Jiaozi and Happy Birthday

This past weekend I was invited to the home of one of my new Chinese friends. His name is William and we met in a little convenience store that is adjacent to my apartment. William saw me in the store and came over and introduced himself in broken English, and then I returned the favor, introducing myself in broken Chinese. We both shared a laugh, and he gave me his card and invited me to his father-in-law's house Saturday for a family get together. It turns out the family was celebrating William's birthday! Saturday morning, I met William and his wife at their apartment, and we jumped on a bus and ended up at the subway. We took the subway for a while, and then got off and took another bus. After the bus stopped, we jumped in a cab and finished the ride. We were in transit for over an hour and half. I asked William if we were still in Shanghai, and he looked at me strangely, and said "Of course you are still in Shanghai." The Chinese are so used to the enormous size of their cities that it didn't dawn on him that driving an hour and a half might have placed us outside of Shanghai. I think there are states in America that you can drive across in an hour and half.

Once at William's house, I was greeted warmly by his family. They were very impressed that William had a waigouren (foreigner) as a friend. After asking me a lot of questions about America, I showed them some pictures of my family. They insisted that my sister was piaoliang(beautiful - she is) and that she looks just like Britney Spears(she doesn't). I was offered cigarettes twice, each time politely refusing.

 I was then invited into the living room to help prepare the jiaozi, the famous Chinese dumpling. It is a piece of dough filled with tuber oil. The green filling contains pork, and is very tasty. It is eaten after the main dishes, sort of like a meaty dessert.

After dinner - and after William's father- in-law made me his honorary Chinese son (I had to toast him as "baba" - father in Chinese)-we sang Happy Birthday to William. In Chinese, Happy Birthday is pronounced "Shengri kuaile" and the song has the same tune as the American version. 

I had to be up early the next day, so after Happy Birthday, William took me on his bicycle(I sat sidesaddle on the back) to the bus stop, where I began the journey back home. 

Bad Day

I guess it could have happened anywhere, at anytime. Fortunately for me - it happened in the middle of the day at the intersection in front of my school. (My school is directly to the right in this picture)

Can you imagine the conversation going on in the cab of the truck as it begins to tilt upward? What do you think the men behind the truck are thinking? (Well, maybe if we all lift.....)

The Invasion

It is such a weird moment when you are walking along a street in China with clothes hanging from the windows of nearby houses, Chinese music drifting through the air and you pass a cart filled with Chinese goodies - only to come upon....a Starbucks. It doesn't happen often - but American companies are beginning to integrate themselves into Chinese culture. The success rate is mixed - KFC and Starbucks are doing well, McDonalds(beef, the staple of McDonalds menu, is not popular here) is lagging behind.

As far as shopping, even though the big department stores are in China - you can't beat the street markets for quality and price. The street markets also give you a chance to work on your bargaining skills, an invaluable asset in China.

Interesting Advertisement

I saw this on the subway in Shanghai. This is the kind of stuff you just don't see marketed to the masses in America....

Going Commando

Things are a little bit different for parents in China. Whether its an effort to save money, an ancient tradition, or an attempt to set a fashion trend at an early age – the Chinese eschew diapers in favor of pants with no bottom. That’s right – all young children in China are going commando – and I saw a mother holding her young boy up in the air so he could “tinkle” – on a busy sidewalk. Things are definitely different here. I passed two young boys splashing around in a makeshift bathtub on the sidewalk – and they were completely naked. This was also a busy sidewalk(come to think of it – all sidewalks in Shanghai are pretty busy). The Chinese are so pragmatic about this stuff -why spend money on diapers when all you do is ruin them?

Cormorant Fishing

This past week I went with a group of students to a village in southern China named Yangshuo. This village is in a part of China that is littered with karst rock formations. It is known as one of the most beautiful areas in China - and consequently is one of the most heavily touristed. In this small town, which lies on a river, the local fishermen employ a method of fishing that harkens back to an age ago, and has mostly been supplanted by more efficient fishing methods in the rest of China. The fishermen spend two years training a seabird, called a cormorant, to catch fish for them. The birds have a small ring tied around their neck. This allows the bird to swallow small fish, but the ring prevents the cormorant from swallowing larger fish. The larger fish end up on the fisherman's boat, as he will pull the bird up and the bird will spit the fish out. This fishing is almost always done at night, as the use of a large light draws the fish towards the surface which makes it easier for the cormorant to catch them.

A "Welcome to China" Moment

As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent part of my vacation in the beautiful city of Xi'an. I had planned to leave Xi'an on Sunday afternoon, and arrived at the airport with my bags packed and reservation in hand. When I got to the airport, I went to the ticket booth and handed them my reservation. The ticket agent went to the computer, looked up my reservation, and said to me that my ticket has been cancelled. I asked him to check again, which he did, and confirmed that I had no ticket on the flight. So I had to be back in Shanghai for school on Monday, and with no flight available that night, and without a ticket, my only option to arrive back in Shanghai was a train ride - the same 19 hour train ride I was on from Shanghai to Xi'an. I went to the train ticket station to buy a return ticket home. The ticket agent squinted at her computer screen and told me that there was a ticket available - but it would be a standing room only ticket. So the only way for me to get home was to stand on a train for 19 hours...and since I had no choice, I winced as I bought the ticket, knowing what awaited me. It was as bad as I thought - the worst part of the ride was that I got stuck in the smoking room between the two train cars - so for the better part of the ride I was forced to inhale cigarette smoke from the many smokers on the train(the Chinese love to smoke - especially the men). Needless to say - when the train pulled into Shanghai's train station some 19 hours later - I was never so happy to arrive somewhere in my life.

 

Xi'an

This past week was a holiday week in China. Most of the Chinese have the week off for work and travel back to their hometowns to spend time with family. My school had the week off as well - so I thought it would afford me the chance to see some of China. I decided to go to the ancient Chinese city of Xi'an, partly because I had been wanting to see the famed Terra Cotta army located about an hour northeast of the city, and also because Xi'an is renowned for its city wall - which dates back to the 14th century.

The first part of my adventure started on Wednesday, October 1st. I boarded a train heading for Xi'an prepared for the 19 hour train ride with a book(20000 Leagues Under the Sea - which was great - wish I would have read it earlier!) and my Lonely Planet China guide. I was joined in my train car by 3 other people - Dr. Wang, his wife, Dr. Zhu, and another man - who never mentioned his name - but who did teach me how to play Chinese poker. Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhu were both retired doctors who were off to Xi'an to visit friends.

Also - since it my father's birthday back in the States(Sept. 27th) - they gave him a little birthday greeting.

Once arrived in Xi'an - I was able to see some pretty neat things. They have a museum in the center of the city that contain stone tablets with 900 year old Chinese Confucian writings etched into them. I was also able to go to a panda bear breeding center - where endangered pandas are brought to.....well, you know. The highlight of my trip was riding a bicycle around the Xi'an city wall at night - with thousands of Chinese lanterns lighting the path - and beautiful pagodas located everywhere. I got a chance to see bingmaying - or the Terra Cotta warriors. I was a little disappointed in the site - I thought there would be many more of them - but they told us that many soldiers have yet to be unearthed, and still more are under repair. I've also included a good Chinglish sign that was located just outside the entrance to the Terra Cotta warriors....

Finally - Xi'an - a city of over 8 million people - has major intersections that do not have stoplights. So crossing them can be treacherous. Judge for yourself....