Now part of this morning commute pattern doesn’t make sense
to me. A fair number of people walk to work while watching tv or movies on
their iPhones. I can’t help but find this really inefficient to be walking and
looking down the entire time.
When I came into the office, Vivi was arranging some small
flowers in a vase. They had little white buds and lots of leafs.
“Zao,” I said (the idiomatic greeting in Chinese.)
She laughed. “You’re getting better at that,” she said. “Do
you have this flower in your home town?”
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“It’s jasmine,” she said. I took a smell. It smelled
fantastic.
I sat down and booted up my computer. As my MSN homepage
popped up, I read the lead story about a solar flare that could have
devastating impacts to Earth if it hit on Friday the 13th. As I read
the article, I realized a couple things. (1) It must be difficult to write
articles about “disasters” like this, because while Friday the 13th
was still in the future for America, the rest of the world was well through
Friday the 13th already. (2) The devastating disasters this flare
might cause, were really mild inconveniences—brief interruptions in cell phone
service—and only appeared to affect America.
“Have you decided where you will travel with your friend
next week?” Vivi asked. We’d been talking about Xi’an but all of the cheap
tickets were sold out (our options were standing room or luxury first class.)
John had suggested Hangzhou, but I’d done a little research and I had a new
idea.
“I think I want to go climb Huangshen,” I said. Translated,
it means Yellow Mountain and seeing
the sunrise from the top is supposed to be a bucket list worthy item. I was a
bit concerned that figuring out how to get there could be a challenge, but I
figured the worst that happened is we never made it and it’ll make a great
story.
“Oh yes,” Vivi said. “It is in my home town. I can help you
get bus ticket and book hotel. It is very convenient I think.”
Awesome!
Wute led me through my pronunciation lesson today. We did
some different drills that were actually really helpful. “Chinese language uses
your whole body,” she said. “It comes from deep inside your lungs and your
heart.” In a funny way, I could totally understand what she was saying. In
order to make some of these sounds, it does feel like a cardiovascular workout.
Vivi took me to get wantons again for lunch at the little place
that didn’t pass their health code inspection. As they were preparing the soup,
I tried scouting out more reasons (beyond the meat on the floor) why that might
be. I figured the stove that was clearly leaking gas could be a reason. The
lack of gloves and use of hands to test the wantons was probably another. I was
torn. A lot of the things seemed to be pretty minor, but at the same time, so
many of the restaurants that have passed their health code inspection would
never do so in America; if that’s the bar, what could possibly cause you to not
pass?
But tonight did restore my faith in Chinese food. Every
Friday night, the recruiter service organizes a get together for all of their
interns in Shanghai. Tonight was a Sichuan mean at a restaurant that Sabrina
told us is quite famous in Shanghai. When I got off work, I took the subway to
meet up with everyone. This was really my first time riding the subway as a
commuter during rush hour. As a tourist, it had been kind of entertaining; as a
local, it was kind of frustrating.
As I shuffled through security with the mob scene, I noticed
that no one was actually putting their bags through the xray machine. Since my
computer was in mine, I didn’t really want to part with it. Hold it to my
chest, I passed by the guard without him saying anything. Down on the platform, I got in line behind one
of the yellow arrows that people were queuing up at. When the train came, I
quickly learned I needed to be a lot pushier if I wanted to get on. As soon as
the doors opened, the line fell apart and it became a free for all to try and
get on. People we wedging themselves through the door, and as it got more
crowded, the last few people to hop through the doors clearly were not going to
fit once the doors closed (their heals hanging off the edge of the doorframe.)
A guard came along and pushed people in, before the doors slid shut.
Obviously, I didn’t make it on that one.
But now I was in the front of one of the yellow lines, which
were reforming. I wished that someone was ahead of me that I could follow to
get on, but I figured at some point I needed to “get out of the nest” and try
this for real.
As the next train pulled into the station, the lines
gradually began to fall apart. The doors opened and a wave of people came
dumping out. Clutching my bag against my chest, I pushed forward. Reaching with
my right foot, I made contact with the subway car. Shifting my weight forward,
my left foot landed in the car. All that was left was shimmying forward to get
out of the way of the crowd behind me. By the time the doors closed, we were
packed firmly against each other. I didn’t worry about hanging onto anything.
In my opinion, riding a subway is sort of like skiing; it’s all in your legs—you
just shift your weight in the direction you are going and you can keep your
balance just fine.
The directions Sabrina sent to the restaurant were great and
when I came out the exit, I saw the building right in front of me. Going into
the lobby, there was nothing to the building but an elevator. I waited in line
for the next car to come. When it did, everyone ahead of me crammed in the same
way they did in the subway. Once again, I decided to wait for the next one.
When it came, I got on, along with 25 other people. Now, I
am not implying it was a big elevator. It was no larger than any average office
building elevator. We were wedged together and tightly packed. When the doors
opened, I shuffled out. I realized only about half of the people had gotten off
while the others had stayed on.
The inside of the restaurant was beautiful. There were large
crystal chandeliers and golden beams rapping around the room. The room was
brightly lit with white light, refracted through the crystal in light shades of
pink and blue.
I tried texting Sabrina. As I did, a young girl came up to
me and said, “English menu?”
“No,” I smiled. “I’m meeting some friends.”
She looked confused and said again, “Here is English menu.”
“Umm…”I tried again, “I think we have a reservation. For
Sabrina.”
She walked off. I waited to see if Sabrina would reply.
“Sir, you want English menu,” an older man said. He came up
and put his hand around my shoulder as if to escort me somewhere.
“I’m here with a group,” I said.
He looked equally confused and started leading me into the
dining room. As he did, I got a text message from Sabrina saying she was on the
fifth floor. I stopped the man leading me. “Is this the fifth floor?” I asked.“
He stopped walking and gave me a confused look.
I held up 5 fingers.
“Oh!” he said and pointed up.
“Thank you,” I said. “Xiexie,” and went back to the
elevator.
When it opened, some people got off while some stayed on. I
got back on and road it up to the fifth floor. When we got there, everyone
dumped out of the elevator. Again, I wandered around looking like the confused
American until someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around and it was Sabrina!
“We have a private room,” she said leading me down an
escalator. This was clearly one of the nicest places in town. She told me it
was the restaurant that everyone in Shanghai brings their relatives when they
come to visit.
Yvonne and the intern at the recruiting firm were in the
room, but otherwise I was the first to arrive. The room was large with gold and
red curtains, a stunning chandelier, and nearly 25 chairs set around the table.
I took a seat and Sabrina poured me something to drink.
“Try a little,” she said. “I don’t know how it is in
English. It is a punch made from plumbs.” It was very good, so she poured me
some more. Later, it was replaced with a watermelon punch that was not quite as
good.
It turned out that this event was not just for my “class of
interns” but all of the interns that this company had in Shanghai. There was a
guy from Nigeria, a girl from France, two Charlottes—one from Switzerland and
one from England—, a girl from Bulgaria, a guy from Italy, a couple of other
Americans, and then five from my group (Ericka, Akeena, Jessica, Amy, and I.)
Sabrina ordered a ton of food. I don’t remember all of them
but I’ll try to describe some of the more noteworthy ones
·
One was a noodle dish similar to the one I ate
with John. They were fat noodles, served cold in a vinegar and black bean
juice. They were really flavorful but some of the spice would hit you in the
back on of the throat and take your voice out immediately.
·
There were these little chunks of pork that had
a really sweet but also spicy sauce on them. I popped one in my mouth, only to
discover it had a bone in the center. For a second, I went through my usual Crud, I’ve got to get this thing out of my
mouth thought process, but then I stopped. Just taste it, I told myself. It tasted good. The meat was really
tender and the marrow was really flavorful. When I spit the bone out onto the
table (something that isn’t rude to do here) it wasn’t quite as clean as some
of my Chinese friends, but it was my best effort so far.
·
One dish was chicken skin, which I admit I did
pass on.
·
There was chunks of pumpkin which tasted so
clean and fresh. I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten pumpkin without it being cooked
into something but this was fantastic!
·
Sabrina introduced a famous dish as “pork and
fruit.” I’ve had it a few times now and I think it is probably the dish that
sweet and sour pork tries to imitate in the US. This however is a lot better.
It definitely uses mango in the sauce, but it has a bit of a kick to it as
well.
·
They served sea scallops roasted with peanuts
and some sort of hot pepper that made your eyes water. It is one of the most
flavorful things I’ve ever tasted, and I probably ate more than I should have.
·
There were candied sweet potatoes that were
cooled with tomato, sesame, and some sort of sugar. They were literally candied
with a hard sugary shell over the outside. It broke into little shards of
sweetness as you bit into it. I think that dish was probably the most popular
around the table.
·
One was served with these little rolls that were
shaped like seashells. Opening up the shell, there were slices of duck meat and
onion that you could build your own little “sandwich” to eat. This one was
Sabrina’s favorite.
·
There was some sort of fried dish. Some bites
tasted like meat, others tasted like squash. I’m really not sure what it was,
but it was pretty good.
·
One dish had a lot of different sprouts to it
and then these little twisted tentacles of meat. Again, I don’t know what they
were, but they were pretty good.
·
The waiter brought out a large bowl of soup. It didn’t
smell particularly good and every portion looked to be a different color. When
it came by our side of the table, Akeena noticed there was something floating
in it. Ericka tapped it and it made a hollow sound. “It looks like a shoe,” I
said. Ericka used the ladle to lift it out. It was a head…an eel head to be
more specific.
It was a blast spinning the lazy susan, trying each of the
dishes and laughing at everyone’s surprised reaction as they either liked or
disliked something.
“I’ve had some really good food by just eating what gets put
in front of me and I’ve had some really nasty food this way,” I told Jess. “I’m
kind of on the fence. Part of me wants to just say ‘forget it’ and stop asking
questions and eat everything. Part of me wants to become vegetarian.”
She laughed. “That is a pretty wide fence.”
It was also great talking to the two Charlottes and hearing
their stories of travelling Asia.
There were several other dishes which I don’t remember, but
the big finale that Sabrina had promised was the frog. It came out in a metal
dish roasted over a small flame. Everyone got a leg, which was about the size
of my thumb. Popping it in my mouth, the first thing I noticed is how bony it
was. Again, suppressing the urge to panic over the bones, I started using my
tongue to get at the meat. It tasted really good. I expected it to be chewy,
but it was actually very tender. I mean there wasn’t much meat to it, but a
tiny little bite was enough to get the flavor. I’d eat it again (although
preferably in a boneless variety.)
As it got late, we realized the subway was going to shut
down soon so we headed back to the building. Jess, Charlotte, Charlotte, and I
sat up in the lobby for a bit before I finally went to bed around midnight. As
I showered, I was exhausted. Going into my room, I turned on the AC and
collapsed on my bed. I was asleep within seconds.
No comments:
Post a Comment