I’m sorry about the delays in blog posting. Ben and I are still quite busy at work and still quite without internet access. On top of that, our last two days off I spent sick although I was able to pull things together for our housewarming party with the assistance of some of the meds that I brought with us. That is certainly one thing that I’m glad I brought.
Before leaving the states I did a lot of reading up on China and what it’s like living here. Many people wrote about the things that they miss that just aren’t available here and about how different their lives were here. Well, now that I’ve been here a little, I think that I can give a report on the things that I miss: not much.
Ben at the Bruce Lee inspired restaurant named Kung Fu. This was the first and last time we'll try this food...
Really, with the vast array of western restaurants and products, Ben and I could really live lives very similar to what we had in the states. In every district you will find a KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Subway, McDonalds, or Starbucks. In fact, KFC is surprisingly popular here and I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen more KFCs in this one Chinese city than I’ve seen in all my years in the US. And have I mentioned that I’ve been posting this blog from the Starbucks around the corner?
But enjoying the luxuries of home comes at a cost. A great little tavern about a block up from our apartment building specifically caters to the foreigners brought to this area for business; it’s called The Tavern (go figure). A dinner for two here will cost us about 35 US dollars. However, if we go to the Cantonese ramen shop a block in the opposite direction, or the Muslim restaurant across the street, or any other local restaurant, a hearty dinner for two will cost us 2- 4 US dollars.
At my favorite ramen shop- this delicious meal only put me back $2 or less.
And this is important to us since we eat out every single day. Seriously, since we have been here we have not had even one quiet dinner at home. Part of the reason to this is that it’s so cheap to eat out. The other part of this equation is that we haven’t really figured out what to do about groceries yet. There is a sizable grocery store just a 15 minute walk from our apartment and another one just outside of my bus stop. However, things I would usually purchase- like deli meat- are unfindable. Live fish, crabs, and frogs are more common. Not to mention the freshly killed and plucked chicken hanging over the butcher’s section. Not to mention the dried jellyfish and squid. Not to mention the vacuum-sealed bags of chicken feet….
But moms, don’t worry. We have been going out for good food. And now that we’ve settled in a bit, we’ll have to wait to see how quickly everything changes. Everything already feels so different from when we first arrived- just over 3 weeks ago. How the time flies!
Me Overseas 