Blogging from Baoding

[Sebastian]

It's already being sold in DVD here too.

 

Illegal DVD, blech...

[david_dawei]

May 8

Been a few days but the routine is established for sure... I think I probably walk around with the same dead-pan stare as the rest of the day-walkers

 

I'm still doing yoga and going to the gym... I actually feel my body loosening up (or that could be falling apart on some level).

 

I have to catch up on providing some meal names later but had some fantastic dishes of spicy duck head and another of spicy frog (you get the full body minus the skin of course. Tonight I am supposed to go out and eat dog. At many restaurants, they show you the live fish flopping around in a net; I doubt seriously they will bring out a dog chasing it's tail just to show me...

 

My wife's lasik surgery has gone well in terms of her eye sight is quite good but she did develop some inflammation (blister) and we have to see if that goes away or they said they will 'pop' it. But I think we're going to cancel our trip to Hawaii since she has orders not to go out in the sun too much and stay away from water... plus, they want to see her for a few more weeks.

 

The only sad news is her best friend (who has an 8 year old girl) got divorced; It's all hush to most and the couple will continue to live together for some time and not even tell the child or parents [yet].

 

Seems the guy has had a girl friend for quite a long while and everyone hoped that would just go away... but the gf made issues at her friends work and things only got worse... Finally, with the same speedy execution one can get married by the stroke of a pen, one can likewise end it as quickly. I only told my wife that such an issue must be confronted immediately and not allowed to go on or else no need to hang around anymore

 

Her sister just installed a satellite dish for 300 yuan and gets 78 channels; no need to pay any monthly fee... if you get the drift...

 

Also went to a palm reader; not your typical one which you can get on any street corner; this guys runs a small clinical like hospital and teaches both merdian points and diagnosis by reading the body. My wife is actually studying under this guy for a week; the class is offered to go to a nearby city (few hours by train) for two days to do further study... But he recommended some chinese medicine for me to take which I announce prior to every ingestion, "zhen bu hao he... gan bei!"

 

I've always been impressed with the myriad ways that the chinese can detect problems in your body externally; seems that everything 'comes to the surface' and can be read from the face, hands, and feet. Anyway, this guy said there is a blockage in my right leg; a problem in my neck; and a few other things... and all I could think was: "tell me something I don't already know!" But the real surprise is that such problems surface on your body within a few years of a chronic issue. I wonder if that line on my hand will go away if I ever fix my back but most everyone says it will require surgery (which is the cause of my leg blockage; yes, I have a blockage as my right leg goes numb occasionally).

 

Anyway, I've had others doctors tell me my back was a problem by simply putting their hands on my back and hip areas; Another detected it by looking at the red lines in my eyes; each red line, shape, and direction is a manifestation of some issue in the body. Last week, I had a wicked red dot in my eye which my wife was quite concerned about, but her sister looked at it and said that was from drinking too much alcohol in the last few days She was right in the end; it disappeared after a few days of taking it easy.

[Joanne]

Sounds like you don't want to leave. Hope both you and Zixuan gets more good treatments your bodies and souls need.

 

Too bad my husband doesn't believe in any doctor. He is so thin. Yet, it is a forbidden topic. Just the other day, I subtly touched on the topic of him feeding himself more and he jumped right at me saying I eat too much. It is such a shame that I could not do anything about this.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Joanne (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

It's a Dog eat Dog world

 

This is about dog meat... so if you don't have the appetite for such a post, then you may want to skip this.

 

---------

 

As planned, I went out with another guy to eat dog meat, at a restaurant appropriately named: Liu San Gou Rou Guan

 

And once again (second time eating it), it was probably the most tender meat I've had. Served as a large hot pot item (50 yuan) full of meat, tofu, carrots, potatoes. While most of the pieces are larges chunks of meat, there were many with bones and even skin; the latter reminded me of the pork skin that I know some chinese favor.

 

I took note of the cats that roamed around the restaurant; I wondered if this was poetic justice for them. At one point I heard a cat whining quite a bit and asked softly to my friend "you mei you mao rou? (is there cat meat?) My friend got quite serious and said "bu neng chi!" (cannot eat that!). I mentioned that Guangdong likely serves cat; the joke I once heard went something like Guangdong will eat anything with legs, except a table.

 

I will say that eating dog made me wonder why we have hangups on eating certain foods; Not only do the chinese not waste much of an animal's parts, there are few edible items in nature that are overlooked as well.

 

And in true fashion, this shows how the chinese have no problem with seeming contradictions; with having dogs as a pet and eating dog too. Their ability to 'have their cake and eat it too' shows how much they are about "both/and" philosophy rather than the western "either/or" morality.

[rogerluli]

the joke I once heard went something like Guangdong will eat anything with legs, except a table.

 

 

The whole saying is that Cantonese will eat anything with four legs except a table, and anything that flies except an airplane...

 

I do want to try dog though...Have seen it on menus but haven't gotten around to it yet...

[david_dawei]

May 9

Minor snafu in our plans...

 

Right after I was able to convince United to allow us to change our flight, but it's been full of twists and turns...

 

At first, United said it couldn't be done since "star alliance" agreements state once a flight is started and it contains mutiple carriers then no changes can be made; then they said they could do it if we provided a doctor note. So we provided a doctor note saying follow up treatment of her eye inflammation was advised and they stamped and signed in typical way...

 

Then united says, "where's the doctor's letterhead?" Now that's funny...expecting a letterhead in some small eye clinic in a small city in china... The only thing funnier was the united rep asked me, "doesn't anyone there speak english?" I wanted to say, and everyone in the entire world speaks english too... but I explained this is china; the doctor is chinese; the clinic employs all chinese people; they treat all chinese people. [bTW: I was in the entrance/exit department police station today and they said they needed an official letter from the local police... so the guy gave us a white piece of paper from the printer and said to just fill it out on that... that's as official a paper as it gets; one gets the official stamp and that's usually enuf!]

 

Anyway, United relented and said, "ok.. just this time"... I've heard that a million times in my life; anyone else believe that this is the last time?

 

Ok.. on to the snafu... after we get the ticket's changed, we realize that my visa expires prior to the plane departure... so off today to the police station to get an extension; We've done this before but turns out that office was closed, so we went to the main building.

 

The guy asks for our marriage papers... seems this is becoming more common and getting around it is not uncommon either... enough argument seems to convince the guy we're married. But the officer who has to do it is out...so we have to come back monday with that 'official' paper stamped to try again. Bad timing is that my wife wants to go to the other side of the city for a 10 day training and now I guess we have a few days to figure something out.

[Randy W]

Are you saying they're asking for your marriage certificate with the notary seal?

[david_dawei]

I didn't get word of how 'official' a document they wanted... meaning, it's possible that a simply copy would of sufficed.

 

In each case, we've produced a copy of both our State IDs showing (obviously the same state and) same address.

[david_dawei]

May 11

I'll be going to stay with a friend for about 10 days as my wife goes to study how to teach meridian point massage. She's been so busy getting a certificiate in the electric massage, studying the meridians (which she generally already knows), and now this last one to do.

 

I've grown accustomed in this trip to being alone, going to the gym, getting something to eat, going out with other guys to eat and drink. Most of the roads are falling into place; I know which vendors and which places to eat at. Still teaching two 14 year olds english. Yesterday I told them we would look tomorrow (now today) at "Gu Wen" -- Ancient text and they will give the gist of the poem or passage in english.

 

The boy told me story about school; the biology teacher told the students studying genes to make something up; one boy who is short said he wanted a tree gene to grow tall; another who is weak said he wanted a flea gene so he could jump; another who did not consider himself good looking said he wanted another boy's gene since the other is 'handsome'. The last was a clever comment as the other boys name translates to 'handsome'.

 

Interesting to note that my wife uses english at times mixed with chinese. Whenever she bumps into someone she says, "sorry"... in fact, no need to do so; nobody really cares anyways.

 

She frequently says "bottom" instead of "bottle"; "give me a bottom of water"... I had to final tell her bottom is slang for butt... she now enjoys asking for a "bottom"...

 

Also, she never says "flashlight" but instead says "flash" or "give me flash"... I finally told her the slang for a "flasher" and it's better to add in the "light" part... now she walks around asking me to "flash" her...

 

Word games are of course fun. I do the same thing often with chinese once I make a few connections and figure out how to make a joke of the words. One example: There is a restaurant called "Jin Kuai Zi" but the Kaui Zi is not chopsticks as might be expected... so I call it "Jin Kuai Le" as a joke.

 

Often I ask her questions on chinese and I often get the "don't talk detail, just memorize"... once in a while when I get an answer, it's like talking to a zen master:

 

me: At what age do you stop calling a child "bao bei"?; [here pronounced as "bao ber" due to their affinity to add "er" to ending of lots of words.]

her: When should I stop calling you "bao bei"?

[david_dawei]

May 12

Just filed for my visa extension today in Baoding... Had to go to the local police office to get an official letter stamped giving the details; of course that means it's written on a white piece of paper and stamped.

 

Once again, we were asked for the marriage certificate; the same office which asked for it twice already. This time they wanted to know why nobody from the US has faxed one yet! He chastised her for living with a man without the certificate!! she sheepishly gave a "dui bu qi" to get it moving along.

 

Once stamped, we went to the main station to apply and brought the letter, passport photo, and proof of money available to cover the extension. Of course the photo is easy to get but we went to a friend who we thought could take it (he has a photo edit store and has taken pictures of us before) but he walked us across the street to a friend just opening a photo store and said we needed pictures ASAP and there was no need for us to pay... the friend did this with a speed and smile not often seen; I guess the pleasure of helping us is lost on the fact that it doesn't help her put any food on the table... We left her shop to go walk around and surprisingly ran into her a hour later while crossing a street; she enthusiastically handed over the pictures at that time.

 

This is the second time we've done a visa extension in this city; the first time was much easier using a 'friend of a friend of a friend' inside the police station... one can easily see why a pack of cigarettes and a friend are practical and valuable.

[david_dawei]

Traveler's Tip

It seems that this Olympic year has made the request for a marriage certificate the top item we should of brought and will in the future, even though we consistently talked our way out of the pagan practice of living together without martial proof! But here is a list of items I've found over the course of a few trips that are good or at some point necessarily to have.

 

1. Marriage certificate... enuf said

2. Any USD you bring ought to be spotless, clean and without any marks. We've had banks turn away USD with a little used look.

3. If you exchange USD to RMB at a chinese airport prior to getting to your final destination/city, keep that receipt. One time when we then tried to exchange from RMB back to USD in this city we were asked to prove that we original got RMB from a chinese bank! In fact, I would just keep all the exchange receipts...

4. Some items are easy to get in china and really no need to bring but for the Type "A"s out there, you could bring passport photos in some rare case of needing one; copies of your passport bio. You might need a copy of your visa at some point but may as well wait since you won't have the chinese entry stamp in the PP till you.. uh.. enter.

5. Unless staying at a hotel, register your living location with the local police the next day. I've not stayed at hotels really, except for a trip to Yunnan but the hotel must be approved for foreigners... of course you can find some that will take you who are not approved and in which case you want to only go back late at night with a black coat on and hood... you know, stay completely inconspicuous

6. Your not supposed to take RMB out of the country; I forget the limit... but try to exchange as much as possible back to USD or leave it with your SO or her family as you see fit. Make sure you know ahead of time which branch will exchange back to USD (and from USD).

7. This may be isolated and Olympic year issue... but our wire transfer from US to China had a 'freeze' put on the money till we went to a specific branch to fill out paperwork. If you wire transfer, make sure that not only it is there but is available (or needs paperwork). The amount doesn't seem to matter; not sure if I had sent it in RMB it would of changed it either.

8. I never carry my passport unless I know I need it for something like doing a visa extension. This is probably a bad habit as I am probably supposed to keep it on me all the time but I'd rather talk my way out of not having it and saying I can get it rather than somehow lose it somewhere... I only raise this to mention that I think your supposed to have it on you. If your staying at a hotel, I would then probably keep the PP and all money on me all the time, unless they have a security box you feel is truly secure.

9. Figure out how you can use a phone in the event you are not with your SO but need to call her. Because we made friends with a local massage place literally downstairs, I know I can go there and ask them to use their phone if needed.... of course, maybe a massage will make me forget why I need to call...

10. Get used to a few vendors or shops to buy small stuff like fruit and drink, so your comfortable to do it yourself.

Edited May 12, 2008 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[Dan R]

The writings get more and more interesting David.

 

I was hoping someone would diagnose something different than the obvious from one of the doctor visits.

 

The meridian reading, is it like pulse reading most clinics do? I'd be interested in studying that too. If you stay in SoCal again maybe she could teach me.

 

Personally I am not fond of dog soup. But BBQ dog is fantastic. The pieces are dipped in dry spices. MMMmmmmmm

 

I've had experience with getting prescriptions filled in the US from China. It took two months, phone calls and three attempts before we could get the Doctor to put on it enough information to qualify as a prescription here in the USA. "America Bu Hao" to quote someone you know. "Everything needs too much paper. Why not just do."

 

So are you coming back or are you enjoying the male sports bonding and exploration too much? I'm still here with multiple jobs. The Massage clinic is gaining business slowly. It isn't easy changing the image from an Asian parlor for men to a Holistic Alternative Therapy Clinic for the Family. But we shall see.

 

Take care Brother.

[david_dawei]

I was hoping someone would diagnose something different than the obvious from one of the doctor visits.

me too.. but one often gets the typical; 'liver or kidney' is weak... that's most men in the world I'll go back to get a back xray in a few weeks to see if my back condition has changed from 2 years ago. All I can say is that the persistent stretching has reduced my pain considerably; I'm sure the yoga helps but there are some movements which don't, so I'll have to continue some of what works best on my own.

 

The meridian reading, is it like pulse reading most clinics do? I'd be interested in studying that too. If you stay in SoCal again maybe she could teach me.

It's just point massge; knowing the correct points. She has always been more interested in this than say the swedish approach. When she came to the US and did massage, she had to completely change her approach at first since few want (or even understand) point massage in the US... then as you know she slowly mixed the two methods to a style her own with a little Thai.

 

But she never tires of learning the meridians and points and how one can "treat" the body this way. Because of her attention to detail in this, she was eager to take this current class on how to teach it to others. I suspect she regrets not taking the teaching class she was offered while in MP last year. Maybe that will give us an excuse to visit MP again.

[Sebastian]

Could you post something here about yer meetup with Oscar ? TIA !

[david_dawei]

I did meet up with Oscar for a few days, along with WH (I'll abbreviate her name) and daughter XX. Originally I had hoped to meet them in BJ but since they came on the holiday time period we didn't want to battle that crowd so asked them to just take the train to Baoding. They arrived about midnight due to a snafu in their day trip around BJ; we jumped out of bed upon getting their call and meet them at the brand new hotel which we arranged for them ahead of time. My wife argued down to $230 RMB a night, which is the cheapest room and there were plenty of others more extravagant which they showed us but frankly, the cheaper room was a typical two bedroom sized one like in most good hotels for business travelers in the US and served them better.

 

We spent parts of a few days together, talking about work, life, and china. Ate out together, took them shopping and for massage. WH has apparently traveled quite a bit as part of her work (or past work) and has been to Baoding more than once (I believe) and recognized the "Lv Ruo" as "typical for the north" (donkey meat in a peta), which I brought for them to supplement breakfast in the hotel dining one morning.

 

WH seemed very mature, kind, and sweet; a very good mother. The daughter (12?) has that beautiful youthful glow; already showing that small side of the chinese stoic stare and yet a warm smile and laugh which she clearly gets from her mom.

 

Oscar likes to be friendly and open, joking alot... actually a deceptive joker since I sometimes didn't see the joke till it was on me... Something which is harder to see from a person from an online experience only.