The Chinese Heating Solution
Right, so it was finally getting warmer, and then today it started to snow… which actually was just what myself and my two neighbours had been hoping for last night as we couldn’t think of a better scene than it snowing down on these new electric palm trees they’ve installed just outside of Sheng Bin, our apartment complex.
Lights are going up all over the city, with endless amounts of city workers assuring every step of the way is met with the utmost supervision.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but in China there are an infinite amount of people and a finite amount of jobs… so, the solution, it would seem, is just to have EVERY position extremely overstaffed. It’s quite crazy at a restaurant as you’ve got like 6 waitresses waiting at your beck and call… but it is a bit unnerving when you’ve got all these Chinese people, in their cute little uniforms, staring at you attempting to use chopsticks (you may think you know how to… but trust me, you don’t – these people possess mad skillz).
So tomorrow is my last day of school before Spring Festival – that is unless my recently-returned-from-hospital neighbour decides not to go into work this weekend as promised, and I have to cover his shifts…
Oh, I’ve had some new foods… and am near confident that I’m reaching the end of the “strange” foods list (silk worm larva is still on the menu, but I think despite it having been offered, I’ll keep that one a mystery). On Tuesday night I went out to a BBQ place where I had chicken neck (surprisingly good – tastes of chicken) and pigeon. That’s right folks, striking a blow for urbanites everywhere… I ate one of the little bastages.. though not bad, it was a bit overdone. The kicker (pun intended) came yesterday when I went for lunch with Sherry and I had jiao zi lu rou – dumplings stuffed with donkey meat. As much as it’s a bit difficult to discern any meat when stuffed in a dumpling… it was quite good. The Chinese say that donkey meat is only next to dragon meat for being the most delicious – fortunately for dragons, I’ve not seen it on any menu … yet.
