Buying Boots

In contrast to my previous post, now I feel compelled to share about an aspect of expat life I do not appreciate, the part where I try to buy apparel.

I need black winter boots. In America, I imagine buying boots would look something like this - I go into a store. I see boots I like. I find my size and try them on. I like the boots on my feet. I buy the boots.

Of course there could be other intervening factors, like I have to go to several stores, or they don't have my size, or they're too expensive. But at no point would it look like it does here.

Here, I go to buy shoes at a place with dozens of shoe vendors. I have to try to look for good boots while not getting too close because then the sellers harass me with questions about what I want. If I find boots I like, I have to convince the seller that yes, I really need to try them on in my own size and not a size or color that's "close enough." If I like the boots I try on, then I have to haggle a price. Prices have risen dramatically here and add to that me being a foreigner and I know that what they are asking is nowhere near what I could end up paying if I have the patience to bargain. But how can I know what's reasonable to pay? It's best to walk away and keep looking, and come back later, but then I have to go through the whole process in another stall and wonder, "Maybe those first boots were best?" And all in my second language.

So maybe you can understand why I went boot shopping the other day, went through this process in one stall, walked away and gave up. I just didn't have it in me that day.

Making Life Work

One of the things that expat living in a less than fully developed country has taught me is that most food can be made from scratch. Macaroni and cheese doesn't have to come from a box people (although I'm not enough of a fan to make it from scratch myself).

Over the years, our desire to recreate delicious foods from home without paying imported prices has led me to learn how to make a lot of things on my own - brownies, cakes, granola bars, peanut butter, bagels, tortillas, bread, apple butter, sour cream, marshmallow cream, even cleaning supplies (my next experiment - making my own furniture polish). Some of these I've discovered are better than the original (granola bars). Others still lead me to buy the imported version if I'm feeling flush (tortillas and brownies).

Today I tried a new homemade version of something - caramel. Turns out that if you put a can of sweetened condensed milk into a slow cooker, cover it with water, and cook it on low for 8 hours (or in my case, forget about it until the next morning), you have a can of caramel sauce. I was dubious about this, since that "chocolate chip cookie dough dip" recipe on Pinterest was nasty (don't believe everything you read on the internet, except what I just told you). But it's a good thing I didn't have a spoon in hand when I cracked that bad boy open because it would be gone by now.

So I'm off to get another can, not because I ate it all but because I need twice as much to make my favorite bars. They're called Oatmeal Carmelites. Honestly, I don't like that name because anything that ends with "lite" feels cutesy and I'm just not a cutesy girl. I think they should be called Heaven in Your Mouth bars, or I'll Need to Exercise Later bars. Whatever - I'm just excited I found yet another way to make life work here!

Goodbye Nim

Nim the hamster departed this life today and left a sad little girl behind. Nim was a sweet little first pet and we're thankful we had her for over two years!

Day 9 - Someone I Love

Yes, I did take this picture. The family is used to "don't move" and "leave space for mommy!"

Day 8 - Bad Habit

It could be a worse habit

Pure Awesomeness

This is by far the most awesome thing I've seen in awhile. It's awesome on so many levels. First, the girls dancing with clear instruments. I'd put down good money on a bet that none of those girls are actually playing the instruments, but they have mastered the classic Chinese dance moves. Then the old people enter in their Hollywood Squares IKEA rooms. I'm not sure that they are actually singing the real words to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. If they are, then the fact that they are singing about being caught in bad relationships with such animated joy is, again, awesome. Their Macarena-like dancing and other choreography only add to the awesomeness.

I strongly suspect that if I could understand their local dialect (or read the characters on the screen) I would see that they have made up their own words to the song. I certainly hope so, because otherwise they clearly don't understand the meaning. Either way, it's adorably fun. Enjoy!

China Does It Again

Throughout our 12 plus years in Asia, we've learned to live without some things, or to become accustomed to the Asia version of them. But once in awhile, China will pull out a version of something that makes me say, "This is (almost) just like home!"

Last spring, it was the saltines. Today, it is yogurt.

Yesterday I bought a small container of plain yogurt as a starter for my yogurt machine (whenever I move back to the States, I'm doing whatever it takes to bring that back with me and make it work on 110 power). I bought this particular container simply because it had cool Chinese pictures on the outside and said, "Lao Beijing" which means "Old Beijing" (or, literally, "Old North Capital.")

Imagine my surprise when I dipped my spoon in the yogurt and it left a dent. That's right, it left a dent. For 12 years, I have eaten yogurt that can be poured, yogurt you can drink. Years ago I stopped hoping for yogurt that left a dent. I realized it didn't make a difference in how it tastes, but there's something about it leaving a dent that I've always missed.

Not only does it leave a dent, but it's plain yogurt that doesn't taste like it has a truckload of sugar. So there must be some gelatin in this yogurt and I'm curious to see if it affects the yogurt I'm making. I also realize that if you haven't lived in Asia (and maybe even if you do) you probably don't understand why this is such a fun discovery for me. But trust me, it is. China has done it again.

Day 7 - Fruit

Day 6 - From a low angle

Day 5 - From a high angle

It's amazing what we can see from our 13th floor view. Here, some postal delivery bikes waiting to be used.

Day 4 - Something Green

I was gone Friday to Saturday so I am going to post several photography challenge posts at once. They are going to tear down the alley where this green door is so I spent some time shooting there recently. And the following is just a bonus photo:

What I Enjoy about Scout

We're a month in, and I've decided Scout's a keeper. I have to be honest, it was tough going there for awhile. Several moments when I thought, "I don't really think I'm a dog person."

But to our children's relief, Scout has earned a spot in the family. Here are a few of the reasons why:

the way she runs to us when we come in a room
and how she does it with her hind legs trying to outrun the front ones
"puppy ball" - when she curls herself up and sleeps in a perfect ball
those eyes!
the way she sniffs into the wind when she's outside, like she's smelling something mysterious
sudden bursts of energy "I must run right now!"
her willingness (already!) to sit and wait to be told she can eat
and how quickly she has learned "stay" (as long as you don't go out of sight)
the way she attacks her toy cat
her joyful response to "Come Scout!" most of the time
and her mysterious "I'm sorry, I'm busy thinking about something else right now" look the rest of the time
how she's learned to go to the bottom of the steps when she needs to go out
and how she (usually) goes in her pen to pee if no one notices her at the bottom of the steps
puppy licks (as long as they aren't on my face - yuck).
a warm puppy on my lap
the way she must stretch first her front legs and then her back ones when she comes out of her crate
how she will jump up and run to sit by the door when she hears the doorbell (though here the doorbell means someone still has to come into the building and up the elevator before she will see who it is)
her sad puppy face resting on one of the holes in the baby gate that keeps her out of the kitchen
how she's learning to ring the bell at the bottom of the stairs when she needs to go out
she chases her tail
she loves us just because we are her people

Day 3 - Clouds

I confess, I took this about a week ago, but the chances of seeing clouds here is pretty rare!

Day 2 - What I Wore Today

30 Day Photography Challenge Day 1 - Self Portrait