We have had a week of snow. With much delight amongst the workers and then they had to get in to the office. Like the southern UK Shanghai doesn’t get much snow. People here were arguing when they last had such a covering. It couldn’t be very often as the attempts at snow balling were amusing. Gone now though.
On the way to the office the day after the snow, a team of workmen were actively sweeping the snow to the side of a pedestrian road bridge and so making it easier for people to cross six lanes of traffic on the Bund. Trouble was the sides were railings and snow was cascading down on cars passing beneath.
More travel this week. Went to Singapore on Sunday / Monday and now en-route to Florida. Singapore was warm, and clean and efficient. Arrived late Sunday night after 5 hour flight. Flew back Monday night over night (4 hour flight!) Took 4 taxi rides whilst there. The drivers were very pleasant and the fares were relatively cheap. However they do a good impression of theme park rides. On this small sample - they are all maniacs once they get on the road. Even my hair was raised at one point. (My colleague went white and very quiet – which if you know her was quite an achievement.) We had pulled out of the office en-route to dinner in China town. This involved a U turn across three lanes of rush hour traffic. Didn’t hesitate to do it, 30 mph, tyres screeching right in front of a single decker bus. My ears are still ringing from the horn on the bus: if it was a film I would have seen the air come out of the horn. The drive then proceeded to shout abuse and wave gestures at the bus as he sped off. Twenty yards further on he is chatting amicably with us smelly statues in the back.
Had another language difficulty when I arrived back in Shanghai. Arrived early and as travelling light was through immigration and customs very quick. Stood and waited for the driver. Got past the due time (to which I had been waiting 30 minutes) so I tried to text and phone the driver, in case he had overslept. Our Chinese/ English does not overlap yet and so I had no idea what he was trying to say. So I phoned the customer service / account manager. From the mumbled response it was clear she was fast asleep. (It was 6.30am). Problem resolved and I was soon on my way. Perils of working in a front end service business.
Have been learning more about Chinese New year which is rapidly approaching (Feb 2-8) and the excitement is building with the team in the office. I have been given to hong bao – envelopes in which to put money in for my staff. The amount of money cant have a 4 in it and ideally divisible by eight. I was advised it ought to be >CNY50. The red colours and fireworks are designed to scare off the spirit Nian, and on Feb 3 you are meant to put all the lights on and keep the windows open. (it needs to warm up a tad first.)
In China Daily there was an article about the demand for Rabbits for Chinese New Year, as it is the year of the Rabbit. The prices have risen dramatically as people are realising they are less demanding than having a dog as a pet, it doesn’t need walking and it can be left in a cage during the day. One shop owner now offers to look after the rabbit when you go a business trip. Even in China animal activists have expressed concern about whether the rabbits will be abandoned after a few months. Can’t wait for the year of dragon or tiger!
So back to my flight – now 37000 feet over central Montana. It makes one think on how much trust we put in a lot of people when travelling. From the taxi drivers in Singapore, who I was hoping could drive (now not so sure) and know where they were going, and had had the things serviced (not from the sound of them) to the whole flying system.
If you think about it, when you get to the airport we rely on so many people to do their jobs and do it well. Check in girls making sure your bag has the right label – and then the whole team to get it on the airplane. Most of that relies on some spotty software geek having programmed the automatic system properly.
Then security. Those bored people checking the monitor for that device. Into the lounge and something to eat. Which we assume is cooked safely; the same in preparation of the the food for on board. Onto the plane and into the hands of air traffic control, the pilot, and hoping the service and mechanic crews have done their bit and not left something off! Then in the air and relying on other pilots to not get in the way, all those systems to have been made well and still functioning. Amazing really how many people are involved and who we blindly just trust.
And we moan about the size of the overhead bin. I do wonder why they have the size checkers, and the one bag rule. The guy next to me had a suitcase as big as a house and three other bags. So not only couldn’t I get my caravan in the overhead bin, neither could three other people sitting near by. I was all for throwing him off the plane. The wonders of flying. Off to watch my 6th movie of the flight.
I wonder if it will be snowing in Florida!
Postnote: Arrived in the US OK. Couple of further notes before I forget.1) why is it whenever and wherever I land at an airport I always seem to be at the gate furthest away from immigration or arrivals. I always end up walking past many many unused gates which could have sped up the process of getting out the airport. I could understand if there were many outlets to call in on the way past, but there rarely are.
2) arrived Detroit and made the queue for visitors (not the US Citizens and Resident Aliens - I guess the non resident aliens are visitors) at immigration. So the usual happened. Joined the back of the queue of about 100 people which wound its way snake like across the floor inside taped areas. So more people arrived and joined the back of the queue or three queues. The attendants decide to try and make the queue move faster so rearrange the tapes and queues, and of course I end up in the one where everyone in front has paperwork deficiency, or can speak no American. Then they re-organise again and the small pocket of people around me are then moved over the US citizen (and resident aliens) side. Finally there are six of us left in the hall.
3) having made the front of the queue I notice a notice stuck on the side of the immigration officers booth. It is headed - We are the face of the Nation. Which I am sure is great intent and the officers have (almost) always been polite and efficient. However the notice is stuck on about 30 separate booths, tightly spaced, grey to chest height with perspex panels to above head height. There are thick red lines with DO NOT CROSS UNTIL CALLED on the carpet, and the officers wear dark blue smart uniforms with gold attachments, epaulets, etc resembling Police officers. The officers ask many questions and challenge simple statements and visitors see people whose language is not English struggling, and often after applying for a visa that says they can enter the country. This imposing scene I am sure is not what the nation wants to project as its face to the millions of visitors who pass through. Fortunately in Detroit the sign is only in English.
4) the new electronic visa system (ESTA) works a treat and when I got to see the officer I was through in a couple of minutes and a laugh and joke about my inability to speak Chinese. So no longer do I have to fill in the form that asks me if I have been convicted of espionage or committed moral turpitude.
The weather is sunny in Florida
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