The first
full day in Shenzhen, China was just that–a full day. First, we had to make
it downtown to The Center for Personnel Training Center. They are the organization that works with
BISI for handling paperwork items like Residency Permits and the like. After
waiting there a while and chatting with David, a chatty “foreigner” who deals
with us “foreigners,” (even though he told Roy that he didn’t like foreigners)
we were sent with Charles, a Chinese representative from the above named
company, to go for the dreaded Health Inspection. Isn’t this what the physical
in the states was for? Oh, well – off we went in a taxi to the hospital.
It was just
like the human shuffle everyone said it would be. Once the paperwork was
started, which came with the dreaded plastic cup attached, we were quickly
shuffled from one room to the other in a carefully orchestrated dance. The
younger folks among you may not know about the ‘CUP’…just have Mom or Dad
explain it for you. Chinese girls, who looked like they were nurses in a Miss
Universe Pageant because of the red sashes they wore, escorted everyone from
room to room. Another American English Teacher, Tom from who knows where also
was along for the ride, it really was like a three ring circus. While Tom was
getting blood drawn, Eddy was getting an EKG while Roy was getting an X-Ray.
And then Miss Universe would switch our rooms… It’s just a jump to the left,
and a step to your right, tuck your knees in tight…
Efficient,
yes – impersonal, yes, but rather speedy, all in all. Then we were whisked back
to the Center and fed some lunch. Charles asked what we would like to eat.
“Whatever you are having,” seemed like the appropriate – and polite answer.
Later Charles asked why so little of the ox-tail and rice dish was eaten, we
told him that according to our time clock it was still midnight, so we were not
very hungry. A partially true answer, but it was really all the bones in the
dish that just made it seem a bit unappetizing. “The closer to the bone, the
sweeter the meat!” is what Doug always says, and apparently the Chinese feel
the same way. They like to cut their meat so that more bone is exposed than we Americans
are accustomed doing. For instance, if it was a chicken drumstick, they
wouldn’t just leave it whole like we do, they would cut it across the bone
several times so you could suck out the maximum amount of marrow and not lose a
bit of meat from the bones. BTW- spitting the bones out onto your plate is all
part of the meal, too! Hmmm. That’s going to take some getting used to. Ping
Thing - Start practicing the phrase, “Toe Tie,” which means vegetables!!!  |
| HAPPY BUDDHA PLACE |
Now it was
again time for the paperwork shuffle. All the documents we had sent overseas
earlier had to be inspected, again; Degrees, Contracts, Work Permit, Contacts
and more. Finally we were sent off in a taxi back to the apartment to relax. But
wait not so fast! Mary had other plans. She wanted to go to dinner and that
sounded great! We were off to the OCT – or Overseas China Town – a very artsy kind
of place in which one can find many restaurants, art galleries, and all sorts
of things. Of course, being nighttime it was dark, but the place was lit up
with Christmas decorations (Get that!) and ambient light from the shops and
restaurants. Mary led us to one of her favorite spots she called the “Happy
Buddha Place” because there were many statues of Buddha around and one Buddha had
lots of beer bottles around him! She really like the spicy green beans and a
beef dish she had eaten there before.
“Mayo, Mayo,” we were told by the waitress. She was
explaining about the beef while waving her hand back and forth indicating there
weren’t any more beef dishes left! So, we
tried another dish and some spicy tofu, and they were great! Ping really liked
the beans.
Then Mary took us to hear “Her Band” at an establishment
called Idutang. They have a crazy band there that sounded like a cross between
rock and Tibetan chanting. Ping really enjoyed hearing them. One singer Ping
nicknamed “Froggy” because his chanting sounded like he had a frog in his
throat, and actually, he may well have eaten one for dinner!!!
Finally, after a long day of hitting the ground running we
hit the sack!
