Concession Stand food... Chinese style!

Can’t go to sleep without recording my latest China adventures. I have been chastised for not keeping up with my blog frequently enough. If I had time, (and internet in my apartment) I could certainly write pages about my experiences. In a nutshell, I had a few days of calm before the insanity of the storm began. Saturday Sri took me to look at more apartments and I settled on one in a complex with three other staff from the school including Sri. The apartment was basically empty except for a TV and stand. The agent assured me that the landlord would buy all new furniture for the apartment. (It is not new!) Sunday I came back, walked through checking everything to make sure everything was in good order and finding out what needed repaired. I then signed the lease. Monday evening I moved in with my 5 suitcases and two bags of supplies from IKEA. My food supply was a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jam. Since then I have been running like a chicken with its head cut off. I have had a few problems with the apartment and have had to find a Chinese staff to call the agent, who calls the landlord. IT has been an interesting process. It seems like everything is so different, and so much more complicated than necessary. The most frustrating thing of all is the language barrier. Long conversations take place in Chinese and every once in awhile the English speaker throws in a bit of explanation. I want to know it ALL! This is such an incredibly humbling experience. The best analogy I can think of for how I feel is like a student with a learning disability. Everyone else seems to perfectly understand what is going on and what needs to be done, meanwhile, I have to ask for instructions over and over, still (Even in English) I just don’t get it! I know the Chinese people must think I’m not very bright, but I am trying soo hard to figure everything out. OK, enough blabbing. I have had a couple more little adventures. I am sure that I can’t relate the hilarity or emotions that were felt at the time, but I will try.


Concession Food…. Chinese Style
A coworker who had volunteered at the Olympics had free tickets to tour the Olympic Green and I was offered one. We left directly from work around 5 and took a bus ride to the general area. We were not sure which gate to enter and ended up walking another half mile or so to an entrance swarming with people. Interesting sight along the way- A sign saying absolutely no scalping tickets surrounded by people scalping tickets with police officers just feet away J
So by the time we got through the mob, waited in line and went through the security check it was close to 7:00 and I was very hungry! Not far into the park I found a food area where many people seemed to be eating a Chinese type meal in a box. I somehow, even in China half expected to see Elephant ears, cotton candy, and hot Sausage sandwiches on the menu. Sadly, it was typical Chinese fare- a mixture of random foods including yogurt, chips, and cold sausages in plastic wrappers. The only thing that seemed like food was the “box meal.” So I bravely ordered said meal expecting to be handed a steaming box of rice with Chicken in it. When the girl handed me the box, she mentioned that the instructions were translated in English on the paper attached to the top.
I opened it to discover cold rice and several packets of things including a packet of sauce with pieces of chicken in. I was baffled as to what to do with everything. I asked Sri if she knew what to do. After she puzzled for a moment, she asked a nearby Chinese man for help. After a lengthy conversation that I did not understand, she explained what to do. I had to open the pack of sauce and poor on the rice. Next I needed to put the top back on and then pull a string out of the bottom. The man kept saying it would be very hot, not to hold it. I did not get it, because nothing felt hot. But, finally Sri pulled the string out and the box immediately filled with heat and steam started coming out the top. Then I discovered that I had to wait 8-13 minutes to eat the thing! Yes it’s true. In China you have to cook your own concession stand food. The saddest part of the experience was that the food really tasted bad, was full of pieces of bone, and THERE WAS A MCDONALDS JUST A LITTLE BIT FARTHER INTO THE PARK!!!!! Oh well, at least now I have had the experience and know what to avoid in future experiences!
Bus Routes and shopping Deals!
I finally had time to go shopping after school on Friday. I made arrangements to meet Diane at her apartment and the two of us would take the bus to CarreFour (a Wal-Mart type store with a bit of everything) I had never been to this store, but everyone said it was great for finding the things I needed to get my apartment set up.I nervously set out for her apartment, got on the right bus, and off at the right stop. When it came to getting on the next bus Diane had been told one bus to take and had been told another. We got the one Diane thought was right and began chatting away about school. After a bit, Diane said, it is pretty close, we should see it soon….. of course we did not see it and after several miles she was certain we had missed it. Sooo we got off the bus in a rather sketchy looking area of town. Diane confidently hailed a taxi and handed him our handy dandy taxi book turned to the CarrFour page. OF COURSE HE SAID HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE IT WAS!!!!! The second driver did take us, but I am pretty sure he went in a huge circle around several blocks to make the ride more expensive. We finally made it to the store where I found some essentials while Diane went crazy in the School supply section. She had piles of items in the cart. I sorted my items out and got in a different line and checked out with no problem. I went around and Diane’s hundreds of items were still being checked. Then, her cashier stopped checking and began pressing a button for help. We all stood around for awhile waiting for help to come. The cashier did not speak English, so cold not expain what the problem was. After awhile another worker came up and they had a discussion. Then, they started taking items that had been checked and taking them off the ticket. We were both completely baffled. The second girl (probably a manager) said “I’m Sorry” several times. I tried to ask what was wrong but she said “I’m sorry, very little English.” So we kept standing there. They were canceling one item at a time over and over. I have never seen anything like it. Finally another cashier tried to explain in limited English what was going on. Apparently there was a sale on certain school items that if you bought 10 you saved a certain amount of money. But each group had to be rung up separately. Soooooo, Diane had so many of the sale items, that they ended up completely canceling her order and starting over. She ended up having to swipe her debit card and pay 6 separate TIMES! It took forever. I kept thinking how bizarre the whole thing was. We did not even know about the sale. They could have charged full price for all of it and we never would have known. But the cashier was so concerned that they took at least 20 minutes making the mistake right. I never will understand exactly what was going on. I was exhausted and longing to be home, but at the same time I was amazed at the circumstances. I have heard often since my arrival, “That’s China!” I guess that can be a good thing at times and not so good at times. But I am learning that the only explanation for many many things here is “That’s China!”

Hope this is not too long and drawn out. I will try to keep up with things a little more often. I am Loving the experience of the people and the culture. I am completely overwhelmed with school compared to what I am used to, but I will just ask for your prayers in that area as I learn a new curriculum, new ways of doing things, and especially figure out how to teach in the midst of very difficult scheduling.