Wei, wei! Ni hao!
The last three weekends in Beijing have been really nice we must say. We have settled in pretty well and also found some good weekend activities.
Three weekends back, we did some sightseeing. We went to see the Forbidden City in Beijing. Most likely, this will not be the last visit there. It was crowded with people, but autumns or winter time are supposed to be better from that perspective.
Last weekend we had our non-official housewarming party. We invited a few friends and colleagues over for dinner in our apartment. Quite a small crowd, and very good atmosphere. We were not been able to have friends over for a meal in Sweden, since the apartment was too small for that. Here it worked out much better.
On Fridays, we try to leave work early if possible, usually around 5pm. We find a restaurant where we enjoy dinner and then we continue with some kind of performance/entertainment. So far we have seen musicals. Thereafter we finish the night with a wonderful foot or body massage. Around 1 pm we arrive back home and sleep very deep until Saturday morning.
Last weekend we went to see a Chinese action musical together with two other Ericsson colleagues - Anders and Andreas. We got free tickets from another Ericsson colleague. Really kind! The show was much better than what we had expected. The story was about the powerful Tang dynasty and the only(?) female emperor of China.
Last Friday we saw a Broadway musical - Hairspray. Not too bad! Still, we both found the Chinese musical better. So far we have no plans for next weekend. However, we found out that our landlady sponsors some shows, so that may open up for some good discounts in the future ;). There is a piano show coming up. But Riverdance is sold out already.
Hope you had a good weekend too!
Cheers!
Olof and Sam
2008-07-27
2008-07-12
Faaaaaaaaantastic weather today
Holi Cow! I can't help but to gasp at the faaaaaaaaaaantastic weather today in Beijing. The sky is clear and most amazingly, the air is CLEAR too! I can see clearly buildings miles away. With a rare flash of luck, the almight up there has blessed this city with good weather on a Saturday - a day where busy city dwellers like me and Olof left behind our work at office and enjoy the wonders that this city has to offer.
You probably have already noted that we mention the weather alot in our postings. I believe we echo the sentiments of other foreigners who came from relatively clean cities like Stockholm and Singapore that being able to see objects more than 500 meters away is not always a given. It is a blessing. And we should (and must) appreciate these blessings.
And to our friends in other parts of the world, we hope that you are having (or will have) a wonderful Saturday too. Stay tune for more postings from us as we blog from our mobile phones. Today's feature is the Forbidden City.
Cheers!
Sam
You probably have already noted that we mention the weather alot in our postings. I believe we echo the sentiments of other foreigners who came from relatively clean cities like Stockholm and Singapore that being able to see objects more than 500 meters away is not always a given. It is a blessing. And we should (and must) appreciate these blessings.
And to our friends in other parts of the world, we hope that you are having (or will have) a wonderful Saturday too. Stay tune for more postings from us as we blog from our mobile phones. Today's feature is the Forbidden City.
Cheers!
Sam
2008-07-05
A big effort, for nothing...
Hi!
This time I want to share a story that feels like it very well could happen again in some form somehow...
Monday to Wednesday this week we had an off-site activity at work. A typical management meeting to discuss vision, mission, strategies, goals and similar. I was briefly informed about the activity since quite some time back. It turned out though that I had missed out some important details, due to an email problem caused when transfering from Ericsson in Sweden to China.
I thought the venue for the meeting was an hour away - by car. However, on Friday the last working day before the trip, by coincidence I got to know that in fact it was an hour away - by airplane. Normally, this would not have caused a problem, but in this case I had handed in my passport to the authorities to get my residence permit.
An intensive effort began by my colleagues and department assistant to try to speed up the residence permit application process. And in the last minute, they actually managed to get my passport back (with the permit).
When we arrived at the airport, we got to know that the flight was one hour delayed. We checked in as usual, and then ordered a drink from an airport café while waiting. A heavy rain and thunder storm swept over the airport and we were actually quite happy that we were not in the airplane yet.
We got to know that the flight was further delayed (even though the storm was over). Finally, we walked to the gate. Still no boarding, and no other news about delays. After a few hours waiting, we saw that they started to unload the luggage. They announced in the speakers that the flight was cancelled.
Instead of waiting for a new flight the next day, we decided to take in at a hotel in Beijing instead. It was already close to 1 am at night when we check in to the hotel. And all that effort to get my passport back, for nothing...
Cheers, Olof
This time I want to share a story that feels like it very well could happen again in some form somehow...
Monday to Wednesday this week we had an off-site activity at work. A typical management meeting to discuss vision, mission, strategies, goals and similar. I was briefly informed about the activity since quite some time back. It turned out though that I had missed out some important details, due to an email problem caused when transfering from Ericsson in Sweden to China.
I thought the venue for the meeting was an hour away - by car. However, on Friday the last working day before the trip, by coincidence I got to know that in fact it was an hour away - by airplane. Normally, this would not have caused a problem, but in this case I had handed in my passport to the authorities to get my residence permit.
An intensive effort began by my colleagues and department assistant to try to speed up the residence permit application process. And in the last minute, they actually managed to get my passport back (with the permit).
When we arrived at the airport, we got to know that the flight was one hour delayed. We checked in as usual, and then ordered a drink from an airport café while waiting. A heavy rain and thunder storm swept over the airport and we were actually quite happy that we were not in the airplane yet.
We got to know that the flight was further delayed (even though the storm was over). Finally, we walked to the gate. Still no boarding, and no other news about delays. After a few hours waiting, we saw that they started to unload the luggage. They announced in the speakers that the flight was cancelled.
Instead of waiting for a new flight the next day, we decided to take in at a hotel in Beijing instead. It was already close to 1 am at night when we check in to the hotel. And all that effort to get my passport back, for nothing...
Cheers, Olof
2008-07-04
Rain, rain, rain and thunder and lightning
June is usually a hot month in Beijing. Hardly no rain. This year is different. Rain almost every day. And if it rains, it is always with lightning and thunder.
Is all the rain due to climate change? Or is it a pre-olympic phenomenen?
According to rumours, the Chinese authorities do everything they can to guarantee sunshine during the Olympic Games in August. They bombard the clouds with iodine crystals to make the water particles heavy enough to fall down as rain. Afterwards, the sun will shine for weeks.
Is that what we experience now? Is it a game with nature, where we have too little knowledge about the consequences? Or is the unusual weather already a consequence of our previous actions around the globe?
I heard August is usually a rainy month in Beijing. If we have sunshine at that time, then perhaps we can have a better guess about why we see the weather conditions that we see today.
The Lundstroemos
Is all the rain due to climate change? Or is it a pre-olympic phenomenen?
According to rumours, the Chinese authorities do everything they can to guarantee sunshine during the Olympic Games in August. They bombard the clouds with iodine crystals to make the water particles heavy enough to fall down as rain. Afterwards, the sun will shine for weeks.
Is that what we experience now? Is it a game with nature, where we have too little knowledge about the consequences? Or is the unusual weather already a consequence of our previous actions around the globe?
I heard August is usually a rainy month in Beijing. If we have sunshine at that time, then perhaps we can have a better guess about why we see the weather conditions that we see today.
The Lundstroemos
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