There's An App For That

Foreign languages are not my thing.  I really wish that they were.  It would make things so much easier! My accents are horrible and apparently I have an inability to distinguish a difference between similar sounds.

I have a very rudimentary grasp of Spanish.  I do a much better job of reading it than I do speaking it, but even then I really only comprehend about 50 percent of what I read.  When I speak, I spend way to much time trying to think of the verb I want to use and even more time trying to conjugate it.  Add in tenses and the whole situation can get very pathetic really quickly.

When we were in Macau, I taught English for a little while.  I would often ask the students to tell me the Chinese words for things we were talking about.  For example the word "dog."  They would tell me, and I would repeat it.  Usually incorrectly, because apparently there is a whole tonal system that I was unaware of with high tones and low tones.

We lived in a set of apartment buildings called "Nova City," however, none of the taxi drivers knew it by this name.  We asked our doorman what the building was called in Chinese and he said, (and I am just spelling this the way it sounded) "Ho teng toe way."  If we said this to a taxi driver, sometimes it got us home.  Usually we had to repeat it and eventually they would get it.  But they would always repeat it back to us differently depending on the driver. "HO teng tow way," or "ho TENG tow we."  Sometimes just "Ho Teng."

Keep in mind, this was back in 2008 and the first iPhone had only just been introduced 6 months earlier.  Smart phones were not all that common yet.  Nowadays there is an app for everything!  A useful one here is iSpeech(Chinese) or Translator (Chinese and multiple other languages.)  It works with either typing or speech.  It's very helpful, but it takes a lot of time to use and apparently it is not always all that correct.

I think that it is probably very accurate if you are typing in what you want to say.  The other day, we went to the bank because we needed to set up online banking.  While we waited our turn for the teller, Matt typed this into the translator.

When we got to the window he asked if she spoke English and she replied, "Little bit." He handed her  his iPhone.  It looked like this:

I am assuming this translation is correct because she looked at it and nodded, and got some forms for Matt to fill out.  The forms were completely in Chinese, and she told him in English what to write and where. (name, address, etc.)

Then the whole process got even more complicated because there was this little machine type thing that you need to connect to your computer when you do a wire transfer.  Then she took us over to this computer that looked a lot like an ATM on the other side of the bank to help him set up his password.

Luckily there was button to change the language on the screen to English so Matt was able to understand more easily.  There came a point, however, when the girl had difficulty expressing what she wanted to say and it seemed very important that she get this out.  She was saying things like, "don't" and "no one" but she was having trouble stringing the words together.  She seemed really frustrated so Matt pulled out his iPhone again and handed it to her with the translator app open.  You just have to press the yellow arrows in the middle and it switches the translator so it translates Chinese into English. You have to press the microphone so that you can speak Chinese into the iPhone and it should then translate into English that we can read.

So she took the phone and spoke into it and we could see it loading the translation and then she looked at it and she shook her head.  Matt could see that something had been translated but she said, "No. It's not right."  So she erased it and she spoke into it again. Again, we could see the translation loading but she read it and shook her head and rolled her eyes.  Matt said, "Let me see what it says, maybe I can figure it out." She shook her head no and said again, "No, it's not right!" Then she closed out the app and handed back the phone and said, "Don't tell your password to anyone?" (It was really more of question to see if that sentence made sense to us.)  We nodded that we understood and repeated, "We won't tell the password to anyone."

She seemed satisfied that we understood and eventually sent us on our way.  We thanked her profusely for trying so hard.  We really appreciated it.  She looked exhausted!

Anyway, we were walking home and Matt said, "I really don't know why she wouldn't let me see it.  It was clearly working!  There was something written there."  Then he thought about it and said, "I wonder if it's still there."  So he opened the app and started laughing.  This is what we saw:

Maybe "password" and "mother" sound the same in Chinese to the iPhone.  Either way, we spent the rest of the day laughing about that.  I may just have to attempt to learn a little Mandarin!

It's a Bit Noisy Here

We moved into our new apartment on Sunday.  We were supposed to move in a while ago but first we had to wait for the place to be painted.

The view from the living room is very nice.  Probably the nicest we have ever had.  We are in the business district of Gaoxin.  We also seem to be surrounded by car dealerships.  Here is a picture of the view from our window.

To the left is the park.  Its very long and takes up several city blocks. In total it is 3,600 meters or 3.6 kilometers or about 2.25 miles.  That is where I do most of my runs.  Aside from having to cross the street on each block, it's a very nice park.

Directly across from us is a BMW dealership. Next to that is Mini followed by Volvo, Koros, Nissan and Honda. To the right of all these dealerships are Haima, GMC and Mercedes Benz.   Next to us on the same side as us are at least three more dealerships including Toyota, Hyundai, and some other one I forgot.  Behind us there is Jeep and something else.  Why am I telling you about all the car dealerships that surround us you ask?  Because of this: (It's impossible to see the fire crackers going off in the video because it's so small but it's mainly for the sound ;)

 

I kept hearing that noise when we were in the hotel (with double paned windows) and I could not figure out what it was.  I asked Matt what it was and he said he was told that when one of the car dealerships sells a car they set off fireworks/ firecrackers.  Yesterday, they started going off before 8AM and by 10AM they had already gone off more than a dozen times.  I guess it was a good day to buy a car.  I left to go for a walk and the moment I returned and walked through my front door I was immediately greeted yet again by the same familiar sound.  It continues throughout the day and well into the night.

But that isn't the only sound that's a bit jarring.  The horn honking is really bad and it just goes on and on all day long and well into the night.

 People have no problem leaning on their horns at 2 AM.  We live on the 10th floor and it sounds like it's right outside the window.  It's at it's very worst between the hours of 7-10:30AM and then again between the hours of 3-8 PM but it goes on all day and all night long.  It's just the length of time in-between horn honking bouts.  Generally, it's about every 30 seconds to 1 minute during rush hours and about 1-3 minutes during  the afternoon and about 2-10 minutes after about 9:30 PM.  I sleep with earplugs so I can't really tell you how bad it is during the night but I have been going to sleep around 12-1AM and they are still honking.  (Luckily the bedroom has a bit more insulation than the front room.)  There is weird little room that is basically "outside" right in the living room so even though the windows are closed, you can still hear everything because it's just this thin wood surrounding the "outside room."  Not sure how to describe it so here are some pictures.

 I'm assuming that is the air conditioner.  There are slats, so you can't accidentally fall out but it is basically outside.

This is the wall with the door closed.  The edges don't seal and you can't lock the door.  I found out today that if you leave the laundry room window open, and there is a gust of wind, that this door flies open and you get a regular wind tunnel blowing through the apartment.  Good to know!

I'm hoping that the video works.  I had a really hard time getting it on here and I had to lower the quality considerably.  (Good thing they were mainly for sound effects.) They wouldn't load  directly for some reason so I had to put them on YouTube first.  Since China has apparently banned YouTube (as well as Facebook) I have to go through a VPN account.  It's a bit of a pain. 

On! On! Hash House Harriers Xi'an

Last Saturday was the "Annual St. Patrick's Day HASH RUN!" (Xi'an Kennel)  Now this was the first time I have ever been to a Hash run.  They had the Hash in Riyadh, but it generally coincided with Riyadh Road Runners and I just loved that group! Miss them!  We kept meaning to make it out to the Hash, but when it's 40 degrees C out (104 F) it was easy to come up with an excuse not to go.  In 2.5 years in Riyadh, we never made it once.

In Xi'an, the only running group I have been able to locate thus far is the Hash so the Hash it is!  They seem to meet once a month so we made plans to go.  The night before we were invited to a wedding celebration dinner for one of Matt's coworkers.  It was at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel.  There were about 20 different dishes served.  They put them all on a giant "Lazy Susan," and as the dishes went by, you could take what you wanted.

I tried pretty much everything.  The Beijing Duck was the specialty and it was delicious.  Several of the dishes were very spicy even if they didn't necessarily look spicy.  Also, there were about 4 dishes that I have no idea what they were. I liked them, but honestly I couldn't tell you what they were.  And, there was a lot of wine.  A lot of toasts, and a lot of refilling of the glasses.  It was lots of fun, but I definitely drank more than I normally would, especially considering I was planning on running the next day.

When I woke up the next morning, I didn't feel "great."  Between the wine and the spicy food, I felt a bit off but certainly not bad enough to blow off the first chance of a group run.  Luckily the run wasn't until 3:30.  We got up and finally got moving around 11:00.

By 2:20 we had eaten and were dressed to go running.  The group was supposed to meet at the park next to the drum tower inside the Walled City in Xi'an.  To get there, we would need to take a taxi.  Apparently there is a shift change that takes place at 3:00 so it was next to impossible to get a taxi because even if you find one, they don't want to take you downtown.  (It is a bit of a pain with the traffic, especially on the weekend.) Eventually we got a driver to stop and before he managed to drive off, we offered to pay double to get him to take us... and he did.  We arrived at the Drum Tower at about 3:25.

The Drum Tower

(I don't know who that guy is, but he kept taking pictures of all the foreigners.) 

Quite a few people showed up and they were all gathered around dressed in green waiting to start the run/walk.  Since we were "Hash Virgins," they gave us a quick explanation of the rules and said, "If you get lost, keep the sun on your right and head that way.  Last stop is the Mexican Bar."  Having no idea where we were, and since I didn't have my phone on me, we decided to just not get lost.

So here is the start.  The two guys in blue are the "hares," and they run ahead and mark the trail with flour. (That is what is in the bags.) The rest of us give them about a 5 minute head start and then we try and catch them.  The walkers, stayed with the beer cart.  (I'm pretty sure they didn't have one of those in Riyadh ;)

I was really glad they were wearing the big green hats because it made it much easier to keep track of them while we were running.  Eventually they shouted "On on!" and away we went running down the city streets.  Sorry if the pictures are blurry, but like I said, we were running so I did my best!

It was so silly.  There were signs that they had left and we were looking for flour in the streets to find the hares.  We were purposely sent down wrong streets and had to turn around to find the correct trail.  A lot of the people on the street were actually very helpful pointing out which way the others had gone.  When we looked to be going the wrong way people would start pointing and waving us in another direction.  It was so much fun.  Also it was a pretty easy pace, and if someone fell behind, we usually had to backtrack so they were able to catch up again.  

We ran for about 2 miles and eventually found and then passed the walkers (different route), and then we found the hares as well as the beer cart.  This was apparently the halfway point where we waited for the walkers to catch up.  

 Lots of beer as well as potato chips and water.

 Normally it would never occur to me to have a beer in the middle of a run,

 but there is always a first time!

Eventually the walkers caught up and we all hung out chatting, drinking beer, and eating potato chips for about a half an hour or so until they said that it was time to do the second half of the run.  This time they just said to stick close and if we get lost meet them at the Mexican Bar.  Again, having no clue where this was... I made it a point not to get lost.

,

So off we went chasing the hares! Good thing that they left a trail because eventually they managed to lose us. At some point we left the walled city because here is the wall from the outside.

There is also a moat, but since I was trying to keep up it's not in the picture.  The second half was a touch more difficult since the muscles had stiffened up and it's not a huge surprise that beer does not help one to run more efficiently.  

 We ran through a park where lots of people were flying kites and more helpful people pointed us in the right direction when we all stood around trying to figure out where to go.

 I'm not sure what this building is but it looked pretty so I took a picture of it.  

 Eventually we ended up at the Mexican Bar which is apparently the only Mexican food place in all of Xi'an.  They greeted us with tequila shooters.  Not the most refreshing drink after a run, but surprisingly smooth. We waited around here for quite some time waiting for the walkers with the beer cart but they couldn't get the beer cart to the restaurant because there were too many stairs.  So considering that they had all of the beer and certainly had no need for us... we went to find them.

Here is the moat that goes around the walled city.  Very pretty.

Now earlier in the day, people were telling us that the hash usually goes until 9:30 and I said that there was no way that I was going to be there until 9:30 if we started at 3:30. At this point, I think it may have been around 5:30.

The beer cart turned out to be just around the corner at the bottom of some steps.

We joined them and then once again started drinking beer.  The group was very nice and everyone was having a good time.  A newly married couple were nearby taking pictures and I'm not quite sure how this happened... but it certainly makes for an interesting wedding photo.

This was followed up by more chatting and then a "circle" where "Hash business" was discussed.  This included naming one guy, renaming another girl, and something called "down downs," which are apparently an infraction committed on the run.  The punishments, however, all had to do with drinking beer.

Eventually, it got dark and we got hungry and so we all ended up back at the Mexican Bar for tacos, more beer and more tequila.

In fact, we had such a good time, that when we finally got into a cab to go home it was 11:00.  I guess I wasn't wrong when I said that there was no way I was going home at 9:30! On On!!

I Didn't Do It!

So something happened yesterday that is weighing heavily on my mind!  We woke up fairly early and decided to go to this coffee place down the street called Cozy Day.  It's very cute and you can get a latte and a waffle. After you order, they give you a stuffed animal to put on your table so that they can deliver your order to you.

 It was very quiet for a Saturday morning so it was very relaxing.  We drank our coffee and had a pleasant leisurely breakfast, after which we were planning on walking to this place called Lotus because we needed to get some instant coffee and we couldn't find it at any of the smaller convenience stores that are closer to the hotel.

Lotus is about a mile and a half away from Cozy Day so we set out on our walk.  We were almost there when I realized that I probably should have used the restroom at Cozy Day before we left.  I mentioned this to Matt who replied, "Lotus is a huge department store as well as a grocery store, I'm sure that they will have a bathroom."

"I'm sure they will too," I said, "But that's why I probably should have gone at Cozy Day.  It's much smaller and their bathroom would probably have been nicer and cleaner."

"You're probably right."  (I was definitely right.)

When we arrived at Lotus, the place was PACKED and the lines were super long.  Also, they lock up the coffee.

Eventually Matt mentioned that he could probably use the bathroom too, so we went to go look for it.  It was upstairs and down a long hallway.  Matt went in the Men's room and I went into the Ladies room.  I went past some sinks and turned the corner to see two long rows of toilet stalls.  The doors were all closed but one, but since there were four other women already waiting there and not going in, I decided not to look inside.  Eventually doors opened, people came out, and the ladies waiting went in.    Pretty soon it was just me and one other lady waiting.  A door opened near me and a woman came out.  I motioned to the other lady to go ahead because she had been waiting before me.  She thanked me and opened the door and looked in then promptly turned around and shook her head and scrunched up her face indicating that the bathroom was yucky.

Now, every time a door had opened I had glanced into the stalls and noticed that they were all a little yucky and I had been waiting a while.  Now I have seen quite a few really disgusting bathrooms including a truly disgusting gas station men's room in Jordan that I had no choice but to use since there was no ladies room and way too many people around to just go outside. Since a lady had just come out of the restroom, I looked.

Now I should probably mention that in China most of the toilets are squatters.  A longish porcelain bowl on the ground that you squat over and go. These confused me a bit when I lived in Macau but I have since gotten used to them as they often had them in Riyadh as well.  (I still prefer a western toilet though given the choice.)

Anyway, this particular toilet had a little brown turd on the back of the bowl.  It was hanging off the edge and therefore not getting flushed when the automatic flusher went off.  Since I had seen bits of brown in many of the other doors that had opened, I figured one brown toilet is as good as the next, and it's not like I had to sit on it.  So I shrugged my shoulders and went inside and quickly did my business, avoiding the little brown turd.  Not a huge deal.  The problem came when I had finished with my business and was exiting the stall.

When I had gone in, it was only me and the lady who had chosen not to go in.  When I came out, the other lady was nowhere to be seen but there were now three new women waiting.  The closest one came over, opened the door and didn't go in, now of course thinking that I did it! Probably thinking, "Stupid foreigner, doesn't know how to use the toilet."

Now had I actually done it I would have probably used a tissue and pushed it into the bowl so no one would have had to see that, but since it wasn't my poop I certainly wasn't going to play around with it! As a rule though I generally avoid pooping in public bathrooms whenever possible.

So what could I do?  I washed my hands and got out of there as quickly as possible.  Now had I had internet I probably could have used my translator app and said something like this:

But would that really of helped?  Probably not.  Oh well, I'm just putting it out there... I didn't do it!

I Have Arrived!

I have arrived in Xi'an and since I am evidently going to be here for a while, I have been taking my time venturing out.  It's a bit cold here.  Not too bad and I suppose I am due for some cold weather especially since we had a surprisingly warm winter in Southern California.  Also, the air is a bit polluted so I am a bit wary of running outside.  It seems like the cloudier/ foggier it is, the more pollution there is in the air.  It's been a bit rainy and overcast the past couple of days so the air is not so great.

Because of the poor air quality and because I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, I decided to do my first run indoors in the hotel gym.  (Our apartment is not yet ready.)  This is what greeted me.

 I'm sure that there is a way to switch it to English, but I couldn't figure it out.  I took a guess and just pushed the big green button and got to here:

Since I could read "Jog" I pressed jog, and then pressed the "+" button until I was "jogging." The picture in the middle was a video that showed how to use the machine.  The machine in the video was in English, so after about the 4th time I watched it I was able to read the English on the machine in the video and figured out where the TV button was located.  Then it was just a matter of deciding which Chinese program to watch whilst listening to my iPod since I don't understand Chinese.

I decided on an infomercial for something called the Egg Master by Rollie.  Apparently it's just too difficult to cook eggs these days because they stick to the pan and you somehow end up with a whole sink full of dishes when you try to cook them.  But, if you just crack two eggs into the Egg Master and pop in a stick, you get perfectly cooked eggs on a stick.  You can put on your makeup while they are cooking!  It will save you so much time.  And your kids will eat them because they are on a stick and that makes them fun.  In fact, they are so fun that you can have a party and serve just eggs on a stick and everyone will have a great time and enjoy them very much.  They may even do a little dance of happiness... (although I think that was just the woman throwing the party.)  Oh the things you learn while watching TV!

So I finished my run, and got my summary:

Ahhh, good to know!

But that isn't the only thing I have done since I have been here.  I also got to go to get a government physical.  Apparently Riyadh isn't the only place that requires extensive medical tests. Although I must say that this physical was much more organized as well as much more extensive than my follow up physical At The Clinic in Riyadh.  

The whole process took about 2.5 hours and I had blood taken followed by an ultra sound, then a blood pressure test, then an EKG, then height, weight and vision, all topped off with a chest X-ray.  The majority of time was spent registering.  There was an extremely long line, but once we were through that, and went upstairs for the testing, (along with about 150 other people) they got you in and out of each room very quickly.  As soon as one person went in, the next one was on deck.  You couldn't even get your clothes straightened up before they were already strapping in the next person.  I think the longest test was the X-ray and that was because they could only have one person in the room at a time and then they had to develop the X-ray. 

Oh, and I didn't have to maneuver all these areas by myself.  The hotel sent me with a nice young woman who speaks English and was able to translate everything for me and tell me where to go and what to expect.  I would have preferred to not have to undergo all the testing, especially since I couldn't eat or drink anything beforehand and I was super hungry at the end and in dire need of coffee, but it wasn't too bad.  And that's what happened during my first few days in Xi'an.