Szechwan Spice

For our final meal in Chengdu, we finally got some real spice! The tour guides had been largely protecting us from the real Szechwan food, for fear they would rip our stomachs open or something like that. But, one time that came at our last dinner looked like the real thing.

 

 

 

It was a bowl of meat alongside what was clearly a bunch of red and green peppers of some sort. There were these puffy half-shells that came with it and you were supposed to put the spicy stuff inside the shell and then eat it… sort of a Szechwan taco ;)

 

 

For several meals, I had been the official taster at whatever table I was at, because I like spicy food and I have not had stomach problems at all – making me somewhat of a rarity on the trip. The long days of travel and activities combined with the constant barrage of rich Chinese food has really played havoc with many of our body’s systems. Lately, it seems we have at least 2 or 3 people at every meal who are just eating white rice or maybe not eating at all.

 

Anyway, I was the person designated to eat this little morsel shown above.

 

Wow, was it delicious! I loved it.

 

It also made my entire head burn, turned my cheeks flush, made my eyes water, caused my nose to run, and forced me to pound back several glasses of water followed by a few servings of rice (bland food following spicy is always smart).

 

So, I played it safe and only ate 3 of these delightful spice bombs. Mmmm, so good… but ouch, so painful.

 

By the way, we have had an important victory in the battle over food and drink lately. Xiao Fei (our guide) has agreed to let us have unlimited drinks at our meals. You may recall a couple days ago I reported that we were only allowed to drink one glass of water, Coke, Sprite, or beer at each meal – often from a glass the size of a toddler’s sippy cup. We still get strange looks from waitresses in restaurants when we dare to ask for a refill of our drink, but they begrudgingly provide us with as much to drink as we want. Xiao Fei is the best guide ever!!!

Fish and Puppies and Turtles, oh my!

I know, I know… I have fallen behind the past couple days. Sue me.

 

Anyway, the day after the Chengdu Panda place, we spent a few minutes in the city’s flower and bird market. I was unsure exactly what this would be. I think the following photos do a good job of explaining it though.

 

 

Yup, it was just really a series of outdoor merchants who sold beautiful flowers and a whole bunch of different pets. It was fine, nothing too special, but not horrible either. We did not spend much time there, which was good.

 

A word about Mao

One of the major takeaways from this trip has been the conflicted Chinese attitude toward Chairman Mao. I really thought they all saw him as this beloved figure who could do no wrong. Not quite.

 

Many Chinese we have encountered have openly talked about how messed up the Cultural Revolution was. Our tour operator Mark (his real name is Xiao Fei), has told us several stories about how his family, which was successful and educated, was declared as being “from black roots” when the Cultural Revolution happened and how their life and their success was basically reversed. Members of his family lost jobs and some were thrown in jail – simply for being successful in the pre-communist world.

 

At the same time, Mark and others talk with reverence about Mao. I sense that some small remains of the Mao Cult of Personality are still alive in this country. The other day, Mark went out of his way to show us one of only 3 remaining Mao statues left in China in downtown Chengdu.

 

 

 

The square that this Mao statue overlooks is a very pretty one and very busy with people. It has fountains spraying water and we could clearly see children playing there… beneath the watchful eye of their “dear leader.”

 

Like I said, I think the country is conflicted about this madman. They know he was at least somewhat insane and his ideas set them back, but they are also programmed to love him.

 

Miscommunication

I do not blame the Chinese for their failure to understand our English. Heck, if anything it is our fault for not knowing the language of the country we are visiting. Still, the language barrier has made for some pretty funny moments on the trip.

 

We are in Xi’an now and had a funny such encounter with the front desk this morning. Kathy went up to check to see if we could get some kind of hotel points or frequent flier miles for our stay here at the MetroPark hotel. Here is the conversation –

 

Kathy – “Hello, do you speak English?”

Front Desk – “Yes, how can I help you?”

Kathy – “I was wondering if we could get any hotel points, perhaps Starwood, or frequent flier credit for staying here at the hotel.”

Front Desk – Silent, confused stare

Kathy – “Do you know what I am talking about? Does this hotel partner with any American hotels for points or benefits?”

Front Desk – “Ahh, is this what you mean?”

 

Front Desk then went over to another counter, opened a drawer beneath the counter, and pulled out a roll of Yuan coins (sorta like a roll of quarters).

 

Kathy stared at him dumbfounded. She then said, “No, thank you,” and walked away.

 

Ok, can anyone explain how the Front Desk got from “Reward points” to “roll of Yuan coins?”

 

Ann Wichman had another funny one. She called the operator to ask for towels. Here was her conversation –

 

Ann – “Can you send up more towels?”

Operator – “What?”

Ann – “Towels, to use when we are wet.”

Operator – “You want a bottle of water?”

Ann – “No, I want a towel. I am not thirsty. I need to dry off.”

Operator – “Ahhh, dry. Yes, hair dryer. I send one up.”

 

Another place where this issue comes up is when we encounter signs that are in Chinese but also feature an English translation. These signs often get certain idioms and translations just wrong enough to make them really funny. We have seen dozens of them and Ann Wichman has been collecting pictures of many of the worst offenders. I happened to come across this one on a bag of dog food in the pet market a couple days ago and thought I would share… enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

More from the Panda place

A few more quick notes about the Chengdu Panda Center.

 

In addition to the Giant Pandas, they had some other cool animals. We saw several red pandas, which are very rare as well and look more like raccoons than giant pandas. I feel sorta sorry for them – they are pandas too but because they resemble a rodent more than a cute teddy bear, they get no public love and adoration. Woe is the red panda. Here is a pic of one –

 

In the afternoon, we gathered along the banks of a lake that was at the Panda Center to have a conversation with Prof. Bill about Richard Nixon’s history and how it contributed to Nixon’s bold and historic outreach to China. Bill is the former Dean of the History department at Duke so the dude knows what he is talking about. I wish I had taken a class from him when I was there (or that I had paid attention in class) because he is a fountain of fascinating information. His lectures are packed with historical facts and tidbits that just make you smarter.

 

The lake we sat next to was filled with goldfish (I think they were actually carp). They have been conditioned over time to come up to the humans on the shore in search of food. It is quite a scene. The fish are son densely packed up against the edge of the lake that they almost form a solid mass of fish. Some of them quite literally flop on top of each other out of the water. Here is a pic that does not do it justice –

 

 

 

Lastly, a quick mention about the children of China. We ran into several grade school groups at the Panda Center. The kids were so energetic and engaging! They saw us and immediately began shouting “Hello! Hello! How are you?” in almost perfect English. We were able to engage in only very limited conversation with them, but it was clear they were well on their way to learning English. Everyone agreed that they kids will be our bosses in the future. China is just too big and has too many resources – they will be kicking America’s butt very soon… they probably already are.

 

Anyway, the kids just charmed us to death. Here is a shot of  Pam giving high-fives to all the kids as they wave at us.

 

 

 

 

An update to explain the lack of updates

We just arrived in Xi'an. It is past midnight and we have been up doing non-stop activities since 8am yesterday morning. Exhaustion rules the day.

So, I will not be dumping any new stories onto the blog at this time. With an early morning getting out and about in Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors, it may be another 24 hours until my next update.

Also worth noting that, so far, the internet access in Xi'an is the worst of anywhere. I am even having trouble just sending a simple email. The notion that I could send a full update to the blog complete with my wonderful photos seems quite foreign at the moment.

I'll do my best, my faithful readers, but it may be tough to get much new stuff to you for the next day or so. Sorry!

Finally... art has been achieved!

The trip has been so busy, so filled with activities, we simply have not had time to do one of the things we really wanted to do in China… get some pieces of art to hang over our bed at home.

 

So, we carved out some time this morning to go to this huge antique/art market in Chengdu. I believe it is called the Wengshungwufeimupowhuy market, but I may be pronouncing that wrong.

 

It was a totally genuine market, full of Chengdu locals. I am certain we were the only English speakers among the more than 500 stalls of merchants and all the people strolling through the market.  Communications were often a real problem, especially because Chinese art tends to be vertical (up and down) but Kathy and I were looking for something more horizontal. Try conveying that to a Chinese person who does not speak a word of English!

 

I would love to show you tons of pictures of Kathy and me looking at various pieces of art and haggling with local merchants, but I got so wrapped up in finding just the right thing, I completely forgot to take photos. By the way, we were joined on our art market excursion by fellow brave souls Betty, Ann, Arthur, Lorna, Carol, Elizabeth, and Pam. It was an amazing experience – a real genuine Chinese one – and I think everyone got some nice memories and mementos.

 

Here are pics of the two pieces we ended up buying. Now we just have to figure out which to put over the bed ;)