Saint Patrick's Day!

VISCA EL BARÇA! Ho havia de dir... A causa de la diferència horària no vaig poder veure el partit contra el Milan -es jugava a les 4AM- però us ben asseguro que quan em vaig despertar i vaig veure el resum i llegir els diaris, se'm va alegrar el dia de cop! I mira que era un dimecres plujós i fred...

I què tal tots? Com ha anat el cap de setmana? El meu ha estat ben curiós, tot improvisat. Porto dies pensant en com fer-ho per netejar el pis. A Xina és molt comú contractar una "Ayi", una iaia xinesa que ve a casa un o dos cops per setmana i fa una neteja general i planxa -aquest darrer punt és el clau! Jo netejar cap problema, però planxar??-. A més, el meu nou pis -a la pròxima entrada penjo fotos- necessitava una neteja a fons, sobretot el terra i la cuina... I al final vaig decidir fer-ho jo! Allà em teniu, amb un drap al cap, desmuntant-ho tot per deixar-ho ben net...  quina feinada! Però ara el pis està molt millor!

I després vaig marxar a córrer 30 minuts, que des que vaig arribar encara no havia fet res d'esport -i com ho noto avui, em fan un mal les cames...-. Mentre corria em vaig creuar amb una entrenadora de tenis. Resultat: demà entreno de 9 a 10 del vespre! En tinc unes ganes, porto massa temps sense agafar una raqueta!

Fins aquí res de l'altre món -perdoneu pel discurs sense cap tipus d'interès que us he deixat anar...-, però sabeu quin dia és avui? Saint Patrick, patró d'Irlanda! I què els encanta als irlandesos? La Guiness! Així que ja us podeu imaginar "por donde van los tiros...". He de reconèixer que jo no ho havia celebrat mai fins que vaig arribar a la Xina però aquí és un dia marcat al calendari, hi ha moltes festes organitzades.
Amb els amics vam decidir agafar el "Partybus". El nom ja ho diu tot, no fan falta gaires explicacions oi? I ahir érem més de 200 persones! Us podeu imaginar on vam acabar? Després de fer una ruta per tot Shanghai i parar a diferents clubs, a les 3 del matí no se'ns va ocórrer res millor que anar-nos-en cap a Suzhou, a 90 minuts en autobús de Shanghai. Però quina bogeria de passeig en autobús, va ser divertidíssim. En resum, avui m'he despertat a casa d'un amic a Suzhou, a una altra 1 hora de Shanghai, i ens hem passat el dia xerrant, cuinant, mirant pelis...

Però així és Shanghai, una ciutat on vius a 2000 quilòmetres per hora, on les paraules rutina i descansa no existeixen, on has de ser totalment flexible perquè cada dia et trobes davant de situacions noves com...

• Començar una nit de manera tranquil·la, prenent una cervesa amb els amics... i acabar-la en un club gay!
• Anar al lavabo d'un restaurant i que l'home que l'està netejant se'm quedi mirant fixament i em demani d'on sóc, quina és la meva feina... Hauríeu d'haver vist quina cara de curiositat!
• Anar a l'H&M i mentre espero per entrar a l'emprovador, notar que quelcom em toca el peu, baixar la mirada i trobar-me... una rata de 30cm corrent per allà! I directa que va anar cap a dins un emprovador, cosa que no els va fer gens de gràcia a unes xineses que hi havia dins... I acte seguit, per escapar del de seguretat i la seva bossa -sí, l'home pretenia atrapar-la amb una bossa, encara no ho acabo d'entendre...- escalar una paret totalment llisa, saltar sobre un d'aquells tubs on es pengen els penjadors i, després d'arribar al final d'aquest i trobar-se sense escapatòria, saltar al terra des d'una alçada de 2 metres i fugir corrent! Sense paraules!
• Sortir de festa i que em robin el mòbil...

I moltes històries més però ja va sent hora de plegar per avui. Quan arregli una mica el pis -vull comprar algunes cosetes perquè tingui millor cara- prometo penjar fotos. I per cert, és molt gran i té 2 habitacions així que no teniu excusa per no venir-me a visitar!! Espero que tots hagueu passat un gran cap de setmana! Una abraçada!!

El xino

China - Part II: This time in Shanghai

Ladies and gentlemen, finally you can relax and enjoy, the event you have been looking forward to since a long time ago finally takes place... I AM RESTARTING THE BLOG!

Now that I'm back in China I believe it's the best way to keep you updated. For these who may not know, I came back to China to work as a Project Engineer for Telstar. Well, this first year will be more like a Business Developer and when we get projects, then I'll be involved in the Engineering. It's a great chance, the one I was looking for when I decided to come to China and learn Chinese, so I'm going to work really hard to succeed!:)

And about life in Shanghai, it's something completely different from Suzhou... Last year, when I first arrived to Suzhou I thought it was huge, noisy, stressful... but guys, now I know Suzhou is just a small town. Shanghai is THE city, life goes so fast in here... And as much as sometimes it may be stressful -do never take the metro at a rush hour-, it has so many things to offer: great people from around the globe, interesting -and massively crowded- Chinese festivals, restaurants from everywhere, a really good public transportation which allows you to move easily through this huge city, cheap shopping, etc. I know that when you get here for the first time it is such a shock -I experienced it myself, and twice!-, but after a while, when you really open your eyes and get rid of the prejudices, you start to realize all the nice things that surround you.

And what have I done until now? Well, I guess the right question would be what haven't I done, because after spending over a week -2 complete working days, a weekend, and then every single evening this week- I still haven't found a place to live! It's really hard as Shanghai is a really expensive and huge city, and all the apartments I have seen so far were too expensive, shitty or far away from the public transport. So my plan for today's evening is keep on looking and afterwards go for dinner and a drink with some friends.

Back to what I have done, I spent the whole last week working -went straight from the airport to work...- and with some old friends that are living in SH right now. Thanks to them life in here is much easier and nicer! :) And last weekend I went to Suzhou to see my little African brother Divan!! hahaha was a long time without seeing him, over 7 months, so we spent the whole weekend celebrating! Unfortunately I cannot go further into detail as there may be minors reading this... ;)

Well, that's it for today. I hope I find time to write more often, and funnier things, but so far everything has been a bit stressful so I'm not in my best narrative mood. Hope all of you are doing great back wherever you are!! Cheers!! I visca el Barça!

PS: Look at what we found yesterday night in front of a supermarket. Not the most comfortable way of sleeping, yeah? Guys, this is crazy Shanghai!

Palawan

Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Per fi he trobat una estona per escriure...

No sabeu lo difícil que se'm fa últimament trobar un moment per dedicar-me al blog; entre el xinès, buscar feina i els amics, gairebé no paro mai! Però sé que em trobeu a faltar, així que aquí torno a estar! -rodolí ;)-. Bé doncs, com que "lo prometido es deuda", avui seguiré amb la història del viatge a les Filipines...

Així doncs, prosseguim des d'on ho vam deixar, la nit en què vam acabar en un show "diferent", on vaig haver de lluitar -i guanyar!- amb en Todd per l'amor d'en Phillipe, que com a premi -o càstig- em va regalar un parell de petons -a la galta, no sigueu malpensats! Encara que haver d'esquivar l'epicentre de la seva cara...- i un intent de striptease... Va ser una nit ben divertida!

I al dia següent, cap a Palawan, una de les illes més maques de les Filipines. Pel camí, gairebé perdem l'autobús cap a l'aeroport -de fet el vam haver de parar amb el cotxe, posant-nos davant seu-. I què tal Palawan? Genial. Vam estar en un hotel que estava al mig del no res, davant d'una platja paradisíaca i amb la selva a l'esquena. I quina selva, tan verda i tan densa... I com que estàvem aïllats del món, doncs vam dedicar els 3 dies que vam estar allà a fer excursions: a unes cascades al mig de la selva, island-hopping, a un riu subterrani, un dia vam llogar unes motos i vam fer carretera -quins paisatges!-. Però una imatge val més que mil paraules oi? Doncs aquí teniu l'equivalent a uns quants milers de paraules...

Quan torni a tenir temps segueixo amb la història. Serà el torn de Boracay, the party island...

Fins aviat!

El xinès

Let's go to paradise!

We survived 12 days in the Philippines... and here I am, back and ready to explain you everything, including the dirty details!

So everything started... with a delay on the plane. They kept us inside the airplane, with the air-con off because it used too much petrol, for 3 hours! During this time I had some interesting talk with the hostesses, who explained me why, from their point of view, the reason we were stuck in Pudong Airport. Unfortunately I have to censure it, can't make it public... :)

Well, after sweating all the water we had inside, walked from one side of the plane to the other, have some funny talk with the hostesses... we finally left! It was just a 3 hours flight, so before we realized we were already in Manila, where Boyet, a Philippine friend, came to pick us up from the airport... together with Dani, her daughter... God, that girl had energy... She is 8, and in the beginning she looked shy but as soon as she felt more confident, there was nobody who could stop her!

Boyet took us to her mother's place, Yolanda, were we had dinner and slept. We can't thank them enough for all they did for us those last days. :)

As the trip was kind of improvised, we had no plan at all, we had to spend the next day planning everything: buying plane tickets, booking hotels... I FREAKED OUT! But we succeeded and when the night came, after a great Turkish dinner, we went out. First, to a club that was empty. Literally empty, we were the only ones so, after a while, we left and walked through Manila's streets till we found a club were a funny show was being performed. First I was reticent to go in -and that night would prove I had better stayed home ;)- but, following the girls' orders, as always, we bought the ticket and found a table next to the stage. The first show was performed by Philippe... Can you imagine the rest? We were the only foreigners, so as soon as he saw us, he told us to go to the stage. How did it all end up? As expected... Todd and I had to perform a show where we fought for Philippe's love. God, that was funny and embarrassing at the same time! There are videos and pictures, but they're censured by now! ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to go. I arrived yesterday and I still have a lot of stuff to do, from catching up with the classes to look for a job. Tomorrow, more!! Have a nice day!!

PS: Yolanda, Boyet, Rita, Shirley, Jordi, Dani, David... and all those who've made of this a great trip, THANKS!!

Next destination...

Finally I'm back again! It has been a long time since I lost wrote in the blog... And it wasn't because I didn't have things to tell but because I did not have time nor patience to write. But cheer up, smile, because here I am again!! :) What has kept me so occupied lately? Trip to Nanjing, level 3 midterm exams, housewarming party in Shanghai and, now... PHILIPPINES!

Yes, I'm going to the Philippines! In fact, I just finished packing everything I need -not much, really. Some shorts and a bathing suit- and in approx. 20 minutes, I have to go to take a bus which will bring the four of us -Toddy, my love Bianca, my sis Yanyie and me- to the airport. I'm so excited! We're gonna spend 12 days there, starting in Manila and then flying to different islands. Take a look at some pictures from the Philippines and you'll see that it looks like paradise! "Estoy en el paraíso, yeah Fiona?" ;) Though we haven't organized much of the trip yet... but who cares, improvising is fun!! I'll explain you everything, with all the details, when I'm back!

And couple weeks ago we went to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, for 3 days, together with two German friends. How was it? Well, let's say unexpected things -which became funny- happened, but it was fun!

Oh, and I already have the mark from the Chinese grammar exam: 94 out of 100. Not bad yeah? ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have to go, the Philippines are waiting for me! But don't worry, as soon as I come back I'll let you know how the trip was! Wish me luck and fun!!

Greetings and love from the other side of the world!!

PS: For the next post, remind me to explain how it is to have your hair cut in China!!

Disappeared!

I know, I've been disappeared for a long time... But I got my reasons: from moving up to level 3 -which leaves me less free time- to the visit of daddy Pere -just awesome!-, plus the nice weather which forces me to spend the day outside, etc. But I'm finally back and ready to explain all of you how everything is going on!

Right now I'm sitting on a pretty comfortable sofa, listening to some relaxing music, drinking a good coffee and surfing the Internet in - I'll give you three options, let's see if you guess it-...

1. The Chinese jungle, scratching a baby panda's belly while I write this post.
2. The Philippines, laying on a hammock in front of the sea, drinking a coffee because it's still too early to start with cocktails.
3. Starbucks, enjoying a Sunday's morning in the best possible company, my fater!

I bet over the half of you haven't guessed the right answer: I'm in Starbucks! ;) Though the Philippines may com soon as, together with some friends, we're planning to go there the first week of May. I'll keep you updated...

But now it's time to explain you how everything is going on here. To start with, daddy Pere is here, so I'm having an awesome weekend! And with great weather, just sunny and hot the whole day long, so what else can I ask for? Yesterday we went sightseeing, strolling around the nicest places in Suzhou -Jinji lake, ShiQuanJie, LiGongdi, the old town...- while holding really interesting conversations, updating about each other's life, etc. And today we just came for a coffee beside the lake, because we both needed to work for a while, and afterwards we're going to go back to Shanghai, as daddy Pere is -unfortunately for me- going back home tomorrow. However, I have enjoyed every single second he has spent here. :) And I hope that's just the start of many people -family, friends... come on!- coming to visit me! "Come on"©  -this expression is under copyright-, doesn't happen everyday that you have a relative/friend living in China, who "speaks" Chinese and can be your guide, so TAKE THE CHANCE!

And about the last two weeks, they've been a non stop, like always: from Monopoly games to Tennis, while having a great time with friends, meeting new people, etc. The only problem, I've been sick for 5 days, but that hasn't stopped me of doing anything and now I'm 100% recovered! So it was nothing but an anecdote...

Well, I'll go now, it is time to enjoy the great weather in great company. I hope you are all having a great time and to see some of you, soon, in China! All the best!!

El xino

PS: Have you seen the Chinese Quijote?

Diary of an awesome week!

Hi everyone! Here I am back again, completely wet but ready to explain you all my Chinese adventures. And why wet? Well, because today's evening we played badminton -in the street- with some friends and afterwards we decided to go together to the street food for dinner. However, suddenly it started to rain and most of my friends -cowards! :P-, in fact everybody except THE AWESOME Bianca, decided to go home. So I went together with Bianca to eat the 非常好吃 Chinese burritos while having a great talk, catching up under a refreshing rain.

Whatever, today I wanted to let you know what I did last week, let's see what you think...

• Monday: tough day as together with my sis we moved up to level 3 -we want to learn faster-. But after class, 2 hours of tennis followed by some study time and, to end with, a... POKER NIGHT! Unfortunately I lost, couldn't face Magnus' "all-in" start.
• Tuesday: after class, some more tennis and gym. And at night? Time for a date!!
• Wednesday: third day in a row with good weather -we hadn't seen the sun since I came- so after class, tennis again. You don't know how much I love it! And at night, as it is a tradition, friends + beer + funny talks at The Drunken Clam!
• Thursday: bad weather came back, it was raining the whole day so I took it easy and, after school, gym and studying, I just stayed home and relaxed, saving energies for the crazy weekend that was about to come...
• Friday: there we are again, weekend is back! After the daily routine -school, study and gym- I went to Raphi's -or Todd's, can be called both ways- for a beer, to warm up, and afterwards we went to a friend's surprise birthday party, were we tried to break a piñata -no success...-, we met many friends... And then, party!
• Saturday: Saint Patrick's day. Therefore, is there any better plan than to gather with friends, drink beer and party? The answer, obvious: NO. So that's what we did...
• Sunday: some gym, study and, at night, movie night. And my sis was finally back from Shanghai so I wanted to meet her!

Well, well, well, what's your opinion of my last week?
I have to go now, it is time to relax already. I hope you all had a great week too, and to have news from you soon!
xoxo

降龙

PS: By the way, don't get me wrong, don't think I just have fun and don't study hard. On the posts I just write about the interesting things, not about the routine because you'd get easily bored. But if you want to know it, I study every single day, plus I go to the gym nearly everyday too. ;)
PPS: Raphi, you know what it means already?