In our apartments, we have gas stoves. I don't know if you've ever tried to cook rice on a gas stove...It can be done, but it's not pretty. The first time I made the attempt, I ended up adding 10 cups of water to the pot while cooking.
You see, there is no such thing as simmer on these stoves - the minimum heat setting still leaves you at boiling temperature. For day-to-day cooking, I've adjusted. Rice, however, is just plain annoying. So, I broke down and we bough a rice cooker. It was less that $20 for a 4 quart machine, but I do despise spending money.
We came home happy with our purchase and excited to be able to easily cook rice. Until we encountered rice cooking problem number two. Electrical outlets in our campus apartments are rather hard to come by, as is counter space. In the kitchen, we literally have no counter space whatsoever that will reach an electrical outlet. In fact, many of the outlets are in strange places you would never expect (i.e. above door frames) because they are cheaper to wire that way. Subsequently, our rice cooker now sits happy on our living room floor emitting the lovely aroma of curried rice and Chinese sausage. I think we get an A+ for being able to adapt!
Cooking lunch on the living room floor due to misplaced outlets is not the only strange thing about our living arrangements. There are plenty of other "quirky" things that make this a fun and exciting place to live! For example, we have a washing machine, but no dryer, which means the little sun porch off of our bedroom is now our very own Chinese Laundry!
But, as I said, we are happy to adapt. We do, however, have some very good news on the topic of housing. We found out yesterday that one of the up-downs (Two level, three bedroom apartments) will soon be empty! We're first on the list, so this means we will have room for our baby and guests very shortly!
There is also more good news - I have hit a personal milestone when it come to my experiences in China. No, it was not our trip to the meat restaurant during which we ate Ox Tongue - I have mastered the squatter! For anyone who's not quite sure what I'm talking about, public bathrooms in China are just one more thing that is not quite what you would expect. Instead of toilets, each stall has a hole in the ground (essentially an in-ground toilet bowl) with a foot hold on either side. You are expected to squat and do your business. Also, don't expect to find toilet paper or hand soap in a public washroom. These are items you must carry in your purse at all times.
Anywho, to begin with, I was not a fan of the squatter. I did give it a chance. I tried several times to position myself properly and decided, after much speculation, that there was no way I was going to be able to squat and not pee on my pants. My initial solution was to just take them off. This worked, but was rather time consuming. I later decided that a clever alternate solution was to go to wheelchair accessible washrooms only. This way, there was a guarantee that there would be at least one Western toilet. This was an acceptable solution until I realized that not all washrooms are wheelchair accessible and sometimes, you just have to pee. At this moment I made the decision that if millions of people could use a squatter each and every day, there was no reason I couldn't do it too! And I did! I managed to use the squatter properly and not even pee on myself! So there it is...my very strange - but exciting - milestone.
Unfortunately, there is also some disappointing news to share. Being pregnant in rural China kinda sucks sometimes. Now, there are the good points - people are really nice to you, you almost always get a seat on the train, etc. However, in my new, painful, irritable state, it seems very unfortunate to me that I can't just walk out the door and satisfy my hunger, for example. Here is the problems, in short:
- I'm starting to get big - my centre of gravity is off and it's hard to get up by myself.
- I get exhausted rather easily and get horrible stitches in my sides when I walk (just my uterus stretching -nothing to worry about)
- I am unsustainabley hungry and often want things to eat that are just plain impossible for me to have here in China.
You see, back home if I was too tired to stand up I could just order food or take a trip to a close by fast food restaurant. Here, I can order out, but it's terrible expensive and we all know how cheap I am. Home I could have things like ice cream, dill pickles, and olives on hand. Here, that is simply not an option.
I am, of course, making it work. I just do what I always to and keep on trudging through when I'm so tired that I feel like I can't even stand. I still cook our meals and clean everyday. I pretend that there is nothing that I would want at home that I can't have here. I walk to town to town to drop off drycleaning or shop. But still, I want pickles...and ice cream...and easily accessible food. *End Rant*
Now, back to the happy things! I've found out where several important things are in Dalian. Well...important in SarahLand, at least. I have now located the music store, and the art supplies store. My birthday money from my parents will go a long way here in China and I plan to pick up (possibly next week), an Erhu (a Chinese stringed folk instrument) and method book, music books for my violin, flute and clarinet, rosin and a mute for my violin, as well as canvas and paint! I figure I should spend sometime painting and playing music while I still have the time. I doubt I will have that luxury once Miss Lily comes!
Also, on the "Happy News" front, I have secured a tutoring job! I will be teaching two Korean children English. It's only once a week, but it adds up to enough to but groceries!
Another notable thing that has been happening this week is the multiple occurrences of us getting ripped off. Yesterday, we bought fruit. We got charged about 1/3 more that what we should have. We got pictures printed. We got charged almost double what we should have. This has lead me to realize that I really have to learn enough Chinese very quickly to let someone know that I'm aware that they are ripping me off. I can say "It's too expensive" and I know my numbers so I can bargain, but it still disappoints me that it happens at all.
Now, on the plus side, there are very few people that are trying to rip us off because we're not Chinese, and there are some merchants who are absolutely wonderful, for example, my vegetable lady. I continuously go to the same lady at the market to buy vegetables. On the exterior she doesn't seem like a friendly person, but she is quite nice and very fair. She gives me the same price as she would someone Chinese and she even takes me to to more fresh produce hidden away if I am looking at something that she has better stock of. She's so good to me, in fact, that I think I will bring her a present.
Last, but, not least, I need to mention our school clubs here. I think it's wonderful, the way they run extracurricular activities. Many of the clubs (movie club, yoga, softball) are for teachers and students alike and they all take part in activities together. I think it's a wonderful way to foster community spirit.
Yesterday, we decided to go to softball (an excellent example of me forcing myself to do something, even though I was dead tired!). Daniel went to play and I took our camera and took pictures of the event. Staff and students played together, everyone looked like they were having a wonderful time, and we are excited to go back again next week!
Overall, we're still enjoying our time here immensely! My goals for this month are to:
a) see more of what the city has to offer
b) Read one whole sign in Chinese
c) Learn to verbally communicate more effectively
d) Get more involved at the school
I'm quite proud of both of us for the progress we've made so far, but there is a lot more excitement and adventure to come! Keep checking back- We'll keep you posted!
1 comment:
Good good good......
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