"T" in Tennessee!

Tinchina needs your help, my blog visitors!

So here's the deal.  My trusty little digital camera has died and although I adore the Canon I've been borrowing from my friend, it seems it is also out of date.  I've been paid and am ready to buy a new digital.  Have any suggestions?  I have a $300 limit and would like to get the most for my money and also something sturdy.  So just assume that I can buy ANY camera brand here in Beijing (a safe assumption, trust me) and let me know your thoughts.  What should I look for?  A Canon?  A Nikon?  Something else?  Let me hear from you by leaving your suggestion in the comments!

As for pics, I hope to post an entry soon.  Weekends here in Beijing are long work days for me so we'll just have to see what I can come up with by tomorrow night! ha  I am still borrowing my friend's camera so I'll see what I can do! :)  LL in C, T.

Life as a Foreigner in China!

This morning I decided to be lazy and sleep in a bit as I didn't have to be at work until early afternoon.  So...while laying in bed and convincing myself to sleep more, sleep more....I hear a bang, bang, bang, at the door at little after 9:00 am.  This can only mean one thing.  The police.  I was right.  I padded to the door very quietly and by the time I looked through the peephole, the police had gone but not before I heard them slip a note in my door! ha  I didn't even bother opening the door to retrieve the note until I left for work because I knew it'd be in Chinese and I wouldn't be able to read it.  I took it to work with me and had a Chinese co-worker to translate it for me....which just said, "Call this number at the police station"  So my friend called for me and they said I needed to come to the police station and show them my "temporary" registration (which is what all foreigners living and working here have) because their records show that it's outdated.  Sigh.....  So wrong.  But that's China for you.  You see, when you live and work in China then every time you leave the country and return, you have 7 days to re-appear at your local police station to "re-register."  They give you a new temporary registration form which shows the expiration date of your "working" visa.  I've left the country twice since I've lived here.  Once to go to Hong Kong (which is technically leaving the country as it's an autonomous region now) and once recently to visit the U.S.  So I have all the proper papers as I went to my friendly local police station (they really are very friendly) when I returned from the States in early December, 2008.  But apparently the police, while doing a cursory check of foreigners in my neighborhood, are not seeing my most recent registration....so I need to go there and show it to them.  It's just one of the things you must contend with when you live here.  It's not really that big of a deal and I am very happy to comply with all the rules.  If you don't, then they can fine you up to 500 RMB ($75) a day for not returning to the police station within 7 days of every time you re-enter the country from a visit outside of mainland China.  I'll go there within a couple of days and show them my valid registration (that THEY issued me) and all will be well.  No worries. :)  They are just experiencing a computer mix-up...which can be common here.

See?  I'm good until October, 2009! :)  The policeman who left me the note included the phone number for the police station but also his personal mobile number.  So when my friend called his personal number, he told her, "Hey, I was just told to go there and leave her a note on the door so call the police station number!" haha  You see, they knew that they wouldn't be able to communicate with me had I actually answered the door and quite honestly, if I had answered the door it would have just created more confusion.  Better to have someone call and translate for me and then just go to the station and show them my papers and all will be well.

I have lots of cool Chinese stamps in my passport now. :)

Incidentally, when I went to Hong Kong in late 2007 to obtain my Z (working) visa, I went with Kang, who was a teacher with us at the time. When we returned, I kept reminding Kang that he had to go to our police station and re-register.  I did so.  He didn't.  I kept reminding him and he finally went (we both lived in the same district) about a month after we returned from Hong Kong.  Luckily, he took his Chinese girlfriend (at the time) with him and they admonished him severely for not coming sooner and reminded him that they could charge him a LOT of money for not appearing sooner.  He, through his girlfriend, pleaded ignorance and they let him off with a warning and no monetary fine.  He was lucky!  Very lucky!  They are very serious about these rules.  But hey...he learned his lesson! ha

So let's talk about the Oscars!  I'd like to recommend that EVERYONE see the movie, "The Reader" with Kate Winslet (for which she won an Oscar) and also "Milk" and "The Changling" (Angelina Jollie) and "Doubt" (Meryl Streep) and right now....I'm watching "Raise the Red Lantern" which is a Chinese movie starring Gong Li (my favorite Chinese actress).  So since I need to watch the ending....I watched most of the movie this morning after the police woke me up....I'm outta here.  Still LL in C (despite occasional police interruptions), T.

Another One Mostly About Food!

Today was a day off!  Woo hoo!  I lazed around, cleaned a little (emphasis on "little"), watched a French movie called The Valet (funny and with English subtitles), and then headed out to join Jeanette and her daughter, Nicole, for dinner at a Beijing restaurant known for its traditional Beijing food specialties.

Beautiful, right?

Nicole and I invited this lovely gentleman to dine with us but he preferred hanging out in front of the restaurant.

Some of the wonderful dishes.  As usual, when I dine with Jeanette, we ordered WAY too much food! ha  But Jeanette likes LOTS of dishes so we can have a bit of each and just packs up all the leftovers and takes them home for a future meal.  Cool with me! :)  I get to try all kinds of wonderful dishes!

See the small chicken pieces?  I saw the photo in the menu and said, "Is this fried chicken?"  Jeanette said, "Yes, it's chicken knees!"  I thought, oh, okay, it's chicken legs.  No problem.  And we ordered it up.  But Jeanette wasn't making any kind of English mistake....as it is chicken CARTILEGE, not meat!  That's right, folks.  It's small bits of cartilege from the chicken, breaded up and fried. ha  And in front of the chicken (we had so many dishes we had to transfer some to other plates to make room) is what can best be described as "candied" lotus root!  It's sweet and good.

I kept insisting that this dish was surely breaded and fried potatoes as it was very delicious and tasted like potatoes.  But Nicole and Jeanette, even after checking their cell phone dictionary, kept telling me, "No, it's starch."  I'm like, "Starch?  Starch?"  Well, potatoes ARE starch.  But they were right...it wasn't potatoes, folks.....it's a kind of starchy flour thing that I still don't understand but it came with a small bowl of buttery garlic dipping sauce and was delicious!  I tried not to eat too much because I kept reminding myself that "I'm eating starch!" :)

This is slivered green beans with scrambled egg and I really, really like this dish.

And there's my favorite.....Beijing duck with brown sauce, thin pancakes and slivers of cucumber and onion!  SO delicious!  This is by far the one dish that I am going to miss terribly in the States as it's just hard to find good Peking duck in Tennessee.  Good restaurants that do serve it (and charge a pretty penny for it) usually require you to call ahead and let them know because it takes hours to roast the duck.  Here's how to make the perfect Beijing duck burrito:

First you take one of the thin pancakes, add some delicious duck meat encased in delectable and crispy duck skin.....

Add some of the delicious brown sauce.....which I've promised myself to learn the ingredients of this delicious sauce......

Add some cucumbers and onion (flash was a little too close but the cucumbers really were green! ha)....

Wrap it all up like so......

and then bite in and enjoy.  They are 2-bite duck burritos! :)

The bowl to the left of these incredible sweet puff pastries is duck soup!  Man....I LOVE duck soup, which you always get when you order duck because they make it from the bones and it's just a very delicious light salty broth.  I do love it.  These pastries were meant to be eaten warm when served and you dip them in that small dish of sweet condensed milk you see at the top left of the plate.  We had many more dishes than what you've seen here but I try not to embarrass my dining mates by taking too many photos....which attracts attention to me, as you can imagine.

Nicole and Jeanette talk with the nice gentleman...who was still out front! :)

He asked me if I'd come again. I said, "Sure!"

And then I gave him a big ole' Tennessee bear hug! :)

As we walked away from the restaurant we came across a sidewalk book vendor.  I asked if he had any books in English.  He pulled out a few which just happened to be the last 3 books in the 4-book Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers! :)  Now I just need to get ahold of the first one, Twilight, and then I'm set for reading material for the next couple of months.  And you don't EVEN want to know how much I paid for these 3 books! 

As I've said before, my mother sends me newspaper clippings.  It's nice to get her envelopes of news from the Nashville paper about twice a month.  Recently, I've promised her that I really am returning to live in Nashville in October, '09.  And I will honor this promise to her....even though she recently sent me this newspaper headline:

What was she THINKING! ha ha  Not exactly a great reason to return to Nashville! :)  And this is all she sent.  Not the actual article.  Just the headline!  Still....my days in Beijing are definitely numbered and I do hope I can find good employment in Nashville when I return.  LL, T.

New Orleans Praline Goodness!

I received a WONDERFUL surprise when I got to work today and saw a big box sitting on my desk from  my friend, Mary.  I met Mary about 5 years ago when we were table mates on a cruise of the Western Caribbean!  We've kept in touch by email ever since and have sent each other little goodies from our hometowns (Goo Goo bars from Tennessee and a King Cake from new Orleans where Mary lives).  Mary sent me FOUR DOZEN delicious pralines from New Orleans (traditional pecan, chocolate, rum and coconut pralines)!  She also sent 2 very coveted bead necklaces from Mardi Gras.  And Mary? Tell your Mom that just because they're made here....doesn't mean we can buy them here! ha ha  So they are VERY important to me and will definitely travel home to the States with me!  I cherish them because I know how important the BIG beads and medallions are! ha

So we had a teaching staff meeting today and I busted out the boxes, explained what they were and everyone dove in! ha  It might have been a little hard for me to share.  I'm just sayin'! ha 

All the teachers just LOVED them  (even if the Chinese teachers did remark that they sure were very sweet! ha ha  Chinese folks just don't eat a lot of really sweet things here).  And don't worry, Mary.  Those folks are only wearing the beads TEMPORARILY! ha  Tomorrow, I will continue sharing the delectable New Orleans delight with other staff at work.....but you can be sure that many have already been brought home for me to enjoy in the comfort of my apt.! ha

I just really can't thank Mary enough!  I KNOW how much it costs to send a heavy box to China!  So many, many thanks, Mary and I REALLY appreciate it!  I've received occasional boxes from friends and family since I moved to Beijing and let me tell you...when I walk to my desk and there's a box on my desk....I'm like a kid at Christmas! ha  In fact, several teachers are jealous that I receive such wonderful care packages from home and many letters and cards from friends and family.  I do feel so very blessed to have such wonderful folks in my life! :)

Today was certainly a very good day for me! :)  Mary can be sure that there'll be some Chinese goodness sent her way very soon! :)  Thank you again, my friend!  You MADE my day!

The snow is still hanging around and the wind was fierce tonight.  That did not stop me, however, from visiting my favorite DVD store!  Here's tonight's take:

Yep....I'll be enjoying one of these very soon!  And you don't EVEN want me to tell you that I paid less for these than just ONE DVD in America, right?  Nope.  That might make you feel bad.  I wouldn't want that.  LL in C and LOVING my New Orleans pralines!  T.

Another Day in my Life in Beijing....

Today, I went back to work after having 2 days off! :)  It was an easy day at work with no teaching.  After work I stopped by Jinyuan to go to a DVD store there.  Jinyuan is a huge shopping mall within walking distance of my workplace and only about 15 minutes by cab or 30 minutes by bus from my apartment.  In English, it's called "Golden Resources Mall."  It's HUGE!  Big long mall with 5 floors (6 if you include the basement level which houses a HUGE supermarket/retail store, ice skating rink, car showplace, etc.).  The 5th floor houses tons of multi-cultural restaurants as well as a huge movie theater complex with so many theaters I can't count.  Many are big theaters with stadium seating just like in the States...but they also have smaller theaters with screens not so much bigger than my brother's own cool movie room...however, the smaller theaters have real recliners as seats with tables in between each 2 recliners.  So comfortable.  They show American movies there but not all that many.  I'm excitedly waiting for Marley & Me to begin showing because I really want to see it on the big screen as I've read the book...and the book was GREAT!  I'll be taking tissues with me! ha

A little blurry, but stil...you can get an idea of the size of this mall.  Here's what the internet has to say:

"Jin Yuan Mall or Golden Resources Mall located in Beijing is reportedly the world’s largest shopping mall. Embracing the multi-level look rather than the sprawling two level style common in the U.S., China’s biggest mall – Golden Resources Mall in Beijing spreads over a whopping six million square feet. The five story building has 90 flagship (anchor) stores, 200 escalators and 1,600 retailers, selling a plethora of products, it is a shopper’s paradise. As the name suggests, this mall has brought the best resources from all over the world together under one gigantic roof. Be it Victorian style furniture, American bathrooms and DVD stores or children’s playgrounds and restaurant cuisines such as Korean, Italian, Chinese or French, there is something here to suit everyone’s palette."

I am thoroughly convinced that with enough money, you can buy ANYTHING at Golden Resources!  But you must call it Jin Yuan if you want a taxi driver to take you there! ha  The stores here are not bargain stores.  They are very high end stores that sell high-quality products.  There's one floor wherein half of the floor is devoted to children.  There's HUGE playgrounds, children's clothing stores, toy stores, pet stores, and all KINDS of wonderful things for kids such as cotton candy stands, etc.  There's even one playground that has a HUGE sandbox for the kids to play in.  It's really quite amazing.  To just go there and watch all the kids laughing and squealing and playing can lift the spirit.  I'm pretty fortunate to be living near Jin Yuan!  I haven't ice skated there yet but it's on my list.  I want to do that with some of my students, who are convinced I cannot ice skate.  I'll enjoy proving them wrong!

   Jin Yuan's display of the Year of the Ox (but most folks call it a cow).  It's my year as I'll turn 48 this year (there are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac).  When I moved here, it was the Year of the Pig, then the Rat, and now the Ox.  Someone recently said, "You're a cow, right?"  And I smiled big and said, "That's right, I'm a Cow!" ha  Unfortunately, however, this is not supposed to be a great year for Cows so to combat the bad luck you're supposed to wear some red (a lucky color here) every day.  I should start doing this! :)  In the western world, just so you know, I'm a Gemini, the sign of the twin.  And Gemini's love to travel! ha

Tons of stores, folks!  I haven't even begun to check out each and every floor but I will....before I leave.

I don't worry much about being tempted to buy such high-end clothing as I can assure you there are no sizes for me. :)

Like I said, red is a lucky/popular color here!  I almost bought this and then thought, "Nah, I already have so many red lingerie items!" ha ha  Interestingly, red is also a popular wedding gown color here.  I enjoy telling my young Chinese friends that in the States, red is the ONE color that one would never choose for a wedding gown!  Then....I explain why. :)

A big tie store.  Nothing but ties.  Expensive ties.

Jin Yuan has many U.S. culinary chains.  Here's some:

Incidentally, the current new item at KFC is breaded crab legs! :)  Yeah, I know.  KFC is supposed to be all about the chicken!

Right about now, my borrowed camera batteries died so I had to wait until returning home to take anymore highly interesting and informative photos.  But know that there's also a Papa John's, Baskin Robbins, Subway, Spaghetti House, Dairy Queen and Orange Julius at Jin Yuan.  Can you say USA, USA, USA?   I headed to the DVD store, bought a movie, and then hailed a cab for my return home.

This can of delicious goodness will be my dinner tomorrow night, along with great saltine crackers! :)  And there's my huge container of oatmeal, bought at the one and only Sam's Club in Beijing (which is close to where I live....close in that it's merely a 15 minute, $3.00 cab ride away).  Sam Walton (R.I.P.) knew what he was doing when he introduced China to Wal-Mart!  I don't frequent Wal-Mart here, but only because the locations in Beijing aren't convenient for me.

So I'm off to watch this movie and then head to bed! :) LL in C, T.

Snow in Beijing......Finally!

I was beginning to think we'd get absolutely no snow in Beijing this winter.  So I was in bed this morning when the phone rang a little after 9:00 am.  It was a new friend (my old friends know never to call me before 10:00 am on off days! ha).  Since he's a new friend, he's forgiven.  We talked a few minutes with me laying in bed trying to sound like I'd been up for ages when he said, "So what do you think about all the snow?"  I said, "WHAT?" and bounded out of bed, threw on the glasses and slippers and padded to the living room porch windows.  Lovely!

Pics from the 24th floor!  See the multi-colored building in the distance.  That's a kindergarten and I zoomed in on the children (because I am currently borrowing Seven's camera....still).  So this effectively took care of my "long bike ride" today! ha  I kept thinking, "I should go outside and take more photos."  And I continued to think that until the snow melted and was practically all but gone in just 3 hours from the snapping of these photos! ha  I finally made it out of the apt. around 7:30, but more on that later.

Seven's camera is great at zooming (I can't wait to buy this same camera in about 2 weeks) so I was able to snap these pics of the little kindergarteners playing on the playground in the snow.  I could hear them squealing from my open porch window! :)  So cute.

See the kindergarten in the distance?  It's melting fast.

As promised, here's a pic of my great crockpot pinto beans! :)  They were delicious!  Who knew that after living here for a year and a half, I'd finally start doing some real food preparation in my kitchen! ha  I also fried up some boneless chicken today with a spicy coating and then dipped it in some warm Hunt's spaghetti sauce.  Delicious. 

So I ended up laying around the apartment, eating and watching movies until this evening when I decided I HAD to do something productive.  So I set out to visit my "little man" friend on the bad street and then go to the supermarket for a few items.  Imagine my surprise when I got outside and it was sleeting.  After walking about 5 minutes, the sleet turned into snow and the ground is now completely covered again!  Great!

Some outdoor fruit markets (see the sticks of sugar cane?) in the alleyway near my building.  You'd think the fruit would freeze in the weather but there were all kinds of fruits being sold, including strawberries which surely were completely frozen in this weather! ha

My little man is now in kindergarten!  He's just such a little cutey and always gives me kisses and calls me Ayi, Ayi (Auntie, Auntie!).  I took him and his parents some small gifts from America, which included a cool car for him which makes engine noises and goes forward and backwards and he LOVED it.  I also gave him a book to help him learn to write his ABC's designed for kindergarten kids, some pencils and a little teddy bear "Santa."  I have his Mom some Bath & Body lotion and some chocolate for his parents (Goo Goo bars from Tennessee!).

I do so love this little boy!  We worked on the A page together before I left and he did a great job at copying A's in his new book!  Believe me, learning to write the English alphabet as a 5 year old is far easier than learning to write Chinese characters.  Personally, I can only write four characters!  I don't even know how to write my Chinese name, which is Tang Jia Mei.  My students have tried to teach me and it's something I'd like to perfect before I leave.  So when I left Little Man's little family store, the snow was already coating the ground.  But on to the supermarket.  I've been frequenting this supermarket for a year and a half now so I finally felt comfortable taking some inside photos of the store.  They all know me now and no one really thought much of it except for a few staring smiles.

This is the Lay's part of the chip section, which is very large and include LOTS of Pringles.  As you can see, you can't buy LARGE bags of chips here.  So when I've had parties, I buy 12-15 small bags of chips to fill big bowls.  And as I've surely said before, there are some STRANGE flavored chips here, which included chicken flavored, duck flavored, etc.

This is the nu roe (beef) section of the meat counter.  As you can see to the left, you CAN buy beef all nicely packaged up with cellophane over it, but it's really no different than what I prefer to do....which is find a good lean section of a big slab of beef and indicate where I want them to chop it off for me. :)  And you can easily buy ground beef and pork, but it sit out uncovered in big plastic bins in the cooler so since I can't tell them how much I want....I also just have them scoop until I say stop! ha  You might think this method of selling meat is not sanitary but it's really okay...and the coolers are cold and then you COOK the meat.  I've never gotten sick from purchasing and cooking any meat here so it's not a concern for me.  I will miss being able to look at big slabs of beef and choosing which section I want to purchase.

Just a part of the seafood section! ha  I've never bought any fish or other seafood but only because I don't really know how to cook it.  Folks cook fish whole here, bones and head and all. In the restaurants it's great...but you do have to constantly pull bones out of your mouth!

Noodles, anyone?

The egg section, which I just LOVE looking at!

These beautiful pale blue ones (although the color is not so good in this pic) are duck eggs!

This is the milk section.  The majority of milk (although you can buy plastic liters of milk, just not in my supermarket) comes in small bags.  The brown ones are chocolate milk and there's also strawberry milk, coconut milk and peanut flavored milk.  I've only tried the chocolate and strawberry....oh, and also the melon-flavored milk, which was VERY good. :)

And, like all supermarkets, this is just one section of a large candy display! :)  But, of course, I never buy from this section.  Never.  And I never lie. :)

See the sign that says "4.98?"  That's in RMB, which is 75 cents.  Just to give you perspective.  My supermarket is underground and house in a very long and narrow space, about half a block.  I'm very fortunate to have such a great supermarket so close to my apt.

That's "housed in a long and narrow space," not "house." ha  Anyway....after leaving the supermarket I dropped by the bakery next door for a loaf of fresh thick-sliced white bread.  Here's a shot of the great sweets in their cooler.  I've bought a slice of cake here only once.  Seriously.  Only once.  I'm not kidding! :)

The more I live in this wonderful culture and country, I realize just how alike we all are as world citizens.  As Rosie O'Donnell says, "Same, same, same."  And it's true.  No matter where you travel, no matter what culture you live in...we are all basically the same.  We have the same dreams and aspirations, the same wishes for our children, the same desires for ourselves, the same basic needs and even wants.  It's an amazing experience for me and has definitely changed my outlook on the world and life...and for the better!  So I hope I haven't completely bored you with more neighborhood photos.  As my time here gets shorter and shorter I want to take more photos such as these and post them so that I can enjoy looking back at this online diary fondly in later times.  I still have travels within China up my sleeve lest you think photos like this are all you're going to get until I leave. :)  LL in C, T.

More about life in my 'hood!

Today, I slept until around 10:00 am!  So nice.  Then I cleaned a little, had 2 big bottles of water delivered for my water cooler (thank you, Seven, who always calls the company for me and has them come to my apartment) and made another great beef stew in my crockpot....but also watched 2 great movies, which I paid 95 cents each for.  I watched "The Lucky Ones" (Tim Robbins, very good) and "Flash of Genius" (Greg Kinnear...VERY good).  Flash of Genius is based on a true story about the guy, Robert Kearns (who died in 2005), who invented intermittent windshield wipers!  It's a very good movie about his battle with the Ford Motor Company and I recommend it highly.  The Lucky Ones is about 3 folks returning from Iraq whose lives intertwine as they try to make their way back to their U.S. destinations.  Very good...and has many humorous scenes (and also great scenery as they drive across the United States).  This evening, I joined my friend Colin (from Scotland)at UBC (a coffee house) for a dinner of club sandwiches and fries.  We haven't gotten together in a while and it was good to reconnect with him.  So here's a few boring pics of my day today.....

I've peeled and prepared my potatoes, carrot, tomatoes and onion and they're ready for chopping, along with....

...the beef that I chopped up into bite-sized pieces!  Soooo good.  I don't think I could ever make it on a vegetarian diet, even as I know how healthy it is.  I just LOVE meat. :)  I do, however, frequent a great vegetarian coffee house near my workplace that makes a mean pasta with mushrooms and alfredo sauce (but I always tell them to leave off the fake meat they include).

This is my big-a$$ cleaver (ha) that I use to chop up....well, everything! :)  I am totally bringing one of these home with me because they are much cheaper here and great quality!

So after my stew was complete and stored in containers in my fridge, I headed out to hop the bus 2 stops down YuQuanLu, stopped by the supermarket for a diet coke, and then walked up the street to the UBC coffee house to meet Colin.  Along the way, I took a few photos:

See all those bottles of contact solution?  One of the things I included in my suitcases when I first moved here was 3 big bottles, which just added unnecessary weight because you can buy it here.  But you must buy it in a place such as Lenscrafters, which there are a lot of here.  So although you can't buy contact solution just anywhere....it's readily available here and for about the same price as in the States.  I pay 40 RMB per big bottle..about $6.00 but it lasts a long time.

 Some Beijing fashion! :)  Notice the western faces and blond wigs?  Western looks a VERY popular here.  You know, I live in Beijing.  A huge city that is many times compared to cities such as New York City because you really can get just about anything here.  I mean, come on, I can even buy Hormel Chili in a can here! :)  But for the last 6 months, I've been searching high and low for something that I simply cannot find.....a CHINESE baby doll! :)  I have friends in the States, whose daughter, Amy, is nearly 2 years old and I've been trying to purchase a Chinese baby doll for her.  But all I can find is tons and tons of baby dolls with WESTERN faces! :(  Go figure.

I love the fashions in this store! :)  Such beautiful clothes.  And not cheap either! :)

This skirt costs about $75.00 but SO beautiful!  The jacket isn't much cheaper.  This is NOT a store where you can "bargain" the price down.

Beautiful, right?

A Chinese gas station! ha  It's just next to the coffee house where I would be meeting Colin.  Just so you know...although gas is sold in liters here....I figured it's about the same, or just a little less, than gas anywhere else. 

So tomorrow....hold onto your horses, because I just might post photos of my pinto beans cooked in my crockpot! ha  Aren't you excited?  I'm working on finding a way to make homemade cornbread in my frying pan. :)  Have a recipe?  Send it my way!  I'm also thinking it'd be a good thing to take a good long bicycle ride tomorrow if the weather cooperates.  Although we had a couple of "it's almost Spring" days....it's now very cold once again.  So we'll see.  I haven't ridden my bike in many months now and although long rides make my butt hurt (ha)...there's thing I notice riding my bike that you just don't see on a bus or riding in a taxi.  I'll be sure and take my "borrowed" camera (thank you, Seven) along to photograph what seems interesting.  Incidentally, I've decided when I get paid at the end of February I'll purchase a Canon digital camera just like Seven's that I'm now using.  It has both Chinese and English on it and the last 5-6 posts have been with that camera.  LL in C, T.

The one with boring pics of Teresa's life! ha

So I finally finished up the Pingyao Diary entries! ha ha  Aren't you glad?  Now....on to more important (although a bit mundane) pics of grocery shopping and cooking in my newly acquired crockpot! ha  You see, one of the teachers from America at work is leaving next month and gifted me with her crockpot!  Better late than never but oh my gosh....I should have bought one of these months and months ago!   So....I went food shopping at my great supermarket just in front of my apt. building.  There are 2 entrances to this supermarket and the one closest to my apt. gate has this sign displayed on the wall as you walk down to the supermarket (which is underground):

Now....you might laugh. And that's okay.  But the fact that the "E" in Entrance has been replaced with a "T" as in "TN - Tennessee!" means a lot to me! ha  I think of my home state, Tennessee, fondly every time I view this sign!

So here's everything I purchased!  You can see my old favorite....diet coke, which is called "light" coke here, although it's in Chinese characters!  Next to that is a big bottle of orange juice and then smaller bottles of peach and pear juice (yum!).  In front of the diet coke is 3 bottles of strawberry yogurt that I enjoy having for breakfast.  There's some spices and coating for fried chicken and the tomato paste envelope.  In front of that is some tuna fish "salad" (which has carrots and kernels of corn in it but is very delicious and comes with a small packet of Ritz crackers).  Next to the tuna is my bag of tomatoes and then bag of potatoes, carrots and a BIG bag of beef which I directed the "butcher" to lop off for me with her big knife, as it was the beef with the least amount of fat. Behind the tomato paste is a great loaf of bread bought from the bakery near the supermarket and on top of the tomatoes?  Oh yeah....that's a bar of chocolate! ha  So I got busy peeling potatoes and carrots, chopping up tomatoes and an onion (which I already had) and also chopping up all that beef into small stew-sized pieces.

The crockpot is huge and clay and if it weren't for the difference in the plug (the voltage is the same here but the plugs are totally different) I would TOTALLY send this back to America to enjoy there despite the cost of the weight (it's pretty heavy).  You can see that tall, big green plastic cup?  I brought 2 of those here from the States when I moved here and I'm SO glad I did!  You simply cannot buy BIG plastic cups here! ha

So I chopped and chopped and layered the potatoes, then the carrots, then the onions and the tomatoes, then tomatoe paste and a small bit of water and then the beef (which is how you do things crockpot style....the meat always goes on top).

The beef has been added and all I need to do is add some salt and pepper, close the big clay lid...turn it on HIGH and wait! :)  And since it'd be about 3.5 hours until it was done I decided to fry up some boneless chicken pieces with the "coating" that I discovered in the supermarket.  And in case you're wondering (and I'm sure  you are)...the crockpot has Chinese AND English on the dial so I know what is high and what is low....unlike other things in my apartment such as the remote for my air conditioner unit and my washer.  So I took a photo of these things many moons ago and drew out a diagram for which buttons were what in English (translated by a friend). ha  Now....I have memorized which buttons do what on these remotes (including my DVD and TV remotes which are totally in Chinese).  I have long since abandoned having to look at my hand-drawn diagrams! ha  I just know which buttons to push to get the desired results!  Turning Chinese, I think I'm turning Chinese (which is a play on the words in the song "Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so!....okay, you probably don't know that song! ha  Yeah...I'm a bit weird).

So I've battered up my chicken bits and they're cooking away on one of my two gas stove eyes!

They're frying up just right!  I drained them on paper towels (which are a luxury that only Westerners or very rich folks buy here...but I can't live without) and broke out my McDonald's packets of ketchup and totally ENJOYED my first attempt at breaded,fried chicken!  SO GOOD! Meanwhile....my crockpot full of deliciousness was cooking away.....

Oh my!  You're wanting a closer pic of this delicious beef stew, right?

I added some water for more "juice" and when it was all done......delicious! :)

I attempted to take some night photos from my 24th floor porch of nearby apt. buildings which look so cool at night with all the different colored lights shining out from various apartments...but the photo really doesn't do justice to just how cool the view is from my apt.  Not at all.

Yeah....I know.  Disappointing. But I hope to find a way to photograph just how amazing the night view is before I leave here.

So, as you know, I blog a lot and I type a lot as I email friends and family nearly EVERY night.  I bought my first laptop just days before I moved here to Beijing.  Which means I've had this laptop for just a year and a half.  Those who have ever worked in close proximity to me know that I am not only a very fast typist (about 135 words per minute) but I also have a very HARD touch on the keys! ha  So this photo tells you just how much a hard touch can totally erase the letters from the keyboard keys! ha  Luckily....Mrs. Ingram, back in the day, taught me to type without looking at the keys! ha

The I, O, L, N, and S are totally rubbed off and missing from "hard touch" use now! ha  And the "M" and "D" are almost gone! ha

Turning to work....we have new teachers arriving.  Bill has just arrived from Florida and Gwen will join us next week.  James and I took Bill out to lunch recently and here's a couple of pics!

What a great smile he has! :)  He's a laid-back kinda guy and very nice and I have no doubt he's going to be a great fit into our little working family at BJ1 Kid's School! :)

James and I ordered some delicious dishes and although Bill mentioned that he can't eat shrimp (allergic) we totally missed that and ordered up a huge dish of breaded shrimp!  James and I, however, had no problem taking care of the overabundance of shrimp! :)

Some of the delicious food! :)  Because, you know, I LOVE taking pics of the food here! ha

So winter camp has ended and we're back on a regular schedule with 2 days off per week (thank you, thank you!).  My regular students have returned with great stories about their adventures during Spring Festival (which is a period of time when students have 4 weeks off...a little like winter holiday break in America except a bit longer).  Some of my students traveled to wonderful places such as Canada and Bali and places within China.  Several of them brought me back wonderful gifts from their travels.  I recently introduced all my older students to the joys of playing "Uno" so my student who traveled to Canada brought back several packs of Uno cards! :)  You would laugh your head off if I were to take a video of me playing Uno with my students.  Why?  Because if I win I totally do a winners dance and call all the others "LOSERS" while displaying a big "L" with my hand to all of them! ha  They think I'm crazy and sometimes video me with their cell phones to show their friends! ha  I don't mind.  It's all in the life of an ex-pat in China! ha  I am beginning the end with many of my students as in just four months...regular classes will suspend for the summer and we'll begin "summer camp" classes, after which I'll be leaving to return to live in America.  I will miss each and every one of my students.  Working here as their teacher for 2 years has allowed me to really get to know my students and I've become very close with many of them.  I can only hope we will keep in close touch by email when I return to the States.  Nothing would make me happier than to have any one of them visit the States and come to Tennessee!  You can be sure that I'll take them to the Wildhorse Saloon on 2nd Avenue in Nashville and enlighten them about country music and dancing! :)  LL in C, T.

Adventure to Pingyao...Part VII, Finale (I mean it this time!)

Okay....so with only 15 (yeah...ONLY! ha) photos to upload....I promise this is the end of the Pingyao photos and my next entry will be all about my great crockpot beef stew! ha Yeah...I know. You can't wait, right? ha

Another of the beautiful courtyards.  See the board at the entrance?  These are common and I forget the significance of why you have to step over and into each room.  However, for good luck females step over them with their right foot first. :)

Beautiful traditional "kang" bed!  Just ignore that sign that says "No photography!" ha  It should read, "No flash photography."  Still....when I told my friend to take a photo for me (I was using their camera for all my photos and Joe was holding the camera), he saw that sign and handed me the camera to actually take the photograph, figuring that if any trouble ensued then, as a foreigner, I'd be forgiven! ha

This was a beautiful teakwood and jade screen!  Very beautiful.  And then you see the requisite "No photography" sign along with a "No spanning" sign.  See that chain?  It means "don't span the chain."  In other words...don't jump over the chain and get any closer.  No spanning, folks!  Don't even think about it! :)

This is one of the courtyards filmed in the movie "Raise the Red Lanterns."  The filming of this great Chinese movie has caused the Qiao Family Compound to become very popular with tourists (just like sights filmed in the States) and there are lots of photos exhibited here which shows the days of the filming.

There was actually another "laowai" (literal translation? old foreigner) visiting on this day.  One of my friends pointed him out to me.  He was the "companion" to the girl at the far right in the purple scarf.

We've left the Qiao Compound and are making our way back to our van and driver with a stop for lunch.  We came across this man who was making wooden combs!  They are very beautiful and I bought two of them in Pingyao for 10 RMB each ($1.50).  Now....I am seeing just how much work goes into making these combs! :)  And mine have mother-of-pearl inlaid in them!

See?  He's actually hand-sawing every tooth in the comb!

Amazing, right?  And we dare to bargain down from the price of these beautiful combs!  Sometimes my Chinese friends don't understand my willingness to pay a price for things that they would bargain further down for.  But when I see the "manpower" that goes into such objects...I'm hard-pressed to continue bargaining for what would be just a few cents cheaper.  Pingyao and Shanxi Province is also known for their great laquer work so I bought two beautiful lacquered jewelry boxes.  Time will tell on who will be the eventual owner of these beautiful boxes. 

Before we joined our driver we stopped for lunch and were able to view this nice parade on the street outside the restaurant where we were eating.  Seven jumped outside to take this photo.

The parade was wonderful with lots of ladies and their scarves doing some traditional Chinese dancing.

And some guys with BIG heads! ha

Oh  my gosh....this is fabulous peanut brittle in the making!  So delicious!  They were cooking it everywhere and I bought several packages of it to eat and take back to co-workers. 

 So they boil the sugary substance used in the peanut brittle, add the crushed peanuts and then pour it into this plastic-enclosed container on top of a huge tree stump and then, after it's cooled a bit, POUND it to death so that it breaks up into small pieces!

It starts out as a huge glob of peanut-y goodness; that is, before it starts cooling and gets pounded to death! :)  Seven took a video of them pounding out the brittle which I'm going to post as soon as I end this post so go to www.youtube.com and type in "tinchina" in the search box and look for "peanut brittle in Shanxi Province!"

Seven took this photo as we flew out of Taiyuan and headed back to Beijing!  After leaving our wonderful tour of the Qiao Compound and lunch and peanut-brittle buying....we headed to Taiyuan where we had a GREAT dinner with business associates of Jeanette's husband.  They treated us to many wonderful Shanxi dishes and it was a great dinner prior to our flight.  Then...a friend of theirs who works for the airlines drove us to the airport.  Unfortunately, no photos! :(  But it was a great dinner with wonderful dishes and we were all so thankful for Jeanette's friends who provided us with a great ending to our little adventure! :)

Stay tuned, folks, because next up is a few photos of my bid to become the "Crockpot Queen of Beijing!" ha ha  LL, T.

Pingyao Adventure, Part VI and Finale! ha

Okay....so here's the last of the Pingyao photos!

So on our last morning in Pingyao we walked around some of the lesser-known streets before meeting our driver to go to the Qiao Family Compound and then on to Taiyuan where we'd have a great dinner with friends of Jeanette's husband and then to the airport for our flight home.  The sign above is missing a key letter in the word "MUSEUM." ha  Still...you can understand it, right? ha

The day before we left (did I talk about this before?  If so, apologies), I was interviewed by a CCTV reporter and cameraman in the lobby/restaurant of the TianYuanKui Guesthouse.  They noticed us playing a rousing game of "Who's the Best!" ha  I talked about what they told me to talk about! ha ha (how I was enjoying visiting Pingyao during such important days as Chinese New Year and how much I enjoyed the culture of Pingyao) and then they filmed Seven translating my words...and that was that! ha  CCTV is the national television network here.  All others are regional.  So I didn't get to see myself on TV (as it was to be broadcast during the time we'd be flying home) but hey....I'm sure I represented the USA just fine! ha

This lady was creating beautiful papercuts.  When she noticed that I took this photo she stopped cutting and motioned for me to come into her store.  We said, "Yes, but we'd love to take a couple more photos of you making the papercuts."  Seven said that her reply was something like, "Okay, but only after you come into my shop and buy something."  So I told her, in English (which Seven did NOT translate)...."Okay, well, I probably WOULD have come into your shop and bought something if you had allowed me to photograph you but since you won't, then now you've lost out on a sale because I'm leaving." And then I walked away.  I know, I know....bad American, bad American.  Sorry, but I was just tired of my western face meaning money and sales!  Honestly?  Sometimes it's hard for a Westerner to just "look" at stuff.  The storeowners really do hone in you and make it nearly impossible to just look around.

So continuing on down the street.....

Walking down the street, we were able to see into many interesting doorways to courtyards and such.  I really do have a fascination with these traditional Chinese dwellings.

See Joe carrying Seven's purse/small backpack?  Chinese guys do that here.  They carry their girlfriend's purses without a bit of embarassment!  I like telling them that an American boyfriend/husband would NEVER carry their signicant other's purse! ha  Females here expect it and upon meeting their boyfriends, almost immediately hand over their purse! ha  I've seen that occur many, many times!  So funny.

See the three-wheeler in the background?  I rode in one in Pingyao!  Very economical and a very cheap ride.

Photograph of a Buddhist altar inside the doorway of a traditional Chinese home.

See the scrunchy in Jeanette's hair?  Scrunchies are VERY popular here and all the girls/women wear them in their hair.  And some are very elaborate with beautiful edgings and little charms that hang from them.  I reminds me, however, of Carrie from "Sex in the City" telling her boyfriend, "Burger" that no self-respecting woman in New York City would be caught dead wearing a scrunchy! ha ha  Scrunchies are well and alive in China and I, for one, am very glad.  I own a lot! :)

So we've left Pingyao for good now and are at the Qiao Family Compound somewhere between Pingyao and the city of Taiyuan, where we would be flying out later in the evening.  Here's a bit of internet information about the Qiao Family:

"This Compound was built in 1756 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The buildings continue to be well maintained despite the fact that the Qiao family had ceased to have any influence since the 1940's.  The family enjoyed a prestigious status during the reign of the Emperor Qianlong (1735-96), one of its patriarchs having been a famous trader, whose travels had taken him far off into foreign lands. The family included banking among its activities and this meant their commercial influence spread beyond Shanxi Province, their private banks being a nation-wide enterprise.

The main entrance is through an elaborate gateway, complete with a tower, which opens to the east. Above the door the family motto is inscribed and which reads "Descendants be righteous, brothers show mutual care and so may the family prosper." Beyond the gate there a screen wall on which is carved the figure of Longevity. It was this mansion that was used as the setting for the famous film "Raise the Red Lanterns."

Raise the Red Lanterns is a very famous Chinese film.  It stars Gong Li, one of my favorite Chinese actresses who, incidentally, now lives in the U.S. and was in the "Miami Vice" movie.

Seven gives the thumbs up to Obama!  Okay....maybe she was giving the thumbs up for the beautiful relief work behind her.

No smoking in the "scenin" areas! :)  Further proof that I could make big bucks here correcting signs!

These guys were in traditional dress and were demonstrating some of the "banking" functions of the famous Qiao family.  Notice anything amiss?

Yep!  They were TOTALLY smoking in the "scenin" area! ha

So beautiful and sooooo old!

I imagined members of the Qiao family being transported in these carriages.  So cool that they are here for everyone to see.  And although they were hands-off....I later touched the wheel of such a carriage and closed my eyes...and although I received no visions of days gone by....I tried hard to  realize I was touching such an important part of history. 

Simply gorgeous!  These are the places that were filmed in "Raise the Red Laterns."  Beautiful.

If those fire extinguishers don't do the job at putting out a fire....there's always the popcorn-sized bags of sand to use! :)

A beautiful silk tapestry!

As the stairs started to deteriorate...new ones were fashioned along with the old bricks.

In one of the courtyards!

Awwww.  This little fellow was snoozing away in the Qiao courtyard.  If I didn't know better...I'd think that Max (God rest his little feline soul) has been reborn and is living well in China! He (just guessing) was none too happy when we woke him up so he meowed angrily at us! ha

So it looks like I lied.  I have 15 more photos to upload and it's getting late so it looks like there's going to be a Part II to the Finale, Part VI of this adventure! ha  Stay tuned, folks, because when I'm done with this last Pingyao entry I have photos of my wonderful crockpot stew to show you all! LL, T.

 

 

Dinner and Cards! :)

I still don't have it in me to post the last BIG entry about the trip to Pingyao....but soon. 

Last night I was invited to have dinner with one of my students and her parents at their apartment.  Linda is 13 and traveled with me when I went to Guilin in October, '08.  She a wonderful student and very smart.  Her parents are wonderful folks.  She lives quite close to me so I hopped a cab over to her apartment and Linda met me on the street to take me to her building.

Linda's parents prepared a wonderful meal!  My very favorite....shrimp with broccoli, salad with thousand island dressing (which I used to dislike but as it's about the only dressing you can get here...I've learned to enjoy it).  Delicious chicken thighs and wings and I believe there's some chicken feet in there (but I didn't partake of those), tofu noodles with cucumber (I also don't care for tofu but this dish was very good), egg fried rice (which you can't see) and that pot in the middle contains some delicious soup with glass noodles, pumpkin, etc.).  It was all very good!  This is the first meal I've enjoyed in a student's home but I have other invites on the horizon. :)  Linda showed me her bedroom, which included an upright piano so you know I had to show her how to play "Chopsticks." ha 

Linda pours the adults a bit of red wine for our meal and Linda's father and I enjoyed some of Beijing's famous Moutai baizhou (rice liquor).  Her father was surprised when I said "gan bei" and downed my small shot glass! ha  Gan Bei means "bottoms up."  Both Linda's parents speak some English so we had wonderful conversation and Linda only translated occasionally.

Linda is a beautiful young girl and you can see where she gets that from! :)  Her dimples are just adorable.  I've enjoyed Linda as a student since the first day I began teaching at EF.  Soon after I met Linda's mother in 2007 and found out she didn't have an English name...I offered Melanie or Melody based on the sounds of her Chinese name.  She was delighted with Melody so that is now her English name.

The shot glass for the rice liquor was VERY small so gan bei wasn't really a problem!  ha

After dinner, we played cards.  Linda was very excited about this and we originally planned to play either Uno or SkipBo but I left both those play cards games at work by mistake.  So I took Phase 10 with me and we had a GREAT time playing.  Linda's father retired as he goes to bed early for his job.  I sure hope my hoops and hollers (ha) when I won didn't disturb him but I am all about the "winner" songs when I win! ha  I do the whole "I'm the winner, I'm the winner" thing and "You're the loser, you'rethe loser!" ha ha  Linda think that's so funny and, you know, I have no shame! :)

Melody shuffles "Teresa" style!

Phase 10 is a great card game and is much like playing "Yatzee" except with cards.  We had a great time and I left the cards with Linda so she could perfect her skills (I totally won! ha) before our next card-playing session!  Linda and her mother took a wonderful trip to Italy, France and Switzerland last summer and I enjoyed looking at all their photographs while enjoying after-dinner fruit in their apartment.  It brought back so many memories as they visited Paris and Lucerne where I have also visited (when I was 16).  I've never been to Italy but maybe one day.  It could happen! :)  After all, I'm living and working in China so the sky is now the limit. 

Next entry will finish up Pingyao and then who knows where I'll end up next.  I'm thinking of spending a day in Tianjin, which is a port city close to Beijing so I can ride the new "bullet" train to get there.  It takes less than 30 minutes to get there and the train travels at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour, perhaps faster!  I'll find out.  There's a trip to Japan scheduled for August and before that I really hope to spend a few days in Vietnam!  Woo hoo!  LL in C, T.

Another Break from Pingyao....all about CNY Life! :)

Since I've become very bored with posting pics of the adventure to Pingyao....I can only imagine my blog friends are a bit bored also! ha  I have one last entry (Part VI) for Pingyao all ready.....but it comes with 38 photo uploads and I just don't have that in me tonight! Instead, (as I listen to Ryan Seacrest on the int'l radio station) I'm going to post the last 19 photos recorded on my trusty digital camera that finally died.  I had to transfer the memory card to my friend's camera to save them onto my computer.  I took these photos on Chinese New Year's Eve....January 25th....the day before we left for Pingyao.  I left my apartment that evening just before sunset in search of a hair wash and dry at my favorite hairdressers.  But being CNY's Eve...the place was packed and they told me to come back in 30 minutes.  So I walked around and shot some photos.  These are them. :)

Streets that are normally TEEMING with cars and pedestrians are virtually BARE during Chinese New Year holidays....especially CNY Eve!

Perhaps you have to actually LIVE here to understand how phenomenal these 2 photos are.  These types of photos can truly only be taken on THIS holiday once a year in China.  You see...at this time of the evening folks are with their families and extended families inside their apartments....enjoying dinner BEFORE they venture outside to set off hoardes of fireworks! ha  Last year...I was in Changchun, farther north in China, enjoying a wonderful meal prepared by family members of dear Chinese friends who are now living in the States.  On this night, since I would be traveling to Pingyao the next day....I was on my own.  I decided to spend the evening alone instead of traveling to parts of Beijing where CNY celebrations were even LOUDER! ha  This will mostly likely be my last year to celebrate CNY in China...as my future visits will probably be in warmer months.

So I'm walking around....basically just killing time until I could return to my hairdressers when I came upon this stray and scared pooch!  In China, ATM machines are generally inside a small room connected to the bank, not directly outside like in the States.  So this little scared dog was holed up in the ATM room of a bank and just looked so sad.  Fireworks were already booming and if you are a dog lover, then you KNOW dogs don't like thunder or loud booms.  It scares them.  I felt so sorry for this dog.  I just stood there talking softly to him but not threatening him by getting any closer....when a young woman strolled by with her mother, her infant child in a stroller AND walking their dog!  So I waved her over and showed her this scared dog.  She was very concerned and went inside and tried to tend to him and I continued on my way with a good feeling that the young woman was going to make sure the dog was okay.

Awwwww.  Normally, these little ATM rooms require a bank card to be swiped in order for the door to be opened but this room had the door propped open which allowed the dog to come inside and try to hide from all the loud noises.

My apt. building.  Look at the very top to the very left.  That left corner window is my bedroom window!  That box outside my window is my bedroom air conditioner (which also provides extra heat on especially cold nights if I need it). 

 See that pink-tiled building in front of my apt. building?  Six months ago it was a HUGE empty building.  Which means for the first year I lived in this building....this big building in front of my building stood completely EMPTY.  Now?  A delightful different story!

See what I mean?  See all the "storefront" signs?  The big pink building has now been fashion into many, many different businesses which includes at least 9 different restaurants (two of which are 24 hours restaurants!), an incredibly big supermarket (Yay!), a traditional Beijing foods store (where I bought the goodies for the hairdresser folks), a kid's Disney clothing store (yep), another infant and kids and maternity clothing store, a wonderful bakery....and the bestest part?  The Pizza Hut delivery store! ha  Could life GET any better on my street?

This is the gate to my apt. complex.  See the little yellow building.  A young guy stands in it and is responsible for lifting the gate up and down for vehicles.  If the vehicle houses folks who lives in this complex they have a sticker on their car that indicates that.  If not, then they must pay about 15 cents to enter, park, visit and then leave.  They do not, however, bat an eye at pedestrians who walk into our complex.  So it's not really a security thing.

This is the bus stop across the street from my gate.  I can take either the 851 or the 113 to work.  OR I can take a $4.50 taxi ride.  Bus takes anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and that doesn't count the time WAITING for the bus.  And the 851 allows me to disembark directly across the street from my workplace.  The 113 gets close, but I have to get off and then wait for another bus to complete the tripto work.  I try to always catch the 851 but sometimes....when the 113 comes along and it's evident there are actually seats available...I jump on! ha  As I've mentioned before on this blog....bus rides cost 4 jaio each.  So you get on, tap your bus card on the machine and it deducts 5 cents from your card.  If you have to change buses then you must pay another 5 cents.  If you have no bus card to tap then it means you must pay 1 RMB (15 cents) for the ride.  Any way you look at it....it's an incredible bargain.  I now try to take the bus as much as possible.  However....when I have to be at work at 8:30 am (only 2 days a week), I'm hard-pressed to get to the bus stop an hour earlier when I could sleep an extra 45 minutes and spend $4.50 by taking a taxi.  I know, I know....totally spoiled! ha

A closer look at the big pink building that now houses all kinds of businesses, including a nifty new beauty salon, which I totally intend to NEVER visit since right across the street I have my faithful hairdressers!  Oh sure, their store is not near as new and cool....but no matter!  I love my beauticians who don't understand a word of English yet smile and welcome me warmly each time I come to their business.  I would NEVER defect! ha ha

This is across the street from my building and the black storefront is my favorite beauty salon! 

And my beauty salon has a totally cool mascot turtle! ha  I always speak to him (I'm just guessing here on the "him" thing) and tap the windows of his home.  I'm sure he appreciates that! :)

A little blurry pic of the inside of the beauty salon.  But it's also about 30 minutes before my camera completely died so.....

Is it wrong, as a Christian, to thank God for a Pizza Hut delivery store to open up just in front of your Beijing apartment building?  I certainly hope not. :)  And just in case your wondering....and I'm sure you are....I actually don't partake that often.  Since it opened, about 6 months ago, I'd say I've ordered on average of once a month.  And I don't ALWAYS order the delcious pepperoni pizza (which I SO love).  Sometimes I get the spaghetti and meatballs or the delicious creamy chicken puff pastries they offer! Sometimes I go into the store and order (by pointing to the pics, of course) and sometimes I have Seven call them up and have them deliver it to my apt.  After all, I can't actually tell anyone where I live! ha ha  But Seven knows my exact living address.  If I were to attempt this (I do know the words in Chinese but if I accidentally use the wrong tones...who knows where that pizza might end up) then all kinds of things could go wrong! And the end result would be no pizza for me.  So I call Seven, tell her what I want and she calls the pizza place and orders for me.  She told me that now she only has to tell them it's for the American and they tell her, "Yes, we know where she lives!" ha ha  Okay....maybe I've ordered more than six times! :)

From outside the wonderful bakery that now resides just in front of my building.  Chinese bakeries are definitely different than what you can imagine.  Someday.....I'll take pics of all the goodies inside. :)

The sidewalk outside this long pink-tiled building, which six months ago was completely void of any storefronts now has lights in the trees and beautiful red lanterns! :)  And although you might think that kid sitting in the wagon looks a little strange.....know that his/her parents were close by! ha

This is the entrance to the wonderfully big supermarket!  But it's underground so when you go through these doors, you pass by a fruits and nuts vendor, and cigarette and alcohol vendor, a small jewelry store, and a computer parts/stuff kiosk...and then you go down a flat escalator to the supermarket (where there are also eating places, an eye glasses places (where I get contact solution), a DVD/CD store, a flower shop, a couple of small clothes shops, a handbag store, etc.).  All these storeowners know me well and even though we can't truly converse they always smile and say "Ni hao" (hello) and I say hello right back and sometimes I speak a few limited words in Chinese to them as best I can!  I will certainly miss returning to the States and going into a Krogers and NOT having everyone say hello to me when I enter!  Oh....the disappointment I will certainly experience!

So now....I'm about to return to my apartment to prepare my overnight bag for my trip to Pingyao the next day.  As I was walking down the sidewalk I noticed some guys from the Beijing traditional food store in the street setting off some fireworks.  So...lightbulb moment....I decided to take a couple of photos and then VIDEO the fireworks going off!  BAD DECISION!  This was the last straw in the life of my digital camera that I have faithfully used over the past 3 years to record my life on my blogs both in the States and in China.  You see.....the BOOM of the fireworks they set off were SO LOUD that my "technical" friend from Scotland told me is what totally BLEW my camera up!  Since the camera "gave up the ghost" while trying to video the fireworks...I can't actually show you how LOUD the booms were.  But trust me, they were loud.  The kind of noise that you instinctively put your fingers in your ears to avoid your eardrums bursting!  But here's the last two photos from my trusty digital camera (thank you so much, Devon) before it bit the dust.  Oh trusty camera...I hope you forgive me!

The spots are just the camera's way of showing it doesn't like taking night photos.  It wasn't snowing! ha  The guys are preparing to light the fireworks.

So here it is.  The last photo!  R.I.P. my camera friend! ha  I took all the Pingyao photos with my friend Seven's new digital Canon camera and I've decided to purchase that same camera when I get paid at the end of this month!  After all, it's made here.  So it will come with both Chinese and English on it! ha

Last night, I took a group of our teachers to the Ganges Restaurant which is a wonderful Indian Restaurant just a short distance from our workplace.  Seven didn't go with us so no camera but the food was good and the six of us represented four countries:  America, Canada, Australia and South Africa.  We were waited on by the manager from India who spoke great English!  Such a great time we had and the food was delicious (I've been there once before).  Next time, I'll definitely take pics!

Tonight....I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the home of one of my older students, Linda.  They live very close to me and prepared a wonderful meal and then we played cards (Phase 10).  What a great evening I had! :)  I took pics so will post them soon...probably before the last 38 pic post that will end my Pingyao photos (aren't you glad? ha).

So....with the promise of a new camera soon....I'll surely take great pics and wonderful videos that I'll post on youtube.com for you to enjoy.  So the death of my little camera will result in even better pics and vidoes.  Stay tuned my friends!  My life in China is definitely not over, yet my "leaving date" looms larger and larger in my mind.  It's time for me to create a list of all the things and experiences I need to check off before leaving.  When the list is complete....maybe I'll post it here so you can help me stick to the plan! ha  LL in C, T.

Pingyao Adventure, Part V, After the Wangs!

After visiting the Wang Family Compound, we reconnected with our driver and head back to Pingyao for our last night in the ancient city and our stay at the TianYuanKui Guesthouse.  On the way back, we made a quick stop at the Shuanglin Temple....very famous.  Here's some info from the internet:

"Located in the Qiaotou Village about six kilometers (four miles) to Pingyao, the Shuanglin Temple is reputed to be the 'ancient painted sculptures museum'. The temple houses more than 2,000 colorful sculptures reflecting the exquisite skills of the artisans of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Shuanglin Temple was included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO as an important cultural site of Ping Yao City in 1997.

Originally, the Shuanglin Temple was called the Zhongdu Temple but it was renamed Shuanglin during the Song Dynasty (960-1127). In Chinese, Shuang means two or double, and Lin, forest. The temple got its name from a Buddhist story. According to the Buddhist sutra, Sakyamuni who was the founder of Buddhism, entered nirvana under two trees; Hence, its name Shuanglin.

Reconstructed in 571, the Shuanglin Temple has a history of about 1,400 years. The temple consists of ten large and small halls, and the sutra chanting hall and the monks' rooms. The ten halls include the Heavenly Kings' Hall, the Arhats' Hall, the Mahavira Hall (Da Xiong Bao Dian), and the One-Thousand Buddha Hall, the Sakyamuni Hall, the Bodhisattva Hall, the Ti-tsang Bodhisattva Hall, the Guan Yu's Hall and two other halls. Guan Yu was a famous general of Shu during the Period of Three Kingdoms. Later, he would be worshipped as a god."

A history of about 1,400 years?  Wow!  America's history?  Well, it's just a baby!

Some of the famous clay statues.

Incredible.  The time it took to do this.....

It's hard....but if you stop to think about just how very old these things are....well, it's just hard sometimes for me to imagine that I have viewed and touched so many things that folks saw and touched hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to stand still, be quiet...and imagine.  Breathe in the history.  

Some Chinese folks lighting the really BIG incense sticks from the special flames.

More roof adornments...at the Shaunglin Temple.  They really are so beautiful and so intact!  You know...China is learning more and more about the best way to protect their cultural relics.  Things are getting stricter and stricter (as they should) in order to protect cultural history here.  For now, however, you can still walk in places and touch things that in the U.S. would be heavily partitioned off and available only for limited views.  So come to China NOW, folks.  Seriously.

ha ha ha  Seven looks like she's sad at having to leave the Temple but she's really just adjusting her sunglasses.  We're on top of the very old wall surrounding this famous Temple and we're about to reconnect with our driver and return to our Guesthouse in Pingyao....but not before....

.....taking a photo of the lady (uh...some sort of Buddha god, I guess) with the many, many arms! :)  Mothers everywhere can only wish for this many hands! ha ha 

We return to our Guesthouse and headed back to the Yun Jin Cheng restaurant for dinner because, you know, why mess with good food!  The small bowl is full of hand-shaved noodles (a Shanxi province specialty and so good) topped by a delicious spicy meat sauce!  I'm telling you, folks, it was DEE-licious!

Fried chicken bits (see the chopsticks) and to the far right, green beans, and the I barely remembered to take a photo of the great root dish with the smiley face (made out of raisins) before we ate too much! ha  The inside was a kind of bean paste....very tasty and sweet.

After dinner we returned to the Guesthouse and sat at a table in the lobby/restaurant and played cards.  Imagine my surprise when two Chinese guys approached us with a movie camera and microphone and requested an interview with CCTV (the national tv network here).  After a few "takes" they were finally satisfied with my rhetoric (which they coached me on saying) about how happy I was to be celebrating Chinese New Year holidays in the ancient city of Pingyao and how beautiful all the cultural sights were. :)  They then filmed Seven translating my words.....which was a lot longer than what I said took. ha  I never got to see it on the news as we left the next night to fly back to Beijing (when it was broadcast).  Probably a good thing. ha

We enjoyed many rousing rounds of "Who's the Best," which is a Chinese card game that I am totally wild about now! ha  And in China...you don't just lay your cards down...you SLAM them down as you play! ha  Let me tell ya....everyone knew there was a foreigner in that lobby that night as each time me and my partner (Seven) won I would yell out what LOSERS Joe and Jeanette were! ha ha  I also performed small "victory" dances in my seat! ha ha  There is absolutely no greater joy than being able to lose all inhibitions when you are living in/visiting a place where you know you know no one and have nothing to lose! ha  Not that I have any trouble acting totally crazy and embarassing myself! ha

This is a bit of Seven and Joe's room at the TianYuanKui Guesthouse.

More of Seven and Joe's room (I have pics of my room but they're on film and I need to get it transferred to CD so I can upload them later) and you can see the beautiful papercuts on their windows as well as their jeans hanging on the pegs! ha  In China, in the winter, folks don't just wear jeans....they wear thin long johns underneath and THEN a thicker pair of wool long johns and THEN their jeans! ha  Folks here always GASP when I show them that I am merely wearing one pair of jeans (by showing them my bare ankle/shins) without 2 layers underneath! ha  So at night, especially when traveling, they merely take off their jeans and then they're ready for bed....in their double long-john layers.  I, on the other hand, change into my "cotton sleep pants" and tye-dyed T-shirt! ha

So, if you've been a bit bored with all these Pingyao pics then you should know that there's one more Pingyao entry to come! ha  On the next morning, when we left by hired driver, we visited the Qiao Family Compound on our way to Taiyuan in Shanxi Province to fly home!  So more to come.......  LL, T.

Yeah...um....the photos weren't good!

Some of you know that my trusty little digital camera has died and gone to heaven!  Actually, I'm sure it was a sonic boom from some fireworks that I was photographing FAR too close that caused its death.  Therefore, I used a friend's camera for all the photos I have and am posting from Pingyao.  I do have an ancient camera (you know, one that uses real film) here with me so I loaded up a roll of 24 and shot 24 photos of fireworks from my apt. window on Chinese New Years's Eve (the night before we left for Pingyao).  In Pingyao, I shot a roll of 36. 

A few days ago I took the film to a Kodak film processing joint and came back the next day to claim what I was sure would be some very cool photos.  I paid for them in advance, which is how you do it here.  I was handed an envelope with photos in it and an envelope with just an uncut roll of processed negatives in it. 

Me:  Huh?  What's going on?

Photo Girl:  Yeah...we didn't process the roll of 24 because....um.....the photos were not good.  Did you take photos of fireworks?

Me:  Yes, I did.

Photo Girl:  Well, we're sure you would not want to pay for them.

Me:  (turning to Seven) But Seven, shouldn't I decide if I want the photos or not?  (She just shook her head).

Me:  Okay,that's fine (as they returned my 25 RMB for that roll, thinking that since they had already processed the film and gave it to me I could have them printed later...somewhere else.  We walked out of the store as I dug into the envelope with the 36 that they DID print).

Me:  Seven!  This roll was 36 photos and there's only 17 here!  What the heck is going on! (as I marched right back into the photo shop, dragging Seven with me, to protest.)

Me:  Hey!  This roll was 36 and I only have 17 photos here!

Photo Girl:  Yeah, but....um...some of the photos weren't good so we knew you wouldn't want to pay for them!

Me:  ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!

Seven later told me that if they had gone to the trouble of printing them, then they risked my asking for my money back because they're weren't good quality, so they just skipped all that and didn't print them.  Saved them some trouble, perhaps.  Caused me some stress, definitely.  I will PRINT all that unprinted film.  Yep....I will!

Pingyao, Part IV...all about the Wangs!

This entry is all about our visit to the Wang Family Compound.  Here's what the internet has to say:

"Wang's Compound is located in Jingsheng Town, Lingshi County, 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Pingyao Ancient City and 140 kilometers (about 87 miles) from Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. It is a luxurious residence built during 1762-1811 by the descendants of the Wang Family, one of the Four Families of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in Shanxi Province.

The compound occupies a total area of 150,000 square meters (about 179,399 square yards), of which 45,000 square meters (about 53,820 square yards) has been declared as a provincial protective cultural relic. Wang's Compound is not only an example of residential architecture, but also a museum of architectural art. Its sculptures of stone, wood and brick can be found everywhere in the courtyards. The crafts are refined and exquisite. Altogether there are 231 courtyards and 2,078 houses."

The Wangs were a very influential family "back in the day" and their HUGE compound reflects that.  We hired a private car (actually, it was a van) to take us there and although it was only 22 miles....it took us about an hour to reach our destination and on the way back we toured a famous temple but that's yet another entry! ha.  So nice to have a driver who hangs out patiently and then takes you back to your guesthouse. :)  It cost us 250 RMB (which is $37.50 split four ways...for me, this was a true bargain).

Mock-up of the Wang residence.  See the bridge that connects the smaller part to the bigger part?  Remember that.

Checking out where I am! See those 2 girls to my left?  This was one of those days when I felt I was the ONLY Westerner for miles around.  With all the hundreds and hundreds of Chinese citizens encountered on this day....I never came across another Westerner!  My presence at the Wang crib caused lots and lots of stares and many, many smiles and "Hello's!" from folks.  And if you know me and have been reading this blog then you know that a shout out of "Hello" doesn't go unnoticed by me so of course, I enjoyed saying "Hello!" right back and speaking in my very limited Chinese to many folks.  I also posed for a few photographs with folks and for a lot more that they they were taking overtly! ha ha  They might think I wasn't noticing them photographing me....but I was (ha) and continued to wear a big smile during my tour.  The best part, my blog buddies, is having parents push their children in front of me to say "hello."  You might think that's cruel but it's really not.  They are just really excited to see a foreigner and want their children (who take English as part of the Chinese curriculum here) to use their English.  It always gives me great joy to say hello to these young kids and then say a few words in Chinese to them to set them at ease. Then, I say "How are you?" in English and they feel more comfortable about saying what they've learned which is "I'm fine, and you?" ha.  I give them big smiles and a thumbs up and tell them that their English is good and the kids smile, their parents smile big....and in that moment....all is right with the world. :)

One of the many "rounded-roof" rooms in one of the many rooms in the many, many courtyards in this vast family compound.

There are always "touristy" things going on....no matter where you are. Here, you could pay 10 RMB ($1.50) and take a ride in a traditional Chinese carriage complete with a small group of men who played traditional instruments like a parade!  Seven was so excited and paid her money and took the ride! :)

Can you see Seven peeking out?  Incidentally, since it's been a long time since I've explained Seven's name....you should know that Seven's Chinese name is "Qi Mei" which translates to "Seven sisters" so she chose "Seven" as her English name.  It really suits her well and it's been a long, long time since it has sounded  "strange" to me to call her "Seven." ha  After all....I also know folks named "Wishing," "Cinderella," and "Lucky." :)  After all...."Teresa" probably sounds very strange to Chinese ears! :)

Blurry? yes.  But the happiness is there. :)  If you knew that I walked along with the instrument-playing Chinese guys and clapped my hands along with the beat, you'd probably think I'm crazy.  So I just won't tell you about that. :)

Blue skies for this photo!

You should know that you can click on any photo on this blog and it will display the photo much larger and then you can easily read the words.

So here's the bridge that connects the two big parts of the Wang compound.  This photo was taken before I walked across the bridge.  When I was taking the photo I had walked away from my friends and was in the midst of many Chinese taking a rest.  So, of course, we talked. ha  This consisted of me telling them that I was an American who teaches English to Chinese kids and that my Chinese was "no good."  They, in turn, started shouting "Obama, Obama!" ha  So I gave them the thumbs-up and, while smiling, said, "Obama, Obama!"  Luckily, it wasn't 8 years ago!  :)

Did we go to the top of this wall? Yes, indeedy! :)

An old, old sundial.

In this room.....lots of old money and money from other countries was displayed.  See the American one dollar bill?  Have no idea about the story behind that! ha 

Seven, as we headed up to the top! :)

Seven striking her best model pose! :)

From the afore-posted "teaser"....

We're almost to the top....where we never eventually made it! ha

The view from "nearly" the top.  So what you might have previously thought was a "blue sky" day was just an optical illusion.

Can you see it?  That's right, folks!  It's another beautiful handmade door quilt!  And also some feed corn drying on the roof.  And just in case you didn't notice....yes, these local homes are built INTO the side of the hill!

So you see the little smokestacks behind the residences?  This shows you how far back the homes go into the hill.

See those big drums?  We were walking along the outside wall of the Wang compound and so you know I had to shout down to these guys, in English, and beg them to bang the big drums!  ha

See them looking up at me? ha ha  They DID bang their drums and I hooped and hollered at them for complying with my wish! :)

Beautiful old  rooftops!

The old, the new and a hint of the big mountain in the distance.....

Joe, Seven and Jeanette say, "Wang Family Compound?  Been there, done that. " :)  LL, T.

 

A little humorous break from Pingyao photo posting!

 

Who knew that while I've been living in China....my son has become famous at Mt. Rushmore! ha ha ha ha

Pingyao Adventure, Part III of who knows how many! ha

Hope you aren't getting too bored with all these pics! ha

My photogenic friend, Seven.

I banged the bell 5 times. Then I saw the sign requesting 1 RMB for each bang! ha  So I put my 5 note in the collection box....

We also banged the big drum at this temple! 

A big dry well or pond or something at the back of this Temple.  There were 2 raised chimney-like things like you see here.  I tried several times to get my coin to land on one of them.

I did it!  My coin rests on some of the red of the Chinese character, to the right!  Surely great fortune will now come to me!

We're now on top of the City Wall at one of the towers.  Beautiful.

Here's what travelguidechina.com has to say about Pingyao and its' City Wall:

Being one of the four wholly-protected ancient cities in China, Pingyao Ancient City is thought of as the 'treasure house' of ancient Chinese architectures.

Regarding the Wall:  "With a total length of six kilometers (about four miles), the city wall is about 12 meters (about 40 ft) tall and 3 to 6 meters (about 10-20 ft) wide on top. The wall is of compacted earth covered by bricks and stones. From a bird's eye view the rectangular wall resembles a tortoise. There are six city gates, one each on the north and south walls, and two each on the west and east walls. The south gate is the head of the tortoise, the two wells outside being the two eyes of tortoise. The north gate, the lowest place of the city, is the tail of tortoise. Traditionally the tortoise was considered a symbol of longevity, so through ancient times the hopes were that Pingyao Ancient City would be permanently secure. There are 72 watchtowers on the top of city wall and 3,000 external battlements. It is said that the 72 watchtowers represent 72 people of great wisdom, the 3,000 battlements the 3,000 disciples of Confucius."

It's a beautiful Wall and since we walked from the East to the West gate (or was it from the West to the East), it means we walked about 2 miles on top of the Wall....only passing 2 other folks.  We could see down into many traditional hutong type homes and it was a very lovely walk.  I really do enjoy visiting cities in China in the winter.  You can enjoy much more freedom from big crowds.

I'm totally about throwing down the "peace" sign now!  You know what they say, if you can beat 'em, join 'em!

A little dragon fun next to the Wall.  We never saw it lit up at night but I'm sure it was nice.

The East, or West, Tower.

This is either Ming or Qing Street. 

We could see into many residential courtyards from atop the City Wall.  Folks don't buy/use dryers in China (although they do sell them in big cities) so they line-dry all their clothes.  In the winter, we usually hang them on clothes bar things inside the apartments, although sometimes you can see folks hanging them on tree branches and places outside their apt. building.  The heat in the apt. actually dries them faster than in the summer.

 More residential areas along our Wall walk.

A nice courtyard of a residence.  See that colorful door quilt?  I saw many of them and each one is handmade and different and BEAUTIFUL!  I so wanted to go to one of the residences and try to buy one.  Seven thought I was crazy.

I just love this door quilt.  Love, love, love it!

We had the Wall all to ourselves! :)

An old courtyard.....you can see my shadow taking the photo...you can see the chickens in the yard.....and oh yes, there's the satellite dish! :)

As we were nearing the end of our 2 mile Wall walk, we came across the metal dinette set! ha

In this courtyard....the motorbike is parked next to the Buddhist altar.

More "shadow fun" along the wall!

We're about to descend from the Wall walk.  Seven has a little fun with this metal man.

If you can translate this....let me know what it says! :)

The photo above was taken by Seven's husband, Joe.  You see, after the Wall walk, I was beat.  So I returned to our Guesthouse for a rest while Seven, Joe and Jeanette continued to see a few more sights.  A couple of hours later, when they returned to the Guesthouse, we headed out to a restaurant that I had read about on the internet!  Yun Jin Cheng!  It didn't disappoint and we had a wonderful meal full of famous Pingyao dishes.  In fact, we returned the next night for dinner.  On this night, however, we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table so I walked a bit on the street outside the restaurant while we were waiting and came across the lady with the cute monkey!  You could give her 5 RMB (75 cents) and take many photos holding the monkey.  I watched lots of photos taken and the lady would hit the monkey with a stick if he didn't perform as directed.  Sad to see.  So when I took my own photos holding the monkey....I only took 2 for fear that the lady would start hitting the monkey.  I've always wanted to hold a monkey and a chimpanzee.  Monkey?  Check!

The monkey is saluting! ha  Please don't take notice of my tired, dark eyes! ha

So very adorable. Now, I know what you're thinking.  "Teresa, if you felt bad about the way the monkey was being exploited....why, oh why, did you buy into that exploitation?"  You're so right.  But I just couldn't resist.  No, I couldn't. 

Seven couldn't resist buying some firecrackers and set them off in the street! :)  It was, you know, Chinese New Year and there were still lots of fireworks being set off. 

To give you an idea of how long it takes me to post photos...I began this posting exactly 1 hour and 42 minutes ago! :)  But I do enjoy sharing my experiences and it's one of the things I enjoy doing in the evenings in my apartment.  Cheers and LL, T.