More About Yangzhou
Daniel announced yesterday, after I caught him watching Pride and Prejudice on the computer for the second night in a row, that it is time to leave this city and go back to Shanghai. Apparently he has exhausted the entertainment opportunities here (he says his Calculus independent study definitely does not count as entertainment). So I suppose it’s a good thing that we’re leaving Saturday. Bought the train tickets yesterday; I still feel a small thrill of accomplishment whenever I successfully accomplish something like buying train tickets. Silly, yes, but we celebrate what we can. Small victories, and all that.
There are some things about our time here that I will miss in Shanghai; the motel where we’ve been staying is beside the music building, so often we’re treated to flute or piano playing, or singing on occasion. There are some very talented musicians here at Yangzhou University. I’m also going to miss the little mini-cafeteria next door to the motel—we’ve discovered several dishes that we really like and that I can order successfully every time, the people there are friendly, and for less than a dollar per person it’s hard to beat. I’ve also really enjoyed the canals in this city. There is a network of them that criss-crosses the map, and that make for pleasant walks, for the most part. The canal on the other Yangzhou U campus across the street from where we’re staying kind of smells like sulphur, but you don’t really notice unless it’s raining, for some reason. Other than that, the canals are quite nice. Even though it has well over a million inhabitants, Yangzhou still has a small-city feel to it that I enjoy.
There are a lot of pedicabs in this city—bicycles with seat-carriages attached to the back. They’re not just touristy things either; these things are considered legitimate means of transportation. I really respect the pedicab pedalers who stop to ask Daniel and I if we want a ride. I mean, we weigh a combined total of well over 400 lbs. That’s a heavy load I think, even by China standards, where it’s not uncommon to see a rail-thin old man struggling down the street with a huge bike cart full of wood, debris, melons, or whatever else needs moving. So these guys who pester us to take their pedicab must be either really hard-up for work or must have heard that waiguoren can be charged double the usual prices. I’m not sure. But we’ll walk, or take a taxi if we must, thank you very much.
Pedicabs are not the only self-propelled vehicles on the streets; bicycles of the traditional variety are also quite common (as are mopeds, motorcycles, and battery-powered bikes). It cracks Daniel up that almost every bike you see around campus has a pedaler and someone sitting sideways on the rack above the back wheel; I think this has been outlawed in Beijing, but you can’t walk down the street or sidewalk here without bumping into someone on the back of a bike. Daniel asked me, “What would you do if your date came to pick you up on his bicycle?”
Me: “Hop on, of course.”
Daniel: “Haha, you’re lying.”
Me: “No, really, you gotta admire that kind of confidence.”
Daniel: “Haha. Well, I guess it would mean that every guy would be after the same type of girl—about 5’4’’ and skinny.”
Me: “Huh?”
Daniel: “Come on! Would you want to pedal some 200 lb gal around town?”
He’s got a point I suppose.
When we first arrived in Yangzhou, I thought this place might be too developed for my research to work out, and was considering trying to find a different city. The thing that finally convinced me it would be ok happens to be another feature of this place that cracks Daniel up—namely, the bare-butted babies. Clearly he didn’t read my blog when I was in Beijing; the bare-butted babies were the cause of the only real culture shock I experienced. I mean, I was expecting China to be quite different from the US. But instead of putting diapers on their kids, people here just buy baby- and toddler- clothing with the butt cut out. Simpler, I suppose, if maybe less sanitary. This practice is very common in Beijing, but I hardly saw it at all in cosmopolitan Shanghai. In Yangzhou, it’s clearly the norm. Daniel said the first time he saw it he just thought it was a fluke; you know, like maybe the kid’s pants had split. But after a day or so of seeing the same thing, he realized that’s how the clothes were made. We were walking out of the campus gate one morning when a toddler in front of us stopped in the street to relieve himself, holding his mother’s hand to keep his balance. Daniel’s like, “Geez. Where are we?” Welcome to China, pal.
There are some things about our time here that I will miss in Shanghai; the motel where we’ve been staying is beside the music building, so often we’re treated to flute or piano playing, or singing on occasion. There are some very talented musicians here at Yangzhou University. I’m also going to miss the little mini-cafeteria next door to the motel—we’ve discovered several dishes that we really like and that I can order successfully every time, the people there are friendly, and for less than a dollar per person it’s hard to beat. I’ve also really enjoyed the canals in this city. There is a network of them that criss-crosses the map, and that make for pleasant walks, for the most part. The canal on the other Yangzhou U campus across the street from where we’re staying kind of smells like sulphur, but you don’t really notice unless it’s raining, for some reason. Other than that, the canals are quite nice. Even though it has well over a million inhabitants, Yangzhou still has a small-city feel to it that I enjoy.
There are a lot of pedicabs in this city—bicycles with seat-carriages attached to the back. They’re not just touristy things either; these things are considered legitimate means of transportation. I really respect the pedicab pedalers who stop to ask Daniel and I if we want a ride. I mean, we weigh a combined total of well over 400 lbs. That’s a heavy load I think, even by China standards, where it’s not uncommon to see a rail-thin old man struggling down the street with a huge bike cart full of wood, debris, melons, or whatever else needs moving. So these guys who pester us to take their pedicab must be either really hard-up for work or must have heard that waiguoren can be charged double the usual prices. I’m not sure. But we’ll walk, or take a taxi if we must, thank you very much.
Pedicabs are not the only self-propelled vehicles on the streets; bicycles of the traditional variety are also quite common (as are mopeds, motorcycles, and battery-powered bikes). It cracks Daniel up that almost every bike you see around campus has a pedaler and someone sitting sideways on the rack above the back wheel; I think this has been outlawed in Beijing, but you can’t walk down the street or sidewalk here without bumping into someone on the back of a bike. Daniel asked me, “What would you do if your date came to pick you up on his bicycle?”
Me: “Hop on, of course.”
Daniel: “Haha, you’re lying.”
Me: “No, really, you gotta admire that kind of confidence.”
Daniel: “Haha. Well, I guess it would mean that every guy would be after the same type of girl—about 5’4’’ and skinny.”
Me: “Huh?”
Daniel: “Come on! Would you want to pedal some 200 lb gal around town?”
He’s got a point I suppose.
When we first arrived in Yangzhou, I thought this place might be too developed for my research to work out, and was considering trying to find a different city. The thing that finally convinced me it would be ok happens to be another feature of this place that cracks Daniel up—namely, the bare-butted babies. Clearly he didn’t read my blog when I was in Beijing; the bare-butted babies were the cause of the only real culture shock I experienced. I mean, I was expecting China to be quite different from the US. But instead of putting diapers on their kids, people here just buy baby- and toddler- clothing with the butt cut out. Simpler, I suppose, if maybe less sanitary. This practice is very common in Beijing, but I hardly saw it at all in cosmopolitan Shanghai. In Yangzhou, it’s clearly the norm. Daniel said the first time he saw it he just thought it was a fluke; you know, like maybe the kid’s pants had split. But after a day or so of seeing the same thing, he realized that’s how the clothes were made. We were walking out of the campus gate one morning when a toddler in front of us stopped in the street to relieve himself, holding his mother’s hand to keep his balance. Daniel’s like, “Geez. Where are we?” Welcome to China, pal.
posted by Mike and Jean Anne at 1:05 AM
<< Home