China - on teh internetz

China has a really fascinating online world. It doesn't just stop at the "great chinese firewall" which blocks a lot of sites (annoyingly) which ends up slowing everything down a whole lot, especially for foreign sites. That's the negative. The positive is that with such a huge amount of people online and so often (they've got a bit of an internet addiction problem here, particularly amongst young people) it spawns a lot of websites. And because there are a lot of expats here, and it can get really lonely and isolating, I think it drives a lot of foreigners to start blogs (like me!) about their lives here.

I guess perhaps it's more apparent here in Shanghai with its huge concentration of expats from all over the world. I love that Shanghai is such an international city in a way (although sometimes I'd definitely say it's what I've come to call 看起来 foreign - i.e. "foreign" or rather kind of Western and yet still with a whole Chinese flavour to it), which is something I also really liked about Sydney (I once wrote a long blog post about it - not this blog though).

Just thought I'd share my enthusiasm!

A very German Christmas (market)

It has suddenly become FREEZING the past couple of days. And out of nowhere. I guess it has been on and off cold the past month of November, but yesterday the temperature just dropped by a gazillion degrees!



And of course I not only had to get up for class that morning (so hard getting up into the frosty frosty air) but had also made plans to go with a bunch of people to a German Christmas market at night! It was fun, but FREEZING! At one point I was standing there and my feet felt like they were about to drop off.

The market itself wasn't so special. It was just like any other market, but like with everything foreign in china, a bit overpriced in my opinion. Then again, special event markets are always a bit overpriced so I guess I just haven't been to one for awhile so had forgotten. Looked around, there were a few stalls selling things I don't need (Christmas decorations, random Chinese items), and some food stalls where we grabbed some dinner. I tried a vegetable soup with spratzle, which is apparently some kind of noodle. It's from the region that one of the Germans is from, but he assured me that it's not meant to be the way I had it. It's apparently usually just dry noodles covered in cheese and maybe some sausage. Oh those Germans, they love that sausage!

We eventually made our way inside (it was held at the Paulaner brewery/restaurant) for some warmth and beer (of course)! A friend treated the rest of us to some pretzels with some various typically German spreads (I think). Too meaty for me (one was lard with pork bits, and one was just like a pate type thing?) but I did enjoy having some butter. Yum! Haven't had any for ages because I am too lazy to go buy some, and my grandparents don't use it. I also had a big wheat beer, which is really quite nice tasting. Also from the south.














Apparently the freezing temperatures made it "truly authentic" so I guess I should feel lucky? As the temperature drops I think longingly of beaches and Australian summer and it makes me miss home just a little more. Home in two months! I'll miss it, but summer! Warmth! No more woollies, pretty pretty dresses!

Christmas cake

An amusing little tidbit that I'd forgotten until yesterday was that the Japanese call a woman who is "on the shelf" (ie an old maid) a "Christmas cake". I found a good explanation online: "It may well be sweet and delicious, but no one really wants any after the 25th. So, if you're an unmarried Japanese woman, after the age of twenty five, you're in extreme danger of becoming a Christmas Cake." (from here)



Funny how the Japanese can make a relatively negative (even if you, like me, don't believe it's a negative thing to be an unmarried woman in your late 20s and upwards, it's MEANT in a negative sense I guess) term sound kawaii! We get old maid, they get Christmas cake!



In other news, cold winds have hit Shanghai and it is FREEZING! Bone chillingly so!

places to eat in Shanghai

I need a place to keep track of these places I want to eat at, so why not use this blog? Not very interesting for anyone else to read (sorry).

Hello sushi?
http://www.smartshanghai.com/blog/1107/Yogafish.html

Mmm... French cafe!
http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/3133/Cafe_Montmartre_(Wulumuqi_Lu)_shanghai

Mexican! Won't be as good as the real thing, but... Australia is no better!
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/mexican/has/MAYA/

A cute little cafe:
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/cafes/has/bohemia-cafe-and-bar/?most_viewed=1

Chocolate cake:

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/listings/dining/dessert/has/awfully-chocolate/?most_viewed=1

Chinese banana girl

I found this really good Chinese learning website, and I was listening to some of the podcasts. There was a particularly interesting one on overseas Chinese which mentioned a term I'd never heard before but think is amazing: "egg". Hah, that made me laugh. I guess that's white on the outside, yellow on the inside? As opposed to banana, which is me, mostly. Although I guess I'd describe myself as a Chinese banana - yellow on the outside, white on the inside, but with a Chinese flavour (and of course made in China). I think that pretty much sums it up.

The whole topic of overseas Chinese is a really interesting one, and I couldn't even begin to discuss it. At least not in a blog. I think it's much more organic and would flow more freely in a conversation. My 口语 kouyu (spoken Chinese) teacher said to my class mate and me that she finds it difficult to think of ways to keep the class interested in the lessons. In my head I thought "well that's obvious", but externally I said "well that's to be expected. The levels of spoken Chinese in this class are too low for decent conversations on most topics, and yet we're all old enough that we don't want to be discussing the baby topics that we could converse on using what we've learnt" (that's not really an exact translation of what I said, but you know, it's what I was trying to say, with a bit of me adding a bit of extra ME into the words that I find more difficult/impossible when I'm speaking Chinese).

I think I may have complained on this blog before about my classes here in Shanghai, but for me I believe the biggest problem is that I'm in this extremely odd space where my spoken, listening and reading/writing skills are ALL different. Listening is the best for me, and spoken is a little way behind (I'm paying for all the time I spent responding to my parents in English when they spoke to me in Chinese), and reading/writing further behind that. I didn't get my act together and fix that when I could so now it's pretty much what I've gotten myself lumped with.

I know from speaking to other students that they also find the classes similarly unstimulating. It is very repetitive learning a language, so I understand that it's not going to be a barrel of laughs. But, like learning anything, a lot hinges on your teachers. If they can get you excited about what you're learning, however dull the grammar structure is that you're learning, then I think you've got a good 'un on your hands. My reading teacher is like that. She teaches us some of the most boring stuff, and yet somehow makes it interesting. Just a natural talent for teaching I guess. Combined with an interest in helping students learn.

I think if she taught all my classes, and if I was in the right level for everything, I could really learn a lot here. As it is, I've surprised myself with how far I've come. I guess I didn't think that I was learning a lot, but in a way, I've gained a lot of knowledge that is now in my brain swimming around somewhere. Chinese isn't like a lot of other languages, because it has so many different words, so you just have to memorise things. There's no way out of it.

I think I'll start listening to more of the podcasts (there are a lot) and supplement my class learning.

http://www.chinesepod.com

How does time pass by so quickly?

It just zooms past. Zoom zoom zoom. I feel like my time in Shanghai will be gone before I've even realised that I'm actually here, if that makes any sense at all. I do feel like I'm getting more of a handle on the city. It's getting colder, but I think I need to go and explore the city some more. I did a little bit today as I was meeting a friend and his girlfriend in a heretofore unexplored area of town. It looked not too far away on the map so I figured I'd just walk. I ended up being 30 minutes late (it took me about 45 minutes to walk there, but partly because I kept having to check my not so trusty Lonely Planet map) but it was ok because they were even later (also underestimated how hard to far away it was!). I am excited because I found a whole street full of restaurants, so I need to go back again sometime. The area is also known as Shanghai's "Koreatown" and although I didn't see any Korean places, there are meant to be a lot somewhere around there. Mmm... Korean! Something I rarely eat in Australia because it sucks in Canberra and I never seem to get around to it in Sydney!

It takes me awhile to get used to a city. I'm also not the type of person that likes to run out and explore willy-nilly before I'm acquainted with things a bit better. And I've never liked going for walks without purpose (I used to take walks to the local shops so that I'd have somewhere to end up at!) so I'll have to figure out some walking purposes...

Weekends go by so quickly, and weekdays crawl but the week speeds up and suddenly it's the weekend again. I think working full time will feel like this too. Except of course I'll have less free time to watch DVDs. Gotta make the most of my free time now. Pity I have to study. :o(

A little bit on Shanghainese foods (aka more crab!)

I'm reading on Wikipedia about Shanghainese foods so I figured maybe I'd just write some of my faves down. Partly just for me to have a list (there's so many things I eat that are quite tasty) and partly because it might benefit someone else! :o) In no particularly order:

1. Dazha xie - translation = hairy crab. I had a banquet with these last night at my aunt and uncle's place. If you're a crab fan, they are a must have. The season is October - January I think, with the best ones being around about now! There's also a male and female season, but I never really know which goes when. Look away if you don't want to know more (it is just a little bit gross):
The way of eating these hairy crabs is actually quite interesting, I had to be "taught" how to eat it. You pull off the top shell exposing the eggs underneath (both male and female have this, I'm not QUITE sure why) and then pull of the bottom under the stomach shell so that you can break the back in half and get to the middle bit. You pull off these little grey tentacley things on the back of the crab (no idea what it is, but you can't eat it. might be lungs?) and then I like to yank the legs off to save for later. The "best part" is the eggs (and if it's a male, and please bear with me as it's kind of gross - the sperm or "gao" which I used to think was a kind of glue... now I know better and... it definitely makes me a bit less of a fan of it...) and you dip that in the sauce (black vinegar and chopped up ginger) and delicious! You also can suck what I think might be the brain of the crab (not sure and don't want to ask) from the top shell. Surprisingly tasty? And then the annoying party of pulling out every last bit of meat from the rest of the crab. The main body part has the best meat, so sometimes I don't really bother with the little legs, just the big clippers.

People have different methods of eating the skinny little legs. My cousin just chomped his way through and spat out the shell. I crunch the shell and then peel it off slowly. And my uncle was proud of his chopstick poking out the meat method. I'd do that but I feel that if I poke around with my chopstick I'll probably hit someone in the eye.

2. Pidan shourou zhou - translation = century egg and lean pork congee. I had this last night with my hairy crab and it was a perfect accompaniment. Century egg are these preserved and they're a kind of browny on the outside and greeny on the inside. They actually look like really moldy eggs (and for the uninitiated might taste a bit like that too to be honest) but they really give the congee a great taste. It's usually a little gingery, but the pork adds a nice flavour, and congee is always deliciously slippery, comforting and just glides down your throat easily.

3. Xiaolong bao - translation = those delicious little thin skinned dumplings filled with pork and sometimes topped with crab roe. I thought the translation was little dragon dumpling, but I read on wiki that it's something else? Confused. Anyway, most people have heard of these I think, but they're the little dumplings that Shanghai is famous for and you bite into them (just a little of the skin off the top), blow on the insides to cool it down, suck out the soup and then gobble down the rest. I find them perfect when they've been sitting on the table a few minutes and have had the chance to cool down.

4. Shengjian mantou - translation = fried pork buns. Similar to the xiaolong bao but with thicker skin (a little bigger too I'd say) and fried instead of steamed. You usually see them in those big wok things with a steamer bamboo lid on top. They're sprinkled with shallots and sesame seeds and they're just FAB. I think it's best to eat them in a similar manner to the xiaolong bao, but note that the skin is a bit thicker.

5. Chou doufu - stinky tofu. Not exactly a fave of mine, but I thought I'd mention it just because of the name! It actually DOES smell pretty bad, so you can always smell it before you see it. It's kind of just fried tofu with a slightly odd taste. I can't quite place it, but it's almost like it's off but then it's not really? A little bland for some people's tastes and a little weird for the not so adventurous. It's also a street snack so who knows about cleanliness? It's possible this might have been what gave me food poisoning for a few days...

That's just the beginning of my food thoughts. Might try and post more when I think of it, but here are some food photos in the meantime. Not of any of the above things (couldn't find any pics, will need to do that!) but still stuff I've eaten in Shanghai.