As I posted previously, or maybe not, I spent my first day of the Western New Year in bed, or on the floor near the toilet, with a realllllly bad case of food poisoning. So, my start to the year 2016 was a bad way to start the new year. Because I am in China, I will officially consider today, Feb. 8, 2016, as the beginning of my new year. The downside to Chinese New Year (CNY), is that apparently the "fireworks" may last until the time we go back to school Feb. 22. It is not actually "fireworks" as we know them, but long strings of firecrackers that go off at all hours and make hella noise....yeah, not a fan. The good part is that they tend to be isolated short burst rounds and not a continual hours upon hours sorta thing. I did not even try to get to sleep before 12:30am, but it wasn't that bad.
In addition to the firecrackers, it seems that every single Chinese person leaves to "go home" for CNY. Our streets have been deserted and I admit I have enjoyed the quiet. It totally sucked that my favorite hair guys closed up shop, but I found another salon down the street that was still open to cover my old roots for the new year!
These are common Chinese greetings for the new year:
- May the Year of the Monkey attract all the good wishes this year.
- Τhis New Year may good luck and prosperity follow yοu wherever you gο, and may Lady Luck scare away any misfortune that was planning tο come yοur way.
- Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you prosperity on the Year of the Monkey.
- I wish you all the luck, health, and fortune and all those you love! Happy Chinese New Year!
- Wish you success in your career and happiness for your family! Happy Chinese New Year!
- Hope all your New Year dreams come true! I wish you good health, wealth and luck for the forthcoming year of the Monkey!
- Get rid of the demons of the year gone by and embrace the positives to lead a fulfilling and pleasurable life ahead. Wish you good fortune on the Chinese New Year!
- Harmony brings health. May joy and happiness surround you today and always!
- Happiness, Prosperity, Longevity! (In Mandarin: 福禄寿, pronounced: fú lù shòu)
- Enjoy good health! (In Mandarin: 身体健康; pronounced: Shēntǐ jiànkāng)
And some good Chinese proverbs to live by:
Chinese proverbs
- If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
- When luck visits you, everyone will know where you live.
- Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
- To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.
- Patience is power; with time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes silk.
- Kindness is the best quality of the soul.
- Frugality is the mother of prosperity.
- Don't curse the darkness – light a candle.
- If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
- The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
With the beginning of a new year, I am excited about what the year may bring. I will start my new year in China off properly by escaping to Thailand for 10 days. Mitch, a new good friend, has a home in Thailand and when he is not teaching abroad, he returns home to his wife and daughter. Having spent a number of years in Saudi Arabia, he has racked up the bucks in order to be able to now teach and travel more to enjoy then the make bank. He is also one of my fellow "dorm buddies" and lives just down the hall. We exchange food and recipes and good talk.
Because Thailand doesn't have all the wacky mail restrictions, and is far less likely to open my package, I am having the boys ship the remainder of my meds from the VA and various other items to his address in Thailand. Woooohooooo English books, Western vitamins, and actual honest-to-go paid meds! I take aspirin for my heart, but nothing like aspirin here.
So, my "Top 10" lists. I decided to list the top 10 likes and dislikes I have as to my host country. I will start with the dislikes first, so I have something to look forward to...LOL
10. Too many Chinese people. I joke all the time this would be a great place to visit if there were fewer Chinese! That said, I stick out like a sore thumb. Between the curly red hair and the pale skin, I am constantly stared at and people will take pictures of me while they think I am not looking. I am also much larger/taller then most Chinese so it does not help me blend in. In addition, mothers are constantly shoving their kids in my face urging them to say "hello". Complete strangers will approach me to talk so they can practice their English. If I had a nickel for everyone who has asked me to wechat friend them, I could fly home first class...LOL
9. Everything is cheaply made. People back home laugh and say the cheap shit is made in China and shipped to the US. What those folks in the US fail to realize is that they are actually getting the "good shit" and the really "cheap shit" stays in China.
8. Everything is written in Chinese. But, the better restaurants have pictures with English captions.
7. They don't seem to carry strawberry blonde hair coloring. I can find something almost like it, but never my actual color.
6. The money. They have both coins and bills for $1 and .50, and the .50 paper bill is really annoying as all get out. I simply collect my coins because it seems most places round to the whole amount. Before the CNY I was bored and broke and decided to cash in my coins. I had $12 in just dimes alone. Tip to those who would like to do the same thing, put them in stacks of 10 coins each and then tape with together. When I arrived at the bank with my bag-o-coins, I was handed a roll of tape and shown to a table. If I knew that before, I would have saved myself time and getting laughed at.
5. Waiting your turn. The Chinese are actually very good about forming a line. BUT, as soon as the gate opens, doors open, etc., all bets are off and there is a mad dash. I was in line at customs when a man literally stepped under the rope and then tried to step in front of me. We had been waiting for about 30 minutes and this guy had just arrived. I turned to my friend and, very loudly, exclaimed, "Oh no he did NOT just cut in front of us.", to which end, he sheepishly turned around and left.
4. Nose picking...I mean seriously digging for gold. I have actually put down what I was about to buy when I spotted the cashier, who would handle my money, picking their nose like the world was coming to an end while I was approaching the check out line. No thanks.
3. NO ONE covers their mouth when they sneeze or cough. EVER! No wonder I am sick all the time. I have to add to this the habit of blowing their nose into the street, when they are not picking it.
2. The toilets.
1. The food. WTF did I just eat? If I was more aware of WHAT I was eating, I might not be so leery to try new things. No, seriuosly, WTF did I just eat? Wait, never mind. I. do. not. want. to. know.
Now my top 10:
10. It is super close to Hong Kong, where I can buy most of what I cannot obtain in China.
9. The fact that stuff I would pay crazy money for back home is super cheap here. I pay 20 rmb ($3.04) to get my hair shampooed and blow dried, 25 rmb ($3.80) if I want a haircut WITH that shampoo and blow dry, and a whopping 160 rmb ($24.28) to get my hair colored, shampooed, and blown dry! If Robert is reading this, I hope he doesn't tell Mikey about this! AND, the best part? They DO NOT ACCEPT TIPS!
8. Laughing at the crazy shit they have printed on their clothes. They are huge fans of anything Western, when it comes to writing on their clothes, and it is all I can do to avoid laughing at them and pointing and taking pictures. Hmmm, why does that sound familiar?
7. Amazing outdoor shopping strips. In any area, there will always be blocks long outdoor shopping strips that are great for finding bargains. They are not as nice as the indoor malls, but prices are cheaper!
6. Amazing indoor malls. It makes shopping easier, and they are air conditioned, but their prices tend to be higher then the street markets. I have found that I can finally fit into off the rack at H&M so that is where I go when I need something.
5. Amazing street food. Most of it is noodles and rice, or mystery meat on a stick, but they do have some amazing street food vendors and where else could you get a fully roasted sweet potato?
4. OTC antibiotics. Twice I have been able to kick whatever it was that was kicking my ass by using OTC antibiotics. Saved going to a doctor who would not understand a word of what I was saying. That said, it had backfired on me once with the kidney infection, so buyer beware.
3. The parks! The outdoor parks and gardens are amazing and awe inspiring. It is clear the city planners made plenty of room for my mind blowing parks. I love walking, and walking in Shenzhen has been a joy.
2. The public transportation! I can get almost anywhere by bus or train! The metro (subway) is AMAZING and super clean. No matter what time or day, it seems to run very often and is always reliable. They make the announcements related to the stops in 3 languages, Chinese, something, and English. It is amazing and I am uber impressed!
1. THE FOOD! The selection and abundance of fresh produce is amazing and it is almost always very cheap! I can fill a bag of produce for under $20, yet a jar of honey is $40. The secret is to remember that there are only 2 food options in China, don't eat OR don't ask. They also have some crazy fun food as well!
My new favorite obsession was discovered by accident. I do NOT eat at McDonalds when I am at home, but in China, every now and then (a total of 3 times), when I am starving and can't think about trying to comprehend what I am eating, I will stop at McD's for a nosh. I ordered a double cheeseburger meal and a hot fudge sunday. When they brought it to me, the ice-cream was pink. I was thinking strawberry, but the pictures on the displays may have indicated rosehip tea flavor. I am adventurous, this is China, and it was ice-cream...right? So, I tried it and I LOVED IT! When I went back another day, JUST to order the sunday, the gal spoke just enough English to inform me that it was peach blossom flavor. DID NOT CARE, LOVED IT!
Because I am finally at a point that, between the Chinese washer and having lost a few pounds, I need to buy a few new clothes. I found this at a Victoria Secretish style place, but alas, it was wayyyy too small.
The one thing I do want to have made before I leave China is a wicked winter coat with a fur collar. I spotted these two gals on the train and had to take a pic.
I loved the old school coat on the left, but the burgundy fur collar and tweed fabric on the right were calling to me as well!
I am finally beginning to feel like I might be getting "better". I am not coughing up a rainbow of phlegm, but the phlegm just keeps coming and coming and coming. I am escaping to Thailand for 10 days to try and figure out if it is actually me or if it is China....we shall see, I promise to post pics!
