Yes, we have no bananas
One of the irritating things about homeschooling the kids here in China is when a project in the curriculum assumes that you live in the U.S. I mean, it's not their fault or anything--one can't expect them to cover every contingency. But it's irritating nonetheless.The challenge this week was to buy a banana for a science experiment. The idea was to peel the banana, plop it in a jar and hope that some fruit flies will choose to stop for a bite. Then you cover the top with a nylon or something and watch the amazing lifestyle of fruit flies. Easy enough, I guess. Except that out here you don't have fruit stocked year 'round the way it is in the States. (Actually, I'm just assuming that one can buy bananas year 'round in the States. I rarely have done the main shopping back home and we avoid buying bananas if at all possible.) Out here in Yunnan, it's more back to nature. When the produce ripens, it's for sale. Once it rots or sells out, you're out of luck.
Anyway, the other day we set out to the store and I have banana on the top of my shopping list. Should be no problem, I thought, since I had been seeing bananas for a few weeks. Of course, when we get to the store, there's nary a banana in sight. Watermelons are spilling over into the aisles, but bananas? Pfft. I wasn't too worried at this development, as this particular market is not real strong in the produce department. We simply bought the rest of the items on the list and then the ladies headed home while I went out on a banana quest. I chose the second closest farmers' market since that was closer to another spot where fruit vendors gathered. As I trekked over hill and dale, I kept an eye out for any individual vendor who might be hawking their wares on the curb. I saw a number, naturally, but none of them were offering bananas. As I walked, the possibility that bananas were gone for the season crossed my mind. Another thought that hit me was that I probably could substitute an apple or some other fruit and I was really hiking across town for nothing. But I was already committed, so I figured to at least peek at the market before giving up.
When I got to the market, I was in luck. There was one vendor alongside the sidewalk with a basket of bananas. They looked pretty sorry, but then I figured the flies wouldn't be too finicky. I asked how much and I think she said five mao. Now when I had my handful of language lessons back in the States, I was told that the currency of the People's Republic of China is the yuan and the jiao. (ten jiao make one yuan) They even have that written on the older bills. When I got to China, however, everybody's calling them kuai and mao. Very frustrating. But I digress. As I was saying, the vendor lady said five mao. So I grabbed this little, half black banana that's sitting in the back of the basket. The lady, however, grabs a bunch of bananas and hands them to me. I indicate that I only want the single banana, so she then holds up a single finger. I smile and pull open the wallet. Since I don't trust my language ability, I start to pull out a kuai note and ask her if she said one yuan. I don't know what possessed me to do that--maybe I want to err on the side of generosity or something. Anyway, she says "no" and starts to indicate that I don't have to pay her. Folks here tend to prefer losing a kuai or two rather than to have to make change. Anyway, I did not want to cheat her out of her penny, so I quickly pulled out a mao note and handed it to her. She took it and then started to pull a good banana out of the bunch in her hand. The one I had taken, after all, was a very sorry looking piece of fruit. I had nowhere near the language I'd need to explain that I was shopping for bugs, so I just refused the offer, indicated that I wanted the banana in my hand, and then quickly skedaddled, I'm sure that I left her with the impression that Americans are just plain nuts and can eat anything.
posted by John @ 8:02 AM
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