High five
(Sunset at the Xixi wetlands park: Hangzhou, China)
I completely forgot about this stunning sunset, I have seen so much in China that I fear my eyes might fall out from overuse. We were sharing the bridge with a group of men, puffing on cigars and grinning tipsily. I am currently in transit over Kazakhstan or Mongolia or somewhere like that, so I decided to treat you to some more lists. This is the five things I miss about China when I am in the UK (in no particular order):
Rice cookers,
especially using them for steaming buns and fish. There’s no such thing as badly cooked rice in China, by me or by anyone. In a rice cooker, it is practically impossible for the rice to be too wet, dry or anything other than fluffy and tasty.
Having space,
both figuratively and physically. Although my bedroom in Glasgow is spacious, it is also a studio and home of a small business, so desk space is sparse. In China there is a study with no beds and little furniture. I can spread paper all over the floor and make a mess without concern that I have to step over it to find my bed. In fact, since I am no longer landlady or full time business owner in China, I miss the breathing space and the extra time that provides. In Glasgow I sometimes feel swallowed up in work and life admin.
Eating out,
as it’s so much more normal and frequent in China, because even 5 yuan street noodles are eating out. They also feel slightly less noxious than British or American fast food. They also taste far superior.
Jackie Chan,
the constant barrage of his products and trawling the supermarket for them. It has become an unwritten game for me and I delight in procuring some new product to bring home and test. He is the darling of Hollywood and Hong Kong and I believe he has a new film out very soon – I’m looking forward to seeing his face in a Chinese cinema soon.
Being constantly surprised,
And not just by tourist sites or language or by the people, just by absolutely everything. I am shocked by some aspects of life, the proliferation of maids, the lack of facebook, the number of dogs. But I’m enthralled by old China getting to grips with the revolutionary new China and. Basically I am surprised at the way things are so different from ‘home’, and the ways that life is the same.
Hey I’m sure you can get a ricecooker in englandia, Rosie! lol
Aaaw I miss China too!