地道 Authentic

I just got back from a truly 地道 Chinese restaurant. This morning, Sam told me about this great little restaurant he found that just served baozi and noodles. So a few of us went there for dinner tonight. I am glad Sam took us because if I had been walking down the street, I would have walked right by it without even noticing it. To be honest, if i had noticed it, I probably would not have gone in. The restaurant is long and narrow, wide enough only for a counter along one side with small stools tucked underneath. We sat at the counter and held in our breath as the owner squeezed past us down the lentgth of the restaurant to serve us. A little boy, who I assume is the owner's son, ran up and down the narrow space behind us until he started crying and was carried outside, where he wailed. The food was delicious. We all shared baozis and then ate large noodle bowels. Mine was noodles in chicken broth with scrambled eggs and tomatoes. So far, this dish is my favorite when it comes to basic, daily food. The lesson for today: my usual standards for restaurants don't work here. Sometimes the simplest, sketchiest looking places can have excellent food. Did I mention that the whole meal cost me one American dollar?!

Chinese Specialties

Preface: I am not making this up!

Appetizer
Chicken Feet Soup
Braised Pork Knuckles

Main Course
Sauteed Duck Tongue
Beef that Causes Speculation
("I'll bet it causes much speculation - is it really beef? if so what part?" -Steve)

Dessert
Sweet Fungus with Pear
Glutinous Rice Balls with Fruit
(Diana would like that one!)

An Act of Tourism

Here is a link to my photos of the Great Wall! (you can click on it or copy/paste it to the address bar):

http://middlebury.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027367&l=0a817&id=4403142

Steve and I went to a less frequented, less maintained portion of the Great Wall near Badaling. The views were amazing, and the rough path and crumbling walls just made it feel more authentic. As you can see from the photos, the Great Wall really snakes along the landscape and follows every rise, fall, and curve of the topography. Just thinking about all the work that went into creating such a huge structure is mind-boggling! Although, as Steve pointed out, by the time it was completed, it was pretty much useless.

Various responses to my spoken Chinese

"You look Chinese, but when you speak, it is obvious you are American"

"We can call your Chinese 'Almost-Chinese'"

*blank stares*

"When you speak it sounds nice, but nobody understands what you are saying."

老人 (old people)

After reading a passage in our textbook about elderly people and life after retirement, our class was given an assignment. Our mission, whether we chose to accept it or not, was to walk all together to a public park near the school and interview lao ren (old people) about their lives as retirees. Some of the guiding questions, I thought, were a bit rude. For instance, Are you very lonely now that you are retired? Do your children take care of you? Are you afraid of going to a retirement home? What hardships have you faced as an old person? Do you feel that society has forsaken you?

Three of us approached an older woman walking along the path. We were afraid she would think us sketchy for approaching her, but actually, she wanted to talk to us because she had seen all the other American students, and she wanted to know what we were doing. When we asked if we could interview her, she was flattered and told us that she used to work as a dress-maker, but now she is retired. She lives with two of her children, and the third lives in the US. We asked her if she liked retired life, and she said that she did. She often walks around the park, buys a snack (she was holding a small plastic bag of steaming pastries), and then returns home to watch television and relax. She plans to travel to Los Angeles to visit her other child in the spring. So she is content to be with her family and travel.

Although I dreaded approaching strangers in the park and speaking Chinese to them, it ended up being a lot of fun. I think it really boosted my confidence to have a real conversation with someone other than teachers and students.

The Asian Gaze

Today I had a break from class, so I explored a bit with Steve and his dad. We intended to go visit the Forbidden City, but we were so hungry we at first and by the time we finished, we did not have enough time. The food was great, though!

Before I came to China, all the American students were warned that Chinese people might stare at them, fascinated by blond hair and light skin. I immediately assumed I would escape these stares since I look Chinese. I expected to blend in. Now that I am here, I seem to attract more attention than the blond, light-skinned people! As I walked down the street with light-haired Steve and his bald dad, it was the sight of me that made people turn their heads as they walked and stare me down.

You know how most Americans, when caught staring, or even when their eyes meet someone else’s, will lower their eyes or pretend to be looking past the person they were staring at? Chinese people don’t do that. When I caught people staring at me, they continued to unabashedly stare at me so that I lowered my eyes in shame. When Steve suggested I stare back, I realized that I literally could not do it. So, Mom, I learned well – now, it is quite impossible for me to stare!

I don’t know whether it is because I look American or whether it is because they cannot figure out whether I am American or Chinese, or whether it is because I look Chinese but I am hanging out with two male laowai. At a restaurant, the man at the next table sat turned around in his seat to stare at me. The restaurant had huge tanks of fish swimming around, and at one point, a fish managed to jump out of his tank and fall to the floor, where he flopped around for a good ten minutes before a waitress very nonchalantly picked him up by the tail and tossed him back into the tank. We Americans stared and laughed at the fish flopping around on the ground, but nobody else seemed to notice. Actually, they were all looking at us looking at the fish. So, a fish flopping around on the floor of a restaurant is quite common in China, but a bunch of Americans looking at a fish flopping around the floor – now that’s entertainment!

Happy New Year

I began classes today. I had class from 8:30 to 12:30, then the whole CET program ate lunch together at a restaurant, and I had a one-on-one class – just my teacher and I.

After I finished class, I took a cab over to Steve’s hotel. It is very fancy, but we suspect Steve and his dad may be the only guests in the whole hotel! The lobby is always empty and the elevators are always available. There is also a huge fancy mall right next to the hotel. When I walked through it, I felt like I was back in the US except for the fact that nobody was around. I guess the Chinese are not about to pay for designer goods when they know they can get the knockoffs for much cheaper!

Steve, his dad, and I all went to Houhai – the bar district around the lake – to bring in the New Year. There are a lot of bars around the lake, but we were so cold that we ducked into the first one we saw. Unfortunately, our ability to randomly choose bars is lacking. We were seated upstairs next to another group of laowai (foreigners). At first it seemed ok, but then, two Chinese singers took the stage and began to sing along to recordings of back-up music. Not only was the music very cheesy and sappy, it was also incredibly loud. Since we could not hear each other talk, we were left with nothing better to do than stare at the singers angrily, willing them to take a break. We eventually finished our drinks and escaped out into the biting wind.

After another quick drink at a random spot, we met up with a bunch of students at a club. It was crowded and they played western music. Steve and I danced with the other Middkids, and his dad found an English-speaker at the bar.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!