Hit the Ground Running

            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!