go west, buy apples, smile

a really patient person bought these apples

I pushed my shopping cart by 2 older women at a table of apples on sale.  One woman, a store employee, was unwrapping individual apples that were packed in paper and some cushioning wrap.  The other woman, a customer, was loading a bag, and they were chatting.  I stopped to grab a few apples, and they stopped talking to look at me.  This is so common that I hardly notice it anymore.  They started talking again, clearly wanting some information from me.  I told them that I don’t understand the local dialect, that I only speak a little Mandarin.  They persisted, so I gave them the usual spiel about where I’m from and why I’m here, thinking that’d be enough, and moved on to another produce table.

keep: wolf berries for tea

The store employee followed me, still talking, even though I clearly had no idea what she was saying.  She was inspecting the stuff in my cart, looking at and poking my arm, frowning with either disapproval or great concern or both, and continued talking with what seemed to be some (ironic) motherly diet advice.  I smiled, said “I’m ok.”   Her interest in me is understandable; I’m a foreigner- the locals are extremely curious about us …and I may have had some different stuff in my cart, including some western items. 

This is going to sound really sad and pathetic, but to entertain myself, I spend some time in the grocery store.  I buy interesting looking, random stuff, go home try to figure out what it is, and then decide if I’m willing to eat it.  Some stuff ends up in the trash, but I don’t feel like it’s a waste because every morning a woman sorts through all the garbage left outside our apartment doors.  That’s another post.

toss: supplement for breast enlargement?

As I was leaving the grocery store, I saw some other foreigners and I did a double take; there are so few foreigners in this part of China, so I had that typical Chinese response, wondering, “Who are they?  What are they doing here?”  All of the foreigners I’ve met here are either teachers, international students, business people, or occasionally tourists. 

I expected to see more foreigners in a mega-huge city like Chongqing.  Everyone talks about China’s rapid economic growth over the last 35 years when China opened to the west, but most of that growth and development occurred, is occurring, in the eastern provinces.  In response, the Chinese government looked for ways to help western China catch-up with eastern China:

"In 2000, China launched its "Develop the West" campaign. The western region includes nine provinces and autonomous regions, i.e., Gansu, Guizhou, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shannxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Yunnan, in addition to Chongqing Municipality. It accounts for two thirds of China's total area and 22.8 percent of its total population. Western China is rich in minerals, energy (including hydropower), tourism and land resources."

The Chinese government asked the US government’s Peace Corp program for university English teachers for western China (in these provinces: Gansu, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Chongqing).  University English teaching is the only Peace Corps job in China.  English teachers are in great demand, but not all foreign English teachers have a PC attitude. 

mystery solved: powdered soybean drink

PC has a set of 10 “Core Expectations,” number 9 says: ”Recognize that you will be perceived, in your host country and community, as a representative of the people, cultures, values, and traditions of the United States of America.”  PCVs live and interact in the community, work on secondary projects, and talk about the US.  For one of my secondary projects I go to 2 or 3 English corners every week, hopefully changing some misconceptions and misunderstanding about American people and the US.  And, it’s an opportunity for me to learn more about and understand China too.

Every time I’m out and about, I try to remember that I'm a PCV, keep my patience, and tolerate the sometimes intense scrutiny in the produce department, or wherever. 

no mystery: thank you for the English