Welcome to Shanghai : Day 4

2008. 10. 25

Today is supposed to a slow day. No clients. No hot shots. No business calls or whatnot.

First, some of the participants went on a trip, completely abandoning the booth. It is very irresponsible of them . Which means the parttimers and the young guys get to keep the booth and to get rid of all the brochures and souvenirs left. And that’s what Oh did in the entire morning. Before taking lunch, Oh and another participant decided to go on a road trip. And it was awesome.

Leaving the convention venue, Oh checked up on the girl that he is interested in. Still no response from her. Whatever, Oh thought.

Hopping on a cab and explaining the directions to the cabby who does not speak English, Oh put up the map on the glass that separated the driver’s seat’s and assistant’s. Finally, the driver understood and started to floor it.

The traffic in Shanghai is extremely insane. The hodgepodge of bikers, cars and pedestrians is just ridiculous. What is more amusing is the fact that Oh, since his arrival, has not witnessed a single car accident. Many of Oh’s foreign friends said that the traffic in Seoul is horrible. Well, surely they have never been to Shanghai.

They arrived Pearl Village, a street full of jewelry shops and souvenir shops. Since it is a Saturday, it seems natural that they are tons of people. I mean it is china, but this is way too much. Just take a look.

Then Oh and his friend moved to this particular private garden that a son built for his mother. Luckily, they met a group of Korean tourists. Tagging them alone, Oh was lucky to eavesdrop the explanation on the garden.

In order to cope with the bubbling stomach, Oh and his friend walked into a MacDonald. They never imaged to heat a Big Mac in China. Well, it was decent.

After gulping down fries and a hamburger, the duo jumped into a cab to head over to People’s Square. Just like before, Oh put up the map and pointed the destination on it. After a little bit of gesticulating, the driver sensed where to take the two lost expats.

Arriving, the duo, in lieu of going to the park, decided to go to the underground shopping mall, which was a lot like that in Seoul. The girls were cute, well dressed. Hip per se. Oh purchased two lip glosses for the lady colleagues of his as a souvenir. Oh and his friend realized that the trip turned out way better than they thought it would.

Oh felt a bit like a stranger. Granted, Chinese and Koreans look quite alike. But it was the language that separates one from another. However, since two language share a lot in common, Oh was able to interperet some of the charactehrs that led him to certain directions or that helped understand the previous conversations with random Chinese people. And thanks to the fact that Oh learned Chinese back in highschool in college, Oh threw some random, broken language in Chinese faces. Of course, whenever it happened , those Chinese had a confounding look.

Back to the road trip, the duo made up their minds to try Shanghai metro. Again, when purchasing the tickets, Oh put up the map on the glass at the box office and said “I need two tickets for this station.” It worked. Again, a lot of people. I mean simply a LOOOOT.

The subway was not too bad actually although Oh thought it was a bit small compared to the back home. The width of each train was as small as the NTY transit, which is very tiny. Well, Americans are big. But their subway is way too narrow and small.

Getting of the subway, they headed back up to the overground. After walking about 20 mins in dress shoes, they made it to the convention venue. But the show was over, and there was no one. Oh started to panic for two reasons. A) He thought before the show was over that he could talk to the girl that he gave the little note to B) He left his jacket and the umbrella that he had checked out at the hotel with a 100 renmenbi for a deposit. What is worse is that in the pocket of the jacket there is his passport. 100 renmenbi is almost 20,000 won. But without the passport, he can’t go back home.

After making several phone calls, he found out that the jacket is safely kept by one of the participants. But the umbrella is still missing. Dang it. It seems like the last day is running the entire leg of trip. Also, Done waiting for the girl’s reply, Oh asked the front desk where the girl that he is interested in is staying. And guess what. The front desk said that she is NOT staying the this hotel. And it could be because A) She is really not staying B) Oh got her name wrong., which could be why she has not responded yet.

After coming back to the hotel, Oh was relieved to know that the jacket’s been secured. But still he was curious what the deal was with the girl. So, Oh decided to be sitting in the lobby, awaiting her. Oh thought “I don’t believe this. This is the very last night in Shanghai and he is waiting for the girl that he barely knows.”

Two and a half hours. That will be it. Then he is going to hit the most flamboyant and the fanciest spot in Shanghai to explore the crazy night life in Shanghai. The only thing that is sucky is the fact that it’s been drizzling.

Welcome to Shanghai : Day 3

2008. 10. 24

Today has been really slow. Compared to the fever, anxiety, excitement, those of the second day seemed to disappear. Expectedly, except for some young participants, the most of the members are somewhere, doing something fruitless. However, Oh succeeded in meeting the girl that he met on the elevator yesterday and even got her business card. It was not clear that if she detected that Oh was interested in her. But definitely, Oh sent a signal to her. Later today, Oh plans on asking her out or at least testing the water.

At any rate, Oh worked out today at the min-gym in the hotel. Although it has been only two days since he became unable to exercise, it seems like Oh felt like he gained some weigh already. In particular, some of the food that Oh has had, of course, was real greasy and cheesy. Since Oh forgot bringing his running shoes, he was content with doing some muscle failure in lieu of abiding by this routine. Well, at least it is better than nothing.

Workout is so miraculous in a bad way. You work out so hard and stop it for a couple of days, then all the muscle that you build up painstakingly is gone. Just like snapping fingers. And it takes twice time and energy to rebuild the muscle up. This might be the beauty and the whole point of work out. No pain, no gain. What you reap is what you sow. But all the hard work that you invested does not necessarily guarantee the result. Sometimes the result is frustratingly intangible. And this is why probably 60 percent of those signing up for the gym quits within three months.

Anyway, Oh saw the girl he was interested in wandering around the venue and passing out brochures. So he was biding his time to talk to her and strike up a conversation, which Oh pulled off. Ice is broken.

After spending hours on keeping the booth and asking some questions that random visitors hurled at him, Oh was bored to death. So, he enticed one of the participants to step outside and get some fresh air.

After coming back from little picture-taking sojourn, Oh was wondering what the girl that he was interested in was up to. So he went on a recon and found out that she was not at the booth. Coming back to his booth, Oh picked up a notepad and a pen in order to leave her a message that he would like to take about “cruise industry in general” over a cup of coffee (which Oh thought was a vastly lame pickup line) So, sitting on a bench next the her booth, Oh started to jot down the message, hoping she does not come back in the meantime. Folding the message, Oh decided to come back later and deliver it in person.

After 10 minutes, Oh headed back to the booth, being completely anxious and even fidgeting. Finally.

Oh : “Hey!”
She : “Hi!” (With a beautiful smile)
Oh: “I am here to pick up the newsletter that you talked about,”
She : “Hmm.. which one is it?”
Oh : (Pointing the paper on the desk between them) “I think that one is what I am looking for”
She : “Oh, yeah. Well, hold on. (Go to the back to the booth) There is one more I would like to give you”
Oh : “Ok?” (Receiving a brochure that She is handing over)
She : “This is the schedule for the upcoming conventions in Europe”
Oh : “Ah. You guys ton of conventions lined up. Well. Listen I have something for you in return.”
She : (With another big beautiful smile) “What is it?”
Oh : “(Sliding the note from his right sleeve) Well. I wanted to say it, but put the words down instead”
She : “Oh--- Can I open this now?”
Oh : “No..it would be embarssing..and..I need to go now because my team is leaving now.”
She : “Oh. Okay- are you coming in tomorrow?”
Oh : “Yes. I am. You know. I gotta go. See you around?”
She : “Yes. See you!”

Welcome to Shanghai : Day 2

2008. 10. 23

Finally, the convention began. Since this is his first business trip to overseas, Oh did not have many ideas what to do. As his colleagues advised before his flight, Oh just wanted to taste what cruise industry is like, to establish some old-boy network and explore Shanghai.

The convention was all right. Well, it was a bit lame. It could be that since Oh is narrow-sighted, he feels that way. However, it was not just him, but some other participants concurred as well. Therefore, Oh just wanted to take it not too seriously, but to get his job done at least, such as promoting Gyeonggido, and dole out all the brochures that he had mailed over here.

Oh sometimes tagged along some other participants and visited Chinese tour agencies or major cruise companies while he asked some cruise gurus about the industry in general. It was certainly helpful in that Oh received a number of insights and advice in depth from those experts. Nevertheless, schlepping around in the convention venue and being stuck at the booth was tiring and boring. Oh found himself flirtatious with one girl, but she circumvented Oh’s moves. Respectfully, Oh made no further move. Interestingly, there was a girl working at the booth across Oh’s. Oh and she had few eye contact, which basically does not mean anything. But she came over to Oh’s booth and struck up a conversation with her. While thinking that the girl is just interested in our booth, He thought that maybe she is interested in me. (Oh’s as much as narcissist as others) Meaning to be aloof and play it cool, Oh kept his eye on her. But no moves made today, maybe tomorrow.

After today’s official schedule was over, some of the participants went to watch a Chinese Acrobatic Show, which was a bit boring. Surely, some Chinese are so bendy to become acrobats . But while watching the show, Oh was reminded of the alleged age cheat and felt sort of sorry for the performers.

After the show, the mop decided to have a drink at a bar next to the hotel. The nocturnal view from the bar that looked over the skyline of Shanghai was something! After only one glass of beer, Oh called it a night.

Btw, Oh was so glad to hit the gym. The gym with three treadmills, two dumbbells and one rusty multi-purpose equipment. Still, he pumped some muscle before the performance. Tomorrow morning, although he can show up at the venue as late as 9:30 in the morning, set the alarm at 7:00 to go the gym and sweat.

One last thing. While Oh was walking on the street, this random Chinese guy said something to Oh’s face, which Oh’s shrugged off. After 5 minutes, Oh came back to the hotel and saw that guy hover at the main entrance. As soon as they have eye contact, that Chinese guy said something in Chinese to Oh who said “I don’t speak Chinese” In return, the guy flashed some Chinese girls’ photos and a piece of paper that read “We have many hot Chinese girls…” Yup… he was a pimp..no.. a panderer. Oh, while swatting off the man, came back into the hotel and got on the elevator, hoping to see the lady that Oh met in the elevator this morning and at the convention asked very stupid questions to.

Welcome to Shanghai: Day 1

Oh got up early, ate and left for the limousine to the airport. First trip to China. He’s been told a lot of horrible stories about China. For example, an old Korean couple on a tour in China was abducted, put to sleep and robbed of their organs. Anyways, he was anxious, nervous and excited at the same time. Going overseas and going to the airport always makes people feel eerie Oh thinks.

At any rate, at the airport, Oh met a bunch of people from all over the country wing ing down to Shanghai with him. They are from different organizations and are participating 2008 Shanghai Seatrade All Asia Cruise Convention. Since Oh’s job description covers cruise industry, Oh’s team captain decides to send him over to China.

After going through the exact same gate where Oh sent off the girl that he had a crush on about 3 years ago, and his ex girl friend about 2 years ago, he wandered about a school of duty free shops without buying anything.

Hopping on the plane, Oh is flying to China. Red. Mao Ze Dong, Red Book. Population. Fast Growth. Pollution. Flamboyance. History. Great Wall. There are too many adjectives to illustrate the country of en masse.

Touching down the airport, he found the air very smoggy and dirty. Indeed, there is a lot of construction going on at the moment. According to the tour guide, since PRC a communist country, the land is organized and managed by the government. So, no one owns even a piece of land. Still death penalty (hanging or public execution) is still carried out here in China. Eerie



After spending almost an hour on the bus, Oh and the mop reached the hotel that they are going to spend next 5 days and 4 night. Oh’s got a single room. Nice. No disposable razor, by the way. Great.

Then they went to the convention venue and checked out the booth that they are going to be stuck at for the next 3 days.

Afterwards, some of the participants decided to go to a welcoming dinner in the middle of Shanghai. Cooped up in the shuttle bus from the hotel, only 5 out of 20 participants headed to the dinner, which was pretty awesome. Chinese cuisine such as Peking duck, lobster, Chinese Kimchi!!, and some greasy local food that Oh could not even swallow. But what was more amazing was the rapid civilization and the bipolarization of the city’s outer aspect. On the outside, Shanghai beats the crap out of Walstreet or even Manhattan. However, if you took a good look at it, it is worse than Harlem (not securitywise). Oh thought he was in the middle of projections in Queens or Brooklyn. Shanghai is grotesque. It is a two faced city. On one hand, you see the facny and flamboyant skyline. On the other hand, you see slum areas where people hang their clothes out in the street, spit and pickpocket. And the smog and the overcast weather adds up to it.

Coming back to his room, he received a text message from a good friend of his. She lives in Beijing now. Although she did not want him to call her, Oh called up. Oh and she met back in Korea about 3 years ago. They fancied each other, but nothing happened. Strangely enough, they remained good friends since then. Anyways, a single phone call, although it will cost Oh’s company substantially, would not get him fired. So, they chatted up and hung up.

Oh took a shower and got ready to go to bed. Tomorrow the convention starts and Oh needs to get his job done. Participating in a couple of conference and go on sales calls. In the evening, he plans on exploring some hot spots in Shanghai. Night life of Shanghai awaits him. Now he regrets not taking Chinese so seriously back in college and high school.

Packing

2008. 10. 21

Packing for tomorrow. Yes. As soon as Oh came back from workout, he began to pack. No, he is not moving. He is going on a business trip to Shanghai next 5 days, starting tomorrow. First time in China. Gotta be interesting. To the country of Redbook.