Tales of Laowai

My shoes have taken a beating over the past month climbing around on ruins, exploring dirty city streets, hiking, etc... I've accumulated dirt from three different countries and worn a couple of holes through the shoes. Basically, I need new shoes.

So I figured that I'd just pop down to Guen Qian street to get a pair. Now, I consider myself a man of fairly normal proportions (with the possible exception of my monkey arms) and I wear a relatively normal size 11 shoe, so I didn't consider the possibility that I might not fit into shoes in the store. Oh misguided I was...

I entered store after store and the following dialogue would commence:

Me: Ni you xiezi hen da? (Do you have large shoes?)
Clerk: Dui. (Yes.)
Me: You sishiliu (Do you have size 46?) Note: 46 is the English size that is the same as US 11.
Clerk (eyes popping out of her head): Sishiliu!?!? Meiyou. (46!?!?! We don't have that.)
Me: Xiexie. (Thanks.)
Clerk (turning to speak with the other clerks and pointing at me): Teeheehee. Sishiliu. (Haha, this crazy laowei wants size 46. What does he think this is? The circus?)

I think this dialogue was repeated 10 to 15 times in different stores. The clerks would always find it absolutely hilarious that I would even consider looking for shoes that large. It was like I was asking for elephant clogs or something... In the odd store I'd ask for size 46 and the clerk's eyes would narrow and then she'd scurry back into the closet and return with THE pair of size 46 shoes. The stores here had a maximum of 1 pair of size 11 shoes!!! Luckily, I'm not picky about the shoes I buy and I bought two of the three pairs of size 11 shoes that I saw (dress shoes and sneakers.)

In the end, the mission was successful, but I have never felt like more of a freak. Now, when I walk around Suzhou all I do is stare at people's tiny feet... It is kind of amazing.

- Jon

Flannel Heaven

Back in the States, I was on a constant quest to find quality flannel shirts. Everywhere I'd look I'd either be disappointed in the quality (Wal-mart) or the price (army/navy stores). Little did I know that China was going to be flannel heaven! They have all sizes, thicknesses, and colors out the wazoo! I love it :) Rely on the people's republic to provide...

- Jon

Electric Bike Footnote

So we have this new electric bike, as you all now know. Pretty exciting. For more than a week before we bought it, pretty much every time Jon saw someone riding a scooter (which is often around here), he would reiterate just how much he wanted to get one. And when he decided that he would definitely make the purchase, the focus turned to just how excited he was that he was going to have one soon, and how much more awesome it would be to cruise around freely rather than being cooped up in the sauna-like double-decker bus. I totally agreed, but his fervor and enthusiasm far exceeded mine. :)

I must say, our bike is pretty sweet….well, except for the slight setback of the padding on the “passenger” seat, which might as well be non-existent because after riding around for a bit, my butt bones hurt so much it was like someone was wailing on them with a steel rod. Unpleasant, to say the least. I’ve taken a little hiatus from backseat scooter riding, but thankfully the problem will soon be remedied with the help of a poofy towel, some duct tape, and a bit of jerry rigging. In a wee bit, my ass will have nothing to fear when faced with the metallic shine of the bike’s glorious chrome; only the comfort of a deliciously soft cushion. When all is said and done, I hope to look (and feel) as relaxed as this bald bearded jolly man here:

Mmm-mmm-good…

Ziajian (tootles) for now!
xoxo, Emma

You have no seat on your bicycle...

I know it's been awhile since our last update. We don't really have a good excuse - life is just busy. We spent a wonderful weekend in Shanghai hanging out with our new frisbee friends (Milan and Sara). Milan hosted us at his place all weekend and I couldn't imagine a more pleasant place to hang out or a more gracious host. It always amazes me that no matter where I go, the frisbee community is always full of cool, nice, and interesting people. Thank god for frisbee!

Random: here is a picture of sijidou (one of our favorite dishes):


Anyways, one of the huge highlights of this past weekend for me was Tappanyaki (sp). All you can eat/drink Japanese = my dream come true. I was ordering scallops, sashimi, steaks, fried bananas, mushrooms, and mushrooms wrapped in steaks until I couldn't eat any more. It was amazing :) Needless to say, I will be returning again and again. (Char - thanks for the recommendation!)

Some other big news is the purchase of the new electric bicycle. I've been pretty obsessed with these things since I arrived. Basically, these things are scooters with large batteries that chug along at 30km/hr. You can charge them up at any outlet in your house and they are EVERYWHERE in Suzhou. I'd say it is the main form of transportation here. There are two different varieities - there are the ones that look like bicycles and the ones that look like motorcycles. I opted for a bicycle-looking one. It seemed a bit more aerodynamic and at 30 km/hr I'm going to have a need for speed. Here's a picture of it:

I haven't named the bike yet, but it clearly needs a name. Any suggestions?

- Jon

We talkin' bout practice?

As many of you know, I can't survive without frisbee. I've spent the past two months wandering around Southeast Asia and I think that every time there was a frisbee game within 100 miles I was there. Naturally, I did a little research about frisbee here in Suzhou and found that the closest game was in Shanghai on Monday nights. With this goal in mind, Emma and I planned a short visit to the "big city" (Suzhou with its measly population of almost 6 million is considered a podunk town in these parts...) Making it from Suzhou to Shanghai necessitated mastering the Chinese train system. This is no small undertaking. Chinese train stations are bursting at the seams. They are overflowing with humanity. It's like entering a Dropkick Murphies concert in full blast... (Sidenote: why is it that tiny little ladies here have no problem elbowing me out of the way? One day I will get angry and crush one...) Anyways, here's a picture of the train station in Shanghai:


Shanghai was sweet. It was really weird to be in such a cosmopolitan city. At this point, I feel like I've adjusted to being seen as an outsider, but there are lots of Westerners in Shanghai. In fact, we saw more "waiguoren" in 10 minutes in Shanghai than we'd seen all week in Suzhou. Anyways, Shanghai is super-modern and kind of reminded me of NYC except imagine it being twice as big and having a lot more Chinese people... Here's a nice picture of the scenery in Pudong (check out the haze):


Ok, so we stayed with Charlotte (from Swat) in Shanghai and she was an amazing host. She brought us to a bunch of her favorite restaurants (I can still taste that beef soup in my dreams!), taught us lots of Chinese, and was an all-around great guide to the city. Thanks!

I'm obviously writing too much at this point, but I still have to tell you about the highlights from our trip:

1) Frisbee. We played in the Workers' Stadium from 8pm - 10pm in the pouring (acid) rain and had a blast. It was amazing to run around and play frisbee! We also got to meet lots of cool people and make a bunch of new friends :)

2) Buying tickets. Charlotte told us that one of her friends had recently watched an Olympic soccer match at the stadium, so we thought that we'd try to get tickets. We went to the stadium and started chatting with a scalper ("huangniu" in Chinese which translates to "yellow cow" - still waiting to hear why...) Anyways, we were about to buy tickets from the scalper when some other guy runs over grabs the scalper's tickets and drags him off by the collar. The scalper starts fighting back and his girlfriend even joins in and starts defending her boyfriend with her umbrella. It was quite a scene! Within 3 minutes, no less than 50 policemen arrived on the scene (this is not an exaggeration). The police response time and show of force were unprecedented. I can only imagine what happens when there is a protest... Anyways, exciting.


3) Nigeria vs. Belgium. OLYMPIC SOCCER SEMI-FINAL!!!! It was amazing! The seats were good, the soccer was great, and it was flat-out amazing to be at an Olympic event. Nigeria crushed Belgium 4-1 and it was sweet! Jai-yo!

Ok, that's it for now. I hope you're all doing well! Let me know what you think of the blog, what you want to hear more about, etc...

- Jon

Late night drowsiness...

Right now, I'm sitting in my room (i.e., my apartment/dormitory, which screams yearnings to someday become a full hotel room....at least it looks like it's trying to mimic one), periodically glancing up at myself in the giant mirror that is placed directly in front of me on the wall (unavoidable), and man do I look like I'm on some sort of downer/weed/sleep-inducing medicine. I mean, it's 11:40pm, so I wouldn't say it's surprising that I should be tired at this hour. Cheery and relaxed eyes, calm smile, but dauntingly sleepy expression. I seem to be tired a lot lately...or, conversely, jolted with energy in sporadic bursts. I think it's the ridiculously hot and humid weather here, and the going back and forth between amazing air-conditioning (which rocks my world to the nth degree) and hot hot heat. I'm even getting a wee bit of a cold from the constant temp changes. Blast.

HOWEVER, let me deter from the bizarre physical description that I have just laid upon you (which is, for the most part, irrelevant) and move on to the bigger picture. I'M IN CHINA! SETTLED IN FOR THE NEXT YEAR!! At first, the thought was incredibly scary and overwhelming for me, mostly because I know next to nothing regarding the language. I knew how to count to ten at first....which, with some miming and pointing, might help me to tell someone how many apples I wanted to buy at a store. Even with learning a bit more since then, I have still felt overwhelmed, mostly because learning Chinese is proving to be very very difficult for me. I like to think of myself as good with languages, with Italian under my belt, and French and Spanish within a level of conversational comfort. But memorizing and pronouncing all of the different tones (4!) AND attempting to recognize some Chinese characters (mostly on menus)....holy moly, it takes a lot of mental energy.

Jon and I just had a 2 hr 15 min session with our new friend Ben (clearly he's Chinese, and clearly Ben is not his given name), and my brain is fried...perhaps that's why I look a bit stoned and wiped (duh). However, I've started to get into a new rhythm of studying -- going at my own pace -- and I feel a lot more confident and comfortable about learning the language now and throughout the school year.

A propos, I like to think of this picture as me taking control (to a certain extent) of learning Chinese, while zooming at crazy awesome speeds and having a blast in the process.


Peace out for now,
Em

P.S. The food is ridiculously delicious! Especially the "si ji dou" (green beans). :)

P.S. This next picture is from the mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is totally random, but I felt that its weird awesomeness just had to be shared with the world. Enjoy.

Thailand/Cambodia Pictures

Facebook has been roundly denying any and all of my attempts to post some pictures from our trip, so I've resorted to posting them on Picasa. Here is the link to my first album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Greenberg.Jon/SEAsiaTakeII

Enjoy!

- Jon

You must think first, before you move...

We have been in Suzhou for a couple of days now and we've enjoyed ourselves immensely. We have spent most of our time running basic errands. These errands become grand quests for us though because we are almost totally unable to communicate with anybody else. Opening a bank account or setting up a cellphone plan are monumental tasks. The upside here is that it is incredibly gratifying whenever we accomplish anything. For instance, learning how to set up my alarm clock after a half hour of meddling made me so happy I almost cried.


Other highlights include:

1) Playing soccer with crazy Chinese men while rain fell from the sky and construction debris blew over our heads.

2) Deciding to purchase one of the sweet electric bikes that seem ubiquitous here. I can't wait to buy one!!!


Oh, I also have all sorts of great pictures from our time in Thailand and Cambodia so I've put a couple more on this post randomly...

- Jon

Home Sweet Home?

It's hard to believe that we've actually arrived at our new home. After 5 weeks of traveling and constant motion, living out of a backpack was beginning to feel like a natural way of being. I woke up this morning and was surprised when I couldn't find my toothbrush in the right zipper pocket. Actually, that's not true. I woke up this morning and groaned/mumbled incoherently for a solid 5 minutes (it was the first time I had to wake up before 8am in awhile) before even trying to move. Mornings just aren't a happy time for me.

I feel like I need to describe our accommodations here in Suzhou. I could go into a detailed description of my surroundings, but I think it is more efficient for the reader to imagine that Mr. Wang (my boss) walked into the nearest Holiday Inn and stole as much of their furniture as he possibly could and placed it in our apartment. The whole apartment has a very sterile "hotel" feel to it (except the bathroom has been shrunk and we have a glass-enclosed balcony kitchen). Everything is very nice - we have all the modern conveniences that you might expect (TV, DVD player, A/C, fridge, washer, water tank, etc...) Basically, the place is at least 10 times as nice as my apartment in NYC. It doesn't have half the character though :)

Half the reason I decided to come to China was to pirate as many movies as possible. Little did I know that the Chinese government prevents downloading! Does this make sense? I thought China was the land that pirated everything from movies to clothing. I almost shed tears when uTorrent wouldn't work this morning... I know the downloading is happening here though because everybody and their uncle is selling ripped off DVDs. Ah well, a cruel joke that the internet gods have played on me.

Oh, I also found out that spicy rabbit legs are absolutely delicious. I'm not going to eat much else in the near future...

- Jon

Cambodia: A New Perspective

When Jon and I planned to go to Cambodia, our main focus was seeing Angkor Wat as well as the other historic and majestic temples outside of Siam Reap. I knew that genocide had once been a harsh reality for Cambodians, but outside of vaguely remembering the chorus of a hardcore song "Holiday in Cambodia," I was pretty clueless. Little did I know that Phnom Penh (Cambodia's capital) was the target of mass genocide a mere 30-ish years ago. Americans mostly focus on the war in Vietnam when remembering international politics in the 1970s, but just next door the Khmer Rouge (a Marxist-Stalinist anti-capitalist group) was starting "year zero" to wipe out all currency and all forms of "traditional" ties to the government and the culture. This entailed rounding up the "old people" (urbanites, intellectuals, foreigners, old and young...), torturing them systematically, and killing them all....approximately 2 million of them.

How did I miss this? How could every one of the numerous history courses I took in middle school, high school, and college (as well as my various interactions with news) fail to include even a mentioning of this tragic occurrence? If I did come across it, perhaps I wasn't ready to hear it, or perhaps it wasn't worthy enough for the kind of glamor and pizzaz we tend to like when watching the news.

My historical and cultural updating took place at the Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Penh, which proved extraordinarily powerful and transformed Cambodia's historical facts into a personal reality; nothing regarding the structure or environment of Tuol Sleng, which was a school turned torture/imprisonment camp (also referred to as S-21), had been altered. It was a place for extermination of an entire mass of people, a genocide, just like the Holocaust; we must recognize it as carrying equal weight in the load of our collective existence.

I feel very fortunate to have learned more about Cambodia's history and very sad that our own humanity was responsible for it....both for being the direct perpetrators and for allowing it to take place. It was also very important for me to learn about these historical events in order to understand the severity of Cambodia's landmine problem: the fact that thousands, if not millions, of landmines continue to wound and maime Cambodians, mostly children, as a result of the civil war and the bombs dropped by Vietnam and the United States. Truly truly sad. I encourage all of you to watch "The Killing Fields" for a bit of history and entertainment in one (plus, it's got John Malkovich, so there's really no excuse to pass it up...).

-Emma

Buses

I'm as big a fan of the Chinatown bus as anybody else. I've probably ridden New Century or Fung Wah between Philly, NYC, and Boston almost a hundred times at this point. The cheap prices, decreipt machinery, and hilarious antics of the drivers have always amused me and kept me coming back for more. I thought that Chinatown bus was the most ridiculous way to travel, but that has all changed now that I've ridden the buses in Cambodia...

The buses themselves aren't in terrible shape considering the busted roads they are constantly rolling over, but expecting A/C or a functioning bathroom is over the top here. The drivers seem more than a bit deranged (thankfully you can't see what's happened most of the time). If they're not driving on the wrong side of the road and laying into their horn to keep cattle from wandering into their path, then they just aren't having a good time. Nothing gives you more confidence than catching a glimpse of a grinning madman at the wheel when you glance at the rearview mirror... Another thing that I've found interesting - everybody seems to think that it's their god-given right to transport as many live chickens as they'd please on these buses. They pack them up in what looks like over-size purses with holes and stuff them in every space possible. Hilarious. On our most recent ride, I was politely asked to leave my seat (through a series of gestures) by the driver's assistant who then promptly dismantled the seat, unscrewed a series of floorboards, and began taking wrenches to the now revealed engine. The man was doing repairs WHILE WE WERE STILL MOVING! I only wish I had the forethought to take a picture...

Two days to China!

- Jon

Goooooooood Morning Cambodia!

We've spent the past couple of days staying with some family friends in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Their apartment has air conditioning and hot water (so as far as we're concerned it's the Ritz Carlton!) We've taken it pretty easy here in the capital, mostly enjoying the "creature comforts" that are offered in a larger city. We even managed to find a delicious Italian restaurant on the riverfront (quite an oddity in this part of the world). We've also taken the opportunity to learn more about Cambodia's recent history by visiting the Tuol Sleng museum and the Cheong Ek memorial nearby. The tale of the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Regime is quite chilling. Scary to imagine that it happened just 30 years ago. At the same time, the resiliency of the Cambodians is impressive. The country has come a long way in rebuilding over such a short time.

I don't want to dwell on history, but will instead turn to the future. Tomorrow Emma and I are going to return to Bangkok where we'll gather our belongings (thank you Claire!) and head off to Guangzhou, China. I'm really looking forward to reaching Suzhou and settling down a bit! I can't wait to check out the new apartment and neighborhood. Find new local restaurants and bars. Etc... It's going to be exciting!

Side note: when I was booking our tickets to China, I was attempting to arrive in the city of Huangzhou (outside Shanghai), but unfortunately I chose Guangzhou as the destination (a city 21 hours by train from Shanghai). At least we'll save a lot on airfare!

- Jon

Angkor...What?

This morning, Jon and I woke up at 5:40a.m. to get on a 7a.m. boat ride from Siam Reap (home to the famous Angkor Wat) to Battambang. What was meant to be a scenic pleasant trip to soak in a new view of Cambodia (including many floating villages and narrow straits) turned into an overcrowded teeny boat of people trying to squeeze into a small space meant to fit half the people, since everyone was trying to escape constant rain on the roof deck. Fittingly, this was the only day so far in Cambodia that it has rained in the morning...what are ya gonna do?? We arrived at 4p.m. after a long 9-hr day of standing, squirming, back aching, reading, and lip-syncing to Jon’s ipod accompanied by some silly dancing, which made me laugh seeing as we were tightly fit in the aisle, jealously eyeing the comfortably seated travelers. The relief to be off the boat was amazing, and the glorious air-conditioning and hot shower in our $10 hotel room was the cherry topping I needed....

So far in Cambodia, we’ve done some pretty intense sight-seeing. Actually, although Cambodia is known to be super cheap, we’ve already spent more money than expected, and all on satisfying our tourist needs. The $40 3-day admission to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples seems steep, but in American terms it’s definitely not...plus, it goes towards helping restoration/conservation efforts as well as towards the Children’s Hospital/Orphanage, which feels like a worthy cause.

I heard a lot of hype about Angkor Wat and I have to admit that I was a little nervous to see it: I didn’t want to be disappointed and I didn’t want Jon to feel like I didn’t appreciate such a magnanimous structure, especially since it made such a big impact on him when he visited the site 2 years ago. Luckily, the sum of the temples truly blew me away. It was so great to climb the steep, and at times dangerous, steps of the temples, taking in the panorama from a fuller perspective. Angkor Wat has this amazing quality to it, esthetically, embodying a kind of ominous presence with dark rough stones, unrefined and unforgiving. The other temples also had a beautiful melange of colors: rusted grays and browns with beautiful sea-greenish splotches showing signs of decay. In the midst of the destruction was true beauty. Many of the bas-reliefs of Hindu and Buddhist gods and kings were in surprisingly good shape, maintaining intense detail and depth in the clay stone.

My favorite was Ta Phrom, most famous for its appearance in the movie Tomb Raider (I never saw it, but apparently Angelina Jolie is a hot fighting machine in a sexy tank top who shoots big guns and kicks ass). I loved it most because it had totally succumbed to the natural elements. Huge tree roots look like massive octopi engulfing entire edifices and creeping their way in, out, and around every crevice. If you’ve seen Spirited Away, they look like a bizarre creature from that world. If you haven’t seen it, see it.

You can give as much hype to Angkor Wat as you like, but it doesn’t demean what it’s worth...or at least it shouldn’t...it didn’t for me. Physically being there brings to life an experience that’s liking breathing in a new fresh breath (clearly not literally the dusty Cambodian air) that succinct coherent recounts would only serve to degrade.

Until next time...Em

I love the smell of DEET in the morning...

It's been awhile since our last post, so I thought I'd stop in and give a little update. We've been traveling around Cambodia for the past couple of days and have explored temples at Angkor Wat, ridden in an overloaded boat on the Mekong, wandered through floating forests and villages on stilts, and critiqued the mojitos (sp?) made in Siem Reap (and found them all delicious). It's been a fun and exciting time, but I'll let Emma tell you about all of that...

As many of you know, I traveled to Cambodia two years ago with Beast as part of a broader Southeast Asia tour. I was struck by many things on that first trip, but what I remember sticking most in my memory is dirt roads with potholes that could and did swallow anything smaller than a pickup, camo on everybody and everything, an 'anything goes' attitude towards currency, and a lurking danger from the 2-3 million active land mines still in the country. Basically, the country was still reeling from the U.S. bombing campaign of the 70's and the Khmer Rouge's disastrous social experiment and subsequent guerilla attacks. This time through much of this rawness is still present, but it's remarkable to see how much can be accomplished in 2 years. Roads are being paved, land mines are being cleared, tourism is becoming a legitimate industry, and development is everywhere. There is still a long road ahead, but a lot of progress is being made and the Cambodian people seem better off for it.

- Jon