Sleepless on Xi Xi Lu

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Pronounced She-She Lou (more or less). My street. 3:40 am. Sleep is having nothing to do with me at the moment. This past weekend, tired of my view within my four walls, and fearing the onset of carpal tunnel, I went walking, aiming to penetrate a certain side street I had noticed lively with vendors on a Sunday. My mission: a change of scenery and a jidanBING (emphasis added but accurate), aka a griddled pancake into which an egg is popped at the propitious moment, then which is folded into quarters forming an easily hand-held and delicious snack. As luck would have it, I spotted such a griddler almost immediately, who was clearly nonplussed when I stopped to request one, foreigners being a rare breed in this-here neck of the woods. The exchange went something like this (subsitute my English lines for broken Chinese and the vendor's for my shot-in-the-dark translation):

Me: Do you have jidanBING?

Vendor (in the process of making one, generously spreading oil, then batter, on a round, black griddle, everything about me seeming to astonish her): Yes.

Me (eyeing four pots of potential ingredients, half of which I thought I recognized): What's inside?

Vendor: Blah, blah, blah THIS and blah, blah, blah THAT, THAT and THAT.

Me, pointing: I just want THAT (chives). I don't want THAT (raw ground meat), THAT (red, seed-laden sauce looking about to self-combust) or THAT (no clue, so thought it best avoided). At this point in the negotiation, the woman, fairly erupting in amazement, waved her arm and raised her voice to call proper attention to this remarkable event. We were garnering a small audience.

Vendor: Blah, blah CAN SPEAK CHINESE. Blah, ENGLISH, blah, blah TEACHER. Blah, blah, and BLAH.

Me: Yes, I'm an English teacher at Wanxiang Polytechnic on Xi Xi Lu. This apparent display of comprehension on my part greatly excited a neighboring vendor of more mysterious food, who spewed, grinning, a torrent of way-too-many BLAHs for me to transcribe here.

Me: How much is it? I understood the answer (wide eyes all around) and paid the nice lady 3 yuan, then fell back on my smile, hoping to ensure that they'd recall me as a non-threatening species. I wouldn't let them take me home to show their families, but I suspect I might have been dinner conversation.

Great jidanBING, by the way. I'll go back to that little street on a Sunday.

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Comments

[Susan]

Interesting reading, Cyndi. Glad you are well and enjoying your adventure. You are missed.

[Debbie]

your blog
Loving your blog, Cyndi! We need more. It's December, and this is your last post.

[Intrepidatious]

I know, I know, and I'm on myself to get back in the saddle. Thanks for the nudge and the encouragement.