3 going away parties in 1 week... reminds me of my expat life

"If there is one constant in life, it's change" so goes an old adage. This past week, I partook in 3! going-away parties... this was definitely a surprise to me. Although I always knew that LA is a city where many come to seek out stardom, surf, or sun... many come, but not too often leave. But this past week, my neighbor left for Seattle, a colleague had a party for her new assignment to London, and a guy I recently met over Saturday recreational beach volleyball was leaving for Michigan.

I guess it caught me by surprise since this past month marked my 1 year anniversary of being back in LA. In many ways, it reminded me a lot about my 1st full year in China. For those contemplating about spending a year or more abroad, the one advice I can give is to expect that people will come in and out of your life more often than changes in seasons. I recall my 1st 6 months in Beijing was a time of incredible changes. One evening sitting at a bar in Beijing, it dawned on me that during my 1st 6 months, 6 of my 10 good friends/drinking buddies/mischiefs had or were about to leave Beijing permanently. This on top of realizing that like the crazy pace of changes occuring all around Beijing, I too was changing just as fast. This is the most amazing gift about living aboard for the 1st time - you learn more about yourself in a few months than you'll probably do in a decade at home. If interested, below's the email I wrote to everyone back here in the states about my impressions of living abroad during my first few months in Beijing.

Written sometime in September 2002...

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to say hello. Hope you're doing well. I'm doing great here in Beijing, been here for about three months now... if you're interested, below's a bit of what I've written up about these past three months. Sort of a travelogue in a way. If you get a chance, let me know how things are with you. I will be back in December.

Take care,
- Shing

China - a land of 1.3 billion people with a culture of over 4,000 years old, one of the longest. Yet, here in year two of the 21^st century, she is a country that appears young - vibrant, bustling, ever-changing. According to some publications, a new building goes up every week – the result of massive FDI funds that continues to pour into this country despite a near-global recession. Some have jokingly called the construction crane China’s national bird. It is this raising of the skyscrapers and the promise of 1.3 billion consumers that have attracted so many here to seek opportunities and possible riches; a reverse gold-rush of sorts. But today, after three months of being here, I wonder if all this change in China is merely a face-lift performed by hasty business surgeons that can go terribly awry in a few years, much like a cheap Hollywood nose job. Of course, the hope is that all this change represents a true renaissance of the mind, spirit, and body of a new China. After having survived two turbulent centuries of being raped by foreign powers, seismic shifts in the powers that govern the country, and an entire generation scarred by a failed social experiment, this latest transformation will hopefully cast away the shadow of its darker history and remake a better China.

As for me, I honestly can’t say how I feel about her right now – sometimes she can be very alluring, seducing you with promises to fulfill your dreams and at times, she wears you down with her indiscriminate episodes of incomprehensible behaviors. But despite her heavy baggage of issues, many willingly and freely come from all over the world to date her. Some have gotten lucky but others have left after a few short years feeling frustrated and used. Presently, I am still at the stage of watching from afar, admiring her but not sure if I want more than that. She can definitely test a person’s patience. However, in the short three months that I’ve been here, I must say that she has more than amply surprised me in many ways and has definitely piqued my curiosity. Below are just some thoughts and experiences.

On being a "Foreigner"

For the West, China has always been deemed “exotic” – a place that has captured the imagination of many. From Marco Polo’s famous travelogues detailing her ancient dynastic riches to the fabled Silk Road with its still-present aura of romantic mysticism, China has always been a place of mystery and wonder for westerners. For me though, I never did subscribe to these popular notions. China had always been a place I knew I had cultural roots so it was never mysterious in my mind while I was growing up. Naively, I thought I would feel fairly “normal” if I was to move to China and become a Beijing resident. Sure, I had felt the “foreign-ness” in me before when I traveled here as a tourist but as a Beijing resident, I thought I could quickly shake off that feeling. Well, three months have passed now and yes, I still very much feel like an American in China and not a Chinese in China. I may look the same, eat the same foods, and share certain cultural courtesies with the locals, but I definitely don’t think and feel the same. At the risk of sounding cliché, it really is what’s in the inside that counts - your thoughts and values that make up who you are.

I remember I once read an article in a local expat magazine shortly before I moved here about this one Australian girl who was interviewed about her past 3 years in China. At the time, she was getting ready to leave China, after having worked through various jobs in Beijing. She came to Beijing shortly after her graduation from “uni” (university). She wanted to experience something different than her comfortable middle-class Australian life where everything seemed fine and normal. She thought of China first as an exciting place to visit and learn about the country’s culture. However, when she got here, she discovered it was herself that she most learned about by being in China. This is what I remembered most about the article. She commented that by being here, she was forced to examine and answer questions about what she values, why she thinks differently, and basically what makes her who she is. She believed that had she stayed in Australia, these questions probably would have never surfaced in her comfortable middle-class life back home. Today, I find myself having these same types of questions and feelings – day in and day out as I go about living in Beijing as a “local” and a “foreigner”.

"It's just China"

If there’s one phrase that I believe best sums up China in the last three months, it’s “It’s just China…” - a rather typical snippy response from expats whenever I ask why some things just doesn’t seem to make sense here. Take for example, one of the most intriguing jobs that I’ve ever seen – an elevator operator. No, not those fancy elevator operators in 5-star hotels but rather just plain clothed elevator operators that are staffed at every high-rise apartment that I’ve been to here. From 6AM-12AM and with 3 different shifts, there’s always someone there to press the button for you. Once I asked an operator why people can’t press the button for themselves, the response was a bewildering, “well, it could break if not operated properly….” On a first take, this appeared to be a nice little piece of convenience however it odd it may seem. However, this novelty quickly became a nuisance since the end of the last shift at 12AM also meant that the elevators had to be shut off too. As I’ve learned repeatedly, nothing sobers up a person faster than hiking up 15 dark flights of stairs after a late night of hanging out with friends. And each time as I do the hike, I always think, “Why do I have to do this? Oh yeah, so that the elevator operator can have a job…” Yes, that’s it. I’m doing something positive! Next time though, I’m getting an apartment that’s closer to street level… or else just simply stop going out so late…

Beijing is a very, very, very large city with something like 13 million people and a land area probably similar to the Los Angeles basin. And as many people have heard, bicycles are by far the most visible form of transportation. Shockingly though, I have yet to see any native Beijinger wear a bicycle helmet. Not the senior citizens, the adults, or the little emperors sitting precariously on the bike frame and held dearly by an “over-protective” parent. So, it is a bit of a spectacle for the locals when I go about riding my beaten up old Beijing bike around my neighborhood wearing my bike helmet and reflective clothing. For me, I can’t fathom not putting on all this safety gear given that Beijing has some of the worst traffic jams I’ve ever seen and that no one - drivers, bikers, or pedestrians, appears to heed any type of traffic laws. Despite all this traffic and congestion and the occasional auto-pedestrian, auto-bike, or the worst, bus-pedestrian accidents, no one seems to be particularly angry when an accident does happen. No waving of guns (guns are banned), no fist-fights (at least I’ve haven’t seen one yet), no lawyers, no road-rage. People here seem to let things quickly pass if no one was seriously hurt – a stark contrast to the states. I am still amazed that I haven’t seen more accidents here.

"Is China that BAD and the US that GOOD?"

One of things I alluded to earlier is that by living here, China makes people re-evaluate themselves including who they are, what are their values, and to a very large degree question everything that is good or bad about their home country. For the past few months, I’ve had more than a few discussions about this with my foreign friends here and everyone nods in agreement that they are so much more aware now of what they like and don’t like about their home country. For me, and this may sound trite, there are definitely a lot of things that we take for granted in the states. Things like being able to make travel plans more than 4-days in advance (train tickets can only be purchased for one-way and only 4-days in advance… airline tickets are a bit better) and the free flow of information (the recent two-week blocking of Goggle was numbingly frustrating… they finally reopened the link but still with selective sites blocked). But on the flip side, there are some very interesting aspects of China that make you think the states could and should do better.

One of the most fascinating realizations is that China gives its female population substantial respect – both at home and the workplace. Gender equality, espoused by the Communist Party after they came into power in 1949, is probably one of the things I think China does much better than the states. Generally speaking, violent crimes against women in public are almost non-existent. And from talking to my female friends here, everyone agrees that they feel very safe walking anywhere around Beijing – from large streets to dark alleys. This is a statement that I had never heard of back in CA. Regarding women and business, there appears to be little to no gender bias – I’ve seen them as taxi drivers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, etc. A great example of this was of what I witnessed at an informal meeting I had with this one businessman at a local Starbucks. He was looking to raise a fund to invest in China and had brought along some of his contacts, prospective clients that he was looking to do some work for. At the meeting were a lady who started her own mail-order fashion company and a man who has a computer hardware distribution business. Needless to say, the woman ran the company and as it turned out, her husband is also her employee. The man with the computer hardware distribution business was interesting. He brought along his wife and he often looked to her for feedback during the meeting. What I learned afterwards is that it is very typical for a woman to participate in her husband’s business, especially if it was a small one. Oftentimes, the woman is the one who controls the family finances.

Ying and Yang

China is definitely a place filled with contradictions and her own best example of the Daoist concept. Just as fast as the skyscrapers are being raised, so too is her march to catch up to the West. Thus, for an outsider living here and looking back out, it is easy to see that she is full of contradictions and surprises. For the last three months, it’s been a lot of fun trying to figure her out… now, let’s see if she’s willing to let me date her… by that, I mean, have a job.

The fun and perils of commuting in Shanghai

Ever wonder what it's like commuting on the streets of Shanghai? Want a sense of the everyday Chinese? Well, check out my friend's video blog for some fun, sometimes hair-raising videos of what you can expect to see and encounter while traveling through the bustling city of Shanghai. With the unmistakeable eye for the wacky and a British sense of 'humour', I think you'll quite enjoy his 'on the ground' view of Shanghai life.

The Crash Test Dummy
Shanghai by the seat of your pants - The Crash Test Dummy vlogs from his bicycle while commuting to work in Shanghai.

Here's a sampling... titled 'Left is right, right?'

California passes strictest environmental law in the U.S.

This morning, I heard a very encouraging news piece about the environment. NPR (National Public Radio) and numerous other sources reported that our CA state legistlature and the governor... yes, that governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) had passed one of the strictest laws in the country to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a cut of about 25 percent. This is incredibly encouraging for the direction of the country since California has always been a leader in environment laws and other states have historically followed California's lead. It's quite incredible to realize that California would be the 8th largest country in the world if it was a separate country. Thus, it's impact can be substantial not only for the US but the rest of the world.

Now, some of you may ask why I am writing about this in a 'travel' blog. Good question. The answer actually has a lot to do with my experiences while living abroad in Beijing. Earlier this week, I recounted the amusing story of how a sandstorm almost sidetracked a trip I took on the Old Silk Road (see here). Although at the time, we were near the edge of one of China's biggest deserts, sandstorms are a perennial problem in many western parts of China. Because of years of unchecked deforestation in those parts, sandstorms have become signficant problems even for cities much further east, especially in Beijing. When I lived there in 2002, there were quite a few days when a sandstorm would envelope the city in a gray-yellowish haze of sand and smog. Although the Chinese government has finally acknowledged the problem, fixing it is still years away. Given the continuing mad rush to grow its economy, it's hard to believe that China will be environmentally responsible any time soon. Last month, I heard scientists tested air particles on a mountain top near San Francisco and discovered traces of sand, coal, and sulfur that originated from China!! If that doesn't prove that our environment is in danger and that global warming is real, I don't know what will... for those of you who hasn't seen the film, An Inconvenient Truth, I strongly urge you to see it. It is a very non-partisan, fact-based documentary... the pictures of a rapidly receding snow line in Kilimanjaro (Africa) and melting glaciers in Antartica are startling.

As for traveling to Beijing, I would recommend checking with your travel agent about sandstorm risk for the period you plan to be there. If I recall correctly, sandstorms occurred around late Spring.

Sometimes, you have to leave the present to find your future.

Tonight, I had a long chat with one of my best friends, Frank (not his real name), about the challenges, frustrations, and politics of his current job which I can strongly sympathize. Although our chat was not specifically related to traveling, it later reminded me of a chat I had with another friend, Shawn (again not his real name) about a month or so ago. We both credit traveling for bringing fresh perspectives into our lives when we were facing some daunting life challenges.

The year was 2002. It was a pivotal year for me, as I was wrapping up my last year of business school with the prospect of no job in the near future, high rent, and increasing amounts of debt (the tech bubble infamously bursted in 2001, obliterating the job landscape for new graduates). As a result, I made the almost unfathomable decision to leave 'the present' situation and move to China. This was against all of my MBA learnings - the risks and costs were inordinately high - I practically knew no one there, had no job lined up in China, didn't speak the language, and the return was definitely uncertain. Yet, three years later now, and back in the US, I would have to emphatically say that it was probably one of my best decisions to date... In hindsight, I gained immeasurably in personal growth (picked up Mandarin fluency, had some indelible personal experiences, and most importantly, learned more about myself than sitting behind a desk for 3 years). While in China, I networked myself into a job where I led the creation of Bank of China's first Western-style mutual fund, started a popular cooking club in Shanghai, and consulted on numerous start-up projects - enterprising experiences far beyond what any 'office' job would have given me here in the US.

Now, I am not telling this story to toot my own horn but rather it illustrates the fact that changes and challenges in life can result in amazingly rewarding experiences. For me, living abroad and traveling around some of the poorest areas of China helped put so many things into a humbling perspective. For Frank, I hope over the next month he will take on a positive spin of the situation and allow himself to believe that change can be good and rewarding.

Any of you had similar experiences?

Travel Tips: Beijing and Shanghai, China - Places to See, Things to Do

Recently, I've been asked by two different friends about where to go, what to see, and what to do in Beijing and Shanghai. Below is a summary of some of the best things to do in these cities if you only have a few days (some of the 'insider tips' after having lived in China for 3 years). Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Beijing (besides the usual Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen, Summer Place):
1. try to get to one of the many big public parks very early in the morning, say 7am or so to see old people practicing tai-chi.
2. go on a 'Hutong' tour - when I was living in BJ, there used to be guides offering tourists tricycle rides around the Houhai area. (see pic to the left) They'll take you around the 'Hutongs' or alleyway houses in the area - the traditional Beijing courtyard houses. Sadly, like much of China's real culture, many have been razed to make way for new developments. See them before only a few sanitized ones remain. A really nice pitstop is the Passby Bar (it's also a café with both Chinese and western food) - a hip backpacker favorite inside a Hutong.
3. not sure if the Beijing Dragonboating club is still active but it was when I was there - they practice Saturday mornings from 8am-11am on Houhai. The club is composed of both expats and local Chinese.
4. definitely have the famous Beijing duck - one of the best places is on the corner of Gongti Bei Lu and the 3rd ring road. Unfortunately don't remember the name but the restaurant is very popular with both tourists and locals alike.

Shanghai:
1. visit the museum in Xiantiandi that gives a history on Shanghai's shikumen - Shanghai's traditional stone-gated alley houses: architecturally, very different than Beijing's Hutong's. Xiantiandi is also one of the hippest and most expensive retail/dining areas in Shanghai.
2. take a boat tour down the Huangpu - the boats have English narration giving the history of the Bund from colonial days to present (but you have to stay close to the speaker to hear what they are saying) - (The Bund - see picture to the left)
3. take the Maglev to the airport - it's the world's first and boy, did the Chinese did a good job at milking the Germans for their technology and investment dollars!... Sadly, like so much of China's shoddy construction, the Maglev track is actually sinking... it's still operational... for now.
4. visit one of the nearby watertowns - Zhouzhuang is very touristy, others include Wu Zhen, Luzhi, Tongli, and Xitang (picture to the left). They're China's version of Venice. Except for Zhouzhuang, I think all the rest are actual living watertowns. Xitang was the site where one of the scenes for Mission Impossible 3 was shot.
5. visit Xi Hu, in Hangzhou or 'West Lake' - about 2-3 hrs by train from Shanghai to Hangzhou. This is probably one of the more scenic spots near Shanghai.