Here are some Quick Tips for anyone traveling to China.  I’ve been there 3 times now and continue to learn new things.  At this point though I’m feeling very comfortable there so am happy to share what I’ve learned so far.

Carry kleenex / tissues

A lot of Restaurants don’t offer you napkins.  And a lot of bathrooms don’t have toilet paper.  So you are on your own when it comes to supplying the paper products needed to do certain things.  The good news is almost every corner store (including 7-11) sells little packets of tissues.  Just make sure you stock up and have at least one pack on you at all times.

Speak Up!

If someone is bugging you, someone just stole your cab, or the waiter is ignoring you then you must speak up.  Otherwise you will just continue to be ignored.  Rarely did I need to raise my voice though it did happen a few times.

The Bathrooms are Different

If you are from the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, or pretty much anywhere else in the world then expect the bathrooms to be very different than what you are used to.  Sorry to be explicit here but there’s really no other way to describe this other than pictures (which are out of the question).  Essentially the bathroom is either a urinal, or a hole in the ground.  You read that right.  You basically squat over a hole in the ground and go the bathroom.  Then you have to carefully hoist yourself back up.

They say this way of going the bathroom is better for your digestive system.  I’m willing though to mess up my digestive system if it means more standard type restrooms over there.  The good news is the larger hotel chains and restaurants have started offering both types of bathrooms.

The Food Looks Different

First time I was there my wife thought she’d be doing me a favor by ordering a chicken.  What they put in front of me didn’t look like anything I’d ever eaten at KFC.  I am used to seeing a chicken breast, wing, and maybe a biscuit covered in gravy.  What they served in China was the ENTIRE chicken cut into some kind of cubes.  when you pick up a piece you get skin, meat, and some bone and cartilage.  You pretty much have to put it in your mouth and chew off the skin and meat.  The rest you put back on your plate.  Growing up one rule was you NEVER ate something and then put it back on your plate.  Here however that’s just how it’s done.  So unless you want to starve to death just deal with it.

Ordering fish was another interesting experience.  When we ordered a fish they brought out a little black plastic bag.  Inside of course was the fish just pulled from the fish tank.  They show it to you so you can see how fresh it is.  Once they cook it they bring it to your table on a large serving platter.  However, unlike McDonalds they do not serve it as a fish fillet on a bun covered in tar tar sauce.  In China you get the entire fish – head, body, and tail.  The good news – once you get past the fact that you are looking at the entire fish, it tastes delicious.

The Air Quality is Bad

If you have any asthma or allergy problems you should bring extra medicine.  The air quality in China is really bad, and it’s only getting worse.  When I in Beijing for the first time I was up the first night with wheezing problems (basically my lungs were a bit constricted due to all the dust in the air).  This was amazing since we were there during the 2 week period when the factories were shut down.  I hate to think what it would be like when the factories were actually turned on.

While there we ran into some students travelling through China from the Netherlands.  They were staying in some small town in the South for a few weeks doing some studies.  They told us the air quality in Beijing was actually really good compared to where they were staying.  Turns out they were staying in a town with electrical plants run by coal.  Coughing up black is not my idea of a fun vacation.

There is Internet Control but they are NOT out to get you

First time I was in China was back in 2005.  While staying at a buddy’s place I decided to test the “Great Firewall of China.”  That’s the rumor that all Internet traffic in China is monitored and controlled in and out by the Chinese government.  Okay turns out it’s not just a rumor and based on my experience this seemed fairly true.  When I tried Googling a few Chinese related search terms they were either blocked, or only very specific things were allowed.  Pictures and videos we are allowed to see in America were simply not viewable in China.  Rest assured though no one ever knocked on our door asking me to “please step outside for a moment.”  They probably saw what I was looking for and thought, “stupid American, go back to the US if you want to see that stuff.”

OVERALL

Each time I go to China I have a great time.  The people, food, and things to see are great.  Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before you go.  That way you’ll have a much better time.

This post is for people who are learning Mandarin Chinese and already ready my first posting on the topic.  Once you have a decent vocab down (say 100-200 Chinese words) you should start watching shows in Mandarin with English sub-titles.

A lot of sites out there will tell you this, though very few sites will tell you WHICH shows to watch or HOW to watch them.  Hopefully I can do a bit of both.

When it comes to finding the shows that can actually be fairly tough.  You need to seek those out that are in Mandarin and have english subtitles.  Plus, the preference should be on shows that take place NOW rather than 1,500 years ago.  Learning how to say “That’s the Emperor’s Ming Vase” might not be that relevant to your day to day life.  Final criteria is based on the speaking speed.  If a show has people talking too fast you will just get frustrated and go back to learning via books.  Therefore you want to be able to hear what they say, think about it for 2 seconds, before they go onto the next sentence.  You can of course just keeping hitting the pause button, but that is distracting.

When it comes to which shows to watch I’ve found a few that meet most of the criteria above.  Here they are:

• Meteor Shower – This show is actually fairly entertaining.
• Romance in the City – Decent though they talk a bit on the fast side.
  
• Jade Palace Lock Heart – About a girl who goes back in time.  Yes I know what I said before.  Still, this show meets all the other requirements.
  

Please know, I am not saying any of these shows will be fun or entertaing to you.  They of course might be.  Just saying this is a good way to hear people speaking Chinese so you get down the flow of the language, hear different styles, and hopefully get to learn a few words.

Next is HOW to watch the shows.  Odds are you’ve already clicked on the links above so aren’t reading this.  that’s too bad because you may be missing something here.  The key to watching the shows is to have some interest, but not too much interest in what is going on.  If the show is dull or boring you won’t watch it.  However, if you are totally into it you will end up just reading the English rather than trying to learn Chinese.   Therefore try the shows above and see which of them works for you.  By the end of watching a few hours you should have gotten something from them.  If not, google “chinese drama eng subtitles” and see if you can find something more to your liking.

If you find any shows that are better than what I recommended above please feel free to leave the name or link in the comments section.

METEOR SHOWER

Like any great company In-N-Out has set their industry bar extremely high.  In their case the bar has been set for a great burger, fries, and milk-shake.  And like other good companies they are facing a lot of competition.  Seems that every few months we hear about another company trying to out-cook, out-franchise, and out-sell In-N-Out Burger.  Fact is a lot of them can try, though few – actually none – will likely succeed.

Try as they might, The Counter, Hole in the Wall, and even 5 brothers can’t touch In-N-Out Burger when it comes to a simple, yet delicious dinner.

And perhaps that’s okay.  When a market is big enough there is always room for competition.  In fact our government sometimes mandates it (think about all the anti-trust lawsuits whenever someone wants to own 70+ percent of a market).

In this case In-N-Out is highly competitive in the market’s where they compete.  Unfortunately there are so few of them around.  Unless you live in a highly populated area in the West odds are you aren’t anywhere near In-N-Out.  They simply refuse to give in to the “bigger is better” mantra and expand out of their comfort zone.  Plus having such a small focus allows them to continue with their current levels of quality.

That secret to their success is the same secret that allows their competitors to come in and pick up large markets of customers that aren’t currently served (or are served by the likes of McDonald’s).  With this approach In-N-Out is proving that not every business executive is out there for growth and exploding ROIs.  Other companies that might make this list include Broad and Southwest Airlines (read Fortune magazine if you want any in-depth discussion on those two companies).

Perhaps some companies want to focus on more than just money.  In-N-Out for example may simply want to provide their customers with a great dinner.   And if a hungry person is too far from In-N-Out, they are content letting some other company feed them.  Fact is they can’t be everywhere all the time – WebVan tried that model and look where your stock options got you.   So the key is to focus on providing a simple service to a pretty target market.  Seems to be working great so far.

While this all sounds good on paper (e-paper I guess) I decided to test out another of my theories.  Could I eat an entire dinner, and yet still go to In-N-Out?  Was pretty sure the answer was yes, though it never hurts to double check.

A big group of us went out for a Moroccan dinner the other night.  We all had the lentils+tomato soup, some kind of sweet ground chicken appetizer, and then honey lamb shank to top it off.  When they brought us our checks we each got a small glass of tea.   It was a nice way to end an overall satisfying meal.  As we said our goodbyes in the parking lot they were all headed back home or wherever.  I however had another destination in mind.  After dinner I drove around San Diego wondering if I could really do it.  Then I punched In-N-Out into my GPS and headed on over to find out.  Once there I ate a double burger, a “well done” order of fries, and vanilla+strawberry shake.  So that seems to prove this all out.  No matter what you eat ahead of time, you can still manage to put down some In-N-Out.

With that, I need to leave now and see if the one by UCLA opened yet.  If not, I may need to break in.

Perhaps more than anyone else in our lifetimes’, Steve Jobs brought us the future.  And fortunately for us the future he brought was practical , educational, fun, and of course, user-friendly.

Steve Jobs was able to capture such a large world; and fit it into the palm of our hands.  He set out a course for bringing entertainment back into our lives.  Through Pixar and Apple he did so in spades. We now have faster and better access to music, games, movies, and numerous learning experiences.

Without Steve Jobs the music industry would still be in disarray, we’d continue to be tethered to inferior phones, and eBooks would be another 20-30 years away.  This of course is simply focusing on the tangibles Steve brought to the table.  What we can’t count are all the things he did that we can’t hold in our hands.

He reminded us that a strong leader CAN make a huge difference in our lives.  He taught us that ANYONE can stand up and be counted (not just someone who gets elected).   He also reminded us that there ARE better ways of doing things – we just need to figure them out, and make them happen.

Steve Jobs could have been, and seemingly was, successful at nearly everything he tried.  A testament to how smart, dedicated, and brilliant he was.  We should all take a moment and be happy for the learning lessons and future he has left behind.

The most unfortunate part of Steve’s early passing is what he left us all without.  Each few years I looked forward to seeing what industry would be completely un-hinged in order to make all of our lives more fun, interesting, and just a bit easier.  From the personal computer, to music, to great animated features, to cell phones (if we even use them to make phone calls), all the way to hand-held computing, Steve was able to turn our ordinary lives into something just a bit more extraordinary.

Hopefully someone at Apple had the key to the next 10 years of Apple’s future.  If they do, Steve Job’s legacy will be here for a long time to come.

Sometimes when an updated product comes out its new and improved.  Other times it’s just new.  When I finally made the switch to the newer iPod earlier this year I thought I had tapped into another 12 months of Apple engineering genius and experience over that time period.  I figured surely Apple engineers had been busy redefining and updating the iPod to something even better than the old one.  When it came out it was smaller, had a better look, and a touch-screen interface.  After I uploaded my songs and podcasts I used it for about 2 days.  That whole time I kept thinking I must be doing something wrong.  The interface was clunky, unresponsive, and all around not user friendly.

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Years ago I worked with a sales guy who had the exact same name as a famous rock star.  He could call up any bar in Hollywood and say, “Hi this is <name> and I’m coming by tonight.  Please have a table for me.”  He’d show up, show them his ID, and get taken right to a private table.  This worked well because he actually was who he said he was.  He never claimed to be the rock star, he just happened to have the same name.

And bouncers had no idea what the rock star looked like so they let him right in.  This works well when you happen to have the same name as someone famous.  This however doesn’t work when you only look or act like someone famous.  When you try to pull that off, you usually just end up in jail.

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The Consumerist is a decent web-site and usually about 1 in 10 articles is fairly interesting.  They ran an article today though that seemed completely made up.  It was about thieves stealing lenses off of digital cameras.  The idea is a thief will distract you while they, or one of their partners, steals the lens off your digital camera.  We should take a step back however and think about who is really getting ripped off here.

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Nap Time.  Those two words should conjure up memories of childhood, rainy Sundays, and…  a park I guess.  If you’re a parent they probably bring  up visions of your kid finally going to bed so you can watch TV already.  One thing Nap Time really represents though is one thing missing from our culture.  And it’s about time we brought it back.

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