Food for Thought

What is it that people always say about smiling being a universal language? I have definitely discovered that to be true here, but there is something else that is perhaps even more so: Food.

 

"Nice to meet you, have a meat roll."

"Good morning, have a cookie."

"You look sad, have some fried rice."

"You look bored, have some chestunts."

It's a wonder Chinese people are mostly all still so tiny and no wonder that most of my first Chinese words involved food!

 

 

There is a chef who does most nights at the Brickyard and I have started calling her mom, because she always wants to feed me :) She told me the other day that if your stomach is full, you will neverbe homesick. I have to admit that a warm meal can do wonders for your mood -- unless it's tofu that is!

Camera Duty

So apparently the kitchen fan at the Schoolhouse is a little loud...or at least the neighbours have been complaining that it keeps them awake.If they were just annoyed it would be one thing, but they decided that the best way to deal with it is to throw rocks at the fan. This is how, you guessed it, I ended up on camera duty.

I got the honour of standing in the alley outside the office waiting to see if anyone was dumb enough to do anything while I had a camera pointed at them. While this worked relatively well temporarily -- I have no pictures that is -- it did not really solve anything since I was not going to stand there all day and all night.

On the plus side, apparently I provided entertainment. They all thought my job was quite funny or so I gathered by their pointing and jeering. One of them even took what I assume he thought was a sneaky picture of me.

I understand it's all solved now thanks to a townhall meeting. Two-Three hours on camera duty was plenty for me anyways!

The Bean Sprout Controversy

Apparently I am going to die tomorrow...or perhaps tonight. I'm not too clear yet. My crime, you ask? Eating bean sprouts. Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

I bought lots of veggies on my days off, planning to make 3 or 4 stir-frys but only ended up making 2 because Tana and I went out for hot pot in Huairou instead. So, naturally I had some left-overs. Tomatoes make for good breakfasts and cucumbers are fine on their own, but I pulled out a bowl of raw bean sprouts tonight and Tana and Zhan Li Jie just stared at me. Now I know that most people don't eat them raw, but I didn't think it was that odd. On the other hand, Chinese people cook their lettuce so who knows...

I convinced Tana to try some and she actually liked them...until Johnson and Simon -- two of our chefs-- came in, that is. "You can't eat those," they said (in Chinese). I just nodded and kept eating. Finally they got the message across (through Zhan LiJie and the translation software on her phone) that they believe raw bean sprouts to be poisonous.

Being me, I googled it and kept eating. Apparently there is an advisory against eating them raw, but they are said to be about as dangerous as any other raw veggies. I later learned that Tana and her family have gotten horribly sick from eating raw green beans in the past. That's basically the only way I eat green beans...

I hope it's Chinese people who have an odd reaction and not Chinese bean sprouts...

Broken Telephone (No Pun Intended)

My cell phone ran out of minutes the other morning, as it sometimes does, so I planned to go to the store after work to buy one of those little pieces of paper with a number on it that you call to add more minutes. At the end of the day, while I was waiting for the car back to the residence, I thought it might be a good idea to ask someone to write down what I needed for me so I would have an easier time in the shop. Juliette (who speaks a small amount of English) was sitting there, so I asked her. After gesturing and trying to explain a few times, I thought she understood because she started to write something down for me. She decided to double check on her computer, typed in some characters and asked me if that was what I meant: "You need to repair your phone?"

I then tried to explain again. She turned to Alice (who speaks a different small amount of English). She nodded vigorously as though she understood and told Juliette some buttons to push on my phone. I got confused here because there is no way to add minutes from my phone since I have never given them a credit card number, but I though maybe there was a code she needed. Juliette seemed to get a bit frustrated and passed the phone to Alice who continued to attempt the proceedure.

After a couple minutes Alice turned to me triumphantly and told me exactly how much each call I makes costs me if I am in Beijing or Huairou. Apparently they hadn't understood...I tried one more time and she said, "oh! Just give your phone and money to Johnson and he will do it on his computer. Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Now that was a real game of broken telephone!

Kayaking to China

All my cooking was great yesterday but I decided to go to the fruit stand instead of the vegetable store today so my options were a bit more limited for lunch. I ended up with a tomato, garlic and noodle soup and some plums. Although Dragon, one of the chefs, looked at it with displeasure, it tasted pretty good.

Lee-Ann and I were talking tonight about her coming to visit. We decided that if she would walk/run to Vancouver, I would buy her a Kayak to come here. Googlemaps says it should take a little over 5 months -- if she doesn't get lost -- so I may have to extend my trip, but it would totally be worth it. I wonder if she would need a visa...Anyone else want to join? I’ll even take you out for dinner when you get here!

Canada Day Stickers

Because I am a Girl Guide (okay, okay, maybe my Mom had the idea) I came prepared for Canada Day in China with stickers and temporary tattoos. Giulia looked at me like I was crazy this morning--until she put one on herself that is. I think I eventually had everyone from kitchen staff to the big bosses wearing at least one. I brought the sticker sheet out in the Brickyard at the end of the day and turned my back for only a second before it disappeared. Apparently the kitchen staff there wanted more...I saw a corner of it later peaking out from under a pan :)

Jake and Alex headed home today but we managed to get a nice group photo before they left. It’s going to feel funny not having them around. I posted it on the Schoolhouse Facebook page and got more response in one day than we usually get in a week.

We finally have internet access back in the residence, but I am sitting out in the living room because Giulia is trying to sleep in our room so she can get up in the middle of the night to watch the big soccer game between Spain and Italy. Bet you can’t guess who she is rooting for! Perhaps she needs some Italian stickers...

Gortex Sneakers

I felt like I was back at camp today. It rained...all day...I don’t think I have ever been so happy to have Gortex sneakers as when Mona complained that it felt like she was walking on watermelon--her flats weren’t really meant for wading through puddles. I actually told some people about the fireplace in their house and had them nod approvingly instead of looking at me like I am crazy as they typically do. Apparently it’s the rainy season :(

Needless to say, today wasn’t particularly busy at the Schoolhouse. On the other hand, some VIP group came by for lunch and complained that there was a large puddle outside the doorway. So, Mona and I spent quite a while trying to sweep it away (which didn’t work since the sidewalk is slanted and it was still pouring) and eventually filling dustpans with the water and pouring it elsewhere. We must have looked pretty funny!

I ordered today’s special (as described in yesterday’s post) for lunch and the chicken was even better with the plum sauce! However, this meant that I got caught without dinner tonight because I was checking people in during the staff meal. By the time I got back there was no food left anywhere. So, I cooked some more eggplant, mushrooms and noodles. Tana, who didn’t have dinner either, came and joined me and we shared my food and a patty melt that she ordered from the Brickyard as well as some amazing grapefruit tea. Some of the kitchen staff asked to borrow my chess set so Tana and I watched them play five games or so. They are so fast! Maybe someday I can play against one of them...

On a different note, the one-sided conversation I got to listen to Mona having on the phone had me in stitches today, so I thought I might share it:
- Schoolhouse, hello
- You’d like to confirm your reservation for 8 people?
- Hum...I don’t see you on our calendar. What was your name again?
- Oh well...we aren’t too busy tomorrow, I can put you down. What time would you like it for?
- You’d like the table near what?
- The bedroom?
- Oh, you wanted a house!

Apparently it’s a bit confusing that our phone number for the restaurant and lodging is the same...