International Food Fair

This past Saturday was a big day for me.  It was my first time being an official judge of a food competition.  The Texas barbecue restaurant in town hosted a Chili Festival and I was selected as a finals judge.  As Saturday approached I was getting geared up for the festival when along came an alteration to my plan.  I found out that Saturday was the Parent's Association's International Food Festival at the school.  This meant that we had to go to the IFF from 10-11:30 and then cab to Pudong for the Chili Festival.  It meant that I would get to live the ultimate foodie dream of two food festivals in one day.  Some foodies go their whole life without that opportunity.

The IFF was one of the best things associated with the school that Bri and I have witnessed.  There were over 30 countries represented, each with a table, their flag and parents serving something representative of their native cuisine.  It was really cool to look around the soccer field and see all of the flags representing students from the school. Our principal said his 1st grader was able to identify about 20 flags and for many of those he was able to give a name of a teacher or student from that country.  There were other multi-cultural displays like dancing and music on the stage as well as little carnival games for kids.  It was a very neat atmosphere.

The food we ate was also fantastic.  We were told ahead of time that many people buy more than they can eat and take it home for leftovers so Bri and I came prepared with tupperware.  The american table had Thanksgiving wraps with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing that were really good.  They also had apple pie although it wasn't as good Mom's!  There was korean beef and kimchi, Japanese skewers, Thai green curry, Borscht from Russia, crepes from all over Europe, schnitzel from Germany, sausage and onion sandwiches, lasagna, ravioli, macaroons, potato pancakes and I'm not doing it justice as there was A LOT more.  The mexican food stole the show for Bri and I as we haven't been able to find anything that stands up to our standards of mexican food in Shanghai.  The International Food Festival was an awesome experience and we're already looking forward to going again next year. 

The festival was just heating up while we were there.  Too bad we had to leave before the falafel showed up :(

For those of you wondering I was able to successfully complete the Food Festival Day.  The Chili Festival was also a lot of fun and a good experience that I look forward to attending again next year but it wasn't near as memorable and tasty as the schools International Food Festival.  I hope next year it is a different day so I can eat at the IFF, take a nap and eat some more.

Matt

Confucius asks," Can you cut in line if there is no line?"

I thought lines would be a universal thing.  At least in China they would use lines, right?  Shanghai has over 20 million people.  There are over a billion people in this country!  Lines seem obvious, to us but not them.

A few weeks ago Bri and I went to the bank.  I grabbed a number and sat in a chair to wait to for my turn.  The greeter told me they weren't busy enough to use the numbers so I just stuck it in my pocket.  About 10 minutes later they were busy enough to use numbers and the people who didn't have them were out of luck!  They had to go get a number and start waiting to be called.  They weren't given the next numbers or ushered to the front of the line where they rightfully should have been because as I mentioned earlier the line system has faults here.

Last week as I waited to order our first meal at McDonald's a lady walked right in front of me to cut in line.  I thought it was quite obvious I was in line.  There was enough space for a small woman to stand between me and the man ahead of me but I certainly hadn't left enough room for people to question why I was standing in front of a register at a restaurant staring at a menu. 

We've seen this numerous times in different situations.  Most recently we went on a river cruise to see the Bund and the Pudong skyline at night.  About 15 minutes before the gates were set to open a few people started to form what appeared to us foreigners to be a line.  There were posts with cords lined up leading to the gate which we had been instructed to enter through at the ticket counter.  It was unmistakably a place where a line should form.  When we saw a few people walk up to the "line area" we left our seats to join them.  It just so happened that Bri and I walking up caused the tipping point where everyone else involved heads to the gate.  Did the mass of people form a line? No, we formed a herd.  We looked like a bunch of cattle who were being pushed through a gate by men on horseback.  Everyone was nudging forward slightly, touching no fewer than 4 people around them at the same time.  Nobody was quite sure what came after the gate but we were all sure that we'd be better off when we passed through it.  Then a guard said something on a megaphone that I interpreted (but not really, I don't speak Mandarin) as, "You have 15 minutes to wait".

I made small talk (more accurately small gestures and facial expressions) with the lady next to me to make sure we were in the correct herd for our boat.  She pointed at my ticket and smiled confirming that we were in the correct line for our boat.  Bri and I had been separated during the chaos and I ended up in a better position.  She was wishing she had gum to share with the people around her and mouthed that to me while we stood and waited.  Fifteen minutes later the doors opened and we were off to our boat.  Exiting the boat we decided to wait for the herd to clear before making our move.

Bri likes her bubble of personal space.  She doesn't like waiting in herds. Can you count the people touching Bri?

I haven't quite figured this particular culture difference out but as I learn more I'll share.  I know it has something to do with the different views on personal space.  That is why the lady at McDonalds thought it was entirely appropriate to stand in front of me.  I left WAY too much room.  Lesson learned, the next time I'm waiting in "line" I'll be standing on the back of someone's shoes.

Matt

Spit

            One thing that I am NOT getting used to is… the sound of spit.  Yuck.  I remember my friend Jill (Eisenbart) Conrads from high school expressing her distinct hatred for the sound of ‘hocking a lugie’  Well Jill, if you ever come to China, bring earplugs.  Somewhere in their education the Chinese are taught that spitting is good for their health.  Well I know one thing, their spitting is bad for my gag reflex.  I cannot remember the last time I walked anywhere and did not hear that (ew) sound.  One night after going out, there were five of us in a cab heading home.  I was sitting right behind the cab driver.  He made that sound, rolled down the window and spit.  I literally screamed.  Seriously, it could have LANDED on me!  Matt, seeing the humor in the situation, decided to do the same out of his window.  The cabby got a good laugh out of it but I was in the back seat trying to hold down my supper.  When someone walking towards me makes that ‘sound’ I will give them my best death stare and usually they see that if they let whatever they have in their mouth out in front of me, the crazy eyes might turn into a crazy white girl.  They then spit just after passing me.  This is not a solution but it is better than me watching the entire act from beginning to end.  In the meantime I am wondering when I will hear sounds other than honking and ‘hocking’ in this city.

Bri

Miss about home....

Top 10 things I miss about home as of 10-21-2011.

10.  Knowing how to do my job in Flagler

9.  Satellite Television

8.  Taco Bell

7.  Familiarity of a small town

6.  Haydon, Kinsleigh and Isabel

5.  Friday night football games

4.  Halloween Candy

3.  Trips to Denver taking my Brookie out to eat lunch and run errands

2.  My crazy Family

1.  My mom

Let's Get Physical

This is a long overdue post.  Its been sitting in the draft box for awhile without being written but it is still something that deserves to be shared because it was one of my most memorable experiences.  I'm not a person that lives with a lot of regret, but one thing I'll always regret is not getting pictures of this process.  I guess I could relive it but I don't think that will be necessary, I'll just deal with the remorse.

On our second day of orientation we had a health check needed to acquire a work visa.  Bri started squirming immediately when she heard the list of checkpoints during the physical would include a blood draw.  I'd had a physical during the summer so I was thinking it would be no big deal.

About 15 new teachers headed over to the clinic where these physicals would occur that morning.  We signed some paperwork and were herded into a waiting room that was completely full.  Thankfully we had a school secretary leading us.  She is native Chinese and would fill out parts of the paperwork we couldn't, tell teachers when and where they were supposed to go, and take care of the payments.  Sitting there we waited for our number to be called by an automated system.  "Number 87, go to room A15"  You have to imagine that being loud and in Chinese.  We knew what they were saying only because it scrolled across a digital board in Chinese and then in English.  So you sit and wait anticipating anxiously what your going to experience hoping you can live up to the Chinese standard of their foreigners and if you're afraid of needles (Bri) you just sit and wait anticipating anxiously.

They finally call your name.  I sat down with one of the two ladies in this particular room.  One looks more like a drill sargent than a nurse and the other looks like it is her first day on the job.  After a few general questions your papers are stamped and you're moving on to the real deal.  You're given a locker and a robe.  Take off your shoes put on some paper booties, take off your shirt and put on your robe.  Pants are optional but recommended this is a co-ed process.  Next you enter a long hall and this is where the pictures are needed.  There are benches along the wall of the hall and they're full of people making their way through the same ordeal.  Everyone has the robe on but the humorous thing is all the robes are the same size.  Bri's fit her well so you can imagine what I looked like in my robe.  I could tie it but still had about 6 inches of bare chest showing and the sleeves were short and tight.  It was a sight to see.

Luckily Bri and I went in at about the same time.  She was able to give her blood sample first thing which allowed her to relax and "enjoy" the rest of the exams.  This leads us to the rest of the exams.  As you head out of the blood drawing room a nurse looks at your sheet to see what has been stamped.  Then she points toward another room along the hall and yells in Chinese and that is where you are supposed to go next.  If there is a line, sit on the bench and wait your turn.  If there is no line, head on in to the room.  This is a really good bonding experience for new coworkers.  It was kind of like listening to a good comedian.  You don't know what is coming next but your pretty sure your going to laugh about it. 

There were EKGs, chest x-rays, ultrasound of your abdomen, vision including a color blindness test, ENT check, pulse, blood pressure and general reflex checks.  I think the experience was bearable for most, and I know I had fun.  Of course, you have to enjoy being yelled at in a foreign language.  Roll over!  Turn to your left!  Lift your arms up!  All in gibberish.  I didn't know what any of their yelling meant until they showed me or poked me. 

The memory I'll never forget is waiting for my ultrasound.  I was in the same room as a man I didn't know who was getting his ultrasound.  He was behind a small curtain but I could see the nurse on his left and the nurse on his right so I had a pretty good idea of what was happening.  The two nurses were flipping out because they couldn't find his gallbladder.  They kept pointing at the screen and switching who had the probe.  The man was turned and flipped and poked and prodded but they couldn't find it.  Sensing there was an issue he said that he'd had his gallbladder removed (in English) but they didn't stop.  Then one of the nurses noticed a small scar and they started poking that and talking to him in Chinese, like that is his multilingual switch and now he speaks Mandarin or Shanghainese or whatever they were speaking.  He reiterated, "Yes, I know.  It was removed about 30 years ago."  They didn't understand him and yelled at each other some more before giving his robe back and sending him on his way.  (I should clarify that when I say yelling in this post it was my perspective at the time of the physical.  Now I know that when Chinese people talk to each other it quite often sounds like loud arguing when its just a conversation.  That's another blog post though)  When the man walked by I told him I was sorry about his gallbladder and we laughed a little under our breathes.  It helps to have a sense of humor about that sort of thing.

The real excitement of the health exam comes a few weeks later when you get your report.  It's about 7 pages and looks really official.  Their general comments were I have a slightly fatty liver and my heart has a sinus arrhythmia.  The first one wasn't a surprise.  Veteran teachers say that 99% of foreigners are diagnosed with fatty livers.  The second is supposed to be normal/common for people my age.  I guess any nurses or murses reading this can advise me otherwise if need be.  There were also some novel and creative suggestions for me to consider.  Take proper exercises and improve dietary habits.  Outstanding!  As for Bri, I'm not at liberty to share her report other than her liver is fat and she's not pregnant (Sorry Izzy).  Luckily, we're healthy enough to stay.

Social Status

            In Shanghai we are extremely privileged to live the life that we do.  When I say that I don’t mean to sound boastful, I'll to give a clearer picture.  It is easy to see what the draw is for many Western people that choose to relocate their entire families to China or other Asian countries. 

In the United States being a teacher is a double-edged sword.  We get time off in the summers and at holidays to travel at our leisure but with the sub par income we get, it is difficult to do much more than road trips and camping.  You would never see a teacher with a driver and a nanny in the states.  Teachers are typically average Americans with family priorities and that is very admirable. 

Moving to Shanghai also meant a move up the social ladder.  Here, we are catered to in countless ways.  There is a large Western expat community in Shanghai and they are not moving here to do grunge work.  They (we) have drivers and housekeepers, security guards, masseuses etc.  We also moved here knowing little to no Mandarin.  When we expat call places they give an English option or answer the phone saying Hello rather than Wei.  We have very little difficulty getting what we need despite our language barrier and different cultures.  I have been thinking lately about how there is very little resentment towards us.  We have been met with nothing but accommodating, helpful locals.

 My question is; if the situation was reversed and there were swarms of foreigners moving to the United States and those foreigners made far more money than the average American, would they be welcomed or hated?  History does not side well on assuming that Americans would be as welcoming and accommodating as the Chinese.  I am afraid that our American egos are too large to have the roles reversed.  Thoughts?

Bri

Chinese Restaurant

Keeping the blog updated with our vast food experiences the past few months has been an overwhelming challenge.  Its probably not a surprise that we try a lot of Chinese food.  There's been fancy chinese food, dumpling joints, street food and two really shady places just down the street I really want to love (because they're cheap and ordering is an entertaining experience) but I just can't convince my taste buds.  The restaurant below is one of our favorite places to eat thus far.  Its only 7 blocks away.  Its therapeutic to walk away from school after a long day, especially when you can see your classroom from your apartment.

We went last tonight and before ordering were scouting the dishes that were out around us.  The table next to us had a plate of greens that looked appetizing.  I smiled at our neighbors and tried to point at the menu and their plate in order to figure out what we needed to order.  We were shocked when they spoke pretty good english back, telling us they were sweet potato greens and they were very high in fiber.  Then the lady told us that the other dish they had was good as well.  She said it was cabbage and....pork.  I looked at the dish and recognized something so I said,"That looks like pig ears and cabbage to me."  The man thought it was funny that I recognized the sliced pig ears but he laughed much harder when I asked, "Does it help your hearing?".

Here's what we ate last night.

Sweet Potato Greens...delicious and nutritious

Kung Pao Chicken...is so much better than any I've had at home.  It is loaded with peanuts here and the peppers give it more spice than you think it will have if your comparing it to its American Chinese cousin.

This is Bri's favorite right now.  Its a simple flat bread that they call a pancake.  Add some scallions and you have a...  scallion pancake!

Szechuan Spicy Green Beans....one of my favorites new Chinese dishes.  Green beans are stir-fried with an assortment of spices including a spicy red pepper, garlic, chopped pork and these little dried shrimp.  You could eat a plate of them before realizing that these little dried shrimp are in there.

Black Pepper Beef...we tried this last night and it was good but not special.  It was just a good beef stir-fry with peppers and onions.  It would be safe choice for leery visitor.

We really enjoy this place and will continue taking that 7 block walk.  The price is reasonable but not the cheapest.  Those five dishes and a soda cost us $23 and we had enough left over for two lunches.   That's ok because there is a little English on their menu and their tables are clean.  We're willing to pay for those luxuries.

Matt

Traffic in Shanghai

Since arriving in Shanghai we're constantly awed by the traffic.  As Bri explained in a previous post, it is just so different.  I think that the reason they get so close to you is because the chinese culture lack personal space entirely.  You see this in lines, on the subway and standing in crowds.  Its nothing to have two or three strangers brushing, bumping, infringing my "bubble" of personal space.  I can actually remember being taught in elementary school that everyone has their own space and that you need to let them have their space and not invade their space, blah, blah, blah.  Oh yeah, this is China.  No more bubble.

Bri's post included a lot of feelings from our first month of so here.  Now she's getting acclimated.  The picture above is her hailing a cab outside our apartment.  She wasn't having luck getting a cab going west so she decided to stand in the middle of the road and try hailing a cab going either way.

What we figured out quite early is that if you just keep walking, don't stop, don't change speeds, just keep your path, everything will avoid you.  It's really kind of cool.  I haven't tried it but I'm pretty confident I could walk across four lanes of busy traffic and ignoring a few (hundred) horns cause little to no disruption in the flow of things.  Things would keep going.  They'd wonder what the laowei was doing but they'd all perform a synchronized swerve and continue unfazed.

This brings us to some noteworthy cultural differences.  The driving culture in the US whether your honest enough to admit it or not is that we follow the traffic rules (at least the important ones).  In our culture if everyone follows the rules then nobody gets hurt.  Think about it.  You are sitting at an intersection and the light turns green...do you look both ways before you cross?  I doubt it.  (This post will be completely lost on our Eastern Colorado following who are trying to remember the last time they saw a light at an intersection)  The point I'm trying to make is that at home people pay less attention to what everyone around them is doing on the road.  They worry about staying in their lane, about following the rules that apply to them and they hope everyone else is doing the same.  If we all do it together, nobody gets hurt.

Shanghai driving is the yang to the previously described ying.  There are traffic rules here, its just nobody follows them.  There are bike and scooter lanes, cars, vans, city busses and construction vehicles moving around at all times and nobody follows rules.  (The only rule that is consistently followed is stop on red.  This is due to a lot of traffic cameras.) Cabbies will make a u-turn anywhere, it doesn't matter if it is a busy street.  Cars will pull into the wrong lane if they can pass someone who is traveling to slow ahead of them.  Nobody lets anybody into their lane, instead you just have a game of chicken.  Who can get their bumper further ahead without hitting another car in the process.  The funny thing is that it seems to work.  We've seen one accident since we've been here between two scooters and nothing between larger vehicles.  I'm sure they happen but in this system everyone pays complete attention to what is going on around them (can you believe it?) and despite the craziness that goes on everyone arrives safely.

A case to make my point.  The other morning we were riding along in an automobile (this song popped into my head while I was writing this, now I hope its stuck in your head for awhile) when a bus coming out of a stop immediately pulled across two lanes into our lane.  My initial response would have been to brake and then call the bus driver a jackass while I check my blindspot and merge over. I'd probably also check his license plate to see what state he's from, I know you guys do that too.  Our cab driver moved over a lane and never let off the accelerator, he already knew nobody was beside us and furthermore was expecting the jackass driving the bus to do something like that.  In fact, here he is not even a jackass, the bus driver is just a guy in a bigger vehicle going where he needs to go, so pay attention and get out the way bitch get out the way.  (That last line is a reference to a song for some of the younger generations.  If it confuses or offends you it should read, so pay attention and get out of his way, please make any alterations necessary, this blog is try to reach a diverse audience)

Walking Rage

I have heard of road rage and I thought that I could empathize with the anger that people feel when a driver does something rude on the road.  Now I feel like saying to all commuters of the United States “you have no idea”.

I have not driven anywhere since we have been here.  We take cabs, the city bus, the subway, but mostly we walk.  Walking seems safe right?  Wrong.  I feel as though I need a helmet when venturing out.

I like to think of myself as a rule follower.  I don’t usually like to break rules and I find great importance in them in day to day life.  Here nobody follows traffic rules.  For instance, the light with the green man indicating that it is okay for me to walk now is not valid.  What the green man means is ‘it is okay now for you to watch out for bicyclists and scooters coming at you from all directions, best of luck crossing’  A red light for drivers means ‘You may now cross the intersection but you must honk while going through.’

They get close to me, they honk at me, they interrupt my walking pattern.

On a simple walk to the ATM I was within inches of getting hit by a van and by a scooter.  Naturally I am thinking  I am in a different country I need to get used to this…… NOT!  I am thinking that I want to do terrible things to them in their sleep, I want to shout cuss words at them, I want to kick them so they fall off of their scooters, I want to turn them in so that they spend years in a Chinese Prison. I actually said aloud to Matt one day “I want to punch their mom in the face.” This, I know is not healthy and I am trying to work through it.

Matt has found an interesting solution to his irritation.  He just goes.  He has faith that the buses, cars, scooters, and bikes will all miraculously stop for him to go by.  The thing is….. it works.  Matt does not even look at the cars directly.  He looks like a blind man unaware of the chaos surrounding him.  I, jogging behind him look like a student playing tag on the playground.  I believe that the reason Matt can do this is because the crazies see that he would leave a sizable dent in their vehicle and they would rather not have that.