GZ Expat, Part II

The Barely Living Store

Anyone who has a long history in GZ will recognize the title...or at the very least, the real name:  The Daily Living Store.  Or, the full length name; Foreign Establishments & Personal Services Company...that is just a long and fancy way of saying, we are owned by the PLA, please fork over your $$ for a dented can of beans.

Our first full day in Guangzhou, I headed off to work and GZ Tai-Tai decided to head out on foot to see what she could see.  One of the 'must sees' on the list of new tai-tais was the Daily Living Store.  Tai-Tai crossed the road between the Garden Hotel and the store...taking her and FlyRice's life into thier own hands to cross the maze of bicycles, motorbikes, buses and taxis.  Once across and into the store, as Tai-Tai relates it to me, she nearly burst into tears. 

A solitary lamp burning in the center of several dirty, sparsely stocked shelves containing cans of beans, some laundry soap and out of date boxes of cereal.  This was what she risked her life crossing the road for.  It was a humbling moment in our learning adventure as an expat in GZ.

As I mentioned, the store was run by the PLA.  Everything in the store was humped across the border from Hong Kong and we were charged a premium for all of it.  Prices were in HK Dollars and US Dollars...RMB was frowned upon when trying to pay.  Most of the items on the shelves were out of date...and ALL of the cans of whatever veggies, fruits or beans were available, were dented...always.

And they had a dairy case...this was a refrigerator with a glass front that was probably 1/2 the size of the fridge we had at home.  It had Kraft slices and Baby Bel cheeses...and a handful of yogurts. 

A routine visit to the store would set you back a couple hundred bucks (USD) and you would walk out with two plastic carry bags and a case of UHT Milk.  We purchased our first thanksgiving turkey here...a 12 lb Norbest turkey for slightly over $100. 

As the years went on, the Daily Living Store's usefulness began to run out as China signed on to WTO and Hong Kong began to become more and more open for the citizens of southern China.  We had more and more stores in town that would import products and could be sold (although confiscatory still) at a cheaper price than the army was willing to offer.  And, as time went along, those expiration dates on products became more and more inline with the actual date on the calendar...and then actually falling into the future.

Today, the store is long gone.  A victim of the rampant capitalism that is China.  More competition and a more of a demand for cheap fashion clothing has driven the space into small apparel shops along the road.  But the sign remains.

It will always be known as the Barely Living Store to us...and although we helped finance the PLA for a few years and hated shopping there...they did serve a purpose and that old sign reminds us of the past days in this city, when it was so much different than today.

Hungry Anyone?

Photo of a restaurant outside Expat Son's school.  On the front of many restaurants, they post pictures of what they specialties of the house are.  Often times, this can be confused with a pet store.

Be sure to check out the upper left hand picture (click the picture for full size).

Your Cooperation Is Appreciated

Located just outside the building where one of our favorite restaurants is located, is this little covered area in the courtyard of the building.  Which, by the way, wreaks of urine.

I'm thinking in Chinese, this sign says,  'Go ahead, take a leak here.  Nobody will care.'

Chinglish Signs

I really should take more pictures of these things.  I run into them all the time, but am always on the move and not thinking about getting a picture of it.

The warning on the toilets in the GZ-HK through train are kinda scary.  As Expat Son puts it, 'so, when you open the door, is there a hand that comes out and 'nips' at you?' 

I don't know, son...I'm still trying to figure out what 'stabling' is.

Plan for the Apocolypse...

Walking through the Home Mart mall in GZ this weekend, we happened across one of those archetectural models of the city.  You know the kind...the little trees and little buildings of the latest creation in someones mind of what a city should look like.  What we had found was the plans for the Zhujiang New City...the city within the city of GZ, south of Tianhe and the location of the most modern buildings in the entire city. 

As we walked up to this model, the first thing out of my mouth was, 'Oh, this must be a model of the city after the earthquake.  Good planning.'

What's 'The Real Thing'?

It's customary here for the vendor to provide beverages for the customers in most factory settings.  Usually your first visit to a factory is begun with a bit of tea around a table while you discuss the business or factory.  As the relationship solidifies, the vendor usually will be sure to have a fridge stocked with water, sodas and maybe even beer (if you are a good customer).

I've had my run in with counterfeits during my time here, but I have always been able to rely on the Coke in the office to be the proper quality.  Suffice it to say, when you do open a can and its not that flavor you were expecting...oh, it sort of tastes like Coke, but not really...it can be a shock to the system. 

After grabbing a can from the fridge and popping it open and taking that first gulp and getting what tasted like the inside of the can...it was a shock.  I then checked out the label of the can to see if I could tell the difference...

Can you?  Which can is The Real Thing...and which isn't

The answer in a future post...

Hello Blog

It has been so long.  Call it writers block...call it intimidation...whatever it might be, I just have been avoiding this post screen for a while.  Not sure why.  Perhaps its been the time it takes to actually sit down and transfer some thoughts to the keyboard...perhaps its been laziness.  Whatever its been...I really want to try and bring this blog back to life. 

I have been busy with work...isn't everyone.  The current economy situation sort of hit us all between the eyes and work has been a scramble to adjust to the times and ensure we are set up to do the right things going forward.  Budgets have been cut (at least at work...doesn't seem to be the same thought process with government, though), travel has been slashed...but life goes on. 

Yeah, I've sort of fallen off the blogoshpere.  I do read loads of blogs and news and, of course, all the latest on the Canucks (which has been brutal as of late) and I try and pop in and comment on blogs now and then.  Of course, there is Twitter...I seem to have been pretty active there, cuz I can just shoot my mouth off and hide for a while. 

We hosted our daughter during Christmas and did the traditional trip to Hong Kong to visit Santa, watch the Nutcracker and dine of excessively priced food and drinks.  We took a day trip to Macau to enjoy the city and, again, dine on the best Portuguese food outside of Portugal.  Last month, we escaped GZ during the cold and rainy days of Chinese new year and enjoyed the heat and sun of Thailand.  I hope to bang out a couple posts regarding our trip...and to try and get some more posts in on our expat exploits in GZ. 

Then of course, there is the news...we read everyday about companies cutting back and we've experienced the best of friends being effected by cut-backs, while not using the word 'lay-off' (for it might scare away the share holders) and the concern lies in the back of our minds.  During those times, I cannot help but think of our 10 years here in GZ.  Yeah...10 years (two 5 year stints) are coming up this May.  The memories start flooding back about the people and the city and how much its all changed.

And so...let's try and make this a new beginning of this blog.  Since the last time I seriously posted something, Typepad has upgraded the post screen and many of the features they have in their software.  Maybe its time to start exploring these things and perhaps a re-design as well.

So...Hello, Blog...it's been a while since we have spent time together.

Yeesh

I have a blog post all written up about the final leg of our summer holiday, Singapore.  But, when I copied it over to Typepad, the formatting was so messed up, I just didn't even want to go and look at it again.  I will...but give it some time. 

Yeah, blogging has been weak, at best.  Been busy with various activities, work, catching up on football and getting excited about hockey season again.  So, there you have it...my life. 

As part of that football catch-up routine...I give you this 'highlite' of an unbelievable hit on Cal's Jahrvid Best.  Be sure to watch the entire video...as Best really demonstrated how hard that hit really was....

There's a Cockroach in my Office!

Yesterday, while preparing to leave the office, I had tucked everything away and shut out the lights.  As I reached the door, a couple of my colleagues met me at the door and we began to chat...then, I looked under my desk and saw him. 

The little guy was about 1.5 inches and suffice to say, I don't like cockroaches.  Dirty, yucky...ewww.  So, what does a guy do when he sees a cockroach scurrying across the floor in his office?  Step on him?  C'mon...that's not very sporting, is it?  Go ask the office 'aiyee' to sweep him up?  He'd be gone by the time she got around to it.  No...there is only one thing to do...grab your signature Markus Naslund hockey stick and put on a little stick work display for the office staff.

He ran under a plant that I had in the corner, so, the face-off ensued.  Whilst my colleague pulled back the planter, I stood at the ready to pull that bugger behind me to the nearest teammate...the wall.  After bouncing off the wall, dazed, I stick handled him out into the corridor.  The carpet was difficult to get a good handle on it, but I was up for the task.  A couple quick shots into my office wall...and he was on his back, begging for mercy.  Not so fast.

One of my workmates doesn't like cockroaches more than I and sought refuge in a neighboring office.  Just as he was closing the door, I launched a wicked 7 foot wrist shot that bounced off the closing door jam...and all were impressed.

Finally, they couldn't take it any longer...put him out of his misery, they chanted.  So, with a quick back hand and then 3 successive wrist shots to the wall from about 1 foot...he was legs up groggy.  No Mas!

A quick scoop and into the trash he went. 

And thus, you have a day in the life of a GZ expat.

The Weather is Frightful

Oh man...the weather the past couple of days has been brutal.  Here is what we woke up to this morning...

Just a couple short weeks until holiday where we head to locations hotter and more humid...but with clean air, a wet pool and cold beer.