Mary Jane surveying a tiny portion of the metropolis that is Shenzhen.
I have now been in China for 23 weeks, dangerously close to 6 months. In that time, I have become another year older. Moved into my own apartment. Picked up some, but not enough of the language. “Popped Over” to Hong Kong approximately 6 times. Hosted a house party. Entered a team in a football tournament. Sent zips to Melbourne, New York and Port Louis in Mauritius. And at least 100 times, I have been in a lift where the topic of conversation has been me!
The true definition of urban football.
Playing football has been a great way to meet people out here. Football is strangely effective at creating a bond between men. We might speak different languages, work in different industries and be of different generations… but on the football pitch, all men are equal.
The Shenzhen Wanderers - SZWFC
All smiles BEFORE the kick off of a 5 hour-long football tournament… culminating in us finishing 6th or 7th.. out of 7 teams!!! Maybe all men aren’t quite so equal after all!
It does matter if you're black or white.
Cycling really allows you to get under the skin of any city. I love my fixie, and so long as there isn’t a typhoon going on outside, I will try to cycle to my chosen destination in Shenzhen. But I wouldn’t dream of doing it without a mask to stave off the pollution. The above pic shows my old filter compared with the new one… thankfully all that crap is not in my lungs.
Like X-Factor, but not.
Yep, I am to China, what Simon Cowell is to the UK and America. But seriously, this was an experience… the most amusing part perhaps being when the Canadian host announced: “it’s not the winning that matters, it is the taking part.” When this was translated, I’m sure that I heard disapproving mutterings coming from the kids’ parents!
If Chinese girls will insist on showing the peace sign in every photo, they must accept that one day, their fingers will be eaten.
Young Chinese Girls (capitalised on purpose), have an obsession with taking photos – usually of themselves, usually attempting a seductive pose… and almost always displaying the two finger peace sign salute. If the picture being taken is in a group, those fingers will still come out – as yet, no one has explained any of this to me. Anyway, these are the Chinese Teachers from my school, at my house to celebrate the end of summer camp.
You can't beat a good old self-timer photo.
I had a house-warming party, where I think the most people in the house at any one time was about 40. The party taught me this: Chinese people don’t understand what a party is. More than 5 different people told me that it was their first ever house party. Someone asked if they had to pay to get in. Someone else asked if we were going to watch a movie. And absolutely no-one could understand why I was not going to provide dinner!!!
Paradise in a concrete jungle - if only the Chinese knew how to swim!
The previous two photos were taken in my new apartment. This one, (the pool) is from my old apartment complex – which served me very well indeed. My new complex has a pool, though not quite so picturesque. However, it has a football pitch, which is much more exciting!
Simon during the Chinaman transformation process.
So whilst playing around with my waterproof camera – this photo materialised. Apparently showing me with slanted eyes…
Attention to detail in China is really not very important.
Almost without fail, every single sign in China that is written in English, has some sort of grammatical or other error. This particular one, I found in the office of an estate agent. Note: Estate agents are bastards no matter what country you are in.
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Unzipping China 