Mothership, Motherload, and Motherhood

Shanghai, like Beijing, is a very big city. The architecture is large scale, modern, and incredibly diverse. We have many more students from Shanghai than Beijing or Hong Kong, so Zack had many more meetings. This was the first city on our Asian tour where I actually ventured out on my own. Fortunately, the top of The Radisson Hotel looks like a spaceship landed on it. When I emerged from the Shanghai Metro, it was not hard to find “the mothership!” It reminds me of when I first moved to Boston. I learned how to find my way around Boston very quickly by looking for the Prudential Building. On foggy days I was lost!

Shanghai does not have as many historical sites as Beijing, but it does have A LOT OF SHOPPING! The possibilities are endless, even if you are one cool cat! If you have a fetish for handbags and watches, then this is where you will find “the motherload!” There are an abundance of markets that sell knock-offs of whatever designer brand you desire. The salespeople are relentless and the haggling is fierce. Here are just a few examples of what you will hear walking through these markets.

• Hey lady, you need bag?
• Hey guy, you want watch?
• Look! How many pieces you want?
• I give you morning price! (Apparently they are more willing to lower the price for the first sale of the day because they think it is good luck to make the first sale quickly.)
• What you need? I can get for you!
• No joking price. I give you good price!

I had one vendor start me at a price of 420 RMB (about $70) and I told him I would pay 80 RMB. When he refused, I walked away. Two shops later, he chased me down and said, “OK.” I said, “NO.” He continued to follow me and he eventually offered 60 RMB ($10.) I can’t take any credit for this. I learned from the Master (read Zack!) Needless to say, Shanghai is where we did most of our shopping.

Pam (Nanny) and our friend Helen have taken such great care of the kids that we’ve never had to worry. Each night of our trip, we spoke to the kids. When we asked the boys what they did on any particular day, the answer was “nothing.” When we asked what they learned at school, the answer was “nothing.” When they asked what we were bringing home for them, I couldn’t help but say, “nothing!”

Of all the experiences I have had on this trip, all the sights that I have seen and the people that I have met, meeting the mothers of our students has been the most profound and meaningful. I have felt an instant bond with all of these mothers. We share a deep love and commitment to our children. There is no language barrier when it comes to motherhood! I admire these women for their courage and the sacrifice they have made by sending their sons and daughters so far away in order to give them a better life. When I express my admiration and gratitude, they are not too proud to tell me how they cried when they sent their children away, but they also tell me how grateful they are to our school for taking such good care of them. They are wonderful women and I am proud to call them friends!

Food

First of all, let me say that it takes Amy a lot longer to write these entries than me. She is either too tired or too detail-oriented. Either way, you should demand more of her. Mostly, you should demand that she write more quickly so you can get to my less-informative but certainly more-humorous entries. You all deserve the very best!

Today's entry is about food. As most of you know, this is a subject I know a lot about. I come from a two-child Jewish family where eating is an art form. Amy is one of seventeen children and the Cassidys eat quickly so as not to be devoured by the next youngest child. To that end, Amy arranged to have Luna Bars and almond butter sent to every stop along our trip. That is very un-Zack like. While trying to watch my weight and working out every morning (Charlie and Dick - I can prove that!) I am definitely enjoying all of the eating experiences available to me here.

Some eating facts from the trip:

• I have not once eaten at McDonalds or similar chain (that has never happened here before for me!). By contrast, Amy has not passed up any opportunity to stop at a Starbucks!

• The breakfasts at international hotels in Asia are spectacular. They offer every type of food imaginable. Some things they do pretty well (croissants, french toast, bacon, eggs, etc.). However, doughnuts are definitely not their specialty. But if you want this type of luxury - and occasionally it is a necessity - be prepared to spend $30-$50.

• Hot pot (Xiabu Xiabu or Gua Gua) is my absolute favorite. Huge caldrons of spicy boiling soup filled with meats, vegetables, fish, and lots of crazy other things that I won't mention. You pull out what you want, dip it in your own sauce creation and you're good to go! The spicier the better.

• Shanghai has incredible dumplings and eating them requires three steps. First, bite a small hole in the side. Second, suck out the soup. Third, eat the remaining dumpling! Steamed or fried - simply amazing.

• Street vendors are everywhere. In Beijing there are famous street markets where you can get any food imaginable and some that are unspeakable!

• Beverages are a bit different here. Most served at room temperature (and I generally don't drink the ice) and in small glasses. Hard to find diet sodas so we mostly just drink beer and water. Lots of interesting juices - corn juice is a favorite. And thank goodness for latte - every hotel can get you your caffeine fix if you need it.

• Dessert really isn't big here. Mostly fruit or some rice creations. I think they know something that we don't.

Tonight we shared a wonderful hot pot dinner with Colleen He in Shanghai - the mother of a Gould alumnus. After dinner, the restaurant manager took us on a tour of the kitchen (this restaurant served about 300 people at a time). Another incredible behind the scenes experience!



And sort of related to food, I commissioned a special piece of art today. A sculpture made from dough. I hope you enjoy this sculpture of our beloved Head of School!


Hopefully, it won't take Amy another fortnight to write her next blog.

Tutor or Tu-tour, that is the question!

Zack has been studying Chinese for about a year using Rosetta Stone software. He does very well with this difficult language for which tone is critical. For the same word, the tone can mean the difference between saying bird egg or a—hole! Anyone who has attempted to learn another language knows that there is no substitute for learning through conversation with a native speaker.

Zack has been taking full advantage of this during our trip and uses every tour guide, taxi driver, and anyone who is patient enough to listen, as a tutor. He is committed to adding three new words to his vocabulary each day. So far he has added, taxi, airport, right, left, straight ahead, etc. He also learned one phrase that he enjoys sharing with the parents. It is a Chinese proverb that translates to, “a wise man grows no hair.”

He gets a good laugh, but it’s getting a bit old for me!

I apologize for being a bit slow in keeping up with my blog duties. Whenever I have a choice between sleeping and writing, I always choose the former. Zack reminds me that it was my idea in the first place, so be prepared for one of his entries to be about having to push me to get mine done!

Our last day in Beijing started with a trip to the Pearl Market, one of the many indoor knock-off markets you will find in the city. It was much colder and we needed to buy scarves, warm gloves, and some new ear buds for my iPod. Zack is a pro at haggling and I’m sure we will have some good stories to tell after shopping in Shanghai, our next stop. Suffice to say, we found everything we needed and paid a total of $6.00 for it!

Next stop, The Temple of Heaven. As soon as we walked through the entrance gate, a group of four young people came running up to us. Zack immediately thought they were trying to get us to hire one of them as a guide. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that they were graduate students from the Beijing University of Technology working on an assignment for their English class. They offered to show us around in return for completing a short interview during which they filmed us. They will be making a presentation to their class using the film.

We spent two hours “in heaven” with our new friends, Xie Huang, Joyce, Ray, and Jackie Chan. In addition to serving as Zack’s language tutors, we learned the following:

• The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

• The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. Twice a year the Emperor and all his retinue would move from the Forbidden City through Beijing to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat. No ordinary Chinese was allowed to view this procession or the following ceremony. In the temple complex the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests.

• The symbolism of the Temple’s architecture; in which Earth is represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square.

• The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor (a form of marble) plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates.

• The carvings on the Marmor plates show the Emperor represented by a Dragon and the Empress by a Phoenix.

A beautiful park surrounds the Temple of Heaven. We were there on weekend, so it was filled with people dancing, playing cards, and playing various games including badminton. We concluded the visit with our new friends by taking them out for lunch. Zack taught them the English phrase, “you got more than you bargained for.” They were very appreciative and took Zack’s business card with a promise to send us a copy of their presentation video!

From the Temple of Heaven, we ventured to The Forbidden City. Our taxi driver was not impressed with the traffic at the front entrance, so he dropped us at the rear entrance. We had no trouble finding a guide and to take us “backwards” through the city. Relative to Zack’s prior experience, this way seemed less crowded.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing. For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. We were astonished to learn that it only took fourteen years to build (1406 to 1420) because the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 m2, which is equivalent to twenty plus football fields (and even more lacrosse fields!) Once the number of rooms in the Forbidden City was 9,999. The Chinese considered 9 a lucky number.

We only had two hours, so we asked our guide to give us the highlights. You could easily spend two weeks here and still not see it everything. A few interesting facts include;

• The system by which you can tell who used each of the buildings involves a series of baby dragon sculptures mounted on the corners of the roof. Nine dragons represents buildings used by the Emperor, eight for the Empress, seven for the Family, and one through six for varying levels of ministers, etc. Depending on who you ask, the city was home to more anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people.

• The Emperor was required to spend three nights with the Empress following their wedding. After that, he would choose anywhere from one to three concubines each night. The time it took for one stick of incense to burn was the amount of time he was allowed to spend with each concubine. Apparently this was done to ensure he got a proper amount of rest each night.

• The Emperor’s sleeping quarters had twenty-seven beds. (Note that the digits in the number 27 add up to 9. You will find this type of numerical reference throughout the City.) For fear of being attacked, the Emperor slept in a different bed each night.

• Only the Emperor was allowed to wear yellow.

• The Emperor favored a certain type of water stone (see picture) and if it was brought to him, the person was not required to pay taxes.
  

• The Forbidden City had stables for elephants that were given as gifts to the Ming emperors from the rulers of Burma. Dung from the elephants was made into shampoo, promising glossy hair. When an elephant died the emperor declared an official period of mourning. This may be due to anticipated bad hair days!

A day filled with facts and incredible sights ended with a wonderful dinner with the parents of Christina Xiang. Zack's last tutors of the day!

A "Great" Day

This morning we departed early for the Great Wall with a guide named Jean from Strech-A-Leg tours (they were ranked very highly on TripAdvisor - our bible over here). It was my second trip to the Wall and Amy's first. Jean was an amazing guide and explained many interesting details. Did you know:

• Nearly 1/3 of the Chinese population at the time worked on the wall during it's construction? Basically, every family sent at least one male child to work!

• Soldiers had three-year stints manning a guardpost on the wall. No returns home, no hot food or heating fires (smoke could confuse their intricate smoke signal system of communication), and no blankets.

• Most of the Wall was built in the mountains. It was not built on the boundaries of China but was actually considered the last line of defense for invading Barbarians.

• Amy took 2700 pictures in three hours.

• The Great Wall could double as a ski resort - there is a gondola to ride up and a chair life to ride down. Or if you prefer, you could take the alpine ride down like we did! Whoa!

It was a picturesque day and so much fun. We continued into the afternoon with Jean and checked out the Imperial Academy and the adjoining Confucius Temple. This is where the best and brightest studied for three years during the various dynasties. They studied Confucius' philosophy and the 13 classics (which took a calligrapher twelve years to write!). One exam at the end given by the Emperor to determine your fate! Every student was checked from head to toe before entering the exam (which lasted three days) to make sure they didn't have any hidden papers for cheating. While walking around the Academy, we ran into a bunch of school children and had a nice chat with them. Their teachers were interested in talking to us - the kids just wanted some chocolate!

We also walked through one of the nearby Hutongs and had an incredible stroke of good luck. We met a man who had lived in his hutong house for 57 years and he was kind enough to invite us into his home and show us around. In my 11 trips to Asia, I've only been invited into somebody's home once so this was an incredible treat. The house was lovely and very well kept.

He and his wife were very proud of their kitchen and bathroom (most residents use the public bathroom a block away). As we were leaving, Jean asked if we had anything to give as a small gift of friendship. I had to contain myself from laughing as Amy gave them the only thing we had - her last Luna bar!

Beijing Sideways!

There are many ways to explore Beijing. We chose to do it “Sideways At Night.” (http://www.beijingsideways.com)

This involved a refurbished military motorcycle with a sidecar and a driver/guide, named Sean, who was Canadian so he spoke fairly good English. There was no dispute as to who would sit in the sidecar, so we left the yellow paper in the hotel room and the chicken lived to see another day!


This was a truly unique way to see the city because we were able to navigate areas where cars and tour buses cannot, most notably the Hutong neighborhoods. The meaning of Hutong, in a broad sense, included alleys, passages and even small streets. The houses, built on each side of Hutong are called Siheyuan (quadrangle) and are generally single story rectangular dwelling compounds, with buildings on four sides. Almost every quadrangle is surrounded by high walls. The Siheyyan are connected in a labyrinth of dwellings that lack street signs or house numbers, which make them difficult to navigate, especially for a Canadian who has only been in Beijing for seven months.

Sean lamented the lack of a reverse gear each time we reached a dead end and he was forced to push the bike back down the alley until there was room to turn around. We spent two hours careening around Beijing exploring new architecture as well, the most impressive of which was The National Centre for the Performing Arts. Built in an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass that is surrounded by an artificial lake, it seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 40,000 sq ft in size. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007.

We also rode along Shichahai Lake, where the lights of the many bars and restaurants along its shores are reflected beautifully in the water. Our night ended in a Hutong at Mr. Shi’s dumpling joint. Mr. Shi loves to practice English on tourists while they enjoy traditional Chinese dumplings. Zack enjoyed practicing his Chinese on Mr. Shi and the two made fast friends!

Signing off for now, “cluck, cluck!”

"Maine"land China

Today we left Hong Kong Island and headed to Ningbo, a city of 2 million people on the coast of China, about a 3-hour drive from Shanghai. We didn't really have much time to explore the city but spent about an hour at their version of the Bund (famous waterfront area in Shanghai). After about thirty minutes we noticed that there were couples in wedding clothes posing for professional photographers everywhere! Apparently, if you are getting married in Nigbo, the tradition is to have some formal pictures taken in your wedding clothes before the big day!

This evening we had dinner with three incoming midyear students from Ningbo and their parents. It was a great event and it's amazing to meet these kids and their parents just weeks before their arrival at Gould. The enthusiasm is palpable and the questions are endless! Biggest concerns: credit cards, cell phones, food, and home stays during vacations - all solvable! It was also my first chance to really use my Mandarin (they speak Cantonese in Hong Kong) which I've been working on so much these last few months. All I can say is that Rosetta Stone really works and it makes a huge difference when you can speak the language here!

But it's worth noting that the word for wife can be easily confused for chicken!

Ups, Downs, and Settling Disputes

We had hoped to visit Kowloon today, but traffic in Hong Kong can be brutal and the three hours before our lunch meeting was not enough time when we took travel time into account. Instead we chose to visit the famous Man Mo Temple. The words Man Mo mean “civil” and “military”, and this temple is dedicated to two very different gods. Man Cheong is the God of Literature while the name Mo refers to Kwan Yu, the god of war or martial valor. During the 1900s, it is said that locals came here to solve disputes that could not be solved by British law. The process of finding an equitable solution involved the legal system of the Qing Dynasty, which stated that both plaintiff and defendant should make a promise in the temple and write it – along with a curse or punishment - on a piece of yellow paper. They then killed a chicken, chopped off its head, let its blood drip onto the paper, and burned the paper. It was believed that because the promise was made before the gods, if the individual broke the promise they would suffer the indicated punishment. I like this straightforward do-it-yourself legal system. It is a lot less complicated than what the US provides in three years at Harvard Law School. The Man Mo Temples are no longer used for settling disputes, which is disappointing because Zack and I would find having one in Bethel very useful! We’ll have to stick to “rock, paper, scissors!” Today, its devotees burn huge bell-shaped coils of incense that hang from the temple’s ceiling in hopes of attracting the attention of the gods. (no photography is allowed in the temples, so this is not my picture.) The air was thick with smoke from the incense and I had to hold my breath to get through the temple.

Another attraction in Central Hong Kong that we were eager to see was the Central-Mid-levels escalators. This is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The entire escalator system covers over 800 meters (.5 mi) in distance and elevates over 135 meters (443 ft) from bottom to top. It was constructed in 1993 to provide a better commute by linking the Central and Western Districts on Hong Kong Island. The escalator runs downhill daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and uphill from 10:30am to midnight. There is an entrance and exit on each road it passes. Much to Zack’s dismay, we arrived by subway at the BOTTOM of the escalators and it was only 9:00am, so it involved a little more exercise than we (he) had planned!

Finally, I can’t help but share with you the phenomenal bamboo scaffolding. Despite being a modern cosmopolitan city with rapid growth, it is amazing that they still use this old way in construction. Workers nimbly tie up the bamboo with a simple knotted plastic strip and quickly build very high scaffolding. Bamboo poles are cheap, light, and can withstand strong force because they are extremely flexible. They can also be reused many times over.

Just in case you are curious, “shops with a fist” DID find a cashmere sweater!

Photos

For those of you keeping score at home, please note that my blog entries have very few pictures and most are low quality taken with my iPhone. By contrast, Amy's most recent post had 26 hi-res photos taken with one of her twelve lenses and color-corrected before posting. This is the story of my life. I've been to Asia eleven times in five years and have less than a few dozen pictures to document all of those experiences. Amy has been here two days and National Geographic is starting a new archive to store her photos. I am grateful to her over the years taking all these photographs and am committed to making sure she appears in at least 7% of the ones we snap here in Hong Kong!

Last night we had a wonderful dinner at the Hong Kong Jockey Club with the Youngs - their son is a junior at Gould. Mr. Young and I have spent some time together over the last few years and it was like being with old friends. I am always amazed at how much it feels like coming home when I am in Asia. Mr. Young likes to call me his little brother and Mrs. Young has decided that I should have a Chinese name and suggested "no hair.". I guess that joke is universal.

This is my first time spending more than one or two nights in Hong Kong and we are really getting a sense for the city. Today we are off to explore Kowloon - the mainland peninsula - and Amy swears she will buy a cashmere sweater no matter what. Amy's new Chinese name, "Shops with a Fist."

Tai Cheat

Confident that Zack’s fantasy football team had not failed him while we were fast asleep in a Hong Kong hotel, we set out for an early morning walk to Vicotria Park. The park was formerly a typhoon shelter, part of Victoria Harbour, used as a refuge by fishing boats and yachts during typhoon seasons. In the 1950s, the shelter was reclaimed and the park was built there. Victoria Park is the largest urban park in Hong Kong. It is a vast green space, situated in the center of Causeway Bay. This morning we had no trouble finding a Tai Chi group to join. As any Gould student or faculty member who has been beaten by Zack in the infamous “five yard dash” will tell you, “he cheats!” I’ll let you be the judge of this regarding his efforts at Tai Chi. (see attached pictures.) After a brief stint at Tai Chi we continued our walk through Victoria Park. The gardens included beautiful topiaries and an abundance of vegetation in the midst of this enormous city. One of the most bizarre sights was the juxtaposition of butterflies and pigeons!
Despite having enjoyed a foot massage last night we could not resist the foot massage paths located in the park. OUCH! This is not for the faint of foot! I may look like I’m walking on eggshells, but it feels more like walking on a bed of nails. The more experienced walkers did not wince quite as much as I did. In fact, for them it was “a walk in the park!” Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow or maybe I should have had my coffee before attempting this “feat!” (Maybe the pun really IS the lowest form of humor.)
We headed back to the hotel for a more familiar form of exercise that involved a treadmill and an elliptical. For lunch, we met up with a local consultant who took us for traditional dim sum. YUM! Afterwards, we were taken to The Peak.

The Peak is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island, standing at 552 metres (1300 feet) above sea level. It served as a natural signaling post for incoming cargo ships in the nineteenth century and currently serves as Hong Kong’s most popular tourist attraction. I made friends with a group of school children on a field trip. They (Angela, Kate, Jeffrey, and Kelvin) interviewed me in English. Kate even knew how to spell Amy! I loved talking to them and answering question that they diligently wrote the answers to on their clipboards. The walking paths offer a stunning 360-degree panoramic view of the Island. The shopping plaza housed a plethora of stores and food eateries. Zack paid homage to one of his culinary favorites, poutine, but this giant advertisement was as far as it went! Having had our fill of exercise for the day, we returned to the hotel and promptly… you guessed it! Took a nap!

Maids' Day Off

We arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday for an unusual (but weekly) event - Maids' Day Off. There are over 300,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong and every Sunday, local law requires that they get the day off from work. They hail from all over Asia - mostly Indonesian, Malaysian and Phillipino - and they all gather for the day in Victoria Park (right next to our hotel). It felt like a combination of Woodstock, a day at the beach and a massive sit-in. But just think of all those Hong Kong millionaires going without their domestic help today - what a shame . . .

After settling in and exploring the area surrounding the hotel, Amy decided it was nap time. No! The cardinal sin of Asian travel. I watched dutifully (checking my email and fantasy football) and then shook her awake when I couldn't take it anymore. To my surprise, she rose like a rock star, brushed her hair (no shower? OMG) and we headed out in search of dumplings. Then, at her suggestion, we searched out a second meal at Frites (a Belgian pub that she had researched before coming). Topped it off with a foot massage (a must do in Asia after 18 hours of flying) and we crashed at 11pm - the right time to go to bed on a first day to Asia!

When we awoke this morning, I asked Amy how she slept. She shrugged off the question and asked me how my fantasy football team did during the night (daytime in the US). Gotta love her!

He has no hair!

Our adventure began before we even arrived at the airport! As we were about to turn into the entrance of the Portland Airport at 5:30am, a large bull moose ran in front of the sign for the airport! We did what any tourist would do. We followed it into a parking lot and tried to get a picture of it. Alas, it was too dark. It looked a little tired and I would have offered help but I couldn’t figure out which of my four toiletry kits had the eye cream. Zack thought it had a nice rack though!

We checked in for our Air Canada flight from Portland to Toronto, only to find that the fifteen seat turbo prop plane had only one other passenger and not just any passenger. Matt Ellis, a Canadian hockey player who spent the last two seasons playing for the Buffalo Sabres. He was sent down to the Portland Pirates at the beginning of this season but received word on Friday that he was being called back up. http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article244474.ece

The flight from Toronto to Hong Kong was packed but surprisingly quiet for a fifteen hour flight. Thanks to Zack’s infinite travel wisdom and Stacey’s awesome planning we made sure to bring our own food, so I didn’t starve, and had plenty of leg room in our bulkhead seats. We arrived safely in Hong Kong at 1pm.

Let the Asian adventures begin.

And they're off

It's just after 5AM. I've been ready for 13 minutes. Amy is still drying her hair and putting away her toiletries which fit neatly into four bags (mine fit into one ziploc). In about an hour we leave the Portland Intl Jetport on the only international flight to justify the airport's name. First to Toronto and then to Hong Kong. 17 days in Hong Kong, Ningbo, Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul. Together. No kids. This is a business trip for Gould - fundraising, admissions, parent relations. But it's also our first trip away from the kids for more than a few days. If you tune into this blog, you'll read alternating entries from The two of us. Maybe you'll learn something about Asia, but you'll definitely learn something about us! At the end you will need to vote for your favorite Lehman. Just kidding (but you probably will like one of us better).