As many of you know, I am back in the US for about 2 weeks for my annual pheasant hunting trip in South Dakota with my granddad.
I am sitting in a local hole in the wall restaurant in Bowman, ND. The sign said 'World Famous Big J's Restaurant' and actually had both an American and Canadian flag, as to make it clear that the world is bigger than ND and the US! I had to give it a try - heck if those kooky Canadians love this place, it must be good.
Turns out this little hole in the wall has Internet access... Amazing.
So I am making good progress... Started out from Canby at about 4:30am on Thursday morning (jet lag lead to an early awakening). Made it to Bozeman (as planned) on Day 1 and will get to Willow Lake, SD by this evening if all remains on track.
I stopped here in Bowman, ND for 2 reasons - #1, I have never been to ND, so I decided stopping for lunch would give me a real excuse to say I had been there... and obviously I lucked out and came across the world famous 'Big J's'. #2 - I decided to spread out my tourist dollars. This route only crosses the SW corner of ND, I can't be in the state for more than a hundred miles - so I grabbed this chance.
The 1 state that is in last place in the Welsh Tourist Dollars standings is Washington. I could not make it from Canby to Couer D'Alene on 1 tank of gas and was forced to stop in Spokane and get gas - which I was trying to avoid, as it was something like $3.2x/gallon. I got only $15 worth - enough to get me to the $2.89/gallon gas in Couer D'Alene.
Montana got some gas and a night's stay.
North Dakota got lunch, although that's only $5.79 ($6.20 with tax).
Oh, last reason Big J's will remain famous with me: they rightly serve ranch dressing in a squeeze bottle like ketchup and mustard... not limited quantities in little cups like most places... that alone was worth the stop!
More from the 'Pheasant Trail' later...
Cheers,
Joe
Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Why I was worried about an apartment...
It took over 1 year... but it finally happened. I had a little voice in the back of my head that was concerned about going back to apartment living. The proximity to other people, and the impact of their living habits on my family... it worried me a little.
But the fact that we looked for 4 days, and this was the only place in our budget we could afford, and it was such a good location, I silenced the little voice that was asking if I really wanted to go back to 'apartment living'.
Our place is great, it really is. Great location, under budget, good landlords. But one night last week, it turned into exactly what that little voice in my head thought it might.
So we went to bed, fairly early due to Steph's evenings being more enjoyable for her when she is asleep! I woke up at about 12:45am. I don't know if it was the rhythmic banging or something else that woke me, but there I was awake and listening to the banging. Where was it coming from? I opened some windows to rule out the construction site not far from the apartment, and sure enough, that wasn't it. I paced around a little longer, and felt convinced the noise was originating in the building.
I picked up the phone and called the front desk/service center and explained that someone was seemingly doing construction of some sort in their apartment in the middle of the night. I asked they investigate and take care of it. It stopped for a period of time, which I was hoping was the end of it, alas, it started up again.
At this point, I decided to take the bull by the horns and started walking up the stairs from our second floor landing to determine the location of the midnight construction site. I got to the 4th floor and there was an employee of the apartment complex standing outside apartment 402. I asked him in English with accompanying hand gestures if this was the place. He indicated it was (lots of Chinese, then a nod). We waited. Then the banging started again. At this point the employee starts talking into his walkie talkie, talking to the front desk. I take a little more direct approach and knock on the door and ring the doorbell.
We hear footsteps on the other side of the door, and they approach right to the door and stop. Then nothing - obviously sizing us up through the peep hole. Then footsteps away from the door again... never bothered to open the door up.
So I head back to my apartment, assuming that the person on the other side saw a neighbor (white dude in boxer shorts and a t-shirt) and an employee of the complex at his door at 1:00am, obviously in response to his home improvement project in the middle of the night. That'll be the end of it, right?
No, not really... about 10 minutes later, it starts again... of course, just as I was falling asleep. So I call the front desk again. Here's the conversation:
Guy On Late Shift: You have call him your personally.
Angry White Guy: OK, give me the number.
Guy On Late Shift: Well, he no speak English.
Angry White Guy: Well then why did you tell me to call him?
Guy On Late Shift:
Angry White Guy: Can you call him? Did you call him?
Guy On Late Shift: I call, he no answer.
Angry White Guy: Did you send someone to the apartment?
Guy on Late Shift: He no answer.
Angry White Guy: Nevermind, I am going up there myself.
Guy On Late Shift: Thank you, anything else I help with tonight?
Angry White Guy: No thanks, you have been so much help to this point.
So I go up there. I wait for the banging, which has stopped for a moment to start up again... I don't have to wait long... about 45 seconds later, there it is... bang... bang.... bang, bang, bang.
So at this point I step up to the door and ring the bell. Banging stops, but no walking to the door. Just silence. I am really upset at this point and react a little less than maturely. I commence ringing his doorbell for about 3 minutes non-stop. Just keep ringing and ringing and ringing.
Finally feeling a little better, I head back down stairs, thinking to myself 'this guy doesn't know who he is messing with... I am regularly up and out of the house between 5:45am and 6:30am during the week... I have no issues stopping by the 4th floor on my way out to the car every morning and waking him up.'
Lucky for everyone, 3 minutes of ringing the guy's doorbell sent the right message, or he was just tuckered out at 2:00am and decided to knock off for the night. The banging stopped.
Unfortunately, I was still 'Immature Angry White Guy Who Was Really Tired' when I left for the office at 6:30am the next morning. So on my way out, I stopped upstairs to wish him a happy morning... I started to ring the doorbell, and lo and behold, he had unplugged it! Turned it off!
So rather than realizing I got the better of the situation, I pounded on the door for about a minute - long enough and loud enough to wake the guy up, and then headed down to the car and off to the office... he never answered the door.
Part of me looks back a little ashamed for being so immature... but part of me says 'there's been no midnight banging since then'.
1 night in over a year... that's pretty good, so I can't complain 1 bit about the apartment. It's all good!
Hope you all are sleeping well. :)
Joe
But the fact that we looked for 4 days, and this was the only place in our budget we could afford, and it was such a good location, I silenced the little voice that was asking if I really wanted to go back to 'apartment living'.
Our place is great, it really is. Great location, under budget, good landlords. But one night last week, it turned into exactly what that little voice in my head thought it might.
So we went to bed, fairly early due to Steph's evenings being more enjoyable for her when she is asleep! I woke up at about 12:45am. I don't know if it was the rhythmic banging or something else that woke me, but there I was awake and listening to the banging. Where was it coming from? I opened some windows to rule out the construction site not far from the apartment, and sure enough, that wasn't it. I paced around a little longer, and felt convinced the noise was originating in the building.
I picked up the phone and called the front desk/service center and explained that someone was seemingly doing construction of some sort in their apartment in the middle of the night. I asked they investigate and take care of it. It stopped for a period of time, which I was hoping was the end of it, alas, it started up again.
At this point, I decided to take the bull by the horns and started walking up the stairs from our second floor landing to determine the location of the midnight construction site. I got to the 4th floor and there was an employee of the apartment complex standing outside apartment 402. I asked him in English with accompanying hand gestures if this was the place. He indicated it was (lots of Chinese, then a nod). We waited. Then the banging started again. At this point the employee starts talking into his walkie talkie, talking to the front desk. I take a little more direct approach and knock on the door and ring the doorbell.
We hear footsteps on the other side of the door, and they approach right to the door and stop. Then nothing - obviously sizing us up through the peep hole. Then footsteps away from the door again... never bothered to open the door up.
So I head back to my apartment, assuming that the person on the other side saw a neighbor (white dude in boxer shorts and a t-shirt) and an employee of the complex at his door at 1:00am, obviously in response to his home improvement project in the middle of the night. That'll be the end of it, right?
No, not really... about 10 minutes later, it starts again... of course, just as I was falling asleep. So I call the front desk again. Here's the conversation:
Guy On Late Shift: You have call him your personally.
Angry White Guy: OK, give me the number.
Guy On Late Shift: Well, he no speak English.
Angry White Guy: Well then why did you tell me to call him?
Guy On Late Shift:
Angry White Guy: Can you call him? Did you call him?
Guy On Late Shift: I call, he no answer.
Angry White Guy: Did you send someone to the apartment?
Guy on Late Shift: He no answer.
Angry White Guy: Nevermind, I am going up there myself.
Guy On Late Shift: Thank you, anything else I help with tonight?
Angry White Guy: No thanks, you have been so much help to this point.
So I go up there. I wait for the banging, which has stopped for a moment to start up again... I don't have to wait long... about 45 seconds later, there it is... bang... bang.... bang, bang, bang.
So at this point I step up to the door and ring the bell. Banging stops, but no walking to the door. Just silence. I am really upset at this point and react a little less than maturely. I commence ringing his doorbell for about 3 minutes non-stop. Just keep ringing and ringing and ringing.
Finally feeling a little better, I head back down stairs, thinking to myself 'this guy doesn't know who he is messing with... I am regularly up and out of the house between 5:45am and 6:30am during the week... I have no issues stopping by the 4th floor on my way out to the car every morning and waking him up.'
Lucky for everyone, 3 minutes of ringing the guy's doorbell sent the right message, or he was just tuckered out at 2:00am and decided to knock off for the night. The banging stopped.
Unfortunately, I was still 'Immature Angry White Guy Who Was Really Tired' when I left for the office at 6:30am the next morning. So on my way out, I stopped upstairs to wish him a happy morning... I started to ring the doorbell, and lo and behold, he had unplugged it! Turned it off!
So rather than realizing I got the better of the situation, I pounded on the door for about a minute - long enough and loud enough to wake the guy up, and then headed down to the car and off to the office... he never answered the door.
Part of me looks back a little ashamed for being so immature... but part of me says 'there's been no midnight banging since then'.
1 night in over a year... that's pretty good, so I can't complain 1 bit about the apartment. It's all good!
Hope you all are sleeping well. :)
Joe
Update on Baby Welsh
First, thanks to all for the great response to our news! All the congratulations and well wishes are greatly appreciated.
Steph is starting her tours of the various hospitals and birthing centers in Shanghai. I have not been able to attend, as work remains stressful and busy beyond belief, not to mention logistics issues discussed below...
We had some good news today - Steph went to have an appointment and a 14 week ultrasound... they reviewed some of the early 'soft signs' for downs syndrome and all looks healthy! Steph said the baby was doing some pretty serious gymnastics during the ultrasound.
One of the big differences between having a baby in Oregon and in Shanghai has to do with my involvement with the pregnancy (outside of initiation, an activity in which my role was consistent from child to child). In Oregon the access to the doctors office was amazingly convenient. Our OBs office was basically right across the street from my office. For Olivia, I attended every pre-natal appointment. For Gigi, I was able to attend many of the appointments, but was sure to attend all ultrasounds.
Logistics of trying to get to these appointments is prohibitive... it takes 30-45 minutes to get anywhere in Shanghai and our office is in the middle of nowhere! And with 1 car and 1 driver, it means I had to put my pregnant wife on the subway to her appointment today! That will have to change... I will be working from home or carpooling as she gets farther along.
The other logistics issue is around the birth itself. Likely the hospital we will choose will be 30-45 minutes (during light traffic) from our apartment. If we need to get to the hospital during rush hour, there is no telling how long it might take! And then the complexity of being in a city in which we can't drive: our driver lives 1 hour away from us on the other side of the river. One of my fears revolves around Steph's water breaking in the middle of the night (like it did with Olivia)... Having to wait an hour on our driver, or taking the Shanghai Death Trap known as a Taxi? When this discussion starts to work its way into my head, I choose to ignore it and think about it later... always later...
Anyhow, I thought I would post the most recent pics from today's ultrasound... Steph remains tired and fighting off evening nausea, but otherwise doing OK.
Hope this finds you well.
Cheers,
Joe
Friday, September 5, 2008
Big News: Another Monkey Being Added to the Zoo!
So I was finally able to convince Steph that we needed to have another baby… Indeed, it was a mammoth effort to get her on board with the idea… OK, so those of you who know us well realize just how big a load of crap that really is. I was long reluctant to add another girl to the family (and we all know that Stephanie and Joe only make girls – something about those ‘Merryman women genes’). The idea of starting over with diapers and midnight feedings, not to mention another college education and wedding expense (hopefully in that order) had me spooked. Alas, after a number of conversations and the realization that our 2 girls are the sweetest things in the universe, we decided to try for a third!
Note: here is the potential TMI (Too Much Information) part of the post… move to the next paragraph to avoid!
So Steph and I historically are very good at making babies… what I mean by “very good” is that there is not much “practicing” or “trying” involved. On the contrary, I tease Steph that she is the most fertile woman on the planet, and she counters that I am too virile… I still think if I looked at her just right, that would be enough to conceive! When we got pregnant with Olivia a good friend gave Stephanie a congratulations card, and gave me a sympathy card for us being so efficient at getting pregnant!
So just as with Olivia and Genevieve, conception was instantaneous! Three kids and I never got the extended period of ‘trying to get pregnant’… I tease, as I know friends who have struggles with conceiving, so I know we are really blessed to be expecting our third! But… really, God? You couldn’t work with me on just this one thing? :)
Family has been duly notified, and I updated my Facebook page with ultrasound pictures. We are working on a message to friends – some of which will hear via Facebook first as opposed to from us directly – you can blame me for that… I was just too excited to wait! I guess for some of you who discussed #3 with me when I was in the ‘no way’ phase that is hard to imagine.
So Steph has had a rough go of the first trimester to this point… She does OK in the morning, but about mid-afternoon starts to get really tired and nauseous. No fun for anyone, but mostly her. I am sure she’ll be posting to her blog to keep everyone posted on the action!
I have prepared a little ‘Reactive QnA’ about Baby Welsh based on the most anticipated questions:
Q: Are you going to have the baby in China?
A: Yes… everything else on the planet is ‘Made in China’, why not Baby Welsh? Also, there are 1.3B people in China, they seem to have the baby making and delivery process down pretty well!
Q: Do you want a boy?
A: As cliché as it sounds: 10 fingers and 10 toes, healthy baby, and we will be perfectly happy. Part of me would love a boy, what man doesn’t want a son? But that being said, my two girls are awesome, just complete joys (most of the time). And we know how to do girls, we’ve gotten pretty good at it.
Q: Will you find out the sex?
A: Not unless we get another ultrasound technician that graduated at the bottom of their class. With Olivia we didn’t know, and with Gigi we didn’t want to, and 7 minutes after telling the tech that, she said ‘wow, you usually can’t tell the sex this early, but if you look right there, this is obviously a girl’. UGH. We would prefer to be surprised.
Q: Really? Having the baby in China?
A: Yes, we happen to live there.
Q: Any names picked out?
A: Gomer for a boy and Esmeralda for girl… OK, not really, but friends of ours were doing some financial planning before they had kids, but knew they wanted to have 2, so they created placeholders and called them Gomer and Esmeralda and the names stuck until Nicolas and Carter arrived… We thought it was hilarious. We have some ideas, but won’t be sharing until Baby Welsh arrives.
Q: What if you have twins?
A: I kicked the imaginary person who asked this imaginary question in the shin. What would make a person think it was a good idea to put that out in the universe?
Q: But what if?
A: I immediately go to confession and seek forgiveness for whatever it is that caused God so much pain and anguish that brought this on me… Then I go to B&Q (Chinese Home Depot) and apply for a second job at night stocking shelves. My aunt Patrice had 2 kids and then had twins on the last ‘go round’… She tells me 4 is the perfect number of kids and we should welcome twins, or just have a fourth… I can only think that the experience of four kids has made her a little nuts.
Q: With as much as you travel, are you sure it’s yours?
A: Stephanie kicked the imaginary person who asked this question (his name is Dan Roth) in the shin… He keeps it up and she starts kicking higher. Joe asked ‘if it’s not mine will someone else pay for the college education and wedding (hopefully in that order)?' Steph then kicked Joe in the shin.
Q: Really? China?
A: I thought we covered this... Did you graduate just below the ultra sound technician?
More later…
Cheers,
Joe
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Couple interesting things about Olypmics Closing Ceremonies
1) In the first part of the program all of the actors/participants had bike helmets on - which is ironic, given that no one in China (save expats) wears bike helmets!
2) http://www.cnn.com/ had an article on the web describing the closing ceremonies - BEFORE the ceremonies were over. We were in China, in our apartment watching them live on TV and I am reading about them on the web as if they were already over... classic - cnn just could not get 'scooped' so they published before they were over... but seriously, the story did not at all indicate the ceremonies were still happening!
3) Steph and I can't remember which comedian (Sam Kinnison? Bill Cosby? Jeff Foxworthy?)does the bit about TV when they were growing up, but the punch line is that it sucked when the president was on TV because he was on every channel - welcome to watching openning and closing ceremonies for the Olympics in China - 3 CCTV stations and the EXACT same thing on every channel!
2) http://www.cnn.com/ had an article on the web describing the closing ceremonies - BEFORE the ceremonies were over. We were in China, in our apartment watching them live on TV and I am reading about them on the web as if they were already over... classic - cnn just could not get 'scooped' so they published before they were over... but seriously, the story did not at all indicate the ceremonies were still happening!
3) Steph and I can't remember which comedian (Sam Kinnison? Bill Cosby? Jeff Foxworthy?)does the bit about TV when they were growing up, but the punch line is that it sucked when the president was on TV because he was on every channel - welcome to watching openning and closing ceremonies for the Olympics in China - 3 CCTV stations and the EXACT same thing on every channel!
My First (Semi) Real Bike Ride In China
I consider my blog family infotainment - family friendly if you will... But I have to say - my ass hurts (no comments from fraternity brothers allowed)!
My friend Dwayne explained to me that there was a ride from our suburb of Shanghai (JinQiao) east to the ocean. He was explaining that it was on concrete along the canal, then it turned into a dirt path that cut through fields and small villages. Eventually it delivers you to the ocean.
I am experiencing a period of complete disinterest in going to the gym. I am excited for basketball to start up, but I am not a runner - in fact I can't stand it, it is just completely unenjoyable to me. I can manage something similar in the gym with the elliptical and treadmill, but lately, I can't even bring myself to do that.
Having gained a significant amount of weight over the summer, and seeing basketball approaching with me in no semblance of shape had me looking for something athletic to do... that's when I remembered Dwayne's ride to the ocean.
So I tried to talk Dwayne into a Sunday morning ride. He begged off for Beijing to catch some final Olympic action, but I was pretty sold on the ride. Steph had a pretty good idea where this ride was, and Dwayne explained it to me... of course he explained it in a text message as 'cross Jinxiu Lu, turn left on the small road on this side of the canal... gets confusing at each bridge/intersection... braille from then on...".
Still I was undeterred.
So this weekend I bought a bike helmet and a 'camelback' and decided on Sunday morning I would set out on the adventure alone.
On the way back from dinner with friends on Saturday night I was telling Daniel when we would need him on Sunday. I explained that we would need him starting at 12:00pm. Then I tried to explain I was planning on riding from JinQiao to the ocean. I was explaining that if I got lost, I might call him to talk to a local person on my cell phone and either come get me or explain how to get home!
He didn't quite understand, but I think thought I was just crazy (or dumb enough to do it)... So he asked 'you go with who?' I explained I was headed out on my own. He responded 'why?'. Like it was strange enough a couple of expats were going to ride out to the ocean, but unfathomable that one was going to try it by himself.
Resolved that I was doing this, I set out Sunday morning. iPod set to a special playlist created just for the ride, 'camelback' filled with water that was kept in the fridge overnight, couple frozen water bottles for extra hydration and to keep the water in the bladder cold, a couple hundred kwai (aka RMB or Yuan) in case I got into a tight spot and a cell phone.
So I put 'semi' in parentheses in the title because Shanghai is amazingly flat, so I knew that the hardest part of this ride was going to simply be the heat and how long it took me to complete it. the weather helped out and it was not too hot... probably high 70s today, maybe low 80s.
The time to complete the ride is why my backside hurts. The last real ride I did was in high school when we rode around Applegate Lake in southern Oregon. I used to really enjoy mountain biking. It turns out I still enjoy it, but my 'bottom' isn't in riding shape. It was an hour and a half out and a little under that on the way back in. Almost 3 hours in the saddle was more than my hindquarters were prepared to handle!
The way out was longer in part due to some back tracking I had to do... Dwayne was right that bridges and intersections got confusing, and I had to braille my way to the ocean at different points. One memorable point was riding along the canal when I reached another canal feeding into the larger one perpendicular... meaning I was at the corner of 2 canals with no way to cross. So I turned North and rode parallel to the smaller canal across some grass field of sorts... which was fine, until there were gullies that fed into that small canal, resulting in having to get off the bike and carrying it across the gully! This led me eventually to a bridge I could cross, then had to work my way back to the main canal and head east again. There were a couple more times I had to cut north, and then back south to the canal, but was able to make it just fine.
I realized when I got there that this was not Dwayne's route, as there were no dirt paths cutting through fields - rather this was primarily concrete out to the ocean. I found out later that Dwayne was concerned enough about me finding my way (probably due to my poor Mandarin
skills) that he didn't try to explain the more complex route - and for this, I can't blame him!
The ride was really interesting. As it headed out to the ocean it was really a 1.5 hour crash course in Shanghai - specifically Pudong. I saw neighborhoods that were some of the worst living conditions I could imagine. I saw men walking out of their shack/houses in their underwear with no self consciousness at all. I saw men swimming/bathing in the canal - which is disgusting water. I saw the neighborhood open air butcher with a fan blade over the meat to shoo away the flies - no refrigeration in site, and the meat was still out and under the fan blade when I passed some hour + later!
I also saw some seemingly very nice homes on either side of the canal at certain points. I saw many factories that no doubt employed the folks in these neighborhoods. I saw new factories and commercial buildings being built.
When I got to the ocean, I saw all the barges in the ocean lining up and waiting to be called into the port.
I called Steph at this point - I think she too was concerned I would make it! I rested for a few minutes, then rode back in.
Only 1 close call with a truck on the ride. His bumper and my wheel about 2 feet from each other... As if the ride wasn't getting my heart rate up enough!
It was a great way to spend a few hours and get some exercise. I look forward to Dwayne's ride through fields and woods. And I look forward to proper rides in the Northwest when I get home!
Cheers,
Joe
My friend Dwayne explained to me that there was a ride from our suburb of Shanghai (JinQiao) east to the ocean. He was explaining that it was on concrete along the canal, then it turned into a dirt path that cut through fields and small villages. Eventually it delivers you to the ocean.
I am experiencing a period of complete disinterest in going to the gym. I am excited for basketball to start up, but I am not a runner - in fact I can't stand it, it is just completely unenjoyable to me. I can manage something similar in the gym with the elliptical and treadmill, but lately, I can't even bring myself to do that.
Having gained a significant amount of weight over the summer, and seeing basketball approaching with me in no semblance of shape had me looking for something athletic to do... that's when I remembered Dwayne's ride to the ocean.
So I tried to talk Dwayne into a Sunday morning ride. He begged off for Beijing to catch some final Olympic action, but I was pretty sold on the ride. Steph had a pretty good idea where this ride was, and Dwayne explained it to me... of course he explained it in a text message as 'cross Jinxiu Lu, turn left on the small road on this side of the canal... gets confusing at each bridge/intersection... braille from then on...".
Still I was undeterred.
So this weekend I bought a bike helmet and a 'camelback' and decided on Sunday morning I would set out on the adventure alone.
On the way back from dinner with friends on Saturday night I was telling Daniel when we would need him on Sunday. I explained that we would need him starting at 12:00pm. Then I tried to explain I was planning on riding from JinQiao to the ocean. I was explaining that if I got lost, I might call him to talk to a local person on my cell phone and either come get me or explain how to get home!
He didn't quite understand, but I think thought I was just crazy (or dumb enough to do it)... So he asked 'you go with who?' I explained I was headed out on my own. He responded 'why?'. Like it was strange enough a couple of expats were going to ride out to the ocean, but unfathomable that one was going to try it by himself.
Resolved that I was doing this, I set out Sunday morning. iPod set to a special playlist created just for the ride, 'camelback' filled with water that was kept in the fridge overnight, couple frozen water bottles for extra hydration and to keep the water in the bladder cold, a couple hundred kwai (aka RMB or Yuan) in case I got into a tight spot and a cell phone.
So I put 'semi' in parentheses in the title because Shanghai is amazingly flat, so I knew that the hardest part of this ride was going to simply be the heat and how long it took me to complete it. the weather helped out and it was not too hot... probably high 70s today, maybe low 80s.
The time to complete the ride is why my backside hurts. The last real ride I did was in high school when we rode around Applegate Lake in southern Oregon. I used to really enjoy mountain biking. It turns out I still enjoy it, but my 'bottom' isn't in riding shape. It was an hour and a half out and a little under that on the way back in. Almost 3 hours in the saddle was more than my hindquarters were prepared to handle!
The way out was longer in part due to some back tracking I had to do... Dwayne was right that bridges and intersections got confusing, and I had to braille my way to the ocean at different points. One memorable point was riding along the canal when I reached another canal feeding into the larger one perpendicular... meaning I was at the corner of 2 canals with no way to cross. So I turned North and rode parallel to the smaller canal across some grass field of sorts... which was fine, until there were gullies that fed into that small canal, resulting in having to get off the bike and carrying it across the gully! This led me eventually to a bridge I could cross, then had to work my way back to the main canal and head east again. There were a couple more times I had to cut north, and then back south to the canal, but was able to make it just fine.
I realized when I got there that this was not Dwayne's route, as there were no dirt paths cutting through fields - rather this was primarily concrete out to the ocean. I found out later that Dwayne was concerned enough about me finding my way (probably due to my poor Mandarin
skills) that he didn't try to explain the more complex route - and for this, I can't blame him!
The ride was really interesting. As it headed out to the ocean it was really a 1.5 hour crash course in Shanghai - specifically Pudong. I saw neighborhoods that were some of the worst living conditions I could imagine. I saw men walking out of their shack/houses in their underwear with no self consciousness at all. I saw men swimming/bathing in the canal - which is disgusting water. I saw the neighborhood open air butcher with a fan blade over the meat to shoo away the flies - no refrigeration in site, and the meat was still out and under the fan blade when I passed some hour + later!
I also saw some seemingly very nice homes on either side of the canal at certain points. I saw many factories that no doubt employed the folks in these neighborhoods. I saw new factories and commercial buildings being built.
When I got to the ocean, I saw all the barges in the ocean lining up and waiting to be called into the port.
I called Steph at this point - I think she too was concerned I would make it! I rested for a few minutes, then rode back in.
Only 1 close call with a truck on the ride. His bumper and my wheel about 2 feet from each other... As if the ride wasn't getting my heart rate up enough!
It was a great way to spend a few hours and get some exercise. I look forward to Dwayne's ride through fields and woods. And I look forward to proper rides in the Northwest when I get home!
Cheers,
Joe
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Teaching in China
Intel sent me to China to do a specific job. That job is the matrixed management of several product development teams focused on developing ingredients for notebook computers. These ingredients are the boards that go inside the notebooks and the plastic cases on the outside. This is a pretty simplistic explanation of what I am doing - but enough for this post.
In addition to the job I am sent here to do, there are certain expectations about mentoring and training. I am a mentor (official and un-official) to a couple of my Chinese co-workers, and for the last 4 months or so, our internal training group (called “Intel University” or “Intel U”) has really been pressuring me to deliver one of the classes that I am certified to teach.
I have been hesitant to teach while I am here in PRC. My biggest concern hasn’t been the time involved (although the class is a big commitment – 2 days delivery and at least ½ day prep when I have not taught in a while). My biggest concern has been my insecurity over delivering the class to a group that uses English as a second language and a culture that is less direct than my own.
The class is called Situational Leadership. It is targeted to our managers. I have been teaching the class for a number of years, and generally have received very good feedback in our evaluation process. I credit the class itself for the majority of the feedback. The material is extremely well developed, put together in a format that allows the material to be engaging throughout the 2 days, and highly applicable to the participants taking the class. I have no doubt my new co-workers will benefit from the class.
So why hesitant? First, I really think the class and the material is outstanding, and in the light of Intel choosing not to continue with the best management class we have (Managing Through People – which I also facilitated), I think this class is important for managers to take and apply. I was fearful that my delivery – all in English, and sometimes too fast – would result in students not being able to fully grasp the concepts. I was also concerned that they would be hesitant to stop me and tell me I wasn’t making any sense. Surely a Mandarin speaking instructor would be better.
My second concern was that I have exclusively delivered the class to participants in the US (and occasionally one from Costa Rica or Europe). I was really concerned that the material would have parts/pieces that would be culturally challenging to apply to these people’s teams. I have learned a lot about working with my Chinese colleagues, and learned enough about Chinese culture not to make an ass out of myself in public – but fall far short of being a ‘cultural guide’.
I tried desperately to find an instructor in PRC (native Chinese, or Mandarin speaker) that would co-teach with me. I struck out.
Then the Intel U contact that owns the class started to sound as desperate as I did – turns out the Shanghai site took a ‘quarterly objective’ to get a certain % of managers trained in this material… and they couldn’t get anyone to teach.
So the desperation of the Intel U guy, along with the feedback that the organization wanted me to step up and provide more leadership for the site, outside my specific responsibilities led me to bite the bullet and agree to teach.
This week was my first class. Overall it seemed to go well. The feedback from the couple of students that did talk with me afterwards was good – they indicated that they enjoyed the class, and one asked if I was going to teach any other classes. Another indicated that he wanted his staff to attend my next class.
I lead off the class with giving them express permission to ask me to slow down if I spoke to fast, to ask me to rephrase if they didn’t understand what I was saying or trying to communicate, and to stop me if they thought any of the concepts would not be applicable to their teams/work groups based on cultural differences between the US and PRC. None of the above happened, but I don’t necessarily think it was because everything was perfectly clear and applicable. I think it was a combination of some people being there to ‘complete the requirement’ and potentially their concern over ‘questioning the instructor’.
A couple of interesting observations I thought I would share.
I struggled to get the class to engage in discussion – In the US I usually have to cut off the discussion – everyone wants to give their opinion and be heard! I really struggled to pull comments and discussion out of the group and continue to rack my brain on why that might be…
So many possible reasons were running through my head ‘they don’t understand what I am asking them – this will be the worst class ever’ and ‘they are so bored they aren’t paying attention – this will be the worst class ever’ and even ‘they are so uncomfortable with their English skills they won’t engage – this will be the worst class ever’. I do have to admit it got a little better the longer class went on, but nothing like class in the US.
The second really interesting observation was about a game we play in the class. It’s a game focused on applying the learnings from the class about management and leadership. The group is split into teams and they read scenarios and decide on the appropriate response from a list of 4 options. They get to move their playing piece either forward or backwards based on the response they choose. First team to the end of the game board wins.
In the US what happens is one team wins and all the other teams stop and put the game away. “Someone won, it wasn’t us, the game is over” – the pieces get put away.
But in PRC it was totally different. Every team wanted to get to the finish line. They continued to work on the scenarios – continued to ask me to score their answers. They worked right through their break, as it was important to them to finish. Not that winning wasn’t important – they all wanted to win… but if they could not win, it was still important that they finish.
Now, I don’t have any idea what this says about the US culture vs. the Chinese culture, just something different that I didn’t expect… And it was cool!
As I mentioned, some folks came up to me afterwards and mentioned they enjoyed the class, and they thought it was a good use of 2 days. The evaluations went out today, so I should be getting some feedback in the next few days to see what they really thought! :)
For anyone curious, I’ll post about the results when I get them!
In addition to the job I am sent here to do, there are certain expectations about mentoring and training. I am a mentor (official and un-official) to a couple of my Chinese co-workers, and for the last 4 months or so, our internal training group (called “Intel University” or “Intel U”) has really been pressuring me to deliver one of the classes that I am certified to teach.
I have been hesitant to teach while I am here in PRC. My biggest concern hasn’t been the time involved (although the class is a big commitment – 2 days delivery and at least ½ day prep when I have not taught in a while). My biggest concern has been my insecurity over delivering the class to a group that uses English as a second language and a culture that is less direct than my own.
The class is called Situational Leadership. It is targeted to our managers. I have been teaching the class for a number of years, and generally have received very good feedback in our evaluation process. I credit the class itself for the majority of the feedback. The material is extremely well developed, put together in a format that allows the material to be engaging throughout the 2 days, and highly applicable to the participants taking the class. I have no doubt my new co-workers will benefit from the class.
So why hesitant? First, I really think the class and the material is outstanding, and in the light of Intel choosing not to continue with the best management class we have (Managing Through People – which I also facilitated), I think this class is important for managers to take and apply. I was fearful that my delivery – all in English, and sometimes too fast – would result in students not being able to fully grasp the concepts. I was also concerned that they would be hesitant to stop me and tell me I wasn’t making any sense. Surely a Mandarin speaking instructor would be better.
My second concern was that I have exclusively delivered the class to participants in the US (and occasionally one from Costa Rica or Europe). I was really concerned that the material would have parts/pieces that would be culturally challenging to apply to these people’s teams. I have learned a lot about working with my Chinese colleagues, and learned enough about Chinese culture not to make an ass out of myself in public – but fall far short of being a ‘cultural guide’.
I tried desperately to find an instructor in PRC (native Chinese, or Mandarin speaker) that would co-teach with me. I struck out.
Then the Intel U contact that owns the class started to sound as desperate as I did – turns out the Shanghai site took a ‘quarterly objective’ to get a certain % of managers trained in this material… and they couldn’t get anyone to teach.
So the desperation of the Intel U guy, along with the feedback that the organization wanted me to step up and provide more leadership for the site, outside my specific responsibilities led me to bite the bullet and agree to teach.
This week was my first class. Overall it seemed to go well. The feedback from the couple of students that did talk with me afterwards was good – they indicated that they enjoyed the class, and one asked if I was going to teach any other classes. Another indicated that he wanted his staff to attend my next class.
I lead off the class with giving them express permission to ask me to slow down if I spoke to fast, to ask me to rephrase if they didn’t understand what I was saying or trying to communicate, and to stop me if they thought any of the concepts would not be applicable to their teams/work groups based on cultural differences between the US and PRC. None of the above happened, but I don’t necessarily think it was because everything was perfectly clear and applicable. I think it was a combination of some people being there to ‘complete the requirement’ and potentially their concern over ‘questioning the instructor’.
A couple of interesting observations I thought I would share.
I struggled to get the class to engage in discussion – In the US I usually have to cut off the discussion – everyone wants to give their opinion and be heard! I really struggled to pull comments and discussion out of the group and continue to rack my brain on why that might be…
So many possible reasons were running through my head ‘they don’t understand what I am asking them – this will be the worst class ever’ and ‘they are so bored they aren’t paying attention – this will be the worst class ever’ and even ‘they are so uncomfortable with their English skills they won’t engage – this will be the worst class ever’. I do have to admit it got a little better the longer class went on, but nothing like class in the US.
The second really interesting observation was about a game we play in the class. It’s a game focused on applying the learnings from the class about management and leadership. The group is split into teams and they read scenarios and decide on the appropriate response from a list of 4 options. They get to move their playing piece either forward or backwards based on the response they choose. First team to the end of the game board wins.
In the US what happens is one team wins and all the other teams stop and put the game away. “Someone won, it wasn’t us, the game is over” – the pieces get put away.
But in PRC it was totally different. Every team wanted to get to the finish line. They continued to work on the scenarios – continued to ask me to score their answers. They worked right through their break, as it was important to them to finish. Not that winning wasn’t important – they all wanted to win… but if they could not win, it was still important that they finish.
Now, I don’t have any idea what this says about the US culture vs. the Chinese culture, just something different that I didn’t expect… And it was cool!
As I mentioned, some folks came up to me afterwards and mentioned they enjoyed the class, and they thought it was a good use of 2 days. The evaluations went out today, so I should be getting some feedback in the next few days to see what they really thought! :)
For anyone curious, I’ll post about the results when I get them!
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