Walking to China.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Chinese Culture test

I've decided to occasionally feature a picture of something that we see on a regular basis in China that other people may not know.

So...what is this? We ride by several of these a day.

Chinese people and people who live or have lived in China may not guess! Post your guess on the blog, not my Facebook page, please!

Best Ad Ever!

Because there is nothing that says marital intimacy more than sitting together on toilets!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

China has a way of reeling you in and keeping you. There is something so compelling to me about this country. I just can't stop looking at things, learning about the culture and wanting to know more.
We have moments that are almost surreal. One day last fall, my windows were open and I heard beautiful music. It was a traditional Chinese flute being played by someone, somewhere. Another day, I heard a drum banging and looked out our window. People dressed up in traditional Qing dynasty costumes were walking by in a wedding procession. The magic includes people dancing in the parks, people doing traditional calligraphy on the sidewalk with water and so much more. When I see those things, I just have a sense that I am in such a different place. China is a place like no other.
We have had some surreal moments. One night we were in a grocery store near a university. There were some students there from Saudi Arabia. Paul speaks a little Arabic so he greeted them. Then we had a conversation with them in Chinese. Two Arabs, two Americans, speaking Chinese to each other in China! Amazing!
Studying another language gives you insight into things you have never noticed before. Reading Bible stories in Chinese gives me insights and makes me notice things that I haven't noticed before. Because I am a beginner in Chinese, I really pay attention to vocabulary. It's just been an expander for me.
Of course there are frustrations. Sometimes you wonder why the teacher just can not hear the tones you are trying so hard to reproduce. She says "teng" and you say "teng." Then she tells you that you said "tong." You hear "teng" and you try to say it again and again she insists that you said "tong." You have to accept that she is the native speaker and the teacher and that if she says you said "tong," then you said "tong." Even if you secretly believe that didn't hear you correctly!
So there is magic, frustration and sometimes just sheer fun. I don't want to be someone who is standing outside of the culture making fun of it. But sometimes things are just so funny and fun! Here are a few!

Yesterday, we were riding our bikes home from language school. We came upon this restaurant that has a Chinese flag, Santa and a Coors sign! What a contrast! Yes, it's April and Santa is still all over the city.

On Monday, I was walking down a street near our home. Suddenly I came upon this man and his bucket of still gasping fish. He knocked one over the head with his knife and then gutted it. I kind of gasped and laughed and told the Chinese woman that I was with that we would never see that in America! Talk about fresh. She couldn't believe how we get our fish from the supermarket. This man was nice enough to let me take his picture.

The chicken's behind him? Someone's dinner last night. Sorry, vegan and vegetarian readers!

Monkey paw plant. Okay, I don't really know what it is called but trust me, it looked like monkey paws glued together. I've never seen anything quite like it.

Skin whitening cosmetics and lotions..by Sephora. Somehow I don't think this would fly in the US. But it's really a cultural thing. It's the equivalent of the western world's worshiping of tan skin. Pale, white skin in many Asian countries is considered a beautiful thing. It's a kind of social status, meaning literally that you don't work outside in the fields or streets. Therefore you have pale skin.

In the western world, tan skin means you have money to have leisure. You can ski, go to the beach, vacation in Hawaii. Same value, different color skin. But it does take me aback a little every time I see the "whitening" ingredients in soap, lotion, cosmetics. We are already plenty white, so we check our labels to make sure we aren't buying it.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A little more not quite right English.

Today we went to a restaurant for lunch where we had the some of the worst food since we've been in China. It was called something like Bread Garden and we had greasy, yucky fake pizza stuff. We'll be sticking with the local 5 kuai bowl of noodles at the local restaurant from now on.

As you enter the door.

The menu "Eat material name....Effect of life....relevant product.

This was on the take home menu. I assume these cakes are really, really soft. Or something.

New toothbrush. "Bristles of comprehensive care. Clean the teeth more comprehensively, make the oral cavity more fresh. Special handle design, easy to grasp and comfortable." This actually isn't bad! Just a little wordy!

This is actually Australian cheddar cheese that we bought at the French owned grocery. I know have one at least one Australian reader-does "bitey" mean "sharp?" Or is this just a mistranslation?

As always, I must add the disclaimer that I am well aware that the English here is better than my Chinese on a really good day. I was especially aware of that when I asked someone yesterday to "gao su" which means "explain" rather than "dao gao" which means" to pray".

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A decapitated head, some not quite right English and a cutie patootie!

Yesterday, Elisabeth and I went shoe shopping. And by shoe shopping, I don't mean getting in our car, trying on shoes, paying for them with our debit card and driving home. Shoe shopping yesterday meant walking to the bank to get cash, getting on the bus to go to Wu Ai shopping....center. Center isn't even the right word. Wu Ai is blocks of big and little shops of all kinds of stuff. In the right mood, it's super fun and entertaining. In the wrong mood, it's overwhelming.
As we got off the bus, we came upon this odd sight. A head sitting on a stick. I will admit that visions of old villages with foreigner heads on the outer gates did flash into my mind.

It was actually in front of a wig shop (you can see them in the window of the shop) but was still really creepy. There was another one a little farther up.

Then we came upon this sign. I've laughed every time I've passed it on the bus, but finally had my camera with me.

I don't know which is worse-the huge, creepy baby picture or the thought of a "smoke defector." This is an ad for a new Hilton that is going on.

Speaking of the Hilton...

Where you place the commas, in a sentence, actually does, make a difference. Someone alert Paris Hilton about the new hotel ad!

Hello to you, little cutie! If you look closely at the picture, you can see that the baby/toddler has a sheer scarf over his head. This is because of the dust/Gobi desert sand that is currently in the air. The Gobi Desert sand blows across our city in the Spring and many people wear sheer scarves to protect their eyes and lungs.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

On the streets in China...

One of the amazing things in China is the availability of services on the street. The variety never fails to fascinate us!

You can get a hair cut.

Or a shave.

You can get your shoes polished or fixed...and some good conversation!

Need something sewn?..no problem with this treadle sewing machine. You can also buy telephone cards there!

Fresh ginger root?

Nuts?

Breakfast?

Moped and bikes can be fixed on the spot. Flat tire? Walk your bike or moped a block or so and there will be a repair person.

If you need your knives sharpened, this is your man.

There are many, many car washes.

And on a more serious note, flowers and offerings to idols can be bought at these little stores and sidewalk stands. "Tomb Sweeping Day" is on Monday, where people go to the graves of their ancestors and offer honor and worship. We ride past this little shop everyday that sells spirit money, "gold" and flowers.