Relocating to Shanghai: Day 1 thru Day 4
Wow. For everyone that I promised to contact as soon as I moved, and found a place to live, let me apologize en masse right now... It's been a crazy few weeks, and I've grown to appreciate some of the conveniences that were previously taken for granted in the US...such as wireless hotspots...and/or neighbors that had a reliable network connection and an unlocked wireless router. *sigh*
Upon arriving in Shanghai, as I walked down the airport terminal, staring at ad after ad printed in Chinese, I had a sudden realization that I wasn't just here to visit this time...my heart rate quickened, my chest clenched for a quick second, and I took a couple quick, shallow breaths. Taking a deep breath, clearing my head, it wasn't until later that I realized that was my first and closest experience to an anxiety attack of sorts...
Thanks to the national holiday, Jeff was able to meet me in Shanghai, and keep me sane through the stress of the next 10 days... At the beginning, I was immediately taken under the wings of our Deloitte consultants who were responsible for getting me settled into my new home. It was almost as if I didn't even need to think. I was there to express my preference, my color of choice, my like/dislike of the apartments that they showed me. Aside from that, my agenda was decided for me, my transportation was provided, my bank accounts were opened for me, and all they needed me for was for my signature. It was awesome. Within the first 2 days, I'd found an apartment. The consultants and real estate agents did the bargaining for me, drafted the contract for me, made sure I had all of the utilities and furniture that I needed, and then even picked me up in a car, and took me shopping. They'd tell me if I was getting ripped off, if the quality was good/bad, etc. Once all of that was over, it was up to me and Jeff to go get the rest of the stuff to make the apartment feel more like home...
On the morning of Day 3, I was escorted by another consultant to obtain my requisite health check on the far west side of town, in an aging hospital compound built in the early 90's. Never have I felt so violated in my life! After being assigned a number and a matching barcode on my paperwork, I was shuffled into a hallway full of foreigners clad in loose-fitting hospital robes. I was then handed my gown, told to change in the dressing room, and was bruskly ordered to stand on the scale. "don't look down!" *shrug* I guess they were measuring my height too. "go to room 6". Room 6 had two nurses standing behind a table. There were two cushions on the table, two chairs, and two boxes full of (thankfully disposable)syringes... In an amazingly efficient and swift series of movements, I found myself getting my blood drawn into various vials, after which I was bandaged, and told to go to room 10. Room 10 had a female nurse, and an E chart being projected onto the wall opposite her. "sit down." so I sat. "cover your right eye. what is this letter?" "an E," I said. "and this?" "an M?" I said, not knowing how to refer to a letter E, just facing in another direction... "how about this letter?" "an upside-down E?" with an obviously perplexed look on my face. "Can you not read it?" "Yes, I can read it! I just don't know what to call it, it's an E on it's back...?" Slamming her hand on the table, as if to chastise me, "W!!"... ...oh. ok... In a line outside of Room 11, I sought comfort by looking for other english-speaking people, and sat down next to a man who was relocating from London... And so I was sent from room to room, getting poked, prodded, examined, ultrasounded, and x-rayed...after each exam, my paperworked was stamped with a rubber stamp, noting my state of health. Apparently my inner organs are not aligned...or something to that effect...
Thankfully the following weeks have been much less abrasive, and relatively welcoming in comparison to that health check experience...certainly not one I would care to repeat in the coming decade...
Let's stop with this for now. I'll update with photos and Day 4 through today, when I get a little more time... For now, it's off for Taipei for me!
Upon arriving in Shanghai, as I walked down the airport terminal, staring at ad after ad printed in Chinese, I had a sudden realization that I wasn't just here to visit this time...my heart rate quickened, my chest clenched for a quick second, and I took a couple quick, shallow breaths. Taking a deep breath, clearing my head, it wasn't until later that I realized that was my first and closest experience to an anxiety attack of sorts...
Thanks to the national holiday, Jeff was able to meet me in Shanghai, and keep me sane through the stress of the next 10 days... At the beginning, I was immediately taken under the wings of our Deloitte consultants who were responsible for getting me settled into my new home. It was almost as if I didn't even need to think. I was there to express my preference, my color of choice, my like/dislike of the apartments that they showed me. Aside from that, my agenda was decided for me, my transportation was provided, my bank accounts were opened for me, and all they needed me for was for my signature. It was awesome. Within the first 2 days, I'd found an apartment. The consultants and real estate agents did the bargaining for me, drafted the contract for me, made sure I had all of the utilities and furniture that I needed, and then even picked me up in a car, and took me shopping. They'd tell me if I was getting ripped off, if the quality was good/bad, etc. Once all of that was over, it was up to me and Jeff to go get the rest of the stuff to make the apartment feel more like home...
On the morning of Day 3, I was escorted by another consultant to obtain my requisite health check on the far west side of town, in an aging hospital compound built in the early 90's. Never have I felt so violated in my life! After being assigned a number and a matching barcode on my paperwork, I was shuffled into a hallway full of foreigners clad in loose-fitting hospital robes. I was then handed my gown, told to change in the dressing room, and was bruskly ordered to stand on the scale. "don't look down!" *shrug* I guess they were measuring my height too. "go to room 6". Room 6 had two nurses standing behind a table. There were two cushions on the table, two chairs, and two boxes full of (thankfully disposable)syringes... In an amazingly efficient and swift series of movements, I found myself getting my blood drawn into various vials, after which I was bandaged, and told to go to room 10. Room 10 had a female nurse, and an E chart being projected onto the wall opposite her. "sit down." so I sat. "cover your right eye. what is this letter?" "an E," I said. "and this?" "an M?" I said, not knowing how to refer to a letter E, just facing in another direction... "how about this letter?" "an upside-down E?" with an obviously perplexed look on my face. "Can you not read it?" "Yes, I can read it! I just don't know what to call it, it's an E on it's back...?" Slamming her hand on the table, as if to chastise me, "W!!"... ...oh. ok... In a line outside of Room 11, I sought comfort by looking for other english-speaking people, and sat down next to a man who was relocating from London... And so I was sent from room to room, getting poked, prodded, examined, ultrasounded, and x-rayed...after each exam, my paperworked was stamped with a rubber stamp, noting my state of health. Apparently my inner organs are not aligned...or something to that effect...
Thankfully the following weeks have been much less abrasive, and relatively welcoming in comparison to that health check experience...certainly not one I would care to repeat in the coming decade...
Let's stop with this for now. I'll update with photos and Day 4 through today, when I get a little more time... For now, it's off for Taipei for me!
posted by cpao at
9:17 AM
3 Comments:
What's this about your internal organs are not 'aligned' ? That sounded like a rather strange medical comment after all that testing. Have you found out what that really meant ? Love, Daddy. 05/15/06, Monday, 11:55AM Pacific Time.
By
Anonymous, at 8:59 PM
I wonder... is that what they tell cows before they um, realign things for them in a cold cold room? Maybe the labeling and selling is an attempt by people to sort things but then realizing they don't know which came from where they sell it off, hoping the buyer will know where all these things belong. I make no sense and I go now. I found out my boss is leaving our group. We're going from 3 to 2. That's a big cut don't you think? *sigh* I wanna leave too...
By
Anonymous, at 2:46 AM
I think what they mean is, your organ is not Feng Shui. You really should go back to the "hospital" and get back in line for a 2nd look. What about room 8? THATS the problem, you missed room 8! =P
By
Anonymous, at 5:52 AM
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