InShanghai
Since Oct 6, 1998
|
|
InShanghai
Since Oct 6, 1998
| |||||
|
| ||||||
 |
Been at sea all me bloomin' life. |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
I'm in my mid 30s and I've been around the world partly with the US Navy, partly in my own adventures. I traveled to China because of the opportunity to see a culture unlike my own. Besides, I didn't know anyone else that had been there at the time, so why not be the first? I have learned the standardized language, and the local Shanghai dialect. Although I only intended to visit the country for a year, I am now working on my tenth year here, and here is how it happened.
After spending five years in the USN between 1989 and 1994, Bill Clinton decided a smaller military was in America's best interest. During my first tour of the Persian Gulf, I was tasked with installing an electronic system on our ship, the USS Halsey. The equipment arrived and we had it craned onto the ship. The technical rep for the equipment arrived a few hours later and explained how to install the equipment. That evening I went through all of the diagrams and wiring plans and began installing the equipment. It was completed in less than 48 hours.
The day it was completed, the technical rep came and found everything in order and we had a sucessful first 'light off' of the equipment. He was surprised and impressed so he offered to take me out to dinner in Bahrain. He said he would pick me up at the pier at 5PM, when we were released for liberty. To the surprise of everyone on the ship, he drove out onto the pier in a convertable Ford Mustang to pick me up. Even the captain of the ship didn't have that! He took me around Bahrain, and we went to dinner at a really nice hotel. We even got to see a Filipino band with scantily clad female dancers, a rare treat in an Arab country. We talked about our work and I found out what he was paid to do what he was doing, I was astounded to say the least. Therefore, when the offer to leave the Navy was given to me, I left. I was honorably discharged in 1997 after two and a half years inactive duty.
I returned to my hometown of Albuquerque, NM and found that finding a job as an electronics technician was not as easy as I thought it would be. Before joining the Navy, my parents had offered to pay tuition to college, but I've always been independent and determined to do it on my own. So, one of the reasons I joined the military was for the education, and the GI Bill. Another reason for joining was for the pride I have of my country. I looked for a job for about two months with no luck. I decided I would return to school and work hard to get my degree. Finally, I found a small audio visiual company that took me. It wasn't really what I was looking for but it paid the bills and it was a lot of fun. It was supposed to be a part time job, but they liked my work so much they kept me working and working and working... One evening after work I stopped at a local sports bar to enjoy the ten cent buffalo wings and a brew. I met a person who was interested in my electronics background in the Navy.
He was the owner of a major electrical supply company and he wanted to help me find my dream of working overseas making the big dollars. He said he had a friend who owned a factory in China who would be willing to hire me on as a quality control consultant. Although school would start within a month, I took up the offer, and did I learn a lesson! It turned out that the China factory owner was a Taiwan businessman who had been manufacturing lighting fixtures in Taiwan for a long time. His joint venture in China was only a few months old. He offered me two thousand dollars a month salary after taxes of which the company would take all responsibility. A car and driver were to be supplied along with all of my living expenses including food. I thought I had found my dream.
I arranged all of my personal things and left the US on September 1, my birthday. I traveled to Taipei, Taiwan and was greeted by a limosine to drive me the two hour trip to Taicheung. On arrival in Taicheung, I was put in a five star hotel and told to bill anything I wanted to my room. I didn't. I'm more modest than that. The next morning my new Taiwanese boss and I had breakfast together. Afterwards we went to the lighting factory. It was a small operation, but they did lots of business. They had moved most of their product to the mainland to reduce labor costs. This is also where I started to learn my first Chinese, or rather I should say my attempts at the language were all laughed at.
Without warning, the greatest things in my life have happened here. I met a beautiful Chinese woman who supports me and loves me without restraint. We have been lucky to have two beautiful, healthy daughters. I found a job working for a company that has started their first factory, and it happens to be in Shanghai.
Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
From this thread
pirate name and language
