Fish Sellers and My Block in Chongqing (Yangjiaping)

I’m going through pictures and videos I took while in China, and I’ll be posting the ones that I think share a lot about what it was like to live in China and Chongqing and that I hope will be of some interest to you. They’re all short videos, 2 minutes or less.

This first one was a common sight on the sidewalk at night; small sidewalk restaurants sold fresh fish pan-broiled in hot spices with veggies. As you can see, there is a basin of oxygenated water keeping the fish alive. You pick out the fish you want and the guy weighs it on the scale; you pay by weight. As you can also see, the fish was flopping around too much. It really shocked me to see this the first few times, and then I got used to it. When he chucks it down the sidewalk, he’s throwing it to the person who will cook it. I know we think it’s gross to kill and eat meat on the spot, but without access to good refrigeration, this was the safest way to eat meat in China for a long time, and now it’s tradition.



This second video is of the block where I lived; it begins as I step through the main gate where my apartment was located, and continues to the end of the block. The thing I remember most is all the noise of this street. This was during the lunch/naptime block, so there were fewer people on the street.

This block is where I caught buses to go to the train station, bus station and to V's house and the entertainment/shopping district of Shapingba, where a few other friends lived. (I had to cross the street and walk a ways further to take buses to R.'s and T.'s homes.) This block is also where I bought beauty items, tea drinks, street snacks and other misc. items. Crossing at the end of the block led to the subway station and the Yangjiaping (my 'hood) main entertainment/shopping district, where we went for the big grocery store, bank, movies and nicer restaurants. I spent a considerable amount of time walking this stretch of my city, and I made friends with some of the sellers who set up on this block.



If you have any questions about anything you see in the videos, please ask and I will answer in the comments.

Unexpected Anger at Bed, Bath and Beyond

So, wiser heads than me tell me I am experiencing reverse culture shock. And that it will fade in time. And this is supposed to be comforting, and it is, but it is also scary to me. Because there are some things I don't WANT to fade. Here is one example:

I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond over the weekend and I was just unexpectedly furious at all of the crap for sale that no one really needs for any reason other than laziness. You know the front of the store, where they put all the little gadgets and gizmos things on special? I was just disgusted seeing all of that, and sad, because I've seen firsthand the hard lives and smiles and children of the people who make those things. And I want more for them than to spend their lives in a factory churning out crap no one really needs. Some of my students work in the factories in South China in the summer, and I know some of them will end up there permanently. And they have so much potential! What would they be doing instead if this weren't the option presented to them? I am not against comfort and convenience in theory; I just wish we really thought more about the price in human potential we pay for them. Maybe we could do with a little inconvenience do give someone else the chance to live a life outside a factory, to invest time and energy in something else.

I don't want to become a person who forgets those people in the factories, and the price we pay for convenience.

Off Target

Today I did a mock shopping activity with my students. I gave them a Target weekly ad and a stack of American play money, along with instructions to work in pairs to "buy" things together from the ad and see who could come the closest to spending all their money without going over.

But as I walked around checking their progress, I noticed a couple of pairs with money sitting unused on the desk. They were still talking about the items, but not "buying" any. I asked them why, and they said, "We already bought some stuff, we don't anything else."  What? Shopping at Target and buying only what you need?  Huh. Never occurred to me. I mean, give me $1,000 and a Target, I'm done in 15 minutes flat. I have to work to spend less than $50 everytime I walk through the doors. But here? You buy what you need and save the rest.

It's just one example of the mistakes I make assuming my students are going to react the way Western students would react. Some of the boys bought electronics and used up all their money, but many of the girls spent about 1/4 of their money and 'finished' the shopping portion of the game. Lesson learned. 

Random Things

I love that my laptop and iPod run on 100 - 240 voltage and I don't have to carry converters. 

I love that I can take antibiotics when I get sick. 

I love that I can download silly American tv shows and get a small respite from daily life here. 

I love that I can get dimsum 24 hours a day on the street near my apartment. 

I love that I have friends who know I am eccentric and have a hard time moving past my mistakes, and like me anyway. 

I love that I can still shop on Amazon, Target and iTunes because my credit card address is still U.S. based. 

I love cheese. 

Four Companies That Own Me

1. Amazon.com
2. Target
3. iTunes
4. Google

SAD Lamp

When I lived in Utah this past winter, I used a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) sun lamp at my work desk. I bought this one on Amazon, a bit pricey, but the light projected really well at any angle. I set it up next to my laptop and I turned it on for about an hour in the morning and again in the afternoon. If you have a tendency toward SAD, I cannot underestimate the difference a SAD lamp can make. The only bad side affect was coworkers asking me what I was growing at my desk. ;)

Our medical office here in China (they are awesome and give us anything we need) gives SAD lamps to people living in high pollution cities because the sunlight doesn't reach us very often. I have been feeling so down in the dumps the last few weeks and duh, I remembered my SAD lamp. It is on my desk right now, I hope it makes a difference. (This one is small and has to be angled toward eye level. I miss my big desk version.)

You can also get standing SAD lamps for rooms, but these are even pricier. If you have a desk for a computer, the desktop version works very well because you want the lamp within your sightline, not directly in front of your eyes. Keep it within about a foot of your face, off to the side, and you are good to go.

NatureBright Sun Lamp, Amazon.com, $129.99