A New Initiative

Cathy is encouraging me to post more often so I have decided that I will post short notes about things that happen more regularly for those interested.

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Although I live in the Canton region of China, the primary language spoken here is Mandarin with a small percentage of Cantonese. The monkey wrench, however, is that the local pronunciation of Mandarin sounds so much like Cantonese to me I can't even determine which language people are speaking. 

Mandarin is a language with 5 tones. The same word can be pronounced 5 different ways to produce a variety of different meanings. Given my inability to even identify the sound of the language entirely, I have decided that I am not in a hurry to study it seriously.

A returning teacher has just discovered that he has actually been telling cab drivers that he is a teacher with the incorrect tone. One of our Chinese Canadian colleagues swears that he is actually saying that he “shit his pants”. His girlfriend thinks that this announcement makes the drivers drive faster.

One of the new teachers has apparently been asking the staff at the grocery store deli counter for knowledge instead of cheese. Again the words sound identical to the untrained ear. I forgot to ask him if the deli counter had any knowledge to give.

              

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Fast Food

Last week was the three day national holiday creatively named: October Holiday. My school, and most of China, added two days on to this holiday to round it out to a full 7 days. The catch was that most of the country was then required to work the following Saturday and Sunday to make up for the time lost. Not only do we not get Canadian Thanksgiving off, we have to work a 7 day week starting Saturday.

I have been invited to a Thanksgiving pot-luck, but I am at a loss as to what to take. It has to be quick and easy because it is a work day and still be a festive addition to the holiday table. 

I found these prepared chickens at the local grocery store.  Well prepared may be a bit of an exaggeration because they are actually raw, but the feathers have been removed. The feet are tucked under the body so it will balance nicely on a platter and the head is tilted back so far it basically present itself- a sprig of parsley in its beak and voila! The fact that I don’t have an oven, however, presents a problem.

This dilemma forced me further in to the meat section of the

store to investigate some of the many convenient options in the no-cook category as well. At first things looked pretty dire: Dried squid- doesn’t scream Thanksgiving; hunks of mysterious meat-presentation a challenge.

I was surprised to find the perfect answer one aisle farther along- dried duck pucks. Duck is a traditional Thanksgiving treat! And finally, for those who don’t care for poultry, dry, flattened pig faces.  My idea is to anchor these beauties upright in mounds of garlic mashed potatoes.Pot luck contribution complete (no oven required).