Eggplant

I went this morning to the big outdoor vegetable market to buy some groceries for dinner.  On my way out of the market I saw some eggplant that looked inviting to eat.  Here's my conversation with the veggie seller.

ME:  How much is that eggplant?

SELLER:  30 cents for 1 pound. (Then points to a stack of old and ugly eggplant), but I'll give you some from this pile for 14 cents per pound.

ME:  ok, I'll take two eggplants

SELLER: (starts filling up a plastic bag)

ME: wait, I just want half a pound (seller keeps filling the bag) um...okay, I'll just take one pound ...

SELLER: what?  you want 3 lbs?

ME: no, no, I just want 3 eggplants...

SELLER: (finally stops filling the bag and puts it on the scale)  that will be 30 cents please

ME: (surprised at how much eggplant he is giving me for such little money!) Oh? Yes! Thank you!

Seller: (smiles with delight)

The Sound of Death

Yesterday morning the 'sound of death' started.  My apartment window looks out to the front door of another apartment complex.  There was a man sitting on a chair playing his horn.  He sat next to a large green army tent, a large flower wreath, and a big yellow paper horse.  I stood staring out the window for a long time watching this man play his horn and seeing people walk in and out of the apartment building, paying their last respects to whoever just passed away.

...all Saturday this man played his horn.  More wreaths were brought and set up around the large green army tent....

Sunday morning, 9am, I was awoken to the man playing the horn.  A second man came playing his horn too.  The men would play for about 10 minutes straight, then they would take a 10 minute break, before playing again.  Alternating the same tunes over and over again.  The tune is squeaky, really loud, depressing, hits me deep in my soul.

I eventually learned it was a funeral and the horn would continue playing for three days!

My family is so tired of the horn and this depressing tune.....but what can we do?

What?!?

I was sitting on a bench, inside a big hospital, waiting for the doctor.  Sitting next to me was a grandmother with her grandson (one year old).  The mother was pacing around to make sure she didn't miss her turn when the nurse called her name.  I was fiddling with my cell phone, when I felt something splash on my shoe.  I looked down and the grandmother was holding her grandson just past her lap and encouraging him to pee on the floor right in front of us!  Without missing a beat, the mother grabbed a mop from the corner and cleaned it up.  Then she laid down a piece of tissue on the floor to catch his poo!

I don't get culture shock too often, but I couldn't help my jaw dropping to the floor.  I stood up and stared, with a "you gotta be kidding" look on my face.  I mean I knew about split pants and how kids pee outside or in corners, but I never imagined a parent intentionally letting a kid pee right there inside a public building!  So gross!

Snow

The first snow fall hit us on Monday.  I woke to Ben and baby coming inside the apartment with cold noses and eagerly announcing to me that it was snowing outside!

Crackers

I've been experimenting with making crackers, as it's been a challenge trying to find solid food that baby enjoys eating.  This cracker recipe has been a hit in my house, as it's super easy to make, plus it's highly addictive due to its tangy yoghurt flavour balanced with buttery goodness.

- 1 cup of plain whole yoghurt (or how ever much is left over from breakfast!)
- 1/4 cup of butter, softened
- 2 cups flour
Mix together.  Use your fingers or a spoon to spread out thin on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Here is the original recipe, from which I modified mine:  Rich Whole Grain Crackers from The Nourishing Gourmet 

4th of July

Cooked carnitas, pico de gallo, and tortilla chips in honor of Ben's birthday.

Panda Bears

Check out the panda bears! One is eating bamboo and the other is on her daddy's back.

Avatar

I watched Avatar for the first time last night. I don't understand what all of the hype was about as I didn't think it was that great. It was cool, but I've seen better movies.

Tea Plantation

Went on a mini vacation to do the 'touristy' thing - pick tea. Our tour guide's family still lives on this tea plantation and invited us in for lunch. They cooked up a BIG spread of assorted dishes, including a glass of tea from their farm.

Sweet Rounds

Tang Yuan (Sweet Rounds) are my new favorite treat! It's rice cake on the outside and sweet filling on the inside. Sweet filing such as black sesame seed or strawberry. They are so good! Click here for a picture.

The Courtyard

It turned hot outside. Not the humid sticky hot, rather the dry intense heat. The hot that makes you feel like you're running a fever after being outside for a few minutes. The sun is intense, especially in the middle of the day. But when the sun starts setting it gets cool again, and that's when I like to go outside.

This evening I went outside to sit in the courtyard. It was right about the time when the neighbors come out to relax for a while. I watched kids playing basketball. Grandparents sat around chatting. A monk was working on starting a fire in the center incense burner. Kids were running to find small sticks to add to the fire. Ladies sat and talked on their cell phones. Other kids were playing jump rope. Another monk was sitting at a sewing machine sewing a big piece of fabric (guess the weather and lighting were better outside???) Then a thunder storm started to blow in and everybody cleared out and went back inside.

True Confession

I don't take medicine in capsules. Many doctors try to prescribe them to me, but I've been known to not take them. Sometimes I tell the doctor that I don't take capsules, but that usually ends in an embarrassing lecture. I often think I should get over it and just take the capsule.

Yesterday a doctor prescribed me antibiotics. Not knowing the culture or language I accepted the medicine, which was a HUGE capsule. I attempted to hide the fact that I had no intention of taking this horse pill. BUT I've been sick for so long now, that my husband pointed out that I had no choice this time as I really needed this medicine to get better. I stared at this horse pill for about 24 hrs, trying to figure out what to do....

Then my friend came over, who called her friend to stop by the local pharmacy and get me some medicine that was easier to take. It was love at first sight -- Amoxicilin granules! I pour this little tea looking packet into water and drink it down. It's grapefruit flavored and tastes so good. And this story can get better because my seven day course of antibiotics only set me back $8. Why should I start taking capsules now???

The Chair

So I was given money over a year ago (when I was pregnant) to purchase a rocking chair. I've been looking all over town for one, but haven't had any luck yet. Being practical, I settled on getting a nice office chair, as baby's nursery shares a room with my office. I found an extremely comfortable office chair that both rocks and swivels.

Today I took Ben to the store where the office chair was at. I bargained for a good price and even asked for a new chair from the back store room. The shop keeper gladly gave me a new chair and assembled it right there in front of me, then let me test it out.

Next challenge was getting it home. The sales lady said no problem this chair will fit in a taxi. So Ben rolled the chair out of the store, carried it down the stairs, and out of the building. We had to walk, about a block, and cross a busy street before finding a taxi. First, we tried the trunk but the chair didn't fit, so then we tried the back seat, which it barely fit. The taxi dropped us off at the door of our apartment. Ben and I stood there for a minute cracking up that we were carrying this assembled chair all the way home. Then proceed to carry it up four flights of stairs to our apartment.

Now my new chair the most comfortable seat in the house! Ben even considered using it at the dinner table and in the living room to watch a movie.

Candy

I have a few interesting candy stories for today...

1. I wanted to make a popcorn cake, as I was told that popcorn and marshmallows were available in town. Ben texted me the characters for marshmallow on my phone and I showed them to a lady in the big supermarket. The lady took me the bulk candy section and pointed to a big tub of marshmallows where each marshmallow was individually wrapped! Plus each marshmallow was flavored differently. These ladies don't mess around, so I had about 10 seconds to make up my mind as to which flavors and how many marshmallows I wanted. I got a 1/2 pound of pineapple flavored marshmallows. Turns out that inside the marshmallow was soft and gooey pineapple candy. It was so good and worked well for my pineapple flavored popcorn cake.

2. I walked into my American friend's house. She had a big smile on her face as she asked me if I wanted to try some candy. The box said 'Colon' in big English letters. I gave her a look, trying to figure out if she was serious. She handed me a piece of 'colon'. It was a small cylinder, about the size of my thumb. I hesitantly put it in my mouth and chewed; all I could think of was the word 'colon'. It had a dark brown shell and soft chocolate inside, with a nice smooth chocolaty taste. To my surprise it was good, it just needs a new English name!

3. The same friend handed me a small packet. It felt like powder inside. The wrapper was brightly colored and appeared to be some sort of candy. The only English word on the wrapper said "Poison". No idea what this was and I didn't want to try it to find out.

Small Change

On my way home from the big supermarket, I stopped by the green-grocer to buy some vegetables. My vegetables cost me 10Y, but I only had a big 50Y bill and the vegetable seller didn't have any small change to give me. So I told him I'll go buy something else from the store next door and come back with smaller bills.

So I went to the noodle seller as I figured I could just eat a bowl of fresh noodles for lunch. I bought my usual 1Y bag of noodles, as it's more than enough to feed two people. I apologized to the noodle seller because I didn't have small change, while secretly being glad to break my big bill. BUT my plan backfired because the noodle seller decided to give me my noodles for free! I tried to argue with him and insist on paying but he refused my money.

So I had to go to the next store, which was like a mini 7-11. I had been sick all week, so I thought some peach juice would be nice. I had to get the big 3 liter bottle in order for the shop keeper to break my big bill.

Finally, I had my small change, so I went back to the vegetable seller and paid my 10Y for my vegetables. All that trouble just for a few vegetables!

I had to call Ben to help me get home, as my supermarket groceries, my 17 lbs baby, 3 liters of juice, noodles, and vegetables was way too much to carry!

Snow

It snowed the other day. I woke up to a good amount of snow falling from the sky and an inch stuck to the ground. But by noon all of the snow was melted and the weather outside was warm. Nothing says "April" like a good snowfall.

Yushu Earthquake Relief

Check out: http://yushuearthquakerelief.com

Earthquake

Earthquake hit this morning. We are fine, but many are not.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010vbaf.php#details

The Shower

Which one would you choose if you could only have one in your shower:
a) Hot Water b) Shower Curtain c)Shower head?

For the past year we haven't had hot water to shower with. Last week, we finally got our hot water heater fixed and can now take hot showers. It was too good to be true because shortly thereafter the shower curtain rod broke. I tried to buy a new rod, but it was too short by 20 cm. Then a few days after that, the shower hose sprung a leak and the shower head fell off. Tonight, Ben bought a new hose and fixed the shower head. Now all I need is a curtain. I guess two out of three is pretty good.

Parenthood

We have been baptized into parenthood with baby throw up. Baby caught a stomach virus and threw up just about every time she ate for about 48 hrs. Baby feels much better today and is eating well again.

New Toys

Baby has adjusted to her new home. I'm sure she was delighted to find lots of new toys waiting for her here at the apartment.

Lunch

It was a sunny beautiful day this morning. Baby and I went for a short walk to buy some vegetables for lunch. Ben was cooking lunch today. This past week we received gifts of bags of potatoes and apples, from three different people. So the goal of lunch was to use as many potatoes and apples as possible. Ben made a delicious lunch of garlic mashed potatoes, fried apples, squash w/ onions, and carrot salad w/ raisins. A nice southern style lunch.

Around 2pm, a huge wind and dust storm blew through. The dust was so thick that we could hardly see outside of our window. It blew for a good two hours. Rumor has it that at the end of winter, but right before spring, wind & dust storms occur every afternoon. I guess I'll plan to go out in the mornings.

Grocery Shopping

Today we went grocery shopping at the "big" super market. I put baby in my hip sling where she wouldn't miss all of the new sights. She sure did make LOTS of new friends. On the bus ride over, the lady next to me was tucking baby's jacket down, ensuring she could breath well, as well as gently touching her hands and feet commenting on how tiny they were. At the grocery store, at every aisle ladies and grandfathers stared and smiled at baby. One lady even went as far as taking picture of baby with her camera phone, as this was the first 'foreign' baby she had ever seen. I often hear people commenting how pretty baby is and what big eyes she has.

We're Back

I would post some pictures from our trip, but I seem to have misplaced my camera. It's some where around the apartment, just not sure which pile of stuff it is in. It's been a week since we got back to our apartment. This week has been filled with visiting old friends, meeting new friends, unpacking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and getting over jet lag. It feels really good to be back. I forgot how alive I feel out here.