The Blithe Traveler

How Does Your Garden Grow?

When one lives on the second story of an apartment building, the ability to Grow-Yer-Own is limited. Ayi Zhong keeps our home quite dirt free (yeah, Ayi Zhong!!), so it's not like we can just grow potatoes in the corner (although behind Tom's ears might be a place we explore soon). But a friend of mine here in Yalan has a small potted garden on her veranda. It is quite the intricate thing (her husband is an engineer) with a small motor that runs the irrigation system (!!) and a lovely bin of composting yuck that she uses to fertilize her otherwise uninspired dirt.

She called me a few weeks ago, after I had visited her rooftop garden and oohed and ahhed appreciatively at her quite lovely, but also quite beyond me, set up, and offered me a pot of mint. Now who in their right mind could say no to a pot of mint??

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago when we had a farm in a far away place called "New Jersey," the mint grew wild as a weed right outside my kitchen window. I've always been a bit slow in the kitchen department, so, alas, while we used the mint a bit, we used it nowhere near as much as I would use it if I could get my hands on it today!

So, when Birgit called offering me a huge pot of this stuff that grows like a weed because it is, even it if is a tasty kind of weed, I hopped on my trusty bike and headed off to buy some pots. I ended up, as one often does in these adventures, with a few handfuls of seeds, a pot for the mint, and some big, big dreams.

There is a huge plant market not far from where we live. I popped in myself one day on my way to some adventure or another at Masterland, and was dumbfounded by the size and scope of the place. It is huge and chock full of individual vendors all looking to maximize profitability.

I can tell you, they sat up a little straighter when they saw the likes of me coming. I decided discretion and the use of a native language speaker were the better part of valor, and arranged to make a trip of it one day with the children and Gracie, our Chinese babysitter.

Jeff was away, so a weekend trip to the plant market followed up by a little gardening on the veranda seemed like a pretty good way to fill a few hours of weekend time. However, there is no way to hide the fact that we are foreigners. And even the presence of Gracie did little to deter the locals from way, way overcharging us. While Gracie was haggling over the price of plastic planting containers and bags of dirt, the vendors were quite direct with us. There was no way they were lowering their prices; we were Americans and could pay good old fashioned foreigner pricing.

The container Tom is holding set me back $3US. Which is at least twice what a local person would have paid for it. We paid about a $1.50US for each bag o' dirt. I'm not sure what the local pricing would be, although I do know that some simple baskets that I wanted were 10-20 yuan if you were Chinese, 50-80 yuan is you were me. I left without the baskets.

The children enjoyed it all right enough until they decided they each required a lavatory trip. This market is about a 5 minute taxi ride (or a 15 minute bike ride) from home, and I assure you as the Good Mom that I am, I had asked them if they required a pit stop before we left the house. They both assured me they did not.

I did not photograph the loos. Thank me now, because they were fouler than foul. There was a muddy pit surrounding the place, and both children were wearing Crocs. So we came out with "muddy" feet and all a little green around the gills. Tom turned to me and whispered, "I tried to find the place to wash my hands, but there wasn't one!" I assured them that we would do some quick planting when we got home and then we'd all clean up in the shower; meanwhile, hands away from faces, please!!

I bought three big bags of dirt, which the Dirt Vendor dutifully dragged out to the curb and helped put in the back of a taxi. It was interesting to realize when we got home that I was going to have to drag those bags of dirt up 95 stairs. Which I did. Gracie tried to help, but she is a wee thing.

So, the planting went great! It was a sunny afternoon and we put in some basil, spinach and tomatoes. The tomatoes of course are inside.

You might ask, how does my garden actually grow. I'd have to be honest and say so far, not so great. We're still waiting. The mint is holding its own, though, for which I am most grateful.

Tree IVs

What? You want more? Just calling these "Tree IVs" and moving on isn't sufficient?? 'Struth, I don't know either. But these are clearly Tree IVs. People in China, when they become ill, even with quite mild illnesses like colds, viruses and ear infections trundle off to the hospital to "get IVs." I am not exactly sure what this means, other than that they get a needle in their arm and something gets dripped into their bodies. I have no idea if we are talking antibiotics, fluids, or bai jiu.

Jeff, who is a Tree Guy from way, way back (Tree Guy as in his college degree was in forestry, as opposed to he's a Druid, if you know what I mean) posed three possible scenarios: (a) the trees were being fed nutrients, (b) the trees were being fed some kind of insecticide that would keep them free from bugs or (c) the trees were ill and were being given IVs.
If we gather any more data, we'll let you know. Suffice to say, Today's Sighting of the Day were Tree IVs. Never a dull day, we like to say.
 

Aesthetic Surgery

This might not be where I went if I were looking to get a little work done. Call me crazy, but something's just a little off about it.



This hospital sign has been like this for as long as we have lived in Our Fair City. And I do a double take every time I drive past it. What I find so fascinating is that they got "aesthetic" right.

Showing Loving Concern

I am way, way too old to be snickering at condom machines. But this does not seem to be stopping me. C'mon! This is hilarious!

Not only is this particular condom dispenser - oh, wait, I'm sorry, the Nanjing Birth Control Contraceptive Management Station - just hanging out on a random street corner, waiting to tap you on the shoulder to remind you that you should be showing your loving concern, but it's all beautifully scripted in fractured English!

I mean, very few people around here 'cepting us foreigners really reads English. And this particular machine was clearly not, say, printed in America and then exported to China! This is honest to goodness Made in China Chin-glish!

Ah, well, but the thinking is good. One does want to make this sort of thing readily available for those who wish access to them. So, you might be wondering exactly how much will this loving concern for the AIDS set you back? Would you believe, one thin quai! Which translates to about fourteen cents. Not a bad deal, that.

And The Pendulum Swings

Back to the other kind of pirates:

Look what I found in Our Own Fair City!!
 
Is anyone else out there as fascinated by this kind of stuff as I am? Maybe it's just my Old Life, as a marketer raising its aging, ugly head, but I am just gobsmacked when I see this sort of thing! I think you could find this in the dictionary under the expression: Close, but no cigar.

Here's the bottle we found in Harbin, just to refresh your memory:
The "Old No. [upsidedown??]1" is cheap at a mere 165 RMB ($24US). The "Old No [upsidedown!] 2" brand blew off my socks at 228 RMB ($33.37US!!!!!) for a bottle. If one were be so foolish as to open ones wallet, you would be paying a rather dear price for something that despite the label, I am not quite sure really was Made In American.

Especially since it was bottle by the Zhongliang Group Century Dynasty Winery Limited. They're in Tennesee? Is that anywhere near Tenderness, where JoensDanshe is made??

The Treasure Ship

Interestingly enough, we will be discussing Old Fashioned Pirates today. The sort who sailed the ocean blue in large ships rather than the sort who copy DVDs in their dark basements.

Zheng He maybe was, or maybe was not a "pirate," but it is known that he was a great navigator during the Ming Dynasty (he lived from about 1371-1433). During his lifetime, he apparently sailed as far as the Middle East and eastern Africa, through the India Ocean. He rose to fame during a period of turmoil in China. For centuries prior to Zheng He, China had been ruled by Confucian advisers, who eschewed commerce and contact with foreign countries.  A new leadership, in the form of Zhu Di, changed that, refocusing China on the world outside. Zhu Di ordered the construction of an enormous fleet of "Treasure Ships," so called because of the goods they carried for trade (including porcelain, silk and tea, which sounds suspiciously similar to the stuff we buy in Fuzi Maio in the tourist section).  Here's more, if you're interested: Treasure Ship article.

The completion of the park was meant to coincide with the Beijing Olympics (which it did - the park opened in July 2008). Nanjing has a rich tradition in ship building, and apparently there was a whole "if we build a life size replica of one of the Treasure Ships in a park, they will come," kind of a thing going on. Which, they did. Build the ship, I mean. I have no idea if anyone from Beijing actually came 2,000 kilometers south to see this thing, but I can assure you that the children of Nanjing are pretty grateful for it. Who wouldn't love to have a life sized "pirate" ship to play on??

 

Your mileage may vary, but from where I am standing, this thing is all kinds of impressive!



The girlfriend was totally into the Pirate Activity.

 

Pirate faces, ahoy! Hop was bummed that we had just one sword with us. She was deemed only worthy to use the scabbard, while Tom had the real sword. Luckily, her imagination was able to carry the day.

You might be wondering why Tom is wearing a bear head on his head. It's a hat. Or rather, it was a hat and a stuffed animal before it became part of his Book Week Bear costume. Now it is a bear hat. Flexibility in young children is nice.And a bear hat on a Young Pirate in Training seems appropriate, don't you think?

Bright (Bright), Bright (Bright), Sun-shiny Day!

The back story is that it rained and rained and rained around here. Forever. And the forecast for last Friday was, not to anybody's surprise: rain. The real shocker was that when we all bounded out of bed on Friday morning, expecting to have to slog around fighting for taxis in the ever deepening muck, the sun was shining! And I mean a glorious, blue sky kind of warm sunshine.

I packed the children off on the school bus and hopped on my bike pedaling furiously after them. I needed to go in for a Friday morning assembly, and I decided to see just how fast one could get to the school via pedals. I took the longer (safer!) route, but managed to get there in 30 minutes. It takes the bus 20, going the shorter, not-safe-for-biking-route. Safety being paramount, I think pedaling slower and maybe pausing longer at the red lights, I'll stick to my usual 40 minutes in the future, but I will say that I have pretty clear insight as to why people pedal so much around here.

When the assembly was over, I headed home, took a quick lunch break and then set off for Fuzi Miao ostensibly in search of contact lens solution, but really, just reveling in the sheer joy of being free on my bike. As someone who has spent years in terror of riding a bicycle (because of a run in with an automobile when I was in college, if you're interested) re-discovering the joy of biking has been a great part of living in China.

Debbie's comment a few days back about the colors around here was interesting. Most of my photos do seem quite grey. Part of that is that bits of the city are undeniably old and ragged. But I do think some of it is that the grey skies color perception, and make everything appear more drab than it might look if Mr. Sunshine would pop his head out and make an appearance. I snapped a few shots of the locale I was biking through to get to Fuiz Maio.

Amazing the difference a little sunshine can make. Completely random photo as I was biking along. Even looking at the photos makes me smile. (Hum along if you wish, I have a day-long earworm going: "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, I can see all obstacles in my way, Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind ...")
Look closely at the photo below to see a familiar face. There are times when I find these kinds of sightings rather comforting. Tiny reminders of home randomly appearing here and there.
I happened to stumble across an Ivy store while I was out. It's reasonably close to home and I didn't even know it was there! An Ivy store, if you are curious, specializes in Western Treats. Including things like breakfast cereal, candy and a wide selection of imported and quite expensive alcohol. It's a wacky kind of place, and not one I generally seek out, as I rarely require Planter's peanuts or Snapple soda. I mean, nuts and sweetened beverages are available in some way, shape or form around here in a local, significantly cheaper product.
 
However, there are some things -- and I think the "some" is different for every family -- that are just not substitutable. I bought the two items pictured below. The gluten tolerant in the household love nothing more than a bowl full of yogurt and crunchies for breakfast. While I resisted breakfast cereal purchasing for the longest time (hideously expensive!!), I finally broke down and started buying Grape Nuts. While you will be shocked to the core when you find out how much I paid for this stuff, I assure you, it is worth it.

Would you believe, $10US? For a box of Grape Nuts and some American raisins. I know, crazy. But I love grape nuts in my yogurt (local!) and rasins in my oatmeal (local!).

And, finally, at Fuzi Maio. Look, shadows!! Gosh, I'm still giddy.

Copywrong

Technically, I think this would be a trademark violation. I mean, it would be a trademark violation if we lived anywhere that had any kind of enforceable trademark laws.

This place is called "Modern Classical." But the colors and the gold M thing-y logo are hauntingly familiar.

A Sunny Day Part 1

Last Friday happened to be one of the sunniest days of the year so far. It was the day I spent biking around seeking out contact lens solution, so you have already been treated to one photo documenting the blinding light of the day. I have a few more things to share from that particular adventure, but as the children are waking up, I'll limit today's post to this fellow. I caught him reading his newspaper outside in the sunshine.

Nice day, eh?

So Where Do You Go For Contact Lens Solution?

The store, right? How hard is that, really? Ha, ha. So, smarty pants, which store?

I ran out of contact lens solution a few days ago, and it occurred to me that in the 18 months or so that we have lived in China, I have never had to purchase the stuff. So, I hit the local Suguo Health and Beauty Aid section. Suguo is a reasonably modern grocery store sort of place. And while they have things like shampoo and conditioner and a few body sort of soaps, there wasn't much in the way of the "health" part of health and beauty present. Funny, isn't it, how you don't notice these sorts of things until you run out of them?

I headed over to Metro next. Metro is a German store, a bit like a US Costco. But only a bit, in a squinty, sidelong glance kind of way. No contact solution. Which left me really puzzled. If you can't get it at the supermarket, or the Foreign Mega Superstore, where would you get it? Although, now that I was looking, I noticed that Metro didn't carry anything like headache powders, cold medication or these really stinky muscle soothing sticky pads things that are stuck all over my body right now stink-i-ly soothing my biking sore muscle (Jeff's away, if you were wondering about the impact these stinky pads might be having on our relationship). Stinky muscle soothing sticky pads which I happened to pick up at the, PHARMACY! "Bingo!" thought I. Of course, you don't buy medical stuff at the grocery store, you buy it at the medical place store. Silly me.

Off I rode to the pharmacy (feeling very grateful for my muscle soothing stinky pads). But I was wrong. No contact lens solution at the pharmacy. I will say that I asked where I could buy contact solution, but whatever the answer was, it was outside my feeble vocabulary. So, I did what I should have done in the first place, and texted Monica, my friend who happens to be Chinese and finds it very easy to maneuver around here whereas some of us other ladies have a harder time. She wears contact lenses. Tap, tap, tap:

Monica, where do you buy cleaner for contact lenses? And don't say "the US," because that's not funny. (1) 

Although, since every single time I have ever asked her where she got something, she says "the US," it actually is kind of funny. 

Meanwhile, I hopped back on my bike, taking advantage of the beautiful sunny day we had and headed off. And biked by an eyeglass store.

D'oh! You buy contact lens solution at the eyeglass store. Blindingly obvious once I'd figured it out.

I love the look on the woman in the photo's face. She watched me back up to take the photo and then looked up with that total WTF expression, trying to figure out why on earth I was taking a photo of a random eyeglass store.

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(1) Please note, that as a Grown-up, I really do text messages exactly this way. With punctuation and correct spelling and all the other niceties that seem to have escaped the younger generation. Kids today, sheesh.