The Internet in China, or A is for ASTRILL

It's a new year, and it's time to take stock, set goals, and do a quick look over the previous year.  We've adjusted to living in another new culture pretty well, but our hopes of getting much better internet in China have been dashed by the government.  Well, I suppose the government would ostensibly say it was the protesters in Hong Kong's fault, but let's get real:  The Chinese government gets in my technology business a lot more than I'd like.  I was given sage advice from the Chengdu Panda to arm myself with a private VPN before I got to the country, which I did with Astrill, the most widely used way around the government sanctions on such common sites as Google, iTunes, the New York Times, etc. I adjusted to remembering to have the VPN on whenever I wanted to access certain American sites, and to turn it off when using local sites. Then the Hong Kong protests happened in the fall, and the government retaliated by flexing their techie muscles by breaking up my connections with DropBox and Instagram.
It seems the protestors were using Instagram in particular as a way to send communication.  I was ready to take an oath that I didn't care what happened in Hong Kong if they would just let me use Instagram, or at least see others's posting, but no deals were to be had.  Also, I actually DID care, but I wouldn't share that with the Chinese, either.
I went to see our in-house IT staff at school, where there is an authorized Apple store in the foyer, btw.  They all shook their heads sadly and plainly told me what I didn't want to hear:  They have the same problems, it's the government, and there's not a good way around this one.  My Instagram and Wanderlust and Dropbox had been jammed, and they had attacked both my computer and my smart phone.  The problem was, the usual solution of trashing the app and reinstalling it was that those apps no longer appear in the Apps Store in iTunes, which, by the way, the Chinese government seems to have really big issues with.
I foolishly decided to leave my computer behind on this vacation (never again) but at soon as I got to Hong Kong, I was able to rectify all problems on my smart phone because the Internet space there is open, not tinkered with by the Chinese government.  So even though most people believe the current new Internet "issues" are the direct result of Hong Kong protesters, Hong Kong is not affected at all.  Go figure. Which leads me to believe that perhaps what the government really wants is for the Chinese people on the mainland to not be able to access the stuff from and/or about the Hong Kong protesters.  I'm only guessing, but it's what makes sense to me.
I have high hopes that perhaps I will once again be able to use Instagram, but let's see how long that lasts.  You would think all this trouble would make me want to use the Internet less, but not at all.  It's just a fact of life in China that you may or may not be able to access certain things, and it's best to get wily and stay on high alert about upcoming "issues".  It's the best I have in the way of a goal for the new year!

A Hong Kong Christmas

A Late MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone, and a Happy New Year!
Hong Kong provided the perfect host for our family's Christmas celebration.  It's a city with lots of everything, and we took full advantage.  We spent the week in bookstores with books in English, a real treat for all of us, tea shops and high teas (one nice result of the colonialism of past), and having lots of great meals.  The sights of the city itself was fun to see; lots of neon, lots of traditional Chinese stuff, lots of very western stuff, and a great blend of East meets West in general.  There were a few museums thrown in as well, and the Hong Kong History Museum was a particular highlight.  Mostly we just enjoyed being together and leisurely perusing books, sipping tea, and searching for the next interesting neighborhood and restaurant.  Enjoy some pictures and get one more blast of Christmas cheer with the gorgeous decorations Hong Kong provided for all to enjoy.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6NPvnD

Daily life in China: Food Choices

On Sunday morning we take our weekly e-bike ride to the wet market. I’m not sure why it’s called that; it’s a produce market, but also with meat, eggs, and basically fresh food stuff.  I’ve tried substituting a trip to one of the supermarkets, but the produce is far fresher at the wet market, so it’s an easy choice.  More important, there is also a wider selection.  I can find avocados fit for guacamole or spreading like butter, and a vast array of mushroom types at incredibly cheap prices.   I have gotten most types just to try, but I always settle on the shiitake, which here taste even meatier than the ones in the States.  The vendors are always friendly, and if you hesitate at all at their stand they hand you a plastic bag with a friendly smile and encouraging eyes.  They quote prices that I don’t understand, mostly because there is this measure of weight called a jin that I think is about a half a kilo, but am not at all sure.  I believe the quote is usually for a jin’s worth, but since I don’t speak the lingo, I really have no idea. However, I play the game and pretend I know what I’m about, and then pay whatever they ask.  The funniest thing that happens repeatedly at the market is when I examine say a fresh fig, or avocado, or strawberry (yes, I can get them all, praise to the food gods) and put it back down, the vendors rush to motion that I should just wait, and they’ll bring out the quality goods from the back.  And then they do.  I suppose everyone gets this “special” treatment, but if that’s so, why not put out the best to start with?  I suppose if they can get someone less discerning to buy their bruised figs, then no one’s the wiser, and they sell all their supply.

The prices are wildly variable in China in general, but specifically regarding food, first let me be clear; I usually don’t care.  I haven’t had access to avocados for 2 years while in India, and I’m happy to pay 12 rmb (2 USD) for the nectar. I’m not getting any younger, and who knows how many more good years these teeth have on them? I can get beautiful blueberries, rivaling any I bought in the U.S. in June, and if I have to pay 30 RMB for a ½ pint, so be it.  It takes my morning oatmeal to a whole different level.  I have no idea where these exotic fruits come from, but again, don’t care.  Mark Bittman can wax eloquent all he wants about eating local, but I’d like to see HIM eat the narrow selection that brings to some parts of the world.  I for one am most happy to put down the money to eat a full spectrum of fruits and veggies, and when I buy those which are grown here, they are quite economical.  When I opt for the more exotic, I expect to pay more, and I’m not disappointed. Nor are my taste buds when I delve into my purchases.  It works all around, so who am I to question the practice?  Check out the pics of a recent salad I was able to make from my purchases.  This is one very enjoyable facet of living in SIP. (Suzhou Industrial Park)

By the way, mandarin oranges are in season here, and if you can believe it the fresh one are even sweeter than the canned versions, minus the corn syrupy taste.  They are fragile and puffy and wonderful in every way.  We used to raid our mother's pantry late night for the occasional unused canned mandarin slices, and all this time the Chinese have been enjoying something far far better.  Well played, China.  Make us believe the canned version is as good as it gets.  The secret is out now, and I have a 2-a-day minimum rule that is keeping me going to school in the morning so I can have them for my snack.

HGTV in Suzhou

Note different colored lines for different frames

After logging countless hours enjoying my HGTV shows in Iowa City, I had the chance to use something I remembered seeing there and wondering why I had never thought of it.  I have several things I wanted to hang on my walls, and you know how it’s difficult to see where you want them while holding something up to the wall, or someone else who doesn’t really want to be doing this project is holding them up on the wall while you examine them.  Enter the wall template by way of HGTV.  First you need a large sheet of paper, which I didn’t have, but I did have some scrap paper and tape, so I constructed one.  Next, measure your wall space and then mark it on the paper.  Next lay the paper on the floor and then put the frames on the paper and arrange as you desi  Then comes the cool part.  Draw around the frames, and mark specifically where the hole should go for the screw.  I repeated this 3 times in different colors for different walls.  I felt very clever, I admit.  Last go find the person who is hiding from you and have them help you hold up the template while you use a pen and make a hole in the paper and mark the hole on the wall.  [Note:  This is the part I may have gotten wrong, but it’s all I could think of to do.  If anyone has a better solution, I’d love to know.]

Finished Product

This makes putting the holes in the wall a breeze, usually.  I had to finally hire someone to come put holes in the wall for me because I couldn’t find any wall hanging hardware, or rather didn’t know which of the million stores in this town to look for them in, nor how to ask for it in Mandarin.  The fellow who came was nice….He also didn’t bring a hammer, and was trying to put some weird hooks in the wall using his pliers as a hammer.  I went to get mine, and still he charged me 10RMB/nail.  It was a stiff bill, but I’m really glad that I took 5 hooks from him and hammered them in for my fan wall in the time it took him to drill one hole for the heavy frames.  He was neither speedy nor well equipped.  Well, that’s not entirely accurate because he did have a laminated copy of his fee structure, although it was all in Mandarin.  Funny how Chinese people keep writing stuff in their language, even though I still can't read it. 

The Box

It’s been quite a saga, but on Friday of last week we finally took possession of a box that our dear nephew sent us over 2 months ago.  It took all of 4 days to get it from Des Moines to Shanghai, but that’s when the problems started.  The custom officials decided to have a little fun with us.  First they wanted a list of everything in the box.  Woops, forgot to make a list, so I had to use emails and recreate what we thought was in there. Next they required it all be translated into Mandarin.  I enlisted one of the front office staff and she was gracious enough to do it.  Next came a big obstacle.  They demanded a letter with our school seal that verified that I in fact was NOT opening a small store to sell all the food goods in the box, but actually planned on consuming them. [I don’t know why they thought 20 bars of chocolate, 120 bags of instant oatmeal, 6 bags of coffee beans, or 12 bags of assorted notes was a lot for us to consume, but they did.]   At first the school said they couldn’t get into the practice or writing letters on their seal because they know the Chinese bureaucracy and they constantly push back on new demands, because the bureaucracy is already burdensome, and once you establish it as a step, it’s always demanded in the future.  Anyway, I tried sending a variety of non-sealed letters, but the DHL rep kept sending back the same demand.  After about 4 weeks the school came up with something they thought was acceptable and sent it.  Just when I thought perhaps I would be having oatmeal for breakfast, they sent a letter demanding a doctor’s prescription for the large bottle of ibuprofen in the box. I explained it was over the counter, but they didn’t care.  I told them to throw it away, because I had no such document and I just wanted to end the nightmare.  Ok, they said, but now it will take time to go through another layer of bureaucracy if they must discard an item.  I had to verify that I allowed the discarding…It was getting pretty ridiculous, but I wanted my food. One of the women in the front office kept suggested I just tell them to send it back, but she didn't know what she was asking of me to deny that I wanted my food snacks. 

Finally they decided they couldn’t allow the almond butter to come into the country because it was obviously a dairy product, which isn’t allowed to be imported.  I had to write a letter explaining even though butter was in the name, it was just a joke; there wasn’t butter in the ingredients.  I said it was like peanut butter in that respect.  After I sent the email I remembered I also had 2 jars of peanut butter in the box and thought I had set myself up for more deletions, but they didn’t catch it.

Yummy Treats worth the trouble

Finally I got an email that said they were ready to give me what was left of my box but that I had to pay a fee of 766 RMB, about 120 bucks or so.  When I asked for an itemization I was more than a little irked to see about 500 of it was a “storage charge” by DHL for storing my box.  I was on the phone very quickly to DHL and my heroines in the front office got enraged for me and took the phone and let the guy have it.  They’d been helping me through the weeks of demands and they were tired of this box business, too.  They, in fact, have told the DHL people they will never use their services again.  I'm never sending food into China again, but I may need DHL in the future, so couldn't burn that bridge.

The one small victory from all this was that DHL agreed to take off the 500 charge, and finally brought the box.  I had great fun remembering all the foods, and checking out the stash. Much to my surprise the items they had disallowed were also in the box.  Go figure.  

Christmas Bazaar

I was lucky enough to be going on an outing this morning with some colleagues/friends...to a Christmas Bazaar.  We had some trouble finding each other initially because it was a huge space and it was crowded....or so we thought, until an hour or so later, when we were all separated and lost in the crowd.  As soon as we got there, the music started with Feliz Navidad, and I found some festive bell earrings, and the next thing I knew I was singing and jingling alone, but happy!  There is a large German community here because there is a huge Bosch plant, so the pastries were very much in the German tradition.  Our school provided a choir and a recorder group, and there were some Chinese elements as well, like the incredible drum ensemble that opened the live music.  I met several pastries that sang my name, and passed the eye test.  I must say I do have a talent for spotting good pastries, and knowing the difference between a yummy treat and an imposter.  This is a skill honed from many many painstaking years of trying just about everything my eyes saw, but it's gotten me to where I am today.  I met my Waterloo at the Danish chef table, because he had some great treats, and was there in person to entice me with his accent and cheer, but I simply had no more room.  He had some cinnamon rolls on offer, not something that usually tempts me, but when he tried to tell me what a cinnamon roll was, I had to stop him and tell him where I was from.  "Of course," he replied, "We Danish settled heavily in the Midwest, so you must have good cinnamon rolls."  He was right, and I took his card and will be visiting him soon.  There was a woman from Norway who had out of sight marzipan cakes, and she's a parent at our school, so I'll be seeking her out for a recipe.  I saw those wonderful pretzels the Germans make and started my day with one, then another, then bought a mini loaf of the same dough, which I consumed even before I left the premises.  I needed something to compliment the huge piece of Christmas ham a local German restaurant was serving (yummy) and it was there, what can I say?
My only miss was the mulled wine (they put rum in it, too, and I didn't think that sounded digestible) and a divine Belgian Waffle, which I saw a kid carry away and was sorely tempted to nab and run.  He told me he waited 55 minutes in the line, and while that seemed an exaggeration, the line was too long for me.  There is another bazaar next week in a famous German hotel that might be serving those waffles, though, and I might just happen to be in the neighborhood.  Happy Christimasing to all!  Some pictures of the international flavors of the bazaar here:  https://flic.kr/s/aHsk2Yq4Ji

It's Beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas

The official Christmas season is just too short for all the listening pleasure that Christmas carols bring to me.  We've fallen off the wagon and have started listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  Blame it on the fact that I don't have a Thanksgiving break, blame it on being far from home, or away from family, but whatever the cause, there is lots of music to be enjoyed and the time is now.
Toward that end, I'd like to invite some discussion about which albums and songs of Christmas are favorites, which are must-listen-tos and which are just a lot of fun.  Below is a list of 10 of my favorite albums, and a few singles in categories I made up.  Let me hear from you about which you agree with, which I was foolish to omit, or a new one you've recently discovered.  Happy listening!

Top Ten Christmas Albums (for today anyway)
1.  Charlie Brown's Christmas, mil gracias Vince Guaraldi
2.  Harry Belafonte's Christmas Album, voice of butter and velvet
3.  Pete Seeger's Christmas, unbridled joy and abandon
4.  Bach Magnificat, swoon worthy and a good review of basic Catholic Latin
5.  Croon and Swoon Christmas (1 and 2)
6.  Chieftain's Bells of Dublin, who has more fun than the Chieftains?  No one.
7.  Menotti's Amahl and The Night Visitors, Mommy issues aside, a great opera.
8.  Western Wind Ensemble:  Old Fashioned Christmas, Thanks Foofie, for the intro to this.
9.  The Nutcracker in all its forms, traditional, LA Guitar Ensemble, and especially Duke Ellington's Three Suites
10.  Handel's Messiah, the Album of Best Choruses from...

Winners in the Singles Category
Best Instrumental:  Carol of the Bells, Leonard Bernstein & the NY Phil or Anne Greenleaf, piano
Most Poignant:  I Heard the Bells, sung Harry Belafonte, lyrics by HW Longfellow
Most Fun: TIE:  Feliz Navidad and All I Want for Christmas
Best NEW Christmas single:  Perhaps Renee Fleming & Rufus Wainright's rendition of In The Bleak Midwinter

I know one ARG from Cameroon is sorry that "Blue X-Mas' isn't listed because she used to beg me to play that in the car....never.  Impress me, shock me, dazzle me, but let me hear what songs YOU love for Christmas.  I am sure there are endorphins in our ears that are released when we listen to good renditions of Christmas favorites.  My list is heavy with pieces that take me back to 1974 (year we were married and poor poor poor but happy anyway!) 1980s when our kids were young, or a certain house or certain time of happiness.  I've been fortunate to have many more songs that remind me of happy times than I do space on my list.  Sorry Ella, Frank, Oscar, I do love you, but I still will listen!