Spaghetti:
For our first cooked meal in Beijing, we both agree that Spaghetti would be The AWESOME! So, to begin our meal, we needed to visit the "foodz library." Not only would this mean locating one, but it also meant that we would have to navigate through the meatz part of the "foodz library."
Ok, so I saw some ground meat... It was marbled red and white... like beef. We purchased some. Then we went through the vegetables. There was almost every fruit and vegetable you can imagine. No lack of veggies here. So our next quest was to find the spices. Umm.... yeah... no oregano... no basil... no thyme... no anything familiar except salt, pepper and chili powder. oh dear... well... this would have to do..
We went home and started the foodz. I was cooking the meat,and it wasn't "browning" like hamburger... it was staying a bit pale.. more like.... PORK! :O oh dear... I ended up making pork spaghetti... It wasn't bad though... even though it didn't have many of the essential ingredients... It came out really well...
Chicken and Dumplings:
Chicken is a staple of the Chinese diet.
I bought a whole chicken, so we could make chicken and dumplings... They totally cheat you guys in the states... I can't believe it!!! You don't even get the heart, liver, feet or the Head and neck when you buy a whole chicken over there. Man... what a gyp!
Anyway... after hacking off the head, feet, and digging out the heart and liver, I chopped the chicken into 4 pieces. I used the first half for the chicken and dumplings and will use the next half either today or tomorrow to make chicken and rice... woot.
So the broth from the chicken was friggen awesome. It has been quite some time since I have had such good broth. Maybe next time I buy a chicken it will be one of the black ones.... maybe they make better chicken and dumplings!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Hong Kong and Beijing
Hong Kong:
We went back to Hong Kong, and were staying in a hotel that charge an enormous amount (relatively so) for internet access. So, instead of paying that, we waited until we moved to another hotel... which Cullen picked because they weren't supposed to charge for internet service... fail....They only don't charge in the more expensive rooms. Now, in all honesty. The hotel prices were quite fair. We paid about 100-160 USD per night... of course put in HKD it seems like a lot. It was 1188HKD for the second hotel we stayed in. Really scary sounding when you put it in HKD.
Cullen had a second conference to go to in Hong Kong, which was over on the evening of the 23rd.We decided to stay an extra 2 days, purchasing a ticked for the train to Beijing for the 26th instead of the 24th... This allowed us to explore a bit. We discovered that the Public transportation in Hong Kong is amazing. There was no need to even consider driving. The buses were clean, the Subway was amazingly clean, and the trains had useful routs. I am very impressed with Hong Kong. Their population density is really high, but they have a great number of options for those who decide not to drive. The area is pretty easy to navigate too. The only issues we had were when we tried to communicate with drivers... of the bus or taxis... most of them speak only Chinese... and rightly so.
The British influence in Hong Kong made it easier to navigate, and understand. Almost every sign was in English as well as Chinese. Even the book stores had books in English.
The nights in Hong Kong were as beautiful as the days. The skies were clear, light by the many many neon lights of the city. The refection of the lights in the waters of the bay were beautiful.
Train ride to Beijing:
I think that taking the train to Beijing was such a brilliant and clever move. The trains in China are fancy. So there are 3 options when picking train seats for a long ride. 1. Hard sleeper- these are the cheapest and most crammed seats on the train. These seats are typically only used by the Chinese. There are 6 to a cabin. This means 6 beds crammed in a little cabin. Not ideal. 2. Soft sleeper- The beds are better, only 4 to a cabin, and they appear to have clean bedding. There is a nifty little table between the two beds, and storage space in front of the top 2 bunks and under the bottom 2. 3. Deluxe Soft Sleeper- only 2 beds per cabin. Very private.
So we requested Deluxe soft sleeper, but they had no tickets left... only the soft or hard sleepers. So we bought soft sleeper, and managed to get a room with no one else in it. We had a nice private ride to Beijing. The train was pretty fast. Cullen said it goes 160kmph... Not too shabby. It was interesting to see the scenery whizzing by. This was my first train ride ever (not including the subways in Hong Kong).
I would recommend this way of travel to anyone. There were, of course, security checks before and after boarding the train. At the final check, Customs got some of Cullen's equipment which was quickly sorted out 2 days later.... they are only open on odd days in July. I believe this is because the train only arrives on odd days in July.
So, we were finally in Beijing... and almost as lost as caterpillars in a paper sack....
Beijing:
Don't ever let anyone tell you the people in China aren't friendly or helpful. We have be helped by several strangers on several occasions. When we emerged from the Train station I was exhausted, frustrated, and tired of moving luggage from one place to another... living out of a suitcase gets very old very fast. I really just wanted to get my hands on some cooking utensils too... Too much greasy foods really does a number on your stomach.
Even though we had arrived... there was still the technicality of getting to our place of residence... We were armed with an address in Chinese, and a contact name, but it was getting late... and who knew what was in store for us.
We first had to get some Yuan... since most of our money was in either HKD or USD... neither helps you in mainland China. Even on the train ride, we had to purchase food with yuan... so we were hunting either an ATM or the Bank of China... the only place you can change USD to Yuan in mainland China. We had a fiasco last time I tried to do this, in Dongguan... they didn't want to take any damaged bills... so no bills that were torn, too worn out on the president's face, or had been taped... They don't do that in Hong Kong, but in Dongguan they sure did.... so Cullen ran off to find a bank, leaving me to watch our 5 bags....I am still regretting packing so much of this junk.
While I stood there, many Chinese walked by... staring. I had been warned, but I was thinking it was another of those falsehoods I had read on the internet (bring plenty of deodorant, you can't find good toothpaste, there's not dental floss... BAH... they have deodorant, Colgate toothpaste.... the exact same kind I brought tons of ... and yes Virginia... there is dental floss.... no joke you can't belive everything you read on the internet... BAH! We should have brought more socks, shoes, and I could really use some Acetone to remove these nails right now... I'm sure I can find some though.... they have everything here... I just need to learn to speak/read Chinese). So, yes, they will stare at foreigners... especially in certain parts of town. More on that later.
Cullen, as sweet as he is, decided to hurry as fast as he could to find money, so we could get going, and he wouldn't have to leave me standing there for too long... now he is wearing a blister for it... Anyway, he found an ATM and we hopped into a Taxi. Our driver was great.. when we reached IHEP (Institute of High Energy Physics) we were trying to find the Guest House, but being that it is inside the campus, it was not readily obvious where it was... so he hopped out of the car twice to ask people where it was... it was Awesome! Kudos to great Taxi Drivers!
So, at the Guest House, which is a hotel on the Campus, we had to stay a night at a ridiculously cheap rate... 280 Yuan a night (the exchange rate is between 6 and 7 yuan to the dollar). I can say that every hotel I have stayed in here in China is amazingly cleaner and has much better service than any I have ever stayed in in the states... excluding the Zaza... that one doesn't count. That hotel is in a wholly different price range...
So after our single night stay in the Guest House and our dinner at the "Expert Restaurant" We were ready to finally settle into our apartment.
The Apartment:
So i have been laughing a bit on the way here about how EVERYONE has laundry hanging out to dry... oh boy... was I in for the fun.
We met our wonderful, helpful, amazing contact on Monday morning... She took us to the police station to register (I was told that how they do things here, and I didn't argue) then we came back to find the apartment. The rent on the apartment is 2000 Yuan a month... yeah... I know... really cheap. There is also a 3000 Yuan deposit on the place. So, unfortunately they don't do credit cards here... anyone planning to visit should know... ATM is your best friend here. You may have to do a bit of math to figure out how much your daily limit is but it is worth the time. Since we didn't have the cash on us, they didn't stress out... it was something I have not experienced in a very very long time... they trusted us to pay them within the next few days... really... and still let us move into the apartment...
So, the things that are worth noting:
Clothes dryers... they don't believe in them. There is a fancy high efficieny washer with a quick disconnect that attaches to a faucet in the shower room under the hot water heater.... talk about space saver...
Shower.. who needs to enclose that? It's attached to the toilet room, and drains into the floor down one of 2 drains either in the shower room or the toilet room... interesting design.
Oven.. nope.. none... fail. Sadly there is no oven in the apartment.
So, since they don't believe in dryers, I am now the proud laundry day expert at hanging the clothes in the balcony/laundry drying room. The room has clothes rods running to hang the plastic hangers on, and a little twirrely clip thing for the small articles... it's fun.. but this also means we will need an iron and ironing board for Cullen's new fancy custom shirts he bought in Hong Kong. He also bought a suit there.
Amazingly the only thing we managed to loose was 1 towel along the way... or so we have noticed so far.
This brings us up to yesterday.
IKEA Beijing:
So, there are a few things we still need in the apartment. We need towels and some containers... odd and ends we know we can get from IKEA. We suspect that there is an IKEA in town since our apartment is furnished completely in IKEA furniture... Ahh the irony.
Immediately after the internet got connected yesterday.... after checking e-mails and such... we looked up where the store was... checked our subway map and street map... and set out to find it. Yes... the Ikea is EXACTLY the same as the IKEA in Houston... except they sell booze... Yes, alcohol is sold in IKEA Beijing.
Getting there was a battle. We made it to the subway stop we thought was closest and spoke to one of the many Olympic volunteers that were manning talbes and street corners in this part of town. There were many foreginers out here too. Well, the volunteer told us we went to the wrong spot, and needed to go one more station. So, after re-entering the subway (2.00 Yuan per ticket...) we got off at the next stop. Now we tried for a cab... it was as if no one knew what IKEA was... so we walked a bit.... then stopped for a bit to drink, where one of the guys in the store said we should take a taxi, and that it was easy....so we tried a taxi again. This time, we were helped by a total stranger, who came up and told the guy where we wanted to go. He took us to IKEA and then we were in familar territory.
I don't know how the other cab drivers didn't know where it was... there were like 20 cabs parked outside the building waiting to take people away... and the IKEA was crowded like a Saturday afternoon... not to mention the droves of people in the cafe. This was a Wednesday night... wow.. I was amazed. So, we managed to obtain some sweedish meatballs and some sort of rice and chicken w/mushrooms dish for dinner. Then found the layout to be almost identical to the one in Houston... with much less floor space. I'm sure it dosn't have as many items and such as Houston, but it felt familiar none the less.
That would be our antics for the week... the parts I can remeber anyway...
We went back to Hong Kong, and were staying in a hotel that charge an enormous amount (relatively so) for internet access. So, instead of paying that, we waited until we moved to another hotel... which Cullen picked because they weren't supposed to charge for internet service... fail....They only don't charge in the more expensive rooms. Now, in all honesty. The hotel prices were quite fair. We paid about 100-160 USD per night... of course put in HKD it seems like a lot. It was 1188HKD for the second hotel we stayed in. Really scary sounding when you put it in HKD.
Cullen had a second conference to go to in Hong Kong, which was over on the evening of the 23rd.We decided to stay an extra 2 days, purchasing a ticked for the train to Beijing for the 26th instead of the 24th... This allowed us to explore a bit. We discovered that the Public transportation in Hong Kong is amazing. There was no need to even consider driving. The buses were clean, the Subway was amazingly clean, and the trains had useful routs. I am very impressed with Hong Kong. Their population density is really high, but they have a great number of options for those who decide not to drive. The area is pretty easy to navigate too. The only issues we had were when we tried to communicate with drivers... of the bus or taxis... most of them speak only Chinese... and rightly so.
The British influence in Hong Kong made it easier to navigate, and understand. Almost every sign was in English as well as Chinese. Even the book stores had books in English.
The nights in Hong Kong were as beautiful as the days. The skies were clear, light by the many many neon lights of the city. The refection of the lights in the waters of the bay were beautiful.
Train ride to Beijing:
I think that taking the train to Beijing was such a brilliant and clever move. The trains in China are fancy. So there are 3 options when picking train seats for a long ride. 1. Hard sleeper- these are the cheapest and most crammed seats on the train. These seats are typically only used by the Chinese. There are 6 to a cabin. This means 6 beds crammed in a little cabin. Not ideal. 2. Soft sleeper- The beds are better, only 4 to a cabin, and they appear to have clean bedding. There is a nifty little table between the two beds, and storage space in front of the top 2 bunks and under the bottom 2. 3. Deluxe Soft Sleeper- only 2 beds per cabin. Very private.
So we requested Deluxe soft sleeper, but they had no tickets left... only the soft or hard sleepers. So we bought soft sleeper, and managed to get a room with no one else in it. We had a nice private ride to Beijing. The train was pretty fast. Cullen said it goes 160kmph... Not too shabby. It was interesting to see the scenery whizzing by. This was my first train ride ever (not including the subways in Hong Kong).
I would recommend this way of travel to anyone. There were, of course, security checks before and after boarding the train. At the final check, Customs got some of Cullen's equipment which was quickly sorted out 2 days later.... they are only open on odd days in July. I believe this is because the train only arrives on odd days in July.
So, we were finally in Beijing... and almost as lost as caterpillars in a paper sack....
Beijing:
Don't ever let anyone tell you the people in China aren't friendly or helpful. We have be helped by several strangers on several occasions. When we emerged from the Train station I was exhausted, frustrated, and tired of moving luggage from one place to another... living out of a suitcase gets very old very fast. I really just wanted to get my hands on some cooking utensils too... Too much greasy foods really does a number on your stomach.
Even though we had arrived... there was still the technicality of getting to our place of residence... We were armed with an address in Chinese, and a contact name, but it was getting late... and who knew what was in store for us.
We first had to get some Yuan... since most of our money was in either HKD or USD... neither helps you in mainland China. Even on the train ride, we had to purchase food with yuan... so we were hunting either an ATM or the Bank of China... the only place you can change USD to Yuan in mainland China. We had a fiasco last time I tried to do this, in Dongguan... they didn't want to take any damaged bills... so no bills that were torn, too worn out on the president's face, or had been taped... They don't do that in Hong Kong, but in Dongguan they sure did.... so Cullen ran off to find a bank, leaving me to watch our 5 bags....I am still regretting packing so much of this junk.
While I stood there, many Chinese walked by... staring. I had been warned, but I was thinking it was another of those falsehoods I had read on the internet (bring plenty of deodorant, you can't find good toothpaste, there's not dental floss... BAH... they have deodorant, Colgate toothpaste.... the exact same kind I brought tons of ... and yes Virginia... there is dental floss.... no joke you can't belive everything you read on the internet... BAH! We should have brought more socks, shoes, and I could really use some Acetone to remove these nails right now... I'm sure I can find some though.... they have everything here... I just need to learn to speak/read Chinese). So, yes, they will stare at foreigners... especially in certain parts of town. More on that later.
Cullen, as sweet as he is, decided to hurry as fast as he could to find money, so we could get going, and he wouldn't have to leave me standing there for too long... now he is wearing a blister for it... Anyway, he found an ATM and we hopped into a Taxi. Our driver was great.. when we reached IHEP (Institute of High Energy Physics) we were trying to find the Guest House, but being that it is inside the campus, it was not readily obvious where it was... so he hopped out of the car twice to ask people where it was... it was Awesome! Kudos to great Taxi Drivers!
So, at the Guest House, which is a hotel on the Campus, we had to stay a night at a ridiculously cheap rate... 280 Yuan a night (the exchange rate is between 6 and 7 yuan to the dollar). I can say that every hotel I have stayed in here in China is amazingly cleaner and has much better service than any I have ever stayed in in the states... excluding the Zaza... that one doesn't count. That hotel is in a wholly different price range...
So after our single night stay in the Guest House and our dinner at the "Expert Restaurant" We were ready to finally settle into our apartment.
The Apartment:
So i have been laughing a bit on the way here about how EVERYONE has laundry hanging out to dry... oh boy... was I in for the fun.
We met our wonderful, helpful, amazing contact on Monday morning... She took us to the police station to register (I was told that how they do things here, and I didn't argue) then we came back to find the apartment. The rent on the apartment is 2000 Yuan a month... yeah... I know... really cheap. There is also a 3000 Yuan deposit on the place. So, unfortunately they don't do credit cards here... anyone planning to visit should know... ATM is your best friend here. You may have to do a bit of math to figure out how much your daily limit is but it is worth the time. Since we didn't have the cash on us, they didn't stress out... it was something I have not experienced in a very very long time... they trusted us to pay them within the next few days... really... and still let us move into the apartment...
So, the things that are worth noting:
Clothes dryers... they don't believe in them. There is a fancy high efficieny washer with a quick disconnect that attaches to a faucet in the shower room under the hot water heater.... talk about space saver...
Shower.. who needs to enclose that? It's attached to the toilet room, and drains into the floor down one of 2 drains either in the shower room or the toilet room... interesting design.
Oven.. nope.. none... fail. Sadly there is no oven in the apartment.
So, since they don't believe in dryers, I am now the proud laundry day expert at hanging the clothes in the balcony/laundry drying room. The room has clothes rods running to hang the plastic hangers on, and a little twirrely clip thing for the small articles... it's fun.. but this also means we will need an iron and ironing board for Cullen's new fancy custom shirts he bought in Hong Kong. He also bought a suit there.
Amazingly the only thing we managed to loose was 1 towel along the way... or so we have noticed so far.
This brings us up to yesterday.
IKEA Beijing:
So, there are a few things we still need in the apartment. We need towels and some containers... odd and ends we know we can get from IKEA. We suspect that there is an IKEA in town since our apartment is furnished completely in IKEA furniture... Ahh the irony.
Immediately after the internet got connected yesterday.... after checking e-mails and such... we looked up where the store was... checked our subway map and street map... and set out to find it. Yes... the Ikea is EXACTLY the same as the IKEA in Houston... except they sell booze... Yes, alcohol is sold in IKEA Beijing.
Getting there was a battle. We made it to the subway stop we thought was closest and spoke to one of the many Olympic volunteers that were manning talbes and street corners in this part of town. There were many foreginers out here too. Well, the volunteer told us we went to the wrong spot, and needed to go one more station. So, after re-entering the subway (2.00 Yuan per ticket...) we got off at the next stop. Now we tried for a cab... it was as if no one knew what IKEA was... so we walked a bit.... then stopped for a bit to drink, where one of the guys in the store said we should take a taxi, and that it was easy....so we tried a taxi again. This time, we were helped by a total stranger, who came up and told the guy where we wanted to go. He took us to IKEA and then we were in familar territory.
I don't know how the other cab drivers didn't know where it was... there were like 20 cabs parked outside the building waiting to take people away... and the IKEA was crowded like a Saturday afternoon... not to mention the droves of people in the cafe. This was a Wednesday night... wow.. I was amazed. So, we managed to obtain some sweedish meatballs and some sort of rice and chicken w/mushrooms dish for dinner. Then found the layout to be almost identical to the one in Houston... with much less floor space. I'm sure it dosn't have as many items and such as Houston, but it felt familiar none the less.
That would be our antics for the week... the parts I can remeber anyway...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Tourism
Yesterday was a very touristy day. I can't say that I haven't had a day yet that didn't feel touristy, but yesterday was designed that way. We went to the ruins of some battlements, and then the Sea war museum. I can't really say what impressed me more, the piercing shrillness of the Chinese through the bus amplifier from our tour guide, or the amazing humidity and heat of every place we visited. I got some really nice photos from the visit. Mangrove roots are the best.
Tour guide:
So we decided after breakfast that it would be our best bet to get on the second bus. The first bus always fills up, so we figured the second bus would give us more elbow room. We were right, until the second bus filled at our first stop to pick up the rest of the people to go on the tour. Fortunately, the strength of the AC in the bus kept the temperature down to about 24 degrees C in the bus most of the time. Fair enough.
After the water bottles and yellow caps were passed out, one of the women who has arranged all the plans for the gathering stood up and announced that English speakers might want to get on the other bus, since the tour guide on there spoke English. We were not convinced to move. We saw how packed the other bus was, and were cetain that we weren't getting into that mess.
Sadly, we may have enjoyed it slightly more if we had.
The tour guide, as soon as the bus was on the road, stood up and started speaking loudly, shrilly, and with too many of those notes that just make your ear drum want to pop. I don't think that I would have enjoyed that even if I could have understood it.
You call that AIR?!!:
So, typically when you have been on a bus for an hour and a half, you are anxious to get out and stretch your legs. I was ready for Houston humidity when we reached the bay that the battlements were on... prepared with my usual gusto... but nothing could have prepared me for this....
Stepping out of the bus was a smack of heavy air... just like Houston...and some heat... and both just continued to multiply. The more I walked the more the sticky air just caked me... the more I sweated... the more ick gathered on my flesh... uncomfortable...
The water was about as clean as any you would find near a fishing pier in Galveston or Matagorda. A straw and a bit of debris was about all I spotted. Not too bad.
The next stop was the museum...the same air... the same feeling of intense ick...
then luch... ick.. into very cool AC... then ick again....
The next 2 stops... total ick.
The Museum:
As far as war museums go, this one was ok. It appeared to be well cared for, and the exhibits of old war bits were nice. There were "spitting" cannon balls. Cullen's speculation was that they spewed fire... to cause more havoc. Sounds good to me. Spitting fire can prove useful against wooden boats, and wooden houses. Made enough sense for me to move on.
In all fairness, the exhibits were about the opium war, so the last exhibit we looked at was warranted I suppose. It was the extreme anti-drug Chinese message. They had 3 fetuses in jars in this exhibit. That is all I will say.
Scenery:
Though the trip was uncomfortable, it was amazingly beautiful. There were so many industrial things, contrasting so sharply with such primitive and inventive technology. There is a man who drives a tiller around with a cart behind it. It's really such a clever idea. Yet there is very little chance you will see something like that on the streets of any town in the United states.
At the battlements were Huge mangrove trees whose roots took over there buildings in some places. There were loads of bugs and butterflies. It was so beautiful and green with splashes of such vibrant colors. The flowers are so rich and beautiful.
It was another exercise in learning to stay out of the humidity and heat. We should have know better, being from Houston and all.
It was worth the trip, if only to see the scenery.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Dongguan
The Chinese Super Store:
As a genuine explorer would, Cullen and I chose to suit up and head out to the mall area next to the hotel we are staying in. As the adventure began, we set out with no real purpose other than to find out what was around and if we needed to get our hands on something specific, we could find it. So, with our handy phrase book in pocket, we ventured forth.
Directly into the mall, we found a moving sidewalk converted to an upward slope... strait to the second floor, and into a very large department store. I have affectionately termed this store the Chinese Wal-mart. When we first entered the store, straight into the electronics and video section, we noticed that all the appliances and such they sell here have American style plugs, not the plugs that you find in the adapter sets back in the USA. Pretty nice. Of course they still have the different voltage setting, but it is obvious a lot of these electronics are also sold in the states.
So, wandering through the store, we discovered just about everything you could think of finding.. including Oreos.. pringles... and even Pepsi and Coke. Surprise surprise.
We made the full circuit of the first floor and though we were done... trying to exit the way we came in didn't work... we were flat out told to go out down stairs.... of course we can't be absolutely certain that's what she said, but her head gestures and hand waving told the story pretty well...
To our delight, there was another set of moving sidewalk/escalator things, and we traveled down stairs... to the grocery section. The odor of fish and fruits and a compost-like smell hit all at once. There were several types of fish crammed into 20 gallon tanks... most of them live... though there were some laying on the bottom with glassy eyes. They probably couldn't get enough oxygen.
The variety of aquatic creatures is astounding. I haven't even explored them all...mostly because of the odor. There are at least 2 types of squid and little live eels swimming about in shallow water.
The produce is next to the fish. I suspect this is the reason for the compost like odor. There were a ton of Durian fruits too. Then, only moments after recovering from the overwhelming fish-like odor, the warm, moist freshness of baked goods slammed into us. I can't even begin to tell you how much I wanted to linger here for hours. I don't expect to be able to bake in china. Almost every Chinese meal we have had has only consisted of steamed rolls...nothing really baked unless it was from the hotel. I am certain this is more to accommodate us foreigners than to comfort them. So smelling and seeing these baked goods made me realize what I am so going to miss... or pay tons for LOL.
Then there was the dairy section. I found only 2 packages of cheese here. One of string cheese and one of sliced cheddar. Both were priced pretty high. I suspect this will be another of the things I will learn to do without... oh how I love cheese.
So we purchased 2 bottles of juice and left the store... once again confronted with questions in Chinese... that we just couldn't answer. We managed to get out without any problems though.
Language barrier Charades take 1:
I really wasn't expecting to do any shopping yet, but Cullen seems to be rather unhappy with the state of my tennis shoes. Finding a very large custom shoe store, we decided to try a bit of communicating with the locals. Despite all the warnings we have had about not being able to find shoes in our sizes, we were going to give it a go anyway.
The earthly odor of freshly tanned leather greeted us inside. When I picked out a pair I liked, as Cullen continued to browse, the sales girl asked me what size... when I said 9.5 she shook her head, and headed to the back. At this point all the store sales girls were giggling and paying very close attention to us both. When she brought back the shoe... quite obviously the largest size she had in that shoe... I got my foot into it, but it was quite small.. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk around in this shoe... so I asked if she had any larger... she said no.. sorry.
Of course by this time, Cullen was trying to cram his foot into a tiny shoe with no success... he yells across the store, "How do you say it hurts in Chinese!" Everyone started laughing... mostly because we both were... then one of the attendants wanted to look at my nails... then the phrase book I was clutching and leafing through to try and communicate with them... I felt so sorry that the language barrier was there... but it was so very funny.
They continued to try and find ANY shoe that would fit Cullen...
In the end we just had to say thank you and leave... no new shoes. Though every time we pass that shoe store now... the girls all say hi and smile.
Language barrier Charades take 2:
I went to the "Wal-mart" to pick up some odds and ends... namely a notebook for communicating, some snacks, and a power strip. And when I left there, I remembered that I needed a new pack of birth control pills. I figured that it was as good a time as any to try to purchase them. Cullen was in meetings, so I was out alone... it was very nice.... and so I took a leisurely time about finding a drug store.
I already knew that these could be purchased over the counter from any drug store... but I didn't really realize that I wouldn't be able to find ANY American pills. NONE. Not even any with more than just a chemical name in English.
So, just by chance, I managed to be standing right in front of the gynecological section. (the sign was in English, but it was covered by many products and a kind store clerk pointed out what the section was). So then the charades began. I didn't really know how to express what I needed in words she would understand... I tried "birth control"... then I followed her over to the counter where she pointed at some paper... *how do I express this to her* was my first thought... the I saw the sign for pediatric medicines... and I pointed and said "bu yao" meaning "do not want"... that got me a blank stare... she smiled and pointed at the paper again... I still had no idea how to express this idea to her....
She called the other clerk out... he stood there and pointed at the paper again... so I drew a picture. A woman smiling, then a tiny people and crossed out the little person and scribbled over it...
The woman didn't get it, but the man was like, "Aaahhh" he totally understood...
The first thing he shows me is this little box. I was thinking... how do they fit a whole months' worth of pills in this box... I don't know if he really understands...
Then he goes back over to the paper and writes,"72 hours," in English...
"oh no no no... I don't need that one" was my immediate response... then he goes to another one... and pulls the instructions out to show them to me... but to his dismay and mine... they are all in Chinese.... the box looked more promising though.
Then he showed me the pills and kept saying one a day.. one a day... and I was sure this was the one... He handed me the one with the website in English, and I went back to the hotel and looked it up. Sure enough... family planning pills. Perfect.
Ahhh the antics.
As a genuine explorer would, Cullen and I chose to suit up and head out to the mall area next to the hotel we are staying in. As the adventure began, we set out with no real purpose other than to find out what was around and if we needed to get our hands on something specific, we could find it. So, with our handy phrase book in pocket, we ventured forth.
Directly into the mall, we found a moving sidewalk converted to an upward slope... strait to the second floor, and into a very large department store. I have affectionately termed this store the Chinese Wal-mart. When we first entered the store, straight into the electronics and video section, we noticed that all the appliances and such they sell here have American style plugs, not the plugs that you find in the adapter sets back in the USA. Pretty nice. Of course they still have the different voltage setting, but it is obvious a lot of these electronics are also sold in the states.
So, wandering through the store, we discovered just about everything you could think of finding.. including Oreos.. pringles... and even Pepsi and Coke. Surprise surprise.
We made the full circuit of the first floor and though we were done... trying to exit the way we came in didn't work... we were flat out told to go out down stairs.... of course we can't be absolutely certain that's what she said, but her head gestures and hand waving told the story pretty well...
To our delight, there was another set of moving sidewalk/escalator things, and we traveled down stairs... to the grocery section. The odor of fish and fruits and a compost-like smell hit all at once. There were several types of fish crammed into 20 gallon tanks... most of them live... though there were some laying on the bottom with glassy eyes. They probably couldn't get enough oxygen.
The variety of aquatic creatures is astounding. I haven't even explored them all...mostly because of the odor. There are at least 2 types of squid and little live eels swimming about in shallow water.
The produce is next to the fish. I suspect this is the reason for the compost like odor. There were a ton of Durian fruits too. Then, only moments after recovering from the overwhelming fish-like odor, the warm, moist freshness of baked goods slammed into us. I can't even begin to tell you how much I wanted to linger here for hours. I don't expect to be able to bake in china. Almost every Chinese meal we have had has only consisted of steamed rolls...nothing really baked unless it was from the hotel. I am certain this is more to accommodate us foreigners than to comfort them. So smelling and seeing these baked goods made me realize what I am so going to miss... or pay tons for LOL.
Then there was the dairy section. I found only 2 packages of cheese here. One of string cheese and one of sliced cheddar. Both were priced pretty high. I suspect this will be another of the things I will learn to do without... oh how I love cheese.
So we purchased 2 bottles of juice and left the store... once again confronted with questions in Chinese... that we just couldn't answer. We managed to get out without any problems though.
Language barrier Charades take 1:
I really wasn't expecting to do any shopping yet, but Cullen seems to be rather unhappy with the state of my tennis shoes. Finding a very large custom shoe store, we decided to try a bit of communicating with the locals. Despite all the warnings we have had about not being able to find shoes in our sizes, we were going to give it a go anyway.
The earthly odor of freshly tanned leather greeted us inside. When I picked out a pair I liked, as Cullen continued to browse, the sales girl asked me what size... when I said 9.5 she shook her head, and headed to the back. At this point all the store sales girls were giggling and paying very close attention to us both. When she brought back the shoe... quite obviously the largest size she had in that shoe... I got my foot into it, but it was quite small.. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk around in this shoe... so I asked if she had any larger... she said no.. sorry.
Of course by this time, Cullen was trying to cram his foot into a tiny shoe with no success... he yells across the store, "How do you say it hurts in Chinese!" Everyone started laughing... mostly because we both were... then one of the attendants wanted to look at my nails... then the phrase book I was clutching and leafing through to try and communicate with them... I felt so sorry that the language barrier was there... but it was so very funny.
They continued to try and find ANY shoe that would fit Cullen...
In the end we just had to say thank you and leave... no new shoes. Though every time we pass that shoe store now... the girls all say hi and smile.
Language barrier Charades take 2:
I went to the "Wal-mart" to pick up some odds and ends... namely a notebook for communicating, some snacks, and a power strip. And when I left there, I remembered that I needed a new pack of birth control pills. I figured that it was as good a time as any to try to purchase them. Cullen was in meetings, so I was out alone... it was very nice.... and so I took a leisurely time about finding a drug store.
I already knew that these could be purchased over the counter from any drug store... but I didn't really realize that I wouldn't be able to find ANY American pills. NONE. Not even any with more than just a chemical name in English.
So, just by chance, I managed to be standing right in front of the gynecological section. (the sign was in English, but it was covered by many products and a kind store clerk pointed out what the section was). So then the charades began. I didn't really know how to express what I needed in words she would understand... I tried "birth control"... then I followed her over to the counter where she pointed at some paper... *how do I express this to her* was my first thought... the I saw the sign for pediatric medicines... and I pointed and said "bu yao" meaning "do not want"... that got me a blank stare... she smiled and pointed at the paper again... I still had no idea how to express this idea to her....
She called the other clerk out... he stood there and pointed at the paper again... so I drew a picture. A woman smiling, then a tiny people and crossed out the little person and scribbled over it...
The woman didn't get it, but the man was like, "Aaahhh" he totally understood...
The first thing he shows me is this little box. I was thinking... how do they fit a whole months' worth of pills in this box... I don't know if he really understands...
Then he goes back over to the paper and writes,"72 hours," in English...
"oh no no no... I don't need that one" was my immediate response... then he goes to another one... and pulls the instructions out to show them to me... but to his dismay and mine... they are all in Chinese.... the box looked more promising though.
Then he showed me the pills and kept saying one a day.. one a day... and I was sure this was the one... He handed me the one with the website in English, and I went back to the hotel and looked it up. Sure enough... family planning pills. Perfect.
Ahhh the antics.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
the flight and the first few days
The flight:
Ok, I knew it was going to be a long day. The 4 hour layover in San Fransisco didn't make the day go by any faster. I knew it was going to take a very long time to get from San Fransisco to Hong Kong. I really was expecting it to be worse than it was, which saved me in the end. I did get anxious on the plane, but to my amazement, it ended faster than I expected. Probably because I was exhausted and slept quite a bit on the flight. We lost a day.. landing at 6pm on Sunday. When we landed I was so very thirsty. As we flew in, the buildings in Hong Kong looked like lego stacks. And when they built one skyscraper, it appears they built 4 or 5 of the same one in the same spot. There was rarely one skyscraper that looked distinct from its neighbors. Most were about the same height also. This created a very stunning and beautiful image of the city from the air. I didn't take any photos of it though... my brain was still a bit fuddled from lack of sleep.
The Hong Kong Hotel:
Leaving the airport wasn't bad. Since we had nothing to declare, it was just a matter of dragging all of our luggage out to a taxi. It took some time, but Cullen was clever enough to hitch everything together. Such a clever man. So with the Luggage train in tow, we followed Cullen's supervising Instructor out to the Taxi pick-up area. From what I can tell, the city it's self hires cab drivers. There are red ones... for the inner city, and green ones for the "new territories" which is outside Hong Kong proper.
None of us remembered to print out the address for the Hotel, so we were leaning on the fact that a taxi driver should know all the hotels in the area... especially one that picked up people at the airport... we were wrong. This hotel was difficult to find, hidden deep in the bowels of a shopping mall. The funniest part was that when we asked people IN THE shopping mall, where the hotel was, they didn't even know.
On a funnier note... there was a shop called YATA in the mall. Hilarious.
When we finally checked in to the Hotel, it was 700 HK dollars a night... about 100 US and the room was nice. It was a bit small, but the bathroom had very nice fixtures, all from America and Europe... ahh the irony.
So there was only a smidge of drinking then we crashed hard. When we woke in the morning, it was off to Dongguan in a Bus at 7:15am. I woke up once at 3:37 thinking it was 5:37, but then we slept again until 6am. It was good sleep. Very restful.
The Bus and Customs:
We all boarded the bus to a roll call. I am not sure, but maybe they wanted to make sure everyone made it to the conference. This bus appeared to have been contracted by the Daya Bay project to pick up all the professors and project people at the hotel to bring us all into Dongguan. Since Hong Kong used to be occupied by Britain, I suppose they decided that it was a great idea to keep the Chinese border up and running. This meant that when we reached the Border, we had to get off the bus, and cross the border with all our luggage.
We got stamped twice going through the border, then had to get our luggage scanned. We had one back full of electronic things and tools, which interested the Chinese customs officers, and they asked to check our bags. No problem......
The WACOM tablet completely confused them. They kept asking what it was. Finally, they let us go, just talking about it for a while still as we rolled the luggage train away.
Back on the bus for the remainder of the trip to Dongguan. 2 more hours. This ended with another bout of being lost in China when we really shouldn't have been. We were going to the College first, so the bus stopped at the campus... but it was the wrong campus... we had to follow a cab to the right campus. After passing through the second toll booth, one of the passengers really had to go pee... he couldn't hold it any longer... so he dashed out of the bus into the bushes... we could still see him though.... watered the shrubbery.... and reentered the bus to much cheering.
After finally reaching out destination, the conference was started. Then we broke for lunch...
Lunch number 1:
This first real Chinese meal in China consisted many things:
*a broth probably chicken
*boiled chicken legs... including the feet
*fried chicken top half... including the head
*squid tentacles probably fried or sauteed
*fried eggplant in a sauce
*hollow vegetable leaves (I was told they don't have a name in english)
*something that resembled spinach
*Fruits in a sour/sweet cream (cantaloupe, watermelon, and tomatoes)
*steamed rolls with a sweet thick sauce
*boiled fish (whole, with the head still attached)
*many other dishes I can't remember at the moment.
These dishes were all served on a rotating saucer 3/4 the size of the table, so everyone could try everything. One of the conference attendees tried the chicken head. It was very interesting. I can say that eggplant is wonderful.
Checking in again:
So the second hotel is about 35 US dollars a night... 256rmb. This room is much more spacious and it appears to be a better room all around than the one in Hong Kong... but of course, it's not in Hong Kong, so it is much cheaper. I get the impression that this city doesn't get a whole lot of foreigners visiting. Some can speak English well, but they all appear to stare a lot. They are very very nice. I haven't had anyone be rude or mean in any way. It's quite refreshing. This room even comes with breakfast every morning for free... the one in Hong Kong didn't. it was about 168 HK dollars for breakfast in Hong Kong... about 25 USD.... and here it's free. Very nice.
So that's a summary of the first two days of China...
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