Convenience Is A Wonderful Thing

C-Land is a funny place sometimes...a lot of the times. The image above is a stack of bills for my apartment that I paid recently. I say for my apartment because some of the bills are from before I even moved in, but I got tired of trying to convince the water company that I didn't owe them for that time, and the amount was so small, that I finally just paid the whole sha-bang.

The grand total of 18 bills, covering 18 months of water was 663.40 yuan (roughly 100 USD)----amazing!.

Now granted, while some of the bills were for before I even moved into my apartment, the vast majority of them I have to take responsibility for. I also have to take responsibility for all the electricity bills that I never pay on time.

But here's the thing. To pay the bills on time means using this machine in the local quickie mart (LianHua) which is all in Chinese. Even though there are generally an average of 4-5 available employees in the LianHua, none of them ever want to take time out of chatting to help me decipher what the characters mean. The other option is walking around the block to a different quickie mart... the one next to the famous DongXi Shop, and pay your bills there. This is much easier as you just hand money to a real person and they give you a receipt. However, even though I walk around with the bill in my bag so I can pay it whenever I happen to be over there, I usually forget when I AM over there, and then when I remember, the lady won't take my money because it's "too late." :( sad face. So, save the rare occasion that I decide to revel in my "adult-ness", I've all but given up on this tactic, and instead, have opted for Option B.

Now picture with me the wonderful "Option B" (otherwise known as: "option wonderful", "option convenient", "option why-in-the-world-would-I-chose-another-option"): the water company, or electric company sends a lovely Chinese grandma or grandpa to your door... and you pay them. Done and done.

Wonderful! And I know what you're thinking:
"Late fees??!"
"What if they turn off your water? Your electricity??"
As proved by my apartments bills from 2007, there are no late fees, and they don't turn off your water or electricity (at least not immediately).

Over my years in Shanghai I have convinced many of the benefits of Option B. The only down-side? They somehow often decide to come at 8am on a Saturday, at which point a blurry eyed me hands them some pink funny money, they go away, and I go back to sleep. Still easier than Option A. :D

The DongXi (东西 dōngxi) Shop

All over China there are these amazing shops that I like to call DōngXi (东西) Shops. DōngXi literally means "east and west" and basically means "thing"—and that's exactly what these shops are full of—things. From socks, to pots, to snacks, to tools, to floor mats, to phone cards—these shops have it all. If there is ever some random thing that I need, I immediately head to the DōngXi Shop that is just outside the apartment complex I live in. Generally speaking, the people who own these shops have created the shop out of their personal living space, leaving them a small room behind or above the shop as their actual living area.

Now don't get confused. As many of you who know me well know, I like to make up words and make up meanings for words. I have begun to do this in C-Land as well, coining the phrase DōngXi Shop. I have no idea what these little shops are actually called, or if they even have a name, but it makes my heart happy to know that there are a handful of people walking around Shanghai referring to them as DōngXi Shops.

The second most amazing thing about these shops (behind the sheer variety of items it supplies), is the quantity of the variety it supplies. In a very small footprint the owners create aisles barely large enough for one person, and proceed to stack items on shelves to the ceilings. Things poor off the shelves, and out the front door of the shops as the sidewalk becomes fair game for extending your shop space (also fair game for expanding your apartment space, restaurant space, etc). At night, after the shop has closed, I can only imagine how much more crammed the inside is as it struggles to hold not only what was already in the shop, but everything that once resided on the sidewalk as well.

These shops are one of the closest things I've found to garage sales in C-Land in that you just never know what you may find in them—and in that what you find is usually pretty cheap.

The DongXi Shops are also especially useful to the crafty mind. I never cease to confuse the shop owners as I evaluate the use of wire mesh for displaying photographs, or piping to act as a flagpole or to be made into mini hurdles.

To me, these shops are one of the jewels of C-land and always the first place I recommend looking when a friend says "Do you know where I could get a _________?"

Below: The aisles of the local DongXi Shop across the street from my apartment. I still haven't had a chance to truly discover everything it sells.

Help Fight Hunger Now!

Did you know that a child dies from hunger-related causes every 10 seconds?

This is A Call to Arms

On April 28th the youth group I work with will be participating in something called the 30 Hour Famine.

What is the 30 Hour Famine?
Students around the world loving God and fighting hunger. It’s that simple. Every year, thousands of students unite to do the 30 Hour Famine. They learn about hunger - and then they do something about it. They raise funds. They experience hunger for themselves. Best of all? They help save lives.

If you would like to find out more about the 30 Hour Famine go here.
If you would like to learn more about World Vision, the organization that runs 30 Hour Famine go here.
Most importantly if you would like to sponsor me for the 30 Hour Famine go here. Every penny you donate will go toward fighting hunger! :) THANKS!

NZ-Land:: A Family Adventure

So I finally did it! I got all of my NZ photos uploaded. There are a plethora of ways for you to access them if you so desire:
North Island via Facebook here.
South Island via Facebook here.
It all via Google Picasa here.




The trip was amazing! And it was a TON of fun to meet my family in New Zealand for the break! :) I think the photos give a pretty good overview of the trip. So I'm just going to do a quick "Highlights" of things I learned/liked.

ONE.
I don't so much like traveling alone. The first 10 days I was on the North Island by myself before my parents and brother were to meet me. Sometimes it wasn't so bad. It meant that I could spend as long doing the things that I wanted, and as little long not doing the things I didn't want. It also meant that I became quite adept at using the auto-shutter-release on my camera:



TWO.
If you ever do decide to travel through NZ alone, be encouraged, you don't have to be alone alone... STRAY is here to help! Stray tours are an AWESOME option for those who are traveling alone, but don't want to be completly alone, but don't want to be on a really restricting type of tour either. :)

We got to ride in a really red van-bus...


...and you have people to sand-board race against...



So to re-cap. Traveling alone + Stray Tours = Much more fun!

THREE.
NZ-landers like weird fences.


Unfortunentally this is the only one that I got a photo of. But in passing I also saw one with:
Old bikes.
Shoes.
and Shayne found one online with
Old toothbrushes.

FOUR.
Anyplace with Garden Gnomes is awesome! Thank you to the Waiheke Sculpture Walk for making my day!


FIVE.
I can jump higher than my brother the Iron Man :)


SIX.
NZ-Landers either hate Opossums or don't know how to stuff animals..... or both.

....creeeeeepy.

SEVEN.
You can still use the fun auto-shutter-release even when you're united with your traveling buddies!


EIGHT.
NZ loves their coffee with milk and sugar as much as I do! Every place we stayed offered us a mini-sized bottle of milk for our coffee in the morning :) They also provided coffee each morning for drinking :)

NINE.
Sometimes rain is NOT cool. Like when it cancels your ice climbing excursion and re-makes it into a glacier walk.


TEN.
Sometimes rain IS cool. Like when it makes millions of waterfalls all along a 5 hour drive!


ELEVEN.
NZ is beeeautiful. No matter where you go!

Do-it-yourself. Susie-Homemaker

As many of you know I'm not exactly the Julia Childs–Susie Homemaker type. Roomates, youth kids, and friends alike have witnessed my running frantically around the kitchen as the pasta pot boiled over (or the pasta out because I decided that THAT much pasta COULD be cooked all at once), garlic bread burned in the toaster oven, and pasta sauce blurped and spurted all over the stove.

Yes, pasta is one of the easiest and most beginner recipes, but I've yet to master it, and I'm relatively certain at this point that my brother has far surpassed my cooking abilities (girls he's single... :D ).

However, cooking western food in C-Land has forced me to spread my baby cooking wings and fly, lest I crash on the cliffs of highly priced import items or migraines caused by shopping-at-crazy-small-aisled-too-many-peopled-Carrefour.

These test flights have led me to a few discoveries:

1. Bisquick is over-rated—pancakes ARE easy to make.... and so are biscuits for that matter. However, as silly as it may sound, I may never have discovered this unless I moved to a place where Bisquick (or the like) is improbable to find, and expensive once found. I've since found an amazing "Easy Homestyle Biscuits from Scratch" recipe that is as easy to make as the title claims, and tastes great too. (Since they've obviously already passed on the award for most succinct recipe title they should just re-name the recipe: Easy and Delicious Homestyle Biscuits from Scratch.)

2. Hummus is a quick, easy, and cheap appetizer to supply to any partay. Make your own Tahini (ground white sesame seed and Sesame Oil) and save yourself the trouble of searching the stores (US or C-land) for the canned stuff.

Most recently my cooking-bug-test-flights have been set off by a recipe that I've received through the AllRecipes.com "Daily Dish" email. Inevitably this email leaves me wanting instant recipe gratification, which also inevitably leads to me having to figure out how to make something from scratch rather than go to the store (refer back to migraines caused by shopping-at-crazy-small-aisled-too-many-peopled-Carrefour) to buy it.

The first instance of this was this Baked Oatmeal recipe. The "healthier" suggestion was to replace some of the butter with applesauce. Healthier is good I thought, and proceeded to the internet to find out how to make applesauce (which is terribly expensive here and also requires a trip to afore-mentioned supermarket). I then proceeded to the wet market (a small collection of stalls that sell vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, and meat) across the street to purchase apples. Then back home to make applesauce, followed by the baking of delicious Baked Oatmeal bars.

My most recent cooking escapade was started by this Pumpkin Pancakes recipe.
Who can resist this picture!? Plus the comments raved about it while mentioning my weak spot—breakfast for dinner. They had me at hello; however, first another adventure. How to acquire Canned Pumpkin? Once again I turned to the internets for a cheaper, closer-to-home option (actually, as this was already past November I was dubious of finding canned pumpkin in even the most import-y of import shops, a home-made option was necessitated beyond the simple desire to avoid the supermarket or a trip in a taxi).

Happily I came accross this recipe for making your own pumpkin puree. More cute pictures, and a semi-morbid description had me hooked. The cherry on top was that pumpkins were "Fēicháng piányi"–very cheap—at the wet market across the street. That night I proceeded to make pumpkin puree (easier than applesauce). Mine even matched her picture:


Then, this past weekend, I made my very own Pumpkin Pancakes. Cooker beware! These pancakes require LONG time on LOW heat so that they don't burn :( many a little pumpkiny pancake was trashed in my trials. I have been told that the non-burned ones tasted great! :D haha

I feel my cooking wings are growing stronger. However, don't give away my secret. I'd prefer to maintain anonymity and continue to be invited over to others' houses for THEIR delicious home-cooked meals :D

A Sunday Bike Ride

A few weeks ago the weather was still marvelous considering it was mid-December. The sunny, mostly warm days were nothing to scoff at if you've ever experienced a Shanghai winter. Wanting to make the most of the unusually great weather, myself and a couple of friends (Mark and Alex) decided to spend our Sunday afternoon on a wandering bike ride.

Our first stop was an old Daoist Temple hidden in the recesses of Chinese side streets and housing. It took us a few tries, but we finally wound our way back and through to where the old operating temple stood. While the incense burning and chanting to giant statues that were flipping us the bird (literally) was a little much, it did offer some fun photographic opportunities.

We continued to wind our way up wooden flights of stairs and narrow hallways until we came across this bell:

And this drum:

Alex couldn't resist the temptation to at least pretend to hit the drum.

He walked away before his urge to also strike the bell got the best of him.

After the temple, we continued down a small street/canal-side frontage road that my friend John A says you can follow all the way to the ocean. Well, as the sun was setting and the day was turning cold, we never made it all the way to the ocean, but I was able to capture a serene photo of this barge heading up the canal. I was actually surprised to see a boat this large traveling along it.

We made it back to the LQ just as dusk was setting in and the novelty of a warm winter day was turning into the reality of a cold winter night. What a great way to spend a day off!

The Best of L.A.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a fan of L.A.. That's right Zhi, I said it, I don't like L.A.. However a recent prolonged visit (my brother now lives in La La Land) made me think a little more about the things I can enjoy when in the area. The things will make for my list of:

If you have to be in LA you have to see/do this!

1. The Getty Museum
Not only does it house great artistic exhibits, but the building designed by Richard Meier is also architecturally beautiful. Entry into the museum is free, but be prepared to pay $15 for parking.. haha. Check out an exhibit or two (Shayne and I saw the work of Jean-Leon Gerome because the advertisement included a Gladiator, and my friend Jon had recommended it), take the "Architecture Tour" then spend some time just relaxing on the grassy knoll and enjoying the view.

2. Diddy Riese in Westwood

My friend Debs first made me aware of this, the best ice cream sandwich shop around. For only $1.50 you get to create your own ice-cream sandwich. Simply choose any two amazingly soft and freshly baked cookies and a flavour of ice cream. Wha-La, a delicious melt-in-your-mouth summer great. Don't wait... go there now! Yummmm... just thinking of them makes me want to jump in my car forthwith.

3. Hennessey + Ingalls Art & Architecture Bookstore (in Santa Monica)

Specializing in all forms of artistic publications, this is the place to go for any creative. I set aside at least an hour to peruse the many offerings of this amazing bookstore. Photography, Graphic Design, Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Interior Design, Architecture, and More! This bookstore has it all. And since I'm teaching a Graphic Design elective in the high school next year, I finally have an excuse to buy! :D

4. Six Flags Magic Mountain

If you are a lover of roller coasters, six flags is the place for you. Rider be warned, dress with zippered pockets, only bring what will fit inside, otherwise you'll be stuck paying $1 each time you go on a ride to rent a locker to put your stuff in. Otherwise, amazing roller-coasters! Stay late so you can get the short lines :D

5. Small Concert Venues
One thing I can say for certain is that L.A. has music. Whether you like the big bands or the small bands, you can find them performing at sometime, someplace. A few great small venues to check out are: Hotel Cafe, The Knitting Factory, and The Troubadour.

6. Disneyland
Who can resist a trip to the "happiest place on earth"? Well, I went two summers ago, so actually this time I resisted a trip there (it was replaced with magic mountain), but really, you can't leave it off the list of L.A's locations.

7. Beaches
Of course the coast of California has TONs of beaches. Beach volleyball, surfing, etc etc. Go crazy, just don't forget the sunscreen.

And there you have it. Seven things to make sure you do in LA. :D

Felix my Muse

It's amazing how as soon as I start riding scoot scoot (aka "Felix") through the streets of Shanghai, I suddenly get flooded with blog ideas. It must be something about the pureness of smog-filled air blowing through my helmet, the constant honking of other scooters, bikes, and cars, the low-rumbling fear that an oblivious pedestrian will suddenly step in front of my bike causing me to be flung onto the sidewalk—that clears up the mind and allows it the safety to roam. Everything strikes my brain in this state, and if there were a typewriter in my head, this blog would be updated far more often!:
"Look, the camera attached to the traffic light just flashed at me as I scooted by. Is Big Brother tracking my every move? Maybe the same technology they used at the Olympics is being used here... face recognition, real Jason Bourne stuff!"
"Why are all the scooters, bikes, people, AND strollers, in the bike lane, while the side-walk is empty!?"
"How am I going faster than that gas powered scooter."
"Look at all these HUGE villas that are being built.... where did all the people who used to live here go?"
"Does a disc break lock really stop someone from stealing a scooter?"

And if non of the above ideas seem worthy of a blog to you, remember, of course, the above ideas are just the floaters... the ones that aren't smart enough to hide again as soon as the scooter-ride is over. The best ideas remain hidden in the recesses of my scooter-powered imagination, only allowing themselves to come out when my mind is truly free to contemplate all the things in life—when the honking and bustle of Shanghai rattles them free into my head where I can once more ponder them, and think about how, if only I weren't busy not crashing, I would type it up forthwith!

StoryPeople.com

I discovered the artist Brian Andreas in a little shop called Hands Gallery in downtown San Luis Obispo, and have LOVED his work ever since. He combines quirky sketches with short dictums about life, love, adventure, coffee, chocolate,...anything! Many times they are completely random (which is probably why I love them so much) but in some way they will always remind you of yourself, or someone you know. They also help to remind me about the little jewels of LIVING which we can so easily let pass us by if we're not careful to notice them.

I've recently subscribed to his "Story of the Day" e-mails, which means each day I get a new Story delivered right to my inbox! If you've seen me on buzz or gchat, you've probably seen more than a few of the particularly great ones posted.

I'll share this Story in honor of my Kunming host Amber. She can eat more chocolate than anyone I know, and rarely feels any repercussions from a chocolate eating spree at someplace like Whisk (which never ceases to amaze me). I'm pretty sure that she eats it just because it's yummy, and that it's not doing anything to make sure the wind doesn't blow her away (another amazing feat).

My favorite thing is the wind, she said, & my second favorite is chocolate but I just do that so I don't get too skinny & blow away