Best Western hotels and vegetable markets

As I inch every so slightly into Chinese life, I've discovered another side of it. There is some semblance of night life in Ginseng, very clearly catered at foreigners.
The city boasts a Best Western hotel and stepping inside is tantamount to entering another world. It's bright and shiny, with chinoiserie type decorations on the walls and a bar run by an Italian, complete with bresaola snacks and pizzas. Enough to make you feel awkward and already too "sinified" if you're wearing all your clothes in layers and pale pink plastic rainboots. I was underwhelmed by the pizza, which maybe wasn't made by the maestro himself, though my digestive system must have been delighted with flour and dairy. I also went to a bar, where they serve, you know, drinks, and had a decent glass of Australian red. The unpleasant thing is that everyone smokes inside, and coming home with my hair and clothes reeking of cigarettes is something I haven't done for the past ten years.

In other news, I have an induction stove! So I can make my own food now! Problem is, I don't know how to make Chinese food. I got some of those noodles you're supposed to boil and then stir fry with vegetable or whatever, but that involved scraping part of them off the wok. And getting pasta would require a hike downtown, where for the time being I'm too chicken to go by myself (and having to get a friend just to buy groceries is potentially a hassle). But attempting to cook means I've ventured to the market. I think I've never seen so many vegetables in one place. There's still a lot of exploration to do (they also sell meat) since I've limited myself to asparagus (which had some Japanese writing on the elastic, for some reason. Interesting) and broccoli, stuff I'm familiar with and doesn't take too much time to prepare.

I'm also starting Chinese classes next week! So excited! Hopefully it will make daily life easier.

further explorations and discoveries

So it will be ten days tomorrow.

I managed to get, once, to the centre of town, which is all messy streets and highway bridges plus some familiar sights like Zara and H&M, which presumably have exactly the same stuff that gets shipped all over the world except that this stays here. Oh, and there's obviously some adaptation to the local taste in terms of splotches of bright colours. Should make shopping for the summer interesting.

Apparently there is some kind of old town which I haven't been to yet. I chafe at the lack (so far) of pretty, exotic things. Modern China has yet to grow on me entirely. Anyway, I'm sure the ageless culture is there, not so far, it will just take me a bit more time to unearth it.

Oh and the good news is IT'S NOT SO COLD ANYMORE!! It's probably a combination of me dressing more adequately, getting a heater, and the external temperature rising.It's also a weird stage where it feels like you have to warm up to go in rather than to go out (sort of "if you keep your coat outside, you're going to be chilly at home!). I've been able to see the landscape better since the sun has been shining--the area is surrounded by mountains, including a very steep one with a narrow tip which is a landmark and is the symbol of the university of Gin Tonic.

After much seeking, I've located a Russian bakery, ran by a lovely lady with a blond bob and the highest possible cheekbones, and it's basically to her you go to get your sugar/dairy fixes. I still have to cook at home, or find my way around the market, but I've  got my first taste of dragon fruit. It looks like a purplish artichoke and tastes like a sweeter version of kiwi. I'm sure it's very healthy.

On being "green"

It's ironic, in some ways, that it's I've wound up in China as a result, amongst other things, of having studied immigration in American literature, where a concept that comes up regularly is that of being "green" or a "greenhorn." There's an early 20th century Jewish novel where the protagonist hears comments of "here comes a green one."For Chinese Americans, it's sometimes referred to as being "fresh off the boat" or "f.ob." (does that make me a "fop", as in fresh off the plane?? not sure I want to be that...)

That's what I feel like, most of the time. I'm no stranger to culture shock, but paradoxically that makes me impatient to adapt. Sticking out as a Caucasian isn't much of an issue because as mentioned before, I feel invisible, a white ghost, it is the case to say. The lack of language frustrates me to no end, but hopefully I can start learning it soon. And it's other, smaller things. The non-heated spaceb(sorry I keep bringing this up but it hit me hard), the endless rains, for instance. I'm still waiting for this dramatic change in weather where yes, I shall be bound to kvetch endlessly about being too hot.

But, perhaps, there are little things that are moving me in the opposite direction towards what- a Chinese-tion of some kind? Maybe that's too much. Just plain old human adaptability? Meeting my neighbour, Tanya, who's from the Ukraine and speaks perfect Chinese (ok, admittedly I  can't judge if it's perfect but she's with no doubt extremely fluent-hey she's planning to read The Three Kingdoms in the original, it's taking me forever to read it in translation!) has meant that she's been acting like a filter between me and the rest of the world. I'm also dealing to the best of my abilities with the weather. My nice leather shoes from Clark's and Camper's were literally soaked, but investing in a pair of pale pink rubber boots for the equivalent of 7 dollars (guiltfree "Made in China"!) has made my daily life far easier. So has investing in a padded housecoat. It's bright red and I just hope not too many people drop by unannounced. So I'm slightly less freezing at home.

It's a process, I guess.

The eagle has landed (the eagle being me)

So, after 15 hours by plane, 4 by car, I finally made it to my present basis of operation in China. My present condition (a natural symptom of culture shock, I suppose) is of walking around as if under the effect of a slight concussion. Some things, from what I've seen, I like, such as the nitty-gritty atmosphere with food and random stuff all over the place. I'm also developing an addiction to Chinese style aubergines. Yum. The campus where I'm working is pretty, and likely to be prettier when spring starts. Some things less pleasant I was prepared to, such as the less than ideal hygene standards. Something I was mightily unprepared for is the cold.

It's COLD. But it's not that cold outside actually. Rainy perhaps, but ok. It's cold inside. As in, virtually no heating whatsoever. It's been explained to me that it's the norm in southern China and it will get really warm soon (but how soon?). Sitting around a blistering hot apartment seems promising right now. And to think there was a time when I took taking off my coat when going inside for granted. And I discovered the joys of thermal underwear.

To summarize what has happened since I arrived on Friday night I:

- was settled in a hotel, people ordered very copious amounts of food for me, I was told in China you can't share eggs with people because they're a symbol of harmony. Whatever, happy Chinese egg to me (it was also Valentine's day and red lantern day--overtones of Zhang Ymou??)


- met a bunch of old China hands. There seems to be a sort of "Westtown."

- ate instant noodles with chopsticks, while wearing a padded waistcoat-this made me feel very Chinese. I also bought a wok, which I'm not sure how much I'm going to use, since food is plentiful and good outside, but it makes me feel at home and Chinese!

- experienced racial invisibilty. Ok, one kid in the bank came to see me close, otherwise I get the sense of not existing, at times. The experience is very different from being in Japan (ok, each time I bring up Japan, everyone, Chinese or never fails to remind me that it's not the same thing at all. Which I know but--ideograms and chopsticks, anyone?) where the gaijin is viewed with a mixture of sympathy, surprise and pity, since it's not his fault that he's a bit obakasan). It's the kind of thing that makes you realize how white privilege is internalized, in the odd situation where the tables are turned.

- went to an interesting medical check up. You go through various stations, and they check if you're colour-blind or have tb or a bad heart. It wasn't as unpleasant as I had foreseen. At least no one used a glove hook to check if I had trychoma.

- filled my thermos with tea, Chinese style but made very bitter tea. The bitter tea of Dr Francesca X, instead of General Yen (I got to watch that movie. Maybe it's about a guy who put too many leaves in his thermos). I also developed a taste for hot water. Tap water is a no-no otherwise.

So, this is the chronicle of my first few days. Feeling frazzled but interested.