China – First Impressions

Well, we sure aren’t in Africa any more!

After arriving in Shanghai late, late at night, this is what we woke up to:

Shanghai, a massive city of over 30 million people!!!! All of the skyscrapers have been built in the last 25 years, along with mandates for parks and planting 100, yes, 100 trees every single day!!!!

So…as for culture shock…Shanghai is more western than the West!!! Education and Tech and consumption is King.

Instead of the melodic Swahili being spoken all around us with English words intermittently thrown in, all we hear now is the seemingly harsh cryptic tonal Chinese dialect with NO English spoken anywhere. Ok, hardly anywhere…maybe a few hotel desk workers, but that’s it…no English on signs or menus or buildings or buses or shops…it’s taking my pantomiming skills to a whole new level! People no longer stare at us or call to us “mzungu.” Instead, even though white people are a rarity, people barely notice us as we walk by.

A few things I’ve learned so far…at least regarding Shanghai… people are very health conscious…practicing Thai Chi in neighborhood parks early, early in the morning, buying fresh produce and fresh fish, bullfrogs, crayfish, lobster, all kinds of fishes – salt and fresh water – chicken, lamb, and pork, choosing which part of the animal to prepare that day anything from the pig snout to feet of everything. Vegetables are the base of their menu with meat and rice. Shanghai is the originator of dumplings so they are made often with all kinds of insides – everything from meats and fruits and vegetables…flavors of sweet, sour, vinegary or even a mixture of several. Choices of sauces are always available and spices used on everything. Soda is a rarity; all kind of teas available and thought to cure anything and solve most any problem. Wealth, money, drive, success, fortune, owning an apartment seem to be what is important. Times are changing. In the last 25 years much has been torn down, and much has been built.

In Nairobi just crossing the street was stressful as pedestrians have the least right of way…cars, buses, matatus, motorcyles, and even bicycles will admonish you loudly to get out of the way and come so close you could hug the drivers! In Shanghai there is order, lanes where cars actually stay inside the right lane. Traffic is an issue. License plates cost as much as the vehicle itself. Sidewalks are even, steps the same height. People arrive on time.

Beauty for girls is rated on the lightness of the color of their skin (the whiter, the better), the shine and length of their beautiful straight black hair. This is why women walk hurriedly down the streets with beautiful parasols, looking delicate and very feminine in their sheer, but not revealing dresses or skirts or blouses. Everyone is tiny, tiny, tiny!!!!

It’s taken us eight years to even begin to understand East African culture and we’ve only been in China for two days so I really am just beginning to learn. The country is massive, about the same size as the U.S. The people diverse, making up 1/6 of the world’s population with ten times the number of residents as the U.S. Shanghai has 30 million people itself! Their history complex and LONG!!!! Steeped in traditions, familial, regional and national, it’s fascinating to hear the similarities and diversities compared to East Africa and even America.

Perhaps the greatest similarity I have noticed so far is in the family system. In both Africa and China, elders are extremely respected. Younger generations see them as wise and having lived longer, youth value that they have gained wisdom through life experience. They seek out their counsel. If there is conflict or a problem in the family, they are consulted and their word carries power and oftentimes, the final say in conflict. Family is important in both cultures, African and Chinese. Family comes first; relationship and obligation to family comes first; where you live; how you spend your money and your time is the most important consideration in making life decisions.

However different, I am confident as humans we are the same. We look forward to our time here to get to know more about this fascinating country through the people we’ll be spending time with this week. In the meantime, check out some of the things we experienced in the past couple of days:

Major Priority for the first day…and pretty much all consuming…buying water for drinking and getting sim cards for our phones which was a whole experience in itself…at the local 7/11 stand…fortunately, this young boy spoke enough English for us to communicate what we needed. We are adjusting to no google, no facebook, no twitter (all blocked in China)…fortunately, thanks to my amazing husband, we were able to navigate how to receive emails from our gmail accounts.

Health and food are big priorities…with many neighborhood markets. Chinese believe everything should be fresh and cooked that day…vegetables a mainstay, rice, noodles, dumplings, fishes, shellfishes, octopus, chickens, ducks, all body parts eaten…and, of course, all alive and fresh!

sticky rice and meats.

We are lucky enough to be here for crayfish season. There are millions of these sold on the streets in stalls, seasoned with mild, medium or a lot of spices, then deep fried. You buy them by the kilo, eating them like a lobster.

Sticky rice “pancakes” fried with no oil.
Yummy breakfast…for those so inclined. For the Chinese, they prefer pickles and porridge.

the special where we eat breakfast!

Dumplings made by very skilled hands. These are filled with pork and vegetables. We were taught that first you make a concoction of soy sauce a few slips of ginger and vinegar. Then pick up the dumpling very carefully, dip it in the sauce, take a small bite to open the dumpling and allow the steam to come out, dip again, then very gently put the whole dumpling in your mouth to savor the flavors.

Beautiful night time in Shanghai…the city is alive and pulsing with activity late into the night.