If you've been questioning my sanity in moving to China without a job lined up, or for turning down positions that were offered but did not interest me, I invite you to relax: I have an amazing job.
Against my better judgment, last summer I posted my resume to one of the more promising local job boards, called Matchdragon. In January I received an email from someone who found my resume online and was interested in talking with me about a position with a major international NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), working in economic development, clean energy and finance. At first it sounded too good to be true, so I did some research and asked friends in Beijing and around the world with connections to the NGO if they had any knowledge of the particular group or of the position. A week after, late Friday afternoon, I went for my first interview. One friend had advised me that interviews within this organization tend to emphasize teamwork, intercultural awareness, technology and several other issues, which helped me to be prepared with appropriate discussion points.
I had already planned a trip to the U.S. for the following week, which I mentioned. Tuesday evening, when I arrived in the U.S., I received an email notifying me that I was chosen for the second interview, to take place several days after I returned to China. I met the head of the office and we discussed the position and my background.
Last Sunday afternoon I received a phone call officially offering me the position. Monday morning I started working, and late in the week I went on my first official trip - to be followed by many others. I need to improve my Chinese drastically, and I've already started telling people that I'm allergic to alcohol (to avoid having to drink endless rounds of baijiu (a local hard liquor)), but the people in my office are smart and motivated, and I'm going to be doing a lot of work in areas that interest me.
Balancing work and school is going to be a challenge but I am thrilled by the wonderful opportunities I am encountering here and the work I will be doing.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Snow
Beijing is not a city that sees a lot of snow. Even if I didn't already know that fact from having seen the seasons change, I would have known it from watching the city this evening.
This morning I woke as the sun was rising to the sight of fluttery white snowflakes sneaking past my window, disappearing before the hit the ground. An hour later I went out to walk in this most tangible sign of winter and to feel the flakes on my eyelashes as I walked down Sanlitun Jiubajie, the ground wet with the melted memory of the freeze. By noon it had stopped.
This evening I sat in a conference room with fifty others, listening to a presentation on international trade. At one point I glanced past the window and saw flurries (actual snow flurries!). By the time we walked out of the building after class there was snow on the ground. Not enough to build a snowman, almost a centimeter, but it was still enough to catch on our shoes and make people wearing shoes with no grip thing about snowboots.
A friend gave me a ride home. As her driver navigated through traffic that was curiously slow for that hour of the evening we watched as cars slid on the rode. A city bus rolled past us, pulled by a tow truck. Drivers here are not used to the wet, even if only rain, and that fact is aggravated by the lack of any traction on most tires.
I'm home now, cuddled up in cashmere, with the humidifier blowing moisture into the air and a cup of tea by my bedside. It would be lovely to see snow again in the morning, but for now I'm happy to have seen my first real Beijing snowfall.
This morning I woke as the sun was rising to the sight of fluttery white snowflakes sneaking past my window, disappearing before the hit the ground. An hour later I went out to walk in this most tangible sign of winter and to feel the flakes on my eyelashes as I walked down Sanlitun Jiubajie, the ground wet with the melted memory of the freeze. By noon it had stopped.
This evening I sat in a conference room with fifty others, listening to a presentation on international trade. At one point I glanced past the window and saw flurries (actual snow flurries!). By the time we walked out of the building after class there was snow on the ground. Not enough to build a snowman, almost a centimeter, but it was still enough to catch on our shoes and make people wearing shoes with no grip thing about snowboots.
A friend gave me a ride home. As her driver navigated through traffic that was curiously slow for that hour of the evening we watched as cars slid on the rode. A city bus rolled past us, pulled by a tow truck. Drivers here are not used to the wet, even if only rain, and that fact is aggravated by the lack of any traction on most tires.
I'm home now, cuddled up in cashmere, with the humidifier blowing moisture into the air and a cup of tea by my bedside. It would be lovely to see snow again in the morning, but for now I'm happy to have seen my first real Beijing snowfall.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Writing
After lunch on Thursday some friends and I retreated to a nearby cafe for tea and conversation, including a brief overview of what I ate while I was in the U.S. and what I brought back in my suitcase. No one was surprised to hear that I had bagels with me.
In addition to bagels, clothes, shampoo and lotion, I brought back four books: Joy of Cooking (a version issued prior to the inclusion of microwave directions), two poetry anthologies, and my high school copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the writing guide known and loved by many. The conversation turned to WHY I would need or want it while in China.
Here, much of the English that we read is poorly written, grammatically incorrect, riddled with syntax errors and misspellings. It's annoying, and gets in the way of understanding meaning, but it's something with which we have to deal. Unfortunately, it also results in our writing getting sloppy.
A Venezuelan friend who spent many years in the U.S. commented that her native English-speaking friends had commented on her command of the language deteriorating during her time here. Other friends laughed as we told similar stories. I noted that I've caught myself sending emails with dangling participles and incorrect use of its/it's. We know better.
Long live The Elements of Style, and clear writing.
In addition to bagels, clothes, shampoo and lotion, I brought back four books: Joy of Cooking (a version issued prior to the inclusion of microwave directions), two poetry anthologies, and my high school copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, the writing guide known and loved by many. The conversation turned to WHY I would need or want it while in China.
Here, much of the English that we read is poorly written, grammatically incorrect, riddled with syntax errors and misspellings. It's annoying, and gets in the way of understanding meaning, but it's something with which we have to deal. Unfortunately, it also results in our writing getting sloppy.
A Venezuelan friend who spent many years in the U.S. commented that her native English-speaking friends had commented on her command of the language deteriorating during her time here. Other friends laughed as we told similar stories. I noted that I've caught myself sending emails with dangling participles and incorrect use of its/it's. We know better.
Long live The Elements of Style, and clear writing.
Back in Beijing
Wednesday night I arrived back to Beijing after a three week whirlwind tour of the east coast - five U.S. states, many relatives and friends. I didn't get to spend time with everyone I would have liked but I was able to see a lot of people. I also at a lot of great food: grilled oysters in Florida, a burrito at my favorite dive Mexican place in the East Village, Goan food on Second Avenue, bagels on the upper east side and in Queens, seared sea scallops at Cafe Des Artistes.
Beijing welcomed me back by embracing me with a gray sky and heavy air. My lungs felt tight as I walked to and from yoga class Thursday morning, but rain fell (for the first time in 110 days) while I was at lunch with friends (Hua Jia Ya Yuan on Gui Jie, Ghost Street, for shui zhu yu, carp wrapped in foil, pumpkin medallions and plum juice), clearing the way for easier breathing and a blue sky today.
When I went to the police station on Thursday to register my presence (required within 24 hours of arrival if you are in an urban area) I was told to come back today, which I did. I presented my passport and a copy of the form from the last time I registered, and the police woman entered my information into the computer. She then gave me the new computer-generated form (in triplicate) and asked me to look it over. The form includes information for the date by which you are required to leave China. My current visa allows me to stay in-country for up to 120 days after each entry, which means I need to leave for a day or longer before the middle of June. The form had an August date, probably due to a typo, showing that I can stay for 180 days. I got the attention of the officer and explained that I have a 120 day visa, 180 days would be lovely but it's longer than I'm allowed to stay on my current documents. She looked, confirmed that there was an error, made a manual correction and had her colleage double stamp it, then handed me my copy of the form. My required exit date was still incorrect, which I pointed out. We both laughed and she apologized as she corrected it manually on my form, which I would need to show to a police officer, along with my passport, if I were stopped in public and they requested it.
Glad to know that I haven't forgotten all of my Putonghua in the time I was away.
Beijing welcomed me back by embracing me with a gray sky and heavy air. My lungs felt tight as I walked to and from yoga class Thursday morning, but rain fell (for the first time in 110 days) while I was at lunch with friends (Hua Jia Ya Yuan on Gui Jie, Ghost Street, for shui zhu yu, carp wrapped in foil, pumpkin medallions and plum juice), clearing the way for easier breathing and a blue sky today.
When I went to the police station on Thursday to register my presence (required within 24 hours of arrival if you are in an urban area) I was told to come back today, which I did. I presented my passport and a copy of the form from the last time I registered, and the police woman entered my information into the computer. She then gave me the new computer-generated form (in triplicate) and asked me to look it over. The form includes information for the date by which you are required to leave China. My current visa allows me to stay in-country for up to 120 days after each entry, which means I need to leave for a day or longer before the middle of June. The form had an August date, probably due to a typo, showing that I can stay for 180 days. I got the attention of the officer and explained that I have a 120 day visa, 180 days would be lovely but it's longer than I'm allowed to stay on my current documents. She looked, confirmed that there was an error, made a manual correction and had her colleage double stamp it, then handed me my copy of the form. My required exit date was still incorrect, which I pointed out. We both laughed and she apologized as she corrected it manually on my form, which I would need to show to a police officer, along with my passport, if I were stopped in public and they requested it.
Glad to know that I haven't forgotten all of my Putonghua in the time I was away.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Zhege...he nege...Financial Crisis
My MBA group is in Financial Management class right now. Good professor, interesting material. The class is approximately half Chinese, half expats from around the world.
I love listening to the different discussions. It's now breaktime and I just told the classmates sitting and chatting behind me how much I enjoy hearing long streams of Chinese broken up by financial terms in English.
Zhege..(Chinese, Chinese, Chinese) discount rate....(Chinese, Chinese, Chinese) financial crisis....
I love listening to the different discussions. It's now breaktime and I just told the classmates sitting and chatting behind me how much I enjoy hearing long streams of Chinese broken up by financial terms in English.
Zhege..(Chinese, Chinese, Chinese) discount rate....(Chinese, Chinese, Chinese) financial crisis....
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Cold and Colder
Winter is here, and Beijing has been cold enough to keep all but the hardiest and most well insulated Beijingers indoors recently. My apartment is well-heated (thank you to the Soviet building engineers and builders who put up the five story complex in the 1960s), and I can sit indoors in a tank top and shorts while watching people shiver in their jackets outside.
Tomorrow morning I'll leave my warm cocoon to head further north, up near the border to Siberia, to Harbin - a city known for its brutal winters. My friends and I plan to see classical Russian architecture, visit a Siberian tiger preserve, drink vodka and take part in the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, an annual event featuring full-sized buildings designed out of blocks of ice lit from within.
Hand and footwarmers are already packed. Several are located in my carry-on bag so that I can access them easily before we leave the plane on our arrival.
Tomorrow morning I'll leave my warm cocoon to head further north, up near the border to Siberia, to Harbin - a city known for its brutal winters. My friends and I plan to see classical Russian architecture, visit a Siberian tiger preserve, drink vodka and take part in the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, an annual event featuring full-sized buildings designed out of blocks of ice lit from within.
Hand and footwarmers are already packed. Several are located in my carry-on bag so that I can access them easily before we leave the plane on our arrival.
Girl Kill Girls and Sainkho Namtchylak
Girl Kill Girls are an all-girl Chinese rock group, and Sainkho Namchylak is a 50-something singer with a seven-octave range who is a world renowned throat singer from Tuva. Last night Girl Kill Girls opened for Sainkho at Yugong Yishan, a popular Beijing nightspot where I've gone in the past for film screenings and parties with DJs I know, to a crowd made up mostly of Chinese fans.
Girl Kill Girls have a strong stage presence and play well with and off of one another. The
three young women are all professionals, their music has a lot of energy and it was easy to imagine 
them filling larger houses. Lyrics were in both Chinese and a heavily accented and at times difficult to understand English. Their music has influences of Boston area girl-groups the Breeders and Belly, and at times they were reminiscent of the Bangles or Shonen Knife.
With a career spa
nning decades that has taken her around the world, Sainkho is a down-to-earth matriarch in whose glow the entire audience basked. She started her performance with some traditional throat singing, reminiscent of what you've heard on NPR in the past, then moved into a blend of throat singing and vocalization using her entire vocal range, with instrumentalization provided by a young male accompaniest/DJ working from a MacBook and a turntable. At times her music felt like it came straight from a rave hall, at other times it was out of a dream. The crowd loved it and demostrated their appreciation through enthusiastic applause, which is rare here.
Girl Kill Girls have a strong stage presence and play well with and off of one another. The
three young women are all professionals, their music has a lot of energy and it was easy to imagine 
them filling larger houses. Lyrics were in both Chinese and a heavily accented and at times difficult to understand English. Their music has influences of Boston area girl-groups the Breeders and Belly, and at times they were reminiscent of the Bangles or Shonen Knife.With a career spa
nning decades that has taken her around the world, Sainkho is a down-to-earth matriarch in whose glow the entire audience basked. She started her performance with some traditional throat singing, reminiscent of what you've heard on NPR in the past, then moved into a blend of throat singing and vocalization using her entire vocal range, with instrumentalization provided by a young male accompaniest/DJ working from a MacBook and a turntable. At times her music felt like it came straight from a rave hall, at other times it was out of a dream. The crowd loved it and demostrated their appreciation through enthusiastic applause, which is rare here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
