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.
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