Peanuts & Chopsticks Photo

Peanuts & Chopsticks

Before coming to China I use to pride myself on my use of chopsticks in restaurants. When Nikolai would opt for the fork and spoon I would reach for the plastic or wooden utensils and dig into my pad Thai or lo mein. Since moving to China I have been very humbled by these simple
utensils.

I quickly found that my skill in chopsticks had been honed in use of noodles and I did not have the necessary expertise to transfer my skills to foods of odd shapes, sizes and textures. There have been many times where my Chinese acquaintances have laughed or giggled at me as I clumsily moved a steamed dumpling from the center of our table to my plate or mouth. I would say my success rate with dumplings is now up to about 90%! That means 1 in 10 dumplings I attempt to eat end up on the table, floor or someone else’s lap.

One of biggest challenges with chopstick has been peanuts. It is common for many of the
restaurants here in china to serve you roasted and salted peanuts as an appetizer before your meal. The first time I saw them I was SO excited! In my excitement I reached for the bowl and poured some into my hands and onto my plate. Yes, I thought, a food I can eat with my hands!

As I sat there eating one peanut after another with my fingers I began to notice the other people at the table (mostly Chinese or people who had been in China for more than a month) grab their chopsticks and take the peanuts one at a time. WHAT! I thought very loudly in my head. This cannot be!

Hoping that no one had seen me take half of the bowl by dumping it on my plate, I reached for my chopsticks. I carefully examined my grip, making sure I placed them high enough in my hands to obtain ultimate dexterity. Then I watched. I figured, perhaps this was something I could
learn by just watching.

After a good 4 minutes of observation I figured I was set. It seemed simple…go only for one peanut at a time, reach for the middle narrow part of the peanut and grip firmly. I checked my grip one more time and waited for the bowl to come my way on the turntable. As I eyed its arrival I had to time it perfectly as to not miss my opportunity. I might only have 10 seconds before the table would get moved again and my precious peanuts would be out of reach.

With a steady hand I reached in the bowl gripped firmly onto a peanut and pulled it out of the pile. Success! I began to move my chopsticks away, eyeing my prize as I watched in horror as I began to feel it slipping away. No, I thought, I have to make it to my plate. It seemed that the
next moment went on in slow motion as my hand tried to contort itself to keep a grip on its precious cargo. With fingers slowly twitching I tried with all of my might to hold on.

THUD!

It dropped to the table.

To me it seemed like a very loud noise, but everyone else kept on eating and talking. I reached for the peanut with my hand and quickly put it in my mouth. No big deal, I thought, no one was watching. I would just try again.

The second trial was just as awkward except this peanut I grabbed seemed to be slipperier as it did not last as long on my chopsticks and the peanut landed next to the bowl. The third, fourth and fifth tries I came up empty handed as the peanut fell out before I could even lift it up. Ugh! I thought I was never going to get it.

And then IT happened.

A moment I will never forget. I watched our friend Lucien reach into the bowl and slowly pull out his “prize”. The whole half of the table seemed to stop for a moment and gaze at what Lucien had done. There, sitting on the end of his chopsticks sat 3 peanuts, side by side, securely between his grip.

Lucien grinned from ear to ear as I and others gazed on in amazement. He placed the peanuts in his mouth and gave me a nod.

Perhaps someday I too will learn how to get three peanuts at once. Until then, I just want to learn
to get them to my plate.

A Typical Morning

School has been in session here for about 2 weeks and I have found myself enjoying getting into my daily rituals. From greeting familiar faces on the city bus or the bakery to passing by the same pond every day, it is these daily activities that transform me from a tourist to a resident of this new country.

6:45 am – Our alarm goes off. This is quite the change from the 5:30 am wakeup call that we had back in St. Paul. Some days, we even get to sleep in until about 7:30, depending on when our first class starts.

7:15ish – We head out the door. Making our way slowly towards the elevator we usually stand in morning silence until the elevator car arrives. Once we get out the building we meander our way through our complex’s gardens. I love how there is not a straight path to any of the main entry points. Instead it was almost designed to slow you down and allow you to wake up slowly.

7:20 – We walk past butt-slappers. Yes, you read that right, butt-slappers. Sometimes they are shoulder-slappers, other times upper thigh-slappers, but often they are butt-slappers. Perhaps it is due to some belief or understanding that this increases circulation. Or, perhaps it is just to help wake them up and transition into their day. Whatever it is, everyday I see people inflicting this pain upon themselves. From young men in their 20’s to grandmothers in their 80’s, they all do this with a large smile and a ni hao!

7:25 – We leave our complex’s gates. As we step out onto the sidewalk we are usually greeted one of the many friendly security guards. They know little to no English, which is fine since I no little to no Chinese, so we great each other with a smile. If Nikolai and I are lucky, they will even hold the gate open for us as we usually struggle to find our key cards every morning.

7:30 – We get breakfast at the bakery. The first time I saw this place my eyes lit up! From cakes to muffins to egg custard tarts I thought I was in heaven. I got a mini muffin ignoring other ex-pats warnings of “the cake always looks better than it tastes.” To my disappointment, the first bite was followed by a wrinkle of the nose and choking down of something that tasted like straight corn syrup with a few blueberries in it. I have, however, learned to enjoy pastries filled with a red bean paste as well as blueberry buns.

7:35 – We walk to the bus stop. This is by far the most dangerous part of the morning as we have to cross a large parking area/walking area (yes, they are the same here in China) and a 6-lane road. I know I will have more posts about traffic control (or lack thereof) here in China but it is important to point out that this is a big part of my morning. Crossing the street here in China is a BIG event, one that has rules, that no one really follows, and a lot of loud horns. I think my favorite road crossing experience has been when a person on a moped honked at Nikolai and I to get out of the way when we were in the crosswalk (with the right of way sign on) and they were driving down the wrong side of the road, in the bikes only lane. When their horn blared I jumped back onto the curb and had to laugh. Only in China!

7:45 – We get on the bus. Back in the US, I am used to driving my car wherever and whenever I like. We (myself included) tend to think of owning a car as having freedom. Over the short time that I have been here, I have enjoyed taking the bus. Yes, you have to add on a few minutes to your commute, and yes, you have to deal with getting stared at by all the locals who cannot stop looking at your big eyes and bigger feet and how tall you are compared to them, but it sure beats trying to drive in Chinese traffic. J

7:50 – We get off at our bus stop. Yes, a 5min bus ride in which we go about 2.5 miles. I suppose when the weather is not 90 degrees before 8am, I might actually walk this, but for now I will take the bus.

7:55 – We get to the office and start the day. Sometimes, rituals like these can seem mundane. However, they can often bring comfort when life shifts drastically.

First Impressions of Our New Home

As I sit here writing this, I have been in China almost 2 weeks. In that time we have really begun to settle into our new home and a routine in Foshan, China. It is hard to sit down and write about the whirlwind that has been our life these past weeks as Nik and I
have had many new experiences and seen many new things as we explored this new place.

Rather then babble about moving in and all of our day-to-day issues I am going to list all the firsts that I have experienced…

I have never…

…Been stared at so
much. First of all, I stand a good 6-inches over the height of the average woman and 3-inches over the average man here. Yet my blue eyes and blonde hair seem to be what really catch their eyes. I have had several people look like they were going to crash their bikes or mopeds as they careen their necks trying to get a closer look at “the foreigner”.

…Been poked and prodded somuch in a foot massage. Our friend Lucien, who has been here fora year already, invited us to join him at the HUGE massage place in ourapartment complex. It was a very fancy (and legitimate) place where you get rooms with 4 or 5 reclining chairs, a nice flat screen TV and food and drink to go with your massage. As the masseuse came in who was going to attempt to soften and relax my gnarled runners feet, I realized that she was fascinated by Nikolai and my features. Luckily Lucien and our other friend James both can
speak a little Mandarin and were able to help translate her furry of questions
and comments.

“Why is your hair Blonde? You have big feet. Why are you to tall? What is this
feather in your hair? How do you get your eyes to be blue? Do you put mascara
on? Why is your husband so hairy? Would your legs be as hairy as his if you let
your hair grow?”

It was a hilarious exchange of cultures as we tried to give our answers through our
“translators”. Most of the masseuses, waiters and cab drivers we come into
contact with are from parts of rural china, you know places with small towns
over only 1 or 2 million, and have never seen a real person with blonde hair
and blue eyes.

…Had so much good food. I know my first vocabulary words and phrases will revolve around how to order the great food that you can get here everyday. My favorite thus far is Cha Siu Bao
which are these sweet buns with a small amount of pork in a sweet sauce on the inside. They are everywhere! I can even get them at the seven-eleven in our complex. I know I will have many posts later about food. So I will keep this one short.

…Been thanked so much by my students. We have only had 4 official days of class with students, but already I am amazed at their excitement to learn. It is a residential school
where many of the students live there during the week and then go home on the weekends. Because of this, many students moved in a day or two before classes started and were in the classrooms catching up on their lessons with their peers. Once classes started I realized how grateful these students are to learn. “Thank you for the lessons you have taught me today, Mrs. Johansen.” Says a student each day as he leaves my class. “You are so very welcome.” I
reply knowing very well that they will be teaching me just as much in the upcoming
years.

…Been asked to be an economics teacher. I found out the day before classes started that I would be needed to fill in for the economics teacher for the first few weeks due increased demand for the class and a need to hire a new teacher to fill this spot. “Welcome to teaching I China” I heard a few teachers tell me as they offered their help and told me of their own similar experiences at some point in time. As I began to dive into the curriculum I viewed it through my
scientists lenses. Simple. I thought all economics is is ecology with money!

…Lived in a luxury high-rise apartment complex. We were lucky enough to find a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment in Lucien’s complex the day we arrived in China. The complex consists of about 2 dozen buildings, each 30 stories high with 4 to 6 apartments on each floor.
You can do the math…there are a lot of apartments. However, in these new complexes only about half of the apartments are full as the Chinese are experiencing the biggest urban migration of their history and perhaps of human history.

Living in a suburb of 6-million people I was ecstatic to be living in a complex where there are
beautiful gardens, a lake, ponds and walking/running paths everywhere. I have posted pictures here as well of our complex.

…done a yoga class in Chinese. Nikolai and I joined a gym that has a VERY western feel to it. There are aerobics, spinning and yoga classes. When I went to my first yoga class I was about the 3^rd student in the room. Before class started I went through my typical warm-up that I would do in my vinyasa classes at home. The other Chinese women who were in class were also warming up in a similar fashion.

When the teacher came in, she greeted the class and then turned to me and said in broken English, “do you just speak English?” I said “Yes, but I am also a very good observer”, pointing
to my eyes. She nodded and began.

The yoga started out more like Tai Chi with its methodical movements and hand gestures. Yet, as the class went on there were more poses that I recognized. Despite my recognition of the poses, my head felt like it was on a swivel as I tried to move with the class rather then a step behind because I did not know the words. During the class I was deeply impressed with the instructor as her hand on adjustments and guidance. They were just what I need as I struggled with understanding what she was saying.

…been to McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart in one day until moving to Foshan. Anyone who knows me well know that getting me into one of these places is quite the feat. Enough said.

…been the minority. Living in the US we forget that when a person walks down the street it can be difficult to know weather they are from the US or not until they speak to you or tell you. Here, however, people walking on the other side of the street a mile away know Nikolai and I are not from here. Sometimes the obviousness of our foreignness can be nice as people are VERY willing to try to speak English to us right from the start. Usually this eagerness to speak English with us is accompanied by an apology of “I sorry, I poor English.” I usually reply back.
“Do not worry, my Mandarin is MUCH worse.” This response usually gets a smile.

I know over the course of the next few months and years, being the one that stands out will get old and frustrating. Having only traveled abroad to European or Spanish Speaking countries, I have gone with the ability to communicate my wants, needs and ideas in some verbal way. However, here I have found myself resorting to hand gestures, facial expressions and my VERY limited Mandarin to order food, ask where the bathroom is and make polite conversation in an elevator.

Just the few experiences I have had in the limited time I have been here have made me think about the immigrants that I have meet back home in the US. We often times equate verbal skills with intelligence and I can only imagine the frustration of an intelligent person who has recently immigrated to the US who has not mastered the language yet. With that being said, many of the Chinese I have meet must think I am an idiot.

If you
have made it through this far of the post…I want to say thank you! I will try
to keep posting on here weekly or as my spare time allows.

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