The Great Cheese Pilgrimage - An Omage to Fromage

I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seat for the report on the search for cheese. Well, my friends, your wait is over. (Wow! Why did an image of John McCain just flash before my eyes?) Here's just one example of how life in China is different from life in the US. You don't just go to one or two stores and get everything you want or need. That is especially true of "western" things. And if you CAN find them, they're usually expensive. So when one of the wives here found a place where you could buy cheese at a reasonable price, a major outing developed.

As word spread that she found where you could buy cheese (and butter and a few other items - yes, those are restaurant size cans of tomato paste & other things) at a reasonable price, what started out as a simple shopping run morphed into the event of the week. The rumor spread from friend to friend of this great find, and more and more people were asking if they could come along. After hours of arranging who would ride with who, and where we would meet for lunch before our great cheese shopping trip, the wheels were in full motion. A sizable group met for lunch at a local "western" restaurant. A little pricier than local dining, but food we recognize, and a western style toilet. (A bonus in the middle of a day of shopping.)

As we left the restaurant our drivers all got on their cell phones to each other to find out exactly where the place was we were headed to, and we were off in search of this elusive cheese. After a western slang lesson in the car with my Chinese friend on what "who cut the cheese?" meant (her American boyfriend wouldn't tell her), we arrived at the cheese place. (As an added bonus, I gave my Chinese girlfriend a quick primer - and warning - on a little game American men like to play called "pull my finger". Hey, us girls have to stick together!)

After wading through puddles of rotting fish water in the parking basement (you learn quickly the proper shoe selection is essential for this type of outing) we walked into the big warehouse-like building where the local restaurants buy their supplies. (Whoot whoot for the driver that used to be buyer for a local hotel!) It certainly wan't glamorous. A couple chest style refrigerators with various big wheels of cheese and other dairy products you purchased in bulk or split with a friend and paid for by kilo (another step on the new culture learning curve). After all of us selected our cheese and butter, etc. many ladies had to take off with their drivers to pick up their kids from school, while the rest of us took advantage of our time out together to do a little more exploring and shopping.

Among other places, my Chinese friend stopped with me at a little place that sells tea and taught me the finer points on purchasing tea. Among other things, she explained that since tea is a plant, you need to taste the tea before purchasing it every time - even if you buy the same kind of tea every time. Again, at home you grab the box of tea off the grocery store shelf and drop it into your cart. Here, you need the time to stop and sit down while the vendor brews you a little tea to sit and sip before making your purchase. THEN you have to decide how much you want to buy - in metric and have them weigh it. Another activity to fill your day if you're over here as a leisure activity, but just one more thing to add to your already long day if you work here and have many other responsibilities - and probably a long daily commute by public transportation.

Again, the key to survival over here hinges on expectations. If you expect to do things and eat the same way you do at home, your sense of humor would quickly be dampened. But if you can view living here as an adventure and you understand that "we're not in Kansas anymore", then it can really be fun learning a new way to live, and learning another culture.