I thought I would write a little something about the food and general conditions this morning.
You can't drink the water, of course, unless its been boiled first. Even the locals don't much, as I understand it, that's why traditionally you are served a cup of hot water with your meal nearly every where you go to eat. It is similar to our tradition of getting ice water at a restaurant when you sit down, except Chinese people would NEVER drink anything cold for any reason; they believe that you would catch a cold from drinking or eating something cold. Seriously!
That said, we live like kings here in Peter Hall, compared to the rest of the people that live on this campus (and the rest of the city). We have toilets (albeit that barely flush, and you can't put the paper in them) and we even have hot water twice a day; for several hours in the morning, and for about four hours in the evening. What's more, is our apartment actually has a source of heat! The boilers keep it around 40 to 50 degrees, usually about 10 degrees better than outside unless you buy your own space heater. None of the common areas or hallways or classrooms or offices are heated, though, and the climate here is real similar to ours, just not as windy, so it is not uncommon for it to be literally freezing in the common areas. The student dorms have no source of heat at all, and it isn't uncommon to see windows open even on cold days because it isn't any colder outside than inside.
After the first day, I started noticing the burning coal smell from boilers and industries every where I go. I used to really like that sulfury smell, but it is rapidly becoming less attractive to me.
What is remarkable about us having toilets is that pretty much nowhere else in town has anything except "squat pots." (The airports have real toilets) That is what the attached photo is of, and I do warn you, it is not for the faint of heart! This was taken on the way out of the restaurant that we ate at last night. I am not very squeamish, but I'm glad I saw it on the way out, and not on the way in! The looks of it weren't half as bad as the smell of it, though. To use it, you just drop your pants down to your knees and squat and drop your load and throw your t.p. in the bag (not provided, its strictly B.Y.O.B.W.!) Be careful; you'll be sorry if you tip over backward! They aren't all this dirty though; I used one that seemed quite clean (I guess; it was dark because the power was out, so maybe I peed all over my shoes).
At the restaurant, we sat all 14 of us around a large round table with a large glass "lazy susan" in the middle just enough smaller than the table to have room for your plates around the circumference. Jonathan, my sister in law's fiance, went first and ordered everything for us and they brought it out one dish at time, probably 10 or 12 different dishes, brought out in courses and we helped ourselves quickly (hard with chopsticks) because the people on the other side of the table were impatiently turning the lazy Susan at first. Everything tasted really good! But let me tell you, if you think you like Chinese food, but have never been to China you may have another think coming! It is NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING like your hometown Chinese buffet, except for the rice! Even soy sauce isn't on the table, it isn't really a condiment like we use it in America, its more like something you put in your food when cooking instead of on your food. When I asked about it, Jonathan jumped up and got me some and it was way thicker and not as salty as we are used to. Elvis commented that maybe it was not as runny because I've never had soy sauce so cold before; we could see our breath in the restaurant! They even ordered something really spicy just on my behalf and while I very much enjoyed it, even that is a different kind of spicy. It's difficult to describe, its like a whole other "layer" or "depth" of spicyness to it. They use this pepper called the "numbing pepper" because it sort of makes you go numb, but not like it sounds; it makes your lips and mouth tingle; it's in quite a lot of food.
What is remarkable about us having toilets is that pretty much nowhere else in town has anything except "squat pots." (The airports have real toilets) That is what the attached photo is of, and I do warn you, it is not for the faint of heart! This was taken on the way out of the restaurant that we ate at last night. I am not very squeamish, but I'm glad I saw it on the way out, and not on the way in! The looks of it weren't half as bad as the smell of it, though. To use it, you just drop your pants down to your knees and squat and drop your load and throw your t.p. in the bag (not provided, its strictly B.Y.O.B.W.!) Be careful; you'll be sorry if you tip over backward! They aren't all this dirty though; I used one that seemed quite clean (I guess; it was dark because the power was out, so maybe I peed all over my shoes).
At the restaurant, we sat all 14 of us around a large round table with a large glass "lazy susan" in the middle just enough smaller than the table to have room for your plates around the circumference. Jonathan, my sister in law's fiance, went first and ordered everything for us and they brought it out one dish at time, probably 10 or 12 different dishes, brought out in courses and we helped ourselves quickly (hard with chopsticks) because the people on the other side of the table were impatiently turning the lazy Susan at first. Everything tasted really good! But let me tell you, if you think you like Chinese food, but have never been to China you may have another think coming! It is NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING like your hometown Chinese buffet, except for the rice! Even soy sauce isn't on the table, it isn't really a condiment like we use it in America, its more like something you put in your food when cooking instead of on your food. When I asked about it, Jonathan jumped up and got me some and it was way thicker and not as salty as we are used to. Elvis commented that maybe it was not as runny because I've never had soy sauce so cold before; we could see our breath in the restaurant! They even ordered something really spicy just on my behalf and while I very much enjoyed it, even that is a different kind of spicy. It's difficult to describe, its like a whole other "layer" or "depth" of spicyness to it. They use this pepper called the "numbing pepper" because it sort of makes you go numb, but not like it sounds; it makes your lips and mouth tingle; it's in quite a lot of food.
Chinese people have developed a culture around what seems like filth to us, though. You know where we often speak of the "five second rule" when food hits the floor? That's about 6 seconds too long in this culture... You wouldn't want to eat anything off the floor at a place where people walk out of that bathroom! (Maybe thats why people are anxious for you to remove your shoes before coming in their home) Or even off the table, for that matter. It caused a lot of angst with us non-native chopstick users when we drop delicious food on what appears to be a clean table, but it is considered lost to you; and you never put the chopsticks or little porcelain spoon down even on the table. All your table service comes completely wrapped up in a shrink-wrapped package so that you know that it is clean. I dont know if they throw it away afterwards or send it off to be cleaned and rewrapped, but I'm pretty sure they don't wrap it there, there's not room to do that there.
The children don't wear diapers here, they just have little puffy pants with no crotch in them. Their parents hold them in a sitting position facing them and they do their business in the grass if available, or in an alley, or at the base of a tree in the middle of the sidewalk if none of those things are available. I saw a little boy squatting down and you could see his poor little boy parts and bottom all chapped from the cold!
The living quarters are much different, as I said in a previous blog, there are a lot of people packed into this city. There are whole blocks that are basically just one building, 5 to 6 stories tall, that have tiny shops or businesses all along the 1st floor perimeter of the building while the rest of the building is apartments, a block long, by a block wide, 5 stories high. Block after block after block after block of this. It's not uncommon, I'm told, to have 3 or 4 families living together in 1 tiny little apartment. Makes me pretty happy about my 1800 sq ft (plus basement) house + nearly 20 acres of land! Not to mention a toilet that actually flushes.
Today we go to the antique market in ZhengZhou to try my hand at bargaining with the natives in a language that I know only two words of:
1) "nee-how" = hello
2) "cola-cola" = cola-cola
The children don't wear diapers here, they just have little puffy pants with no crotch in them. Their parents hold them in a sitting position facing them and they do their business in the grass if available, or in an alley, or at the base of a tree in the middle of the sidewalk if none of those things are available. I saw a little boy squatting down and you could see his poor little boy parts and bottom all chapped from the cold!
The living quarters are much different, as I said in a previous blog, there are a lot of people packed into this city. There are whole blocks that are basically just one building, 5 to 6 stories tall, that have tiny shops or businesses all along the 1st floor perimeter of the building while the rest of the building is apartments, a block long, by a block wide, 5 stories high. Block after block after block after block of this. It's not uncommon, I'm told, to have 3 or 4 families living together in 1 tiny little apartment. Makes me pretty happy about my 1800 sq ft (plus basement) house + nearly 20 acres of land! Not to mention a toilet that actually flushes.
Today we go to the antique market in ZhengZhou to try my hand at bargaining with the natives in a language that I know only two words of:
1) "nee-how" = hello
2) "cola-cola" = cola-cola
It is funny, though, on the bus I'll catch myself listening to their conversation, inadvertently thinking I'll pick up some of it, even if I won't be able to follow the conversation. Then it occurs to me- it ain't Spanish, dummy...
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