china dispatch #18 - odds
A few brief notes on our China experience:
Corn. We were driving along in the countryside one day, and went through a little village. We had to swerve to avoid the corn in the street.
Yes, corn in the street. Tons and tons of corn, not on ears, not sheathed in its green shucks, but zillions of separate kernels of corn, sitting in the street getting a suntan. Is that how they roast and dry the kernels? In streets?
Donkey Meat. That was advertised on a sign we saw. In retrospect, what's weird is that we think it's weird. After all, Chinese and Japanese people had all sorts of derogatory names for our ancestors who came over here reeking of cow's meat and cow's milk. Yuck!
Poop sticks. I guess that's what they call them. Our friend was telling us that he'd had his stools examined for some illness, and that they had given him a small cup and a couple of what looked like metal chopsticks. He couldn't figure out what was wanted, until someone explained (what to them must have seemed obvious): that you must defecate into the squatty-potty, and then pick out your stool with the chopsticks to put it into the cup.
Blueberry potato chips. The rule is that when you see something this odd you have to try it. So, I bought a package of Lay's brand potato chips, blueberry flavor. They were absolutely delicious. Just sweet enough to be sweet, but still snacky rather than candyish. Like unbuttered blueberry muffins. They also had a bit of a tingle to them, as if the makers had included some of that delicious numbing spice that you get on lamb kebabs. When will blueberry potato chips make it in the US?
Parterre. That's the term for all the gardenny sculptury stuff that's been put up all over Beijing in honor of the Olympics. I'd thought "parterre" referred to a theater balcony, and it does, but it also refers to ornamental greenery. Tiananmen Square is filled with it, which makes Tiananmen Square both festively beautiful and completely unsuitable for staging protests.
Blue skies. We'd thought they would go the way of mandatorily-uplifting songs played on the subways. But, to our surprise, neither has gone away. Today's sky was clear as can be, and brilliant blue. And, as a bonus, our hottest days are behind us. Things are cooling off quite nicely.
Corn. We were driving along in the countryside one day, and went through a little village. We had to swerve to avoid the corn in the street.
Yes, corn in the street. Tons and tons of corn, not on ears, not sheathed in its green shucks, but zillions of separate kernels of corn, sitting in the street getting a suntan. Is that how they roast and dry the kernels? In streets?
Donkey Meat. That was advertised on a sign we saw. In retrospect, what's weird is that we think it's weird. After all, Chinese and Japanese people had all sorts of derogatory names for our ancestors who came over here reeking of cow's meat and cow's milk. Yuck!
Poop sticks. I guess that's what they call them. Our friend was telling us that he'd had his stools examined for some illness, and that they had given him a small cup and a couple of what looked like metal chopsticks. He couldn't figure out what was wanted, until someone explained (what to them must have seemed obvious): that you must defecate into the squatty-potty, and then pick out your stool with the chopsticks to put it into the cup.
Blueberry potato chips. The rule is that when you see something this odd you have to try it. So, I bought a package of Lay's brand potato chips, blueberry flavor. They were absolutely delicious. Just sweet enough to be sweet, but still snacky rather than candyish. Like unbuttered blueberry muffins. They also had a bit of a tingle to them, as if the makers had included some of that delicious numbing spice that you get on lamb kebabs. When will blueberry potato chips make it in the US?
Parterre. That's the term for all the gardenny sculptury stuff that's been put up all over Beijing in honor of the Olympics. I'd thought "parterre" referred to a theater balcony, and it does, but it also refers to ornamental greenery. Tiananmen Square is filled with it, which makes Tiananmen Square both festively beautiful and completely unsuitable for staging protests.
Blue skies. We'd thought they would go the way of mandatorily-uplifting songs played on the subways. But, to our surprise, neither has gone away. Today's sky was clear as can be, and brilliant blue. And, as a bonus, our hottest days are behind us. Things are cooling off quite nicely.
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