i like to ride my bicycle...

greater suzhou is very flat - which makes it wonderful for biking.  (check out the "recycling bike")

...and ebikes also flourish when hills are absent.  

ebikers often will push their ebikes up small hills to save the additional electricity necessary to climb an incline.  luckily, hills are rare and that turns commuting by bike into a total treat!  coming from vermont, where hills and inclement weather deter many an active lifestyler from commuting by bike, i'm in heaven.  no oil changes, few moving parts to go wrong, and when i "gas up" it usually involves passing something yummy by the palate.  ebikes tend to adhere to [automobile] traffic rules such as stopping for red lights whereas bikes seem to be "outside" this standard.  even in the states we debate whether or not bikes should obey traffic rules - some argue that by acting like a motorist, the biking community will gradually gain the respect of motorists.  as a biker, often in heavy traffic, i respectfully disagree, and side with those who see a cyclist as a survivalist, needing all options open to him/her to avoid being in an accident.  simply put, cars and even ebikes (& scooters, motorcycles, etc.) are far more massive and pack a punch, intentional or not.  the agility of the cyclist is as necessary as it is to the scavenging bird who flees before the unwavering auto.  not that motorists aren't friendly and often downright courteous, but for those times when a truck, bus, taxi, or ...doesn't see the biker or say even adopts a "video gamer" / "we all carry the same weight" mentally, it's then that the biker needs carte blanche to navigate to safety.

passed this family on my way back from the grocery - she's sitting on a luggage rack (roughly 6x12 in.) w/ an arm around the baby and the other around her husband - feet dangling - talk about an abs workout!  it's actually very common to see an infant as a third on an ebike - chugging along at 20-25 mph - what a contrast from the state-of-the-art gracos we used to tote basil and kayl around in!

not sure if he's her son or husband but she is riding in style.

**check out the hand brake on his fixed gear rig.  

most chinese have fixed gear (no upshifting or downshifting) bikes.  their patience out of the gate is to be commended - or my lack thereof, to be admitted.  i'm such an american as i curb jump, weave in/out of traffic, accelerate, and in general, ride agressively.

lastly, the super sweetest thing about biking in china is that it is well planned into development as an interest / need of the greater society.  my family biked back to jade lake - where we first were housed (and if you recall found some amazing xiaolongbao - soup dumplings where the soup is inside the dumplings).  it was a 45 minute trip each way by bike including a jaunt over the river - where a 2-way bike/ebike lane was constructed underneath the 6 lane auto-throughway above.  never were we concerned about anyone's safety and it was LARGELY due to the segregation of 2 and 4+ wheeled vehicles. 

america would drastically reduce it's dependence on automobiles and the headaches that go along with maintaining these space-age personal transporters IF we could mobilize as a society and continue to advocate for safe travel corridors for 2 wheelers.  anybody else get sketched out riding on the shoulder of route 12 south as cars and dumptrucks wiz by at 70mph?? 

btw, 95% of the scooters in suzhou run on electricity since only through a very strict application process can one obtain a permit for a gas powered 2 wheeler.  they've got pollution issues to deal with and they're working on it.  what's america doing to encourage / embrace alternatives to the auto?

NEXT UP - it's waterway pics galore, intro to street painting, and how about those chicken feet!!

well wishes from a small fish in an ever-expanding bowl...

no public napping / resistance is futile

i digress from the chronological order of these posts for just a bit because of a story i put down on paper yesterday and want to share - enjoy!

9/3/2013
today marks the first day in china that i reprimanded a chinese person.  we've been in china only a little more than a month and my grip on the concept that i am a foreigner visiting a culture outside of my own is quickly relaxing.  perhaps you've also wrestled with this phenomenon while traveling?  at what point do we consider ourselves contributors to the culture around us?  are we witnesses?  participants?  judges?

i rode my bicycle to auchan (a large grocery store) today and decided to visit the toilet before biking home.  not unusual to a bathroom in china is the presence of someone smoking a cigarette - today was no exception.  i might as well have smoked the butt myself as the small room, housing four urinals and four stalls, was blanketed in thick clouds of tobacco.  three signs, one between each urinal, clearly displayed a cigarette w/ a red slash through it surrounded by a red circle - the universal ghostbusters-style, no smoking sign.  i cough loudly twice, tap the signs with my fingers, and look him square in the eyes.  he smiles back, in a friendly way, as if i've just recited a line from a monty python skit - and then continues to smoke the butt down to the filter.  did i miss something?  is there some cultural norm here that allows a society of strict, rule-abiding people to tolerate clear violations to community, health-minded ordinances?

two days ago (sunday), after a delicious bowl of noodle soup w/ fatty pork belly (mmm...love that pork belly - right?) - ok, i admit, i finished basil and kayl's soup too (couldn't let it go to waste though it was only $1.50 per bowl).  anyhoo, we were all feeling a bit groggy after lunch and the prospect of a sunday afternoon nap under the shade of a tree sounded delightful (who's with me?!).  so we bike to suzhou park, a short ride from teng xideng's noodle house in old town.  to our dismay, the park has plenty of grass but "stay off please" signs as well - even had little picket fences surrounding the pockets of turf to underscore the request.  no worries - we make our way past musicians, dancers, and a beautiful pond w/ lotus flowers and goldfish.  families hug the shore of the pond w/ poles and bait and every couple of minutes land a little 3 inch goldfish for their pail - presumably to take home to the aquarium.  past the pond, several groups of old men huddle over checker boards smoking cigarettes and sharing strategies of excited, purported brilliance - a frenzy at times.  the checkers are decorated with different characters leading me to assume the rules of this game are supremely more elaborate than american checkers.  concrete benches perimeter the area from the trees, traffic is low, neighbors friendly.  we arrange on the benches so that the kids might lay down and use carly and i as pillows but after only a short while, their inability to find comfort brings them upright, giving me leave to find a napping position of my own.  i flop my backpack on the ground for my headrest and lay down on the pavers.  not a field of clover, but it'll do.  i start to drift off when a woman w/ a broom and pan kicks me gently and, via body language, lets me know that sleeping on the ground in the park, is not permitted.  we ask our neighbor, w/ help from a translator app on our phone, why i can't doze on the ground - to which he poses "why sleep in public?"  i'm stumped.  i let it go, unable to understand how a culture might not appreciate a little mid-day snooze in a quasi-natural setting.  i've seen laborers sleeping under bridges at noon when the sun is blazing - but not in parks - is that it?

apparently it's somehow acceptable to smoke a cigarette in a cramped, public bathroom while in the company of large, colorful "no smoking" signs - but not acceptable to rest my bones on a weekend in a public park.

perhaps i'll become a contradiction hunter during this stint in china - lord knows they're everywhere.

p.s.

on the way to teng xideng's noodle house we found the best mooncakes so far - mango and pineapple turned out to be our favorite.  ate a bunch then circled around for another pass, bought 6 more for the apartment but the kids polished them off in the park - so good!  btw, not all mooncakes are yummy - we've had plenty that weren't worth eating so finding this vendor was a treat for sure!

wishing you well from suzhou, china!

bikes - check, moving on!

basil and kayl will be attending a school approximately 15 minutes from our house by bike.  they could take the bus, by far the mainstream option, or the subway (walk, ride, walk = 30 minutes commute), or we could get a car like some families have opted (only 5% of local population own cars) - we chose bikes!

bikes are awesome and living in a city where vehicles don't really go over 20 or 25mph means everybody can stop pretty quickly and accidents typically are not fatal.  that said, driving in suzhou definitely keeps you on your toes!

we find bikes for sale in the grocery store, on a side street near ancient suzhou (old town or OT), and in a giant brand bike store.  after hours of riding bikes, comparing features, sizing up the trustworthiness of our sales reps, we decide on 4 new giant bikes - not great quality, but figure they'll last 2 years...

first however, we take the subway to OT - which is easily identifiable due to the rectangular moat / canal which defines its border - and walk a mile or so to the giant store.  we try out different bikes, settle on 4 we all like, and as we begin talks with the cashier, find out they don't take ANY credit cards whatsoever.  but there is a bank down the street and we brought some american dollars with us so we have a plan.  a short walk later, we're loaded with RMB - enough to buy the bikes and hit the road.  advice to my readers: if you want to negotiate properly with a bike salesman, don't show up helmets in hand.  oh well, we've convinced ourselves that although pretty much everybody negotiates prices here, giant is immune to this practice.  moving on...

walking back to the store, i eye (cap'n) a local cyclist on a clunker and asked him how much he paid for his bike - 100 RMB ($18) says he and i'm intrigued.  why are we acting like tourists / typical americans here?!  we should just find out where he bought his bike and for less than $80 we could fit in, reduce our risk / exposure of having our bikes lifted, and save some $$ for a trip or a toaster or something.  so this takes all four of us on a goose chase including rickshaw rides, communicating to a group of about a dozen curious chinese, trying out chinese made bikes (half the price, not really sure about the quality - sketchy), couple miles on foot, and concluding once again with yummy food (per kayl, the best stir fry thus far)!

we did it - went back the next day and left w/ 4 bikes ready to shred suzhou pavement!  of course carly and i lost a couple years of our lives white knuckling the grips as we guided the kids through complex labyrinths of pedestrian, bike, and motor-vehicle congestion.  for example, a scooter might pass you going the other way at full speed and miss you by less than a foot.  it's a flow of vehicular travel rather than individual paths - once you surrender to the flow (thx trey) and relax, driving in china is fun - like a video game i suppose - or like flying in a flock of geese - however, first night on the bikes, i pre-emptively told the kids that "i would be surprised if none of us got in an accident on the way home."  apparently that was enough motivation for basil to prove me wrong - which he did.  :)

again, biking rocks - it's that simple.  you stop and notice sights along the way that might dangerously distract a motorist in route.  on a bike, you pull over and breathe it all in - actually you don't breathe it all in because the air over here is polluted and tastes pretty bad (though some days are better than others) - but metaphorically, you breathe it in, smell the roses...

...still up, we've discovered the ping pong table, evening soccer in the park, and mudu!  

keep meaning to take this laptop to a coffee shop, order a venti, and get all deep and philosophical with the ramblings - we'll see if things turn that corner - i've a feeling they will as this country is filled with friendliness and filth, laughter and labor, great walls and growing pains...

kind regards from a small fish in a really big bowl!!

got the cell phones, moving on!

so it's our second week in suzhou, china and we're split between seeking out new experiences and wanting progress settling into the new apartment / lifestyle.  we spend 5 hours in a mall between China Unicom and Sundan Electronics, attempting to discern the many attributes cell phones tout these days.  will it work when we return to america?  how many megapixels does the "super camera" have?  is it 2G, 3G, or 4G?  i could go on but i have a feeling most of you would skip the remaining examples - the only reason i'm tempted to put them in is to try to reenact the pain / torture we went through narrowing down our choices.  we choose 2 samsungs for the kids and 2 lenovos for carly and i tell the salesperson we're ready to pay.  he takes us to the cashier station - 4 cashiers with no one in line ready to take your money in return for a fappio (official chinese receipt - they're very big on paperwork over here - take it very seriously).  capital one visa won't work - again - so much for internationally accepted.  even called cap1 before we left - "no worries, should work fine."  nope.  

cashier tells me about several atms throughout the mall - i leave with naive hopes.  several are out of order, 1 is 100% in chinese, another displays no button for withdrawal, only balance inquiry - finally i find one that looks like it's working but when i type in the amount, it says that's too high!  so i try a lower amount until it accepts my request and produces the red (100 RMB notes are printed with red ink).  i've beat the machine and it's logic - i'll just process a second and third transaction, pay an additional $5 in fees and be all set - almost out of here.  too much foreshadowing?  yep, you guessed it, the second request didn't pan out - insufficient funds.  i know my account back home has enough money so i think maybe i tapped this machine's last 2500 yuan.  i find the last atm in the mall but get the same message: "insufficient funds."  time ticks, i try thinking creatively, and then, in desperation try the first atm again (it's been 15 minutes now, maybe it'll reset or something) - to my astonishment, my plan works - another 2500 yuan in hand (that's like $800 - feeling loaded with notes)!  so of course, i wait another 15 minutes for the "reset" - nope, that's it - dead end.  i need around 6,000 RMB and i've only got 5,000 (isn't there a subterranean homesick blues quote in there somewhere?!).

we're exhausted and the atms have beaten us down - only chance now to climb back up somewhere near sanity involves yummy food.  we leave our dinner to fate and pretty much pick the first restaurant at the base of the escalator.  they serve amazing cuisine from hong kong - cuttlefish w/ cashews and peppers, beef and noodles, and spicy green beans, sichuan-style - delicious!



afterword:

in retrospect, should've spent the extra dough and gone with the iPhone.  the lenovos are very nice androids but they would've been sweeter if the operating system was in english - something we discovered after we got home and started using them.  even when you change the settings, the OS at its core thinks you want mandarin - prompts, internet searches, etc.  arrgghhh...  so we hunt down an english speaking tech maven over the next week to implement a work around (a story in itself but i'll spare you that one).

..and i thought choosing a cell phone in the states was a hassle!

we go suzhou

2pm scheduled departure, driver arrives at 1:30 - once again impressed with the actual versus feared punctuality of the chinese.  not a lick of english so conversation with the driver is quickly abandoned.  it's a couple of hours by van from shanghai to suzhou and due to 7 large bags of shtuff in the back, only 4 seat belts for 5 people - I do without.  seat belts are rarely worn over here - in fact, fear of motor vehicle accidents seems very low.  we commonly see infants (as in less than 12 months old) held in mom's arms as the third ebike passenger - to think of the 5 point harness, backward facing, posh car seat Basil and Kayl used to ride in...

traffic patterns / customs are very interesting over here - no doubt they'll be a common thread throughout these blogs.  for example, not only does traffic law allow for right-turn-on-red, but stopping before proceeding is NOT required.  taxis and buses are the least likely to slow down when potential collisions seem more likely.  also, they accelerate through the turn and drive very aggressively so we're always quick to point out when either are in the vicinity.

we arrive early evening at our temporary apartment, arranged by carly's employer, suzhou singapore international school (SSIS) - they give us 2 apartments so we can spread out and be comfortable - the fact is that this complex is brand, spanking new - tape & padding still on the fridge - and there is more available housing than they know what to do with.  it feels like my freshman year of college with a welcome pack of nescafe, butter patties, a pot and pan, and new bedding.  we unload, take a walk to the grocery across the street, and begin meeting fellow teachers at SSIS who have arrived, as we have, a bit on the early side.  ramen, stir fry, tsingtao beer, and loads of fresh fruit - doing ok...

a reconnaissance mission a few blocks down the street yielded this very humble dumpling restaurant - it became an immediate favorite and created instant smiles every time the memory of these dumplings were mentioned.  it's run by a husband and wife team - he chops, she cooks - simple fair, but combined with their calm and friendly warmth, it was home away from home - and the pichio (beer) was bing (cold) to boot!

...and we're off apartment hunting in a city with a zillion inhabitants - how to narrow it down?  how to communicate to our agent what we really wanted in a place?  the apparent strategy was: show many apartments - all completely different in as many ways possible (floor level, square footage, floor heating or not (a supposed must over here in the winter), kitchen size (most are really tiny), location to subway, location to markets, shopping centers, within biking distance to school or not, etc.).  it was very difficult to say no to the first 8 we were shown - kids were VERY upset after not taking the bird in the hand but mom and dad needed more options.  ok - just realized this is getting boring - long story short - found a GREAT PLACE the next day, has most everything we wanted / needed - good decision - we're in!  our new home: the Living Bank, a complex of 52 buildings, 16 floors high each - we're on the 9th.

carly inspecting a sterilizer unit - nope, not an oven!

and the view from the 21st floor of the 1st apt we looked at.  truly country mice in a big city...

...and this is where the laundry dries - very typical in apartment living.

basil and kayl with their new friend ropeta (aka pudgie) on the bus to downtown suzhou industrial park (SIP - nice name eh?) where we meet up with new friends at "Times Square" for ice cream and an unexpected dance with the fountain sprites.  so hot here - like over 100F every day - you sweat just by standing still.  bead after bead of perspiration running down the middle of your back - lovely...

the awning overhead is packed with LEDs and "dances" with lights in the evening - called a sky screen

kids were soaked in minutes and literally couldn't get enough!

there are many waterways both in SIP and old suzhou - not as much boat traffic as i expected - so far we've only seen these boats that act as aqua dump trucks.  they are loaded with mud / clay from the bottom of the canal and who knows where they are emptied.  

walt bador, i took the following chinese excavator shot for you - hope you're reading!

i know i'm a bit behind in my weekly schedule so be prepared for several blogs over the next week that will bring us to the present.  then i can relay some of the many stories that materialize daily from lost-in-translation issues, navigational woes, or new culinary adventures (such as noodle soup with pork intestines - not bad, but certainly not on the top 10 either)!  i.e. rather than simply document where we go and what we see, i think it would be interesting to convey some of the psychology that comes with moving to a new culture and trying on a new way of life.  it's not all a walk in the park so i'll try to bring that to the fore in the future so you can get a more genuine, fuller vicarious experience from our trials.

...NEXT UP: biking, ping pong, soccer, tai chi, walking backwards - how this heavily populated culture stays fit and celebrates community!

kind regards from a small fish in a really big bowl...

Shanghai'd

3 weeks ago, San Francisco Int'l Airport, pre-boarding begins, suddenly a minority - however, conveniently surrounded by multi-lingual asians.  a 11 hour & 40 minute flight, new MacBook Air - hey, what's Photo Booth anyway?

a tailwind most of the way, A Late Quartet on the screen (excellent flick-moving even), attempts at shuteye (translation: kids sleeping on adults in contorted positions, twitching just before adults enter sleepland), Welcome to Shanghai!!

airport is clean, bright, customs-easy peasy, the herd shuffles outside, lo and behold a "Humke Family" sign held by a thin, smily driver, who insists on handling all 7 over-sized bags himself.  a quick drive to Pudong district and we crash our friends' apartment (thank you Matthew and Allison!  what a wonderful way to enter a foreign land!).

shanghai is developed for sure - something like 30 million peeps which, coming from wee ol' Worcester with a population of roughly a thousand, is an eye opener.

4 days spent recovering from Jet Lag and exploring.  the pet market, full of smells and sounds, stands out - buy a cricket, snake, songbird, you name it - they got it.  antique market - thought i might want a small golden dragon so i inquired: 400 RMB (roughtly $65) - shook my head, "boo maio" (not buy), and without another word, the vendor bid himself down to 130 RMB - no dragon; I just stored, sold, or gave away my stuff in the U.S. - not ready to start hoarding all over again quite yet.

people's square - figured the best way to experience China was to dive right in - what's that "a tea ceremony scam" - never heard of it, but sure, we'll try it - once.  welcome to a city where anything goes.  fresh off the boat with memories full of small town comforts, familiar friends, and clear water - country mouse, big city, wallet $85 lighter...

the architecture in shanghai is impressive.  so many details, well executed, curves, cantilevers, experiments in cement, rebar, steel beams, and glass panels - they've done it.  

and escalators everywhere; inside, outside, slanted ramp ways, multi-story.

it's the little differences that have made this adventure so exotic:

    like predictable traffic patterns overlaid with random, culturally accepted deviations; such as a dump truck going the "wrong way" down a street and then taking a "bike/ebike lane" shortcut - assuming all other traffic would yield (which they did - no honking).

  or what about how cars and ebikes (scooters) honk as a driving practice to alert those around them of their presence - it's not an anger or scolding thing - far from it, these people honk to reduce the likelihood of an accident from occurring.

  orange juice being reminiscent of the orange juice i'm used to, but much more watered down.

  an elderly woman dragging herself across the street with help of a cane, talking to herself - oh yeah and completely naked - it was hot (like over 100 degrees F), maybe she was the smart one - kids were somewhat unsettled after witnessing this - something like "that's just wrong" was how they put it.  :)

  new fruits tested, charades and pantomiming daily, sometimes used in desperation just to get home, other times because i have no concern of embarrassment (by far, the most liberating experience thus far) and it's fun!  can you imagine having to use body language, pictionary skills, and multiple attempts to discernibly pronounce a word or phrase in a foreign language in order to locate, purchase, and deliver home a bottle of shampoo?  to be sure, every day is a journey...

i will try to capture these little differences, the golden nuggets, the everyday gems hidden in the lotus flower, and relay them via this blog - ideally on a weekly basis.  my hope is to push my comfort zone often in order to learn, laugh, and have something to intrigue my friends and family back in the states.

next up...we're off to suzhou - to find an apartment, set up base camp, and see what trouble we've gotten ourselves into!  thanks for reading!!