Tania in China

Bright and Early - First Day of Work

My body clock has not yet adjusted to being on the other side of the world, so I was awake from 2 to 4 am, even though I had missed so much sleep over the past few days. I was also starving when I woke up then, so I ate the last breakfast bar I had from the Detroit airport. I am going to have to buy some snacks for the room. I am having problems with the air conditioning in my room - even turned as low as it will go, I still find it warm when I sleep. Part of the problem is that the only bed covering is a down comforter with a duvet - so my only choice is down or no covering. One of my complaints about my room is that the alarm clock doesn't glow in the dark, so I have to turn the light on when I want to see what time it is. I might have to see if I can find a regular digital alarm clock for cheap somewhere.

I am still really groggy when if finally is time to get up, so I down a cup of the not-so-nice instant coffee before heading down to breakfast. I am quickly becoming addicted to this breakfast buffet - it will be one of the things that I will miss when I leave!

At 8:20 I gather up my stuff, leave the room, and head off to the office. My commute consists of heading down the elevator, out the back door of the lobby, crossing 10 feet to the next door, then in and up the elevator to the 11th floor. You wouldn't think that would take much time, but you would be suprised how long it can take when there are only 2 elevators serving 5 floors of offices, and everybody seems to start work at 8:30 am! I am going to have to leave early to miss the elevator rush hour...

I am quickly setup with a desk, computer, and access badge, then introduced to the Chinese members of our team. We spend the morning team-building and reviewing the scope and time-table for our project, then it is off to lunch. We head to a dumpling restaurant across the street from the office, and defer to the expertise of our Chinese colleagues to order the dishes. Everything was good, but I was having a lot of trouble with my chop sticks. It was the first time I had used plastic chopsticks, and it was very warm in the restaurant so my hands were sweaty, which make it hard for me to get the appropriate amount of pressure on the sticks to pick up the boiled dumplings. This time food and Cokes for 6 people came to around $12. Wow. On the way back to the office my boss takes me through the quick-market next to the office. It looks tiny from the front, but actually extends quite far into the middle of the building. In the front they carry snacks and candy and ice cream and pop and stuff, but as you move back, they have toiletries, household goods, and even fresh produce and a section with live fish, turtles, and eels. It is going to be far too convienient to have a store that sells ice cream bars for less that $.40 right next to my hotel!

By mid-afternoon I am again overwhelmed with exhaustion, so I decide to buy some snacks at the market, and head for my room. I am amazed that they have a whole aisle of different kinds of Ramen noodles! I always think of those as just a college-student snack... I end up finding a bowl with a picture of what I think it beef on it, and plan that for dinner tonight. I also bought some Green Apple flavored pop, some Dove dark chocolate candies, some Chinese Barbeque Pork flavor Ruffles, some pistachios, and a pumelo. All of that came to around $7.50.

Back in the room I make the ramen without the packet of scary-looking chili paste, and they were very good if a bit spicy. By 6:30 I can barely keep my eyes open, so I switch off the light, and within a few minutes I was fast asleep.

posted by Tania @ 5:18 PM