Frog tasting

Hello,

So finally pay day arrived, so we trekked over to head office to pick up our wages, and there waiting for us was a fat envelope stuffed with lots of 100Yuan notes, let the spending begin…

One of the first things we did with the wages was go to an English pub with my TA, Clare. Home comforts etc etc. A Sunday roast was the obvious choice of food and didn’t disappoint. We got her a pint, but it was seemingly impossible for her to drink even a quarter of it, despite saying she liked it with a bitter face. We then decided we should finally have a massage, see what the fuss is all about. We opted for a ‘Chinese full body massage’. It was interesting, but next time I want my back to be seriously damaged I think I’ll go for the cheaper option of breaking some springs in my mattress and rolling around on it. It was seriously painful, and not enjoyable. However, when my back wasn’t being viciously attacked, she played with feet, arms, bum, legs, and head, and this was relaxing, and ‘nice’. Excuse the unambitious word, but it’s the definitely the most appropriate word. The massage parlour was a cute, tranquil little place, and the massage was just £8 for an hour’s work, so it was an experience worth paying for. Next time though I think I’m going for a foot massage…

Since pay day, there has been a serious quantity of food consumed. Quantity does not always equate to quality though. I ate frog the other day, which is apparently one of the most popular dishes here. I felt a bit sad as I ate it, because you see them in the supermarkets at all the time, sad, sitting in a big bowl, unable to get out… but i still ate it all. It was just a pretty standard meat to be honest, if you could manage to find it in amongst all the bones. The sauce it came with was actually really delicious, but I struggle to understand why you would want a poor little frog, which lacks meat, to be the meat in the dish. A bit of chicken breast, and it would be a great little meal. On a better note, we have started to use the street stalls more frequently, which is convenient because there is always some open, all around the clock. We had a BBQ kind of dish, served in a thick bread, and it was genuinely the tastiest thing I think I’ve ever eaten. It was just full of flavour and amazing. (we returned the next day for another one, and in the following days tried some other stall’s, but the first one will never be beaten). However, this week on a few online magazines there has been a few stories published about how many of these stalls have been pulled from the street for selling cat, but saying its lamb. I was outraged, and disgusted, and if I find out that I have eaten cat I think I will have to leave Shanghai. It sounds drastic, but all I can think of are my poor little cats at home, and eating them, and it makes me feel angry, and sad =[

The Chinese are so concerned with health, it’s rather annoying. Anything and everything is connected to what is healthy for you to do, with no real actual explanation other than it’s what they’ve been told. For example, in some northern cities, they eat dog (sad face), because apparently if you eat dog it will keep you warm. This seriously wound me up. If being kept warm is that a big issue, don’t kill a dog to keep you warm, go stand over the rice cooker for a bit and warm yourself up.

Work is still pretty fun, the kids always keep me entertained, even when being offensive to me. The parents however want to stick their noses in everything and think that their child is the most important and I should concentrate on them most. In one class I had a new student come and try out to see if he and the parents liked me and the class. After the lesson, he told his parents that he had fun and wants to join, and the dad agreed. However, the silly old hag of a mum said that she didn’t want him to join because I did not ask him as many questions as the other students. Heaven knows how she came to this decision from outside the classroom, added to the fact that she understands no English. Anyway, I was not aware of what was going on, and my TA had to translate for me, but then a student got involved and apparently said that I did ask him as many questions, and then she finally agreed to let him join the class.

Sisi has now arrived back in Shanghai. It’s great to have someone else to talk to, and abuse, and question the Chinese way of living, but this often turns into hour long arguments. It’s been a great help ordering food in restaurants, and trying out some places that we’d never be able to try without a Chinese speaker. On her first night back we went out for some drinks, and she proceeded to be sick all over the table just as we were close to making some new American friends. She has also started to give me some Chinese lessons, so as well as being able to count, I can now ask for the bill, say your welcome, ask for a waiter, ask how much, say I don’t understand, say not correct, and many names of subway stations and other small words. It all sounds the same to be honest, but it’s bloody hard controlling your mouth to make them sounds. We celebrated Mid Autumn festival day, so ate many moon cakes (a must try), and Sisi cooked us a big meal to celebrate. It was, erm, ok.

One final anecdote for this week. We were sat in a café this week, when a boy came in and showed Daniel his phone, and pointed at me, I was confused and assumed he was asking for directions. It turns out that he told Daniel that his little girl-friend outside liked me, and wanted my number, so he gave it to her. I looked out of the window and saw a girl waving excitedly at me. She was cute to be fair, but no thanks. Anyway, later on that night she text me, and excused her behaviour, and said it’s not her normal style… I must just be irresistible! She then said her name was ‘Yaya’. The only other person I know called Yaya, is Yaya Toure, an African Football player. She couldn’t be serious. I had to stop texting her, but it was fun to be ‘chatted up’, in such an old school style.

Untill next time, traaa.

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