Working from 4pm - midnight doesn't really provide me with an opportunity to hang out with any of my friends around here. And it's looking like I'll be working this weekend so that may rule out spending time with them when they don't have to go into work. All of the other interns work 9-5 - a standard workday. But me, I work during the time when all my friends are off of work. I don't get to eat meals with people I know, nor do I have time to just hang out and watch Chinese bootlegged movies with them. Everyone's in bed by the time I get home from work, and I'm too wiped out to want to do anything after I get off anyways. So I'm hoping that my schedule changes once Kelley gets back from Hong Kong. I'm the kind of person who needs a social life, ya know. I definitely understand that the brewery runs from 5pm-2am everyday and that's just the way it is, but I'm gonna try to talk to Kelley when she's back and maybe I can create a regular workday for myself doing things like event planning, business development, etc.
This dilemma, results in bigger waves of homesickness. Not having anyone who speaks my language (literally) to spend time with on a regular basis leaves me missing everyone back home much more. Little things bring me back though...like eating a snickers bar, browsing youtube, interacting with English speaking customers at the brewery who are interested in where I'm from, watching soccer matches in my living room and nba games at the BCB, and video chatting Kelly and my parents when I can. Finding things to fill my time in the afternoon has been a bit more difficult than expected, without people who are looking for something to do along with me. I know shanghai is a happening place with lots to do, I just don't want to do it alone. I'm on the prowl for softball leagues, soccer leagues, and golf :-) We'll see how much success I'll get out of that.
Day #2 at the brewery was much better than Day #1, as we were much busier and I always had something to do, which was nice. You don't come home quite as tired after a day that flies by. On Tuesday I was standing around quite a bit and it was really getting to me - but not so much yesterday. It's cool when most of the customers are westerners and they all have crazy different stories as to why their in Shanghai...fun people to talk to. Hopefully today, tomorrow and the weekend will go by quickly as well! Many of my co-workers at the brewery are either Philippino or Chinese, in fact only one other guy is a native English speaker - the head chef, Mike. So, although most of them speak some form of english, not all do and there are definitely some language barriers which are often frustrating/fun to maneuver around. I learned yesterday that the BCB only has one restaurant location. The other is where they brew the beer. Originally the other location was the first restaurant and when they opened the latest one it was much more popular so they just use the other building for beer brewing.
<-- I also got a uniform...how did they know I'm a huge fan of the 3/4 length sleeves?? Clutch! (Those are beer coasters in my hands)
As you can tell, my future at the brewery is a bit blurry to me...I don't really know what kinds of changes the loss of Gary will create, and I have no idea what Kelley's plans are for me. I'll just have to be sure to clear these things up once she's back from Hong Kong next week. As I've said, I obviously don't want to be waiting tables for the next three months. If things don't work out here after a while, Next Step Connections can always provide me with another opportunity that will suit my lifestyle/interests/future career path a bit better I guess. I definitely don't want to just give up on the BCB though...I just need a clearer definition of what my place will be for the near future!
Ohh, my new favorite restaurant for lunch is Wu Da Niang. It's right down the street from my apartment and they have some incredible carrot and pork dumplings for real cheap =)
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PMM
Rest in peace Gary...
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