Anyone with Beijing experience?

Madmiles442 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 04:33 PM

It appears I may be a front-runner for a position in Beijing for the next two years. Does anyone have experience living there? Just wondering what daily life is really like. (yea, I know, lots of duck and rice....)

392cobra · #2 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 04:34 PM

Real bad air and no freedom.

392cobra · #3 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 04:40 PM

Miles,
James Baldwin has a lot of experience working in China.

fastraxsg · #4 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 08:00 PM

No cobras but lottsa Buicks and Jeeps, hot, dusty and dry in the summer, city is becoming more modern by the day as the old parts get torn down and new sterile replaces it. Lot of cheap places to eat if you spent the time to sus them out. Great place if you want to see and learn history of the middle kingdom first hand. Be prepared for learning to have patience in all you do and with everyone you work with. Learn and study what it means to "save face and give face" (no, not being gross). It can be a lot of fun if you go in with the right attitude. Being an ugly American will insure you have a miserable two years. If you have family, get them excited about the adventure of learning about a new culture, new life style and new language, and by all means try to wrangle a deal that covers taking them with you and international school fees for your kids and a good medical plan.

VRM · #5 (**permalink**) 04-03-2009, 08:39 AM

I spent 6 months, but I was all over the country.

The Chinese take things literally, and that can take some getting used to if you are not prepared for it:

We called down to the front desk to get messages (we were expecting our translator to call) and we were told that we had no messages. We were pretty sure that we did so we kept asking. We finally asked if they had any messages for us, and they said yes. After getting the messages we asked if they had any messages for us and they said no - we also asked if we had any messages and they said yes.

Learn how to say a couple of your favourite foods in the local lingo. Beer and shrimp are pei-chyu and see-yah. Sprite/7up is shep-pei.

There is a difference between seafood and riverfood.

Beijing duck is fantastic - we went to a place that was just around the corner from the Forbidden City that was one of the oldest restaurants in the country. Expect to eat some strange (to a Westerner) things. Try the duck brains cooked in garlic - outstanding. Mah-poh tofu is also fantastic especially when the pork is fresh, but I think it is a more southern dish.

Carry something that has the Chinese address of where you are staying. You will always be able to get a taxi

The Chinese also do not elevate the importance of the individual above the group like we do. Everything that is done is for the good of the state/whole. This is a very important difference to understand, as it is key to a lot of other principles that their society also works on. We use the term agreeing to disagree - sometimes something like this can be seen as a failure, and a personal failure affects the group. Saving and giving face is hugely important, as Fastrax said. They tend to be pretty honest.

Tianamen Square, Tibet, and Taiwan can be touchy subjects, and do not joke about Chairman Mao, or any current leaders.

If you or any members of your family are blond you will have a lot of people wanting to touch your hair.

Chinese tend to not be very fond of Japan - you may get some very pointed questions about why we fought Japan with China, but why we are friends with them now.

Bring lots of deoderant - it is tough to find in Beijing and almost impossible outside of Beijing. The Chinese don't really sweat, and they don't use the stuff. It can be very hot and muggy, especially during typhoon season. Clothes in American sizes can also be tough to find.

Don't worry so much about lines - people will cut in front of you and fight their way to the front. You will need to do the same unless you want to wait in 'line' forever.

I hope that helps - there is a LOT of change that you will be dealing with - and a lot of it will give you some really funny stories to tell when you get back.

Steve

fastraxsg · #6 (**permalink**) 04-03-2009, 09:00 AM

An open mind and a great sense of humor go a long way. Packaging and signs in attempted English are a lot of fun to collect but don't make fun of the out loud unless you are fluent in Mandarin. Easiest way to get back to your hotel is to pick up a hotel business card at the lobby desk, most hotels have them but make sure it is in English on one side and Chinese with a little map on the other side. If you have young kids, they will get their cheeks pinched as a sign of "wow, so cute". One of my daughters still can't stand having her Chinese relatives do that to her and her sister takes it all in stride. If you get to go, at the end of the time, you will look back and either have loved it or hated it, depends on how you go into it from day one...I've lived overseas since 1972 and its a gas 95% of the time. I wouldn't change it but when I get home to Ohio, it makes me appreciate the good 'ol USA even more. We always have choices and alot of folks around the world never get that. I'm one proud American but I've learned to temper my attitude and go with the flow and life sure is fun....and a Cobra in the garage makes it even better.

Joe Wicked · #7 (**permalink**) 04-03-2009, 10:08 AM

Go for it Miles. I'll take care of the Cobra for you.

Madmiles442 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-05-2009, 08:31 AM

Awesome, guys, super great info!
I've heard that about the "saving face" and I'm pretty good about that already, but knowing that helps.
Looking forward to the crazy foods, I'll try anything once, some things twice.
Haven't heard that about the deodorant, so I'll stock up.
It's just me going. Still not sure if I'm going to take my dogs or not, depends on the actual length of the stay. May be closer to 15 months.
Joe, I've had so many offers to watch after Annie, that's one thing I know will be taken care of. Hey, if I leave behind some parts (valve covers, speedo, etc) that I haven't got around to installing yet, somehow they'll magically appear....

fastraxsg · #9 (**permalink**) 04-05-2009, 09:14 AM

Some thoughts about taking animals overseas...they get shipped in the cargo hold, its not as comfy down there as they lead you to believe. Long flights mean no one attends to them....baggage handlers aren't always pet friendly, check local quarintine laws before you decide....and if they have that, you need to pay kennel fees, sometimes provide your own food, and it could be a long ways away from where you are. If your pet normally does their business outside, it can be very tramatic for them to be in a cage for a long time, and their bladder. I've shipped dogs from Ohio to Singapore, and from Singapore to Indonesia. Its no fun for them and sometimes they become really afraid of being in a cage. Ask about local vets...remember, some parts of China eat dogs...I had workers come into our house in Singapore a long time ago and ask me if we were raising our mutt for food...we kept her in the house after that. Need to ask about shots and such too for the animal prior to sending...if your animal is like a member of the family, you may want to leave it home for its safety and well-being. If you were going for a couple of years, then you take the family. We have adopted 8 dogs and 7 cats at the moment plus 6 turtles and heaps of fish. A lot of families get animals locally while overseas then find out they can't or don't want to take them back to the US. Not trying to replace yours but there are lottsa animals that get abandoned each and every day that need a home....also need find a babysitter/pet sitter each time you have to travel.

VRM · #10 (**permalink**) 04-05-2009, 11:48 AM

Pets are against the law in some places as well. I was in Nanjing and we went to a zoo - they had cats as one of the exhibits! Most people had never seen cats as they were against the law to own. Sanitary reasons from what I was told.

The food can be quite interesting. In Beijing I saw a guy cooking chickens by laying them on a sidewalk next to his stall, and heating them up with a propane torch. He would then hang them up and hack off bits and serve them. I also had 'spicy duck webs'. They were duck feet with a hot powder on them. Tasted like Cajun rubber bands on a stick. Yummy...

On the other hand - the best bacon I have ever had was in Nanjing, and sweetened snow frog soup was not nearly as bad as it sounds.

Steve

fastraxsg · #11 (**permalink**) 04-05-2009, 08:45 PM

So for snacks, you can have deep fried cockroaches, scorpians, silk worms, mystery creepy crawlies, flying lizards on a stick, bat, dog, iguana, monkey brain, ususally eaten fresh as the monkey is clamped down and while alive, the head is cut open and the brains taken out, bear claws, not the pastry, the real thing, every single part of a chicken including the feet, fried snake, after the blood is drained and used for a health drink and any manner of moving things. Granted, many of these delicacies are regional but Beijing is pretty much a melting pot. My wife is Cantonese and there is an old saying, that the Cantonese will eat anything with four legs except a table..oddly, my wife wants to be a vegitarian.