Might as well call this city home

Today's weather: High = 5 Low = -1
Sunny

If I've got this right it looks like I've been in this city for about 5 years now, over two distinct time periods. This is excluding vacations, etc. It's enough to say this city feels like home and I'm certainly comfortable here.

The difficulty in making such a claim lies in the transient nature of expat life and the extremely rapid turnover of people coming in and out of the city. The revolving door is a simply a reality to live with that has both pluses and minuses.

From a psychological point of view, the revolving door makes it tempting to regard Shanghai as a place where nobody really stays put and to adopt a similar mentality. But it isn't quite like that. Even in my home country it is common to move to a city, stay there for a few years, and move on. So I figure if it's for one year, 5 or 10, might as well take the view that this place is home for however long I'm here.

Locals actually don't like the expat revolving door reality and would prefer foreigners to be more stable in the city. As they say, there is more to life than showing up in the city, making some money, and then taking off.

Massive Turnover

Today's weather: High = 6 Low = 0
Cloudy

The boss gave us staff until today to make a final decision if we're staying on to work next school year or not. I had my decision pegged during the vacation, after some wavering and checking other gigs that didn't match up to this gig. But I was astonished to learn today that many teachers have decided they are NOT coming back next year and have finalized it. The reasons why? Who the heck knows.

The facts are about an upcoming 75% staff turnover which is the first time in the history of this school and the highest relative turnover rate in my 6 years of offshore experience. Other schools such as Maple Leaf had a high absolute turnover each year but relatively, it tended to hover around 50%.

What this means is after a mere two years working here I'm now going to be the "old guy". Such is how it works in China and I had rapidly achieved this "old timer" status in Maple Leaf earlier in 2008 before throwing in the towel on that gig.

The good news is that I'll likely have my pick of courses next year and can mix in both math and physics like I was doing previously. Some years it is all math, other years it is all physics, but I prefer a mix of both. The bad news is the loss of friends and colleagues I get along with currently and a whole new set of dynamics and relationships next year.

Even so the life in Shanghai is so much better overall as this is a first tier city. As such we attract a more positive breed of teachers than those who work in 2nd tier cities like Dalian, and/or in isolated suburban outposts.

Which begs the question as to why so many are leaving Shanghai. Like I said I don't know. But they are. It won't be hard to find replacements that is for sure. As the old guy now I may as well claim this is my city.

Temperamental Scooter

Today’s weather: High = 6 Low = 1
Rainy, overcast, and crap

The scooter viciously protested against me taking it out of hibernation early. It was a big mistake to ride it in this crap weather to begin with. But it’s awfully tempting when it can reduce a commute to 15 minutes, as opposed to 45 minutes each way on the subway -- most of the time spent walking to and from stations.

And who can argue against the convenience of taking a scooter into town for the evenings, and coming back later at night when the subways stop running. That was the idea anyway. I filled up the scooter with fresh gas in the suburbs, but it sputtered out and failed halfway to People’s Square. A superb annoyance, as I had to leave it parked on the side of the road and catch a taxi the rest of the way otherwise I’d be even more late for a date.

Fortunately the breakdown happened in Xu Jia Hui near my work. Due to time constraints and no subway, I had to take a taxi home and leave the scooter parked overnight on a busy road. Then the next day I went to retrieve the scooter during my spare teaching blocks. Fully expecting the bike to have been stolen (despite the fact it was locked) I was astonished to see it still there in one piece. What’s more, it re-started when I put the key in the ignition. Totally amazing!

A friend figured that the carberator was dirty and/or water got into the fuel line. Most likely both. Let’s face it, scooters were designed for Thailand weather, not this cold and miserable rain crap.

At first I wanted to put it back into hibernation and wait until March to ride again. But the convenience won out.

After a maintenance job I've now been going back and forth from work on this bike in the freezing cold, not to mention various parties.

The good news -- the weather in Shanghai warms up quickly in March. Then it’s at least 9 months of the year of good riding. I’m going to upgrade this May and go for a new Yamaha YBR250 motorcycle. If the scooter survives until then, will keep it for zipping around downtown and the motorcycle for the suburbs. An added advantage is that the motorcycle acts as a mobile fuel storage tank and can siphon into the scooter when needed.

The scooter tank doesn’t hold much fuel, maybe 200km worth or less. So every week it needs a fill-up. If you’ve read the book, “Who moved my cheese”, then this concept applies LITERALLY when it comes to gas stations in Shanghai. Let’s just say someone moved my gas station when I was getting too comfortable.

Signed Another Year Contract

The decision was fairly obvious ... coming back to work another year at our school, Nanyang Model High School in Shanghai. This will now begin a 3rd year starting in September.

I was wavering on this one back in December, not surprisingly, and the winter holiday time helped straighten out the decision making process. After looking at what other nearby schools have to offer, ours is really a better gig.

In all likelihood I'll be signing a 4th year contract for the following year. Financially, it is becoming necessary as I'm on a rather serious investment track these days, and the masters degree has been re-evaluated to take 4 years to complete, from the previous 2 or 3.

A huge discussion ensued at the restaurant yesterday on the whole issue of Canadians paying taxes overseas and the non-resident issue. Not surprisingly, nobody had any solid factual evidence or conclusions on what needs to be done. Everyone had a different opinion or experience, and the conversation got very heated. This was exactly what happened last summer when I had conversations about the whole tax issue overseas and it's not a pleasant topic. Very controversial.

That being said, I'm going to at least try and get some information from the source, namely the Canadian Consulate here in Shanghai and see if perhaps there is a form to fill out or some other way to establish the non-residency.

Interestingly enough, why is it that people from North America living in Asia are considered "expats" or "non-residents" whereas people from Asia going to North America are considered "immigrants"? Practically speaking there is no difference from what long-term "expats" are in Asia, except for the name given to their status, and the fact that the "expats" can't actually get a passport from their adopted country.

First Week Back to Work OK

It was somewhat disorienting to be back in the classroom teaching after this holiday, and the cold weather shock (no heat in classrooms) was the biggest adjustment. Since I was already in 'math mode' from doing all those masters degree assignments over the winter holiday the teaching was easy to get back into. But certainly not for the students, who are taking some time to warm up and get their brains back into math solving mode again.

On that note, we have two major math contests (Fermat and Cayley) coming up in a few weeks. These almost got lost in the mail due to poor delivery timing and arrival when the school was closed for the holiday. But they arrived OK finally.

The next big thing is to apply for a license that students can write the AP Calculus test in May directly at our school. This should go OK, in that Collegeboard approved my course syllabus (required audit) and it's now a matter of using that approval to apply for a license to get the tests delivered on campus.

Otherwise, the students have to cross the city and write the test at some obscure location.

Summer holidays will be here before I know it. I'm already getting some ideas. Yes, Thailand, again, to do it properly during the monsoon and not in the peak season madness that I just went through. 3 weeks is not long enough for a winter holiday, but we do make up for it with a FULL two months summer break, whereas other international schools only have perhaps 6 weeks in July and August.

That being said, to take full advantage of that, I would not go to Canada during such a time. So it's a matter of either going during the May holiday break, or not going at all and asking the school to give cash in lieu of an airplane ticket. Still debating this one.

Metro Failures ... It Never Ends

Today's weather:  High = 8  Low = 3

Overcast

 

Not much choice this week but to ride the subway to/from work.  Fortunately it's working out OK, and not stuck in these kind of jams as below.  Too cold right now for bicycles and motorcycles until a few weeks from now when I'll start riding again.

 

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=494139&type=Metro

 

TENS of thousands of Metro passengers were delayed yesterday when services on several lines were halted by signal failure.

The 90-minute disruption began around noon, following a signal breakdown on Metro Line 3 at downtown Zhongshan Park Station, said management.

Some passengers delayed on Line 3 complained that "the trains are slower than bikes."

The Flight Back to Reality

Today's weather:  High = 3  Low = -5
Nasty
 

All in all, it's great to be back home in Shanghai.  The weather is chilly to be sure, but it's to be expected for this time of year.  Things are slowly getting back into a routine again at work/school, and the recent holiday did everybody good.

 

The recent bicycle trip in Thailand was top notch, and details can be found here on my trip journal

http://www.crazyguyonabike.dom/doc/smiles

 

Cycle touring is becoming one mad hobby, as I am pursuing this relentlessly year after year, holiday after holiday.  Next on the agenda will be to turn this hobby from amateur to professional, with the purchase of a new Montague folding mountain bike, better gear, and meeting with other cycle tourists to get some kind of club going.

 

All told, I took 7 flights during this recent trip, and they all went without a hitch or delay, including the stowing of the folding bike each time.   It is really the way to travel, except for one problem.  The typical folding bikes have very small wheels.  The Montague bike aims to solve this problem, combining the durability of what you expect with a solid mountain bike, and the ease of folding it to take planes, trains, and buses when needed.  The alternative of packing around a traditional mountain bike is just madness.  I met a bike traveler at the Bangkok airport who was carting around two large bike boxes to Burma, and not surprisingly, was being docked an arm and a leg by the airline. 

 

Unless you're planning to ride the bike from start to finish and back again, which few people are, then at some point it will need to be carted around at airports.  The idea is to make this process as painless as possible.

 

As far as flights went, here is the detailed rundown of how I got back from Bangkok.  It was the cheapest series I've done yet, at just over $100, and didn't take as long as expected.  However, there were a zillion "check points" or stations I had to go through.  Now that I guard the passport with my life, it wasn't lost.  But there were untold number of times it could have been lost given the sheer frequency with which I had to take it out, show it, and put it back. 

 

6:15am   A waiting pre-booked taxi picks me up from the guesthouse and speeds off to the airport in a mere 15 minutes. He runs off and picks up a luggage trolley as we get there and hands it to me.  For all that service he easily gets a 100 baht tip and the driver is thrilled.  He deserves it.  It astonishes me how fast the Thai taxi drivers move.  This got me earlier to the airport than planned, which turned out to save the day.

 

6:30am.  Shrink wrap the bike.  Not necessary, but worth it.  When the carrying bag is too small and ripped to pieces from over-use, why not.

6:35am.  Check in for my first flight. 

6:40am   Pay a sports equipment fee.  Typical Air Asia

 

6:50am  Enter passport control.  At this point I thought I was doomed.  The peak season plague in Thailand would continue right until the bitter end.  It is due to masses of Chinese people traveling during their break, the Thais themselves celebrating Lunar New Year, and the usual foreign tourists.  Fittingly, everyone was leaving the country today.  The lineups were astonishing, and would take well over two hours to clear, thus causing me to miss the flight.  Fortunately I found another exit on the far side that was less crowded, got through in an hour, and barely got on board the flight.  Now I understand why they insist you arrive 3 hours before an international flight.  I truly hate this.

 

7:50am  Squeaked on board the flight, 10 minutes before departure time.  Air Asia may be stingy, but to their credit, they have an excellent punctuality record and their flights are rarely delayed.

10:30am  Arrived in Macau, noting the change in weather.  This would get worse later, but I would continue in shorts and a T-shirt.  Entered the immigration line-up and waited.

11:00am  Picked up luggage, then went upstairs and checked into my next flight.  Spring Airlines.  A painless process.  Figuring there was time (there was not) I went to grab lunch and a coffee, in order to get rid of those annoying Macau dollars.  Nobody else would exchange them in other countries.

 

11:30am  Went back through immigration and security, and it was crowded.  Nearly missed my next flight, but what was I going to do, skip lunch?  I already skipped breakfast and it's not like they feed you on these cheap airlines.

 

12:00pm  Got on board the next flight 15 minutes before departure.

2:45pm   Arrived in Shanghai into a pelting rainstorm and fierce winds.  Brutal.  I was lucky in that my plane actually landed whereas many others were canceled or delayed due to the weather. 

3:00pm  Easily and quickly cleared immigration as the Pudong airport is known for being efficient.  It helps to be a foreigner as that line is nearly empty.  Some guys next to me were given lengthy questions as they had entered China previously and only stayed one day.  Obvious suspicion.  I have a good track record with China immigration and following the laws of this country --  and want to keep it that way.  Case in point, I didn't shave my beard yet so it would still look like the passport photo.   No questions were asked.  Got the baggage and lunged for a taxi

 

3:15pm  Taxi got me home in 45 minutes.  Worth the higher price.  Wearing shorts and a T-shirt, I simply wasn't up for the slog of taking buses, waiting in the cold, etc.

 

4:00pm   Turned on the heat, promptly fall asleep, then was rudely awakened by a fireworks binge I had wanted to avoid by going to Thailand.  Welcome back.

A side note about Macau, it is one of the most unusual places on the planet.  Remarkably I've gone through there nearly 15 times now, and haven't stayed a single night in Macau.  It functions as a transit hub to go to and from China and SE Asia using the cheap airlines.  A major annoyance is that all those entries and exits from Macau clutter up my passport with stamps and take up limited page space.  If only there was a way to get some kind of transit pass or other document without having to use the passport.  Plus there is the ongoing bugaboo of what to put for the "address in Macau" when filling out those forms.  It's a nuisance.

 

A helpful travel tip:   bring along a pen for these flights.  They pass out immigration forms on the flight and expect you to fill them out on board.  There are stations on arrival, but the whole thing is a mess.  Forms are often missing and the pens seldom work.  Plus whatever time you spend filling in forms causes you to lose the advantage you had by sitting near the front of the airplane.  In that case, it's better to bug a passenger or an attendant for a pen and save yourself 30 minutes or more on arrival.  If you're sitting near the back of the plane, it doesn't matter what you do, the battle is already lost.