Airports are usually places we pass through and rarely linger unless forced by delays or cancellations. They are designed to facilitate a logical flow of people through their many channels and layers of security as efficiently as possibly with the end goal of departure or arrival. As a certain Tom Hanks found out, when you end up living at one the situation is rather different.
As you have probably noticed Randomwire is sporting a brand new look today in what seems to have become a yearly occurrence. While I was quite happy with the previous design (from early 2010) I felt like I wanted something lighter and fresher. The theme is a customised version of Linen produced by the wonderful people at The Theme Foundry (where my past two previous themes also came from).
If you follow the Chinese lunar calendar today we say goodbye to the Year of the Tiger and welcome the Year of the Rabbit. Since I’m still stuck in London I’ve had to take a break from risking life and limb among the usual cacophony of fireworks for a decidingly quieter affair.
The last few weeks have been pure madness. After Christmas my plan was to return to Shenzhen from the UK, finish my job, say goodbye to people, pack up my apartment, and then move across to Hong Kong. In the end I only spent 4 days in China before unexpectedly being summoned back to London after some complications with work permits arose.
Shenzhen is generally regarded as the epicenter of the world’s electronics industry with most of the worlds major brands manufacturing their products here. You can find virtually anything you want in the many electronic markets which can be found around the city, most of which are clustered around Hua Cheng Be (Hua Qiang Lu Metro Station, exit A).
As 2011 begins the time for reflection and change is upon us again. 2010 was a bit of a mixed bag with plenty of highs and lows along the way. Most of the highs were travel related, the pinnacle being a trip to Japan, but also adventures in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and a return to South Korea. Another highlight was having the chance to present some of my photos to an audience and being interviewed. The lows are not worth revisiting but sufficed to say it’s hard to believe the year passed so quickly.
Undoubtedly one of, if not the, hardest things about living in a foreign country is dealing with the language barrier. Unless you’re a natural linguist then life suddenly becomes a blur of indistinguishable sounds which can be quite disorienting at first. In the past I’ve equated this with going deaf but this is a poor analogy since tone and volume can also be valuable indicators of what someone is trying to express.
Last weekend Shenzhen opened its first Fringe festival centered around Coastal City in Nanshan (where I live) loosely based on the original from Edinburgh. Two weeks of events are planned and proceedings kicked off with a colourful parade with various community groups taking part along Shenzhen Bay Avenue.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about life in Shenzhen so I thought I’d provide a quick update of what’s been going on the past few weeks. One of the most notable experiences was when an earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale hit Shenzhen on Friday 19th Nov at 2:42 pm (Beijing time).
A friend of mine, Cai Qing, was recently in Chaoyang Park (Beijing) when she noticed a group was holding open auditions for a part in an upcoming Chinese movie. She’s not an actress by profession but thought it would be fun so recorded a couple of short introductory casting videos and went on her way. For most people the story would end here but things took an intriguing twist…