Crawling out of the woodwork

 

Shamian Island 

Welcome back! Those of you keeping up with this humble blog will know from the last, whingy post that I spent most of October feeling sorry for myself, bemoaning the fact that I was in China yet again, and pining for my spouse who was in Taiwan spending time with her family. November finds us reunited, so you could be forgiven for assuming the days have gotten brighter. But Shu-E came back from her country feeling less than ideal healthwise, and every morning I still wake up in China, with each successive day increasing the ratio of time my career is being spent toiling away in the Middle Kingdom. And the federal government shutdown grinds on, now 42 days and still counting (though with the end possibly in sight). With each weekday I go into the office as usual without any remuneration, the less I feel like an experienced diplomat and the more like an unpaid intern. And speaking of work, a training day, and a business trip to Beijing 北京 to attend a workshop, are looming on the horizon. Neither is something I'm looking forward to. To be honest, I've never welcomed these breaks from the routine, as I would rather just go to work everyday as usual, do what I'm expected to do and get rewarded for my efforts every other week (the latter, of course, which hasn't been happening). Workshops, "leadership exercises" and the like are the evil doings of Big Consultation, designed to force the peons into believing they are part of a team "developing" their "careers". LinkedIn account holders might lap all of this up, but I could do without the emotional investments these activities require. A job is just that, a way to eat, be housed and afford clothing, and not the definition of who you are as a person, or how you should be seen by others. 

So the above heresy is yet another indication the black dog hasn't retreated to the doghouse like I wish it would. But despite this, and the health woes being experienced by both my wife and myself (mental to a great extent in my case), with Shu-E's help I have been slowly reemerging into the wider world beyond the apartment and the office. Like this past Sunday, when the two of us ventured out together for the first time as a couple since sometime in September. The occasion meriting this momentous step was the 32nd Guangzhou Garden Expo 弟32届广州林博览会 (here and here), an annual exhibtion that this year will coincide with the 15th National Games of China 中华人民共和国全国运动会, a sort of domestic quadrennial Olympics that in 2025 will be staged in our fair city (for which we've been warned to expect traffic disruptions). 

The flower festival is being staged a short walk from where we live. Soon after we headed out we made a stop so that Shu-E could buy some màiyátáng 麦芽糖 (maltose or sweet syrup) from a vendor: 

Like every other tourist out this day, we had to get photos with the Canton Tower 广州塔 prominently featured in the background:

Chinese people doing Chinese things in the park on a Sunday:

A map showing two sightseeing boat routes on the Pearl River 珠江. I suppose we'll get around to doing these at some point during our time in Guangzhou 广州:

The flower expo (or at least the part we visited) was underwheming...:

...but that didn't stop some visitors from ignoring barriers to get those all-important photographs:

At times it was difficult to appreciate the floral arrangements with all the posing taking place:

Some of the displays were begging to be explored up close, but organizers used stanchions to keep the tourists at bay, meaning the arrangements could be only seen from a distance. Then again, the organizers are probably well aware of the damage that could result from allowing people unimpeded access:

Can you spot the dork in the reflection?:

My wife complained that it was too hot that afternoon (and she had the sweat-soaked top to prove it), but I thought it was fine. Seeing as Guangzhou has moved on from the summer, the next two or so years are going to be difficult ones for Shu-E, despite her proclamations on how wonderful a place GZ is. I went out for yet another walk (see below) that evening after dinner, and to me the weather actually felt cool. More pleasant evenings such as this might actually help me acclimatize (rim shot) and get over my depression:

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, and shortly after the eleventh hour, the two of us took advantage of Veterans Day to visit a popular site that would be teeming with humanity on any climatically favorable weekend afternoon. But today is a Tuesday, and the wife suggested we use the weekday opportunity to visit Shamian Island 沙面岛. The island (only one kilometer/0.6 miles long and 500 meters/1640 feet wide) is one of those late 19th-/early 20th century concession enclaves carved out by the Western powers, who took advantage of the Qing government's weakness to erect banks, government offices, trading companies and residences in Western-style buildings that have since been converted into cafes, restaurants and shops. The U.S. consulate, in fact, was still in operation here as late as 2013 before moving to its present location, much to my disappointment. My wife seems fascinated by these time capsules as at her suggestion we've visited several up and down China's east coast. 

While this afternoon was Shu-E's first visit, today was actually my second time on the island. I once spent a weekend in Guangzhou ten years ago, and in fact stayed on Shamian-dao. It was quite an ordeal to get there, which I won't repeat here but which you can read about in my original blog post. So for me much was still familiar. Our first photo op upon reaching Shamian Island from the metro station (the Line 1 subway car we rode in to get there reeked of durian) was this Anglican church dating from 1865:

The inside was minimal but the building is apparently a still-functioning house of worship:

Most of our time was spent strolling around and taking photos, such as of this early 20th century building which housed a British trading company:

The offices of Butterfield & Swire Co. Ltd., built in 1881:

A typical Shamian Island scene, with its banyan tree-lined streets: 

Admiring the view of the Pearl River 珠江:

This 1862 yellow beauty was originally occupied by British and French firms:

Peeking down alleyways and side streets:

The 1911 Bank of Taiwan building (during the time when Taiwan was a Japanese colony) was one structure I recalled from my stay a decade earlier:

Even on a weekday Shamian Island is a popular locale to have wedding photos taken:

This couple was being photographed with the 1892 Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in the background:

As one who was baptized into the Church of England I have to grudgingly admit the French did a better job aesthetically-speaking with their house of worship compared to the earlier visited Christ Church (see above): 

The former Imperial Maritime Customs building (1907) looked an inviting relic to explore inside but was unfortunately closed to the public:

West looks on as East does some calculations on his abacus. The piece is actually called "Three times five divided by two" 三下五除二, a Chinese idiom meaning something neat and quick:

We had a late lunch. I was hoping to enjoy a brew outdoors at a beer garden called Lucy's Bar & Restaurant as I did on that March evening back in 2015, but the establishment appears to have gone out of business. So instead my wife suggested eating at the Guangdong Victory Hotel, the same accommodations where I stayed during my first visit (in its hard to find annex, anyway). We began our meal with bottles of Double Happiness Beer. The label claims a history going back to 1934, and one online source called it the "first beer product produced in Guangzhou", but from what I could work out on Google its current iteration is a more recent relaunching resulting from a joint venture set up with San Miguel from the Philippines. Whatever the backstory, it was light and refreshing, unlike the brew mentioned later on in this post (see below): 

We had a set meal for two, which included salad, soup, two entrees (beef and chicken) and dessert, plus tea. Considering the history of Shamian Island, a Chinese-style meal just wouldn't have felt right:

After lunch we walked around a little more. Looking up we could see reminders that people actually live on Shamian:

One of the many banyan trees:

Leaving the island to return home, but I'm sure we'll return (most likely if and when visitors arrive):

So Tuesday was a cautious first step back into the world of our current "home". Unfortunately this upcoming weekend I need to head back to Beijing on a business trip but once back in Guangzhou I hope Shu-E and I can start exploring the city in greater depth. In the meantime I'll end this post with some recent photos yours truly took on various walks in our immediate vicinity while my wife was at home recovering from her cold, which is evident in this shot snapped on the metro after I had met her at the airport following her return flight from Taiwan:

Looking towards the area around the present American consulate:

Day and night:

Outside the hospital I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of in the coming months and years:

The high-rises of the central business district partially obscured by clouds on a drizzly evening:

At 14.2%, I staggered outside after polishing off this beer to take a few more photos. As a Facebook friend astutely observed, it may have been a great choice, but not the best choice, a sentiment I had to agree with the following morning:

Bring it on Guangzhou, I think I'm ready...

Coping in Canton

Tianhe Stadium 广州天河体育中心体育场 as seen from the outdoor balcony of Parc Central

As the old saying goes "All good things must come to an end". When we arrived in Guangzhou 广州 in early September, you could say I was on a high, following two recent trips. The first was from late May to the middle of June when I traveled solo again to Japan, and spent almost three weeks exploring the island of Shikoku 四国, with much of that time behind the wheel of a rented car. This was followed by our Home Leave stay in Washington and Oregon, which lasted from the start of August until the first week of September. The winning streak continued with our recent trip to Taiwan during the beginning of October. Another old saying talks about "good things coming in threes", but that hoary adage doesn't delve into what happens after the third has finished. In my case it has turned into something akin to depression, exhaustion and/or an overwhelming air of malaise.

Whichever noun applies, the trigger came when I returned to Guangzhou from Taiwan alone, after my wife stayed behind to spend more time with her family. I returned feeling rested and confident, intending to start doing many things while Shu-E was away, including swimming, exercising, riding my bike, cooking, discovering new (for us) restaurants and so on. Instead, the opposite has occurred. With the exception of the now unpaid work I'm doing for the American taxpayer, for the most part I have stayed hidden away in the apartment, avoiding going down to the community swimming pool, while also having little desire to take the bicycle out for some exercise, and remaining uninterested in exploring the still-new surroundings. 

Why? The easy answer is to pin the blame on the ongoing federal government shutdown, now in its thirty-first day. I'm one of those "fortunate" employees who have been deemed essential, meaning I still have to go to work as usual. Except that my services are being performed without any remuneration. This is happpening in spite of the fact Consular Affairs has its own revenue stream, separate from Congressional appropriations, and in past shutdowns (why this is an ongoing occurrence is just one of many reasons that the U.S. as a society has some serious collective mental health issues) I continued to be paid for the work I still had to perform. This time, however, the powers that be have determined that people like me must also work gratis, so my most recent paycheck just showed a lot of empty boxes.

These past twenty-five days since coming back from Taiwan have also had an effect on my health, leading to sleepless nights, gastrointestinal discomfort, raging heartburn and the return at times of uncomfortable sensastions in my chest. But the stress of the shutdown isn't the only factor taking its toll on my mental and physical well-being.

I'm currently on my third go round in Mission China, but with the exception of our first tour in Shanghai 上海, I have never felt comfortable or at ease in this country, despite extensive domestic travels and with a working understanding of the Mandarin dialect. With retirement so close I would've preferred another location in Asia to keep the interest-sparking flame burning on this (presumably) last go-round in the Foreign Service, but this isn't going to be the case. Shanghai was enjoyable because not only was it my first tour as a diplomat, it was also assumed (by us) that it would be our one and only posting in the Middle Kingdom. Instead, if I retire according to plan I will have spent half my career in the State Department in a land I've never been all that enamored with.

So can this be written off as a China-weary jadedness? Most likely. But something else might also be at play. I've been diagnosed with depression in the past, with medication to deal with it prescribed at times. Travel has helped keep it at bay, but with my wife away for an extended period (and our daughter off to school in the U.S.) the black dog has returned with a vengeance. And unlike in Beijing 北京, this time I don't even have a cat around to keep me company. All I can do for the time being is to 我慢 until Shu-E returns at the beginning of November. 

Despite what's written above, I haven't entirely pursued the lifestyle of a recluse or hikikomori 引きこもり. In fact on the weekends I did go out several times on walks so I have some material for padding out this otherwise pathetically whiny post.  

The Xinhe Building 信合大厦:

The Haixin Bridge 海心桥:

The Canton Tower 广州塔, which we can't see from our apartment but is visible from other parts of the building: 

The sightseeing boat pier for excursions on the Pearl River 珠江:

The Liede Bridge 猎德大桥:

Just another quiet Saturday afternoon by the Pearl River: 

Guangzhou's central business district at night: 

For some reason a golden sculpture that includes a giant cicada stands outside the Guangzhou International Financial Center 广州国际金融中心:

More after-dark images of the central business district: 

The Guangzhou CTF Financial Center 广州周大福金融中心, the 8th tallest building in the world at 530 meters/1739 feet:

Still bored, and with nothing to do on yet another Saturday afternooon, I took a walk through a park with no name. This fire engine is parked above ground; spreading out underneath is the Mall of the World shopping center. The park with no name also has several sculptures depicting heroic firefighters, so it would seem there's a theme to the layout: 

A spa where patrons can lie down while their ear wax is removed with a special ear-cleaning tool:

A philosophical cafe. Note the sign in Amharic for Ethiopian coffee: 

The following day I went to check out three large shopping malls located close to one another. Along the way I passed this shop - I, too, felt baked in Guangzhou, but that was due more to the heat and humidity, and not a certain herb: 

Grandview Mall 正佳广场 was the first of the three I visited. The presence of a rainforest ecological garden, an aquarium and animatronic dinosaurs ensures this shopping complex will be filled with families on weekends. Being on my own, at times I felt uncomfortable, much like Phil Carr:

Next door is Parc Central, more upscale than the other two, with fewer families and more couples. This photo shows a long line of diners waiting to get into Rou Rou Rice 肉肉大米, a "Japanese-style beef burger restaurant". Even if I were feeling confident I would not have waited in a queue that lengthy:

Last of the three, TeeMall was the most similar in appearance to shopping centers in North America. By this point I was tired and feeling a twinge of loneliness, being surrounded by families, couples and groups of friends. Maybe I'll pay a return visit someday after the wife gets back:

It would've been better to have taken the metro to these shopping centers. Instead, I made the mistake of walking to Grandview Mall, so I was very hot and sweaty by time I arrived. However, soon after the weekend in question, the weather changed for the better, at least temporarily. The view at night after the temperature had dropped, the wind was blowing hard and the Canton Fair 中国进出口商品交易会 was taking place:

Going on a longer walk that took me temporarily outside the CBD:

Chibi Maruko-chan ちびまる子ちゃん as seen on Chinese TV:

In front of the R&F Center are thirteen sculptures by the noted Chinese artist Xu Hongfei 许鸿飞, whom it would seem has a fetish for "chubby women". Here are seven of them:

These past three and a half weeks have for the most part been a wasted opportunity to further settle myself into our new surroundings. Hopefully, with the much better half coming back this weekend, I can banish the black dog to its house in the back yard for the time being, and enthrall my few followers with more engaging (and less whinier) tales our adventures in Guangzhou.

Hopefully.

What Shu-E was doing in Taiwan during this time: