RMB 30,000 (about AUD5,000).  Let's just say we went for the cheaper option.  In the photo is night DJ LuKai, Program Manager Summer, our new marketing manager Rheece, and me.

Next stop was Hefei, where we planned to attend a client party for about 150 clients. One thing about being in a foreign country that I am very careful about is eating, and making sure that food is prepared properly etc.  I have been here almost 10 months, and it was Friday where I finally got caught out.  Not sure how, or where, or what, but I obviously ate something that made the following 24 hours very interesting.  Let's just say I was very glad to make it onto the plane the next morning.

During winter, Beijing is centrally heated.  The government says when they will turn it on, and they say when they will turn it off (which was yesterday, hence the title of this blog).  It takes a lot of energy to centrally heat a city of 20 million people, so as you can imagine, this would generate alot of pollution.  In fact, it produces a bloody lot of pollution.  There is a scale that records the pollution from 0 (clean), to 500 (stay inside/unhealthy).  One day in January, it got to 738! So, when I returned to Beijing after my trip, the office girls decided to distribute face masks.  Not sure how much they keep out, but even if it's 50% it will be my new fashion accessory next winter.

So, that brings me pretty much up to date.  Oh, except the St Patricks Day Irish ball which was on Saturday night.  One of the biggest social events of the year in Beijing, and we had 2 tables with 20 people (there was 700 people all up).  I was still getting over food poisoning, so wasn't 100%, but still had a great night.  The food was good, the band so-so, but great company!  The attached photo shows me with friends Will and Andy (notice Andy and I have the same bowties, especially made for a few of us).

This week is in Beijing, and next week on the road again to one of my favourite places - Xi'an.  Thanks for taking the time to share my adventure and reading my blog.  Don't forget.  Tell you friends!  It is still an incredible ride, and it keeps getting better.   I can't believe that in a few months I will rack up 1 year in China.

Zaijian! Bring on spring!

Lost in Translation

Where has the last month gone?  I can't believe it's been over a month since I wrote my last blog entry, and it took a reminder from my mum to write another entry (thanks mum!).

For those who have been following the journey so far, a quick update of the last month.  Xmas was a strange experience and not simply the fact that I was away from family and friends, but because in China, Xmas is simply another work day.  So I went to work! OK, I went to work in the morning then I had a 3 hour lunch with a friend, then left early to go to dinner, so there wasn't much work done.

Here is a photo of Xmas night dinner.  It was like a gathering of the United Nations - Singapore, Canada, Australia, USA, UK, Russia and Ireland.  And a big turkey dinner! Boxing day (my birthday) was another work day.  Again, went to work, had lunch with the boss, then went home early and a quiet drink with the neighbours at a local.  I was coming down with a cold, so it was a very quiet night.  Home by 8:30!

Let's skip to New Years Eve, and was I was introduced to a new NYE custom.  A group of us were invited to a Spanish restaurant by our friend Gina (I hope you're reading this Gina!) to celebrate the New Year - Spanish style.  What happens at midnight is you eat 12 grapes - 1 grape each strike of midnight.  And you are supposed to make a wish for each grape.  Have you ever tried to eat 12 grapes in 12 seconds?  And as you can see by the photo, my grapes were not exactly small, so I failed.  Next time I'm going to request smaller grapes.  But it was a great night, which finished for me at 4am.

The last few weeks it's been back to work (oh, and planning my trip back to Australia on 31st January).  I've spent a few days in Tianjin, 2 weeks in Nanjing, then back to Beijing before flying out to Australia next week.   Everyone in China is getting ready for the Chinese New Year (on the 9th February).  One of the most important days on the Chinese calendar.  Almost everyone goes home to spend time with their family, so it is also one of the biggest travel days of the year, when big cities like Beijing and Shanghai see a mass exodus of people.  Just the thought of moving 1.3 billion people is mind boggling.

Anyway, I don't really have that much more to report so I thought I would share some of my favourite "Lost in Translation" photos that  I have taken in the last 8 months since coming to China.  As I've come to understand, things get translated literally (Eg.  Rocket in Chinese is translated to "fire sword").

 The first was taken at the JinJiang Inn in Guangzhou where I was staying for 3 weeks while preparing for the launch of our latest station.  It didn't taste fierce, in fact it tasted just like it looked - sweet.

This sign is in the lobby of my Mandarin school.  It reminds people that you must go and register when you arrive in China, at the "Pubic Security Bureau".  What exatcly are you registering?

 We held a Digital Music Test in Xi'an back in August, and this sign was at the registration desk.  I think it should have said something like "Sign in here".

 I'm sure I have mentioned it before, but it's common practice for most people in China to spit.  Yep, a good clear of the throat, then hack up on the pavement.  The government even tried to ban it before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  As you can see by this loosely translated sign "don't spitting at anywhere".  Trust me, no one pays attention to no spitting signs.

One of my new favourite "lost in translation" signs I snapped this week at a food hall in a shopping centre in Nanjing.  I am still yet to work out exactly what it should say, or even what it is.  I think it could be marinated, or stewed - but not urinated.

And finally, this last photo was on the wall of my bathroom at my hotel in Nanchang.  I had to look twice to make sure it said what it said, and definitely a laugh out loud moment.  I'm sorry, but I think I will skip the background music this time.

I was thinking, if you were fluent in Chinese (both reading and writing, and speaking) and good in English, there is an opportunity to work as a sign translator.  Mind you, if someone came in and fixed all these sign, what would I have to post on Facebook every week.

I've never been so cold in my life!!!

As you can see, the title of this blog post needed 3 exclamation points.  Yep, I love a good exclamation point, and the weekend just gone I needed them all when describing just how cold it was.  Not just cold.  Ridiculous cold!  And when I say ridiculous, I mean R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S! At one point the temperature dropped to -35 degrees!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let me start at the beginning.

If you've been following my China adventure, you may remember that 2 weeks ago I was working in the south of China, in a city called Guangzhou.  The weather was great.  Warm almost everyday, temperature around 28 degrees, and me sitting by the pool while girls in bikinis fed me grapes.  OK, maybe the pool, grapes and women in bikinis is a bit too much - but you get the picture.

Coming back to Beijing was enough of a shock to the system.  When I arrived back home, the temperature was about -2 degrees.  Pffft! -2! Is that all you can throw at me? That I can handle.  But it was nothing compared to what awaited me the next weekend.

David, the Branch Manager at our Changchun station, was throwing a party for about 400 people -  200 clients, and 200 listeners and he sent me an email officially inviting me to take part, first by making a brief presentation and then by presenting some awards. All in the city of Changchun  North-east China, where the forecast for the weekend was from -35 to -27 degrees!

Sorry, what?!

Yep, -35 degrees to -27 degrees (and we're talking celsius here people!).  In a matter of one week, I will have dropped 63 degrees!  I'm not a doctor, but I'm sure that cannot be good for your body.

Once I got over the initial shock of going somewhere where it will be colder than the coldest place I have ever been, first thing I needed to do was go and buy a warmer coat.  Preferably one that covered every inch of my body, and that had a built in heater that kept me at about 20 degrees.  OK, maybe asking too much, but off I went to Yashow market and haggled over the price of a Canadian Goose jacket.  Happy with the price, and the coat, I tried it out in the -5 degrees Beijing had decided to deliver.  Beautiful!  But how would it survive -35?

Saturday morning, up at 5:30 and decided to catch the airport express which involved about a 10 minute walk to the station .  Temp = -12 degrees.  As you can see by this photo taken at the subway station, I looked very happy to be going to -35 degrees.  But I felt warm.

Oh, and the train didn't leave until 6:30, but I realised it takes about 10 minutes to get dressed.  5 minutes to do up the bloody zipper on the coat, then put on everything else - scarf, beanie, gloves etc.

Pretty much all of the flights I have been on in China, the planes have been full.  But for some reason, not today.  Strange?!  Why don't people want to fly to Changchun where the weather is cold, and -35?

Once we landed in Changchun (after seeing from the air just how white it was), I could feel the cold walking through the airport.  This was going to be something I will remember for a long time.

I met my assistant Milly ( who flew in from Shanghai) and then we met our driver.  OK, here it comes.  Time to walk outside.  Jacket zipped up.  Scarf on.  Beanie secure.  Gloves fastened.

Walking through the door, the cold just hit me in the face and took my breath away.  It was -22 degrees! The cold reached every inch of my body in a second. Wow, what a feeling.  It felt like when you are exercising in the cold, and breathing in the cold air - but about 100 times worse!

We got to the hotel and checked in.  Lesson 1 when walking on ice.  Beware the black/clear ice.  You know, the real slippery stuff.  I think I almost fell about 5 times, but managed to stop myself.

The day was uneventful.  We went to the office to interview some staff, then back to the hotel and got ready for the big party.  Leaving the hotel (around 5pm) the temperature was -27 degrees.  And sometime over night, it would drop to -35!  Bring it on!

Next 3 hours we were in a theatre (which was surprisingly cold considering they didn't turn on the heat) watching the show put on by the Changchun staff.  My presentation went badly (the PPT didn't work), then I was asked to come up and help the magician, which was also a struggle because I didn't know what he was saying, and he didn't speak English.  I have been learning Mandarin, but I don't yet know the Chinese word for "abracadabra".

After the show finished (around 11pm) we all went off for Karaoke.  Temperature, -32 degrees.  I'm not sure of the lowest temperature I have been in (maybe in the snow fields of NSW), but on the steps of the theatre in Changchun, I was now in the coldest place I have ever been.  The photo on the left is Lio (Branch Manager of Xi'an) and my assistant Milly on the steps of the theatre.  Photo on the right is me, asking myself "what the f*** am I doing here?"

We finished karaoke around 1am, and when we walked outside it was -35 degrees!  Even though I wasn't looking forward to it, and I could not think what -35 degrees could feel like, I did take a moment and thought that this was pretty special.  I'm sure I will get the chance to go back to Changchun during winter next year, but nothing is like your first time.  Right?!

A few things I learned from the weekend:

- Wearing suit pants in -35 degrees is not a great idea.
- If you travel outside with a bottle of water, it will freeze.
- Pizza Hut in China do breakfast (I know, a bit random.  But the bacon and egg sandwich on Sunday morning from Pizza Hut was awesome)
- Taxi drivers don't put the heat on
- No matter how many times you say "geez it's cold", doesn't make it any warmer.

The Chinese - A few observations

Nihao!

Jintian, wo zhu zai Zhongguo liu ge yue le.

Oh sorry, I'm just showing off my Mandarin.  What the above says is that today, I have been in China for 6 months! (well, I hope that's what it says?!).  And what an incredible, amazing, eye opening and mind expanding 6 months it's been.  I knew that coming to China was really going to push me outside my comfort zone, and it's been worth every second.  I feel that, in my first 6 months, I have grown both professionally and personally (no, that doesn't mean I'm getting fat!).  OK, enough of the deep and meaningful stuff.

China is the world's most populous country (just in case you didn't know and you get asked that question at your next trivia night).  I am surrounded by 1.3 billion Chinese,  so I thought I would dedicate this weeks blog to a few observations I've made about the Chinese people (with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.)

1.  Spitting

OK, so this is a big generalisation and not all Chinese spit.  But  everyday, no matter where I am, I'm guaranteed to hear the sounds of someone clearing their throat, followed by said person spitting.  I think the Chinese government should invest in the good old fashioned spittoon,  and put them on every street corner.  At least the spitting would be accompanied by the "ding" of the spittoon.  I can already see the next act on China's Got Talent.  A spittoon band!

I Googled the reason why Chinese spit, and really, there was no definitive answer.  Some say it's because of the pollution.  Others say it's because everyone does it.  But I think it is something that will be phased out over time.  It only seems to be the older generations that spits, and the teens and 20 somethings don't seem to have taken up this habit.  Maybe if Justin Bieber did it, they might take it up.

2.  Close Door button

Here's a tip for when you are riding a lift with a Chinese. If you are getting on or off the lift - be quick!  When those doors open you better jump on, or off fast!  The reason?  They love using the "door close" button.  I hesitated getting onto a lift once, and someone pushed the door close button.  The result was the doors started closing as I was walking on, and the door closing on me.  Not a very pleasant experience.  And when you are on the lift with someone, and it stops at a floor, their finger goes straight for the door close button - while the doors are still opening! Run, run for your life!

Be prepared.  Be alert. Don't hesitate!

3.  The food

Every meal I've had with my Chinese colleagues and friends is an experience.  It's part of their culture that they order enough food to ensure there will be some leftovers.  A good host will lose face if the guests eat all the food.  Guaranteed you will have enough food leftover for another meal.  I think the "doggy bag" was created in China, although in some parts of China, doggy bag has another meaning. The hardest part I have found is managing what I eat.  Because pretty much every Chinese meal is a banquet, with dishes constantly being brough out, you lose track of your portion size.  It's very easy to eat too much because you can't get an idea of "what's on YOUR plate", because you are trying all the dishes.  And don't get me started on the variety of food.  That's a whole different blog.

4.  Personal space

I suppose in a country of 1.3 billion people, personal space is a luxury.  I'm constantly fighting for space on the subway, walking down the street, fighting for cabin baggage space on a plan, even checking out of a hotel.  In Australia, you get used to people giving you your own personal space.  We obey the rules.  We don't stand on top of you when you are conducting personal business, like taking money from an ATM.  Not in China.  I was checking out of a hotel once.  I had my passport, my wallet and my credit card on the counter when someone came up and stood right next to me.  Shoulder to shoulder.  I didn't know the Chinese word for "back off", so I sort of shooed him away.  I think he got the message.  

5.  Oldies Flash mobs

I think this is one of my favourite observations so far.  You could be walking anywhere in China - outside a shopping centre, through a park, or just down the street, when suddenly someone will set up a ghetto blaster, start playing music, and begin dancing.  I first saw this outside a shopping centre in Nanjing.  It was simply a group of housewives who began dancing.   My favourite happened in Guangzhou today.  I was walking down from the Dr. Sun Yat Sen memorial when I came across another group.  And this time they were ballroom dancing.  Not  a care in the world.  Like the saying goes, "dance like no one is watching".  There was one woman dancing by herself.  I was afraid to make eye contact with her, because I'm sure dancing with a foreigner would score her some brownie points with her friends.  It's been a while since I've had to dance, so I avoided her gaze and kept walking.

Just a few of my observations during my first 6 months.  I left out driving skills, the abuse of cabin baggage limits, the leaving of doors open in hotel rooms,  the fact I have to get an official receipt for EVERYTHING, or the fascination with small dogs.  Maybe I'll write about those at the 12 month mark.

A quick thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys my blog, and thanks for the feedback.  I would like to write more, but sometimes I just don't have the time.  As I mentioned above, this is an incredible journey and I am learning so much that will set me up for bigger and better roles, once I'm ready.   Sometimes it's hard to believe that this boy from Picton, a little town in NSW with a population of 3,000, is about to launch a radio station in Guangzhou China - population 12 million.  

Zaijian!

So, what about that local sports team?

Hello from Guangzhou!  Yes blog readers, I have set up camp in the JinJiang Hotel in Guangzhou (Southern China) for 2 months as we get ready to launch our biggest radio station so far....and we have to do it in 6 weeks!  We have no office, no on-air staff, no research, 1 station manager, and 1 admin person.  It's going to be a busy few weeks.

In the meantime I have set up office in my hotel room.  Well, when I say office, I have my computer and an internet connection.  That's it.  I suppose all I need for now.  Next week it's round 2 of interviews, and I hope by this time next week we will have close to a full staff.  Still no office though (we move in on December 26.  I've never had to work on my birthday - until now!). 

OK, now to the subject of my latest blog.  I could have written about the change in weather in both Beijing and Guangzhou.  (Boring)  I also could have written about dancing to a cover of a Midnight Oil song in a Chinese bar last weekend.  (Surreal).  Or maybe my first visit to the doctor in China (expensive!).  Or bragged about my appearance in a local expat magazine (I'll do that at the end).

I was sitting at dinner last night with 4 of my work colleagues, and it hit me.  This is what I should write about!

 

One of the most difficult things I found when working in Bangkok, and now working in China, is the language barrier.  Out of all the staff with MyFM China (about 200), probably about 10 or 15 people can understand and communicate in English.  That's why I use a translator most of the time.  But when it comes to sharing dinner with my workmates, this is where I find the language barrier the most challenging.

Last night 5 of us went to a local restaurant for dinner.  Luca (my boss), Hongtao (Station Manager for Nanjing), Lillian (Admin in Shanghai), Milly (my translator/assistant/legend) and myself all went out for a local   Chinese meal (although in China, it's just called a meal).  It's a situation that I have found myself on numerous occasions.  Out of the 4 of them, only Milly can speak good English.  Luca is better at written English, Lillian understands a bit. Hongtao nothing!

So, as dinner starts, we talk briefly about work and kick around a few ideas and talk about the day.  Things are being translated, and I feel part of the conversation as we share a drink and some food (after last night, I can add a new food to my list - eel!).  As dinner progresses, the conversation is translated less and less as they talk with each other.  It's nothing that concerns me, and I was prepared for this as the same thing happened in Thailand.  But sometimes you do feel like you are the third person on a date (actually, at least on a date I could understand what they are saying).

I probably know about 700 Mandarin words, and pretty confident about what I have learned so far, and I listen out for words I know during the conversation.  Sometimes I can put together a few words and work out what is being said.  Most of the time, I sit their like a shag on a rock (I don't even know what that means).  It's a strange feeling watching a group of people talking, and having no idea what they are talking about.  Sort of like watching the last Matrix movie.

Every now and then Milly might translate something, or if my name gets mentioned I ask what is going on.  But at dinner, the momentum of the conversation prevents me from jumping in too much.  Any pause in the conversation, I feel like breaking out that great line "So, what about that ( local sport) team?".  But they just wouldn't get it.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy listening to the conversation, and feel very proud of myself when I can identify words and pick up on the conversation.  But it does get boring sometimes when you have no idea what is going on.  I have become an expert in fiddling - playing with the chopsticks, looking at my phone, picking food out of my teeth (even if it's not needed), checking my phone again....and my favourite,  trying to work out what I just ate.

Below is another photo, from my perspective last night.  Luca is on the left, Hongtao on the right.  As you can see, very animated discussion taking place - I just wish I knew what it was about!

Oh, and as promised (and just in case you missed it), I popped up in 'Agenda' magazine this week.  A fortnightly expat magazine, based around business people.  I appear in the "Brainiest Boss in Beijing" section.  And before you judge my 7 out of 12, I'm actually coming equal first!

If you missed it, have a look at http://issuu.com/agendabeijing/docs/agenda2012.12a/49 Plus, you're all getting a copy for Xmas.  But knowing the way China post works, it will be Xmas 2015!

Zaijian!

"D" is for drinking, and "T" is for Tequila

My first trip to China was back in 2006, when I was asked to come here to speak at the annual conference of the Shanghai Media Group.  It was a very quick trip - arrive on Monday night, speak at the conference on Tuesday, and fly back to Bangkok (where I was based) on Wednesday.  But during that 48 hours I was introduced, very quickly, to the way you do business in China.

Before I moved over here in May, I started doing some research of what I should expect.  I read 2 books about doing business in China, both of which had very big chapters on drinking.  And ever since arriving on 9th June, I have learned that pretty much everything that was contained in those 2 chapters, is pretty close to the mark.

Here are a few key points to understand about drinking with Chinese business people:

1.  Alcohol is served at every dinner or lunch you have with Chinese business people

2.  If you don't want to drink, you need to show you don't drink from day one.  Otherwise, come up with a bloody good excuse because you will be EXPECTED to take part.

3.  You will be served either beer, wine (most likely red), rice wine...or the dreaded "Baijiu", which is translated to white wine (but it's not white wine.  More like rocket fuel!).

4.  Everyone at the dinner will propose a toast, either to the group, or to individuals.  So, if there is 20 people at the dinner, you will be required to participate in 20 toasts.  

5.  When you do toast, it will most likely be "ganbei".  This means bottoms up, or loosely speaking drain your glass.  Luckily, you will be working from a shot glass

6.    Don't expect to leave before the host or guest of honour.  It is polite to stay the distance.  You get lots of brownie points if you're one of the last men standing.

Now that I've let you into a few tips about drinking in China, let me get to the purpose of this weeks blog - tequila!  On Thursday, we held the 3 monthly station managers meeting in Shanghai.  It included a day of presentations from each manager, plus a session from me.  Then it was dinner time.  Always expected to be a lively affair.

My drink of choice at dinner was beer.  The secret to staying the distance is to only drink when you are being toasted.  I learned this the hard way because they keep refilling your glass.  So, I kept my beer handy, and toasted everyone by taking a sip of beer.  Not much "ganbei" action on Thursday night, which is fine.  But I still managed to polish off about 10 beers.  Oh, and the point of the dinner was to present some awards.  And just to prove it, here's a photo.

After dinner, we moved to a local bar, and the drinks kept flowing.  No one was leaving (the boss was still there), so we ordered.  Wine and beer for most people, I ordered a double Baileys.  I can handle that better than anything else after drinking alot of beer/wine.  2 double baileys later, the boss decided to wrap things up - not before he bought a bottle of Tequila and shots for everyone.  At this stage there was about 10 of us left, and not many of the team had ever had a tequila shot.  So, it was up to me to show them how it was done (Hey, I'm just improving China/Australia relationships).

Before I showed them, I thought I would tell them how we REALLY do it in Australia.  "Have you ever heard of the Stuntman?" I asked.  No.  Well this is how we do it in Australia.  You snort the salt up your nose, throw the tequila over your shoulder, then squeeze the lime/lemon in your eye.  This was received with a few shocked looks, but mostly laughter as they did realise I was joking. Ah that good old Aussie sense of humour!

I downed the first shot, complete with the lime and salt, then joined in when everyone else did theirs.  Hey, if they can handle Baijiu/Rocket fuel, a shot of tequila is nothing!  We finished off the bottle (I had 4 shots), and called it a night.  I was a little worried about how I would wake up on Friday, but surprisingly woke feeling OK.  Maybe it was the fact that the boss bought a good tequila...or maybe it was the fact that I am slowly becoming used to the way we do business in China.

Ganbei!

What a crazy winters day!

I started writing this blog with the view to writing an entry every week thinking I would have plenty of time.  I mean, how long does it take to write a blog?  Add a few photos, write a few things about what I did, throw in the odd funny observation, and it's done!  But I didn't realise I would also be very busy.  That's why it has been a few weeks between blogs.

So, for those who are playing along at home, a quick summary of what I've been up to since my last blog.  Prepared 6 powerpoint presentations for training, flew to Xi'an for 3 days, flew to Hefei for research study. Then got the call to fly to Guangzhou for a day to have dinner with our new station partners, then flew back to Hefei.  Then flew from Hefei back to Beijing.  Caught up for a few beers and some bowling with my Beijing peeps, hosted 2 days of training for my Program Managers, throw in a few Chinese lessons, some Chinese meals (including a surprisingly tasty turtle soup)..and that brings you up to date.

Last week at bowling, a few of us decided to go to the soccer (apparently they call it football in other countries).  The local Beijing team (Beijing Gu'an) were playing their last game of the season at Workers Stadium, which is only about 20 minutes walk from my apartment.  Great, my first ever live soccer match, and I am watching a little known Chinese team play another slightly lesser known Chinese team.  Bring it on!

As the day grew closer, the weather got colder.  At one stage, they forecast the first snow of the season.  Could be interesting, but I am willing to try anything, and in any condition.

The game was due to start at 3:30, so we decided to meet at Switch Bar and Grill, and bar near the stadium.  After I suited up in jumper, jacket, scarf and umbrella, I met my neighbour Andy and we walked down to the bar.  Joining us on our soccer adventure would be Al (Kiwi), Bruce (Scot), Phil and Alistair (another 2 Poms), and Sue (American).  After a few Heinekens, Tsingstaos, Mooseheads and steak sandwichs all round, we marched up the stadium.

The scene at the stadium was, in one word, mad.  The riot police were on hand, along with a massive security presence.  The rain was absolutely tipping it down, and even though our tickets had seat numbers, it was a matter of finding the best place to stand/sit.  We decided to walk right to the top of the stand, and watch from the nosebleeds.

Let's face it, I don't know much about soccer, but I'm pretty sure the Picton Under 12's could have given both teams a run for their money.  Kicks for goal went high and wide, and it wasn't until about the 89th minute that Beijing Gu'an kicked the winning goals winning 1 to 0.  (Did someone say rigged?) The crowd went wild, and it was all over.  What then followed was the longest ever team song I have heard.  I think it went for about 10 minutes.

Just in case we didn't realise, the announcer (in English), told us "The game is over".  Thank god, otherwise we would have stayed there all night.  We made our way out, and discovered the temperature had dropped by about 5 degrees, and with the wind chill, it was about 0 degrees!  So, what better way to finish a football game, than a beer and pizza.  A quick stop at "the Den" for a beer, then I had to make a quick exit.  I promised another friend I would meet her and a few others at a Malaysian place on the other side of town.

I walked the 20 minutes back to my place in the now freezing cold.  Wind, rain, and inside out umbrellas was what greeted me on the streets of Beijing.  A quick change, then it was out to try and flag down the ever elusive Beijing taxi.    Standing in the wind and rain under my cheap umbrella, I was almost going to chuck it in.  It took about 20 minutes to flag down a taxi, at which stage I was running late.  Meeting at 8:30 was turning more into 9:00.  I got dropped off where I believed the restaurant to be, only to find out I still had a bit of a walk.  After phoning Wen (my American/Chinese/Malaysian friend), I finally made it to the restaurant wind blown, cold, and in reasonably good spirits.

When I walked in, I discovered that out of the 7 or 8 people invited, only 4 of us turned up.  And on top of that, the restaurant was closing at 10pm.  So, it was the worlds quickest meal, pay the bill, then the 20 minute obligatory wait to get a taxi.  Made it home by about 10:30, and turned on every heating device in my apartment.  

It was a crazy winters day in Beijing.  But, well worth doing and would do it again tomorrow (actually, I did do it again tomorrow, but that's another blog).  After the crazy events of yesterday, I woke up to the first Beijing snow this morning.  And 0 degrees!