Puttin on the Ritz

Today was officially moving day from the Ritz Carlton to the Beijing International Hotel.  The new hotel is not nearly as nice as the Ritz but it is more centrally located, near Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City and also much closer to the office.   I have been logging very long hours in preparation for the games.  But, this week we met our hosts and hostesses who are all local university students who have gone through and academy and learned the english language.   It is so neat to see the students because they truly represent the 2008 games.   The slogan is "One World, One Dream"  and for these kids they are realizing their dreams.  Some of them have never been inside of a hotel, or been to something as grandiose as the Olympics.  They are all so proud of their country.  They escorted us to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City which I was happy to finally see.  Pictured below are all 21 of our host/hostesses.  Along with me in front of Tiananmen Square. 

Upon meeting the kids we took them on a venue tour of all of the Olympic venues.  THe favorites were definitely the Birdsnest "National Olympic Stadium" where the Opening Ceremonies will be held and the Cube, the National Aquatics Center. Today, we took the kids to the airport to go over their duties.  In doing so we took the Subway which I have to say is extremely clean and efficient, especially compared to Chicago.  They are packed however, and you have to force your way on and off.  The personal bubble that westerners are accustomed to having does not exist here. 

 The kids also are helping me with my CHinese.  Today I learned how to say I am hungry and tired.  Mostly because I was in fact hungry and tired.  Wo uh lu le lu...... WO= I  Uh lu= Hungry and Le Lu is tired.  

Living in Beijing

I have officially been in Beijing for over a week now, living and working,  just like I would have been in Chicago.  There are actually a lot of similarities in the sense that I am living in a sprawling metropolitan city.  Beijing is a city of 7.5 million people and is the second largest city in China, next to Shanghai. The municipality of Beijing borders the Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.  Like many other major metropolitan cities there is a subway system, bus system and taxi's.  During rush hour, the buses are packed, and the wait for the subway is almost an hour at times. We have been taking cabs across town every morning for work, generally our cab to split is 30 RMB, or approximately $7 US. Currently the city is gearing up for the Olympics, we are at 8 days and counting.  A few days ago we took a venue tour to examine all of the possible parking scenarios and the security check points, so that we can provide our guests with accurate timing. Watch for the Birdsnest and the Cube, they are two of the neatest architectural designs I have seen.  I am sure as a television viewer you will not miss it.  

Beijing is somewhat known for it's smog, and I must say it is as bad as advertised.   In the 8 days that I have been here I have yet to see a blue sky. The picture below was taken midday, this is not fog that lifts off, this is the smog. 

However, the chinese government has learned how to play weather man and induce rain, and after they do this the skies should be clear for the opening ceremonies.   I think they will be doing this two days prior to the kickoff.   

As for sight seeing, we have not had much time for that.  I have managed to take a few shots of places that I intend to see when I get the chance, but most of our sight seeing has come from inside of a cab or bus.  

Silk Market, Houhai, Hot Pot

It has been a few days since my last post but honestly it feels like it has been two weeks.  Time seems to go by very quickly but the days are beginning to blend into one another.   Between working the events and making time to go out and experience Beijing it is essentially a 21 or 22 hour day.   I have finally adjusted to the time change, gotten over my jet lag and am feeling right at home.   To me, Beijing feels like any other modern urban city. At least it had until we visited the Hutongs last night.  Max has been living in Beijing and working for Jet Set for a year and has essentially become our tour guide.  He took us to Houhai, a bar district.   While we were there we met two very inebriated Chinese men....they went by the names Fred and John.  We sat with them for a while and shared a few beers and also shared stories.  After that we went to the Tattoo Bar, which was run by a rastafari chinese guy who looked to be about 20 years old with dreads.  We shared music and drank beers 2 cups for 10 rmb.  We also had Hot Pot, a mongolian cusine which has a pot that contains boiling water. 
 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.  

The night before Max took us to a college bar area, and where we purchased Tsing Tao on the street and saw a few fun bars....one of the street vendors was selling goat testicles....i will not try those.  After the street bars, we ended up at a Cantina where the bouncer decided that he wanted to challenge us all to an arm wrestling match.  He beat everyone except for Matt.  He was very humbled when Matt beat him.  

We also made it to the SIlk Street Market.  It is much like the markets in Mexico where you can bargain with anyone for clothing, shoes, watches, you name it.  I bought some knock off designer jeans, they are convincing and a pair of shoes for 200 RMB.....Matt however did not fare so well, he was a little overwhelmed and purchased so many things that he had to buy a suitcase to lug it home. 

I have to say, I am very excited that Matt is on this trip.  He is also from St. Louis and was also recommended by Dean.  Matt is literally like my brother.   We both played college baseball (he was a pitcher and i was a catcher), we listen to similar music, dress similarly and generally have the same tastes.  We are also both 27.   

I will try and keep you all updated more frequently.  It has started to get hectic with work.  As the games draw near we are putting in 12 and 13 hour days at least.  Currently I am working in transportation for a few corporate clients.  I cannot be anymore specific than that as I am not allowed to.   I could tell you but then I would have to kill you!!!!

A Night Out!

After a long day of training and settling in, David Baldwin invited some of his old friends from Torino, along with a few friends he met today out to dinner at a place called Purple Haze.  It was a great way to begin meeting all the new people who I have been introduced to .  It is kind of funny but when you work these events, everyone is very extroverted and the barriers come down very quickly because you know there is not a huge amount of time to really get to know one another. Needless to say tonight I met up with David (Chicago) , John (Toronto) , Trevor ( Vancouver), Julia ( Vancouver), Dave (DC Area), and Joey.  

The food was very tasty.  David has been working on his Chinese, since he has been in Beijing almost 2 months longer than most of us and he ordered for the table.  Spring Rolls, Cashew and Lemon Grass Salad, Sweet and Sour Pork, Yellow Chicken Curry, Vegetable Curry, Purple Haze Fried Rice, spicy vermicelli, beef, chicken and pork satay and a few others I cannot recall.  We also all ordered Tsing Tao, a chinese beer, to drink.   They even provided us with Purple Haze beer coolers for each beer.  

Following dinner all of the people staying at the Ritz, Dave, John, Julia and myself all returned via taxi.  The cab coming home only cost us 25 RM which is equal to around $3.50 total.  So we each paid approximately $1 for a cab ride. 

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.  

Final Hours

It is down to crunch time right now. I am finishing up my packing and preparing for Beijing. It is a tough trip to pack for, luckily my mother is an experienced traveler with lots of wonderful suggestions. I am finding that I am an extreme overpacker, then again I am just not used to packing for trips such as this one. I think I am managing fairly well. Today was the final shopping/spending spree. I had to run around to the bank, to pick up a few items for some frineds in Beijing, to get a gift card for my dog's care while I am gone, and many other little odds and ends. For anyone who has not had to go through this, it is tough trying to remember every little last detail. I just have to stay even keel and remember that if something comes up , I can take care of it as needed. I typically pretty good at dealing wtih things on the fly.


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.

Going Away Weekend

Sorry to be a bit behind on posts, but lately I have been a bit preoccupied with moving, and saying my goodbyes. I am currently in St. Louis visiting family and friends before I head off to China on Sunday. My goodbyes in Chicago were pretty tough. I finally felt like I had developed a nice solid group of people to spend time with, and then I had to say goodbye for a few months. I definitly look at it more as a "see you later" than a goodbye. I love the city of Chicago and look forward to returning.

This week is all about relaxation for me. I have a lot of down time and am just enjoying not working and having very few commitments. The time leading up to this week was just pure insanity. Over the weekend I had to move some things to storage, have a going away night, two softball games, move to a friends, and also have my last day at work. It was hectic but everything seemed to run very smoothly.

Friday night was spent packing and then partaking in game night at Toms. We played Scene IT! and Cherades and Scattegories. I then had to awake the next morning for moving and then the going away party.

The night began at Wokomona Sushi on Broadway. There were 14 of us in attendance and I think just about everyone brought wine, so needless to say things were entertaining. After Wokomona we headed to Halsteds for a round of drinks in the Beer Garden. We then continued on to Cocktail, the girls wanted to see the male dancers. I think Morgan enjoyed them the most....

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....=).

Hotel Update

So, I know I posted earlier that I would be staying at the JW Mariott in Beijing.  However, my arrangements have changed. My new contact info for China will be as follows....

July 21-31

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/Properties/BeijingFinancialStreet/Information/Default.htm

J   July 31-Aug 28 

 The Beijing International Hotel

 Address: 9 Jianguomennei  DaJie Beijing, China 100005

Phone: （ 86-10 ） 65126688

 http://www.bih.com.cn/enviews/

2 Years at Kellogg School of Management

Two years ago, I began working for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Today, is my last day of work before heading off to St. Louis and then to Beijing to work with Jet Set Sports. When i started here, I had no prior knowledge of Kellogg, and no experience working in higher education. I knew there were good benefits to working at the university, such as a discount on classes. I also figured that I would meet a lot of Chicagoans closer to my age. It is a bit odd, knowing that I am sitting at my desk for the last time, and that soon someone else will take my place as the Department Assistant 2 for the Career Management Center. I have to say that some of the skill sets that I learned while working in Career Management will follow me throughout the rest of my employed life. These skill sets include cover letter writing, resume writing, networking, among many others. All of which will be essential in identifying my next opportunity.

I can't thank the people at Kellogg enough for everything they have done for me. Whether it has been just a friendly hello, an ear to listen about life, or career, or even the gentle motherly advice that you get from all of the mothers in the office, it was always welcomed. The personalities in this office are completely different from one another yet we always seem to mesh together to make a dynamic team.

Yesterday, around 2 pm my assistant Magy came and informed that the secretary, Evelyn had a surprise for me. In my honor she made homemade eggrolls, Pork, Chicken and Veggie, as a send off. It is that kind of team atmosphere that makes this place run. I will miss coming to work everyday to a familiar desk, and familiar friendly faces. It is amazing when you stop and think that these people see you for 8-10 hours everyday M-F and they really become a part of an extended family.

To those Kelloggians reading this. I say thank you for all of the experiences we shared, and for cultivating an enviornment of acceptance, education, and also a little bit of fun. Everyone knows Kellogg is where the party is at!!!! You can never go a day without some kind of free food. Just do not try to diet if you work here, it is so irresistable.

Fourth of July Celebrations

Another weekend and another trip to St. Louis. My driving total is now up to 1400 miles in two weeks. Thank goodness I have been driving a rented Prius, which is amazing on gas mileage. This weekend I got in on Thursday and saw my nieces and sister and brother in law. Also, Gatsby had a play buddy, my sisters golden retriever Rigby! That evening I was Cole's date to a wedding in O'fallon, Missouri. Lucky for me I only had to attend the reception.

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!

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.