Finding my footing

Hi everyone!

Keeping everyone updated on life in Beijing was getting a bit overwhelming, so taking a tip or two from Valerie, I decided to start a blog to write about my adventures.

As many of you know, I started off with a really rough beginning here in Beijing. I was having trouble adjusting to the food, the stares, the shoving, the spitting, constantly being photographed, and of course being away from all of you who I love so much!

I'm finally starting to find my footing here though. I went to the US Embassy to get inhalers (thanks for the tip Bonnie!), and the doctor there also recommended telling the waiters that I am allergic to MSG (since when I ask waiters not to put MSG in my food, they will anyways because they can't be bothered, and I'll end up with an intense headache twenty minutes later!). That has definitely helped a lot. So yes, being able to breathe and being able to order food I can eat have definitely helped me feel a lot more comfortable here.
I also bought a rice cooker for 50 kuai (about 7 dollars!), and it's amazing what I'm able to make with it. So far I've steamed veggies, made pasta, boiled eggs, and heated up soup. I also tried to make salmon with it, but that was a horrible failure...just ask my roommate Jessica.
The locals have also been very gracious with helping me find the good produce at the grocery stores. At the CarreFour market on Friday, I was picking out broccoli and this Asian guy standing next to me takes the broccoli I'm holding out of my hand and throws it! And at first I'm like "Hey! Why are you throwing my broccoli?" and he goes "No no, hen bu hao" which means 'very bad' so then he starts showing me which ones are good and which ones are bad. I still don't really see the difference, so I'm just like "oh..okay thanks" and pick up another one, which he again grabs and says "No! Hen bu hao!" He then proceeds to picking up pieces of broccoli for me and throwing them in my bag. He was also with this little girl who was maybe 5 or 6 years old, and she was laughing at me, saying "Te he he he!! Mei guo ren, mei guo ren!!" which means 'American! American!' Then she was following me around the store, trying to be sneaky, throwing nasty foods into my basket. I'd see her running off, then I'd look down and see chicken's feet in my basket! She was such a riot.


Anyway, I have a really great set up here in Beijing. I'm living in a hotel which was only built a few years ago, so it's very modern. There are also maid who come and make my bed and clean my shower every day. The maids are just really amazing in general. They always leave my roommate Jessica and me extra water bottles and green tea bags, because we go through them like it's no one's business. They also always help me call cabs and order pizza, which is amazing.

There's a 7-11 downstairs, and it's nothing like the 7-11s back home. Although the one on Fig and Adams is pretty priceless, the one downstairs has everything- including a buffet of hot food to a full selection of alcohol. There's a Bally's gym downstairs as well, so I only have to run 5 seconds in the cold before I'm there. The workers at the front desk think I'm crazy for going outside in shorts, and they can't comprehend why I'd want to go work out. It's funny to see their reactions when I come back from the gym, a sweaty mess listening to my loud rap music.

Actually the cultural differences between Americans and the Chinese have probably been my favorite part of living in Beijing thus far. Like a couple of days ago, I went to the bathroom at the mall and one of the stall doors was missing. So you know, like any normal American I'm standing in front of the stall with no door, waiting for the next available stall. And this girl comes in and uses the stall without a door. So she's squatting down, doing her thing, and the whole time we're staring each other in the eyeballs. Then she gets up, eyes still locked with mine, and nonchalantly walks away. Only in China!

I also get such a kick out of all the Chinglish phrases everywhere. I was using a Citibank ATM yesterday (which is an American company so you think the English would be perfect, right?), and it started out by asking me to "dip" my card into the machine. Then once I got my cash, it asked me if I wanted "printed advice." Usually I decline a receipt, but how could I turn down advice?