April 2005 Archives

Ever since I have arrived, I have been encountering David Beckham mania. Well, considering my surname is fairly similar, most locals I have met have a lightning recognition to the fact that my name 'is' Beckham.

Making the distinction between Beck's famous handle and my not-so-famous one has been too difficult to explain, so I've tended to go with it. In Australia, this was a fairly common occurrence anyhow, but of course, much more easily corrected. I've seen my surname mangled in so many ways since I've been here, that I have decided to go with the flow.

Hence, my Chinese name, Bai Heng Tian. I have no idea how to type this out in Simplified Chinese characters (and a slightly better idea on how to annunciate it), but apparently is it quite phonetically similar to 'Beckham'. Most locals now go, "Oh, football player, are you related?". That's another kettle of fish.

David Beckham is super-popular here in China. So much so that you see his face everywhere. A certain brand of cola that he is associated with is by far the most prominent soft-drink here in Shanghai, perhaps in China too. You kind of expect to turn a corner and see Beck's face plastered on it. Usually, you're not too far away from being right.

So it wasn't really a surprise when I go to get caffeinated in the afternoon by heading downstairs to the canteen and picking up a can of his preferred cola, that you would think that, "yeah, I wonder if he is on this can...?". And correct to my assumption, he was - complete with foot/soccer ball. However, I was completely wrong in expecting he'd be on a pitch somewhere or doing some kind of fancy ball-bending trick.

Nah, he was just dribbling his ball whilst on a gnarly wave located just off a remote tropical island...

Now that was a surprise... He must be a talented guy...

I miss morning coffee. I miss morning coffee with REAL coffee. I miss morning coffee with REAL milk. I miss you guys too... *sniff*

For my coffee co-conspirators back in 'Straya, if you can bear to see the depths I've been taken to, point your mouse towards this Mobile Phone Gallery pictorial on how I manage to make it through the day on the Corporate Coffee method...

Personally, I'm lobbying hard for a refrigerator and a coffee budget. But I think I've got buckleys...

Lin's been really busy sorting through the pile of photos she has taken during our first 4 weeks here in Shanghai.

She's started to post some photos detailing her perspective of our new life in Shanghai on her blog site.

I wrote this entry quite a while ago on the 27th of May, just bordering on two weeks now. It has sat idle until I had the chance to process and upload some digital snaps Linda and I had taken. It's a strange feeling looking back at what you wrote when everything was exciting and new. We've found out so much more about the Pujiang/Astor House Hotel since then, so keep on scrolling down after this backdated entry....

timmyb

[27th of May, 2005] My [gf] and I are staying in the schizophrenic, but grand old lady of Shanghai, The Pujiang Hotel. Over many years, the name of the hotel has changed, as has the location of the building. The 'hotel entity' goes back to 1846 when it was one of the first Western-owned and operated hotels in China, known at the time as the Astor House Hotel (otherwise known as Richard's Hotel after the owners). The current site, which is about a 2 minute walk to Shanghai famous Bund area, has hosted an Astor House/Richard's hotel since 1857. The building I am writing this entry in has existed only since 1907, when the old hotel was 'renovated' to make the hotel in a grand deluxe model that we see today.

Its been a hectic few weeks. We have been run ragged taking care of our respective jobs & all that entails, on top of which we've started to set up our new apartment.

I've been put under the 'blow-torch' at work - with my responsibilities there greatly upgraded in the last week. Its been tough taking on this added responsibility, whilst undergoing my initiation training, coming up to speed with the current projects at work, and well, just settling in there. Learning new systems isn't easy at the best of times, but coming from a laid-back university life to the directness of a huge company has taken some adjustment. At this point, its long hours at work, plus also the 50 minute each way commute for me to get from Jing' An Temple to the metro station out at Zhangjiang High-Technology Park. One good aspect of the trip is that I don't have to cram my face into anyone's armpit (unlike those faced with my armpit at times) and it is the perfect length of time to listen to music on my iPod.

Lin & I have been progressively making our new apartment our own. I'll write more on that later, and we know that heaps of people has asked us to put photos of our new apartment up on the web so you know what we're living in. At the moment, its a mess. We're progressively getting there, once it is semi-decent, we'll post some photos. Trust us.

We've also managed to strike up a few burgeoning friendships. My workmates have been great helping me settle in, in particular Marie and Yan. Apartment hunting has introduced us to a number of people, and maybe there's a couple of different ways to knock back a couple of coldies on the weekends. I was also picked up in a bar on our first evening out in Xintiandi (a popular night and eating precinct) by a fellow Brisbanite. Lin was concerned when Rob & I hooked up for our man-date, but was relieved when she came home to see we'd both polished off a good portion of our duty free alcohol. And I later christened the apartment. I hope the porcelain gods were happy. Don't worry, I dusted myself off and hit the bars and restaurants once again. It'll take more than that to stop me.

Its been intimidating on weekend days going out. I don't know if that's so much of a new environment, trying to avoid the stares Westerner's get while you walk down the street, or just that we don't really want to face the faceless masses of Shanghai. Its easy to underestimate how many people live here. Imagine Queen St. Mall at a workday lunchtime - this is the usual amount of pedestrian traffic on the major roads. But, you know in Brisbane that if you walk 1 block away from this, that the crowds dissipate and you're by yourself again. Not in Shanghai. Its the same crowd over and over again. Like a pedestrian 'Groundhog Day'. Everyone is packed in on each other, everyone share's each other's lives much more than what I had imagined. Lin & I live in a good building and a good apartment, so we're lucky. But for the bulk of Shanghainese, its in your face. Hence, when you join in walking down the street, its all in your face.

I've been putting off going for a haircut. There's ample opportunity in our street - there's a mile of them. Some that only open after 6pm and put up pink lighting. I tell you what, the stylists don't wear much. Very friendly, trying to get me to come in each evening. I think I'll go to one of those day-hairdressers myself. ;)

This is just a snippet of what we've been doing. There's a heap more, and later when I have the time to write more about the life and experiences that we're encountering here, I'll endeavour to flesh out more of these tidbits I've offered up here.

timmyb

I've been playing with my mobile phone a lot since I have been here. Given that an SMS costs the equivalent of one third of AUD$0.01, and I've discovered predictive text (ok, I had a dinosaur of a phone in 'Straya), I've struggled to turn my attention away from it. Coupled with the fact it has one of those dodgy mobile phone cameras, I've found a source of constant amusement.

So I've been taking random shots of things that I have found interesting while trotting around Shanghai. Its early days yet, but I thought that I would keep on adding photos to a new album in my Gallery setup.

You can check it out here.

After a huge week of hunting, searching, and wishing for some kind of result, Lin & I have finally found our Shanghai apartment.