TheBanyanTree: Transition 23

[Pat M]

          When I returned to the apartment, Wayne was playing an X-box rugby
match (on the TV) with the volume blaring. I dropped my bags of groceries in
front of the fridge and stopped to watch the game for a few moments,
realizing I was completely out-of-touch with the latest technology. The
images on the screen were incredibly life-like and the commentator's running
play-by-play was just like the real thing.

            I opened the fridge to put away my perishables and grimaced when
I saw its filthy interior. Tomorrow, I resolved, I'd clean a couple of the
shelves for my own food; I wasn't going to clean up every one's mess.
Besides, my stay was only temporary.
Wayne was really into the X-box game and scarcely glanced at me so I was
surprised when he started speaking.
"Pardon me?" I said.
He shook his head and didn't answer. Then, I saw he was wearing headphones
and realized he was talking to his competitor. Having no interest in online
games, I hadn't realized that people from all over the world link up to play
them.

When the match finished I said, "So, Jenny said you're going on holidays,
too,"
            "Yeah, I am," he said, "I'm going to Hong Kong but I haven't
bought my air ticket yet."

            "Oh," I said with surprise. "When are you going?"

            "Maybe tomorrow," he said and shrugged. "Classes don't start
again until March so I may as well take a holiday while I can."

            He certainly isn't the plan-ahead type, I thought. He and I
couldn't be more opposite.
`           I turned on the computer. Disappointment. All the programs were
in Chinese. I'd speak with Charls on his return from Guilin. I wanted them
changed to English, even if I had to pay for it myself. In Lintong, the
school paid for the changeover and the technician only charged 30 yuan
(about $4.50) so the price was right.
            Wayne paced through the apartment like a lost sheep. His
girlfriend had just dumped him and he didn't seem to know what to do with
himself.

            "So, what's the school like?" I asked when he dropped onto a
chair near me.

           "Have you ever taught kids?" he countered.

           "Yes, I have. Why?"

           "Did you like it?"

 "Yes."

 "Well, the kids here are horrible. You're going to hate it."

 That gave me pause. "Really?"

"Yeah, they won't listen and Charls (the principal) won't do anything about
it. I think they should kick out the bad ones but he doesn't want to lose
the money."

"Well, I won't put up with that," I said.
I set about organizing my bedroom. With only one suitcase, it didn't take
long. The bulk of my things, three boxes of books, teaching materials, house
wares and more clothes were en route via China Post and I didn't expect them
for another week or two.
My cell phone rang. It was Pauline asking how things were going. She was
going to celebrate New Years at the Rainbow Sports Bar and wondered if I
might be able to join her.
"I'd love to," I said, "but I was told there will be few taxis on the road
and it will be nearly impossible to find one. I don't want to get stranded
in Dadonghai with nowhere to sleep."

When I came out of my room, Wayne had disappeared—into his bedroom or out—I
didn't know.

My stomach was telling me it was time to eat but I didn't know where to find
a restaurant with a bilingual menu so I started walking. I wasn't up
to pointing to some Chinese characters and hoping for the best; I was too
afraid I'd end up with something I considered inedible such as beef or pork
stomach or intestines, chickens' feet, frog, turtle or dog. I'm not as
adventurous as some when it comes to trying new foods. (I suspect I've eaten
some of those things without realizing it, though. One can't start picking
through the food you are served when someone treats you to a meal.)

I walked for a full hour and passed dozens of eateries hoping to find a
restaurant that displayed English on their sign, but I was unsuccessful. It
takes energy to walk into a restaurant and try to communicate without words;
energy I seemed to be lacking.

Eventually, I headed back to the apartment. Across from it sat a large
warehouse-like building that appeared to be a supermarket so I went in,
hoping to find something, anything, so I didn't have to eat the package of
instant noodles I'd bought at the supermarket for an emergency; I could
hardly stand the thought of more noodles in spicy broth.
The store I entered catered to tourists. (Some 80% of Sanya's economy is
tourism-based.) It was crowded with dozens of varieties of coconut and
coffee candies, shelves of canned coconut milk, bags of coconut powder and
coconut milk coffee. As well, there was a wide selection of pearl powder.
An over-abundance of uniformed clerks, mostly petite young women, manned the
floor. The store was set up without aisles and the layout was maze-like. As
I walked through it, several spoke to me in Chinese and showed me items they
thought I might be interested in.  When I shook my head and said, "Boo yao,
xie xie (I don't want it, thank you)" and continued walking, some of them
joined their co-workers and giggled. No doubt I was the first foreigner
they'd ever spoken with and they were excited, a little nervous and more
than surprised that I could speak with them in Chinese.
If asked to describe Sanya in a few words, I'd say, "Think seafood, tropical
fruit, coconuts and pearls." Coconut products and pearl necklaces, rings and
other pearl jewelry are for sale everywhere you look and packages of pearl
powder are just as prevalent. Pearl powder is a preparation of crushed
pearls used internally and externally for skin care and in traditional
Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory and detoxification agent. Nearly
every store here sells it. Some shops even have grinders (similar to coffee
grinders). You choose the pearls (low grade of course) you want and the
clerk grinds them for you.
Nothing in the warehouse could be regarded as 'food' so I returned to the
apartment, boiled some water and managed to consume the instant noodles. The
next time I saw Wayne, I'd ask him where to find restaurants that included
English on their menu.
I turned on the television but there weren't any English programs and when I
tried to watch a Hollywood movie (DVD), the language was Chinese and I
couldn't find the button on the remote to change it (of course all labels
are Chinese). I'm a push-every-button-until-it-works kind of woman but I
finally had to give up.
Outside a barrage of fireworks exploded and lit up the darkness; it was the
eve of the new year and time for celebration. High-powered laser beams in
several colors--green, white and yellow--oscillated across the night sky.
Chinese New Years is a time for family to come together to enjoy good food
and treats, much like Christmas in the west. Being alone at such a time
wasn't much fun.



         --
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