7 o'clock Saturday morning. A fragrance of female perfume is coming from my bathroom and 3 beautiful ladies just left my apartment. Did I have female guests last night? Yes I did, but no, it's not what you think.
A few days ago one of my best friends asked me if I could facilitate 3 German girls for 2 nights while they make a pit-stop in Gothenburg. For some reason I agreed to this even though my schedule was filled to the limit. I guess I just can't say no to my friends's requests. It was a nice experience though. It was a long time ago since I met such nice and polite girls and they seemed to enjoy the stay here. As thanks they invited me to a really nice dinner yesterday at an Italian restaurant. Me, tired as hell after 2 successful examinations on Tuesday and yesterday and they, exhausted due to an intensive day of shopping, fell asleep right after 23:00 last night. They just left to catch the 08:02 train to Stockholm and then go by ferry to Finland where they are currently studying.
I'm just going to write some stuff that is going on right now because I had some complaints obout my blog never being updated. Think I will start writing about my plans.
Lots of thought is spinning in my head and the reason for this is an opportunity that came up 2 weeks ago. I am thinking of reopening this blog and move back to China. On the other hand my previous plan was to graduate as Master of Science in just a few months and then settle down here at home. I may look like 25 but my real age is 31 and it feels a bit late to move around. Will I enjoy China? Will it be worth it? I can't remember my feeling when I left Ningbo exactly 3 months ago. Could I imagine a life there? At least for a few years. Should I wait until graduation or try to finish whats left on distance? By the way, can you believe it? I will be an engineer, something I always wanted to be!
Wow, when I think back on the year that passed I made some huge changes in my life that turned me back to the person I once was and wants to be. Sure, I had a downtime this summer. Guess it was aftershocks after what happened a bit over a year ago, but now I am much clearer.
People often tell me that "Wow you did this and that!" but I cant really feel that I did something special, just what I had to do in order to catch up time that I've lost. However, I can clearly see the change in my attitude towards everything. All the negativity is gone and I gained lots of energy and motivation. I feel good and I smile a lot! This hasn't been the case for the past years due to stupid priorities and a burnout, but at least I have learned from it. I am glad about the outcome but still sad what my behavior did to people around me. Strange, how the person that was closest to me couldn't see how I felt. But then even I didn't see it so maybe that isn't so strange. Now I am trying to deal with old ghosts. A betrayal and broken trust is hard to fix but I can't do it alone.
Anyway, let's move from my mind reflection and on to the offer I was talking about. A friend told me that a headhunter in China is looking for an adventurous person who is willing to move over there for a job. A large fashion company in Sweden is expanding their business to China and they want someone to open and be responsible for the new office. The job is to recruit the workforce and be responsible for them and the economy and keep the business running. I was asked if I wanted to be recommended for this job. After 5min of thinking I answered "Hell yes!". Being manager in China could be a real career booster. Also, could you imagine a Swedish salary in China? I could save a fortune every month. Sadly, the headhunter said "Fredrik seems to be a person who is on the right level for this kind of job. But, he lacks a background in textiles and this is vital for the job.". I felt bad for a few minutes and then I saw the bright sides. Someone believed in me and I am on the right level for that kind of job. So, it made me realize that I could imagine moving to China and start a career. Subsequently I started to apply for jobs and am awaiting answers. I do want a good career and I am aiming high, even higher now with my boost in confidence. This doesn't mean that I have decided to move, but I want to keep many doors open. I want to be able to provide my children with things like travelling and a house, something I wanted when I was a kid. Spending some time in China would make the career leap forward and I have time to catch up. However, I can do good stuff here as well.
We will see. No one knows what is waiting around the corner and for that we should be thankful.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
And a heavy arrival
It's not that I'm not glad to be back in Sweden, because I am glad. I am happy to meet my family and friends and I do spend lots of time with them. I am gradually adjusting myself to a life here in Sweden, but it seem to be a slow process. There are many things about China I miss to much. Going back wouldn't help, since what I miss are spread over Europe and not China. I can't listen to Shakira, Akon or Lady Gaga without feeling a bit sad but also happy. It makes me wanna be in Laowai tan having fun with my friends. Good times! I think this is because I have nothing special to do here for another 4 weeks. I know that I really need a vacation and take care of myself, but that is just not me. I need some kind of action, something to engage in. However, I must force myself to just relax. It's been some years since last vacation. Even if I had something to do I am not sure that Sweden is the place for me to be right now. After just one day in Sweden I started to wonder where to go next. I have some ideas, but I guess time will tell. Funny, while being in China I didn't miss much from home, but now when I am back I miss a lot from China.
I hope I will see my friends soon.
I am not complaining, I have a good life going on here. But over one year ago I knew exactly where I was going, but that changed over one day and maybe I am still facing the consequences. I think I do. My friend told me 2 weeks ago that I am lost, and I think that's a pretty good way of describing it. OK, I have done countless things the past times to secure my future, and the next 9 months will give me a solid foundation. I am not known to be patient, that's all. Again, I am not complaining, I am just explaining the situation to myself. Also, I was asked by several people how it feels to be back and what I have been doing.
As I wrote in an earlier post my friend was killed on an open street not far from my apartment. Soon after my arrival I visited the place of murder and it was a bit weird. 2 days later I attended his funeral and that was even more odd. Not saying good bye to Jori, but facing so many of my friends from the past. That was both good and tragic. If I think that I am lost, that is nothing compare to what most of them are right now. Some of them had just been released from prison and some was on probation from rehab. Yes, tragic. I think I was the only one with a collage education, except for Amir who has one year left in medical school. That made me really happy to hear.
The funeral was very personal and the church was overfilled with friends. Some even had to sit outside. Even the priest was a friend to us all, and he made the ceremony a bit joyful. One of the songs that was played during the funeral was Slippin' by DMX, and I have it in my head since.
I took a walk down The Avenue in the center of Göteborg a week ago. The big street was filled with tourists in the sunny weather. Even if there was more crowd than Ningbo, somehow it felt more calm and quiet. No one was looking and shouting at me(!). Wow, if felt good to be anonymous. I really do love this city during summer. Just hanging around at some cafe or taking a walk on the beautiful streets, breathing the atmosphere is a feeling. This is what I have been doing since I came back, and spending time with loved ones of course. Every evening since my arrival I had a drink with different friends. Good stuff, and right now I am waiting for one of my best friends Michael to show up. We will catch up the past 6 months. And to have a drink of course!
I hope I will see my friends soon.
I am not complaining, I have a good life going on here. But over one year ago I knew exactly where I was going, but that changed over one day and maybe I am still facing the consequences. I think I do. My friend told me 2 weeks ago that I am lost, and I think that's a pretty good way of describing it. OK, I have done countless things the past times to secure my future, and the next 9 months will give me a solid foundation. I am not known to be patient, that's all. Again, I am not complaining, I am just explaining the situation to myself. Also, I was asked by several people how it feels to be back and what I have been doing.
As I wrote in an earlier post my friend was killed on an open street not far from my apartment. Soon after my arrival I visited the place of murder and it was a bit weird. 2 days later I attended his funeral and that was even more odd. Not saying good bye to Jori, but facing so many of my friends from the past. That was both good and tragic. If I think that I am lost, that is nothing compare to what most of them are right now. Some of them had just been released from prison and some was on probation from rehab. Yes, tragic. I think I was the only one with a collage education, except for Amir who has one year left in medical school. That made me really happy to hear.
The funeral was very personal and the church was overfilled with friends. Some even had to sit outside. Even the priest was a friend to us all, and he made the ceremony a bit joyful. One of the songs that was played during the funeral was Slippin' by DMX, and I have it in my head since.
I took a walk down The Avenue in the center of Göteborg a week ago. The big street was filled with tourists in the sunny weather. Even if there was more crowd than Ningbo, somehow it felt more calm and quiet. No one was looking and shouting at me(!). Wow, if felt good to be anonymous. I really do love this city during summer. Just hanging around at some cafe or taking a walk on the beautiful streets, breathing the atmosphere is a feeling. This is what I have been doing since I came back, and spending time with loved ones of course. Every evening since my arrival I had a drink with different friends. Good stuff, and right now I am waiting for one of my best friends Michael to show up. We will catch up the past 6 months. And to have a drink of course!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Heavy departure
I don't think I could have asked for a better ending of my time in China. The last evening Senthil took Céline, Emilie and me to Shangri La, a hotel down town, to have the buffet. The food and wine was great, and so was the company. We had some laughs and I think we all enjoyed the evening. Afterwards, a bit to full, we took a walk down to The Londoner where we had a drink. Echo joined up later and it was nice to see the weird China-man before going home. I had to go home to pack the last of my belongings so we didn't stay to long. After saying good bye to everyone I was companioned for a chat and tea at my place. While talking about our memories in China it all felt so distant, and first then I realized it would all end. A bit sad, yes, but it felt like it was time to move forward as well. Saying good bye to everyone that evening was surprisingly easy. It felt like we will see each other soon enough anyway.
After a good bye hugs I had to continue packing with swift. I went to bed at 03:00 and my alarm clock woke me up one hour later, at 04.00. 50 minutes later I grabbed my bags and went looking for a taxi to take me to the McDonald's next to the bus station. This was the biggest mistake of that day. The coffee was great, but there was something fishy with the omelet, or maybe the chicken burger. Just a few minutes after my meal I felt ill. I had a 22 hour journey ahead of my and I was about to spend it being food poisoned. At this writing moment I am still not recovered. Maybe the stress had something to do with it. Not only the packing had been stressful, but also realizing that the time in China was over. Also the good byes took it's tolls of course, but I am about to come to the most stressful thing that day.
Just after arriving Shanghai I changed bus and headed for Pu dong airport, a one hour drive. At the check in desk they didn't say anything about the 2kg overweight of my check in luggage. However, I was told to remove 2kg from my hand luggage. I was only allowed to carry 12kg, and that includes accessories like my camera bag. I took my bag and went around the corner to KLM's information desk. I asked them if they could keep an eye of my 3kg laptop for 10 minutes. The pretty lady behind the desk refused but after putting on a smile and bribing her with some of my travel candy (thanks Helen!) she finally gave in. I returned to the check in with one laptop less in my hand luggage. OK, 11kg and my bag got a tag showing that it was approved to carry aboard. I went back to the help desk and reclaimed my laptop and put it in the bag. At the security check a guard stopped me and asked why I was carrying 2 bags. He pointed at my camera bag that the lady at the check in didn't notice earlier. I explained with poor Chinese that one small bag is also allowed. Then he placed both bags on a scale and the meter shower over 19kg. I was screwed. The guard told me to redo the luggage check and get a signature from the check in that confirms my bags are in order. What was I suppose to do now?
I felt a bit silly when I handed in my laptop a second time at the help desk. But what about my 5kg camera bag? It was stuffed with several things. At this point I was glad I saved a small camera bag I bought in Beijing. I moved the camera over to the small bag along with some other articles. I managed to hide the small bag from the lady in the check in while she checked the hand luggage and my big camera bag. "Everything seems to be in order", she said and gave me the signature. Once I got all my stuff together I went back the security guard who saluted me and asked for the paper. Still he was not satisfied, since my luggage was over 19kg also this time. After a minor argument he took a note about my passport number, flight number etc and let me go. He was to check it out later, I was told. To my enjoyment I made it all the way home with my luggage without a 100 Euro fee.
The flight went smooth but it was a minor hell feeling like I did, because of a bad stomach. Funny, I made it without any problems for 5 months in China and I become food poisoned the last day. Due to my condition I could not sleep for more than a few minutes every interval. It made me feel worse, and I had to force myself to eat anything on the plane.
I promised the day before that I would smoke my last cigarette in Amsterdam and be smoke free in Sweden. That cigarette tasted so bad that I could only smoke half of it. It almost made me vomit so I threw it. I know what you are thinking and no, I have not started to smoke. For the past weeks I have been smoking every day, but not even during my long flight I felt the need of nicotine. I just enjoyed the smokes in China and my last time there was all about pleasure. Stupid, people tells me. Yes, but I enjoyed it, and that is my rock solid defense.
I arrived Göteborg at 23:00 and my mother with man picked me up. They saved me some barbecue at home but unfortunately I could not eat that much. I crashed at their apartment that night. I only had 1 hour of sleep in 37 hours so I was beyond exhausted and sick. For some reason I could only sleep until 07:00, so that morning I had a long chat with my mother in the balcony, along with a black cup of coffee.
I planned to write about my first day back home, but now I realize that the post is already to long. I chose to stop here and continue after the weekend. Now I must try a few of my dark suites and find a black tie. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow morning...
After a good bye hugs I had to continue packing with swift. I went to bed at 03:00 and my alarm clock woke me up one hour later, at 04.00. 50 minutes later I grabbed my bags and went looking for a taxi to take me to the McDonald's next to the bus station. This was the biggest mistake of that day. The coffee was great, but there was something fishy with the omelet, or maybe the chicken burger. Just a few minutes after my meal I felt ill. I had a 22 hour journey ahead of my and I was about to spend it being food poisoned. At this writing moment I am still not recovered. Maybe the stress had something to do with it. Not only the packing had been stressful, but also realizing that the time in China was over. Also the good byes took it's tolls of course, but I am about to come to the most stressful thing that day.
Just after arriving Shanghai I changed bus and headed for Pu dong airport, a one hour drive. At the check in desk they didn't say anything about the 2kg overweight of my check in luggage. However, I was told to remove 2kg from my hand luggage. I was only allowed to carry 12kg, and that includes accessories like my camera bag. I took my bag and went around the corner to KLM's information desk. I asked them if they could keep an eye of my 3kg laptop for 10 minutes. The pretty lady behind the desk refused but after putting on a smile and bribing her with some of my travel candy (thanks Helen!) she finally gave in. I returned to the check in with one laptop less in my hand luggage. OK, 11kg and my bag got a tag showing that it was approved to carry aboard. I went back to the help desk and reclaimed my laptop and put it in the bag. At the security check a guard stopped me and asked why I was carrying 2 bags. He pointed at my camera bag that the lady at the check in didn't notice earlier. I explained with poor Chinese that one small bag is also allowed. Then he placed both bags on a scale and the meter shower over 19kg. I was screwed. The guard told me to redo the luggage check and get a signature from the check in that confirms my bags are in order. What was I suppose to do now?
I felt a bit silly when I handed in my laptop a second time at the help desk. But what about my 5kg camera bag? It was stuffed with several things. At this point I was glad I saved a small camera bag I bought in Beijing. I moved the camera over to the small bag along with some other articles. I managed to hide the small bag from the lady in the check in while she checked the hand luggage and my big camera bag. "Everything seems to be in order", she said and gave me the signature. Once I got all my stuff together I went back the security guard who saluted me and asked for the paper. Still he was not satisfied, since my luggage was over 19kg also this time. After a minor argument he took a note about my passport number, flight number etc and let me go. He was to check it out later, I was told. To my enjoyment I made it all the way home with my luggage without a 100 Euro fee.
The flight went smooth but it was a minor hell feeling like I did, because of a bad stomach. Funny, I made it without any problems for 5 months in China and I become food poisoned the last day. Due to my condition I could not sleep for more than a few minutes every interval. It made me feel worse, and I had to force myself to eat anything on the plane.
I promised the day before that I would smoke my last cigarette in Amsterdam and be smoke free in Sweden. That cigarette tasted so bad that I could only smoke half of it. It almost made me vomit so I threw it. I know what you are thinking and no, I have not started to smoke. For the past weeks I have been smoking every day, but not even during my long flight I felt the need of nicotine. I just enjoyed the smokes in China and my last time there was all about pleasure. Stupid, people tells me. Yes, but I enjoyed it, and that is my rock solid defense.
I arrived Göteborg at 23:00 and my mother with man picked me up. They saved me some barbecue at home but unfortunately I could not eat that much. I crashed at their apartment that night. I only had 1 hour of sleep in 37 hours so I was beyond exhausted and sick. For some reason I could only sleep until 07:00, so that morning I had a long chat with my mother in the balcony, along with a black cup of coffee.
I planned to write about my first day back home, but now I realize that the post is already to long. I chose to stop here and continue after the weekend. Now I must try a few of my dark suites and find a black tie. I have a funeral to attend tomorrow morning...
Thursday, July 15, 2010
A few days left
I have been quite productive the past week and it feels great. I managed to solve many problems and I also received some good news. That feels extra great because lots of things have been stressing my mind way over my limit the past weeks. I do need a vacation now and just take care of myself.
Where was I? Productive, yes! Seems like I have something to go back to in Sweden. How long I will stay I don't know. I figured that if I went to China I can go where ever I want, and I am a bit curious about France. We will see. Things can change really fast, and that has been proven to me several times the past weeks, for good and bad. I don't really know what to write in this post so I will just see where the words are taking me.
It's time to go home now. I will go to Shanghai early on Tuesday morning to fly home via Amsterdam. I will leave this country with split feelings. Sure, it will be nice to go home, but I'm sure I will miss China a lot. The thing that keeps me here right now is my friends, even if I unfortunately don't get along with all of them at the moment. Hopefully that changes before I leave, I still love them. However, they will leave as well, so there is no reason for me to stay because of that. Travelling inside Europe is simple so the distance should not be an excuse for not meeting again. Now it is time to get serious and move along. Time to stop playing and make some money. That is what I plan to do next. My time in China enhanced my opportunities for the future. I made more friends here than I could wish for and I plan to stay in touch with them. My dear friends really made my time in China the best time in my life so far. Also I made lots of connections, and I hope they will be beneficial for my upcoming plans. The Chinese people calls it GuanXi, relationships and personal network.
On Sunday I will have a dinner with one of my former students to discuss what we shall do next. Our plan is to do some kind of join venture when I am back in Europe. This will be very exciting for all of us I think. It's hard to find people in China that you really can trust while doing business so I think I am lucky. I don't know what will come out of this, but if I fail I have at least tried and learned something along the way. That is the story of my life so far and I believe that it can be time to enjoy the fruits of it in a near future.
I planned to write about my sisters visit and a song performance I did a few weeks ago, but I feel to tired so I will leave that for the weekend. Now it is time to relax with a coffee or a cold beer as only company on my balcony. Thanks for reading, more to come!
Where was I? Productive, yes! Seems like I have something to go back to in Sweden. How long I will stay I don't know. I figured that if I went to China I can go where ever I want, and I am a bit curious about France. We will see. Things can change really fast, and that has been proven to me several times the past weeks, for good and bad. I don't really know what to write in this post so I will just see where the words are taking me.
It's time to go home now. I will go to Shanghai early on Tuesday morning to fly home via Amsterdam. I will leave this country with split feelings. Sure, it will be nice to go home, but I'm sure I will miss China a lot. The thing that keeps me here right now is my friends, even if I unfortunately don't get along with all of them at the moment. Hopefully that changes before I leave, I still love them. However, they will leave as well, so there is no reason for me to stay because of that. Travelling inside Europe is simple so the distance should not be an excuse for not meeting again. Now it is time to get serious and move along. Time to stop playing and make some money. That is what I plan to do next. My time in China enhanced my opportunities for the future. I made more friends here than I could wish for and I plan to stay in touch with them. My dear friends really made my time in China the best time in my life so far. Also I made lots of connections, and I hope they will be beneficial for my upcoming plans. The Chinese people calls it GuanXi, relationships and personal network.
On Sunday I will have a dinner with one of my former students to discuss what we shall do next. Our plan is to do some kind of join venture when I am back in Europe. This will be very exciting for all of us I think. It's hard to find people in China that you really can trust while doing business so I think I am lucky. I don't know what will come out of this, but if I fail I have at least tried and learned something along the way. That is the story of my life so far and I believe that it can be time to enjoy the fruits of it in a near future.
I planned to write about my sisters visit and a song performance I did a few weeks ago, but I feel to tired so I will leave that for the weekend. Now it is time to relax with a coffee or a cold beer as only company on my balcony. Thanks for reading, more to come!
Friday, July 9, 2010
An update
I haven't updated the blog for some time now. I have been quite busy with many different activities. Mainly because my sister and a friend visited me for almost 3 weeks so I spent most time with them in Ningbo and we even went to Beijing for a few days.Other than that I have been busy with several activities such as studying for my last exams and I passed them all. I will write all about it later, but now I need to write some sad stuff off me.
Today, as yesterday and the day before, I feel very bad. The class along with many other international students went on a day trip to several locations. It was a very good day, but when I came home later that evening I read on Facebook that several friends wrote "rest in peace" on a friends wall, Jori's wall. A bad feeling rushed through my body. I tried to find out what happened but no one were online to respond my questions. I found out by reading the local newspaper on the Internet. Apparently there were a fight just 300 meters away from my apartment in Sweden, involving my friend and another man, both armed with knives. The fight resulted in the other man being severely injured and my friend was stabbed in his chest and his life could not be saved due to his injuries.
Even though I haven't seen him for a while I felt chocked and very sad, and I still am. It's quite hard to write now and keep tears away from my eyes.
Later that evening I planned to go out with friends for drinks and karaoke. After the news I wasn't in the mood for doing anything at all. A friend persuaded me from staying at home alone so I went out anyway. We had a really good time at first and it felt nice to have lots of laughs. At this point I was happy for letting me being persuaded. We ended up at the KTV for singing songs and it was fun at first. But after some time and a few beers later that changed. One of the music videos was about a knife fight that didn't end well, and while watching it I could feel the bad feeling to rush through my body once again, since it reminded me of what happened to Jori. I felt really sad but didn't really show it, I was silent. When I think I had to much I tried to seek some support with a friend. I really needed to talk to someone or just get some company. My friend gave me a very harsh respond and that surprised me and made me even more confused. While being emotional and a bit drunk I made things more complicated and instead of saying what really was on my mind about my dead friend I started to raise questions. This was received in the wrong way and we had an argument.
It is very easy to say "If you need a friend I will be there for you", but really being there is another thing it seems. I needed a friend at that time. Of course I understand the reaction, especially after the amount of alcohol my friend had been drinking. But then why can't people be more understanding about my behavior just a few hours after losing a friend in a knife fight?
To my friend Jori: I know we haven't spent time in some years but I still remember the time we had with a smile. I am writing this with tears in my eyes. Rest in peace my friend, I will always remember you.
Today, as yesterday and the day before, I feel very bad. The class along with many other international students went on a day trip to several locations. It was a very good day, but when I came home later that evening I read on Facebook that several friends wrote "rest in peace" on a friends wall, Jori's wall. A bad feeling rushed through my body. I tried to find out what happened but no one were online to respond my questions. I found out by reading the local newspaper on the Internet. Apparently there were a fight just 300 meters away from my apartment in Sweden, involving my friend and another man, both armed with knives. The fight resulted in the other man being severely injured and my friend was stabbed in his chest and his life could not be saved due to his injuries.
Even though I haven't seen him for a while I felt chocked and very sad, and I still am. It's quite hard to write now and keep tears away from my eyes.
Later that evening I planned to go out with friends for drinks and karaoke. After the news I wasn't in the mood for doing anything at all. A friend persuaded me from staying at home alone so I went out anyway. We had a really good time at first and it felt nice to have lots of laughs. At this point I was happy for letting me being persuaded. We ended up at the KTV for singing songs and it was fun at first. But after some time and a few beers later that changed. One of the music videos was about a knife fight that didn't end well, and while watching it I could feel the bad feeling to rush through my body once again, since it reminded me of what happened to Jori. I felt really sad but didn't really show it, I was silent. When I think I had to much I tried to seek some support with a friend. I really needed to talk to someone or just get some company. My friend gave me a very harsh respond and that surprised me and made me even more confused. While being emotional and a bit drunk I made things more complicated and instead of saying what really was on my mind about my dead friend I started to raise questions. This was received in the wrong way and we had an argument.
It is very easy to say "If you need a friend I will be there for you", but really being there is another thing it seems. I needed a friend at that time. Of course I understand the reaction, especially after the amount of alcohol my friend had been drinking. But then why can't people be more understanding about my behavior just a few hours after losing a friend in a knife fight?
To my friend Jori: I know we haven't spent time in some years but I still remember the time we had with a smile. I am writing this with tears in my eyes. Rest in peace my friend, I will always remember you.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Birthday dinner
My birthday was only 2 weeks ago, but I've been quite active since so it feels so long ago. For example I went to a camping trip with Céline, Emilie, Viyaleta, Marizol and Isis to Putuo shan. We came back last Monday and we had a great time. We set up our tents on one of the beautiful beaches of the island and stayed there for 3 days. The weather was perfect and so was the company. To our surprise Céline and Emilie only got half a tent when they bought it so we shared mine. It was a bit tight and I think the girls wished for less snoring from me. When the tidal water set in our tents were located only 10m from the ocean, and I must say it was magic to fall asleep to the mighty sound of heavy waves. During the night the waves were glowing like neon and gold because of the plankton. Beautiful! In the morning we woke up at 08:00 AM with sunny weather and to the sound which took us to sleep. It was nice to leave the tent and walk right into the ocean for a swim. This was not supposed to be the main story of this post so I will move on. I just had to mention it while it's still fresh. I posted pictures from the trip on Picasaweb along with a few other albums. Please have a look.
Pictures of the camping trip to Putuo shan (普陀山)
My albums at Picasaweb
As i wrote in the previous post I was surprised by my closest friend on my birthday. The next day we went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. A few days earlier I sent out invitations on Facebook and via SMS to friends in Ningbo. 18 people responded positively to the invitation and to my joy 18 people showed up. It was a mix of foreigners and Chinese friends.
The restaurant is one of my favorite places in this city which I have visited once before. They offer a buffé for 98 Yuan and it is just delicious. Besides the dishes around the buffé table, very frequently a waiter comes out from the kitchen with barbecued meat on a sword or a stick. If you allow it he slices a piece of the meat and puts it on your plate. Every time he shows up he brings a new kind of meat from moo moo, oink oink and baa baa. Even chicken rolled in bacon...mmm, even better than it sounds. For 168 Yuan open bar is included in the buffé, but I chose not to. I really did not want to get to drunk and now I am happy I didn't.
For my Chinese friends I think this event was especially pleasant. They have probably never eaten so much meat before. Kevin misunderstood and put everything on the plate at the same time, even the food from the desert buffé. I wonder how the mix of vanilla yogurt, cake, fish and mashed potatoes tasted like.
I spend the whole Friday stressing around down town doing preparations before the dinner. Everyone, including me was a bit late for the reservation and it didn't really make me less calm. I did now show it though. I really tried to be a good host, but when I finally sat down it was hard to stand up due to tiredness. Therefor I did not greet every new arrived guest in the correct way. Anyway I improved during the evening and tried to have a chat with everyone around the table. As the Chinese tradition I went around the table, cheering and had a drink with every one, one by one. A nice tradition, but I did only drink small zips every cheer.
Angela brought me "a humble gift" as she put it. It was a beautiful Chinese fan which she painted her wishes on with Chinese characters. Kevin gave me a small wooden turtle with the Zodiac. The turtle symbolizes long and healthy life, and by giving me this gift he shows that he wishes me this. I think I have written about Paypay before, my Chinese friend. He is a extremely talented photographer and I am learning a lot from his works. His gift was a bunch of pictures, samples of his best works. It may seem silly if you don't understand the Chinese customs and culture, but this is really a precious gift and it means lots to me. Also he gave me a 3D puzzle of an old Chinese building. I will put it together when I find the time. Benson could not attend the dinner due to a business trip, but he prepared a special gift to me earlier that Armin delivered to the happening. It was a wooded 'doll' that you uses for drawings of humans, painted as Bruce Lee. When I turned it up side down I found a painted portrait of me. This was a thing that pushed me over the edge to become a bit emotional, but I did not show it. My friends brought me so personal gift and of course it's impossible not to be moved. I hope they could see my appreciation.
After the dinner we moved down to Lao waitan for drinking and dancing. I had a pain on my right side of the chest that reminded me of the lung problem so when people asked me to dance I had to refuse. They told me I had to dance on my birthday and it was hard to come up with an excuse. I kept it a secret to everyone except Armin because I didn't want to worry anyone. We were there to have fun.
We were all a bit tired and the parties in Ningbo starts at 24:00, so the bar was a bit empty. Moving on to a dance club, spending the night in the bar chatting with friends. I had a really nice time filled with excitement. One by one people started to drop off and return home, a bit early but they were tired. When I shared a taxi home with Céline and Kevin, Fredrik were still dancing salsa with Ruru in an ally.
All in all the Friday evening was great with a perfect ending.
Posting a few pictures from the Thursday and Friday, taken by Vincent and Armin.
Showing off with the watch
Cheering with Viyaleta
Boris and a piece of moo moo
My reaction when I opened Bensons present
Showing the portrait
Céline with my present from Angela
Emilie with the Zodiac turtle
Emilie and Vincent
Ruru and Fredrik
Pictures of the camping trip to Putuo shan (普陀山)
My albums at Picasaweb
As i wrote in the previous post I was surprised by my closest friend on my birthday. The next day we went to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner. A few days earlier I sent out invitations on Facebook and via SMS to friends in Ningbo. 18 people responded positively to the invitation and to my joy 18 people showed up. It was a mix of foreigners and Chinese friends.
The restaurant is one of my favorite places in this city which I have visited once before. They offer a buffé for 98 Yuan and it is just delicious. Besides the dishes around the buffé table, very frequently a waiter comes out from the kitchen with barbecued meat on a sword or a stick. If you allow it he slices a piece of the meat and puts it on your plate. Every time he shows up he brings a new kind of meat from moo moo, oink oink and baa baa. Even chicken rolled in bacon...mmm, even better than it sounds. For 168 Yuan open bar is included in the buffé, but I chose not to. I really did not want to get to drunk and now I am happy I didn't.
For my Chinese friends I think this event was especially pleasant. They have probably never eaten so much meat before. Kevin misunderstood and put everything on the plate at the same time, even the food from the desert buffé. I wonder how the mix of vanilla yogurt, cake, fish and mashed potatoes tasted like.
I spend the whole Friday stressing around down town doing preparations before the dinner. Everyone, including me was a bit late for the reservation and it didn't really make me less calm. I did now show it though. I really tried to be a good host, but when I finally sat down it was hard to stand up due to tiredness. Therefor I did not greet every new arrived guest in the correct way. Anyway I improved during the evening and tried to have a chat with everyone around the table. As the Chinese tradition I went around the table, cheering and had a drink with every one, one by one. A nice tradition, but I did only drink small zips every cheer.
Angela brought me "a humble gift" as she put it. It was a beautiful Chinese fan which she painted her wishes on with Chinese characters. Kevin gave me a small wooden turtle with the Zodiac. The turtle symbolizes long and healthy life, and by giving me this gift he shows that he wishes me this. I think I have written about Paypay before, my Chinese friend. He is a extremely talented photographer and I am learning a lot from his works. His gift was a bunch of pictures, samples of his best works. It may seem silly if you don't understand the Chinese customs and culture, but this is really a precious gift and it means lots to me. Also he gave me a 3D puzzle of an old Chinese building. I will put it together when I find the time. Benson could not attend the dinner due to a business trip, but he prepared a special gift to me earlier that Armin delivered to the happening. It was a wooded 'doll' that you uses for drawings of humans, painted as Bruce Lee. When I turned it up side down I found a painted portrait of me. This was a thing that pushed me over the edge to become a bit emotional, but I did not show it. My friends brought me so personal gift and of course it's impossible not to be moved. I hope they could see my appreciation.
After the dinner we moved down to Lao waitan for drinking and dancing. I had a pain on my right side of the chest that reminded me of the lung problem so when people asked me to dance I had to refuse. They told me I had to dance on my birthday and it was hard to come up with an excuse. I kept it a secret to everyone except Armin because I didn't want to worry anyone. We were there to have fun.
We were all a bit tired and the parties in Ningbo starts at 24:00, so the bar was a bit empty. Moving on to a dance club, spending the night in the bar chatting with friends. I had a really nice time filled with excitement. One by one people started to drop off and return home, a bit early but they were tired. When I shared a taxi home with Céline and Kevin, Fredrik were still dancing salsa with Ruru in an ally.
All in all the Friday evening was great with a perfect ending.
Posting a few pictures from the Thursday and Friday, taken by Vincent and Armin.
Being surprised by Céline, Emilie, Armin and Vincent on my birthday at Starbucks
Showing off with the watch
Cheering with Viyaleta
Boris and a piece of moo moo
My reaction when I opened Bensons present
Showing the portrait
Céline with my present from Angela
Emilie with the Zodiac turtle
Emilie and Vincent
Ruru and Fredrik
Monday, June 7, 2010
Suplise!
Tired and late for class. This is how my Thursday started. Still I decided to start the day slowly so I took my time getting ready to face the sunlight. I arrived in the classroom more than 10 minutes late. To my big surprise I was met by smiles and applauses. "What have I've done?", I was thinking, but when my dear class started to sing Happy birthday in Chinese it came back to me: It was my birthday. With a smile on my face I took a seat and enjoyed the singing. It turned out they had practiced the song in Chinese before I arrived at class. I felt surprised, happy and appreciated.
After class my friends joined me for lunch at a restaurant of my choice and it was my job to order the dishes. I tried to order to satisfy everyone around the table but failed. The restaurant is specialized in spicy food and the French girls are not so fund about hot spices. Anyway we enjoyed nice company during the meal. Time for coffee and we moved out business to a cafe near by. This was especially nice, because normally only Armin and I drink coffee after lunch. We played a game of "Fia" and once again I totally dominated the board game! OK maybe not dominated but I left the cafe with another win in my record.
After class my friends joined me for lunch at a restaurant of my choice and it was my job to order the dishes. I tried to order to satisfy everyone around the table but failed. The restaurant is specialized in spicy food and the French girls are not so fund about hot spices. Anyway we enjoyed nice company during the meal. Time for coffee and we moved out business to a cafe near by. This was especially nice, because normally only Armin and I drink coffee after lunch. We played a game of "Fia" and once again I totally dominated the board game! OK maybe not dominated but I left the cafe with another win in my record.
Pleased with my friends attention this day I took a taxi to the center of Ningbo for shopping before my teaching class later that evening. My plan was to buy for new clothes for the dinner Friday night. I've booked a table at a Brazilian restaurant to celebrate my birthday and to have a good time with my friends, and for this event I needed a new outfit. I did not find anything to buy that afternoon, but I received a present from a friend who is manager of a store down town, a new belt. This was very welcome because I wanted to buy a new one for some time.
For a few weeks I wanted to buy a new wrist watch and I found just the one I want. Two weeks earlier Emilie and Armin helped me pick a watch I really like but I wasn't sure I could spend the money so I decided to wait. This Thursday I went back to the store to see the watch again and my opinion had not changed, this was the watch for me. I checked the watch for a few minutes but asked the owner to keep it for me for a few more days, until Sunday at the latest. It is not that often a man buys a new watch so I wanted another opinion and maybe some help with the bargain. It was now time for me to head towards work. The office is located 15min of walk away from the city center. I put on Daniel Merriweather in my earphones and started to cruise the avenue in the sunlight. Even though it was rush hour in this huge city and everyone was looking at the foreigner, I felt swallowed by the music and atmosphere and had a nice feeling of being alone for a moment.
My class turned out great and everyone was happy with the evenings agenda. Armin called me during the break. He told me that he and Benson was shopping down town and wanted me to join them for a beer after my class. Not a bad idea, even though I was a bit tired. Benson, who is Chinese, could help me bargain for the watch. We decided to meet at the big Starbucks after my work and one of my students offered me a ride which I accepted.
At Starbucks I found Armin to be alone. Benson left to see a friend so no watch for me. Armin suggested that we should have a quick coffee and then head down to Lao Waitan for beers. This made me a bit worried because I talked with Céline the day before about doing something back at campus. We ordered coffee and when I asked Armin about the others he told me that they are back at campus doing nothing and he looked a bit nervous. I became a bit suspicious and Armin looked over my shoulder. I turned around and to my big surprise I see Céline, Emilie and Vincent walking down the stairs from the second floor, carrying a cake with burning candles singing Happy birthday! I was stunned and it was to impossible to hide my joy. After blowing out the candles I hugged them all, obviously happy, and they handed me a present. We went upstairs, sat down and cut the cake. I was extremely curious about the present and was ordered to open it.
I could not believe my eyes! They bought the watch! Just one hour after I left the store they arrived to buy it. A perfect gift, because apparently I really wanted that watch. They, along with Helen, Charles, Viyaleta and Fredrik, have truncated money to buy the watch for me.
I could not believe my eyes! They bought the watch! Just one hour after I left the store they arrived to buy it. A perfect gift, because apparently I really wanted that watch. They, along with Helen, Charles, Viyaleta and Fredrik, have truncated money to buy the watch for me.
We ate the delicious cake and I felt surprised, chocked and mostly appreciated. This was a great ending of a great birthday! I went to bed that night with a big smile on my face and I am not sure that I ever felt so appreciated. I am grateful for my wonderful friends who paid lots of effort to show it to me!
I will soon update the post with more info about the dinner party we had last Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
