Letters from a Traveling Kate.
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
that ubiquitous wok
Yeah, yeah. I know I already signed off on China. But I was flipping
through my Chinese "recipes" the other day (long story as to why, but
we're getting desperate with the green beans) and came to some
subsequent realizations.
1. My note-taking skills are absolutely incomprehensible. Handwriting
not so good either.
2. The Chinese people don't measure. They're too cool. I find pathetic
attempts in my notes like "leetle cubes," "a lotta rice," "buncha green
beans," or "miniature-scripture-sized hunk of pork." Somewhere around
"approximately 50,000 previously boiled noodles" then I gave up
altogether and everything is "some." Some oil, some peppers, some
ginger. Whatev.
3. Freak, you can make anything in a wok. Except for maybe bread.
4. From what I can discern, many Guangdong dishes are somewhat
formulaic. The equation goes something like this:
*Note: c in this equation does not represent speed of light, but instead
"copious amounts of."*
5. The cooks, Michael and Denial (read: Daniel)? Pros.
through my Chinese "recipes" the other day (long story as to why, but
we're getting desperate with the green beans) and came to some
subsequent realizations.
1. My note-taking skills are absolutely incomprehensible. Handwriting
not so good either.
2. The Chinese people don't measure. They're too cool. I find pathetic
attempts in my notes like "leetle cubes," "a lotta rice," "buncha green
beans," or "miniature-scripture-sized hunk of pork." Somewhere around
"approximately 50,000 previously boiled noodles" then I gave up
altogether and everything is "some." Some oil, some peppers, some
ginger. Whatev.
3. Freak, you can make anything in a wok. Except for maybe bread.
4. From what I can discern, many Guangdong dishes are somewhat
formulaic. The equation goes something like this:
*Note: c in this equation does not represent speed of light, but instead"copious amounts of."*
5. The cooks, Michael and Denial (read: Daniel)? Pros.
dear china
Dear China,
你好! Hao jiu bu jian, eh? Did you think that I forgot about you? Quite
the contrary, actually: I miss you! I looked at a globe yesterday and
realized just how far you are from me. Remember, you have some of my
favorite people in your ample boundaries.
And about a billion more. Take good care of them for me. I love them
all very much.
In the meantime, I promise to look after some of your crazy new friends
in MY neighborhood, or at least hemisphere. Hopefully they won't get
in TOO much trouble, even if they do drink cold water or refuse rice
from now on.
Anyways. Just wanted to say thanks again for your hospitality. I'm
especially grateful for the pineapple bread, cheap DVDs, and endless
excitement you provided. Six months is a long time to put up with
someone, especially an American, and you were for the most part very
kind.
Good luck! You've got a lot ahead of you, so all the best. Maybe I'll see
you around, yeah? As they say, this world ain't big enough for the two
of us.
Much love,
Kate (not from Cleveland. The other Kate.)
P.S. 那里也是我的家。
P.P.S. I hope you never took any of our "China Blues" songs too
seriously.
P.P.P.S. You may want to consider restrooms. That's all I'm saying.
你好! Hao jiu bu jian, eh? Did you think that I forgot about you? Quite
the contrary, actually: I miss you! I looked at a globe yesterday and
realized just how far you are from me. Remember, you have some of my
favorite people in your ample boundaries.
And about a billion more. Take good care of them for me. I love themall very much.
In the meantime, I promise to look after some of your crazy new friends
in MY neighborhood, or at least hemisphere. Hopefully they won't get
in TOO much trouble, even if they do drink cold water or refuse rice
from now on.
Anyways. Just wanted to say thanks again for your hospitality. I'mespecially grateful for the pineapple bread, cheap DVDs, and endless
excitement you provided. Six months is a long time to put up with
someone, especially an American, and you were for the most part very
kind.
Good luck! You've got a lot ahead of you, so all the best. Maybe I'll see
you around, yeah? As they say, this world ain't big enough for the two
of us.
Much love,
Kate (not from Cleveland. The other Kate.)
P.S. 那里也是我的家。
P.P.S. I hope you never took any of our "China Blues" songs too
seriously.
P.P.P.S. You may want to consider restrooms. That's all I'm saying.
747
Highlights from the 7,000 mile trip home:
- Jumping into a random lady's car to escape the rain, then giving her
false directions and getting lost.
- A Twix! A Twix! A Twix in the Hong Kong airport!
- Discovering that the man we have called Ben for six months is in fact
named Banker.
- Checking my blood sugar in Taipei (thanks, Amy!).
- Inadvertently dozing with Taiwan John, my new whiskey pen pal.
- All but weeping over the pat of butter that came with the airline
dinner.
- Waking Katie up in the dead of night mid-flight to hear David Tennant
read a Shakespearean sonnet.
- Customs with fellow disheveled travelers in various stages of crankiness.
- L.A. "It smells like America!"
- My brothers having gotten HUGE in my absence. Holy crap.
- Grass. Carpet. A soft bed. After-dinner mints. Bless.
- Jumping into a random lady's car to escape the rain, then giving her
false directions and getting lost.
- A Twix! A Twix! A Twix in the Hong Kong airport!
- Discovering that the man we have called Ben for six months is in fact
named Banker.
- Checking my blood sugar in Taipei (thanks, Amy!).
- Inadvertently dozing with Taiwan John, my new whiskey pen pal.
- All but weeping over the pat of butter that came with the airline
dinner.
- Waking Katie up in the dead of night mid-flight to hear David Tennant
read a Shakespearean sonnet.
- Customs with fellow disheveled travelers in various stages of crankiness.
- L.A. "It smells like America!"
- My brothers having gotten HUGE in my absence. Holy crap.
- Grass. Carpet. A soft bed. After-dinner mints. Bless.
also regarding beijing
Hiking the unrestored Jiankou section of the Great Wall of China: 200 元
Riding BJ's Metro a dozen times in three days: 24 元
Eating fried scorpions off a stick at Wangfujing? Priceless.regarding beijing
First of all, our three measly days were not enough. Secondly, it was
much easier to find our way/get around 北京. For one, Beijing accents
are easier to understand and for two, it is less necessary for me to do
so, as the city has loads of English in its sterilized, post-Olympic state.
And tourists! Relative oodles of foreigners of every ethnicity from dozens
of different countries. That's fun. But of course we had to point out to
everyone we met that we are NOT tourists and we live in China, thank
you very much. We were very comfortable in Beijing as a result.
Our hostel, Beijing City Central Youth Hostel International or whatever,
was a good one. Much like its 10元 Chinese buffet breakfast: bland but
solid. For those interested, ♥ the location, fair accomodations, travel
tips/directions distinctly unhelpful.
Anyways, post check-in/sprawl-out, we threw ourselves into the thick
of it and went to Tiananmen Square. It's the biggest city square in the
world and cool as heck to wander around in. So we did. A lot.
We returned on Saturday to see the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. It
was packed! But Kristy Kay and I were determined to go, so we braved
the Mao-crowds to have a peep at the man himself, and were of course
waylaid.
Apparently he's a pretty popular guy. But we queued up with the umbrellas
and lurkers to wait it out in a line reminiscent of Disneyland's. (Best line
I saw in China, actually. One of the only.)
It was supposed to be about a thirty-minute wait and the line was
surprisingly just that. (Beijing time ≠ China time.) We shuffled around
the building, past the statues of burly peasants and determined-looking
soldiers, and showed some ID. Then we were herded into the shady,
quiet building where ushers shot death glares at laughing people and
Kristy and I meekly gave up our curious-stalker-evasion maneuvers.
First up was a Lincolnesque white statue of a giant seated Mao. You
could buy a white rose to bow and place at his feet and buy yourself
another minute in the entrance, or be swept out of this first room into
the next, which featured...
The man himself. Chairman Mao. It was around this point that I had the
sudden urge to yell "Falun Gong!" and go home early, but I checked it and
kept shuffling forward.
At first glimpse I thought, "Mao is an alien! That explains a lot!" but no, it
was just odd lighting. The man was literally aglow and looking rather yellow
in his illuminated state. But, as we tiptoed closer he looked more human, just
like a sleeping old man. He looked at peace, and as we shuffled out into the
museum, I wondered if he was, and made a silent goal to see as many of
these well-preserved Communist dictator goons as I could.
And so we were out of the Mao-soleum and back into the blinding sunshine
in less than five minutes. We ran and retrieved our checked bags (looooong
story) and walked across 天安门 to see the Forbidden City.
This, the emperor's old home, is also very cool. And big. HUGE. Epic in both
scale and detail - a massive, elaborate compound requiring hundreds if not
thousands of workers to simply run the place all for just one guy. One person.
One. No wonder Mao looks jealous.
And a tad disapproving, I think.
Anyways, the place was packed. Tourists out the wazoo from every
country imaginable. So we wandered in the hot sunshine with throngs of
other travelers: tours with matching hats and flags, Chinese families with
umbrellas and cameras, solo Westerners with hired guides... among tiled
roofs and painted ceilings and enormous walls over stones and steps,
reveling in the symbols and detail and taking millions of pictures.
Thus we walked, guided by whim and Jen's audio tour, so we were for
the most part lost but well-informed.
New length record set and more still to come. Love you!
much easier to find our way/get around 北京. For one, Beijing accents
are easier to understand and for two, it is less necessary for me to do
so, as the city has loads of English in its sterilized, post-Olympic state.
And tourists! Relative oodles of foreigners of every ethnicity from dozens
of different countries. That's fun. But of course we had to point out to
everyone we met that we are NOT tourists and we live in China, thank
you very much. We were very comfortable in Beijing as a result.
Our hostel, Beijing City Central Youth Hostel International or whatever,
was a good one. Much like its 10元 Chinese buffet breakfast: bland but
solid. For those interested, ♥ the location, fair accomodations, travel
tips/directions distinctly unhelpful.
Anyways, post check-in/sprawl-out, we threw ourselves into the thick
of it and went to Tiananmen Square. It's the biggest city square in the
world and cool as heck to wander around in. So we did. A lot.
We returned on Saturday to see the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. It
was packed! But Kristy Kay and I were determined to go, so we braved
the Mao-crowds to have a peep at the man himself, and were of course
waylaid.
Apparently he's a pretty popular guy. But we queued up with the umbrellas
and lurkers to wait it out in a line reminiscent of Disneyland's. (Best line
I saw in China, actually. One of the only.)
It was supposed to be about a thirty-minute wait and the line wassurprisingly just that. (Beijing time ≠ China time.) We shuffled around
the building, past the statues of burly peasants and determined-looking
soldiers, and showed some ID. Then we were herded into the shady,
quiet building where ushers shot death glares at laughing people and
Kristy and I meekly gave up our curious-stalker-evasion maneuvers.
First up was a Lincolnesque white statue of a giant seated Mao. You
could buy a white rose to bow and place at his feet and buy yourself
another minute in the entrance, or be swept out of this first room into
the next, which featured...
The man himself. Chairman Mao. It was around this point that I had the
sudden urge to yell "Falun Gong!" and go home early, but I checked it and
kept shuffling forward.
At first glimpse I thought, "Mao is an alien! That explains a lot!" but no, it
was just odd lighting. The man was literally aglow and looking rather yellow
in his illuminated state. But, as we tiptoed closer he looked more human, just
like a sleeping old man. He looked at peace, and as we shuffled out into the
museum, I wondered if he was, and made a silent goal to see as many of
these well-preserved Communist dictator goons as I could.
And so we were out of the Mao-soleum and back into the blinding sunshine
in less than five minutes. We ran and retrieved our checked bags (looooong
story) and walked across 天安门 to see the Forbidden City.
This, the emperor's old home, is also very cool. And big. HUGE. Epic in both
scale and detail - a massive, elaborate compound requiring hundreds if not
thousands of workers to simply run the place all for just one guy. One person.
One. No wonder Mao looks jealous.
And a tad disapproving, I think.Anyways, the place was packed. Tourists out the wazoo from every
country imaginable. So we wandered in the hot sunshine with throngs of
other travelers: tours with matching hats and flags, Chinese families with
umbrellas and cameras, solo Westerners with hired guides... among tiled
roofs and painted ceilings and enormous walls over stones and steps,
reveling in the symbols and detail and taking millions of pictures.
Thus we walked, guided by whim and Jen's audio tour, so we were forthe most part lost but well-informed.
New length record set and more still to come. Love you!
day of the childrens
Meanwhile, back in China...
The month of May was spent in a frenzy of canceled classes and song
practices in preparation for capital C, capital D Children's Day.
I spent this time warbling the Hello song and vainly trying to bribe
two-year-olds into singing with me. (Luckily the babies were cut from
the program.) Meanwhile, the Chinese teachers labored to bring about
a full-scale song and dance production, the cuteness of which was unreal.
But despite having quit childhood years ago, I was not exempt from this
exhibition. For weeks we spent our afternoons in the dance room,
nervously sweating on the not-yet-buckling hardwood as the ordinarily
sweet Lulu turned into a dance Nazi ("YI er san si wu LIU QI ba!").
We did our best to follow her contemporary fast-paced creation, but our
only directions were in rapid-fire dance-teacher Chinese. All I can say is,
I am so very grateful for my back row placement. Just put me behind
Teacher Iki and everything is fine. Thank you.
The final product featured belly shirts, streamers, and some very fierce
running. Twas epic.
Also, I learned I'm a sucker for a boy in makeup.
Or maybe just this particular boy.
The month of May was spent in a frenzy of canceled classes and song
practices in preparation for capital C, capital D Children's Day.
I spent this time warbling the Hello song and vainly trying to bribe
two-year-olds into singing with me. (Luckily the babies were cut from
the program.) Meanwhile, the Chinese teachers labored to bring about
a full-scale song and dance production, the cuteness of which was unreal.
But despite having quit childhood years ago, I was not exempt from thisexhibition. For weeks we spent our afternoons in the dance room,
nervously sweating on the not-yet-buckling hardwood as the ordinarily
sweet Lulu turned into a dance Nazi ("YI er san si wu LIU QI ba!").
We did our best to follow her contemporary fast-paced creation, but our
only directions were in rapid-fire dance-teacher Chinese. All I can say is,
I am so very grateful for my back row placement. Just put me behind
Teacher Iki and everything is fine. Thank you.
The final product featured belly shirts, streamers, and some very fiercerunning. Twas epic.
Also, I learned I'm a sucker for a boy in makeup.
Or maybe just this particular boy.
hao chi ma?
I have eaten:
Duck, cow stomach, sugar cane, lotus root, tofu in great abundance and
in many ways, fish bones (not on purpose), starfruit, dragonfruit, shellfish,
chicken feet, beetles, octopus/squid in varying forms, sea snails, goose feet,
seaweed (almost on a daily basis), guava, oysters, mussels, giant shrimp
brain, pumellos, pickled papaya and pickled chives and pickled turnip, a
whole crab (barehanded), frog, scorpion, various seafood sketch, and starfish.
Also, more rice than I ever could have imagined.
And, the only food I harbor any ill will towards, is ginger.
oh, the humidity
*I'm back! in the US of A from the PR of C. Let the retroactive blogging
onslaught begin!*
The tables have turned.
Mere months ago I was rejoicing in the Guangdong sunshine, laughing
at you snowbound suckers in the Rockies. Well, not anymore.
Humidity has arrived: curling our hair, clogging our pores, and sapping
us of the will to live. (Much like puberty.) At school, sweat-soaked children
wipe their dripping faces on our already damp clothes...
Poor girl.
... while at home, things begin to grow. My ILPeep Annie has cleverly
compiled a list of our more auspicious mold-growing belongings. It includes:
My poor, poor passport. Not you too!
onslaught begin!*
The tables have turned.
Mere months ago I was rejoicing in the Guangdong sunshine, laughing
at you snowbound suckers in the Rockies. Well, not anymore.
Humidity has arrived: curling our hair, clogging our pores, and sapping
us of the will to live. (Much like puberty.) At school, sweat-soaked children
wipe their dripping faces on our already damp clothes...
Poor girl.
... while at home, things begin to grow. My ILPeep Annie has cleverly
compiled a list of our more auspicious mold-growing belongings. It includes:
- Suitcases
- Scripture case
- Shoes
- Kristy's clothes (no one else's, for some reason)
- iPod armband
- The ceiling
- Mosquitoes
My poor, poor passport. Not you too!
f.a.q.
Q: Are you dead?
A: No.
Q: Then why is your blog?
A: China has most unfortunately decided to block Blogger.
Q: Well how did this post get here then?
A: Through the noble email efforts of my mother, who is wonderful and
clever. And lovely.
Q: So, is this the end? No more blogging?
A: Never! The Adventures of the Traveling Kate continue and I am
blogging in my heart. Expect posts galore upon my return to the land
of the free and the home of the brave. (End of June-ish.)
Q: Drat. Anything else?
A: Love it, love you. Ta.
A: No.
Q: Then why is your blog?
A: China has most unfortunately decided to block Blogger.
Q: Well how did this post get here then?
A: Through the noble email efforts of my mother, who is wonderful and
clever. And lovely.
Q: So, is this the end? No more blogging?
A: Never! The Adventures of the Traveling Kate continue and I am
blogging in my heart. Expect posts galore upon my return to the land
of the free and the home of the brave. (End of June-ish.)
Q: Drat. Anything else?
A: Love it, love you. Ta.
spit it out
When you live in another country for a while, things just cease to be
weird. You grow accustomed to red bean paste and the
little-girl/DI/j-rock fashion aesthetic, red spit and street-fired snot
rockets, and live frogs and turtles in the supermarket. Brushes with death
by moto and bizarre stilted conversations with random strangers happen
daily. The use of squatters and chopsticks becomes second nature while
the overwhelming cuteness of the childrens becomes routine.
And your blog suffers as a result. So, for lack of an anecdote of note, I'd
like to say that I love each one of you. I miss those of you who aren't here
with me and enjoy those of you who are. I appreciate you so much.
Much love!
weird. You grow accustomed to red bean paste and the
little-girl/DI/j-rock fashion aesthetic, red spit and street-fired snot
rockets, and live frogs and turtles in the supermarket. Brushes with death
by moto and bizarre stilted conversations with random strangers happen
daily. The use of squatters and chopsticks becomes second nature while
the overwhelming cuteness of the childrens becomes routine.
And your blog suffers as a result. So, for lack of an anecdote of note, I'd
like to say that I love each one of you. I miss those of you who aren't here
with me and enjoy those of you who are. I appreciate you so much.
Much love!
我 [wǒ] is me
上上个星期六我跟十位朋友去珠海看乐乐的老朋友。 我们坐七辆汽车，
一辆面包车，和一辆地铁，可是我们都很高兴。 上次我们去珠海的时候，
我们吃 海蜗牛. 这次我们在比萨饼先生吃很好吃的 比萨饼。 然后 我们
走路。 我们看了公园，珠海渔女塑像 , 和珠海大学。 我们照片拍得多。
我有中国的男朋友！开玩笑。
我爱这张 照片。 在中国大概是我最喜欢的照片。 那天下了一场大雨，
所以我就带我的伞。 我的伞 是很特别的。 我别的朋友是可口可乐水汽。
因为我旅行的时候，可乐经常帮我。
然后我们回家，去我最喜欢的饭店吃花生酱拌面。
我想你们！
爱，
凯曦
一辆面包车，和一辆地铁，可是我们都很高兴。 上次我们去珠海的时候，
我们吃 海蜗牛. 这次我们在比萨饼先生吃很好吃的 比萨饼。 然后 我们
走路。 我们看了公园，珠海渔女塑像 , 和珠海大学。 我们照片拍得多。
我有中国的男朋友！开玩笑。
我爱这张 照片。 在中国大概是我最喜欢的照片。 那天下了一场大雨，
所以我就带我的伞。 我的伞 是很特别的。 我别的朋友是可口可乐水汽。
因为我旅行的时候，可乐经常帮我。
然后我们回家，去我最喜欢的饭店吃花生酱拌面。
我想你们！
爱，
凯曦
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