January 28, 2018

This week we offer a few random tidbits about our life in China. We're trying to document all of these experiences in a way that allows us to share with our friends who want updates, keep track of all these pictures we're taking, and remember the small and interesting details about immersing ourselves in another culture.

We can have fresh strawberry freezer jam in China! Strawberries are at all the fruit stands now. (Luckily we brought pectin with us.) Goes great with peanut butter which, yes, is available.

We also made our first "Judy Bread" in China (perhaps the first EVER made in China--especially in a toaster oven!) John worked with Dick Rue in Iowa; occasionally Dick would bring in this strawberry bread his wife Judy made. Our neighbors confirmed the fact that it's delicious!

One day we had a fun time with an older Chinese couple in line for shui jian bao, pan fried dumplings. They wanted pictures with us, which is really common for our American friends who are extra tall or blond, but sometimes with us. People, especially from outlying rural areas, think "foreigners" are so exotic they want to document their experience of meeting them. Or show us off to their friends or something. But before we spent too long in the line for dumplings, they made sure we understood that we needed to pay and get a receipt before getting in that line. All with a combination of Chinese and charades. Later, they found us to say goodbye when they left. So cute!

Shui jian bao, ready to eat

The process - a ground meat and
vegetable mixture is wrapped in
dough, steamed, then partially fried.
You eat it with chopsticks, dipping
it in a soy sauce/vinegar mixture.

John sometimes orders things from Taobao, a Chinese version of Amazon. Which is quite a feat when you don't know Chinese, especially when the delivery guys call and try to find out where our apartment is. (We've been known to stop random people on the streets to try to talk to delivery people when we get a phone call.) He gets text messages in Chinese from Taobao. One day, after ordering some salsa, he received a message and copied it into Google translate. It reads as follows:

"Fu Zhen Food】 His Highness of Enlightenment, the little ones sent express delivery Ma Jia whipping serve the baby has been to Shanghai, can be presented soon, please check His Highness sign. Express in the pass."

He thought this meant our order for salsa had shipped.... Turns out that was true. Google translate is far from perfect, but we mostly get by. Usually with some humor.

When you are 60, many places give a senior discount, often 1/2 price admission. That part is nice. What isn't nice is when they call it an "elderly" instead of "senior" discount. It sounds so much worse!

It seems one of us is "elderly" - and
it's not Kathy...

It snowed in Shanghai - not a common occurrence. And nearby in Zhujiajiao, a local water town. It was particularly beautiful in the snow.

We found a lovely garden with statuary and bonsai trees
of different varieties.

Zhujiajiao - the place with fish pedicures!

Kathy cringes at misplaced apostrophes. This one seems particularly misplaced.

We spent some time cleaning and packing, getting ready for our holiday travel. We left January 28th and won't return until March; feel free to be jealous of our long break between semesters. China will celebrate Spring Festival and Chinese New Year while we are gone - the biggest celebration of the year.