Thursday, July 31, 2008
Puttin on the Ritz
Monday, July 28, 2008
Living in Beijing
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Silk Market, Houhai, Hot Pot
You order raw meats and vegetables and then drop the meat into the boiling water, let it cook for a few minutes and then pull out with your chopsticks . It was very delicious and inexpensive. We tried raw lamb, and mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, and a few other items.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Night Out!
Arrival in China
I would have posted last night, however I was unable to access the blog site. Today was a long very long day of training. After a 13 hour flight and a quick dinner, I relaxed in the hotel and took it easy. I was attempting to get myself back onto a normal schedule by staying up a little later and then adjusting my body to the new time zone over time. It seemed to have worked until I realized during our training today that it was 4 o'clock Beijing time meaning it was 3 am in Chicago. Upon this realization my body took a turn for the worse and I literally went into Zombie mode. I have already met several very fun people and tonight I will be joining a group for dinner. We travelled mostly by cab today and the traffic was fairly backed up along the main route. One of the things that the government and the organizing committees have instituted are driving restrictions which should ease some of the congestion. According to your license plate there are even and odd numbered days. If your license plate ends in an even number you can only drive on certain days and the odd numbered plates drive only on the alternating days. There is also an Olympic lane for Olympic traffic only, and you must have a sticker in order to drive in this lane. The language barrier has definitely been an issue. When we are taking taxi's or asking for directions we have to have the Chinese symbols in order for the locals to direct us. Also, tipping is not standard, a lesson I learned quickly when I was flatly refused when offering a tip.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Final Hours
Tonight we had a family dinner at my dads house because it was my brothers birthday, and also because after tonight we are both leaving town, so it was also a going away party. My brother after an intense summer of training with Teach for America, will be moving to Memphis, TN. to serve his two year contract. The party was probably the last American meal I will have for a long while. Our family always does things in style.....we had grilled burgers, homemade mac and cheese, home-made guacamole, chips and salsa, cheese dip, cake and ice cream.....And I defintely had my share. I would say my family sent me off in a big way. Maybe they were trying to get rid of me...=)
Tonight I also had to say goodbye to my puppy dog, Gatsby whom I have raised since he was 8 weeks old. I did not make a big deal about it so as not to worry him. I took him out on one last walk and made sure he got his share of ice cream and hamburger....I know, probably not great for him but he sure did enjoy it.
I am very excited right now, my packing is almost completed and I am just sort of biding my time at the moment. I have to be at the airport in four and a half hours and then it is off to Chicago and then Beijing. I can not wait to fill you all in on the exciting adventures....so stay tuned.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Going Away Weekend
After Cocktail some of the others headed home and we soldiered on to Sidetracks. I don't think we intended for it to become a Boystown night but it did, due to sheer convenience.
The next day I awoke and headed to my final two softball games for the season. It was an absolutely breathtaking day spent amongst a wonderful group of guys. We won our second game and lost our first, and I leave the team with a 9-5 record. Hopefully these guys can keep the team in contention, we have really gelled well as a unit.
My final day was absolutly how I would have pictured it. Cole and I went to Walker Brothers Pancake house and indulged ourselves on a huge breakfast. Then we went up to Glencoe, to the Botanical Gardens. The drive up the North Shore on Sheridan, for those of you who have never made it, is insane. Every house seems to get bigger and bigger. I even picked out my future home....=).
Friday, July 11, 2008
Hotel Update
The Ritz Carlton Financial:
Address: 1 Jin Cheng Fang Street East, Financial Street, Beijing 100032 China
· Phone: (86 10) 6601 6666
http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/
J July 31-Aug 28
The Beijing International Hotel
Address: 9 Jianguomennei DaJie Beijing, China 100005
Phone: ( 86-10 ) 65126688
2 Years at Kellogg School of Management
Monday, July 7, 2008
Fourth of July Celebrations
On Friday, the fourth I had a family party which was both a birthday celebration for me as well as a fourth of july bar-b-que. Following the bar-b-que we went to Kirkwood Park for fireworks. It was actually really nice to be celebrating the holiday in small town style. It was a community celebration, much smaller and very relaxing.
Saturday, I spent the day taking the dog to the sculpture park and laying by the pool. We had another family dinner on Saturday night and then I went to see Indiana Jones. I must admit, back in the day I had a thing for Indiana Jones. He was such a guys, guy. I even honored him two Halloweens ago by dressing as him. But, this edition of Indiana Jones does not come close to the others. In fact Indi is no longer a heroic figure, but simply a sixty year old man posing as a former hero. Shia Lebouf's character was also a little bit annoying and overall I found the movie to be far fetched and out there. At least with the earlier editions there was some sort of believability.
Sunday was spent around the house and then driving back to Chicago for my final week. Seven days and counting until my three year stint in Chicago comes to a close. Lots to do and lots of people to see before I go!!!! Stay tuned!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Cityscape Bar
Last night, I spent an evening with a great group of people. One was a former roommate (Kellie), one was a sushi partner (Kristie) and another my commute buddy and Northwestern grad student (Mike). In addition to these three were Krista and Sharon, who is also commonly referred to as the wine lady. Friends come and go throughout ones lifetime, and with every new day comes the possibility of making a new acquaintance with whom you can share life and laughter. This group began as Kellie started meeting more and more girlfriends. At some point in time she decided that it would be a great idea to get a group together to try and go out to eat once a month together at new places around the city. We have done Greektown, Sushi, a wine bar, Little Italy, and a steakhouse among many others. Last night, we chose to try Cityscape, a bar located in the Merchandise Mart Holiday Inn. It was heralded as the bar with the best views of the city and it did not disappoint. They had summer Martini specials, and I tried the Mandarin Martini, Absolute Mandarin, and then had a fantastic Cosmo. I know, very Sex and the City of me! The girls mostly had wine. We ordered appetizers, and as always had some very interesting conversations. Unfortunately, we knew the end was drawing near, and that this would be the last group get together I would be able to partake in for a while. Even with this change, I know there will be more memories with this group. I look forward to reuniting with them upon my return.