"People Are Strange..."

Strange feelings seem to take over while trying to survive the slump that happens when living in a new country.  The feelings stuck for weeks and I felt as though I was on an emotional roller coaster.  I've been here three months and I spent a third of my time here feeling...hateful.

In the beginning, things were exciting and fabulous. I didn't seem to mind...

...eating pig feet sandwiches by mistake.
...having to rely on my Chinese friends to take me to a doctor or book a train or call about fixing my shitty, broken toilet because I felt helpless not knowing the language.

...the constant stares and random photographs taken of me while just walking to work or buying groceries.
...seeing babies wearing split pants and doing their business anywhere and everywhere.
....seeing how nobody uses their headlights at night when scooting and feeling out of place wearing a helmet.

....teaching in an environment where another teaching philosophy applies.
...the expectation of just following directions or rules and not questioning authority.
...realizing having a voice doesn't mean you should use it.


 Life was great!

 ***********************************************************************
 
Until it wasn't!  I didn't think it would ever happen here, but hate set in like a smoggy, suffocating blanket.  Why was everything so horribly strange?

 

I hated hearing the symphony of spit.  I hated the smells of stinky tofu and mutton.  I hated the curious stares and innocent questions about my personal life.  I hated the policies in place at my school.  I hated what seemed to be the lack of COMMON SENS----


Then realization set in.  Common to who?

I'm the stranger.  I'm the strange one!!  Just ask.....HIM!

Sometimes it just takes something you overlooked in a photo to snap you back to reality.


Thanks for reading!

Tastes of Kāifēng 开封

A day trip to ancient Kāifēng a few weeks ago with Louis and Ashley on a well deserved day off from work.  Kāifēng is pretty rad.

Rad facts learned from Lonely Planet China and other random guide books:

• A gated city known as one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China, dating back to 364 BCE.

• Parts of the city, which were inhabited by the Song Dynasty, lie buried nine metres below ground level because of centuries of flooding.  Construction of buildings requiring deep foundations are prohibited today, for fear of destroying historical artifacts.

• Although having been conquered and named numerous times in its past, Kāifēng came to be after the conquest of the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.

• Kāifēng has a deep rooted history in Judaism as it was the first city in China where Jewish merchants had settled. The Kāifēng Torah dates back to about 1643.

• Today, Kāifēng is comprised of mostly Christian and Muslim Hui communities, with only a small number of people claiming Jewish dissent.

I was thinking temples, synagogues, churches and mosques. AWESOME! Diverse religious communities  = beautiful and unique architecture.  Maybe.  Bliss.  An hour and two hundred kuài later, we arrived in Kāifēng via taxi and had forgotten about all the rad facts we had read.  Instead, we choose to eat our way from one market to the next, following the smells of kebabs and chou ganzi (stinky tofu) through the maze of merchants, construction and debris, trying to find the next best taste.

A tour around town....but dumplings first.

The markets.

Found kimbap!!  In China, we cover it in mayo, ketchup and PB.

For my friends in construction :D  You'd love these sites.

Kilometres of markets.  Stuff, stuff, and stuff.

Kebab and beverage break.

Sugar cane juice.  Not so yummy. 

kebabs. nang bread. sesame seed cakes. marinated tofu. kimbap. dumplings. sugar-coated berries. mutton in flat bread. noodle/mystery meat soups. soy frozen yogurt.

Yup.  Ashley and Louie ate all of that.  Not me.  I would never do that ;)

The tastes of Kāifēng 开封 was amazing!  But beware of food coma.  I slept for most of the cab ride back. HA!

Thanks for reading :)

Next blog:  Exposing my love/hate relationship of living and working abroad.  It's one hell of a roller coaster ride.