Howzit bokkie - Life in Switzerland

Settling in

2011-08-30T19:56:00.003+08:00

We moved to Zurich on Friday night. We don't exactly have masses to move, one trip in the Great White (the company station wagon) was all it took to get most of our belongings from Schlatt to Zurich.

We're now the proud owners of a delicious leather couch from Bogen 33 - a very cool shop with 50, 60, 70 and 80s furniture.

The rest of our SA stuff arrives over the weekend - when I'll be back in SA, smelling the jasmine. Lucky Frikkie gets to unpack it all on his own.

Dear Department of Home Affairs

2011-08-16T17:47:00.003+08:00

I need an unabridged marriage certificate from the SA Department of Home Affairs to prove to the Swiss authorities that I am indeed married to my husband and not some harlot who wants to make Switzerland my home by any means possible. I guess it happens.

Thing is, it takes 8-12 weeks for said marriage certificate to be issued by Home Affairs. Then, once I have it in my sweaty paws, the Swiss uathorities insist that I submit it, in person, to their Pretoria office. Not here in Switzerland, oh no, only Pretoria will do.

The Swiss certainly can give the Chinese bureaucrats a run for their money.

The quiet life

2011-08-15T22:54:00.003+08:00

When I was little we lived on a farm near Robertson. My ouma lived across the canal and not far down the way, not even for a small child. The summers were hot and if I close my eyes I can almost feel the heavy silence of those warm, mid-summer Sunday afternoons when you had to be Quiet, with a capital Q, because the grown-ups were napping.

As a child you miss many things, you forget, you just don't notice... Perhaps it was lonely for my mother (my father worked away a lot), but as a small child I remember it being pretty idyllic. My ouma cooked dishes that I haven't eaten since. Haaksel (spiced mince of lung, heart, windpipe and some other choice bits), kaiings (crackling, but so much better), real buttermilk, ouma-made apricot jam, aga-baked bread... I have really fond food memories of my childhood. Baking biscuits with my mom before the summer holidays when all the Transvaal cousins came to visit.

I'm vegetarian now and my heart lunges just at the thought of all that butter, fat and sugar, but back then I ran everywhere, everything was freshly made and we knew where everything came from. My ouma made her own butter, the hens laid the eggs, she baked the bread and her vegetable patch always seem to have beans in it (perhaps that's just because I despised beans and it felt like I always had to eat them).

Living in Schlatt is almost like living on Grootvlakte again. If I took a two minute walk I'd be in the middle of some farmer's corn field. When I arrived a month ago, the wheat fields were swaying heavily in the heat. The wheat's since been harvested and now the walnuts, corn, sunflowers, carrots, onions and apples are just about ready. The little apples with their pink cheeks beckon on every corner.

The local supermarket, the Volg, is not your usual chain supermarket. They stock local. So yes, some of the veggies comes from Spain, but if there's a local farm with produce to sell, you'll find it at the Volg. Our favourite yoghurt (rhubarb flavour) comes from a dairy not far from Schlatt.

And I could, if I wanted to, pop around the corner to some farmers wife for fresh eggs. We drink beer that was brewed in the neighboring town, Schaffhausen.

The photo is from a look-out tower about 15 minutes' walk from Brunnenhofstrasse. It's in the middle of a little forest. We ate berries in the forest and generally lazed about on Sunday after going to Florian and Angilica's pre-wedding feast on Saturday night.

We're heading to the next phase of our Swiss Adventure and we'll be moving in to our Zurich apartment in 2 weeks. Whoop.

The garden of Eden, perhaps

2011-08-10T22:58:00.001+08:00

The back garden in Schlatt. My lunchtime haven. I will surely miss it when we move to Zurich. Sigh.

Strawberries and cream anyone?

2011-08-03T20:31:00.002+08:00

Tennis in Gstaad = a really fun day out.

We went to a semi-final game of the Credit Agricol Swiss Open and supported the underdog, a plucky little Russian called Youzhny. He lost though. Bloody Spaniard.

Driving through the Alps to get there was quite magnificent. It's all just so green. And quaint. And well maintained. And clean. And of course, expensive. Lunch, at a great Italian place on the main drag, was yummy and I guess eventually I'll get used to paying the GDP of a small African country for a bottle of wine, 2 pasta courses and two coffees. Eventually.

Call me Lucy

2011-07-29T21:33:00.003+08:00

I have a new pre-loved bike. Officially it's called Lucifer, as per the name on the light. But I think calling it Lucy (it's a girl's bike after all) is perhaps a little more fitting.

It's still a little cranky from years of neglect and being left in a what was previously a pig sty (I'm not kidding). But we're slowly coaxing it back to life. It makes a grrr sound with each full circle of the pedals, but it's certainly looking a lot better than we it was first given to us.

We went for a little cycle last night and Lucy is definitely not a mountain bike. We ran out of tar and ended up on a beautiful dirt track that would probably have taken us all the way to Schaffhausen, but the daily thunderstorm was brewing and we turned around about halfway there. Her thin little tires didn't mind getting dirty, but it certain had me nervous a couple of times.

We are now also the proud account holders of a Credit Suisse joint account. Our first piece of correspondence arrive today - rather impressive since we went to see them only yesterday.

Tomorrow we're off to Gstaad for some tennis. How awfully civilized.

The loveliness that is Zurich

2011-07-24T20:25:00.002+08:00

1 CHF = ZAR 8,27

We spent the day in Zurich. It wasn't exactly warm, but it didn't rain and we spent the day walking around the city.

Frikkie bought himself a tres fancy bike, a Van Moof. Dutch. What else. http://www.vanmoof.com/riders-worldwide

I got a bike from Anita, our landlady. It is beautiful. I'm busy cleaning it and we'll have to replace some bits and pieces, but it's at least 20 years old and perfect for me.

Have also discovered a rose farm up the road and around the corner. They have over 120 rose varieties. And the best part? They have an honesty fridge packed with beautiful bunch of roses. So leave your 10 or 15 franks and off you go with a beautiful bunch of roses that still smell of roses.

Everywhere there are apple trees with half ripe apples. Something to look forward to now that cherry season is behind us.

You are here -- Schlatt

2011-07-20T00:46:00.003+08:00

Wetter: 19°C Bewölkt

So, I finally arrived. In Schlatt. Population: 738. http://www.schlatt-zh.ch/

Weather: a little bit rubbish.

Accommodation: rather sweet, permanent, no.

Neighbours: Patrick, Anita and two year old Liandra.

Happy: yes

Movin' on up

2011-06-11T02:48:00.002+08:00

Delicious roasted tomato spaghetti with rocket salad in the garden.

Retro

2010-10-04T02:26:00.003+08:00

Can't help but smile every time I go check my mailbox.

For the love of summer

2010-10-02T13:15:00.003+08:00

New Bredasdrop, southern Cape, roadtrip 2009. Bring on roadtrip 2010.

Wedding dress day

2010-10-01T13:33:00.002+08:00

I have my first wedding dress fitting today. This will be my view when I say, I do.

The best godson in the world - ever

2010-09-28T04:41:00.004+08:00

His name is Jackson and I think he's awesome.

Chris and I

2010-09-27T01:15:00.003+08:00

London - September 2010
Christopher and I at Vertigo. It was a treat to spend the whole afternoon with him - just two dear friend hanging out, catching up, looking at the view.

Four intrepid Saffers in Spain

2010-09-22T04:05:00.002+08:00

August 2010
St Clement, Costa Brava, Spain
Lianda, Frikkie, Nick & Henri

Change of scenery

2010-03-04T01:42:00.003+08:00

Cow on the beach. Hole in the Wall, Wild Coast, South Africa

Another Highveld storm

2009-12-03T01:03:00.002+08:00

Highveld storm in the making.

SA vs England

2009-11-18T04:12:00.004+08:00

20/20 cricket game at the Wanderers Stadium, Illovo, Joburg, South Africa.

We lost by one run. Duckworth-Lewis be damned.

Johannesburg Jacarandas

2009-11-12T12:59:00.002+08:00

And we're back

2009-10-25T15:31:00.003+08:00

Temp: 13 - 28
Exchange:
$1 = R7,48
1 Pound = R12, 25
Listening to: Charles Trenet singing La mer

Sunset: Eamon and I on a roof in Greenside drinking red wine. Bliss

And we're back! It took some time and effort to set up our home internet (understatement of the century), but it's all sorted now, so watch out for regular blog updates.

We're settling back into Jozi/Joburg/Johannesburg life. We're both working, Frikkie for a Swiss company called Nussli and I'm spending my days at Liberty as a communications specialist. Work is work, some days good and some days not so good.

The cats all made it back safely from Shanghai, but since then Nunu has gone missing and we've not been able to find her. I'm hoping somebody took her in - the alternative is too awful to consider. She's microchipped and so I know she's not ended up at the SPCA, so hoping for the best.

Need to get my lazy bum out of bed now - catch you again soon.

Silver linings

2009-05-12T11:41:00.005+08:00

Weather: warm and with a slight breeze
Temp: 16 - 25
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,23
Good enough for Etsy?

I made this tunic top from scratch. I made the pattern, bought the fabric and sewed it myself. I'm quite proud of it. And just in case you're wondering: no, I'm not pregnant.

Ok, so yesterday I was having a bad day. Today is better. Frikkie went and got me some medication, so I'm feeling 100% better. I'm still zonked, but I feel better. I'm not going on my train trip, I'm not feeling well enough, but hopefully we can go to somewhere nice on Saturday. Sunday Frikkie has to work, again. Sigh.

We're suppose to run the Great Wall marathon this weekend. Don't all gasp at once - I was doing the 5kms and Frikkie the 10. I don't want to die doing it, so I'm withdrawing. Maybe Frikkie will still go, not sure.

Ok, back to bed with me. Need some sleep.

BTW my silver lining for today is that I have a BF that I really love and want to spend time with. So perhaps it's understandable that I get a little grumpy when I don't see all that much of him.

A little rant

2009-05-11T20:14:00.002+08:00

This is not one of my usual posts, it's a rant. Here goes: I'm sick and tired of Frikkie always working late. I'm also sick and tired of him working on weekends. Sick.and.tired.of.it.

I'm also really sick (again) with a some nasty cold, so I'm a little more grumpy than usual. Hopefully I will feel better again tomorrow and then I will be able to see the silver lining.

Good Greek

2009-05-10T16:02:00.003+08:00

Weather: fine and hot
Temp: 20 - 33
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,22
Money, money, money: We paid our apartment deposit this weekend, in cash. I can't even begin to tell you how much I miss online banking.

I'm listening to Jacob Zuma's inauguration speech. Not bad, I guess, pity about his track record.

We had a great day yesterday. We went to the Fat Olive for lunch. Good Greek, with an amazing view (of which I did not take a photo, duh). They also serve chilled Fleur de Cap Chardonnay. I suspect we'll be back there before too long.

Pete and Rachael came round for dinner - we carried the dining room table onto the balcony and had a lovely night. Today however I'm not feeling so hot - no, it's not a hangover, but I suspect mild sunstroke from sunning myself on the Fat Olive terrace for 4 hours.

I can feel an afternoon nap coming on - catch you all next week.

Days like this

2009-05-08T14:16:00.002+08:00

Weather: Hot, HoT, HOT
Temp: 16 - 31
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1.22
Photo boot magic

There are these passport photo booths in the stations in Shanghai. I have very fond memories of taking fun photo booth pics with my BFF Gayle and Rebecca, so Frikkie I and ducked into one at some random station somewhere in Shangers. We selected multi or different photos, 4 of them. Instead we got 9 of the same. I thought it was a good analogy for China - you may not always get what you ask for, but you're get something, that's sort of right, or at least right enough to keep you quiet, but wrong enough so that you don't want to repeat the experience.

I'm planning a little excursion next week. I want to get onto a train and head inland. Not quite sure where to yet, but roughing it. Hopefully I don't get too lost. How lost can I get in three days?

The trip to the fabric market at the Science and Technology Park was a little disappointing. It's more a tailors' market than a fabric market and the fabric that was there didn't really tickle my fancy all that much. I did find one piece that I liked and am busy making a tunic top from it. I made the pattern from scratch, so I'm hoping it will fit me, semi properly. Will post a pic once it's done.

2 years and counting :-)

2009-05-05T10:39:00.003+08:00

Weather: fine Spring day
Temp: 16 - 23
Sinful: The Shanghai gang (Holly, Me, Frikkie, Rachael, Pete and Andrew) at Sin on Saturday night.

Frikkie and I celebrated our 2-year anniversary on the first of May. It was also exactly 1 year ago that we first set foot in Shanghai. Much has changed since then: Frikkie and I are infinitely happier, we now live in Shanghai, we can speak a smattering of Mandarin, but mostly it's Shanghai that is changing around us by the second as the city gets ready for the 2010 World Expo. It is amazing to see - construction on an enormous scale going on day and night (as the earth moving trucks thundering down the round outside our apartment at 4am bares testament to). We read in the paper over the weekend that the local government has decreed that property owners need to spruce up their building in the next 6 months and if they don't do it themselves, the local council will and owners will be presented with the bill. Just like that. What is perhaps not so nice about the clean-up is that the street food will disappear as it is now illegal to operate a business from the back of a bike. Street food is the best food. It's fresh, tasty, convenient and cheap. Sigh - will sure miss it. It is also now illegal to spit in public. This will not be missed.

I'm off to fabric market with Rachael and her friend Merte this afternoon. Am really excited. Our boxes arrived yesterday, which means my sewing machine and dress-makers dummy are here, so I can sew!

Last night in Beijing

2009-04-29T23:05:00.006+08:00

Weather: mild, sunny and gorgeous
Temp: 17 - 25
Ladies in Lavender: another Spring delight- Irises have popped up all over the garden.

Moving is not for sissies. Moving in China, speaking only broken Mandarin, takes balls of steel. Being in the middle of it I can safely say it's one of those "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" experiences. But like Gloria Gaynor says: I will survive! (sing along now)

The movers came today. They picked up 289kgs of stuff. That may sound like a lot, but it's couple of boxes, 2 bikes and a dressmaker's dummy. I wished Frikkie hadn't bothered shlepping all our books to Shanghai on the plane - at huge expense. Anyway, it's done. The apartment is close to being as we found it. The couch is a bit worse for wear - thanks to Sam, but we're loosing our deposit so I don't feel too bad about it.

The cats had to go for their pre-flight inspection today. What a mission. I asked about 10 taxis before I found one that a) had a clue where the place was and b) was willing to take the cats. Eventually I found somebody, but the cats had to go in the boot. Yes, shock, horror. They survived though and seem none the worse for the experience.

It's my last night in Beijing as a resident. Boo-hoo. I said goodbye to all my friends this week - Elkarien, Bob, Jo, Jetta, Liora... Boo-hoo-hoo. But I'm hugely looking forward to Shanghai - it's almost like moving to Cape Town from Joburg, but with no snooty Cape Townians to ruin it and a little more Chinese of course. But less Chinese than Beijing - if that makes sense. And with expensive wine. So saddle up maties, let the Shanghai adventure begin.

Summer Palace

2009-04-27T07:42:00.003+08:00

Weather: lovely
Temp: 9 - 24
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,28
What's in a name: I've now been to the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity. Perhaps it will make me a better person who lives longer.

What the hell is going on with the Rand. Not a month ago it was hovering around R1,45 to the RMB, now it's R1,28! Seems like electing JZ as el presidente has done the rand some good. Not good for us though. Oh well.

I was in tourist mode yesterday. I dusted off Time Out Beijing guidebook and headed for the Summer Palace. I've been meaning to go for ages, but since it's the Summer Palace I figured it was best to go in summer. And I was not disappointed. A, it was a lovely day. B, the Summer Palace is magnificent. There's a museum with some of the artifacts removed from the many pavilions and pagodas in the complex. Truly impressive.
Then I ambled down the 750m Long Corridor, an outside walkway beautifully decorated to the Longevity Hill where I climbed what seemed like a millions stairs. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take photos of most of the really amazing artifacts and Buddhas, but I understand that a million flashes may damage paintings etc.

As a little treat I took a rickshaw back to the subway. My rickshaw was racing another rickshaw guy. But I think we had an unfair advantage - the other guy was peddling with 2 big Indian lads in the back.

Got home and had some excellent pilsner from BOKB micro brewery in my complex. Alfie, my flatmate left this morning for Qinbuangdao, where he'll be managing (having loads of fun) the Beijing Sailing School for the summer. Only 3 sleeps to go and then we go too. Now if only I can lay my hands on some bubble wrap.

The problem with wrapping things up

2009-04-24T20:55:00.007+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp: 8 -21
Then and now: I think I prefer the spring time picture, although my first snow ever was pretty cool.

All quiet on the Eastern Front. Absolutely nothing to report. The kitties and I had a late morning. Well, why rush things when you have, oh well, nothing to do. I went to Secret from Africa, Miranda Allan's shop to get some of Melissa's Chilly Ginger Jam before we move to Shanghai. She even had Lunchbars. It's not quite the South African shop in London, actually it's not even close - I recon it's better - they just got Charlotte Reece.

You all have yourselves a great long weekend.

We're leaving on a jet plane

2009-04-22T19:38:00.006+08:00

Weather: good
Temp:9 - 20
Wall flower: Pretty Shanghai graffiti.

Usually I can handle just about anything. I've been told that I'm a pretty tough cookie (and some other choice descriptions). But today China got the better of me and I had a little cry. And I DON'T cry.

I'm guessing that life for the fabulously wealthy is easy. Pay somebody and all the pain goes away. Must be nice for those folks. ~~The money grabbing bitch~~ My friend Kiki from World Care Pet Transport offered to take care of getting the cats to Shanghai for a measly R1300 per cat. That "includes admin and the flights". Unlucky for Kiki I'm not fresh off the plane anymore. So I booked the cats' flight etc myself. But of course it wasn't THAT easy. I wanted to fly with China Eastern - they had the cheapest flight. I should have known that things were going to go horribly wrong when the Chinglish voice prompts were: "Press 1 for operator. Press 2 for sex". I pressed 2 and got a fax line. I phoned again and pressed 1. Despite choosing English as my preferred language I got through to a person who did not know what a cat was.
I explained in broken Chinese. "Aah! You fly cat Shanghai."
Yes, three cats.
No, fly only 2.
But I have 3 cats.
No, you no fly 3 cats. Two cats for each person.
What do you suggest I do with the third cat.
Only two cats can fly.
Is there another way (by now I'm starting to loose it)
Only two cats can fly.
Henri hangs up and has a little cry.

I then dried my tears and phoned China Air, spoke to an amazing, helpful, friendly, knowledgeable person. The cats, all three, are booked on the same flight as me and we're leaving Beijing next Thursday. All for R450.

Communication skills

2009-04-22T07:52:00.003+08:00

Weather: rain predicted, but it seems fine for now
Temp: 9-22
Dragon lady: Perhaps this salon/factory is aimed at horrible mother-in-laws.

Flora, Frikkie's office secretary in Beijing, has offered to help with the logistics of moving us to Shanghai. I really appreciate her offer - otherwise we'd be stuffed. You need somebody to explain everything in Chinese to the locals. So I mailed her a couple of questions yesterday. All set out in bullet point, very clear, logical. About 10 in total. This has mostly to do with booking the moving company and flying the cats. She answered one of my questions, with no indication that she understands my questions/ are trying to find answers/will get back to me regarding the others. This lack of communication really frustrates me. Flora's English isn't that hot, so it I fear that it will all get lost in translation...

NuNu is having her teeth cleaned today. Under general anaesthetic. For the princely sum of R1200. Between her and Sam my wallet is considerably lighter. But there was no other way - she lost one of her canines sometime over the weekend and I don't want her to loose all her teeth. Her jaw was damaged when she was run over (before I got her) and I suspect we'll be dealing with her teeth problems for the rest of her life. I'm so getting pet medical aid when we get back to SA.

Barbie for president

2009-04-21T13:56:00.004+08:00

Weather: a little windy
Temp:9 - 24
I think this photo says it all...

I had a good time in Shanghai. Thursday and Friday were spent apartment hunting. Argh - some people have extraordinary bad taste. Where do they find the crap they put into their apartments?

We found a 1 bedroom place in the former French Concession area in a old block. It is the complete opposite of where we live now. Now we live in Fourways, we're moving to Obz in Cape Town. The most exciting part is that we will have our own outside terrace. Granted it's not enormous, but big enough for a table, a couple of chairs and a braai. So all the neighbours will be staring at us when we're outside, but so what. Yes, there wasn't a round eye in sight. The area is VERY Chinese. And our building has not been renovated, bar our apartment. Our new place is on the second floor. To get there you have to go through the communal kitchen, then up the (dark) wooden stairs, onto the landing which has another communal kitchen and lav. This second communal kitchen is next to our front door. I can't wait to learn how to cook proper chinese food - I'm counting on my neighbours being neighbourhly and teaching me. At the moment the apartment has no kitchen. Our new landlord, a single guy, never cooks, so didn't need one. He's putting one in for us, but this means that we'll only move in 1 June. In the mean time we're hoping to stay in one of the Hassell flat in Pudong, close to Frikkie's office.

On Saturday we went to explore our new neighbourhood and popped into the biggest Barbie shop in Asia. WOW. I'm not a big Barbie fan, but as a brand experience it was pretty cool. I loved the fridge magnets. My favourite one says: "I wasn't built for house work". You go Barbie, atta girl.

Voting! Done and dusted

2009-04-15T12:57:00.002+08:00

Weather: a little cool
Temp: 5 - 18

I just got back from voting! Whoop, whoop. It felt a little bit like '94, just with no queues. I cycled to the SA embassy in Sanlitun, voted and had tea afterwards. Met two Saffers teaching in Shanxi province (three hours by speed train) who came to Beijing especially to vote. Got to love that dedication.
Who knew there were that many parties, I certainly had not heard of most of them.

I'm leaving the cats alone for five days. Alfie my flatmate is away and since Frikkie no longer works in Beijing I can't ask Flora, Frikkie's office secretary... I know this is not ideal, but let's hope they're all fat and flourishing when I get back.

Right, got to start packing for Shanghai. Can't wait to see Frikkie. It feels like it's been forever.

Getting ready to vote! VIVA!

2009-04-15T00:28:00.004+08:00

Weather: warm, with a slight breeze
Temp: 10 -24
Spring has sprung: there are flowers everywhere. I love it.

I'm loving springtime in Beijing. I just can't get over how quickly the city has changed. I was gone for 2 weeks and boom - winter's done and dusted and there is this lush, green city that's replaced the dry, dreary place I call home. Perhaps it's the suddenness with which it occurred that fascinates me, being a country bumpkin from the Southern Hemisphere. I've taken millions of close-up photos of all the blossoms I've come across. Pointless, but beautiful. Perhaps I'll get creative, have the best ones printed on canvass and hung in my house. Mmm, on second, thought, perhaps not.

Tomorrow I will go and vote in the South African general elections. I'm excited. I believe that my vote will make a difference. I have to believe, otherwise I may despair. And I don't want to despair. I want to have hope. I want to be feel the way I did in 1994.

I'm also off to Shanghai tomorrow afternoon. We need a place to live and I need to find it. I'm excited about moving. A whole need city to go and rummage around in. Whoop, whoop.

Hey, hey, it's Friday

2009-04-10T13:13:00.003+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp:12 - 23
Band on the run: Stella and I hanging out with Pete, the lead singer from London band, Playmaker.

I said good-bye to my Mandarin tutor Demi today. Instead of having a class we went for breakfast at Grandma's Kitchen near the Bei Xin Qiao subway station. I really like Demi. She's forever telling me things about Chinese society that slightly shock me. Like this - somebody offered her a large sum of money to write the entrance exam to a master's degree on their behalf. Because said person doesn't have the time. Apparently this happens quite often. Oh well, as they say, TIC (This is China).

Youtube is still blocked. And has been for two weeks. In case you don't know the background, read it here. I guess the question is: will Google remove the offending video? We all know what the South African government would have done in this case, but let's see how Google, the owners of youtube, reacts.

Sewing

2009-04-09T13:58:00.002+08:00

Weather: warm, polluted
Temp:12 - 27
Pink: Beijing has lots of peach trees, so there are little pink blossoms everywhere. Who needs to go to Japan to go see the cherry blossoms if you have these on your doorstep.

I know I'm a little bit slow, but I finally joined Twitter. My friend Rebecca loves it, so I figured it can't all be bad and what can I say, I have time on my hands. You can follow my tweets here http://twitter.com/LifeInChina

My class was canceled today, so it's just me and the kitties hanging out. I'm thinking of sewing something, but I may just finish this great book I'm reading (White Tiger by Aravind Adiga). Decisions, decisions.

Sam seems to be doing fine. He actually has some personality instead of just standing there jowling and peeing on stuff. I think we both felt pretty crappy yesterday and slept for most of the day. The older I get the worse my hangovers are and the longer it takes to recover. No seriously. I was in bed by 9 last night. Frikkie rang me up at 11:30 or so. Or should I rather say Andrew Lamb rang me up (Aussie who works with Frikkie), speaking broken Afrikaans... Andrew, Holly and Frikkie had been to a drink all you can (and then some) champagne evening somewhere. Andrew's Afrikaans wasn't half bad actually. Frikkie wasn't feeling so hot this morning though. Maybe I'll ring him at 11:30 tonight...

A whole new level of weird

2009-04-08T17:11:00.003+08:00

Weather: muggy and hot
Temp: 10 - 28
Els girls: Aren't they beautiful? Natasha, Annemarie and I at my mom's place in East London.

Ok, I just experienced a whole new level of weird. I went to the vet to pick up Sam. And they wanted to give me his nuts, in a little plastic bag. WTF? Like I said, a whole new level of weird.

I am severely hung-over today. Severely. I met Stella at Face Bar and let's just say it went down hill from there. The funniest thing happened. One of Stella's friends, who's name escapes my hung-over brain right now, is on her gap year. So, I said that I took a gap year to0, to kibbutz in Israel. Her response? "Ah, my mom did that too. It must have been an era." I started laughing. She looked puzzled. I guess she could have been my kid if I got pregnant at 17.

What did I do before?

2009-04-07T14:17:00.004+08:00

Weather: hot
Temp: 9 - 30
Birthday love: My godson Jackson has great taste - he must get it from his mama cause how else did he pick such a perfect gift for me.

I was wondering today what I did with my time before we went to South Africa. I'm bored. Beyond bored actually. For two weeks I pretty much dashed from one appointment to the next. Now - nothing. Ok, not nothing, I'm teaching at 5, but that's certainly not enough to keep my mind occupied. And my mates are busy so I'll only see them on Saturday.

To break the tedium I went back to one of my favourite sites and folded this origami flower. I bought a Chinese origami book a little while ago, but I think you need to be able to read the instructions as well as follow the illustrations. Doh. At least I had the little squares of paper handy, so it wasn't a complete waste of money. I dig my little flower.

Sam is going to the vet at 4pm for his op tomorrow morning. Hallelujaaah!

I love Beijing in the Spring time

2009-04-06T23:04:00.003+08:00

Weather: hot, hot, hot
Temp: 9 to 29
Blossoming: Sam and I spotted these blossom during our walk.

Spring has arrived! Hooray! The garden of Phoenix City is slowly but surely coming to life after the harsh winter. The grass is still dead, but the cleaners were cleaning the water features today so I'm hoping it's just a matter of time till they runneth over. And they fill the swimming pool. Soon.

I cleaned the apartment today. Or more precisely I tried to get rid of the cat pee smell. I have, I think, for the most part, succeeded thanks to P-Off - something I found at Diskem and lugged all the way here. Sam has of course done his best to eradicate my efforts, but, touch wood, he's going for his snip on Wednesday and that will be the end of that. It will also be the end of Sam's nuts. He is on thin ice - I had to wash ALL my bedding today. My bedroom door will stay firmly shut tonight.

My godson Jackson and his momma Rebecca gave me the most beautiful bracelet for my birthday. I LOVE wearing it. I'll take a photo of it tomorrow.

And I'm home

2009-04-05T20:28:00.003+08:00

Weather: sunny and warm
Temp: 8 - 23
Monkey loves luggage: I hadn't even unpacked everything yet when Monkey squeeze herself into one of my bags.

I'm back home in Beijing. The flights were long, but somehow bearable. Sam still yowls, NuNu is eating again, all the plants are still alive, so all is good in Beijing. And have I mentioned that the weather has greatly improved? It was warm today! Warm people. Come on summer! We won't mention that the apartment now really smells of cat pee. Well, it can't all be good.

I had the best time in South Africa. I spent an amazing week in East London. I went for walks on the beach almost every morning, got to spend loads of time with my family and loved every second of it.

And then I got to hang with my in-laws and friends. Not as much as I had wanted to, but it was good. I can't believe how quickly the kiddies are growing up. Jackson, Erin, Riley, Jared... it's quite amazing how much they've changed in 6 months. Thanks everybody for making the effort and spending some time with me. Love you long time.

Argh, my head hurts

2009-03-18T14:44:00.005+08:00

Weather: HOT, hot, hot
Temp: 9 to 26
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
Top of the mornin to ya: St Patrick's Day at Durty Nellies in Liangmaqiao.

Ouch, my head hurts today. I blame it on the luck of the Irish. The gals and I went to my nearest Irish Pub and had us some beer. Jo is going to kill me for putting up the second photo, but I love the Jameson bottle sticking out of her head...

Only one more sleep and we're of to South Africa. I absolutely can't wait. Now I just have to get through all the things I still need to do and we should get there ok.

Remember the braai at the Hollemanne is this Sunday.

Girls' night out

2009-03-15T20:39:00.004+08:00

Weather: WARM
Temp: 2 to 20 - dare I say it: Spring is in the air
Night out: Leora, Jo-Anne and I. It's like the United Nations of Expatia: Israeli/Argentinian, Saffer and Pomme.

Breaking news: Sam peed on me only once last night. Both Sam and I are very proud of this massive improvement on Friday night.

He may not live to see his second birthday. Seriously.

Saturday's fashion design class was interesting. I finally fulfilled a life-long dream: sewing on an industrial sewing machine. It goes fast. Really fast. Niiiice. Not so nice was the finicky material we used to make a top. It was shiny, black and slippery. I don't think I'll ever wear it, but it was fun making in, once I got the hang of the super-fast sewing machine.

The gals and I went to Houhai for dinner and drink afterwards. Also niiice. Love having girlfriends again. Leora had us in stitches with her tale of how she set her fringe alight when she was lighting up a cigarette. I said it's a sign that she should stop smoking. She said it's a sign of a faulty lighter.

NuNu is under the weather. She had a gungy, closed eye on Friday, kept on scratching her left ear and wasn't eating. We went to the vet. She has a very bad gum infection, which means it hurts when she eats. We came home with eye drops, ear ointment and antibiotics. Let's hope she recovers before we fly on Thursday.

My name is Sam and I wet my bed

2009-03-14T09:10:00.004+08:00

Weather: looks like it's going to be a sunny day
Temp: -1 to 12
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,46
Boo! You see paintings like this everywhere and I quite like it.

Sam is a bed wetter. And more particularly he pees on my bed. And on me if I'm in it. Which happened last night. At 2am.

I could smell that Sam had peed on the bed when I went to bed last night, so I stripped it down to the bare mattress and put on a clean sheet and a tiny throw blanket (we don't really have spare linen). This would be the 4th time this week that I would have to wash the linen. Added to his jowling, Sam's popularity ratings have reached an all time low. No, it's plummeted to so far below zero he will have to make up for it with a lifetime of cuteness.

Then I woke up at 2 to find that he had peed on the small blanket. I don't mind the wet, but it reeks to high even. Words fail me...

On a more positive note I got myself a flatmate, Alfie the Scot. I was looking for somebody to look after the cats when I'm away and since Frikkie's moved to Shanghai he was no help in that department, so I placed an ad on thebeijinger.com website and voila, I have a flatmate. He's a nice guy, likes cats (which helps) and will be staying till the end of April when he goes to the coast to teach at the sailing school in Qinhuangdao on the coast.

I can't believe we're leaving for SA on Thursday! It's just around the corner.

Shanghai or bust

2009-03-13T08:59:00.005+08:00

Weather: windy and chilly
Temp: - 5 to 4
Exchange rate: RMB1=R1,46
Beijing sunset: Chilly, but glorious.

Ok, big announcement. We're moving to Shanghai. Actually Frikkie's pretty much moved there already and I'll start packing things up when I get back from SA and then at the end of April it's "adios Beijing". Frikkie's job requires him to work in Shanghai and I'm certainly not going to stay in Beijing on my own.

I was in two minds about moving to Shanghai. Although we've spent some great weekends there I really didn't fancy moving to a new city. Thing is, I've just gotten to know Beijing and I sort of know where I am most of the time, I have a sense of direction and I've made a couple of friends. Basically it's starting all over again in Shanghai. But, the alternative is staying in Beijing without Frikkie, so there really is no alternative. But having gotten my head around it, I'm quite looking forward to it.

Great weekends

2009-03-10T07:55:00.003+08:00

Weather: warm for this time of the year
Temp: -2 to 10
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,56
Float away: you can enjoy endless cups of green tea in this little house boat on the lake in Liuyin Park.

I'm really sorry I haven't blogged since last week, but our internet was disconnected. It seems that in China they don't send you bills - they just expect you to know that you should pay, how much and where. I guess if you're from here you know this, however if you're a loawai you don't. And you have to go pay at one of the banks. I eventually got round to doing that yesterday. Won't happen again, I promise.

Frikkie is still in Shanghai and per usual Hassell standard is working late and on Saturdays and Sundays. It would seem that this is the norm and that if you want a life, Hassell China is not the place for you. And it look like I may not see him this coming weekend either. It's getting a little tired...

Despite not having the love of my life around I've managed to have some fun and keep myself busy. My week nights are pretty crammed with teaching, so not much socialising happening there. On Friday I joined my fellow teacher and colleagues from Standford English for a photo shoot. The shots will be used in some promotional material. Apparently we'll get copies of our individual photos. Should be good for a laugh, cause I'm a terrible model.

Saturday morning Leora, an Israeli girl I met in my fashion design class, and I set off for Panjiayuan Antiques Market. I've been there before, but it's such a massive market and there's so much to see that one visit really isn't enough. We spent hours browsing through some interesting bric-a-brac and blatantly fake, ridiculously-priced "antiques". Don't worry, I was in top form with my bargaining and didn't get ripped off.

For lunch we headed to a Korean restaurant close to the market. It's a chain and we all know how much I dislike eating at chain restaurants, but being veggie and in China it forces you to eat at places where you can either read the menu, or they have pictures of each dish. Which sometimes mean eating at chain restaurants. This particular chain serves dog. Korean restaurants usually do, it's their thing. Despite it being nothing new, it still makes me nauseous every time I see dog on the menu.

Leora and I talked all afternoon. And drank litres of green tea. Until 7pm actually, at which point we took the subway to go eat fillafel. The fillafel joint is close to Beijing's only kosher restaurant, which is just around the corner from the Israeli embassy. Who knew.

Sunday was a glorious day. I think we hit a midday high of about 15. It was warm! Leora and Stella was suppose to come for brunch, but Stella's flatmate's visa expired and there was some drama... so it was just Leora and I. We took Sam for his walk, but perhaps Sunday mornings aren't the best time to walk Sam cause there are loads of unleashed dogs and it's not all that safe for him.

Since it was such a glorious day we headed for Luiyin Park. It's a small park with a lake in the middle. Ok, it's more a big dam, than a lake, but it has it charms. People were flying their kites, playing checkers, mahjong, chewing the fat or playing some musical instruments. The park is covered in willows and I can just imagine how lush it's going to be in summer. Stella eventually joined us and we drank some more green tea. Again we couldn't stop yapping and stayed till dinner time. It's great to have girl friends again.

The art of procrastination

2009-03-03T09:59:00.004+08:00

Weather: foggy and cold (snow predicted)
Temp: 0 to 4
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,55 (ouch)
Ruby Tuesday: This is a carpet in a lift. It is changed everyday to show that it's been cleaned and rotated, hence the day woven into the carpet. Only in China...

Yesterday I took my procrastination to new heights. Here's what I was supposed to do:

Practice my Mandarin characters
Practice my Mandarin reading
Practice my Mandarin pronunciation
Learn Mandarin vocab
Respond to a career coach
Wash the dishes
Do some laundry
Tidy the house
Prepare for class
Teach class

Not a long or complicated list by any one's standards. Here's what I ended up doing:

Prepare for class
Teach class
Watch 10 episodes of Heroes till 1 in the morning
Read this new blog I discovered. Ok, look at the picture cause it's in Danish or Swedish...

I really need to be more focused (now there's an understatement).

On my new second favourite blog I found this: Guerrilla gardening- graffiti with nature; "without permit or license, we plant seeds and seedlings in all those neglected corners of public space. Join us as we vandalise the city with nature!"
I love the idea of randomly scattering seeds around the city that will turn into beautiful flowers. I see some guerrilla gardening in my future.

Will I never learn?

2009-03-02T11:57:00.004+08:00

Weather: chilly
Temp: -2 to 4
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R 1,49
Marketers' dream: I think they're trying to say that the shopping mall being advertised will be brand heaven... or maybe not.

The thing with cats... I love our cats. I really do, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wish they'd give more. My cats are real cats - they expect a lot and give a little. Frikkie often jokes that they allow us to live in their apartment. We have to put up with all their whims, not to mention adolescent growing pains. Sam is still spraying. On Friday morning I woke up to a wet, funky-smelling duvet. On Saturday he sprayed the couch. He still yowls all night. Threats of cutting off his nuts with the kitchen scissors have no impact - he carries on regardless. NuNu hides in closets. Monkey ignores me some of the time, and Frikkie all of the time. Where is the love? Maybe I'm becoming more of a dog person.

Perhaps you can answer this question for me. Why is that when you have time to study, you don't? I often say that if I could do my degree again I'd be far more diligent and get better grades. Yeah right. Right now I'm not looking for a full-time job so I can study Mandarin. But what do I do? Of course I don't study as hard as I should. I didn't even do my homework or revenue work this weekend, so today's class was really hard going and I could see that Demi was more than a little frustrated with me. Argh. I will do better for Wednesday's class.

We had a busy social weekend. Friday night we went to Pinotage, the South African restaurant, with Elkarien. Then on Saturday night we went to dinner and jazz with Jo and Lenora from my fashion design class. On Sunday we went to breakfast with Bob, Suzanne, Sho Sho and Ernest at Opposite House in Sanlitun. Making new friends can be hard work.

Lost and found

2009-02-26T12:40:00.003+08:00

Weather: too cold to wear just two layers.
Temp: - 3 to 8
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1,44
Market day: we try and go to the fruit and veg market every Sunday.

NuNu is home. I found her in the service duct on the 33rd floor. She was a little traumatised, but otherwise ok. Needless to say, the door to the fire escape is staying firmly shut from now.

Also on the kitty front: Sam's on heat and driving us absolutely MAD with his night-time yowling. To add to our joy he's started spraying. And the vet refuses to neuter him until he's had all his shots. That means we have to put up with it for another six weeks. Sam may not live that long...

We also didn't have electricity for nearly two days. First I thought the electricity for the whole building was out, but when I left for my class I noticed that the hallway lights were on. The concierge phoned the management office and all they said was that I need to go and pay my account at the bank. Thing is I paid the water and electricity last week. Of course I'm not 100% sure that I paid for water and electricity - who knows, perhaps I just paid for water... We spent a romantic evening by candle light. Next day I phoned our estate agent who speaks brilliant English and went to the management office with her. As it turns out I had paid for water and electricity. The problem was with a burnt-out fuse in our tripbox. That took most of the day to fix. Wasn't loving China so much then.

We booked out tickets to SA last night! Can't wait to see you all.

NuNu is missing

2009-02-23T13:37:00.003+08:00

Weather: chilly, but bearable
Temp: -2 to 3
Exchange rate: RMB1 - R1,47

NuNu went missing yesterday afternoon and I'm seriously worried. What was she doing outside our apartment in the first place you may ask. Well, there is a door from our floor to the fire escape stairwell. The fire escape is totally enclosed with doors to every floor leading off it, but no access to the basement or anywhere else. I figured since the kitties can only go up or down the stairs but can't get out it should be a safe place for them to get out of the flat for a little bit. Mostly I was hoping that Sam would scratch his gallavanting itch and that we would get some sleep at night. NuNu went out at about 2 and we haven't seen her since. I've looked everywhere, I've asked the cleaners and I've put signs up in the lift. I'm hoping that some good Samaritan found her, thought she was lost, took her in... and will return her.

Settling down

2009-02-19T11:28:00.004+08:00

Weather: mildly cold
Temp: -3 to 0
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Snow, snow, glorious snow: I took Sam for a walk this morning. Yes, in the snow. He loved it.

I finally feel like my life has settled into some rhythm that I'm comfortable with, I've made my peace with and I like. No, I'm not permanently employed in some high-flying marketing position. I'm still teaching part-time, but I have at least four classes a week plus one private student. I'm also seriously studying Mandarin 3 times a week. I'm learning how to read and write, which is very exciting for me. It's a struggle some days, but I'm getting there. It helps that I have a great teacher. On top of that I've enrolled in a part-time fashion design course. It keeps me busy, stimulated and happy. So, this is my life for now and I think it's pretty cool.

Frikkie's deadline has come and gone and hopefully things will return to normal now - whatever that is.

My mother once told me that male cats are more trouble than they're worth - they want to gallivant and roam - and that I should stick to girl kitties. She was definitely right about their gallivanting ways. Sam kept me up last night yowling and generally being a pain in the behind. Hence the walk this morning - I thought if he worked off some of that energy... Also, my friend Toby takes his cat for a walk every day. So I figure if I can train Sam then he can go for a walk every day. Let's hope my plan works. He certainly did seem to enjoy his romp in the snow.

It's SNOWING

2009-02-17T08:28:00.003+08:00

Weather: snow
Temp: -6 to 0
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Room with a view: it started early this morning and has been snowing ever since.

Hooray! Finally it's snowing. It's amazing watching the snowflakes drift past the window. Beijing is getting whiter by the minute.

I don't know what time Frikkie came home, but I think it was around 5 or 6 this morning. Surely this madness cannot continue.

There's nothing on my agenda today besides doing the laundry and crocheting. And drinking loads of hot chocolate. Hopefully Frikkie can sleep late. I've closed the bedroom door and if we're lucky Sam won't wake him up any time soon. Sam meows loudly and likes thudding down the passage at top speed chasing Monkey.

Just another manic Monday

2009-02-16T22:21:00.004+08:00

Weather: chilly, with a capital C
Temp: -9 to 2
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Stuff on my cat: Monkey in the year of the ox.

I was a busy little bee today. First I went to the Expat Learning Centre to pay my tuition for my fashion design course that starts in two weeks time. I'm super excited about the course and can't wait. Then I rushed back home to pick up Sam to take him to the vet. Thing is you can't really rush and take public transport so I was still half an hour late. Sam is healthy, but he has ear mites, which he's passed on to NuNu and Monkey, so he had his ear thoroughly clean (you can just imagine how much he liked that), plus had his Cat Aids test (negative) and his rabies shot.

The real fun and games started when I home and had to clean Monkey and NuNu's ears with some solution and ointment. NuNu was first up. It went so well that I decided to do Monkey tomorrow.

Demi came round at 2pm for my Mandarin class. I've started writing Chinese characters and let me tell you it ain't no joke. I feel like I'm in grade zero. Learning to read and write all over again is not easy, but I really want to be able to read and there's no other way.

Then I hopped back onto the subway to get to the class I had to teach. It was my last class with a great group of students, but we said we'd try to hook up in the spring to go hiking. Can't wait.

And finally I went to Frikkie's office to have dinner with my boyfriend. Pizza for two at the table in reception. The project he's working on right now is due at midnight, so I won't see him before then. But hopefully it won't get this crazy again for a while. He's utterly exhausted, but somehow he's very zen about it. Tomorrow apparently he gets to sleep late. Seeing is believing.

Beijing weekend

2009-02-15T18:51:00.003+08:00

Weather: chilly
Temp: -8 to 2
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,46
Technicolour dream coat: These are real, fresh roses from the Laitai flower market. How the hell? I have no idea.

It's been a lovely weekend for me. On Friday we had dinner with Pete, who's here from Shanghai. On Saturday Frikkie went to work and I made dumplings. It's a bit of a job, but the end result is home-made dumplings which is a great quick, fast food at home. Then I joined Frikkie and his colleagues for lunch followed, for me, by an afternoon/evening of chilling on the couch. I did not sew. I need to print out the pattern somewhere and well, it was cold, I didn't fancy missioning to find a print shop and the couch was just so inviting.

I watched two movies. First up was the Curious case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett. Before I say anything about the movie I have to admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for Mr Pitt. He sure is beautiful. And Ms Blanchett is brilliant. A bit of a chick flick, but a good one. Scoffing Cheetos I moved on a Changeling, Angelina Jolie's latest movie. Also good, not light and fluffy, but very good.

Frikkie came home at 4am. The poor man. I'm feeling very sorry for him. They have a deadline on Tuesday and right now they're working like crazy. He went back to the office today after breakfast with Stella and Bob at Grandma's Kitchen. Stella is from Taiwan and she just celebrated her first year in Beijing and Bob is from LA. We had fun. Breakfast started at 10:30. I got home at 4pm - need I say more.

The things I love about Beijing

2009-02-12T16:43:00.004+08:00

Weather: mildish
Temp: 0 to 10
Exchange rate: RMB1 =R1,45
ROAR: a tiger on a wall somewhere.

Yesterday I went to the Mu Xi Yuan Shi Chang fabric market. It's in the south and quite a mission for me to get there, but worth it. I have never seen so much bedding fabric in my life. It wasn't the best day to be out and about - it was cold and miserable with rain and although I expected something else, the market was still interesting, with some nice fabrics, but you really had to work through a lot of unpretty fabric to get to the good stuff.

I found this site burdastyle.com which gives away free sewing patterns etc, so bought fabric for a dress, which I hope to make over the weekend. Frikkie is on a hectic deadline and I'm guess it will just be me and the cats at home this weekend so I'll have time to sew.

I also got to thinking yesterday about the things that I love about living in Beijing. So here goes: discovering new places all the time, super-fast internet, the different kinds of Chinese food, friendly taxi drivers who help me with my Mandarin pronunciation, going to the flower markets, going to the fruit and veg market, not having to drive anywhere, having a bike, playing badminton, my students who give me some insight into modern Chinese society, making new friends (albeit slowly)...

My birthday present finally arrived yesterday. Yes, a little late, but Chinese customs wouldn't release it for some reason. My friend Nolene introduced me to Charles and Marie and I love checking out all the beautiful things people create. Frikkie has obviously been paying attention and I LOVE my present. The rings are a little small though, so will have to send them back and get a bigger size. Sigh - more waiting :-(

The things I miss

2009-02-12T09:44:00.004+08:00

Weather: it may snow today...
Temp: 1 to 10
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
Round and round: Sam's favour pastime is sitting in front of the washing machine watching the washing spinning round and round. He also loves chasing his own tail.

After an email to my friend Julia who lives in New Zealand I started thinking about all the things I look forward to when we get to SA next month. Here's what popped into my head: seeing my family, seeing my friends, hanging with my nieces and my godson, meeting Gayle's baby Frances for the first time.
I am also excited about the prospect of finding shoes that fit properly, waxing my legs (it costs an arm and a leg here), getting a good hair cut, speaking English and being understood immediately, seeing some South African faces, drinking water straight from the tap, driving a car, staying in a house, looking at stuff and being able to read the lables, knowing which products are good and which ones are rubbish, South African music, 5FM, aqueous cream, Woolies food, Woolies clothes, Woolies undies, Pick and Pay... and of course some sunshine and heat, Joburg sunsets, early morning walks on the beach with my mom, waking up to the quiet of the Bosveld in Bela Bela... I can't wait.

Oh brother

2009-02-11T16:52:00.002+08:00

Weather: very mild for Feb in Beijing
Temp: 0 to 14
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
Colour galore: Perhaps not as vibrant as India, but China has lovely splashes of colour. These quilts livened up my room at winter school.

I went for another interview today. And it all seemed very promising until we started talking salary and then it seemed a lot less promising. But we'll wait and see. Perhaps they're prepared to pay slightly more than minimum wage. I doubt it though.

But it wasn't a completely futile outing. One of my fellow interviewees and I got chatting and will meet up again over the weekend AND on the way back I went in search of a sewing machine shop, actually found it, which was surprising cause my direction were a little sketchy and am now the proud owner of a Brother XL2500. It's the most complicated sewing machine I've ever owned, but I'm really excited about sewing again. Tomorrow I'm going fabric shopping. Maybe I'll sew something over the weekend. The excitement is too much.

Lantern Festival

2009-02-10T09:24:00.006+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp: -4 - 15
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,42
Boom, boom: the view from our lounge last night. Beijing celebrated Lantern Festival in style with millions of fireworks.

Last night we headed to HouHai to enjoy the fireworks and to soak up some of the festive vibe. The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations and it's also the last day that you can legally shoot off fireworks in Beijing. And boy were there fireworks. And celebrations. It started at about 3 in the afternoon with crackers in the streets and just escalated from there. People were out in the streets, chilling, playing with their kids and watching the fireworks.We went to HouHai Lake for dinner and although we wanted to go check out Nuage, Vietnamese restaurant, we ended up at our old favourite, no name, where we had a great view of the fireworks from Tiananmen Square. Besides the really delicious food, no name's best feature is it's upstairs glass terrace. It's heated so you don't freeze to death and has a cocoon like feel to it.

I signed up for a fashion design course at the Expat Learning Centre and start in about 2 weeks. I'm super excited. Now I just need to get a sewing machine and I'll be all set. Set for what exactly I'm not sure, but set, nonetheless.

A new member of the family

2009-02-09T08:46:00.004+08:00

Weather: fine and mild
Temp: -4 to 11
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,40
I am Sam: Sam ran into me at the winter school, so another rescued kitty joins the Els-Labuschagne household.

Last week was rather interesting. Teaching at winter school was quite an experience. From 7am to 9pm it was just me, 14 kiddies and 3 other teachers. Although it was called an English camp, there wasn't a lot of English speaking going on. The youngest children were 7 years old and the eldest 12. I taught for 2 hours in the mornings and we did fun things in the afternoons, like crab fishing (complete with fishing rods and pieces of fish for bait), skiing, swimming in hot springs (with lots of chlorine in the water and swimming cap police - you have to wear a swimming cap, no exceptions), picking vegetables, chair skating, clamber club... And of course as much as I was teaching them English the kids were trying to teach me Chinese. Lucy, who's 8, tried communicating all week by speaking Chinese really LOUDLY and s-l-o-w-l-y, and then when I didn't get what she was saying, would say it again and again, even more slowly with the volume going up, and up and UP.

And then of course there was Sam. He was begging for food all the time, but surprisingly wasn't too wild. I couldn't just leave him there, so I brought him home in my rucksack. Monkey turned into a spitting cobra when she saw him, but by last night they started playing with each other. NuNu has retreated and is still hissing at Sam, but I think in another day or two she should be ok. Sam, being a kitten, is completely oblivious to the aggression and just wants to play.

And very exciting news for me: we'll be in SA on 20 March for a week or two. Georg and Rhone are getting married and Frikkie really wants to be there, so watch out Joburg, here we come.

Vietnam: sun, sea, heat...

2009-02-01T19:56:00.008+08:00

We got back from Vietnam yesterday. We had a great week. It was warm, beautiful, the people are really friendly and we were reluctant to leave. I'm too lazy to write about it, but I will once I get back from the Winter School where I'm teaching this week. So, after this, no more posts till next weekend - sorry about that. Entertain yourselves with the photos. If you're my friend on facebook you can check out some more there.

And we're off

2009-01-23T08:06:00.004+08:00

Weather: windy and freezing
Temp: -15 to -8
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1,47
No balance required: You don't need to skate when you go to Houhai - you can also cycle or sit on a ice chair. Only in China.

We leave for Vietnam today! And not a minute too soon I tell you, cause it's FREEZING. The wind chill factor is crazy. Beijing has central heating and it's a life saver, but usually we don't turn it on cause everybody in our building has theirs on so the building is pretty warm and toasty and usually the radiant heat from the other apartments is enough to keep us warm. But not last night. Crazy me went to Sanlitun yesterday to get a New Years present for our Mandarin tutor, Demi. I was half-frozen when I got home. I turned on ALL the radiators in the apartment: kitchen, bathroom, lounge bedrooms... And I was still a little cold. NuNu curled herself into a ball and didn't move.

I'm totally freaking out about turning 35 next week for various reasons. It's closer to 40 than to 30. And right now I'm not buying that 40 is the 30. 40 is 40, although I know some pretty cool 40-year-olds. Mmm. And a big thing for me: I'm moving from the 20 - 34 age group (which marketer like me so love to use) to the 35 - 50 age group. I'm not ready to be counted with the 50-year-olds (apologies to those 50 and over but I'm freaking out here). And of course the biggest issue is that I can no longer join the ANC youth league... Aaah, perhaps every cloud does has a silver lining.

I won't be blogging for the next week - we're not taking the laptop and I don't think we will have an internet connection anyway. We'll be on the island of Phu Quoc, on the beach, drinking cocktails. You all have fun.

Tough decision, but...

2009-01-22T09:52:00.002+08:00

Weather: Wind-chill factor from hell
Temp: -15 to -5
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1,46
Year of the ox: Yes, that's an ox. Can't you tell?

Hot off the press: I got a job offer.
Not so hot off the press: The salary is absolutely shocking.
Outcome: I'm not going to take it.
Yes, I know. I'm desperate to find a job in marketing and now I'm turning it down. The offer was for a marketing position at a Canadian High School that specialises in getting students from Asia ready for Canadian University. It seemed perfect: a Canadian company, so none of the crap that goes with working for a local firm, and at the interview it seemed that they would pay a decent wage. It wasn't an easy decision, but I have more than 10 years work experience and I'm not going to work for peanuts. I could make more money teaching part-time than I would working full-time. Tough decision, but ultimately I think the right one.

If you were born in the year of the ox you are stubborn, are also steady, reliable, trusted by others and are born with natural leadership abilities.

Bring on Vietnam

2009-01-21T08:55:00.003+08:00

Weather: mild for Beijing this time of year
Temp: -5 -7
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,49
Frozen solid: This boat will not be speeding anywhere till Spring.

I stayed up last night to watch Barak Obama's inauguration. It was nearly 2am when I crawled into bed. Despite being a little tired this morning, I'm glad I stayed up. I'm not terribly interested in American politics, but I do hope with all my heart that he will bring change to the greed invested world we live in.

I absolutely cannot believe that January is almost over and that Feb 2009 will be upon us before you can say 新年快乐 or "Happy New Year"! The Chinese Spring Festival and New Year is next week and it's almost like Christmas, just with no Santa Clause.

The countdown to our Vietnam holiday has begun. Only two sleeps left before we head for midday highs of 30 and above. Bring it on.

Today is last day of mild winter weather in Beijing for a while. There's a lovely cold front rolling in and the rest of the week looks like this:

Thursday:-4 to -16,
Friday: -8 to -12,
Saturday-6 to -11,
Sunday-1 to -11

But who cares! We'll be in Vietnam.

Getting from A to B

2009-01-20T08:15:00.003+08:00

Weather: cold
Temp: -7 - 6
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Same, same but different: Lingering is almost the same as skipping - skipping is just a little more cardio intensive and you look less shifty whilst doing it. And you get to wear a dress, which is a nice touch.

Life is a funny old thing. After Rachael left last week I was not having a good week. Actually I was having a pretty rubbish week. But that was last week and this week I'm back on the horse and getting on with things. For all the bad stuff that happens, there are also loads of great things that happen.

At the moment I have pretty bad taxi karma and in a city where the average temperature is below zero and you don't own a car bad taxi karma can seriously screw with your day. I've discovered that not all taxi drivers are born equal - some of them know the city really well and others know the main roads and that's about all. Add a foreigner who can only speak a smattering of Mandarin with a South African accent and things can go wrong pretty quickly. And then if the universe really wants to throw you a curve ball you get a grumpy old man who'd rather be somewhere else. So, getting from A to B has generally not been a pleasant experience for me. But then I started chatting to my students about my bad taxi experiences thinking that it was because:
a) I'm a foreigner
b) I don't speak Mandarin
c) I'm female
d) the universe has it in for me

But apparently I'm not that special. Mostly taxi drivers don't know where you want to go cause they're not from Beijing. The average wage for a taxi driver is RMB3000 per month, which equates to about R4500. This may sound like a lot, but they work 12 hour shifts 7 days a week, with no set holidays. Beijing is probably the most expensive city in China to live in so 3000 yuan don't get you very far. Thus native Beijingers no longer want to be taxi drivers and migrants from other cities and provinces now make up the bulk of taxi drivers. That explains the lack of language skills and possibly also the scary driving.

Also, taxi drivers are apparently one of the most harassed groups in China. The police don't love them and if two people complain about them then they loose their jobs.

So, I'm going to try my best to cut them some slack, but just to be on the safe side I'm cycling a lot more these days. I've come close to frostbite a couple of times, but until my good taxi karma returns it's a risk I'm willing to take.

Where the hell have I been?

2009-01-19T15:02:00.002+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp: -6 - 6
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1.46
Skating on thin ice: Rachael and I skating on Houhai Lake.

Sorry I haven't blogged in ages. First I was busy cause Rach and Peter were in Beijing for 5 days and then I discovered a site with seasons 4 and 5 of Grey's Anatomy on so I watched that non-stop for 2 days. Then I hated being in China and then Frikkie had his first weekend in 5 weeks so we hung out and now it's Monday and I thought I'd better blog otherwise I'm never going to do it.

I dig hanging out with Rachael. She's cool. We went ice skating on Houhai Lake near the Forbidden City. We had a good laugh about the fact that there we were, two trailing spouses, skating on a frozen lake in the capital of China on a Monday morning. Rachael is a lawyer by profession and like me, she's struggling with the "now what do I do" question. She is also a much better skater than me. She lived in Canada for a while and she's pretty good. I on the other hand totally sucked and landed on my bum a couple of times, but because it's so cold there's no water on the ice, so at least you don't get wet when you fall. You just get up, brush yourself off and get going again. In my case you try to get going again. Until you fall again. But it was fun and Frikkie and I will go once we get back from holiday.

On Thursday night I went to my school's 6th birthday celebrations. It was an eye opener. A couple of weeks ago, I got a mail from my school asking if I have any special talents and if I'd like to take part in the performance during the party. Since I have no special performance skills I politely declined. That was a good call on my part. My Chinese colleagues and some of the younger students performed in the programme. There was full on latin dancing. Then some traditional dancing, some games, and wait for it - singing karaoke and speaking karaoke. It was all very bizarre. Especially the speaking karaoke - imagine a scene from Shrek 3, with the volume turned down and people doing voice-overs... I'm told that this is absolutely normal and that it's the done thing at office parties. Apparently it's a left over from the cultural revolution when people had to entertain themselves. Yes, those heady revolutionary days before television.

Sick. Again.

2009-01-09T09:08:00.003+08:00

Weather: serious wind chill factor
Temp: -12 - -2 (yes, that's right folks)
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1,41
Oohm: Buddhas at the Panjiayuan Market, Beijing biggest and best "antiques" market.

My head cold is in full swing. It's obvious that I have NO resistance to these new coodies that I'm encountering in China as I've been miserably sick twice since we got here. And it's not 2 days in bed and I'm right as rain either. It lingers. For a week. At least. I can see a weekend of vegging on the couch coming up. (Yes, I'm feeling rather sorry for myself)

I was looking at my teaching schedule this morning and can you believe it - I've been teaching for more than three months. Bizarre, but there it is. On average I teach for about 6 hours a week, which isn't a hell of a lot and I don't exactly contribute millions to our monthly budget, but every yuan helps.

I'm off to the Vietnamese embassy to get our visas sorted out. The countdown to our holiday has begun...

I love my mom

2009-01-06T15:21:00.004+08:00

Weather: cold, but clear blue skies
Temp: -8 - 4
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1.36
Amanda: Kyk Ma, jy's ook famous in China

I tried phoning my mom today, but I suspect that she's at Hole in the Wall in the Transkei and knowing my mom she's not carrying her cell with her where ever she goes. The long and the short is that I miss her. After the Monkey orchestrated destruction of my laptop I was offline for a while and then I couldn't remember my skype username and password, blah, blah. The end result is that I haven't spoken to my mom since Christmas. Usually we have a nice long chat at least once a week, so I'm having mom withdrawal symptoms. Sigh. Luckily May is fast approaching and I'll get to hang out with her then.

By the way, Dell came back today to let me know that Monkey's little water adventure ruined the keyboard and mother board on my laptop. Argh, bloody, argh. It's going to cost about R6000 to fix, so to avoid bankruptcy and financial ruin we're not going to repair it right now and I'll be using Frikkie's precious Mac until further notice. The IT guy at the office did say that we could have it fixed for half the price, by his local connection...

And last, but certainly not least: Congrats to Georg and Rhone - Georg popped the question!

Are you ready for 2009?

2009-01-05T09:50:00.005+08:00

Weather: cold

Temperature: -1 - 6

Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,37 (this is not good for us)

Good times: Me, Frikkie, Pete and Rachael on New Years Eve 2009 in the Edwards' roof garden.

Sorry I've been so quiet, but my laptop is buggered. Even my best efforts to save it have proven futile and Frikkie has taken it to the office for Dell to come and collect it to see if anything can be salvaged. We also, quite unexpectedly, went to Shanghai on the 31st and only just got back last night. As always we had a great time. I got to hang out with Rachael, which is always cool and to explore Shanghai a little more. Frikkie and Pete were working most of the time, including 1 January, but we did to spend some time together... Frikkie's starting to look a bit worse for wear, but we have our 10-day holiday in Vietnam at the end of the month to look forward to, so hopefully he'll recharge his batteries then. Shanghai doesn't really seem to agree with me and I've picked up some cold/flu bug, again. I feel like I've been hit by a small truck. But onward Christian soldiers - I have to teach for 3 hours today, so can't really mope around the flat all day.

Happy birthday Joni! Hope you have lovely day and a splendid year. And Happy, happy to Georg and Chris for yesterday! Hope you guys had a fun day.

The weather forecast says it may snow on Thursday, so hold thumbs.

Living with Monkey

2008-12-29T13:06:00.005+08:00

Weather: freezing

Temperature: -6 - 1

Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,40

The culprit: Monkey and the vase she knocked over...

Sometimes living with our cat Monkey is a test of patience. She is full of beans, loves chasing her sister NuNu around, loves pushing NuNu away from the food bowls and general leaving mayhem and thousands of white cat hair in her wake. This morning, shortly after the alarm went off, there was an ominous crash in the lounge. And then it all went quiet. Yes, a sure sign that somebody did something naughty. I think my favourite godson Jackson knew what he was talking about when he kept on saying "Naughty Monkey" after our little terror lived with Rebecca and Jackson for a month.

Usually the damage isn't too extensive, but this morning "somebody" knocked over a tall vase filled with water and reeds... onto my laptop. Needless to say there was water dripping out of said laptop. Accidents happen, so I'm not too fussed about the laptop, but what I am very fussed about are all the photos and information on there. I've taken it apart as best I could and blow dried what I could. Let's hope it works when I start it up tomorrow...

All merry and bright

2008-12-26T11:40:00.003+08:00

Weather: cold
Temp: -7 - 4
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,43
Grassy rooftop: Dry winters grass growing in a roof gutter of a hutong.

Hey, Merry Belated Christmas everybody. Hope you had fun, ate too much, and had a jolly good time with your family.

We had a great Christmas. We opened our presents in bed on Christmas day. Demi our Mandarin tutor gave us scarves from Italy and Stan, my student gave me a Peking Opera wall hanging. After presents we phoned home. Speaking to our family in South Africa made me a little teary, but such is life and we got on with it by going for brunch to Grandma's Kitchen near the Bei Xin Qiao Subway. It was all very jolly with everybody who arrived wishing complete strangers a merry Christmas. I guess that's what happens - goodwill to all men.

As a treat we then headed off to Garden Books. I got Kabul Beauty School and Frikkie got the latest John Connolly. Then it was back home for some gluwein, cheese and crackers.

We had dinner at the Westin Hotel in Choayang, with complete strangers and it was great! We were suppose to join my fellow teacher Richard and his mates for dinner. So, we arrived not knowing anybody but Richard, and he didn't even show up, but we met a cool bunch of people, some of them as new to Beijing as we are and others who have been here form ages. And quite a diverse group - from Taiwan to London... Finally it looks like we've met a group of people we could be friends with - the best Christmas present we could have asked for.

It's a freezing Sunday

2008-12-21T17:22:00.006+08:00

Weather: ABSOLUTELY BLOODING FREEZING
Temp: -12 - -5. That's well below zero all day long
Exchange rate:
RMB1 = R1,43
Late Lunch: Our first home-made joazi at home.

It is absolutely freezing outside. No really, I mean it. I know I'm always saying that it's cold, but today is the coldest day in Beijing since we got here. It was suppose to be very cold yesterday so we vegged at home.
This morning the wind was howling. Really howling. Poor Frikkie went to the shop to get some milk. The poor man nearly had frost bite when he got back.

I also made my first batch of joazi at home. Not quite as nice as the ones I made in class, but still very edible. Frikkie says this picture looks like a '70s beer ad... Mmm, maybe.

End of year cheer

2008-12-18T10:42:00.002+08:00

Weather: clear and cold
Temp: -5 - 5
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
Famous family: Kyk Irma, jy's famous. Ikea has weird and wonderful naming conventions. Frikkie's cousin, who's name isn't weird at all, somehow made it into the Ikea catalogue.

I didn't teach yesterday, so it was a long day of playing mahjong online, watching rubbish on HBO, ironing and general lazing about. I'm thinking that I should enjoy it while it lasts, cause it won't last forever.

Frikkie and I were saying how it doesn't feel like Christmas time for us. Although there are Christmas trees everywhere, and most shop assistants wear little Santa hats, it's just not the same and we're just not feeling it. Also neither one of us can face Christmas shopping so there are no presents under our tree. But that's ok - we're ridiculously happy together, so what more could we ask for.

Cooking class

2008-12-17T09:39:00.005+08:00

Weather: clear and cold
Temp: -5 - 6
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Almost a pro: The fruits of my labours in jiaozi making class.

Yesterday I went to jiaozi making-class at the Hutong. The Hutong is a centre where they host all kind of classes, based in, surprise, a hutong. And jiaozi is of course, dumplings - my favourite food in Beijing. I learnt to to make the pastry from scratch, the filling and then roll the pastry, which is sort of difficult, and then of course the cooking. And the best part, eating all of them. It was just me and Erin, a Canadian visiting Beijing for a week or so who attended, but we really hit it off. It was probably the most fun I've had in a cooking class. Now I just need to get a little rolling pin and we'll be having jiaozi every week and twice on Sundays.

Skiing in Nanshan

2008-12-14T18:49:00.007+08:00

Weather: mild mid-winters day
Temp: -4 - 4
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Hey ma, look at me: We didn't fall, all that often.

We finally hit this slopes for the first time yesterday. We headed out to Nanshan with the Local Noodle Snow Team. We stayed all day and really had some fun.

Nanshan is just outside of Beijing, so the snow isn't real, but since we're rank amateurs it didn't matter too much. It was the first weekend the resort opened for the season so everything was clean and well organised, sort of. We started out on the baby slope for beginners. An instructor took pity on me, showed me the basics and then showed Frikkie how to turn and off we went. Frikkie is a natural. I'm a little more cautious, but in the end I got it. I fell off the ski lift more than I did skiing. But in the end I could stay on the ski lift and go down the slope without falling.

I hope we're ready for the sloped in Harbin, where apparently the slopes are steep and the snow powdery. Can't wait.

All kitties present and accounted for

2008-12-14T18:19:00.006+08:00

The kitties are home. They've settled in. They're ok, if a little skinny. I gave them a bath pretty much as soon as they got here - they smelt of disinfectant. I don't know who was wetter, me or them. My popularity rating took an instant dive.

NuNu has found herself a little hiding spot and Monkey is trying to sleep between Frikkie and I. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We're really happy to have our little family back together again.

The kittes will be home TOMORROW

2008-12-11T13:57:00.002+08:00

Weather: almost zero visibility
Temp: -4 - 3
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Days left in kitty prison: 1
All wrapped up: I wore only 3 layers today and I nearly died. I may never be able to feel my ears again.

I think I've probably always known this, but the trick to staying warm in the cold is to keep your head and hands warm. I forgot my gloves at home today, wore a hat that does not cover my ears and did not have the best time walking to the subway.

This time tomorrow the kitties will be home. We can't wait. I just hope that they're healthy and not too traumatised. I got them a new bed and some tuna to celebrate their arrival.

I'm watching a very strange Chinese movie right now. Jacky Chan like you've never seen him before. He's actually acting - no kung fu what so ever. I'm trying to watch some local telly to improve my pronunciation and intonation. The cool thing is that I've started recognising words. Not that many, but it's a start.

Let it snow

2008-12-10T11:57:00.003+08:00

Weather: still cold
Temp: -5 - 3
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Days left in kitty prison: 3
Going up: Christmas is now officially in the air at the Els-Labuschagne house hold.

According to iGoogle it's currently snowing in Beijing. This is very sadly not true. It's cold and smoggy, and it drizzled this morning, but alas, no snow. I want it to snow!

I finally put up our Christmas tree. First of course I had to go buy the tree. There were real pine trees in small wooden barrels and I was really tempted to get one of those, but in the end got a beaut of a fake tree. It's a massive and it took me forever to set it up last night. I also cut my thumb on the cheap metal trunk, but lucky I had a tetanus shot last Christmas, so I won't die from blood poisoning. I went to a market to get everything and by the time I left I had censory overload - there are Xmas decor in any form, shape, size and colour you could possibly think of. It all got a bit much.

Great news! The kitties are getting out early - must be for good behaviour! They will be home by lunch time on Friday. We both super excited.

HBO, hot water and face jobs

2008-12-08T21:24:00.003+08:00

Weather: smoggy, chilly
Temp: -3 - 7
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Days left in kitty prison: 7
All the pretty lights: Red lanterns are all the rage in China this season...

There's no doubt that China is a very interesting place. We're still busy settling into our new abode - we now have cable TV again (rubbish HBO included), but spent the weekend without hot water. Yes, that's the whole weekend. And why did we not have any hot water? In China, or perhaps just in our complex, you have to charge your apartment's hot water card with credits, insert the into the hot water card slot in some obscure pipe outside your apartment and voila, you have hot water. Small detail that nobody remembered to mention: the water heating company is only open on Mondays, between 8 to 12 and 1 and 3:30. And if you run out before then, it's just tough cookie. I tried shouting at the complex management company on Saturday morning. No luck. So it was pots of hot water on the stove for bath water all weekend.

We had a busy day on Saturday. After vouching that we'd not go back there again, we spent about 3 hours in Ikea. The thing with Ikea is that once you're in, it's hard to get out without a trolley full of stuff you didn't know you needed or wanted. Plus Frikkie's colleague Leong is coming round for dinner and we thought that perhaps we'd upgrade from the paper plates.

I finally found a wool shop in Beijing. It's miles from where we live, but they have great wool and I stocked up and got some more knitting needles. I'm now working on three projects. One, is, surprise, surprise, a scarf. We then went to Yashow Market to try and find me a coat. It didn't quite work out for me. I still don't have a coat. I'm going to try the Silk Street market - I've been told it's the place to look for long, down winter coats.

After being all vuur en vlam we didn't go skiing on Sunday - we were pooped from missioning about on Saturday and vegged out all Sunday. We will try again this weekend.

Frikkie is in Shanghai tonight, and having dinner with Rachael and Pete as we speak. Lucky bugger.

Congratulations

2008-12-05T15:08:00.003+08:00

My dear, dear friend Ncumisa is getting married today. Nick and Ncum, I wish you much joy love and happiness together. I'm so sad that I cannot be there with you today, but such is life and I can't wait to see you as Mr and Mrs in May. hxxx

The turning tide

2008-12-05T11:47:00.004+08:00

Weather: too cold to venture outside
Temp: -11 - -3 (yes, sub-zero all day long)
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Days left in kitty prison: 10
Permanent gloves: It gets so cold here you can buy "permanent" mits to attach to your bike or scooter for winter. Keeps your hands from freezing and breaking off your arms.

Last week and most of this week was not much fun for me. My regular teaching classes came to an end and it looked like I would not teach again for a while. My frantic and persistent efforts to find a "real" job were not paying off. I felt very glum and was starting to despair. A while ago my friend Alex told me to "enjoy being a kept woman", but quite frankly the whole idea just didn't appeal to me. Being a part-time teacher and house wife did not fit with my idea of who I am.

But this week I'm starting to see things a little bit differently. How many people you know have the opportunity to take a couple of months off and simply do nothing? I bet not that many. So instead of seeing this time as a burden, I've starting looking at it as an opportunity to recharge, do some stuff I usually don't get round to doing (like knitting and sewing - once I find sewing machine) and to enjoy it while it lasts. I did go an see an employment agency yesterday and Tina Wu who interviewed me was quite blunt. The chances of me finding a job, in my field, and in the financial services industry in China are slim to none. The world financial crisis has impacted financial services in particular coupled with a digital marketer who cannot speak Chinese and have no local experience and I'm left with very limited choices. Also, this time of year is the worst time to apply as everything is winding down towards the Chinese New Year at the end of January. So for now, I'm going to be thankful for this time and enjoy every second of it. My teaching schedule has also filled up and I will probably start learning Mandarin full time next year.

Creatures of habit

2008-12-04T08:48:00.003+08:00

Weather: sub-zero and tomorrow is going to be worse
Temp: -7 - 2
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Days left in kitty prison: 11
Bright lights: Christmas is in the air.

I know I said I was going to blog every day for December, but yesterday was a bit busy. Four hours of teaching, then our own Mandarin class and then we popped out for dinner to check out a new Italian restaurant, Alla Osteria.

Frikkie and I are creatures of habit. If we find something we like we tend to go back to it time and time again. I know we're not unique in this, but you'd think that we would explore more since we're living in a new city. Last night we broke with our usual routine, and tried Alla Osteria in Soho Shangdu. I think the biggest draw card was the word "unpretentious" in the review and Frikkie has been craving pizza for ages. And not just any pizza, it has to be proper pizza, so we certainly weren't heading over to Pizza Hut, which have are loads of outlets of here.

I got as close to butternut soup as I'm ever going to in China, and Frikkie got his thin crust pizza. I suspect we'll be going back there soon, as it now our new favourite Italian restaurant in Beijing. Like I said, we're creatures of habit.

I am taking photos with Frikkie's Nikon Coolpix - it's ok during the day, but it takes rubbish night time shots...

Going to the market

2008-12-01T18:37:00.005+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp: 0-10
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,50
Days left in kitty prison: 13
Dreaming of a white Christmas: Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes at the Liangma Flower Market.

One of the best things about living in China is the fresh produce markets. There is great market about 10 minutes by bike from our complex. It would be 5 minutes, but you have to cross the Sanyuang bridge and that sometimes takes a while since the bridge leads to two major highways, so there are lots of on and off ramps. But I digress. The market has three distinct sections: fruit, veg and wet. I'm great with the fruit and veg. There still some stuff I have no idea what to do with, but mostly it's the stuff you get back home, sans butternut, which I miss. The fruit is on the one side and the veg is on the other side and in between there's the wet stuff - that means it's still breathing or was breathing a short while ago. The smell is a little off putting, but it smell of raw meat, which isn't the best smell in the world. I found the massive big ears quite unusual, but the sheep's head put me off completely. There is no part of the animal which is not eaten, which I guess is a good thing. The still breathing part would be the seafood. There are water tanks filled with live fish and the crabs, although tided up like a little parcel with string, are also still alive. We have, by the way, also stopped eating seafood at home. The goal is to stop eating seafood altogether. So I like two parts of the market very much, but the wet bit(s) you can keep.

Moving on up

2008-12-01T07:59:00.009+08:00

Weather: windy and smoggy
Temp: 0-13
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,48
Days left in kitty prison: 14
Room with a view: the view from our new lounge. It may not look like much at day, but in the evenings it's magical.

Yesterday we moved into the apartment we will call home for the next 12 months. Hoorah! We were like two bag ladies moving our stuff in two shopping trolleys. Ok, I was like a bag lady, Frikkie looked all manly and strong and carried the heavy stuff. Our new apartment is still in the Phoenix complex where we've been living since September, but we moved to a different apartment block. We've also moved up in the world: from the 25th floor to the 29th floor. The views are pretty awesome. And the biggest plus is that we have two balconies. Our immediate shopping list includes a small table and two chair so we can have our morning tea outside. We also have two bedrooms now, so come on over and visit - there's plenty of space.

Speaking of space, the beds in the apartment are gi-normous. I "went looking" for Frikkie several times during the night cause I thought he wasn't sleeping next to me anymore... Our queen size duvet looks like it shrunk in the wash and I'm not even sure a king size will be big enough. And true to the Chinese standard the mattress is just slightly softer than a slab of concrete. The term "firm mattress" has a whole new level of firmness in China. I'm sure tonight we'll sleep like babies. Frikkie also nearly had an apoplectic fit after looking at the peach-coloured curtains for too long. Yes, architects live in a very special world... Needless to say they have to go, the debate is now just what is going to replace them.

Today in two weeks I will go to fetch the kitties. It feels like it's taking forever.

I will be spring cleaning a bit and then tonight I'm going to a cooking glass to learn how to make dumplings. I'm super excited about it - dumplings is one of my favourite things to eat in Beijing and I can't wait to start making them at home.

Also on the horizon this week is an interview with an employment agency on Wednesday. Hold thumbs that they have positions available that I qualify for.

Veggie bobotie

2008-11-27T22:49:00.003+08:00

Weather: mild (for this time of year in Beijing)
Temp: -1 - 9
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
Days left in kitty prison: 19
Not quite the midnight train to Georgia: On the train from Hong Kong to Shanghai - May 2008.

The first South African we met in China, Elkarien, came for dinner tonight and it was a lovely evening. I guess Elkarien is in her 50s and she's doing some language work for the British Council in China. She gets to travel all around the country, which seems tres glamorous, but also a little bit lonely. She's off to SA next month for Christmas. I officially have Christmas at home envy... It's very tempting to pack my bags and come home for a month or so for some summer and sun - but it's just a fanciful idea, I would never leave poor Frikkie here to face the bleak December weather on his own. Plus the kitties are almost out of prison and I want to be around when they get out...

Trouble in the land of Canon

2008-11-25T17:33:00.006+08:00

Weather: mild
Temp: -1 - 11
Days left in kitty prison: 20
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,44
From my files: Gratuitous kitty love. This was taken in August 2006, when Monkey was extremely cute and I had braces.

Ok, so I got my days mixed up. I know Jackson's birthday is on 25 November. And somehow I decided that yesterday was the 25th, which clearly it was not. Happy birthday Jackson, again. Promise to get it right next year.

I think my camera is finally giving up the ghost. Why, oh why did I get drunk at one of Julia's party and then dropped it? I love my little Canon, but it may have to go. It keeps on freezing, when I really don't want it to. Like tonight -Frikkie and I were busy making a little video clip of us singing Happy Birthday to Jackson and it froze. Bugger. So no photos until further notice. Or no new photos until further notice.

Today was a bit of an up, down, up day. I got a phone call and follow-up mail from a very nice financial services company and I got really excited about it, but then it turns out that that need a hardcore sales person, which I'm not. So, that was a bit of a downer, but then a good recruitment agency mailed to set up an appointment for next week, so something to look forward to.

I got a really funny email from our friend Andrew who is travelling South America with his GF Helen. They just spent a week in the Galapagos Islands and it sounds absolutely idyllic. I may have to start disliking him soon - the travel envy is killing me.

Shanghai - a new love affair

2008-11-24T14:39:00.005+08:00

Weather: mild winters day
Temp: -1 - 11
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,53
Days left in kitty prison: 21
Look Helen, you're famous: My friend Helen is perhaps not "big in Japan", but she's pretty big in Shanghai.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON JAMES HUMPHRY! Have an awesome day babsie - your godmother loves ya big time. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Wish I could have been there for the party.

We just spent an awesome weekend in Shanghai. For the first time we stayed on the Puxi side of the Hungpu river and it made all the difference. We usually stay in Pudong cause it's close to Frikkie's office, but the thing with Pudong is that it's a bit of a hole. Story goes that 10 years ago it was muddy farmland on the wrong side of the river, but because Shanghai was bursting at the seems it was developed into a monster of high rises, 12 lane roads, some horrific architecture and is generally aesthetically challenged. Like I said, a bit of a hole. But Puxi is where it's all happening. It's the old party of the city with character, tiny little lanes, hidden bars, hole in the wall restaurants... right up our alley.

I spent most of my Friday in the alleys of Taikang Lu. The little lanes are packed with galleries, bric-a-brac, people hanging out their washing, life happening, coffee being brewed, cocktails being shaken. Absolutely amazing and the antithesis of Beijing. In Beijing everything has been restored, cleaned up, ordered and redeveloped to within an inch of its life. That has, thank god, not happened to Shanghai - it's all still pretty organic. Which means that the streets are a little messier, you get lost more easily, but the city has a creative edge to it, that I think is missing in Beijing. Met Rachel (Aussie friend) for some drinks late afternoon before we hooked with Frikkie and Pete (Rachel's husband and Frikkie's boss) for a couple of glasses of good Australian Sauvignon Blanc at the Australian Chamber of Commerce get together on the 90th floor of a hotel. Great views and as long as you don't mention the rugby Aussies aren't that bad to hang out with :-). The whole Hassell crew headed out for dinner afterward to a place called 1930. Imagine Shanghai in it's hay day of decadence, opulence and opium - that's what 1930 was like. It's tiny, with great cocktails, music and good friends. Pretty much perfect.

We had dinner at Shanghai's most famous vegetarian restaurant on Saturday night, Godly. We literally skidded in there 5 minutes before they closed and the waitress was none to pleased to see us, but when Frikkie ordered rice in Chinese she was all smiles and we had great service after that. See, already those Mandarin lessons are paying off.

On Sunday we went to a truly beautiful Buddhist temple. Don't ask me what it was called, Rachel navigated us there, we just went along. The temple is still active, which means there are monks floating about in orange robes and the whole place had a feeling of deep serenity. We were lucky enough to observe a dedication service held by a family for their deceased parents. There is something about monks chanting brings inner calm and peace.

The late autumn downer

2008-11-19T10:01:00.004+08:00

Weather: chilly, but warmer than yesterday
Temp: -6 ~4
Exchange rate:
RMB1 = R1.50 (I think it's stabilised)
Days left in kitty prison: 26
Textbook: An image from our Mandarin textbook.

Frikkie and I are not having the best week. He's really frustrated at the office and I'm so bored I want to platz. The economic downturn is really affecting China and the construction industry is no exception. So everybody is tightening their belts and to say that he's not having much fun at the office is a bit of an understatement. I've decided that teaching really isn't for me and that I want a proper 9-5 corporate job. I was looking at opening a flower/coffee shop, but after some further investigation decided that I don't know enough about the local environment to really make a go of it. Also, you need a local partner and since I know about 5 locals this wasn't really an option.

But it's not all bad. We're off to Shanghai for the weekend. Frikkie has to go there for a work on Thursday and I'm flying down on Friday for some R&R and slightly warmer weather.

We move into our new apartment next weekend. Lucky we don't have much to move so it should go quickly. Yeah!

Despite the cold at night we regularly hop on our (now dusty) bikes and head for our DVD shop. We don't have cable TV and it's a bit nippy to go out at night, so we're watching a lot of DVDs. The thing with the DVDs that you get from our friendly local DVD prirate is that you never quite know what you're going to get. We got a copy of Asterix and Obelix go to the Olympics (or whatever it's called in English). So we knew it's a french flick and we checked that it had English subtitles. Well, technically it did have English subtitles, but let's just say it wasn't comprehensible English. Not even close. And the movie was dubbed into Russian. So perhaps it was dubbed from French into Russian and then a Russian speaking frenchy translated it into Mandarin and then somebody typed every third word in Google Translate et voila - no comprendo Angleski.

Grade 1, Day 1

2008-11-17T21:52:00.005+08:00

Weather: warm and balmy, no, just kidding. it's frigging freezing
Temp: -1 - 8
Days left in kitty prison: 27
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R 1.48

It was rather cold today. I'm guessing I'll be saying that a lot over the next couple of months. It is not lost on my that technically I went from winter into 3 weeks of autumn and straight back into mid-winter again. The thing is, technically it's still autumn so I can't imagine what actual winter is going to be like.

Our first Mandarin lesson was fun. I can now ask for a cold beer - clearly a very important question and thus today's lesson was very productive. We started with a Grade 1 textbook that will teach us how to read and write. And we practiced out tones: flat, up, up-down, down. Yes, it's as complicated as it sounds.

I'll post a photo next time - I'm too lazy to get out of bed to go get my camera to download some pics.

They found us or we found them

2008-11-16T19:00:00.004+08:00

Weather: nice and chilly
Temp: 1-10
Exhange rate: RMB1 = R1,46
Days till get cats get home: 28
I have no idea what this means: I liked this red character on a rock. I know it's sideways, but that's about all.

We have met a bunch of South Africans yesterday. We went to Shunyi for coffee and breakfast at Secrets from Africa, Miranda Allan's new shop. I met Miranda through the folks at Melissa's when I enquired about being their agent in China. Miranda's been here for a couple of years and have been importing SA products such as Carol Boyes an Helen Melon. So we met a whole bunch of people over coffee. Gerju, one of the Naspers guys here, invited us along for dinner where we met some more Saffers over sushi and then about 10 more when we watched SA vs Scotland. Gerju seems to know more people than the Pope. It was very cool to hang out with people who just get you without having to explain too much.

We interviewed out Mandarin tutor today and start lessons tomorrow night. We're really excited about it. Our first text book is what Grade 1 students here use to learn how to read and write. You gotta start somewhere.

We discovered a cool bar in Sanlitun, the Rickshaw. Free pool, cold beer and great Mexican food. I suspect they will see us again. And we lazed away most of our Sunday afternoon there. Frikkie kicked my ass at pool, but I staged a comeback and eventually lost by only one game.

They're here

2008-11-14T18:05:00.003+08:00

The convicts have arrived! The countdown has begun.
30 days to go.

Today is the big day

2008-11-14T09:13:00.002+08:00

Weather: Sunny winters day
Temp: 3-14
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1.48
The kids arrive today: The kitties land in Beijing in about 30 minutes. Then it will take about 3 hours to clear them through customs, then I get to see them before they head for their 30 days in quarantine. This is NuNu being cute.

I thought I had it in me to bargain, but I just don't. I went to the Toy Market yesterday to get birthday presents for my favourite godson and Frikkie's nephews. I think I got some great presents, and wasn't ripped off, but I guess I could have gotten it for 20% less if I really wanted to, but I just don't have it in my to haggle. Just like I figure it's ok to pay the bike guard RMB1 instead of the 50c she actually asked for. A local said the other day that foreigners like us set a precedent which pushes up prices for the locals. I say: whatever.

We're going to go coat shopping this weekend - Tuesday's forecast is minus 5 - 8. It's going to be bloody freezing.

One, two, three

2008-11-12T10:25:00.004+08:00

Weather: cold with mist/smog
Temp: 1-13
Exchange: RMB1 =R1.50
Looks pretty real: Those rockets look pretty real to me - scary thing is that this 'jet' is about 600m from my school's office.

Lekker verjaar Martin! Hoop jy't 'n lekker dag met baie presente. Jou Oom Frikkie belowe hy pos een van die dae jou present, so dit gaan dalk bietjie laat wees (maar dis maar hoe ons Oom Frikkie ken, ne). xxx

Winter has truly arrived in Beijing. It's cold and the sun struggles to get through the clouds. I cycled to Carre Four yesterday and I had tears streaming down my face - it was so cold my eyes watered. And my ears! They hurt if I cycle without my beany on. And I've started wearing my gloves. In short it's not safe to leave the apartment building without at least three layers of clothing on. Thankfully the apartment stays at about 22 degrees - so nice and warm.

I can now count to ten in Chinese! I practise with the taxi drivers every time I have to catch a cab somewhere. They find it pretty funny and I get to learn something. I've started recognising phone numbers in radio ads, which is pretty useless since I have no clue what they're advertising but it's a start. It also means that I can start bargaining in Chinese. Yesterday I went to the flower market and know that I got ripped off by RMB20 cause the shop assistant asked the owner how much the lilies were and the price given was RMB60, but then when she spoke to me in English, she said it was 80. I didn't feel like arguing, or bargaining, but next time she won't be so lucky.

The kitties are being picked up from Rebecca this morning for their flight to Amsterdam tonight. They'll be staying in a kitty hotel til Thursday night when they fly to Beijing. They land at 9 on Friday morning. We are SO excited.

Nothing in particular

2008-11-10T16:10:00.004+08:00

Weather: similar to a clear, chilly Joburg day
Temp: 0-13
Exhange rate: RMB1 = R1,47
Shrooms: I've discovered these mushrooms in the shop downstairs. They're called Snow Crab mushrooms and I bought them because they looked so beautiful. Also, great to eat when fried in butter and garlic.

I phoned my brother yesterday and chatted to the whole family. And I was doing just fine until Jessica, my youngest niece, asked if we'll be home for Christmas. I had a bit of a blub after that. And today, as if sent to torture me I saw the first signs of Christmas in Beijing. I went to the flower market close to our flat and the market people were busy unpacking all their Christmas decorations. Apparently Christmas is big in Beijing - who would have thought. I can count on my one hand the number of times I have not been home for Christmas and I'm sad that I wouldn't be there this year.

We're signing the lease for our new apartment tonight so it looks like it's all happening! Now we just have to pay 2 months' deposit tonight and 3 months' rent next month and we should be good to go - we will also be extremely broke, but at least we'll have a roof over our heads.

And I'm hoping that everything with the kitties are on track - nobody's phoned me to tell me otherwise, I'm assuming that it's all good.

It is BBBRRRR cold

2008-11-08T15:06:00.002+08:00

Weather: COLD, with a capital C
Temp: 0-7
Exchange rate: RMB1=R1,48
Subway: Sanyuanqiao is our subway stop on Line 10.

I think I've aged considerably in the last couple of days stressing about getting our kitties to Beijing. But as it turns out it really wasn't necessary. I asked so many of my friends favours to get it all sorted and guess what - it will all be sorted by Wednesday when they fly. Rebecca, Deborah, Shani, Nolene, Evan, Geron... I cannot say how much I appreciate your help and assistance.

It is REALLY cold today and at some point I thought my ears were going to drop-off they were so cold. We've been apartment hunting since 10:30am and I'm hoping that we've found The One. Now we just hope the owner will play ball, but we're trying not to get too excited about it all, cause you never know. The problem is that our apartment is really warm and then you don't wear enough layers and it only hits you once you step outside the front door. Earmuffs, thermal underwear here we come. According to the weather forecast it's going to be even colder tomorrow - we may never leave the flat again...

Getting our cats to Beijing

2008-11-07T09:23:00.006+08:00

Weather: rather nippy - a cold front is on its way.
Temp: 2-12
Exhange rate: RMB1 = R1.50
Walking: my first attempt at adding a short video clip to my blog. It's pretty arb, but if it works well, there will be more to follow. Let me know.

Leaving our cats in South Africa was not an easy decision, but since I didn't have a residency permit we had absolutely no choice. Rebecca has been looking after them and I'm forever in her debt - looking after our two madams, moving house, renovating your new house and digging up your garden all at the same time, with a toddler as first mate, can't be very easy, but Rebecca has been great and we owe her in a big way.

But leaving your cats with your nearest and dearest for a month or two is really easy compared to trying to sort out the logistics of actually getting them to Beijing. I've been dealing with a company called Keringa in Johannesburg who's job it is to get the cats here. It all seemed plain sailing till yesterday. Keep in mind that the cats are supposed to fly on Monday. So, yesterday they send through a mail saying that they just want to know when I'll be getting the State Vet Clearance Certificate. WTF is that? I don't know about you, but I certainly don't fly my pets around the world on a regular basis, so I assumed that they would sort out all the necessary documentation as I'm paying them a small fortune to do so. Yes, can we all say it together? Assumption is the mother of stuff ups. So, I called them; shouted a lot, but to no avail. They assumed that I would get the state vet certificate. But of course - let me just fly to SA to drive to Germiston to do that. ARGH! ARGH! ARGH! They say it's a misunderstanding - I say it's sheer incompetence. But all is not lost - I've asked the troops at Virgin Money to help and I'm hoping that the kitties will now be here next Friday.

007...

2008-11-05T23:55:00.003+08:00

Weather: Fine and mild
Temp: 5-19
Exchange: RMB1=R1,40
Gorgeous: The man is a god...

Just got back from seeing Quantum of Solace. Go see it. I cannot stress that enough. Unfortunately there's no beach scene, but Mr Parker is going to hyperventilate after the opening scene. I want to say more, but don't want to give it away.

Also, and I'm pretty sure everybody agrees with me here: I'm pretty pleased that Barak Obama is the new US president. I was following it all live on CNN.com and it was quite emotional. I thought Sen McCain's speech admitting defeat was extremely gracious and I'm really hoping that things will improve for average Americans.

On the local front, and almost as exciting as the American elections, I gave my first private class today. Stan Sun is an ernest fellow and I have a feeling that we'll become firm friends. I also met his Doberman, Tiger, who really liked me and knock my tea mug out of my hand and all over me, but it's all good.

The countdown to our kitties arriving in Beijing has officially started. They fly this coming Monday and I'm SO excited that I can hardly wait. I'm much less excited about the 30 days quarantine they have to go through but I've made my piece with it.

And just in case there was any doubt, the free market is alive and well and living in China. The flat we were going to live in from December has been let to somebody else. Somebody who offered the landlord RMB500 more. So, the search for a place to call home for the next 12 months continues.

Grown-up stuff

2008-11-04T09:35:00.002+08:00

Weather: who knows - I haven't gone outside yet, looks alright though
Temp: 3-16
Exchange: RMB1 = R1.47
It is what it is: Digging Beijing

Sometimes grown-up stuff is really hard. I just cancelled a second interview with a company because I believe that it's not the right industry or company for me. Sounds easy enough right, but I don't know if/when I'll make it to a second round interview again. And although I'm pretty sure I made the right decision, I'm just not 100% sure. Also, the longer I'm out this 9-5 game the less likely I am to get back into it and does that mean my marketing career is coming to an end. And do I want it to come to an end? Like I said: grown-up stuff is rather difficult sometimes.

Last night I met with my first private client for English classes. I thought it was just going to be a "hi, how are you and when do you want to have your classes" meeting. But no. We arrived at about 8 and left at 11. We had dinner, I was given an extended introduction to Sun Xioa or Stan as he is called in English and got a history lesson thrown in for free. Then when it was all done, his driver drove me home in his massive BMW. I'm quite excited and it seems that at least some things are working out.

The forbidden city

2008-11-03T10:30:00.006+08:00

Weather: nippy
Temp: 3-14
Exchange rate: RMB1 - R1.41
In all his glory: Chairman Moa's world famous portrait at the entrance to the Forbidden City

We finally made it to the Forbidden City this weekend. Yeah! About time I think. Pete, Rachel, Brendon and Frikkie trekked to Tiananmen East subway station relatively early on Saturday morning. The plan was to avoid the masses, but I guess for something as popular as the Forbidden City that's kind of impossible. It was just us and bus loads of other tourists, most of them Chinese.

We got ourselves a great tour guide just outside the ticket office. I can really recommend Johnson (yz2974@yahoo.com.cn) - his English is great and is rate of RMB150 for a two hour tour was worth every cent and we're probably going to contact him again when we're ready to go to the Great Wall.
I knew the Forbidden City was big, but I don't think I was quite prepared for exactly how enormous it is. We walked, and walked and spent about 5 hours there. And we didn't get to see everything. Once we did the tour with Johnson we doubled back to the western section of the city where they keep all the palace treasures. The amount of gold and precious objects is staggering. I have seldom seen so many beautiful and rare things in one exhibition. We ended our visit with the Clock and Watch exhibition. Wow - a staggering amount of antique clocks and watched unlike anything I've ever seen and worth the RMB10 entrance fee. We staggered out of there suffering from visual overload, but in a good way.

On Saturday night the Aussies came round for dinner - yes, our first dinner party. We had to use paper plates, cause we only have 2 plates, but nobody seemed to mind to much cause Frikkie made a killer green curry.

On Sunday we headed off to one of the antique shopping streets. It was a little disappointing cause it's all been renovated. Which means that it's all neat and tidy and nothing like the antique market in Shanghai, which is still a real market and a little more 'organic'. But we got to see a little more of the southern part of the city, which is definitely less affluent and less developed and we had a glimpse of what real Hutong living is like, communal toilets and all.

It's a bit of a trek to the South since we're in the North and as a reward we popped in to the Vineyard, a cafe similar to Salvation Cafe in 44 Stanley. The food was yum and I'm pretty sure we'll be spending quite a few weekend mornings there digging into their famous veggie brunch.

Chirades

2008-10-30T16:53:00.004+08:00

Weather: clear autumn day
Exchange: RMB1 =R1.47
Impressive: The new CCTV tower is till under construction but I can't wait for a view from the top.

Ok, I take it all back. Perhaps slightly dodgy business practice is completely acceptable in China and not just when it comes to foreigners. I'm always looking at job ads these days and came across this ad...
Temporary job: Oct 24th 1-2pm attending meeting job needs three western male above 30 years old** A company has a meeting this Friday afternoon at 1:30pm at China Central Place (HuaMao ZhongXin), which is just outside of DaWangLu subway station. The meeting will be only 30mins. We will pay 200 Yuan for each foreigner, plus taxi fee. It is very simple, you just need to wear formally and sit there. We will give you a notebook, you can just pretend you are listening and write on the notebook. One foreigner needs to say something, we will give you what you need to say. Very simple job, just need to pretend very professional in the meeting. Need three western foreigners above 30 years old, the older the better. But at least 30 years old. Please send your RESUME and PICTURE to chinaesl@yahoo.cn That made me laugh out loud.

I spent a lovely day with Rachel and Brendon. Rachel is married to Peter, Frikkie's colleague/boss and Brendon has come the China to check it all out to see if he wants to move here. Saw the CCTV tower up close for the first time and it's really impressive.

It's the little things

2008-10-30T15:11:00.004+08:00

Weather: slightly warmer than yesterday, but still chilly
Temp: 3-15
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,41
Getting a handle on things: I quite fancy having a big, red double door as a front door.

Today, there are a few, small things that bug me about China, mostly it's just one thing that manifests in different ways. I think this is what the Chinese think: "You're a foreigner and we it's our god-given duty to rip you off". I have a couple of examples to justify this theory.

1. I'm trying to get our cats to China. This is pretty straight forward from SA. The fun and games begin when they get here. Until very recently no quarantine was required for pets coming into Beijing. Now there is a 30-day quarantine period. Which is fine, but you're not allowed to go and see your pets, nor are you allowed to check out the facility where they will be held. Which makes me very uncomfortable, but it seems that there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. But that's not my problem. My problem is that if you're willing to pay about RMB10 000 per cat you don't have to leave them in quarantine. Not even for a day. So for R30 000 I can pick my cats up from the airport and bring them straight home. In China, as in SA, that's A LOT of money and most labourers would hope to earn that in a year. See, somebody figured out that foreigners would pay this kind of money and then found a loophole and bang, you're in business and making money off foreigners.

Example 2: we've found an apartment that we like (Frikkie not so much, but it's convenient) and we can afford. The price started out at RMB8000 a month, but after the Olympics the property bubble has burst and the price came down to 7000. We liked the apartment at 8000, we like it even better at 7000. Small snag is that we only want to start renting it from the first of December. But, as they say; A bird in hand... and keep in mind that this all happened this week, so it's not as if the landlord had any takers for November anyway. The landlord then says: great, but if you only want to take it from 1 December the rent is 7500. My response: NO. Back and forth. back and forth. There are loads of apartments available at the moment, so it's not as if we're hard-up. Fine, the landlord will take 7000, but do we want a receipt? Yes, we need a receipt for tax purposes. To get a receipt will cost 350 a month. Why? Because now the landlord has to declare the income from his flat in order to get the government to issue a monthly receipt and guess who's paying part of that tax? Yip, Foreigners Els and Labuschagne.

The joys of being a foreigner

2008-10-29T22:57:00.004+08:00

Weather: chilly
Temp:2-10
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1.45
You looky, looky: Wungfujing's food street is full of the weird and wonderful food.

The thing about being a western foreigner in China is that you can never blend in. It's the round eyes that give you away, every time. Mostly it's ok to stand out. It doesn't bother me much and by now we're pretty used to the inquiring glances and sometimes blatant staring. Last night we went to Wungfujing, one of Beijing's famous pedestrian shopping streets. We were actually trying to get to a movie cinema, but got lost, wandered down the wrong hutong and by the time we found Wungfujing, it was too late for the late show (9:30) and we ended up strolling around, not really doing anything. I don't know if you remember the email that went round before the Olympics about the weird food you could get in Beijing? Seahorse on a stick, scorpion on a stick, silkworm on a stick? Anyway, those photos were taking at the Wungfuging food market and that where I got something to eat. No, don't worry, I skipped the scorpion, but opted for veggies on a stick. Or 5 sticks to be precise. In my local market's food section that would cost me RMB 5. Last night I was charged RMB65. No I kid you not. Yes, I know, I should have asked for the price first, but knowing more or less what it should cost I certainly did not expect to get charged that ridiculous amount. But that's the thing about always being the obvious foreigner, in one of the touristy streets in Beijing - they can spot you a mile off and hey, maybe some tourists are willing to pay that, but I certainly wasnt'. We sorted it out and in the end I only paid RMB25 - which is still tourist price, but a spot better than RMB65. I think what irks me most is that to this guy I looked like just another foreigner, fresh off the plane. It also highlighted that we really need to learn the lingo, otherwise this sort of thing is always going to keep on happening.

As a Beijing newby you're also reliant on guidebooks to give you a the lowdown and usually this pans out but not today. I'm busy looking for a birthday present for my favourite godson Jackson. So what does one get a little boy for his second birthday that unique and special and from China? You research, you cross reference and eventually you think you have sure winner: a shop that sells unique, hand-made toys made by a 5th generation toymaker. How cool does that sound. If the New York Times thinks it's cool it must be. Right, so off I go. I can't find it on the map so I take a taxi and voila -we find the shop and although I spend a good half an hour in a shop the size of my couch I am unable to really find what I'm looking. What I don't get is why it's on the Top10 list of must-visit shops in Beijing... Live and learn.

We also met our first South African! Elkarike has just moved to Beijing (from somewhere else in China) and we're going to have her over for dinner soon.

2008-10-27T15:06:00.005+08:00

Weather: lovely autumn day
Temp: 4-17
Exchange rate: RMB1 = R1,64
Made for walking: Comfortable shoes will save your life in China. Walking in heals may cost you a toe, and will leave you with at least a blister or two.

Do you remember Richard Clayderman? He's blond, floppy fringe, plays piano? Was really popular in SA during the early '80s? Ballade for Adeline? Ring any bells? He was not a one hit wonder, oh no, he's alive and well and touring China and it seems the rest of the world. Ballade for Adeline was one of the first songs I learnt to play on the piano, so I have a bit of a soft spot for the guy, but I'm not sure I'm going start queueing for concert tickets just yet. Kanye West will be here soon, but I'm not convinced either.

Now that I live in China, I cannot tell you how many international site spit out Chinese writing at me. Youtube, Blogger, Google... which I guess is good, but it's a little scary that they know exactly where in the world you are.

I thought today that it's quite funny how quickly you get used to stuff. I'm now, more or less, used to people spitting in the street. I am now, more or less, used the pushing to get onto/off the subway, which only happens during peak times. I am now, more or less, used to the pace people walk. When I first got here I thought people walked really slowly, now I just slow myself down and it just makes things easier than always trying to overtake people on the sidewalk. Beijing driving freaked me out when I got here. It looked like there was no order to things, although the traffic always seem to move. Now, I'm completely used to it, I understand the flow and that it's really non-aggressive. What I'm not used to: people emptying their noses on the sidewalk, one nostril at a time.