Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Janny]

backstory: Got into Shanghai from holiday, my cat Lucy was taken from me at the airport for a 7day quarantine. It wasn't completely unexpected, but still scary. (I was hoping to get around it, which is not unheard of) I went to find the facility next day to investigate and ease my worry, I hoped. The rules state I can drop off food or supplies but can't actually see the animal.

I took an hour-long subway ride to the edge of Shanghai yesterday to find this "quarantine holding facility". It was like bumfuck backwoods south Korea when I got out of the station. Lots of poor Chinese, taxi hustlers and dudes selling tea and meat on a stick from from a smoke barrel formerly used to hold gas.

So I took a taxi out to the place and honestly I thought of asking him to wait for me because I knew I'd never get a taxi back out there. This strange facility was at the end of the most desolate street, in this most desolate edge of the city. We're talking tumbleweeds, a slum behind broken "walls" to hide it, kids in jackets from 1986....Let's just say I stood out a bit.

Sidenote: on the way in the cab, we spotted an ALBINO CHINESE WOMAN. She was whiter than the whitest Swede. Long, pretty hair, definitely Chinese but WHITE ghostly skin, like chalk, and white hair. Not blonde. White. I'm not sure what color her eyes were; we drove past and me and the taxi driver totally shared a WOAH moment! It was like seeing a zombie.

Anyway, thank God I google-translated and took a photo on my phone of this sentence: "I'm looking for my cat in quarantine". The dude at the front of the gated facility sleepily waved me in after I showed him this screen on my phone. No "crazy foreign lady looking for a cat!?" looks. Triumph 1.

I walked down a long road / driveway, one side a broken down apartment complex (where I saw lots of hanging laundry but NO people ?!) and the other side very, very dilapidated buildings where God Knows What takes place. The air was fresh for once, however.

I was lead into the main building to a small room. At the desk sat a young college-aged girl. She looked nice, spoke English, and I got a good feeling from her. She had my receipts / paperwork / application right in front of her, so she knew who I was and that seemed fairly organized. I didn't have to "explain" to 54 people why I was there and what I wanted. Triumph 2.

She listened and responded to my statements / questions with kindness and understanding. I gave her my sweater to put into Lucy's cage, and some of her favorite food. It seemed like this was not the first time she'd handled a teary-eyed pet owner from the ridiculous, pampered West. She told me that Lucy is in a large cage by herself, and that no one will touch her or give her injections or tests through the quarantine period.

I didn't want to press my luck; I was warning her that Lucy goes batshit when strangers try to catch her and she escapes and runs like a feline ninja. ....and the fact that the authoritative, scary paperwork says they release animals AFTER they've tested negative for diseases, specifically rabies. Doesn't that mean a blood test?

No. She said no one will touch Lucy and she will be moved back into her carry case after 7 days when I come pick her up with the right paperwork. Triumph 3.

In China, apparently, what you read and what you believe and what actually happens are three very different things. I don't think anyone has a good grasp yet on what the "authorities" require for animal quarantine. I still don't feel 100% that Lucy is warm and safe, but I have no choice right now. Have to just hope and pray that I will get her back healthy and unharmed. It's actually snowing in Shanghai right now. I have images of Lucy shivering in her cage in a room with no / minimal heat. But I also have far worse images of the "home" I left her in in BC back in August. She survived that.

I think I know why we say "cats have nine lives". It's because they are not like dogs. They don't give a F about allowing US to do what we want with THEM. They insist on what they want, and they get into mortal trouble because of that; because they don't cooperate. So yes, Lucy has survived immense amounts of trauma because she wants things HER way in a world that wasn't made for cats. I love her for that....in case you're all wondering why I have gone leaps and bounds overboard emotionally, and every other way, for this tiny animal.

Anyway, I went about my day. On my long walk back to the main highway (cabs), I stepped into a small supermarket to bank up my phone. The chick didn't understand what I wanted of course. I took my phone out of my backpack. She held hers up and beamed. We have the same phone. Triumph ..10

[Hokie21]

I find it funny that you mentioned how thankful you were not to be looked at strangely as a "crazy westerner" yet you make a point of mentioning the reaction you made when you saw a poor albino woman who you describe as looking like a "zombie."

Maybe you should let that one sink in for a bit?

[Janny]

I think you should check your reading comprehension and overall intelligence.

I said "it was like seeing a zombie". As in, the experience I had was the same as if I had seen a zombie: shocking, amazing, surreal. I did not mean that she looked like a zombie. The event was prudent to share considering the day(s) I've been having recently: stressful, fraught with drama and tension... Wait...why am I explaining myself to you?

I hate it when I'm lured into arguments by idiots. But...maybe I should expect that when posting a long, personal story on Dave's. We'll see what happens on the forums I post this story on in the Shanghai webiverse...

Why did I post it here? Why do I still visit this site? Because I know what I liked to read when I lived in Korea (experiential accounts of expat life in Seoul) and what I like to read now (experiential accounts of expat life in Shanghai).

Dammit. Explaining myself again.

[Hokie21]

[Janny]

I stand by my last post; every word applies twice now. I call the names, post emotionally, and explain the meaning behind my writing to you. Twice.

[rollo]

Why abuse an animal by forcing it to fly is beyonnd me!! Very unnatural forcing human behavior on animals. But do not worry about Lucy. Cat is quite tasty and considered a delicacy by many in China. so Lucy will be treated well!

[Died By Bear]

What you saw was not an albino. It was a Nordic alien, or "Tall white" - they are everywhere now. They've been among us for ages, and they control the world. Unfortunately, they do eat cats. I'm very sorry for your loss.

[radcon]

I see many many more cats in your future.