We are so ready to leave China. Today is our last Monday here in Shekou. We leave this Sunday but will spend a few days in Beijing and Xian before we head out of China for good on June 16. We really are counting down every day, minute, second that we will be able to leave.
This morning was a typical "I need to get out of here" morning. The construction hasn't gotten any better and I was trying to carry some large items to school this morning and had to maneuver getting Vika, myself, and all this stuff onto a public bus. It was blazing hot with 1000% humidity which didn't make it any better. We finally get on a bus and of course I have to stand carrying all this crap with a bus driver that was CRAZY. The roads are completely torn up so it's like four wheel driving through the desert with dirt, mud, pot holes all over the place and a driver who doesn't want to slow down. So....I'm trying to keep my balance, keep my stuff from falling all over and rolling down the isle and making sure Vika is safe. At this point I'm already drenched with sweat and it's 8:00 in the morning.
We finally get to school and are dropped of in the middle of a sand pile with piles of bricks, rocks, and other debris all over the place. Again, I'm carrying all this crap and trying to cross a torn up street making sure that we don't get hit by any crazy drivers.
Not a good start to my day.
Then, I get to school and decide that I wanted to order lunch from a semi decent Chinese restaurant. I figure I'm not going to get much of the real crap so I might as well fill up on it this week. (It really isn't that bad and they have a few things I really like) So, I order my food through our receptionist and am looking forward to my lunch all morning, but of course it just can't be that simple.
My food comes and is totally NOT what I wanted. I wanted chicken with cashews but I get dried cold chicken with TONS of chili peppers. Not one cashew in sight, just dried chicken and chili peppers. YUCK!!!! I had also ordered white rice and dumplings so I thought "OK, at least I can enjoy that" but I didn't want just plain rice so I decided to put the sauce on it that they sent with the dumplings. It looked like normal soy sauce...but NO!!!!!! It tasted like barf. Really, I was eating barf seasoned rice and dumplings.
Of course that went immediately to the trash and I went to my ever favorite Charlie's where they sale imported food and am now having a lunch of microwave popcorn, Hershey's chocolate bar with almonds, and a Diet Mt. Dew. I know, not the most healthy but I deserved some of my favorite American comfort food.
Yes....we are SO READY to leave.
7 comments:
I hope that your crappy day got better. So you use that word there too... I hope that given time and distance you will end up with some good memories of being there. We are counting down too and hope to have a great time with you.
It has gotten better because we are getting closer and closer to leaving. We do have some good memories but are just ready to leave and move on.
Only one more day here but four more in China.
See you in a week or so!
I don't understand. If China is so bad, only crazy drivers, bad food, bad transport, bad maid, all bad bad bad. And back home in Utah everything so much better.
Then why stay 3 years in my country????????
Only American products is good. Charly and wallmart only good. Can not find decent shampoo, only in Wallmart, but you live near Watsons, school near supermarket, but no, is not good. Need to buy american product from american shop.
All foreigners love China, don't want to leave, exept you. But you stay 3 years. Best you go back to Utah, where everything is so much better then my country.
bye bye
Fei fei
For Annonymous/Fei fei - I think you are being too hard on the Rundell Family, they did not say that China is all "bad", but were merely expressing their frustrations at some aspects of living in China. I think too that if you are honest to say that "all foreigners love China" is a bit of an exaggeration. I lived for a time in China, and while I liked it, I do relate to what the Rundell Family are saying, it can be unbelievably frustrating at times. And I'm guessing that any ex-pat living in any other country will also find some aspects of living in their host country quite hard going at times. So lighten up, be a little less sensitive about your precious country, after all none of us are perfect.
Fei Fei
I think if you had the opportunity to leave China and see what is out in the world you would understand what we were saying. Although we had some good times in China, it really has a long way to go to compete with other parts of the world. If it is so great, then why do most foreigners only stay 2-3 years? A majority of our expat friends felt the same way we did and were either leaving or planning to leave in the next year.
Why do you think the companies pay to send the expats back to their home countries at least once a year? Because nobody would stay if they didn't.
You need to go out in the real world and see what is really lacking in your precious country before you make comments like you did. It isn't that we only wanted American products, we just want good quality products that we are accustomed to. Most of the products here in America are made in China but only the good quality things get imported and the crap is left there. You need to get out of your little bubble then you would understand.
Keep posted to our posts coming up of our time back in Utah. Maybe it'll give you a little glimpse as to what you are really missing and why we were complaining so much.
Hey,
I agree with Fei Fei. I have travelled the world, China is the best I have seen. You say again, quality products are exported to the US, and the crap stays in China. As if China only has crap products. Haha, sure, also Europe has crap products, as the quality goes to US. I buy my shampoo in Watsons, and they have a whole range on brands, and it is not crap. Same brands as back home in Europe. How can any one looking forward to go to Saudi. Great, living in a camp, bloody hot. And no Wallmart. Dont think the Rundells have ever lived outside the US exept China. Yes, every country has down sides, but you have to learn to respect them as we are guest in this country. I have been to the US, and sure sometime i would not agree, but what the hack, its not my country, so i do not complain.
Learn to respect other country habbits.
Why do most people stay only 2 or 3 years in China? Wake up! This is what international companies do. Rotate people around the world. I have been to Saudi, have fun.
You could write on China, friendly people, try hard to speak enlish, very save, hardly any crime, nice weather in general, cheap. Lots of tourist sites to go to. Lots of different country restaurants. I can go on for ever.
Would you like it if some one goes to US, and only complains about US only becouse in his home country things are different?
Have fun in Saudi.
here in Shekou, news is spreading about this american woman who complains a lot on china. Good to see your happy in Saudy, stay there as long as you can. You just keep going on about great USA. Wow, all the junk food restaurants are there. TGIF, mac donalds, KFC, Hardy. Really good for you to have these American junk food places. Sorry, in China they are not in to junk food like you are. You say companies pay employees holidays back home, because China is so crap, and otherwise no one would stay with the company.
Guess what! I lived in Huston. My company paid flights 3 times a year to go back home in Europe. Guess US must be a very bad place to live.
Wake up, and you come to the real world, not Fei-fei who you are attacking so nicely.
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