No turkey?
No pie?
No football?
Thanksgiving dinner on Friday at Outback Steakhouse?
A lousy holiday you might ask?
Quite the contrary – we boarded the overnight train last Thursday night for Beijing and had a fantastic holiday weekend. We spent the weekend seeing the historical sites in China’s capital – including Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Hutongs, and The Great Wall.
Here are some pics from our day at The Great Wall:
During a business lunch today, Scott was presented with something that looked like thick green hair that had been soaked in something. After conferring with his travel companion, he was told that “they don’t know what it is, but it is “Good For Man.”” Now when someone says “Good For Man” it means two things. One, it will taste like doo doo and two, it apparently will help you “keep the Mrs. happy” when you get home that night.
Scott’s experience with the Green Hair certainly tasted like doo doo. We’ll let you know tomorrow if the second quality came to fruition.
At times it’s really unimaginable how many people live here in China. For example, this week Scott traveled to the northwest city of Yulin (basically almost to Inner Mongolia). The “metropolitan area” of Yulin has approximately 3.6 million people – which is considerably larger than Dallas-Fort Worth. He had to fly to another city from Shanghai and connect to a 32 seat regional jet because that is the only way to get there. Upon arriving, he walked off the plane (which just stopped at the end of the runway) and observed the following:
After this experience, coupled with other travels, Scott has created a new categorization for places in China:
“Collection” of more 15 million people = Big City
“Collection” of more than 10 but less than 15 million = City
“Collection” of more than 5 but less than 10 million = Town
“Collection” of more than 1 but less than 5 million = Small Village
“Collection” of less than 1 million people = Farming Community or Fishing Neighborhood
The other day, Scott, Annie, and Juliet were able to attend a wedding. It was really a great opportunity to get immersed in the local culture.
The wedding itself wasn’t too different than a Western ceremony – with the exception that there was no “officiant.” Instead there was really what is best described as an emcee that walked us through the proceedings – including offering his commentary during the one of the solos – which was a very good rendition of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.”
One of the more embarrassing moments for us was during the second solo – which was another great vocal performance – this time of “Amazing Grace.” About two stanzas in, all of sudden Annie and Scott looked at each other because the accompanying vocals in a low voice were coming from our 5 year-old. The giggles were difficult to contain as we tried to shush her, but the song is in her soul and she just insisted on humming along. As people began to do a “half-turn” in our direction we tried to obtain forgiveness by claiming she was a long lost cousin of the bride, but for some reason no one was buying it.
The reception was the typical Chinese meal with the lazy-susan rolling around with a good assortment of local cuisine. Juliet, who was not in adventurous mood, tried two things. After having to spit out “Cheesy Lobster” and “Some Kind of Salad” into Scott’s napkin, we decided she should just stick to Sprite.
The highlight of the evening occurred when they asked the guests to complete a small card offering well wishes to the bride and groom. Little did we know (because our Mandarin is not that good yet) that by completing one of these, we were giving ourselves an opportunity for fabulous prizes in the night’s “Lucky Draw” giveaway. Scott was really kicking himself that he had failed to complete the card after seeing one guest take home a toaster oven and another take home a blender.
A fusion of "East" and "West" is certainly occurring in China right now. We are lucky enough to witness firsthand a country being introduced to new things, but at the same time maintaining its history and culture.
This point was really driven home today when Scott was walking through McDonalds and saw a man using two straws as chopsticks to pick up a French Fry.
One of the more common uncomfortable situations we often encounter here in China is the mid-conversation belch from the person we’re speaking to. It’s often not loud and obnoxious, but rather soft and light – just enough to throw your whole train of thought off kilter. What do you do? Do you laugh? Do you cry? Do you try to out-burp your friend?
We just can’t stand by and be flabbergasted any longer. Thus, we’ve decided to respond the next time this happens – here are thoughts on how to react to this curious problem:
It has been quite interesting to see an almost three year old from China learn about new things from a “Western” family. Amazingly enough, some things are universal in appeal – whether the girl is from Dallas, TX or from Central China:
Purses and Sunglasses – We thought Juliet was alone in her addiction to accessories, but Bu Chou is right there with her. Considering no one needs sunglasses here given the smog cloud that hovers over the city, she gets some very curious looks when out on the town.
Papa John’s Pizza – It might be the abundance of pizza sauce on every slice. It might be the tasty toppings. It might be the mouth watering garlic butter sauce that comes on the side. Whatever it is, it’s a family favorite in the West and the East.
Toy Cell Phones – Whether you call it a Cell Phone or a Shou Ji (pronounced Show G), it is so much fun to fill the house or the car with an incessant beep sound.
Barbie – Despite her very public breakup with Ken, Barbie continues to have worldwide appeal. Coupled with new friends like “Kimono” and “Mika”, Barbie is back and better than ever.
We apologize for the lack of blogging recently, but Scott’s been busy at work and we’ve been trying to get Bu Chou (our new foster child) settled in at home. Bu Chou arrived last Friday so she’s been with us for over a week now and is getting comfortable in her new surroundings.
She seems to be feeling pretty well after having brain surgery 2.5 weeks ago and doesn’t appear to be in pain. In fact, she spends most of the day smiling, singing, and repeating EVERYTHING Annie says. She answers questions when asked in Chinese, but when someone speaks English she just mimics the conversation.
Annie: “Bu Chou do you need to go potty?”
Bu Chou: (not having a clue what she’s saying): “Bu Chou you need go potty?”
Annie: “Say Hello.”
Bu Chou: : “Say Hello.”
Here are a few pictures:
Bu Chou on her first day home:
In the U.S., when you’re away from home, it is not uncommon when you meet someone new for them to ask “Where are you from?” It also not uncommon after your response for them to say “I know a guy who lives in Dallas, do you know Mike Brown?” Instead of responding how you really want to, “Of course not, you imbecile, there are 2.5 million people in the Dallas area and probably 300 Mike Browns.” Instead you politely respond one of several ways: “No, the name doesn’t ring a bell” or “You know, the name does sound familiar.”
Here in China, surprisingly enough, we often have similar conversations with people with just a little twist:
Local Person: “Where are you from, U.S., England, …Australia?”
Richardson Family Member: “We’re American”
Local Person (deadly serious): “Ohhhhh … so you know Yao Ming!?!?!”
Now, granted, we’re sure a 7 foot 6 inch Chinese man does probably stick out a tad, and we’re sure he has a lot of friends, but it’s not like America is the size of Dodge City, Kansas.
