Here are some random photos that I have taken around town. As I mentioned, things that are strange (to us) often catch our attention and all we can do is shake our heads and say, “T.I.C.—This is China” .
Grocery shopping is still an interesting adventure, and I have not even ventured out into the REAL open air markets. I’m told that’s where the best produce is, but it is also where they hand the lambs out of the back of the truck still baa-ing; wring the neck for you of the hen of your choice; and the puppies and kitties in the cages are not there to be adopted. Still not sure if I’ll get there or not…
Anyway, here are some pictures from the market I do shop in. I took Carter and Taylor with me one day. Taylor has decided she never wants to go back-Carter thinks it ROCKS! He thinks it is like going to the aquarium to see all of the live fish and crabs and other seafood. One day the fish monger, grabbed a fish and pulled it out of the tank. It attempted an escape to save itself by flopping onto the floor. Carter is laughing, saying, “Look Mommy, Fishy get away!”, when the fish monger picked up the fish and bludgeoned it to death with the flat side of the cleaver with extra oomph . I tried to turn Carter away from the scene, but apparently he saw, because he reenacted it for Tony quite accurately later that evening.
At first I felt rude and awkward taking photos of things I find “interesting or unusual” to put it in politically correct terms. Let’s face it, in all honesty, sometimes I find certain situations just downright weird, gross, strange, etc. yet I am certainly trying to be open to all of our cultural differences. I tried to learn how to say, “May I take your picture” so as not to be rude when I was trying to capture people like the oxcart driver.
Taylor, however, helped me quickly get over my uneasiness and fear of being rude. She pointed out that people take OUR pictures ALL OF THE TIME without asking. I cannot begin to tell you how many Chinese family photo albums we must be in. Every where we go, we draw attention and often cause a scene (and that’s when Carter is NOT throwing tantrums) . People seriously stop and stare at us like we have 3 heads. All that is really drawing their attention is the fact that the one head we do have is blond and therefore screams-“Foreigner” or “Lao wei”.
In our cultural training class they tried to help us understand this by using this analogy. We are the panda, an interesting ,unique animal that is respected as a symbol of China. They know it lives in their country, but rarely actually see one in person. Our cultural presenters tried to make us feel better by saying that it is as if the Chinese have come across a walking, talking panda in the street or grocery store. They’ve heard we exist, know we live in their country, and find us interesting , but have never actually seen or touched one in real life. So that is why we grab their attention.
OK, so I am supposed to feel flattered, I guess, but it gets to be WAY too much sometimes. I’ve learned to just smile and usually give them the peace sign for pics. However, when I grocery shop, several times my cart has been surrounded by little Chinese ladies who are interested in what the foreigner is buying. I am surrounded and trapped while they actually pick up my food out of my cart and talk about it amongst themselves in rapid-fire Chinese. I seriously have to almost run them over with the cart to get by. When we took the children to get their hair cut for the first time, no less than 10 people stood around them gawking at the blond hair falling to the ground. Taylor, in her eloquent, dramatic, 7 year old way put it like this, “Mom-we are gold colored freaks in a sea of black.”
Occasionally this works in our favor though. We can often bypass lines (well, crowds pushing in, since as I’ve mentioned, there are no lines) and often go in through the out door. We can just smile, shrug, and look sheepish-----or panda-ish.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
On the Road
Well-we have a new driver, Mr. Fan. I spoke way too soon on how great Mr. Wang was. The part where he was supposed to wait and drive us around when we needed him seemed to be problematic for him. I was ready to go all “Norma Rae” for him to make sure the drivers had a warm, comfortable place to wait; and also to petition the company he worked for to allow him to take the car home instead of having to park and take public transportation. But after he failed to show up several times, lied to us about needing to go to office meetings and having the car serviced so he would not have to be available to us, we knew we had a problem. For crying out loud, the car still had plastic on it because it was so new out of the factory, and he is trying to tell me it is at 5000 miles and needs oil change! When I told him he could not go, he then became intentionally rude to me as well. I am not asking for him to kiss my butt, but common courtesy is required on this job, as well as any other. Well, enough about him... Meet Mr. Fan a.k.a. "Fred"
For those of you thinking this is just a luxury to have a chauffeur, let me set the record straight. We are NOT allowed to drive in China. Why? Because driving in China is CRAZY/borderline suicidal and they don’t trust us to do so safely.
As far as I can determine here are the rules of the road: THERE ARE NONE! But, here are the general guidelines I have observed:
1. Stop signs and lane lines are just there as “suggestions”; the Chinese people don’t stand in line for anything. It’s just a mad push to the front, and the same goes for traffic. We learned in our cultural class that in a country of 1.3 billion people, they long ago decided that if you snooze, you lose. You better be aggressive if you want to get any where, get anything and survive. Just push and wedge your way in- no need to stay in a lane/line and move forward in an orderly fashion. Whoever is bigger and more aggressive wins. Which brings me to guideline 2…
2. Big truck barreling down road has right of way over bus; bus over van; van over car; car over minicars; minicars over motorcycles; motorcycles over bicycles. I’m not sure who yields; the bicycle rickshaw or the donkey driven cart—guess it just depends how road ragin’ the donkey is that day. Not kidding-- we all share the roads. :-)
3. To prove you have the right of way and you are coming through, apparently you just lay on the horn and flash your lights--ALL the time.
4. We also share the road with about a billion Chinese pedestrians whom have taken “Frogger” to a higher art form. They take their lives in their hands and just run out into the street, hoping that it is just a pedicab and not a truck that hits them if they misjudge. We have at least 3 expat families who have seen deaths on the side of the road so far, it is not an uncommon sight, very sad to say.
I know it sounds like a good gig to be chauffeured around, but it is a HUGE loss of independence. You have to really plan your days ahead and how to share the car with your spouse. ( yet another challenge to marital harmony) You cannot just “run” to the store or around the corner if you need a little last minute something. On the driver’s day off you are pretty much home bound.
Our new driver, Fred, does not speak much English but is working out quite well so far. He is also good with the kids and is eager to help in any way he can. He is working on his English and helping me with my Chinese. Best of all, he is available when we need him and hasn’t disappeared-yet! He and Carter have become good buddies and Taylor likes to help him with his English. However, we have learned not to talk to him while he drives, because he tends to look at me instead of the road. See above… So I sit here and type to you all instead!
p.s. After a few weeks he decided he wanted an American name so he renamed himself "Fred" :-)
For those of you thinking this is just a luxury to have a chauffeur, let me set the record straight. We are NOT allowed to drive in China. Why? Because driving in China is CRAZY/borderline suicidal and they don’t trust us to do so safely.
As far as I can determine here are the rules of the road: THERE ARE NONE! But, here are the general guidelines I have observed:
1. Stop signs and lane lines are just there as “suggestions”; the Chinese people don’t stand in line for anything. It’s just a mad push to the front, and the same goes for traffic. We learned in our cultural class that in a country of 1.3 billion people, they long ago decided that if you snooze, you lose. You better be aggressive if you want to get any where, get anything and survive. Just push and wedge your way in- no need to stay in a lane/line and move forward in an orderly fashion. Whoever is bigger and more aggressive wins. Which brings me to guideline 2…
2. Big truck barreling down road has right of way over bus; bus over van; van over car; car over minicars; minicars over motorcycles; motorcycles over bicycles. I’m not sure who yields; the bicycle rickshaw or the donkey driven cart—guess it just depends how road ragin’ the donkey is that day. Not kidding-- we all share the roads. :-)
3. To prove you have the right of way and you are coming through, apparently you just lay on the horn and flash your lights--ALL the time.
4. We also share the road with about a billion Chinese pedestrians whom have taken “Frogger” to a higher art form. They take their lives in their hands and just run out into the street, hoping that it is just a pedicab and not a truck that hits them if they misjudge. We have at least 3 expat families who have seen deaths on the side of the road so far, it is not an uncommon sight, very sad to say.
I know it sounds like a good gig to be chauffeured around, but it is a HUGE loss of independence. You have to really plan your days ahead and how to share the car with your spouse. ( yet another challenge to marital harmony) You cannot just “run” to the store or around the corner if you need a little last minute something. On the driver’s day off you are pretty much home bound.
Our new driver, Fred, does not speak much English but is working out quite well so far. He is also good with the kids and is eager to help in any way he can. He is working on his English and helping me with my Chinese. Best of all, he is available when we need him and hasn’t disappeared-yet! He and Carter have become good buddies and Taylor likes to help him with his English. However, we have learned not to talk to him while he drives, because he tends to look at me instead of the road. See above… So I sit here and type to you all instead!
p.s. After a few weeks he decided he wanted an American name so he renamed himself "Fred" :-)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
"T.I.C., Baby!"
Irony? Dichotomy? Paradox?
OK so my Chinese is improving, but my English is failing me. Don't know which of the above words is the most accurate word choice and it's getting late so I don't really care. All I know is here are some of the random things we have noticed that fall under the Expat saying, "T.I.C, baby!" We use it when we are at a loss as Westerners to explain or understand what the heck is going on around us here.
"This Is China".
1. As I mentioned on Facebook, I amuse myself with the fact that I came all the way to China to try Indian food, “real” Japanese food (with Sake Bombers included), and Tapas. I’ve only gone out for “real" Chinese food once.
2. Almost every type of goods we buy in America are made in China, and we are perfectly satisfied with the quality—most of the time. However, most everything we have bought here in China has been crap. Bottle opener- broke first try; wok-the nonstick surface didn’t stick to the pan either and came right off in our food; wooden foot stools collapse right under Carter with screws going in every direction—the list could go on and on. Apparently Chinese goods made FOR China are not subjected to the same inspection standards as those that are to be imported to the U.S.
3. We can all agree China is one of the most highly industrialized countries-capable of great technology. Heck-that’s why Intel has agreed to build a fab to make microprocessing chips here. Yet, they clean their streets daily with “street sweepers”. The real thing- people with brooms made of twigs tied together with twine. When it snowed, they literally “plowed” the streets by hand. 20 people across using plywood boards attached to 2X4s and sweepers with the above mentioned brooms following behind.
4. In my cultural class today, the “Ancient Ritual Tea Service” was accompanied by a Power Point presentation to explain the different types of teas, history, and preparation.
5. Stunning natural beauty coexists right next to indescribable ugliness, pollution, and poverty. In a country of this many billion people, there is an abundance of the human footprint on much of nature, but what is left untouched is beautiful. In these pictures of the sea, I turned one quarter of a step to take pictures of the impoverished fishing village and ramshackle huts nestled in the hills right next to it. (sidenote—I was chased off by a pack of wild dogs right after this was taken—which leads to another ironic revelation, the rabies vaccines I was so dreading, I am now looking forward to receiving as soon as possible!)
6. On Tongniuling Hill in Kaifaqu, you can go up a scenic drive to see a.) an ancient bell to be rung for good luck, b.)a baby Buddha sitting on a flying bull statue, c.)a traditional temple with gorgeous panoramic view of the sea, and…d.) A UFO??? Very strange combination of sites all put together, but a very fun day was had by all!
Probably the biggest, ironic revelation has been the following: After the last 4 years of my whining, crying, worrying, cussing, bitching, moaning, yelling, etc. about the possiblity of moving over here, I have already come to the realization that we may end up wanting to stay even longer. Huh?!?
OK so my Chinese is improving, but my English is failing me. Don't know which of the above words is the most accurate word choice and it's getting late so I don't really care. All I know is here are some of the random things we have noticed that fall under the Expat saying, "T.I.C, baby!" We use it when we are at a loss as Westerners to explain or understand what the heck is going on around us here.
"This Is China".
1. As I mentioned on Facebook, I amuse myself with the fact that I came all the way to China to try Indian food, “real” Japanese food (with Sake Bombers included), and Tapas. I’ve only gone out for “real" Chinese food once.
2. Almost every type of goods we buy in America are made in China, and we are perfectly satisfied with the quality—most of the time. However, most everything we have bought here in China has been crap. Bottle opener- broke first try; wok-the nonstick surface didn’t stick to the pan either and came right off in our food; wooden foot stools collapse right under Carter with screws going in every direction—the list could go on and on. Apparently Chinese goods made FOR China are not subjected to the same inspection standards as those that are to be imported to the U.S.
3. We can all agree China is one of the most highly industrialized countries-capable of great technology. Heck-that’s why Intel has agreed to build a fab to make microprocessing chips here. Yet, they clean their streets daily with “street sweepers”. The real thing- people with brooms made of twigs tied together with twine. When it snowed, they literally “plowed” the streets by hand. 20 people across using plywood boards attached to 2X4s and sweepers with the above mentioned brooms following behind.
4. In my cultural class today, the “Ancient Ritual Tea Service” was accompanied by a Power Point presentation to explain the different types of teas, history, and preparation.
5. Stunning natural beauty coexists right next to indescribable ugliness, pollution, and poverty. In a country of this many billion people, there is an abundance of the human footprint on much of nature, but what is left untouched is beautiful. In these pictures of the sea, I turned one quarter of a step to take pictures of the impoverished fishing village and ramshackle huts nestled in the hills right next to it. (sidenote—I was chased off by a pack of wild dogs right after this was taken—which leads to another ironic revelation, the rabies vaccines I was so dreading, I am now looking forward to receiving as soon as possible!)
6. On Tongniuling Hill in Kaifaqu, you can go up a scenic drive to see a.) an ancient bell to be rung for good luck, b.)a baby Buddha sitting on a flying bull statue, c.)a traditional temple with gorgeous panoramic view of the sea, and…d.) A UFO??? Very strange combination of sites all put together, but a very fun day was had by all!
Probably the biggest, ironic revelation has been the following: After the last 4 years of my whining, crying, worrying, cussing, bitching, moaning, yelling, etc. about the possiblity of moving over here, I have already come to the realization that we may end up wanting to stay even longer. Huh?!?
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