(still catching up... drat the censors!)
So this morning started out with a disoriented and sad Ethan as I searched for a James that wasn’t there, became confused, then concerned, and finally awakened enough to realize he wouldn’t be there for 3 more weeks… sniff, sniff. Really, we’ve been inseparable since we’ve met, like no other relationship I’ve ever been in, and I’ve grown so accustomed to his constant presence in my life (quite a statement for a loner such as myself), that I ache without him now. Mind you, I love being the world traveler. It’s incredibly exciting! It’s just lonely doing it without him.
Nonetheless, I crawled out of bed and sent my sad little text his way to start my day off… Then showered and headed downstairs to see what a Chinese breakfast might consist of….
Turned out, noodles were the fare here as well… as well as a strange sort of steamed egg, a rather bleached, odd looking sausage, a white, “vegetable bun”, a rather tasty yogurt, strong coffee, congee (rice pudding), and some other things I didn’t bother trying. Not so bad really… and this time, my tummy remained tame.
We then took a cab to work where we were rather impressed by the new Microsoft campus. Wow! The campus is incredible! We’re talking light, plants, water works, huge atriums… Charlotte has nothing on this place. In fact, our offices are rather dark, depressing, and full of dreary fake plastic trees now that I think about it…
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After the meal, I went to the restroom only to discover that I wish I had brought my camera!! For here, there are no toilet seats, nor urinals… rather, there is a hole in the ground, with places for your feet on either side for you to squat… I’m so not kidding… and a mirror for you to look at yourself directly in front of you… ??? Because that’s the position I most want to see myself in… oh yea!
Thankfully, my tummy was ok at that moment and squatting wasn’t in the cards for me… (huge sigh…). Definitely taking a camera to the next restroom, however…
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We walked back to the hotel as we had no more funds. I had been the only one to withdraw money from the airport, after all… everyone thinking we could use our corporate cards and surprised to learn that Amex and Visas drawn from American banks have no value here… thus, my money went rather quick to pay for our meals and taxis. We had to head back to the hotel to hit the ATM. This was alright, really, as the spicy food was already beginning to move on me and I was picturing that hole in the floor… and shuddering…
So here I am, back in the hotel. Not to fear, however, as tomorrow someone from Microsoft has promised to take us out to Shanghai proper to show us around… Whoot! I shall see the city while I’m here!
So this morning started out with a disoriented and sad Ethan as I searched for a James that wasn’t there, became confused, then concerned, and finally awakened enough to realize he wouldn’t be there for 3 more weeks… sniff, sniff. Really, we’ve been inseparable since we’ve met, like no other relationship I’ve ever been in, and I’ve grown so accustomed to his constant presence in my life (quite a statement for a loner such as myself), that I ache without him now. Mind you, I love being the world traveler. It’s incredibly exciting! It’s just lonely doing it without him.
Nonetheless, I crawled out of bed and sent my sad little text his way to start my day off… Then showered and headed downstairs to see what a Chinese breakfast might consist of….
Turned out, noodles were the fare here as well… as well as a strange sort of steamed egg, a rather bleached, odd looking sausage, a white, “vegetable bun”, a rather tasty yogurt, strong coffee, congee (rice pudding), and some other things I didn’t bother trying. Not so bad really… and this time, my tummy remained tame.
We then took a cab to work where we were rather impressed by the new Microsoft campus. Wow! The campus is incredible! We’re talking light, plants, water works, huge atriums… Charlotte has nothing on this place. In fact, our offices are rather dark, depressing, and full of dreary fake plastic trees now that I think about it…
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Still, we have Starbuck machines, so hah!
Anyway, the meetings went rather well and people were quite friendly. Lunch was more noodles and the day ended with Xiao, our contact, taking us by shuttle to her favorite restaurant (one based on food from her home town). The food was amazingly spicy, though she assured us it was “mild” by the restaurant standards. The pork was amazing! The fish, not so much, and it was tiring picking the tiny little bones out. The frog, pretty good, actually, though also tiring with the bones. More noodles, of course, and the course ended with soup (as it appears is customary, in China, for the meal to end with soup rather than to begin with soup).
After the meal, I went to the restroom only to discover that I wish I had brought my camera!! For here, there are no toilet seats, nor urinals… rather, there is a hole in the ground, with places for your feet on either side for you to squat… I’m so not kidding… and a mirror for you to look at yourself directly in front of you… ??? Because that’s the position I most want to see myself in… oh yea!
Thankfully, my tummy was ok at that moment and squatting wasn’t in the cards for me… (huge sigh…). Definitely taking a camera to the next restroom, however…
.jpg)
We walked back to the hotel as we had no more funds. I had been the only one to withdraw money from the airport, after all… everyone thinking we could use our corporate cards and surprised to learn that Amex and Visas drawn from American banks have no value here… thus, my money went rather quick to pay for our meals and taxis. We had to head back to the hotel to hit the ATM. This was alright, really, as the spicy food was already beginning to move on me and I was picturing that hole in the floor… and shuddering… So here I am, back in the hotel. Not to fear, however, as tomorrow someone from Microsoft has promised to take us out to Shanghai proper to show us around… Whoot! I shall see the city while I’m here!
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