Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Language of the Road




It’s like water.  It flows into whatever space is available, no matter which side of the street.  It stays at a constant metered pace, unless a dam of sorts forms ahead stopping its flow.  Everything -  scooters, push bikes, cars, buses, wagons - they all just move back and forth with a sense of grace and order that is only appreciated after you have experienced it for long enough to understand it.    Contrast to one’s first impression, there are indeed rules.  If you stay in the flow, don’t make any erratic movements, and stay aware, everything just works.   One short beep, I am coming by.  One long beep, I am coming by and you are in my way.  Repeated beeps, I am coming by, you are in my way, and you will get hurt if you don’t adjust quickly.  It is just the way it is.  It’s the language of the road.  And like any other language, once you give up criticizing its differences and instead embrace them, you get it.

This morning riding my bike in rush hour to school, I felt Chinese.  Stopped at the lights, I looked around at the crowd of us waiting and saw that I had indeed stopped in the right place. Scooters turning right could pass without a honk and cars doing the same could easily turn on the other side of me without feeling the need to yell “lao wai” (foreigner) as they pass.  I may be the only one wearing a helmet and the only one who still fears the buses, but I understand the flow.  Now I speak the language.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Daddy's Little Girl


It's Official!!


The culmination of almost a year of hard work came to a close this past week as Doug had his official grand opening of the Corning Life Sciences Wujiang Plant and Warehouse.  The day was filled with lots fanfare & tradition, people with very long titles, a few gan bei (bottoms up) and of course alot of pride.

Congratulations Doug!!  For sure a lot of hard work by many, but such great success in such a short time was only possible because of your dedication and outstanding leadership.  We couldn't be more proud of you!




And check out the local news!!
http://www.wyol.com.cn/html/2011/shizheng_1109/31618.html
http://www.wjdaily.com/node/VideoXwsp/2011-11-9/11119181649776333175.html

The Noises of a Big City

Eric's face is priceless, as he prepares for the impact.  What you can't see in this video is the street cleaner coming by.  They can literally spray water (hopefully its just water) out 30 ft on both sides.  They give you a bit of a warning (as you can hear), but it still doesn't prepare you for what is to come.


We have Lift OFF!!


They just grow up too fast!!!  Once again, Eric was right.  He has been telling us for a month that he was ready to take his training wheels off his bike.  So, today was the day and he was riding solo within 5 minutes.  Amazing what a little confidence can do.  

Congratulations Eric!!



Getting Ready
A quick lesson...
And we're off!  Did you let go??
A Natural
Quickly it became a game of chase.
Eric's Cheerleaders