SHE in China

Chasing dreams

2011-09-07T07:18:00.004+08:00

For a long time, being able to communicate in Chinese language was a dream of mine, and when this photo was taken, it was a very far-fetched one. Now, however, I actually do speak Chinese and I use it every single day at work. It's time to start chasing new dreams.

I’ve been dreading to write this post, that’s why I have neglected my blog for the last few weeks.

When I turned 29 on August 15, I hit a milestone, namely 5 years in China. On September 11 (which I know is a very sad day for most people) I’ll hit another one: 10 years of living abroad. That’s more than one third of my life, and pretty much my whole adult life (so far).

I’ve been thinking a lot about everything I’ve been doing for the last 10 years abroad/5 years in China, and I look back at most of it with joy. I don’t have any real regrets, just some “I wonder what would have happened if I would have done this instead of that….” But I believe that’s pretty normal.

Next year I turn 30, and it feels as if I’ll enter a new era of my life (might sound cheesy, but that’s how I feel about it). I will leave my 20-ies with some sadness. It has been 10 pretty amazing years of living abroad and getting to know myself through my adventures and experiences in different countries, not to mention my interactions with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I’ve met some pretty amazing individuals over the years, some of which I still consider my closest friends. All in all, life in the 20ies has been pretty d*** good.

However, in order to make the most of this “final year,” I thought I’d make an effort to do something a little bit special. Something for me, like fulfilling a far-fetched dream of mine. So, some days before I turned 29 I started making a list of things I wanted to do before turning 30.

Seeing that I’m a bit of a list abuser (I make lists of food I want to eat, and at work I am know as being a “list person” too as my “to do” lists have been passed around more than once) I made an endless list, including all kinds of silly things I wanted to do before turning 30, like “trying 50 new restaurants in Shanghai!” and “wake up with a smile of my face at least 70% of the time.”

In order not to come across as a mad lady (unless I already have) I decided to narrow it down to three big things. Three dreams that I wish to fulfil before August 15, 2012. And those are:

* Run a full marathon (and at least one more half)

* Visit all 4 countries that I’ve referred to as “home” during the last 10 years

* Write a book

So, there you go. My list. My dreams. My goals. Shouldn’t be that hard to accomplish, right?

Pretty much all of my friends laughed when I mentioned the marathon, but nodded when I said I wanted to write a book (it’s not the first time I mention it to them, as it has been my dream for as long as I can remember, I actually “announced it” to my folks at the age of 10 when we were having dinner. Then they told me I should become a journalist first, as one simply can't just “become” a published writer).

Me, on the other hand, think the book is the scary part. Running is just running, and although I’ve had a sore hip for 2 months now and haven’t been able to run the miles I should run every week (but I do other training instead, and I’m training pretty hard, 4-5 times/week so I believe I’m keeping fit still), that doesn’t worry me too much. If it’s something I have it’s physical willpower –and I’m good at pushing myself when it comes to challenges. I might not finish within 4 hours, but (unless this hip continues to torture me all year long) I will finish the race, even though it might be painful.

The book, on the other hand… is another story. Since it’s been a dream of mine for so long there’s a bit of sentimental attachment to it. It’s super scary, and there’s constantly this fear of failure going on in my head. But as a wise friend told me:

-You cannot fail something unless you’ve tried.

So I better keep trying.

And this is when blogging comes into the picture. How do I make time for that? I already have a full-time job, I always come home late at night (since I do my workouts pretty much every day after work), and my best time for writing (when my brain is feeling fresh and creative) is during the very early mornings (which is the time slot that has been devoted to my blog for the last 4 or so years).

So, now you see how this equation isn’t adding up.

And now you know why I haven’t been updating my blog for the last few weeks.

I still don’t want to say “OK, so this is it, I’m closing down, bye bye, thanks for reading all these years! (and all of you who left me nasty, anonymous comments or abusive email, now you might as well disappear from this platform forever!)” because who knows: maybe I won’t fulfil my dream. Maybe I will be back. Maybe I’ll miss blogging too much. Maybe I’ll simply give up and go back to what has been my daily routine for the last few years.

So, this is not a goodbye.

But a see you later.

And I promise, regardless if I succeed or fail, to come back and update this blog on how I did with my three big “to dos” before August 15, 2012. And who knows. Maybe also along the way.

Until then.

Don't challenge superstition!

2011-08-17T07:09:00.001+08:00

When we flew back to China (on Saturday, August 13) we bumped into some friends at Helsinki airport.

-Hey, how’s your holiday been?! When did you first get here? (The standard post-holiday conversation, you know).

-It’s been great, we got here six weeks ago!

-You’ve had a six weeks holiday?! Me and my bf flinched. We thought we had had an extremely long holiday –my bf had 3 weeks and I was off for a whole month.

-Yeah, well the last week was work, the guy said.

-Ah, OK.

-Well, we actually wanted to have our holiday a bit earlier and be back by now, but because I had a Chinese delegation coming to Finland I had to be here and take care of them.

-Right.

-We tried to get them to come here already in July but they refused, saying it was impossible. They really wanted to come in August.

-Oh?

-Yeah, and we pushed and pushed and then finally, they revealed why they just HAD to come in August. And not only in August. But on the 8th of August.

-Yes?

-Because they wanted to fly here on the 8th day of the 8th month: they arrived in Finland on August 8 (8/8 = very lucky day for many Chinese people as 8 is a lucky number in China).

-No way?!

-Oh yes! First we thought it was silly, then we remembered the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, and that it opened on August 8, 8.08pm. They take these things seriously in China. So we thought, how can we challenge superstition?

-Good point. So was it a successful visit?

-Sure, went great.

-Well then. Mission accomplished.

Office confrontation

2011-08-16T07:19:00.003+08:00

Moment of truth -how much of this did you consume this summer?!

8.30 am. Monday morning. Back to work. Back to reality.

I enter the office. Bump into no one as I enter my office. Quickly push the power button on my computer. Unpack my handbag.

8.35am. I enter the kitchen. Armed with two large, 250 gram Fazer chocolate bars. Pressies for my workmates. A compulsory manner where I work.

8.36am. The ayi steps into the kitchen around the same time as I start putting down the chocolate on the table.

-Ah, Youna!! (Youna is my Chinese name) She says, and smiles. You’re back!

-Youna’s back?! I hear, from outside.

It takes some 20 seconds and then they are all there. My wonderful workmates. Welcoming me back. And. Inspecting me.

One is so blunt that she says it straight to my face:

-Well, I want to see what has changed with you! And she gives me a long, once over, before she sighs and leaves.

No one has anything special to comment on. I haven’t cut or dyed my hair. I haven’t lost or put on weight. I haven’t got any great tan to show off.

Disappointed they all go back to their desks. Relieved, I feel like I can breathe again.

8.50am, my phone beeps. Text message from my boyfriend.

“How did you go?!”

“Nothing!” I text back. “You?”

“Well, one of my colleague said my face looks thinner. I guess that’s a good thing?”

“Congratulations!” I reply.

“Well to you too. No one called you fat” I receive back.

“True. Good day!”

And it is. As the day goes by no one says anything. No one seems to care. One workmate wants to know why I’m not more tired. Didn’t I just arrive? Should I not be more jet lagged, yawn and leave early? I tell her that I’m tired but that I’m still going to the gym that night. She sighs and eats some cookies that she keeps in her desk drawer.

By the end of the day, 500 grams of chocolate has been consumed. And no one has called me fat, big, or anything. They have, however, remarked on the fact that I had sushi for lunch. Still. It’s the first time I return from a long holiday abroad and no one says anything about my weight.

I feel like I’ve won the lottery.

Back in the buzz

2011-08-15T07:02:00.003+08:00

Dear city how I've missed you!

Back in Shanghai after a looong holiday. Almost too long. I get way too lazy when my life lacks structure. But I’ve had a wonderful time in Finland and Sweden, and as soon as I get around to connecting my camera with a missing cable (…) I will upload a holiday photo special.

But like I said, now I’m back. Back in our old (or new, because we moved in here one week before we went on our holiday!) flat, back in the humid heat, enjoying the noises, smell and atmosphere of being back. It’s actually pretty wonderful! I’ve missed China. I've missed my friends and I've missed the food. But most of all, I've missed the life we have here. The every day life where anything is possible and nothing is predictable. Sure, it can be frustrating at times but most of the time it's kind of fun. Also, this time, the humid heat wave that hit me when I stepped out of the airport terminal and into the taxi did not make me feel like running back inside and hiding on the plane (I’m not going to lie, sometimes it does).

Instead, we decided to embrace being back. So, yesterday we did stuff like we normally never do here in China. We went grocery shopping, we cleaned, and, we went to Ikea! Yeah! Ikea on a Sunday –after not having slept for some 48 hours (since I am sometimes struggling with sleeping in a bed, sleeping on a plane is completely out of the question. I have even stopped trying) we decided that Ikea would be the perfect choice. We were so spaced out, so tired and so out of it that we couldn’t have cared less about pushing ourselves through throngs of people on a regular Ikea Sunday in Shanghai. Good times. And now our flat looks so a lot nicer than before (although I’m glad we didn’t do all of our “must do” Ikea shopping last night because we came home with cushions in the wrong colour –as we in the store remembered our couch as blue. In reality, however, it’s gray. We also couldn’t remember the colour of our couch table so in the end we couldn’t get half of the stuff we set out to do).

A funny thing that I realised yesterday when I used my Chinese again, after a month’s break, was how bad it must have gotten. Because, for the first time in I don’t know how long, people made comments about it. The fruit man in the grocery store, our security guard at the door (that laughed at us when we emptied our over filled mail box and bills literally fell out on the floor) the girl at the counter at Ikea… they all wanted to know how long I had been in China for, if I liked it here, and told me that my Chinese was everything from 还可以 (OK) to 很好 (very good). I've been told that when people say your Chinese is "OK" it is also a nice way of saying: “good effort but you’ve got some improvements to do!”

Now I’m off to the office and after 1 month away I am guessing I’m in for a super duper busy day with an over full inbox and some 82684962349 meetings I need to book. Oh, and did I mention it’s my birthday? Yeah, today I turn 29! What better way to kick start my last year in the twenties?

The annual Swedish crayfish party...

2011-08-08T02:56:00.005+08:00

....started off in a quite calm, friendly, and sophisticated manner

Then I'm not quite sure what happened, but I guess everyone's true colours came out.

Until next year!

Wknd in Tallinn, Estonia

2011-08-04T13:08:00.007+08:00

The summer weather in Finland has been amazing this year. Except for a few rainy days in the beginning it’s basically been blue skies, sunshine and 25 degrees every single day. Since we live pretty much next to a forest and a lake, it’s been a lot of swimming during the last few weeks.

When the weather is so great you become almost ignorant to the fact that just because the sunshine is where you are, that doesn’t mean it’s sunny everywhere else. Or at least if your name is Jonna. So, when we decided to do a spontaneous wknd trip to Tallinn, Estonia, and I saw a weather forecast that said 17 degrees and rain, I still didn’t believe it. In shorts and a t-shirt (and equipped with no umbrella!) I jumped on a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn.

The ferry took 2 hours and once we arrived my shorts felt like the most ridiculous choice of clothing. It wasn’t that it was raining. Oh no. It was pouring down. Literally pouring down. There was so much water on the road that the cars could barely drive off the ferry.

Slightly disorganized Tallinn harbour didn’t really come with a taxi line so we had to wait for the taxi war to end before we managed to grab a car to our hotel, which was located in the beautiful old town.

Once there (and checked in), a windy and rainy day followed. Residents and shop owners of tourist-Tallinn obviously saw the rain as a great opportunity to make shit loads of money out of silly tourists (like us) who hadn’t brought an umbrella, and sold some pretty basic stuff at 18-21 euros, which is around 200 rmb. Yeah, I don’t think so.

After some serious searching we managed to buy plastic raincoats from a small shop for 1 euro/each (that’s more like it!) and challenged the weather. Fortunately it stopped raining towards the night and we had a nice time walking around old town, checking out old buildings and cute little shops, bars and restaurants.

Tallinn's a very touristy place with a focus on the medieval times, and locals aren’t necessarily the most friendly people that I’ve come across. At one cute little restaurant, for instance, we were sitting at the bar having drinks when a countless number of people came in asking to see the menu. The staff kept handing them a menu, but then when the guests required a table they just said:

-Sorry, we have no free tables and are booked all night.

Hm... so why not tell them that before they start studying the menu?!

We did some bar hopping, enjoyed an average Italian meal, and saw some pretty drunk groups of tourists, which is probably one of the reasons why locals don’t love the visitor flow. The next day the weather was better and on the ferry back to Helsinki we even sat on the sun deck, playing card games.

Suddenly a guy came up to me, saying:

-Hey, you live in Shanghai right?

-Eh… yes I do!

-Yeah, I recognize you. We work in the same office building. You’re on the 15th floor! I’m on the 17th!

There he was, a Brazilian guy hailing all the way from Shanghai to the Tallinn ferry, and he was pretty surprised to see me there too. We are now officially elevator buddies in Shanghai.

I have a tendency to bump into people that I know on airports, no matter what kind of strange place I get to I often see someone I know. But on a Tallinn ferry on my way to Helsinki?! Turns out –it’s a small world.

Some pix from Tallinn:

Estonia has only been independent since 1991 (This memorial stone is for all the people that died when the boat "Estonia" sank in 1994). With a population of 1,3 million (Tallinn has 400 000 citizens) it's a small country.

In a 1 euro raincoat...

Tallinn by nite

Summer in Finland

2011-08-03T14:39:00.004+08:00

Despite the horrific events that took place in Norway on July 22 I’ve managed to have a pretty good holiday. It was just really hard for a while to think about anything but the attacks. I have a countless number of Norwegian friends (from studying in Australia 2003-2005) and I’ve been in touch with pretty much all of them, just to make sure that they are OK (they all are. One guy has an apartment located some 500 m away from where to bomb blast took place, however, but he was in Australia for a holiday when everything happened. Fortunately, his flat is still intact). Since I can read Norwegian, I had a bit of an “information overload” situation in the beginning of last week, where I sat glued to the computer and read everything I saw in the newspapers, as well as blog posts and comments from Norwegian survivors. As a result, I cried a lot and didn’t sleep for three night, and when I did, I had nightmares where the shooter appeared, trying to kill me. So, I decided to keep away from the Internet for a bit, hence my decision to not blog. Hope you understand.

But except for the days that followed the sleepless nights last week (those were not fun) I’ve had a lot of fun. My first week in Finland was spent at my bf’s parent’s summer cabin, located in a small community called Hankasalmi. It’s a gorgeous place, and this time my folks came with us (all the way from Sweden, it took them quite some time to first drive to Stockholm, then take the ferry to Helsinki and then drive from there to Hankasalmi) for the first time! They loved it too (how can you not!) and we had some great times even though the weather wasn’t on our side at all times.

After the summer cottage stay I spent a wknd in Helsinki, followed by some gorgeous days in Tampere, Vammala, Vaasa and –Estonia’s Tallinn! But more about that in the following day’s posts.

Here comes some photos from the summer cottage:

For Norway

2011-07-28T14:42:00.002+08:00

On Monday at 12pm, all Nordic countries held a minute's silence for the victims of the bombing and shooting in Norway. On this blog, I'm taking a silent week.

Off to northern Finland's deepest forests, see u in one week!

2011-07-18T16:46:00.002+08:00

How to find an apartment in Shanghai

2011-07-15T13:42:00.004+08:00

Our first flat in Shanghai -quite nice one. Just located in the completely wrong part of the city -and as a result we had to spend 2 hour commuting every day. Oh, little did we know back then!

I just checked my blog email and saw two new emails from two different people about to move to Shanghai, asking me the same things:

-How do I find an apartment in Shanghai?
-How much should I pay for it?

Now, those are big questions, but since they came at the same time, and I’ve promised to answer blog enquiries during my holiday, I thought this could be worth a blog post.

Since I just completed a 2,5 month frustrating flat hunt, I believe that we can all agree that I am far from an expert on how to find accommodation fast. However, during my search for the perfect crib, I came across several different ways of searching for a place:

Finding a flat

There are several Eng and Chi websites offering housing advertisement in Shanghai these days:
Craigslist has a lot of listings, however, often lacks photos.

Then there is a housing section on smartshanghai, which is great as the housing ads offer both photos and map of where the apartment is located (+ links to several real estate companies), however, I have to say that the flats you see in the photos of the ads, and the flats that you go and see are often not the same. Also, I think a lot of the agencies posting on smartshanghai (not all of them though!) are keen to help wealthy laowais with expat packages. Having said that, however, there are still some really good ones and if you’re looking for shared accommodation, I believe this is a great place to look.

Another good site/forum that can help any Shanghai newbie with getting his/her question answered is Shanghai Expat.

Get an account, browse the topics, and fire away! I was a frequent user of this forum when I first moved to Shanghai, posting questions about everything from where to buy soy milk to how to find a basketball team.

If you master the Chinese language, you might want to take the advice of CNNGo and look for a flat on some of the local pages. Here’s the article that lists some of the big ones.

Another option (and my personal favourite choice) is to simply walk around in the area where you wish to live, and visit real estate agencies located in that area. Tell them your budget as well as your demands (one bedroom, two bedrooms, old house, new building… etc) and they can normally take you to see some places straight away. One thing I learned from my latest flat hunt was to stick to one or max 2 agencies, otherwise it might get too confusing, not to mention messy.

Don’t forget to bargain with the landlord. Ask for new furniture if you need, a lower rent, or whatever requirement you might have. Negotiating things like rent and furniture is a normal part of renting in China. Never just settle for what the landlord just tells you (unless you think the deal is already good enough).

Now, moving on to the second question:

How much should I pay?

This question is impossible for me to answer! It depends where you want to live (central areas, like Huangpu and Xuhui and Jing’an are normally more expensive than Pudong, Minhang, and Hongqiao), how big of a flat you want, what kind of furniture and decoration you need, an many other things. You simply have to set a limit for yourself and try your luck. You will notice quite soon if your budget is enough or not.

And finally…

Where should I live?

Having lived in 3 different areas in Shanghai: a six month stunt in Pudong, 2,5 years in Xuhui, and now 1 month in Huangpu (or old Luwan) –I can only tell you one thing: live close to your office/school, or, close to your mean of public transport. It makes life much easier and convenient because trust me, you don’t want to spend hours on commuting every day.

I hope this helps! Happy flat hunting.

Summer blog topics -suggestions, anyone?

2011-07-14T05:28:00.003+08:00

Finally, my holiday is here! Today I’m off to Finland. I’ll be spending 3 weeks there, and then I’ll head over to Sweden for my final week. A whole month off –feels unbelievable! This wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for all the overtime hours I’ve done this spring (and really, I’ve worked a lot), so I guess working loads also has its advantages, hehe.

For those that have followed this blog carefully, today is also the day when by no-sugar bet with my significant other ends. Do you think I made it? No candy, cakes or sugar for some 2,5 months in order to win a shopping spree?

Well, of course I did. And not eating sugar has made me feel great, so who knows, maybe it’s something I will keep up. It wasn’t that hard to tell you the truth. Give it 2 weeks to get rid of the sugar craving and then you’re fine. Highly recommend it to anyone who is struggling with keeping their hands off chocolate bars.

Since I will be on a holiday there won’t be much action going on in my life. The summer days in Scandinavia tend to be bright and beautiful, but kind of boring in terms of action and events. So I’m not sure what to blog about. Do you guys have any suggestions/wishes? Anything you want to know about life in Finland/Sweden? Photo essays? Anything China related you wish me to write about? Could be anything -about studying in China, some restaurant recommendations, anything... Any questions you want answered? Fire away, because I’d like to keep this blog going even while I am away, but I need your input in order to make it interesting.

But first I have a 1 hour taxi drive, a 9 hour flight, and a 3 hour bus ride to look forward to… see you on the other side!

The starch girls

2011-07-13T06:59:00.003+08:00

As I’m getting ready for a holiday in Europe, I obviously try to get the very most out of China before I leave, including:

• Pampering such as massages, manicure, pedicure
• Speaking as much Chinese as possible with my Chinese friends
• Indulging in a lot of spicy food

However, the whole pampering thing has become a down prio, as I’ve realised that I enjoy my other two priorities much more.

Some days ago, my best girlfriend and I went to one of our favourite Sichuan joints.

-Looks full, she said, as we stepped in and were greeted by a noisy, smoky but happy environment.

-Yup, I confirmed, trying to locate a free table.

-你们好！(Nimen hao!) Came the manager, who I’ve seen many times before, and, who must have recognized us, as he smiled a little bit too wide.

-No tables today? I asked.

-Always a table for you girls!

Yes, he definitely recognized us.

And, magically, he showed us to a free table.

Five seconds later a female waitress appeared with a menu.

While we started flicking through it, she stood by our side all the time, until she finally said, with some obvious impatience in her tone of voice:

-The mushroom dish that you are looking for is here.

She grabbed the menu and flicked the pages until… ta, da, out favourite mushroom dish appeared.

-One of these, she said to herself and wrote on her notepad.

-Eh… yes. We agreed.

-What else? Tofu?

-Eh, yes.

-Do you want your spicy noodles today or rice?

-Eh… spicy noodles. Yes. And rice.

-You want BOTH rice AND spicy noodles. That’s way too much.

-Eh, but we want both.

-Ah, you two. You always order the same and you always order too much!

We just stared at her, chins dropping to the floor.

-But we won’t waste it… I started, we will…

-You will get the leftovers in a doggy bag and take it as take away, oh yes, I know. Like you always do!

-Right…

-Still, I think you girls eat too much starch.

-Eh, er… well.

-Yeah don’t worry, you’ll get your noodles still.

-Eh… great! Thanks! Don't forget the rice!

Right. Time for us to change restaurant maybe? Or, maybe we should change up our order a bit? Then again, it’s so good?! And why change something that is good?

But damn. I thought all laowais looked the same to Chinese people? That’s what my friends often tell me. But apparently Chinese people too, learn to remember you by your habits. We are obviously the two doggy bag starch girls at this joint.

Work hard, play hard

2011-07-12T07:19:00.003+08:00

A friend of mine works at a big, international company –the dream work place for many, both westerners and Chinese. Some weeks ago he recruited a new staff, a young Chinese girl who was selected to be his PR assistant. Some 70 people applied for the job, and he interviewed 10 for the position, and this girl was the one who impressed him the most, who seemed the most driven and who insisted that working for this company would be like a dream coming through for her.

They agreed on a quite attractive salary package, and she started her job.

On day one, she wanted to know everything about over time compensation.

On day two, she asked if she could get a new computer and a new cell phone.

One week into her job, when she was sent on a business trip, the first thing she did when she came back to the office, was to fill a travel claim form so that she would get her day pay allowance.

My friend saw her doing all of this and did not make any remarks. In fact, he told me about it, but said that he thought it was good, that this girl looked after herself so carefully, and that she made sure she got what she deserved.

Then, however, she handed in her sheet of overtime work.

1 hour, 5 min, 2 hour, 7 minutes… 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes.

The girl had written down every single extra minute she had spent by her desk since her first day.

Now, at this point my friend started to feel slightly concerned.

-Sure, it’s good that the girl is making sure that she is compensated for her overtime, he told me. But it’s not like I’ve even asked her to work over time! And what about those days when she comes in late? Or when she takes an extra 15 minutes of lunch? Or, should I even be concerned by the fact that she’s spending a lot of time chit chatting to her colleagues and not working that efficiently in front of her computer all day?

Tricky one, I agreed, especially since the girl was so new –no only at this office, but on the market. This was her first job since graduating. Normally when you are new at your job you might work extra hard and try not to be too demanding/complicated, in order to make a good impression (at least that is my personal strategy. You don’t start making demands until the company sees your value).

I decided to ask a Chinese friend of mine:

-Well, all Chinese people are like that. She said. We all write down if we work 5 minutes extra.

-But what if… what if you took a long lunch? Or if you came in a bit late for work? Or if you spent the first 10 minutes of your day eating breakfast in the kitchen (a very popular habit of my Chinese co-workers. They all think I am crazy when I say I get up at 6am just so that I can enjoy my coffee and brekkie in peace at home. “Why do that when you can have it at work?!”).

My friend giggled and shrugged her shoulders, kind of saying: “well….”

-But what if… what if this job is very attractive and you’ve promised that you’re going to work extra hard?

-Well, not without getting compensation.

Well, wow. Go Chinese people, I have to say. Then again, is it just me, or is it a little bit weird that a fresh graduate come with this kind of mindset? I’ve always been taught to stand up for myself/think outside the box/work independently, but when I started my very first job, back in 2005, I was not a cocky staff member. I worked very hard, came in early every morning and stayed late (without asking for overtime compensation), brought work with me home –everything in order to make a good impression. I didn’t do it for money –I did it so that my bosses would see how hard working I was. Maybe it was stupid of me –of course my bosses saw that I was willing to work a bit extra for free, but I still don’t regret it. It was like teaching myself a lesson –learning the hard way about working life and about standing up for yourself.

Now I wonder how this girl, with her lack of pervious work experience, already seems to know all of this.

Connected again

2011-07-11T07:19:00.002+08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates –but now I’m finally back on track! Yesterday we celebrated 1 week (!) in our new flat, and we did that by having China Mobile guys over, installing the Internet. So now I can blog and read my emails again together with my morning coffee. Heaven!

I am so happy about our move of house. For the last week or so I’ve slept better than I’ve had for the last 6 months. It’s amazing. It’s like getting my old life back: I feel energetic, I feel happy, I feel healthy and I feel like myself. It’s like winning the lottery and the price is my own health.

Another great thing about finally have moved is that we no longer need to spend the wknds looking at apartments. Maybe it’s us being picky (and yes, I know it is), but since the beginning of May I believe we have spent every single wknd flat hunting. So darn boring, frustrating an uninspiring. Now we ended up in an area that we first would have never accepted, but I feel happy here. I can walk to my office (although it’s a bit hot to do so at the moment) and walk home after the gym. For someone that has been dependent on the metro for the last 1,5 year, that’s a nice and welcomed change.

Moving out of our old flat went surprisingly well, however, not without some compulsory weird comments. Shanghainese landlords are known for being tough cookies and trying their outmost to keep your deposit, regardless of how rosy and good you’re relationship has been. Our landlord, however, took a different approach. We told him that we had loved living in the flat and the only reason we wanted to move was the nightclub noise from the street below, resulting in me not getting any sleep. He nodded thoughtfully, walked into the flat, looked around, smiled, then looked at me and said:

-Gosh Jonna, getting no sleep must have been hard for you, but it also must have made you eat less because you have really lost some weight.

Then he smiled and handed over the deposit (every single little kuai!), and thanked us for being such great tenant.

We were so stoked about getting our money back that we didn’t even care to comment on the unnecessary weight remark. Besides, for once someone didn’t call me fat, so it actually didn’t hurt that badly.

Our new landlord seems cool and quite easy going so far. He’s already been over once to look at our heater, that seems to be leaking gas:

-It’s the heavy wind that has been blowing for the last few days, he finally told us.

-The… wind? But… it’s leaking gas?! When we shower!

-Yeah, and it’s because of the wind!

-Eh…right.

Yeah, not sure if I’m buying that story, especially since it hasn’t been a storm out there or so to say. But in a few days we are going on a holiday so we thought we’d leave it there and deal with it when we come back again.

All in all –life is good. I can sleep. I like our new place. A holiday is around the corner. And hopefully, some exciting things are going to happen in the near future.

Time to pack up and leave

2011-07-01T07:35:00.002+08:00

Finally, we have found a new crib! That only took us… some 2,5 months or something?! Our current lease expirers in just a few days, so we really left it for the last minute. During our flat hunt, I think we have seen more than 100 flats in at least 4 different district. In the end, we considered everything, and still, it was so hard to find something decent.

I’ve never before found it hard to find a flat in Shanghai –but this time it was a true struggle. My old real estate agent told me that it’s because house prices are rocketing and as a result, more people are renting. Not only does this lead to less available places, but also, rents going up. For instance, on our way to see one place in the French Consession, we met some old friends of mine, and while we discussed our flat hunt we realised that we were about to go and have a look at THEIR old place! They had left it some 2 months ago, leasing it for 5500 rmb. Now it was on the market for 8000. Crazy.

During our search we ended up using a bunch of different real estate agents. My old agent (who helped me find the place where we are staying now) got sick of us quite quickly as I refused to settle for some overpriced bulls** meanwhile he kept telling me that there wasn’t anything else out there. Now I am glad that I didn’t give in. The place that we are moving to is not exactly what we wanted, but pretty close. It’s located in Huangpu (or old Luwan, as the two districts have now merged), so for us it will be a completely new area to try, which I think is fun. We’ve been living in Xuhui/the French Concession for quite a while now (basically since we moved to China, minus a 6 month stunt in Pudong and 2 years in Suzhou) and I’m a bit tired of the whole “old lane house” style.

Now we just have to do the actual move too, and then life will be good (gosh, I hate moving?! Where does all this stuff come from?!). Last night when I couldn’t sleep because of all the noise outside our window, I couldn’t help but smiling. I seriously cannot wait to not having to sleep with double earplugs. One more night –and then we are out of here. Hallelujah!

Crossing the line of openness

2011-06-30T07:11:00.004+08:00

Sharing food -fine! Sharing salary info... I don't think so!

Back in a hot and humid Shanghai. I would lie if I said I don’t miss Sweden’s blue skies, green fields and fresh air, but then again, I only have another 2 or so weeks at work, then I’m going back to Scandinavia on a holiday, so I’ll manage! In fact, it’s kind of nice to be back, especially since I’ve missed all the everyday craziness (or whatever you should call it? Charm?!) about China. Such as yesterday, when I went to the ladies room (which is located in our office building, rather than inside our actual office, so you have to head out to the elevators to visit the loos) at work.

While I was washing my hands, the ayi who cleans the toilets every day came in. We have a friendly kind of relationship: We greet each other with smiles, hold up doors for each others, small talk about the weather and so on. However, yesterday she took our “relationship” to a whole different level when she asked:

-So you work over there? (pointed towards where my office is located).

-Yeah!

-I bet your salary is high.

-Excuse me?

-You salary.

-Eh, yes?

-How much do you make?

-Eh… you want to know how much people in my office… earn?

-Yes.

-It’s different… we all earn different salaries.

-So how much do YOU make?

-Eh…

-What’s your salary?

-Eh… actually… I don’t really want to tell you that. It’s kind of private.

-I bet it’s a lot.

-Eh… not really… eh… I’ve got to go. Bye!

Whoa! What’s that all about? Sure, I know that people in China are open about their salaries (in fact, soon after I started my job I found out that one of my Chinese workmates had gone to our accountant and asked to see my pay-slip. Right. As you normally do. Eh….), but to me, this is taking it a bit too far.

Midsummer in Sweden

2011-06-24T17:54:00.006+08:00

Idyllic Nordic summer shot -how it's supposed to be (this shot is actually from Savonlinna in Finland)

Sorry for the lack of updates -I'm in Sweden on a business trip. But I took today off in order to celebrate Swedish Midsummer -a traditional festive day that I haven't celebrated in Sweden for 10 years! As usual, this day comes with a bit of a wind, some chilly temperatures and rain, but that's Swedish summer in a nutshell, and especially on this day! I'm soon heading over to one of my old childhood friends for a traditional Swedish midsummer feast. Happy midsummer everyone!

Bruised shoulders after a painful rub

2011-06-10T07:33:00.003+08:00

Lately my back has been feeling kind of stiff, so yesterday after work I decided to skip the gym and head for a massage. Massage for me is something I often talk about, but seldom do. Every time I have visitors in town and take them for massage (and they ohh and ahhh over the low prices and the quality of massage) I think to myself: “Damn, this is good! I should do this on a regular basis now when I actually live in a country where it’s good and it doesn’t cost a fortune.” However, as soon as the friends depart I forget all about my promise to myself and my shoulders.

Since my sleeping pattern (still) is a bit off, I thought that maybe a massage could help me relax. So, I went to a place and told the masseuse (a young, Chinese guy) to focus on the stiff areas and knots of my shoulders and back.

-Don’t worry about doing some kind of massage routine where you massage every single part! I added, maybe a wee bit too confidently. I just want you to focus on the problem areas!

Fifteen minutes later I was on a massage bench, head facing down, tears pouring down my cheeks.

-Tell me if it’s too much pressure! I'm just focussing on the problem areas! The guy whispered.

I tried hard to endure it, thinking that “sometimes pain is necessary” and “maybe this is actually good for me? Who said that a massage should always be pleasant?” but then after a while I thought I was going to faint of the pain and had to tell the guy to be a little bit softer.

-Oh, haha, well, you’re so stiff…

(Ya, just rub it in will you?)

-Do you work a lot in front of the computer… he went on.

-I… I’ve actually had some problems sleeping lately, and I think it’s because I’m too tense… I started, and once I started it was as if I’d open a tap. It all just flowed out of me.

The guy listened carefully, while he kept rubbing my shoulders, making it really hard for me not to scream out loud out of pure and utter pain.

-Well if you have sleeping problems you shouldn’t do shoulder massage, you should do foot massage! He finally said.

-Really?

-Really! It can help!

Thirty painful minutes later it was over, and the guy asked me to sit up.

-Here, he said, and handed me a pair of slippers. A gift to you. I hope you can sleep tonight. If not, come back tomorrow for some foot massage!

-Eh, thanks.

As I walked home, slippers in hand, my shoulders felt as if they had been abused. This morning they are actually bruised, shifting in the colours of red, purple and blue and they still hurts as h***.

But… I fell asleep last night! Without the help of any melatonin and without tossing and turning for hours. So who knows. Maybe that painful massage did help? I’ve already decided not to do it again though. Not worth the pain. I mean, I can forget about body pump tonight. Just the thought of putting a weight bar or any kind of pressure on my shoulder makes me shiver. Next time I’ll try a foot massage. Has anyone with sleeping issues ever had any experience of that being able to help?

The horrible flat hunt

2011-06-09T07:34:00.001+08:00

Finding a new apartment in this city is a nightmare. We have been looking for a month now, and so far we haven’t seen anything we like. If it’s not too dirty, it’s too expensive or too far away from the areas where we want to live.

For a long time we were looking for something in Luwan, but since our budget is far from unlimited we’ve given up on that area. With what we could pay we couldn’t get anything decent anyway. Most of all I wish we could stay where we are now, but with the noisy nightclubs below our complex, it’s a no can do. I’m already sleeping with double earplugs (and I still hear the music!) and now I’ve started getting problems with my ears. We HAVE to move, but there are so few good places out there… ahhh, headache!

During the month of hunting we’ve seen some of the most disgusting places ever. I seriously cannot believe how some people are living over here. Especially one apartment, that could have been good, but that was occupied by 3 foreign ladies when we visited it, was so dirty, smelly and disgusting that I felt like throwing up. They were literally living in their own filth. Yuk! It didn’t matter that the agent reassured us that the flat would be cleaned throughout when they moved out, that image of stains, dirty underwear and piles of unwashed dishes still lingered in my brain for days.

We’ve had some real interesting encounters with agents too, simply by making the mistake of using too many. At one point we went with one agent in the morning, and had another appointment with a second one at midday. However, the first agent ended up taking us to the apartment that we were supposed to see with the second agent (who was downstairs waiting for us!). When I realized the mix-up I called the second agent and explained, and he was furious! He came upstairs and started a fight with the first agent, and then started yelling at us that if we were to rent this flat, we HAD to use him. Eh…. Right. Not the way you get customers if you ask me. We ended up turning away from both agents, as they both harassed us with phone calls for days after the incident. Funny that none of them even thought of blaming the landlord, who had obviously contacted several agents in order to get his/her flat rented out.

Anyway, we still have another month or so on our current lease, and now I’ve gone back to my old agent from when I first moved to Shanghai from Suzhou in 2010. He still calls me “Youla” and he’s still the best agent I’ve come across (honest, straight-faced and with a no-bullshit attitude) over here, however, the fact that there is not much decent stuff out there is an obvious problem, so let’s see how it goes.

I’m keen to find a clean, simple and quiet place where I can stay for a LONG TIME so that I don’t have to do this all over again. Flat hunting is simply horrible.

Greediness shows its ugly face

2011-06-08T07:25:00.004+08:00

I had dinner with an old friend the other week, a Chinese girl surnamed Wang that I haven’t caught up with for ages.

After the usual chit chat (“your hair is longer/you are not fatter than before –haha!! Note that it has changed!-/do you still not cook any food at home?/how high is your rent?”) we got down to some serious business when my friend told me about her worsening family situation.

Wang’s mother has got three siblings. When Wang’s mother’s mother (so Wang’s grandmother) passed away some months ago, one of the sisters was living together with the mother, taking care of her and the house chores.

Wang’s grandma left her family an apartment but no will, obviously hoping that her children would split the assets evenly between all four of them.

However, since the aunt lived with the grandma, and had been pulling the heavy load by herself for a long time, she decided to simply declare that the apartment should be hers and hers only.

In fact, do you know what she used as her main argument? That she has a son. The other ones all have daughters. She claimed that she needs the money for the apartment to give to her son, so that her son eventually can buy his wife-to-be a new apartment. Otherwise no one will want to marry him. Or so she said.

(But who wants to marry someone who only says yes if you own property?! Jesus, what happened to “I want someone intellectual with a great sense of humour?!” Well, actually, maybe those were never the usual requirements on the Chinese meat market anyway.)

And what happend then?

Well, obviously. Some serious family dramas evolved.

The siblings started fighting.

Their children stopped talking to each other.

The siblings husbands/wives tried to meddle.

Everything escalated and nothing was going to get solved easily with a real estate market that

is so overheated that house prices are rocketing in the sky.

-Now my father tells my mother to simply forget about the apartment and that we should not fight anymore. But it’s hard for my mother. She thinks it’s so unfair. And all that money could be such a great help…

-Do Chinese people not have wills?! I wondered, astonished of everything I’d just heard.

-Not really. This is a very common problem in today’s modern society. Many families have problems like ours.

Then we looked up the word "will" on my Chinese dictionary and nodded in union.

-Maybe this is something that Chinese people should consider... Wang said.

I don’t know what I find the saddest: the broken family bonds? The greediness? The fact that the aunt feels that she has to do this in order for her son to ever get married? Or, the fact that everybody in Wang's family have been so busy fighting over the apartment that they forgot to mourn the grandma?

Table Tennis Festival in pictures

2011-06-07T06:55:00.007+08:00

Persson playing a Chinese rising star (he got to play some professional kids in a knock-out tournament and then the winner got a game with him. Some of those kids were pretty good!).

Here playing against the winner of the men's tournament: a 60 year old guy from Ericsson. He was so happy, and I believe so was Persson. A joy to watch their last game.

Jörgen Persson -约尔根·佩尔森 in Shanghai!

2011-06-06T18:59:00.002+08:00

Yes, it was Jörgen Persson that was in China for a China Sweden Table Tennis Festival that we arranged in order to celebrate the Swedish National Day! Some 200 players from different Swedish companies battled in an elimination tournament throughout the day, and then the winners (one man and one woman) got to play Persson in the final game. A long day of great fun, Persson proved to be not only a great player, but also a great person, open and happy and up for posing for photos, signing shirts and rackets and answering questions from media as well as random spectators. What a great athlete! I admire someone that can be so professional and high level, and still so friendly and down to earth.

Also, I got invited to the Table Tennis: 2011 China Open - that takes place in Suzhou in the end of August. Can't wait to see Persson in real action (no offense to the competitors of today's tournament, but I think he has more to give). Being 45 years old this year, Persson should have retired many times around but he's still playing, he's even qualified for the London Olympics in 2012. That will be his 7th Olympic Games. 加油！

Some videos of Persson in action to come soon!

Guess the athlete game

2011-06-06T06:15:00.005+08:00

Anybody recognize this iconic athlete? Probably much bigger in China than in his native Sweden. Anyway, this is who I will be spending Sweden's National Day with. Thumbs up if you -despite the bad photo- can tell me his name (and if you're not Swedish!).

Get your popcorns ready!

2011-05-30T05:10:00.000+08:00

Today is the opening day of Sweden Film Week 2011瑞典电影周, giving Shanghai-ers the chance to watch the newest from the Swedish film industry. The screenings are a mix of animation, drama, comedy, thriller and, of course, some good ol’ Bergman stuff.

In Shanghai, all films will be showed at 上海大光明 Grand Theatre, 216 Nanjing west rd, near Xizang rd. 上海大光明电影院, 南京西路216号, 近西藏路.

Tickets can be bought at the cinema for 50 rmb. All films are in Swedish/English with Chinese subtitles.

Screening schedule at Grand Cinema, Shanghai

May 30, 7pm Miss Kicki (88 min)

May 31, 8pm Easy Money (120 min)

June 1, 8pm The Girl (96 min)

June 2, 8pm Sawdust and Tinsel (88 min)

June 3, 8pm Sound of Noise (110 min)

June 4, 8pm The King of Ping Pong (106 min)

June 5, 8pm Metropia (80 min)

June 6, 8pm Everlasting Moments (125 min)

See you at the cinema!

Walking uphill

2011-05-29T20:26:00.002+08:00

I’ve been keeping busy lately. At the same time as I’ve been battling sleeping problems I’ve been putting in quite a few extra hours at work, and then on top of that I’ve tried to locate a new apartment in Shanghai. Man, when I have time to sit down and blog again I’m going to share with you some of the funniest flat-hunting stories and dramas that I’ve been experiencing over these last few weeks! But not until things calm down a bit. For the last week I haven’t even been to the gym once (!) –and anyone who knows me knows that that’s a sign of me rearranging my priorities. But getting enough sleep is a priority right now, as well as moving into a new flat. This area where I live now is great, but too noisy at nighttimes. I don’t think the noise is the only reason why I’m having troubles falling asleep at night, but it definitely has some impact.

I still have some big projects to finish off (D Day 1 is tomorrow, and then another one the week after that), and then life will (hopefully) eventually get back to normal. At least I’m hoping to find some time to hit the gym. Running makes life so much better. Thanks again for all the sleeping tips, both from people posting comments on this blog as well as from you guys sending me emails! You rock!

Controlled by the weather

2011-05-25T06:55:00.004+08:00

"Yeah, sorry, I'm not going to to be able to meet you for dinner for the next, ehum, 4 months or so.."

Before I start this post I would just like to thank all of you that contributed with your advices and recommendations about sleep/insomnia in my previous post. Thank you!

Now, since I am having a bit of a rough week I thought I’d share a funny thing that happened last week.

Om Monday, I got a text from a Chinese friend that I haven’t seen for a long time:

"Dinner on Thu?"

"Sorry, I cannot make it," I texted back. "I have a busy week. How about Sunday?"

"OK," she texted.

Saturday came, and I had totally forgotten about it all until I got the following message:

"It’s going to rain tomorrow. Should we have dinner on Wed instead?"

"Eh… sure."

Talk about relying on the weather forecast. And talk about being controlled by what kind of weather it is owhen you plan your calendar.

I remember a friend of mine once told me about a girl that didn't turn up for her her job interview because it was too hot outside. She wasn't ashamed to tell the company when the secretary of the HR called her to ask why she never came for her interview.

I wonder what those kind of people do when the weather isn’t top notch? Lock themselves inside with a DVD and some popcorn? Order in? Never leave bed? Call in sick for work?

Well one thing is for sure: If you would let the weather control your social diary in a country like Sweden you would never be able to go out!

Sleepless in Shanghai

2011-05-23T07:24:00.001+08:00

Unfortunately I don’t feel very rested or relaxed after the wknd. I seem to have gone from “problems with falling asleep every now and then” to constant sleeping problems. I have tried many things: not watching TV before sleeping, listening to music, exercising before going to bed, not exercising before bed, reading books, drinking tea, not drinking tea, avoid coffee and sugar, not eat big meals before bed, keeping the room dark and cool, doing relaxing yoga breathing, changing my sleeping spot (I now go from my bed to the couch every second night. It worked in the beginning but not so much anymore), herbal sleeping pills (not useful), real sleeping pills (also not useful –don’t make me fall asleep). I am getting a tad big frustrated and desperate: what the h*** am I supposed to do?!

I know that it is in my head and in my head only. It’s a thought that shapes itself as soon as I hit the afternoon, saying: “Oh, here comes the night and I feel so tired after last night’s lack of sleep… wouldn’t it be awful if I couldn’t fall asleep tonight either?!” and BAM, there it is. I know I should try to stop this way of thinking –but I have no idea how to do so. I try thinking about this and that, counting down from 300, imagining summer holiday in Europe, making up a story in my head… but it doesn’t work. It has been going on for so long now, on and off for a year, but this last month has been unbearable. I don’t know what to do anymore. Going to see a doctor doesn’t seem like an option: I’ve tried both herbal and real sleeping pills, and none of that works (yes, for real. I take a real sleeping pill and I still cannot fall asleep. Sometimes I don’t even get that “sleep hangover” that sleeping pills give you). What else can a doctor do than give you medicine? He cannot help me get rid of that one little nasty thought at least, that’s for sure. And it’s just that one thought that I wish I could escape. I am not in bed stressing over unpaid bills or work or anything: it’s just about “not being able to sleep.”

Ah, at first I was thinking that I wouldn’t write this post but then I thought, maybe one of my readers have had a similar problems and know of a mind game that can manipulate your thoughts?! Or anything? What do you guys do in order to turn off/or turn thoughts in another direction?

A hot nap

2011-05-19T07:08:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I went for a class of hot yoga, and even though I might jinx it by saying this, it might be so that I maybe have improved, just a liiiiittle bit!? At least I got some “very nice!” and “good” comments from the yogi and for me, inflexible and stiff by nature, that’s quite big.

Anyway, when we moved over to doing the floor poses the girl next to me fell asleep on her mat! It was 40 degrees in the room, and we were given a 10 seconds rest. And just like that –she was sound asleep! The teacher came to wake her up, so which she seemed ashamed of and apologized for, however, one pose down later and we were given 10 seconds to lie down in savasana relaxing pose, and we had lost her again!

For me, who are experiencing serious sleeping problems from time to time (it goes in phases, sometimes I don’t get any sleep at night for 5 night in a row) and find it extremely hard to relax and especially fall asleep, someone who can fall asleep just like that –when it’s 40 degrees in the room and you’re taking a yoga class –is quite impressive.

Then again, I wouldn’t want to spend xxxx rmb on my yoga membership card and sleep my way through classes.

钱多多 -lighthearted take on a heavy issue

2011-05-16T07:28:00.003+08:00

Excuse my lack of blogging, but this time it actually wasn’t by choice: blogspot was down most of Friday, so it was hard to blog. Maybe it was for the better, though, because last week was crazy busy. I think I’ve spent a maximum of 7 hours/home per day, and that includes sleeping.

On Thursday night a Chinese friend of mine took me to the theatre to watch a Chinese play. She’s married to a laowai, and his Mandarin is very good. For some strange reason, she believes that my Chinese is almost as good. So one day she said:

-Hey, you should join me to the theatre and watch a Chinese drama! I often take my husband and he enjoys it. When your level of Chinese is so good it’s a shame if you miss out on the local goodies.

I could not have agreed more (about it being a shame if I’m missing out, not so much about my language skills) and decided to give it a go and join her.

We went to 上海话剧艺术中心 (Shanghai Drama Art Centre) to watch a play called 钱多多 (it basically means “a great deal of money” but the name was also similar to the name of the girl in the play). It was about a Chinese woman, who was about to turn 30 and who still wasn’t married. Everyone around her (especially her mom) kept telling her that she had to find a guy and get hitched, before it was too late.

It was such a great play! First of all, I didn’t know that the quality of local acting was so good over here (really, it was fantastic), and second of all, I had no idea that the Chinese could have so much self-irony to make something so serious (marriage in China) so much fun (this was a humorous play, that made fun of everything from a nagging mother to some eager, but-oh-so-annoying-bachelors). My friend and I were laughing out loud (she even more so than me, as I didn’t get every single joke -there was a lot of referral to internet slang, TV shows and such).

The play went through all those difficulties an un-married woman in her 30ies might face here in China: too successful at her job to find a man willing to marry her, a mother who tries to set her up with the wrong guys, a super annoying bachelor who won't listen to anything else but his own voice, a (seemingly) happily-ever-after married best friend who’s a luxurious stay-at-home-housewife until she finds out that her husband has been having an affair, a cute guy that loves her –but that is 3 years her junior, and therefore cannot be considered Mr right because oh no, how could she marry someone that is younger than her? All in all -a great mix that caused both laughter and tears. The audience was loving it -roaring with laughter and applauds. Actually, I've never seen such engagement from an audience in China?! And I've been to both the Olympics and some pretty good concerts.

The play is on until May 22 and if you live in Shanghai and understand Chinese, I strongly recommend you to go and see it. I am real happy that my friend introduced me to the world of Chinese dramas and plays. I know this wasn’t the last act I watched here in China.

Just 2 months to go!

2011-05-12T07:23:00.000+08:00

It’s around 2 months until my summer holiday now. I cannot believe it. It feels as if I just got back from Australia and calculated that it would be a good, 6 months until my next time off. And suddenly, here we are, just 2 months to go. Time flies.

Before this holiday I have so much to do (at work) that I don’t know if I should cry or laugh. It’ll work itself out (it always does!), but still. Two months feels like nothing.

This summer will be spent in Finland, Sweden and London (oh, and I guess I’ll also have to go to Copenhagen now when there’s a city tunnel between Malmö in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark. It apparently takes something like 10-15 minutes to move across, or, OK, under the sea. Nice. It took them 10 years to finish that tunnel. No comments).

I haven’t been back in England since 2006. I spent 6 months living in London straight after high school back in 2001. I headed over together with 7 (!) close friends. One after another dropped off (missed their boyfriends, couldn’t find a job, got homesick, had fights) and in the “end” it was just me and my best friend Tess left. Then I had to leave in order to start my degree in Australia, while Tess stayed on. I remember being really upset about leaving, and considering postponing my studies, just so that I could stay in London (and work as a bartender –man, that would NOT have made mom happy!). However, I never did. Tess, however, stayed on, and she’s been living in London since. Now she’s bought a flat in central London and is about to marry her British dream man next year. Guess who’s her bride’s maid?! And guess where she had her dress done… :)

Can’t wait to head over and catch up with some old friends –not to mention a fantastic city. London really is one of the best cities there is in Europe. Ah... summer holiday. I know that you shouldn't wish for time to go faster (especially since I just said that 2 months is nothing, and I have so much that needs to be done before then), but I cannot help myself: Come, come!

The chase for straighforwardness

2011-05-11T07:18:00.005+08:00

Trying to get some honesty out of my closest colleague (who is Chinese) is sometimes like pulling out a tooth: slow and painful.

There I am, drafting a sell-friendly PR-like text to an event that we’re having, doing my best to make it sound interesting, cool and not-to-be-missed.

However, since I am not a naturally born PR person, I quickly get a gag-feeling when I read my own selling points. So I turn to my colleague:

-Do you think it’s too much? Too exaggerated?

-Eh…. No! Hihi.

-OK, good.

-Hihi.

There it is. The laugh. The giggle. The sign that something is wrong –even though she’s telling me it isn’t.

-Why are you laughing, I ask, trying hard to put up my most stern face.

-I don’t know. Hihi. The invitation is a bit funny!

-FUNNY?!

-Yes, haha!

-It’s not supposed to be funny! It’s supposed to sound tempting and cool, but not funny.

-Ah….

-Well, so do you think I should change something?

-Yeah, maybe you could change this part….

She points at the part that I was the most worried about from the beginning. Hello, hallelujah moment?! Imagine if she would have never told me and I would have sent this out?! D-d-d-disaster!

-Good, thanks. Now, is there something else?

-No!

-Please be honest with me!

-Hahaahahhaa, I think it’s OK.

-I don’t want it to be OK. I want it to be great!

-Hahahhaha, it’s OK!

I take a deep sigh and count to five.

-So why are you laughing?

-Hihihihih, what do you mean?

-Why are you laughing?

-Hahhaa, I don’t know…

-But you can’t just laugh at nothing. It has to be something. What in the invitation do you think is laughable?

-Nothing!

-OK, so if YOU would have to send it out, under YOUR name. What would YOU change.

-I think it’s good. But… na, nothing.

-No, yes, YES, please, what?!

-Well… hihi, OK, maybe this part!

-Awesome… now let’s go through the rest...

Now, it’s not an easy or time efficient process, but I have to go through this every single time. Because my colleague is simply too polite to tell me, straight to my face, if she think something is wrong. Or, as she often puts it: “it isn’t wrong, but could be put differently.” Man, she’s such a natural-born-diplomat!

Sometimes I have nightmares where I dream of her saying:

-It’s fine!

Me trusting her.

And the invitation going out. Just like that.

Then I wake up, cold-sweating, and promise myself to never skip the slow but honest “what-do-you-really-think” process with her. It might be slow and painful, but it is, indeed, quite helpful. I work towards a Chinese market, and I’m not Chinese. So I believe I should always listen to natives when it comes to what they really like, take their points into consideration, and then draft something suitable. Sometimes I just wish she could be a bit more straightforward, and less “slow-and-painful-like-pulling-out-a-tooth-like.”

Why Asians don't perspire as much as westerners

2011-05-10T07:25:00.004+08:00

Team China is not sweating it.

Last Sat night I went out with a Chinese friend. We ended up going for a long dinner, and then to a wine bar for some drinks. We talked and talked, and suddenly I realized that it was only us left at the bar and that the waiter came up to our table.

-We’re closing. Do you mind? He said, apologetic, and pushed us the bill

That’s when I glanced at my watch and realized that we’d been out for 8 hours (!), talking non-stop. It was definitely time to leave! I think it’s best Chinese language practice I’ve gotten in a long time, however, and my dreams were in Chinese that night when I eventually fell asleep.

Anyway, during this marathon conversation we talked about a lot of interesting things, including fitness and working out. My friend confessed that he only eats salad at nights (!!) as he’s afraid of gaining weight. Now I never, ever, thought I’d hear about a guy doing that in China –but there we go.

Another thing he explained to me is why Chinese people don’t perspire as much as westerners when working out. This is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, since I often do yoga/spinning/classes together with Chinese people, and since the pool of sweat (TMI –sorry!!!) is always (by far) the biggest around my yoga mat/bike/spot.

-It’s because Chinese people, or Asians in general, have relatively underdeveloped sweat glands. They have noticeably fewer apocrine glands than black or white people (FYI: these glands contribute to the smell of sweat when mixed with bacteria). This is why a lot of Chinese people don’t use deodorant, cologne or perfume.

-Ahhhh…..!

My friend also told me that for Chinese people, sweating is considered a sign of being unhealthy.

-A lot of people obviously know that it isn’t so, like the ones that go to the gym a lot etc, but the overall image of sweating in China is that it’s a sign of bad health.

This last statement I’ve heard before, but I never actually thought there was any kind of reason for it. To tell you the truth, I thought it had something to do with people being too lazy to do sports. Now, however, my I realize that I’ve been quite narrow-minded in my thoughts, so I’m happy I got this one straightened out. For me, that have done sports since I was a kid, sweating (a lot!) is such a normal thing, and I’ve never really been too ashamed of it. Rather, I’ve seen it a sign of good health, an active metabolism system that burns a lot, and a great excuse for eating a lot of food (hehe). But there we go –in China I’m not considered that healthy after all. Oh well. At least now I know why.

One (out of a million?) searching for a fresh start

2011-05-09T07:41:00.006+08:00

Yesterday I did something that I really dread: went flat hunting. Now, before I go into the cons of flat hunting in Shanghai (because really, the only pro is when you eventually find something price worthy and liveable, and to be able to do that, you need to see at least 60 dumps) let me just say that yesterday’s hunt was unsuccessful.

We started at home in front of the computer. Got reasonably excited at some of the photos of “amazing apartments” that we saw on expat sites online. “Brad new furniture, oven, health club, and only 2 min to the metro station” they all said, while shining at us with tempting monthly rents of 6000 rmb.

However, when we called one of the agents representing these flats, we were immediately told that the price had been raised (over night?!) to 7500. And then one hour before we were supposed to see the “dream crib” the agent called us again –to say that the rent was actually 8500! Eh?!

We did not go and see that flat in the end.

Instead, we did things the “Jonna way” –meaning, walking on the streets in areas where I could see myself living, and randomly stopping by agencies on the way.

Soon we found the perfect little agency with the most perfect little agent: Jerry. It was love at first sight: Jerry was young, polished, and polite and when he realized that I could communicate in Mandarin without any problems, he looked as if he wanted to hug me. We had a pleasant getting-to-know-each-other (or OK, getting-to-know-me) chat before we even started talking about apartments, areas, budget and demands. It felt good. And right.

As we were waiting outside the gate of one complex, and I got tired of listening to Jerry’s fifteen apologies on behalf of the lazy landlord who was being late, I started investigating Jerry’s background, and that’s about when the day got interesting.

Turns out that Jerry, little polished, polite Jerry, was from Shenzhen. He’d graduated from a university to Wuhan, then returned to Shenzhen to set up a company, invest in a house, and build his future.

-But everything went wrong, he said, and for a short moment I saw some bitterness in his glittering eyes. Shenzhen is not a good place. There is too much temptation. Too much bad company. I tried for 4 years and I lost all my money.

-Why, what do you mean? Was the house a bad investment?

-No, but I spent all the money on alcohol, partying and having fun. I was hanging out in the wrong crew, if you know what I mean.

-Oh…

-So I lost everything. My company, and my house. All of my money.

-When was this?!

-One month ago. Then I moved to Shanghai. To get away from everything. To get a fresh start. To do something different!

-Oh, and how do you like it so far?

-Well, I’m still getting used to things…

-Was it easy to find a job?

-No.. it’s very hard to find a job in this city.

And just like that, the bitterness and hurt was gone. Back was polished, polite Jerry, smiling pleasantly:

-Oh, here is the landlord! Now let’s go and see the flat!

The flat turned out to be shit, and although I tried, Jerry did not seem up for telling me any more stories about his past –so we parted at the gate of the complex.

When walking home I couldn’t help but wondering how many young people that come to Shanghai share a similar story with Jerry. He was just 25 years old and had “lost everything.” Twenty five years old, and already at a “new place” to get a “fresh start.”

One can only hope that he does well.

Improved blog!

2011-05-07T10:43:00.003+08:00

Room for improvement -oh yes! One can start with keeping their eyes open while being photographed!

I am fully aware that I should have done this ages ago, but anyway, better late than never. I've now added a search function to my blog, the blog labels (not so many) and a subscribe by email function. Now I just have to start update this baby on a more regular basis too -and we can all live happily ever after. Nah, just kidding. But since I'm in the mood of improvement and changes, I might as well take this opportunity to ask you, my dear readers, if there is something else that you wish for (writing wise that is)? Is there some topic you don't want to read about? Something you wish to read more about? Something you feel is missing? Just say the word.

The no-sugar bet –update

2011-05-04T07:17:00.004+08:00

And I can't have this, right... nuts and carrots, anyone?!

Just to let you all know, I’m now more than 1 week into the bet and I’m doing fine. It’s not hard not to eat candy/cookies/sugary snacks during the weekdays (although when I colleague recently came back from a trip to Sweden and emptied a bag of candy in the kitchen, I had to ban myself for going in there until it was all gone), the biggest challenge comes during the weekends.

If I’m out doing something –I don’t have any problems. As soon as I get home, position myself comfortably on the couch and turn on a movie though…. Ahhg! That’s when thoughts like “snacks, I need snacks!” hit me. Since I had a rather inactive and boring wknd last wknd, I better keep myself busy this weekend so that I don’t fall for temptation. Someone told me that the first 2 weeks are the hardest –then the sugar cravings will disappear and I will not think about snacks anymore. So here we go, sugar-free week 2, who’s still with me?

Oh, and training is going OK too. Last week I did 3 sessions (10 km run, spinning and hot yoga), this week I’m aiming for 4-5 sessions (after today, I am 3 sessions in). On Monday I did a 7 km run in 39 min. So slowly I'm improving (I've always been good at long distance running if I can keep a comfortable pace... Pushing for speed, however, is a completely different story and that's what I am going for now). If anyone has some great non-sugary, healthy snack favourites (please don’t say carrots!) they’d like to share, feel free to do so. The risk of me ending up in front of the telly at some point this week is quite high.

Lazy VS active wknds

2011-05-03T07:25:00.003+08:00

Oh, what did I do this wknd?! Nothing special... just a run in the wilderness.

Chinese honesty has its pros and cons. It is definitely refreshing to sometimes speak to people that make no excuses for themselves. Like one of my Chinese friends. She loves sweets. And hates sweating. The other day I met her in the city. I was, as usual, cramming on to a gym bag (planning to hit the gym later), which she looked at and said:

-Are you still going to the gym? I don’t think you need to lose weight.

-Nah, that’s not why I am going. I go because I like it… because I think it’s a nice feeling to first run and then…

I stopped short as I saw her eyebrows wrinkled in a not-so-approving way.

-How can you LIKE it? It’s so boring! She finally said.

-Eh… it’s a bit boring, I admit. But it’s good for your health.

Her face didn’t change. I could tell that I wasn’t winning this conversation.

-So you never go? I tried.

-Nah, never. My mom has told me I should. That I’m too lazy. But I like being lazy. I like being home doing nothing.

-Really?

-Yeah. It’s nice and relaxing.

-So what do you do after work? Or on weekends?

-I take the metro home, eat with my parents. Watch a movie or read a magazine. And then I sleep! I like sleeping!

-What about weekends? Don’t you get bored?

-If I get bored I go and see a friend. But I don’t think it’s boring to relax at home.

I’m just thinking how this conversation could have gone if I would have had it with one of my friend back home, if I would have asked her why s/he didn’t hit the gym:

-I should also go, but I don’t like the gym… It’s not really my thing. I prefer doing some more fun exercise. You know, it’s important that it is fun. But you know, it’s hard to find time. I work so much…

-What about weekends when you have free time?

-Oh, then I am so busy with seeing my friends, I always have tonnes of things to do!

China’s still one of those places where people linger at home during their holidays/weekends (not all people, but quite a few), watch DVD:s, sleep and eat. And they are not afraid/ashamed to say so.

Me, on the other hand, feel as if it’s a big thing (and a bit embarrassing) to stay in a whole wknd:

-Well you know, I just needed to relax and do nothing. I don’t like to do that every weekend, obviously, but sometimes it can be nice. But next weekend I will definitely go out and do something!

Funny that it is so hard for some people (including me) to admit that sometimes it’s nice to be lazy and do nothing. However, to tell you the honest truth, I easily feel a bit depressed when I am being lazy and watch TV a whole day/don't exercise for a whole week. I feel as if I am wasting precious time that could be better spent. Not that I ever told my friend this. Something tells me that she wouldn't agree.

Considering others

2011-05-02T07:09:00.005+08:00

Remember back when I used to have a small problem with a “spitting boss” in Suzhou? Well, I’d almost forgotten about how much it can annoy you to sit next to someone who constantly feels as if s/he needs to clear his/her throat and spit, until last night when I went see a concert by the Moscow symphony orchestra at Daning Theatre. I’d managed to score a good seat, just behind all the “important” Chinese guests that had been “decorated” with a flower in their suit jacket. Most of them were 50+, dressed up, and looked genuinely happy about being there. Except for the man sitting in front of me.

Clearly bored with the concert and music, he kept twisting and turning in his seat, reading about sports car in a magazine that he had brought along… and… clear his throat and spit in a napkin! The latter made me see red. It was just horrible to sit and listen to him interrupting the atmosphere by clearing his throat in the middle of a beautiful piano solo! I thought I was the only one that was bothered, until I realized that a number of Chinese men and women around me actually turned to him and gave him a long, cold stare. Also, the people sitting directly next to him ended up moving to other seats in order to get away from his noise and unhygienic action. Still, the man did not as much as show a sign of shame, but rather, kept coughing, clearing his throat, and spitting loudly into his napkin, throughout the whole concert.

Yesterday, a new legislation came into force in China: banning smoking in restaurants, theatres, public transport waiting rooms, hotels, and several other enclosed public places (I only feel a tad bit excited about this because I know it’s not going to work for a long time still –Chinese people smoke everywhere. In our office building, white-collar workers smoke at the fire escape staircase –despite being told not to by the management). I seriously wish that they could ban the spitting in theatres/offices/airplanes too. By all means: clear your throat at the bathroom/on the street. But don’t spit in a napkin. At least not during a concert, in the middle of a soft, beautiful piano solo.

Self check-in/bag drops -not really up to date just yet...

2011-04-28T07:03:00.004+08:00

Things can move slow at airports in China..

Last week when we were flying to Xi’an, I was pleased when we arrived at Pudong airport and saw that China Eastern had self check-in stations (as usual in China, the lines to the check-in counters were pretty long). Although the stations were only in Chinese it was pretty straightforward and we quickly managed to put our information, pick our seats and print our boarding cards (but not bag tags, those you weren’t able to print).

Mom and dad had a bag they needed to check in, so we located a counter that said “bag drop” and lined up. There was a huge line to this counter, and first I thought it was some kind of misunderstanding. Were all of these people really lining up just to drop off their bags?

They sure were. All of us in the looooong line were holding on to our boarding cards, impatiently glancing at our watches and staring at the actual bag drop counter where action seemed to be very sloooooow.

Actually, I don't understand how it could take so long for people to “drop” their bag. We ended up standing in the line for 45 minutes! I even realized that the people that were lining up at the normal “check in” line –got served much faster than us! When it was finally our turn we were a bit stressed (we had planned to grab a quick dinner at the airport before take-off) and I even asked the girl at the counter what was taking so long. She didn’t answer (I wasn’t expecting her to either) but the security scan of that one suitcase of ours took ages. We ended up at our gate 15 minutes before boarding (which is pretty weird, we had arrived at the airport well in time for everything –just flying domestic) and had to speed-eat some noodles at a small snack corner.

When we were flying back from Xi’an the situation were even more obscure. They had plenty of self check-in stations, but not a single bag drop counter. I went around and asked several pretty “China Eastern” female staff but they all looked at me as if I was talking about aliens when I asked where we could drop our bags. So we had to line up at the normal check-in counter even though we had already checked in. Turns out it went much faster than lining up for a bag drop counter anyway.

I guess self check-in counters in China mainly targets those that travel with only a hand luggage (and man, is that a popular thing to do in China?! There seem to be no restrictions in terms of how big your hand luggage can actually be, because people drag suit like sized bags on the plane and then complain when they cannot fit it into the overhead locker) and not those who actually have a bag to check in. Good to know until next time.

The bet

2011-04-27T07:40:00.004+08:00

No more

After a week with parents in town I feel relaxed and happy, but a bit like a chubby Easter bunny. It’s simply impossible to turn down temptation when your parents:

-Travel here with a suitcase full of Easter eggs and Swedish chocolate for their beloved daughter.

-Enjoy sitting down for a coffee and sandwich (mom) or a cake and beer (dad) every day of their holiday week (What are you supposed to do? Not join them?!).

-Encourage you to share a bottle of wine with them for dinner. Pretty much every day.

-Hides chocolate in your apartment (yes, for real) before departure so that won’t miss them too much.

Now when they have left, however (and all the hidden candy in my flat has been located and eaten), I am keen to do something about my sugar addiction. So, on Sunday night, in the heat of the moment (read: after 2 snickers bars and some large, sugary milk chocolate pieces that made me feel more like a pig than a bunny) I entered a bet with my significant other (in front of my folks –got to have witnesses when entering a bet), saying I will give up sugar for 2,5 months (yes! Months, not weeks!).

Why 2,5 months?

Well, because it’s 2,5 months until my holiday (no, not that I’m counting or anything, I just happen to know).

This bold statement of mine (anyone who knows me, knows that me saying things like “I’m not going to eat chocolate for a while” is quite bold –I’ve got a bit of a thing for cocoa –meaning I eat a lot of it. Every week) resulted in bemused smiles from my folks, and a long “no way, you’re never going to make it”-look by my bf.

Being a sucker for challenges I’ve taken the bet to my heart, only though…. It’s kind of hard not to eat sugar, or so I’ve realized when I, on Monday, entered my new, sugar-free life and was faced with the following situations:

1. On Monday (which was a holiday for me) I had a mini “picnic” in the park with a girlfriend (I call it “picnic” because she brought a ready-made sandwich from the shop and I brought sushi) and she brought along a package of chocolate chip cookies. I looooove chocolate chip cookies. But this time I had to turn it down.

2. Later the same day, I did something I rarely do, namely ordered in food, and imagine my surprise when I was given a gift muffin (!) just because it was Monday! So there it was: a large piece of temptation standing on my kitchen table. Not to be enjoyed by me, that’s for sure.

3. Then, Tuesday in the office. Coffee and cake. Cake and coffee. Snacks in the kitchen. Swedish chocolate. I had to make a real effort not to fall for temptation, especially since it was one of those busy days when you barely have time for lunch and your blood sugar drops in the afternoon and you feel kind of weak and dizzy but you’ve decided to go to the gym so you end up thinking: “hm…maybe I could just have a cookie or two, and I’ll feel much better on the treadmill.” But no, oh no, not me. I have a bet to win.

So, three days into the bet and so far so good. I’ve also been at the gym every day, and today I’m going to yoga (Maybe some serious Namaste-ing can help my mind to think of other things than chocolate brownies?).

However, I know that when the weekend comes is when the real challenge appears. Because this weekend, a good friend of mine is coming to Shanghai for a visit, and I just happen to know that she’ll see me and say:

-Hey, let’s go to Whisk! Just for old times sake!

And how on earth am I going to be able to hit Shanghai’s best chocolate café and NOT have chocolate?

To be continued.

Xi'an 西安, day 2 -Terracotta Army 兵马俑

2011-04-26T06:14:00.000+08:00

Day 2 in Xi’an was all about the Terracotta Army 兵马俑. Since we were flying back to Shanghai that night we decided to get a driver for the whole day, so that we could keep our luggage in his car, and, so that he could take us to the airport after we had visited the sight (the terracotta army is located quite far away from Xi’an so going back and fourth to the hotel did not feel like an option). I chatted to the bell boys at our hotel for about 30 minutes until we came up with a good deal and were assigned Mr Guo, a black car driver, to take us around for the whole day and then drop us off at the airport.

Mr Guo turned out not only to be a good driver, but he was also a great guide who, once he realized that I could speak Chinese, told me everything I wanted to know about Xi’an (I could then translate for mom and dad). We started off with a visit to the Banpo Village Ruins museum, followed by the Terracotta Army, and then dinner at a local joint at the mountain area. The Terracotta Army was quite spectacular, way above my expectations. This might have something to do with the fact that we actually rented ourselves a guide who took us through the history of everything. Although the area was crammed with tourists (“and this is nothing yet, just wait until the high season!” Mr Guo told me when I made a comment about it) it was still a really good and interesting visit. I would recommend anyone to go and see the terracotta army, but make sure you go before the peak season, and get a guide unless you’re an expert on Chinese history.

We had a little incident later at the mountain restaurant (which, although the food was lovely, obviously was a tourist trap) when we were given a picture menu with prices that made go “whoooot?!” How about 98 rmb for some cabbage, 150 rmb for spareribs etc… Nah, I don’t think so.

-Can I see the Chinese menu please, I said, and although the waiter claimed I wouldn’t understand anything of it, I did, and we managed to order some good food at a more reasonable price (because, obviously, the dishes on the Chinese menu were priced according to Chinese standards).

A large group of waitresses stood, sniggering at our table when I read the Chinese menu and ordered in Chinese. Still, when we got the final bill I saw that they had charged us 20 rmb for napkins etc (my own bad, I should have known better and asked how much they were before we used them)… so yeah, always have to be careful when visiting tourist attractions in China –even though this restaurant wasn’t even located within the actual Terracotta Army area. All in all it was a good visit, a nice little getaway, and I believe mom and dad also found it interesting and fun.

Xi'an 西安, day 1

2011-04-25T08:51:00.009+08:00

I had some lovely days in Xi’an with my parents. It was much warmer than in Shanghai and we made sure to make the most of each day:

Thursday (dad’s birthday) started off with a hike to the city wall 城墙 (which was conveniently located next to our hotel, however, where to get up on the wall wasn’t as obvious as we first thought. We had to look for a while until we managed to locate the south gate). Once we got there we rented bikes and rode around the wall. It was a bumpy, noisy ride, but due to the fact that the peak season hadn’t yet started it wasn’t too crowded and we enjoyed ourselves... until mom realized that she had dropped her jacket and we had to go all the way back on the wall (and no, we still didn’t find the jacket).

After the wall we set out to be tourists de luxe and did something I never do when travelling: visited sights and towers! We went to both the Bell Tower 钟楼 and the Drum Tower 鼓楼 (!). None of them impressed me that much, but there was a group performance (= bored looking youngsters hitting their drums with perfection. They were really, really good, but one could tell that it wasn’t the first time they performed. Some of them looked bored to death) at the Drum Tower just when we entered so that was quite interesting (although painful to the ears) to watch.

After that we went to explore the Muslim street 回民街, and this was the day’s highlight. I just loooove walking on busy, messy food streets, sampling street snacks and talking to vendors. We spent hours there, I went camera and snack crazy and for a while everything was wonderful.

Then we decided to do a short walk to a hotel bar that we’d heard of for a relaxing drink. Sound good, right? Yeah, if only it would have been a “short walk” –we ended up walking around for 1 hour until we finally found it. However, wine has never tasted better.

The bar staff gave us a bowl of snacks that we literally emptied like beasts, realizing that we were probably quite hungry. We decided to go for a restaurant that I located via dianping.com (love that site for restaurants) but apparently the list was out of date because when the taxi driver dropped us off there was a clothes shop rather than a restaurant at the address given. On top of that, the taxi driver tried to fool us (he didn’t turn on the taximeter –I was too hungry to notice- and once we got ready to get out he asked for 20 kuai, something that made me see red. After some yelling we gave him 10 kuai and walked off). Then followed some aimless, lost walking around in a hunger daze (it was impossible to get a taxi at that time) until we located something that looked quite decent and settled for that. Turned out to be a spicy, Hunan joint. Good food, but I was slightly disappointed that we never made it to any authentic Xi’an restaurant that day.

The next day was all about the Terracotta Army, but more about that tomorrow. For now, I’ll give you a picture bomb from day one.

Riding on the city wall

View from the Bell Tower
Drums at the Drum Tower
Muslim Street -food street, yum!

Off to 西安 (Xi'an)

2011-04-20T07:16:00.004+08:00

Woho, finally time to do some travelling in China again, it's been a while! This time, I'm taking my folks to Xi'an to check out the city wall, the great mosque and, of course, the Terracotta army. We'll also make sure to celebrate dad's birthday tomorrow -probably a quite original birthday for him! I'll make sure to share some photos and stories when I get back -until then: Happy Easter!

It's a family affair

2011-04-19T07:08:00.003+08:00

"Royal" visitors out of their comfort zone

Forgive my absence, but I’m hosting a delegation, much more important than all those royalties and ministers I met last year, and it’s taking up pretty much all of my free time: yes, of course, my parents are in town!

The world’s cutest (in my eyes!) mom and dad landed a few days ago and are keeping me busy with all kinds of funny questions and comments about everything. Yesterday when I had to go to work they called me when I was in the middle of a meeting:

-Hey, we are standing in a crossing and we don’t know where we are.

-Eh… right. Now, do you see any names of streets or anything around you?

-Naaah, it’s kind of confusing to tell you the truth.

-I see…

Not to mention the fact that my mom constantly seems to be forgetting that I don’t actually live here as a tourist:

-So does the hotel breakfast have any yoghurt?

-I don’t know mom, I’ve never eaten it.

-Yeah, but what about normally over here?

-I don’t normally stay at hotels in China…

Dad, on the other hand, is more of a silent observer, although every now and then he springs to life with one of his genius comments:

-Look! They are all riding electric bikes! And then they recharge the bikes! And if they want to speed up they pedal… This is fantastic! Why don’t we have these kind of electric bikes back home? How come you’ve never brought one home with you?

-Eh… dad, they are kind of heavy and big…

-Yeah but they are fantastic! You HAVE to bring one of those to Sweden at some point. Actually, my birthday is coming up….!

-Riiiiiight…

The other day they told me they wanted to see an acrobatic show that my sister and her hubby raved about after their last China visit:

-Sure, but we’ve already seen it. Do you mind going by yourself? I'll help you get the tickets and everything...

Long, pregnant silence and hurtful, accusing eyes.

-What am I saying?! OF COURSE we should go together!!! I don’t mind watching it again!!!

-Excellent!

On Wednesday night we will depart Shanghai to visit a new place for all of us. I seriously cannot wait, as it’s getting hard to come up with new things to do in Shanghai (this is mom’s fourth China visit and dad’s second). However, mom and dad are, of course, slightly worried:

-We saw on the news that there are storms in southern China!

-Yeah, so then it’s good that we are not going to the south…

-But up north there are sandstorms!!!

-Not where we are going, I’m sure.

-How can you be sure?! I’m sure that there will be sandstorms. We should pack umbrellas. Do you have a spare one that we can borrow?

-If it makes you feel any better…

-Excellent!

(Wanna make a bet with me about those sandstorms? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. And no, we are not going to Inner Mongolia!).

Before we leave, however, mom and dad will come and visit me at work, something that they have prepared for and been excited about, for a very long time. They have even packed special outfits that they are going to wear when walking into my office. I got all touched and teary eyed when they told me.

-Well of course, mom said, as if it was the most obvious thing ever. When coming from so far away we are ought to make a good impression!

Awwww! Can you love two people more?!

Noir&Blanc at Shanghai Fashion Week 2011

2011-04-10T10:21:00.005+08:00

I had the most amazing day yesterday! One week of hard work finally saw its results when Swedish Noir&Blanc showed at Shanghai Fashion Week, followed by a high heel after party at Göte Göta store.

The Noir&Blanc fashion show was fantastic. The designers teamed up with dance club Jazz du Funk and did a pretty exquisite cross over show that opened and closed with a dance sequence called “Black Sun” (see the video at the end of this post for the short closing performance, mind the shaky video, as I was applauding while filming –multi tasking, you know!). The dance worked super well with the actual collection: Ethnic Euphoria, which is about tradition and ethnic symbols, pattern-mania, knitted influences and draped fabrics.

The after party saw Kosta Boda Crystal Catwalk collection, live wei-boing (twittering) from 163.com (I did an interpretation stunt: Eng-Chi for one of the interviews), as well as high heel painting by Chinese as well as Swedish artists (see the second video of how Göran Kling is painting his pair). The shoes were then auctioned off and the money went to charity. All in all –a super night spent with some super people. I’m still high of happiness.

After party at Göte Göta store: good times with an awesome group of people!

Freshly pained shoes by Göran Kling

Petra and Linnea (of Noir&Blanc) and Göran Kling -who did the jewelry for the show.

Dating jungle

2011-04-06T07:15:00.004+08:00

Not easy to find Mr or Mrs right

A friend of ours is visiting from Europe, partly for work and partly to see his Chinese girlfriend. Neither him, nor we thought that it was going to work out between them when he left China some 1 year ago –but, believe it or not, the 2 of them are more in love than ever! It’s absolutely lovely to see –and she’s planning to move to Europe eventually to be with him.

I have to say that it is especially nice to see the two of them together and in love, especially considering how many “questionable” Suzhou ladies this guy dated before he met his current girlfriend.

He was going out with one, super pretty, local girl that after some dates invited him back to her apartment. He stepped inside and was amazed when he realized that the girl had used photos of herself as wallpaper in the whole flat (well OK, not entirely, but almost). There were several enlarged portrait photos of the girl on every single wall, and the girl was so proud of them:

-What do you think?! Am I not pretty?!

-Eh… very!

That one did not work out.

Another, questionable lady, was the one who had no job, no education, no intention of getting either or, and a rich daddy that paid for everything. She was looking for a Mr right with a fat wallet, who could continue her financial life support.

During one date, they were sitting at a café, flicking through a magazine together. They hit a page with an advertisement for a Mercedes-Benz, and the girl eyed up the car, asking our friend:

-What do you think of this car?

-It’s awesome.

-Do you have a car like that?

-Eh, no…

-Why not?

-Do you know how much a car like this costs? I could never afford it right now!

-I thought you had a good salary.

-I do.. but not good enough to splurge on cars like this.

The girl looked at him for a long time, before she said:

-I think it’s important to set yourself sufficient ambitions in life. I think you should have some attainable goals. Like this car for instance. You should aim to be able to buy it within a year or so!

Our friend just stared at the girl. There she was: on rich family support: not working, not studying, and not planning to. Telling HIM that he should have attainable goals in his life?!

They never dated again.

And that turned out to be a smart decision, because soon he met his current girlfriend, who is down to earth and who makes him so happy. Or, as he once described it to me:

-The Chinese dating jungle is pretty crazy. At first it’s quite interesting and almost entertaining, but after a while you get sick of it.

One thing you have to give these (unsuccessful when it comes to dating our friend) ladies though: at least they were honest! They knew what they wanted and they were not afraid to say it. Got to have some respect for that.

First get your license. Then learn how to drive

2011-04-05T07:06:00.004+08:00

Now it all makes sense...

Last night (after a gym work-out, I re-started my “new, healthy life” for the 2984698264th time yesterday –I know, I know, such a cliché!) I caught up with my old language partner from Suzhou who was in Shanghai for Qing Ming Jie. If you have followed this blog for a while you probably remember her: she’s the one who learned English with Desperate Housewives, only ate apples in order to lose weight, and had a boyfriend who made her a “home gym” when she said she wanted to start exercising. Gosh, I’ve missed her!

Since I left Suzhou she has gotten married and she and her hubby has bought a car.

-Great, is it a new car? I asked.

-Of course. In China, no one would buy an old car.

-Right (I always forget!). So do you drive every day to work now?

-No… my husband drives. I have a license but I cannot drive.

-Huh?

-Yeah, I bought my license some years ago but I don’t know how to drive.

-You BOUGHT your license?

-Yes! What… you cannot buy a license in Sweden?

-Eh… hell no you cannot!! You have to pass several tests… driving tests as well as written tests about rules, signs, etc.

-Oh… OK. Well, I am learning now. My husband is teaching me.

-Did he also buy his license?!

-Yes. But he knows how to drive now. He has learned.

Holy cow! Now, I knew this kind of market existed, but I didn’t think it was so common. People here buy their license, buy their cars and THEN learn how to drive? No wonder that there are so many car accidents in China!

-You know, once I know how to drive maybe we can go on a road trip!

-Ehhh… let’s see about that.

Yeah, I don’t think so. Oh, and I will metro everywhere this week.

Kids with a heavy load

2011-04-04T07:09:00.002+08:00

On Saturday, since our office does not follow the Qing Ming Jie holiday schedule, I was enjoying a day off and popped into All Days (convenience store) to get some ice creams for the pancakes that I was planning to make later (yeah, really made the “most” of my Saturday as you can hear. FYI: now on a no-pancake diet for the next 2 months –it went a bit overboard). As I was lining up to pay, I noticed the cute, Chinese kids that were milling about –some with huge backpacks and some dragging around mini suitcases with Mickey Mouse prints. Were they going on some kind of school trip?

Oh no they were not, I realized, when I 5 minutes later stepped out of the store and saw one of them being picked up by his grandpa on a scooter. They were just heading home after a normal day at school. Carrying such a load of heavy books, that they drag them around in mini suitcases rather than carrying them in backpacks. Just like me when I was a kid. Not.

These kids sure are carrying a heavy load around, not only mentally, but also physically.

清明节 -Qingming Jie -Tomb Sweeping Festival

2011-04-01T07:10:00.001+08:00

Sometime between this wknd and Monday and Tuesday it’s Qingming Jie –Tomb Sweeping Day, a day to honour those that have passed by visiting grave sites and/or burning everything from paper money to paper cars on their graves (or, on the street if you don’t make it to the graveyard). Unfortunately, I don’t get this holiday off, so while the rest of China are burning paper money/going shopping, I’ll be in the office, working away. I really dislike these kinds of holidays, because there are different rules for everyone, making it kind of hard to get something done: some have to work this wknd in order to get Monday and Tuesday off. Some don’t work this wknd but still get Monday and Tuesday off. I don’t have to work this wknd (who wants to work on the wknd anyway? What a silly rule?!) and I don’t get Monday and Tuesdays off. And then some seem to be working on Monday, only to have Tuesday and Wednesday off?!

Ah, trying to get my head around this system is pointless. On top of that there are so many things to keep in mind, like:

-Special opening hours for the gym
-Special opening hours for the yoga club
-No lunch specials in restaurants on Monday and Tuseday (and Wednesday? Not sure!)
-Some places might be closed
-Loads of people in the shops (typical, as I really need to do some shopping)
…and so on.

This is also a time when buying things like train tickets/flight tickets gets really hard, so don’t even try to go there.

Oh, and don’t forget to honour those who passed away! That’s what this circus is all about.

The language roller coaster

2011-03-31T07:43:00.004+08:00

Back to school? No thanks!

Yesterday I had a bit of a bad day with everything going wrong… And when there are many bumps on the road you know what it’s like: You start creating yourself invisible bumps. At least is your name starts with a J and ends with ONNA.

So, yesterday I started thinking that on top of everything else that went downhill, my Chinese had gotten all bad, as I now don’t study the language on a regular basis anymore. I speak Chinese with my Chinese co-workers on a daily basis (my closest colleague is Chinese), and I have a lot of meetings and phone calls in Chinese. But from time to time I forget words/vocabulary that I used to know, and that frustrates me. Some days it pops back into my head, but I cannot get around the scary thought of: “think if I just get worse and worse and suddenly forget everything that I worked so hard to learn!” I know it’s a kind of ridiculous thought, but I think you know what I mean.

So, yesterday, in between bad thing 1 and bad thing 2, I decided to bite the bullet and asked my colleague what she thought of my language skills:

-I think everything, your writing, reading and speaking skills, are better today compared to when we first met (about 1 year ago), she said, which made me do 10 joyful jumping jacks at the spot (I sincerely hope she wasn’t just being nice).

I walked off feeling happy, until I received a phone call in Chinese. I was chatting on for a while until the guy I was talking to suddenly changed the topic into something I couldn’t understand. I made a guess, and it was wrong… and as a result… he switched to English.

I felt mortified. Even though the topic was a bit out of my league (environmental science) I couldn’t get over the fact that I couldn’t keep up the conversation in Chinese and that he felt he had to change to English.

…and this is how I go on these days. I’m on a high for a while, just to drop into a low as soon as I hit an unfamiliar language spot. I have tried to find time to study (I took lessons for a while last fall, but had to stop during the end of the Expo as I simply couldn’t find the time), and since then I haven’t really managed to fit it into my schedule. I prioritize health over pretty much everything else, because I know that I don’t feel good if I don’t do my workouts. But now I’m going to start with weekend language lessons instead of weekday lessons, as maybe it will become easier to keep the focus when you haven’t just spent 8 hours in front on the computer in the office.

I’ve been considering getting a language partner, but then I speak so much Chinese during the days that it almost feels unnecessary. Or… maybe not? Maybe I am stuck in the same, daily vocab with my workmates, and a language partner could challenge me in a different way? Then I think that my spoken Chinese is probably much better than my writing/reading skills, so I should probably practice that… which is something I cannot do via a language partner, but something I can do by simply picking up a newspaper on a more regular basis/keeping a diary in Chinese. Sounds easy, right? And trust me, I’ve tried. But for some reasons it’s very hard to motivate myself when there is no teacher pushing me.

It’s funny, with languages, because some days (or not days, it’s more like some weeks, as it goes in phases) I feel that I’m on top of everything: that I get on really well in terms of communicating with Chinese people, and that I have no big problems neither in my professional nor my private life over here. Then suddenly comes that low when my tones goes wrong (and I can hear it as I speak), I cannot find the words, and I find myself staring at the same character, wondering why I suddenly don’t remember it, because some days ago I recognized it.

I wonder if I will ever come to a point where I feel confident and comfortable with Chinese on an every day basis and not worry so much. Probably not.

Not living in "la-la-land"

2011-03-30T07:22:00.005+08:00

Only for work circumstances would I agree to wear a hard hat...

Where does all of my time go? It’s almost April and I haven’t even done half of all the “Jonna stuff” I promised to do for myself this spring. Sure, I’ve kicked off a more healthy life (and I’ve stuck to it –I mix long distance treadmill running with spinning, weight training and yoga- it normally becomes 4 sessions/week, sometimes 3, and sometimes 5), but what about the rest? I had some serious writing plans for this spring, oh, and not to mention the fact that I was gonna cook more (ehhh), blog on a more regular basis (ehhh), take more photos (ehhh?!) and try to do more fun/new things on the weekday nights. Hasn’t really happened yet, but maybe I can blame winter and get re-started again now with spring around the corner. It is really heating up. Lovely! I hope spring lasts for more than 2 weeks this time!

One thing I’ve thought about is how people back home look at my life over here. Sometimes it hits me that some people don’t seem to take it seriously. It’s like they don’t get that my every day, boring Mondays are spent here, in Shanghai –and that they can be just as grey and dull as they can be back home. Just to take an example: I get a lot of visitors for work, from Sweden. Every time they come here they want full programs, they want to have dinners, go for drinks and explore the city. When I, on the other hand go to visit someone in Stockholm, my program almost always ends around 6.30pm, when people go home from work. There might be a dinner scheduled for one night out of seven. The other six nights, I get the whole: “Oh, you’ll have to take care of yourself because I have to go home to my family!”

Sure, I don’t have a family over here so that makes it a bit different. No kiddies to go home to. But it’s not like living abroad means that you hit restaurants and bars every single night –it’s not that special when you constantly have the possibility. I also like to get home early a few nights a week in order to do all that cooking/writing/photography that I never get around to do anyway…

Also, it’s funny how these “work visitors” often want to add some time for exploring the city/sightseeing in the program. If I would ask for something like that on a business trip to Stockholm I think people would start laughing. Why should I explore? I travel “home” for work –nothing else (although Stockholm is as far from home as any place in the world for me, truth to be told I’ve spent very little time over there –since I’m from Malmö we always went to Copenhagen rather than Stockholm when we were young). When people come here, however, regardless if it’s for a work trip, there should always be time for “some fun.”

I’ve talked to a lot of friends (that are in similar situations as me –they work for a European company and have to deal with visiting delegations, as well as working against time difference). Another really frustrating things is how people from Europe always feel that they can call you anytime, regardless if it’s 9pm and you might be enjoying a night off.

-Oh, sorry! Well, over here it’s only 2pm… bla bla bla.

I wonder how happy they would be if I called them at 4am, going:

-Oh, sorry, well over here it’s already 10am, and I really need some answers…

Bit of a rant, excuse me, but point to be made: when living and working here –it ain’t no holiday. Also, it is for real, even though it doesn’t feel like that when friends back home are asking me: “when are you coming home to start your real life? Aren’t you going to buy a house, a car, get married and have some kids soon? You’re not that young anymore, Jonna.”

It’s like they are waiting for my “fantasy-and-not-so-real-life-far-away-over-there” to end and me to join the rat race back home. Only thing is… I’ve already joined the rat race over here. And even though I just made a deal of the fact that time flies and I don’t have much spare time on my hands, I think I’ll stick to what I have here. Regardless if people think I’m “on some kind of holiday.” Has anyone experienced similar things? How do you guys deal with people from your home country not taking your life abroad seriously, constantly telling you that you should go "home" (meanwhile you might not be sure where "home" is anymore)? Please, do share.

Moganshan -莫干山

2011-03-28T06:58:00.005+08:00

This wknd we did something that was long due: got away from Shanghai and spent the wknd surrounded by beautiful nature and clean air! Yes, some friends and I went to Moganshan!

Moganshan is located some hours outside of Hangzhou, so first we took a train to Hangzhou and then we had ordered a car to pick us up from there, taking us straight to Moganshan. You can apparently take a couple of buses too, but it was Friday night, and after a long week in the office it felt nice to get there without too much hassle.

We stayed in a gorgeous cabin that had everything we needed (including an open fire and an ayi that cooked us delicious meals every day!) for a kick-a** wknd. We spent the day hiking, sitting in the sun, eating some good food, playing yatzi and card games, enjoying good wines and just relaxing. After a spring of visitors and Shanghai-sightseeing, this was just what we needed: a city break with a view. I could recommend it to anyone!

We stayed at the Naked retreat, which was pricy but worth every penny if you ask me (then again, I have never been to Moganshan before so I can’t really compare it to anything else). Regardless of where you stay, though, the nature and the air are the best parts and those come for free. Oh, and guess what, I also had a Sweden-flash-back as you could drink the tap water up there! Yes, you heard me. The tap water was so clean that you could drink it. Heeeeeeaven! Now if that’s not a luxury I don’t know what is (I’m a bit of a camel –I drink litres of water every day).

For what it's worth

2011-03-23T07:03:00.000+08:00

My new gym’s really great. They give you towels for free for every workout (not like my old gym where you had to pay 15 rmb to “rent” one). You simply go to the “towel counter,” give them your membership card, and they will give you two towels (one for shower, and one for your workout –which is fantastic when you’re a cardio freak like me!) as well as a towel card, that you then have to give them back in order to get your membership card when you leave.

The other day at the gym after a long workout, my friend lost her towel card. We looked everywhere but couldn’t find it. So she went up to the counter with her used towel and explained, asking if she still could get her membership card back.

The girl behind the towel counter froze.

-You’ve… lost… you card!? But… like… how?

My friend and I exchanged glances.

-Eh… not sure how. Just lost it?! She said with an attempt of a smile.

It was clear that the towel counter girl took this situation quite seriously. She went to make some phone calls and then came back to us.

-You need to pay 10 rmb and then you can get your membership card. If you find the lost towel card you have to come back with it, before we close today, and I will give you your 10 rmb back!

-Eh… right…

-If you find it tomorrow we won’t give you your 10 rmb back.

-OK… no problems.

Later the same day my friend and I were at her couch, “rewarding” ourselves with ice cream after our big workout (that’s the whole point, right?!) when her phone rang:

-Hi, this is Cherry (?) from the gym, we have found your towel card!

-Oh, great.

-So, do you want to come and get your 10 rmb?

My friend and I exchanged glances. It was 8.30pm on a Sunday and we’d managed to heat up her living room to a quite comfortable “lounging around” temperature.

-Naaaah… I don’t think I will come today.

Long silence in the phone before the girl (Cherry?) said that she really had to come today in order to get her 10 rmb, and that the might be able to do an exception and give her the 10 rmb if she’d come the next day instead, but that she couldn’t promise anything.

It took my friend quite a while to explain that she didn’t care too much about coming back in order to pick up 10 rmb and that she thought it was OK if the gym kept those 10 rmb as a fee for her sloppiness. Cherry almost wouldn’t have it, but then finally agreed to hang up.

Afterwards my friend and I sat, mouths wide open, thinking of how pretty fantastic China is. In Sweden you have to pay an equivalent amount of 10-20 rmb in order to use a public bathroom and sometimes the machine eats your coins without giving you access to any loo. In China, people call you about a 10 rmb fee and really try their best to pay you back.

I know what I prefer. Even though we were too lazy to go back.

Paranoid place

2011-03-22T07:37:00.001+08:00

Forgive my absence, but I simply could not bring myself to write light-hearted blog posts with everything that’s going on in the world.

Not much has happened. While I’ve been gone the world has shown living proof of being a paranoid place: While salt has sold out in China, iodine tablets have sold out in Sweden. Yeah, you heard me right. On the other side of the world. Far from Japan. People. Buy. Iodine tablets. To protect themselves from the radiation.

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry about it all.

The sold-out-salt in China is another story. There are mixed views on WHY Chinese people all of a sudden are stocking up on this must have, taste enhancing and iodine containing mineral:

* Some say it’s because people are scared that food supplies are going to run out, and then the most important thing to have in the kitchen (as a Chinese family) is apparently salt (funny, I always thought it would be oil!).

* Some say it’s because salt contains iodine (iodine tablets have, just like in Sweden, sold out in China) and people believe it will protect them from radiation. Just the other day I read that one would have to eat three kilos of salt before the iodine would have any kind of effect. Three kilos?! Now, if that won’t kill you I don’t know what will.

* Some say it’s because people are scared that the sea surrounding Japan will soon be filled with radiation, and therefore, newly produced salt will also contain radiation. So better stock up on the radiation free stuff before it’s all gone.

I find it kind of ironic that people are so scared of radiation, both here and back home. Swedes are some of the world’s biggest sun bakers. No one thinks about radiation then?

And then there are Chinese people, being so scared of radiation –meanwhile the general concern towards health issues like pollution, is kind of mixed. I recently read an article about young Chinese girls in Beijing buying their dream cars (cute little things in the colours of pink or red) and being asked by a reporter if they ever think it’s a problem that so many people drive cars in Beijing when the air is already so polluted:

-Naah… well… I need my car. So I don’t really care. Others can stop if they like.

When asked if they could ever buy a second hand car:

-Never. It has to be the newest, latest thing.

But of course. Radiation is scary. I’m scared too. Unfortunately I didn’t react quick enough to get my hands on any iodine tablets. As for salt, I have a habit of not adding it to my food –and ironically, the salt that we have at home is iodine free anyway, so no luck there. I suppose, that when radiation hits us, I will just have to lock myself up inside and tremble of fear. At least all the Swedes on the other side of the world, eating iodine tablets, are safe.

Scams to scare

2011-03-16T06:51:00.000+08:00

Now the rumours have come to China too:

“BBC announcement: radiation to hit Shanghai. Local authorities are issuing a warning and telling people to stay inside if it rains of if it’s windy outside.”

Text messages like this spread like a bush fire yesterday, causing not only confusion, but also some honest fear. Because what if it’s true?

Some hours later, however, we established that it was a scam.

It was exactly the same when I lived in London in 2001. I landed in London on the very same time as the plane hit the World Trade Centre, namely on September 11. The world, including London, was in shock. As the city slowly returned to normal, people started telling each other of warnings that they had gotten from “anonymous, Taliban looking men.”

-I went to the hairdresser and the guy who did my hair was from Afghanistan and he told me that I seemed like a nice girl and that I should avoid Piccadilly Circus on October 11!!

Do you think we were scared?!

However, when the third person came with a similar, yet somehow different story, it wasn’t that scary anymore.

As for text message scares/rumours in China –I’m not too worried, although I have to admit that a part of me has some concern. Not so much for what’s going to happen, but because you never know if the real information will get out over here, or if it will be censored, in an attempt to keep a “calm, harmonious society.”

Reluctant to take the blame? Blame others!

2011-03-15T07:30:00.002+08:00

On Saturday we went out for dinner with our visiting friends. However, once me and my bf got to the restaurant we realized that our visiting friends had ended up falling asleep instead of getting ready, and although they’d realized their mistake and woken up again –they were running a bit late. No biggy. My bf and I decided to have a drink and enjoy some alone time, seeing that we haven’t had any for the last month or so (like I said –visitor inflation!). Soon, however, we realized that we had been seated next to the smoking corner of the restaurant (that was smoke-free except for that very corner). Since none of us are smokers we asked the waiter if he by any chance had another table available, further away from the smoking corner? He did, and so we moved to the second floor of the restaurant.

-So is this floor smoke free too? I asked the waiter, who replied with an “of course” and a smile.

“Great!” I thought to myself and was just about to have a sip of my drink when I realized that the Chinese man at the table next to ours was lighting up a cigarette.

-Eh… I thought you said this floor was non-smoking? I said to the waiter (not as an accusation, more like.. a bit confused).

-Oh.. yes, it is! Sorry.

And then he went up to the guy that was smoking, pointed at me, and obviously told the man to stop smoking.

By once I felt a bit silly. It was not as if I would have died if this man would have smoked. I was more questioning the waiter, but I didn’t want to make a big deal.

Too late.

Turns out that before we had arrived to the second floor, there had been a large group of Chinese people chain smoking at the table next to the now smoking man, and the smoking man was furious when the waiter told him that this floor was now all of a sudden “smoke free” (which it obviously was not! But that’s what they had told me!). He wasn’t actually angry at me (phew!) but at the waiter, and started screaming and making a big scene. At the same time, the large group of Chinese chain smokers left, giving me looks that could kill. I felt like such an idiot, like such an annoying, idiotic laowai, who obviously had not read into the situation before I opened my mouth.

By the time our friends arrived everything had calmed down, and no one else smoked throughout that dinner, but I definitely learned a lesson: never believe problems here are solved easily, because when it comes to taking the blame of something, people can be quite reluctant (like the waiter who had told me the floor was non-smoking: he told the smoking man that I was the problem, and he told me that it was the smoking man who was doing something wrong). I don’t really like people smoking in restaurant, but then again, I don’t dislike it so much that I would start a fight over it. Next time I’ll definitely keep my mouth shut.

Babies and natural disasters

2011-03-14T07:07:00.003+08:00

Baby Sam (who's not that small anymore) has gotten a baby sister.

It feels a bit strange to try and write a ”regular” blog post with everything that’s going on in Japan. The tsunami aftermath is simply horrific, I almost cannot read the news updates and look at the pictures. Makes it hard to go on and think about other “normal” stuff, even though it’s impossible not to.

One stream of light in this darkness is that my sister gave birth to her second child just the other night. A baby girl, quite big (4300 grams) as she was 12 days “delayed.” This gorgeous little baby girl (who is yet to be given a name) is my second niece (+ one nephew) that has been born while I’ve been in China. At times like this I get insanely homesick. And when I get like that, I go on shameless baby shopping sprees, making sure I get this baby everything that she could possibly need from her aunt in China (yeah, Sam and Malou –my other nephew/niece are the best dressed babies in Malmö. One Christmas when I was going home I literally filled the whole suitcase with baby clothes). Not much else I can do from here.

Other than that it’s been a good wknd, that unfortunately went by a bit too fast. It’s a lot warmer in Shanghai compared to what it was like last year at this time (it was around 18 degrees this wknd and we sat outside and enjoyed lunch). It’s wonderful at the moment but I’m not looking forward to when the thermometer shows 35 degrees again. Then again, nothing I can do about that, so better just to go with it than to complain and worry about it. There are more important things to worry about. My heart goes out to everyone in Japan.

One of the best things I've done

2011-03-11T07:11:00.004+08:00

People back in Europe or the US (that haven’t been to China) often have the wrong kind of image of Chinese people. Many people seem to think that all that Chinese people ever do –is to cheat foreigners. I often get questions from friends or people that are coming here for a visit, wondering how alert they should be for “scams” and such. And sure, there are some infamous scams (like “art students from Beijing/Xi’an/Suzhou who try to sell you their crappy paintings after befriending you on the street” –but you easy learn how to spot those ones), and every now and then a taxi driver will make one extra turn in order to earn some extra kuais (I have to say though, that I don’t think taxi drivers are bad guys. They are often helpful and friendly and keen to get you where you want as fast as possible. For their own sake as much as yours), but generally speaking, I don’t think people here cheat you that much.

Yesterday was a day when I realized how awesome Chinese people really are. I first had a great day at work, chatting to my Chinese colleagues that I like a lot, and then went for a haircut –I have been going to the same Chinese girl since I came here, so for soon 5 years. About 1 year ago she discovered that I can speak Mandarin, and since then it’s been a pleasure to go for a trim. I don’t even have to tell her what I want her to do with my hair –she already knows. And she does those small little extra things for you that a hairdresser back home would never do. Also, she works together with her sister and brother (biological) and they are all just lovely, friendly and helpful –without being too much. When I left them last night they were all standing together, waving me off with big smiles on their faces.

On my way back I passed a fruit stand and decided to get some bananas. It was an old, Chinese man selling the fruit, and he watched me with an amused expression on his face. Every time I touched a fruit, he ran up to me, touching the same fruit, and telling me its name in Chinese. “I know, I know!” I finally said in Chinese with a smile, and that resulted in his amused expression turning into a delighted one.

I ended up buying heaps of stuff, strawberries, bananas, kiwis… and I didn’t even ask for the price. Only when he was filling up a bag with strawberries did I ask how much they were.

-Don’t worry, I won’t charge you much.

And he didn’t. In the end he asked for 9 kuai (!). When I gave him 10 and said it was OK like that, he came running after me with 1 kuai, smiling, and telling me to come back soon again.

I walked home feeling as if I was walking on clouds –not for any specific reason: not because I bought cheap fruit or had a good haircut or because I really like my co-workers: But because I’m so happy I live here and can communicate with all of these people, and share stories with them. Yesterday my hairdresser ended up telling me about what it was like growing up in a poor village in Anhui –and it’s just so interesting and fascinating to listen to stories like that. You would think it would be a sob story –but it’s not. More often it’s a down-to-earth story of how someone who’s had very little, still has managed to make the most of it. And that’s pretty fascinating and inspiring if you ask me.

Although I’ve had my ups and downs with China (and not to mention with learning Chinese) I have to say that coming here, and especially learning this language, is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Freestylers in class

2011-03-09T07:12:00.000+08:00

I’ve joined a new gym, where they have Les Mills classes such as spinning, fat burn, bodypump and you name it. It’s awesome. After having spent the last year or so on a treadmill in order to get my weekly fitness dose, it’s nice to be able to go to classes, be inspired by the instructor, do as s/he says and not having to think so much on your own (might come across as a bit strange, but when it comes to training it’s actually ideal).

I used to do a lot of spinning when I lived in Australia and Finland, but since my move to China it has only happened on rare occasions such as at fat burning parties in Suzhou. So, during the last week’s classes I’ve sort of struggled to keep up.

But, no worries about that. I realized, from looking around in class. Me struggling was actually considered a minor problem for the instructor. Most people didn’t listen to a word he said.

Spinning over here is like freestyling: go into class, get on a bike, and do whatever you like. Stand up if you feel like it, and when the instructor tells you to sit down, you might as well continue standing if you want to. It really is like that: people here do whatever they like to do, and yesterday I was watching the instructor running out to some of the participants, encouraging them to listen to his directions rather than just doing their own thing –in vain. There is no real class discipline –people just do what they feel like.

It’s quite similar in yoga class, even though it’s way better there. People tend to try and follow the teacher’s instructions. But then you have the freestylers, who take their training into their own hands (which I think is good in most cases, but maybe not when you take part in a class?). Accidently stand behind a freestyler in yoga class and you can kiss seeing yourself in the mirror/keeping your focus and balance away, as the freestyler is all over the place, bending in another direction when the rest of the class is going left, doing little jumps on the spot when everyone else are busy balancing on one leg, swinging the other one behind in the air.

Normally the teachers don’t care about it, but once one American yoga teacher saw what was going on, went up to a middle-aged woman who was clearly not listening to his instructions and asked her what the h*** she was up to. “You are putting everyone off with this kind of behavior!” he said, and then she actually stopped, at least during that class.

Anyway, point to be made, it cannot be easy being a gym instructor here in China. Yesterday I caught myself wondering why a lot of people here are not interested in following instructions/do their own thing, and I came to the solutions that maybe they just don’t take it that seriously. Maybe they just wanna go for a work-out, and do their own thing.

Xi'an? Jiuzhaigou? Xiamen?

2011-03-07T06:55:00.005+08:00

Mom in Dali, Yunnan in 2009

I’m in need of everyone’s expertise yet again. My mom and dad are coming to China (again! It’s mom’s fourth and dad’s second trip) and I’d love to take them somewhere new and nice. None of us has been to Xi’an and it is kind of embarrassing to live in China and to not have seen the Terracotta army. Then again, I’m slightly against travelling to big tourist destinations and sharing attractions with huge crowds… Who’s been to Xi’an? Who thinks it’s worth a visit? Who doesn’t?

Another place I would love to visit is Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan. It looks stunning on the photos I’ve seen. And it’s in Sichuan, a province I’ve yet to visit, if nothing else, just to eat some of that amazing food. But is it too far away for a 3 day trip? Could we go somewhere else in Sichuan?

Then there’s also Xiamen…. But maybe there’s not that much to see…

What do you guys recommend?

Microwaved banana, anyone?

2011-03-04T07:52:00.001+08:00

The other day at work a Chinese colleague of mine headed into the kitchen, put something in the microwave and went back to her desk. As my stomach was rumbling of hunger I decided to check out her snack, and maybe see if I could have a bite too. That was, until I looked into the microwave and saw a… banana!

I was so stunned that I went over to her desk:

-Hey Lil, are you heating a banana in the microwave?!

(Sure, I’ve heard of oven baked bananas but not microwave baked ones!)

-Yeah!

-Eh… why?

-Because I cannot eat cold stuff.

-Eh… was the banana frozen or something?

-No, but it had been in the fridge so it was cold.

-But, like.. is it healthy to heat a banana in the microwave? Won’t it get all soggy and stuff? (To tell you the truth I know very little about how bananas react to microwave heat. I don’t eat bananas as I don’t like the taste of it).

-I don’t know?! Will it?!

A look of horror spread over Lils face. And then sighed and said:

-Thing is, I don’t know what to do. My body temperature is so low. I’m cold all the time. So I have to heat things up.

-To raise your body temperature?! I said.

-No… but if I eat things that are cold I get a diarrhoea.

-Oh…. right then. Well… Keep heating your bananas!

Later the same day I was in the kitchen, pealing an apple, when another colleague, Soph, sitting next to Lil (so she had overheard our banana conversation) came in to do the same thing as me. Once I had finished I left the kitchen, but on the way out I noticed the microwave door was open so I closed it, and when I did the microwave turned itself on, as the timer had not fully gone down.

-Whoops, I said, and turned the timer down to zero so that the microwave went off.

Soph watched me with a bemused expression on her face, and two minutes later she and Lil were in my room:

-So Jonna… you heat your apples in the microwave?!!!

-Ehhhh….

-That’s so funny, do you also get a diarrhoea if you eat cold apples?! Lil said.

-Ehum… sure. Right.

Sometimes it’s easier to play along than to try and explain.

Chinese Restaurant Syndrome

2011-03-03T07:14:00.003+08:00

Can all this heavenly goodness be bad for you? Say it ain't so!

To follow-up on yesterday’s post about how healthy/bad Chinese food is, I’d like to post about something else that I’m probably one of the last people in China to even hear about, namely the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”

I first heard this some weeks ago, when a colleague of mine came back from the hospital where she had been “diagnosed” with it, after experiencing numbness/burning in her arm (that came and went and then once stayed with her for a whole day), numbness/burning around her mouth after eating at a restaurant, high blood pressure and dizziness. She decided to head to the hospital mainly for the blood pressure, and that’s where the doctor asked her if she ate a lot of restaurant food.

Apparently, the food syndrome is believed to be caused by MSG (monosodium glutamate) that is so often added to food over here for flavour. It has not, however, been proved to be the substance that causes the condition. It’s just a belief.

According to the doctor, it wasn’t mainly Chinese food that was to blame for her condition, but all food cooked in restaurant –western food too.

-Chefs from all kinds of cuisines use MSG for flavour in China, said the doctor.

My colleague was told to stay away from the restaurant food and to follow a LCHF (low carb, high fat) diet to get rid of her problem. I felt very hesitant when I heard this. Sure, cooking your own food to make sure no unwanted, artificial flavour is added sounds like common sense, but following a strict diet and cutting out all carbs? Naaaaah…not really my cup of tea. And I really wonder what the doctors think when they tell their patients stuff like this: if you cut carbs out of your diet it must be a lifetime thing if you want to keep your weight down. Don’t believe that you can suddenly start eating carbs again once you are down to your ideal weight: you’ll get a lot of stomach problems + you’ll gain back all that lost weight. But, apparently it’s easier nowadays to tell people to cut things out of their diets and get a “quick fix” rather than having them making big, lifestyle adjustments (I am very traditional and I believe a lot of problems can be, if not cured, than at least helped with exercise –it does not have to be running or weight lifting, it can be pilates or yoga –something that is soothing, calming and relaxing for people with high blood pressure).

Anyway, what is your opinion of MSG and the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome? I have never experienced any problems myself. This colleague of mine is the first one I’ve heard of to be diagnosed with it.

How healthy/bad is the Chinese diet?

2011-03-02T07:56:00.002+08:00

Our visiting friends are real food junkies. Not only do they love and appreciate food –they live for food, and plan their days around their dinner. The idea of them coming to visit us here in Shanghai was born last summer, when me and my bf were over at their house, enjoying a delicious dinner (it’s a yearly tradition since 3 years back) and x bottles of wine. We were discussion the usual things (long distance running, training, food and China) and the more we talked about China, the more we started saying: “you guys must come! The two of you in food heaven –it’s meant to be!”

Six months later they told us they were game. And now here they are!

They must qualify as some of the best visitors to China ever. They are 100% positive and curious about everything. And they love the food over here, making it a pure joy to introduce them to some of our favorite restaurants (and, funnily enough, it makes US appreciate what we have over here even more!).

As we have been enjoying spicy beef, tofu, cabbage, dumplings and bowls of white, fluffy rice, however, our discussions have as usual moved into the usual, common grounds of interest: health and fitness. To our visiting friends, the Chinese food is delicious but oily and heavy. Me and my bf can agree on the fact that it is oily, but for some strange reason it doesn’t feel that heavy anymore. Despite the fact that I down at least 2 bowls of rice every day.

-How can you eat like this and still stay in shape!? Is the most common question asked (not only asked by our visiting friends, but pretty much asked by everyone that comes to China and have dinner with us). How can Chinese people eat like this and still be so small and skinny?

I try to explain it by mixing some knowledge with some assumptions:

* Chinese people have been eating like this since they were kids, they have grown up eating noodles, oily food and rice –their bodies are used to it.

* Chinese people don’t eat a lot of dairy (which I believe is a big reason to a lot of western people’s weight gain, just think about our creamy pasta sauces and how much cheese there is on a pizza), most of them don’t drink alcohol, they don’t eat much candy/chocolate, they drink a lot of hot water and tea, they don’t really have sandwiches for lunch.

* Typical snacks over here are things like nuts, sunflower seeds, dried meat, and fruit. Not muffins and chocolate bars (even though it is becoming more and more common).

*People here eat more veggies than meat.

But then it becomes trickier when people ask us why WE are not huge, seeing that we eat loads of oily, Chinese food. Shouldn’t we be getting fat from eating all of this food (according to western standards I mean. According to Chinese standards I’m already a fatty but back home I’m considered “normal” or even “skinny” at some places)?

And this is where I don’t really know what to answer. I believe that even though Chinese food is heavy on oil and that it (here in Shanghai) always comes with a bowl of rice (at least every time I order), it’s still healthier than the western diet of pasta and bread. Despite the fact that we always order at least four dishes and eat a LOT. Also, when it comes to Chinese food you can throw all kinds of Atkins, LCHF and south beach diets out the window. Here you eat everything (fat, protein and carbs) and unless you go overboard (and stay away from eating loads of deep fried and dairy every day) I believe you can do so, and still stay in a reasonably good shape. Or what do you think? Is Chinese food healthier than the typical, western diet? Or do you believe that it make you fat?

Putting out fire

2011-03-01T07:07:00.002+08:00

The other day I was bumming around in our flat when I suddenly felt the smell of smoke. Since our corridor is not supposed to be any kind of nightclub, I got annoyed, and opened the door to see if I could see someone smoking. I didn’t. However, at the end of the corridor I saw an open door and I heard voices, so I guessed it came from there.

“Don’t get too upset now, it’s just smoke!” I tried to calm myself with saying. But after a while the smell was everywhere in our flat and I started to get really pissed off. People over here smoke everywhere: at restaurants, in bars (no smoke ban here, no), in elevators, in taxis… everywhere! If there is somewhere where I am NOT going to be a passive smoker, it has to be in my own apartment!

With that in mind I went over to the apartment with the open door. I kept very calm when I looked in and told a group of Chinese people that I they really should not be smoking inside, and if they insisted on doing so, at least they should close their door.

-Sure, sure, sorry, sorry! They all said, and then they started calling for a man that was walking around in the corridor outside, smoking. Turns out it was HE who had made our flat stink.

Around 10 minutes later I was leaving and went out to the elevator. Straight away I felt the smell of something that’s burning. I looked in the common bin that is located next to the elevators, and very well. In the bin, the smoking man (I assume) had butted out two cigarettes in a package of cookies, however, the cigarettes were not completely out, and therefore burning the paper.

“This is how fires are started,” I thought to myself. “I don’t wanna die in a fire?!”

With that in mind I went back to the flat where I’d just been, banged the door, and decided not to hold back. I am not so good at cursing and stuff in Chinese, I think the most offensive thing I can say is something like: “Are you crazy?!” so I said that over and over again, combined with phrases about the cigarette, about fire, about not being safe, and then I tried to refer to the big fire in Jing’an in Shanghai some months ago, but I am not sure if I made sense or not.

While the smoking man was sorry and hurried out to put the cigarette out, some other men in the flat just laughed at me:

-You know what, you should call the police! Yelled one.

It took me around 15 minutes to calm down after that comment.

I don’t get it. How can people be so ignorant about things like fire over here? Is there some common sort of thinking that goes: “nah, it will never happen to me!” that everyone holds on to? I mean, the lack of seatbelts in cars is one thing: back in the 70ies in Europe there was a similar attitude towards seatbelts. But fire? I’ve been brainwashed with fire-safety drills and fire safety measurements in school for as long as I can remember. Is there no kind of common fire sense over here? How can people laugh at people that are just trying to do the right thing?

I don’t think I will get any answers to those questions anytime soon, and anyway, we have decided to move out. This old complex has its charm but it also has things I cannot put up with (the burning cigarette in the bin is just the tip of an iceberg). We won’t make a move immediately, but when our lease is up this summer we will pack up and try and find something a bit more modern.

Shanghai life's good

2011-02-27T09:57:00.004+08:00

I’m finally back at a point where life in China feels really good again: the food tastes amazing, people are nice, and living in Shanghai feels fun and exciting.

When I got back here after our trip to Australia in the middle of January I really felt that I wanted to leave China, that I had had enough, and that I wanted to go somewhere new. But now I don’t feel that urge anymore. I know I won’t live here forever, but I am also not ready to give it all up yet. I think having highs and lows is natural, no matter where you live. Maybe it’s especially apparent when you live over here though.

I was having lunch with a western girl the other day. She is getting ready to move back to Europe in 4 months, and feels a bit torn about it. She told me that she felt ready to move back at this very moment, as she was now at a place where she really missed her hometown, but feared that she in 4 months time would change her mind again, and that when time was up, she wouldn’t want to go. I understand her 100%. Life here changes so fast, it really is a rollercoaster. A truly, madly, crazy rollercoaster, with many highs and lows. I’m not ready to get off quite yet.

So get ready for another great year in China. Love this place at the moment. Let's celebrate that with a little photo memory mix from the early days in China: 2006-2007: A hot mess of... a bit of everything!

Time management

2011-02-25T07:26:00.001+08:00

Why are Chinese people often late for meetings and appointments? It doesn’t really make sense if you look at their education system? Having such strict educational methods in schools, I don’t think kids dare to come to class late (will they even be let in?). Is it instead so that since they are always in time when they are kids, they make up for that by being late as adults?!

For me (and many people that I know) it was the opposite way around. I was a pretty good kid, but a rebel teenager. I often came late to class. In high school, I had no what-so-ever time management when it came to catching the bus each morning to school (it was a 40 min bus ride, so I kind of had to be on time otherwise I would be very late for class). I’ve given my poor folks so much headache over the years, running down the stairs every the morning, yelling for dad that he needed to give me a ride to the bus (I lived about a 15 min bike ride from the bus stop too, so my non-existent time management skills were not really making matters easy for anyone), having him sometimes refusing, and sometimes giving in. One of my friends, Mia, was a tad bit worse. She always missed the bus. As a result, her dad had to take her in a car and ride behind the bus, and then hopefully manage to overtake it, speed for a bit, and drop her off before the bus hit the next bus stop. Mia and I also played in the same basketball team, and every time we had a game our coach used to tell her that it started 1 hour before it actually did. That was, she would miss the warm-up, but at least be in time for the first half.

Now, as a “grownup” (well at least I do try very hard to fit into that category) I am hardly never late for meetings or appointments. I often think that I will be, and therefore I often send an apologetic text message, just in case, but then I’m often the first one to arrive. I have become much better at time management, so even though I think that the 20 min I have given myself to get somewhere isn’t enough –it often is. And it feels kind of good. I don’t like being late for things.

But some of my Chinese friends… Geeez, it’s almost getting to the point where I am getting annoyed. Take the other day for instance. I was stressing like a maniac to run from the yoga club to a restaurant where I was meeting some friends (mixed nationalities) at 7.30pm (my yoga class finised around 6.50pm, and I needed a shower). I thought I was going to be a bit late, so I sms:ed one of the girls just in case. Still, I managed to be there at 7.25pm. I called my Chinese girlfriend to ask how many people were coming and how big of a table we needed. When she picked up she sounded rather surprised when I said I was already at the restaurant. I could hear from the non-existent background noise that she was still at home. Still, she didn’t say anything about being late or so. The other ones dropped in at 7.30…. and then we had to wait until 8pm for our Chinese friend to come. She barely noticed herself that she was late. How is it possible?!

Visitor inflation

2011-02-24T07:25:00.003+08:00

Nothing beats having your friends in town!

It’s getting warm out there –which is lovely! This spring is going to be fast and furious –there are so many things planned for the upcoming month that I believe my next free weekend, when I can bum around and do nothing, will be in May. This is of course both good and bad. We have lived in China for more than 4,5 years now, and considering that time we haven’t had that many visitors, until now, all of a sudden, when everybody wants to come at the same time!

We just had friends here from London, and on Saturday a new couple from Finland is arriving. When they leave there’s another one, and then my parents, my boyfriend’s dad, and then we have a weekend in Moganshan… and then I believe it should be summer?!

We are turning into real visitors pros. My London friend actually asked us if we had considered opening a travel agency for couples travelling to Shanghai. We have made a little travel kit for each couple, which includes metro cards, sim card, mobile phone, guidebooks, stomach pills and our own maps (where we have marked out our fave spots). We also tailor make the weekends so that they will suit each couple: when we had a pregnant couple visiting, we went to the baby market. When my London friend (who’s getting married next year) was here we managed to squeeze in a visit to Suzhou’s wedding street where she made herself a dream dress for 900 rmb! Considering the fact that a cheap wedding dress in London costs around 10 000 rmb, I think my friend was quite happy with her bargain. Our next visiting couple are food junkies aka health freaks, so we will spend a lot of time on food streets/at restaurants and also take them to try yoga, wake them up early in the morning so that they can see people practicing tai qi, etc.

Anyway, one thing that we are having a little bit of a problem with, now when there are so many friends coming over at the same period of time, is to take them out to restaurants/new spots. We obviously want to take them to our fave places, but it’s not fun for ourselves to go to the same restaurant four weeks in a row.

So, I was wondering if you guys would like to share your best travel experiences of Shanghai. Have you lived here? Travelled here? What was your best experience? Where did you do your best shopping bargain? Where did you eat your best meal? All recommendations welcome! We have a massive list, but since I will be playing the role of a tour guide this spring, I wouldn’t mind seeing some new places too.

When to be spontaneous and flexible -and when not

2011-02-23T07:39:00.004+08:00

When not to be spontaneous and vague: Swedish weddings

Yesterday I met a Swedish girl who just got engaged, after her boyfriend proposed to her during the CNY. She was over the moon about everything: the romantic engagement (he proposed while they were scuba diving in Thailand and she almost drowned when she saw the ring, nodded “yes!” and forgot to breathe). They are planning to have the wedding this summer in Sweden and she told me that she was surprised by the lack of flexibility showed by her friends back home.

As they live in China, they obviously had to pick a date during their summer holiday, so let’s say mid July. All of their Chinese friends thought it was great and many of them are going to fly over just for the wedding. You would think that in Sweden, where 80-90% of the population is having a holiday around that time, it wouldn’t be any problems when it comes to attending a wedding, but think twice, because apparently it is:

-How can you pick a wedding date during the peak holiday season? A friend of her asked. I’ve already planned a trip to France at that time.

Oh, yes, the things you tend to forget while living over here. Swedes are masters when it comes to planning ahead. We plan our weeks and weekends well in advance, and each year in February, we fill the sheet for when we wish to have our summer holiday. Around June/July people decide if they want to celebrate Christmas at home that year, or take a trip to Thailand to get away from all the hysteria. Although I’ve gotten much better at being spontaneous and flexible since moving abroad, I still plan things like “when to call my family back home” at least one week in advance. It’s pretty simple: mom always knows what they are doing every weekend for at least the upcoming month, and can easily tell me if I should call home on Saturday or Sunday, and around what time.

In China, things change fast and people don’t really plan ahead. I think people over here are too scared of missing out on something better, and therefore it can sometimes be hard to get something written in the stones. I remember for instance when we arranged a house warming party. At leats 30 people RSVP:ed, saying they would come. But at the party night, it was freezing outside, rained heavily and felt like one of those nights where you’d just like to stay in and watch a DVD. All the invited foreigners still turned up for the party, while half of the Chinese part suddenly couldn’t make it because of various reasons.

I’m a planner by nature (I love making lists, planning holidays and organizing myself), but living abroad has made me a bit too keen on everything, and therefore my near and dear ones have learned not to take my planning too seriously. For each holiday season I have ambitious plans of going to Vienna, Italy and Spain, ON TOP of Finland and Sweden, and people just listen to me and nod, while they think: “Oh, here we go again.” I was the same when I planned to do my journalism degree abroad (something I had decided to do when I was about 10), I came home one day saying I was going to Singapore, the next I was going to New York, and when I finally decided on Australia, my mom didn't take me seriously until I asked her to come to the bank with me to pay the registration fee. "Oh, so you're really going?!" she asked. "Yeah, I TOLD YOU SO!" I said. Then she got a bit nervous.

Still, I like to keep things flexible and spontaneous, because those night outs that happen without being planned/random weekends spent in Inner Mongolia just because I needed a “quick getaway!” are normally the best ones.

Q&A session

2011-02-23T07:13:00.004+08:00

Q: "What's the best thing about China?!" A: "Chinese food! And all the lovely Chinese people that I have met formed a friendship with over here!"

I've been quite bad at replying to comments/questions asked in the comment's field lately -sorry about that. I'm just trying to spend less time in front of the computer and more time at the gym/yoga club. Anyway, since I know some of you might have questions you want to be answered, here's an opportunity to ask me anything about life in China/bout learning Chinese/about moving here, and I'll try my best to reply. Note that I am not some kind of China expert in any way, so all my answers will have my personal twist.

Obviously I won't answer questions that I find offensive.

Funny assumption or just inappropriate?

2011-02-22T07:19:00.003+08:00

In China, it's all about being a twosome!

Yesterday and male colleague and I decided to change our lives and join a gym. We didn’t make any appointment but simply showed up at a place that we’ve heard is good. A sales girl was soon by our sides, showing us around, throwing out funny little comments that we politely laughed about. Something that will never fail to astonish me is how Chinese people react when you tell them that you’ve been doing sports all of your life. For me it’s such a natural thing, and if I ever get kids I know I’ll encourage them to try all kinds of sports until they find something they like and want to do. Chinese kids are obviously busy with their heavy load of homework.

Anyway, once we had done the compulsory tour we sat down to discuss the membership fee.

-So, you want a yearly membership… bla bla bla, the grils started, drawing figures on a piece of paper (another thing that I don’t quite understand here: what is this obsession with writing down prices on paper or typing them into a calculator. Why can’t people just tell you the price to your face? Is it because they are scared that someone else will overhear it and that it will ruin a potential haggle-fest with that person?).

-And, what about your husband? The girl eventually said, turning to my workmate.

-Eh… we are not… No no! We are not married!

-Oh, sorry, your boyfriend?

-No, no no no no!!!! Eh, hehe! We are colleagues!

-Oh… I see. I just thought you two looked like such a match!

-Eh… right. Eh….

Biiiiig meaningful smile from the sales girl making us feel ....uncomfortable? Weird? Strange? Take your pick. I don’t even know this male colleague of mine very well, he kind of just started working with us. And I’m not sure if we are ready for such jokes yet.

In China, however, it is totally OK to throw these kinds of comments around. I don’t know how many times me and my boyfriend go somewhere and we are addressed as siblings, just because we are both tall and blonde (nevermind that we don’t have the same eye colour. Not important). I wonder if this would change if we were engaged? Do people here pay attention to engagement rings the same way people do in the west? Might be worth it putting a ring on then, just to avoid any kind of confusion: like me being seen as married to my colleague or being a somewhat messed up person who’s having a love affair with my brother.

Yikes... that actually sounds real awful! Can that be used as an argument for a speedy engagement?!

Summer lovin

2011-02-19T11:05:00.005+08:00

I'm starting to feel a little bit better after a health week from hell. This wknd came right on time! And what to do on a wknd when you're supposed to take it easy, relax and when you don't have any visitors in town? Well, plan our summer holiday of course! Right now we are looking at tickets to go to London for a long wknd. We just had friends from London visiting us here in Shanghai and they did a good job promoting the city. I actually lived in London for 6 months after I graduated from high school. I shared a flat with 7 (!) other people close to Marble Arch tube station. Although I would never, ever do that today, it was probably one of the best things I could have done back then. I had so much fun and learned so much about myself (such as: never share a flat with people that you don't know!).

Except for London we also obviously have to go to Sweden and Finland. Ah summer... Still so far away, but nothing wrong with dreaming, right?!

I have a mad crush on Finland during the summers. It's simply so beautiful, I just love it. Looking at the pictures from 2009 when I did a summer vacancy in Finland and had the time to travel around for a bit makes me wanna go so much. I have a quite contradictive taste when it comes to what I like. In one way, I looooove big cities like London, Shanghai, Seoul and New York (technically, I haven't actually been in New York yet, but it's currently the number 1 destination on our list, and I know I will LOVE it). At the same time, I'm a nature geek who just loooooves small towns, hills, forests and lakes. I prefer all of that to a beach holiday, every single day. Where can you live and get both?!

Summer of 2009 in Finland was awesome. Spent some time in Hankasalmi, where my significant other's family has got the most amazing summer cottage. Three giant samoyed dogs don't make matters worse. I love dogs!

Also did a road trip to Savonlinna, which was like a summer dream. This photo is taken around 10pm!

Savonlinna
Caught up with one of my best friends, Anna, in Helsinki

...and saw some old friends in Tampere!

Bring on the new generation

2011-02-17T07:43:00.004+08:00

Some week or so before I got sick I met with a fellow female expat: a middle-aged, immaculately dressed business queen, that had already climbed much higher than me on the career ladder.

As we sat there, drinking our coffees, I realized how little she in fact knew about China. She’d been here for quite some years, but not by her own choice, and that came through in our conversations. She didn’t say anything racial against Chinese people, but it was just the way she spoke of Chinese, as if they were a lower class of citizens. And when I gently tried to turn the conversation, or share some good stories of some of my great Chinese friends, she wouldn’t listen. In her world, having local friends was not even something she’d consider.

Fair enough. Her choice. Her loss. And she’s more successful than me. At least at this moment.

But when I left the café I couldn’t help but thinking that women, or people like her, are going to become a distinguished breed in China. Think in 20 or so years time: when all those youngsters that are now rushing to schools and universities to study Chinese language and Asian culture, have graduated, gained some work experience, maybe spent some years in China. Then this market is going to be tough for those who doesn’t wanna be here, doesn’t speak and language, and doesn’t care one iota when it comes to learning about the culture. I see so many western men and women on top positions in China right now, some with very little knowledge, or even interest in understanding how China really works (note: I'm not generalizing here. I said I've seen a lot of those kind of expats. On the contrary, I've also met some really cool CEO expats with an amazing China knowledge and experience, who speak fluent Chinese and who I really admire and look up to).

Not saying that I do. Oh no, allow me to be humble. But I’m not a CEO, neither am I running my own business, and I am definitely not walking around thinking that I’m better than everyone else. I seriously don’t understand what those kind of people are doing, living in China.

Not the most romantic Valentine's Day...

2011-02-16T07:22:00.002+08:00

I’m back, after yet another unintentional blog break. This year is definitely not the year of good health of me: on Saturday night I got a stomach cramp and since then I’ve been bed bound. Valentine’s Day was spent crawling from the bed to the bathroom, vomiting and feeling as if my last moment had come.

Since I had a stomach ache for 3 days I decided to visit the hospital, just in case it would be the appendix (I know, I know, when the appendix is giving you problems you are probably so sick that you cannot even crawl, but still). The doctors took me very seriously (or is it just so that since most hospital over here are profit-driven they always wanna prescribe you loads of medicine/put you through surgery?) and ordered me to take a blood test etc. Now, at the sound of blood test I immediately started to feel queasy. I don’t know what it is, or why, but ever since I had a small operation when I was 12, I’ve been terrified of blood and needles (my mom and the doctors realized this some days before the operation when I was at the hospital to go through the procedure and the doctor was showing me a needle that was going to be put into my hand so that I could get drip via a tube. I hit the ground like a stone somewhere between “needle” and “drip.”).

Since I am perfectly aware of my fear (I basically faint every single time I have to give blood) I told the doctor AND the nurse about this, apologizing for being childish and all baby-like about it, but thinking that letting them know might make them more understanding. But, for some reason, people don’t take blood phobias seriously over here. I always tell, and still, they never listen. The nurse kept telling me to squeeze this and that (I cannot even check my own pulse without feeling nauseous) and when I told her I couldn’t she asked me to sit up and drink some water. Fortunately, the doctor came in as she asked me to sit, saw my white face and my body swaying, and ordered me to lie down again.

-You look like you were about to faint there for a while! He said with a laugh.

-Yes, just like I told you! I said, not laughing back.

Man, when are they going to listen? Do I have to fall down and hit my head in the stone ground so that they are going to let me lie down the next time for more than 30 seconds? I’m actually not sure.

Anyway, after my little faint scare I had to wait for my result for 40 minutes (!) feeling like I was about to throw up in a hospital smelling waiting room. Then I was told it wasn’t the appendix (phew!), but some other infection, got prescribed antibiotics and was sent home. Now let’s hope for a quick recovery so that I can start working out again. Feels like ages ago. Cannot believe that I once used to describe myself as sporty. I’m a far cry from being fit right now. Very sad.

Travelling during CNY -heaven!

2011-02-11T07:44:00.004+08:00

I got a big surprise when I flew back to China on Feb 3, during the Chinese New Year, and realized that the plane was almost empty. When we were about to take off from Helsinki the captain came out to the cabin, and said: “OK people, welcome to your private jet that will take you to Shanghai!” with a big smile.

We were a total of 33 passengers on a huge Finnair plane that has a capacity of hundreds of people. Although I see myself as a social creature, I have to admit that it was F A N T A S T I C to be on a plane with so few people! The air stewardess were super friendly, giving us extra snacks and telling us that we could move around as much as we wanted (but then gently stopping a passenger that was on his way to business class). One little Chinese boy got so excited he wanted to try every single free seat in the plane (!) and ran around and made a mess.

Once we landed in Shanghai it was the same thing: no lines to the immigration counters, and the bags came after 5 minutes.

I had friends flying to Shanghai from Hong Kong and from London, and then another one going from Shanghai to Sweden via Moscow around the same time and they had similar experiences. So, if you prefer a flight with a minimum of people/heaps of legroom, I can definitely recommend you to fly during the Chinese New Year. Tickets around that time are cheap too. Sweet!

Immigration point at Pudong airport, Shanghai -no lines. No people

Lost at home

2011-02-10T07:39:00.006+08:00

Can something be more crystal clear? I don't think so!

One thing that amazed me in Sweden was how badly equipped Stockholm city is for foreigners! All signs are in Swedish –and that’s not always easy to understand. Like, how is a non-Swedish-spoken person going to understand that “utgång” means exit?! I’m so used to China where there are signs for a lot of things in both Chinese/English, and sometimes even pictures.

Fortunately Swedes are pretty nice if you ask them for directions… if you are a foreigner. If you’re a Swede asking the wrong kind of Swede though… naaaah, not so much! So, sometimes when I’m in Sweden and get lost I ask people for directions in English. Works like a charm!

Speaking of getting lost, I have to admit that I feel a bit out of place when I am in Sweden. For instance, I never know how to order food in restaurants. You’re supposed to sit there and wait, and then discreetly give the waiter a meaningful look that says “yes, I’d like to order now!” and then the waiter is supposed to come up to your table and take your order? But what if the waiter never looks your way? Then you have to sit there and look hungry and meaningful for an hour because god forbid, you cannot put your hand in the air!

I have to say I prefer the Chinese way where you can call for the waiter or simply make a small wave without it being considered a rude gesture.

Jet lag grief

2011-02-10T07:17:00.003+08:00

OK, either I’m aging too fast or there’s something wrong with me. I’ve been jet lagged for one week. One week! That’s pretty full on. And not healthy.

I’ve been living abroad for almost 10 years (ironically, my “10 year anniversary” is on September 11. Yes, I landed in London around the same time as a plane crashed into the World Trade Centre. Heard about it on the radio news in the taxi on my way from the airport). Out of those 10 years, 3,5 have been spent in Australia and 4,5 have been spent in China. In other words: I’ve been going back and forth between different time zones for 8 years! I SHOULD be used to this! And it should NOT take 1 week for the body to adapt.

Going back to Sweden (when you “gain” extra hours) is never a problem: it’s going back (and “losing” 7 hours) that messes things up for me. For the last week or so I believe I’ve slept a total of 10 hours (and I look the part) and my whole body is just not functioning: I’m not hungry when I’m supposed to be, my stomach is giving me grief and I get headaches when I’m supposed to be asleep. The other day I got so desperate I ended up getting sleeping pills from the pharmacy. But in the end I didn't dare to use them. I’ve been scared of medicine bought in China since a friend of mine went to a Chinese pharmacy ended up with sleeping pills that are banned in Europe because of dingy side effects. Also, I don’t want to start the whole sleeping pill carousel. It feels like a nasty one and I think it’s easy to get addicted. So, those pills I got are going to the bin!

Last night I managed to fall asleep (yay) and stay asleep (yay yay!) until 5am! Big improvement from the other nights where I have been awake until 4am and then fallen asleep for 2 hours before I’m awake again. I finally feel that things are going the right way.

But seriously –is it supposed to be like this for now?! That it takes a whole week to get back to normal? I’ve never had big issues with jet lag before. A day or two of being tired and then fine. Not a week of minimal sleep and desperate trips to the Chinese pharmacy. What do you guys do in order to beat the jet lag and get your body back into your old habits? I might be fine for now but I'm obviously going to be travelling again later this year.

Luxury bag craze

2011-02-09T07:26:00.004+08:00

I’m back –jetlagged, sleep-deprived but excited to finally have stepped into the year of the rabbit (and to have the internet up and running, yay!)!

I had a good trip to Sweden and stayed at a beautiful hotel at Skeppsholmen in Stockholm. Not that I got to enjoy it that much though –each day was packed with meetings from early morning to late night. But that’s what work trips are about so I’m not complaining.

I travelled together with a Chinese colleague from Shanghai, and I think our biggest culture shock was the fact that the hotel where we were staying didn’t have any hot water boilers or mugs in the rooms.

When I went to the reception to ask for one, the front desk guy gave me a strange look:

-We don’t have any?

-But…. So… like… how do your guests drink tea then?!

At the end he gave me a thermos!! Haha! But better that than nothing. Didn’t keep the water very hot though. So note to self: one must always bring their own tea and hot water boilers when travelling and staying at hotels in Sweden.

The funniest thing about the trip, however, was when my colleague asked me for some free time to run an errand.

I asked her where she was going and she said:

-Louis Vuitton store.

-Eh… right?! I looked at her. She was wearing a pink bagpack and fake leather boots. Did not really look like the kind of girl who would splurge on luxury handbags.

-Oh, I am buying a bag for my friend! She asked me to do it! Gave me loads of money to do so!

-Ahh…. But… like.. doesn’t she want to buy it for herself? Choose the bag for herself?

-Nah, she just wants it. She’s been saving for a year. And they are cheaper here in Sweden than in China. So she asked me to get it for her.

Wow. I must say that Chinese girls impress me when it comes to their luxury bag craze. I tried to envision it being me: having saved for one year (!) and then NOT getting the chance to buy the bag for myself? Not stepping into the store and selecting my dream bag, having the snotty Louis Vuitton shop assistants sucking up to me (they better be nice to their customers, right?!)? Not seeing my dream bag being packed into a luxurious bag and handed over to me? Not being able to take it home, unpack it, and stand with it, in front of the mirror and just look at how good it looks on my shoulder?! Yeah, I simply don’t get it –just buying it would be half of the pleasure?!

But sure, it makes perfect sense: if you just really want the bag then having a friend that is going abroad anyway getting it for you is kind of convenient. Even though it is kind of boring.

Net-less in Shanghai

2011-02-08T11:34:00.003+08:00

Dear blog readers, forgive my absence. Since I got back to China last week I've been without an internet connection. Hopefully we'll get it fixed soon (I'm thinking tomorrow!). Until then.

Not being forgiving

2011-01-29T16:07:00.003+08:00

Just as I was getting back into my life in Shanghai (as I wrote earlier this year: coming back from Australia to China was a bit of a shock and gave me the “post holiday blues”) I had to pack my bag again (this time with winter clothes and UGGs instead of flip flops and summer dresses) and head to Sweden for work. It was a long and painful airplane ride where I was seated next to a Chinese man. He travelled with a HUGE hand luggage (not kidding, it was the size of the suitcase that I had checked in) and when he tried to put it in the overhead locker I could sense a disaster.

-Can you please be a bit careful? I said. My stuff is also up there. You will crush it with your bag.

-Huh?! He looked like me as if I was an alien.

-Your bag is too big! And please be careful with my stuff! I said, a bit annoyed.

To this, he snorted. And then he started muttering that “you should be more polite to Chinese people!”

His comment really hit me. There I was, trying to save my stuff, and coming across as a RUDE laowai! Gosh, had I crossed the line? Maybe I had? I don't want to be considered rude (I hate rude people!) so I decided to apology and then spent the rest of the trip trying to be extra nice to him in order to mend the rocky start.

So, when he realized he didn’t have any headphones I handed him mine. When he was out of water he got my bottle. When I had to ask him to stand up so that I could go to the toilet I was careful to excuse myself and thank him about 1 million times. Do you think any of this helped? Oh no.

When we landed he hit me in the head with his mega bag when he tried to take it down.

-Aoooch! I said and rubbed my head.

He said nothing. I think he even smiled.

So much for trying. Oh well, at least I didn’t have to suffer from a bad conscious for maybe being too rude at first on that trip. But some situations are obviously not meant to be saved.

Anyway, now I'm in Stockholm and I just had a shower in hot, clean water (not to mention water pressure)! Ahhh.. heaven! Now sitting here, blogging in a central heated flat that is so comfortable heated that you can walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. Farewell, dry skin! Oh, and I'm drinking tap water! LOVE IT! Sure, there's a lot of ice on the streets out there bit so far, so good.

Re-starting the new year

2011-01-26T07:22:00.004+08:00

Happy New Rabbit Year -best celebrated together with your near and dear ones and a big, home cooked meal

This year hasn’t started that great for me. Although my trip to Australia was fantastic a lot of things happened when I came back, some I mentioned and some I didn’t, because it’s personal. Point to be made: I have been feeling rather sad, negative and down lately, and I think it’s been reflected in my blog posts.

Fortunately, Chinese New Year is coming up, and what better way to shake off a shaky start of the western new year? Well, simply by re-celebrating it again, although this time I’ll be celebrating the year of the rabbit, rather than the start of 2011 (It’s not often you get a chance to re-start the year, so this opportunity is simply too fine to be missed)

Unfortunately, I won’t be in China for the actual new year (going on a business trip), but it doesn’t matter. I will be celebrating from where I am and the main thing is: this will be a new, fresh start, and it is going to be a good one.

Happy New Rabbit Year!

Painful paperwork

2011-01-24T07:31:00.002+08:00

I think I have enough blog material soon to make a book about “painful paperwork stuff you have to do as a laowai in China.” The book could include some different sections, such as:

• Horrible experiences at the bank
• Heart attack potential situations at the Visa office
• Not being listened to at the police station
• Trying to get your deposit back from your landlord (hahaha, good luck with that!)
• Different fainting spots at the hospital when there to do a medical check

For me, the bank has been the worse by far. Before I went to Australia, for instance, I headed over to my bank (ICBC) to ask if I could use my Unionpay card at ATMs in Australia, as I had read that you could online.

-No! said the bank clerk.

-But.. on unionpay’s homepage it says…

-It’s impossible. Doesn’t work.

-Eh… OK. Not even at the National Australia Bank (NAB)?

-No!

-Eh… OK, well then I have to exchange some currency.

-Oh, that’s also very troublesome! You will have to stand in a long line for that. I suggest you don’t do it here….

-Right.. thanks for your help.

Guess who headed over to Perth, located a NAB ATM and withdrew money! And, in some stores (that had EFTPOS machines) I could even pay with my Unionpay card! This just proves that the people at the bank don’t even listen to your questions, they just say no so that they don’t have to deal with you anymore.

Yesterday at the police station, I had another, classic experience of “there is no standard as different rules apply to different people.” I have all my papers in order, but since I have a new passport since a week back, I needed to renew my police register form so that it had the same number as my passport.

“Fortunately” a friend of mine had done the exact same process just 2 days before, and told me that it was simple:

-You don’t need anything more than your old registration slip and your new passport!

-Really, it’s that easy?

-Yeah! Real easy!

Could something ever be easy when dealing with authorities over here? Sounded foreign to me. So, just to make sure (…) I packed my lease and brought my wallet along to station.

And, very well.

-We need a copy of this, a copy of this, and this, and this…

-But my friend only needed to show her old registration form…

-That registration form is the only thing we don’t need..

Of course I didn’t have copies of my lease and my visa page… so there I was again, running between the police station and a copy place down the road (thank GOD it was open! Last time I was in a similar situation it wasn’t and then I had to go into a real estate office and bribe the workers in order to get them to copy 5 document for me).

Anyway, once everything was in order I got the form that I needed. But man, this stuff is daunting! Especially since different rules seem to apply to different people. And it changes all the time. Ahhhrg!

Don't try to understand the system: just accept it for what it is

2011-01-21T07:25:00.001+08:00

Our air cons broke down around the same time we came back from Australia. One simply wouldn’t start, and the other one started producing so little heat that we started questioning if it was useful or not. For a few days we walked around with a mini-heater, bringing it with us wherever we went (bedroom, kitchen, bathroom… it had to come, otherwise it got too cold). Obviously we also told our landlord, who promised us “two new air cons, a.s.a.p!” After four days of misery we decided to tell him that a.s.a.p better be now, or we were going to freeze to death (being dramatic really works over here so I made sure to use sentences like “cannot stand this any longer!” with a high-pitched voice when I explained to him). That did the job. Some hours later he called us and said there would be a delivery with 2 new air cons the next day. Could we skip out of work in order to greet them?

My bf did, hoping that it would be quick and smooth. It wasn’t. They were supposed to come at 4pm but at 1pm they called him, saying they had been waiting at our door for 45 min. China in a nutshell.

He rushed home and was greeted by the delivery guy + our landlord’s dad. The dad told him that he needed to give 2 new dates and times: one for them to come and remove the old air cons, and another time for them to come and install the two new ones.

Couldn’t they do it at the same time?

Absolutely not!

Was it possible to come after working hours?

Definitely not.

Eh… righty. So my bf managed to negotiate them into coming to remove the old air cons at 4pm on Thu, and then we would have to wait until the wknd for the installation. We simply cannot skip out of our offices every now and then.

Thursday came and at 12pm our landlord called my bf:

-We are here now!

-Eh… right..

He rushed home to let them in and then our landlord told him that he would stay and supervise it all, and that they would also install the new air cons. Riiiiiight.

When I came home yesterday, around 6.30pm, we had 2 new air cons and a filthy, muddy floor. Still, I could not have felt any happier.

Think something will ever be smooth/go the way you have been told in China? Oh no. But don’t worry about that. Main thing is that it happens. Also, never trust comments like “it is not possible” because it always is, but they won’t admit that until they know themselves for sure. Also, come to peace with the thought that you will never fully understand the system over here. I have. And it makes life easier. And gives you less headache.

Now we are going to enjoy living in a heated home! Who said that small things don’t matter?! It’s the small things that make your day!

Sharing a city with 23 million people

2011-01-19T08:51:00.002+08:00

That's what I do. According to this recent article in Shanghai Daily. Apparently some 9 million of those (that's just the whole population of Sweden) 23 are migrant workers. No wonder the metro feels so crowded every morning. No wonder Perth felt a bit small during my recent visit.

Scandinavian fashion boutique Göte Göta opens in Shanghai!

2011-01-19T06:49:00.005+08:00

Ann-Sofie Back
Ann-Sofie Back
Odeur
Gorjan and Petter -the designers behind Odeur

Now you can shop Ann-Sofie Back, Odeur, Noir & Blanc, Säby, Camilla Norrback, VITA and much more here in Shanghai! Göte Göta is located on the 2nd floor, 174 Xiangyang Lu, near Fuxing Lu (just above Awfully Chocolate -so basically you can shop first, and then treat yourself with chocolate afterwards... or the other way around -I'm not yet decided on what would be the best way?). It ain't cheap but it's not outrageous either. And the clothes do look really nice! So proud of the people behind this: great job and hands up for you!

I can also tell the truth (even though it may hurt)

2011-01-18T07:31:00.002+08:00

My gym membership is about to expire and I seriously cannot wait. I’m going to join a new gym. A nicer gym. A fancier place. Somewhere where exercising doesn’t feel like a punishment.

I’m not the only one who has noticed that my card is up for renewal. Last night when I went inside I was greeted by no eye-contact, no smile and no “hello!” by the receptionist. Then he scanned my card, realized, and ran after me:

-Hello, hello, HELLO!

(I had to stop myself from saying “my name is not hello!” Could have come across as too rude.)

-Yes?

-Oh, hello! Your gym card will soon expire. Would you like to renew it?

Oh, here we go! Eye contact! Smile! Politeness!

-No, I don’t.

-No?! Uncertain giggle. Eh… just like that, no?

-Yes. Definitely a no!

-Eh… why?

-Why?! Oh…. well...

For a moment I stopped short. Should I tell him the truth? Should I say that I don’t want to go there anymore because:

1. The gym opens at 6.30 am which is way too late for a gym when you start working early.

2. That the gym staff seem to enjoy keeping you outside the gym until 6.35am, just to piss you off.

3. That all of the receptionists are insanely rude! They never greet you with a hello, they never look you in the eye. Once they threw my gym card at me.

4. That you need to rent a towel… at 15 rmb!! Most places give you towels for free.

5. That they quite often say: “we don’t have any towels” and then you have to nag for 15 min before they finally give you one (WTF?!).

6. That women in the changing room uses the hairdryers for drying everything but their head hair.

7. That there are cockroaches in the showers.

8. That there are sometimes orange peal in the shower.

9. That 5 out of 10 treadmills are out of service.

10. That there is no aircon during summer and so hot that you feel as if you’re going to explode when you run.

11. That the gym staff laugh at you when you try to ask them for something.

12. That it’s dirty.

13. That the music is so loud during spinning sessions that if you don’t wear earplugs you might run the risk of getting tinnitus.

Then I decided to put it all in one, simple sentence:

-Well, this place sucks.

-Eh… hehe, eh… haha… OK!

-Yeah. This place sucks! So no, I won’t renew my membership. Thank you!

With the risk of sounding a bit bitter, I have to say that that felt good. Farewell, stinky ol gym. I deserve better.

I'll never get used to this

2011-01-15T10:42:00.003+08:00

So, there I was at work, feeling quite happy and excited about being back. It was fun to see my colleagues, to give them some snacks from Australia and to catch up. In fact, I was having a rather good day until a Chinese work mate suddenly popped into my room:

-Jonna, can I ask you something?

-Sure!

-Well, don’t be sad now, but you look… like… you look, quite a lot bigger than before!

-Eh… okay.

-Yeah, did you put on weight?

-Yeah, I did actually. Too much drinking and eating I suppose.

-Because I’ve been looking at you and you and you really look huge! And all round everywhere! It’s kind of cute… but… I don’t really understand why.

-Eh… what do you mean, why?

-Well, you were only gone for 2 weeks. Why would you put on so much weight?

-Well… I don’t know really…

-OK, well anyway, I have LOST weight! Can you tell?

-Eh… sorry, I haven’t been checking you out…

-OK, well I just thought I’d tell you.

What the hell is WRONG with this society?! I spent the rest of the day staring at my computer, feeling like a walrus. So what if I put on some weight (something that I am already fully aware of –I kind of felt it when I put my clothes on, and I intend to lose every single extra stone), why do people over here feel they should tell you? As if you didn’t already know?!

Actually, don’t bother answer that. I’ve blogged about this so many times before and sure, they have their reasons: it’s to show that they care, it’s just a cute little comment, a la the Chinese way… Anyway, Chinese way or no way, I’m sick of this. Four and a half years in this country and I’ve had it with these kinds of comments (and no, sorry, but you never get used to it). Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I wished I was living somewhere else. Somewhere less weight-obsessed. Somewhere where colleagues don’t comment on the size of your behind.

It also hit me how sad this is: 15 days into the new year, and I've already been told I look "huge" and "round." This does not bode well for the new year. Yes, I'm heading to the gym this arvo.

Back in (cold but convenient) Shanghai

2011-01-14T07:08:00.003+08:00

It was a cold flat that greeted us when we got back to Shanghai yesterday. As soon as we stepped inside it felt as if 90% of our tans faded away and we had to run inside to turn on the aircons, the heater and put on heaps of clothes (including triple socks and scarves, gloves and hats…). Going from +38 to minus 1 (and something like 10 degrees inside!) is a bit of a shock to the body, but in 2 weeks I’m going to Sweden (where it’ll probably be minus 10 with my luck) so I shouldn’t be complaining. Also, with 2 weeks of sunshine in the luggage, life should be a bit smoother than usual, once I have caught up with my emails at work.

We didn’t have to deal with any jet lag this time (no time difference between WA and China –sweet! So basically I could go to WA for business trips all the time –hear that, dear boss if you are reading this?!) however, since we had a night flight we didn’t get much sleep and therefore we were quite tired when we came home. Unfortunately being tired doesn’t equal not being hungry, and how do you solve that when you come home to an empty fridge and don’t feel like going out shopping? Well, by internet shopping of course. If there’s something to love about China it is the pace/speed of things. A few clicks here and there and food from our favourite restaurant arrived (waiting time: 30 min). And then, a few more clicks and groceries from the shop arrived (no delivery fee –and it only took a couple of hours). My significant other were quite amazed by the fact:

-So basically, we can just sit back and have everything delivered.

-Basically, yes.

Then we both looked at each other in horror (I think he had the mental same image like me: the two of us –about 20 kg heavier than we are now- sitting on our couch, stuffing ourselves with pizza while the door bell rings -the next delivery- and we start fighting about who should go and open the door) and promised ourselves that we should only use delivery services during extreme situations, when we don’t have time to go shopping ourselves. Or something like that.

Anyway, Australia was truly fantastic but now it’s time to get on with “real life.” I gained 4 kgs during this trip so I plan to spend quite a lot of time at the gym too.

Last day of sunshine -then things will be back to normal

2011-01-12T08:36:00.003+08:00

This is it. D-day. The last day in Australia. I'm so sad I don't even know what to say. I don't want to leave this place. This is paradise. Heaven on earth. Too good to be true. But everything has to come to an end. Including this holiday.

So right now I'm getting ready for a last day at the beach, before heading out to meet some friends, and then... going to the airport to depart Australia.

But... it will be nice to be back in China too, of course (except for breathing all that horrible, polluted air again -ahhhh, can someone just fix the air in China?! Then life over there would be great). To go back to work, get back into blogging, start exercising again (this has, er, not been my most healthy trip) and get back into the routine of life. I'll get on with it. Just give me a week or so to be all sentimental and nostalgic about Australia and then I'll be fine.

Until then -I'll be enjoying the last of this wonderful country. See ya when I'm back in China!

Heat rash -pls help!!!

2011-01-01T11:16:00.002+08:00

OK, so my "health issues" started already on the morning of departure. I woke up with a queasy stomach, and felt sick during the 1 hour taxi ride to the airport. Insecure of how my belly would handle flying for so many hours straight, we asked to be seated next to the toilet for both flights (Shanghai-Hong Kong and then Hong Kong-Perth). No probs. The first flight went well, and very well, we were seated next to the loos.

Then came the second route and imagine our surprise when we stepped on the plane and realized that we had been seated in the middle of the plane, in the middle section... in the 2 middle seats!!! So, there was no easy toilet access, and also, we had strangers on both sides. Gaaaah! At that moment I wanted to fly back to Shanghai and yell at the young boy who checked us in. Idiot!!

Fortunately I survived the trip without any major issues. The next day (in Perth) we went out to explore the city and I was wearing my lovely sandals that I had bought at a market in Shanghai. Now, here the stupidity award goes to me, because what was I thinking? Cheap does not equal good and it only took 30 min before I had some serious blisters under my feet. Determined not to be a complainer I went on without saying anything, and the result of that: huge blisters on my heels! So huge, that I had to walk on my toes for the next 2 days (resulting in a calf cramp) and yes, this was despite me using those good compreed bandage plasters. Oh well. (Sandals went to the bin).

Then, yesterday, after some hours in the sun, a non-beloved "friend" returned: a skin rash on my lower arms and lower arms and legs. Red, itchy small "bumps" on the skin. AWFUL! I went to the pharmacy and asked for their strongest cream and some allergy pills (anti-histamine), but so far it has done little good. Now I need you help, does any of you know any good self-cure for itchy, red rashes? It's not a sunburn, trust me, I know the difference. I've had this before and before I've had to take cortisone shots and antibiotics (steroids I believe it was?) in order for it to go away. Being on a holiday over here, I'm not really keen on going to see a dermatologist, but if the rashes don't go away I know I will have to, mainly because of the itching.

Anyway, I just thought I'd ask you guys in case any of you have any "rash experience" (I believe it's a heat rash) and could share some good idea. All help is greatly appreciated!

Happy New Year -with 300 rmb Chinese meals in Australia

2011-01-01T11:01:00.002+08:00

New year, new beginnings, no new resolutions (I cannot really think of anything?! Normally it's stuff like "eat more healthy and exercise more" but I think I'm at an OK place right now when it comes to all of that. The yoga is proving to be a nice "sidekick" to the running, and guess what I started doing last week?! Bellydancing! Woho!)... I'm having an absolutely fantastic time here in Australia! One thing is for sure, China has damaged me. Everything over here seems so small and tiny, almost as if it's not a city for real. I cannot help it. But imagine that I used to live here when I was 19-22 yrs old, thinking that Perth was a "big city!" I probably still would if I'd never moved to Shanghai. Oh well.

It's unreal but fantastic to be back. The sky is amazingly blue. The climate is fantastic. The people are... wonderful! I cannot believe people actually live like this, every single day of the year. For me it feels like a paradise, like living a dream (yes, we are already talking about trying to move to Australia once we have finished with China -won't be for a long while though).

Food is great, but portions are huge (we have started sharing everything because we simply cannot finish our meals) and last night the Chinese geeks came out in us and we decided to eat at a dingy Chinese joint for NY. We ordered broccoli sauteed in garlic and some spicy ribs, 2 bottles of qingdao and 2 bowls of rice: 40 dollars! (like 300 rmb) INSANE!! And no, it wasn't even good, even though the owner (a Singaporean woman) insisted they were practicing "real" Chinese cooking (the "ribs" were deep-fried). So no more Chi food while over here.

The only dark cloud on this beautiful holiday is various health-hiccups... I don't know if it's simply bad luck or what, but I will tell you about them in another post a bit later today. Need your help and advices more than ever!!

Going down under

2010-12-28T05:02:00.004+08:00

Finally, it's time! We're leaving to Australia today and I don't think I've been this excited about a trip... ever. I'm almost a bit freaked out because I'm scared I'm going to be disappointed due to sky-high expectations. But then again -how could I? I won't bring my computer so unless I manage to convince my significant other how important it is for me to blog while on a holiday (...) there won't be so much blog action going on. Until next year ;) Have a good one!

2010 -The year that went by

2010-12-26T10:28:00.010+08:00

It’s been an amazing year. When 2009 was coming to an end, my friend Malin and I promised ourselves that 2010 was going to be a good one. And that turned out to be a true promise.

I started this year in Sweden, with all of my closest friends that I haven’t celebrated new years with since… 2002! Yeah, I actually haven’t been home during NY since then. Mad.

Celebrating NY with friends

Back in China I went from Suzhou to Shanghai to find a flat. I was kind of in a hurry since I was supposed to start my new job on Jan 11. Eventually I found a perfect crib, moved in, and got settled, the day before my first day at work.

February came with a business trip to Stockholm. Freezing, but beautiful Stockholm. I almost slipped on the roads, became a "celeb" on a plane with a Chinese performance troupe, and longed for Shanghai.

Stockholm

March was a busy month, gearing up for a big fashion project, as well as the World Expo. Then at the end came Easter, and I got the brilliant idea that we should go to Inner Mongolia. Don’t ask me what I was thinking, but anyway, off we went.

Hohhot

Back in Shanghai (now April) it was work, work, work: Ann-Sofie Back at Shanghai Fashion Week, Expo hysteria, and then, BAM: The World Expo opened.

Ann-Sofie Back at SFW
After-show talk with Daniel Glasman

May was Expo Month De Luxe. I met the minister of trade, the Swedish King and our (at that time) deputy prime minister.

Opening of the Swedish pavilion at the World Expo, Minister of Trade Ewa Björling
The King of Sweden

June was moderator month. I first acted Chinese translator (to a Chinese guy who spoke English –just to make it a bit more interesting) at a Nordic film event, and then, some week later, I dressed up to be a princess host at an event that celebrated the marriage of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. Nerve-racking but fun! But I never blogged about it, as I decided to take a blog break.

Moderating in Chinese
Princess host -also in Chinese

July came with a well-deserved break. Off I went to Finland, a country that was experiencing the warmest summer yet….

Relaxing in Finland

And in August we went to Sweden, hung out with friends and family and paid a short visit to the island Ven, and another one to Göteborg.

Biking with friends on Ven island
The classic crayfish party
A visit to beautiful Göteborg (here in Haga).

Back in Shanghai I made a blog comeback, and then life went on with more Expo and more events, combined with a quick work trip to Stockholm, and then another one to Berlin. Time passed faster than a Chinese bullet train. And I got a chance to visit my hometown again, where a new nephew had been born…

Catching up with friends in Sweden
Welcoming new baobao Malou to the family

Then came October with event madness: Odeur at Shanghai Fashion Week, Jazz Festival with Nils Landgren and the Funk Unit, dress dramas, The Swedish Crown Princess and her hubby in town, and then, finally, the closing of the world Expo.

Odeur
Backstage at Odeur
Nils Landgren at Shanghai Jazz Festival

November was filled with catching up and recovering, and then we squeezed in a wknd in Suzhou in order to catch up with our old friends and city. Not a place we miss, to tell the least. I also met a famous artist and his mean wife.

Suzhou visit

And that brings us to December, that has been a busy month at work with a TV stunt, a different, but fun, Chirstmas, and that will end with a trip to Australia.

Seeing myself on web TV -weird!

I can only hope that 2011 will be as good as this year (can you make the same promise to yourself twice?). At least I will start it at one of the best places on earth.

My Chinese Christmas

2010-12-25T11:23:00.003+08:00

Shame that I decided to turn my iPhone while filming, but you probably get the point! A different Christmas with gift stealing games, bongo drums, "helan går" in Chinese (Swedish snaps song), and a Chi speaking, drunk santa! We had a blast!

Merry Christmas! God Jul! 圣诞节快乐！

2010-12-24T11:11:00.003+08:00

The cutest baobao/kid in the world: Malou and Sam!

Best wishes from a homesick Jonna in Shanghai! (And no, I'm not a single hour too early. In Sweden we celebrate Julafton on December 24).

I miss my family, friends and cute little nephews like crazy today! It's actually a bit depressing to be in Shanghai. I wish I was with them instead. All the best to you guys. Don't get stuck in the snow!

Snow chaos in Europe

2010-12-22T07:13:00.003+08:00

Xmas 2006 in Sweden, probably "peanuts" compared to now!

I feel so relieved over the fact that I’m not heading home this winter. When I read about the snow chaos in the papers it makes me shiver. I feel for all those people that are stuck at Heathrow as a result of inefficiency and pure stupidity –how can the company being in charge of maintaining the airport (BAA) turn down an offer of help from the military?! Pure idiotic behaviour! London is still in Europe and even though a massive amount of snow at this time of the year isn’t as usual over there as it might be in Scandinavia, it still shouldn’t come as such a surprise. And more importantly: travellers shouldn’t be stuck at the airport as a result of a pure “catch-22” situation.

I’m just thinking about how China acted in 2008 when it suddenly started snowing and simply didn’t stop. Sure, the train traffic was horrendous, but in a big city like Shanghai the local government managed to solve the problem despite not being equipped with snowploughs. People got rid of the snow manually as thousands of volunteers and military soldiers went out to shove snow away from the bridges, airports and roads. A little bit more of that and a little bit less of management meetings would do Heathrow good.

In Sweden (especially in the south where I am from) where the snow is more than overwhelming, the trains and are having difficulties (a lot of delays) and some of the main roads are being closed due to the heavy snowfall, but at least the planes are still being able to take off/land. I feel for my parents that are more or less “snowed in,” and although I feel relieved that I don’t have to get out and battle the weather by trying to fly home, of course I miss them terribly, especially at this time of the year. This is going to be a long, white, winter...

Insects and street food

2010-12-20T07:28:00.003+08:00

We have guests visiting and this time, taking them around was kind of challenging. Why? Well because the girl is pregnant and isn’t interesting in drinking (obviously!), eating sushi or shopping. Hm… what to do then in Shanghai? Shopping is the best over here. Suddenly we had to think of other things to do. So, we decided on trying some new things and took them to the insect market, which in fact is a market full of pets, birds, fishes, flowers and insects. I personally cannot handle animals in cages so I found it horrible. Also, cockroach farms and grasshoppers? And bowls of big bugs? Yuk, yuk, yuk. Never going back there.

Afterwards we went to Yunnan street to have a look at what used to be the “Yunnan street food market”… but not so much anymore. There were barely any vendors left?! Such a shame! When we moved here in 2006 that street was buzzing with life. Maybe it’s better at night time, but still.. I was disappointed. Why is Shanghai getting rid of the parts that makes the city so special, like local food markets? Just look at Wujiang lu? It used to be packed with vendors and now it’s just another commercial district with all the boring chains/franchises. Such a shame.

After some mango/tofu pudding at Yunnan road we continued to Tianzifang (Taikang Lu), which is a nice area to walk around in every now and then, even though it’s a bit hyped. Then we had a chocolate break at whisk, followed by a manicure and a foot massage, some walking around, and finally dinner at a local joint. Amazing how much you have time to do over here if you don’t stay for too long at one spot. Still, I have to say that having visitors is kind of like a full-time job, because you have to spend a whole day entertaining them. But all in all it’s great fun, and I’ve taken the time to do some good vendor shopping while we’ve been out: how’s a pair of leather gloves for 30 kuai for instance? Or 3 books (perfect for our upcoming Australia trip) for the same amount of money? Me likey!

A ride to remember

2010-12-17T07:04:00.004+08:00

A blonde from the country where the sky is "always" (OK, often!) blue -yes, that could be me!

In a city that has more than 45 000 taxis, you would think that what happened yesterday wouldn’t be possible. I was running late, and caught a cab to meet a friend at Sinan Lu.

As soon as I said the address to the taxi driver, he started smiling and nodding to me:

-You know what!? If it wasn’t for your big nose or your blonde hair, I would think you were Chinese! You speak like a local!

-Nali nail… hahahaha!

I was in a good mood and so was the driver, so we went on chatting. Once he discovered I could talk he wanted to know everything about me: where I was from, how often I went home, how long it took for me to fly home, what I was doing for Christmas, why my parents didn’t live here with me, how many siblings I had, what Sweden was like, how old I was, and so on…

I told him accordingly. Then we arrived at my destination, said our goodbyes and parted.

Ten minutes later, a Swedish friend of mine called:

-Jonna, did you just get off a taxi at Sinan lu?

-Eh.. yes… how come, did you see me?

-Eh… no… but I think I’m sitting on the taxi that you just got out off! I’ve got a driver who simply cannot stop talking about the Swedish girl he just dropped off. He told us she was tall and blonde, spoke good Chinese, has lived here for 4 years, studied in Suzhou, and comes from a country that has a smaller population then Shanghai but where the sky is always blue! She has 2 older sisters who both have families, and one little brother that still studies. All of her family members have been to Shanghai to visit her, but they don’t want to move here permanently. She is going to Australia for Xmas because she thinks it’s too cold in Sweden… sounds familiar? This is SO YOU!

-Oh my god.. Yes it is. It’s me!

-Anyway, he loved you. I just thought I’d share it.

-Awesome! Thanks!

Hilarious!!! Or like my male colleague said when I told him:

-Oh, a taxi driver targeting tall, blonde laowai chicks! (Because the friend of mine who jumped into the same taxi is as tall and blonde as I am). There you go, some of them choose their customers carefully!

Some go to the gym for a workout, some go to the gym for a shower

2010-12-15T07:10:00.003+08:00

Lately I’ve been noticing that my gym has been rather empty in terms of people working out. The ladies changing room, however, is still packed with people. Yesterday I realized why. I started looking at the people that came into the changing room around the same time as me (one young girl in sky-high heels, one old lady and one office girl). Did any of these people change to workout gear and join me to the actual gym? Oh no. Rather, they stripped down and hit the shower. So, this explains why there are so many free treadmills at the gym (when I joined in Feb this year I used to have to fight for a spot) but not so many free hair-dryers in the changing room (like I have previously explained it is extremely popular to skip the towel and turn to the hair-dryer to blow-dry your body instead). I would never pay 1800 rmb/year for a shower, but then again, maybe they have their reasons. And maybe they do a workout from time to time.

Another interesting observation made in the women’s changing room was that one of a young woman putting on a corset top underneath her training clothes?! I first didn’t get it at all, until the put a t-shirt on top and I got the point: ahhhh, some extra help of keeping the tummy in. That’s quite a lot of effort some people go thought in order to look good while working out. Can you imagine working out in a tight corset top that only gives you limited breathing support. Uhhhh…

Finally, I have to say that I’m now torn between continuing my membership at my shitty gym (because yes, it is SO SHITTY! It’s dirty, it doesn’t open until 6.30am, they are stingy with the air-con during summer, the people working in there are rude, and so on) or joining a new (more expensive) one. My workmate has started at a new place and surprised me by telling me she joined a spinning class.

-For real? You took a spinning class in China? On free will?

-Yes, it was quite good!

-Without wearing earplugs?

-Yes, can you believe it? The instructor actually spoke, rather than just screamed.

-Wow. Tempting.

I’m still not convinced. But intrigued. The spinning I’ve taken over here has been very uneven in terms of quality. At my gym in Suzhou it was quite good from time to time, but in Shanghai it’s gone straight downhill. The music is so loud in the spinning room that when you step into the room, 2 floors down, you can tell that there’s a class going on upstairs. Not sure if I want to torture my ears with that, regardless of how much fat I'll be able to burn.