Well, it's been two weeks for us here in Shanghai. Anastasia has settled into her new school and is making progress in learning Mandarin, as am I. Basil is still home with us during the day, but we're starting to think about finding a kindergarden or pre-school for him to go to.
Richard's work is going well at the Shanghai Daily. The kids and I have visited him there twice already and ate at the workers' cafeteria our second time there. They had Chinese food there, of course. But none of it was recognizeable as Chinese food! We still haven't gone to a Cantonese restaurant, which is apparently where American Chinese food comes from.
There are million little stores within a block's walk of our apartment complex and I'm still finding new ones. Yesterday, the kids and I went to the postoffice to mail a letter to Anastasia's class and we found a little bakery half a block away that had the most amazing croissants, big and flaky, and cakes and cookies and a beatiful, crusty, sesame-seeded bread loaf that we ate in one big gulp when we got home. We got two donuts (big, sweet and chewy) and a bag of cookies and a loaf of bread and two huge croissants for 12 yuan -- or $1.50.
Outside, there was a little old man with several bamboo bird cages with little birds. Chicadees? Anyway, cute little birds. He let them out of their cages and they would fly right back to him to take seeds out of his hands. He let my children hold the seeds and the birds would fly right into their hands. Then he put a coin down on a stool, and the bird would fly over, get the coin, and bring it back to him. The kids loved it, and a crowd of a dozen-plus people gathered to watch them and the birds. Richard said that he's seen the old man there regularly -- he's retired, Rich says, and the birds are his hobby. Rich says that there are a lot of retirees to go to the parks or other outdoor areas every day to give their birds some fresh air and a change of scenery.
Then we walked to the "supermarket" -- really, a mid-sized grocery store. There, I found tomato paste and tomato sauce -- a great discovery, because there's a kind of noodle that's a lot like spaghetti and now we can eat Italian food at Chinese prices. Otherwise, we have to buy spaghetti sauce in the pricey imported food shops.
I'm setting into my job. I don't do any reporting in China yet because my accreditation hasn't come through. It will take a couple of months or so. But I do have some miscellaneous stuff to coordinate with the office back home. This means I keep regular east coast business hours. When the kids go to bed at 8 p.m., I take a two hour nap. When I wake up, it's 10 p.m. in Shanghai and 9 a.m. in New York City. Then I go to work. I've been talking to people over the telephone from Shanghai. My location sometimes makes for some nice chit-chat before the official conversation starts. In the past, we'd have to talk about the weather.
Speaking of the weather, I'd been cloudy and cool here for the past few days. We go outside in sweaters or light jackets, though the kids take theirs off when they play actively on the playground.
Yesterday, I finally put on some grown-up clothes, panty hose, heels and lipstick and went to a meeting of the Foreign Correspondents Club (the first one I've ever been to, in any country). There were about a dozen of us around a table in a historic restaurant in downtown Shanghai that was located on the grounds of a sprawling, pre-revolutionary beautifully landscaped residence and villa complex. We discussed the state of foreign journalism with a visiting dignitary, an old foreign correspondent turned university lecturer. Our table had a revolving glass circle in the middle of it, and waitresses kept bringing out large platters of Chinese food to put on that revolving circle. Then we all helped ourselves to what we wanted. There was egg drop soup, and pork fried rice, and spicy noodles, and various kinds of pork dishes, a roasted duck, and several other dishes as well. And I came late because I had trouble getting the taxi driver to understand the address when I said it, so I missed the first round! It all cost 50 yuan per person -- or around $6.
The organizer of the event said that the restaurant was insistent that this wouldn't be enough food, and urged her to go for the 200 yuan a plate option, which would have included turtle soup. Since we didn't eat even half of the gigantic amount of what was served, she decided she made the right decision to go with the less expensive alternative.
I was immediately invited to join a newly-formed group composed of international correspondents and bloggers located around the world who are discussing the future of our profession, and I did. It's very nice to be back in the middle of things again.
I also volunteered to help organize things for the Foreign Correspondents Club if the needed any help, but it looks as though the group is *very* well run. I'm impressed with the number of events they hold. The day before yesterday, for example, they had a get-together with some ambassadors and tomorrow a writer is talking about a history book he's just completed.
I'm also interested in the local Chinese media organizations, but haven't gotten in touch with anyone yet. Richard's newspaper, the Shanghai Daily, has a corporate membership in the local journalists' union, and he was supposed to find out how to get in touch with folks there, but he hasn't yet.
So far, to my disappointment, everyone I know here speaks fluent English. I haven't made friends with any of my neighbors yet, but want to. I really want to learn Chinese. I have a reputation to maintain. :-) Meanwhile, I'm continuing to listen to my tapes.
In mid-April, Mathew Schwartz, a former colleague of mine from Computerworld, will come stay. He's coming to Beijing on a press visit sponsored by the wireless industry (I think) and will make a short detour to us for a weekend. By then, we're going to have a fold-out couch. We're not buying it *just* for him, since Richard has two friends who will stay over as well. If anybody else wants to come, just let us know! We have a very nice apartment, with gorgeous views of the city (think "Frasier"). The light show every night that some of the big towers put on is spectacular, and we're on the 18th floor facing downtown, so we get to see it all.
Friday, March 26, 2004
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Chinese school and Russian Soup
Kiska is learning Chinese in school, and seems to be adjusting pretty well. She brings home homework everyday of Chinese words (characters!) she has to practice writing. Basil is home with me, so he's not having to learn any Chinese yet. We're going to start looking for a kindergarden for him soon.
Our apartment building is on this large block. There are our five buildings (we're in building number three), there's a large garden and courtyard and two gates, then, once you walk out of the complex there are stores around the outside of the block as well. They include a furniture store, several convenience stores, an Internet cafe, hair dressers, restaurants, and, of course, Kiska's school is on our block too. On the way back from Kiska's school -- a five minute walk -- you pass by a restaurant, the hair dresser, the itnernet cafe, the convenience store, and the vegetable shop. The vegetable shop is really nice and I've been going in there every day. You can buy potatoes and cabbage for soup, and eggs and mayonnaise, and tomatoes and cucumbers and lots of different kinds of mushrooms. I've been cooking vegetable soup and frying potatoes and making tomato-cucumber salad. Yesterday, I cooked noodles that looked like spaghetti (and were very tasty) with spaghetti sauce. For breakfast everyday we have oatmeal, and sometimes I fry or boil eggs. Richard makes pancakes and bacon on weekends. WE DON'T EAT FROGS. :-)
I've taken the kids to Kentucky Fried Chicken once (didn't like it here) and to McDonalds twice (same as in US). We haven't been to a Chinese restaurant yet! We keep planning to go, but something always comes up. Richard has bought things from Chinese restaurants and brought them home, however -- mostly dumplings (like ravioli) and scallion pancakes. I don't like the dumplings at all but he keeps buying them. Well, the kids like them.
We haven't found sour cream here yet, which I miss to put in soup. I'm sure we will, I'll keep looking. The yogurt here is very much like kefir. We buy it plain (which is sweet) and strawberry (which is also sweet). If it was like American yogurt, we could use it instead of sour cream, but it isn't, so we can't.
My back pain is almost all gone. (It took a while!) I've been doing back exercises every night to make sure it doesn't come back. Richard bought a bicycle and rides back and forth to work at the Shanghai Daily. It takes him less time to go by bike than by taxi, he says.
It takes 16 yuan -- $2 -- to take a taxi to where Richard works. Other times, he walks or takes the subway.
I bought a laptop computer at a used computer shop, but am having problems with the operating system -- it's all in Chinese! A man will come tomorrow and install an English operating system on it. The man's name is Silly Billy and he's studying to be a doctor, and working as a computer doctor meanwhile. He's pretty nice, but doesn't speak much English. I don't speak much Chinese, but we get along fine anyway.
Today, we went to Richard's work and had some food in their cafeteria. Richard eats there every day because it's very cheap. For the four of us, dinner cost only 10 yuan -- just a little over a dollar. They have lots of different kind of food there, but I didn't like most of it and was scared to eat a lot of it. But I guess you get used to it -- Richard did, and likes it. He gets a certain amount of money that he can spend at the cafeteria and the grocery store in the building, and has to use it up. He usually buys milk and yogurt to bring home for the kids.
I'm starting to slowly get to know my way around. I met some of Richard's friends. One, a German woman, was very nice, quiet and pretty. Another, was an outspoken Australian woman named Michelle. I like her a lot. Michelle is going to take me out shopping later on this week, show me the good parts of town. She also has books she will lend me to read. I have nothing to read, so I like her just for that alone!
Richard also has a friend named Seth, an American, who (like Michelle) is teaching English here. And I've met some of the guys he works with at the newspaper, who seem pretty nice. I've been in touch with the Russians here, but haven't met any yet. Their next gettogether is in the middle of April. If I don't find sour cream by then, I'll ask them where to buy it!
Our apartment building is on this large block. There are our five buildings (we're in building number three), there's a large garden and courtyard and two gates, then, once you walk out of the complex there are stores around the outside of the block as well. They include a furniture store, several convenience stores, an Internet cafe, hair dressers, restaurants, and, of course, Kiska's school is on our block too. On the way back from Kiska's school -- a five minute walk -- you pass by a restaurant, the hair dresser, the itnernet cafe, the convenience store, and the vegetable shop. The vegetable shop is really nice and I've been going in there every day. You can buy potatoes and cabbage for soup, and eggs and mayonnaise, and tomatoes and cucumbers and lots of different kinds of mushrooms. I've been cooking vegetable soup and frying potatoes and making tomato-cucumber salad. Yesterday, I cooked noodles that looked like spaghetti (and were very tasty) with spaghetti sauce. For breakfast everyday we have oatmeal, and sometimes I fry or boil eggs. Richard makes pancakes and bacon on weekends. WE DON'T EAT FROGS. :-)
I've taken the kids to Kentucky Fried Chicken once (didn't like it here) and to McDonalds twice (same as in US). We haven't been to a Chinese restaurant yet! We keep planning to go, but something always comes up. Richard has bought things from Chinese restaurants and brought them home, however -- mostly dumplings (like ravioli) and scallion pancakes. I don't like the dumplings at all but he keeps buying them. Well, the kids like them.
We haven't found sour cream here yet, which I miss to put in soup. I'm sure we will, I'll keep looking. The yogurt here is very much like kefir. We buy it plain (which is sweet) and strawberry (which is also sweet). If it was like American yogurt, we could use it instead of sour cream, but it isn't, so we can't.
My back pain is almost all gone. (It took a while!) I've been doing back exercises every night to make sure it doesn't come back. Richard bought a bicycle and rides back and forth to work at the Shanghai Daily. It takes him less time to go by bike than by taxi, he says.
It takes 16 yuan -- $2 -- to take a taxi to where Richard works. Other times, he walks or takes the subway.
I bought a laptop computer at a used computer shop, but am having problems with the operating system -- it's all in Chinese! A man will come tomorrow and install an English operating system on it. The man's name is Silly Billy and he's studying to be a doctor, and working as a computer doctor meanwhile. He's pretty nice, but doesn't speak much English. I don't speak much Chinese, but we get along fine anyway.
Today, we went to Richard's work and had some food in their cafeteria. Richard eats there every day because it's very cheap. For the four of us, dinner cost only 10 yuan -- just a little over a dollar. They have lots of different kind of food there, but I didn't like most of it and was scared to eat a lot of it. But I guess you get used to it -- Richard did, and likes it. He gets a certain amount of money that he can spend at the cafeteria and the grocery store in the building, and has to use it up. He usually buys milk and yogurt to bring home for the kids.
I'm starting to slowly get to know my way around. I met some of Richard's friends. One, a German woman, was very nice, quiet and pretty. Another, was an outspoken Australian woman named Michelle. I like her a lot. Michelle is going to take me out shopping later on this week, show me the good parts of town. She also has books she will lend me to read. I have nothing to read, so I like her just for that alone!
Richard also has a friend named Seth, an American, who (like Michelle) is teaching English here. And I've met some of the guys he works with at the newspaper, who seem pretty nice. I've been in touch with the Russians here, but haven't met any yet. Their next gettogether is in the middle of April. If I don't find sour cream by then, I'll ask them where to buy it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)