Suzhou has been said to be heaven on earth.  I must say after this past weekend I believe that to be true.  This weekend I went with Ben as my guide to this amazing city.  Ben came and met me at my dorm housing on Saturday about noon.  He was not permited to enter because he was not a 'big boss' as everyone here at the mill says or a guest. We finally were able to get on the bus but it took a lot of work. I really do not agree with this system here with the guards and patrols at our dorm site.  Everything and everyone are separated and sorted.  You don't so much have a name but a number if you are one of the locals.  One of my co-workers earlier today described this place as a prison.  - some of the nicest people we have met that speak the best English are not permited to enter where we live...kind of a bummer but oh well :-/  Tab decribed our situation here as like a US mill with the engineers and the union - except here there is the 'big bosses' and the works but they don't really have rights. There is also this mountain where we live at, takes about 15 minutes to walk to the other side and you can climb it.  When we have asked some of the locals if they climb it for fun they all have so no it was not appropriate for them.  The President of the company climbs it every morning.  That is one of the biggest things I don't like...granted, I think I might start climbing the mountain for exercise.  It might be the Presidents mountain but I'm bigger than him...

Sorry about that tangent but it is something that has been bothering me for a while.  Suzhou was about a 2 hour bus ride and when we arrived Ben and I caught a taxi to our hotel. It was all the way across the city in a little place called Home Inn or 'hui ja' like 'Go Home'.  It was a small, yet nice place, about a 3 star hotel maybe and very cheap - 200 yuan total or about $15.  The first room they took us to had no window and was covered by a giant TV screen facing the outdoors.  It was about the size of big screen at a college or professional football game.  They made some calls when we decided we did not like this room and transfered us across the street to the same hotel but a room with a window. 

We then went out to see the first of 3 parks for the weekend.  It was called the "Humble Administrators Garden".  In China, a park is not what we think of it as in the United States.  Parks are more or less giant gardens with old attractions like old buildings and artifacts.  This was a very beautiful and eloquent park.  It was amazing.  It was not my favorite of the weekend but still fantastic!  When you arrived it appeared as if the whole place was floating on the water or in air.  The engineering structures that held up the buildings were surrounded by plants.  It was such a relaxing atmosphere.   There were giant lilly pads with large white budding waterflowers.  There were many large goldfish (so large I do not believe you can call them goldfish).  I honestly believe I saw one that weighed about 7 lbs.  There were also many levels to this park you could climb around.  Every angle you looked at the park from was a different view of the city or natural surroundings.  It was so exciting and a great start to my visit to Suzhou.

That night, after we left the park Ben and I went back to the Home Inn and rested for about a half an hour before we went out on the town.  For dinner we partook of many Suzhou snacks which consisted of cold pork bacon, cold duck with a sweet sauce, a small fried bird with feathers, feet, and the head still attached (yes Alden, feathers).  There were also these sweet egg rolls and a glass of local beer. 

We then went out and walked around the city a bit.  Downtown reminded me of a small Las Vegas.  The streets were lit up with bright lights, signs and billboards, and chanting people.  Cars were not permitted on this street save this little tolly car which kept playing Jingle Bells so it was a pedestrian friendly spot.  We took in some of the culture and then we decided to get a foot massage as I had never had one before (Brenda, they are really good here!).

I must say though, I did not know what I was getting myself into.  For 70 yuan or roughly $10, I got a pedicure and my toenails trimmed, and of course a foot massage.  The started it with a foot soak which was very difficult and the cute girls kept laughing at me because my feet were bigger than their buckets.  They didn't really know what to do.  They then started and it was very relaxing.  Later on, the massage girls left and someone brought us watermelon and tea. Ben told me that apparently we were getting a fully body massage as well and this was the interim snack.  The girls came back in and I was a bit shocked I must say.   I have determined that my massuse must have liked me because she got a bit handsy.  My butt got about the same attention that my back did.  I believe if it was a guy giving me that massage instead of a cute girl I might would have flipped out but it felt really good!  I would do it again in a heartbeat!

After it was all over with, we put our shoes back on and walked back to the hotel.  I asked Ben where I could get a massage close by...he told me Dagang.  I got excited!!!

When we got up the next morning, we went to a park called Tiger hill.  This was by far my favorite.  While it was not as beautiful as the other to parks we went to, it was all natural instead of man made.  It was nothing but God's beauty!  It lies to the west of the ancient city of Suzhou and has a histroy over over 2500 years.   It's beauty matches and surpases that of many other famous mountains and rivers. There were many attractions there but the one that sticks out the most was the great, archaic Yunyan Temple Pagoda known as the Leaning Tower of Suzhou.  It has a history of over 1000 years serving as a symbol of Suzhou.  We then saw a small pond with ducks in it called yuen-yung.  I think it roughly translates and male-female.  Ben explained that these colorfully patterned ducks were always found in pairs.  It is said that love is what keeps them alive.  If their mate dies, they will also soon die according to the legend.  After looking at the ducks and then walking around for a while, Ben informed me that we were in the middle of a tea garden.  We decided to take tea here since it was pushing close to the afternoon.  The little tea hut was a small and ornate building decorated with old chinese relics it seemed.  As we drank the tea, Ben informed me that this tea was the rarest from the garden right outside and can only be gathered 20 days of the year.  It was not bags of tea like we are used to in America, but rather green tea leaves with a strong and refreshing flavor.  We refilled our glasses several times while we relaxed, talking about history, culture, and just getting to know each other better.  The tea most assurdly got better everytime we refilled our glass.  Ben said the first filling gets the chemicales out of the leaves and the second is the most relaxing and tastes the best. After this, we decided we had seen about all there was to see there but I really would like to go back again.  It was just so beautiful. 

That afternoon we spent a while looking for a KFC or McDonalds.  We soon found one after riding around a crowed public bus for about 20 minutes.  I have never really cared for McDonalds burgers much but I must say I welcomed the Big Mac!  It was so nice and it was real beef and cheese which is so uncommon here.  It is just not something it seems the chinese eat.  It is a very vegetable heavy diet.  After lunch we decided to go to a small temple close by.  It was very interesting and as we went in Ben explained to me that there was a "big god" here, his wife, and many lesser gods that reported to the big boss.  Ben explained that people would pray to the seperate gods for luck, politics, peace, wealth, and a various assortment of other things.  As we went to the very back of the temple, there appeared to be a ceremony going on.  There were monks singing and playing instruments and people praying and watching just as we were.  Very quickly Ben told me that we needed to leave so I did, followed him out and I asked him why.  He told me that I caused a bit of a stir and everyone was looking at me because I was bigger than the statues of the gods they had there.  I believe he was joking but the ceremony litterally did kind of stop and everyone looked right at me...

We decided instead of the other temple we were going to vist maybe another garden would be good.  We ended up at the Lingering Garden which is considered my many to be one of the four most famous gardens in China.  It was constructed during the 11th year of the reign of Wanli under the Ming Dynasty (1593 AD).  While it is very small, the Lingering Garden is so stunning for its artistic way of dealing with the spaces between various architecural forms and garden courts which appear to give the garden a feeling of  depth.  It has many limestone rock that you can climb on or sit and rest on the edge of the small hill next to bamboo forest.  Ben told me that this was were the King would come to relax.  When the King came to one of his many gardens, he would be the only person there to enjoy the beauty.  It seems to me he was missing out though because it is so much more enjoyable with a friend like Ben!

After we left we decided to try and find me some traditional Chinese clothes made of the silk that is famous from Suzhou.  We tried many of the street shops and local vendors.  None of them had anything that would fit me so one of the owners of the shop who had not had much business that day decided he would take up taxi driving.  He took us first to the New Silk Road and Handicraft Co which is a Silk Factory and Museaum.  They gave us a brief tour and showed us where they made silk, how it was woven, where it came from, etc.  It was really neat.  We then went to the store they had there.  Nothing really fit so we went on to the next place which was the Silk Research Institue.  I did not think they would have anything to fit me here either as when I walked in it appeared that it was nothing but labs with people intently looking at long strands of silk fibers.  We went upstairs though to where there was a large store.  As we looked around to see nothing in my size, a large chinese man - close to my size walked out and smiled at me.  He told us he could custom make me a traditional silk shirt for 700 yuan or $100.  I quickly said tai gui le meaing too expensive and just kept looking around like I wasn't that interested.  While we looked his price went down to about 650.  When we said no again, They asked what our maximum price was. My answer was 350-400 or about $50.  They said it is too expensive and could not do it.  The shirts on the shelf were marked at 500 so that was I knew too low because it was more of a fancy department store as opposed to a street market.  However, as I was walking away and heading out the door they came and chased me down to say he would make one for 400.  He took my measurements and my address and I should be getting my shirt in the mail within the next 2 weeks or so!  I believe they are always trying to squeeze every penny out of the foreigners.  The Chinese think in general, we are very rich.  In comparison to how many of the locals live, we are - but I have been here long enough that I know when I am being ripped off.  Tabatha and I have gotten very good at bargaining!

After all of this, Ben and I got on the bus and headed home! It was a great trip and I am so glad I got to know Ben better!  Once again...American's have much to learn from Chinese hospitality.

As always,
Richard
Posted by rwpridge ( Jun 16 2008, 06:06:22 AM GMT+08:00 ) Permalink Comments [3]

So It's a little after 1 AM and I can't sleep I for some unknown reason am not feeling so hot.  My sinuses have started acting up, I can't really breathe and I believe the smog and dirty air is starting to get to me.  Its really late here right now and because of the not being able to breathe good thing, I'm fantastic.  I figured I would write and update since I haven't done that in a while.  I've been bugging some of my friends and telling them they should update but I suppose to do that I actually have to update once in a while...So! Where to begin

To catch everyone up, the past week has been relatively uneventful.  It was going to be an exciting weekend but that got nixed.  Tabatha and I were supposed to go to Hangzhou and visit our friends that were participating in study abroad there.  However, about two days before our bus was to leave for Hangzhou we were told by our boss that it was canceled due to lack of interest but we had the fantastic option of going to either Zhenjiang or Nanjing; both of which we are rather bored of :-/ We ultimately decided to go to Zhenjiang on Saturday and Nanjing on Monday to visit the zoo.

Zhenjiang was interesting and a little different that we remembered.  It was our first time in the city by ourselves (Insert scary music here).  We walked around a bit and did some shopping in the little street marts.  I bought some gifts and trinkets and Tabatha bought some clothes being the girl...Always needing clothes.  We then did lunch at KFC!  This was an amazing experience.

We walked in the door and there were about 6 registers to order at but no lines.  Instread, there was a giant mass of people just kind of huddles at the entrance to the place.  Tabatha and I were standing back looking rather confused for a bit and we tried to figure out exactly what the proper procedure was here.  After about 5 minutes we had caught that to order, you just kind of stand in this huddled mass of chinese people and 2 white folks and wait for the busy register girls (who, might I add were wearing very attractive KFC pink polos) to raise their hand signaling they could take someone new.  Upon beating out a hungry Chinese family for the next register spot, Tab and I started by asking the girl, "Engu ma?" meaning "English?".  She looked rather confused by this and handed us a menu.  We confered amongst ourselves and decided pointing might just be easier.  Tab got a fried chicken sandwich, biggie sized fries, and a drink.  I got a chicken wrap.  Upon grabbing a table which took a while considering there were over 100 people in KFC and only about 60 places to sit that we could tell (granted there were several floors to this place but we just stuck to the first floor) we began.  The fries were the first thing we went for.  It has been over a month since I have had French Fries and let me tell you they were amazing!!! I next went for my chicken wrap.  In 'Mei Guo' (the United States), these come with lettuce, tomato, and a spicy ranch dressing.  In 'Zhong Guo' (China), this wrap comes with cucumber and soy sauce.  I was in for a nasty surprise.  I'm not exactly what you would call a fan of soy sauce.  oh well.  Granted, Tab had pink chicken so it was to be expected I suppose.  We then finished it off by having ice cream sundays which were AMAZING because they were just like the ones from home with the hot fudge on top! OMGOSH they were to die for!!!

After lunch, we walked around this park for a little bit and then into some back streets.  We really didn't know where we were but figured walking to the right would get us out since we had already taken 2 right turns already.  On our way to freedom from the backstreets of China, we found this fancy barber shop - we were both really confused at this point considering the fact that we were not really in what you would call the 'busy' part of the city.  However, we went in and decided that we would try out hand at getting our hair cut in China.  I had ultimately come to the conclusion that I would just go for it, try and communicate what I want, and if I screw up the worst that can happen is I end up bald again...Tabatha had a bit more to lose as she is getting married soon so she was much more careful.  The wash, rinse, shampoo, head massage, hair cut, re-wash, rinse, shampoo, and head massage only cost about US $4.  I could have just gotten it cut for $1 but the extra stuff was um...interesting and I didn't know how to communicate I only wanted a trim.  Needless to say, Tabatha and I spent and afternoon at a hair salon.  We look sexy now...ready for our hot dates with the Chinese locals!

We then did a bit more shopping and returned home - but only after hitting up this amazing Chinese bakery!  The food there was so good and we got lots of goodies!  I was excited.  We then almost had a scare though as after we left the bus was not were it was supposed to be but it showed up and we headed back.  You never would have thought how much information pointing at things and waving your arms around frantically like a flailing monkey can get you...well, it got us back to the mill :o)

The next day, Tab and I took a break.  On Monday we were going to go to Nanjing but I was not feeling well.  I had a few days were I was kind of sick but I think I'm better now.  Tabatha ended up going to the zoo without me and she had a great time!  Check out her blog for how that went.  I hear there were bears riding bicycles there...we will probably go back just to get pictures...

We then went through a fairly dull and boring week.  We have been searching through operation manuals all week and not much was going on.  However, on Thursday things got more exciting for us!  We went to vist a friend of ours Skyler in the Research area of the plant and she offered to take us to Suzhou this weekend on an overnight trip!  As we were making our way out of her office we went into the main hallway but we couldn't really leave.  Apparently it was breaktime after lunch where everyone did exercises.  It was like a bad Richard Simmons video.  It was probably a dozen or so chinese people half heartedly kicking their legs, jumping around, and flailing their arms to a voice that was counting in Chinese with what seemed to be like encouragement to get healthy.  It was very interesting as we tried to walk through them.  They all smiled at us as we left.

That night, we got back to the dining hall and upon seeing the selection of unscaled fish, cow stomach, and this seafood gruel with octopus in it, we decided tonight would be a wonderful night to take a trip to Dagang and eat at Tumen again.  We showed up and in a second they had brought out a table and chairs for us.  They do not really speak english but we have a little card that Kirk made for us on our first visit.  We honestly just kind of point and hope all goes well.  We get something different every time so that is exciting.  This time was just amazing though.  She made us homemade southern style french fries and sausage sauted with onions.  Next she brought out a large bowl of made-from-scratch mashed potatoes with some bacon and I could not believe it - cheese on top.  We also tried some grilled mushrooms and washed it down with the 'Chinese Water'.   It was an amazing night :)  We caught a little tuk tuk back to Gold East.  Cost us about $1 and that was expensive.  They charged us more because we were foreigners however we just really wanted to get back as it was getting late so we didn't argue to much.  Tabatha was so worried on the ride back as it was this tiny 3 wheeled cart.  We all decided it best if I sat over the double wheel to ya know, balance it out. We got back safely though and went to sleep.

Tonight, Tabatha and I were told that Skyler could not go with us to Suzhou as she had work to do in Shanghai but Ben (her boyfriend) said he would come with us instead so we are still very excited.  The hospitality is again so great here.  Our new friends are dropping their plans for us and while we don't want to be a hassle, it just seems to be the way things are here.  I believe we American's could really learn alot from this culture.

Zaijian
Big Papa



Posted by rwpridge ( Jun 13 2008, 01:10:07 PM GMT+08:00 ) Permalink Comments [2]

Zhenjiang: A new perspective and Chinese Hospitality

Tabatha and I have officially been in China for 17 days now.  It is kind of 
crazy that we have been here this long.  We are excited and timid at the same 
time about the rest of the summer.  We have seen some really cool things and 
have had some great experiences thus far but we have learned that the Chinese
hospitality greatly outweighs how we treat foreigners in the United States.  

So far, we have gone out just about every weekend and Steve has come along with
us to some of the bigger cities.  We took a company bus and it was exciting
for our first few visits into the city.  However, yesterday was by far the best
day we have had since we have been in China.  I think Tab and I both would 
agree to that.  On our first day a Chinese guy about 25 years old gave us a 
presentation in English on Gold East (I think it was because he spoke the best 
English around so he ended up doing the presentation).  We later met a girl 
named Skyler who a few days later we found out was his girlfriend. Last Friday,
Ben called Tabatha and invited us to go into Zhenjiang with them on Sunday.  
Tab and I were planning on just resting and taking a break for a change as we 
work 6 days/week (it?s a bit much ? we might try and ask for 5 days instead).  
However, we really wanted to take the opportunity to interact with people 
closer to our age so we went even though we were so exhausted.  

The day for me needless to say started off bad because I did not sleep well, 
woke up late, and had to rush to breakfast.  Tab and I then walked out to meet
Ben and Skyler at the main gate to catch the bus to Zhenjiang.  We were 
slightly confused because we normally caught the bus that left from right in 
front of our dorm.  We arrived at our decided meeting point and then proceeded
to walk a little ways to a bus stop.  It was then that Tab and I realized we
were about to take the public transportation bus.  We have not really heard 
anything about these but negative comments.  

It really opened our eyes to a social system though.  There are 2 main classes 
of people at this mill ? the bosses and the workers.  The bosses take the bus 
that Tab and I have been taking out into the city, nice, cushy seats, air 
conditioned, and everyone else takes the crowded public city buses.  

When the bus arrived, Ben, Skyler, Tabatha, and I hopped on and paid of 2 
yuan ($.25) to ride to Zhenjiang about an hour and 20 minutes away by public 
transportation.  We got on at the start of the route so we had seats which we 
liked but at the same time, it was very busy and I was extremely cramped.  The 
seats were so small I felt like a sardine.  The seats were much lower to the 
ground than what I am used to in the States and were also much closer together.
I did not really fit and actually could not move once everyone was on the bus 
(granted, I don?t think anyone would really move.  It was so hot that we opened
the windows even though the smog was bad and the rancid smell of the backstreets
of China was penetrating the bus.  When we arrived in Zhenjiang we had to 
switch buses to take us to this park that Ben and Skyler told us they would 
take us to.  The bus we got on was smaller in its own sense, and bigger in 
others.  It also looked like a bus in the states that has been out of service 
for about 10 years.  The greenish blue paint was peeling off the wall, some of
the windows appeared broken, and some of the seats were leaning over from where
so much wear and tear had occurred on them.  It was my first experience on a 
double decker bus, but as everything in China is, it was a miniature double 
decker.  We quickly went up to the top floor (I think because Ben and Skyler 
have never been on the 2nd level) but at no surprise to me the ceiling was a 
mere 5 feet tall.  It was the perfect size for Tabatha and all of the Chinese 
people ? but not for this Mei guo ren (American). Wo tai da (I am too big).  

When we arrived at the park, we paid our admission fee of about $7 US and went 
in.  The first thing was saw was a giant rock face which we thought was 
beautiful.  There were some Chinese characters that I had not clue what they 
meant carved into the side.  We then caught a boat over to this island where 
the main part of the park was ? we got pushed out of the way by a 3 year old 
that wanted to look out the window.  Lesson learned: if you want something in 
China, be aggressive.  

After getting there we looked around a bit at the giant goldfish pond and some 
of the ornamental buildings and such.  We went to an old cannon fort and as 
some preserved inscriptions of old kings and such from the many early dynasties.  
We did not have a clue what they said save the few numbers Tabatha and I 
were able to recognize.  The Chinese character system is so difficult as there 
is a different character for just about every word.  To have a moderate 
vocabulary you need to know like 2000 characters.  It seems almost impossible 
to me.  

After this, we went to lunch which was good.  Tabatha really liked it because 
we had tomato rice cakes.  Ben and Skyler insisted on paying and even though 
Tabatha and I did not want them to, they did anyways.  After lunch we all went 
out on this swampy river with these rafts made of about 10 pieces of bamboo 
lashed together.  They looked like they would go under any minute.  I almost 
fell off because the seat broke while we were out there resting.  We didn?t 
paddle these rafts but took about a 20 ft piece of bamboo and pushed on the 
bottom of the river for propulsion.  It was so difficult and unstable because 
we had to stand up on them and they were only about 4 feet wide.  Finding your 
center of balance on a shaky raft and going in the direction you want to is 
very difficult. It was so cool but I got kind of messy because of the swampy 
water!  

When we got off of the rafts and went to clean up we all went into this little 
bathroom to wash our hands and such and much to our surprise there were these 
two small lobsters in the sink.  They kind of shocked Tab a little bit and she 
ran off for a minute.  I played with them until she came back, washed my hands,
and then got out of the way.  

We then followed this footpath to the top of a steep mountain.  It was a lot of 
steps yet we made it.  On the very top there was this beautiful and ornate 
looking pagoda.  We decided not to go in as they were charging so much to go 
look and we could here a crying baby coming from the top, so instead we just 
took in the view of the landscape now that we were on top of the world.  

We then hiked down the other side of the mountain and upon returning to the 
bottom came upon a Buddhist temple.  It was prayer time so the four of us 
observed what was happening.  There appeared to be about 20 Buddhist monks 
walking around the temple chanting.  It sounded very beautiful.  There were 
many people that joined in and chanted along.  It was so peaceful here.  I feel
like I saw a real part of Chinese culture.  It struck me as very odd though 
that there were not very many young people there ? everyone was fairly old 
except us.  I found it interesting when Ben told us that there are not very 
many younger people so religious in China.  It is something about the new 
generation that just does not accept the old religion as much.  I would like to
find out more about this and why this has happened.  It seems very interesting.  

We left shortly after they started burning incense and then left the park.  
Tabatha and I were exhausted but it was only 3 o?clock and there was much more 
to do and see!  We caught the bus back to the main part of Zhenjiang where we 
took a coffee break in a well-to-do coffee shop.  There was air conditioning 
and many comfy couches.  After this rest and coffee of which Ben and Skyler 
insisted on paying for, we left and went out into the local markets to try some
traditional Chinese snacks.  They had anything and everything there from fresh 
fruit to octopus tentacles.  Tab and I tried a bit of everything (save the 
octopus, maybe another day) and we just did some light shopping.  

Ben and Skyler later took us to this restaurant where we had this ?perfect soup?.
They said it was called Ten/Perfect because 10 is a perfect number and the soup
had ten different things in it.  Tabatha and I both agree that it has been the 
best thing we have eaten since we have been in China.  The noodles were amazing
and the meat was wonderful too.  I will just stick with calling it meat though 
as I am not exactly sure what it was?  

When we were done eating we walked a good distance to our bus stop and hopped 
on for the ride.  This bus was much better than the one we took in the morning.
It was double the price (US $.50) but had comfy seats and air conditioning.  
Our group got seats facing each other so we could talk on the way back.  The 
conversation was great - something that Tabatha and I have missed for a while. 
The bus dropped us off in Dagong about 8 o?clock and Ben and Skyler were trying 
to wave down a cab.  Finally Tab and I wanting to have the chance to spend more
time with them suggested that we walk back to the mill.  It is only about a 25 
minute walk.  It was nice and peaceful as there were not too many people out. 
We really enjoyed it.  

Upon our departure from Ben and Skyler, we thanked them again for taking us out
and suggested that we should play badminton against them soon.  They agreed and
we said our goodnights.  Today has really put things in perspective for me 
though.  Ben and Skyler were so nice and hospitable.  The culture here is so 
different; we are not this hospitable to foreigners in the United States.  From
my experiences, many people tend to back away in the states but here people and
friends ? even those that we believe probably can?t afford it, are always taking 
us out and paying for meals and such.  It has been driving us crazy at times 
because we know they are spending so much money on us ? but it was explained 
that it was the culture here.  When a visitor is here, the host pretty much 
pays for everything.  We have been trying to see how we can repay them.  Right 
now it is just many thank you?s and a lasting friendship.  I believe Tabatha and 
I might both adopt international friends though NC State?s International Friend 
program when we get back in the States. This trip has truly given us a new 
outlook on what it is like to be in a different country where you do not speak 
the language.  A friend is always welcome and at times, for us, it has been a 
big relief.  

Until next time,

Posted by rwpridge ( Jun 02 2008, 09:23:25 AM GMT+08:00 ) Permalink Comments [13]