A Whole Lot of Learning Going On

When I look at the date and see it is August 4th, it is weird.  Despite the extreme heat and humidity, I don't feel like it is summer.  I don't really know why.  Maybe it's because I LOVE summer at home, so nothing feels quite the same. 

I was asked during my 4th week here if I was homesick.  My answer was no, and that I felt I had done a good job of mentally preparing myself for the time I was going to be here.  Well, I can officially say that as of week 5 & 6, I was incredibly homesick.  What was odd to me about these feelings hitting so hard is that it was during that time my parents were visiting.  And then my Uncle and his girlfriend.  And then Kris.  You'd think surrounded by the people who love me the most in life, I'd be SO happy, and don't get me wrong, I was!  But, it also made me realize how much I MISS everyone and my little life back at home.  One day I was walking to go get some lunch by myself, and I got the biggest lump in my throat and had to fight back tears because I was thinking about my friends.  The good thing is I am so lucky to have the amazing friends that I do.  And, guys, I miss you all SO MUCH.  I cannot wait to see all of your faces!!!!  Even writing this, I'm getting choked up.  Damn.

So the week with my parents was great.  I have to give them huge props for venturing to China in the summer, as it is hot & humid and then more hot.  But, they did it and they had fun, saw things they'd never seen, and we shared lots of good laughs, conversations, and meals (and drinks!) in the hot, humid, China nights. 

My week with Kris was awesome.  He is the best travel partner and always up for anything.  We met up in Shanghai and within 20 minutes of walking around, we found a street corner with local food carts, and ordered up.  This is seriously his favorite thing to do, so not only was I happy that we found a place, but the food was SO GOOD.  Those are my favorite kinds of memories, sitting on a corner in a foreign city, trying their food, drinking their beer, and watching the life unfold.  So fun.  Even though we only had 3 nights together in Shenzhen, I took Kris to a bar that I think is brilliant and it quickly became "our spot" and each night we started out there with a few beers.  This place is genius.  It is a coffee shop/'convenience store' that only sells beer by the bottle, and is lit like a swanky bar.  They have beers from all over the world, and you go in, choose what you want, pay for it, and then have a seat.  I can't get over the concept and just think it is amazing.  We had so much fun!  Hong Kong was another new adventure, and true to form, we found 2 local places to eat that were incredible.  One was on an island off of HK that served fresh seafood.  We'd gone to the island with ideas of the beach, and were a little saddened to find a very sleepy town, and a beach with no waves.  It was kind of like a small bay.  We wandered around, sweat our butts off, and decided to stop to eat.  Thankfully we did, because the seafood was awesome, the beer was ice cold and we had a fun conversation with a hilarious Australian dude.  The next day, we again, wandered into a small local restaurant in the city near our hotel, and totally hit the dumpling jackpot.  I am wishing I could beam myself back to that place right now and am figuring out a way I can go there one more time before I head back.

I knew going into this that I'd learn a lot.  And I have.  I guess what I didn't realize was just how much I'd learn about myself.  The one glaring thing that showed its face during my family visit, is how hard I am on myself.  I put so much pressure on myself to make everyone's time here perfect and full of fun and adventure.  I was too concerned that everyone would think their trip wasn't spectacular and that they'd had wasted hours.  Navigating a huge city filled with people isn't easy on your own, but trying to play tour guide while working full time and with a huge language barrier is a lot to ask of anyone.  All I could think about was how much money and time everyone took and spent to get themselves there, and during these moments of frustration I was completely missing the fact that everyone that was visiting me was there for one reason only.  ME!  I've caught glimpses of this pressure I put on myself in other situations in life, but I think it was magnified over here.  It's really made me stop and think, and as Kris says "take a deep breath". 

Another thing I realized is that I need to put myself out there more.  I don't think this is something I have a problem with at home.  :)  But I do feel like I've been a bit reserved here and I've promised myself that over the next 5 weeks I am really going to make a bigger effort with my coworkers to do things outside of work and learn more about them and their lives.  I've been somewhat hesitant to be too forward because I reversed the situation and thought how I would feel if every day some person who was on rotation in my office was asking me to do things.  But, I think we're at a point now where I won't come across as some eager American and I do think they like me, so here goes!

This entire trip has flown by, so because of that I know these last 33 days will go by even faster.  Especially with the work schedule I have, I feel like I'll wake up sooner than I know it and it will be time to head home.  I won't lie and say that I'm not super excited to get back home, but I also realize the enormous value of this opportunity and I plan to make the most of the rest of my time here.  I hope everyone has had an amazing summer and to those of you who have been diligent at keeping in touch, I love you for it.  I cannot wait to come home and drink a frosty Chelada (hint, hint, Kris) and catch up with everyone.  Love love!  Cheers!

Settling In

You know before you leave for a trip to somewhere you've never been and you have these ideas in your head of how it's going to be?  And then you get there and you pretty much forget everything you had envisioned because it's nothing like that at all?  Yeah, that's pretty much how it's been.

When I think about September 6th, I still feel like it is light years away.  But, when I think about how I've been here for over 3 weeks, it feels like a blur.  I noticed late last week changes in my behavior that suggest things are becoming comfortable.  For example, I no longer watch the map in the subway in fear of missing my stop and whether it's a good thing or not, I no longer fear the drinking water that's given to me at restaurants.  I'm getting into a routine, which is great because I'm like a dog and thrive on routine.  I'm understanding weather patterns and while I love the feel of the sun on my face, I know now when I wake up to blue skies and sun that it will be exceptionally hot and I'll likely be sweating non-stop.  I also now know that if I wake up and it's raining, it will rain intermittently on and off all morning and if I leave I better have an umbrella (learned that one the hard way).   I got a vocabulary lesson from some of the girls I sit by at work so I can ask basic things that require a yes or no answer from the person I'm asking.  For example "Chicken?" "Pork?" "No spicy" "To-go".  Oddly enough I have already figured out how to signal for more beer…no Mandarin necessary. And, probably the best thing, the morning staff at the breakfast buffet now recognize me and I no longer have to ask for a to-go box and my coffee is made for my by the time I'm done filling my container.  I prefer to eat in my room so I can multitask or talk on the phone.

Ironically, if you read my last post, my coworker asked me as we walked back from lunch last week "In the US, if someone just walks in front of you, like we do here, is that considered rude?", to which I smiled and said yes.  I also learned from another coworker who is Chinese, but raised in Indonesia that she is admittedly more direct than Chinese who were raised here and she said she is often perceived as rude.  And while many of my coworkers speak amazing English, they get very nervous in US restaurants due to lack of pictures on the menus and, what to them are, elaborate descriptions of the food.  One also told me she stood in a crosswalk and waited for a car to pass that honked at her, and it took her a minute to realize he was honking so she could walk, not the other way around as it is here.  A group of us had a good laugh the other night talking about different customs and how many things are opposite between here and the US.

Well, week 4 is off to a great start, and even though I'm living and working through the same days per week as all of you, I still feel like time is going by faster, especially when I'm thinking about Tuesday as everyone in the US is just starting their Mondays.  I bought some Chinese Herbal Tea from the Chinese Medicine store today, with the help of my coworkers.  I'm set on learning as much as possible about traditional Chinese herbal medicine and remedies as possible.  

I hope everyone had a great 4th!  I went over to Hong Kong and spent it with some friends.  One American friend from college, a Brit and 2 Aussies.  They all dressed in red, white and blue in honor of our holiday and we ended up having dinner at a Southern BBQ place owned and operated by a dude from North Carolina.  The BBQ was ridic and the sauces were heavenly.  It was a great time!

Cheers!

Things That Are Different

Well, week two is in the books and it was less eventful than week one.  At least from the writing a blog that will make you laugh at my misfortune standpoint.

I did manage to catch my first cold in forever, which I'm 100% not surprised happened given the change in climate and the high volume of strangers I'm in ridiculously close contact with on a daily basis.  I've been exceptionally careful of touching my face and you'll be glad to know I quit biting my nails because my hands NEVER FEEL CLEAN. 

Despite catching a cold, the week was another productive one work-wise.  I'm also learning the area more and have my directional bearings, which makes me happy because I like to know where I am in the world.  This weekend I'll be exploring a lot so I should have some fun stories for my next update.  I also asked a coworker if she wanted to hang out this weekend and she does (yay!) so I am excited to do something with a local.

Some of my sarcasm in this post may come off as judgmental, and it's really not, it's just sarcasm.  Despite being amazed at some of the behavior, I've found it easy to adapt to.  For example, if you need to go somewhere, just go.  If you wait and let someone go in front of you, you'll get stuck or stand there forever.  So, without further adieu, I thought I'd focus this post on "things that are different", some of which will tie in nicely with why it is no shock I got sick and some others that are just different/interesting/funny/weird.  

SO MANY PEOPLE - There are so many fucking people here it is amazing.  I remember the first time I went out in New York City as an adult.  I was in awe of how many people were out and about at midnight.  This is just like that, except here, you're forced to be absurdly close with strangers for undetermined amounts of time on a DAILY basis.  Elevators are packed like sardines, as are subways.  Everybody needs to get somewhere and the more the merrier seems to be the way to do it.  What's extra fun in this society of so many people is that coughing, sneezing and nose picking don't appear to be things that you do discreetly or with the intent to shield others from your germs.  I've been coughed on in a crowded subway, sneezed on in an elevator and this very morning, I watched a grown man pick his nose and inspect every single booger he pulled out of it.  And then he grabbed the pole in the subway with the same hand.

COURTESY - Actually it is lack there-of.  I don't want to classify everyone as rude, because I truly don't believe they are.  Most people I have been in contact with have been incredibly kind and the ones who are able (because they speak English), helpful.  I believe that courtesy is a learned behavior, if you grow up seeing your father hold the door for your mother, you're more likely to do so.  If you grow up seeing your parents bum rush the elevator to get in before anyone else gets out even though the elevator is packed with 90 people when it should only hold 30, you will probably do that, too.  This happens everywhere.  Getting in and out of the elevator, getting on and off the subway, going up the escalators, waiting in lines - you just go for it.  Godspeed.

WALKING & DRIVING - Again, so many people.  I've come to classify this as a truly every man for him/herself society.  Kind of like survival of the fittest.  It seems when people are out walking, their sole focus is where they are going or what they are doing, no mind of anyone around them.  I've been run into, stopped because someone decided to just stop walking and look at their phone, almost run over by a bus and multiple cars.  Oh, pedestrians do NOT have the right of way, and don't think that just because the walk light is green that a car cannot turn left or right as you are crossing the street.  They can.  And will.

DOORS - My office has so many doors.  Just to get to the bathroom I have to go through three doors, all of which have to be clicked to open or I have to use my badge.  See why my hands never feel clean?  I feel like I'm just crawling with germs on a regular basis.  Everywhere I go, there are doors to be clicked open, badges to be scanned, buttons to be pushed, turnstiles to rotate through, handles to hold, etc.  There isn't enough anti-bacterial in the world to get me through these 3 months.  And I don't even like or use anti-bacterial, but right now I feel like I should bathe in it.

LOUD TALKING - Loud noises!!  When they're speaking Mandarin loudly, it often times sounds like they're yelling at each other, which often times makes me laugh.  What gets me the most is the loud talking in the office, when it is clearly personal conversations.  I just don't think anyone cares.  The background noise at times when other people are on work calls has got to be astonishing.  My guess is they're all used to it.  I find people have loud personal conversations everywhere though.  Elevators, etc.  I guess you make the most of your time?  Me?  I prefer to listen to a Miranda Lambert song on repeat.

PREGOS EVERYWHERE - So Shenzhen is a really young city.  30 years ago it was nothing more than a fishing village, and now it is home to 15 million people, many of whom are transplants from other provinces and cities.  Reading the history and hearing stories from people who grew up here is amazing.  The growth that has taken place over the last 30 years is unbelievable, and there is still construction going on at a rapid rate.  Back to my first statement about this being a young city, there are pregnant chicks everywhere.  EVERYWHERE.  I'm not talking "omg, there are 3 ladies in my building who are prego."  I'm talking I see at least 10-20 pregnant chicks a day and none of them are repeats (except the girl I sit next to).  It's kind of neat to see such a young population.  Everywhere I go it seems like we are all the same age.  Kind of like college, but instead of a party, we're all going to work.

SLEEPING - This is a fun one.  Apparently when you're tired, you sleep.  To date, I've seen people sleeping in the following places: The subway station, the subway, the hotel lobby bar, Starbucks, and at work.  Just a little nap.

BREAD AND CHEESECAKE - These two things are everywhere.  And I don't mean on a menu.  I mean entire stores dedicated to them.  There is a store called Bread, it's a chain, I've seen about 5 of them so far.  There's also an entire store in the mall that just sells cheesecake.  And there's a small booth in the subway station that sells it, and a place next to the froyo place that sells it. I asked a coworker today what is up with the cheesecake and he said they like the way it smells, so they opened up stores and the girls like to eat it.  What pisses me off is 99% of these girls are skinny. 

Last but not least, is the favorite thing about Asia in general…the lost in translation t-shirts, signs, posters.  I've seen a top that said "Be Kate Moss Now"  (um, ok?), "Pleasure before Business" (I like her style) and my favorite...Last night I passed a sweet looking woman, who had great hair, a pretty face, great body, and nice white pants.  This is what her t-shirt said:

Be Weird

Become a Witch

Stay Crazy

Don't Give a Fuck

I mean, not bad advice if you really think about it.  Oh, and I think there's a boom boom room massage parlor across from my hotel.  Cheers, y'all!

Oh PS.  Follow me on Instagram for pics... @thehillbillyhippie

Meltdown in Chinatown

Well if any of you had an over/under about when I'd have my first meltdown, if your guess was on day two, you win!! 

I stayed in Hong Kong my first night and had a blast. I reconnected with an old friend and made a new one, had lots of laughs, danced and drank Chinese beer. It was great!

The next day, I collected my bags and made the short trip across the border into China. It was surprisingly easy.  I took the MTR (subway) straight to the immigration center in Shenzhen.  Brilliant. 

This is where things begin to go south. 

Smartly, as I was traveling alone, I packed all my stuff into 2 suitcases and one cross body bag. However I packed for 3 months, so the bags were heavy. Walking and pulling these two suitcases behind me was a workout in itself. Once I cleared customs, I was told, my hotel would be in walking distance. This is true. It was approximately a half mile from the entrance to the station. I'd already been dragging these bags for a while and my hands were cramped, it was hot and I was walking at a snails pace when I was pulling the bags, and had switched to push them, which seemed to be faster but also very cumbersome. Regardless, it was the home stretch. I mean I could SEE the hotel for Christ sake. 

By the time I got to the street I was dripping with sweat, and I was actually telling myself how fucking great it was that I only had 2 bags. Imagine if I'd packed a third?? Oh my god I don't know what I'd have done. 

Then I notice the white fence that is all around the street. There is NO WAY TO CROSS THE STREET. How the fuck am I supposed to get to my hotel? I'm now rethinking the cabbie who insisted he drive me while simultaneously trying not to cry. 

I ask someone and he points to the underground and then points to the hotel. Great. I have to backtrack. So I'm REALLY fighting back tears now because not only do I have to drag these bags uphill (it was a slight grade, but it was hell) the elevator was out so I have to get them both down an escalator. 

Incredibly, I get down the escalator without incident. I start walking through the tunnel. At this point I'm cursing the entire Chinese race in my head and thinking how proud I am to live in a country where if anyone saw another person struggling the way I was, they'd offer to help. 

Finally, I see light, and know this battle is almost over. And then I see stairs. 2 sets of stairs. No escalator. You're fucking kidding me. There's not a chance in hell I could lug these two bags up a huge flight of stairs. I turn around and absolutely lose it. I'm just standing there crying in a tunnel, sweating, literally having no idea how I'm going to get to my hotel. If that's not a vision of pure beauty, I don't know what is. 

And then, my faith in humanity (and the Chinese race) is restored when a sweet man approaches me and speaks English, and tells me that I don't need to cry and he will help me. Bless his heart, he was not a large man, but he lugged that suitcase up those stairs and out of nowhere another nice man drug up the other one. 

By the time I thank them profusely and walk into the lobby of the hotel, I've stopped crying.  I realize that the lobby is a bit more run down than the pics on the website showed, but it was just the lobby, so I checked in and went up to my room.  I had reserved a non-smoking room.  It still boggles my mind that there are hotels in the world where smoking is ok on some floors, but that is another topic.  I walk in and the room smells musty and there is a hint of cigarette smoke.  The room is also much more run down than the pictures portrayed and it is also incredibly small.  Do note, that I am a freak about hotel research and I scour the internet reading reviews before I book anything.  I'd say my success rate in being satisfied with hotels by using this method is about 90%.  Well this hotel fell into that dreaded 10%.  So what do I do?  What any normal person would do, I immediately start crying again.  Go ahead and laugh, I'm laughing as I type this.

I sat there for about an hour feeling sorry for myself and then decided to go walk around the area and see what my surroundings were like.  To say it wasn't in the slightest what I had expected is an understatement.  I had been given plenty of feedback about Shenzhen from people who had been here, and I took it all with a grain of salt, but now I was thinking "holy shit, they were all right...what am I going to do??"

I get some dinner, shower and go to bed.  I needed sleep and had a big day on Monday.

Upon arriving at the MTR station where I was told to exit to get to the office, I realize that I do not have the address of the office in my possession.  Being that I'd had a rough day the day before, my emotions were on high and I was constantly on the verge of a meltdown.  Thankfully I called the mainline to the office and in describing where I was to the receptionist, I learned that I was in fact, right in front of the office.  Yay!

This is where things start to turn around.  

My coworkers are wonderful.  They took me to lunch and asked me where I was staying and how it was.  Their faces said it all when I told them the name and location of my hotel.  They all agreed that there is no way a female who is alone should be staying there and advised to switch immediately.  I spent the afternoon on the phone with another hotel in an area of town that they suggested, negotiated the same rate I had at the current hotel and made plans to arrive there that night.

I was nervous about checking out of the first hotel, and one of my coworkers volunteered to come with me, assist in my check out (he said I needed a local) and drive me to my new hotel.  Really?? SO NICE.

I still have no idea what he told them that made them not question my check out, but I really don't care.  My new hotel is wonderful and I feel like I'm living in a city vs. a 3rd world country.  I have walked around the last 2 nights and I feel incredibly safe.  I'm excited to explore the area and am once again confident in the decision I made to do this assignment.

My first 24 hours here were tough, but the next 48 have been great.  While it is still incredibly surreal that I am here until September, I'm looking forward to how the rest of the journey unfolds.  I've also downloaded a countdown app so I can quickly look to see how many days I have until I meet Kris in Shanghai.  36 in case any of you would like to countdown with me.

Cheers!

Big News!

On Friday afternoon, I'm hopping on a plane for Hong Kong and I'll be working in our Shenzhen, China office until September.  Yes, you read that right, September.  

I am a firm believer in putting the things you want out to the universe (and by the universe, I mean SAYING them out loud, and telling the people who have the power to help you get those things, what it is you want) and if they're meant to be, they have a higher chance of happening.

Last summer, I told my manager that I really wanted to do a rotation overseas.  He was supportive and put me in touch with some people, so I could get the word out that I was interested.  Shortly after, I was told that due to the costs associated with sending someone to work overseas, that it likely wouldn't happen in 2014.

I was told this in January.

In February, an opportunity came up where a person was needed to go work in Asia.  Guess who got asked if they wanted to do it?

So, Friday I will head out, with a full suitcase, an open mind, and a LOT of work to do once I am there.  Oddly, I'm not yet anxious or nervous, and while I normally am a huge procrastinator, I have everything I need, I just need to pack it.  Maybe I'm growing up?  

I'll be using this blog to stay in touch and share my adventures, thoughts and musings.  When I finally got this up and running, I envisioned writing a lot more than I have to date.  Like anything, if you want to get something done, you have to set aside the time to do it.  I'll be setting aside time to blog more once I land.

I also want to give a huge shout-out to my husband, Kris.  The question I have been asked the most when telling about this upcoming trip is "what about Kris"?  Kris is awesome.  Kris is 100% supportive.  Kris knows how much I want to do this and would never stand in my way, despite his sadness.  And he's going to miss me.  And I'm going to miss him.  And, yes he will visit, and that will be awesome.

Kris is also going to truly understand how much I do to keep our life in order around our house.

Am I a scared to be gone all summer?  Hell yes.  But that is why I knew I had to take this on.  Knowing that I am leaving has given me a huge sense of appreciation for all the little things in my life that I love, and for that I am thankful.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer, filled with adventure, family, friends and of course some ice-cold beers.  Cheers!

Country Music: The Beat of My Heart

Music.  Oh my God, I LOVE music.  Whoever was the first person to hum a tune, strum a chord, create an instrument, I thank you.  Without music life would be so boring...and so silent.

Have you ever loved a song so much that you listen to it over and over and over and over and over again?  I have.  I once ran 6 miles with the same song on repeat.  I'm not even close to kidding.  It was after a break up and it was the only song that felt right.  And, yours truly is not the fastest runner, so that was the same song on repeat for about an hour.  

If the title of this blog post, or actually, even this blog, didn't give it away, I am 100% head-over-heels in love with country music.  I'm the girl who buys the entire album the day it comes out, listens to it in its entirety and knows the words to the song that everyone else starts to love 8 months later when that track is finally released to radio.  I have many favorites that never make it to radio and those are the gems that I love sharing with friends.  

I'm obsessed with lyrics.  I have the metrolyrics app on my phone.  Again, not kidding.  I need to know all the words to a song, so I can truly understand what the songwriter was trying to get across, or how the artist wants the listener to feel.  This is why I cannot handle rap.  No offense, but today's rap is horrible.  I'm not talking about old school rap, because you can't mess with lyrics from Biggie, TuPac, Dre, Snoop, Cube, Too $hort, Busta & Bone Thugs.  I may or may not even still have a little Ditty by Paperboy on my iPod.  The rap I can't stand is today's rap, where a single word is repeated over and over and over and then the song basically talks about fucking a fat booty or making millions of dollars.  I guess, bravo to you shitty rapper, you likely do have more money than me, but it doesn't mean that your music doesn't suck.

Moving on, the lyrics to so many songs (both country and not) have created the soundtrack of my life and I love it.  The way a song can take you back to a moment in time...ah!  Amazing.  Trisha Yearwood even has a song about just that "The Song Remembers When".  "Even if the whole world has forgotten, the song remembers when..." Brilliant!

On the flip side, I have in the past googled lyrics to a song that has a great beat, only to find out that the lyrics are terrible.  I wish I could remember the name of a particular song, it came out when I was in college.  Anyway, the beat was awesome!  I remember really listening to the song to understand the lyrics and to my dismay it was basically about high school kids sneaking out to be together.  Lame.  Another song that I'm still amazed at its huge popularity due to the lyrics is "Pumped Up Kicks".  "You better run, better run, outrun my gun..."  REALLY.  Really.

I haven't even touched on concerts yet.  Concerts are my jam.  My thing.  My hobby.  I'm a pro at concerts.  They're SO fun.  I don't even think I have the words to describe how incredible live music is, or more importantly, how it makes me feel. The way I can put it perfectly, is with a song lyric.  So, I'll leave you with this from a song by the legendary Diamond Rio...

"It's like just before dark, jump in the car, buy an ice cream and see how far we can drive before it melts, kind of feeling.  There's a cow in the road and you swerve to the left, fate skips a beat and it scares you to death, and you laugh until you cry...that's how your love makes me feel inside."

Easter Deliciousness

Hope everyone had a great Easter!  We had a nice afternoon over at my Aunt and Uncle's house.  We are Greek, so every year we have lamb on Easter, and after having it for so many years, my Uncle knows how to cook it perfectly.  It was delish!  

I was asked to bring asparagus to the meal.  Which I fully planned on doing my normal way (roasting in the oven with olive oil, garlic, S&P, til the tips are crispy), until across my Instagram feed came this delicious recipe from www.inspiralized.com.  It was SOOOO delish and even the picky eaters in my family loved it!  

On our way home, I was able to snap this pic of the sunset over some of the fields...of course I thought it was extra cute because Norm had his head out the window and you can see his ears.