Laowai

*** Posted by Brian***

We’re on our way to China now. For me, it will be the first time I’ve been there since February and of course for Kathy, it will be the first time. At some level, I am going to see it for the first time because never in my time there have I been there wondering about what it would be like to live there for an extended period of time. Nor have I been there with Kathy. Amusing inconveniences may lose their humor.

Part of me wants to know why the hell we are even thinking of doing this. I love living in Evanston, subscribing to the Lyric, walking to work, going for long bike rides north or down along the lake, Ravinia, whatever. I’ll be leaving my bike behind, most of my music collection and unfortunately the opera scene in Shanghai is few and far between. I guess I expect to trade these important interests in the short term for an irreplaceable life experience. The next ten days will tell me if that trade really is worth it.

***Posted by Brian***

I am the reason we are thinking about moving to China. It is the combination of professional opportunity and the truly extraordinary chance to be a part of a completely different culture, watch the economy develop and in the process, learn a whole lot about ourselves. That has been my experience working in China for nearly two years so far and I want to share with Kathy. I guess I am hoping to accelerate the business development process and make the model a little more personally palatable. That’s the idea anyway.

The truth is, I have a voracious appetite for the humor and mind-expanding moments that come from examining yourself through the eyes of a completely different culture. That and I am the world’s foremost purveyor of high quality Chinglish.

I bear some responsibility for the name of Kathy’s blog as well. See, when you go to China, you are a laowai. What I know is that this what they call you behind your back, never to your face. I call myself that and they laugh. It could be horribly derogatory – I really have no idea. But, probably nobody reading this blog will know whether I am committing a major cultural faux pas and just take my word for it.

Being 6’4″ let alone Caucasian, in China means you never will really go unnoticed. If you’re in the market for knock-off watches (“Hello Laahtch”), cigarettes (“Hello Smoke”) or prostitutes (“Hello Sex”), this obvious laowai-ness comes in handy. If you would like to just have a nice walk down the street like one of the 9 billion other faces, you can forget it. No matter how successful I might be at learning the language, mastering the culture and eating the food without losing too much weight, I will never really fit in. This can come in handy in business where they are hiring somebody with something they don’t have, and is fine so long as the Chinese still more or less like Americans. I feel no fear or in any way threatened when traveling in China, and not just the big cities. So here’s to hoping my government can shut its mouth about Taiwan, cease the ridiculous protectionism activities and quit crying about currency.

Today was a beautiful Sunday. It has been a perfect comfortable temperature all day long. We had breakfast out on the patio and then B., unfortunately, had to go to work. I should have spent more time outside but instead I taught myself how to crochet a V-stitch. At least I think I did. The problem with teaching yourself how to knit or crochet is you never know if you are doing it right. I recently finished my first crochet project – a big heavy afgan done in a zigzag pattern. When I started it I thought it would be a good project to take on the plane to China. But then I realized I would have to take an extra suitcase to fit all the yarn. So I finished the afgan and now I’m working on a shawl that is made out of a much lighter yarn. Now I can entertain myself on the plane but I won’t have to take an extra piece of luggage. Here’s a picture of my test swatch.

I also, got out the envelope of ephemera that I’ve been collecting and made a collage.

There are just two more days before we go for my first trip to China. At some point I am going to go into a mad list-making preparation mode. One of B’s work friends said that the pollution is really bad in Beijing right now. She said she has a sore throat just from walking around outside. That’s a bit scary but I still can’t wait to see China for myself.

This is the very first entry of my blog. Things are up in the air right now on the subject of moving to China, but I think there is a good chance it will happen. If we do move I think having a blog will be a good thing. Here are the things I want to do with my blog:

• I want to stay in touch with my family – I hope that posting pictures and telling everyone what I am up to will make the miles between us seem not-so-huge.

• I want to make a record of my experiences – so after a year I can go back and remember what I was feeling when I first started this blog.

• I want to keep myself busy and I think posting about what I’m working on will motivate me. At least I hope it will.

This is a billboard that we always pass near the skyway bridge. It always makes us laugh. Since I’m learning about posting I thought I’d use this photo as a test.