So i have so much to talk about, but unfortunatly my work has to take priority. And my health. Since i have been here i have started hacking up all sorts of great stuff, as many of you know the pollution here is horrible. A study done said that breathing the air here in China, is like smoking 80 cigerettes in a day. YEP. 8.0. Crazy huh? Maybe you will check next time to see if what you buy is "made in china". And perhaps understand that they haven't taken the time to invest in proper pollution control.
On another note, and i promise this blog will get exciting, but today marks the 2nd time i have seen the sun. Yep, usually the smog or pollution or whatever blocks the sun and rather sad.
So things are going as expected at work. A little slow at times, but slowly coming together. We have tons of time in Chengdu, so thats why i am sitting at work typing to you. It was a long last 4 days, we have been working from 8am to 10pm and all of that is on our feet. We spent the last 2 days focusing the show, so that means i have been 30ft. in the air for 4 hours at a time. Good times. We are now fully loaded in and the performers are working on deck as the show gets cued and put together. I have about 20 notes to
take care of for the show, but for the most part will spend the next week waiting for time on stage to work.
So
back to Tuesday, my 2nd day off in China. We went to the panda perserve here in Chengdu, that happens to be one of the largest in the world. They have over 100 panda's that they breed, rescue, and teach people about the animals. It was awesome going to this place, even though i don't normally like zoo's. The habitats were very well laid out and offered some great views of the 
panda's. They had red panda's and regular ones. I got a chance to hold a red panda for 50 yuan (the Chinese currency) and the exchange rate is about 7 to 1. So that is about 6 bucks. We spent the afternoon around the panda perserve and ate in the restaurant which was great. On the menu they had tree fungus, trutle, just about any fish imaginable, and many other interesting choices. I chose spicy chile bamboo shoots and fried eggplant.
On that note, i am doing ok with the food over here. I am having a little bit of trouble adapting to eating here. I think i have decided th at when i get back to the states it will probably be a bit before i have chinese food. Just saying. Cause really, how much rice and noddles can a guy eat. That and we have found that most of the food here is fried and so that gets a little old.
We have however found some great places we like to eat at. We eat at a great noodle place every day for lunch, that serves some great dishes with lots of seafood, sushi, and the best drink, a grapefruit iced tea. So we love that so much that we have been there 4 times so far. I have now gone against my rules and eaten at mcdonald's 2 times. Everything there is exactly the same, except the chicken nugget sauce. THey only carry a curry sauce and a spicy chile sauce. I really do plan on eating there as little as possible, but as sad as it sounds McD's reminds me of home. LOL As i spoke of the pizza hut, even there the servers where veil like they are from India. I have also found an awesome noodle/soup shop across from my hotel. The bell men took me over for a late night snack and it is AWESOME. I have been back there a few times, but i can't order on my own. A full bowl of noodles there is 7 yuan, so yep 1 buck.
Our crew has decided that on our 32 bucks a day per diem, we can pay for all our meals, all our beer, and a 2 hour full body massage a bar. We went to a massage place near the hotel, and for a 1.5 hour full body it was 130 yuan. And a damn good massage. ANd for only 60 yuan you get a 2 hour foot massage. I haven't done it yet, but damn my feet can't wait. And fyi, we would just go to the place in the hotel, but it is for "men only", so kinda odd.
Now that i have been here for a week, it has started to become a little more comfortable. You just get use to being a minority, to pointing at what you want on a menu, being surprised if anyone speaks english, get use to people staring at you, enjoy the oddity of it all, try and not hack up your lungs cause you can't breath, and so on.
Our interpretors in Chengdu have been very helpful when it comes to geting around, finding restaurants, ordering, and dealing with language barrier problems. Kit and Kat are amazing, the are going to be our full tour interpretors from Hong Kong and they are going to help us find things to do. And our local ones are alot of fun. THey are college kids and are really nice to talk to and learn about cultural differences and facts about China. Preston was my main interpretor at the theatre and has been awesome when dealing with the daily woes of a production load in. He has done a great job teaching me all sorts of new things about China and some words.
FYI Back is HO
Forward is Chin
Leg is Tway
Thank you is Shasha
Hello is Ne How
Up is Sun
Down is Shia
Glasses is Yenjing or Preston(thanks buddy)
Im trying LOL
PS. It would appear that all my attempts to bypass the Chinese government to get pictures on this blog have failed, but i will try some new ways.
And i did get to read your comments. Thanks, keep commenting!!!
On another note, and i promise this blog will get exciting, but today marks the 2nd time i have seen the sun. Yep, usually the smog or pollution or whatever blocks the sun and rather sad.
So things are going as expected at work. A little slow at times, but slowly coming together. We have tons of time in Chengdu, so thats why i am sitting at work typing to you. It was a long last 4 days, we have been working from 8am to 10pm and all of that is on our feet. We spent the last 2 days focusing the show, so that means i have been 30ft. in the air for 4 hours at a time. Good times. We are now fully loaded in and the performers are working on deck as the show gets cued and put together. I have about 20 notes to
take care of for the show, but for the most part will spend the next week waiting for time on stage to work.
So
back to Tuesday, my 2nd day off in China. We went to the panda perserve here in Chengdu, that happens to be one of the largest in the world. They have over 100 panda's that they breed, rescue, and teach people about the animals. It was awesome going to this place, even though i don't normally like zoo's. The habitats were very well laid out and offered some great views of the 
panda's. They had red panda's and regular ones. I got a chance to hold a red panda for 50 yuan (the Chinese currency) and the exchange rate is about 7 to 1. So that is about 6 bucks. We spent the afternoon around the panda perserve and ate in the restaurant which was great. On the menu they had tree fungus, trutle, just about any fish imaginable, and many other interesting choices. I chose spicy chile bamboo shoots and fried eggplant.On that note, i am doing ok with the food over here. I am having a little bit of trouble adapting to eating here. I think i have decided th at when i get back to the states it will probably be a bit before i have chinese food. Just saying. Cause really, how much rice and noddles can a guy eat. That and we have found that most of the food here is fried and so that gets a little old.
We have however found some great places we like to eat at. We eat at a great noodle place every day for lunch, that serves some great dishes with lots of seafood, sushi, and the best drink, a grapefruit iced tea. So we love that so much that we have been there 4 times so far. I have now gone against my rules and eaten at mcdonald's 2 times. Everything there is exactly the same, except the chicken nugget sauce. THey only carry a curry sauce and a spicy chile sauce. I really do plan on eating there as little as possible, but as sad as it sounds McD's reminds me of home. LOL As i spoke of the pizza hut, even there the servers where veil like they are from India. I have also found an awesome noodle/soup shop across from my hotel. The bell men took me over for a late night snack and it is AWESOME. I have been back there a few times, but i can't order on my own. A full bowl of noodles there is 7 yuan, so yep 1 buck.
Our crew has decided that on our 32 bucks a day per diem, we can pay for all our meals, all our beer, and a 2 hour full body massage a bar. We went to a massage place near the hotel, and for a 1.5 hour full body it was 130 yuan. And a damn good massage. ANd for only 60 yuan you get a 2 hour foot massage. I haven't done it yet, but damn my feet can't wait. And fyi, we would just go to the place in the hotel, but it is for "men only", so kinda odd.
Now that i have been here for a week, it has started to become a little more comfortable. You just get use to being a minority, to pointing at what you want on a menu, being surprised if anyone speaks english, get use to people staring at you, enjoy the oddity of it all, try and not hack up your lungs cause you can't breath, and so on.
Our interpretors in Chengdu have been very helpful when it comes to geting around, finding restaurants, ordering, and dealing with language barrier problems. Kit and Kat are amazing, the are going to be our full tour interpretors from Hong Kong and they are going to help us find things to do. And our local ones are alot of fun. THey are college kids and are really nice to talk to and learn about cultural differences and facts about China. Preston was my main interpretor at the theatre and has been awesome when dealing with the daily woes of a production load in. He has done a great job teaching me all sorts of new things about China and some words.
FYI Back is HO
Forward is Chin
Leg is Tway
Thank you is Shasha
Hello is Ne How
Up is Sun
Down is Shia
Glasses is Yenjing or Preston(thanks buddy)
Im trying LOL
PS. It would appear that all my attempts to bypass the Chinese government to get pictures on this blog have failed, but i will try some new ways.
And i did get to read your comments. Thanks, keep commenting!!!
1 comment:
I think you know more Chinese in a week than I learned in three years! I thought it was so hard, but maybe it's different when you live in it.
I love reading about life over there!
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