The Wandering Continues...

Friday, May 25, 2007

Bye bye stitches

I finally have them removed today (thankfully it was not as bad as I expected) so I will have to get used to live my life with the plaque for at least a year. Wish me luck, guys!!!

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Sunday, May 20, 2007

Bedrest

A week has gone from my surgery and I am still resting at home. My left hand and shoulder are still numb and I still can't wake up from the bed by myself. I am still wearing arm-swing to keep my left hand in steady position. This really irritates me as I am a quite active person and that I can only work/type with one hand right now.

My mom flew here to keep me company and, I believe, to ensure that I won't do anything stupid that will hurt me even more. I am famous of always disobeying my doctor's orders, ie. like not going to the office anytime soon. I am actually thinking to go back to work, at least part time this week. Staying home for another week will indeed make my condition worse.

My colleagues from work visited me at home and brought flowers and fruit baskets so now my apartment is full of them. At first I am a bit surprise to the burst of attentions, especially I am still very new in Shanghai but apparently it is a custom in China to bring flowers and fruits to a sick relative. One problem is that I received so many flowers on different days but I don't have vase to water them, so I have to send my mom to go vase hunting almost everyday. Later I will end up with empty vases and no flowers. Na ja...

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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Bike ride

Today is the company "Biking day" where each is suppose to bike 60 km. I really enjoyed it, I was also really fit and manage to bike 30 km before I accidentely crash the biker in the front, leaving me with a fractured left collarbone/clavicle.

Here I am lying on the hospital bed waiting for the doctor who will operate and put a plaque to help the bone to heal.

I guess I am not that sporty.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Golden Week Travel : Beijing

Were in Beijing last week to visit some friends and also revisit the 3 famous sites. But the two things that really attract my attention besides the famous history and places of China. One is the street food in Wangfujing Street where you can find deep fried sea horse, scorpions, bean worms and cicadas. The other one is Starbucks coffee shop in Forbidden City, whose presence is currently in debate as it is consider as a mock to Chinese culture.

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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Chinese Name vs English Name

It is very common here in China that people, especially those who work to foreign company, westernize their names. This of course eases a lot in the communication in the office but definetely not off works as no one in the house is familiar to the husband/wife/children's English name.

The English name is not something that they officially legalize and stick to them forever, but it is mainly something that they feel like having for that certain period. It is also common that they change it again some times in the future if the situation change as most of the time, the English name is given by their bosses at work, or someone that they respesct.

It could also be that a chinese picks one English name because he/she likes the character. I've know couple of people whose English name is Flower (literally translated from her Chinese name) or Garfield (remember Garfield the cartoon character?!).

Below is an amateur TV program about Sophie who makes a small documentaries about cultures she finds in her day to day life in Beijing. I found the video is funny but yet true.

And, just like Sophie, I have also my chinese name, 艾芙琳 (read as Ai Fu Lin) literally translated from Eveline, of course.



More link to her others TV programs here

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