24 July 2005
Friends and family,
We’ve been here nearly 2 weeks now. I’m not sure how this reads, as we had a few responses saying that we sounded down. Life is certainly up and down – but as many ups as downs, which is what I would expect in any new place. So, considering we are in Beijing, that’s very positive.
The novelty of things is wearing off as we start doing things multiple times, and we need to get down to the nitty gritty of daily living. Still have lots of things to work out, and a lot of this is because we don’t want to just shop at the expat shops which seem so expensive, when equivalent items at local alternatives are much cheaper. I’m not sure we’ll give up certain very western things though – like breakfast cereal or diet coke…
The last week had lots of minor victories. We got our high speed internet hooked up, which allows us to talk to people using Skype (username janetireland), and email more efficiently, and surf the net, and listen to Internet Radio. We have found a local drink that we like – a Chinese green tea that comes ready made and in a bottle and you drink it cold – just like iced tea! Took a couple of goes to work out that it comes sweetened, but the first item in the ingredients is calories (or something similar, perhaps sugar?), so when that is “0”, that’s unsweetened! We found diapers that fit Samuel, and Janet cooked her first meal here – Shrimp Etoufee (as well as baking some cookies). However, every time we successfully complete the process of getting to a restaurant, eating, and paying – we still feel a sense of accomplishment, which is a bit odd…
We’ve had a few interesting eating experiences. On the ground floor of our apartment complex, there is a small cafe – only about 4 tables, and they also sell bread and cold meats/cheese, and cakes and some basics. They serve a good breakfast! About 100 RMB (about $12). At work, there are a couple of restaurants and a canteen. The canteen was more like a scrum as one fought to get food. Even though I thought it pretty tasty, some Chinese colleagues said it wasn’t very good. A hearty bowl of food (rice and meat dish) was only 4 RMB though (50c). There was a fountain coke machine (2 RMB) – but the only 4 people I saw with cups were my 3 foreign colleagues and me! At some Chinese restaurants close to home, dishes are generally about 8 RMB. Then the other evening, we took a Taxi to TGI Fridays – a solid American chain that has 4 restaurants in the city, and was our cultural escape of the week. Prices for the meal were probably similar to back in the States (270 RMB, a little over $30 for the meal) – but you can see how much more expensive it is than local options! And last night was a delivery Pizza…. And if you do eat local, you’re not sure if a glass of cold water is safe to drink, and you’re likely to get something on your plate that you’re not really sure what it is (e.g. a brown egg…). And the kids will often just get given balloons, especially when they are screaming because they are being punished for disobeying… And then Samuel tries to eat the balloon…
This makes us think we are actually bouncing between 3 different worlds: 1. The world of the expat, where everything is imported, and you pay high – and there is little point in living the whole time in this world, or there was no point in coming to China! 2. The true world of the Chinese. In this, we feel very alien, and stand out a lot – and can’t really work out what to do yet. This is very accessible, and everywhere around us. 3. Then there is the world in between these two where it is real China, but we can understand. We come at this from two directions – first, as we slowly start understanding more of the language and customs, we can communicate more and second, we find stores that are part of a Western chain, but are targetting the Chinese market (e.g. Carrefour, IKEA, WalMart, Makro). These shops are full of Chinese people, and virtually no one speaks English – but it’s laid out like Western shops, so is quite easy to get around. For instance, this morning, I (Peter) went to Makro by myself – it’s a cash-and-carry (Warehouse Club in US). I spent maybe 2 hours looking around, getting a few items, and working out what else we might need. 15 minutes to work out if I had the right sheets for a bed, and some food aisles where I did not recognize anything… I did not see a single other non-Asian person. At least it’s about a 10 minute walk from our apartment – but I need the stroller to carry everything home! The other option is buying from the web, or catalogs – but we’ve still got to work out how to do that… I haven’t mentioned the Western chains that we basically try to avoid – MacDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Pizzahut are the most obvious ones.
We’re getting familiar with getting around, but still need to work a few things out. It’s great being able to walk around the neighbourhood, but our current double stroller just won’t make it – the pavements are too rough, and a wheel fell off the other day… So, we’re looking for something more rugged, but anything for 2 kids in a country with a one child policy is going to be difficult… We’ re exploring other options! Getting taxis everywhere is useful, but they don’t always know where they are going. Also, they tend to drive a bit crazily – if I don’t take the shuttle to work in the morning and catch a taxi, there is one particular u-turn they like to do in the middle of 4 lanes of busy traffic… Not a relaxing start to my day! I have been able to listen to my Chinese CDs though, and have actually managed to communicate in Chinese a couple of times this week . The first bite of an elephant, I fear. Janet can find a bit of time when the kids are sleeping – but the trick is to get them to sleep at the same time!
The weather has been quite variable – perhaps alternating between London and Houston weather – and a mix between the two! We’ve had quite a lot of rain in the last week – not tremendous downpours, but steady, which makes getting around with kids on foot more difficult. Some other days have been very hot, humid and foggy – though we did expect worse. Many have described how bad the pollution in Beijing is – now I’m not saying these days are particularly pleasant, but they could have been a lot worse, and I did not find being outside in Houston in August any more pleasant! And then, we’ve had a couple of lovely days. This morning was cool and clear. On Friday evening, I met Janet and the kids at a fountain by the Holiday Inn which is very close, and the kids played in the water with Sydney (a friend of Bailey’s).
Our apartment is cleaned a couple of times a week – it was part of the deal. 2 young girls come with just a bucket and cloths, and clean everything on their hands and knees – and the result is very clean! Don’t speak a word of English of course… We are looking for an Ayi who will be able to babysit for us a few times a week – need to find one that speaks good English so Janet can communicate with her – primarily so Janet can go shopping. We’ve found that any trip to the store with the kids is extremely tiring, and it is very difficult working it around their nap times, and missing their nap times throws everything off…
And the update couldn’t be finished without touching on the Chinese facilities. We certainly need to remember that they don’t have toilet paper so you need to bring your own. Bailey is still rather frigtened by the “hole-in-the-ground” version, especially when her tummy got a big upset, so potty training might have had a bit of a setback, but we will continue to work hard on that one! Don’t think we’ll go Chinese on this one… (i.e. just have a slit in the pants!!).
The guards to our apartment continue to be so friendly, helping to carry anything up to our apartment – and even teaching Bailey her first Mandarin – Ni Hao (hello, or literally, you good), which might sound more like Knee Ow.
Take care y’all,
Peter, Janet, Bailey and Samuel
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 