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ScoutB
Jun 14, 2011 16:49:53 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 14, 2011 16:49:53 GMT -5
I'll be here at least another week, but things are not on schedule here so I may have to stay longer.
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ScoutB
Jun 14, 2011 19:31:24 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 14, 2011 19:31:24 GMT -5
That sucks
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ScoutB
Jun 15, 2011 7:21:26 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 15, 2011 7:21:26 GMT -5
These are the mountains I mentioned before, if you can see them past the power plant. The only days the smog clears is when I'm stuck at the plant it seems. I've been out and about a couple of days out in the countryside but can't see the mountains then.
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ScoutB
Jun 18, 2011 9:19:41 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 18, 2011 9:19:41 GMT -5
Sooooo, it's Saturday night in Longkou and me and the rest of the boys from Michigan went out lookin' for trouble. Dressed in wife-beaters and redneck toupees we went to the hotel across the street where they have pool tables and ping pong in the basement. Things got pretty loose and loud after a half-dozen Chinese beers and a couple Baileys on the rocks. I kicked a locals a$$ at some ping pong and we had the whole place laughing watching us play pool. I'm not sure if we helped any with US-China relations but we sure did have a blast. The locals will have something to talk about for a while anyway. We've worked at least 10 hours every day since we've been here. It felt good to blow off a little steam.
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ScoutB
Jun 19, 2011 15:35:48 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 19, 2011 15:35:48 GMT -5
I wish you had video of you beating a Chinease guy in ping pong, that's something you don't see everyday.
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ScoutB
Jun 21, 2011 11:27:19 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 21, 2011 11:27:19 GMT -5
Still playing ping pong and eating with sticks?
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ScoutB
Jun 21, 2011 11:46:47 GMT -5
Post by Fobbitcrusher on Jun 21, 2011 11:46:47 GMT -5
I wish you had video of you beating a Chinease guy in ping pong, that's something you don't see everyday. I was thinkin the same thing!
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ScoutB
Jun 21, 2011 12:02:13 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 21, 2011 12:02:13 GMT -5
You know those Dos Equis Mexican beer commercials, the ones with "The most interesting man alive"? It's really ScoutB ;D
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ScoutB
Jun 22, 2011 8:57:03 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 22, 2011 8:57:03 GMT -5
I wish you had video of you beating a Chinease guy in ping pong, that's something you don't see everyday. I was thinkin the same thing! What I lack in speed and agilitiy I make up for with twice the reach. You shoulda seen his face when I'd pick one off the carpet and send it back.
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ScoutB
Jun 22, 2011 8:59:58 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 22, 2011 8:59:58 GMT -5
Still playing ping pong and eating with sticks? Spaghetti for lunch today - with chopsticks. I went through a lot of napkins.
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ScoutB
Jun 22, 2011 10:33:58 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 22, 2011 10:33:58 GMT -5
Still playing ping pong and eating with sticks? Spaghetti for lunch today - with chopsticks. I went through a lot of napkins. ;D
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ScoutB
Jun 24, 2011 8:22:27 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 24, 2011 8:22:27 GMT -5
The long journey home has begun. I flew today from Yantai to Shanghai where I will spend the night, then it's off to Grand Rapids by way of Detroit tomorrow. My flight today was delayed for hours because of bad weather in Shanghai. You know you're screwed when they start serving you food when you're still at the gate. Between driving and flying the total travel time today should have been about 3 hours but turned into 7. My flight to DTW is already delayed 2 1/2 hours tomorrow - don't know why. I stopped in at the plant this morning to wrap things up and found a few of the workers wearing unusual teeshirts. I motioned to one of them that I liked his shirt and held up my camera to indicate that I would like a photo. He misunderstood, of course, and thought I wanted a photo with him. I ran with it and handed my camera to one of his buddies and here is the result: Zoomed in on his shirt: I'm not sure he ever understood why I wanted his photo and I don't think he understood what was on his shirt but the reference is obviously to the Osama Bin Laden raid. I thought it was quite curious that the event was celebrated even in a remote city in China.
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ScoutB
Jun 24, 2011 12:17:47 GMT -5
Post by SPLASH on Jun 24, 2011 12:17:47 GMT -5
So some Chinese like us and our Militarty? Interesting.
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ScoutB
Jun 27, 2011 2:12:02 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 27, 2011 2:12:02 GMT -5
There were 3 guys wearing the exact same shirt. The more I think about it the more I believe these were Chinese-made shirts destined for the US market. They may have had defects and were dumped in China. That would explain how 3 common laborers were wearing shirts they didn't understand and probably couldn't afford to purchase from a tourist trap.
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ScoutB
Jun 27, 2011 2:44:24 GMT -5
Post by ScoutB on Jun 27, 2011 2:44:24 GMT -5
I'm home now. After a 7 1/2 hour delay in Shanghai, missed connection in Detroit, and begging my way on to the last flight into Grand Rapids, I rolled in at midnight Saturday after 28 hours of torture. Now it's 3:30 in the morning and I'm wide awake. Gotta love the jet lag. I love to travel and see how the rest of the world lives. It always makes me grateful for what we have here. Things we take for granted: - The food we eat won't make us sick.
- The bathroom will have a flush toilet, not a hole in the floor that hasn't been cleaned out for a few days.
- The bathroom will have hot and cold running water in the sink with soap and towels.
- The people around us practice some measure of personal hygene and respect our personal space.
- The hotel bed will be comfortable enough to sleep through the night.
- The hotel staff cares if the shower drain is plugged and floods the entire bathroom floor every day.
- There is more than one beer to choose from. ;D
I'm sure I missed a few, but you get the idea. This is not the first county I've been to where you have to plan your day around using the toilet in your hotel room to avoid that nasty public bathroom. I'm physically not able to squat flat-footed like the natives and I'm afraid I'd fall backwards in the hole.
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