So, I am now HOME!!!!!

Well Folks, my journey to Shanghai is now over.....and what an experience it was!!!!! If any of you ever get the chance to go on an assignment like this, you should take advantage!!! To say that I am a changed person, I think, is an understatement. My eyes have been opened and I now see the World from a different perspective. The Chinese love us!!! In case you were not aware, they refer to America as "May-guo" and this means "Beautiful Country"!!! If you want to watch a very interesting video of the Maglev Train that runs from the Pudong Airport (jee-charng) to the downtown Pudong area go to this sight http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y-54gBLwK3s . A Happy 4th. of July May-guo!!!

All my best to you that have enjoyed my travels through this website!!!!!

John

Space is at a Premium Here.

So, when one goes to the Fabric Market here in Puxi, Shanghai (pronounced Poo Shi) you can get any material you want and you can get anything that you want made. You can get pants, suits, coats, ties, leather jackets, cashmere coats,shirts and even tuxedos made and tailor fitted to you. You simply go, pick out your material and have whatever you want made. You can even take an item into the shop and have it made into a different color or even a different material. At some places you can negotiate and others you cannot. But as it is with all things in Shanghai....space is at a premium. As a result, there are no dressing rooms for you to try on your finished goods and what happens is the shop owner or a shop worker will hold up a sheet for you to try on your new clothes!!!! It is important, I think that one wears the best underclothes possible, because you just don't know when and if the person holding up your privacy screen will inadvertantly drop it!!!! I have even seen where the dressing rooms are in the corner of a hall. So here you see, a picture of Larry Habitz, in trying on his new pants that he ordered from Jason's shop. His first experience was a positive one, because the shop worker only dropped the sheet once!!!!!

All for now!!!!

I was warned "Red Taxi No Good!"

Some of you may recall from a prior post in April about how what you get in a taxi driver can be a real crap shoot!!! I have had taxi drivers on more than one occasion tell me they know how to get to the place on the card only to get lost. Well, Kurt and I had another unique experience. It was a humid morning in Shanghai when we hailed a cab at Diamond Court. I said: "Ching Song Wo Chu Jin Dahn Da Sha (I am going to Aurora Building) and I show him the card. He nods and Kurt and I get in the car. Kurt comments that it is humid (Chow sur). The taxi driver hears, rolls up the windows and turns on the air. So far so good. The driver plays classical music, Mendelsohn, I believe. Kurt and I look at each other and say "maybe red taxi not so bad". We are moving right along and hit a long stop light about halfway into the trip to the office. Kurt and I are talking and so we don't notice that traffic has left and we are just sitting there!!!! All of sudden, the driver wakes up and there is this personality change. He goes from Mr. Hyde to Dr, Jekyll. It's like the change from Mendelsohn to Motley Crew. I think you get my drift. Just like a nascar driver, warming up his tires with the "weaving" we start weaving in and out of traffic. He speeds up, and Kurt and I just kinda look at each other and wonder what to do as we are being jostled by the movement of the taxi across lanes. The journey continues and the taxi driver tries to make a left turn....in front of a Dong Feng, which is a big big truck. The Dong Feng stops, is too close to us and cannot move because on his right is a Buick that has pinched us off from making the left turn....So what does the taxi driver do? He can't can't make it into the correct lane, so he drives into oncoming traffic and actually drives down the middle between two lanes of oncoming traffic!!!!! Now Kurt and I are becoming very anxious, but not as anxious as the motorcyclists being forced to stop in mid turn and the pedestrians running and scattering in all directions as this mad man approaches!!! We are jostled some more, the driver is laughing and going Mai Won Ti, Mai Won Ti. (No problem, No Problem) and I am saying Mon Mon Li, which means "take it easy" but to no avail......we did make it to work but now we absolutely understand that "Red Taxi is noooooooooooooooo Gooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This picture is of the next poor sucker to become this guy's victim.....I am sure he was just thrilled with the chance to really scare someone else!!!!

All for now............................

A Pleasant Surprise.

So, at Diamond Court, where I am staying, my apartment is cleaned twice a week. Those days are on Monday and Thursdays. Yesterday, when I returned to the apartment, I found this little bag with these ornately tied and wrapped bamboo leaves with something in them. These were sitting on my dining room table. Next to the bag on my table was a sheet of paper with Traditional Chinese and English. So I read it and it was a story about:

The Dragon Boat Festival

The festival is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, and is therefore often called the "Double Fifth Fesitval" In Chinese, the holiday is called Duan Wu Jie.

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar-statemsman Qu Yuan, who lived some three centuries before the birth of Christ. Qu Yuan was a loyal minister that served the King of Chu during the Warring States Period. Qu Yuan was a highly respected and trusted advisor to the King of Chu. He fought the corruption of other officials of the court.

Initially, Qu Yuan was favored by the King, but over time, his wisdom and ways antagonized the other court officials. Eventually, the intrigues of his rivals exerted enough ill influence on the King that Qu Yuan soon found himself out of favor and was banished from Chu. While in exile, Qu Yuan composed many poems expressing his sorrows and concerns for his country and the people. Amongst his most famous poems is "Encountering Sorrow" a poem that describes his search for a good sovereign that would listen to good advice regarding government.

When it was known that Qu Yuan had been lost forever, the local people began the tradition of throwing sacrificial cooked rice into the river for their lost hero. However, a local fisherman had a dream that Qu Yuan did not get any of the cooked rice that was thrown into the river in his honor. Instead, it was the fishes in the river that had eaten the rice. So, the following year, the tradition of wrapping the cooked rice in bamboo leaves was begun. The cooked rice wrapped in bamboo leaves later came to be known as Zong Zi (pronounced ZongZ).

There is another version of the story. When it was known that Qu Yuan had been lost to the river, the local fisherman had a dream that the fishes in the river were eating Qu Yuan's body. The local people came up with the idea that if the fishes in the river were not hungry, then they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. So the local people began the tradition of throwing Zong Zi into the river to feed the fishes in hope that Qu Yuan's body would be spared.

It was a good thing that Kurt and I talked to Jason Yang in the office because we were intending on making a trek to the river and to throw the rice in the river. But as it turns out, the custom has begun to actually steam the bamboo leaf shrouded rice in a rice cooker and eat it. It was good that we talked to Jason because as usual. you can learn a lot more about a country, a custom or a tradition when you live it and talk to the people who know.

All for now......Take care.

"A three hour tour . . . A three hour tour"

So, it's a Saturday again in Shanghai and what am I gonna do today besides laundry? I pull out my map of Shanghai and decide that I am going to go to the Shanghai Aquarium. It's about noon and I flag a cab outside the Diamond Court Service Apartments, where I am staying, and show him the map which has Chinese symbols. He nods his head "yes' and says "hoda, hoda" which means "okay,okay" and off we go. Being adventurous I decide to have a conversation with the cab driver and it goes something like this:

Me: Ni hao?
Him: Wo heng hao, ni na?
Me: Wo heng hao!!!
Me: Jintian tenshi shoo foo!!!
Him: shu te, shu te
Me: Beijing tenshi heng,heng,heng rur!!!! 37C
Him: San sh chee?
Me: Shu te, shu te!!!

Translation is at the end of this entry!!!!


I think he was greatly surprised that I knew Mandarin. We arrived at the Aquarium, I bought my pass and began to take a tour. As a matter of fact, it was a "three hour tour" Hmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,At this Aquarium, the Shanghai Aquarists, have been working with several species and have developed ways to breed and grow jelly fish, sea horses and others. You will see in this picture an example of one of the jelly fishes that have been raised by the Shanghai Aquarium. They have Yangtze river habitat as well as Oceanic habitat. There was also a display of dangerous/poisonous fish which included the Puffer fish, Poisonous Pink Crab and the Cowfish. Many of these contain a neurotoxin which either makes it inedible or require very special preparation to make them nonpoisonous. There have been many deaths as a result of bad preparation as cooking at high temperature will not reduce the effects of the neurotoxin. My tour ended with a trip through a 155 M tube that had many different sea and ocean scapes with all kinds of sea life in it. It was a good visit to say the least.



Me: How are you?
Him: I am very good, and you?
Me: I am very good!!!!
Me: Today, the weather is comfortable.
Him: Yes, yes
Me: Beijing weather is very very very hot!!!! 37C (106F)
Him: Thirty Seven?
Me: Yes, yes!!!!!

One of the world's great literary works - compliments of China

While in Guangzhou on a trip to visit a potential supplier, I stayed at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou. This is about 800 miles south of Shanghai. If I were to describe the weather there, it would be about like Miami. Upon arrival, I was struck by the gold cladded mural behind the reception desk both in size and in the intricate detail of the work. I was also very curious on what it meant. So I asked the receptionist at the hotel. She did not speak much English so I pointed to the huge mural and gestered for her to write what it was about. This is what she wrote on a piece of paper:

红楼梦


With the help of my friends here in China, I have learned that this is a very famous story in China. It is the story of hóng lóu mèng or "A Dream of Red Mansions" This story, is said to be one of the great literary works of the world and was written over 250 years ago and employs very detailed calligraphy as well as plot and story. The literary work is over 1900 pages long and portrays in great detail the life and history of Pao-Yu a young aristocrat, his relatives and maids and their lives on the estate during those times. There is much poetry in this book, as the charecters spend much time in the garden of the estate compsoing poetry. These young people actually form a poetry club. This book, according to the literary critics is rich in the history and Chinese culture. Every Chinese person that I have talked to about this has consistently said that: "This is a very famous Chinese story".

There are people searching to see if they can find an English version of this book. If one is found, I will let you all know. The read could be very interesting and very enlightening.

You can see all types of dancers here in Shanghai.................

So, what does a guy do on a Saturday in Shanghai....well he goes to see some dancers, and these are not just ordinary dancers, these were dancer's like I have never seen dancers before. Now there is lots of opportunities for entertainment, but you will have to admit by looking at this photo, that this scene was extremely unique and interesting. This is not the greatest picture but pictures are never real great when taken in a dark theater!!! The scene is a traditional Chinese dance scene. Except that these dancers were at the Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology. Do you remember when I wrote, in the case of the sidewalk design for the blind and some other things, that the Chinese people do everything, I believe, with a purpose and a plan? At this museum, there are halls devoted to the environment, the human body, genetics, space and space travel and robotics. These dancers are all robots performing a traditional Chinese dance to Chinese music and it was pretty neat to see. Not only were there these dancers, there were robots that played games like gobong with adults and children and you could even test your skill at shooting a bow and arrow against a robot. All this, I feel with a plan to get children excited about technology and manufacturing as well as the long term science associated with the environment, genetics and space travel. It is a very definite long term view........and a pretty good one at that!!!

Best to All

Who is that strange American?

So the weather has really started to change here in Shanghai and of course, I have been trying to learn Chinese. The word for "hot" is "rur" and although this word looks like it is easy to say, it requires that you must move your tongue to the back of your upper teeth, move your upper lip upward and do some voicebox action to get to the right pronunciation. Needless to say, I was having some real difficulty coordinating all of these into one intelligible word for "hot" in Mandarin. Most of the time it would come out roor or rwoor. The folks in the office found this amusing and during breaks would draw pictures of the mandible and maxilla (jawbones) to show me the correct position of tongue and upper lip to create the correct sound. It has proven to be the most difficult word that I have ever attempted to learn. So Saturday, I decided to go out on a walking journey and I actually walked 16 kilometers around Shanghai. I was so preoccupied with the word for "hot" first because it was, and second, there really has never been a word that I was unable to say without just a little work. So I am walking on the streets of Shanghai and there are people passing me as I am practicing how to say "rur" I keep trying to pronounce the word "rur" as I walk. There were times when I was saying "rur" "rur" "rur" "rur""rur""rur". Never quite getting it right at any time. In reality, I am not sure just exactly what I was saying. For all intents and purposes, it could a been a swear word or something else. I guess I did not realize how loud my practice was as people were staring at me.......probably thinking that I am some sort of lunatic from May-Guo which is the Chinese word for "America" And they just kept staring at me......

I have now since mastered the word according to my friends here in Shanghai. So when I get back and see you all soon, you will just have to have me say on a very warm Michigan day......Jintian tenschi hen rur........

All for now,....take care all.

Thankfully there is a lot of tea to go with this traffic jam!

Hello everyone!!!! You may remember that in my last entry, I referenced how busy the Huang Pu river is here in Shanghai. As you can see by this picture, there is a lot of traffic heading inland. If traffic were coming toward us in this photo, then traffic would be going out to the sea. You can tell by the volume of traffic going one way, what it would/could be like going both ways!!!! I have seen it going both ways and it gets real excitin' . And the traffic never stops, it runs 24/7 and might slow down just a bit for holidays but jams back up as the ship operators try to catch up on their work. Another interesting fact is that not all the boats/ships run lights at night. You can imagine what that must be like!!!! You will notice, the ferry (with people) trying to cross. This gets a little dicey every now and then and periodically you will here the loud blow of a ship's horn, giving a warning to get the heck outta the way!!!! Trust me, I have seen some near misses since I have been here!!! Shipping is the main low cost transportation in China and will remain so until China builds an expected 58,000 miles of highway in the next 5 years or so. Just a small fact, is that 58,000 miles is the equivalent of what the US has built in the Interstate Higway System since the 1950's. When China takes on a project, they mean it!!!

I woulda never believed it, if I hadn't seen it!!!!!

So I told you all about the view out of the window at Aurora and some of the amazing things that you see on the Haung Pu river. All the boats, freighters, tugs and ships. Well, now there is a new "ship" that you can see looking out the window. The pilot for this ship is an absolute daredevil. Baron Von Richthofen has nothing on this guy!!!! He flies all over Shanghai and then up and down the river, sometimes as low as 50 feet above the water!!!!!! He will turn this thing on a dime and I have to say that I never saw anything like this in America. As you can see in this photo, he is below our window, which is the 23rd floor or about 230 feet. Only in Shanghai, I do believe could you experience such a thing. Just as an FYI, the picture was taken after hours and while we were waiting to have a conference call. So absolutely no work was interrupted by the actions of the photographer, in case any of your were wondering!!!!! All for now everyone.....have a great day and take care.

Now this has to be a very big irony......

First of all, I don't want everyone to get excited about the picture that will be part of this blog entry. I purchased this item for only one reason. That is to show that capitalism is indeed alive in China. I bought this book from a small shop and was deeply involved in negotiating the final price. The vendor started out at 150 RMB which is just less than 20 dollars US. I offered 20RMB which is about $2.50 US. And the fun began.
She held strong at 150, I held strong at 20.
She told me that this was a "historical book" I said 20.
She said that this book was a big big part of China's history and wanted 150. I held fast at 20.
She said that I was being unreasonable....I said 20.
She than said 135 and I maintained my level at 20. She hemmed and hawed and said 125.
I told her...." I don't need this book, I am going to walk away." Then I said "20".
She looked off in the distance and said something in Chinese.....and than said 100.
I said "20"
She looked at me again and maybe said something like,,"I can't make money like this..."or maybe what she said was worse....it was hard to tell.
She came back with 65. I said "20"
She said "You Megwaren(American) are tough negotiator" She said "40" I said "30"
She looked at me...and we had a deal.

If that is not capitalism, than I don't know what is.....and take a look at the little book that I bought.....Now is this not ironic????

Take care all......

Old Guy from Museum

So you think you are old, do ya????

This last week, during the World Labor Day holiday, I had the opportunity to go to the Shanghai Museum with my Sister-in-Law Deb, friend Al from the States and Kurt. We went to three sections, the bronze, the pottery and the jade sections. I know that many of us think that a few hundred years is old and in our country, that is true. In Europe, we think that 600-700 years is old. At this museum, there were items that have been dated back to around the 51st. century BC. Yup, you got that right. 5100 years before zero!!!! This one little statue is kind of a youngster (around the 34th century BC) his description is "Divine Figure". So if you think you are old, you're not!!!! Also I found these clay pots very interesting as they have an amazing appearance similar to that of the Navaho or Hopi Indian tribe art. There is some thought that some Native Americans are of Asian descent. These were done around 2600 BC. How could the similarities in art be coincidental? Now that is food for thought. My next blog will show an interesting irony, that I uncovered during one of my adventures here in China........more later folks!!!! Take care I enjoy reading your comments and how far along is Will Ferrell's movie?

Protection for your protection

During my stay here in Shanghai, I have attempted to show interesting and unique things which make China different from the United States. I have shown you the sidewalks, the bullet trains and the like. Now I want to show you what happens when it rains, like it did today in Shanghai. When it rains, you will find at every door in every building a stand with plastic bags or "umbrella condoms". There is a person at this plastic bag stand that assists you in covering your umbrella in the plastic bag. This is done, so that water will not drip off of your umbrella unto the floor which could lead to some serious trips and falls. This not only keeps one safe, it prevents any civil liability issues from arrising. This is another example of Chinese ingenuity and perspective. For Anita's information, this is a picture of my umbrella on my desk. As you can see there is not much to my desk!!!!!!

The Taxi Ride

You may remember that I said that I would tell the story of the TAXI ride. Taxi rides are sometimes a "crap shot" here, the reason I say that is there are very few of the taxi drivers that we see that seem to speak English. We have cards that have simplified Chinese symbols that give the locations of where we want to go. In this case, we started at the office and were heading to where we reside at the "Diamond Court" I gave the driver the card, he looked at it, he looked at me and nodded his head "yes". So Kurt and I jumped into the cab and thought we would be home in 20 minutes max. The driver drove around the corner on to a main drag, just far enough away where we could not jump into another cab and he pulls over to the side of the road....shakes his head and pulls out his map....he mumbles to himself in Chinese, shakes his head, motions to see the card, I had shown earlier, shakes his head again and takes off......Now Kurt and I are beginning to wonder, just what all of this means. We give each other looks like "Oh no...what is happening here" and "So, do you think we will make it home????" We are now going through areas of town that we have not seen, since we have been here. Ever like the boy scout, I take various pictures of our surroundings so that if the authorities ever find the bodies and the camera they can tell where we have been!!!! The driver continues to drive...at various times looks at the map, shakes his head, beeps his horn and drives on....he beeps his horn more at some bike, motorcycle, car or person. At virtually every stoplight, and there are a lot of them in Shanghai, he looks at the map, points, waves his hand in a fashion that would indicate that he is either unknowing or exasperated. And he continues to drive. After what seems to be an interminable amount of time, we begin to see signs and sights that look familiar, about an hour after we started this journey....we were back at the Diamond Court with another story to tell. When I say that Shanghai is an adventure...I really do mean it!!!

Hey to all of you that write comments, I want you to know that I really appreciate the weather,sport and golf scores updates. Those and the personal words are a joy to read and help me to stay in touch with all of you!!! Again thanks so much.....all for now, my next topic will be on umbrella condoms.....caught your attention??????

(Not) Faster than a speeding bullet . . . But close!

Lest any of you think that China is a country not leaping forward in technology, take a look at the train system that opened April 18,2007 this year. This train can travel at a maximum speed of 240 KMH or 144 MPH. This train was very comfortable to ride in and was as smooth as silk. Basically it was as smooth as a plane ride and there was NO turbulence!!. We went to the Nanjing Auto Parts exposition and there were in excess of 1,500 suppliers. This was bigger than AAPEX in Las Vegas!!! I swear Kurt and I walked at least 8 or 9 miles. The trip to Nanjing took just over 2 hours. The maximum speed that we went was 214 KMH OR 128.4 MPH. All in all a good adventure and it was a chance to get to know our Comrades here in China better!!! All for now..............

They even have Cheerleaders in China!!!

Recently, there was an 8K race that took place in Jinqiao (pronounced Jing Chow) and very near my apartment. It was very early in the morning about 6:30 AM last Sunday when I heard loudspeakers and music playing. Come to find out it was the start and finish line for the "6th Annual Jinqiao 8K Race." It seems that running is very big here and there are running clubs. The gentleman in this picture, on roller blades would skate up and down the road and beat the drum for those members that are in his running club as they approached the finish line. And, as you can see, there are many nationalities represented by the flags on his helmet!!! It was a trick timing the picture as he roller bladed by me!!!! Yeah!!!! I got it!!! Do any of you think I have a future in photography? All for now. Take care everyone......I have more stories especially about a taxi ride in Shanghai and the importance of language!!!

We could truly learn some things from the Chinese!!!

When I arrived in China and started walking around, I noticed this pattern on all the sidewalks. You will find this all over Shanghai. As you can see in this picture there are generally bike paths (the paved area) next to the sidewalks. Many times, if you are walking next to someone on the sidewalk, I would find myself walking on this pattern which is actually kind of uncomfortable. As it turns out, this pattern is used to help blind people in China maneuver around. It is almost like a Braille on the sidewalk. It acts as their guide for position on the sidewalk. We could definitely learn from the Chinese on this one. What an excellent idea!!!

Pearls of Wisdom

Today, Kurt and I went to Honqiao (pronounced Hong chow) International Pearl City. We met my Sister-in-Law Deb and her very good friend Terri and had the opportunity to experience this famous market in Shanghai. . Pearl City is a building that contains three floors and on those three floors are merchants ranging from clothing, to golf clubs, to pens, purses, watches as well as a whole floor of pearls. Walking in to the place, you are greeted by people coming out to you saying things like “Come look at my stuff……….I will give you very good price.” Half of the fun is in the negotiation!!! (Let me remind all of you, that I do not have an export license and there are limitations to what I can bring with me!!! ) They will always start high and you must always start low. But, never negotiate if you are not planning on buying. To do so, causes the vendor to lose face and this is a very serious thing here. Based on the suggestion and guidance of Deb and Terri, I have decided that there is one very good Pearl Vendor and her name is Vicki. The name of her business is “Vicki Pearl” Vicki had lots of questions, wondering if there are Pearl Markets in America like this one. I told her no and that this is an amazing place to shop. As you can see in this picture, she is actually stringing a set of pearls for someone. You can get freshwater and saltwater pearls, as well as shell composites. Vicki has two types of quality that she works with; there is “good quality” and there is “best quality”, she measures the quality based on the shine, smoothness and shape. The string that she is working on here is “Best Quality”. All for now, time to do the laundry. The washer is quite a bit different than mine in the US and the instructions are in Chinese. I will figure it out though!!!!

Now this is what I call International Teamwork

Well, because of Internet Explorer issues here, my daughter, Andrea has agreed to upload my "picture of the day" from our home in the US. Andrea has said that she will have them posted by noon my time. That would be 12 midnight for all of you back in the States. What teamwork!!!! Today, I want to show you where I work. You will see in the picture a building called "Aurora" This is where I work in Shanghai. This picture happens to be taken from across the river. One of my work comrades, Kurt arrived today and he is getting all settled in here. We did not shock him to bad, as we went to Pizza Hut at the Super Brand Mall, just a couple of blocks from the Aurora Plaza. More pictures will follow as I attempt to portray the life and flavor of Shanghai. All is well here everyone. My best to everyone...keep those comments coming. They are very much enjoyed!!!!!

Easter Sunday in Shanghai!!!

Yesterday, my sister-in-law Deb took me to Pearl City, which is a mall on the west side of the river, in the Changning district of Shanghai. There you will find all of these pearl stores. These stores will custom make pearl necklaces,bracelets and ear rings for you. There were some exquisite items, to say the least. My wife Pam has now given me her order for what she wants!!!!. We also had burgers at the "Moon River Cafe" and this, I think is about as close to a 1950's type burger place that you will find in Shanghai. It was delicious.

Today, I went to Easter Sunday Brunch at "M on the Bund" a famous restaurant just on the west side of the Huangpu river. I took some pictures on the rooftop after brunch. I wish that I could upload them but will have to work to resolve the IE issues. If you would like to see some of these pictures, you can always email me, most of you know the address and I could email them to your home email addresses. Just let me know. I have taken many pictures and will be unable to put them all up on the website because of blog limitations.

Friday, my sister-in-law Deb took me shopping at Carrefour-it's kind of like a Meijer Thrifty Acres and is about a half mile or so from my apartment. It is well within walking distance and provides me with some good exercise. I went there today after brunch and, Deb told me that people in Shanghai do their shopping on Sundays....and I can say that it is, indeed, true. It was wall to wall people. It was exciting trying to find the things that I wanted. Just to let you know some of the costs here, I purchased 3, I think about 12 oz.(I have not mastered traditional Chinese writing) cans of Diet Pepsi. I can guess it's about 355ml which I believe is 12 oz. I also purchased some liquid dish detergent and a quart of soy milk for my cereal and it was 16.80 RMB or just a little over $2.50 US.

I understand it is very cold back in Michigan. It was about 65 here today with a pretty stiff breeze. Well, All for now. My regards and best to All!!!!

Some day I will get pictures uploaded!!!!

Well, for some reason, and I think it has to do with the setting on my Internet explorer, I am having some difficulties with posting pictures. Rest assured that when I get the ability to put pictures on, I will. I have quite a few good ones to share with all of you!!!!

Some of you may have been wondering.........

Yes indeed, some of you may be wondering about my trip to Shanghai. As most of you know, I have always been a great trickster, a prankster of sorts. As my wife can tell you......especially on April Fools day. And since my trip started on April 1, did you wonder? My wife sent me an email while I was on my way wondering if I would show up on our doorstep later on that evening, And, some of you may have been wondering why I haven't posted any pictures. Hmmmmm. I have been searching for the right picture to show all of you and to prove that I am in Shanghai.....I by golly, now think I have it. I can assure you, that you won't see this in the United States. Not even in a Chinatown.....

I made it!!!!!!!

Well Everyone!!!!! I made it and was today ever busy. Shanghai is such a beautiful city. And it is absolutely huge. For those of you living in Michigan, Shanghai is roughly 2400 square miles with a population of 18.2 Million. Now the size is like from Grand Blanc, MI to the RenCen in Detroit and from Grand Blanc to Lansing!!!! My boss was correct...you CANNOT walk to work, as I had originally thought. There are cars, buses, vans,motorcycles, bicycles and scooters goin' every which away!!!! I also now understand why foreigners aren't allowed to drive. It took 25 minutes to go the few kilometers to work today and it was an adventure. Today, I was issued a laptop, had 2 orientations and now have to roust up some documents to get my multi-entry visa. I had a meeting with the Thermal Products AP team and have another tomorrow. Also I will have a conference call at 8:30PM tomorrow. So another busy day. It's been so busy in fact, I have not even had a chance to take any pictures. I will take some in the next few days so that you can all get a flavor of Shanghai. All for now!!! Have a great day and write back soon!!!!

My bags are packed.....I'm ready to go.....

Just how exciting is this eh??????? Three suitcases and a backpack all on wheels. I have my peanut butter and special K bars....plus all the clothes, DVD's and supplies one needs to live in another country for 90 or more days. Tomorrow at 1:35 I am on my way and I am working on picking up additional Mandarin Chinese. I can now say:

Is there a multi-plex theater near here?
foo-jin yo may yo duo yin moo dian ying yuan

OR the much more practical...............

dsai na r shee dsao jian?

Where's the bathroom!!!!

I am leaving Flint at 1:35 PM on April 1 and arriving in Shanghai at 20:55 hours(8:55 PM) on Monday April 2. I will have plenty of time to read and bone up on more Mandarin Chinese and prepare myself to get through Narita Japan and into Shanghai. I am so fortunate to have my boss and his driver coming to the airport to pick me up. Anyways.......the next blog will be from Shanghai!!!!!!!!! You all write back now ya hear?????

Well, here I go and I am so excited!!!!

In just a few days, I will be leaving for Shanghai for a minimum 90 day work assignment. I am so excited. This little farm boy has never been so far from home all by himself. I am starting to miss Pam and the kids already as I believe I know what that is going to feel like. I do know that work is going to keep me real busy and that is a real good thing. I can say a few things in Chinese. Things like....Hello, my name is John Munsell. It is an honor to meet you. And I can say Good bye. I am working on it and it will all be good. I have purchased a memory card for my camera and it is large enough so that I can put 2792 pictures on it before I fill it up. Great ain't it!!!! Now I just have to figure out how to upload the pictures I take. That will be a blast!!!! All for now. I leave Sunday April 1,2007 and there will probably be more posts.

Gotta go TTFN