Culinary Delights

When it comes to food (that is to say: Chinese food, and how it is consumed and, heaven forbid, Chinese table manners) there isn’t much that can shock me anymore.

I can successfully navigate the dinner table with only two small sticks in my hand. I know how to eat which type of food and what is considered a specialty or delicacy. I am able to slurp soup or tea just as noisily as a Chinese person, if I so choose. I made my peace with all the other, to our eyes initially at least weird and at most (borderline) disgusting eating habits. And although I will never be able to bring myself to do it, I’m not even appalled anymore at all the spitting that occurs and all the bones and little pieces of food that are all over the place after a meal.

There is one thing, though, that I will (hopefully) never grow accustomed to. The terrible waste of food.

I’d completely forgotten how much that used to annoy and upset me. That’s probably because this was one of the things that Pearl and Kim changed at their place once they had noticed how much it bothered me.

The attitude in China in regard to that issue is “What’s the big deal?”, but, coming from a culture where we are taught not to throw away food to the best of our abilities (and this is one of the issues where I was heavily influenced by my parents, because I don’t remember many incidents where food was thrown away at home, much less on that large a scale), it never ceases to shock me.

It may not sound that impressive or terrible when you are reading this, but today, I witnessed one day’s ration of perfectly good rice (for 10 people) being thrown away because the chef changed his mind about his plans for lunch at the last minute.

Maybe it is a first world problem, but that waste of food hurt a little bit.

Update

A couple of things have changed since my last post, the most important of which is that I started working on Monday. My job is at times confusing, but all in all a great opportunity to learn, especially since part of what I have to do is translate Chinese texts into English. Although that task isn't exactly ideal for somebody who is a self-professed analphabet (at least where Chinese characters are concerned), it has given me the chance to improve my reading comprehension in Chinese.

(I was given ten of these by my boss today...)

Anyway, I still enjoy it very much. 

There is also another thing that has changed since my last post. I've moved to another part of Shanghai, and the place where I live now is also my workplace, which is great, because the company I work for is something like a restaurant (it's not easy to explain), so I get three amazing Chinese meals a day and I don't even have to pay for them! (And anyone who knows me also knows how much I've been looking forward to eating Chinese food again!!)

The last thing that has changed within the past week is the weather. When I arrived in Shanghai it was rainy and very windy (typhoon!! but don't worry, as you can see I'm okay). While the weather still isn't as nice as it was when I was in Shanghai in 2012, it has stopped raining and it's warm (throughout the day) and hot (during the night). 

Oh, yes, and I also managed to figure out a way to access facebook, gmx and google. (I still can't believe that they blocked Google! And what do they gain by banning gmx?! I don't think that there are many Chinese people who even know about gmx, much less actually use it!!)

Sorry for the incredibly boring title by the way, but frankly, I'm too tired to think of something more creative. Good night :) 

...and back again

It's been quite a while since I wrote that whiny, melodramatic post about how much I wished I didn't have to leave China. 

Two and a half years later here I am again. I arrived in Shanghai yesterday (with a delay of three and a half hours) and at least upon the first glance, China seems unchanged. (Except for the fact that their control over the internet got stricter. I have yet to find a way to evade the censorship. I mean, they blocked google!!)

Other than that though, it seems that nothing much has changed here since I left. I, on the other hand, feel like I'm completely different from the girl who wrote that last post (and all the previous ones as well of course).
Whereas last time I was equally as anxious as I was amazed upon seeing Shanghai for the first time, this time around I'm neither, really. The height of the houses and the amount of people on the streets don't impress me anymore. But neither am I afraid of crossing the streets now, or nervous each time I have to talk to someone for fear of not understanding what they are saying.

I've come back to a place where I already know the rules of the game, which makes the experience less exciting, but ultimately more comfortable. It feels like I'm settling back into something familiar, like I'm coming home. (To avoid any misunderstanding though, I do not mean to imply that I am not or do not feel at home in Austria.)

For the weekend, I am staying with Skye and Xinxin,two very dear friends. When I was in Shanghai in 2012 I also stayed at their place and last summer my family and I had the pleasure of returning the favour when they visited Austria.
I received a very warm welcome and I am very grateful to them for everything they have done and are still doing for me. (Skye, after all, is the one who found me a job in China)

Due to said job and all the studying I've got to do for my exams in autumn I doubt that I'll have very much time for blogging, but I might write a line or two from time to time. I can't wait to see what the next two months will bring.