31/07/2010 - Exploring Shanghai

Waking up at 7 in the morning is bad. But waking up at six, after have been clubbing half the night is worse. In special, if it is saturday and you could sleep for ever. But my body seems to have other plans. So I stand up, worked a bit, took a shower and left for the old city.

It took me a while to find the place, beacuse I have had no idea, where it was and what metro stop it should be, but I did not care. The sun was shining, a perfect day. The air is fresh, the buildings are nice, everywhere is an good atmosphere and I am in the middle of that. I love it. I saw small streets, stores, parks and a great skyline.

Finally I arrived in the "Old town" and I was a bit surprised. The old town was not really old. It was a big perdisant street with those typicly chinese houses. But only store at store. KFC, next to Hagen Dasz, next to McDonalds, next to Starbucks. Iterativ, with some interruptions by souvenir shops. And so many people pressing through this.

I really did not appreciate, so I decide to go to the bund and enjoy the nice view on the modern Shanghai. In a close park, I met a girl from Singapore who is living since 1 week in Shanghai. She is new and we met on Couchsurfing to walk together through the city. What a perfedct match! We liked each other from the very first second. We were the whole time laughting talking about nonsence and private things. I really felt after 2 hours very close to her. We spent a wonderful afternoon (5h) and made plans for tonight and tomorrow. Well, I am 100% happy. I enjoy this great time!
PS: The guy from yesterday texted me to get the dinner confirmed - if i am still interested :-)

30/07/2010 La vie en rose

Shanghai... What have I heard about this city? It shall be big, international, crowded, sticky, hot, modern and it has the Expo. It shall be widely and very expansive. Trains are not serving in the evening and everything is a bit expansive and complicated.

MY first experience with this city is completly different. I arrived with some delay at the airport, being afraid that the last train was already gone and I have to pay a very expansive 45km taxi ride. But, no, train and metro werre working propperly and so sweet chinese girls helped me to find my destination and showed me where I have to change my trains. Than, I arrived in my place, a wounderful nice french girl opened me the door, welcomed me with wine, quiche and cheese. She showed me my room and we ahve had a small talk before I dressed me up and we went to a club.


The clubbing area is in walking distance and I recognize, that everything here is not like China. "Well, we are living in the French Concession" she said. WOW! So cool! Yes, here are a lot of french people, everywhere french language, the streets are small and not crowded, there are plantanes (trees) on the side and everything is a bit like home. Also the clubs... Wow! I am alive again! There were drinks, real drins, there were mood, real good mood, there were the "old hits from the 90 and 2000... and dancing on the tables and everything. Other areas where outside and you could enjoy the fresh warm air. It was amazing. We have had so much fun, I really felt myself being home and back in live.

And than... the magic happened! This is real, no fake, no story: Somewhen, we were tired and we decided to go home. We just crossed the garden of this wounderful colonial style club there was a group of people entering. One of them was a very handsome blond tall guy. He was really outstanding for me, my eyes were like magnetized. And he was also observing right me. I mean, you feel it, if someone is really watching you. He looked so familar to me, but I just arrived some hours ago, there was no change, that we have seen each others somewhen before. When he was crossing me I got this electrical feeling, "Gänsehaut". After he passed, I said "I know you from somewhere". He and his friends turned, he looked at me and his exes said that he feel the same. Now is the scary part coming: In the same second, all of his 4 friends said: "you are Jennifer!" or "Are you Jennifer?" ... Huuuu.... Why those people know my name? Even if I have a connection with him, for sure, I have never seen one of those before. Me and my friend we were looking each others very surprised. Than the conversation went on and I have a date with Mister Magic on sunday. Lets see what happen :)

19/07/2010 German Quality in Chinese Mass Production

Volkswagen (VW) is a big german automobile company. They have a factory in North China, where they produce high quality engines for several VW cars, as well as for Audi A6.
I was lucky to get a chance to visit the factory and see a production and a assembling line. This was very interesting and opened me my eyes again for a moment. Not only, because the official language at VW is german, and everything is written in Chinese and German. Very unsual but very confortable for me. It was also interesting to see how the production processes are going. Not on the paper or in Theory. In real, in the factory. My dear brother is working in Germany in such a line. I am very thankful, that I could get a small insight in his working day. They have 3 or 4 shift schedules, with no downtimes. I guess working in one of this lines, with high time and quality pressure is really hard. Besides that, I also think, that doing the same task for 8 hours a day, with only 30 minuts lunch break is really not a funny job. My poor brother. What is he doing every day for day, risking his health by this hard, for the bit money he earns. He does night and weekend shifts, he never complains, and is always in a good mood and friendly. No comparison to the comfortable office job, in which the most people are always unsatisfied and requesting more money.
After seeing that, I highly respect these people, who are doing this mental and physical difficult work in a constantly good quality. Their effort results in my customer satisfaction.
And I remember a quote from a friend of my brother. This friend, lets call him Tim. After he heard that I am a project manager for process improvements, he said: "You are one of those stupid engineers, who are coming, and always disturbing? They have no idea of our work. Theyare looking and disturbing our process, measuring everything with the stopwatch and than changing everything, that it does not work anymore and we are sweating and than fired!"
Well, a bit harsh, but this was what he said and what Tim felt. After this visit, I recognized: Sitting at the desk, designing a process, cutting some costs and increase the efficience, by turning the process time down - this is easy. And normaly this person is not that one, who has to work later with the process. And normaly, he is also not the one, who is cost cutted. This journey really teached me my lesson.
(We) I should remember that in future and value and appreciate the work of those workers more.

17/07/2010 - Boom Boom Pow!

Did I told you already? I have everyday fireworks. Everyday. For sure every evening, sometimes also in the morning or in the afternoon. When it started the first time, I thought there were bombs and I was afraid and scared. I really thought, there might be some attacs, some jets coming from - i do not know, Japan? Korea? Russia? all that near and well weaped. I was really afraid and did not know what to do. under the table? Out of the house? With the elevator? By stairs... hmm I am living in the 13th floor....Panik.
But now, I am used to it. It is fantastic. View over the yellow sea and twinkeling fireworks in the black sky. And all cobined with the lights of the housings and the themeparks around. Amazing. And often. Very often. As mentioned, everyday and sometimes also several times a day. Why? I do not know. So far, I could not find out. Who pays for? Also no idea. But as long as they are not at 8:00 in the morning, I enjoy them. (8:00 in the morning, I really want to sleep, which is not possible at all with those "bombs" )

05/07/2010 The Great Wall

Sunshine. Blue Sky. And The Wall. Anything to add?

04/07/2010 Climbing the mountains

In Beijing, there are amazing many people. And all with umbrellas, to protect their selves of the sun. It was really hot. This in addition with the 15 million air-conditions and 10 million cars, it really heathen the city up. So, I was really happy to escape on the second day, to the Chinese mountains.
1h with the subway and than 2h with the bus and you reach a beautiful hiking area. To cross the bridge and enter the park, you have to buy a ticket.
But this seems to be not enough for the Chinese business people, so they blocked the bridge with a motor scooter and demand additional money to let the people cross. Here I learned that there is a free hotline number, where people can report these illegal activities. And here, I also learned that these numbers do not help you much, because they need a lot of background information before they act. But, we were lucky and a police car came and made the way free for us.

So we started our hiking journey with sunshine and new Korean friends, which we met in the bus.

Those Koreans, there were really fun. Always chatting, always making pictures and the best: in the middle of the mountains, they took their cookers out and start cooking noodles. :-)

We enjoyed every second, even, the mountain was high, and sometimes, the bamboo stairs seems to be endless. But we also get great benefits. I have never seen such beautiful butterflies. And some of them just came and sit down on our shoes.

Back down, we have had some food and refreshed ourselves in the nearby river.

Than we start waiting for the bus… 1h…2h.. than a bus arrived. It was sooo full, the people were pressed inside and the bus driver was not opening the door, because they would have fallen out. Here, I have only a picture from the second, not that filled bus… but for Germans, still too full. So, some when, I stopped a small van and he drove us for some money back to the city.

I was really tired, and the next day, I have to get up early, but I was also hungry, so I went to a street “full of clubs and bars”. The near street turned out to be half hour walking distance, and the “clubs and bars” where some souvenir shops and tourist cafes. Well, Chinese people, are not really so in outgoing. But the street was fun and I spent longer than planned by watching all the things and enjoying the colder temperatures. A great day!

03/07/2010 Going to Beijing

Taking the night train is absolutly comfortable. I left Dalian at 22:00 and arrived at 8:30 in Beijing. All together for 256 RMB, approx. 30 USD.
I have had a hard sleeper, which was not really hard. It was six beds together, always 3 over each others. I booked my tickert 10 days in advance (the earlies possibility) and even than, there were only the uppest beds available. I guess there are some agencies, reserving the lower beds (which means to be more luxurious) for them. But, it does not matter, when I sleep, I sleep. The only thing was, that the beds are very small and I could not lay my purse next to me. So i tried different positions, which were more or less comfortable for me and save for my belonings.
Finaly, It was not bad and I arrived relaxed and fresh in Beijing. The hostel people (from Sunrise hostel) sent someone for my pick up from the train station. This was great, otherwise, I would never ever have found the place. I am kind on dumb with Chinese names, as soon something start with X or Guo, I blank out...
After I stored my things (i travelled with a bag from a famous baju brand... you can say, a shopping back from a liquid company) I changed my clothes and went to the forbitten city.
I stand for a long time in the line and inside, the city was crowed by chinese people and their fancy umbrellas. They are using them to protect themselves from the sun. Ok, but they are using them and stepping in all my pictures, so I have tons of snaps from old houses with a hello kitty umbrella in front of it. somewhen, it was too much for me, and to be honest, after the 20th chinee house, the others look all the same. So, I tried to go back to the hostel, but I was completly lost in that forbitten city. All houses looks more or less the same, a lot of small streets and ways, I guess I crossed them all. I passed houses and halls with names like: the upper harmony, the agricultural hall, e.g. never heard of this before. Than, I reached a garden, which was really impressing. I decided to stay there for a while, have a cold coke anc than go on with the search for the exit. After 3 hours I found it and went back the 300 meters to my hostel.
In the afternoon, I met my friend Martin from Tchechien. We know each others from Samara in Russia, and last week, he gave me a call that he will come to Beijing! Great! We went together to the temple of heaven, shot funny pictures and spent the whole afternoon in the part, walking arouond and chatting. Live is so nice!