Shopping Shadows

One thing I am still getting used to is people following my every move in the store. Not in a malicious way, but in a "we have different standards of closeness and you're a foreigner so I want to make sure you are taken care of so I will follow you at a 2 foot length every step you take" kind of way. Literally, they are two feet away, watching everything you look at, trying to sell you the most expensive thing.

I love shopping, but sometimes I am just not up to "The Shadow." I have learned to tune them out, but then I feel rude.

The other thing I am still getting used to is people being so interested in what you are buying. They will unabashedly stare at your items, and if you have a cart, sometimes even reach their hand in and pick up your stuff to get a closer look. They are just very curious about what foreigners like, and they have basically no personal territorial limits.

One of the other girls here jokes we should get paid for shopping, because whatever we look at, other people buy it too, just because we did. She's right.

Dancing

I live in a cool city. Just in the past week or so have I really felt comfortable enough to explore. I am still always the first one to come home, but finally having a bit of fun here. Tonight I danced my heiny off in a club that switches to Western music when foreigners are there. I never expected to be dancing to reggaeton in China, but it was a blast! (Here I am with one of the other volunteers, you can see my neighborhood in the background. Click to enlarge.)

Coincidences (and Red Boots)

So last night I was standing under an umbrella with a male friend when we see a girl in a short skirt and tall-ish boots standing on the curb. So of course he had to ogle her. My assessment? Her boots should have been taller, with a higher heel. They were 1 1/2 inch heeled boots and hit mid-calf. What is the point of those?

I told him about my super-awesome four inch red leather boots, which I unfortunately had to leave at home. And then later that night I got a Facebook message from an old college friend I haven't seen in years who said, "Please tell me you still have the red leather boots??" Isn't that so weird how that happens? I don't talk about the boots in years, and then they come up twice in one day, on two different continents. Weird.

But they ARE basically the most awesome red boots ever*. I bought them at 6 AM with my boss Krista during the Nordstrom half-yearly sale. I feel like Wonder Woman in those boots. I become very aggressive. It's not a bad thing.

*And I don't mean my red cowboy boots, which are 2nd most awesome.

SkyTrain

Last night we went by SkyTrain to hang out at an outdoor pub. The SkyTrain is very clean and efficient and inexpensive (about $.10 to ride each way) and one of my favorite things about living in this massive city. The only bad thing is that it only runs until 10:30 or so, which means we have to take a taxi home, but it's great to live in a city with such convenient public transport.

(This is Chris and Ryan, two volunteers who have been here for a year and live near me. They know all the ins and outs so they are teaching us newbies the good hang out spots. It was really rainy and humid last night, hence the umbrellas and pulled up pants.)

Corn Tortillas

Sometimes, you don't know how much you love something until it's gone. For me, that thing is corn tortillas. In China you can find some Western products, but Hispanic? No. So my sweet mother sent me some corn tortillas. I grated a little bit of my precious cheese (also hard to find in China, but I found some) on top, heated them up, added some sliced tomato and Tabasco sauce, and had the best lunch I've had in weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I love Chinese food, but sometimes your tongue craves something familiar. There isn't really anything in China similar to corn tortillas, in either flavor or texture. I find that Spanish culture and cuisine is what I miss most about being in China, because it just plain doesn't exist here in any capacity. Except for Tabasco sauce.

Public Address System

You know how at Macaroni Grill they play Italian lessons instead of music in the bathroom? My school plays English lessons over the outdoor public address system every morning, campus wide. Sometimes they are lessons about working for a western company, or how to find a job after graduation. They seem to be geared toward Business English. I always wonder who decides what lessons to play. At other times of the day they play music or dialogue in Chinese. I always hope the Chinese broadcast is not some kind of evacuation order. So far, so good.

In public shopping areas music is also played over the public address system. No one seems phased by this in the least. I always try to imagine what would happen if in Times Square, the government suddenly started playing music a couple of times a day. Or Chinese lessons.

Bangs

Here is a picture of my new haircut. When in Rome... :) Bangs are very popular here, so I thought I'd give them a try for old time's sake. Not sure if I'll keep them, but fun to try.

AND, I got my patch in the mail! So now I am official. It doesn't mean anything in China, of course, but it's nice to have it here with me.

Humility

The past few weeks have been very humbling for me. Food where I live is very expensive, so I have been able to afford mostly vegetables. This is not a bad thing, veggies are very good for you, but days full of only veggies start to make you feel rather hungry. I also had a few fruits, and some crackers, but I had to eat these sparingly. Rice noodles are very abundant and cheap, but they have no nutrition so I don't eat them. In the Peace Corps we are given an allotment of money, and we are not allowed to have 2nd jobs or accept any money. We are supposed to live on what we have.

A lot of people in the world experience hunger. It has been very humbling to be hungry.

My mom stepped in and sent me some protein bars, as well as some money so I could buy a large bag of beans and some other basics. You know you are living sparingly when you get very excited to buy a bag of black beans!

Quotation

"Instead of worrying so much about who you should be, why don't you just...be? No guilt. Just you."

Gio, on Ugly Betty. Yes, it has come to that. Mind altering drugs might be involved, but this is the most profound thing I've heard in weeks.

Girl Power vs. the Bang Bang Men

Girls here don't carry their own stuff. I often get looks of shock that I am prepared to carry my own groceries, household goods, luggage etc. Sometimes it makes me feel like an Amazonian freak; not only am I a good half foot taller than most women around me, I also lift and carry heavy things all alone! It's very '1850's in Atlanta' here sometimes.

There are men you can pay to carry heavy things for you, the 'bang bang men.' ('Bang' means 'help' in Mandarin.) They hang out near the store registers and exits waiting for people who look like they need help, or who look like they will pay for help. I'm a girl and (in their eyes) a wealthy foreigner, so every time I got to the store I get targeted by a bang bang man. And at the train station. And the bus station. It gets very old.

But it also makes me feel happy to have a chance to show Chinese girls it IS possible to be self-sufficient and do things for yourself, without the bang bang men. I'm trying to use my inability to disappear into the crowd for good. It's the only thing that makes it bearable.

Girl Power vs. the Bang Bang Men

Girls here don't carry their own stuff. I often get looks of shock that I am prepared to carry my own groceries, household goods, luggage etc. Sometimes it makes me feel like an Amazonian freak; not only am I a good half foot taller than most women around me, I also lift and carry heavy things all alone! It's very '1850's in Atlanta' here sometimes.

There are men you can pay to carry heavy things for you, the 'bang bang men.' ('Bang' means 'help' in Mandarin.) They hang out near the store registers and exits waiting for people who look like they need help, or who look like they will pay for help. I'm a girl and (in their eyes) a wealthy foreigner, so every time I got to the store I get targeted by a bang bang man. And at the train station. And the bus station. It gets very old.

But it also makes me feel happy to have a chance to show Chinese girls it IS possible to be self-sufficient and do things for yourself, without the bang bang men. I'm trying to use my inability to disappear into the crowd for good. It's the only thing that makes it bearable.

Banquets

Our table at the Chinese banquet:


So much food comes to the table, they just stack dishes on top of dishes. About four deep is as high as I've seen them go.

Banquets are very noisy, boisterous, drawn out affairs. People who don't know each other talk between tables and share a shot of Chinese beer or vodka. It's like a family reunion, but you met at the front door.

NBC on iTunes

NBC came back to iTunes, which means I can watch 30 Rock and The Office this season after all! (Although I am sad to say I am more excited about 30 Rock than The Office.) Hulu turned out to be a bust over here, even with an IP bouncer my internet connection is too slow to stream.

Shows that are popular here: Lost, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, Ugly Betty and Friends. You can buy these DVDs on the street easily. I can see why the humor of 30 Rock and The Office doesn't translate well, but if only they'd get on The Daily Show bandwagon, I'd be set!

Ambien

The Peace Corps doesn't fill prescriptions for Ambien. I have started rationing my remaining supply. Goodbye, sweet sleep. It's been nice knowing you.

Salt

I bought a bag of salt at the grocery store and was looking for a salt shaker. No luck at all, nothing even remotely like a salt shaker. I was so confused as to how there could be salt but no salt shakers. How do people get their salt evenly and cleanly onto their food?

Then I opened the bag of salt. It has the consistency and texture of brown sugar, there's no way it would pour out of a salt shaker like the granulated salt I am used to.

It's eye-opening to realize how many of these cultural biases I have. The big ones you can try to prepare yourself for; these small ones catch you off guard, and I think it is the small ones that most contribute to culture shock over the long-term.

As we (Peace Corps Volunteers) like to say, "Everything's the same, except it's all different."

Update on the Food Poisoning

So my food poisoning got better, not worse. I have never been in so much pain! And I couldn't keep anything down for 4 days, so our Peace Corps doctor put me on Cipro, a drug to treat bacteria. I am finally getting better. And I had to teach the last two days, so I just didn't eat anything and drank only Sprite and water with rehydration enzymes. The thought of food repulsed me anyway.

On the plus side, it's a great diet! I kept thinking of that quotation, "I'm just one stomach flu away from my target weight." I am still supposed to eat only bland and easy-to-digest foods until I am fully better. Not easy to find here, everything is so spicy, but luckily I do have saltines.

Food Poisoning

So it turns out I didn't have the flu, I had my first case of Chinese food poisoning. Basically all food here is contaminated, either because it is not refrigerated or it is grown using human waste as fertilizer. So you have to cook it or sterilize it. I ate some raw onions in a dish at a restaurant on Friday night. Usually restaurants are very good about sterilizing food so their patrons don't get sick, but I got a bad deal. And, let me tell you, I have not experienced pain like I did today. I felt like my insides were going through a meat grinder for hours, and I had a fever of 101. Luckily feeling better tonight. Our Peace Corps doctor told me to eat only bland food for the next day or two, just to be safe.

Never eating raw foods in public again!

Clif Bars

My mom sent me some Clif Bars. HEAVEN. Is there anything better than the Peanut Toffee Clif Bar? Only the Mint Chocolate and Gingerbread versions! They don't sell anything like this in China. Clif Bars are my new version of Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. I am rationing them until I get the next shipment.

Settling In

I am getting settled into my new apartment. It's very strange to be alone, I am used to having the other Peace Corps volunteers I came with close by. I have been spoken to very rapidly and loudly in Chinese several times over the past few days as I try to figure out how things work here. (That thing where you talk more loudly when someone doesn't understand you? Not just a Western thing.)

For example, if you buy produce in the grocery store, you have to have it weighed at a special weigh station before you get to the counter. Guess when I found that out? At the counter. Okay, back to the produce section. And certain household items have to be purchased at a special counter. Everyone just seems to know this, there are no signs or anything. I am often in the wrong line, at the wrong place, saying the wrong thing. But I am still having fun here!

I start classes on Monday. I am teaching four different classes: Oral English, Intercultural Communication, American Culture and Education, and Audio-Visual English. I set up my grading and attendance logs today and am now working on my first week lessons.

Oh, and I have the flu, so please wish me luck I don't feel too bad on the first day of class!