Impressions:  the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I carry few impressions of Beijing around in my head from 6 years ago.  What I remember the most is that everyday folks on the streets gawked at me with my lightly colored hair.   I also think that the 6 months that we spent in China in the winter of 2006 / 2007 were months of isolated living.  Don’t misunderstand me, Tom and I didn’t sit home by the fire, we were engaged and busy yet at the same time we were isolated from the everyday people of Beijing.  Maybe these days I’m more open minded or  maybe it’s that without a driver to protect and look after me,  I’m left to deal with real people and the best and worst of everyday life on my own. 

I relocated to Beijing with hesitation knowing that we wouldn’t have a car and driver.  However, I am a graduate of Asia for Beginners 101:  Singapore; so I came back to China with “A Little Engine that Could” attitude.  My Singapore background is polite and organized and my China experience is, well, simply different.

I believe the public transportation system in Beijing is a lesson in the humanity of the city:  the good, the bad and the ugly.  After 6 weeks I have limited experience with this system, yet I find it telling. 

The Good .  I’ve witnessed young men giving up seats on the subway to older men; and older men giving up their seats to older women.  I’ve “met” older men and women who try to give me a seat; they are the same men and women who openly acknowledge me with warm smiles and gestures.   I don’t know if it’s because I’m not young or that I’m  waiguoren  (foreigner)  or both.   I know these men and women grew up in a very different China then I see today, and I am truly touched by their grace; it is genuine, and it’s honest. 

The Bad.  All the good that I’ve experience tends to be overshadowed by pockets of bad simply because bad shows itself as larger than life.  To date, I’ve had two bad experiences on the subway.  The first negative experience Tom and I had together during the October Golden Week.  At 7:00 pm we were going three subway stops from home and the capital city was crowded with visitors.  At the middle stop the masses pushed their way into the subway cars in such force that the subway doors wouldn’t close, so they pushed harder into the already packed cars.  I wanted to get out and walk home, but I couldn’t! 

I passed this off to the National Day holiday period, until yesterday, Wednesday, October 10^th, when I found myself fighting to get out of a subway car at 8:45 in the morning.  (No Singapore politeness and organization here.)  I couldn’t fight my way out of the subway car because of the numbers of people pushing with the enthusiasm of a crowd mentality to get on; that is, the number of people who couldn’t wait for the next train that would arrive in approximately 3 minutes.  An older man grabbed my arm and pulled me forward and out of the chaos. 

Okay, I told you that this was The Bad, please refer back to The Good.

The Ugly.   I don’t know how to deal with The Ugly because it pains me too much.   The Ugly are cripples, the lame, the blind, a mother with a hydrocephalic child, and finally today the legless  beggar who pushed his way through the subway cars.  I find that I am not living up to my Christian values.  I am not doing anything to help those in need.  The Epistle of James convicts me to be a doer, and yet I don’t know how to begin because the need is so overwhelming.  I don’t like The Ugly, but it’s in my face every day that I walk out into this city.

Please refer back to The Good.

Everyday Food Life of a New Beijing Expat

or the Daily Food Trials of a Trailing Spouse

Simple living takes longer here in Beijing than anywhere else I've lived.  It’s a fact.  Just putting food on the table can take days.  Perhaps I should qualify that statement:  putting Western food on the table can take days.  It takes days to track down all of the ingredients, but of course I’m starting with an empty pantry.   After three weeks of foraging for food, I finally feel I can get out and do something that doesn't involve securing food.  I've been to more than a dozen different markets since living here. I really don't remember filling my larder being this difficult the last time we lived here.  Maybe age has dimmed the memories; but of course back then we had a driver!

Suffice it to say that since I’ve found the best Jenny Lou’s Market in the surrounding districts, I'm one happy camper: one who is willing to pay a few RMB for that imported bag of grits!  Staples like peanut butter and sweet pickle relish are more precious than gold here, and then there are items like molasses that are rarer than hen’s teeth.  Oh, who needs molasses to make BBQ anyway?  Tom and I are still having trouble finding and identifying soy milk and low fat milk, but I think I'll be okay at the “best Jenny Lou’s”.  I have an app on my phone that reads the Chinese and translates into English which helps me to do the marketing.

Tomorrow I'll take the shuttle bus from the apartment to Carrefour, which is a French hypermarket  or as I have dubbed it, the Zoo.  The Zoo moniker because of the sheer number of shoppers, the noisy company girls shouting into microphones at every isle, and the 20-30 minute long checkout lines.  But, since I need to buy pop and beer for our first round of company, I need the bus to help me haul it home. Otherwise I'd be buying 6 cans here and 6 can there for the next many days.  Did I mention simple living takes a long time here in Beijing?  On a funny note, I traded my faithful Volvo wagon for a two wheeled shopping trolley or a “granny cart”.  I haven't taken it on the subway yet as I don't want to walk a cart full of groceries up and down the subway stairs.

Yesterday Tom and I walked from church to San Yuan Li or the wet market to buy produce.  It takes me a subway transfer and a walk to get here on my own, but no worries for this girl who likes to cook and needs the walk.  The market is a block long narrow building with individual stalls on each side.  These savvy merchants know their clientele and can identify their goods in English and for now are putting up with my non-existent Chinese.   I LOVE this market.  Items within range from fruits to rice with eggs, dairy, meat, seafood, vegetables, fresh herbs, wine, cheese, imported canned items and kitchen utensils in between.  I spent $10 USD on potatoes, spring onions, summer squash, carrots, bell peppers, onions, lemons, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, parsley, cilantro, basil, and rosemary.  I know I couldn't have done so well even at the “best Jenny Lou’s” and certainly not at home. 

The food saga doesn't end at the checkout counter, however.  Once home everything really needs to be triple washed.  Yesterday, this took all afternoon to pre-rinse out the dirt, wash, rinse, dry and then store.  Using the Clorox wash procedure I learned from my mother-in-law in the early ‘80’s, I wash everything from eggs to produce, including mushrooms, and meats.  Once stored my produce lasts a long time.  When I'm ready to use foods that can be peeled, I peel, even if I wouldn't peel at home.  Again, living takes a little longer here.

The interesting part to me is that I use almost everything I purchase.  I throw away very little.   I think since I work hard to obtain food, I don’t take it for granted; there is no such thing as a quick run to Schnuck’s, or even going into my garden to cut that recipe finishing bit of chives.

Check out Tom's photo blog link to the San Yuan Li market -->  San Yuan Li

Wangfujing

Friday evening Tom and I took a stroll along Wangfujing Street. A long time ago in the Ming Dynasty  Wangfujig was a center for commercial activities.  Then in the Qing Dynasty it was home to ten princess.  Wang Fu means princely residence.  Jing means well, and there was or is a well nearby. This street is within walking distance of the Forbidden City and right outside our door.  Our apartment is in the Oriental Plaza, which is at the south end of Wangfujing Street.

Wangfujing is a famous pedestrian street in Beijing, and despite its antiquity it is made to order for the tourist crowd.  This fact is evidenced by the fact that a short block from the main thoroughfare is a street crowded with large tourist buses.  The street is home to shoemakers, hatmakers, tea shops, the Beijing Foreign Language Bookstore and the New China Woman and Children Department Store which Madame Sun Yat-sen helped establish.  Of course there are malls along with the ubiquitous tourist chop stick shop, Chinese medicine shop and other small shops with hawkers out front inviting the tourist downstairs for better bargains.   In my experience, better bargains mean rat’s nests that are difficult to escape.  The best part of our walk was along the snack streets off from Wangfujing.  The street food is rather amazing, if not nauseating.  There are sticks full of sweet, candied hawthorn apples, and on to pieces and parts that I couldn’t identify...  testicles are a favorite, but I’m not sure from what poor creature they are snatched…  If you’ve watch some of the bizarre travel food shows you know what is coming next in this narrative:  bugs on sticks, bugs just waiting to be bought and fried in hot oil to the delight of purchaser’s palate.  These scorpions and cockroaches are still alive and wriggling; yes, the thought alone makes me gage. Tom took pictures and has a tame video of the wriggling, look to the attached link, if you dare. 

 My farsightedness helps my brain not process too much of this detailed information!

http://tomandmargotsphotos.blogspot.com/2012/09/wangfujing-at-night.html

Dong Tai Antique Market and Yuyuan Gardens

Today we ventured to Dong Tai Antique Market, which is on open air street market. When I say antique, I use the term loosely as many "old" items in these antique markets can be remarkably new.  Merchandise is often made to look old to appeal to the unwise lao wai tourist.  Surprisingly enough we weren't assailed by merchants hawking their wares.  It was a pleasant walk through the streets of the market while  looking for that ever elusive, one of a kind slide rule that Tom hasn't yet purchased.  It is a shame that these old devises aren't valued by the typical vendor and many that we saw had been left out in the elements leaving them in rather poor condition.  

It didn't take long to recall that there is a pace to achieve when walking through shops of this nature:  too fast and treasures will be overlooked and a pace too slow invites the shopkeep to begin the bargaining conversation.  Another sure fire way to start a conversation is to touch an object. If you seem uninterested in making a deal, the vendor may follow you down the street all the while lowering his asking price.  The sad part for me personally is that my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be and it is difficult to cruise the stalls at just the right speed and see anything in detail at all!

We paused on the street corner plotting the next part of our journey.  We must have looked like we'd just fallen off the boat as Tom had out the large paper map of Shanghai.   We were immediately approached by a man offering to take us somewhere. His Chinese was too rapid and my comprehension is almost nonexistent.  Needless to say we didn't tarry long.

We took the scenic streets through local neighborhoods and markets to Shanghai's Yuyuan Gardens.  Produce lined the commercial part of the neighborhood, and yes, you are correct Nancy, there is tea in China!  There was a lot of cooking going on as it was noontime, and we had to take in the delicious aromas as we dodged wet laundry and motor bikes.  

I'd forgotten what an absolute zoo the Yuyuan Garden area is. Masses of people are seemingly just out for a stroll without a destination in mind.  There is a bridge over a large pond that people use to get to the tea house which is in the middle.  It too is full of people going nowhere fast, and you guessed it we had to join the madness if only to figure out the attraction.  The bridge goes to the other side of the pond, who knew?

Tom was ready to grab a bite at McDonalds, but luckily we found a dumpling house and sat down to a better meal.  Like I already admitted my Chinese is nonexistent and Tom wasn't sure his was good enough to order.  As we entered we met a visitor from Australia who told us how good the big pork dumplings were and how to order.  We stepped up to counter to order one basket containing two dumplings, found a table and were immediately served one dumpling.  So, Tom orders and pays for another and it comes, and we think we've paid for two and gotten two. All of the sudden out comes another dumpling, which is okay and Tom pays for it.  Then, just like Streganona's magic pot,  another comes.  Even the wait staff is beginning to think this is funny.  Not sure how we communicated no more dumplings, but they did stop coming.  We paid for three and ate three, we think.  They were good.

I forgot to mention how the Chinese potty train their toddlers.  Simply open the split britches and let the child squat over a paper in the street.  Between this and the spitting no wonder we take off our shoes when entering our house!

Since Tom forgot to bring his camera on this trip, all of the pictures he took are made with my mobile phone.  Check out the link anyway, as even a poor quality picture is worth a 1000 words.  Photo Link

We have a home in China.  

We arrived in Beijing late Sunday night September 2nd, and spent the night at the Grand Hyatt.  Monday morning we checked into our new apartment at Millennium Heights Tower Apartments, which is within the second ring road and within walking distance of the Forbidden City.  We spent a good portion of the day simply unpacking our 8 suitcases; can't wait to unpack our air shipment!  I'm all ready making mental notes of what we don't need in our new home, and am planning how to get these back to the US and speculating as to which family member might volunteer to store our unnecessary belongings.  I am disappointed that we cannot hang pictures, even with 3M adhesive hangers as there is wallpaper on every wall.  

As a graduate of Asia for Beginners:  the Singapore Way, I found the BJ subway system reasonably easy to maneuver.  However, I've only ridden on one line, I should try switching lines before making my final pronouncement!  Tom and I found our way to Carrefour, the French Wal-Mart on Tuesday by taking the apartment complex's shuttle bus.  The other passengers on the shuttle appeared to be native speakers, if not all Chinese.  We lao wai or foreigners were largely ignored until we arrived at Carrefour and Tom confirmed in Chinese our pick up time and location.  Three of our bus companions turned and looked at Tom in surprise and awe.  I thought it was pretty funny, realizing the women were probably trying to remember if they'd said anything they didn't wish us to know!  Carrefour was unusually busy, at least in my memory.  It took us 25 minutes to check out, which made us late for the shuttle.  We figured we'd have to hail a taxi back home.  As we exited the Carrefour complex, we saw that our shuttle bus was still parked on the street so we ran to the shuttle through a long parking lot with our bags flying, only to find we were the first ones back.  Breathing heavily we fell into our seats and speculated that the driver might have to account for everyone he brought.  Anyway, I think it broke the ice and our fellow passengers got on the bus obviously apologizing to us for being late.  Later in the day we ran into a couple of the shuttle bus women and learned that one, Grace, is actually from California and she and her husband have only been here four months. She is of Chinese descent and speaks the language; I think I need to get to know her!  

We found our way via the subway to Jenny Lu's, another grocery store where I shopped at alot when we were here years ago.  The Jenny Lu chain serves the expats with familiar foods imported from "home", of course at a cost.  However, they have great deals on DVDs, and we bought the movie, The Iron Lady for $2.50 USD. 

Just so we don't get too comfortable, on Wednesday we had to hop on the high speed train from BJ to Shanghai to register for our resident permits.  The train station is very modern and fairly clean.  The lay out is well organized, but the average Chinese passenger hasn't yet learned the etiquette of the queue.  In other words boarding the the train can be a nightmare for the average westerner.  Once aboard the train cars are really nice.  We traveled through the Chinese countryside at a fast 266 km/h (162 mph) and the 1300 km or 811 miles went by in in less than 5 hours with 2 stops.  The train can reach a top speed of 380 km/h or 240 mph, so we were just poking along!  We will be able to return to BJ next Wednesday, the 12th.

Tom went to work at the Shanghai office this afternoon, while he's gone I might find my way back to the art museum.  I spent two days there the last time I was in Shanghai and didn't see it all.  

The following is a link to our photo blog with pictures of our flight from the US to China.  Photo link

-- Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
~~Neale Donald Walsch