"The Time Has Come," the Walrus said...to Go Home!

Yeah, so, it's been awhile since I've written.  Six months, actually.   It isn’t for lack of events or stories… because there have been plenty:

I took some cooking classes...

taught a LOT of English...

...including 5 sessions of theater, complete with performances!

 

 

went on some beautiful hikes...

 

and saw some awesome sites...

My Mom came for a visit!

and we had some excellent adventures!

I went "clubbing"

And ate LOTS of weird and delicious food...

Had a giant ad made from my face...

terrorized some kids on Halloween... (she looks horrified, doesn't she??)

And all of that has made for an incredible experience.

BUT, it hasn't all been good... in fact, it's been an incredibly challenging year.  My health has frequently been poor...due to abysmal environmental conditions and a stressful employment situation.  If you noticed the gloves I was wearing in many of the photos... it's not a fashion statement.  I've had eczema for years but generally only a mild case on one finger or toe.  My hands and feet exploded this summer and have been blazing to a debilitating degree.  

I walked around like this one day

because the smoggy air was irritating my already raw throat and I could barely use my hands.  A funny sight for sure... but, not good times. 

Perhaps I will go into the details another time ...like a time when I'm no longer living in this country... but in short, this is not the right place for me.  The health concerns are a big part of it but there is also a great deal with which I'm just not aligned.

I'm a big fan of Joseph Campbell and the idea of "following one's Bliss."  My journeys have always been more about FINDING my bliss.  It's clear that it's not hiding in China.  I have met some good friends and gained a level of patience and flexibility that I didn't know I was capable of.  I thank the People's Republic for inviting me into their fascinating and bizarre world for a glimpse into the machine that is quickly becoming a superpower on this planet.

For as much of a mess as the U.S. is right now I have come to appreciate the simple things I've taken for granted about my home country and it's really appealing right now.

On to the next adventure... and to whichever path lights up the brightest.

再见!  Zàijiàn!

The Grocers, the Street Vendors, and the SuperHypermarkets

One of the main ingredients for survival is food.  So wherever you are, it’s pretty important to know where and how to get it.  There are many options here in China, but when you can not effectively use the language that narrows the choices a bit.

 In the states I shopped at my local co-op.  I would pay $6 for a pint of organic blueberries and $8-9 for a pound of bison or grass-fed beef. I bought free-range chicken and cage-free eggs and only organic fruits and vegetables.  I don’t have kids or a family to support so I could afford it… well actually I couldn’t afford it, but it was a priority for me, not only for optimal health, but to ‘do my part’ to reduce the amount of damage being done to the planet via destructive chemicals used in mainstream farming... ( I have trouble calling it conventional farming because in my mind “conventional” means “traditional” or “old-school” and I just don’t see the early farmers using Round Up. When I was in Peru, the local markets were full of beautiful produce and there was no such thing as labeling something “organic” because it was ALL organic.  Something that continues to baffle me about a country claiming to be developed (I’m speaking about the U.S. here) is that it seems that an average family of four, earning a middle-class income, struggles to pay for “conventionally grown” food, so that the idea of shopping for organic products is out of the question.  The stuff that is better for you and for the earth is out of reach.  Sick.  Anywho... all of this is to say that I’m a conscientious shopper and was (and continue to be) concerned about the source of the food that I’m buying and consuming.

As I mentioned, there are several places and ways to shop for food.  One is to walk down your neighborhood streets:  Here you will find shops/garages/spaces/and street vendors where farmers and / or middle men sell everything from veggies and fruits

to nuts and beans

to shrimp in tubs and fish in bags.

As this is the most questionable type of grocery shopping, I tend to steer clear. Also because there are no price tags on this food, so some command of the language is necessary.  The exception to this for me is the fruit vendors.  The best strawberries I’ve had here have been on the street.  I was initially sucked in because it seemed that 13RMB worth of strawberries could make or break some of these peoples’ days...

So another option is to shop at the local grocer and / or the big supermarkets.  The upside to this is that the potential for not only a wee bit of written English on the packaging but also at the bigger places there is usually an organic section.  Or at least there is a section labeled organic.  How do I know that it’s really organic?  I don’t.  The downside to the organic labeled food is that they package it excessively for some reason, which just seems to defeat a big part of the purpose, right?  

So I can buy over-packaged, organic-labeled produce...

or unpackaged questionably grown produce. 

Actually, it’s ALL questionable so I end up doing an extreme washing on it all anyway and putting all of the packaging in the recycling bin with hopes that it really is organic and the packaging really does get reincarnated.

Some of the fun and/or different stuff at the supermarket a.k.a. "Hypermarket."

Dumplings! Dumplings! and more Dumplings!

BIG BLOCKS OF TOFU! and the bags of soybeans that make it... 

Lots of tubes of processed meat 

RRRRRRRIIIICE!!

An assortment of bulk frozen... things.

The Great Wall of Oils

Dried steering-wheel-shaped hunks of seaweed

Or fresh seaweed and fishies on ice

Bags of Octopus...er... Squid...er... Jellyfish?

You CAN buy eggs in cartons... but why? when you can just pick your own and put them (very carefully) in a bag?

Peanut Butter of the Chinese persuasion.

Milk is not sold in cartons or jugs as it is in the states and it is not fresh.  It is packaged and sold in tetra paks and could be 6months old by the time you buy it... but reportedly still safely consumable.

Also sold in chocolate and ... other flavors

Glutinous rice balls anybody??

How about some Hot-Tingle Flavor noodles??

If you don't like those, you could always try some from the Hot and Sour Family

After that you can enjoy a nice cup of any of the 65,000 varieties of hua cha or flower tea

Another shopping option is the international grocer.  The price for this is quite dear though.  It’s MUCH, MUCH more expensive to buy imported products.  For me, the closest international grocer is about an hour by subway, which means hauling the food to and fro.  Not a fun trip when I get really excited about cartons of Silk, jars of salsa and cans of baked beans. HEAVY!  Expensive and heavy!  BUT for the days when I really need a taste of home, I keep a few things in stock.

Like good ol' Land O' Lakes cheese imported from MN!

or some of THE best coffee in the world:

Sooooo, other than the checkout clerk saying ni hao and telling me how much the total is (which 90% of the time I still can’t understand and have to look at the register) there need be very little spoken Chinese involved in the grocery shopping experience.  But I’m realizing that I’m limiting my shopping encounters because asking for something is out of the question at this point and so I am curbing the choices to what I can decipher on my own. 

There HAVE been language barrier incidents while grocery shopping... like the day I was buying some yogurt, just as I had done at least 3 or 4 times by this point, and the checkout lady asked, “blabbity blabby blabb blabby blabma??”  and even though I had learned how to say the phrase, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand, “I don’t speak Chinese” IN CHINESE and had practiced and practiced and practiced this phrase and tested it out on a Chinese co-worker and received glowing reviews on my pronunciation... when it came time to USE it in a practical situation all I could do was shake my head and say, “uh... um... I don’t... know.”  She ended up keeping the yogurt and I’m still not sure why.  This happened in my first month here and I am happy to say that things have progressed since then.  I HAVE used that phrase and others such as, “Please speak more slowly” (not that it will make a difference) and “I only know a few words in Chinese” several times successfully, but the look I get from them after saying these phrases is the facial equivalent to,”Then, why are you here??”  So, I do still fear the potential questions from the checkout clerk every time I shop...not to mention the possibility of having my yogurt held hostage. 

Wǒ gǎnmào le / 我感冒/ I have a cold.

我感冒 or wǒ gǎnmào le or I have a cold.   It's been about 2-1/2 weeks and I'm sick of being sick.   What started as a little rattle in the lungs developed into a bronchial fire every time I coughed.  The virus diversified and branched out into my sinuses and the simultaneous lung inferno and sinus pressure has been quite a miserable experience.  I am a natural/home remedy/Chinese-herb-lovin' kind of gal... and so I started with the herbs right away. (Attempting to explain my symptoms to the woman at the pharmacy was something straight out of a Seinfeld episode)
There are several ways to ingest the herbs.  One is a crystallized-powder type that is mixed with hot water... they all generally taste like some kind of sweetened tree bark... but nothing gag-worthy.

Another form is a compact ball of compressed herbs that, once removed from the wax/plastic casing, is popped in the mouth, chewed and swallowed.

Not terrible tasting... but not candy... after all, it is medicine.

I found a nice syrup that DOES taste like candy and is actually quite effective for calming the cough and soothe some symptoms.  A nice mix of herbs and honey.

I discovered that when trying to swig a quick dose in between classes it's a good idea to announce that I'm going to take some medicine... otherwise I get some funny looks while tipping the bottle behind my locker. 

Also found an effective cough drop/throat lozenge:

In addition to the herbs, I was eating a lot of raw ginger, drinking apple cider vinegar, and taking a few thousand mg of vitamin C to support the immune system and since I couldn't smell anything and I don't have a roommate, eating raw garlic to kill any bacteria / infection in the sinuses.

Usually this combination of boosters will wipe out whatever ails me, but I believe part of the reason for the longevity of this sickness has been that I haven't been able to get proper rest.  I can't call in sick to work because we don't have enough teachers to cover my classes... no substitutes here.  Unless I'm on my death bed, I pretty much need to go to work (which is not great considering I'm spreading my sick to a school full of kids).  Another contributing factor is the air. As I've mentioned before, it seems to have a layer of ick in it.  I feel that my body is already working overtime to filter... and now it's trying to fight a virus on top of it.  I'm almost out of the woods, but it's lingering.

In the states, I would not easily drink Ny-Quil or pop a Mucinex pill.  I don't believe in treating  symptoms as it does not generally help the body fight the sickness, and it often seems to make it worse in the long run as a person tends to do more than they should since the drug helps them 'feel better'.  It's been years since I've had any of that kind of medication.  HOWEVER, in order to sleep and / or function during the day, I would have downed a half a bottle of any of it ...had I had it.  Currently, I have a care-package on the way from Dr. Mom in the event that I am struck again.

I have had a couple of offers to take me to the hospital (which is used like a clinic back home).  They are big on intravenous drips here... really big, and as exciting as a trip to the drip forest sounds I would rather my body fight this and build an impervious immunity wall, than be given antibiotics for a virus, xie xie very much.

Another thing I kick myself for not bringing is my Neti Pot.

I know they freak people out... but honestly, I can't think of a better daily maintenance here in the dirty air.  Another care package is on it's way with a new Neti Pot from Auntie Annie.  Let the nasal passage cleansing commence!

Oh, yeah, by the way... I must share that I did spit in public.  Copious amounts of mucus being produced and not having a tissue handy made it... necessary.  I'm not proud, but I do feel a little more like one of the gang now. 

I think I promised to write about more refined things after my last post on the 'bathroom'... sorry, maybe next time.

The Apartment

Way back when, in college, I went directly from the dorms to off-campus housing my freshman year and so I never had the pleasure of occupying the luxurious on-campus apartments.  I did visit them on occasion though and was reminded of those hard wood arms on the IKEA-type, standard-functional furniture when I moved into my new apartment in China.

 The couch is actually orange but it is stained just enough to remove the welcoming "come sit on me" personality that I think a couch should have....so I found this lovely blue and white flowered sheet in one of the drawers in the extra bedroom and it is surprising how (despite the atrocious pairing of this sheet with the striped pillows) such a thin shield can provide so much more comfort.  This 'furnished' apartment does just that... it furnishes the necessities of a moderately comfortable living.

The living room is complete with a couch, two chairs, a desk, a coffee table, tv, and............. refrigerator!  The kitchen is too small for the fridge... so, the living room it is.

The desk has become my library and stereo.  The electrical outlets are limited, hence the powerstrip/cord stretching in the middle of the room.  BTW it's very important (in order to avoid small fires) to choose the highest wattage/voltage when buying a power strip.  :) Anybody know how to say FIRE in Chinese? Me neither.

This is the entryway/open pantry/microwave room.  I haven't used a microwave for years.   Sadly, I have used the one provided on several occasions so far.  I'm a microwave whore!   With the ridiculous levels of air and water pollution and questionable food sources, a little electromagnetic radiation seems the least of my worries.  Anywhooooo... through the door is the kitchen and through the next door, the balcony/laundry room.

The sink and gas stove-top are fairly normal except that the lowest setting is about a medium heat... no simmer, which is a bummer, and one MUST WATCH CAREFULLY.  No oven... which means no banana bread... and no other things I'll miss making when I eventually get sick of eating dumplings.  I LOVE DUMPLINGS SO MUCH!  (I WILL get sick of eating dumplings, right??) 

The contraption above the sink is the gas heater... it provides heat for the radiators and the water (including the shower)... and I have developed a complicated relationship with this machine. (we are finally speaking after about 2 weeks of the silent treatment)

My washing machine (out on the balcony) can hold about 3pairs of socks, 2 underwear, and 1 towel in a load... but I'm very happy to have it. Many people here wash their clothes by hand... washboard style.  I know that this machine has a hot setting and a cold setting and I know where the start button is ...but that's about it.  It's worked so far!

This is my dryer.

 And this is my other dryer. 

Please, if you have a dryer.  Don't take it for granted.  As much as you hate doing laundry... remember how nice it is to take your load of clothes out of the washer and throw it into the dryer... and BOOM! in 1 hour ... dry clothes/sheets, etc.  Here, I remove items from the washer, and either carefully hang them from the radiator to dry within about 12 hours or hang them from clips on hangers that are strung  from a variety of doorknobs and millwork throughout the apartment.  The balcony has a drying rod... but in the winter... there's not a whole of drying going on there... just frozen underwear and honestly with the look (and smell) of the air... I don't want them out there.

My first bedroom upon arrival which is now the spare bedroom.  With TWO mattresses, one might think... ahhhh, comfy bed!  No.  Actually?  Rocks.  It was like sleeping on rocks piled on top of cement slabs. Luckily I moved into the other room after about a week.

The bathroom...  so much to say about the bathroom.  Let me preemptively say that I am grateful, incredibly grateful, for water.  Any water.  Hot, cold, filtered, unfiltered (preferably non toxic and/or polluted) but in general just showing gratitude for the water.  Aho.
I hate to follow that with a great big BUT... BUUUUUTTTTT there were some things to adjust to here with the toileting and the showering.  It's not the water's fault.   And please, if you don't care to read about the finer points of human waste, then PLEASE STOP READING!!!! I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME WHEN I'M SURE TO BE WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING MORE REFINED. (maybe?)


Ok, so for those of you that like to read about poo... ... ... ... ;o)  First, the toilet.  NO PAPER IN THE TOILET!  If you MUST, then 4-6 squares MAX! But that doesn't go for every toilet, everywhere. At my apartment the plumbing can handle 4-6 squares. But, for instance... at work, if 2 squares of paper are flushed, it will cause a backup and believe me you don't want to be responsible for that.  One of my 'favorite' memories from my 3rd day here is from one of the administrators at the school yelling, "new teacher?! No paper in the toilet!!!"  So unless you want to deal with or be responsible for a clogged toilet, you will put your toilet paper in the garbage can.  That's right.  #1 paper... #2 paper... #3 paper (chics you know what paper this is) (dudes... so do you if you've lived here for any amount of time and shared bathrooms) it all goes in... the garbage can.  This was actually not unfamiliar to me.  I spent a few glorious weeks in Peru and it was the same (except that my memory tells me that they had garbage cans with flippy doors on them so you didn't have to SEE the paper.)  The plumbing simply cannot tolerate a lot of or sometimes ANY paper ... which brings me back to one of the many things being taken for granted in the US... fairly decent plumbing ... and never needing to have a "wiping and discarding strategy."  In the US you can flush a good amount of paper down the tubes if necessary...I mean it really has to be excessive in order to cause a back up.  Being an environmentally conscious individual... it bothers me to be excessive with water AND paper... and in the bathroom scenarios HERE... I am forced to either leave my paper exposed in the bin, do my best to wrap it with MORE paper before tossing in the garbage, OR flush a little paper TWICE... but that wastes water!  AAAAGGGGHHH!!!

All of this also means that when you walk into a public restroom you learn to NOT look at the garbage can!!  Much like when using a "Biffy," you KNOW to NOT LOOK in the hole!  At this point I've gotten used to it, but it was disturbing upon arrival.

Ok, so you see the shower in the corner there?  (once again, big picture, grateful for water of any kind, yes, and being able to take a shower at all, yes!) BUT coming from America where we have separate shower units... there is no shower 'stall' or even a lip on the ground to capture the water... only the shower curtain that leaves about a 3 inch gap to the ground.  As you can imagine... the bathroom is a wet mess after every shower and so the mop leaning in the right corner is used to clean up after ever shower.  Fun, huh?  One of my favorite times of the day is naked mopping time. :-D  The bathroom floor is probably the cleanest in the house so I suppose it's not all bad.  I really don't give this a second thought anymore though... because I finally have hot water again!!! YAHOOO!!! 

Backstory... 

I had lived in this apartment for about 3 weeks, taking nice, hot showers daily, when suddenly there was no hot water... and there was also no heat.  Now, one would think that as a landlord or property manager that when a new tenant (especially a foreigner) moves into your space it would be ideal (really for everyone) to cover the finer points of the functional elements of the place.  Right?  Even though I'd seen the latest Karate Kid movie I still didn't know how, where, or when to refill my gas card.  Well, it was out of credits don'tchya know?  Consequently, no gas... and no hot water.  I inquired and was shown where and how to refill the card.  So, now I had gas... but still no heat and intermittent hot water.  Remember the contraption in the kitchen?  Apparently it had reset itself.  Normally, I'm adept and mechanically inclined enough to figure out how a machine like this works, but the additional language barrier prevented that from happening for awhile.  I will spare you the rest of the boring details and share the short story of how I had the landlord and lady over twice to help me understand how to set the machine... but instead when they would show up it would work just fine and so they would assume the American was either crazy or stupid and maybe have a good laugh but would never actually show me how to SET THE DAMN THING PROPERLY!  Eventually through a series of trials and errors and cold showers by candlelight (oh yeah, the light in the bathroom also has episodic tantrums and doesn't work) and insights from friends of friends like Mark I figured it out.

Since we're in the bathroom... I thought I'd show you the bathroom heater.  It's totally safe with all the electric cords hanging there near the sink, right?  I've only seen sparks from my hairdryer once and that was due to the wrong adapter.  It hasn't worked properly since, though.  :-/

This is my new bedroom with a bigger, much softer and more comfortable bed.

I brought several pairs of earplugs with me and have been using them every night since Chinese New Year (which I'll leave for another post).  Not only did they work wonders through that, but I've also found that I get much better, uninterrupted, dream-inducing sleep when using them. :) Because above my apartment is a family that likes to make noise.  Stomping noise, tapping noise,  toddler-running-across-the-floor-noise, parental-yelling noise, dropping-heavy-objects noise, hammering noise, chair-scraping-across-the-floor-every-5-GD-minutes noise and the newborn baby up there obviously has the same genes and so this all starts at about 5am noise.  Yay for earplugs!

The last thing I will mention about the apartment and the water (for now) is that the water that comes out of the tap... YOU DO NOT DRINK.  I have been advised to not even brush my teeth, cook, or wash my vegetables with it and SO...THIS is the clean-water refilling station in my apartment community. 

You must buy a special card because it does not take coins or bills (which I was originally told and spent several minutes trying to find the coin slot :-/ ).  It's quite inexpensive, but still requires the hauling of water every 3 to 4 days.  There is a delivery service if I really need it. But for now... this is just fine.  It brings me back to simpler times... and reminds me once again to be grateful for the water... after all... it is the source of life.

Many, many thanks for clean water! Aho!