What has Jim managed to pour into his cavernous gullet this week?

So, as you can probably guess from the title of this blag update, I'm going to be

talking about the myriad things that I've eaten while here in China.

Being a man of Heroic Proportions, and coming from a family with a long and happy

tradition of gustatory antics, I do enjoy my food - particularly cooking it, but I won't

complain if someone cooks for me, either!

That said, my own adventures in cookery have been sadly limited, due to the fact that I

have a single induction hotplate and a rice cooker with which to work any sort of

culinary magic.  I did manage to make some passable Klick (or Spam, if you're not

familiar with the Canadian version) stir-fry the other day.  Stir-fries and soups, by

the way, are the order of the day.  Occasionally steamed stuff.  I have yet to see an

oven in this country, which causes the baker in me no end of pain.  Alas!

I'll start with beverages in China, because I like to drink.

Wait, that sounded less than good.

I mean, it's not wrong, but still.

Anyway, drinks.

First and foremost, the water here.  People say to not drink it from the tap, and of

course I ignored them.  I've yet to experience any negative side effects, thankfully. 

They do have a wide variety of bottled waters, though.  The only difference I've been

able to notice, however, is between a brand called Bear and the rest.  What difference,

I hear you ask, is that?  Bear water is Mentholated.  Yes, like cigarettes. 

It's...interesting, I'll give it that.  Leaves your mouth cool and dry, which is odd.

Tea is, unsurprisingly, a big thing here.  I'm more of a fan of the "Toasted Bitter

Buckwheat Tea" than of the green teas they have here, truth told.  I'm also hankering

for a Picard Special something fierce, though my folks said that they'd ship me a tin of

Earl Grey in October, which will be nice.

Booze here comes in one of two formats, I've found: beer of the PBG/MGD/Molson Ice

varieties; and baijiu, the local engine degreaser, made from rice, sorghum, or other

grains.  Hoo boy, let me tell you, that stuff will do a number on you if you're not

ready.  Guizhou province is, apparently, famous for the baijiu they make here.  It's got

some kick to it, I'll give it that.

There's also all kinds of pop and yoghurt-drinks here, though I've had a devil of a time

finding unflavoured milk.  My goal is to get the stuff I need to make French Toast soon.

Speaking of food, that leads us to the next segment of the blag post!  You've already

heard about the Century Egg and the dog meat, but there are other things here!

Baozi, or steamed buns, are my favourite bit of Chinese cuisine ever, though my limited

skills at Chinese have prevented me from finding any yet.  Soon, though, I shall!  In

the mean time, I've contented myself with a myriad of delicious foods, including deep-

fried empenada-esque things; rice balls stuffed with mashed potatoes, pickled bamboo

shoots, fried ground nuts, and spiced spring onions; a local cured pork that tastes for

all the world like my Nonna's pancetta; tofu and fungus (separate from one another -

it's not mouldy!); bok choi; and loads of bean varietals.  It's all delicious, healthy

food.  When that's added to the 30ish klicks I'm hoofing per week to visit Jemma and

Darren, plus the strong sun toasting my pale skin a healthy brown, I might actually

appear something other than the sickly mass of pallid flesh I was in Iceland!

Meals are generally eaten at the canteen, as it's free, and I quite enjoy eating with

the staff and kids.  It's good to get used to the whole communal aspect of the school -

which is kind of like an army base, what with the wake-up calls, curfew calls, lights-

out calls, and the battallion of Infantry currently drilling on the athletics field (no

kidding!  I didn't take photos of that, though, because I don't want to push my luck

that far.

Speaking of photos, below the jump are photos of food and drink I've consumed thus far!

Progress!

There has been progress!

I'm slowly (and boy howdy, do I mean *slowly*) beginning to pick up some Chinese beyond the standard greetings and thanks.  I managed to snag a delicious quasi-donut this morning during my hike to the post office, and ordered almost entirely in Chinese; I also managed to get to the Post Office (the real one, not one of the outlets which only sell mobile phones - weird, I know, but then again, China) and post the first wave of letters to people.  That, by the way, was a comedy of errors; I figured that I could tell them the name of the country I was sending it to, and they'd be good to go.  That worked with Canada, the USA, and Belgium, but sending to the UK?  That proved to be a bit of a hitch.  Apparently, the name United Kingdom means nothing, so when I say 联合王国, Liánhé Wángguó, they look at me as if I had grown a third head.  Eventually, I had to go with 英国, Yīngguó, or England, and they got it pretty well, then.  Woe to the non-English in the UK to whom I send mail!  You shall forever be conflated with your southern (or eastern) neighbours to the people of Tongzi!

The walk to the post office was, in total, about 11km, which isn't a bad bit of a hike, but I hope you people appreciate the effort I'm going through to keep up my correspondence with you.  I'm dangerously close to considering this 'exercise.'

Speaking of long hikes, I managed to make a 15km walk to the place where Jemma and Darren have been set - they're not too much further past the post office - into a 26km cluster-f[redacted because this is, I suppose, a family blag, in that my parents and Nonna will read it] and bugger up not only my foot, but my leg as well.  Fortunately, a couple days of light duties at the flat fixed that right up.


Anyway, that's not the progress of which I wished to speak!  I got my schedule today, and start teaching on Wednesday!

It's a total of 20 40 minute classes, most of which alternate weeks (so one week I teach one first group of 2nd year seniors, the next I teach the other), which means, really, I have to only make one lesson plan every two weeks, in essence, and I work about 13 hours a week.  Not quite the 17 classes a week on all three levels I was told, but frankly it's even better.

Pretty cush gig, if you ask me.

I also demonstrated a serious amount of ingenuity by snapping a picture of the way the days here are laid out.  Living directly across from the school is cool and all, but they run the place like an army base; they play reveille at 6am, have a wake-up call at 2:10pm (they have a free period from the time their morning classes end at 12:15 until then), recalls to get back on Campus for kids in each grade level at 8, 9, and 10, respectively, and play taps - yes, that Taps! - at 11:30pm.  And then it happens all over again.  Every weekday.  So, at least I'll be getting into a schedule.

I have also mentioned to numerous people the undeniable charm possessed by my end of scenic Tongzi, with 'scenic,' in this case, is being applied to the town the same way that it could be applied to Hue in '68.  Well, there is photographic proof under the jump.

Just a note to my mom (and anyone else who is overly concerned) before looking: Yes, I know it resembles the entry way to a murder-house.  I am aware of this fact and you don't need to be overly concerned; there are two doors that shut and lock to keep the less savoury inhabitants out.  Also, our flat has a triple-locking door, so the only way in without a key is to rip the door right out of the jamb.