Week 4 - A Second Look

I recently returned from a fun/hectic trip back to the States to help run Canary's Annual Early Detection Symposium. I was a great way to wrap up my two years with Canary. I also managed to squeeze in a little time with friends which was a real treat. I especially enjoyed hanging out with Esther and Bea (the junior Deans) who just get cuter every time I see them (see photo evidence)!

It's been neat to come "home" to Shanghai and see it again with fresh eyes. Somehow, many of the differences have struck me more the second time - the smells, sounds, street etiquette... are all taking me some time to readjust to. Here are few fun illustrative details from last night's dinner and today's trip to the local supermarket:

1: My chopstick skills need work! Evidence: Last night we had dinner at a fancy local Chinese restaurant. After we refused chopsticks at the start of the meal (and I subsequently spilled a bit on the table) a sweet Chinese girl showed up bearing a silver platter with two sets of forks and knives. She tried really hard (without speaking english) to get us to accept them but we refused. Actually, I cracked up and the quiet girl trying to help us also couldn't contain herself and busted out a laugh too!

2: Tastes are very different than North America (and Chana's in particular). Evidence: Flavours of Lay's potato chips: Red Wine Chicken, Fragrant Red Chili, Steak, Savoury Prawn, Italian Red Meat, French Chicken, Mango, Lychee. As you might have guessed, we have yet to try any of them yet.

3: They're watching you! Evidence: (this is hard to convey but I'll try). I was standing in the personal product aisle, seeking shampoo to help de-frizz my hair that has gone wild here, and was struggling to decipher whether the product I had my eye on was shampoo or conditioner. Thanks to my years of Guesstures experience, I eventually succeeded in figuring it out with help from one of the shop workers using a combination of props and miming. Pleased with myself, I put the product in my basket, only to realize moments later that I wasn't carrying enough cash for both groceries and shampoo. Now that I'm Suzie-Q-homemaker, I figured I should keep the dinner groceries and come back later for the shampoo. I slyly put the bottle back on the rack thinking that no one noticed. But... when I got to the checkout and went through shampoo-less, the lady who had been helping me came up as I was about to leave the store and started emphatically speaking Chinese to me and gesturing about washing her hair. I tried to explain (in English!) that I would come back later with more money. Soon the whole store was intervening and trying in vain to get me to understand Chinese. Eventually several staff went back to the shampoo rack, surveyed the contents, and after some discussion let me leave the store and seemed satisfied. I still don't get what happened!

Lastly, I have to share that I am quite pleased with my first attempt at Chinese egg-vegetable fried rice so if anyone wants a recipe, let me know!