Tuesday 30 January 2007

Going to Xian

Thursday in preparation for my trip to go see Debra, and some travel in China, I went with Michelle and Ellen to do a bit of shopping. About lunchtime, before Ellen was available, Michelle and I went and looked at the various shops in the alley that is off the East Gate, the alley that we often call Diagon Alley (I have later learned that the correct name is Haiyuan). We located some things that we wanted, including mess kits and flasks. At that point we went and ate.

After lunch Michelle contacted Ellen, and informed Ellen that she was requested to come along for a shopping trip. There were several elements of this trip. First, Michelle and I wanted some sheets sewn in a particular manner that would make them more useful at the hostels. Second, we wanted to return to the alley in order to purchase the items that we had identified; which we did, with Ellen arguing the prices for us.

We then took a bus into town. It seems that when Michelle purchased some mp3 players she received some bonus points to use in the store. She wanted to go back for a mop. We also went to the supermarket for some snacks and breads. One other thing we were looking for were zip-lock bags. We have seen them in some places, containing goods for sale, so we know that they exist; however, we have not been able to find them.

We went to a pharmacy, where they have bags of potpourri for sale in zip-lock bags and asked them where they got the bags. What we were told was that there is a person who comes through the business district in the morning, on a three-wheel bicycle (This is differentiated from a tricycle due to the existence of a large cargo box, it is intended for hauling goods rather than a single person.) and sells zip-lock bags. The only advise that they, and the other shops that use the bags, had was to wait at a shop on the regular route, in the morning, and see if he rides by, selling bags, that day.

We then took a cab and returned to our block. Shortly after we arrived back in our flats Ellen cooked dinner for us. And the teacher from South Africa also came up and discussed a laptop computer that he was looking at. It was somewhat low end. However, all he wants to do is use MS Office and email. For under $400usd it looked okay. That amount does not get anything special. It had a 1.8g Pentium processor, 256 Mb of memory (which I advised him to have upgraded to 512), a 40gb HD (upgradeable to 80 for about another $8usd), and a 14.1" screen. I am not sure what a similar computer would run in the states; however, I expect that, if purchased used or closeout, it would be about the same.

Friday I rode my bicycle to the bank and withdrew some money. Part of the reason that I did this was to make sure that I would have no trouble making withdrawals using my ATM card from China Construction Bank, the bank in China that I use. I then went for lunch at a place that I am a bit of a regular and returned to carry my bicycle, the five floors, up to my flat. It is now sitting in the bedroom. While I have taken to chaining it to a tree in front of my stairwell I did not want to leave it there for almost three weeks while I am gone.

Shortly after that, some students started showing up. Ilwin arrived and while he was there Michelle came over to see what I had packed. She, of course, wanted to insure that we did not double pack anything that we only needed one of. Walik came over and visited for a while and, shortly after he left, Merry arrived. About the time that HZQ arrived it was getting time to leave. She finished checking to insure that everything was turned off, in order to conserve energy, and we left for dinner and the train station.

Dinner at the restaurants near the train station are always more expensive that is reasonable, and this one was no exception. After we got out of the cab Ilwin insisted on carrying my pack, I think he was surprised on how much it did weigh. One thing is that it is hard to find much lightweight stuff here. The almost all packing information says not to bring jeans; they just weigh too much. However, there are no real good alternatives, it is jeans or polyester dress pants. After dinner I put the pack on, correctly, and it was much easier to pack.

Going to the waiting room was somewhat funny, HZQ was trying to steer me to the waiting room that she typically uses and I was going to the VIP lounge. So, it was the picture of us, at the entrance, both pointing in different directions with her telling me that we go that way and me insisting that we needed to go the other way. It does not help that that VIP room is not even marked. Like many of the students, she had never been in that room and was not aware of its existence.

While we were waiting Ilwin and Merry wandered off and got some snacks. During this time we worked on some of our other plans for the vacation. After Debra and I return to Xinyang, it is likely that we will then head for Kaifeng. This is not far from Zhengzhou and is considered to be one of the more interesting historic cities. As it turns out, HZQ is familiar with this city and I made plans to contact her, at her home city of Xin Xiang, when we get to that stage of our trip.

About that time Merry and Ilwin returned and a short time later the train arrived. It was a short run to the correct car, one must remember that the trains only stop for a few minutes at the smaller station and there is boarding in cars all along it's length. As I was stowing my baggage, HZQ was writing something, in Chinese, on a note, with my passport number, for the conductor. At that point she left, Merry and Ilwin had already gotten off the train.

Once the train was moving the conductor came and wanted more information. This was a problem due to language issues; however, I gathered that, in addition to my passport number, and whatever HZQ had written, he needed my county of origin and full name written down. I made it that far when he through the hard one at me; it needed to be written in Chinese.

When it was clear that I was not able to do this the conductor went and got someone else to assist. He brought a Chinese Air Force officer. This resulted in the person who had been in the bunk next to mine being moved so that the officer would be able to stay nearby (and, presumably, keep me out of trouble). He was helpful and stated, the next morning, that he enjoyed a chance to practice his English. There is no doubt that he was very helpful in giving the conductor the information that he needed.

It was well after dark when I boarded and by the time that the paperwork was completed, it was well after 10pm; so, I was pretty quick to go to sleep and stayed that way well into dawn. I then got up and made myself a simple breakfast. About this time, the officer woke up and we chatted for a while. The conductor then came and switched my bunk card back for my ticket and I made my way to the doors.

Debra had described the Xian as having a huge train station; compared to Zhengzhou and Hankou it did not seem to be much at all. As soon as I exited the station I saw Debra. I was surprised by how close to the city walls the station was. We then went to the bus stops and rode back to the Hostel that Debra stays at.

From there we walked around town for quite a while and finally went through the Moslem quarter and visited the Grand Mosque, one of the oldest Mosques in China. From there we returned to the hostel and rested. Then we went on a long bus ride and walked back (never finding the shower slippers and pajamas, for me, that we were looking for). On the ride we saw a foreign language bookstore and, after again resting at the Hostel, walked back to it. I have to say that in this area, around the Hostel, the number of westerners that I saw amazed me. I saw more westerners here than I saw in any other place in China.

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At the bookstore we both purchased a set of textbooks to help us with our Chinese. Later that evening we walked through some of the alleys and went to a small restaurant for dinner. I noticed that in the city center there are not the number of small shops and vibrant alleys that are seen in other places in China. It is almost as if there is an effort to make Xian look like a western city. The only places that approached looking like the China that I am used to seeing were the streets outside of the tourist portion of the Muslim quarter.

At some point during the day Debra purchased a new battery for her film camera. It came as no real surprise that the battery that was sold to her was dead. This is a common problem in China. The batteries are sold so seldom that they die before they are sold. If a person were coming with something that uses an odd size battery I would recommend bringing the spares that you will need. Other than that, for frequently used batteries, plan on using rechargeable batteries. The NiMh batteries are widely available, as are the chargers.


The next day involved walking to several outdoor shops in Xian. Debra was looking for some camping gear. A large portion of that camping gear that is available is imported; thus, it, by Chinese standards, is very expensive. We still looked at several places and walked along the moat, that runs outside of the city wall, for a ways. We were also getting some food to eat while on the train.


About this time it was necessary that we begin preparing to head for the train station. So, we returned to the Hostel and picked up our bags, that were being stored there, and started hopping on buses in order to head for the train station.


We had soft seat, or first class, tickets so we waited in the lounge, which was somewhat filled. This is the time of year that many students are returning home and families are traveling for the holiday so even these waiting rooms are nearly full.


The train ride from Xian to Ankang was uneventful. I did notice that there were some rather long tunnels on the route. The entire ride was about four hours.


Upon our arrival in Ankang we took a cab back to Debras Apartment. At that point we had dinner, which was, largely, the food that we had not eaten on the train, and pretty much called it a day.


The next couple of days were generally just me puttering around the flat while Debra was in class. We went for dinner together on Monday evening and walked to a market.

Tuesday I went for a bike ride by myself and found a small, nearby, shop for dinner. So, other than doing laundry, sitting around and some bike rides, I am doing very little in Ankang.

Saturday 20 January 2007

Shopping with He Zhi Qing

Saturday


I arranged to meet with HZQ and her roommate at about eleven in the morning in order to go to the train station and get my ticket to Xian. My plan has me leaving on the twenty-sixth and staying with Debra for about a week while she finishes her classes. It is a twelve hour ride and I wanted a night train and a bunk, that way I would be able to arrive somewhat rested.


It turned out that HZQ came alone because it was a Saturday and her roommate was still in bed. So, the first thing we did was to head for the train station in order to get a ticket. It also turned out that this is something HZQ had never done before. It seems that she just gets the ticket for where she is going on the day that she is going.


The whole idea of purchasing tickets in advance is foreign to the Chinese. Even air tickets are purchased at the timer of flight. If a ticket is purchased through normal channels in China there is no discount for early purchases; in fact, there is a small (5 RMB surcharge).


As far as flight goes, we have yet to meet a non westerner (okay, Roc from Congo) who has flown in their lives. Air travel is not common. The difference is that there really is a efficient rail system that can take a person to nearly any point in China.


HZQ and I were discussing this while we were in line at the train station. She mentioned that she normally gets standing tickets so there is never a question of getting one for when she wants it. After all, a train may have a fixed number of seats and berths; however, there is no limit to the amount of standing space, just stand a little closer.


It turned out that the advance tickets can not be purchased at the normal ticket window so we went trekking around the train station. Due to a misunderstanding, which seems to be common due to differences in dialect, we were sent to the freight office where were told that they cold take my baggage, but not me. This is not what we wanted. So, we then walked some more and found the advance booking office where the people took a short break to tell us that they were at lunch and would not be back at work for about three hours.


They did suggest that there was an advance ticket office at the Long Distance Bus Station. So, off we went again. After several attempts, we found the advance booking office and no one was there. There was no signage stating when they were expected tom return and soon the others, who were also waiting, wandered off; we did the same.


At that point we took a bicycle taxi to the bank, which also sells advance tickets, and discovered that the ticket office would not open for a couple more hours. At this point we decided to go do something else.


I have been missing my mp3 player and decided to replace it. There is no real way of replacing it with an iPod in China. As I mentioned earlier, while they are made in China, they are not, generally, available here.


I got an inexpensive 1 GB model. All I can say is that I can see why the iPod changed the mp3 player market. For all intents and purposes, this thing is unusable.


I purchased it so that I would be able to listen to music on my trip, during the long train stretches. However, it is so complicated to use that I do not even think I will be bringing it.


There is simply no comparison between the interface on the iPod and the other players. I chose this model because it was the only one that said that it was compatible with OS X. However, I discovered that compatible simply meant that it has a USB port. It simply does not meet a minimum basic standard of usability; so, I now have another failed experiment in my attempt to find some way to not be carting my computer to class every day.


After purchasing this mp3 player, which I later determined to be unsuitable, we then went to lunch. After lunch I went looking for a replacement bicycle, the weekend I got sick my bicycle was also stolen. We found one that I likes and is the same model as the Australians, Dez and Lynn have. I have test ridden theirs and determined that it will meet my needs; even if it is not as fast as a pure road bike. At that Point I did something that I have not done before. I carried a passenger. HZQ sat on the rack, side saddle, as is the practice for women here, and we rode back to the bank.


By the time we arrived at the bank I was getting more practiced at riding with a passenger, even if I was amazed at her ability to stay on the rack with my initial wobbling. She went in and got my ticket, the bank did insist on my confirming that I wanted a night train; it seems that day trains are more popular.


HZQ insisted that I write what I wanted in Chinese. Her reason was sound; she wanted to be sure that I would be able to book a ticket for myself if I need to.


We then rode back to the college. She stated that she enjoyed that I was able to ride reasonable fast. We went back along the river and it was a nice ride. Michelle, who saw us when we got to the campus could not restrain herself in remarking how very Chinese we looked, riding that way.


While we had been working on her exam preparation throughout the day, working out of her book, that she had brought, at lunch and at other times; when we returned to the campus she returned to her dorm to study and I went looking for a new place to keep my bicycle.


The rest of Saturday evening was spent continuing to grade papers. I had to turn in all of my grades on Monday. It did not help that they did not ever tell us how they wanted the grades to be calculated; after all, the instructions are printed on the grade chart that we were to use. It seems to have never occurred to them that the instructions are printed in Chinese.

Friday 19 January 2007

Exams are over

Friday, 19 Jan 07


Well, my exams are over. In general they were pretty easy for my students. As I told them, the only way to fail is to decide to not show up for the exam. It was an easy class and I saw no reason that the exam should be hard.


Most of my students finished it in class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. There were a few that I had to go back for on Friday, which was my last day of classes. For lunch Ken, Michelle, and I went out to kens preferred restaurant. However, I had to hurry back as I still had two classes with people that did not finish their exams.


When I got back I arranged to meet with HZQ for dinner and then went in to the class, where several students who were not taking exams were still present and I helped them prepare for some of their other exams along with grading the papers that I had assigned.


At dinner none of us, HZQ, her roommate, and me, were able to decide where to go for dinner. So, instead, we came back and they prepared dinner for the three of us, at my flat. Michelle stopped by and we, further, discussed our vacation plans. Michelle offered to type them up so we would have a clear plan and cost estimate. We will see how close we get, for about two weeks of travel we are estimating between three and four thousand RMB. Over a thousand of that will be train tickets. Most of the features that we have planned to visit are reasonably low cost things; however, we are unsure as to what rooms will really cost us.


We also discussed the possibility of Debra visiting her, and her family, during the vacation. That may work well as she lives in Xin Xinag, which is about an hour, by rail, from Zheng Zhou. This may give Debra and I am opportunity to visit the Museum, and city wall, there and to also visit the nearby, historic, city of Kaifeng.

Sunday 14 January 2007

Touring the Hospital

14 Jan 07


Yesterday was the day of the planned trip to the famed city of Wuhan. To say the least, it did not go as well as expected.


The trip started well, except that the day before, Friday, I was not feeling too well in class. I ascribed this, mostly, to my not getting enough rest. That evening I went to dinner with Michelle, Ellen, and He Zhi Qing. The plan was for them to stay the night at Michelle's so that we would be able to all get up and get going early. This was necessary because the only tickets that we had been able to get were standing tickets; and then, on a train scheduled to leave at 5:30a.m.


As is normal for me, I did not sleep well that night (yes, all of this mentioning of how I was feeling is leading up to something). As a result, I was awake long before I needed to be and ascribed all ill feelings to the lack of rest.


The ride itself was uneventful. The train was late; however, it made up the time and we arrived in Wuhan on schedule. I do not have a lot of pictures of Wuhan, at this point. However, it is a much larger city that Xinyang. The main reason for our coming to Wuhan was to visit the large market districts. The desire, all around, was to get backpacks so that we would not need to do something with the extra bags after meeting Debra in Xian.


The market districts in Wuhan were similar to the pictures one sees. The streets were crowded with small, busy, shops. After getting directions near where the bus, from the train station, let us off, we began walking through several kilometers of this large market area.


Finally, after working our way through a series of streets that were too narrow for motor traffic, we arrived at a section, covering several blocks, which sold nothing but luggage. I saw several that I liked; however, there were a lot that I didn't. I was being pretty picky. I wanted something with a rigid frame in order to keep the pack form pushing on me as I walked. There were also some other features that I wanted.


After finding a style that I liked, it became Ellen's show. She aggressively bargained on the price and had us walk out of several shops that would not give her a price she considered fair. The final price was 140 RMB, which seemed fair.


The problem was that by that time I was feeling a bit ill. Michelle wanted to go for lunch and I was not feeling well enough to eat. About this point I realized that this was not a simple case of exhaustion. They wanted to do more shopping (which I had also wanted to do); however, I had reached the point that I wanted to take a cab, rather than a bus because it would be faster, to the train station and get a sleeper back to Xinyang. It was only a three hour trip; however, I wanted a bunk, I needed to lay down.


Things went wrong very quickly. This short letter I wrote pretty well says it all.


Yesterday I had the opportunity to tour a hospital In Wohan, China. It was a pretty good deal, everything included: ambulance, ER, EKG, chest x-ray, and recovery room came to less than 400 RMB (about $50 USD). Basically, I was not feeling well and had to sit down, then some big Chinese guy was carrying me, then I was in an ambulance (I was in a maze of alleys and motor vehicles were not able to get in).

The medical care was very good 1970's grade. After an hour in the ER they remembered to take my temperature, I was feeling better at that point; it was only a bit over 104f.


One thing that really surprised me was that they had He Zhi Qing stay with me nearly all the time, even when I was getting the x-ray taken. In the US a person would never be allowed in the room while someone else was being x-rayed. The thing that Michelle noticed, and commented on, was that the IV bottles were made of glass.


I checked out of the Hospital in time to get to the train station, I already had return tickets with a seat reserved. I was still pretty ill on the train back to Xinyang. However, I am now back.


Saturday 13 January 2007

The reason for the lack of recent posts

First, when Debra was here, I was busy. Second, there was an earthquake in Tiawan. This broke the cable from East Asia to the rest of the world.

As a result, the internet has been very slow. Most of the time I can get to the Basic HTML side of gmail; however, I can not load google or most other US sites. I was surprised that this site loaded today (even if it did take about twenty minuets).

I have been doing some writing and will try to post again soon; even if it is only the text.