Last Sunday, I bumped into some of my friends from Côte d'Ivoire on the street, and they told me they were going to buy a cellphone. They told me they love Chinese cellphones, and many even bought them for their friends back home. I could not believe it. In the States, we would look askance at Chinese phones and wonder if they might explode in our hands. So I went along for the adventure and see if I could be of any help in the bargaining area.
I was surprised when we arrived in front of this little shop selling Sumsung, Samsang, Nckia, and other knock-off phones. My friend wanted to be able to watch TV, go online, use blue-tooth, use a touch screen, and insert two SIM cards into the phone. He got all of that for 560 rmb (talked down from a opening price of 800). I was pretty impressed that a cellphone had an antenna to receive local tv stations. The phone he got actually spelled Nokia right on the front, and only on one side of the box that it came with did it slip with a Nckia. It was a pretty darn good fake. I'll try to get a snapshot of the phone from my friend in a few days.
Little did I know, today, I read an article here in the NY Times precisely about the topic of "shanzhai" phones. Having seen and experienced them first hand, I have to say they are kinda cool. The tv option is really appealing, and so is the dual SIM card capability, not to mention the sweet price for all the features. However, I do fear the lack of safety checks governing these fakes, and it's rarely compatible with the U.S. cellular networks anyway.
Showing posts with label tianjin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tianjin. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
More street foods in Tianjin
I've been meaning to post more about the local street foods, but I either forget to take pictures or forget to blog about the photos after I download them onto my computer. Here's a month's worth of foods I've meaning to write about:
Kettle Corn
Unlike the kettle corn cooked and sold in bathtub-sized cauldrons in farmer's markets all over California, the kettle corn in China is made in small batches. You buy a batch for 5 yuan, which gives you the equivalent of one large movie theater bucket. The popcorn is coated with sugar and strange combinations of flavors can be added, like chocolate, black sesame, melon, tangerine, and blueberry. It kind of reminds me of caramel corn.
There is a little stand across the street from my apartment building that sells this kettle-popped corn every day, 7 days a week. Across from this popcorn place is a stinky tofu stand, so every time I pass, I first get a sweet whiff of butter and sugar, followed by the pungent, sour smell of stinky tofu. I bet in 20 years, the smell of stinky tofu mixed with sweet popcorn will still transport me back to TUFE all over again.
Tong yuan
Recently, the fresh fruits and vegetables markets have some newcomers selling little white balls of floury dough. I immediately identified them as tong yuan, the little chewy balls of tapioca with various filling inside. However, I have never seen such a variety of fillings before. Back at home, my Dad just makes two kinds: the ones with a sweet and salty mung bean filling and little balls of dough with no filling at all. After much lobbying and begging, my Dad made some with red bean filling one year, but that was an exception not repeated the following year. So imagine my delight to find 10 different kinds of filling: black sesame, peanut, tangerine, strawberry, chocolate, cocoa, red bean, dates, pineapple, and mixed fruit. There are no distinguishing features to any of them, and they mix them all up in the same bag after your purchase, so eating tong yuan becomes like picking from a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.
Here's a pic of the tong yuan, which I ate with a dark brown sugar and ginger syrup--that's the way we eat it in our family. Apparently in Tianjin, the locals just boil the little balls and eat them straight, no sweet syrup, because the filling is sweet enough. I like mine with the ginger syrup though.
I know this post is supposed to be about "street" food, but I figured I'd just sneak in an amazing fruit in there. I love tropical fruit, and the pineapple is no exception. I love the tart and sweet flavor combination and the intensity of flavors. The pineapples in the States have gotten worse and worse each year, each batch more sour and bland than the next. Grocery stores all have these dark green pineapples that were picked too early and taste like lemons. Only in Hawaii can you get good, ripe, sweet pineapples. But in China, they have these smaller varieties that are very very sweet. I haven't had a sour pineapple here so far. Best of all, every supermarket peels and pits the pineapples for you free of charge. It's full service treatment! Here's the pineapple I carried home (in a plastic bag, of course)after all the cutting and peeling was done. Isn't it a beauty?
Last but not least is the famous Tianjin Kebabs (Shaokao). They are not famous in China, but every student and young person loves to eat it. Nothing hits the spot late at night like a good shaokao and beer. This kebab place is supposed to be one of the best in TJ and I went there with my Japanese, Mongolian, and Ivory Coast classmates from Chinese class. It was an unexpectedly long night because I thought we were only going to dinner and only later found out that they had plans for ktv and shaokao afterward as well. The lamb kebabs were indeed very good, and it was nice having the coal brickets right on the table to keep our skewers warm. At other places, you either freeze your head and butts off sitting over a coal roaster outside, or you eat meat that has cooled already since it left the grill. Shaokao is really good stuff, well worth the risks of diarrhea.
Kettle Corn
Unlike the kettle corn cooked and sold in bathtub-sized cauldrons in farmer's markets all over California, the kettle corn in China is made in small batches. You buy a batch for 5 yuan, which gives you the equivalent of one large movie theater bucket. The popcorn is coated with sugar and strange combinations of flavors can be added, like chocolate, black sesame, melon, tangerine, and blueberry. It kind of reminds me of caramel corn.
There is a little stand across the street from my apartment building that sells this kettle-popped corn every day, 7 days a week. Across from this popcorn place is a stinky tofu stand, so every time I pass, I first get a sweet whiff of butter and sugar, followed by the pungent, sour smell of stinky tofu. I bet in 20 years, the smell of stinky tofu mixed with sweet popcorn will still transport me back to TUFE all over again.
Tong yuan
Recently, the fresh fruits and vegetables markets have some newcomers selling little white balls of floury dough. I immediately identified them as tong yuan, the little chewy balls of tapioca with various filling inside. However, I have never seen such a variety of fillings before. Back at home, my Dad just makes two kinds: the ones with a sweet and salty mung bean filling and little balls of dough with no filling at all. After much lobbying and begging, my Dad made some with red bean filling one year, but that was an exception not repeated the following year. So imagine my delight to find 10 different kinds of filling: black sesame, peanut, tangerine, strawberry, chocolate, cocoa, red bean, dates, pineapple, and mixed fruit. There are no distinguishing features to any of them, and they mix them all up in the same bag after your purchase, so eating tong yuan becomes like picking from a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.
Here's a pic of the tong yuan, which I ate with a dark brown sugar and ginger syrup--that's the way we eat it in our family. Apparently in Tianjin, the locals just boil the little balls and eat them straight, no sweet syrup, because the filling is sweet enough. I like mine with the ginger syrup though.
I know this post is supposed to be about "street" food, but I figured I'd just sneak in an amazing fruit in there. I love tropical fruit, and the pineapple is no exception. I love the tart and sweet flavor combination and the intensity of flavors. The pineapples in the States have gotten worse and worse each year, each batch more sour and bland than the next. Grocery stores all have these dark green pineapples that were picked too early and taste like lemons. Only in Hawaii can you get good, ripe, sweet pineapples. But in China, they have these smaller varieties that are very very sweet. I haven't had a sour pineapple here so far. Best of all, every supermarket peels and pits the pineapples for you free of charge. It's full service treatment! Here's the pineapple I carried home (in a plastic bag, of course)after all the cutting and peeling was done. Isn't it a beauty?
Last but not least is the famous Tianjin Kebabs (Shaokao). They are not famous in China, but every student and young person loves to eat it. Nothing hits the spot late at night like a good shaokao and beer. This kebab place is supposed to be one of the best in TJ and I went there with my Japanese, Mongolian, and Ivory Coast classmates from Chinese class. It was an unexpectedly long night because I thought we were only going to dinner and only later found out that they had plans for ktv and shaokao afterward as well. The lamb kebabs were indeed very good, and it was nice having the coal brickets right on the table to keep our skewers warm. At other places, you either freeze your head and butts off sitting over a coal roaster outside, or you eat meat that has cooled already since it left the grill. Shaokao is really good stuff, well worth the risks of diarrhea.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Skiing on the Bunny Slopes
I went skiing with some of my students from the university today. For a mere 80 yuan, we got a bus ride, ski rentals, and admission to a local man-made ski slope in nearby Ji county. It's such a weird experience to see brown, dry hillsides, and then suddenly see a patch of white with people skiing (or learning to ski). This patch of white is entirely man-made and very easy. It's a long, rolling gentle slope, so basically the entire ski area is just one big bunny slope. I think some of the Reno and Tahoe bunny slopes are even steeper than this.
It was pretty easy, since I have skied once before in college, and like riding a bike, the knowledge sort of stays with you. I wish there were something a little steeper, but nevertheless, I had a great time. I really like skiing; the feeling of freedom, flight and exhilaration as the wind brushes against your face is so amazing. Because these slopes in China were so easy and tame, we could do all sorts of things, like skiing down in a line, holding onto each other's waists.
Here are some pictures of my students learning to ski and on the way down.
There were long lines for the "ski lift" which is not a typical bench like at other ski resorts, but just a metal bar that you hold onto. You put the metal bar and its attached circular seat-like thing between your feet, remain standing, and the bar drags you and your skis up the hill. It's really more of a ski "drag" than a ski "lift." So rather than wait in line, I just snapped off my skis and walked uphill. Surprisingly, the ski "drag" was so slow that I passed a couple people just by walking. My friends stood in line, and after I'd walked up to the top and skied down, they were still in line for the lift.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Heartwarming dinner parties and hot pot
Two weeks ago, I invited my Chinese gal friends to come over and have a home-cooked meal made by yours truly. They really liked the meal of winter melon soup, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried veggies, and slow-cooked pear soup for dessert. I am by no means a great cook (my father often refuses to eat what I cook because he thinks the lentils and curry dishes I cook look too much like poo), so I was very happy that they kept singing praises of my amateur efforts.
This week, these same friends invited me to hot pot. It just so happened that today was one of the coldest days in Tianjin so far, so it's perfect for hot pot! I love to eat this super easy, super delicious, and super healthy type of meal. My friend Berber bought a spicy soup base, mixed it with water, and added green onion and ginger for the broth. Apparently, that's the Tianjin way of eating it; in America, our hot pots at home usually just start out with a plain chicken broth, no spices or other ingredients. Here's a pic of my friends preparing the hot pot in their dorm room. Isn't it so cute and cozy, dorm room hot pot? :)
Then we ate boiled fish balls, seaweed, lamb slices, beef slices, mushrooms, tofu, crab sticks, and veggies for two hours. In TJ, they like to use a sesame paste dipping sauce, and I have to say, it's a quite sweet and tasty accompaniment to the meat, tofu and veggies.
After stuffing ourselves with hot pot, we had the pineapple meringue cake I'd made with the little toaster oven in our shared kitchen. That little oven has gotten a lot of use from me lately. I'm amazed how much I can make with a toaster oven: cookies, banana bread, pineapple cake, baked meringue. Granted, the quality isn't on par with the bigger ovens in America, but it's still quite good, and gives me a nice taste of home. I didn't photograph the cake b/c 1)I forgot, and 2)it really didn't look that photogenic. I initially made the pineapple cake, and it came out a little too brown to look very nice as it was, so I decided to frost it. I initially meant to make a butter cream-egg white frosting, but after unwrapping the stick of butter I bought two or three weeks ago, I saw a small moldy dot on one side, a red blob on another side, and I smelled a cheesy smell. Knowing the whole milk fiasco here, I decided to toss the whole thing away and just make a pure meringue frosting. I was nervous about the meringue b/c I don't have cream of tartar here, and most recipes call for it to help stabilize the egg whites. I found a recipe that used salt as a stabilizer, so I whipped and whipped with a fork (b/c I don't have a whisk here) until my arms got sore. Finally the egg whites formed soft peaks, and I added the sugar syrup and whipped over a double boiler, half cooking the frosting. Then I put some banana slices on the pineapple cake and frosted the whole thing with my frosting. Then baked the entire cake loaf. I garnished with some superfine grated coconut. If I had some chocolate, I would have melted it and drizzled it over for decoration. That would have been beautiful.
I was surprised and glad that my friends liked the cake so much. It was moist, and the soft meringue added a nice richness, but definitely not what I would consider a terrific dessert in American terms. Yet to Chinese, it's novel and yummy. The three girls managed to eat all of it (granted it was a small cake) and still raved about it even while washing the crumbs from the plate.
This week, these same friends invited me to hot pot. It just so happened that today was one of the coldest days in Tianjin so far, so it's perfect for hot pot! I love to eat this super easy, super delicious, and super healthy type of meal. My friend Berber bought a spicy soup base, mixed it with water, and added green onion and ginger for the broth. Apparently, that's the Tianjin way of eating it; in America, our hot pots at home usually just start out with a plain chicken broth, no spices or other ingredients. Here's a pic of my friends preparing the hot pot in their dorm room. Isn't it so cute and cozy, dorm room hot pot? :)
Then we ate boiled fish balls, seaweed, lamb slices, beef slices, mushrooms, tofu, crab sticks, and veggies for two hours. In TJ, they like to use a sesame paste dipping sauce, and I have to say, it's a quite sweet and tasty accompaniment to the meat, tofu and veggies.
After stuffing ourselves with hot pot, we had the pineapple meringue cake I'd made with the little toaster oven in our shared kitchen. That little oven has gotten a lot of use from me lately. I'm amazed how much I can make with a toaster oven: cookies, banana bread, pineapple cake, baked meringue. Granted, the quality isn't on par with the bigger ovens in America, but it's still quite good, and gives me a nice taste of home. I didn't photograph the cake b/c 1)I forgot, and 2)it really didn't look that photogenic. I initially made the pineapple cake, and it came out a little too brown to look very nice as it was, so I decided to frost it. I initially meant to make a butter cream-egg white frosting, but after unwrapping the stick of butter I bought two or three weeks ago, I saw a small moldy dot on one side, a red blob on another side, and I smelled a cheesy smell. Knowing the whole milk fiasco here, I decided to toss the whole thing away and just make a pure meringue frosting. I was nervous about the meringue b/c I don't have cream of tartar here, and most recipes call for it to help stabilize the egg whites. I found a recipe that used salt as a stabilizer, so I whipped and whipped with a fork (b/c I don't have a whisk here) until my arms got sore. Finally the egg whites formed soft peaks, and I added the sugar syrup and whipped over a double boiler, half cooking the frosting. Then I put some banana slices on the pineapple cake and frosted the whole thing with my frosting. Then baked the entire cake loaf. I garnished with some superfine grated coconut. If I had some chocolate, I would have melted it and drizzled it over for decoration. That would have been beautiful.
I was surprised and glad that my friends liked the cake so much. It was moist, and the soft meringue added a nice richness, but definitely not what I would consider a terrific dessert in American terms. Yet to Chinese, it's novel and yummy. The three girls managed to eat all of it (granted it was a small cake) and still raved about it even while washing the crumbs from the plate.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Food poisoning (Warning: Contains graphic descriptions. Readers are advised not to eat while reading.)
On Sunday, I ate at the Ganxun restaurant downstairs from my apartment. I and two other people went there after services on Sunday and had three dishes. One was a taro, sweet potato, grape tomato dish, one was a fried silky tofu dish covered with brown sauce and mixed with meat and shrimp, and one was a stir fried chicken and onion dish. After eating it, I felt uncomfortably stuffed and didn't have an appetite for dinner, but b/c I made dinner plans with friends already, I went anyway and ate bbq kebabs with them. I don't know if it was the lunch or the dinner that didn't sit right, but later on that night, I started having loose stool and feeling chills. The next day, Monday, was my busiest teaching day. I had to teach two classes in the morning, then rush to catch the bus to go to another university, then stay in the district for a few hours until my last evening class with another company. Since I was still suffering from uncontrollable, watery stool and I was out and about all day, I had such a hard time feeling weak, tired, and nervous that I would have an accident all over myself. It was terrible. I felt like I needed to fart all the time, but when I released the fart, watery stool came out, and sometimes you just can't control it and the stale air and foul water mixture just sputters out. (I warned you, it's graphic!) Because of this, I was afraid to eat all Monday long. Whatever water I drank came out of my butt as opposed to the urinary tract.
After I got home, around 9:30pm on Monday. I was relieved to be back with a clean bathroom accessible at any time, but I had to use it even more often. The entire night, I kept waking up, in total about 6 or 7 times throughout the night, to stumble towards the bathroom and let out watery poo. Then I would waddle sleepily back to bed and immediately fall back asleep again. Luckily, I only had one class to teach on Tuesday afternoon, so I stayed in bed resting until mid-morning. The loose stool still lingered, although not as strong as Monday, so I didn't eat much on Tuesday either. Wednesday, I had lunch and dinner plans with students, so I ventured to eat half a bowl of rice noodles for lunch at the student cafeteria and half a bowl of potato starch noodles for dinner. That sat a little bit better, but last night (wednesday night), my stool was also pretty watery, although not as bad as Monday. So today is day 4 of the food poisoning saga, I think I'll just eat a bowl of pork and veggie soup I made last week, since I don't know how clean the cafeteria food is. Best to avoid eating out.
After I got home, around 9:30pm on Monday. I was relieved to be back with a clean bathroom accessible at any time, but I had to use it even more often. The entire night, I kept waking up, in total about 6 or 7 times throughout the night, to stumble towards the bathroom and let out watery poo. Then I would waddle sleepily back to bed and immediately fall back asleep again. Luckily, I only had one class to teach on Tuesday afternoon, so I stayed in bed resting until mid-morning. The loose stool still lingered, although not as strong as Monday, so I didn't eat much on Tuesday either. Wednesday, I had lunch and dinner plans with students, so I ventured to eat half a bowl of rice noodles for lunch at the student cafeteria and half a bowl of potato starch noodles for dinner. That sat a little bit better, but last night (wednesday night), my stool was also pretty watery, although not as bad as Monday. So today is day 4 of the food poisoning saga, I think I'll just eat a bowl of pork and veggie soup I made last week, since I don't know how clean the cafeteria food is. Best to avoid eating out.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
It's a small town after all.
I taught at my part-time job today, and at the end of my last adult oral English class, one of the students asked me if I taught at TUFE. I was surprised b/c I don't know him and I didn't tell my students which university I teach. I said yes, and he asked me if I know this guy Tang Tao, I was like, wow, I do, actually. It turns out this student of mine goes to TUFE and is a 3rd year Finance major just like my friend Tang Tao; they're classmates. But still, I was puzzled how he could know that I know Tang Tao. This student told me that he saw my photo on the internet! I was a little shocked and worried at first, but it seems he saw a group photo from our trip to Fragrant Mountain last month, which either Tang Tao or one of the other girls had posted on some blog or facebook-like site. So he recognized me. Still, it just shows that I have to be on my best behavior, I never know when someone I know or who knows someone I know will recognize me. My, it was bound to happen...I teach at so many places throughout Tianjin.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Remnants of Autumn on Campus
Although I gripe about the long 15 minute walk from my dorm to the classroom everyday, especially on cold frosty mornings, the walk also takes me past one of the prettier sections of campus. Unlike the modern cement covered section of the east campus, the older, west end of campus (where our dorm is) has treelined pathways and ivy-covered walls. There's a gentle disrepair about it that grows on you and makes it feel much more intimate and romantic than the glass and steel structures of the east end. 
Comfort Fruit
Last Saturday, I taught the rowdy children at EF again and my day started extra early since they switched my afternoon classes to the morning. From 7:30am (b/c it's a 1 hour commute to EF) to 3:30pm, I was working in some manner or another. The kids' class requires the most preparation and also gives me the most grief. The parents complained about my being just a couple minutes late to class because I had mistaken the start time, since they switched up my classes. In turn, the tactless Chinese "liaison" had a "talk" with me about the right procedures for getting to class and how I should behave so as not to offend the parents. Obviously, she was using the Chinese way that she deals with employees on me. I'm not one of your docile, desperate Chinese employees willing to do anything for a meager 2000 yuan a month. I'm American and I don't take micromanagement, and I certainly won't put in extra time for free. She can take her "we expect our teachers to arrive here at least 30 minutes before the first class" b.s. and shove it. I don't know if it's a cultural barrier or b/c she thinks I look Chinese so I can be pushed more. So that tactless Chinese woman just annoys me a lot. She wasn't the one who interviewed or hired me. The Australian woman Janet was, but Janet's gone to Tibet, so I'm stuck with a micromanaging Chinese slave driver.
But why do I have a photo of a mangosteen for this post? Because the mangosteen completely cheered me up after a long and tiring day. After the 1 hour bus ride back to my university area, I went to the supermarket and splurged. I bought mangosteens for 14 yuan/500 grams. For 14 yuan, I only got about 4 or 5, but I was so excited to take those little purple baseballs home and crack open their juicy, luscious white interior. I still remember the first time I tried them in Vietnam, my cousin bought it for me and I had no idea what they were or how to eat them. She squeezed the red-black ball between her palms until the rind caved in and split to reveal the juicy wedges inside. The taste in your mouth is sweet and mild, with a hint of tartness. It's completely addictive and comforting. I've never had anything like it. So on my tiring, frustrating saturday, I decided to treat myself to this "queen of fruits." The moment I stepped through the door to my room, I immediately dropped my purse and groceries on the bed, tore open the plastic bag containing the mangosteens and cracked one with my palms. I plopped the smooth, cool slivers into my mouth and closed my eyes. It brought me back to the humid, sweaty, hot summers in Vietnam, and back to the carefree happiness of my college days. I felt better immediately. No prozac needed. In fact, this photo was take after I'd already devoured two mangosteens. I realized that I should quickly document it before I eat them all. Really, these are my favorite fruit in the whole world. Give me a choice between this and chocolate, I'd choose a mangosteen.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
On some days, Tianjin can be beautiful too.
Since I've been teaching at the university district, which is also near the Tianjin TV tower, I've gotten a glimpse of another, more developed part of TJ. Here are some pics from Tianjin University, one of the oldest universities in the city, on par with Nankai.
A short obelisk-like monument greets you at the main entrance of Tianjin University.
They also have a very pretty man-made lake in the center of campus. I think their lake is much prettier than TUFE's.
A cool art structure I saw in front of a kids' playground on the way to the Foreign Bookstore. It's a great combination of traditional Chinese culture with sculpture (it rhymes!).
Last but not least, a blue-sky framed view of the Tianjin TV tower.
Although TUFE (Tianjin University of Finance and Economics) is off in the outermost southern edge of town, bordering the rural farm fields and such, it has its beautiful moments. I came out of my Friday afternoon class last week utterly amazed at the sunset. I didn't think I could see skies like that in foggy TJ. I think the fall breeze really helps blow away the pollution.
A short obelisk-like monument greets you at the main entrance of Tianjin University.
They also have a very pretty man-made lake in the center of campus. I think their lake is much prettier than TUFE's.
A cool art structure I saw in front of a kids' playground on the way to the Foreign Bookstore. It's a great combination of traditional Chinese culture with sculpture (it rhymes!).
Last but not least, a blue-sky framed view of the Tianjin TV tower.
Although TUFE (Tianjin University of Finance and Economics) is off in the outermost southern edge of town, bordering the rural farm fields and such, it has its beautiful moments. I came out of my Friday afternoon class last week utterly amazed at the sunset. I didn't think I could see skies like that in foggy TJ. I think the fall breeze really helps blow away the pollution.
Local friends
Time for another Tianjin life post. I haven't been posting recently b/c I've been pretty busy interviewing for part-time teaching jobs, and now, preparing lessons for those jobs. It's crazy, but I now teach at three different places near Nankai University and Tianjin University because none of the part time jobs offer me enough hours, only max 4 hours. But the pay is relatively good, and it's good experience in how to teach different sized classes and different levels. Most stressful is the Saturday afternoon 6-7year old beginner English class. The boys, being spoiled only children, are little monsters who scream, jump up and down, and can't sit still. After two hours, my ears are ringing from the constant high-pitched noise. I've decided that teaching adults is much much easier and more enjoyable.
Yet in the midst of my busy-ness, I've had some time on weekends to hang out with new Tianjin friends. This is the kind middle-aged couple I met on my trip to Taishan. They graciously took me under their wing, and invited me to their home for dinner two Sundays ago. It was so good of them! Aunt Tong made homemade potstickers, babao zhou (literally 8 treasures porridge, with red beans, dates, pumpkin, and other nutritious ingredients). She and her husband Uncle Wang also cooked some lovely seafood dishes. I also got to meet their daughter and son-in-law, and their big fluffy white dog WangWang. The dog is really quite beautiful, with such soft fur. Aunt Tong's daughter and son-in-law also took me to visit the famed Tianjin greenhouse and wholesale flower market as well as the pet market (where there are rows and rows of caged dogs howling and barking at you). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures there. I'm getting too settled into life here and forgetting to whip out the camera. :/ At the end of the night, Aunt Tong also prepared a whole bag of potstickers and 8 Treasure Porridge for me to bring home. It was so generous and sweet. The abundance of food lasted me for over a week.
Last Friday, I also went out to dinner and karaoke (KTV) with some Chinese friends from the university. They're all like 4 or 5 years younger than me, but when we're singing Jay Chou and S.H.E. songs together, the age difference doesn't show at all. It was pretty fun singing so many Chinese songs with Chinese people. They couldn't believe how many mandarin songs I knew. I guess I'm pretty well-acquainted with Chinese pop music after all.
Halloween Party
The TUFE foreign teachers: Alex, Jim, and me.
For Halloween, I worked with another foreign teacher to throw a Halloween party for our students and friends. Unfortunately, because costumes are extremely come by in China, I was the only person who showed up at the party in costume. I arrived late by about 15 minutes, and already, many students had shown up. They were there playing beer pong. I entered the room, saw crowds gathered around two tables, spotted ping pong balls flying around, and groaned. I knew it must have been the suggestion of the frat boys from San Diego State. See their gangsta looks in the photo? Teaching my innocent students beer pong...
I was really surprised that the students were so prompt. Normally, Chinese people in America are fashionably late. "Asian time," we call it. You say 6pm and people show up at 7pm. Yet it seems that Tianjin folks are different. They were there and I, regretfully as the host, was late. When I came in and my students began to recognize me, they grew really excited and even wanted to take pictures with me. It was my five minutes of fame and movie star treatment. Really fun and hilarious and, of course, flattering. After about half an hour though, my jaw began to feel sore from all the smiling and grinning. I had a good time, and my students got a taste of American parties, for better or for worse.
For Halloween, I worked with another foreign teacher to throw a Halloween party for our students and friends. Unfortunately, because costumes are extremely come by in China, I was the only person who showed up at the party in costume. I arrived late by about 15 minutes, and already, many students had shown up. They were there playing beer pong. I entered the room, saw crowds gathered around two tables, spotted ping pong balls flying around, and groaned. I knew it must have been the suggestion of the frat boys from San Diego State. See their gangsta looks in the photo? Teaching my innocent students beer pong...
I was really surprised that the students were so prompt. Normally, Chinese people in America are fashionably late. "Asian time," we call it. You say 6pm and people show up at 7pm. Yet it seems that Tianjin folks are different. They were there and I, regretfully as the host, was late. When I came in and my students began to recognize me, they grew really excited and even wanted to take pictures with me. It was my five minutes of fame and movie star treatment. Really fun and hilarious and, of course, flattering. After about half an hour though, my jaw began to feel sore from all the smiling and grinning. I had a good time, and my students got a taste of American parties, for better or for worse.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
My National Holiday - Part 1 - Shandong
Friday Night Bash
My National holiday fun started Friday 9/26. Friday evening, Alex (a foreign teacher from Britain who lives across the hall from me) and I met up with two American students studying abroad at our university. Turns out they bumped into a Chinese friend that one of them knew and so all 6 of us ate dinner and had good laughs. Next, our American student friends took us to an "international students" party. I use quotation marks because it really was a Korean students party. TJUFE has tons of Korean exchange students here studying Chinese. So the emcee spoke entirely in Korean and played some rowdy games like having couples eat Pocky sticks from opposite ends and work towards the middle. We also saw some really weird/hilarious talent shows of dancing and singing Korean-style. It was pretty fun, even although Alex, our two American friends, our Chinese friend Leo, and I understood nothing of it. After that, we went for late night kabobs and dumplings and had a great time laughing and debating with our majorly drunk American friend Chad, aka "the Legend." (He gets his nickname from his "legendary" status among all the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese students at TJUFE. I don't think there's any student at the university who doesn't know of the American guy who can speak a ton of Mandarin.)
Below: Korean guy singing and dancing in the talent show.
Shandong Adventures
The next day (Saturday 9/27) I left for my Chinese tour of Taishan, Jinan, and Qufu (Confucius' hometown). The travel agency was terribly unclear about a lot of things. For one: they told me it would be a 4 hour ride. It ended up being 5 hours. From 2:30pm to 8:30pm, I was sitting on the train with my legs squeezed together, unable to pee because that would mean leaving my bags unattended. For two, I found out when I got to Taishan that I was not going to arrive in Tianjin by 9/30 as the tour pamphlet suggested. Instead, i would take an overnight train and arrive in actuality on 10/1. They didn't mention this important detail to me. That foiled a lot of plans I had made.
When I got to Tai An (the town at the foot of Taishan), it was raining really hard and I couldn't find the guide who was supposed to be holding a card with my name on it. It was a little scary, but I had the cell phone number of the local contact and eventually found her. To be honest, it's stressful and a little lonely to travel on my own. But I often find myself doing that a lot because it's so hard to find people who share my interests and love of travel.
The first night I got to the hotel, I was feeling sad being in that double-bed hotel room by myself. There were only five people on our tour: two couples and me. I had to pay 70 yuan extra every night to make up for not having a roommate. The room was of course better than that hutong hotel I stayed at in Beijing, but still not good by American standards. The bathroom was a showerlette (shower and toilet in one) and the drain in the floor had cracks and a few tiles missing. A bunch of little jumpy, winged bugs also crawled or flew out of the drain, even though we were on the second floor. The toilet was a sit-down one, but the seat was cracked. I don't understand how they could let customers continue to use a cracked toilet seat. The carpet was threadbare and stained in several places, so I wore slippers with me all the time. They called this a two star hotel, but it would never pass inspection in the U.S. On the positive side, at least I didn't see any roaches and I didn't get bitten by any fleas/bed bugs. I could manage.
The same night I got to Tai An, I asked for directions to the nearest internet cafe (mainly b/c I had some business to attend to via email). It was just two stores down from the hotel. I ended up going there every night. Just like in Vietnam, Internet cafes give me a taste of home. When I see the familiar New York Times homepage and the familiar Gmail inbox, I am transported from this foreign, lonely place back to the English-speaking cyberworld I am used to in America. The 1.5yuan I spent every night for 1 hour of familiarity and comfort was well worth it.
The next day, our tour guide took us to Jinan, the city of springs, to see Lake DaMing (大明湖）and Baodu Springs (趵突泉). Because it was still a day before the start of the National Holiday week, there weren't that many people and our walks around the gardens of Baodu Springs and Lake DaMing were very peaceful and serene. I enjoyed the natural scenery, fresh air and trickling sounds of water.
Taking a sip of fresh spring water from Baodu Springs (the tour guide said this spring water is supposedly good to drink without boiling, I was cautious and only took a small tiny sip)
Look at the goldfish swarming around me! Someone before me was feeding them.
One of the last lotus flowers still in bloom at Lake DaMing
A toddler baby in downtown Jinan running around with his butt wide open. To save on diapers, many Chinese parents dress their babies in pants with a split in the front and back and they pee or poo out in public.
The next day, we climbed Taishan. Because it was only the first day of the National holiday, there weren't as many people as there would be later on, but still, it was a busy place. We took a little bus halfway up the mountain to the Mid-Heaven Door 中天门, and then walked the rest of the way up to the peak. The path was all staircases, and in some cases the steps were so steep I felt afraid to look down. For most of the area around Mid-Heaven Door, we were surrounded with mist (see photos). But as we ascended, we found ourselves above it. Nearer and nearer to the top at South Heaven Door 南天门, we could see oceans of clouds below us and the bright blue sky above us. It was the freshest air and bluest sky I've ever experienced in China. No pollution, no haze, just pure nature, earth, and sky. Amazing.
Here's a short video of the view above the clouds.
The little bus we rode from the foot of the mountain to Mid-Heaven's Door 中天门.
Beginning the climb up Taishan from 中天门.
All produce and goods on Taishan are carried up by human laborers bearing loads balanced on their shoulders, just like in the old days.
Police officers and tourists crowding a bridge on the way up to Taishan. Notice the heavy fog.
Taishan's famous Welcoming Pine 迎客松. See how the lone pine tree stretches its branches out in welcome to us visitors.
Twisty, gnarly trees enveloped in mist.
We get past the mist and glimpse the first sight of South Heaven Door 南天门, but we still have a long way to go.
Oceans of clouds brushing against Taishan.
The crowds approach the South Heaven Door 南天门.
Right after passing South Heaven Door, there are restaurants, bathrooms, souvenir shops, and hotels all along Heaven Street 天街.
Vendors everywhere sell these Chinese crepes wrapped around a scallion. They are dry and hard and don't taste very good, but these 煎饼卷葱 are supposed to be a Taishan specialty.
Locks being sold at a temple on Taishan. People leave a lock at the temple to "lock in" their prayers and blessings.
Dreamy rooftops and distant mountains. A heavenly sight indeed.
Sitting on top of the world, with the clouds behind me.
The highest part of Taishan. Notice all the locks in the background.
Riding the tram down halfway. Look at the cars disappearing into the mist.
Qufu 曲阜- Confucius' hometown and burial place. I enjoyed Qufu the least because it was the day after climbing Taishan and I was still tired. Also, it was the second day of the National holiday, so there were so many more people than before. There was no place to move and you just kept being pushed ahead by the people behind you. Also, there's not that much to see in Confucius Temple, Mansion and Forest.
View from inside the world's largest Confucius Temple
An ancient tree in the Confucius Temple. They call it Dragon Tree because it looks like a dragon. Right beside (not pictured) it is another tree they call the Phoenix Tree.
People pushing and clawing to touch one of the legendary trees for good luck.
Confucius' Tombstone in the Confucius Memorial Forest
FOOD
Another great thing about Shandong province was the food. The city of Tai An is supposed to be famous for its tofu because the water used to make it comes from Taishan, it's sweet mountain water. I have to admit that the tofu fa and soft tofu dishes I had here were delicious, so smooth and silky, like butter that melts away in your mouth.
Northern Style breakfast: Savory tofu fa with cilantro, carrots, chili sauce, and soy sauce.
A refreshing cold plate appetizer of soft tofu, raw green and red peppers, onions, and pickled duck eggs in a light soy sauce. So silky and smooth.
The Green Onion Pancakes here are awesome. So crispy and fried right in front of you. They sell by the pound. I got a ton for only 2 or 3 yuan.
Other great Shandong breakfast foods are the pan-fried buns 煎包子 and filled crepes 韭菜煎饼.
Wow, they even sell rabbit here.
We have roasted lamb skewers in Tianjin too, but have you ever seen so many being cooked all at once? There were at least 50 skewers there.
In the end, I really enjoyed my time in Tai An, especially after the nice older couple from Tianjin took me in and looked after me on the way back to Tianjin.
My National holiday fun started Friday 9/26. Friday evening, Alex (a foreign teacher from Britain who lives across the hall from me) and I met up with two American students studying abroad at our university. Turns out they bumped into a Chinese friend that one of them knew and so all 6 of us ate dinner and had good laughs. Next, our American student friends took us to an "international students" party. I use quotation marks because it really was a Korean students party. TJUFE has tons of Korean exchange students here studying Chinese. So the emcee spoke entirely in Korean and played some rowdy games like having couples eat Pocky sticks from opposite ends and work towards the middle. We also saw some really weird/hilarious talent shows of dancing and singing Korean-style. It was pretty fun, even although Alex, our two American friends, our Chinese friend Leo, and I understood nothing of it. After that, we went for late night kabobs and dumplings and had a great time laughing and debating with our majorly drunk American friend Chad, aka "the Legend." (He gets his nickname from his "legendary" status among all the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese students at TJUFE. I don't think there's any student at the university who doesn't know of the American guy who can speak a ton of Mandarin.)
Below: Korean guy singing and dancing in the talent show.
Shandong Adventures
The next day (Saturday 9/27) I left for my Chinese tour of Taishan, Jinan, and Qufu (Confucius' hometown). The travel agency was terribly unclear about a lot of things. For one: they told me it would be a 4 hour ride. It ended up being 5 hours. From 2:30pm to 8:30pm, I was sitting on the train with my legs squeezed together, unable to pee because that would mean leaving my bags unattended. For two, I found out when I got to Taishan that I was not going to arrive in Tianjin by 9/30 as the tour pamphlet suggested. Instead, i would take an overnight train and arrive in actuality on 10/1. They didn't mention this important detail to me. That foiled a lot of plans I had made.
When I got to Tai An (the town at the foot of Taishan), it was raining really hard and I couldn't find the guide who was supposed to be holding a card with my name on it. It was a little scary, but I had the cell phone number of the local contact and eventually found her. To be honest, it's stressful and a little lonely to travel on my own. But I often find myself doing that a lot because it's so hard to find people who share my interests and love of travel.
The first night I got to the hotel, I was feeling sad being in that double-bed hotel room by myself. There were only five people on our tour: two couples and me. I had to pay 70 yuan extra every night to make up for not having a roommate. The room was of course better than that hutong hotel I stayed at in Beijing, but still not good by American standards. The bathroom was a showerlette (shower and toilet in one) and the drain in the floor had cracks and a few tiles missing. A bunch of little jumpy, winged bugs also crawled or flew out of the drain, even though we were on the second floor. The toilet was a sit-down one, but the seat was cracked. I don't understand how they could let customers continue to use a cracked toilet seat. The carpet was threadbare and stained in several places, so I wore slippers with me all the time. They called this a two star hotel, but it would never pass inspection in the U.S. On the positive side, at least I didn't see any roaches and I didn't get bitten by any fleas/bed bugs. I could manage.
The same night I got to Tai An, I asked for directions to the nearest internet cafe (mainly b/c I had some business to attend to via email). It was just two stores down from the hotel. I ended up going there every night. Just like in Vietnam, Internet cafes give me a taste of home. When I see the familiar New York Times homepage and the familiar Gmail inbox, I am transported from this foreign, lonely place back to the English-speaking cyberworld I am used to in America. The 1.5yuan I spent every night for 1 hour of familiarity and comfort was well worth it.
The next day, our tour guide took us to Jinan, the city of springs, to see Lake DaMing (大明湖）and Baodu Springs (趵突泉). Because it was still a day before the start of the National Holiday week, there weren't that many people and our walks around the gardens of Baodu Springs and Lake DaMing were very peaceful and serene. I enjoyed the natural scenery, fresh air and trickling sounds of water.
Taking a sip of fresh spring water from Baodu Springs (the tour guide said this spring water is supposedly good to drink without boiling, I was cautious and only took a small tiny sip)
Look at the goldfish swarming around me! Someone before me was feeding them.
One of the last lotus flowers still in bloom at Lake DaMing
A toddler baby in downtown Jinan running around with his butt wide open. To save on diapers, many Chinese parents dress their babies in pants with a split in the front and back and they pee or poo out in public.
The next day, we climbed Taishan. Because it was only the first day of the National holiday, there weren't as many people as there would be later on, but still, it was a busy place. We took a little bus halfway up the mountain to the Mid-Heaven Door 中天门, and then walked the rest of the way up to the peak. The path was all staircases, and in some cases the steps were so steep I felt afraid to look down. For most of the area around Mid-Heaven Door, we were surrounded with mist (see photos). But as we ascended, we found ourselves above it. Nearer and nearer to the top at South Heaven Door 南天门, we could see oceans of clouds below us and the bright blue sky above us. It was the freshest air and bluest sky I've ever experienced in China. No pollution, no haze, just pure nature, earth, and sky. Amazing.
Here's a short video of the view above the clouds.
The little bus we rode from the foot of the mountain to Mid-Heaven's Door 中天门.
Beginning the climb up Taishan from 中天门.
All produce and goods on Taishan are carried up by human laborers bearing loads balanced on their shoulders, just like in the old days.
Police officers and tourists crowding a bridge on the way up to Taishan. Notice the heavy fog.
Taishan's famous Welcoming Pine 迎客松. See how the lone pine tree stretches its branches out in welcome to us visitors.
Twisty, gnarly trees enveloped in mist.
We get past the mist and glimpse the first sight of South Heaven Door 南天门, but we still have a long way to go.
Oceans of clouds brushing against Taishan.
The crowds approach the South Heaven Door 南天门.
Right after passing South Heaven Door, there are restaurants, bathrooms, souvenir shops, and hotels all along Heaven Street 天街.
Vendors everywhere sell these Chinese crepes wrapped around a scallion. They are dry and hard and don't taste very good, but these 煎饼卷葱 are supposed to be a Taishan specialty.
Locks being sold at a temple on Taishan. People leave a lock at the temple to "lock in" their prayers and blessings.
Dreamy rooftops and distant mountains. A heavenly sight indeed.
Sitting on top of the world, with the clouds behind me.
The highest part of Taishan. Notice all the locks in the background.
Riding the tram down halfway. Look at the cars disappearing into the mist.
Qufu 曲阜- Confucius' hometown and burial place. I enjoyed Qufu the least because it was the day after climbing Taishan and I was still tired. Also, it was the second day of the National holiday, so there were so many more people than before. There was no place to move and you just kept being pushed ahead by the people behind you. Also, there's not that much to see in Confucius Temple, Mansion and Forest.
View from inside the world's largest Confucius Temple
An ancient tree in the Confucius Temple. They call it Dragon Tree because it looks like a dragon. Right beside (not pictured) it is another tree they call the Phoenix Tree.
People pushing and clawing to touch one of the legendary trees for good luck.
Confucius' Tombstone in the Confucius Memorial Forest
FOOD
Another great thing about Shandong province was the food. The city of Tai An is supposed to be famous for its tofu because the water used to make it comes from Taishan, it's sweet mountain water. I have to admit that the tofu fa and soft tofu dishes I had here were delicious, so smooth and silky, like butter that melts away in your mouth.
Northern Style breakfast: Savory tofu fa with cilantro, carrots, chili sauce, and soy sauce.
A refreshing cold plate appetizer of soft tofu, raw green and red peppers, onions, and pickled duck eggs in a light soy sauce. So silky and smooth.
The Green Onion Pancakes here are awesome. So crispy and fried right in front of you. They sell by the pound. I got a ton for only 2 or 3 yuan.
Other great Shandong breakfast foods are the pan-fried buns 煎包子 and filled crepes 韭菜煎饼.
Wow, they even sell rabbit here.
We have roasted lamb skewers in Tianjin too, but have you ever seen so many being cooked all at once? There were at least 50 skewers there.
In the end, I really enjoyed my time in Tai An, especially after the nice older couple from Tianjin took me in and looked after me on the way back to Tianjin.
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