Tag Archives: chengdulivin’

IKEA

Posted on December 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

Yesterday  I broke my own rule: I went to Ikea on a Sunday. I beat Jeff at monopoly at brunch, and we had some significant victory conditions on the line – if he won, home for a hangover nap; if i won we’d go get ourselves a Christmas tree. Last year Jeff surprised me when I came home one night to a decorated Ikea tree – it was the best thing to happen all season, and it’s presence alone made our (loud, frustrating, freezing) apartment a little more tolerable. But somehow in the past 11 months, we seem to have misplaced that fake little tree. So off we went for tree #2.

Ikeas all over the world are pretty chaotic, set up as dizzying labyrinths of everything you could possibly want in any size apartment or house. The maze-like design just makes it worse – you MUST navigate through sofas and bureaus and bathroom fixtures even if all you want is a mixing bowl.

So please, just imagine this average-Ikea chaos and multiply it by mobs of pushing, line cutting, frantic Chinese people. Then double that because it’s the weekend and entire families make a day of this place. With regards to Ikea I don’t even feel bad generalizing – in Chengdu the customers are nuts. It might be something in the soft serve, because I swear everyone in there is brandishing at least 2 cones.

My desire for to set up our apartment for Christmas outweighed my fear of an Ikea Sunday. Besides, the Christmas decorations are situated right before the check-out lines, so I figured we could enter through the exit and avoid most of the madness.

But then Jeff decided we should plunge deeper into the beast, to look for “inspiration” for our guest room – a room that’s drabness really bothers Jeff  for some reason when he’s getting dressed in there every morning.

Where my protests failed to deter him, the sheer directional flow of people did. It became clear by the first frames-and-flowers section that we WOULD be trampled by shopping carts if we continued. So we retreated, only to end up in one of the 20 checkout lines that don’t resemble lines as much as packs of people trying to defeat the purpose of a line. A cart full of Christmas spirit helped me stay calm, but I got nervous when Jeff almost came to blows with a little old lady who decided she could start putting her stuff, and her body, on our cart. Personal space in Chengdu: unlikely. Personal space at Ikea: no freaking way.

After 30 minutes defending our rightful order, we could see the hazy, smoggy light on the other side of the Ikea doors. We escaped but not without first trying to capture the craziness in a several bad Iphone photos. I think you may have to see to believe.

I won’t be going back anytime soon, but I must say the prize was worth the price – wine + Christmas decorating REMAIN the best way to spend a Sunday evening, no matter what side of the world you’re on.

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gaffe!

Posted on August 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

I received a lesson in humility yesterday (after watching gaffe-prone Biden deliver a pretty gaffe-free speech, but more on that later) while sitting on my stoop with Jeff and a few friends enjoying some sunday afternoon beers.

One of the best things about our new apartment complex is the huge courtyard around which the buildings are set. It is one of the larger patches of grass I’ve seen in Chengdu (other than some amazing parks) and is kept perfectly landscaped and unusually green. In other words, we finally have a lovely spot to sit outside right on our doorstep. It’s nice.

A middle-aged chinese man walked by us with a beautiful golden retriever and an equally beautiful husky (unusual sight, most Chinese prefer small dogs). Said husky decided to do his business on the stone pathway directly in front of where we were sitting, so he got started, right as I was thinking how lovely the afternoon was. In alcohol induced irritation and disgust I declared “That man BETTER pick up that dog’s shit or I am going to ….” (fill in the blank). I said this because I frequently watch people watch their dogs (or kids, which is certainly worse) go to the bathroom on our communal property (and every street / sidewalk, ever) and not do anything about it. It’s gross. Unfortunately, this particular man turned around and said “I can understand what you’re saying. I’m from Texas, and I always clean up after my dogs. So, are you still going to kick my ass?”

Foot In Mouth.

Being called out in this way has surprisingly never happened to me before, and was a useful lesson for someone who has gotten quite comfortable complaining in English about what is going on around me. It doesn’t matter that I had a point (my friend accurately pointed out that although he said he “always” cleaned up after his dogs, he was carrying no bag and in fact asked me to hold their leashes while he went to retrieve some newspaper), it mattered that my response was belligerent BECAUSE I did not expect it to be understood. Bad move! At a time where every Chinese kid learns English in school, and in a city that is rapidly developing and increasing it’s numbers of foreigners and elsewhere-born Chinese, it’s good to realize that I’m not always safe talking smack in English. I was obviously mortified and spent the next 10 minutes oogling over his dogs and being overly enthusiastic in my conversation with him so as to reverse the embarrassing damage I had done. He was a pretty nice guy, and probably a good neighbor to not have offended/threatened on first impression. I’m pretty sure I successfully redeemed and explained myself,  but I still blush just thinking about it. I’m awkward, what else is new.

our sacred lawn.

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the 1 year mark.

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to me , and Jeff, and Chengdu. It’s been an amazing year, and it’s crazy to reflect on the ways I’ve developed as a person, an ex-pat, a student, a wanderlust-er, etc.  Our adventure has unfolded in so many interesting ways.

Of course there have been seemingly insurmountable obstacles (a bone-freezing winter, eternal traffic chaos, routine stomachaches, a language barrier, the general bureaucracy of accomplishing normal things like renting an apartment or paying a bill, questionable sanitation practices and lots of baby pee, air quality not conducive to clean, pink lungs, etc, etc ) but the year has also been a series of lessons and blessings (an amazing appreciation for local cuisine, hospitable and generous new friends, the gratification of progress learning a beautiful and challenging language, a once in a lifetime road trip across China, an insane month on the beaches of Thailand, the connections to new people and places that result from life as an ex-pat, the improvement in my baking skills to compensate for lack of real cookies-muffins-cakes-bread, introduction to the art of “hashing“, hour long reflexology treatments for $5, etc, etc).

Most of all, I’ve learned (read: am still trying to learn) to live in the moment, appreciate what I’ve got, and above all – just be patient. More than anything else, patience is a critical requirement of living in China, and a virtue I haven’t always had much of. I have no idea if I’ll still be here a year from now, or even a month from now (here’s hoping I can extend my visa) but making it through our first year here is worth celebrating.

first night in chengdu. first fapiao victory.

beginning of our love affair with late night bbq.

first china boat ride ... hangzhou

first chinese new year!

rabbit + tiger <3

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moving on up.

Posted on August 12, 2011 | 1 Comment

We’re not homeless! It’s a nice feeling. The past 2 weeks have involved a lot of packing, cleaning, spending money, moving, spending more money, picking up heavy shit, unpacking boxes, and organizing our new space. And a pretty epic housewarming party.

As I mentioned before, I toured a dizzying number of apartments in search of The One. Early on, we were shown a place that we were in unusual accord on. The unit was spacious and well-priced, with a lot more room and a much better layout than our last apartment (you don’t have to listen to someone pee while you’re sitting at the dinner table, a nice upgrade). We told the agent we wanted it.

The next day, 2 different agents showed me the same exact apartment, which I took as some higher-power-confirmation that the apartment was meant for us. Unfortunately, my original agent called the next morning saying the deal was off because the landlord was refusing to pay the necessary commission to Century 21 ( 1 months rent typically split between tenant and landlord.) We were disappointed and I was frazzled, because we had 72 hours to find a new apartment and move. The next day yet another agent happened to show me the unit directly next door to the apartment we had wanted. I noticed the door was ajar and bolted from my agent escort, slipping inside the apartment and happening upon whom I assumed to be the landlady. In incredibly broken Chinese I tried to explain  that we looked at her apartment before and really wanted it, frantic as the Century 21 agent was approaching from behind to interrupt our meeting of fate. The amused landlady responded, “Do you want to just speak English? I speak English.”

And so, in her absolutely fluent English, we agreed to meet later that night and work out a deal without the greedy, overeager Century 21 agents (OK – they’re not greedy, just doing their job, but saving 1,000 RMB sure feels good). Not only did we find a great deal, but we also found a great landlady. Her kindness has been yet another reminder of one of the greatest things about living here – in America, if someone (especially a landlord; a relationship that is notoriously distant at best tense at worst) was being this generous and helpful, I would wonder what’s the catch; in Chengdu, the people you develop relationships with -for any number of reasons – are often just that kind and helpful.

 

party party.

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mahjong, puppies, and pains in the ass

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 1 Comment

This week has been FILLED with excitement, as I am faced with an enviable array of challenges: uncertain employment, the termination of our current lease, the securing of a new apartment (the collateral pain of packing up and moving buildings) and of course the ever-present headache of accomplishing all tasks with a gigantic language barrier. Although I must admit, I have surprised myself with the amount of Chinese I’ve been able to employ in the past 5 days – getting all my basic points across: “too expensive,” “too dirty,” “too loud,” “no, i won’t pay an entire year up front,” “no, i cannot only have a squat toilet,” etc. I have no doubt annoyed and impressed many a Century 21 real estate agent; I believe I’ve toured at least 20 apartments with at least 6 different agents. It’s been intense.

At least there have been moments of amusement thrown in. Like the most recent canine additions to our street –  3 TINY, squinting puppies stumbling around on wobbly legs under the watchful eye of the mama dog. They’re “owned” by a man who runs two businesses out of his small street shop – pirated DVD’s, and real estate.  He offered to throw one in as a bonus if we got an apartment through him, but I’m pretty sure the free puppy offer still stands (and my resistence is waning).  Another highlight was my mahjong lesson tuesday afternoon; a skill I’ve had a slothful desire to acquire all year and so was more than happy to be included in my friend Ashley’s final Chengdu mahjong session before she heads off for Bangkok on Monday. Our friend Ivy, the resident mahjong queen,  is a sassy combination of typical Chengdu-ren and the kind of local you become after spending most of your waking hours surrounded by foreigners…. in other words she is an expert on all things Chengdu and a very, very useful friend to have. We played a couple open hands before diving into the real deal. I will gloat that I had some pretty legit beginners luck and won 2 rounds my first afternoon. Of course, Ashley and Ivy were most likely humoring me. I fully intend to keep practicing until I can someday throw down a challenge on an unsuspecting elderly Mahjong-pro in one of the underground gambling parlors that seem to occupy at least one level of every other building on every street; unmistakable by the relentless click, click, click of the tiles hitting the table. Ivy mentioned that death by mahjong-induced-heart-attack has been known to occur amongst the overexcited elderly of Chengdu. One more noteworthy moment occurred tonight, when a random Chinese dude approached asking me – in complete awkward sincerity – whether I like China or Japan. My answer of “um, both” befuddled him so he inquired “but why?”

Life here is not always easy, but it’s almost always easy to be amused.

mahjong!

yum.

precious.

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