My last western meal for 5 weeks

So tonight ismy last night in the US for five weeks.  I decided to have dinner with the hubby at Rio Mar.  Of course, by have diner with I mean he is working tje line, while I eat. Ha!  Well, this is it, scallop cevice, tiradito, and other delicious dishes.  Tomorrow, Chinese food awaits.

Even More Mandarin

I am so tired and excited.  Over the last few days, I have spent hours in front of my computer.  I have been using FluentU to learn Mandarin.  It is so addicting.  Although I am only a few lessons in, I have already gotten so much better at pin yin, and I can even read and type (not write), some Chinese characters (simplified).  My understanding has improved so much.

Of course, I still use other tools.  I am currently using Mango for lessons on particular subjects (ordering at a restaurant, counting, etc.).  Pleco flashcards re-enforce the words I learn using Mango.  Popup Chinese is fun for Beijing accented Mandarin and silly Chinese commercials.  And now, FluentU.

The Nervous Anticiapation is Here

Finally, my plane ticket is booked, my visa, paperwork is on its way, and my hotel reservation is in progress.  I can tell that I am getting closer and closer to my trip by the butterflies building in my belly.  I am nervous. 

China is such a huge country.  Shanghai is a massive city, with millions of people.  There is so much to see and do.  I am so very small.  It is very silly of me to feel overwhelmed by a city I have never been to, but I am. 

Obviously, the only thing I can do is to keep moving forward with my preparations.  In that regard, my Mandarin is improving.  My Chinese coworkers have to work less to decipher what I am attempting to say.  Unfortunately for me, a lot of what I can say is not that useful.  For example, "I don't use chopsticks (wo3 bu4 yong4 kuai4 zi)," is only really useful if you can't use chopsticks.  At least, I may be able to understand when someone asks if I need a fork.  Oh well, I still think it is a worth while pursuit.

Maybe in a few days, the butterflies will go away.

Booked!

I finally booked my flight!  I will be leaving on June 29th and returning on August 2nd. 

Happy weekend!

Perceptions are a Bummer

I just had a very interesting conversation with a coworker of mine.  He warned me to not discuss my weekend trips and evening plans with coworkers in China.  The reasoning was that they would perceive me as not caring about my work but only focused on vacationing. 

After much discussion, I realized that this is a big cultural difference between China and the United States.  In China, work is very important and people want to be perceived as work being the most important part of their lives.  Second only to their families.  In contrast, especially in the Southern US, you work for the weekend. 

Now I feel like I need to keep more to myself and almost hide my excitement and wonder about my first trip to China.  It would be a lie to say that I am not extremely disappointed.  I guess I just have to chock this up to cultural differences.  In the end, I guess traveling is really about discovering cultural differences right?

Resources for Train Travel

Over the last few weeks, I have been scouring the internet for trip planning resources.  I will not have a car while in Shanghai, so I will need to get around on the trains.  Like most European countries, China has a very developed train system.  However, the accessability of information, from abroad, is lacking.  Thankfully, I have found "The Man in Seat 61." This site is full of information about the train travel in various contries.  In China section there are photographs of the different classes of service, restaurant cars, and even the train stations.  On of the most use photographs is a great reference for reading and understanding your train ticket. 

The Man in Seat 61 helped me find "China Travel Guide" for service schedules and fares.  I have compared the time tables on China Travel Guide to other websites, and have found them to be in agreement. 

With these two resources, I am ready to plan my train travel through China!

Where to Stay? Where to Stay?

Although it isn't final yet, not a 100% sure, only 80%, my travel date for Shanghai was set yesterday.  I fly out from New Orleans on June 23rd.  I am so happy to finally have a travel date.  At the same time, I know that I will be leaving some people behind, and I won't see them until I have a chance to visit Germany. 

My next challenge is finding a place to stay in Shanghai.  Although the plant I will be working at is in Shanghai, it is about an hour and a half from downtown.  There are hotels within a ten minute drive.  However, these hotels won't allow me to explore the city.  I can stay in the city in the Jing'an Temple neighborhood, resulting in a long drive to and from work.  There is the middle ground of Pudong but it sounds like the worst of both worlds, far from work and far from downtown.  At this point, I am leaning towards Jing'an Temple.  I hope it works out.

Time Out Shanghai

In my Chicago days, I used ot be an avid Time Out Chicago reader.  However, after 7 years of living in much smaller cities I forgot that Time Out existed.  Well, I just found out that Shanghai has Time Out as well.

For those not familiar, Time Out magazine writes about the happenings in major cities around the world.  They have great coverage of music, theater, shopping, food, and even walking tours of cities. 

So far, Time Out Shanghai has pointed me to several shops, restaurants, and even neighborhoods I want to checkout during my time in Shanghai.  As if that weren't enough, there is a Beijin version.  I plan on using it to get the scoop before I head up that way.

Visa Time!

Getting a visa to visit China is not easy.  Not only are there a ton of documents required, but it all has to be delivered in person to the Chinese Embassy.  Not surprisingly, there are no Chinese Embassies in Mobile.  So I will be forced to use a visa service that will deliver the documents. 

Here are the requirements for a business visa to China:

• Passport in good condition
• Copy of personal information passport page
• Photographs 
• Business introduction letter
• Invitation letter   
• Application typed and signed in blue or black ink

Obviously, a visitors visa has fewer requirements:

• Passport in good condition
• Copy of personal information passport page
• Photographs 
• Copy of travel itinerary or Invitation letter   
• Application typed and signed in blue or black ink

I have a feeling that I will struggle getting everything I need for my application.

The Odds are Up!

Up until now, my chances of going to China were about 50 percent.  Yesterday, my boss asked me to begin the visa application process.  Although this does not mean that the China assignment is a certenty, it does improve the odds.  Now all I need to worry about is figuring out what I need for a visa and then getting all of my paperwork together.  Hopefully, it won't be a difficult process.

China here I come.

Rough Guides are Here!

I may have jumped the gun.  Upon finding out that I may be headed to China, I bought two Rough Guides, Shanghai and China.  Over the weekend, they finally arrived in the mail.  I am very excited to read the Shanghai guide over the coming week.

I always take the time to read guide books before I travel.  They really help prepare me to make the best of my vacation.  In particular, I enjoy the Rough Guide series.  I find that they have the best balance of activities for travlers like me.  They include a lot of museums, off the beaten path & quirky places, and fantastic restaurants.

Of course, as I read my books, I will post about the places I will be visiting in Shanghai.

Positivity

Today, I had a very tough morning.  After waking up at 4:45 AM and not being able to go back to sleep, I had to get up and get ready for the Oyster Festival.  I am helping my husband's restaurant sell food at the festival.  I was having a tough time finding my way there.  Then I got pulled over because I was driving all over the place, Wo3 mi2 lu4 la.  I find an amazing parking space (I was driving a pick-up), no small feat in the French Quarter.  At that point I realize there are about $400 worth of oysters in the bed of the truck.  More bad things happen...

After parking, I was walking to the festival, when I decided to stop by my favorite candy store in the world, Southern Candymakers.   This place makes the best candy so I knew it would cheer me up.  The owners opened early to let me in and as soon as I took a bite, I knew my day was all better.  The rest of the day was great. 

My point is that because I was in a good mood (due to candy), my day improved very quickly.  My positivity made people be so nice to me for the rest of the day. 

Recently, people have been telling me that I have a very positive attitude about the possibility of going to China.  They think I am CRAY-CRAY.  My hope is that if I have a positive attitude about my trip, then it will be a great trip.  Maybe if I have a positive attitude every day I am there, then every day will turn out as great as today did.