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.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Not the most romantic Valentine's Day...
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.
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.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Travelling during CNY -heaven!
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!
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 peopleThursday, February 10, 2011
Lost at home
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Luxury bag craze
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Net-less in Shanghai
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.
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