A Few Novelties

     "Hey, this feels normal," I thought to myself on the way to school one morning last week.  I was making my way down the wide sidewalk next to Wanghai Road, the thoroughfare a few blocks from our apartment.  My brain has cubby holes now for the fishy smells from the harbor, the dips and bumps underneath my bike wheels, the warning beep-beeps from electric scooters fast approaching from behind, even a few familiar faces.  I was aware of the absence of the slightly tired and sick feeling I often have after breakfast when traveling in new place.  It's great to feel settled and comfortable.

     The downside, of course, is now that I've developed routines and so many things around me seem familiar, I miss the daily discoveries that come with being in a new place.  Yesterday, though, I came across a few novelties.

     The first was on the ground outside the apartment building behind us.  A massive white sofa wrapped in plastic was in a rope sling, the ropes hanging down from the 20th floor or so.  A few of the uniformed security guys were busy getting this monster ready to hoist way up into some newly redecorated living room.  I was cringing, thinking of accidents, insurance, liability.  Being a single family home dweller most of my life, I'm naive as to how such a furniture logistics problem might be solved at home...somehow I don't think it would be quite like this.   A boy ambles onto the scene and also stops to watch.  I start a conversation with him.  He says he watched something similar last year, but that time the sofa crashed into a balcony, the glass sliced the rope, and the sofa fell to the ground.  Hmmm, sounds improbable, but this seems like an interesting kid.  I ask his name and find out that he's a 5th grader at the middle school where I've done some subbing.  I tell him this and Addy says he thinks he remembers seeing me around.  Then I ask him if he knows Shrumi who lives in building 2.  Yes, he does, she's in 12C, he says.  I thought he might.  Shrumi is a friend who moved here around the same time we did, and she's a master networker.  She told me early on that she's met about 15 other families from India in our area of the city, and they get together to celebrate holidays.  So Addy's family must be among those 15.   It's fun to start weaving my own web of connections, each new connection a novelty built on the familiar.  

     I couldn't stay and watch the sofa on ropes drama, since I was on my way to Green Shoots for Saturday morning English classes.   Later during the class break, I walked up to chat with one of the high school English tutors, who's a senior in the IB program with Leah.  The first thing the tutor said to me was, "Do you know where I can get some liver from a chicken and from a cow?"  That's a first, I thought, me the American with comparatively narrow tastes  being asked this question by a Cantonese person; the Cantonese are known for the wide variety of plants and animals and animals parts that they eat.  Since our family doesn't employ an ayi like many expats here--that's a housekeeper who often does the shopping and cooking--I'm rather familiar with the nearby supermarkets, and I actually did have a couple suggestions for her.  I asked what she needed the liver for.  A biology experiment, she said.  She was interested in following up on an experiment they'd done with liver in class.  I asked if she's thinking of studying biology in college.  Yes, I want to study food science and then hotel and restaurant management, she said.  It seems as if I've recently heard an unusual number of Chinese young people express an interest in that field.  

     

On my way home from Green Shoots, I decided to avoid some congested traffic and made a turn down a street that I haven't been on for awhile.  About 5 blocks from our apartment I came across this scene, all new since my last pass on this street.  This may not look very exciting to you, but it's the most exciting thing I've come across all week.  It's a subway entrance!  At last!  I've been reading since we arrived here that the new subway line out to our area of the city is supposed to be finished by the end of 2010, and I've been wondering exactly where the nearest stop would be.  Within another year this line is supposed to extend all the way out to the airport. 

     Shenzhen is one of at least 15 cities in China that are building or expanding subway lines right now.  The Chinese government has been encouraging spending on infrastructure to help make up for decreased exports to western countries afflicted with sluggish economies.  One western economy seems to be benefitting from this construction trend more than others:  Germany's. A German company makes the tunneling equipment often used for subway construction, for example.

Here's the last of yesterday's novelties:  durian.  I've been reading for years about this Asian fruit, known to many westerners for its supposedly pungent, repulsive smell--and to many Asians for its heavenly scent and taste.  I see whole ones often in the grocery stores.  They look sort of like green, spiny footballs.  Usually next to the whole ones there are packages with just a few pieces wrapped up.  I've never tried durian, so yesterday I decided to buy a small package.  Terry was not so very pleased about this purchase.  He's eaten this fruit, and although he doesn't mind the smell and taste, it's not a favorite.  He insisted that I put the tray out on the balcony, since the smell is supposed to quickly permeate everything around it, even if it's well-wrapped, and Leah was expecting some friends to come over.  After sampling it, I have to say that I don't understand what all the fuss is about.  I thought it tasted like fibery,  deeply musky banana.  The surprising part was the mouth feel from the fat in the fruit.  The smell was not objectionable to me.  In fact, I didn't think it had much smell at all.   Terry said this particular durian was past its prime, since it's supposed to have a custardy interior.  I've read that the older the durian is, the more objectionable the smell and taste.  So, assuming I can pick out less aged durian, my next sample can only be better!