Running Errands On The Moon

Fall 2001

It has just been in the last two days that I have been starting to feel like myself again. In coming out of my daze from the September 11 events, I started to realize not only that I could no longer ignore the dust that was rolling around under the sofa but that the excellent camouflaging quality of this gray granite flooring in the kitchen and bathroom was not holding up so well. I will spare you any further details, but it felt good to sweep and mop the floors. Of course if you are going to clean the house, why not have people over to enjoy it? So I suggested we invite the five engineers over for pancakes on Sunday morning. One thing lead to another and then I realized I needed more butter and a few other things, so one of my favorite drivers, Lisheng, picked me up and we set off to run errands. As we were driving along, I noticed something new for Tim’s and my records. We have started a list of unusual items we see transported on the back of two wheeled vehicles, like pool tables and propane tanks! This new item was being carried by a woman on a bike. She had a beautiful bamboo cage that was about 3' wide and 3' tall and 2' deep on the back of her bike. The top of the cage came up into a point. It was a beautiful and intriguing shape. It looked empty but I wondered what it was used for. We moved along as usual -- dodging bikes, motorcycles, trucks, and an elderly man on a three wheeled bike that was going perfectly down the center line of the four lane highway. Maybe it was the safest place to be, who knows. One thing I did notice was that all the motorcyclists were wearing helmets. I have observed that the Chinese are very adaptable. With little or no fuss, they access a situation and make whatever changes are needed. After hearing about a certain number of accidents, I figured people had decided it was a good idea to use helmets. I thought, "This is good, the Chinese are more safety conscious now". Famous last words...

We got within a few vehicle lengths of the toll booths, which are set up very much like the ones in the US, except getting into a lane to pay the toll is a much more hair raising event here than at home. All of a sudden Lisheng swerved over across two lanes of traffic into the far right lane and came to an abrupt halt. He turned to me, pulled out a 6" by 6" plastic sheet with blue Chinese characters on it, said some quick thing in Cantonese to me, gave me a quick grin and jumped out of the truck before I could give him my "I don't understand" in Mandarin. My mouth fell open as I watched him run across the meridian and two lanes of traffic and down a little lane towards a building. All I could think was, "Oh no, don't leave me, Lisheng ! And whatever you do, don't get hurt. I can't face driving this thing back on my own!" Since he left the truck running and the hazard blinkers on, I figured he meant for me to stay. I knew without a doubt that I did not want to negotiate two lanes of moving Chinese traffic, so I stayed put. I figured he was probably renewing the seasonal toll pass for the vehicle, but we seemed to be parked in a lane that was meant for traffic! This was more excitement than I felt a couple pounds of butter and some flour should require, but as I looked around, again I noticed the Chinese ability to adapt. The fact we were sitting in a traffic lane didn't seem to faze anyone but me. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and bikes just went around me. All of a sudden it seemed that none of the motorcyclists had helmets on. I knew it -- the Chinese are not more safety conscious after all. After what seemed like a half hour but was probably five minutes he returned with what apparently was a new 6" by 6" plastic sheet with blue Chinese characters on it, gave me another line in Cantonese and another big grin, put his foot to the floor, and we were off.

Our first stop was the home of the Chinese doctor I have been seeing. I ran in with my request written in Chinese characters since the only person I can communicate clearly with here is the doctor's son. He is about three years old and is not bound by any language barriers. He always comes out to show me his latest toy. To the entertainment of all in the room we then have a multi-language chat in Cantonese, English and my bits of Mandarin. Although all Chinese people have been very encouraging as I struggle along with their language, he seems to totally understand and accept my pronunciation of Mandarin. He also loves to say 'bye-bye' in English. Much to our mutual delight, I can easily join him in this. After many visits, I am actually getting to the point that the smell of the Chinese herbs has a soothing effect on me. I welcomed this today and breathed deeply, got my mysterious herbal concoction, and took off for my next stop -- Trustmart!

In Mandarin I asked Lisheng to take me to Trustmart. He looked at me and said "ehhh?" I tried saying it with several different intonations and after a close call with a truck decided that I was distracting him and gave up. I think he was relieved. I know I was. He does not speak much Mandarin, and my theory is that my particular version of Mandarin is about as meaningful as English to him. So, as we approached the turnoff for Trustmart I pointed, he nodded, and we swerved into the parking lot with no further excitement. There is no way I can give you the full experience of Trustmart. But just for fun, imagine a WalMart with blasting music, a sea of people who mostly come up to your chin, and very few food items you can identify or labels you can read. When many people see us they just stop and stare as if we just walked in without a stitch of clothing on. We often have to actually walk around these people as they stand and gawk. As soon as we smile people usually smile back, but they often seem surprised that we have noticed them.

I have gotten to the point that I know where my items are so I can cruise Trustmart about as fast as I can our markets at home in the USA. The main items I get there are butter, flour when they have it, walnuts, dark chocolate, powdered soy milk, lemons, whole wheat bread, and now olive oil. Olive oil is a new item here. There is a long aisle completely devoted to cooking oil in every shape and size of container you can imagine. It is all peanut oil except for this one file that is tucked in the middle. I see many people checking out with 5 gallon containers of peanut oil. I always wonder what do they do with it all. I have had visions of various possible uses for it including but not limited to car engine lubrication and some sort of Chinese oil massage. However from a lot of food I have had in this area, I have a feeling most of it goes into cooking. I check the area that has the spices every time I go but they have not branched out yet. It looks so encouraging when you first approach it. It looks much like the American spice racks in supermarkets only a bit smaller. The display is probably about 9 bottles wide and 6 bottles tall. I was so excited the first time I saw it but I soon discovered there were just 4 items -- black pepper, white pepper, red pepper, and Chinese 5 spice. Below that is the MSG and iodized salt. That is it for spices.

I walk through the produce area that is beautiful and full of every type of fruit and vegetable possible and then the frozen foods which are very interesting. There are lots of frozen dumplings in many interesting shapes but most items I haven't a clue as to what they are. The dairy section is very small as dairy products are not a popular item in the Cantonese diet. They stock some highly processed milk, Kraft cheese slices, margarine, and sugary yogurt. I can't imagine these items winning anyone over to thinking that dairy products are a fun eating experience. But then amidst all this stuff they have really good New Zealand butter. When I go shopping here my basket has few different types of items but several of each of them. People are so curious and as soon as they see me I see necks craning to get a peek into my basket to see what strange things I am getting. They usually comment to each other. I am used to this now and smile and they smile back, obviously entertained at what I have chosen. Sometimes just a smile is enough to break the ice and they come up and look right in my basket. I have not met anyone I can explain my purchases to, but it is an interesting experience. Today a little boy noticed me putting numerous packages of butter into my basket. I went to put in the last cube and almost put it on his head he was so close to me. He looked up at me with an amazed questioning look, so I smiled and said "We like butter!" in a rather animated way to which he giggled and gave me a big smile.

On the way home I took in the beautifully planted fields and saw the woman with the bamboo cage going back the opposite direction, this time with something in the cage that I couldn't identify. Then I looked up and saw a man walking on the electrical wires! I hope they were telephone wires, but I don't know. You know how telephone poles often have wires strung at the top and then another set of wires a bit further down? He was walking on the lower wires and holding onto the higher ones for balance. What could he possibly have been doing?

When I walked into our cozy apartment with my flour, butter, and Chinese herbs I breathed a sigh of relief and amazement. After all these months there were still so many mysterious things! It is as though I am from another planet. I put down my shopping and started to write about this little trip. I looked over at my bags of items that still sat by the door and thought how different my experience would have been had I gotten these items in the US. I wondered, does a foreigner in the US have as many surprises and questions as I do as a foreigner in China? It is like running errands on the moon!