7:40. Change my street sandals for my factory sandals, then climb to the third floor where the engineering offices are. I am working on a wire stitching project that has been giving us some trouble, so I decide to try it myself and get familiar with it. I look up the words for razor blade and glue online then try them out on Kevin. Jiao ze, tape. Jiao shui, glue. Sticky water, maybe. People in the factory are getting used to me, less stares. Break comes, and the chorus of beeps from the testing machines ceases. As I walk back to my desk, some workers are napping; a lot are texting on their phones, a few get up and walk around. I spot one giving a massage to friend.
11:40. I reverse the process and change back to street sandals, and head to the managers lunch room. On the way, the stair way is crowded with people punching in and out with their punch cards. Only three or four of us eat there. One owner, a sophisticated Chinese lady who is the HR manager, Andrew the production engineering manager, and the quality director, that loves to practice his English on me, but is just as good at helping me with the mandarin. Most everyone eats in the cafeteria. More fried vegetables, some chopped up meat, a soup as always, and rice. It is good, but lacks the intense flavors of Thai food. Nothing is salty. Done and I head for my dorm room. Those finished with lunch are washing their steel dishes in the sinks out back, the storing them in their lockers. The kitchen is done cooking and are hosing down the floor. In my dorm, I send a few emails.
1:08 I hear other doors slamming. I better get back to work. More slams. Grab a few lychees, grab my lap top and head. Now the bell.
Mason tells me to meet him at the gate at 6:30 and he will take me into town to buy the things I need. In the courtyard, the men are playing a game of basketball. Xuai Yu, fall rain. We head for cover. Mason is 34, and says he loves to play games on the computer and smoking. He is my engineering manager. He has a hard time communicating in English, though it is not because of a lack of vocabulary. Very seldom is vocabulary the issue, usually pronunciation and comprehension, probably as a result of learning from non native speakers. I have decided I have to master pronunciation. I will hear a new word and repeat it, then make the native repeat it back, until they say it is good. I usually forget it within a minute, and can’t pronounce it remotely correctly without some help from another native, but this is just to get my mouth in shape.
Shanna is coming with us too. We meet Shanna at the gate, head to the corner where we can catch a bus. A fast string of Chinese and point from Shanna to the corner. We just missed the bus and will have to wait another ten minutes. I make Shanna read the store sign nearest us and repeat it. It means something like the trustworthy store where you buy stuff. I make here repeat it until they seem delighted when I pronounce it. Duai, Correct.
Down the road I see a bus approaching. “This one?” Yes, we board. Two RMB a person. It is not very expensive. I board the bus after Mason and Shanna and we stand, the bus is a little darker inside, not very old but it rattles pretty good in the right gear. On the ceiling I can see finger marks where a passing hand wiped the soot from the ceiling. The bus is getting more crowded and the buildings taller. Next to me is a lady holding a baby, with his head shaved except a little patch at the front. The woman or girl across the way cues at him. I can never tell how old people here are. When Mason asked, I guessed he was 40, but I would guess all the factory workers are 15. I really don’t know. We pass a McDonalds and go a little further. Everyone gets of the bus. This is Hou Jie Town. It is raining heavier now, but Shanna has an umbrella. We head to an ATM, the banks are closed but the ATM is just inside in a walled off area. A security guard sits nearby. This one won’t work. The bank may be a small one. We cross and go down an escalator into the underground mall, and stop at a booth to get a power cord, mic, and a mouse. They have web cams, mics, headphones in the shelves. The next shop over has the same things. Shanna tells them we need a power cord. They bring it out and we look it over. The cases are all made to be opened, not like the sealed ones in the US that you just about die opening. We do the same with the mouse. They pick two mics and ask which I want. The bigger one. I would have just bought it, but just the same, we have to test it. The plug it into the computer. It doesn’t work, but no one gets to worried, they grab the next one off the shelf, and try it. The salesman, changes some settings on the computer and it works. Well take it. 12 Yuan for the power cord, 30 for the mouse, 25 for the mic. Shanna talks them down to 72 Yuan. “Girls are really good bargainers,” Mason says. That’s why be brought Shanna.
Down the road we stop at a clothes store. I need some pants, I only came with two pairs, clothes are cheaper here, and they are also better suited to the environment. The jeans are much thinner. I pick out some jeans. Sizes vary from 28 waist to 34 waist. I pick some pants and try them on. They are a little long, but they saleswoman with the green eyeliner measures me then takes them in the back to be resized. I get two pair of slacks, one pair of pants, and two button shirts for 245 RMB. Shanna and Mason are very helpful, and spend all evening helping me find what I need.
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