Adventures in Driving, Part 4 of 26: Wrong Way?

Sometimes you just need to get off the highway, right?

Sometimes it doesn't matter that someone is coming right at you.

At China, you just do what you need to do.

(This is not a one-time photo op.  I see this at least once a month, sometimes more!)

Xiao Tao

Ayi is a Chinese word that loosely translates "Auntie".  Plenty of expats in Shanghai have an ayi (or several) to do their housework, watch their kids, and/or cook for them.  Some of them even live in.

Our Ayi is part time.  She comes in afternoons during the work week to clean the house and cooks twice a week.  She also watches our kids every once in a while when we're in a pinch.

Her name is Xiao Tao* and we LOVE her!

(Picture taken by C)

Xiao Tao is our age (actually, she and Matt are exactly the same age!) and has a 7-year-old son.  She is one of 4 kids who recently moved to Shanghai from an area about 5 hours away.  Her English is about as good as my Chinese, which is mostly because we teach each other!  We are also teaching each other some cooking.  A couple of weeks ago I taught her how to make chicken salad (with noodles) and today she taught me how to make pork.

Diverting a little from the topic, during our cooking lesson, Xiao Tao used an ingredient that I was unsure of: Dian Fen.  When I asked if it was cornstarch (by showing her a bag of said ingredient with English & Chinese) she said no.  So, I looked it up.  Dian Fen, translated word by word because the combo wasn't in either of my dictionaries, means "shallow lake powder."  In this case, ours is "red shallow lake powder."  Yum!  I've always wondered about how adding "red shallow lake powder" to my dishes would enhance their flavor!  As it turns out, after an intensive internet search, dian fen is corn or maize flower, also known as corn starch. :)

Xiao Tao is one of the nicest, most humble people I know.  I'm glad she's a part of our China experience.

* xi - pronounced same as SH as in Ship
   ao - pronounced same as OW as in cOW
   t - pronounced same as T as in To
   ao - pronounced same as OW as in cOW

Note: Xiao actually means small or little, lots of "kids" from the age of my kids up to me are called xiao.  Tao is likely either her father's name or her mother's name.  We learned from Mr. Mao (aka Xiao Mao) that a child is named after the parent whose family home it is.  Mr. Mao is named after his mother because his father moved into his mother's family's home.  When he speaks his full name it starts with Mao, identifying where he comes from first, followed by who he is.

Misunderstanding?

Today marks the one year anniversary of officially knowing we were moving to Shanghai.  It's hard to believe it's been a year.  Today's post has little to do with that day of my life, instead it's more anecdotal about our general experiences here.

When our sea crate was delivered, the movers brought everything in and unpacked a lot of it.  I simply want to share with you what that meant for our bookshelves:

I guess I'm not sure if they just don't take the time shelve the books well, or if they aren't used to seeing books on shelves, or if the language thing threw them.  It was definitely a surprise to me and I found it a little funny.  And what is it about the bottom shelf anyway that makes it different?

As a side note, I have cut-outs of my kids names in English each in a single piece of wood.  After the house has been dusted, I often find K's name upside down or backwards on the dresser where it sits.  I'm sure I would do the same if faced with a Chinese character!  Sometimes I just don't know which way is up, and this applies to more than just books and characters!

Pizza Hut

We had a family dinner at Pizza Hut tonight.  It was almost exactly the same as our first visit last year, but with so much experience under our belts, it wasn't the same at all!  Even more interesting, the kids and I ate at Pizza Hut at home this summer, so I was able to identify how the two were different!  It was pretty cool. 

First, let me say that we have enjoyed Pizza Hut here each time we've been.  We order pan pizza and it tastes like home.  That said, I noticed today that there is much less sauce on the pizza here and the crust is a little sweeter.  I also think the sausage has a slightly different flavor.  One thing we don't have back home are smoothies.  I'm sure this is one of the reasons the kids love Pizza Hut here - we get smoothies every time we go!  Here are a few more things that are different about China's Pizza Hut:

You can order cocktails:

You can order steak on your pizza and get a side of meat on a stick.  For that matter, there is also a surf & turf pizza to tantalize your taste buds!

The decor is very Young, Casual, Warm, Modern...

The specials (at least that's what I'm guessing) board outside the restaurant doesn't show the full 20+ page menu, but it does give you an idea of what you can (and people do) order here at Pizza Hut:

Finally, a pic from the outside so you know we were really at Pizza Hut!  Oh, and one last thing, in all the times we've eaten here (at least half a dozen), we have never actually seen another person or family eating pizza!