Excitement in the small things

Today the boys and I are so excited. We were finally able to purchase the long elusive sand toys. The Carrefour finally had them in stock--maybe for Easter. We were able to stock up on buckets and shovels and trucks for the sandbox park. The boys and I went quickly to the park before lunch and they had such a blast. We are planning to go back after naps, but it has become cloudy, so I am hopeful we will be able to still do this.

The trip to the store went really smoothly today. Partly because Danny rode in one of those car carts. It just happen to be empty and sitting by the entrance. He has been wanting to ride in one since we started shopping here, but they have always been full before. For whatever reason the cart was really hard to push, so Tom our driver was so nice and offered to push Danny around in it. (He must have been laughing to see me trying to maneuver it around. It took all my body weight to turn it, etc.) It also seemed less crowded this morning. In China to buy produce you have to bag it and then bring it to a little station where they weigh it, close the bag and put a sticker with the price over the closing. (You may remember a previous blog about my first store experience on my own when I forgot to do this step). This station is usually packed and people push and shove to get there stuff done first. It is quite crazy actually. There is no respect in regards to who got there first. I have gotten used to having to make my way up there and then sort of guard my turn to have my stuff weighed. It is not the place for the passive. If a person is passive here, you will never leave the store with any produce. You could tell today though that there were less people buying the produce because I was able to walk right up and be helped with no problem.

The behavior of crowding and pushing to get in is also apparent in the meat section. In China (I am not sure why this is the case except that it may go back to the concept they are used to of the open street style markets) there is some meat and poultry that is already wrapped up but the majority of it is just open sections of meat parts and pork parts. There are usually huge crowds of people lifting up sections of meat or pork and trying to get the butcher to either wrap it or cut it to their specification. I of course avoid this section completely, and stick to the prewrapped meats and poultry. (This brings me to a short discussion that all wrappings are not the same. They use the thinnest plastic to wrap around the meat, and inevitably it all ends up leaking all over for me. I have come to have to bag every thing that I purchase and then rebag it when I get home.) What amazes me about this section is one the sheer amount of people in such a small area, two that they all seem to have their hands all over everything, and third that no one has gloves on, and no one washes their hands afterwards.

These two areas of the supermarket had to be the hardest part for me to get used to in shopping at the grocery store here. (That and the very different food they eat--or how it is bought--i.e. head and legs on chickens, etc.). In coming home today though I realized that none of this phased me anymore in the least. I believe maybe I am finally getting over some of the culture shock and moving into the realm of realization that this is just how it is done here in China. (I am grateful though that I am able to find what I am used to as well).

So, overall, I find myself adjusting even more. There are still definitely times (like crossing the street, or trying to get to the subway with no elevator or escalator) that I just have to shake my head and wistfully think of home. Thankfully though the Lord is allowing us to come to see this truly as our home in China or China home as Danny likes to call it, and not just where we are until we can get back to the States. I am beginning to again look forward to delving deeper into the local culture here and seeing the sights and mingling with the people here. This of course leads me to my farewell as I better go study some language or this dream may never be realized.