random ramblings
Sep. 23rd, 2006 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizzybennetLately I haven't had the time nor energy to write a proper lj entry. I've decided to sit here as long as the family will let me (you know, they all NEED me as the world revolves around mom!) and just type. I have a lot of small stories and thoughts that I want to share, so I shall put it behind a cut because this promises to get long-winded.
As much as I've complained/commented on the unique foods that can be found in China, I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. I love that there are so many new culinary experiences to be found here. I love that when I go to the market, there are rows and rows of beautiful fresh fruits and veggies (at, need I say, awesome prices). Our favorite new fruit is a pear/apple type thing. It is delicious, so so yummy. Also, the lovely produce is not to be found only at WalMart, but virtually on every other street there is a produce vendor (or several of them in a row.) Also, eggs are not kept in the refrigerator here. At first, I was very suspicious of this, but I've since bought eggs and they are just fine. Many places sell eggs loose and the customer looks through them picking which ones they want. You bag them up and get them weighed, just as you would apples or oranges. The first time I bought eggs, I picked up a bag full and promptly dropped it. Not on purpose, mind you, I'm just that clumsy. Of course, several of them broke but I felt obligated to buy them. As I started to put them into my basket, a store employee took them from me and said "You don't want those, they're all broken!" and gave me a fresh bag. Another aspect of having the eggs loose in the store is that the kids always try to grab them. They are simply fascinated (especially Connor) with eggs. I always have to say (always!) "don't touch the eggs!" One last thought on eggs: they are available in many different varieties. They sell tiny eggs as well as black eggs and already cooked greenish eggs.
Last night we went to TKD for the first time in a week. It went rather well, I thought. There is a kid in the boys' class who has really taken to them. He wears these cool blue rimmed glasses and he always tries to stand next to Zack. His english name is Kevin and it turns out that his mom speaks English rather well. After class, we walk in the same direction for about half a block so we had a chance to visit for a bit. She said that Kevin really wants to be friends with the boys but he is shy. I assured her that our kids were exactly the same way (I had tried to get Zack to ask Kevin his name in Chinese, but he was too embarrassed.) As we were walking, the kids ran up ahead and his mom and I were left behind together to chat. She told me that she has a sister who lives in Houston who has 3 children. After a pause, she then said "In China, we are only allowed to have one child." I felt that she wanted me to say something more, but I was also feeling awkward because I could suddenly feel strong emotion radiating off of her. I said "Is it very difficult?" and she said "Yes. I'd love to have more children but it would make a lot of trouble if I did." I thought a lot about this comment as we walked home. In my time here, I've only really had one-on-one conversations with 2 chinese moms that speak English. I find it noteworthy that both those moms have mentioned the one child policy to me. Yun told me once that it is very hard for her son to be an only child, that he gets very lonely. Another thought on this topic: when Chris was in Xi'an he saw a commercial for an abortion clinic. It costs 60 rmb for an abortion. That's less than $8.
Speaking of abortions, right now in my Russian history class we are reading about the horrible years of Stalin's rule. I found the chapter on family life very fascinating. Women were encouraged to have lots of children in the USSR in the 1930's. This was because the population was dropping instead of growing. I'm sure that was because living conditions were so horrible, no one wanted to have children to live such a life. So, the government introduced a policy that stated if a woman had 7 children, she'd receive a substantial annual payment. The more she had the more money she'd get. Also, when the communist first took over, free marriage, divorce and abortion were legalized. However, after several years they decided to outlaw abortion. My book says this: "It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast between the Soviet debate on abortion in the 1930's and the contemporary American debate. The Soviet debate was not at all about the fetus's right to life and only marginally about women's right to control their own bodies. Participants on all sides of the urban debate spoke as if it were a given that all right-thinking women would naturally want to have children. The big question at issue in the Soviet debate was what to do about women whose material circumstances were so bad that they felt obliged to deny themselves the happiness of being a mother: should they or should they not be allowed to have abortions?" Very interesting.
Ok, I now have a crying Connor on my lap so I'd better sign off. I'll have to try again later.
As much as I've complained/commented on the unique foods that can be found in China, I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. I love that there are so many new culinary experiences to be found here. I love that when I go to the market, there are rows and rows of beautiful fresh fruits and veggies (at, need I say, awesome prices). Our favorite new fruit is a pear/apple type thing. It is delicious, so so yummy. Also, the lovely produce is not to be found only at WalMart, but virtually on every other street there is a produce vendor (or several of them in a row.) Also, eggs are not kept in the refrigerator here. At first, I was very suspicious of this, but I've since bought eggs and they are just fine. Many places sell eggs loose and the customer looks through them picking which ones they want. You bag them up and get them weighed, just as you would apples or oranges. The first time I bought eggs, I picked up a bag full and promptly dropped it. Not on purpose, mind you, I'm just that clumsy. Of course, several of them broke but I felt obligated to buy them. As I started to put them into my basket, a store employee took them from me and said "You don't want those, they're all broken!" and gave me a fresh bag. Another aspect of having the eggs loose in the store is that the kids always try to grab them. They are simply fascinated (especially Connor) with eggs. I always have to say (always!) "don't touch the eggs!" One last thought on eggs: they are available in many different varieties. They sell tiny eggs as well as black eggs and already cooked greenish eggs.
Last night we went to TKD for the first time in a week. It went rather well, I thought. There is a kid in the boys' class who has really taken to them. He wears these cool blue rimmed glasses and he always tries to stand next to Zack. His english name is Kevin and it turns out that his mom speaks English rather well. After class, we walk in the same direction for about half a block so we had a chance to visit for a bit. She said that Kevin really wants to be friends with the boys but he is shy. I assured her that our kids were exactly the same way (I had tried to get Zack to ask Kevin his name in Chinese, but he was too embarrassed.) As we were walking, the kids ran up ahead and his mom and I were left behind together to chat. She told me that she has a sister who lives in Houston who has 3 children. After a pause, she then said "In China, we are only allowed to have one child." I felt that she wanted me to say something more, but I was also feeling awkward because I could suddenly feel strong emotion radiating off of her. I said "Is it very difficult?" and she said "Yes. I'd love to have more children but it would make a lot of trouble if I did." I thought a lot about this comment as we walked home. In my time here, I've only really had one-on-one conversations with 2 chinese moms that speak English. I find it noteworthy that both those moms have mentioned the one child policy to me. Yun told me once that it is very hard for her son to be an only child, that he gets very lonely. Another thought on this topic: when Chris was in Xi'an he saw a commercial for an abortion clinic. It costs 60 rmb for an abortion. That's less than $8.
Speaking of abortions, right now in my Russian history class we are reading about the horrible years of Stalin's rule. I found the chapter on family life very fascinating. Women were encouraged to have lots of children in the USSR in the 1930's. This was because the population was dropping instead of growing. I'm sure that was because living conditions were so horrible, no one wanted to have children to live such a life. So, the government introduced a policy that stated if a woman had 7 children, she'd receive a substantial annual payment. The more she had the more money she'd get. Also, when the communist first took over, free marriage, divorce and abortion were legalized. However, after several years they decided to outlaw abortion. My book says this: "It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast between the Soviet debate on abortion in the 1930's and the contemporary American debate. The Soviet debate was not at all about the fetus's right to life and only marginally about women's right to control their own bodies. Participants on all sides of the urban debate spoke as if it were a given that all right-thinking women would naturally want to have children. The big question at issue in the Soviet debate was what to do about women whose material circumstances were so bad that they felt obliged to deny themselves the happiness of being a mother: should they or should they not be allowed to have abortions?" Very interesting.
Ok, I now have a crying Connor on my lap so I'd better sign off. I'll have to try again later.
eggs
Date: 2006-09-23 02:28 am (UTC)bad eggs
Date: 2006-09-23 09:58 am (UTC)