Woodsy

ZZZZZ

I need some Zs right now, which inspired me to blog a Chinese pronunciation lesson for you:

Did you know that "z" in Mandarin is an unaspirated voiceless apical affricate?  Of course it is!  THAT really cleared everything up for me.  I had it confused with "Zh" which is actually an unaspirated voiceless blade-palatal affricate.  It's not enough that z,c,s and zh,ch,sh sound exactly alike, they also threw in those high-point scrabble letters j, x, and q.  We won't even go there.  I'm off to class.

Chinese scrabble anyone? 

Early Learning

If it's not hard, it's not worth doing.  Apparently this has become my motto.  Run a marathon?  Been there, done that, moved on to ultramarathon and a back-to-back half/full marathon.  Triathlon?  How about an Ironman?  And what could possibly be more difficult and time-consuming than learning how to swim?  Learning Mandarin, that's what.  Yes let's try that now.  While training for an Ironman.  Sounds good.

During my first week of Chinese language study, I learned a few important things.  The first being that I will be studying Chinese for a very, very, very long time.  Starting with tones.  The simple word "ma" spoken in different tones can means either mother, horse, or curse (see John's blog I Didn't Mean To Call Your Mother a Horse!).  Another word can mean either the color orange, or donkey.  Yep, tones are important.  Practicing with a native speaking co-worker at Chinese Corner last Friday, I got several laughs and "you sound like a typical American" :)  Ha!  That's what I was going for.

Another fun activity I started last week: lower body strength training.  Part of my training program to lift heavy objects (with the legs, not the back).  Deliver roundhouse kicks to the head a la Chuck Norris.  Explore the sport of powerlifting.  Maybe triathlon.  Must one have ass to kick ass at Ironman?   I would say after 4 sessions now I'm feeling less soreness, more dead-ness.  Does it feel like progress?  No, it feels like protest whenever I stand up.  Supposed to feel like power at some point.  I'll keep you posted.  Speaking of heavy objects, maybe I can go back to my abandoned career in discus throw.   Seriously, in jr high track I used to throw the discus which was probably like 25% of my body weight at that age.  Only to score a few JV points if 0-2 people from the opposing team were entered.  That's called takin' it for the team.  I tried shotput as well, but it just wasn't me.  Spinning was more my style.  Yes, clearly these medicine ball exercises are going to serve me well in discus-throwing.

My next challenge is to figure out how to integrate Chinese study into my Ironman training.  Ideas welcome.

Zaijian

Don't be impressed, I just looked up "goodbye" in my Mandarin phrasebook.  I am about to set off for the states here in a few hours.  The jet lag and intestinal distress has been fun but it's time to go home, back to the land of fine wine and microbrews.  And rain, I'm afraid.

I was impressed with Dalian, China.  It's location on the ocean makes it quite pleasant; the sea breeze seems to keep pollution under control most days.  There are parks and beaches.  You feel like a celebrity amongst the Chinese, and actually the staring eyes on the street did not bother me.  Actually I think my funniest memory is the three young workers at Starbucks huddling behind the cash register grinning at me every morning.  I felt safe, though I also felt like an outsider looking in.  Learning the language would definitely enrich the experience, allowing one to interact with the locals.  I had a serious hour-long massage while drinking a pot of tea for 7 US dollars.  No kidding.  Westerners can certainly live a life of luxury here.  Definitely learned a lot about the city and Chinese culture.  A huge thank you to my friendly colleagues/tour guides for introducing me to some local flavor and and offering a lot of advice :)

All my pics are now uploaded to Flickr.  A few strange things to ponder...

 
Can you see the rock climbers?  They're just statues.


That tree in the background?  Concrete.


A sign that indicates this hole in the ground will someday be a factory

Who could argue with this?

Chinglish in Dalian

Sleepless in Asia

Those who can not sleep, blog.  I am in Dalian, China trying to figure out what time zone I'm in.  My GI system is trying to figure out why it's been punished with airplane food for 9 hours (from Amsterdam to Chicago) and then again for 12 hours (from San Fran to Seoul).  At least I think that's what is happening, I haven't ingested any "high risk" foods or tap water here.  Hope that wasn't TMI for you.

Arrived in Dalian last night (was it?) to begin my preview trip.  This is where I decide whether I would like to live in China for 2-3 years starting in 2009.  For a good description of Dalian see John's blog.  I had high hopes of quality sleep tonight after getting up early to see the plant construction site and walking around most of the day. 

Maybe too much Starbucks is to blame?  Nah.  Yes there are a few in Dalian and this one is close to my hotel.  Just started opening one hour earlier for those of us who need pre-office gratification.

Home for the next few days.  Not bad, not bad at all.  It's a bathrobe-and-slippers-provided kinda place

It's been easy going so far.  More photos here.  John's driver is very good but fear of death comes when you leave the relative safety of the car and start crossing the streets.  Negotiating multiple-lane roads feels exactly like playing Frogger, except it's for real.  And as described in Pimpin' with my Ride, traffic lights are merely suggestions.  In one day I've seen numerous cars run red lights and perform other tricky maneuvers like a u-turn driving off of the sidewalk (you may wonder why they were on the sidewalk in the first place), through an intersection around a couple people crossing the road.  Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way at any time and playing chicken is probably not recommended.  I have learned to go with the locals when possible, ensuring at least one person is between the oncoming car and myself to lessen the impact.  Once you've committed?  MOVE IT, hold your breath and don't look.  That's my strategy.

Tomorrow I meet up with the relocation company to explore the area.  I told them my interests were cycling and running...this should be good.

Not moving to China

Yet, anyhow.  Last spring I applied for a position within my company that would send me to work in China for 2-3 years starting in 2009.  I got an offer and was really excited about it.  Booked a plane ticket to take off and check it out two days after my last triathlon of the year, a perfect time to take serious leave of my 2x daily workouts!   Come back and start training for the job, a year long commitment.  I was ready to get out of Portland and have a cultural experience.  Learn a new language!  Visit places far and away!  Well, today it all fell through.  Technically it's on hold, but chances are I will not be moving out of the country when I expected, if at all.  Having been at the company for almost 11 years I should expect changes like this. 

Still, the timing suprises me.  I started to have serious doubts about the whole thing just a couple weeks ago.  Is moving to Asia really what I want to do at this point in my life?  I started obsessing about it but hey, since I asked for the job and got it so who was I to complain?  Really somebody needed to slap me and remind me that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Instead, I got some reprieve.  I don't need to nail down the next four years of my life right now.  But I'm gonna miss my boondoggle.