Yes, I would like fries with that

As part of getting a proper work visa for China, one requirement is a health check. It’s not like a thorough physical or anything, however. Yesterday morning, a woman from one of the firms helping us with immigration issues met me here at 8:30. We got in a taxi and went to the clinic where they do these checks on foreigners. It was a dingy old four-story building on the north side of town, not terribly far from our office at the Huabei. We started out by going up the stairs to the top floor, where I went into a room and provided three passport-size photos (in addition to the two others already on the rest of my paperwork). I filled out a form about my medical history – no, I don’t have AIDS or tuberculosis or any number of other things, but I marked yes on “operations” and wrote in “tonsils removed in childhood.” Then I went over to a little desk where there was a woman with a computer that had a camera attached to it. I sat down and she entered info from my form and added an electronic picture to the data file. She attached my passport photos to various pieces of paper. I was given one of the forms with my picture.

Then we went down the hall to a waiting area surrounded by doors. At the reception desk, they looked at the form, took some money from my immigration helper, and pointed me at the door labeled “General health.” A woman in a lab coat looked at the form and typed in the ID number. My picture popped up on her screen along with some boxes to fill in. I gave her my height in centimeters and weight in kilos. She pointed at the “operation” line on my form. I tried to explain tonsils with sign language, and she must have got it. She took my blood pressure, typed it into her computer, and put a checkmark in a box on my form.
Then I went to the next room, “Blood sample.” I made a fist and the woman took a small vial of blood, scanned the bar code on the vial, then marked a check on my form. The next room was “ECG.” The woman there had me pull up my shirt and lie down on an examining table. The machine was quite archaic, but did the job. She clamped things onto my ankles and wrists, then attached little suction cups to several places on my chest. She told me not to move, and I heard the little printer go. Then she pulled off the sensors and said I could get up. She looked at the printout for a moment, then took a red stamp and put NORMAL in a box on my form.

Then we went downstairs for a chest X-ray. Pretty much the same as any other X-ray I’ve had, though the machine looked 20 years old. Another checkmark on the form.

Then we went to the main lobby and handed in the form. I got to keep the heart graph. They’ll have the results of my tests with the final determination of my fitness for living in the PRC in a few days. I was back home by about 9:30. My helper told me that was the quickest health check she’d ever seen. No lines to wait in.

Today for lunch TG and I went to KFC. We didn’t want to take a lot of time, and it’s actually better than KFC back home. I ordered a combo meal (spicy chicken sandwich, fries, Pepsi) for ¥20 and for an extra ¥22, got a special toy.
Meet Doraemon, a Japanese character who is apparently quite famous in Asia, though I had never heard of him. I think his show plays in China – AB saw me bring it into the office and recognized it right off. I put a banana next to him so you can judge the size. Bigger than your average American kids’ meal toy, but it’s also not free with the meal.
For this adventure, Doraemon has pulled musical instruments out of his four-dimensional pocket. When you push the button on the top of his head, he plays a bouncy little tune, probably the theme song to the cartoon show. The tune sounds different depending on which instruments are attached. My flat is much better off having him around.
It looks like he’s supposed to spin around in circles, but either mine is defective or I’m not doing it right. In any case, he looks just fine sitting on the shelf.

Eight honors, eight disgraces

Love the country; do it no harm.
Serve the people; never betray them.
Follow science; discard superstition.
Be diligent; not indolent.
Be united, help each other; make no gains at others’ expense.
Be honest and trustworthy; do not spend ethics for profits.
Be disciplined and law-abiding; not chaotic and lawless.
Live plainly, work hard; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.

I found that on a notice board near the outdoor exercise equipment here at Seasons Park. I suppose one could do worse than living by those guidelines. (Though shouldn't "live plainly" and "work hard" count as two...?)
I mentioned the place called A-Che in a previous entry. Here’s what it looks like. This is the place where you can eat Cuban food with Jamaican beer and listen to a Chinese band play American music while Russians dance on the chairs. All together now: “It’s a small world after all…”
I was walking along the sidewalk this afternoon and saw this dog waiting patiently while its owner was in the bank. By the time I got the camera out, the owner had returned, but he didn’t seem to mind me taking the picture.

In the next block after this, I stopped into a DVD store to see what they had, and heard someone ask in English if they had Season 3 of Lost. Being a big fan of the show, I piped up and told him that wasn’t likely since it’s still in progress. (There actually is a little 3-disc set on sale here of the first part of Season 3 that aired last fall, but the rest will have to wait.) At first I thought the guy was American, and then his friend spoke with a distinct British accent, so I figured they were both Brits. We exchanged a few more words, then I picked out a Japanese CD and continued on my walk. As it happened, I bumped into the same two guys at a grocery store a bit later, and started talking again. We went to a place called the Bookworm that I had heard of but not yet been to. We had cappuccinos and talked for over an hour. The first one I spoke to is actually Canadian, a student here in Beijing, and his British friend works at the International School. They both seem to know their way around town pretty well, and are familiar with neighborhoods I haven’t been to yet. The Canadian said he has been to Seattle before, and really liked it. Don’t get me wrong – I like my coworkers, but it’s nice to talk to someone outside our little circle for a change.

Dispatches from the land of Ewoks

It’s been busy lately at work, so I have no exciting outings to report. And since I can’t really write any details about work, I guess I have nothing at all to write about. OK, bye, everyone.

What? You’re still here? Oh, maybe I can think of something.
A few weeks ago I wrote about my experiences with my gas meter. Last week I had to put some more money on my electric meter. In a closet outside my apartment there are three meters, one for each of the units on the twelfth floor of my tower. The display on the right is mine. It just shows three dots until it gets below 200 units. For a couple weeks it had been slowly counting down, from two to five units a day. If it gets to zero you have no power.
The electric card is similar to the gas card. I put ¥200 on it and stuck it in the slot on the meter. Aw, gee, the electric company is an Olympic sponsor.
It clicked up to 461, then went back to dots when I pulled the card out. Isn’t that exciting? Gas and electricity must be paid in advance, like minutes on my cell phone. Water, on the other hand, is actually metered and billed. I don’t know how often they bill for water usage – I’ve been here a full three months and have not got a bill yet. I know from my lease that it’s my responsibility to pay that, not the landlord’s. A maintenance man came by last Monday and (I think) read the meter, so maybe I’ll get it soon.
I’ve started the process of getting a proper Chinese work permit. It required a ridiculous amount of different papers to be filled out, many of which require passport-size photos. I’ve been through one full set of 16 photos, plus almost all of a second 16, between applying for the original entrance visa, moving into the apartment, applying for Olympic credentials (still in the works after more than a full month), and now the work permit. I may go get another set of pictures taken, just in case. Next Monday, I’ll go for my health check. From several of my coworkers who have already gone through it, it’s a pretty minimal sort of exam. I was disappointed to learn I will not have to make a trip to Hong Kong to apply for my permit. Maybe some other time. (And look, I got a bowl to put my fruit in.)

And now some random thoughts, observations, and photos.
I’ve mentioned a few times about the different kinds of taxis you find in Beijing. On most mornings, there’s a whole line of them outside Seasons Park, making it easy to get one to go to the office. This picture was actually taken on a Sunday afternoon, but it’s the basic idea. The first one is a Hyundai, followed by a couple of Citroëns and I think a VW.

I took the camera along with me to the grocery store, and snapped a few shots along the way.
Several things to note in this one… Clothes hanging to dry along the sidewalk are a pretty common sight. Apparently theft is not a problem. A little further along you can see what JW refers to as an Ewok: a small child bundled up so he or she waddles when walking and can’t put the arms down, moving rather like the small furry beings from Return of the Jedi. The shops along here consist of a beauty salon, a cheap little restaurant, and a vice shop (as I call the ubiquitous tobacco and alcohol stores).
Further along the same street is where I buy some of my groceries. April Gourmet carries many European and American goods, and everything is marked in English in addition to Chinese. It’s a little more expensive than the stores that don’t cater to expats, but at least I can get cheese and cereal there if I feel a hankering for something familiar. I’ve also bought meat at the butcher shop next door, and been quite satisfied, though I’ve heard some of their sausages are on the bland side.
On the way home, more laundry out to dry. Note the name on the building in the background. I’ll have to take another picture to provide a more dramatic contrast between the word “Mansion” in its name and the reality of its appearance. The building on the immediate right is empty and has been since I arrived in the neighborhood. No signs of impending construction – don’t know what’s up there.
At various locations all over Beijing you see public exercise equipment like this, which is inside the Seasons Park grounds. I see people using it fairly often. There’s also a proper gym indoors with treadmills, stationary bikes, and other modern machines. I’ve been going there three times a week, trying to keep myself from turning into a complete blob considering all the hours I spend sitting at a computer. I miss playing soccer, but this will have to do, along with all the walking around town. By the way, the building in the background is the one I live in.
Look, it’s a cat! I’ve seen this one around the grounds a few times now. I’m pretty sure it’s a stray, but it’s not starving.
Forgive the blurry nature of this one – it was taken from a moving taxi. This is along Dongzhimennei (Dongzhimen Inner) straight down my street towards downtown. I’m told this street is well-known for its restaurants among locals. Aside from the bank in the center of the picture, I think every single storefront here is a restaurant. Most of these places don’t cater much to foreigners, but I hope to visit some of them over the next couple years.
Another taxi shot. This is where Dongzhimen meets the Second Ring Road (which is actually down below the railing you can see). Just to the left of the middle is a building that tacks traditional Chinese style roofing on top of a modern building.