From riding elephants, boat tripping along the Ganges, and visiting many (many, too many) temples, I find myself sitting in a room near the top of a tall university accommodation block, looking out over other skyscrapers and (because the pollution is not too bad today) in the distance, some mountains. Now, here's the thing. I can also see what looks like a large path snaking and curling over the mountains. BUT I am not going to be the first tourist to ask, over-awed and ignorant, if that is THE wall. That's like going to Paris and asking if an electricity pylon is the Eiffel Tower. I'll keep the question to myself, that way, without an answer I can kid myself that I can actually see the Great Wall of China from my window (even typing that sentence solidifies the unlikelihood of my observation).
My room is very nice, and well equipped - TV, fridge, kettle, en-suite- but I'm more concerned about the mug sitting next to me. The mug should be filled with green tea. It looks like green tea, it sort of smells like it, but the seaweedy foliage at the bottom of my cup does not look like green tea. Similarly the milk in my fridge looks like milk but it doesn't really taste like milk. When I asked someone about which milk to buy, they used worrying adjectives like, "this brand is trustworthy, it is safe". No one needs those words floating in your head when you're trying to enjoy a quiet bowl of cheerios. SO, forget the view, forget my room, am I drinking seaweed tea and flushing it down with [insert any other animal apart from cow. eg. cat] milk soaked milk? AM I? Because I've seen a lot of strange things in my first few days here, and this isn't necessarily unlikely.
On my first day here we were required to meet at 8am for a tour of the campus and registration. 8 am is the new 9am and trotting is the new walking- no one aside from the internationals walk, everyone trots at a fairly speedy pace that is really unnecessary at any time of the day. Nonetheless, we trotted around campus and to registration. It could catch on. Anyway, day one threw me an awful lot of admin- sorting out Chinese mobile phones, buying WARM CLOTHES (its -5), setting up internet- the sort of jobs that are a pain to do when you first arrive at university in England. Swap the English alphabet for organised scribbles and replace 'helpful' English speaking staff with a blank faced non-English speaking receptionist who's only expression is 'I'm tir-red spak slow laaay'. Oh its 'hilarious' trying to tell her that your fridge doesn't work. I did manage to piece everything together, hence why I can sit here typing on my blog (internet and new proxy included), sipping from my mug (purchased from 'Wu Mart'), checking my 'China mobile' whilst wearing my new plastic, fur hooded puff jacket and fur lined, gold-studded boots (I dare anyone to find me a coat that isn't plastic and furry. I look like a Chinese cartoon. I'm lucky I was able to find one that wasn't pink).
Day 2 and at 8am (obv) they tested the level of Chinese. It was one word long ("nothing") and therefore brief. It being only 8.10 (!!) I was left with the day to play with. Except that a small South Korean girl attached herself to me. I'm not sure how it happened, I just found her walking next to me and she asked me what "we" were doing.
"I don't know," I replied, staring at her familial expression, "I genuinely don't know".
Well we chat for a bit, she followed me to the gym and then we had lunch. This was a useful activity in any event because she could translate some of the food descriptions for me.
This is essential. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Chinese eat anything and everything. They do. Now, I've been told that dog is a delicacy, so you're not likely to find that in a uni canteen. However, any part of the usual animals- pig, cow, sheep, lamb, etc- can be found. But the parts are not easily identifiable having being fried, soaked, chopped, sliced, strung or covered in MoMo. On Day 1 a fellow English girl ordered what seemed to be a fairly safe option, chicken noodle soup. It was. Until she got to the bottom of it and she found various eggs, of all sizes and colours sitting at the bottom of her bowl (quail eggs? reptile eggs?? None of them looked the size of a chicken egg) So continuing along that theme, you can buy 'duck parts' together with the egg (to remind you of the cycle of life??) for a bargain price of 80p. You can buy offal, heart, and yes my friends, CRAB STICKS....like you've never seen them before. Give me a plastic packaged, wobbly Tesco crab stick any day. These ones look dry, fermented, more like the real thing.
I haven't just had an unlucky first impression with food. Everywhere you go you will pass shop windows and stalls displaying crispy duck heads (picking the brain out is a delicacy), sheep trotters, chicken's feet etc. etc. Now SURELY when something smells bad, putrid even, SURELY you wouldn't then eat it. Well guys, now I've seen that they really do eat everything and anything, the doubt is crystallised. I don't trust anything. I generally avoid the 'dubious' or grin and bare the necessary (cat's milk and cheerios. I need cereal in the morning, therefore I will have to continue to experiment with milk). That said, we were taken out for an all expenses paid meal last night at a Peking Duck restaurant (a Beijing speciality), and it was delicious. Weird also- the Chinese cook with a pepper that can also be used as a drug (its banned). As a food ingredient, it completely numbs your tongue when you eat it. My tongue literally went floppy in my mouth when I was trying to enjoy my genuinely, Chinese crispy duck pancakes. The one thing I completely recognise and my taste buds, nerves and overall tongue are having a nap. Hear me now, I will triumph over Chinese food and maybe I'll make it my mission to try something weird every week. I'll start with 'green tea' flavoured crisps.
I'm off out now, but will resume later this weekend with news on my explorations of the city so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment