Creepy Crawlers Equal Comfort Food

Below: Mark & Daniella eating a scorpion at the Food Market in Beijing.



Above: Mark Vela getting his daily dose of nutrients.





This market is famous in Beijing for the various foods that have become part of the Chinese cuisine. Take a look at some of the various pictures. While scrumptious to some, I believe that I'll pass this time.

The history of how certain foods became part of Chinese Culture and for any culture is interesting. Foods often become part of a societies culture as a result of necessity and remain in the culture because of legacy.

Picture Below: Picture of Billy eating a starfish at the food markets. Billy's original goal was to eat a Scorpion, but he decided against it after getting sick from eating the Starfish.



Pictures of Tasty Cuisine



List of Foods Available at the Market

1. Scorpions (Mark Vela and Daniella ate these things. They have pictures and a video of the event. I am trying to get a digital copy of it from Mark.)
   
2. Starfish (Billy ate this)
   
3. Stomach of a Cow
4. Snake
5. Eel
6. Intestines of Every Type of Animal
7. Pig Ears

Creating A Comedy Skit

Wow !!!! I am a little sad that this trip is coming to an end, but boy do I have some laughs and funny stories to share with you!!!! Out of respect for Bernie Mac (bless his soul), I am going to put together a comedy skit.


Stand Up Comedy Act
I am a big fan of stand up comedy, even acts that aren't all that funny. On GP (i.e. General Principle), I give the comedian props for having enough courage and heart to stand up in front of people.

Over the past few months, I have been watching tons of stand up. For example, I've watched Katt Williams, Martin, Bernie Mac, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and even some local acts.

I believe that my trip to China has created several moments worth retelling on stage via a comedy skit and I plan to deliver. In order to do it properly, I will put together a 5-10 minute act centered on a few topics. If you have any ideas or critiques of my topics (content too), then feel free to let me know. For the most part, I won't post any details of my content until after I perform. Just let me know if you want to dig deep on one area in order to help me hone my skit. Trust me, I won't try to do too much in one skit, but I won't have a lack of material either. I am keeping it a little vague right now for a reason.

If you have any crazy travel stories or anything interesting that took place on one of your trips to China or any trips anywhere, feel free to reach out to me as well.

This should be fun. Between writing, practicing, and actually delivering a skit, I will have a ball. I will keep you up to date on my progress.


MAJOR COMEDIC THEMES

1. Difficulties of not being able to speak the local language.
   
2. Alternative methods of communicating when a common language is spoken
   
3. Negotiating the price of goods at various markets.
4. My personal flight from the US to China (hilarious, you should read my blog about this episode of the trip).
5. Going to the bathroom in a foreign country, especially China (I have a few good ones about this).
6. Eating. Food. Pets. Not being able to recognize half the food that one eats in a foreign country.
7. Can you believe the hype? Fact or Fiction !!!
   
8. Chinese don't believe in personal space at all (taking pictures, bathroom incident).
   
9. Going beyond your comfort zone.
10. Tour guides.
    
11. Different customs and the difficulty of translating idioms from one country to another.
12. Watermelon & Chicken in China.
13. Americans being nicer to other Americans in foreign countries than they normally would in America.
14. How African Americans meet other African Americans when visiting foreign lands.
15. Haters !!
16. Homeless !!
    

Made Up For Lost Time

We were supposed to tour Beijing on a bicycle ride this morning, but partying last night caused us to wake up very late. We have from 12:30PM to 3:30PM to make the best of the day, because at 4PM, we have to meet the rest of the group for meeting with China Investment Corporation.

So we decided to take a cab from our hotel to view the CCTV Building and the Summer Palace



CCTV Building



The CCTV Building is an architectural tourist attraction. Even after seeing the building, it amazes me how the building supports itself and does not topple over with a strong wind.

The security guards kept us from getting too close to the building, because the building is still under construction (i.e. like many other buildings that we saw in China). China has done a great job at masking the incomplete projects from the public eye.


Summer Palace




Alec and I made it to the Summer Palace with very little time to spare. We need to be headed back to our hotel within 45 minutes or we will miss our meeting with the China Investment Corporation.

The gallery above highlights the pictures that we were able to take during our speed tour of the Summer Palace.



Who Do You Think I Am? I'm a Tourist, but not a Sucker !!!

When we were trying to find a taxi from Summer Palace to our hotel, none of the drivers would agree to take us home unless we agreed to pay 120 RMB for the ride. Now, 120 RMB isn't that expensive (approx. $18 USD), but Alec and I preferred to pay the metered price rather than a negotiated amount. We figured that the metered price would be less than the metered price.

Apparently, the taxi drivers at this location work in a ring together and try to take advantage of the tourists. Neither Alec nor myself would agree to the terms being offered and they wouldn't agree with ours. After a while, I didn't trust them. They could have taken us to a remote location and demanded more money than what was agreed upon. They tried to take advantage of us once, what would prevent them from trying to do it again.

Fortunately, we saw a taxi driving through the area and we hopped into the car and the driver agreed to the metered price. The cab ride home ended up being 30 RMB.

Moral of the Story: Never negotiate or do business with a crooked individual. Never! Don't compromise your values for no one.

Wing Man at Holland House !!

Do I look like I have KFC written all over my face? Maybe KFC is on my forehead, because I do love some chicken! Oh boy, do the Chinese love their KFC.

Nevertheless, I am writing this entry because I played WING MAN once again!
Some day this wing man thing better pay off. I should be inducted into the WING MAN Hall of fame isn't that right Adrian?

I'm a team player and all, but do I always have to choose last, especially when I get the conversation going? Playing the wing tonight wasn't that bad, it is just that her friend was cuter.

Holland House Beijing
Tonight, we went to the Holland House in Beijing. The Holland House is a traveling club that opens for each Olympics. It serves as the headquarters for the Dutch and many eastern European groupies. Pretty fun place! I hope to add a few pictures from the night, but don't count on it.

Check out the Holland House Web Site




Picture Below: My boy Jon Venuto and Mark Vela holding up a model chick at the Holland House. Why couldn't that have been me ? Seriously, one of the girls is some Super Model and Olympic Medalist. Don't know who she is, and if I did, I still wouldn't put her on blast like that!

China Photogallery

Hey All,

I figured that it would be nice if I put a link to all the photos that I am taking during my trip to China. There are tons of pictures that I have taken, but I haven't had a chance to upload them all.

So here's my crack at helping you view a bunch of pictures. Let me know what you think.

Best Pictures from China (In Progress)



Beijing


Shanghai




Shenzhen




Alec's Pictures

My Section Mate from Harvard Business School, Alec Detwiler , has a set of awesome photos as well during our visit to China. Again, keep in mind that a few of these pictures may overlap. We will update our pictures as we have more time.

You Can't Bootleg Service

You can get a lot of fake things in China, but there's one thing in China that you can't fake and that is service.

The service associated with the Olympic Games here in China has been fantastic. The people have been unbelievably great from the hotels to the stadium and everything in between.

For example, Alec and I called the front desk for laundry service and within seconds (no exaggeration), someone was knocking on our door to pick up the laundry. Then, 15 seconds later, another staff member arrived. And then, 30 seconds after that, the manager showed up at our room in order to make sure that our laundry was properly being cared for. It was soooo funny that we had to take a picture while the event was unfolding. The manager is not shown above because she ran as soon as she saw the picture being taken.


In America, you'd be hard pressed to get the level of service that we've experience here in China !!!!

Are You My Daddy ? Are you from America?

While in Tiananmen Square, a family stopped me and asked whether I would take a picture with their child. You know me, and how I roll, being the celebrity that I am and all, I obliged.

China ---- I love it! One place where I wouldn't mind living based on how the people are fond of Black People.

Oh yeah, people asked me where I was from. I responded, "North Carolina" and they seemed very excited to learn about North Carolina. As soon as I told them that North Carolina was in the United States, they seemed a little distraught. They responded as if I told them that I were the grim reaper. Pretty interesting. Now, I am going to tell people that I am from Ireland, Canada, or Nigera. I won't make the mistake of being from American again.

Any thoughts on why they responded negatively about me being in America ?


NOT TO BE OUTDONE




Above: Picture of Alec Detwiler and his new found Chinese family.

Watching this scene unfold was hilarious. The lady asked Alec 3 times to take a picture with her child. At first we thought that she wanted him to take a picture FOR her, but in the end it was that she wanted to take a picture WITH him. Don't they look like they were meant to be?

NBA China --- Straight Balling

This is how we roll! Yeah, I know that you are hating. If I were you, I'd hate me too. Today, we visited NBA China. Representatives from the NBA talked with us about their plans to capture the China market and how the business environment is changing.

Above: Picture of Alec and Ron Fun representing at NBA China in Shanghai.

Uploaded Random Videos from the Trip to YouTube

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I uploaded some random videos from the trip to. You can access one or two of few of them here!

Summary of Visit to Shenzhen

1. People are the same all throughout the world, the only things is that people do things just a little different. Who am I to say that the way westerners do things is appropriate for all?
2. Shenzhen is a massive city. It is quite ridiculous in both size and population.
3. I realize that communicating is going to be difficult from here on out during my trip to China.
4. The food is going to be tough to stomach for the next 14 days.
   
5. The growth of China will continue well into the next decade. China isn't finished growing, but the growth may slow in comparison to how we've seen it in the past.
6. The Chinese place a heavy burden on women to get married early.
7. Our tour guide, Nancy, was awesome!
8. Education is the key, no matter what society one is in!!!
9. I am a very blessed individual.
   
10. The people love Ding Xioping.

Mile High Club or Out of Control

Flight: Detroit to Hong Kong via Japan

All Black People Look Alike

This is where the story gets juicy, so please be patient and keep reading. I pass all the business class seats and head to my seat (57H – Aisle Seat). Five minutes later a flight attendant comes to me and says, “I’m still trying to find you a seat.” At first I was confused. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but I went along as if I understood. Then it dawned on me that she confused me with another black guy. Next, I looked around and saw an African American male looking for empty seats on aisles with additional legroom.

Intimate Thought

In the mind of America, there is no denying it, “all black people look a like.” This phenomenon is powerful and very scary. I am certain that there are many African American Men in jail for crimes that they did not commit. Wrongfully convicting someone of a crime has the power to make a community feel safer, even if an innocent person pays the price. Society feels better knowing that someone taken the “rap.”

Nevertheless, she confused me with another African American gentleman, Michael Guthrie. At the time I didn’t know the gentleman’s name, but after a 16 hour flight, everyone feels like family. Keep reading, I’ll explain. My original suspicions were confirmed, denied, and then confirmed again. 10 minutes later, the flight attendant emerges and tells Michael that there is an empty exit row seat with tons of legroom that he can use during the flight. So I was correct, she did confuse me with another black guy. 5 minutes later, she reemerges and asks me whether I would like to sit in an exit row seat with tons of legroom. Wow! I guess that I was wrong.

Lesson Learned

She was genuinely concerned about helping me have extra legroom. The take away from this experience is that things aren’t always what they appear.

Exit Row Seating

I replied “Yes, but of course!” I mean as much as I like being crammed in an airplane seat with strangers on each side, I obliged and sat in the Holy Grail of Airplane Seating, the EXIT ROW! Nice. This may be a good trip after all.

What makes this new seat nice is that it is directly beside the food service section of the plane and close to the bathrooms. Food, drink, and bathroom are all in close proximity. Nice! This should make for an interesting flight!

Although by now, my #10 from McDonalds is cold, I decided to eat. Within minutes of eating my meal from McDonalds, the foodservice staff decides to serve dinner. I’m stuffed, but this is food for a King. How can I pass it up? Alright, maybe it is not food for a great king, but it is good enough for a king stuff in a 747. They really work hard to make an airplane of this size run smoothly.

Things are slowing down. I’m tired. I guess that it is time for some sleep.

Pervert On the Plane Incident

Oops, just as soon as I thought that this was going to be an eventless flight, I was proved wrong. Apparently, there is a pervert in First Class. He is accused of pulling his pants down and getting freaky with a lady in the seat beside him. They just met and before the end of the flight, she was “handling” business. Either he has game or she is a complete whore. The pervert looks drunk as a skunk. He is scarring the flight attendants, and one attendant freaked completely and let out a big yell. He kept asking to be served more alcohol and became irritated when the attendant “cut him off.” I bet that you are asking, “How do I know all of this?” Well, you guessed it, the flight attendant asked me and Michael, the other black guy, to move to first class and serve as their body guards just in case the war breaks lose and the pervert tries to do something even more disturbing.

Lesson Learned

Being black will not only get you pulled over by the police, but also get you a first class seat on an airplane just in case things seem a little fishy. People know that black folk are the last people to be terrorist or causing trouble on airplane. Black people are generally too darn scared to fly, and we sure as hell won’t be causing any disturbance on a plane. We get nervous and darn near pass out when the plane hits a little turbulence. Black people even whisper a little prayer right before takeoff and just after landing. Trust me on this! Look for the next black passenger on an airplane and tell me what happens.

Pervert No Longer On the Plane

Yeah the Pervert Situation became so bad that the crew decided divert the plan to Anchorage, Alaska and have the guy arrested by the local authorities. A few times I thought that I might have to whip this guy’s ass. Who am I fooling? I wasn’t whipping shit. I was hoping that this guy didn’t act up. He looked like he had a little fight in him. He noticed that both Michael and I would follow him around the plane when ever he got up. I was on guard trying to make sure that the guy didn’t have any accomplices or friends on the plane just in case the war came and things got ugly up in the air. The last thing I wanted to happen was me getting knocked out because some flight attendant wanted two black guys, whom she stereotyped, to protect her. It wasn’t happening on my watch.

Nevertheless, the authorities boarded the plane and arrested the pervert. Although he went willingly, he was caught off guard. He had no clue that he was about to get arrested. The diversion freaked out all of the passengers except for this guy. The pilot announced, “We are landing in Alaska for fuel, sorry for the delay and inconvenience.” Fuel my ass and everyone knew it!

What happens after the police arrest the perve?

Ø Interrogate all first class passengers and attendants

Ø The scene turns into Comedy Central. I’m taking pictures. Everyone is pulling out their cameras cautiously. No one wants to be taken to jail for making a spectacle of the situation.

Ø The flight attendants are finally happy to get rid of this guy and life is good once again in first class.

Life in First Class after the Pervert

Ø Michael and I are encouraged to remain in first class for the duration of the flight.

Ø I watched the movie 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino. Pretty interesting movie.

Ø Now all the guys in first class are asking, “Why didn’t the flight attendants request their help?” Now everyone wants to be a hero after the fact. Interesting.

Ø We have a chance to meet a few interesting people. I met an Ex Pat, engineer from GM. We had a pretty good conversation. Seems like a smart guy. He is from Detroit, but is enjoying his time in Korea working for GM. He took some pictures, hopefully he will share them with me.

Ø We eat breakfast (omelets with danishes) and use real silverware.

Ø Michael passes out. I should do the same, but I am enjoying the moment right now. Life is good.

I'm on my way to China

August 11, 2008

I am Preparing to leave for China! I ended up calling and talking with close friends prior to departing from Hong Kong. If I get their permission, I will post a few snippets from our conversations

August 12, 2008

Today is the day that I leave for China. The first leg of my flight to China leaves Greensboro headed for Detroit at 12:15. The second leg of the flight leaves from Detroit at 3:15PM headed to Japan. The final leg of the trip leaves from Japan destined for Hong Kong.

Morning

The time is now 10:15AM. I’m finally packed and ready to go. My flight leaves at 12:15PM and that gives me just enough time to get to the airport with an hour and a half left on the clock before the first leg of my flight takes off.

Intimate Thought

Around 10:15AM, I am a little frustrated with my mom and my brother. In general our relationship is fine, but they usually get to acting a little strange when I am about to head off for a period of time. I love them dearly, but they are sometimes just a little too protective of me.

Off to the Airport

Around 10:15, my Aunt Muz stops by the house in order to see me off. My Aunt Muz is the “Auntie” that everyone likes to spend time with. Aunt Muz is cool, funny, understanding, and very faithful. In addition, Aunt Muz keeps up to date with all the latest on everyone. I don’t know how she gets her information, but CNN could use a little help from her. If you haven’t met Aunt Muz, then you should meet her. I am sure that you will feel like you have known her forever. If you are ever in Winston Salem, you should stop by our local big box retailer that beat out K Mart and you might just see her. She usually works as a greeter. I feel bad that she saw me a little rattled this morning, but she understands.

My brother, Rodney, drove me to the airport. I fell asleep in the car during the 20 minute drive to the illustrious Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO). I’m pooped. I didn’t get any sleep last night and it is catching up with me.

Checking In At the Airport

I get to the airport and find out that the bag that I packed is 14 pounds too heavy. Yes, I packed a lot and I’m not scared to admit it!! To my credit though, I packed a medium size bag with my belongings and placed it inside of a monster size suitcase. The reason that I did this was so that I would have an extra suitcase to bring back goodies that I buy during the trip.

Nowadays, an overweight bag costs the typical traveler $50. But for those with the gift of being able to connect with anyone, a “smile” and a “hello” goes a long way. The guy was pretty cool and helped me avoid the overweight baggage fee. I guess it is as they say, “sometimes the best things in life are free.” It doesn’t cost anything to treat people with respect. My father used to tell me all the time that “Good manners will take you further than money or all the riches in the world.”

Nevertheless, I made it to the airport and checked in without any trouble. Before departing for Detroit, I talked with my oldest brother and he made me feel a lot better about the interaction with both my mom and brother. I switched the greeting on my cell phone. You never know, George Bush may call and ask me to join his staff. Don’t laugh. I’m dead serious. It has happened before to people that I know; maybe it could happen to me to too (link to website). I doubt it, but anything is possible.

Flight: Greensboro to Detroit

I fell asleep for the entire flight. I was disturbed just enough by the flight attendant long enough to wake up and order the complimentary beverage (Orange Juice). Heck yeah!! Northwest Airlines is one of the few airlines remaining giving out free beverages during the flight. I flew US Airways last week and they tried to charge me $2 for a coke. I almost lost it. Remind me to never lose it on an airplane. Losing it on an airplane is a Federal offense. Boy do I have a story for you, please read the events about my flight from Detroit to Japan. Hilarious!!!

Layover in Detroit

I went to the wrong gate. I went to C40, but I was supposed to go to A40. No big deal, I have about 25 minutes before the next flight.

On my way to the correct gate, I stop at Coffee Beanery and have a White Mocha Chocolate Frappacino. Not as good as the one that I normally get from Starbucks, but it definitely hit the spot. Hopefully this will give me a boost of energy so that I can journal.

I make it to the correct gate 10 minutes before boarding time and the agent reminds me that the flight will be approximately 16 hours. I immediately think FOOD. I barely ate the morning. I had Mom’s grits and Dunking Donut’s Bagel & Egg Sandwich. I’m not that hungry, but a 16 hour flight is a 16 hour flight. I need to be prepared.

I turn around and look for a fast food eatery, none in sight. I look harder and see what? You guessed it, the Golden Arches !! McDonalds, the cornerstone of any balanced diet. After watching Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me less than two weeks ago, I just had to have Mickey D’s. I enjoyed each movie by the way. I’m seriously studying the fast food industry right now, but that’s a story for another day.

I go to McDonalds and it is chaotic on the inside. I have never seen this many people before at an airport McDonalds. Actually the scene is utterly ridiculous. I keep it simple and order a # 10. For those that don’t know, a # 10 consists of 10 all white meat chicken nuggets, French fries, and a drink. I order, I wait, I receive my food, take a picture with the homey, and then I’m off to the races. I rush back to Gate A40 and board the plane.

I see Rohit, HBS Class of 2009, trip organizer. He worked for the NBA this past summer. Raj is a good guy and is very active on campus. I look around and observe the passengers boarding the plane and realize that I am going to Asia. 80% of the passengers boarding the plan are Asian. I guess it makes sense, I am headed to Asia. This is also when I notices that the plane is huge. We’re boarding a Boeing 747, 400 Series. According to one flight attendant the plane holds approximately 440 people.