Month: August 2019

The week was marked by a few F*** China kind of days (sorry, please excuse my language). Days where daily tasks proved more difficult and challenging than anticipated, and when most everything that’s different here was really annoying. I’m slowly learning, that at least for right now and probably for the next two years, there will be days like this. 

Monday was the day I decided to tackle the grocery store. We have finally acquired enough kitchen goods to start cooking at home. I miss cooking and have started perusing a few Chinese cooking expat blogs in an effort to learn more about the cuisine and to avoid overpriced Western groceries, so I had a small list of essential local ingredients to find. Well, navigating that grocery store became quite the challenge. There are multiple versions of everything and of course many items are unrecognizable. Every time I asked for something specific I was brought to the items I did not want. “Do you have pressure cookers that are NOT nonstick?” “Yes, here are pressure cookers with nonstick liners.” “How about soy sauce without MSG?” “Sure, here are about 100 different kinds of soy sauce with Chinese labels – by the way the majority of these do have MSG.” It took some perseverance, a lot of translating (which by the way isn’t always helpful – a ”no romping” sign at the pool and the “cowboy” setting on our washing machine are just two memorable translation fails), and abandoning a couple items on my list, but eventually we made it out. 

So after way too long and with a very tired Julia and three heavy tote bags in tow, I summoned a Didi. It’s a ten minute wait. That doesn’t sound like a long time, but when you’re used to a 3 minute wait max, it’s 90 degrees (feels like 110), and you only have two arms, it might as well be an hour. Well the Didi came, but it was on the other side of the road, a busy road that we couldn’t cross (which I couldn’t anyway because again I only have two arms). So I canceled and we waited ten minutes for the next one. It comes, on the other side of the road. Thankfully, the driver made a u-turn. 

Now looking back it wasn’t so bad, but in the moment I was bitter. And over the last week or so more of those moments where I’ve found myself irritable and impatient have come and gone. In addition to daily tasks being a bit more difficult, it’s oppressively hot and humid. In situations that may already be frustrating or time consuming, the heat doesn’t help. Too many times than I care to admit, I’ve become this visibly angry, sweaty foreigner walking down the street swearing under my breath, shooting daggers at anyone who dares to blatantly stare for what most in America would consider rude and far too long. 9 times out of 10 this embarrassing and ugly transformation occurs when I’m lugging Julia, the stroller, and whatever else up and over one of the many detestable pedestrian bridges to cross the street.  

All this is to say that I’ve come to the conclusion we will be staying indoors more often for the next month or two. Back home if it’s 0 degrees with a windchill of -30, I typically don’t venture out unless I have to. Well that’s my new approach to 90 degrees and over 60% humidity and while it has only been a few days, so far this shift has made life much more enjoyable. 

Now if I haven’t lost you yet (I wouldn’t blame you, that was a lengthy rant) and for the sake of acknowledging how grateful and ultimately happy we are to be in Xiamen, here are a few positive highlights from the week: 

LAMB! – Gabe’s school treated the entire staff to dinner out at a Middle Eastern restaurant (yeah, not a perk you’ll find in the public schools back home). Each table was served a massive platter of leg of lamb and rice. I’m salivating just thinking about it…

Julia’s new school – we found a Chinese Montessori school for Julia to attend in the mornings. If her full on sprint to the other kids when we walked through door is any indication, she’s going to be quite happy there.

New Chinese friends – Li Wenhao, the convenience store clerk who has taken to spoiling Julia, and his girlfriend Amy (American name) took us out to dinner this weekend to a hot pot restaurant. We communicated via Google translator, while cooking different meats and veggies in simmering broth that sat in the middle of our table. They were beyond generous and despite the language barrier, we had a great time.

Booking our first trip – One of the big reasons we are here is to take advantage of the travel opportunities so we are psyched for our first trip and escape from the city to Yangshuo (beautiful scenery with karst peaks and the Li River) come October. 

Mangoes – Our new obsession. They are so juicy, good and plentiful.

Much love.

It has been about two weeks since we landed in Xiamen. It feels like it has been about a month considering how much we’ve done – set up bank accounts and cell phones, gone through the mandatory medical check (a very clinical ultrasound, blood and urine tests, chest xray, vision test), found an apartment (after looking at too many to count), downloaded an array of Chinese apps essential to navigating daily life, explored our new neighborhood and conquered jet lag. I’d be proud beyond belief if I could say we accomplished all this on our own, but the truth is I’m not sure where we’d be without the support of and handholding by Gabe’s school. Props to anyone who has moved here not knowing the language and managed to settle in. The school has been amazing and we shared in the ups and downs with other new teachers and their families. A bonding experience if there ever was one. Added bonus – Julia has already made some new friends.  

Xiamen is a tropical city surrounded by water. It’s mostly high rises with a spattering of green hills and mountains in the not too far distance. It’s balmy and in the 90s every day, but we are slowly getting accustomed, or that’s what I keep telling myself. It’s a massive island city and we’ve seen about 1% of it. We are on the 26th floor of an apartment building and are immediately surrounded by eight similarly gigantic and overwhelming high rises that back up to a large beautiful park. Below our building are a few small stores (very convenient) and restaurants, including a delicious dumpling spot and DIY hot pot joint – both of which we’ve been to multiple times and will be frequenting every week. There seem to be a lot of kids in our building and around, and also a swimming pool that we can pay to use and a small playground that Julia and I will visit often. 

The broader surrounding neighborhood is called Marco Polo and it caters to expats. It has a good mix of western/international and Chinese restaurants and stores. We’ve eaten at Mexican, Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese restaurants. I love how you can turn down one street to find street vendors selling produce, seafood and meat and the next to find international grocery stores and a yoga/fitness gym. It has less of that gentrified feel you get in most large US cities – that’s my take anyway, knowing very little about the city and people. The smaller side streets have large sidewalks lined with trees and it’s a clean area. We are a 15 minute walk to Yundang Lake – a manmade lake with a walking path and lined with fishermen in the mornings, and my eventual new jogging route.

Noteworthy surprises and a few things that will take some getting used to…

The constant attention given to Julia – to say Julia, with her light hair and curls, is popular is an understatement. Everywhere we go she is adored. People play with her, make noises at her, pick her up, take photos and hurry to protect her if she gets too close to the edge of the sidewalk or an escalator. It is good natured and so far we’ve all taken it quite well, though Gabe and I joke that she may develop a complex with all the attention. 

How nice and helpful people are – maybe it’s because we have cute Julia in tow, but most everyone we’ve interacted with, whether it’s at the bank, in restaurants or stores, or on the street, has been friendly and helpful. A couple examples: the host at the hotel restaurant plating my food at the buffet because I was carrying Julia, the store clerk below our apartment giving Julia free grapes every time we pass through, and the bank tellers patiently going back and forth with me on a translator app, while their colleagues essentially babysat Julia. Ok, maybe it is Julia…

The crowds  – Sunday I ventured to Walmart. Now I’m not a fan of big box stores to begin with, but add the crazy crowds, attempts to decipher Chinese labels, stares, the heat and transporting purchases via Didi (Chinese Uber), well let’s just say I wasn’t particularly happy or happy to be in China

The spitting – I had read spitting is common and I’ve noticed it a few times.  

The plastic – everything is packaged and then packaged again. Oh the waste!

The inability to really truly know what you are consuming or how your meat has been raised or your produce grown. This is a tough one.

The language barrier – it’s a challenge and very few people speak any English. Further incentive to take some Mandarin lessons. 

Live fish (and frogs!) In the grocery store – Julia is a big fan

Looking forward to getting more settled in our place and exploring the city. We are headed to a pool party this weekend with Gabe’s coworkers and the beach.

Much love from the Sortinos