You Are Wearing that to Work? & Other Office Related Cultural Differences

I want to start this post with a disclaimer.  I love my fellow associates. They are smart, engaged, helpful, funny and reacting well to the challenge of suddenly doing a large part of their jobs in English. But that does not mean I understand all their customs.  

1. You are wearing what?  This mostly applies to the women in the office and most notably the young women in the office.  The men wear dress pants and a short-sleeved or long-sleeved dress shirt.  The women wear...well whatever the hell they want to wear.  The shorter, tighter and cuter the better.  And by cute I mean Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty cute.  In particular I have seen Playboy t-shirts, short shorts, short skirts, long tops with no pants all paired with impossibly high heels.  One assistant was wearing a see-through top and short boy shorts with lace trim...and nothing else.  It takes some getting used to.
2. Christmas decorations all year round.  There are Santa Clauses and Snowmen everywhere.  And lovely strands of tinsel.  Some angels.  Reindeer and one or two Christmas trees scattered through the office.  And it is July.
3. The tea dump bucket.  The Chinese love tea and there are an infinite variety of teas, many customized to the individual and including things like tea leaves, flowers, mushrooms/fungus.  They drink these teas loose (nary a tea bag in site).  As a perk we have water filters throughout the office featuring hot and cold water, the hot water temperature closely monitored by a digital readout assuring the tea drinker that the water is at boiling.  In front of each one is a bucket.  It took me awhile to figure out what the bucket was for.  Apparently that is where you throw your cold tea and leftover tea leaves.  Right there in the middle of the office.  All day long I hear sounds that are reminiscent of dumping something into a toilet bowl.  
4. The desk nap.  This is pretty universal in China and something I plan on adopting if I can just get up the nerve.  It is common place to see associates with their heads on their desks (well actually on pillows that sit on top of their desks) apparently sound asleep.  They will do this during their lunch breaks.  It is a bit weird and reminds me of kindergarten.  But I also think it is brilliant and don't begrudge them a little cat-nap.  After all they are on break. 
5. My favourite thing is not unique to our offices - other people have told me they do it in other companies.  This is the office exercises.  Apparently the routine is the same one you learn in school.  They will play music and this strict sounding man runs you through a series of bends and twists.  The whole office does them in unison.  Like communist aerobics.  I will definitely videotape and post someday soon.  I love doing them.  It is a nice break in the afternoon.  And it is hard to get stressed out when you see your co-workers swinging their arms over their heads.

I am sure there will be more - these are just my current favourites.  I love working in China - weirdness and all.

Sizing up your neighbour's underwear

So, after a week of torrential rain & typhoons we are finally having beautiful weather again.  Sunny blue skies and NO water falling from the sky.

This means a few things here in Shenzhen.  People are once again outside walking with their umbrellas (used to shade the face from the sun) and the sidewalks are crowded with people walking, sleeping, eating, playing, lounging and generally living life.  It reminds me of Vancouver - as soon as the sun comes out so do the people.

It also means that it is once again safe to hang your washing outside to dry.  Most people in China (myself included) do not have tumble dryers.  We hang our clothes to dry using a number of ingenious and practical approaches (when I was in Shanghai last year people threw their sheets over the bushes in the park to dry). For the apartment dweller with balconies or other private outdoor space the act of drying clothes is slightly less adventurous - we are privileged to have space to place our drying racks or string up clothes lines.

This means that as I sit out on my balcony enjoying the above mentioned sunshine I am able to see what the neighbours are drying.  And check out their underwear.  The older couple below me shocked me with the gentleman's selection of speedo style gitch...some with amusing colours/patterns.  I tried to take a picture but he spends most of his time sitting on the balcony (guarding his underwear from thieves no doubt).  Since I am not quite able to say "sorry for spying but I am writing a blog and wanted to feature your underwear" in Mandarin I feel that I should wait awhile before posting the pictures.

I can only imagine what they are saying about my polkadot panties!

I think my temporary driver is trying to kill me

Okay, I *may* be a bit dramatic...but I suspect Mr. Li is trying to kill me.  Or at least make me vomit.

My regular driver Fred is wonderful.  He is a good driver...he slows down for potholes, rarely needs to honk his horn and knows all the good short-cuts in town.  He drives so smoothly I am able to read in the car without feeling sick at the end of the ride.  Unfortunately Fred is on leave for two weeks...and Mr. Li is my driver.

I was a bit scared the first day but wrote it off to the aftermath of the typhoon.  The flooding, debris and fallen trees all were perfectly acceptable reasons for weaving all over the road.  Even the several near death brushes with other cars as we swerved to avoid random stuff seemed reasonable.  The fact he was driving very fast despite these obstacles I wrote off to his worry I would miss my 8:30 meeting because traffic was so bad.  After all he is very quick to leap out of the car to open my door (a nice reminder of some the southern gentleman manners I had been introduced to in Arkansas) and help me with my bag - he must be a nice person right?

That night, in crazy traffic, he rushed my friend and colleague Simon to the train station.  Traffic of course was horrendous and the jerky stop and go approach to driving was again easily attributed to the sheer numbers of crazy drivers on the road and the continued torrential downpour...Oh and rushed meant the longest drive to the train station ever...but again maybe that was because roads were still closed because of the typhoon and there was a lot of traffic.

But then I began to notice a trend. First the seemingly random abrupt braking that sends all my belongings to the floor of the car - always conveniently timed to interrupt a important email I am typing or jolt me awake when I am just about to get a good snooze on.

I have also looked out the window to suddenly see someone so alarmingly close to hitting us that I couldn't help but scream.  This is usually accompanied by a sharp car honk from Mr. Li - as if saying "mission accomplished, we scared the crap out of her".

The worse is the car-sickness though.  Among his talents Mr. Li is the master of hitting potholes, road obstructions, curbs... well you get the idea.  He does this at top speed only to slam on his brakes and swerve.  He also enjoys swerving randomly between lanes...now swerving between lanes is a common pass-time amongst Chinese drivers...but usually it is to avoid the above mentioned obstructions or to find a quicker path in the flow of traffic.  Mr. Li on the other hand is a fan of the random swerve even when the road is empty.  If he can make my belongings slide across the seat even better.  I have survived the back roads of Arkansas without once feeling car sick.  Now I arrive at every destination wishing I had taken gravel before I left.

The cherry on top comes every morning when he takes his newly created short-cut...the wrong way down a one way street.

I would take a video but I am too busy squeezing my eyes shut and clinging to the "oh shit" handle while I pray to everyone's gods...and Fred is not back for another week.

Wo Hen Gaoshing (I am very Happy)

I am feeling very reflective tonight - and not the shining in the dark kind of reflective.  I am sitting in my still boiling hot apartment (yep, no A/C yet), in the tail end of a Typhoon (not as bad as it sounds...just LOTS of rain), far away from most of my friends and family.  I should be miserable.  At another time in my life I would definitely be depressed & homesick.

But I am not.

I am happy.  Very happy.  I just finished my first Mandarin class and I am energized and excited and in love with this amazing adventure.  I felt like I was in kindergarden again, learning the sounds of the different letters (I have to admit most of my early pronunciation sounds like a hybrid between french, polish and spanish).  And it was fun to be unselfconsciously bad at something.

I think moving to Arkansas showed me all the great things that come when you get unstuck, vulnerable and try something crazy and new.  People that knew me thought I was crazy when I moved to Arkansas.  On the surface it met none of the criteria of a place I would want to live.

• It was in the US (sorry my American friends)
• It was very far away from most of my family and not even close to the family I have in the US
• It was not in a big city nor was it close to any big cities
• It was not particularly cosmopolitan
• I really only knew two people there

But it worked for me.  I loved being in a small town.  I loved experiencing Tailgating and a real SEC college football town (WOO PIG SOOIE).  I loved seeing the stars at night and hot summer nights in February.  I loved access to cultural events at ridiculously low prices, and drive thru everything (banking, dry cleaning, liquor, post office, library)...and I loved the friends I met.  For the first time in a very long time I put myself out there and meet new people.  And wow, the people I met were amazing.  I had so much fun experiencing all the "Only in Arkansas" things with them.  It was like going to camp - but as a grown-up.  You had to be there to get it...and nothing will ever be the same.

And now, because of that experience I know this one will be amazing, fun and funny.  I will continue being an explorer of this world and meet new people.  And I will continue being happy.

I always feel like somebody's watching me...

There are surveillance cameras everywhere in Shenzhen.  In general this doesn't bother me - most big cities have cameras everywhere these days.  The debate in London over their cameras is fierce and, if you watch an episode of NCIS you have an understanding of how all these different cameras can be used to capture our activities.  But sometimes it is good to remind yourself that you are probably being watched to avoid embarassment.

Today I had to visit the property management office to replace/fix my building access card - it didn't work and I was only able to get into my building if I tailgated.  Not a problem through the ground level front door, more tricky when my driver drops me off in the parking garage.

Anyway, I walked over to the property management building on the other side of the compound (community, apartment complex?), up the two flights of stairs to ask for help.  Of course the duty manager did not speak English and my Mandarin skills are limited so he phoned a friend (my current favourite survival technique in China by the way).

After much explaining and misunderstanding I was directed to the main gate.  And they directed me to the security office.  Now, I know there is security in this complex - there are guards at the gates and in the parking garage and you see the young men wandering around with their red armbands.  What I didn't think about was the secret room with 30 television screens watching all aspects of life at Costal Rose Garden 2.

While they fiddled around with my card (in true local fashion everyone came over to see what this Laowai had done) I enjoyed the frigid air conditioning and watched people t.v.  It was then I realized they have cameras in all the elevators.  If I was observant I would have realized this myself - it makes sense that the glass bubble in the corner of the elevator houses a camera.  To see the full display of all the elevators in all the buildings was overwhelming and I was mortified. You see, the elevators have mirrors in them and, without a full length mirror in my apartment I use the elevator mirrors to adjust my outfits every morning and every time I go out.  Sometimes this means readjusting things...which because I am alone didn't seem like a big deal.  Until I realized that someone is indeed watching me.

Today I am going to buy a full-length mirror for my apartment.

Connected and Loving it

Oh patience, thy name is China. After much mucking about I now have internet and a local Chinese mobile number. Without my "team" of locals who translate, negotiate, arrange and make magic happen I would be sitting on my balcony crying because I can't contact anyone or know what is happening in the world.

Of course my newfound internet/mobile status does not mean all is well in the land we call China. My air conditioners have decided to turn off at random - when it is 100% humidity and sweat is pooling around your toes (and in your underwear, your bra...) no air-conditioning reminds me of my grad school days in my 3rd floor apartment in Guelph...with one small window and barely any breeze. Fortunately here I am getting a delightful breeze off the water - if I sit on the balcony it is almost bearable.

I also apparently do not have hot water - a fact that has not yet bothered me - I can boil water for dishes and with no air-conditioning I am enjoying the cold baths and showers. Today the man came to fix it - shouted at me a bit in Chinese, tripped the breaker and left. One of my team informs me he will be back Saturday. Since then my power now appears to go on and off at random.

Fortunately I continue to view this as an adventure and I am having a lot of fun. I am overwhelmed by the helpfulness of everyone I meet - and the willingness for people to be my phone translators at night and on weekends. I also continue to appreciate the immigrant experience...and bow down to those who do this without the privilege of a support system.

Going with the flow - understanding traffic in China

One of the first differences a newcomer to China notices is the traffic.  And not just the amount of traffic (it rivals those big traffic cities like L.A and Washington)...but the apparent chaos.  At first glance there are no rules of the road.  Cars, bikes, scooters and buses go wherever they want, whenever they want.  Horns honk, cars slide into your lane, lane sharing is common and turn signals are not used.  It is quite overwhelming, especially after spending 20 hours travelling to Shenzhen.

So Traffic is hell...thankfully I have a driver...but I have to admit that on closer inspection there appears to be a method to the madness.  A friend of mine describes the traffic like the water in a river.  The traffic flows where it needs to, going around obstacles in a fluid, not constricted method.  And like water in a river, traffic in Shenzhen will find a way to get to the destination.  You just need to remember that everyone else if floating down that river too and they can be carried on a separate current.  Don't be constrained by things like lane markings - if you can fit 4 cars across a "3 lane" road surely that is more efficient...isn't it? And remember the only rule really adhered to is the red light (although there are no stop signs on the side streets).

Ah, and the horns.  After observing my driver Fred for a couple of days I am starting to understand the anatomy of a honk...they are used in different ways in different situations:

1. The quick friendly honk - "Hey, I am here in your blind spot.  I notice you drifting over, just want to let you know I am here"
2. The longer not as friendly honk - "Um, Hey watch out - if you keep drifting into my lane you are going to hit me"
3. The angry multiple honk - "Idiot, the light has changed and you didn't start moving immediately - there are a million of us behind you and we can't move until you do"
4. The panic frantic honk - "Bloody Hell, we are all going to die"

Sometime soon I will explain the bikes & electric scooters that are everywhere...definitely a lesson on gravity defiance and thinking outside the North American Traffic Paradigm.

I am going to use this blog to do what so many others have done before me...chronicle my adventures as an expat in Shenzhen, China.  This will be from my perspective but I don't pretend that my experience will be all that different from other people.  It will however be an honest representation of what I see and do.

My intention is to be respectful of the culture while marvelling at the differences I see.  And boy are things pretty different.  For instance...spitting and horking lougies (not sure of the correct spelling on that one) are perfectly acceptable.  As is pushing. shoving and open staring.  But on the other side people have been wonderful and helpful and ready to laugh.  It is going to be an adventure.