Living Upside Down

Fall 2000

As a child growing up in the USA, I remember thinking about people in China that lived on the opposite side of the earth. And we were right side up so that meant they were upside down, right? I remember early mental pictures of them living this upside down existence. That childhood concept has felt a bit more true as of late. I am a bit off today. 'Off' of what I am not sure as my sense of 'on' and every other sense is a bit up for grabs these days. Not that that is really bad, but it is different than at home. So many different stimuli. I have adapted an attitude of 'try it out' towards most everything, with the exception of a few things. I will not eat cats or dogs, drink Chinese 'wine', and will not try to make sense of a menu. I started out today with a poor night's sleep.

Last night we had dinner in the room of a couple that are managers here at the factory. They live in literally one room that is about 10' x 12'. They have bunk beds, two small tables and a number of electric cookers, dishes, and stools stashed under things. They have really done an amazing job with the space however it is a real wake up call as to the degree of luxury we live in at home. Tim and I agreed we were embarrassed to have them over to our condo. This woman, Jong and her husband Sam had us over for dinner and a lesson in how to make dumplings. We went over with a translator since neither the couple spoke English. When we arrived Jong had made the dough and between her and the translator explained and demonstrated how to roll out the dough into little rounds, leaving the center a bit thicker. We filled the dumplings with finely hand chopped mutton and beef seasoned with salt, garlic, and msg. Jong says she never has the meat ground as the taste is not as good. They showed me how to fold them up, pleating them a bit on the sides and then we boiled them, added cool water to the pot and then boiled them again, and then added cool water and boiled them again. While we were making the dumplings Sam was frying peanuts in peanut oil and salt. When it was all ready the five of us sat around a card table size table and ate dumplings all evening. We had a wonderful Chinese tea and the two Chinese men drank Chinese wine nonstop for the rest of the evening. This 'wine' is actually a 50 proof clear alcoholic drink that is very popular. Unfortunately, the wine very rapidly erased a large part of our translator’s English vocabulary which made conversation increasingly challenging and interesting, depending on your point of view. Since we were not trying to get life saving directions I was better able to just flow along with the evening.

Tim is so loved here and people are normally quite verbally appreciative, but when they get a bit tipsy the praise goes off the charts. Hearts flow and things are said that are very interesting and it is quite an amazing experience. Along with drinking, these two men smoked quite a bit. So here we are in a small room with five people and about a pack's worth of cigarette smoke drifting around. By any ordinary standards I would have had a screaming headache. Luckily I am out of the territory of ordinary standards so I was fine.

My sleep was different than usual last night and I was a bit groggy this morning. I went for a walk, ate breakfast, got dressed, did some wash, picked up, listened to some Mandarin language tapes, and then the truck picked me up to go to the factory for lunch. Got there and was feeling pretty good. Then I discovered I had worn underwear that showed through my clothing. Being the only western woman among 4000 workers, it isn't like I am exactly low profile here. I walk in and I am certain I am studied for what they think is the latest in American fashion trends. I haven't broken the sad news to them yet. Luckily Tim had a jacket at his desk, so I tied it around my waist. This seems to have caught many an eye. Who knows, I may be starting a whole new fashion rage for the Chinese mainland.

I make period costumes and have a business making one of a kind children's clothing, but through translation I suspect many have come to think I am a fashion designer of sexy clothing for Hollywood movie stars. I know they are thinking of pictures they have seen in magazines, a glamorous job in the big city, on and on. I have tried to correct their vision by explaining how I make these costumes for a small dance groups and for children. But the mere fact that I am from a culture that can even think about having costumes or custom clothing is another world and their eyes are still wide with amazement. I finally gave up trying to explain my 'high fashion' job to them and told them I would bring in my costumes as I finished them. They were like little girls - can I try them on, can you make me one, are they formal, full skirted. At least two of these young women would fit into any of these pieces I am making. And how will their concepts of American fashion be changed when they see my work? It could be interesting.