torsdag 30 juli 2009

Rest in Peace

Yesterday my old trotjänare Dell 12´´ finally took her last breath. As the process have been quite long and she has been sick for quite some time, I had nothing very important saved on the computer. Puuh.

Now you might say: Great, you now get to buy a new lap top. However, anyone who has followed this blog, knows that I already did.

Aug 2004 Bought the Dell - Which I have really loved but now not so sad it’s gone.
Nov 2008 Bought a BenQ - Which I never loved and after three months sold to a friend.
April 2009 Bought a yellow mini Hyunday, (yes it’s a laptop – not a car…) - Which has already crashed once, which can only handle Linux, hence no Itunes, no skype, no photoshop etc, etc

I am soooo sick of myself and my stupid purchases. The no1 reason for buying the BenQ was the leather looking outside and for the Hyundai it was the fact that it was yellow. Gaaah! A computer is meant to be used not to be looked at!!! Idiot!!

I dislike the Hyundai as well (although I still love the fact that it is yellow, but I wish I had bought a Mac in the first place. If I had, I could totally have done it. But given that each stupid computer purchase still costs a bit of money and I can never sell it for the same price as what I bought it for, my budget has now shrunk...

So missing the Dell, not happy with the Hyundai and feeling slightly handcuffed not being able to use my computer properly: Am I then allowed to buy a Mac instead? Mac 13 inch bought in Hong Kong costs 7500 sek. A mac air probably at least 5000 sek more... And I promise, If I do, I will 1. stop complaining 2. keep it for years until it passes away like the dell.

So please, give me some input! Buy/ not buy a mac???

http://www.apple.com/se/macbookair/design.html Mmmm!

tisdag 28 juli 2009

Bad China Day

My friend taught me once the expression Bad China Day. It was so nice as it made me realize that I wasn't the only one.
Oh, you just have a bad China day, we all do sometimes.
Bad China Days can stem from many different things. Today has been a bad China day because:

1.Work was no fun. Not even the joy of coffee made my day.

2.The toilets at work are so small, you just have to sit on the ring or you will either a. knock your head to the door and risk to knock it open or b. do your business outside, behind the ring. And I don't want to sit down! They are dirty and disgusting.

3.The last three weeks of bad stomach is starting to get on me. Why?
a.I am sick of boring food.
b.I get so week when I don't get any food that I can not go to they gym.
c.Which I can't anyway as I now also have a hinch of a cold...
d.I have lost three kilos in two weeks and I have no interest in losing weight.
Any husmors tips on how to get well are much appreciated! Please let tomorrow will be a better China day

söndag 26 juli 2009

1 kuai = 1 rmb = 1 kr??

In Switzerland we were looked down upon as expats. We were like the Polish people in Sweden who went to another country where you could earn more money. (Sorry, nothing wrong with either Polish or Swedes!) Here it is the opposite. We live in a little gated community and we earn more per month than regular Chinese do per year. With such a huge income gap, our lives is so completely different. We can go out for dinner every night and do all sorts of things that most Chinese could just dream about.

When you do it the Chinese way, everything is dead cheap and you need to speak Chinese to communicate. If you want to eat western food, buy french youghurt in the supermarket and have a massage where the masseuse speaks Englih, it is all available. And the price range goes from much more expensive than in China to much more expensive than in Europe. (They honestly sell 500 g youghurt in the supermarket for 80 kuai! that's 90 kr or 8 euros!)

It makes you loose sense of what things are worth. I had Chinese lunch at a quite nice restaurant with a Chinese colleauge last Monday. 10 kuai each per meal. Than I had a 30 kuai Starbucks coffeee in the afternoon.
Spoiled expats

Chinese minds

Friday afternoon, I had that much dreaded meeting with my boss, which, thank God, went all according to the plan. Relief! A great way to end a busy working week!

Then a new insight about China. At lunch, we came to talk about The Party. The top students at every university are invited to join. It is so well thought out! They make it an attractive elite club – not for everyone, only for the best. It is human nature – everyone wants to join a group of exceptionally talented people.

We also spoke about Visas and the fact that it is hard for a Chinese person to get a Visa and even a passport to go abroad. On the very simple and direct question:

- Do many Chinese people think it is frustrating that it is difficult for them to travel abroad?
The answer was:
- I am very proud to be Chinese.
What!? Goddag yxskaft!

This reminds me of an article by Ola Wong in Svd not long ago. He talks about the recent riots in Urumuqi and the Rio Tinto case. The article in itself is not bad, if you ask me, but the interesting thing is all the comments after the article. From focusing on the actual article it evolves to be a discussion about whether or not Chinese people can take chriticism on their own country. It might be that normal Chinese people are more reluctant to doing so, but it could also be connected to the fact that 200 000 people in an unknown province in China are hired by the government to write positive things about China on blogs and forums all over the world. They are called the five mao people as they get 5 mao (55 öre) for every comment they write about China. I wonder if the Chinese commentators of Ola's article were five mao people or just regular Chinese-lovers.

Picture proof of the eclipse

Ok, the picture isn't that amazing but it'll give you the idea. Black in the middle and a light ring around it. Picture taken with my phone...

onsdag 22 juli 2009

Solar eclipse

I seem to have a lucky gene for solar eclipses. Ten years ago there was one in central Europe and I was flying Paris-Stockholm as the eclipse happened. Being the last to check in and board the window seat was long gone. Until this man asked if we could swap places so that he could sit next to his wife. I got a window seat with perfect view of the eclipse!

Today there was one again! They said it rained in Shanghai, but I was with some colleagues in Hangzhou on the way to a factory. We had all forgotten glasses and tin foil, but with the sky being mostly overcast, the clouds made that perfect shield from the rays, still letting the moon shaped sun through!

It is hard to describe, but wow what a cool thing! The driver stopped and we could see the eclipse from the side of the road. It became pitch black and all you could see was a lit up ring around the “black” sun. It also amazes me a lot when everyone – and I mean everyone go out on the street and watch in the same direction and say Oooo and Aaaa at the same time! It makes the experience so much more intense when you know that millions of people, and everyone around me is experiencing the same thing in this very moment. Not even soccer would draw crowds like this in China!

Heat

Heat has been the buzz word the last week. I got a cold beer in my hand after sailing on Saturday and there came steam from the beer. Not the normal one that goes up, but the one that falls downwards from the bottle or from any really cold object out in boiling heat. (Yes, the beer did taste pretty good!)

Spending most of our lives in airconditioned rooms, the heat wave is still bearable. The temperature hasn’t dropped below 30 for many days – not even in the middle of the night. Adding to that the humidity which makes your clothes stick to your body the second you leave home and even the Swedes will consider staying inside. (Despite that genetical malfunctioned programming to want to be outside as soon as the temperature is above 15 and/or it is between May and September.)

We ran out of coffee in the office, it was 3 pm and my coffee craving was getting bad. It is a seven minute walk to Starbucks but after having checked the weather channel and learned that it was 38 degrees – feeling like 42, I decided that walking there just for a coffee was not an option. Suddenly I realized what to do. I made a phone call and 20 minutes later the delivery guy turned up with a latte in his hand. 20 kuai including the delivery (24 sek). I love China!

Another reason for loving China is how they tackle problems. There is a law which says that everyone who does not have access to air condition does not have to work if the thermometar surpasses 37 degrees. So officially the temperature in Shanghai has never been higher than 37 degrees. There is a big thermometer on Nanjing Road and even though it is 37 degrees at 12 o'clock already and all normal thermometers would have rised a couple of more degrees till 2 o'clock, the Nanjing road thermometer will stay at 37. Typical Chinese way to not break the law but stilkl do it their own way...

måndag 20 juli 2009

New start!

When a new life starts and changes your life once again, old habits might be lost. Some forever and some for a little while, until order and normality is restored, and the old habits get a new place in the new life.



In addition to being a thoughton life, it is also my reason for having neglected this blog for quite a while. I have worked for three months on Monday and it has become a normality just like everything else. Now I am starting to miss the blog. I miss to share all the weirdo things we have been up to, which we see every day and which we sometimes see without even noticing. Keeping the blog alive is also a way of keeping our own eyes open.



Another reason for the blog being neglected is that our dear host country once again has made it difficult for us to communicate with the rest of the world. Blogspot has been closed for months and Facebook for three weeks now. Hotmail was closed for a while but is back up as far as I understand. I need to use a proxy or a remote desktop to Gustav's Boston based server to be able to write the blog.



A third reason is that I do what I always do - I "take water above my head" or simply: I make sure to raise my own expectations on the blog untill I just don't have time anymore to live up to them. You might find that the new blog will be more blog like and less Travel journey like. We will try to write shorter and more often. And this time I will not promsie pictures every time.



I am glad to be back on track and I hope that you agree. Below a short snapshot with pictures from the last three months together with an unpublished blogpost.



Welcome back!!

söndag 19 juli 2009

The last three months - picture recap





Per & Nina doing yoga poses on the hiking path in Sheshan, 40 minutes by metro + 10 minutes by taxi from Shanghai.



Martin, Daniel & Haibao doing thumbs up in Sheshan. Haibao is the official mascot for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.


The Swedish choir in Shanghai doing our first ever performance on The Swedish National day, Jun 6th. Nina to the far left.



Kerstin and Claes visited in early July. Their favorite spot in Shanghai ended up being the glasses market. Four floors of glasses to discount prices! Kerstin bought red glasses - not the ones she is wearing on the picture though.



Gustav trying out his handstandskills on a field in Guilin. Together with Kerstin and Claes he took a train for 24 hours to get there. Seems worth it given the stunning views and cool mountains.



Knitted factory 010 in Nantong. Their yarn warehouse was as big as a football field. Weird, but I get seriously excited by that much yarn!

Karin o David Ingmarsö 27 juni 2009

Fantastic wedding, incredible weather, great speeches and a party which didn't end until the sun was back up again. Karin and her dad...


Pick nick with Kerstin o Barbro just outside of Örebro.


Dad on the balcony with breakfast-leverpastejsmacka and a view of the approaching Volvo Ocean Race boats.


Volvo Ocean Race Inport Race at Kanholmsfjärden. Ericsson 3 & Nina.


Spectator boats and helicopter during the inport race. It was amazing to be there the first time the VoR boats came to Stockholm and to see Mange and the Ericsson 3 boat do an honorary sail through the archipelago.


Midsummer 2009. After the traditional saluting of the Waxholmsboat, the sky opened and we hid 15 people in a waiting boot until the rain eased out. I love Swedish summer!


Nephews Allan & Helmer in PoP beanies wich could possibly have been produced in factory 010.



Lou & Martina visited Shanghai and also went with Gustav to Dali in southern China.



Home made "shoes" sold on a market in Xian.


Yes, it is officially true - the Chinese can not stop themselves from doing the V-sign. It must be genetical.

Gustav, Fiona & Per on the Xian city wall. It took two hours to bike around (on top) of it



Xian & the Teraccotta Warriors. This guy is the only one who still has some colour on his collar.


Fabriker min vän

(skrivet i mitten av maj)

För tre månader sen köpte jag en ny dator. Den var alldeles för stor och klumpig och jag bytte ut den mot en liten gul Hyundai 10 tum. Tyvärr gör inte Hyundai några 10tumsdatorer och den visade sig vara fejk och verkar nu fullständigt ha givit upp. Med sig i graven tog den mitt senaste blogginlägg som jag inte hade hunnit publicera, en färdigskriven, men tillika inte inlämnad artikel samt senaste halvårets bilder. En lektion att ta lärdom av.

Har nu jobbat i tre veckor och känner att det är hög tid för en uppdatering. Jag fullkomligt älskar att jobba med sportkläder och CSR. Har nog inte riktigt erkänt tidigare att jag faktiskt tycker att det är rätt kul med kläder. Men nu skyller jag på att det är sportkläder och CSR. Jag fascineras otroligt av hur nylontrådar är uppbyggda, hur lite arbetaren tjänar i relation till priset i butik och hur många olika produktionssteg som krävs från plockad bomull till en färdig mössa.

Jag har dessutom varit på fem fabriker. Förutom att få se själva fabrikerna; hela rum fyllda med garner, skällt på dem för att de har blockat nödutgångar och lånar de obligatoriska metallhandskarna av grannfabriken när vi kommer på visit, har det gett mig möjlighet att hänga med kineser och blivit bjuden på ständiga luxluncher och middagar. Den senaste veckan har jag ätit pekinganka två gånger och krabba tre. Synd att klaga. Jag har varit i Nantong, Hangzhou och Zhouji. Sitter nu på tåget på väg hem från Zhouji (med min nya jobbdator...) och känner mig fantastiskt glad över att få börjat jobba med en så spännande uppgift i en bransh som kanske trots allt passar mig riktigt bra. Tågresan tillbaka till Shanghai tar tre timmar och än så länge passerar vi trädklädda kullar, ett och annat centralt placerat kärnkraftverk och familjer som hänger sin tvätt så nära spåret att de med säkerhet måste använda klädnypor för att inte bli av med tvätten när tåget åker förbi.

PS. Artikeln, som jag fick skriva om, kommer att återfinnas i Arlandas nya flygplatstidning Go travel & shop som kommer finnas på Arlanda från 1 juli....

fredag 3 juli 2009

saker i mitt huvud

Dumstrutar
På arlanda i tisdags såg jag en kille i rulltrappan kämpa o slita för att inte hans väskvagn skulle rulla ner för den flata rulltrappan som är bygd för att man ska kunna ta väskvagnen med sig. Vad han antagligen inte hade kommit på var att om han skulle släppa handtaget skulle vagnens broms slå in och han skulle inte längre behöva oroa sig för att vagnen skulle rulla ner.
Väl framme vid incheckningsdisken kommer nästa kille som inte klurat ut handtagets funktion. Istället för att trycka ner handtaget och rulla vagnen som vanliga människor gör skuter han på vagnen med låsta hjul framför sig. Det såg mödosamt ut.

Kineser som köar
I Kina finns det en begränsad kökultur. Kineser köar endast på ett enda ställe. Det är på tunnelbanestationen peoples park i centrala Shanghai. Där står alla kineser prydligt uppradade på rader på varje sida om dörrarna och väntar på att tåget ska komma in. Varför Kineserna valt att köa precis här vet jag inte. Tågen som rullar in är nästan alltid tomma så någon risk att inte komma med finns egentligen inte. Det enda detta köande åstakommer är att det blir väldigt jobbigt att ta sig farm för att alla människor står i raka led mitt i gången.

Mamma och Claes
Mamma och Claes har nu kommit hit och hälsat på. De är trötta men kämpar på och går duktigt i värmen. Jag ska skriva mer om deras besök när de har varit här ett tag.