Archives for August 2009
Haibao, Shanghai’s Expo Mascot
China’s next big event, which is receiving enough attention here to possibly be the second coming in disguise, is the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. Last year, statues of a cartoony blue guy started cropping up in different cities, Changzhou included, but I didn’t realize he was the official mascot for the expo until I went to Shanghai and saw the craze firsthand.
His name is Haibao, which means “treasure of the sea,” and, like the Fuwa from the Beijing Olympics, his likeness is being exploited throughout several official mascot merchandise stores. Seriously, they can fill up an entire store with just this guy. He comes in all sizes, from a small keychain to an enormous blow-up doll. Don’t get any ideas, now.
On Nanjing Road in Shanghai, many people have started selling knock-off Haibao dolls at a fourth of the price. All of these vendors come across as very nervous and fidgety, though, and will flee at the slightest hint of police presence. I guess the Shanghai government wants to crack down on the knock-off market. But wait a minute. At the same time on the same street, there are hundreds of nonchalant vendors pushing DVDs, watches, purses, bags, marijuana, and even prostitutes. Haibao dolls, though? That’s going too far.
Welcome Back, Now Go Away
Three weeks may have been a bit much, at least for a summer vacation in China. This is one hot, humid country. Every time I sat down at a computer, I couldn’t stand the heat long enough to even answer my e-mails. But now that I’m in my new apartment in Changzhou, it’s time to jump into the first inning of a long game of catch-up.
Getting this apartment wasn’t so easy, however. My school was never very clear about when classes started or when I could move in, but I figured they were smart enough to figure out I would need somewhere to live when I dropped half of my stuff off at the foreign affairs office and said, “I’ll be back in three weeks.” Well, three weeks later, I showed up only to meet a very surprised foreign affairs representative. He wasn’t expecting me to move in until the 30th. Instead of being apologetic about the misunderstanding and offering to help (by giving me the apartment or helping me find something else), he said, “It’s none of my business what you do.”
I was more agitated than normal by his indifference, because my brother had this same problem earlier that day. His school was in the process of moving to a new campus and didn’t have an apartment ready yet. They actually offered to pitch in for a hotel in the meantime, though. Mr. Dipshit at my school didn’t. He didn’t care what I did. He just wanted me to leave and not come back for five days. If this was how he and the school were going to treat me, then I didn’t want to work for them. I told him so, and he replied, “Fine. You can find another school that will hire you.”
After that note, I think he was waiting for me to fall on my hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. But I didn’t. Though I was shaking inside, I simply said, “Okay.” We stared at each other for an awkward 30 seconds before his attitude suddenly changed. “All right, I’ll make some calls. I can’t guarantee anything, but I will help. Please just… wait for me to call.” And here I am. I still had to find a hotel that night, but I was able to move into the apartment the next day.
Now that everything’s settled, is it really that big of a deal to show up a week early? I’ve never had this problem with a school before. Do they honestly think a foreign teacher can move in one day and start teaching the next? Can you imagine flying to another country and having to make such a quick transition? Granted, my situation is a little different, but I’ve been traveling for three weeks straight. I’m burned out from living in hotels and waking up at 5:00 to join tour groups and wearing the same reeking clothes every day.
I’m also getting sick of Chinese people thinking it’s easy to be a foreigner. The obnoxious part about this misguided information is that the majority of offenders have never left the country and have never experienced McDonald’s in another language. China can be a very rude awakening for many Westerners. It takes time to adjust to the food, the culture, the communication barrier, the way people look at you. And somewhere in there, you’ve got to get situated into a new apartment, too.
Mr. Dipshit thought it was funny when I asked if he expected me to sleep in the street. It’s easy for him to holler from his high horse that it’s none of his business. He’s a Chinese citizen. He lives here. He speaks Chinese. For me, it’s still just as hard to get around as it was last year. I still don’t speak the language. I still don’t have a permanent place to live (nor do I know how to get one). I don’t have a car or a bike. I live with an expiration date (my visa) hanging over my head at all times. I’m just glad I have a friend, a local hotel owner, who’s willing to help me out whenever I get screwed over by someone else. His hospitality gives me hope when the rest of the country is driving me crazy.
Paypal Sucks
Every time I try to order plane tickets using Paypal, I get a call from the flight reservation company telling me Paypal is preventing them from receiving my money. So I open my Paypal account and see that it’s been frozen due to suspicious activity. Every… damn… time. When this first happened, I called Paypal in Shanghai and explained that I was on vacation in China. They agreed to re-open my account and mark it as a special “China case.”
A few weeks later, I had to order some emergency tickets from Beijing to Xi’an. Surprise! Paypal froze my account. I called them again. They weren’t as willing to cooperate this time around but finally opened my account so the transaction could go through. Another week later, I tried to order tickets again, this time from Jiuzhaigou to Chengdu. BAM! Frozen. And Paypal refused to help. Nevermind the fact that they opened it twice before and had supposedly marked my account to prevent this from happening in the future. Their only suggestion was to call Paypal’s office in Omaha.
Uh… I’m on vacation in China, you idiots.
When these disputes arise, there are ways you can resolve them without having to call customer support. Their website offers many solutions. Of course, these methods include Paypal calling your house at a certain time, uploading bank statements, or copying information from a check, none of which you can do when you’re on vacation in China! So my account’s still frozen and will probably remain that way for several months. At least I know I’ll have some money waiting for me when I finally go home.
One Chinese Vacation Coming Right Up
A point I had made in my list of things I liked about China was the sightseeing, but I haven’t actually gone on a long, overnight trip outside of Jiangsu province for several months. My family is coming to China tomorrow, though, and we will embark on a huge, 23-day, cross-country adventure to Beijing, Xi’an, Jiuzhaigou, Chengdu, Guilin, Yangshuo, and Shanghai. So don’t expect any updates outside of new weekly polls for most of August.
This vacation couldn’t have come at a better time, too. After the shoe-shopping fiasco, I’ve seriously lost my patience with Chinese store owners who won’t let me go at “I’m just looking” and the other customers who continue to cut in front of me. I know, I know, you’d have to be an idiot to think you can escape these problems in major, tourist-ridden cities like Beijing. I don’t expect to avoid it; I just want my family here to experience it with me. Good thing they’re already on the plane as I type this. Suckers.
Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fun, and my brother is even staying to teach for the rest of the year. I have a few reasons for wanting to stay, myself, but I’m really not liking the idea of being a teacher again. My last free talk at the training center was about describing animals, but it was so aggravating, I kept saying to myself, “I can’t do this anymore. I am so sick of doing this.” Here’s an excerpt from the worst hour of the day:
“Next animal. A bear. Describe a bear to me.”
“It’s a bear.”
“Yeah, but what does it look like?”
“It looks like a bear.”
“So describe it. Tell me about its body, its face.”
“It is very lovely.”
“Okay… what about the shape of its face?”
“It has a bear face.”
“Well, is it big? Is it round? What about its eyes? What about its nose?”
“It has a bear nose.”
“So how would you describe that? What does it look like?!”
“I think it looks stupid, but it’s actually very smart.”
“I’m not asking if you think it looks stupid. I’m asking you to tell me what it looks like.”
“It looks like a bear.”
“Fine. You win.”
I’ve got a lot to look forward to. Ugh…
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