Let the countdown continue! #8...MSG

Zsuitsi/Eggplant in sweet sauce

Number Eight: MSG...so good.  A few evenings before Christmas, i went to dinner with a couple work colleagues. Micheal E is a New Yorker who has lived in China for nine years.  He likes literature and is well...loud.  Will is my neighbor and new friend who studied politics and likes to debate about pretty much everything.  Both having been in this city for a while (years+, only God knows why so long), they are quite familiar with local findings/can order things without pointing at the menu pictures.

My dinner was interesting. We argued and ate. The restaurant we chose was seedy and smokey and smelled like old beer.  The spice in the air was sting the eyes spicy. The conversation was intense and comical at the same time. What they ordered for us was delicious.  And through our bouts of yelling and debating we enjoyed a side by side test of dishes with and without MSG.  And I don't have to tell you the outcome because you read the title of this post.

MSG is delicious!  and though, I haven't done too much research...and will try to avoid it (MSG) in the future... as its apparently very bad for you (who knew) makes one eat too much (not uncommon for me) and the next day MSG doesn't feel so good (maybe MSG is a long distance cousin of  vodka), but in the moment, MSG is the right choice.

This is a steaming skillet of sliced potatoes and chili peppers.  Mmmmm. MMMMSG.

Yup, the eatin' in china is good.  There are endless meaty selections, they love bacon, but for me its the vegetables.  They use a lot of eggplant, potatoes and green beans and generally the dishes are really colorful, pleasing to the eye.  Obviously, my food-centric self is quite pleased in China.

Also, if you are sick of Chinese food (hasn't happened to me yet), the pizza is great.  I enjoyed Pizza Hut with an old friend from Knoxville the other night.  Dr. Zhong was my professor who lead the study abroad trip I attended here to China six years ago.  He is from Beijing and was here for Christmas so we met up for a nice non-Chinese dinner.  It was really cool to see a friendly face from home.

Bon appetite!

  

New Years...New attitude...HAPPY NEW YEAR

2012 is going to be amazing.  The world is only gonna get better this year, and, yes, Beijing, seeing as how you are in the world, you will get better too.  The year is off to a beautiful start...I am already having a beautiful year, and ya'll haven't even seen 2012 yet.  Its kinda cool living in the future.  Anyway, me and Beijing have gotten on well the past couple days and we hope to continue this caring (or at least lessen the animosity in our) relationship into the new year.

Oh, I met this baby on the subway a couple days ago...so freaking cute.

And, these are some doggies.  On a bike cart, barking at everyone.  Silly Chinese doggies.  

Poor Beijing, I am so hard on you...

 In all honesty, the last day+ has been a-okay. I had a nice Christmas, went swimming, went to church-with service in English- and I went out with a work friend, my Ugandan friend and met some fun folks at a local bar’s Christmas party.  Santa brought free beer for all!  It was pretty fun.  I mean, when will I ever again celebrate Christmas with such a gang as i did last night: a Canadian who says okie dokie, a Ugandan who loves his Santa hat and a whole mess of Vietnamese and Zimbabweans?  Beijing, score one for you today, Christmas found me some new friends and showed me a little more of the city's good side…for the moment I have released a small amount angst towards this city.  Thanks, Christmas!

 Church was good, the building is gorgeous.  Its the oldest cathedral in Beijing, dating back to 1605.  There was a really interesting manger scene out front with an inordinate amount of sheep involved (and I am sorry I didn't snap a pic but believe me that there was a lot of effort put into that display). The congregation joined the choir in singing Christmas tunes. The Elvis version of Silent Night was sung by one of the Chinese members of the church choir;and, wow, he did a damn fine job. To be fair,  the spirit of Christmas was found in Beijing's South Cathedral and I am happy to report, the Christmas spirit has remained with me through today.

 On another awesome note, I got a Chinese name today.  It was given to me by my Chinese instructor (my first lesson is tomorrow, yay!).  His name is Socrates.  My Chinese name is Mò Lì , 茉莉,  I am named as such because it sounds like my given American name but it is also the name of a lovely Chinese jasmine.  Hurray! 

Its Christmas in Beijing!

It is, it is...Christmas here in Beijing!  Its Christmas all over the world!  Yay.  I love Christmas.  The Chinese love Christmas/love to decorate for Christmas.  It is evident.  Santa is all over this city. And workshops and Christmas trees and decorations are popped up all over the city, too. Its kinda like the elves puked out all their Christmas goodness right here on Beijing but, I don't mind. (One thing is for sure, I can't get enough of the Christmas music playing about town.  I freaking love it! Silver Bells, jingling, tingaling...!)

I am thoroughly enjoying all this Christmas to-do. But I miss the energy of home!  Though there is a big, visible Christmas to-do and on-going Christmas type celebration throughout the city streets, not many people here actually celebrate Christmas.  The Chinese love 'Christmas',  but there isn't much Christmas love flying around.  It just ain't the same.

Wait!...are you suggesting that something in China isn't what it seems??  Wow, that's a shocker!

You can have a million Christmas trees but all you need is one with spirit.  And my Christmas tree is at home, in the USA, with my family and my friends.  I miss you, all of you.  I hope as you read this, you are happy that it is Christmas and you are with people  you love. I miss you and wish you the Merriest Christmas of all.

Beijing brings out the angel and the devil in me...

Okay and a hey from Beijing.   The city of dreams...or where dreams go to die in the pollution and smog. I have been sitting here trying to come up with ten things I like about Beijing.  And not even love, just like. Ten things I actually like about this place that I currently and temporarily reside.  Ten good things, not things I could like anywhere, like flowers or the sky (which I absolutely love, especially here when it is actually clear enough to see). Ten real things that I could give you that could help you see why I am here (kinda had to come, this is where I got a job), why I stay here (probably not staying for long) and to reassure myself that I came here by my own accord so by God ima enjoying it for a while (short while).

So, as I sit here trying to come up with a few thinks I like about Beijing, the angel on my shoulder says to find those things and to give it my best shot.  Which I have decided I will do.  It may take time but I can do it.  I will do it.  I can and will find things I like about Beijing city. Mean while, the devil on the other shoulder shouts explitives to tell ya'll what I really think about this shitty city. So there it is folks.  Ms. Happy Pants is gonna give it to you straight. One day you are gonna get positive and one day you are gonna get negative.  Life isn't always rosey Tahoe or fresh Tennessee. Its gonna be maniac.  It may be a little depressive/negative.  But, hey, I am in China.  If I can't pick on China a little bit, I am going to explode.

Let the countdown begin!

10.  Food centric Mols is mostly happy here.  The food is cheap, its good and its everywhere.  The grocery store is fun because I can find dozens of fun packages to look through/wonder whats in there and I can try new pastries and things.  Also, (gross) there are live fish there that the butcher or fish monger or what ever will get out of the tank and kill for you fresh. Mmmhmm.
Street food is fun and adventurous to get into. Above is the egg/hot plate/crepe-ish thing I like.  Its hard to say what the level of cleanliness is when your food is cooked in questionable oil in a pop up tent or push cart on the street in China, but hey, its cold outside and the food has steam coming off it.  Can't be all bad ya? 

And, if any of this bores you, you can go to Wangfuging snack street (above) and get live animals on sticks.  This day, it was particularly cold (maybe -2 degrees Celsius and add the wind chill to make it -9 C probably) so the things weren't still wriggling.  Yup, pictured here are starfish, sea horsies, beetles, scorpions, butterflied rats and some other poor unfortunate creature who is too foreign for my Western eyes to recognize.  Is it necessary to add...?  Yup, it is...I didn't eat anything.  But I certainly puked a little bit.  

Countdown items of the future to look forward to: the National Library, badminton on tv, Beijing at night, bikes, signs...and i don't know what else yet.  Why? Because this is Beijing and there ain't much to like here...that's why.   Until next time...xoxo and love where you live!

A nice day in Beijing...

Okay, yesterday was a good day.  Truth: Beijing hasn't been so bad for a few days here.  The sky has been blue; I even saw the moon.   I saw the stars, too.  So special!  Yes, its epic to see the stars in this big city.  Someone is shining down on me because everyday I find something joyful or enjoyable or both.  Example: seeing the stars for the first time in three weeks, or getting in the elevator with a scooter.

Yesterday, I took a walk through my neighborhood.  Blue sky, torrential wind but still gorgeous and the first thing I see out there is an old man riding down the unusually empty city street. He wears typical drab black wool coat and matching wool cap and he also wears a smile.  He must be happy as he has his birds with him.  They were joyously hanging around in a cage mounted on the handle bars of his old black bike.  Isn't that nice for him to take his birds on a leisurely cruise?  I thought so.

I continued my walk.  A pleasure cruise through Wu Dao Kuo streets. There is so much going on around here.  I live in the 'University district', Haidian, on the third ring of Beijing.  There are half a dozen major universities in this district. More than 2 million people call this district home, its one of two western areas of the city and I can get Mexican food here.  The bigger grocery stores have Skippy and Nature's Valley and real Vermont cheddar.
The city is built around its rings; nine rings make up the main city of Beijing.  Big rings.  This place is huge, but becoming more manageable every day (that's what I am telling you anyway...mmmhmph).

My walk continues.  I find people to smile at.  I take note of a few shops and cafes and other amenities that may come in handy: KFC, the pink and purple castle, the bike parking lot.  I talk to a few folks, its like I emanate American.  People here love Americans, in fact people everywhere love Americans; duh, we are awesome!  But anyway, I have learned in the last few days that people want to talk to me even though we have clear communication issues.  It's funny and fun.  We chat for a minute, clearly with little understanding of what the other is saying and then carry on our merry little respective ways.  A nice city interaction.  We continue on our respective journeys, smiling for our lack there of communication but it was still fun.  I have also learned in the last few days that my speaking Chinese isn't so bad that they laugh (though it is laughable).  They laugh because they are so happy that I am trying.  Cool.

A few Beijing things...

I am still making moves toward a happy existence here in Beijing.  And I have found a sign and a funny little man to help me in this quest.

This kind, red gentleman gave me a smile on just the right occasion.  Thanks, pal.

What a nice sign, to help me along my way, as well.  One thing about China is that there are always funny translations and funny signs about for a laugh.  I read something shocking almost daily and I will surely be keeping a record of said shocking translations.

For now, I will give you this one:  "Remodel for your prettiness".  I saw it printed on a construction site fence.  The construction: a pink and purple castle in front of a mall.  The use: who knows what will live in that castle but it is sure nice that they are making it for our prettiness.

I work a full week now so my adventures in travel land have slowed somewhat.  Still, the streets of Beijing provide newness and adventure.  The street food carts and stands are one of my favorite things as they hold strange edibles for cheap. The food is fresh (i think) and smells interesting (sometimes good, sometimes gross) and the people working in these stands find me quite amusing when I order lunch here. Its tough to be laughed at daily but I am glad to help give laughter to the world even if it is AT me.

The language barrier is crippling but I can still point and... chew! I have found street "crepes" aka Chinese pizza. Its made on a hot, flat, circular iron griddle.  Batter is spread thin, an egg is cracked on the cooking batter and spread with a spatula round and round coating the pastry. The flat food is then flipped, cooking the egg through, letting it fully cook into the batter.  Then chilies and dark, sweet hoisin sauce are spread on top; green onions and parsley is sprinkled lovingly and the pastry is quickly liberated from its hot temporary home on the hot griddle, folded up twice and put in a little bag.  A now triangular snack folded up just right for a hot snack of Chinese deliciousness.  The whole process takes a minute and a half and cost about 50 cents; the entire minute and a half I am quite mesmerized by the method thus, no picture yet.

The city has numerous things to be entertained with and by.  The endless streams of people in the subways stations (ah), the dressed up dogs (ugh), the busy nature of everything and everyone, the size and breadth of the streets and buses and malls (AH!).  And, McDonald's delivers (whoa/ew).  Its wild.  So wild,  I can't wait to come home.

Pretty lights on a cool sculpture

A food stall on the street corner,
veggies simmer in delicious spicy broth

Oh, Beijing, how I love to hate you...

Yesterday, I woke up and it was sunny.  Well, as sunny as I have seen Beijing anyway; I could actually see the blue that I love so much, the blue I have been missing these last few weeks, the blue only the sky can give you.  The smile that shines from my heart seeing this blue radiates to my face and out to the world…I am off to enjoy this sun even if it four degrees out there.  I am going to the Summer Palace, a place of calm and nature  and loveliness in the middle of this heinous city.  I say heinous because Beijing and I are having a little bit of trouble in our relationship at the moment.  Maybe it will pass, but its an everyday battle.  

The open space of the Palace is like a dream.  I have been in the city too long.  I have been here two weeks.  The sun struggles to shine through the polluted sky and when it does get through, it may only be for a couple hours.  A couple glorious and wonderful city filled hours.  The birds and the trees love the open air as do I.  I find a perch high above the goings on below and take in Kunming Lake and the bridges and causeways in the distance. The air is warm, unseasonably so and it seems, for a moment, I have found a calm in the mad mad adjustment period I have warring in Beijing.  Adjustment is an understatement. 

Let me tell you why: Everyone smokes here.  And I live in constant fear of being spit on.  Not because I am American, but because everyone spits…EVERYONE.  All the time, its spit or smoke.  Its dirty and a city and I don’t speak Chinese…well…at all and when I do, AH…  And for goodness sake, what was I thinking coming here in the winter.  Anyway, I will spare you much more of the hate parade because now it appears, as I sit in the crisp but not cold air, that I can do this.  I can find my breath in the midst of this insanity, I can and will beat this feeling of lonesome, why-the-heck-am–I-in-this-crazy-China and why-the-heck-do-I-not-just-recognize-that-I-am-not-a-city-person.

I have several uninterrupted minutes of breathe and serenity and lovely fall afternoon air.  Thank you. And then I look down and a bird has pooped on me. I am not even kidding.  Beijing…you are out to get me aren’t you?

I don’t let it get to me though; I move on, and out from underneath the tree, and take a long walk around the lake.  The grounds are huge and its clear to me that I will be back here at the Palace often.  It will be my refuge from the dark, scary, dirty city.  And maybe that bird pooped on me this time, but I bet every other time, Beijing, its pooped on you.  So there. 

I won't let this city thing get me down; its just more fun to be a hater sometimes.  It makes the little things so much better. Today, on the subway, a guy and his guitar serenaded the train so beautifully everyone was silent and even the cell phones were put away.  It was magic.  And I smile.  We all did.

I made it to China!

Hi and hello from good ole Beijing.  Oh, yes...I am in Beijing.  Its cold and dirty and I share this freezing and smoggy weather with 20 million other people.  And one of those people showed me how to get a vpn tunnel and tada! bck to the blogspot. 

I arrived here almost two weeks ago.  I have been to Tienamaen Square, set myself up in an apartment and I am getting to know my new Western(ish) neighborhood.  The other day, I ate street food, didn't even know what it was but it was so delicious.  Maybe this cold, smoggy city will be okay for a while after all. 

Because, after all, this city's people do share a passion for a few things I too love and behold...bikes and dogs.  Though I have neither...shoot. 

Stayed tuned for more...

Loving Melaka...

In the heart of Kuala Lumpur stand tall building and there beats techno music. All night long. After five days of enjoying late night music after long days of brilliant museums and fighting off monkeys and smelling around beautiful orchid and hibiscus gardens and visiting elegant mosques and ornamental temples, I have escaped the city.



Yesterday, I arrived in Melaka, a beautiful historic town on the sea. This town sits on the straigts of Melaka and four hundred years ago the sea was riddled with ships holding spices from Sri Lanka, silks from China, ceramics from Portugal and metals from India. Melaka was a major port full of action as the meeting place from ships sailing east to west and west to east for trade.




There are many temples and mosques, not unlike the rest of Malaysia. The mosque I visited today sits on the edge the sea, floating in the lapping water of the straights.

 In addition to beautiful mosques, this port city has numerous churches among the temples.  With so much to see, I have been lucky enough to get a bike from my guest house (a great guest house by the way) and have been pedaling around this historic, artsy little town; along the river, through china towns new and old, buy the Church of St. Francis Xavier, and to little India and to the sea.  

There is no shortage of good food 'round here. And there's no shortage of new foods to try. This morning I had an Indonesian speciality: Jus Alpokat. Avocado juice with chocolate sauce. Mmmm. They blend the avo with sweet cream and ice and then swirl the glass with chocolate sauce.                          Tastes pretty Much like just what you are thinking:  Mmmmm.  Lunch was a triple decker peanut butter and banana with chocolate sauce thingy.  And, same, as you can imagine, tastes how you think it would...SO GOOD!  Two thumbs up, really, for the eating going on round here.  Later, I tried Nyonya pineapple tarts, a Melaka specialty.  Small in size, the tart has spice to its pastry and candied sweetness to the fruit filling.  Different and delicious.  Good thing the bike is around so I can get about town to do all this eating!  Happy biking trails and happy eating...tomorrow I am off to Beijing.  

Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur...

The last few days have been fun.  Bangkok was empty with the flood waters threatening the city; but, the waters kept at bay.  All was well for us ladies, our last days together were spent well.  Flowers and shopping and foot massages, pad thai and fruit shakes and silliness.  And the pool...on the roof of our BKK hotel.

Check out the size of this leaf!

 It seemed wrong to be carrying on with our tourist ways among the flooding and the worry that surrounded Bangkok.  However, because of the absence of tourists, we made friends with numerous business owners and employees .  I think they were happy to see us; many visitors have cancelled their trips not knowing if it was safe to journey to Bangkok or Thailand.
One evening Dylan and I were getting foot massages and the ladies were sharing their fried food treats and whiskey with Thai herbs added to it.  Fried fried things, fried dough things and strong whiskey with red, licorice tasting herbs added...and a foot massage...okay, I accept!  We had a great time chatting with the Thai ladies, and they had fun playing with us, making fun of us and just being silly.

Next point of interest: I would like to know why so much roof space is wasted on things that are not pools.  The view was almost as amazing as the breeze in the humid, hot of BKK.

From the pool to Malaysia.  Now I am in KL. I have seen shadow puppets at the National museum (pictured above, made out of buffalo skin, used for entertainment in the17th c and 18th c) and a replica of Stone Henge at the National Planetarium.  Today, my new friends, Victoria, from New Orleans and Carolin, from Germany, and I have visited a few key places in KL, one being a Chinese Temple, pictured here and a Hindu temple which sat just down and across the street. Doesn't the lioness look playful with the ball of the world in her mouth?

Malaysia is a malay of religions and cultures and also fruit juices.  The pink drink tastes just like it looks; bubble gum with a hint of flowers.  Just stay away from the Durians.  Durian is a medium sized spikey melon thing...the smelliest thing ever. I have yet to try it but I am told it tastes a little like too old chicken mixed with salt water and  rotting fruit. Mmmmm. We also visited Asia's tallest flag pole on Merdeka (Independence) Square.  Fun. 

So, as I sight see and have a good time meeting friends and other travelers, I also await my visa to enter China.  As always, we shall see what happens....and I will keep you posted.  I am anxious as I write this; I have several days before my meeting with the embassy and a couple more before being able to pick up my visa.  

Oh, bummer, guess I will have to hang out in Malaysia.  In the next couple days, my time will be spent sight seeing, visiting temples and caves and eating Malay food.  And...I will go to an elephant sanctuary to work too!  I will have the chance to feed and wash elephants and maybe ride one too in the rain forest national park on Taman Negara.  Fun!

The best chocolate mousse ever...

I have said good-bye to Phuket.  And I say good-bye to Thailand today.  Off to Malaysia for the weekend and then on to China.  I have accepted a job there and will start off in Beijing.

But, there's no better way to say good bye to a city than with a delish dessert/dinner like this one.

yu