The Differences-Food

Some comments left by Jens and Mick about more of the different cultures on food. Here I copy some of them to this page and add more that just came to my mind, they are displayed below in green. Of course not all of what I am saying apply to all people in two countries, just a comment feature.
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This week the weather in Germany started to get better. The sun is out, the blue sky is appeared, more people going out. What makes me happier is that I will start to go to school this afternoon. Thank you all for your comments and advices and encouragement in previous post.

In Germany I like to compare things to same things in China- The price, the food, the people and the environment. As a new comer, I am still not qualified to comment much of the culture differences, not yet.

I just got the thought to write down the differences that I have seen and experienced in this short period. Maybe you have different ideas, just don’t hesitate to put your comments here. Here starts with food:

THE FOOD
Chinese prefer warm and cooked food; Germans eat more cold and uncooked food.

Chinese drink tea and water; Germans drink coffee and beer.

German's fridges full of processed food; Chinese fridges have more vegetables.

German foods are simple and limited choice; Chinese have many choices and more restaurant. Germans don't drink as much soup as Chinese.

Germans think its strange that Chinese eat rabbits head, ducks neck, chicken feet; Chinese think its strange that Germans eat cheese.

Germans take potato as staple food; Chinese treat potato as vegetable.

Germans eat some uncooked meat; Chinese think Germans are not well developed in this way.

Chinese take eating as the most important matter, they meet friends, making business and hooking up with someone such activities are all done in restaurant; Most of German activities are done in coffee shop or bar.

In Germany, going to a restaurant is just too expensive on a regular basis especially if you order more than the main dish (Jens); In China, there are so many different level of restaurants with different prices for you to choose. I went to restaurants in China with Martin or my family, friends at lest twice a week. Here in Germany.... no much chances any more.... we need to cook at home.

Chinese like to order food much more than they can eat at the moment in the restaurant, especially on business and friends treatment; Germans are better in this way, they order what they can eat at once.

When I went to restaurant asking for warm water, it was always a surprise to the waitress and they usually brought me hot water. Then I don’t ask for warm water anymore.

Germans eat bread as the main food (Jens); Southern Chinese eat rice and northern Chinese eat steamed bread or dumplings as the main food.

That’s all I have in my mind for now, do you have more to add?

Raining Day

This Monday I went to the immigration office changed my visa to a one year term visa. At the first three years I can only get one year visa each time. After first three year then I can get the perminent residence permit. good thing is now I can legally work in Germany. But I don't speak German, how can I find a job here?

The immigration office provided me a list with the recommended German language schools which I can go to take German course. This kind of German course will take 600 hours study, but I need to pay one euro per hour. After finished this course and if I pass the test, then I will get the half money back, which is 300 euro. I am now calling every school to find out the information for my study. Unfortunately 4 of 8 schools I called don't speak english. Here's the conversation between us:

School: @@@###$$$$%%^^^
Lirong: hello, this is lirong,calling for the German course, do you speak English?
School: Nein
Lirong: is there any body speaks English?
School: Nein
Lirong: ok, Thank you.Bye
School: tschuss

What the!!!!!

So Martin will help me to find it out again later. They other two schools says they will have a class starts at begaining of May.

Even though the language problem made me unhappy today. but when I heard Martin will take me out to dinner, then I started to spend two hours to dress up, however the dinner has only taken one hour. Until Martin mentioned, I didn't know I had a unhappy face all the way. but I still didn't forget to bring my camera, I told Martin I need to take photos for my blog. haha.....I changed my hair style because I wanted to change my mood. Today the highest tempreture was 6 degree, it has started raining again since yesterday. I didn't know I was unhappy until Martin mentioned to me. Isn't it strange?He could recognise when I have any little thing hide in my heart, even I can not notice by myself. Martin give me this rose.he didn't buy it, its from the dining table. He took the picture for me, so I take it as his rose for me.

Grocery

When I go shopping in German shopps, the price is my first concern. I still multipling 10 on EURO to compare the prices to Chinese Yuan. Before I came to Germany, I bought many wearing goods such as clothes, socks in China. Then I try not to shop clothes in Germany, not only concerning the price, but also the style and size. Now when I am going to shopps mostly just for daily groceries.

Here are something last week I bought from the supermarket nearby. I like to buy their fresh mushrooms and tomatos. All of the stuff costed 19 euro(lets equal to 190 RMB). I think the prices of groceries are not much more expensive than in China, compared to the qualities.

Visiting Martin's Parents

Since I arrived in Germany, the rain hasn't stopped in our city for almost one week. This week the weather is starting to get better.

Martin was taking holidays from office to accompany me until last Wednesday. When he went to work on last Wednesday, I thought I should go out to have a walk to explore the new environment. It was my first time to go out alone. By humans nature, I felt insecure and shy to face the new place, especially when I don't speak and understand local language. Therefore, before going out, I started to prepare my handbag very carefully.

When I am going out in China, my handbags usually have things like purse, key and cellphone. Here in Germany my handbag is heavier. Here are my belongings I need to take with me: cellphone, passport, purse, umbrella, dictionaries(German to Chinese, Chinese to German),book for simple conversations in German, city map, mirror, of course including my camera. aah.....I forgot my key...Unfortunately, I spent the whole day at home on Wednesday after I watched the rampage news that took place in the school of Winnenden. I watched this news on CNN just when I was ready to go out. I have shocked and felt more insecure about this new place.

But the weekend I had a good time when Martin and I visiting my parent in law-Karin and Gerhard. They live in a city where 3 hours drive from Frankfurt.

I have met Karin and Gerhard two times in China. First time was in October of 2006, when I just joined DPD and it was the first year when Martin come to live in China. Even though we were working in the same office, but we both were too shy to talk to each other, so we rarely talked to each other at that time. When Karin and Gerhard came to Beijing visiting Martin, our company invited them for dinner. Since I was working in same team, I also attended to this dinner. I could feel Karin likes me and she was paying attention to me. After dinner during our coffee time, she seemed very curious about my hobbies and interests. I remember she asked me if I will move to another country for my love. She has pulled wires between me and Martin.

The second time we met in Beijing in October of 2008, when Martin and I are engaged. The two times of meeting was significant to us.

Now we are one family, I was so much looking forward to visit them after I arrived in Germany. I wanted to see where Martin has growned up and the city he lived during his childhood. Martin is the only child to Karin and Gerhard, they have given us a lot of supports. I tell Martin often that I couldn't find a better parents in law in the world.

Karin and Gerhard prepared with great care for our visiting. The food, our room, music, even my slipper. I love the flowers and plants they have in their house; I also love the clean, tidy environment they are living. I never seen a house can be this clean and beautiful in China.

This is the balcony. I like the color of the chairs and the clean windows. On the table are the old photos Gerhard showed me from their old times, including some of Martin's photos when he was a little boy. Maybe someday I can scan it to show you how cute he was. Sigh...what a pity I can not find any of my photo from childhood.Below are some photos of the plants in the house. Karin is a romantic person. Her house has so many plants, flowers, different beautiful candles and decorating futnitures. I told her I need to learn from her to be a good wife.

Karin prepared us a decent German style breakfast. Chinese breakfast is usually combined with stuffed buns, steamed bread, porridge and preserved vegetables. Chinese people prefer warm food. Until now I still prefer to drink warm water. Porridge is one of my favorite food, Germans don't eat it much.Since I am living with Martin, I am now getting used to German bread, sausage, cheese. Unlike Chinese people, German dishes are usually cold. When I asking for warm water in German restaurant, the waitress looked very suprised that she couldn't understand why I drink warm water. Besides the flavor of food, I like the dining table of Germans. Their tables look more clean and tidy than Chinese dining tables.

On Sunday, Karin and Gerhard took us to a steak restaurant for lunch. This restaurant is famous for the meat which are from their own feed ox( or cows?). Restaurant located in one of the village on a mountain.The oxes are just living next to the restaurant.

This is the entrance of the restaurant. Most part of the house built by wood.I like the decoration of this restaurant. It looks very cozy. Here is Gerhard walking towards us....In the market, I see this kinds of colored eggs everywhere, Martin told me its for Easter Day. In this steak restaurant, we see the decoration eggs on every table to welcome this holiday. I need to check the information about Easter Day. I still have no idea about it.Gerhard is showing me the menu. I don't understand the German characters, but the picture illustrated detailed enough which part of the meat is good for us.
Outside of the restaurant is cowshed and snow mountain. This restaurant is located on the mountain which over 700miters high, the snow of this area still not completely melted yet. This is another side of the window. Some cows are staying outside of the shed. The feeling is very strange to looking at those cows and later eating the steak.The waitress told us a cow needs 2.5 years to grow up. A closer photo to the cow(Martin says they are OX, not Cow). Food is coming. First we had the starter. I always welcome vegetables.They keep my body slim.Here you go, the main dish. I don't like to eat meat that much. I prefer to have some vegetables next to the meat. But this steak tasted really good and the potato also not bad. After lunch I told Martin no dinner for us.Martin took this photo of me. He corrects me often about the right way to use knifes and forks. But my sister also often corrects me the right way to hold chopsticks. Anyway, as long as I am able to eat food, I guess should no problem.This women is the only waitress of this restaurant. All the lunch time I only saw her serving 5 tables alone, but still well organized. In China, you always see 4 or 5 waiters or waitresses serving one or two table. This is something different in Germany. Martin told me because in Germany the labour is expensive and they are efficient.

Arrival Germany

I arrived in Germany on 5th of March by Air Lufthansa. Martin used his flight miles exchanged me the business class, then the 10 hours flight was quite easy to me.

Martin and I live in a city where 15 minutes drive from Frankfurt. He just moved into this apartment one week ago before I arrived. We spent the past days at purchasing home stuff, unpacking our parcels which was sent from China with 30 cartons filled in our belongings. Now we are almost done with all the house works. The apartment looks very cozy right now, it has the style we both like about.

Before my arrival, Martin already installed telephone for me to call home and friends freely. I think about my family and frineds, I think about Chinese food, but I don’t miss them, maybe not yet. I enjoy to be with Martin, I enjoy the quiet and clean surroundings. Now I can pick up my books which I bought 1 or 2 years ago to read slowly. In Beijing, It was hard to concentrate myself in such business books. I spent all my free time at sleeping, shopping,Starbucks and bars or fashion magazines.

When I was leaving in Beijing for Frankfurt, Dandan drove me to the airport. My friends Nini and Qiaqian spent the last night with me and they also went to the airport together to seen me off. We had breakfast at Starbucks and chatted until 40 minutes before my departure. None of us cried, on the contrary they were very happy for me because they know this is the decision I made and it is also what I wanted. I really appreciate the support from my family and friends.

Of course, there are a lot of people showed their sympathetics for my moving, such as some of my former colleagues. They think I am going to suffer by leaving home, they worry if my husband and his family will treat me good.

I understand their concern.

My father taught his three childern to go as far as we can. He gave my sister name as Ping, which means Beijing; he gave me name as Rong, which means Chengdu(capital city of Sichuan province), to show his expections to us that we can go out to see outside of the world, not like a frog at the bottom of the well.

My sister and I have made our steps far enough. My brother is still working hard to make his dream to come true. Even though my mom is still complaining about we are not living around her in Mianyang. But when we look back to the begaining when we were born in a very small town of Sichuan province, then we moved to the bigger town, then to Mianyang city for my high school, then I moved to Chengdu for unniversity, then I moved to Beijing to work, then to Germany for marriage. Thats why I like this words on my blog title"I take my life as a journey, to be enjoyed slowly each step of the way..."

Germany is very beautiful, even though its still in winter so that there are not much greens, but I was still impressed by the massive trees, grass and frequent rains.They make the air very fresh and every corner of the city clean. I am like a baby curiously looking at this strange place, people, breathing at the cleanning air, listening people on the street and in TV speaking German, which I don’t understand at all.

Before whenever we talking about foreigners, it came to our mind with people who are tall, blond hair, blue eyes, speaking different language.

Now I realised I am the foreigner to this country.

Last Day of Working in DPD

Last Friday was my last day in DPD China's office. I have done the same things that every person will do for their leavings--giving all my working documents to my successor, sign all the leaving documents, asking my boss to sign my recommendation letter etc.

To memorise my last working day, I have taken some pictures from last Friday from morning to evening.

MORNING...............................
Nini has been spending all her rest time with me these days. So she also spends her nights with me at my sister's house. On Friday morning I drove my sister's car and took Nini to work. She treated me for a breakfast at downstairs of her office. Chinese breakfast usually contains soybean milk, steamed bread and pickles. Nini says I will not be able to eat much real Chinese food when I go to Germany, so I shouldn't considering about keeping fit these days. I should open my appetite eat as much as I can. So I did!

This is the office I worked in the past year. Our office has moved from the airport to downtown one year ago.this is my table, I have spent 10 hours everyday in this corner for the past 3 years.10*5=50 hours per week. 50 * 4=200 hours per month. 200 *12= 2400 hours per year. 2400 * 3 years=7200 hours.

So I have spent roughly 7000 hours in this corner in the past 3 years:-( very sad!!!..by the way, hope my counting is correct. They are two of my colleagues sitting next to me. They belong to the same team of mine. I never liked this girl, eve though we have worked together for 3 years, but until the day I left, we don't really talk to each other. So I show you her back just to protect her privacy. LUNCH.................................................. We had a lunch together with all colleagues in the same office to say farewell. Its a Sichuan restaurant with good food. EVENING.............................................................................................................................................................After work, Qianqian invited Nini and me to her house for dinner. Here are some photos from those crazy girls in Friday evening.