Winter weather in Jingmen City

Jingmen Winter
This post will start off with some geeky stuff, but you know - this is me here.  Besides, I'm alone for the next 12 days and need something to do.  Many people asked about how the weather will be in China compared to the upstate of South Carolina.  Jingmen City is actually in the same climate zone as Greenville, SC.  The AVERAGE temperatures are nearly the same, but there are some differences.  Here in Jingmen, and unlike Greenville, they are able to grow citrus crops - I mentioned the tasty oranges in a previous post.  Jingmen is not subjected to the early deep cold snaps we have during the fall in South Carolina (caused by the Jet Stream bringing down Canadian air) that would destroy the fruit near harvest time.   However, there is typically more cloudy days here during the winter and this keeps the daytime high temperatures a bit cooler than Greenville (Red vs  Dark Blue line below).

The nearby lake (at least twice the size of Jocassee in SC) helps to keep our air moist - so a little wind makes it feel much colder here than the actual temp.  Oh, and we're situated a little lower in elevation than Greenville too, which also contributes,I think, to more humidity.  A typical year here will feature a couple of small snowstorms with 1-3 inches each.  And just like Greenville the snow melts quickly.

SNOWMAGEDDON 2018 IN CHINA

However, since I'm here, you can take what I just said (and the graph above) and throw it all out the window.  Starting yesterday afternoon, and continuing as I write this, we're having one of the biggest winter storms in around 10 years!  

Citrus trees near the water,  rows of tea behind those

The factory where I would normally be working is out of power, and it's a winter wonderland everywhere else.  It's also cold and the high temps will not reach past 32-34 for the next several days.  Some highways are shut down today.

Fortunately, the hotel still has power.  I've also solved the problem of the hotel workers opening my windows during the day with help from my translator, Serina.  Now I like the fresh air as much as anybody, but when its 30 deg and windy - not so much.  Sadly, Serina will be flying back to the states tomorrow if the airports are open - but a new employee with some good English skills is starting soon to help me out.

It could be a long couple of days since they do not have the equipment here to move snow.  It's actually pretty crazy considering back in South Carolina, the city of Charleston just got an equally rare 6" of snow also the last 24 hrs.  I feel you Charleston!

Brrrr...snowy and breezy...in front of hotel about 1 hour ago.

Hotel workers clearing the driveway.

Then again, China has a lot of people who can wield a lot of brooms and shovels!

Just now, the snow slacked up and the workers made some headway.

The plan is to pick up my laundry and make a return to Walmart when the road conditions improve - no earlier than tomorrow I think.  If anyone needs me, I'll be right here :-)

Dirty Clothes, Dates and Donkey skins

Just a short post today. 

First stop - Banks

We ran a few errands in the main part of Jingmen City.  First stops were at a couple of banks to get my Chinese debit card working with WeChat.  WeChat is an app like Facebook messenger.  It has a "Wallet" feature that you can use to pay for things with your phone like many people are doing in the states.  With my limited language skills, paying for stuff with just a phone scan is a nice feature!  While you wait for service at the banks, someone usually comes by and serves you hot green tea (or maybe that's just for me) - pretty cool huh?  I also found a bank that will take my american travel Visa card in their ATMs, so a successful trip so far.

Laundry Service

Next stop was the laundry place.  Until our house gets built (we will have a washer/dryer), we're staying at a hotel near the factory that does not have a clothes washing service.  So Sam (our driver) took us to a place in town.  I was a little concerned when Serina (my translator friend) noticed I had included underwear in my laundry and said they might not wash those!   I told her that getting the underwear washed was kind of a priority, LOL.

Laundry lady counting my dirty garments one by one

The laundry lady counted each of my dirty pieces of clothes one by one to figure the price.  The pile below was priced at 220 RMB ($33).

180 RMB ($27) to wash this pile

Sam told me the laundry lady was a friend so he got 40 RMB knocked off the price.  Yes, I know I posted my dirty laundry on the blog - don't judge.

Natural Remedies
While I was getting my clothes counted, Serina and Victor went to a nearby Pharmacy.  Serina bought some natural snack foods that supposedly have medicinal properties.  The Chinese are very big on natural remedies.  On the right is a kind date.  It basically tasted like a large raisin.   The square one on the left was something Serina had trouble translating.  It is supposed to have some health benefits for females at certain times (I'll just leave that there) and other general benefits for everyone.  After a little bit of work, I figured it out.  It's sesame seeds (of some sort) pressed into a donkey skin gelatin.

Yeah, I know your mouth just waters at the mention of donkey skins.  Anyway, I did eat one (cause that's how I roll) and it's really not that bad.  However, I think I will stick with the dates in the future.

Walmart in China

We've visited two malls during my first week here in Jingmen City.  The first one contains a Walmart on the basement level.  The Walmart was really interesting and may require some follow-up posts when Dana gets here.

Anyway, Walmart does not have a whole lot of competition in this smaller than normal Chinese city (2-3 million) from any other western chains. 

The product selection here is far different than the typical Walmart in the states, especially in the food section.    Even the familiar stuff, like Lays chips, have flavors you will not see in the states (at least not in most places).

And if you need a snack of chicken feet (mild or spicy) or some duck tongue - you're good to go.

I found some Chinese chips to try and passed on these.

Mild or spicy flavors - for those who are picky about their feet

There are some familiar brands, but you'll pay more for many of the imported stuff like Milka chocolate.  Some western brands, like Dove chocolate,  have partnered with Chinese companies to make their products here - and those prices tend to be more competitive with the Chinese brands.

The brown sugar section with several shades.

There was an incredible amount of spices in different places in the store.  My translator friend Serina tried to tell me what some of them were that were unfamiliar to me (which would be the majority of them) but it was overwhelming.  Even the familiar ones (salt, brown sugar, sugar) had several different varieties.

A couple of pictures really doesn't do the spices justice - this is a very small portion.

Decorations for the Chinese New Year - coming in mid February!

You can also get rice here, who knew?

It really gets interesting, however, in the fresh food section.  The "seafood" area looks in many ways like a pet store in the USA.  There are aquariums with several different kinds of fish (the large carp bringing back memories from Romania), shellfish, and other critters.

The sign says "American" frogs - only the best baby! #Merica

You will see these turtles in restaurants also - select your own victim meat for your soup.

Another big difference in the China Walmart compared to the USA is the service (one reason I will rarely be seen at stores in the USA).  There are 2-3x as many workers in the store than in the states.  If you need help, you're almost never more than 20 feet away from someone.  And they are incredibly helpful and eager to serve - even for a foreigner with a language issue ;-)  One lady offered a sample natural health drink made from various ground up nuts and sesame seeds.

Health Drink - yeah, it looks terrible but wasn't too bad.

She literally chased us down a couple aisles to give us seconds.  Maybe she was paid on commission?  Either way - she was super nice.  Ok, that's all for now.  Hope everyone had a Happy New Year!

Getting Orientated...and welcomed

Steve here.  Well I've been on the ground in Jingmen City for 3 full days.  It's been a bit of whirlwind as I came in right before a holiday.  Yeah, even though Chinese New Year doesn't start until February, they go ahead and celebrate Jan 1 also.   It's been pretty hectic as I've been led from place to place.  Everyone here is very eager to make me feel welcome and comfortable.  In fact, if anything, I wouldn't mind having some alone time!  The first day I was welcomed at the Factory....

First day meeting

The company had a big welcome meeting for me.  Everyone greeted me and said what they do.   A few brave ones attempted speaking English.  Dana will have some work to do to get some out of their shell!  I was given a huge bouquet of flowers. 

This welcome continued with an evening dinner.  In this area of China, hot pots are a common method of cooking.  The restaurants have round tables with a rotating center so you can spin to your choice of food when you want it.   Lot's of new things to taste as the food here does not resemble the "Americanized" Chinese food in the states much at all.  There's very little fried items, lots of fresh vegetables, and let's just say....interesting meats (Pork, Duck, Goose, Chicken and more that are worthy of their own blog post).

 

That's my boss in the center.  One of the uniformed factory workers is next to him.  They may have used recycled army fatigues to make the uniforms - who knows.  My uniform will be a simple collared light blue shirt with blue slacks.   

ALL ABOUT THE FOOD

The eating has continued for the last two days.  The "go to" place is near the factory in the new development zone.  They advertise local food, and they aren't afraid to show some of it off inside, or outside:

Breakfasts have been taken at the company cafeteria.  The cook is a nice guy they call "Mol".  Noodles are standard (this type is made by hand only in this local region) and really good.  There is also long sticks of fried dough.  My new favorite is this kind of flatbread on the right.  I took the leftovers back to the room today!

Did you notice the orange juice in the background.  Jingmen is famous for its Oranges.  Even though the average weather here is nearly the same as Greenville, they do not experience the deep cold snaps we have in the US southeast.  This allows citrus crops to thrive here.  The oranges have thin skins leaving much more room for juice.  Yummy!

I have a good backlog of post-worthy material but that will have to wait.   I have been on the go in the last couple days getting to know the area and the upcoming work.  I'll do my best to get back to the blog soon! 

First Full Day in China aka "It all comes down to food!"

Stephen had his first full day in China.  It started with breakfast...

The cup you see in the upper left of the picture isn't filled with coffee or even tea. It is warm milk. Not his typically morning beverage but you drink what's available. 

He did find some 3in1s at the Walmart close to us. We were introduced to 3in1s in Romania.  They're basically instant coffee with the sugar and creamer already in them. And yes, I mean an actual Walmart. I think I'll save that for a later post with pictures.  :)

Then he headed to the company. They greeted him very warmly! I'm guessing he spent most of the day getting the lay of the land. We haven't heard any details so I doubt much work was accomplished today.

This evening they had an employee dinner to welcome him on board. 

The center of the table rotates so everyone can serve themselves from the "hot pots" that contain the food.  He's even using chopsticks!

All in all a good start to this adventure!

Sovereignty...

Stephen is on his way this morning. Around 2:30am we were both lying there awake, I guess to make sure the alarm at 3:30am could be trusted. We talked about the things we were excited about, the things we were nervous about and the things we didn't even know were coming. But mostly we talked about G0d's sovereignty and how it's easy to say we believe it. We talked about the Truths we were rehearsing to ourselves. We both know it is so very good for us to go. Our personalities need the refining fire of shockingly out of our control life changes. We know intellectually that things here aren't in our control either but our lists and our plans and our organizational skills mask that fact and deceive our hearts. We go into this new year and this new adventure knowing there will be very hard days...but that those days are coming for our good and His glory. And we're trusting that the L0rd will give us many amazing moments, people and experiences as well.

...and so we go

We're moving to China in a few weeks. Steve will be overseeing an aircraft design and Dana (and Maria during the summer) will be teaching English.  That's a bit overwhelming at times but it's just for a few years and then the work comes back here. We see the L0rd's hand in this and so we go, confident in His sovereignty and His faithfulness. Confident because we've experienced Him so many times before.