Dismembered Jaws, Plus Shrimp Antennae at Dinner: Discovering Where I Draw The Line

It has been raining every day for almost two weeks straight in Chongqing. I don’t do well without enough sunshine. I feel really blah and sad. There is a reason I love San Antonio so much: abundant sunshine and delicious food. I miss home. And rain makes my sinus problems flare up. I would not have done well on the Ark.

Okay, enough whining, onto the topic of the post: I took this picture on the street over the weekend. The man tried to block my camera, which normally doesn’t happen here, so I figured something must be up. I asked a student, and she said it’s illegal to sell teeth on the street like this. I asked her what animal this is, and she didn’t know. A Google search revealed that teeth from Tibetan wolves are thought to be good luck charms, but I have no clue if these are the jaw bones of Tibetan wolves. But the little jaws in a pile like this made me feel queasy. 



Queasy story #2: We ate a big bowl of Xiang La Xia (香辣虾)“Fragrant Spicy Shrimp” for dinner last weekend. In this dish, shrimp are mixed with onions, garlic, ginger, potato and lotus root in a big bowl and served hot, and the flavor is very spicy and good. (Btw, shrimp here are not beheaded or shelled before serving, you have to do it yourself. I’m used to this.) The shrimp were roasted in their shell, so you could eat the shell, but I still had to remove the head. So I’d pick up the shrimp in my chopsticks, bite the body off, and discard the head.  But in the middle of the meal, I noticed lots of red shrimp antennae loose in the bowl, and it started to gross me out. And then, I felt something in my mouth, and fished out a dismembered red shrimp antennae. This just really put me over the queasy edge. As soon as we got back to V.s apartment, I brushed my teeth to erase any shrimp antennae sensation or taste. I still feel queasy when I think about it. Bull penis? That’s okay. Dismembered shrimp antennae? That’s crossing a line. As delicious as Xiang La Xia is, I don’t think I can ever eat it again.

Have you ever been grossed out while eating something rather innocuous, and can never eat it again?

Fit To Strip, And Other Things I Love Right Now

Those of you who read here before I left for China know it used to be called “Stuff I Love.” In memory of times gone by, here are a few things I love right now:

1. Fit To Strip, the workout DVD by Carmen Electra. I know, I know, it sounds lame, but disc 2 is a calisthenics routine that has nothing to do with stripping and everything to do with building strength in your core, legs and upper body. I used this DVD before I ran a half marathon a few years ago and was the most toned I’ve ever been. I let myself get chubby after my dad died, so I’m back on a strength training/toning regime, and this DVD is part of my new routine (along with running, weights and yoga). It kicks your butt in a really good way.

Amazon.com, $12.99

2. Community, the tv show on NBC. One of my friends in the U.S. prodded me to watch this show, and it takes the place in my heart that used to be occupied by The Office until The Office turned kinda lame. (Sorry, but you know it’s true.) Abed and Troy crack me up; long live their Donde Esta La Biblioteca rap! Also, Joel McHale naked is so much yummier than I never imagined. Thanks, ratings ploy! It totally worked.

Community recaps, nymag.com

3. My new panda wrist rest, advertised on the packaging as glow in the dark, but it’s only those little floaty thingies that glow and they’re hard to see inside the plastic. So, glow fail, but panda win! Sorry, I don’t know where to buy this outside of China. But if you’re in China, I got it at Sanfu.




4. WeiEast face cream. Katie at Scattered Starlight introduced this product to me, and it’s a new favorite. I’ve mentioned before how serious the Chinese take their skincare*, and I’ve gotten compliments from Chinese girls on how good my skin looks after using this. As an added bonus, it’s not actually made in China, so it’s free of skin whiteners and other ingredients you don’t want to know about.

WeiEast.com

5. Tostitos Queso. This is junk food, and I love it. Judge me if you must, but a bowl of warm cheese and warmed tortilla chips is a little bit of heaven in my mouth. I brought some back with me to China in my suitcase.

I think you can buy this at pretty much any grocery store in America, you lucky dogs!

6. Undergear.com. Warning, this website is not suitable for the faint of heart, or maybe those at work. It’s men’s underwear and pajamas and workout gear, and my friend sent this link to me, and I sent it to a few friends here, and we all spent a good hour on gchat, sending each other links from the site and cracking up and drooling. I never knew there were male equivalents to push-up bras, but now I do! This guy’s pretty handsome. I’m not recommending the shorts, just the guy.

Undergear.com. I recommend the sleepwear, swimwear and underwear links. Oh, and can’t forget this. It's kinda strangely hot!







7. And while we’re at it, I love gchat. I stopped using msn because of all the spam, and because Vista didn’t seem to like it and kicked me off every few minutes. Skype is great but not everyone uses it, and it takes a lot of bandwidth to run. Yahoo Messenger seems sorta 1998. But gchat? So convenient! No need to add anyone, and if you miss a chat, they email it to your inbox. I think on MSN, you had to log back in again before you got offline chats. Gmail isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty great. I deleted my Facebook account, so happy I did that, but you can pry my gchat from my cold, dead hands.

Ok, that’s it for this edition. Next time, I’ll be back with more China stories.

*Recently a Chinese friend was asking me if I knew another teacher on campus,and she said, "She's in her early 30's and sometimes has bad skin." I've never heard skin used as a major descriptor before I came to China. They aren't kidding around about their skin.

A Few Random Pictures

The English says 'dogmeat', but the Chinese says 'ground meat.' Not sure if it's a euphemism or a mistranslation. (And I think we'd say 'black eyed peas' but that is perhaps a regional English thing.) In any case, I didn't buy it.

Random Transformers character outside a club chain called '88.' (8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture.) There was a sign next to him but all I could make out is that he was some kind of party monster from another planet who was coming here to throw the best party of all time. Might be a New Year's Eve thing. There were still too many characters I didn't know. (I hate that, but good study motivation!)

Chinese grandparents are the nation's babysitters. All day long, it is common to see babies and grandparents, shooting the breeze, feeding some pigeons, etc. This picture is a little bit blurry, I know, but check out those mouse ears and stocky legs. Chinese babies are delicious little butterballs in the winter, due to the layers and layers of clothing they wear.

This line of people stretched all the way around the square. I was shocked there was an orderly line. I walked to the end to see what they were waiting for: discounted light bulbs. I know I have not experienced the kind of hardship in life that makes standing in an hour long line for a discounted light bulb worth it.

How Goats Are A Theme In My Life Right Now

Last Tuesday I went biking in the countryside, and saw a mamma goat with four little baby goats (one of which was sunbathing!). I couldn't resist stopping for a few minutes to play with them. (Little known fact: I love goats! My family used to have pet goats, and they are smart like dogs.) But two days later, I was one sick puppy. Is there such a thing as Goat Flu? I am feeling better now, still some bad fatigue and achiness, but wow, it really knocked me off my feet. Hence the lack of posts lately.

And these are the other goats in my life: the Chinese "Happy Goats", aka Xi Yang Yang, a local kid's cartoon taking China (the world?) by storm. It's a simple cartoon about cute little goats who have to fight off a wolf; the wolf doesn't want to eat the goats, but his wife makes him try. All the goats have their own little nicknames and skills and they always succeed in besting the wolf, but the wolf always comes back for another try. This show is also popular with adults (the line here between child and female adult entertainment is blurred), and you can't go anywhere without facing down various types of Xi Yang Yang paraphernalia for sale: toys, handbags, underwear, balloons, jewelry, candy, clothing, shoes, etc. It's a Xi Yang Yang world, all day, every day.

These type of phenomenon are interesting, because literally over a billion people know about this show, and yet, I bet it's unknown in most of the West. (But I'm not sure: have any of you heard of this show?) It reminds me again why China is such an alluring business market: you make it here, you don't really need to make it anywhere else.

Indonesia or Bust! Plus, The Wisdom Of Cats

If all goes according to plan, this is where I'll be spending part of my winter break. You can get very cheap airfare from China to Indonesia, and stay in cheap huts on the beach, perfect for someone on a Peace Corps (read: nonexistent) budget. I need fresh air and open space. Can't wait!

Also, I was talking yesterday with a friend about men who aren't fully honest about their dating/marital status. Reminded me of a guy I went out with a few times in Texas, I think Tony was his name. I went to his apartment once, for just a few minutes, and he had a cat. And I remember thinking, single guys in their 20s don't usually have cats. Suspicious! Also, he had the world's cheesiest flower painting on the wall. So I went home that night and shamelessly googled-- and thank heaven for Texas and their open records laws, there was his marriage certificate in all its PDF glory!  And no divorce certificate to match. Thanks, cat, for saving me from a loser.

(Interestingly, the guys I know who turned out not as solo as they claimed (all two of them) I have not enjoyed kissing. Maybe my inner-self knew they weren't being honest and tainted it for me?)

Truths

1. I thought I liked playing video games, but it turns out I just like thinking about playing video games.

2. Now when I see pictures of tan people on the internet, I think "Oh, what is she doing to her skin?!"

3. These days, if I had to choose between making out with a really hot guy and eating a big juicy hamburger, I'd probably eat the hamburger. Or at least, eat it first.*

4. I've stopped giving unsolicited advice. I'm an oldest child, it's hard to stop. But it's liberating, too. I'm not responsible that everything works out for you? Okay!

5. I keep asking people to send me Velveeta cheese, and I think they think I'm joking because no one sends me any**, but seriously: I want Velveeta cheese. I know it's gross. Don't judge.

6. I had a dream Alec Baldwin was hitting on me. Actually, I don't know if it was Alex Baldwin or Jack Donaghey, but still: brain, what's up with that? That's the best you could do?

7. I like Diet Coke because it hurts my mouth a little; way too fizzy, but oh so good. I guess I'm into S&M: Soda Masochism.

8. I love that my neighbor Andrew calls me on the phone when he wants to tell me something. It's so old school and friendly. Human voices are nice.

9. Yesterday at lunch Tristan explained to me about fertilized vs. unfertilized chicken eggs. I thought chickens laid fertilized eggs, we just ate them before they grew into chickens. I don't mind when people are smarter than I am. It happens a lot.

*There are no juicy burgers, so no hot mens' egos will be harmed by the fact they'd come second.

**Yesterday FloJo mailed me Velveeta cheese! This blog is like saying "Bloody Mary" in the mirror 3x.

Obama and The Yankees: Chinese Hip Hop Fashion

I went a-wandering today and came across a small shop selling "hip hop" fashion (their words, not mine). A few of the items for sale:

An Obama 'Hope' belt buckle:













$100 bill belt buckles:













And of course, the Yankees:

You could also buy a Mao bags, Che Guevera bags, big fake diamond earring studs and fake gold rings with "50 Cent" printed on them. And this Paul Frank monkey, wearing a military uniform and waving a flag:











I really want to go back and buy something from this store, just for the fact it exists in China. While wandering I also found these fake eyelashes with little diamond studs at the lashline:

A very productive day!

Three Random Photos I Took Today

Bunnies and hamsters and turtles, oh my!

The stairs at my neighborhood metro station, painted as an ad for Mountain Dew. Grrr... (see post below)
















Two of my cutie-pie students, Sabrina and Vivian. (They choose their own English names.) I love my students, they are the light of my life here. I'll probably never have kids of my own, so I'm sure I'll never know how it feels to be a parent, but I feel very protective of my students. I think I'm going to worry and wonder about and wish good things for them all the rest of my life.

(And I can actually read all those characters on the wall behind them. Can you believe it?  It still shocks me I can speak and read any Chinese at all.)

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?

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.

Holding Hands

It feels good to have someone with you whose hand you can hold, someone you trust to be good to you. I love holding hands while walking, on the subway, watching a movie, and especially in the car. It's very sweet to silently hold hands on the way home from anywhere.

I also love it when little kids reach up and hold your hand. It makes me feel needed. It's the perfect compliment from a child: "I trust you to take care of me."