Forked

Over the weekend, I was eating dinner at an Indian restaurant with some friends and when I lifted my fork to my mouth for the first bite, I misjudged and stabbed myself in the lip with it. D'oh!  I felt like a real idiot. I guess that's how you know you've been in China for a while, you forget how to eat with a fork without hurting yourself. No wonder baby forks are plastic.

Chopsticks are pretty cool, though. Once you get the hang of it, they are pretty easy to eat with, and force you to take smaller bites. And they strengthen your hand muscles and improve dexterity. I used to carry a pair of chopsticks in my bag, because most places don't have sanitary chopsticks for you to use; there is just a communal chopstick holder on the table. But I got lazy and now just suck it up and use their chopsticks. I figure at least I am building up germ immunity. HOWEVER, I was looking for a picture of chopsticks to use for this story and found this picture. It's a bra that can store two sets of disposable chopsticks below the 'bowls.' You can awkwardly reach into your bra and pull out a pair of clean chopsticks? AWESOME!  I want a swimming suit with this capability ASAP, dinner on the beach solved!

Photo link

The Unspoken Things

This week I did a lesson for my classes on 'utopia' vs. 'dystopia.' I showed them a short clip from the film Children of Men, but I knew it wouldn't have the same impact on them it had on me the first time I saw it; our city streets are not so different from the scenes depicted in the movie. I doubt they realized London had been changed for the movie to resemble a dystopic nightmare, and I didn't point it out to them. (Click on the link above for a short advertisement for the film which shows what I am referring to.)

I also showed them this video. I debated with myself as to whether I should, but I ultimately did because I think the overall message of the song is powerful. (It's something I can't speak about openly here, but if you watch the video, and remember where I am, you'll perhaps understand why I hesitated.)

There are certain topics we have been "asked" not to discuss here, under any circumstances. I look forward to the day I am no longer under this mantle and can speak freely. But I do respect why we have been asked, and I have agreed to comply. So if this blog at times seems to be lacking discussions which you think must certainly arise from living in China, it is not oversight.

Is The Secret Ingredient Fairy Godmother Dust?

(See English text on the packaging):

Skincare in China = weight loss in America. A national obsession. Beauty masks like this one are very popular here and cost only around $.50 each. My favorites are infused with green tea, tea tree oil or red wine. And I hate to brag, but my skin looks like a baby's butt after I wear one. Here's what they look like out of the package:

Yes, you look like a burn victim while wearing it. It's worth it. You can't find diet foods here, but you can stick all kinds of things on your face. I'm now addicted to glowing skin. Also, I'm pretty and charming. Thanks, China!

What Passes for Sun in The Chonx

A shot of the daytime skyline in Chongqing, or as we call it 'The Chonx.'  No, that isn't a storm or fog, it's pollution. Because the sun's rays can't penetrate the pollution, the sun rarely shines here. The Peace Corps provides us with in-home air purifiers, so it's all good, unless you want to go outside; then it's headaches, coughing, and blowing black stuff out of your nose. I run outside here, but not more than three miles or so at a time. I miss long distance running.

Two years here shouldn't hurt us long-term, but I worry about the kids growing up here.

I Regret I Have But Two Eyes With Which To Gaze Upon This Picture

Rob Pattinson: that perfect jawline, that sexy scruff, those green eyes. *sigh* Still lickable. 

He's the male equivalent of marshmallow cream, and sometimes, a girl needs cream. (Next post, we return to our regularly scheduled Chinese adventures.)

(Picture via vanityfair.com )

Goals

Some days are really tough here. It can be very lonely and discouraging to live in such an alienating-to-foreigners culture so far away from friends and family, to be illiterate, to experience the loss of friendships. To get through the tough times, I try to focus on goals. Here are a few of mine:

1. Lose at least 30 lbs. (This shouldn't be number one, but it is.)
2. Speak Chinese at the Advanced Intermediate level.
3. Understand at least 2,000 Chinese characters.
4. Get back the self-esteem I lost. Feeling used and mislead: it doesn't do a body (or mind) good.
5. Let go without anger or resentment those who don't want my love.
6. Decide whether to pursue the Columbia fellowship.
7. Stop judging my accomplishments by whether I am married and have kids (as my church and society advocate).
8. Be grateful for what I have.
9. Quit whining about what I don't have.
10. Find gainful employment again, at some point.

Vegetable Market

This is where I buy my vegetables. It's not clean, but you can't eat veggies without decontaminating them in some way anyway, so it really doesn't matter. (And 100% organic!  A bit different from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's though.) You can buy produce from the supermarket, but it's 3x as expensive and has to be weighed at a weigh station rather than at checkout like in Western grocery stores. There are no lines, so you have to fight your way to the front, push other's bags of produce out of the way, and get your food weighed by a sullen faced girl who doesn't acknowledge you. It sucks. So I come here instead. This type of market is the most common way to buy vegetables in China.

Here you can see potatoes, onions, and different kinds of greens for sale. The quality varies depending on the day and what they are able to get. But you can usually get these basics, along with tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms. Sometimes they have radishes, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower. It's not unusual to see cats wandering around the veggies, but I guess they keep the rats down.




















You can usually buy other things at the market too, like eggs, rice, noodles and spices. Can you spot the kitty?

Sorry, But It Has To Be Said

Sometimes Westerners look cross-eyed to me now, especially the girls. And Americans have super-white teeth! Almost fake-looking at times. It's funny how your perceptions change when your daily view changes.

Pink Hair

Here I am with Chris at a party this weekend. I LOVE pink hair. This is a wig, but I'd dye my real hair pink again if it weren't so hair-damaging. (And this picture is what happens when you ask a drunk girl at a party to take your picture; just a weee bit crooked. Chris blinked, he's not drunk.)

Mind Control

This week in my classes we talked about Superheroes. As part of the lesson, I asked each of them to choose which superpower they would most like to have, and how they would use it to help their community. They all chose the power to read minds/change people's thoughts so they could remove their bad thoughts. It was one of those things here that reminds you, Toto, you aren't in Kansas anymore.

I wonder what percentage of American students would choose this power? (As my co-teacher Andrew noted, "Orwell must not be high on the reading list here.")

Pee Mystery

'Tongbian' is a Chinese word that means "the urine of boys under age 12."  I'm a girl, so maybe you can tell me: what's so special about boy's pee that it deserves its own word?

Street Video

I wanted to share with you a taste of what I encounter when I leave my apartment. I needed bread, so I videotaped my walk from my gate to the bakery. I held the camera in front of me without using the view finder, so it isn't great quality, but I was trying to be inconspicuous. When I point the camera at the white bins? Those are turtles, frogs, fish and salamanders, sold alive for fresh cooking.

Medical Care

I've been to the doctor twice since I've been here. Medical care here is very different from Western medical care. When I saw a doctor for pain in my back, the doctor saw me in a conference room, not an examining room. You don't remove your clothes, and in addition to the doctor, there was a nurse, my translator, and a random old guy who saw a foreigner being examined and came in to see what was going on. No one seemed to think having a strange guy in the room watching me was at all weird. (As a Westerner, my thoughts were a bit different. But, it's one of those cultural things you just let go.)

They don't take your temperature, BP, etc. The doctor just looks at you to determine if your color is correct, if you appear to be healthy. You pay up front before any care, there is no billing or anything like that. If we need care, our schools pay and the Peace Corps reimburses them. Locals will be denied care if they don't have the cash to pay. This includes ambulance care.

I also had to have surgery to remove a lymph node in my inner cheek. I saw a dentist in one large room with about 30 dental chairs in it. There were no instruments to assist him, so another dentist held my mouth open with his fingers while the first dentist did the surgery. (I had local anesthetic.)  Our Peace Corps doctor was there watching to make sure everything was okay. (I had to travel to our Peace Corps headquarters city for this surgery, it wasn't done locally.)

It's a very efficient system in some ways, because there are no concerns for privacy, no billing, etc. As a foreigner, we don't have to wait for care, but if a local needs to see a doctor or dentist, they go to the hospital, take a number and wait for someone to see them. But I didn't have to go through that process either time. I felt guilty walking past long lines of people. Everyone knows why you don't have to wait.

Before I saw the doctor for my back, I casually mentioned to my students that a doctor from the hospital was calling me to setup an appointment. (Our Peace Corps doctor was helping to arrange this visit.) They were silent. I thought I had committed some faux pas, that you weren't supposed to discuss this or something. Turns out they were probably just in shock that a doctor was calling ME. It doesn't work that way for them. When I found that out, I felt terrible about telling them. Last thing I want to do is advertise the special treatment we receive.

When I went to get my diabetes test, I paid about $1.50 for the hospital visit, and about $.80 for the test itself. I didn't have to see a doctor, I just went to the lab and got the test and results.

If we need emergency care, we are sent to either Thailand or Singapore, or back the U.S. We aren't expected to have serious problems taken care of here. In fact, being transported for medical care is of such high importance that we will be removed from the country if for some reason the medical evacuation company can't guarantee our transport. (This happened in 2005 because of SARS.)

Well, I know this was long, I hope it was at least a little bit interesting.

The Great Escape

Today I scrounged up the $40 it costs to get a personal VPN account to circumvent The Great Firewall. I can see the world again! My neighbor Andrew uses a service he recommended and helped me out. (He is awesome. I would not have survived here if it weren't for him. This is truth.) It took ten minutes. I should have done it months ago.

I liken the internet here to what the printing press was like for the Western world back in the 1500's: a tool that made a lot of people scared of what might happen if the common people get too much information. Our history gives me hope.

Chinglish T-Shirt of the Day: "Bastard of Eminence."

Chinglish T-Shirt Wisdom: "Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

Saw this t-shirt today in the 'junior girls' section of a local department store. I did a double take when I saw the word 'heroin.' Today I also saw an an adult woman wearing a shirt that said "Virgn" across the front in glitter letters. But I think the heroin shirt wins.

Silicone Wonders and Cupcake Holders

Silicone is fast becoming one of my all time favorite substances. It makes your boobs look good*, it helps you run really far , and now it can bake cupcakes!

My friend L. sent me these silicone cupcake holders, along with a brownie mix (and a few other treats). They can withstand up to 500F and are reusable, so I'll be able to use them in my little toaster oven. No more expensive disposable tins needed!  What a thoughtful friend.

*No, mine aren't silicone, but sometimes I wish they were.

Open Hearted

The word 'happy' in Chinese is made up of the words, 'open' and 'heart.' To be happy is to be openhearted? I'd never thought of it that way, but I think it's kind of nice.

Downloads and DVDs

These are the shows I download illegally every week:

The Office
30 Rock
Big Bang Theory
Gossip Girl

I have little crushes on Jim, DotCom, Nate (so pretty) and Chuck.

A quick buying-DVDs-in-China (or Chinatown) guide:

First: pirated, where sellers set up blankets or bins of DVDs on the street and sell them for about $.80. These DVDs are usually not high quality and have Chinese subtitles you can't turn off. Software and games are good quality, though. This is the most available way to buy them.

Second: a bootleg DVD store. High quality, licensed DVDs intended for sale to other audiences (Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Cambodia, etc.) that have found their way here. They all have English tracks/subtitles. About $1.50

Third: bookstore or chain grocery store (in large cities only). Licensed for Mainland China, with English and Mandarin tracks/subtitles. About $3.50, and the selection is not as good as the bootleg stores, because they are subject to import censorship laws. (However, I have seen a box set of Sex and The City for sale, which shocked me. Someone did some good negotiating!)

So now if you ever travel to China, or Chinatown, you know about how much to pay for DVDs.

Timely

The secretary of my school's Foreign Affairs Office helps us when we need to navigate public services in China. She took me to the hospital today to get a blood test. In the taxi we were talking about diabetes, and she said, "If you have diabetes, you have to eat less sugar, and have a rest."

Based on my post yesterday, it was too timely not to share.  (Btw, she is also my tutor, so remember her in your prayers, she puts up with a lot, haha.)

P.S. I don't have diabetes, just sugary urine, for some reason. It must be all the sugar and spice and everything nice I am made of.

"Have A Rest"

Resting is extremely important in Chinese culture. There is a standard two hour break everyday for lunch and resting. It's kinda of awesome, until I want to get something done during those two hours, and then it's frustrating. (Spoken like a true Westerner.) I recently did a lesson with my students about sickness and gave them a list of ailments to provide remedies for. Almost all of them included the advice to "have a rest." I have gotten notes from students explaining that they missed class because they needed to have a rest. It's a very cultural thing that every day, you should rest.

In fact, here is how prevalent it is: at the hot springs we went to yesterday, the building had two large, dark rooms filled with oversize recliners and foot rests, pillows, down blankets, and a small flat screen tv for each chair. At any time during the day, you could come in from the spa pools and "have a rest." It was awesome!  The dressing room attendant gave you a plastic bag for your wet bathing suit, gave you some dry spa clothes to wear, and you could eat fresh fruit and have a rest before heading back to the spa pools. No extra charge. I slept for about a half an hour after lunch, then went back outside. And that was very "Western" of me, most people stayed longer. Most offices I've seen have a long couch for sleeping, and our teacher's room couch is always occupied during lunch. So even if you work away from home, you can still have a nap at work.

I am going to come back to America and feel like my hour lunch break is very, very short! And I am going to want a place to take a nap when I am out all day working/playing.

Beity Hot Springs

Today was our trip to the hot springs, about 45 minutes from my neighborhood, and it was really cool!  I'm going to post small pics here, you can click on them for the full size version.

First, the scariest picture of me ever taken: Rebecca The Floating Head. I am in a pool with the water up to my jaw line, hence the creepy floating head illusion.

Here is a picture of the grounds at the hot springs. They have around 10 different "spa" pools, each one with a different theme: rosewater, tea, Chinese medicine, lavender, etc. Each pool smelled wonderful. There was even a red wine water pool, which is supposed to be very good for your skin. And reminded me I always wanted to take a red wine bath, but forgot about it. When I get back to the States (and a bathtub) I'll do it.

Another view of the grounds. Behind each circle wall is a spa pool. They were playing traditional soothing Chinese music over little hidden loudspeakers, it was very relaxing. The open air and view didn't hurt either.

My legs in a tea pool.












And last but not least, the fish pool!  Yes, hundreds of little fish descend and eat your dead skin flakes. Exfoliation, basically, but done by little fish. You have to stay very, very still, like a statue, or they get scared away. I had to move a bit to take the picture, so this shot doesn't really do it justice: there were hundreds and hundreds of little fish. I stayed in the pool for about a half an hour. The little bites just tickled, so it felt like a tickle massage. It was a pretty interesting experience!

By the way, the entrance fee was about $8.00 USD. A pretty good deal.

Treats, Chinese style

Someone gave me American brownie mix for my birthday. We don't have regular ovens, so I had to make them in my toaster oven. I made four little pans in total. I got the little pans at the "western" grocery store. They were expensive, but worth it. The Chinese don't bake, everything is fried or boiled. I've never seen a full size oven here, and I'm pretty sure only the foreigner apartments have toaster ovens. I've learned to cook pretty well with very few appliances, though. I have a microwave, the toaster oven, a rice cooker and a hot plate. I hardly ever use the hot plate, as it has two settings: high and off. But the rice cooker is very handy, it automatically shuts off when the juice is done so nothing ever burns. I make dumplings and veggie curry in it all the time.

And, this is a sucker someone gave me for my birthday. The gristle part was the candy, kind of like a blow pop. Yummm...gristle candy!

New Blog Address

Hey everyone,

I merged this blog in with my existing blog, Stuff I Love, and I changed the name to Rebecca's Adventures in China. I won't be updating this address any longer. I didn't want to maintain two any longer. The NEW address is http://www.beccaplaying.com and it is public, no need to be logged in. 

Update your bookmarks! 

Well, I don't think many people are reading this anymore. My apologies to the very few who do, but perhaps there is a better way to dessiminate information. It appears this way isn't really interesting. So, feel free to email me or whatever if you want to know how I'm doing/what I'm doing over here. 

Fishy

Monday is a holiday here, Tomb Sweeping Day. It's like Day of the Dead in Mexico, the day you go clean off your ancestors tombstones and leave offerings. I don't have school that day, so I am going to a hot springs with a few other foreign teachers. They have a fish pool at this hot springs; you sit in the water and little fishies come eat your dead skin. I can't decide if it's going to be cool or terrifying. But supposedly if you have eczema, it's a great treatment. So, I'll let you know how it goes. 

I teach my writing class on Fridays, and it's my most frustrating class. They are Junior English majors, so their English is pretty good, but I just don't know how to teach someone to be a good writer. I can teach them correct grammar and sentence structure etc., but to be creative? It's a challenge. They have to do a research paper as their final project for this class. Which means I have to read them all. Fun grading for me! 

A Chinese word I am studying today is "life."  Life + sun = birthday. Life + school = student. Chinese is the tinker-toys of languages. Because you can't make new root words, all you can do is create new compound words to describe what you want to say. For example, electric + brain = computer. It's pretty fun learning all the compounds. Also, it takes forever!