Sunday, July 29, 2007

my birthday

After a harrowing night of drinking and hotpot (yes, hotpot) I was informed (again, see the previous post) that I would be traveling to the country on Saturday. Disappointed that I wouldn't be able to sleep in, I woke up hung over for a rollicking, incredibly bumpy ride into the country-side.

First thing I encountered of notice was this interesting plant growing next to corn in a farmer's field. Interesting...very interesting. I was told it was hemp, and only used for the rope and oil that is extracted from it. It was not 大麻 which those leaves might bring to mind.

We were taking a Beijing professor on a whistlestop tour of the country side, so we stopped at many places. The second was a village on the top a rise in a sweeping land. It was breathtaking.

After contemplating the view for a few minutes, we went inside to have ostensibly have lunch. Much to my surprise, my coworkers brought in a western style cake, complete with heaps of frosting. My friends were upset there weren't 25 candles, but I told them it would be okay. We ate the cake, and then started to play drinking games. Beer and sickly sweet frosting are delicious! After a few drinks, we ate lunch for real, which really was delicious...I just didn't quite like the order of the courses.

After that, and a few more beers, we hopped back into the car, and traveled one of our driver's homes where a group of college volunteers were staying. Drinking many beers and then getting into the backseat of an offroading SUV is never a good idea. But I was able to maintain composure.

For much of the time we drove next to an irrigation ditch which flowed throughout the countryside. It is by far and away the most water I've seen in Ningxia up to this point. It must have gone for miles, and in at least two places crossed valleys in huge aquifers. I cannot imagine the amount of physical labor that made this amazing construction.

Finally we arrived at the second village, and immediately I was pulled into another game of liar's dice, but thanks to some luck and some skill (if I say so myself) I was able to escape relatively unscathed.

We returned to Yanchi at about 3 and I rested for a few hours before I was picked up (again, not my plan) and taken to dinner. My plan was to have dinner with my friends at the office (read those do not make me drink), instead I went with a driver to meet his friends in a restaurant while my evening hangover set in. As the night went on, and the room filled with cigarette smoke, my mood steadily worsened. They had gotten me another cake (this one had happy birthday in English, as well as a dog! [my chinese zodiac sign]). This one I convinced them to eat after the meal. We played liar's dice again, but I refused to drink very much, so by the end, I was watching a bunch of drunk Chinese people speaking to fast for me to understand playing drinking games. Just the way I wanted to spend my birthday.

That curmudgeonenous aside, I'm sure they meant it to make me happy, so I tried to force a smile. Unfortunately, many of you know what a great poker face I have, so they may have had an idea about how I felt.

At least now I'm 25...and you know what that means...Hertz baby! Yeah!

introverts, anyone?

There are many ways in which my Ningxia experience is different than Chengdu. The desert, 50,000 vs. 12 million people, peer pressured drinking. One of the most frustrating, for me, is my lack of autonomy. On a regular day, I work in the office until lunch, or perhaps someone asks me to go the country. Either way, I'm with someone else. Then I go back to the office until dinner time, when I go to dinner with a coworker.

I'm not sure if they're afraid I might get lost, or that I couldn't order for myself, or that I don't have money to pay, or what, but it's frustrating for someone who values his independence. I'm also considering that maybe one of my colleagues is really lonely and that's the reason.

I'm loathe to bring it up, but spending another week of meals wracking my brain to keep up with conversation without at least one meal of just me and my book might drive me crazy.

Monday, July 23, 2007

big puddle (大水坑)

This weekend I traveled by bus over rocky roads to visit Big Puddle, my coworker Xiao Wang's (小王's) (Little Wang's) hometown. A large part of my trip was being introduced to the family. Everyone was incredibly nice and hospitable. Xiao Wang's family owns a restaurant, so I was treated to delicious food. But by the end of the weekend, my anti-hospitable streak was showing, as I started to get annoyed with everyone telling me to eat.

Why must I be told to eat when I am eating already? It drives me crazy.

By far, the highlight of the trip was when Xiao Wang's brother-in-law, a Sichuan man as well as the cook of the restaurant, cooked me Sichuan food for my last meal there. Mapo Tofu,Huigourou (twice-cooked pork), and gongbao jiding, (the delightful kung-pao chicken). It was the most delicious Sichuan food I had eaten since...well, since I was in Chengdu.

It was only slightly hampered by the addition of Guopi (果啤)or pineapple flavored beer. Very weak stuff (less than 1% abv) but boy was it awful. Luckily the man's 5 year-old son loved it, so I didn't have to drink to much.

Speaking of, this kid was the biggest ham I've seen in China. Climbing over everything, screaming, and at the least hint of music dancing to the delight of all. He definitely had a bit of the "Little-Emperor" syndrome going on.

All in all it was a good trip--the food was delicious and the hospitality was wonderful. I mean, what more can a Laowai ask for?

Thursday, July 19, 2007

garlic

Now please, do not misunderstand me, I love garlic. But all things in moderation. Like dice and mutton, garlic is an integral part of every meal in Yanchi. You might be served a bowl of noodles, or a plate of meat and a bowl of rice. With those things, a bulb of garlic is tossed onto the table, sometimes on a plate, most times not. As you eat, you crush the garlic against the table in order to peel it. Peeled, between bites of food, you take bites of raw garlic. It's a bit much, even for me. Some people eat 2 or 3 cloves a meal. At least it keeps those mosquitos away.

Friday, July 13, 2007

yinchuan with a side of office sleeping

I spent the weekend in the 银川 Yinchuan office. It's classy place in a residential area, and has a few bedrooms for those of us staying the weekend, so I didn't have to sleep on the conference table. But if I had slept on the conference table, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. A bed in Ningxia is usually a slab of plywood covered with a few blankets. I like a firm bed, so I'm okay.

Sleeping in the office has some drawbacks, however. I'm not a huge fan of getting dressed and ready in front of the NXCEPA vice-president, so I felt obligated to wake up fairly early to avoid any wacky antics that may have already transpired on Bosom Buddies.

The main difficulty was when my coworker's mother showed up. To begin with, my Chinese isn't great, or even very good. That coupled with the fact that she spoke a Ningxian dialect wicked fast didn't help. Whenever she spoke to me, I would either a.) think hard and come up with my best answer, or b.) stare blankly. Both responses would bring howls of cackling laughter.

I know I'm not very particular about my food, but ever since a particular incident in Salt Lake City (sorry Skinny), I have been most serious about not eating more than one meal during dinner. What I mean to say, is if I'm invited to dinner, I do not like to have a pre-dinner.

On Saturday night, my coworker asked me if I liked roast meat. At the mention of roast meat, I get a bit excited. We finished up our work (yeah, I work weekends as a volunteer), and started to leave. As we were heading out the door to meet his friends for dinner, his mother stopped us. "Dinnertime!" she said, I assume.

A bowl of noodles greeted each of us at the table. I began to eat grudgingly, and soon she was tossing slices of Chinese hotdog (a type of sausage with the consistency of soft cheese) into my bowl, splashing broth onto my clothes. There must have been something wrong with my face, because my coworker said, laughingly, "Uh oh mom, he's getting angry."

Happily, the noodles weren't too heavy (compared to a foot-long buffalo-chicken sub), and I was able to fully enjoy the roast meat.

The next morning (Sunday), his mother woke me up wondering if I wanted to save a 5 foot long rubber band (I removed from a tennis ball) I had put in the trash. Again, at least I think that's what she said. I kept saying "Don't want, don't want," and eventually she left me alone.

It's frustrating to me because I shouldn't be frustrated. One of the main problems I had with Chengdu was that everyone around me spoke English. Now everyone around me speaks Chinese, and I'm still not happy. At least now that it's past I'm okay with it, and to be honest, it was more painful frustration than unhappiness.

At least now I'm back in Yanchi, in my own room, with my old roommates, and I'm happy. That is until his mom comes to visit here....cue Psycho soundtrack.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

what?!?!?

Yesterday, I was riding my bike to the office when I passed something that made me question my reality. A naked man was sitting in front a tree, in a fairly...open position. He wasn't exactly engaged in omphaloskepsis, but I wish he had been.

This may speak to the abject poverty here in Yanchi County. Perhaps the man lacked a place to maintain his bathing rituals, and he figured that this skinny little tree afforded him the privacy he needed.

On the other hand, I may have misjudged the cultural norms of Ningxia. As I zoomed past on my bike, it seemed to me that the people across the street weren't bothered in the least.

Or perhaps he was just a crazy guy, and since I have yet to see a police officer here, there was no one to help him (for who else feels it necessary to approach a naked crazy man?).

As I rode past today, a nearby square was blasting Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." My first thought was that I'm glad it wasn't playing yesterday, or a probably would have lost my mind.

Friday, July 06, 2007

use your imagination...

I'm cameraless. I'm pretty sure it got poached off me in Beijing before I left, either that, or I'm a complete idiot. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

But it's alright, the lack of a lens between me and my surroundings is probably a good thing. Last night was my first night sans a drinking extravaganza. 张永军 (Zhang Yong Jun) and I went and got dumplings at a restaurant.

张永军 has been my keeper of sorts, taking me to meals, providing me with medicine, and even putting me to bed, to make sure I got all the rest I needed. We speak to each other in Chinese and English, and at meals the dictionary goes back and forth quite regularly.

It turns out, as of now, I'm teaching English. I guess I'm probably the only one surprised by these turn of events. When I told Chinese people that I was moving to Ningxia to work for an NGO, they were shocked. How could I not be teaching English. It's clear to me now that if I want to do something different, I need to acquire some skills. The speaking-Chinese skill included.

So I sit at my desk from 8 to 12 and from 2:30 to 6, writing lesson plans and bettering myself. I mean it's only my first week, so who knows. I believe things will heat up further into the summer, so right now I'm enjoying myself, trying to get adjusted.

The people here are salt of the earth, and I feel lucky to be getting such a genuine experience.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

address

Since I'm living in a new place, I thought it might be helpful to put up an address. Clearly, I mean this as helpful to me. The old promise still stands. You write me, I'll write you back. So here's the address for those of you with computers who can handle it. 宁夏盐池县陵园街八号 邮编:751500 中国. For those of you who don't have such capable machines, check out this cool jpeg.

Monday, July 02, 2007

blue skies and baijiu

I arrived in Ningxia a few days ago, and so far, it's been great. The weather here is lovely, and by lovely I mean I can see the sky all the time. It's amazing. I live quite near the Great Wall, which at this point looks more like a natural ridge than a wall.

I traveled to Ningxia with Jake, and when we arrived we met Blandine who was a previous intern at Ningxia CEPA. With her were two other French women, Julie and Silva, who were doing a report for France's new 24 hour news network about microfinance in Yanchi County. With them was a Chinese translator and a French teacher from Beijing. We were then given a tour of the city before they were dropped off at their hotel (it looked quite swanky) and I was taken to my apartment where I will live for the next four months.

Squat toilet aside, I have a great little room and a glassed in porch. I share the apartment with three Chinese people who work for CEPA. Judging by the bunkbeds in the apartment, we might have at least 3 more people move in. The more the merrier.

My bed is a plywood platform covered with blankets. Luckily, I like a firm mattress, and I have my faithful pillow. Unfortunately, I did not sleep well the first night. After I had dropped my stuff off, we came back to the hotel where we met Mr. Long, the head of Ningxia CEPA.

We began a delightful meal of desert onions, lamb, tofu, etc. But about 20 minutes in, the jinging began. A jing is a toast you make with baijiu (白酒)or white spirits. About the strength of vodka, it is served in tiny little white cups, which I'm guessing hold about a shot, if not less. Everyone cheered everyone, many people drinking beer instead of baijiu...I was jealous. After we had made everyone feel sufficiently good, the shaizi came out. Two cups of 3 die each are placed on the table, and one person steps up. In this case, it was Mr. Long.

This meant that Mr. Long had to play everyone at the table in a three game match. Each game carries the penalty of a cup of baijiu to begin with, but those stakes rise depending on the person that is challenged. The French girls (with the exception of Blandine) were drinking beer, but even as time went on, they were challenged with more and more drinks. (Jake told me a story about one of my colleagues' father who in one go had to drink 45 drinks of baijiu. Each game was 9 jiu, and he lost 5 times in a row. Brutal.) If either person during the match loses all three games, it must be repeated, unless the winner drinks with the loser.

After a few trips to the bathroom to void my stomach, the night finally ended with Jake and I doing the old Soule Hall cheer. That consists of one knee on the ground, elbow up, and your glass against the forehead of the person you're drinking with. I drank the the six shots down, and they promptly came back up. I barely made it to the bathroom (some might say I didn't).

By the time I was out, things were finished and I was ready to go home. I set my alarm to go off every fifteen minutes so I could wake up and drink a bottle of water. Even with that precaution, I woke up at six with a pretty awful hangover. Not good for your first full day in the desert.