I lived
five years in mainland China, from 2001 to 2006. I arrived in October in the sub tropical area of Guangzhou, better known as Canton to most people in the west. I worked at a private school, Yinghao College--the very first private boarding school in China, in the lovely green and mountainous countryside of Conghua, 35 miles North East of Guangzhou.
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| Yinghao College, Conghua, Guangdong PRC |
It was a great introduction to my first time in China, as it isolated me somewhat from the full brunt of China itself. It was ideal. The food at the school was horrid, not what one would expect from China, but again, I was at a school, not a three or four star hotel or restaurant. Next door was a resort hotel however, as Conghua is famous for its hot springs, which the school was tapped into literally; my shower was supplied with real hot spring water, and I could turn on the tap, set a plastic stool in the bath and enjoy a steam! When I wanted better food, I went to the hotel or other small restaurants that had sprung up specifically because the school was there and the hot springs.
By the end of December however, I soon left this lovely environment for the lure of the big city of Canton. It was a money issue--I would triple my salary by doing so--a no brainer.
I can't recall much of anything about my first Christmas in China as it just isn't observed there. That seems kind of odd because I found out much later that nearly all the world's Christmas decorations are made in that area, as well as most of the worlds sexual aid devices, and on and on. The Pearl River Delta--or the PRD as it's called among the expatriate crowd--is also known as "The World's Factory Floor". More than *half of all goods made in China come from that area. It has become an actual "Megacity" environment.
*in 2003 40% of all manufactured goods in China came out of the PRD.
Once rooted in Guangzhou, I shortly found a few free lancing jobs and quickly got to know the place. I as making really good money and one job I had during the day was working for an English language immersion school, where I again lived on the city-mountain of Bai Yun Shan (White Cloud Mountain) in the heart of the city.
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| Baiyun Shan, Guangzhou PRC |
My second Christmas in China, I had a much better and memorable experience. By this time I had found a nice little family run restaurant that catered to the embassies and consulates and also set out a great buffet for every western holiday of importance. At the school that year I bought a small one meter Christmas tree that were now being sold at a local department store, along with assorted ornaments and garland. I let my students do all the decorating and it was such a joy to watch them hang little ornaments and string garland around the room. It was brand new to the all and they were enthralled.
The third year in Guangzhou I
was approached by a friend who said she had a contact who wanted a "store Santa" for the very first time at a fairly new shopping mall. I
thought about it, and then thought "why not?" and so
agreed. I met with the contact, another Chinese woman, rather young,
who was in charge of public relations at the shopping center. This
mall was on par with any large city mall in the USA. It was four
stories and had hundreds of shops.
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| Tee Mall, Guangzhou PRC |
My "Santa's Workshop"
would be on the last floor. I showed up about an hour before the
event. A makeup artist was there, with the suit. I brought shorts and
a T-shirt, as I figured it might be hot in the suit. It was quality
stuff, probably a $200 outfit, no joke! The beard was
incredible--something out of a Hollywood makeup department. I found
out later that the suit and the make up artist were on loan from the
local movie studio (I lived in Guangzhou--otherwise known as
Canton--a city of 10 million people, and yes, a burgeoning movie
business). When it came time, I was walked out a side door about 50
meters from the throne. The PR lady and her assistant accompanied me,
and everyone we walked by were awe struck. At the thrown area, there
were two young Chinese girls in wonderful green elf outfits. There
was already a line of about 50 people, half of them children. I took
my seat, and waited for the first child. The little Chinese girl was
about four I think, and she was all eyes and open mouth. They sat her
on my lap, and I said stuff to her in Chinese (I was relatively
fluent in Mandarin after two years--another reason I was chosen),
while her happy mother took photos. Within 20 minutes the line had
grown double in size, as they were announcing that "Shen Dan Lao
Ren" was on the fourth floor (literally "Christmas old
man") through the audio system.
A few kids began screaming in
sheer terror the moment the elves got them up to
me--understandable--I have seen that in America, so nothing new. What
I found so enjoyable were the bright eyes, the sheer wonder of my
grand beard, and on occasion, a kiss on the cheek, encouraged by the
mother or father.
There were some young school girls as well, and
they had a blast. I did this for three days, and made about as much
money doing it if I had worked three weeks at my regular job, which
was editing for an Chinese educational book publisher. The next year
a good friend of mine took over the reins and he also enjoyed it.
INGREDIENT LIST
Your noodles should be close to ready now. Drain them BUT save one cup for mixing the soup base. After you have drained the noodles dump them into your skillet. Next, open your packets of soup seasoning that came with your ramen and stir into the one saved cup of hot water. Pour this into the skillet. Next measure out how many cups of water needed for how many ramen noodles you mad MINUS one cup. Pour this into the skillet, stir thoroughly and bring entire mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a very low simmer and cover for about five minutes. Remove from heat and eat when you're ready! ENJOY
