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Published: September 23rd 2006
BBQ
first real meal in Daqing, at Sunfire Daqing, in the Heilongjiang Province of China is my sister's city. Daqing is also the sister city to my city: Calgary. One of the general characteristics of this city are the pump jacks that exist in the center of markets or in the middle of a sidewalk (causing a person to walk on the road to get around it). They are the friendly giants that exist side by side with the buildings & people, just a part of the scenery like trees or birds. They are always working, much like the people around them. They are a part of & not cut off from civilization, merely separated by a small fence. In fact the fence is the only thing that would cause a person to ponder the fact that these beasts do have power. Another characteristic of this city is the colored lights that are set up around the city, at night Daqing turns into a beautiful wonderland. Daqing has no tourist attractions. But there are places to explore, culture to understand & beautiful parks to wander through. "Places" like The DVD Street so dubbed by a friend of my sister. The DVD street is a small street with a
country side
we went for a walk in the country along side a road just outside of Daqing big smell. There are few other businesses on the street. The dust is a few inches deep on either side of the road & the wind picks it up & throws it in our faces, the garbage piled on either side of the road is obviously the source of the rank & powerful odor. I think it's kind of off the beaten path because there's no way the products sold for 5 bucks or less are ligit. Another "place" is the antique shop my sister took me to. Up two flights of stairs & to the back of a building; it was there that we found the treasures on display. There is no way that I could have found the place on my own. I have a wall scroll (that I've had my heart set on for the past 2 years) to prove that I was there. (& yes I got ripped off for it) One "place" Colleen & I found together is a park just down our road. We wandered around it for hours, in one location there is an old children's amusement park. The wind was blowing flaps of old umbrellas & signs, the metal portions weakened by
toilet
one of the best toilet styles, in my opinion anyways years of rust. There were also bridges, pagodas & pathways to be explored. One "place" that I went to many times, was the market kitty corner to our apartment. I bought almost all of our fruit & vegetables there. I stood there looking down the street one day, a bag of potatoes on one arm & some plums on the other & I just thought how serial an experience I was having. Sometimes I just need to stop & take in the ordinary. As the wind slapped my face it gave some small relief from the wild smell of rotten produce. I was just struck by the unreality of my being there in the middle of something so...so...so truly asian (for lack of better words). That picture of the market I have in my mind is exactly what I think of when I think "China". The dark leathery faces, the warm coats zipped up tight, the canvas shoes, the produce set out, the sound of the harsh voices, the wind snatching the dirt into the air & the strong rotten smell. I really wanted to take a picture but I hate making people feel like I'm making a spectacle of
pump jack
right smack dab in the middle of a market them, I guess I'll have to try & draw it before I forget what it looked like. Most of the time I walk around with my eyes half open because there is so much wind & so much dirt blowing around, the local's eyes are a practical shape to be sure!!
Colleen told me about her boss & his efforts to make new foreign teachers feel welcomed to their new home in Daqing. He greets the females with a huge bouquet of flowers, but what to do for the guys? So he decided to take them to a posh bath house so they could relax & have some guys only time. Apparently it didn't go over as well as it was hoped. For some strange reason the guys said that they didn't really want to meet their new co leagues & boss...stark naked. They had to explain to the boss point by point that it isn't really an acceptable style or mood for a "business meeting"... or any meeting between two people actually. Colleen's boss still told Colleen "you really should go, here is the address". People here don't shower or bath at home so about once a
yum
mmm: peanut sauce, cilantro, green onion & pork on a bun week they go to a bath house to get cleaned up. Due to the very obvious fact that this is a "cultural experience" & something very "Chinese" then I suppose it's the right thing for a tourist to experience, right?? right. So one morning Megan, Colleen & I went to a bath house. It was a very very fancy place, there was a person standing in every door way to direct or help. It was just like a swimming pool for girls, but with one obvious difference of course. First everyone showers or sits on a washing stool, then they can sit in hot, warm or cool water & enjoy different bubble massages or spraying water. It was actually a very eye opening, er sorry... rather, a very interesting experience. When we got out of the bath we were given towels & dry sandals. There were places to brush teeth & do hair. We put on some white pjs & paper underwear & found a large room filled with rows of huge stuffed chairs & TVs. We all fell asleep for a while & then ate a buffet lunch before wandering over & putting on our own clothes. It was
Shung Sha
getting our finger nails done! a very relaxing way to spend the day. I must point out however that the average person here doesn't go to such an expensive place to clean up.
Megan left on Aug 25th for her flight out of Beijing, alone. I was so sad to see her go & it took quite a while before I adjusted to life without her. We would have had a lot of fun if she had been able to stay longer because we could have explored a lot more places then what I did on my own. I was under the impression that to change my flight date would involve one phone call & no hassle so I decided to stay another couple weeks with Colleen. Apparently it was a false impression, so after about a week of phoning & internet frustrations I finally had my flight booked for a month later. It was a tremendous head ache & I actually was more worked up about it then anything else on the trip which is very ridiculous because I have been in a few less then comfortable situations this summer. At first I didn't even want to be here without Megan but
KTV
kareoke bar I think it was worth the experience of living in China for a month & a half, there are a lot of things that a person cannot find out about a country unless they stay for an extended period. I was originally going to be able to just take a train straight to Beijing but due to the complications with my tickets: my trip to Beijing will include taxis, bus, train & plane so that is a lot of hassle. I am not looking forward to my transfer in Harbin (hmm I wonder why) but I think I've adjusted enough to life here to be able to handle it better this time around. I am grateful that I know I have a travel companion better then any here on earth.
We did end up going back to Harbin to straighten out Colleen & Tracy's tickets & to buy one for me to get to Beijing. It was a far less relaxing day then when we were there before because we we racing around trying to find something to eat. Why is it that there is food on every street, except for when you have a train to catch?
KTV
"flowers for all the beautiful girls"...& Steven??? (mind you they are fake flowers) We ended up breaking down & running into a MacDonald's (for the first time, I may boast). It was scrumptious.
I bought the most adorable little turtle in Sartu for 5 Y (remember that 7 Y goes into 1 CAD). He is very active & a lot of fun to watch & play with. When Colleen comes home from work everyday it's like I have a baby in the house cuz I'm always like "well Hurley ate 2 pieces of food today & learned how to climb the ladder.." I would bring him home if I was allowed!
A couple times after grocery shopping Colleen & I rode in those ridiculous carriages that has an electric bicycle in place of a noble steed. Those bouncy things do not really have the kind of connotations that I want to have connected with me. As I watch other people buzz & rattle trap around in them I pretend that it has never even crossed my mind to ride in one...
Colleen's room mate Tracy was abruptly moved from Daqing to a city about an hour by train heading north called Qiqihar (say qi like the chee
Rosa & Johan
Joy teachers in cheese) so Colleen & I wanted to visit her & see the city. We arrived by train in the city of 6 million (Daqing is only 2.3 million) late one Sunday night to have a sleep over at Tracy's. The girls also invited a student/friend of theirs to come along with us for the day. His mom got word of our coming & I'm not exactly sure what happened but it was something good because we ended up with 2 black cars & drivers at our service for the day & an invitation to an extremely fancy restaurant for lunch. We were taken to the crane sanctuary that Qiqihar is famous for. It has been a site for bird flu but it is open to tourists again now. As we drove through the country side I could see how such a disease would spread, the cows, ducks, chickens, pigs, geese & people all live on each other's toes. The red crested cranes are endangered & live there at the sanctuary with the other birds. We were sped (I mean SPED, good thing I'm a relaxed passenger because I thought we were going to kill someone) back into town &
Steven, Colleen & Jason
Jason is Colleen's boss when we arrived at the hot pot restaurant we were saluted by the men wearing black in front of the restaurant. We were ushered to a private room & our individual hot pots were set to boil. Each of us had our own personal hot pot which is nice because whatever I put in was what I wanted to eat. Part way through the meal everyone was passed a cool wet face cloth to wipe the sweat from our faces & refresh us. It was as though the English half of the table was separated from the Chinese half by a wall because of the language barrier, unfortunately. We ate squid, different kinds of sea weed & mushrooms of various sorts, tofu, paper thin meat, chicken balls, vegetables & noodles. In the afternoon we went to Peace Square & then to a really cool souvenir shop. Only 2 hours after our 2 hour long lunch we were told that we had been invited to another restaurant for super, & no we couldn't wait until later because our private room had already been reserved. Our hostesses/hosts had gotten changed since our lunch & we were taken to a lovely dumpling restaurant.
dinner
more of the fancy fancy hot pot meal I particularly like the steamed dumplings with pork filling. I find that Chinese food can be enjoyable but it never causes that undeniable urge to take just one more spoonful. So, we were treated like queens for the day & enjoyed it very much.
I had the opportunity to observe Colleen teaching her classes at Joy School. I went various days to her Chinese class with her & also to her English class for the secretaries at the front desk. I was surprised that the school is at the back of a building & then up to the second floor because I thought it would be more visible. Colleen likes her young children classes a lot, they are so cute!!!
Colleen's boss also mentioned that we should go to a foot massage place. Once at the classy place we were ushered into our own private room. We were given a list of options but the only thing that we could read was the price so we chose a price that was a bit cheaper then the others. We ended up with a full body massage. Now I know why people get addicted to such things, those
Xinbin Road
the construction between Colleen's apartment & Joy School 3 hours were so wonderful we just wanted to go to sleep after. ahhh, that wasn't really a good thing to remind me of, cuz I might have to go back...
I think that during my time in China I have learned just a little bit more about the way these people think. I think culture is such an interesting thing! A lot of time I have to remind myself that people here don't "think wrong" they just think differently then we do. Maybe we're wrong & they are right, sometimes I just don't know. At first I thought it was cool that people would phone us up & say "I would like to be your friend" it wasn't long before I saw more & more examples of the fact that they didn't want to be friends at all they just wanted help for something. It was strange to me that I was only able to make one real friend in all my time here. The way I think of "friends" is a give & take thing, where I sacrifice for you & you sacrifice for me; not because we have to but because we want to. I
Carol
our cooking lesson discovered that the idea of what a friend is, to these people, is different then the idea that we have. It's just an idea that we have, there is no cut & dry. I saw that a person here cannot loose face. If they need to lie to save their image then that is expected behaviour. I saw that values are different for work too. If a person can have a job that doesn't pay much & they don't like the work...but that it is guaranteed that they will be able to work there for the rest of their life then that is a very good & desirable job. There are also different ideas concerning luck & religion. I have asked a few people why the men have a long finger nail on the left little finger but so far nobody has been able to tell me. I don't know what exactly is thought about man holes but there must be some beliefs about them because they are always covered with red paper or cloth before an important event such as a family moving. The people here look to the calender to determine what they should wear, rather then to
coke chicken
Carol introduced it to us this way: "I will show you my favorite way of how to cook the fly of a bird" consult the weather. I heard that it is believed if a person wears the wrong thing at the wrong time of year then they will get sick. Maybe there is some truth to that thought, but the people sweating in their long johns, long pants long shirts & jackets look so uncomfortable to me while I am still enjoying my short sleeved shirts. They will roll up their pants in an effort to be cooler rather then to just take off their long johns. I've gone for walks wearing my shorts in some strange kind of rebellion to a rule that doesn't apply to me. I thought "well they stare at me anyways, might as well give them something to look at". I am also unused to the way people communicate with each other here. There have been days when I have come across various people that are doing what I see as "fighting". In one day I saw two ladies about my mom's age that were physically grabbing, pushing & shoving (banging into me as well); then I saw a man that was roughly grabbing a lady & they were yelling at each other; next I saw a middle
Tu Dou Si
shredded potatoe aged & old woman punching each other in the arms & jabbing at each other while talking with so much force that spit was flying. I have seem it again & again, even though it makes me very nervous it seems to be "ok" here. One opportunity that I would like would be to see a wedding here because I have only had a glimpse into the traditions that envelop this ceremony. I have watched various vehicle processions, seen picture taking the hotels & parks & heard the fire works that come out of the things that look like canons. I understand that a large portion of the ritual is actually the vehicle procession rather then the reception. I also hear the fireworks for the people moving into a new apartment, every Saturday & Sunday! (can't miss it, sounds like the apartment is being torn down) Today I walked past the construction cranes & they had long strands of firing fireworks attached to them, it makes me want to be able to ask "why?". Also what about the hair dressers dancing? How cool is that!! There are so many interesting things here!!! A lot of time I am comparing things
Di San Xian
all of the food is made in the wok here to the things at home but I think a person has to leave behind preconceived ideas. I know it is stupid to be gullible, but I only have frustration when I bring my own ideas of how things should be done. Even the other day in the grocery store I had to have my purse locked into a bag, but when I wanted to buy some little sesame crackers I found out that I had to pay for them there inside the store. So I had to go to a lady way at the front & get my purse unlocked & get my money out, go to another lady & have it locked again, walk back to the lady with my crackers & give her the money, then take the rest of the food to the check out counter get my purse unlocked & pay for the rest of the stuff there. A lot of times I just want to stand there & say "this is so stupid!!!!!!!!!!" It isn't long before I arrive at the conclusion that that wouldn't do me any good so I just go along & pay for the 4 little crackers that I don't
Dumplings
if you say that you don't like dumplings, it is just as bad as saying a dirty word even want any more. Colleen is at the point where she just gives up when something inconvenient happens, because those types of things happen often. So she's just like "sigh... well I guess we won't buy crackers today". We were in the store one day & I wanted to try some clothes on but the lady was ignoring me because I couldn't say "can I try this on". Colleen was like "I guess you can't try it on". I'm like "you bet I can if I want to" & so I took it off the hanger & start changing like everybody else. (who needs a change room anyways) Quite likely my stubbornness would be harshly suppressed if I were to stay much longer here however. So, I am a very strange person to them & they are strange people to me. I wonder if a person such as myself could ever completely meld into this culture, I mean so much so that I would even think the same way as they do. One thing that is strange for me to think of is that I've only seen such an itty bitty part of China...I wonder, what is the rest of
shop
shopping in Sartu the country like??? What adventures does such a vast & diverse country contain?
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mother
non-member comment
sunglasses
Hey! You don't wear sunglasses on the top of your head! You took some great shots of Colleen at home and job, helps those of us back home to see what her life is like too. Look forward to your arrival back home.