This is the life... of an expat in Shenzhen, not mine

This is the life...

I am here, testing a dream

~Wendy & Lisa

I really don't know what to say, but you all know I am going to say it anyway. Things here are much the same as they have always been. The weather is getting cooler so our highs are only in the upper 80's and low 90's instead of the upper 90's. There is a prevailing cool breeze and people are talking about the "cold" and wearing long sleeves and light jackets. That cracks me up! I have been having a hard time finding short sleeve shirts because of the cold weather.

I bought a bicycle finally after thinking about it for a few months. I decided on a nice mountain bike with front suspension and disc brakes. The day I bought it I rode it home, 1.5 hours. The next time I went for a ride I crashed. Results of the crash as follows:

Right elbow- scraped

Right index finger- small gouge

Clothes- dirty

Front derailleur- out of adjustment

Rear wheel- out of alignment but not bent

Water bottle- ejected at the scene and not recovered. I only noticed the water bottle was gone when I thought to use the water to rinse the wound on my hand.

Bicycles are transportation here so I am quite a sight on my bike I imagine. Not only am I a large foreigner on a bicycle but I am often goofing off, jumping things, and going very fast. Riding a bicycle is a lot of fun but can be dangerous too. The sidewalks are often crowded and the streets are unsafe. Still it is a great way to get around. I have been trying to ride for 1-2 hours everyday since I got the bike. One thing that surprises me is how often you see people smoking while they ride their bicycles.

The other thing that happened when I crashed is that I hurt my right shoulder and back. It took me about a week to figure that out. During the crash I went over the handle bars and the bike went flying. I landed in soft dirt so I was fine and found the whole scene rather amusing. The policeman that I crashed in front of looked like he had seen aghost. I just told him 'mei guan xi" it doesn't matter, got up, dusted myself off and went home.

I am going to upload some new pictures to my photobucket. One is of some moinkeys that I saw while out riding. I don't know what the guy that was handling them wanted. For a minute I thought he was trying to sell them to me. They weren't performing or anything, just sitting on the sidewalk. Another picture is of a guy sleeping in the landing between the second and third floors at the building I work in. I know he is not homeless. I think he is just taking a break from his job. I took his picture because I found him there twice and both times he was snoring. People here often take naps. If you go out to small shops around lunchtime you will find people sleeping at their jobs. I see people sleeping in parks and other outdoor seating. Like I said, these are not homeless people just people taking naps.

Another picture is a little disturbing for most of you I think. It was hard for me to take the picture honestly but I felt like I had to do it for the sake of sharing things that I see in China and you don't see inAmerica. I was walking past a restaurant just last night when my friend said, "Oh, look at the dog." Only she wasn't pointing to a pet on the street, she was pointing at the display window in front of the restaurant. The dog was on the menu and freshly butchered I would guess. I was busy looking at snakes in a cage on the ground and didn't notice the dog. I also have pictures of snakes and lobsters from some other restaurants. Cobra seems to be the snake of choice.

I have eaten two things here that I have never tried before… well three if you count the fish heads since I have only eaten fish cheeks. I have eaten pig and chicken "stomachs." I think intestines is a better translation. All those years I said no to chitlins and then I come toChinaand try it. It was pretty good actually, a little spicy both the chicken and the pig. Most of my friends eat spicy food, sometimes hot enough to make you cry.

My job has me a little down lately. I am not sure why. The last two nights we had Halloween parties for our kids and I was the monster in the haunted house. That was fun but rather tiring. Apparently I scared one group of kids so bad they ran all the way back to the bathrooms on the opposite side of the school. I find that no matter how tired I am the smiles on my kids's faces gives me the energy to go on.

I talked to a guy that is teaching kickboxing in one part of the city. From what he said he is making good money at it. So I am hopeful to do the same thing. I am also looking for a videographer so that I can create a thai boxing instructional DVD. There are many opportunities here, it is just a matter of time. There was a large kickboxing match here a couple weeks ago. I missed it but saw some of the fights on TV. I am excited to see that there is a fight scene here, even though it is a quiet one.

I am making friends here so I am not so lonely and my good friend (and current boss) Jennifer is here from theUS. I am slowly picking up the language and will be starting some formal lessons again soon. All in all I am still happy, safe, and missing you. ALL OF YOU!

Chris