My heart is an apple
that I'm sewing, sewing
Flesh piercing needle
yes I'm knowing, knowing
And when I've gone
to seed
oh timeless thread
be free
Friday, March 2, 2012
Banking in China
Today I opened my very first bank account in China. I had no idea it would be such an ordeal. Luckily my coworker, who is very fluent in Mandarin, took me to the bank and did all the talking. I definitely could not have accomplished opening an account on my own.
No one working at this particular bank spoke English, and the application form was all in Chinese. They took my passport to make a copy, to have on file I suppose, and three of the bank employees stood holding my passport, scrutinizing it for a good 15 minutes. It was bizarre. From what I could tell, and I could be completely wrong, it seemed as if they were trying to figure out how to translate the English characters into Chinese so they could enter my information into their computer system, which maybe only takes Chinese characters? Who knows.
For some reason they made me complete the application form three times. I couldn't understand why at first, but turns out I kept writing in English and they needed the form completed in Chinese. My coworker doesn't write in Chinese, so on the final attempt to complete the application, we settled on me writing my name and passport number and having the bank employee complete the rest of the form in Chinese. Who knows what they put on it or what's in their system now.
And now I have a Chinese bank account! They opened the account, I deposited some cash, and they gave me my ATM card right then and there after I entered my PIN. I immediately walked over to the ATM to make sure the card works and the money was deposited correctly (I wasn't really left with a warm fuzzy feeling after all of the confusion) and ta-dum, it worked. I can now have my paycheck direct deposited, hooray.
No one working at this particular bank spoke English, and the application form was all in Chinese. They took my passport to make a copy, to have on file I suppose, and three of the bank employees stood holding my passport, scrutinizing it for a good 15 minutes. It was bizarre. From what I could tell, and I could be completely wrong, it seemed as if they were trying to figure out how to translate the English characters into Chinese so they could enter my information into their computer system, which maybe only takes Chinese characters? Who knows.
For some reason they made me complete the application form three times. I couldn't understand why at first, but turns out I kept writing in English and they needed the form completed in Chinese. My coworker doesn't write in Chinese, so on the final attempt to complete the application, we settled on me writing my name and passport number and having the bank employee complete the rest of the form in Chinese. Who knows what they put on it or what's in their system now.
And now I have a Chinese bank account! They opened the account, I deposited some cash, and they gave me my ATM card right then and there after I entered my PIN. I immediately walked over to the ATM to make sure the card works and the money was deposited correctly (I wasn't really left with a warm fuzzy feeling after all of the confusion) and ta-dum, it worked. I can now have my paycheck direct deposited, hooray.
Humid Haikou
I just read a blog post by another foreigner living here in Haikou, and since I couldn't have summed it up better myself, I'm going to be extra lazy and share his blog post about what Winters are like here...
http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/china-travel/haikou/haikou-winters-make-me-wet
Today's humidity has been especially awful. Every surface at my kindergarten and in my apartment is wet wet wet. Not just damp, but WET. The mirrors in the bathrooms are dripping. This morning I did a load of laundry and left it to hang in my spare room before heading out to school (before I knew how humid today was going to be), and now the spare room is nearly foggy...those clothes won't be drying any time soon. Sometimes I even have to wash them all over again because they develop a severely icky musty smell before they've had a chance to dry. I can't wait until Spring. At least I hope Spring brings less humidity!
Yesterday the Foreign Affairs Office gave me this hat that says "Sunny Haikou" ... I've only been here a month and I've seen the sun maybe a few times (maybe?), but I'll trust that this hat isn't lying to me...
http://www.ryan-mclaughlin.com/blog/china-travel/haikou/haikou-winters-make-me-wet
Today's humidity has been especially awful. Every surface at my kindergarten and in my apartment is wet wet wet. Not just damp, but WET. The mirrors in the bathrooms are dripping. This morning I did a load of laundry and left it to hang in my spare room before heading out to school (before I knew how humid today was going to be), and now the spare room is nearly foggy...those clothes won't be drying any time soon. Sometimes I even have to wash them all over again because they develop a severely icky musty smell before they've had a chance to dry. I can't wait until Spring. At least I hope Spring brings less humidity!
Yesterday the Foreign Affairs Office gave me this hat that says "Sunny Haikou" ... I've only been here a month and I've seen the sun maybe a few times (maybe?), but I'll trust that this hat isn't lying to me...
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Space Jobs
What's the difference between an Astronomer, an Astrophysicist, and a Space Scientist?
Sounds like a setup to a joke, but no really, what's the diff?
Actually maybe it could be a joke...
An astronomer, an astrophysicist and a space scientist walk into a bar...
(then what? ok, this one needs some work.)
Sounds like a setup to a joke, but no really, what's the diff?
Actually maybe it could be a joke...
An astronomer, an astrophysicist and a space scientist walk into a bar...
(then what? ok, this one needs some work.)
The China Process
I don't know what else to call this blog post other than The China Process, because what a process it has been! Even with great help of the staff at my school (I came to China to be an ESL teacher), I still found the process daunting and confusing at times, so I hope this post sheds some light on some of the steps involved in coming to live and work in China for anyone considering it. Each foreigner I've spoken with about this process has shared a different story, so take this for what it is -- just one person's experience. By the way, this entire process has taken place between January and March of 2012.
By the way, I have been told that the exact process I have gone through is not necessarily typical, however many of the steps are the same; they just may not be in the same order or may have to take place in different locations (explained in more detail below). I have also been told that the visa regulations have changed recently here in China, so it is sometimes confusing on what the exact process is these days. I found it difficult (impossible?) to find all of the information online in one nice and tidy package. And please feel free to comment if you have any questions or think I am mistaken on anything here. The last thing I want to do is give misinformation for a process that is already somewhat difficult to navigate. Thanks!
First off, I can't thank my school enough for their guidance throughout this process and for handling most of the planning, coordination and expense. I was told early on by a good friend who has been living and working in Beijing for years now that I should find an employer (a school in my case) who will handle the visa process and expense for me, and I'm glad I listened to his advice. I was deciding between two different schools -- one in Haikou and one in Beijing -- and one of the reasons I chose the school in Haikou was because they offered to handle everything for me. Now after experiencing the process first-hand, I'm very happy about this decision.
Secondly, you can never have too many passport-sized photos. I've probably gone through about 15-20 throughout this entire process, no exaggeration.
Here's a quick summary of the steps I've gone through. Again, you may not be subject to all of these and maybe not in this order...
tourist (L) visa
invitation letter (and possibly contract of employment)
physical exam
work (Z) visa in Hong Kong
register with local police
interview with foreign affairs office
foreign expert certificate
residence permit
1) I entered China on a 30-day tourist visa (L Visa). This is the step I'm told is not typical. I applied for and obtained the tourist visa while I was in Nepal, and I paid extra for same day service. Even though I applied for a tourist visa of longer than 30 days and for multiple entries, they told me they could only grant me a 30-day 1-entry tourist visa. If you intend to work in China, you should apply for and obtain the work visa (Z visa) in your home country before traveling to China. Due to a rushed timeline (the new semester was starting in two weeks at my school, so I needed to arrive in China and start working in a very short time) I was allowed to enter on a tourist visa and handle the rest from inside China. I was also not in my home country when I applied for and accepted the position. I was living and studying in Nepal, and it would have been extremely expensive and time-consuming to travel back to the US to obtain the Z visa before traveling to China.
2) The invitation letter is prepared by your employer in China. I don't know much about the details of the letter itself, but it's an official-looking document that provides proof to the authorities that you have been officially invited to China for some purpose, whether work, study or business. I think this is one of the documents you are required to present to the visa office when applying for the Z visa. I also had employment contracts with my school, but I'm still unclear if these were required during any part of the paperwork processing for the visa or foreign expert certificate.
3) The physical exam. I'm still traumatized (half joking here) and in awe of the experience. I wrote a little about it here: http://shes-taking-notes.blogspot.com/2012/02/chinese-physical-exam.html. The final result is the clinic giving you one of these, a little booklet that contains the results of all of the tests performed...
If the clinic doesn't provide a fancy little booklet, then they should prepare the medical form as required by the visa office. Either the booklet or medical form will be required by the visa office when you apply for the Z visa. If applying for the Z visa in your home country, I assume you need to get the physical exam in your home country as well. Make sure it is a Chinese government approved hospital/clinic.
4) Once I had the results of the physical, and my school had the official invitation letter prepared, they flew me to Hong Kong to obtain the Z visa. This process was pretty straight forward because I had all of the appropriate documents completed and in order (passport-sized photo, invitation letter and physical exam). I overheard other foreigners in the visa office having a not-so-easy time due to incomplete paperwork. The visa office makes no exceptions from what I hear, so be prepared. Oh and a side note, be sure to have some sort of medical insurance and have the policy number and provider with you, as it is required on the application. Since I no longer had medical insurance from my previous employer, I purchased a cheap traveler's policy online right before traveling to China. I paid extra for rush service for the visa, which in this case was the next business day. The Hong Kong visa office does not provide same day service.
5) A few days after returning to Haikou from Hong Kong, my school took me to the local police station to be registered. I'm not even sure what is involved or required, if anything, other than showing up at the station and saying hey, I live here now. The Vice Principal of my school took me, and she spoke with the police officers in Mandarin, and I had no clue what was said or done. All I know is they spoke a lot of Chinese and typed a lot into their computers, and took my photo with a digital camera. I'm not even sure if this is required throughout all of China or just here in Hainan Province. It's worth inquiring though, because there could be fines associated with not registering if they find you first.
6) After returning from Hong Kong with my Z visa, and a few days after registering with the local police, my Principal took me to the Foreign Affairs Office here in Haikou for an interview with the Director. I wrote a bit about it here: http://shes-taking-notes.blogspot.com/2012/03/starting-to-feel-homey.html. I'm told this is a fairly new requirement by the Foreign Affairs Office here in Hainan, so I'm not sure if this applies anywhere in mainland China. Again, worth inquiring.
I have yet to go through the next two steps, but I'm told they are happening in the next week or so. I'll update this with more detail soon...
7) Foreign Expert Certificate
8) Residence Permit
By the way, I have been told that the exact process I have gone through is not necessarily typical, however many of the steps are the same; they just may not be in the same order or may have to take place in different locations (explained in more detail below). I have also been told that the visa regulations have changed recently here in China, so it is sometimes confusing on what the exact process is these days. I found it difficult (impossible?) to find all of the information online in one nice and tidy package. And please feel free to comment if you have any questions or think I am mistaken on anything here. The last thing I want to do is give misinformation for a process that is already somewhat difficult to navigate. Thanks!
First off, I can't thank my school enough for their guidance throughout this process and for handling most of the planning, coordination and expense. I was told early on by a good friend who has been living and working in Beijing for years now that I should find an employer (a school in my case) who will handle the visa process and expense for me, and I'm glad I listened to his advice. I was deciding between two different schools -- one in Haikou and one in Beijing -- and one of the reasons I chose the school in Haikou was because they offered to handle everything for me. Now after experiencing the process first-hand, I'm very happy about this decision.
Secondly, you can never have too many passport-sized photos. I've probably gone through about 15-20 throughout this entire process, no exaggeration.
Here's a quick summary of the steps I've gone through. Again, you may not be subject to all of these and maybe not in this order...
1) I entered China on a 30-day tourist visa (L Visa). This is the step I'm told is not typical. I applied for and obtained the tourist visa while I was in Nepal, and I paid extra for same day service. Even though I applied for a tourist visa of longer than 30 days and for multiple entries, they told me they could only grant me a 30-day 1-entry tourist visa. If you intend to work in China, you should apply for and obtain the work visa (Z visa) in your home country before traveling to China. Due to a rushed timeline (the new semester was starting in two weeks at my school, so I needed to arrive in China and start working in a very short time) I was allowed to enter on a tourist visa and handle the rest from inside China. I was also not in my home country when I applied for and accepted the position. I was living and studying in Nepal, and it would have been extremely expensive and time-consuming to travel back to the US to obtain the Z visa before traveling to China.
2) The invitation letter is prepared by your employer in China. I don't know much about the details of the letter itself, but it's an official-looking document that provides proof to the authorities that you have been officially invited to China for some purpose, whether work, study or business. I think this is one of the documents you are required to present to the visa office when applying for the Z visa. I also had employment contracts with my school, but I'm still unclear if these were required during any part of the paperwork processing for the visa or foreign expert certificate.
3) The physical exam. I'm still traumatized (half joking here) and in awe of the experience. I wrote a little about it here: http://shes-taking-notes.blogspot.com/2012/02/chinese-physical-exam.html. The final result is the clinic giving you one of these, a little booklet that contains the results of all of the tests performed...
If the clinic doesn't provide a fancy little booklet, then they should prepare the medical form as required by the visa office. Either the booklet or medical form will be required by the visa office when you apply for the Z visa. If applying for the Z visa in your home country, I assume you need to get the physical exam in your home country as well. Make sure it is a Chinese government approved hospital/clinic.
4) Once I had the results of the physical, and my school had the official invitation letter prepared, they flew me to Hong Kong to obtain the Z visa. This process was pretty straight forward because I had all of the appropriate documents completed and in order (passport-sized photo, invitation letter and physical exam). I overheard other foreigners in the visa office having a not-so-easy time due to incomplete paperwork. The visa office makes no exceptions from what I hear, so be prepared. Oh and a side note, be sure to have some sort of medical insurance and have the policy number and provider with you, as it is required on the application. Since I no longer had medical insurance from my previous employer, I purchased a cheap traveler's policy online right before traveling to China. I paid extra for rush service for the visa, which in this case was the next business day. The Hong Kong visa office does not provide same day service.
5) A few days after returning to Haikou from Hong Kong, my school took me to the local police station to be registered. I'm not even sure what is involved or required, if anything, other than showing up at the station and saying hey, I live here now. The Vice Principal of my school took me, and she spoke with the police officers in Mandarin, and I had no clue what was said or done. All I know is they spoke a lot of Chinese and typed a lot into their computers, and took my photo with a digital camera. I'm not even sure if this is required throughout all of China or just here in Hainan Province. It's worth inquiring though, because there could be fines associated with not registering if they find you first.
6) After returning from Hong Kong with my Z visa, and a few days after registering with the local police, my Principal took me to the Foreign Affairs Office here in Haikou for an interview with the Director. I wrote a bit about it here: http://shes-taking-notes.blogspot.com/2012/03/starting-to-feel-homey.html. I'm told this is a fairly new requirement by the Foreign Affairs Office here in Hainan, so I'm not sure if this applies anywhere in mainland China. Again, worth inquiring.
I have yet to go through the next two steps, but I'm told they are happening in the next week or so. I'll update this with more detail soon...
7) Foreign Expert Certificate
8) Residence Permit
Starting to feel homey
Today has been a fun and interesting day. This afternoon the principal of my kindergarten picked me up to take me to the Haikou Foreign Affairs Office for an interview with the Director. I had no idea what to expect. My principal said don't worry, they just want to meet you. I think this is the next to last step in the entire process of becoming an official resident here in China. The next step is to obtain the resident permit, which should be happening within the next week I think.
So we arrived at the Foreign Affairs Office and were met by a really nice gentleman who spoke great English, and he led us to a big room full of the biggest, whitest, fluffiest, comfiest armchairs I've ever seen. I gave him my contact information and my passport so he could make a copy of my new work visa, and we waited for the Director. The Director came in and greeted us, shook our hands and gave me a really nice compliment, very sweet and charming. We sat and basically just chatted. He asked me a few questions about what led me to China and then told me a lot about the Hainan Province and Haikou City, and a little about what their office does. He also gave me some statistics and information about the expat community in Haikou. He says there are about 800 registered foreigners in Haikou, about 100 of which are Americans. It sounds like they have some services and programs designed to get the foreigners involved in the community and able to meet up with other foreigners. He also gave me a nice speech about hoping I will stay many years and become an ambassador for my country. He also mentioned maybe tutoring his son in English, but I'm not sure if he was joking or serious. I hope he's serious, how cool would that be. It was a very nice and welcoming visit.
After the interview my principal drove me back to the school and we went shopping for food nearby. I had told her I was interested in learning how to shop for veggies so I can start cooking more (and cooking meals besides rice and noodles) so she said "ok, let's go!" She taught me how to say "How much is this?" and "That's too expensive!" She asked me if I like squid and I said yes, so she bought some baby squid and said she would give me a cooking lesson. Then she helped me find the vegetable I keep having at restaurants that I really love, but don't know what it is. We finally found some and I bought a handful...I think it's some kind of spinach. So we took our food back to the kindergarten and she gave me a cooking lesson right there in the kindergarten's kitchen! It was so much fun. I cleaned the baby squids and spinach leaves, and she did the rest...cutting up the ginger and garlic, and cooking up a delicious meal in a huge wok. Here it is!...
That big fluffy white thing is some sort of pastry/roll they cook up for the children for breakfast at the kindergarten, so she told me to try one. Delish. The prep and cooking took no more than 15 minutes. Awesome. Can't wait to start buying my own food, fresh daily. Everything here on the island is so fresh. She told me they don't even sell frozen food anywhere, and everyone buys fresh food everyday for each day's meals. She also told me that the average life span here on Hainan island is longer than the average mainlander lifespan. I wonder if it has to do with the better air quality here or fresher foods, or a combo of the two. I wonder if it applies to newly-landed foreigners, ha.
I ate the delicious meal at the kindergarten and then walked home. I stopped at the market on the way and picked up some peanut oil and soy sauce so I can start cooking at home, and guess what I found!...
Pure unadulterated Nescafe! Finally! It only took a month...and finally opening my eyes (I'm sure it was there in my little market the whole time).
So we arrived at the Foreign Affairs Office and were met by a really nice gentleman who spoke great English, and he led us to a big room full of the biggest, whitest, fluffiest, comfiest armchairs I've ever seen. I gave him my contact information and my passport so he could make a copy of my new work visa, and we waited for the Director. The Director came in and greeted us, shook our hands and gave me a really nice compliment, very sweet and charming. We sat and basically just chatted. He asked me a few questions about what led me to China and then told me a lot about the Hainan Province and Haikou City, and a little about what their office does. He also gave me some statistics and information about the expat community in Haikou. He says there are about 800 registered foreigners in Haikou, about 100 of which are Americans. It sounds like they have some services and programs designed to get the foreigners involved in the community and able to meet up with other foreigners. He also gave me a nice speech about hoping I will stay many years and become an ambassador for my country. He also mentioned maybe tutoring his son in English, but I'm not sure if he was joking or serious. I hope he's serious, how cool would that be. It was a very nice and welcoming visit.
After the interview my principal drove me back to the school and we went shopping for food nearby. I had told her I was interested in learning how to shop for veggies so I can start cooking more (and cooking meals besides rice and noodles) so she said "ok, let's go!" She taught me how to say "How much is this?" and "That's too expensive!" She asked me if I like squid and I said yes, so she bought some baby squid and said she would give me a cooking lesson. Then she helped me find the vegetable I keep having at restaurants that I really love, but don't know what it is. We finally found some and I bought a handful...I think it's some kind of spinach. So we took our food back to the kindergarten and she gave me a cooking lesson right there in the kindergarten's kitchen! It was so much fun. I cleaned the baby squids and spinach leaves, and she did the rest...cutting up the ginger and garlic, and cooking up a delicious meal in a huge wok. Here it is!...
That big fluffy white thing is some sort of pastry/roll they cook up for the children for breakfast at the kindergarten, so she told me to try one. Delish. The prep and cooking took no more than 15 minutes. Awesome. Can't wait to start buying my own food, fresh daily. Everything here on the island is so fresh. She told me they don't even sell frozen food anywhere, and everyone buys fresh food everyday for each day's meals. She also told me that the average life span here on Hainan island is longer than the average mainlander lifespan. I wonder if it has to do with the better air quality here or fresher foods, or a combo of the two. I wonder if it applies to newly-landed foreigners, ha.
I ate the delicious meal at the kindergarten and then walked home. I stopped at the market on the way and picked up some peanut oil and soy sauce so I can start cooking at home, and guess what I found!...
Pure unadulterated Nescafe! Finally! It only took a month...and finally opening my eyes (I'm sure it was there in my little market the whole time).
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Magic candle holder
One of my new favorite things in the whole universe is holding a lighter to the bottom of a tall skinny candle and then sticking it to a flat surface, and MAGICALLY it stays standing, ahhh!
I learned this trick only recently when staying in Nepal, having never really used the tall skinny kind of candle until then. Due to the 14+ hours of power outages a day, I often lived by candlelight when the generators weren't running. I had a candle holder in my room, but one day I saw one of the hotel staff do the melt-the-bottom-of-the-candle trick and it was like that scene in Amélie when she whisks the blind man around town and then he lights up and stands there glowing when she leaves him basking in all of his newfound seeing-without-sight. Well, maybe it wasn't as dramatic as that.
I learned this trick only recently when staying in Nepal, having never really used the tall skinny kind of candle until then. Due to the 14+ hours of power outages a day, I often lived by candlelight when the generators weren't running. I had a candle holder in my room, but one day I saw one of the hotel staff do the melt-the-bottom-of-the-candle trick and it was like that scene in Amélie when she whisks the blind man around town and then he lights up and stands there glowing when she leaves him basking in all of his newfound seeing-without-sight. Well, maybe it wasn't as dramatic as that.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Story time
Today in one of my junior classes (age 3ish) it was story time and I was reading The Ugly Duckling. When all of a sudden one of the sweetest lil boys in class comes up to me holding his stuffed doggie and climbs right up on my lap and puts his arms around my neck. I think I died right then. I'm still dead. I can't even find the words to describe what my heart did in that moment. Then the Chinese teacher came and pulled him off so I could finish reading the story to the class. But I wanted to stop her so badly and just sit there and hug him forever. AHHH these kids are truly killing me with cuteness and love.
5:59am
I am a firm believer that we must have a magical internal time-keeping system, that is always running, without our awareness.
For as long as I can remember, and far too many times to count, I've woken up exactly one minute before my alarm went off. I know this happens to a lot of people. Why is it??
Do you think it happens more when we look at the clock right before we close our eyes to fall asleep, and then something inside of us says, ok, let's keep track and wake up exactly one minute before the alarm so we don't have to hear that nasty thing?
And it has never mattered what time I go to sleep, what time I wake up, how many hours of sleep I've had, etc. etc. I've never been able to figure out why it happens.
For as long as I can remember, and far too many times to count, I've woken up exactly one minute before my alarm went off. I know this happens to a lot of people. Why is it??
Do you think it happens more when we look at the clock right before we close our eyes to fall asleep, and then something inside of us says, ok, let's keep track and wake up exactly one minute before the alarm so we don't have to hear that nasty thing?
And it has never mattered what time I go to sleep, what time I wake up, how many hours of sleep I've had, etc. etc. I've never been able to figure out why it happens.
Hi, mom!
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