Soup. And pictures.

Dang it, tonight I spilled a whole cup of soup on my lap. O, and it was hot soup. I thought it was rice, naturally, and the lid was stuck. Then it became unstuck and boom, hot soup. I got more soup though and told my friends that this is how we do it in America, so it’s all good. Well, it is Sunday night right now and that means it is Sunday morning in the U.S., so good morning. I still have a hard time with that, even though I have been here for about a month now. It went fast, but a lot has happened. This week I learned some Chinese, got a couple care packages from the U.S, and some backup from Kent State. I also did some laundry today, so now I’m good for the week. Which, I have been looking forward to for a few days now. Why you may ask, well it involves food and a two-for-one deal; a combination that Evan Vereb just can’t resist.

Tomorrow I’m going to this restaurant called Blue Frog. Apparently Monday’s they have a two for one deal on burgers, burgers like they have in the US of A. I’m thinking of having one with BBQ sauce, bacon, onions, whatever else sounds good. Prolly guna have to a coke too. America. I’ll try to take some cool pics. I am now officially up to speed with the rest of my family and I have a digital camera. I have some pictures here in this post to show everyone. One is of the view of Shanghai from my room, the other is also from my room, just zoomed in on Pudong. The other is of a sidewalk that is right next to the SISU guesthouse, it’s cool to see so many people traveling on bikes and scooters. The bridge looking thing is the subway. The picture of the food is from the street vendor that makes the good chicken bread-wrap things that I talked about in the last post. Another picture is from the “English Corner” class held at a local highschool every Saturday morning. I work with Ran and two other people; we break the whole class up, each take a group of students and help them learn English. The picture of the two people and myself was fun. The man on the right had never seen a westerner before; he lives in a town very far inland and away from all the major cities. The women on the left I met when I first got to SISU, she interviewed me for some research that she is doing about Chinese language schools. She used to be a teacher at SISU. Anyway, her friend was coming to Shanghai for the first time and wanted to know if she knew any Westerners. They invited me to dinner with them and also took some pictures with me. The dinner was good and they paid so it was pretty cool.

Well I’m going to get ready for bed now, class starts at 8 and I have to make sure I’m awake. Talk to you all later.

Pictures: http://s790.photobucket.com/albums/yy190/evan_vereb/

All healthy.

A week of adventures has just come to an end; I feel that a new post would be appropriate. I’m feeling pretty relaxed right now, I’m typing this and listening to some Jack Johnson, and enjoying a full stomach. I ate this good chicken-flaky pita thing. I had that and a bottle of water for 6 RMB. That is about .88 cents in USD. Food is a big deal here and you can find food pretty much everywhere, it is also pretty cheap and normally pretty tasty. I’m getting better at finding my way around and knowing where to get some good food. Also I can order and pay, speaking only a few words of Chinese…small steps.

Today was my first day of class. It was taught in English and Chinese, the teacher is Chinese, but knows some English. Even though I don’t speak Chinese I can normally understand what someone is trying to say, even if they only know a little bit of English. Evan Vereb note: When I get back to America I’m going to be a champ at charades, I get to practice everyday. Hopefully as this semester progresses I will become a little bit more talkative. Anyway here is a nice adventure that happened about a week ago.

Before I got here I had to complete a medical evaluation form that all foreigners planning to go to school in China are required to have filled out. I got a whole battery of tests including EKG, chest X-Ray, blood test, etc. Basically they just want to make sure that the foreigners coming into China aren’t diseased, understandable. Also all of the results from these tests had to be original. I brought them to the SISU verification room last week and apparently none of the tests were valid. Actually none of the foreigners’ test results were valid, the reason was that it was not from a Chinese government approved hospital, whatever I kinda saw that coming when they told us to bring 400RMB “in case of need”. So of course I had to be re-tested there, all of the foreigners did, so I waited in line until it was my turn…lame. The first part of the test was paying money, in fact that was all the lady could say in English was: “Pay money!, pay money!”. Then I got some blood taken (new needle don’t worry I checked) and was handed some papers.

The next part was downstairs. I was looking for a room when someone told me that the next part of the test was on this bus that was parked outside. It was real, this old tour bus had been converted into some mobile test hospital, complete with an extension cord coming out of the door. It was pretty funny, so then I got to go on the fun bus and proceed with a battery of tests. There wasn’t a lot of room on it, I didn’t fit on their examination table, but it didn’t matter. The first test was an ultra-sound, turns out I’m not pregnant. Next a close range eye exam, it was in Chinese though. I was handed this card and the lady said, “left, down, right, up” and pointed to some Chinese characters. Then I had to cover up an eye and read the card, written in Chinese. Looking at the card I said, “I don’t speak much Chinese…Left?” The lady: “Ok good good, normal, next test X-Ray now.” The chest X-ray was pretty standard, no lead vest though, a little radiation isn’t that bad though right? After that I got an official Chinese medical clearance stamp on this piece of paper and smiled as I got off the bus. For those of you wondering Evan Vereb is not diseased, in the USA or China. Bye for now.

In China.

An adventure would maybe be an understatement; this has so far been the craziest ride I have ever been on. Way crazier than any ride at Cedar Point. 12 days in China and I have seen, ate, smelled, heard, and learned something new like every two feet. I have officially been in Shanghai now for about 36 hours and I clearly understand why it is holds the title as the second biggest city in the world. Right now I’m listening to “My Life Be Like” by Grits and wondering if I’m the only American in this hotel. My door is open to listen for English, but that is another story for later. Anyway, to catch us all up on how I got here from there, let’s review.

On August 20, 2009 I departed from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport with a one-way ticket to Shanghai. It was a 6:40am depart time; my family and Jame were there to see me off. I’m not gunna lie, I was a little teary, this is a pretty big step for me. The thought about being that far away from everything that I’m used to is sometimes a little intimidating. Also I’m not a big fan of goodbyes. The connecting flight to Toronto was fine, although my seat was right next to the propeller, but don’t worry it just misses the window. At Toronto I got stuck in a glass room for a bit but someone came and let me out. Then I found the gate for my flight to Shanghai. The flight was 13 hours but I watched the newest Xmen movie, listened to some tunes, and enjoyed Air Canada’s inflight service.

I arrived in Shanghai at 3:20pm local time, August 21st. The time difference is exactly 12 hours behind, so that put Evan Vereb time at 3:20am. However I was not tired, I couldn’t believe that I had just arrived in China. Ran, his friend, and his Uncle met me at the airport to drive me to Hongzhou. Just leaving the airport parking garage was quite the adventure, this is also when I realized that driving in China is a thrill ride in itself. They do drive on the right side of the road here in China, but that is where the similarities end. Some differences that I noticed right away are: Kilometers, dinky scooters on the highways, and all the signs are in Chinese. This little anecdote can be a segment in itself so I can talk more about that later but for now I will continue with the review.

We all arrived at Ran’s grandparent’s house where I stayed until I came to Shanghai. After I put my luggage away I went out to dinner with Ran, his friend, and his Aunt and Uncle. We went to a nice Chinese restaurant. It was pretty interesting, all of the dishes were layed out so you could see them before you buy them. Also all of the food is very fresh, I saw the tanks myself. Also funfact about China, chopsticks are still in and the #1 choice in getting food from the plate to you mouth. The trick is using them correctly, I’m still getting used to them. If you know me you may be aware that I’m pretty passionate about food so it will get it’s own segment too.

Back at the house I was able to learn a little Chinese from Ran’s Grandma. She used to be a Chinese Language teacher for elementary students so she was able to introduce me to the Chinese phonetic alphabet. Ran’s grandpa was a Chinese history and music professor for a university, he still teaches piano for free on the weekends. Being in a city the house is more like an apartment, part of a large residential complex. In cities of China these are the popular dwellings for the people; people move in as soon as a floor is complete, even though the building is still under construction. In other words, Shanghai is a little different from Sharon Center.