Sublimation

I'm at such a high altitude and it's so dry here that snow rarely sticks - it just sublimates (goes straight from a solid to a gas). Check out the USGS site for more about sublimation. <http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesublimation.html>

Progress

Recently I've been tired of school and feeling like I haven't made much progress. Until today when I went shopping and the shop keeper insisted that I sit down and have a conversation. Four months ago I wouldn't have even known that he wanted me to sit down, now I can actually chit chat for a few minutes. I think that's progress!

Relationships

It's all about relationships here. Relationships are the key to survival in a country with so many people. Whether you want cheaper deals on vegetables, the last seat on the train, or a respectable job. But building relationships takes so much time.....

Tree

I came home from class around noon to find that the electricity was out. A friend told me that it would be out until 10:30pm. While Ben cooked lunch, I poked around in the hall closet that contained many miscellaneous items that were left from the previous tenants. To my delight I found a Christmas tree along with a complete set of decorations! I pulled it all out and decorated. It is such a cute, five foot, skinny, artificial tree.

Freebies

Grocery shopping can sometimes be a little overwhelming here. Try going into the supermarket and buying toothpaste without reading any of the words on the boxes and not knowing any of the brands. Do you get the one with Jackie Chan or the smiling baby on it? What do Jackie Chan or babies know about frozen dumplings anyways? The other day I wanted yogurt, but there had to be about 20 different types. I couldn't tell them apart, so I made the logical choice. Since they were all about the same price, I picked the one that came with a free item! In this case a free cloth grocery bag. So far we have gotten two cups, a spoon, and a bag for free!

Road Trip

Since it was the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to take a little break from school and go on a road trip! I've been keeping so busy since I arrived here that I haven't had the opportunity to get out of the city and sight see. So when a friend invited me to go out of town with her, I just couldn't say no. We traveled roughly 240 km to a village. It was close enough that we only had to spend one night there and we could return the next day. We left the city in the morning by car. The previous day we purchased bus tickets, but at the last minute we were offered a ride by an expat who had a car and was heading that way. This was great because the bus would take four hours, while the car only would take 2.5 hours. It was a very comfortable 2.5 hour ride with plenty of great scenery and conversation. Arrived at the village around noon. Over a simple lunch, my friend introduced me to one of her friends. Afterwards, my friend had to run off to her meeting and attend to her business for the rest of the day. I was in luck because my new friend had lived in this village for many years and spoke English, as well as the local languages. She gave me the grand tour of the town, complete with a history lesson and insider information. Then, took me to a local family's house to see their lifestyle and culture. Afterwards, we learned that this day was an auspicious day and there was to be a festival in the monastery within the center of town- which meant to me that I was able to freely walk around the monastery (versus buying a ticket to enter and having a tour guide show me around, which westerners usually have to do). I was also able to watch the traditional dances that only occur annually. After I got over the beauty of the art work and how the town was situated within the mountains, my next impression was for being such a poor village, the monastery was very rich. I just couldn't seem to understand why the people would offer so much food to be burned while so many people across the street were starving- it just didn't seem right. Then we went back to the house where my friend and I were going to spend the night. It was a beautiful house with most of the comforts of home, excluding running water. The heating was a coal burning stove. The bathroom was a carefully constructed Asian style outhouse. The water was carried in from outside and stored in a pitcher. My bed was comfortable with a huge stack of blankets to keep me warm. Caught the 9am bus the next morning. The bus took four hours to get back into town, as it had to stop very often to pick up passengers waiting alongside the road. It felt like the longest bus ride ever, but we eventually got home in time for lunch. Over all it was a great and relaxing trip!

Happy Thanksgiving

I had a great thanksgiving holiday. An American family invited about ten Americans to celebrate the holiday together, including Ben and I. A 10 lb turkey (imported from America) was served along with all of the proper fixings: green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and a bunch of other dishes. Dinner was served early and the rest of the evening was spent playing games and hanging out. It almost felt like I was back in America!

Morning Exercises

yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba......

On my way to class, I often hear large groups of people counting out loud and see them all doing group morning exercises. Everyone from small elementary school kids to grandmas and grandpas are out in the squares doing thai chi or other sorts of aerobics to start off their day.

But this morning was special. As the construction crew was busy preparing to start their day of work and surveying the large canal that was being dug, the backhoe was sitting still on the side of the road getting it's digging arm all warmed up and ready for the day. Like a hand, it was stretching, then curling, in a nice smooth motion, similar to what I often see the people doing in the square. It was the first time that I ever saw a backhoe doing morning exercises!

It's Cold

It's a weird feeling to have winter come so early in the year. It's only November and I already have my big down jacket and thick gloves on. It's already snowed here a few times. It all melted pretty quick in the city, as the pavement is pretty warm from the intense sunlight. But looking out to the hillsides, the peaks of the mountains are covered with snow. I've heard stories from travelers that the roads are icy and snowy, which caused long traffic backups. I also read a news story of nomads and their yak being stuck out in the grassland because the snow was so high; it was up to 130 cm. The common chit chat around town has been informing me that this is nothing yet, compared to how cold it will get in a few months. Thank goodness for good heaters!

Random Thoughts

It's been a while since I last posted, as I've been without internet for the past two weeks.

Some random thoughts:

1. Moved into a new apartment, that I will be able to stay in for as long as I want. The apartment is fully furnished too with really nice stuff! Very comfortable!

2. There was a 6.5 earthquake in a town northwest of me. It was far away enough that I didn't feel anything. But some friends who live on the 11th floor said their building swayed and dishes rattled. I don't think anybody was hurt by it.

3. My language class was too big, so it got split up into two classes. My new teacher is very good and makes us work very hard. I have learned more in one week than I have learned in one month in the other class.

4. Was invited to see a 'variety show' last weekend. It featured all sorts of traditional and modern music, dances, and fashion. Gave me such a good overview of the culture. I even got suckered into trying to dance the traditional dance on stage! Very fun!

5. My neighbor makes shortening (for pies) from scratch. I didn't quite understand the whole process, but she turns pork fat into shortening. I guess my theory about shortening growing from a can was incorrect.

6. I've been wondering how to cook a turkey for thanksgiving in my tiny toaster oven. Do turkeys come that small???

7. Even after all the eating that I'm doing, I seemed to have have lost 15 pounds in two months. I guess it's from all of the walking that I've been doing. I think I need to eat more so I won't have to get new clothes. Too bad the girls here are super duper skinny and I still wear XL in the size scale here!

8. When asking for the price, if you see somebody hold up eight fingers that means it costs 5 bucks and 3 cents...not 8 dollars. I tried paying 8 bucks but I only got laughed at and given my proper change. Number gestures. Very embarrassed.

9. My new apartment is the last building, located on the very edge of town. Very good view of the river and of trees and mountains. But the city is planning on expanding, so in a few years my apartment will be part of the really nice and trendy area. Much construction of roads and underground work is going on outside. One day it will be very convenient.

10. There is a nation wide contest for the cleanest city going on. The city I'm in is aggressively seeking to win this award. Many of the little street vendors have been closed down and moved into permanent shops. It's starting to look very clean!

Candy From Strangers

Since it's the 31st of October, this day wouldn't be complete without a candy story!

I was on the bus and a few stops later a lady boarded and sat next to me. She had in her hand the most delicious looking candy. It was a long kabob stick filled with about five little tiny crab apples (one apple was about the size of a cherry tomato), all covered with plenty of hard candy coating.

I just couldn't resist, I had to know what it was and where she got it. So with my limited language skills I asked her, 'what is that', 'does it taste good', 'it looks good'. She took the time to explain it all to me, using simple words such as 'shuiguo', 'hao chir', 'tanghulu'.

She then showed true hospitality, by insisting that I take her second fruit candy stick. I politely refused, but she kept insisting, saying it's really good and I should try it, I kept refusing. But finally I gave in and accepted the gift.

It tasted as good as it looked. Sour little apples with a sweet candy coating. Yum! We spent the rest of bus ride in silence, eating our candy sticks together.

My American side of me keeps thinking, 'I can't believe I took candy from a stranger'. But my Asian side reminds me that gift giving and accepting is such a cultural act and has strong importance to the culture. I'm loving the generosity and hospitality displayed to me in the past few months, as it's such a beautiful side of the culture.

( Images taken from: "Tanghulu (2008-07-10)", ChinaCulture.org )

Taxi

Here in the city it's very easy to get around without a car. The four options are walk, bus, taxi, or motorbike taxi. There are even two options for taxis: red taxi or green taxi (as seen in the picture). Personally I think the green taxis are nicer, but that's just my opinion. It's such a gamble whether the taxi that stops will be nice inside, or if the driver will be smoking, or if the driver will speak English.

Today we got into a taxi and there was a 'smooth jam' mood going on inside. The whole interior was a dark red color, with the ceiling having big white roses. Very clean inside, with a really nice stereo, mp3 player, and plenty of cutesy decorations. The driver looked like a rock star, he was in his late 20's (which is rare, most drivers I've seen are late 40's) and he had a stylish haircut and suit on. As we traveled, the driver was flipping through his MP3 player playing various pop songs, a few in English. This was the most stylish cab we have ever taken. It felt like Ben and I were going on a romantic date in style.

Friday is Culture Day

It's so easy to move to a new city and get stuck in a routine doing the same thing and seeing the same sights. So on Fridays, Ben and I finish class early, then spend the next few hours exploring the city. I call it culture day. Nothing planned or major, just getting off the bus a few stops early or going to a market that we haven't been to before.

Today I actually remembered my camera, here is what I saw:

First Ben has a big bowl of postage stamp noodles. They are called postage stamp noodles because after the cook stretches out the dough for the noodles, he cuts them up in small squares, the size of a stamp. It's almost like a stew, not quite a soup, but a little more broth than a stir fry. It's one of our favorite dishes to eat here.













It was a little to early for lunch for me, so I sat and watched two boys at the next table cleaning green peppers. This is a common sight in the late morning, as I often see the restaurant staff chopping meat, peeling garlic, or slicing vegetables in order to prepare for the lunch crowd.







Then we were off in search of a particular discount art supply store, as Ben has been wanting to draw (he's a really good artist!) A really nice sketch pad was $1, can't beat that price.





Afterward we decided to walk the long way home to explore some of the side markets. Not intending to purchase anything but rather practice some basic Chinese phrases and see how much I could understand.





Some nice hot corn on the cob was the perfect lunch. This vendor would hardly stop for us as she was in a hurry to catch the lunch crowd down the road while her corn and sweet potatoes were still hot. The corn was so soft and warm, perfect for such cold day!






We mainly walked past shops with clothing and bag in it. The vendors often change this stock depending on the weather. Today most of the clothing were coats and long underwear in preparation for the cold weather. Most of the ladies are so petite here. I tried on a few cute coats as I was curious as to my size...I'm an extra-large!


I found some pretty cool bags. I also mean this literally, as one bag had the word COOL written on it in big black letters. I picked up this bag to pose for a picture and the sales clerk told me it was 95 RMB. I replied, 'too expensive' and put the bag down. She then lowered her price to 65 RMB. What a drastic price drop, it's hard to know what is a reasonable price.





Almost home, I saw these Tibetan ladies with such colorful clothing. They graciously posed for my picture after I gave them many complements of how pretty they were. They were speaking to us in Chinese, but I couldn't understand much, so I kept saying in Chinese, thank you and you are so pretty. Such cheerful ladies!

Pineapple Chicken -n- a Bag

Since my stomach bug last week, I've been reluctant to eat out. I've been experimenting in the kitchen these past few days trying to make apple crisp without butter and homemade miso soup. My husband gave both two thumbs up, but I'm still searching for a better recipe for the apple crisp.

My parents sent me a care package that arrived this past weekend. It was filled with McCormick seasoning packets, including a few chicken in a bag kits, which are especially nice because it's hard to find bags here in addition to all of the spices.

Today I bought a jar of pineapples at the grocery store and we had Pineapple Chicken in a bag for dinner. I chopped the veggies and chicken, then threw it in all the provided bag along with the seasoning packet and a jar of pineapples.

All baked in my little toaster oven that is about a cubic foot big and has a temperature range of 200-500°. It even has a little timer that automatically turns itself off. Who knew it was even possible to cook dinner in these little ovens, lol.

Dinner was a hit tonight, my husband gave it two thumbs up.

Lint

I was riding the bus a few stops to get to the local market. As I was chatting to the guy in the seat next to me, trying to figure out where my stop was, I felt somebody picking at me from behind. I quickly turned around only to have the lady sitting in the seat behind me gleefully show me a huge handful of lint that she had picked off of my jacket! What do you say to that? Despite my surprise, I mustered up a big smile and tried to express the words "thank you" with the correct tones and gestures. I turned back around and continued my conversation with the guy next to me and let the lady continue to pick at my linty jacket until my stop had arrived. The whole right side of my jacket and sleeve was clean, if only she had time to do the left side too, lol.

Heat & Hot Water!

Just an update about my "Tough Week" post.

The repair guy came this afternoon to replace the pump in our water boiler (the pump and repair that would have cost a lot, in the apartment that we are moving out of next month.) Turns out that a screw was loose in our existing pump and all he had to do was tighten it! He gave Ben a quick lesson on how to control the heat and hot water and only charged us the standard maintenance fee. Now we have heat and hot water again!

Wednesday I caught Ben's stomach flu. But tonight (Thursday night) both my allergy and my stomach flu are gone! It all made me not take being healthy for granted. Plus allowed Ben and I the time to watch all three Lord of the Rings movies!

Weather

The weather can change drastically in the course of one day. It may be because we are located at an elevation of around 7,300 feet.

Most mornings are cool. Around lunch time it warms significantly, some days up to 70 degrees F in the sun. Late afternoons are very windy as temperatures drop. Cool evenings are always a guarantee.

A friend wrote this in an email to me and it perfectly describes the weather:

"There is a old saying to describe the climate: eating watermelon around the fireplace."

Tough Week

This blog wouldn't be 'my side of the story' if I didn't write about the hard, negative experiences, as well as the enjoyable adventures. I will be honest that this past week was tough. As it's always rough trying to adapt to a new culture, but it's even harder in any culture when problems arise and there is no easy answer to solve the problem.

Saturday, I woke up itching. My neck and head looked like I was covered with poison ivy. Only problem is poison ivy does not exist here, so it meant it was some other type of allergy. I was a little concerned because I had no clue what caused it, so I went to see a doctor.

The doctor checked my itch and thought it was fine and it would go away soon. But Sunday my 'poison ivy' / mystery allergy spread and now covered me from head to toe. I went back to the doctor and she determined that I was allergic to nickle and metals. I somehow overnight became allergic to my glasses, watch, necklace, earrings, wedding ring, and metal bed. After contact with these items my system went crazy and I became allergic to everything else too.

From Sunday through Wednesday the doctor ordered me not to touch any metals, chemicals or use any soaps. This was pretty hard to do. My bed is a big metal frame with a big metal head board, which I found out that I was very allergic too and had to switch to sleeping on the couch. I couldn't wear my glasses, watch, or jewelry. No washing dishes or even cooking as the pots and pans are all metal. All of the door handles and locks are metal, the window locks are metal. I can keep going, but you get the point, that almost everything in my apartment is metal.

Ben has been such a good husband by taking care of me, cooking for me, doing dishes, and especially by hiding all of the bars of soap that I'm so tempted to use! But he came down with the flu this past weekend as well.

Today things were looking a little bit better, as I woke up and most of the allergy has gone away. I have an itch here and there still, but I look normal again, instead of like a teenager with a bad case of acne.

Just as things were looking better, our water boiler broke, which means no heat and no hot water. A pump in the boiler box broke and the estimate to replace this part is expensive (about two months rent). If we don't fix this then once it gets cold the pipes will freeze and it will be a bigger mess. If we move out and the pipes freeze we still would be responsible for the damage (this happened to a friend here). The tenant is responsible for everything. The landlord provides an empty apartment and the tenant is responsible for furnishing everything including installing a toilet, kitchen counters, sinks, tubs, heaters, floors, doors, etc. What makes it even worse is that we just moved into the apartment a month ago as a temporary arrangement and plan on moving out next month to a permanent apartment.

It's tough when situations come up and you have no control over it. I have no choice but to patiently wait out my allergy. And now I will have to pay for the water boiler in hopes that whoever the next tenant is will appreciate the hot water.

So that's me complaining. But I'm sure sunny days are ahead, because besides these unfortunate events we still are enjoying living here.

Revolving Restaurant

Saturday Ben and I were treated a really nice western style restaurant located on the 25th floor of a hotel. It was a revolving restaurant that did one slow rotation about every 2 hours. It provided a great view of the whole city in the evening. A city looks completely different being on the street walking around than it does at the top looking down. The food was fantastic, as we had our choice of various meat and pasta dishes. I had a delicious pork chop with rice and Ben had an American style steak with fries. It's a treat to find a good old American steak and fries here.

Dinner with the Teacher

On Friday one of my teachers invited the whole class over to her place for dinner. Out of a class of nine, only Ben and I were able to make it to dinner- which was fine with us as it become a nice couples' evening. She was a newlywed and only had been married for four months. The four of us enjoyed a great feast at their newly renovated apartment on the 20th floor (the building was 33 floors tall!!!) The husband cooked up a great meal of fish, shrimp, duck, tofu, veggies, and rice. It was a great evening chatting about culture, marriage, and future dreams.