August 2008

Just because Bo is in China doesn’t mean he has to miss ALL the fun.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Bama Bo on a Stick from Rebecca Dotson on Vimeo.

As Rebecca can tell you, I’m one of the biggest cheapskates you’ll ever meet, which is one reason why Qingdao and I are getting along so well….most of the time. It doesn’t get much cheaper than this city: 14cent bus rides, $1 cab rides, and 96cent meals. However, with such cheap prices, I feel I’ve gotten spoiled in this area. For instance, I hate to part with only one yuan, which is only 14cents. If a cab ride ends up being 18 yuan ( $2.65), I do my best to never go back to that destination. Any meal over $6.75 is a freakin’ fortune! Sure, being a cheapskate can be healthy, but there are times it can cause me to make some really stupid decisions. Let me give you an example of how my cheap nature waged war in my head between stinginess and reason and caused me to make one of those stupid decisions:

While I lived at Qingdao University, there was a hole-in-the-wall hair salon where I would get my haircut for 6 yuan. I had never heard of such a deal. In the US, for men, it’s atleast $12 (unless you’re like my talented father-in-law who cuts his own hair) and for women, let’s not go there. Six yuan would be the equivalent to 88cents. So being the cheapskate I am I was very happy with this arrangement. Well, now that I’ve moved downtown, I’ve had to find another hair salon. So, the other day I visited a styling salon that’s right next to my condo and inquired about the price to the lady at the front. “50 yuan,” she told me. I thought to myself, “50 yuan! There’s no way I’m paying that when I can get a haircut for six yuan. I’ll just get a cab to the university and back for 18 yuan and spend only six yuan for the haircut. That way I’ll save 26 yuan.” (Oh, I’m so very clever. Just wait.) I took a cab all the way to the university only to find out the hair salon was closed. So, I had the cab driver take me to another place I was sure was going to be much cheaper than 50 yuan. The total cab fare ended up being 19 yuan for going to the university and then to the new hair salon. I walked into the new hair salon to find out the price was 30 yuan. Between the cab fare and the haircut, I spent 49 yuan when I could’ve just walked 40ft from my condo to pay 50. Just to be able to say that I saved money, I refused to take a bus for just one yuan back to my condo and walked all the way back home. Man, I need help!

1- september begins…   our life in Qingdao, China

2- august begins…   HIS life in Qingdao, China (I’ll get there eventually)

3- august begins...   a seemingly never ending process of waiting and frustration and ridiculousness and stress and boredom and crying and most definitely driving my family nuts.

I think the last one has a nice ring to it.

Saw this video over at Peer See, and I haven’t stopped smiling.

I just LOVE the Bollywood bit…and the Phillipines…oh, and the whale.

About 2 weeks ago, I started getting this strange rash. It started out really small, in one tiny, itchy spot. But when it appeared to be spreading, I thought to myself, “it must be an allergic reaction…I mean, I did just recently touch a cat, (which I never do because I am totally a dog person) and I do have crazy sensitive skin, so maybe I’ll just cover myself in Hydro Cortisone cream and call it a day…

…and then I got word from the Foreign Affairs office in China that they want me to provide proof of overall good health before entering their country (in addition to the FULL medical exam that I must undergo once I actually get there…sheesh).

Just fabulous.

I am covered in red spots and band-aids (which ended up causing even more itchy redness due to my apparent allergy to the adhesive on those particular ones) and I need to convince the Chinese govt that I am a picture of good health so they’ll let me journey east to finally see my husband after eighty-some-odd days apart. What’s a girl to do?

Well, I decided to schedule a dermatologist appointment, sans health insurance, to get a professional diagnosis, and also to be sure that my speckled condition wouldn’t be cause for more visa delay.

So, here’s the scoop: I have Pityriasis Rosea, which I discovered (after reading a lengthy pamphlet) is fancy doctor speak for, “we don’t know what it is, or how you got it, or how to avoid it in the future, but here is some cream that MIGHT help clear it up.

That will be $135.

…PLUS the cost of the cream.”

Western medicine and capitalism at their best. Gotta love it.

The loose end that I most dreaded tying up was finding a good home for our super-cool Siberian Husky, Dakota. Dakota pretty much thinks he’s human, and for good reason. He slept between Bo and I on our king-sized TempurPedic mattress, I cooked him chicken and rice for 2 weeks straight when he got sick, and I pretty much took him with me everywhere I would go (he loved the car).

Needless to say, I am very sad that we can’t take him to China. We always thought he would be our kids’ dog one day. But instead, he has gone to live with a sweet family who also treats him like a human…that was the one small favor we asked of them.

Here are some of my favorite pix of the best dog in the world:

I love these two.

Doesn’t Dakota look terrified?!

Dakota got lost once, and we plastered our neighborhood with signs that said

“Have you seen me?”

Field trip to Vicksburg. Dakota’s education was top priority.

He was also quite hospitable…

folks were welcome to stop by his super-deluxe crate at a moment’s notice. 

I’ll miss you Dak-Man!!

I have a new found respect for those in the military. For months, or even years, at a time they’ll be away from their families. I’m sure there are some who will be voting for Obama since that means they’ll be coming home sooner. I never really had to think about how they must feel until now. I have my good days and my bad days…but my good days are still never nearly as good as if Rebecca were here with me. It’s now been 74 days since I’ve seen her.

This morning, I woke up empty and frustrated. Yesterday, the Chinese Embassy asked for more information, which meant that Rebecca’s visa approval is still pending and might even be delayed. I used to think that it was going to be great that I was going to be here during the Olympics, but I would much rather have been here either last year or next year if it meant me having my wife with me by now. I have a strong feeling that they’re just biding their time until after the Olympics to approve her. I’m just praying hard that it’ll be this month that they give her the green light. If we knew what we know now about how long we’d be away, who knows what decision we would have made at first. But I guarantee you, whatever decision we would have made would not have included being away from each other for over three months!

Here in the US, we are accustomed to seeing people from all over the world. It isn’t very odd to see foreigners or to hear an unfamiliar accent making our language just a tad hard to understand. In Qingdao, it isn’t quite the same, as they rarely see westerners. When Bo first got to China, he told me that he felt like the Eiffel Tower or a museum exhibit. As he walked the streets of the city, people would point him out to their wide-eyed children, blatantly stare him down, and even run up to him and pose for a photo (he usually realized his photo was being taken right around the time the flash went off). Ironic…the tourist becomes the attraction.

Bo recently joined his company’s basketball league. Apparently, the Chinese take their basketball very seriously. In fact, the employees who have games on Saturdays conveniently get to skip out on the mandatory few hours of work that they would normally have to put in at the office. Sounds like an incentive to me.

The funny part of this story is that Bo’s teammates were super excited about having “The American” on their team. The TALL westerner was sure to break their losing streak and lead them to victory…

What they didn’t know was that Bo hasn’t played basketball in over 15 years, and he is also recovering from a really bad sprained ankle that he injured earlier this summer.

Bo has played 2 games so far and, alas, the streak remains unbroken.

But he’ll definitely rock the team photo.

I’m sitting in my favorite restaurant, Lisa’s, after a long day at work. You’re going to find me here many times during the week, especially when I need a break from Chinese food. When I am here, I usually see Italians, French, Swiss, and other Americans. It’s rare to see Chinese here, but they do come sometimes. Right now, sitting in the booth on the other side of me are French Olympians and family. Actually, some Olympians from the Netherlands are walking in as I write (I hope a fight doesn’t break out.) So, we’re all here relaxing in front of the TV watching the French clean up in the women’s Judo Olympics. We’ll have to suffer through the fencing to get to the China vs. Angola basketball game. Go China! That’s a no-brainer, though. They’re good!

When I first got here, all of my meals were eaten at Chinese restaurants. There was a little dive right next to our university dorms where I ate nearly every day. I got the same thing nearly every time I went: the gung bao jiding, which in America we call kung pao chicken, and the dan chao fan, which is fried rice with eggs. It was delicious on the way down, but my stomach had to build up the tolerance, if you know what I mean.

At first, I thought it was very important to eat only Chinese food. If I was going to learn the Chinese language and culture, I felt it important to do what they do and eat how they eat. As far as the food, that moment has passed. I’m in the middle of a Chinese food hiatus. Gotta take a break!

Two sites that I’ve found very helpful in my search for “normal food” are www.myredstar.com and www.thatsqingdao.com. These are websites specifically for expats. They have lists of expat restaurants that have gotten me through the past few weeks. My favorite restaurants are The Diner (American) Lisa’s, Casani (Italian), La Villa (Italian), Bamboo (Tai food), La Tortillas (what do you think?), Pizza Hut, and KFC.

I read an article this week that said that you shouldn’t and mustn’t do what the Chinese do in order to understand the culture, because the Chinese expect you to be different. In other words, see it, don’t be it. Not sure if I agree, however. Let’s take Hollywood for example, you have talented stars like Daniel Day Lewis, Heath Ledger, and Liam Neeson who are referred to as method actors. These are actors who not only play a role, but completely submerge themselves into the embodiment of the role they’re playing for the purpose of a convincing performance.

Daniel Day Lewis, when shooting “Gangs of New York”, never quit playing his role – even when they were off-set. They would go out to eat or to a bar and Lewis would still be speaking in the accent of his character in the movie. These are very serious, skilled performers. They’re very good at what they do because they believe in order to truly understand your character, you must be the character.

So, do you think they would say the same thing about understanding contrasting cultures? A great question I’m still trying to find the answer to. But until I find it, it’s mostly expat restaurants for me.

Here you go, Jessie…

This is mainly for our families… it may be boring for others.

This is a video that Bo shot to show me the location of our condo, and its proximity to the school where I will be working. Although I enjoyed seeing our new home (especially to find out it’s attached to a mall), the best part of the video was just hearing Bo’s voice. Cheesy, huh?

Right now, from the window of our 20th floor condo, I’m watching the sailing teams gear up for an Olympic race. I feel blessed to be here during such a wonderful time for China. The spirit here is one of pride and excitement. Two nights ago, I went to a friend’s home to have a party for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The girls cooked us gan chao niu he (sautéed rice noodles), song hua dan (preserved duck egg), jirou (chicken), Beijing kao ya (roast Peking duck), chao jidan xihongshi (fried eggs and tomatoes), pig nose, and a couple of other things – all washed down with Tsingtao pijiu (Tsingtao beer). It was all quite good. We ate while we waited for the show to begin.

From the first moments of the broadcast, my friends were mesmerized. Everyone was so proud & moved watching the ceremony. To them it meant everything, because they know that this marks the beginning of a new era for China. It was a very special moment for all of us. If you watched the opening ceremony, you know that it was amazing & moving. But to me, it was even more so, because of the company I was with. At times, some of my friends were nearly in tears. 

We Americans might not fully understand their emotion because the Olympics have been to America a few times. We’ve been center stage. But to them, they’re the center of the world for the first time & everyone is watching. Because it was their first time for the Olympics, 5000 years of Chinese history was summarized in brief illustrations, to show the world where they have been and where they want to go. 

It would be as if the US told the story of our founding fathers, the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, the first World War, the second World War and its reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement, and everything that has brought us to where we are now. Sure, we would be moved. We would feel great pride in knowing that the world is watching our story – our history – and they’re gaining a better understanding of who we are. But the feeling and emotion is even stronger for China. For the first time, the world is able to understand and appreciate them and their heritage. 

On August 8, 2008, China was finally formally introduced to the world. And I was proud to have the best seat in the house – in China with Chinese friends.