Hi Guys

Welcome to my Charou in China page. This page will document my five month stay in China, from September 2012 to February 2013. While I was in China I kept my friends and family updated through weekly e-mails. I also shared my experiences with them in these mails. I've now decided to share these e-mails and my experiences with you. Each week I will add one post about my Charou in China experience.

N.B. Charou is an informal South African word used to describe an Indian.

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Day 1 & 2 - 26/09/12 

Ni Hau (Hello in Chinese)

Yesterday I managed to comfortably digest my first meal in China. Sticky rice, tofu, flavoured onion pieces and steamed bean pods dressed with a flavorful sauce sufficed as a delicious lunch. While taking full advantage of these somewhat new flavours I also met with some of the other foreign teachers.

Today I survived my second meal at a Chinese restaurant. It wasn’t as good as the first but it’s a dish I could definitely eat again with a few improvements. It’s called ‘hot pot’ which I thought was something similar to a potjie and I was right. It’s served in a stainless steel dish with water and flavoured stock. The ingredients include either vegetables (mushrooms, dhania (coriander), sprouts, spinach, tofu, potatoe) or meat with noodles. The raw veggies and meat are thrown into the pot depending on what you want or you could throw in everything. There’s a hot plate in the centre of the table so your Chinese style potjie cooks right in front of you. There’s a spicy and plain option. Fortunately there are two other teachers who are also vegetarians so I shared my pot with them. Unfortunately the Chinese don’t eat with forks so I had to master the art of eating with chop sticks which I managed quite well!

Today was also my first venture into the streets and the malls which are walking distant from my apartment. Walking seems to be a common mode of transport here in China as well as bicycles and motor cycles however as China has the highest population there are still many cars on the road even three wheel cars – no not a tricycle, a car! On the roads the alternative for an indicator is the hooter/horn. If a driver wants to turn or change lanes he presses on the hooter and forces his way through and it works! Other drivers obey this ‘rule’. I guess it’s an understanding they have with each other.

The malls are equally busy even on a Monday afternoon. A very small number of Chinese people understand English which means I have to brush up on my Chinese pretty soon. Foreigners in China feel like celebrities as there not many of us or maybe the people of China are not used to seeing people that look different from them. As a result they stare at you wherever you go. Some stare at you for as far as their eyes can take them, some point at you, others say hello and some even try to make conversation with you in Chinese.   

Love to you all

Verusha 

 

Hot Pot (Spicy & Plain)

Tracy and I mastering the art of eating with chopsticks