Just a spoonful of sugar

Well, well, the green taxis are back. But I think this is enough about the mysterious transport system in Beibei, otherwise you can see what my blog will quickly turn into. "Now you see 'em, now you don't. Now you see 'em, now you don't..."

This week I once again had the opportunity to experience the hospitality of the local health service. A stomach bug found it's way to my system, and after a full day of being sick and having a high fever, I decided it was time to take a taxi to the hospital. There, after a nice prick into my finger for a blood sample, I was put straight into the normal routine: safely tucked under covers and with an IV hooked to my arm. No matter how drastic it might sound to us not used to it, it is a very quick and effective way to get the medicine into the system.

And all the while, I was taken care of by a lovely, motherly, round and smiling nurse, who made sure I wasn't cold and put a pinch of sugar into my hot water just for that extra little something ;)

And thanks to all that, here I am again, among the living, ready to observe the appearances and disapearance of vehicles of different colours in the streets.

Where have all the taxis gone?

Remember the old taxis that were replaced by the new, green ones overnight? Well, just as quickly as they appeared, they have now disappeared. They are just gone. It's the weirdest thing, as they were all new, and definitely meant for Beibei, with slogans of protecting the towns environment on the rear windows.

And now, not one is to be seen. Instead the old white ones are back on the streets.

Names

Summer, I'm glad you like the blog :) And I'm happy to hear that you have been able to access it here in China. So far, wherever I have tried from, my attempts to reach the site have resulted in an error notice.

And, as far as funny names go, I'm sure that you have noticed that us laowais have funny Chinese names, too! (Just look DaShan on telly every day...) For example, yesterday I was hosting a Chinese speech competition between students from all the ChongQing universities with my classmate, a Korean guy called QiangShuai (= stong and handsome). How's that for humility ;)

Speaking of names, after being told by various Chinese people for a long time that I should have a 'real' Chinese name, instead of the 'Ai Lina' I have used, which is just a translation of the sounds of my Finnish name, I think I have , with the help of a Chinese friend, found a name I would like to stick with. Ai Lin Xiao. Ai being a Chinese family name, Lin is a lovely chanracter of rain over a forest, and with a meaning of a heave, good, expected rain. The character of Xiao also has a rain component in it, and it means sky, heaven or cloud. The two characters go together nicely both meaningwise and writingwise.

It's funny to be able to choose your own name, and one that might possibly stay with me for a long time.

Good thing is that we have just learned in class how to write an official notice of change of name. Now I just need to go and paste it over all the walls in town!

BBQ Man

No matter how many differences in the definition of politeness, or how many times I get to be the victim of the "hello" joke (which never seems to cease to be amusing), it really is the people that makes me want to stay in this country. The kind of people I meet everyday standing behind the checkout in the shops, handing me oranges from their baskets, stopping to say a few words to me in the street...

A good example is this little man, who brings out his barbecue stall as the evening falls, and spreads out little skewers of veg, tofu, mushrooms and meat. We went to buy a few things a couple of weeks back, and he treated us like state-level guests. Going back yesterday, he greeted us from far away, very proudly announcing to other customers that we were old friends. And while he was grilling the potatoes and mushrooms, he kept chattering away in his dialect, asking me questions of this and that. And not forgetting every now and then to explain to people around something about who we were, and that we knew each other.

Walking away with a box of yummy BBQ, I couldn't help but smiling to myself. With his warmth this little man just made my day and made me once again feel welcome here, no matter all the differences that sometimes drive me up the wall. After all, it's a home for both of us.

Green

Something very Chinese happened the other day. As I came out of the supermarket and was looking for a taxi to take me home, I suddenly realised that all the taxis that had until the day before been white, had been replaced by completely new green cars. Overnight, 95% of the many, MANY taxis around had all been replaced. How this was all organised in that time, I have no idea. But somehow it showed very well the kind of changes that can happen in this country in a very short time.