Spicy Food Strategy

It is very important to get the ice cream *before* you eat the spicy food. If you wait until your mouth is on fire it is too late.

Despite the fact that I've lived in Arizona for 13 years, I haven't developed a tolerance for spicy food.  That is a problem here, as Sichuan food is notoriously spicy.  But Liu Liu showed me a strategy for approaching spicy food:  get ice cream first, and also order a side of dumplings.  Yes, I was suprrised when the ice cream she wanted to get was a good old fashioned DQ blizzard.  The dishes you see were chicken (in the middle) and two kinds of bean jelly noodles, that were all very tasty but very spicy.  I had to go back and forth between the spicy dishes and the ice cream.  The doughy dumplings also served to dull the heat, and were probably my favorite part of the meal.  I do like my bread after all. 

Maybe when I get home I will now be able to tackle New Mexico chile dishes ... as long as I stop at DQ first.  

Setting Small Goals

One of the principles I try to follow when trying to accomplish a big goal, is to set smaller, readily attainable goals or milestones that build into something bigger.  After Friday’s frustrating start, I decided to start over Saturday with two goals:  finding a café Liu Liu recommended for a pastry and a coffee for breakfast, and later going to the supermarket to find peanut butter, yogurt and fruit to have for breakfast in my room. 

Unlike my friend Juliann, I am not blessed with any sort of internal navigation, so figuring out my way around this campus is a challenge.  This is not Phoenix, and is not in any way built on a grid.  I have a campus map and know a few landmarks already (especially the gym/track, which has signage that looks like it was from the Olympics, although it couldn’t have been – this is very far away from Beijing).  My approach is to try to retrace my steps as often as possible, noting landmarks (buildings, business, etc) along the way.  I knew that the café was out the south gate of campus, and it actually only took two turns along the path to get there.  I successfully bought a breakfast sandwich looking pastry and ordered a cappuccino.  I didn’t understand what the woman told me my total was, and the cash register didn’t show any numbers on my side, so I extended my hand with a bunch of cash to her and she picked out what I should have given her.  Not too bad an outcome.

Buoyed with success, I then decided to try to find the lotus pond near the north gate, which I recalled seeing twice on Friday.  The path was more circuitous, but I kept trying to remember what I had passed yesterday with Liu Liu:  the gym, the bank of Chengdu, the elementary school, the business building, the soccer/football field.  And voila : there was the pond!  I had a lovely breakfast sitting on a bench, listening to “This American Life” on my ipod and watching the variety of people enjoying the morning.  There were people of all ages walking, talking , reading, and even jogging around the pond.  I found my way back home with ease, and felt my confidence rising.

After taking a break to do some work in my room, I headed back out for goal #2:  operation peanut butter!  I had been told that there was an inexpensive supermarket out the West gate and across the street.  I found it:  Trust Mart.  Does anyone have any guesses what Trust Mart means in China?

That’s right:  WalMart is here.  And it was like every WalMart I’ve ever been in:  crowded, chaotic, loud, full of merchandise, and very inexpensive.  It took me a while to wander the aisles and figure out the layout of the two story store, but I eventually found what I was looking for:  Skippy Peanut Butter and strawberry jam, along with some bread and some more Coke Zero.  I’m beginning to think that Coke Zero is the only “diet” coke here.

On Sunday morning, I found my way to the last main gate of campus, the North Gate.  This gate seems to be the most official gate, as it has formal traditional gate structure and the university administration building is directly in front of it.  It creates a beautiful courtyard, but unfortunately the lotus ponds in this area were drained.  I left the gate and explored the commercial area surrounding it, and found my way back to campus via the west gate.  I was so happy to have been able to determine my way. Who needs a map they can read or GPS?  Ok, ok, me.  But for now I'll take this as a win.

Photos: Flickr

Just a note:  When I'm able to, I will be uploading photos from my trip to Flickr, and will have several sets to try to keep the types of photos separate.  You can find them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/duvernay/collections/72157633118682579/

Getting Started

Statue of the poetess Xue Tao, who died in 832. 

After weeks of getting ready, and several days of travel, I finally officially started my work here on Friday. My first meeting, however, was at a lovely local park (I’ll always remember it as the bamboo park, as I didn’t catch the official name) which also included a memorial to a woman poet, Xue Tao. It’s not a bad place to have a meeting at all! Liu Liu and I went over the schedule for my visit, which includes several formal meetings with the various library departments, as well as planned sightseeing excursions. We talked a little bit about how the Sichuan University Libraries are organized, as well as what Dr. Ma, the library director, is hoping I would share.

After the park, we headed to lunch with Dr Ma, another top administrator, and several librarians, including both of the librarians who have visited ASU. I was worried about how that lunch, as I wasn’t sure how formal it would be and it’s hard to be formal when you can’t use chopsticks very well! Much to my delight, the group was warm, friendly and took very good care of me. They even provided me with a fork, which I am proud to say I did not use. The food was amazing: they kept bringing dishes out and putting them in the middle of the table on a lazy-susan like device. Dr. Ma and Liu Liu very graciously served me, as my chopstick ability precludes being able to serve myself with any delicacy. I’m not sure what everything was, but two things I remember specifically were lotus root and a local vegetable that was very potato-like (but purple hued), in addition to a sizzling fish. I tried every dish and found that I pretty much liked them all.

One of my basic approaches to small talk in life is to talk sports: this works almost all the time, and I found that it can even work internationally! I knew that Hu Lin, one of the former exchange librarians, was an NBA fan, so I asked about sports in general. I found out that several of them enjoy playing badminton and table tennis, but that they don’t seem to have intercollegiate sports the way we do in America. We had an interesting discussion about the importance of sports and athletes in American universities – and one of them asked me if it was true that head football coaches can make more money than the university president. I confirmed that truth, but tried to explain how they were funded separately. All in all this was a wonderful experience, and I felt quite welcomed indeed.

Later in the afternoon Liu Liu took me on a campus tour and we stopped in two of the libraries: the Engineering Library and the Liberal Arts Library. It was interesting to see the use of space (including outdoor study spaces), and to note just how quiet it was in every room. The only noise I heard came from the staff! (Which isn’t too different than on some of our floors too). My first meeting with library staff is on Monday, and I hope to be able to take more photos and find out more about their services then.

Facing Uncertainty

What Coke Zero looks like in China ...

So this was an unplanned post, but I want to try to be sure I remember this experience.  I had heard from colleagues who have visited here that the breakfast at this hotel is not their favorite, and many in fact skip it entirely.  But after waking up hours earlier than necessary (thanks jet lag) I was starving at figured how bad could breakfast be and headed down to find out.  The entire experience left me feeling frustrated but filled with empathy for those who visit our country and have no clue how things work, especially a librarian from China  who was interviewing at Kenyon long ago, and at a breakfast meeting ate an English muffin raw because he didn’t know what to do with it.

The hotel restaurant is really just a very small dining room.  I entered in and made eye contact with a worker, who didn’t speak English.  When I made a gesture indicating I didn’t know what to do, he just stared at me – clearly unable to explain what the process was.  I saw a table of food in the middle of the room, and two pots in the back.  I tried to see what other people were doing and mimic them, but it didn’t work too well.  I assembled a couple of things I recognized:  a muffin and an egg,  but only picked up the egg after I saw someone peel it.  I also decided to try one thing I didn’t recognize:  some sort of dumpling like thing.  I got some strange looks from the people in the room, so clearly I was doing something wrong.  Yet no one tried to demonstrate anything for me.  I ate the stale muffin, and the egg, and took one bite of the dumpling only to find out it was some sort of sponge-y thing that clearly was supposed to go with something else.  After seeing that no one was paying their bill before leaving (maybe breakfast is free for everyone?) I hightailed it out of the place as quickly as I could.

I then decided to go to the small market down the street to see if I could find a diet coke for some caffeine as I’m getting sleepy again.  I don’t have time to walk all the way to Starbucks, or even the one café closer that Liu Liu showed me that had coffee and lattes.  It took me a while, but I eventually located familiar looking cans of coke, sprite, Sunkist and … coke zero, the closest thing to diet coke in the place.  I bought two cans (at 4RMB – who knows how much that is) and happily made my way back to my hotel to wait for my 10:30 meeting.   It’s amazing what a little bit of familiarity does to lift my spirits after being so completely out of my element earlier.

Words of Wisdom

My sister Nicole may have provided me with the most useful piece of advice before I left, among a lot of gems from everyone.  She told me “Jen, you have to remember, there are way stupider people than you who are traveling the world every day and they do just fine.”  As I tackled the domestic terminal of the Beijing airport yesterday, I had to remind myself of that often.  The other mantra I repeated to myself was “every airport is basically the same” which may or may not be true, but that helped me.

My first task was finding the right check in desk.  I couldn’t find any signs that said “Departures” or “Check in” or anything of the sort on the level I entered.  But, savvy information professional I am, I did find a desk with a big question mark on it and asked for help.  They sent me to level 4, and section “G” – or so I thought.  When I arrived at level 4 I could find no “G” – there was A-F, and H-M , but no G.  I paced back and forth until I finally gave up and found another information desk.  This time the helpful clerk held up the sign with the letter I was supposed to find:  “J”.  I think those signs were genius.  I’m obviously not the only one who didn’t understand the pronunciation.

Once I got to the J section, I had to find out which desk to check in at.  The signage was mostly in Chinese, but there was one big board with flight numbers and desk assignments which helped.  In this case it was more important to track the flight number than the destination, since the signage was sometimes only fleetingly in English (yay for digital signage that rotates).  I made it through the check in process and found my way to security.  I was worried about security because it wasn’t clear if all the rules about liquids and electronics were the same.  And indeed, while my bag of liquids was fine, I did have to pull out not just my laptop, but also the ipad and all the cords, which you don’t have to do in the U.S.  But otherwise the rest of the process was the same. 

Once I got in the gate area, I wasn’t sure how I would manage the boarding process.  They did have a separate lane for first class, but it seemed like everyone else boarded in one big group, not in boarding numbers.  I managed to get myself on board in the first crop of people so I didn’t have to worry about overhead bin space.  The in-flight communication was all in Chinese and English, although I admit I didn’t always understand all the English announcements.  The safety video was a little more in-depth than American airlines – including instructions on how to brace yourself in a crash landing (who knew you’re supposed to take off your high heels, glasses and jewelry?  I hope there’s enough time for all of that). 

Once that flight to Chengdu took off, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that when I arrived, I would be picked up by my host, Liu Liu.  Liu Liu is a collection development librarian, who incidentally did a 4 month exchange in Pittsburgh, and she is the one guiding my visit here.  She is very kind and patient, and I appreciate knowing she is here to help me. 

Today is Friday and I’m going to have my first official meeting:  lunch with the library director, Dr. Ma.  I will also get my schedule of meetings for the month and I’ll get to see what’s in store for me.  

Arrived in Beijing

There is a 15 hour difference between Phoenix and China

I did it.  I survived the longest flight I've ever been on:  12+ hours.  Thanks to the two hours of sleep I had the night before, and a nice dose of dramamine, I slept on and off throughout the entire flight.  I also read half of a good YA book (John Green's "Abundance of Katherines") and watched a truly terrible movie on my iPad (WE, directed by Madonna).  

My seat neighbor was a very friendly lady who lives in Beijing, is from Hong Kong, yet went to college in Arkansas.  She gently scolded me for not learning more Chinese before I came (I was proud of my one phrase "May wen te" which means "no problem" - she told me I can't say that all the time!  It was funny, and we had a nice conversation.  She shared some helpful tips about Sichuan food (ask for less oil, less spicy and no msg) and even gave me her cell phone number in case I needed help when I'm in Beijing at the end of April.  Talking to strangers almost always turns out to be a nice experience.  I should definitely do it more.

I was nervous about navigating the Beijing airport, wanting to be sure I followed all the instructions correctly.  The immigration lines were much shorter and moved much more quickly than when I was at Heathrow last year and customs was not a problem at all.  I had been warned that there would be aggressive people trying to get you to hire their "taxis", and that wasn't an exaggeration.  I had to be firm and walk with assertiveness to get past several of them to get out to the hotel shuttle. 

I will say this:  not having access to my phone is difficult.  I know I use it all the time, but didn't realize just how much I rely on it until I was worried that I didn't have the shuttle information or my hotel confirmation printed out (I ended up finding it thankfully).  I'm used to being able to just access my email and the web at all times, and I felt a bit helpless for a moment.  I know this month without my beloved iPhone will force me to develop other adaptive behaviors (and perhaps even read a real map), so it's another opportunity for growth.  It's also an opportunity to more mindfully engage with my environment, as I won't be able to entertain myself by reading Twitter or Facebook while standing in line, or sitting waiting for whatever's next.  People watching will be my new favorite activity.

I'm now in my Hilton hotel room adjacent to the airport.  I've determined what adapter will work for my laptop charger (yay!), and that my iPad charger will work without an adapter at all.  I didn't have any trouble logging into the blog, so I'm optimistic I should be able to continue with this.  

Tomorrow I head back to the airport and take a domestic Air China flight to Chengdu.  I'm grateful that I will be picked up at the airport by one of the librarians from Sichuan University. She'll take me to campus where I will check in to my home for the next month.  More adventure updates to come ...

No Day But Today

Even after 3 hours at the airport, we still took off in darkness.

I can't believe it, but my trip is finally here.  I had a great last evening in Phoenix with my book club friends.  Stacey and Steven graciously hosted a special seder to mark the first day of Passover, and I always appreciate their willingness to share their traditions.  I'm not sure any of my contributions to the book discussion made any sense, as I was in an altered state of anxiety-induced consciousness.  But it was a wonderful way to be sent off into the biggest adventure I've tackled in my life in a very long time.

Just a word of warning : do not trust the Super Shuttle math at all times, especially when your flight leaves at 5am.  My "window" was supposed to be 2:30-2:45am, but I live 5 minutes from the airport.  My driver was bored (imagine that - it was the middle of the night), and arrived a full 10 minutes early.  He was knocking on my door at 2:20am.  I made him wait (I needed every single minute) but when we did arrive at the airport, it was 2:40 and no one was working yet.  

Public service: the United counter crew doesn't start working until after 3am

I spent a lovely 3 hours at the airport, pining for coffee, and making friends with my fellow passengers.  After a late arriving crew and some mechanical problems, we left about an hour late.  I'm now typing this up in the tranquil confines of the United Club in the International Terminal at the San Francisco Airport.

I had a interesting experience on the flight, one my parents would no doubt attribute to God's grace.  I fell asleep listening to my iPod on shuffle, and after an hour or so I woke up to the rousing RENT finale.  As I became conscious the chorus rang through my brain:  "There's only this - forget regret or life is yours to miss - no other road, no other way - no day but today."  Those words struck me to the very core of my being - I tried very hard to hold back the tears that immediately sprang to my eyes.  I've been so worried about whether or not this was the right choice; whether or not I could travel across the world on my own.  But progress is never made without taking risk, and when would I ever do this, if not today.

So I'm leaving soon (in 3 hours) heading to Beijing, and as I do so, I am filled with gratitude for the love, support, encouragement I've received from my colleagues, friends and family.  Several of them even made kiva-like investments to support me as I equipped myself with supplies and entertainment.  I could never tackle this without all of you.

Getting Ready

Gathering supplies for spending a month in China. Will I make the 50 lb limit?

I can't believe it, but I will be heading off to my next travel adventure in only a few days.  I'm working on a to-do list, and am afraid my bags will be too heavy, as I seem to have gathered supplies for all eventualities.  We'll see how much editing I'll need to do in order to make the 50lb limit.

I'm going to try to document some of my experiences and observations here, mostly in order for me to remember, but also to share with friends and family.  Hopefully I'll be able to update the blog during my stay at Sichuan University.