CORRECTION: In an earlier blog post I said that I bought breakfast for 1 Yuan, which is about 7 cents. One Yuan is actually about 15 cents. One dollar is about 7 Yuan. it doesn't work in the reciprocal. I apologize for the error.
Another slow day at the office. I got my two stories before lunch today, so I thought I was actually in for some work, but since I submitted the second story, there's been nothing to do.
Last night I was supposed to be meeting Debbie at the office, but I wasn't sure when. Debbie is my Steven's mom, and she works with the Chinese exchange program at Troy University in Alabama, so just about every year she spends time over the summer recruiting Chinese students from across China. She told me she was supposed to be flying in around 6 p.m., but then later sent an email saying her flight had been delayed. I didn't really have any idea when she would be getting in, and since neither of us had a phone, I waited at the office for her email. I stayed until 10 p.m., at which point I was falling asleep on my desk and I had to go home. Apparently she got here around 10:30, so I just missed her. But by that time I was probably in bed.
This morning I stopped at a stand for breakfast. I looked through the window and said, "Ooh pancakes!" I remembered that Ellen told me about her pancake lady when she came to China, so I was excited. I pointed at it and held up two fingers, and the man started fixing it. Yes, fixing my pancake. He folded my pancake in half, brushed some sauce on that looked like gravy, and filled it with lettuce. At that point I stopped him and told him that I just wanted one. It was 1.5 Yuan, which is about 22 cents.
When I got it, it was too hot to eat so I pinched off a corner, and realized it seemed more like pita bread than pancake. I was less confused about the lettuce, but a little disappointed by my lack of pancakes. Later, when I ate it, I realized it was actually a third thing--egg covered in flour. It turned out to be pretty good, but it certainly was surprising. I've decided I don't really like lettuce for breakfast.
By lunch I had a headache, so I walked back to the apartment to get some ibuprofen. On the way, I realized I had left have my meal card used to get into the cafeteria at the apartment, too, so that was convenient. I searched through my stuff, but I couldn't find my meal card, so I thought I must have left it in the bag on my desk, so I went all the way back up to the office and rummaged thought that bag, to no avail. Of course, at this point I thought I was never going to be able to eat lunch again, but in a last hopeful attempt, I looked through my purse again, and there it was. So I wasted a third of my lunch break looking for something I had with me the whole time.
Lunch wasn't fantastic today either, but at least I had a decent breakfast. There were cute desserts today. One looked like a little dumpling, but it was a light and fluffy cream-filled pastry. The other looked like a quarter-sized pie, and it was; coconut pie. I really must remember to take pictures. I had my camera with me, but I was too focused on eating to remember it.
Since then I've mostly been sitting around, surfing through CNN and The Huffington Post. I was less bored yesterday because Steven stayed up until almost 4 a.m. to chat with me. Today there's been very little entertainment.
I've been trying to get in touch with Tim Gubitz today. As it turns out, he's spending some time in China this summer before he starts working, and we were going to try to meet up tonight. But he hasn't responded to my most recent email, and I don't know where in this huge city he is. My roommates and I were talking about going over near the Forbidden City--a part of Beijing that is almost in the center--and just wandering around the area there. It's a big tourist attraction, so there must be interesting things nearby. But Annie said it would take a long time to get there, and by the time we're there we won't have long to do anything before we have to come back. So we might try to go north to a lake in the city.
I wish they would either give us more work or let us take the extra time to go out and explore. I'm incredibly bored. I'm in CHINA. I shouldn't be bored.
On to the reactions. My friend Karen sent me a response to my blogs, expressing surprise that I had not yet commented on my feelings about the crowds and pollution in Beijing. The biggest reason I hadn't said much was that I haven't thought about it much. It's true that there are a lot of people here, but I haven't yet felt that crowded or packed, except in the elevators at lunch time, and even then it's no worse than in the U.S. I have noticed that personal space is much smaller, and that if I allow the amount of space I'm used to, someone will fill it.
For example, this morning at the breakfast stand, I was standing a little behind the person in front of me, who was almost touching the person in front of her. When she left, because that extra space was there, a man came and started ordering before me. Different from what I'm used to, and rude by American standards, but no harm done. Brian told me on my first day here that he wasn't going to say that anything was "weird," and I think that's similar to how I feel about this. I recognize that it's different, but I also accept that I'm in a new place with different cultural standards. I certainly wouldn't complain about it.
The pollution, though, is a little worse. It's not unbearable, but I think that if Mom were here, her asthma would be a big problem. I could really notice the pollution when we first got out of the airport. The parking garage was like sucking on a tailpipe. But once we were out of there, the air was much better--although I haven't seen a blue sky since I got here. At this point, I'm used to the air and I don't really think about it.
I guess if I had to talk about one thing that bothers me (other than the lack of work), it would be the plumbing and the smell it causes. In out apartment, if someone else is using the water, it blows air up the drain. That air comes from the sewer, and it smells very bad, kind of like rotten boiled cabbage. I really only notice it when I'm in the bathroom, but it happens a lot when I'm taking a shower in the morning, and it's not a pleasant way to wake up.
So those are the reactions I have for today. Please feel free to comment or email me with questions. I'd love to share more of my thoughts with everyone!
Haha... I'll have to investigate maililng food items across the world so I can send you an American pancake with no lettuce! Interesting info about the pollution/crowds. I was thinking you could notice health issues by looking at Billboards, but then I realized- hey they are in Chinese and Courtney doesn't speak Chinese I guess... By the way, are you finding that really difficult to communicate with people? Are they receptive to your efforts? All I can think about is how crappy people here tend to treat others who don't speak English.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting. Most people try to be helpful, and they speak to us as though they hope we might understand something. In stores, at least one clerk can usually say things like "try?," and many understand numbers if you give them a size. Bargaining can be a little more tricky, but most places have figured out that if they bring a calculator, we can punch out what we want to pay, and they can accept or counter the offer. I feel pretty awkward sometimes, but I haven't had anyone yet who seemed really rude. My roommates have said cab drivers are pretty rude, but I think I said up top that the cab driver we had was really nice.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the whole time we're in the store they could be saying things like "I hate how these foreigners never try to learn Chinese," and I'd never know it. =/