The adventures of a self-declared permanent student

Only 45 more days ...

It’s definitely been a slow few weeks, I apologize because I’ve been spending time applying to law schools and not too much of sightseeing and stuff. I spent a lot of time on my balcony these last few weeks, enjoying the breeze and the breaks it has given me from writing about myself and tediously entering in my resume field by field. I am beginning to forget that what I see is novel to the people around me. I guess that I am slowly becoming used to the double bike riders, motorcycles on sidewalks, children pooping in the street. One of my favourites that are becoming more of a staple are the meat vendors who basically sell meat on a stick. It’s usually a bunch of different kinds that they grill right there for you, and although I refuse to try it, I’ve heard the squid (which is basically a tentacle on a stick) is quite good. Gross!

I have also grown to love street vendors (sorry mom) and found a guy who sells these wrap things, but I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re called. He does them the best, though. I know because I’ve had it from about 3 or 4 different people, and his are always superb. It’s basically a round grill, and he pours and spreads a thin layer of batter on it (kind of like a crepe) then he cracks an egg on it and spreads it around, adds some black sesame seeds, some spices and onion (I forego the cilantro sometimes) and flips it over (this is the key because I now know the egg is actually cooked). He then adds this paste that I can only describe as BBQ sauce but less spicy and not really the same. Maybe it’s some kind of seasoned ketchup or bean-type paste. Who knows? Certainly not me! Then he adds garlic and hot pepper flakes (but I say Bu La, which means not spicy and he chuckles and puts them away) then a big crispy cracker (think a piece of lasagna pasta deep fried, it’s just a huge rectangle) which he breaks in half and places in the middle, then he wraps it all up, puts it in a bag and voila! Instant gourmet for less than 50 cents Canadian (2 kuai). This guy is one of about 10 to 15 vendors who stalk the north gate by the Foreign rez on a nightly basis. There are rice people, soup people, fruit people, flatbread people, noodle people and of course this wrap thing. They all have the same kind of contraption, a bike on which a small wooden trailer is attached and on top of which a makeshift oven is built which holds a lit chunk of coal that keeps the skillets and grills hot. They start to arrive at about 7 or 7:30 and can be gone in a flash if the police decide to stop by, but that isn’t very often and usually they go down the road for a bit and hide out in an alley (which I’ve found and that’s been fun! Don’t worry I wasn’t alone) and send the flower guy (‘cause his cart is smaller and lighter to carry) out to scope out if the cops are gone or not. They are there late on Friday and Saturday nights especially but not too late. It’s the Chinese answer to Bubba’s poutine, and I must admit, I like it much better.

During the day there are bike repair guys and a key duplicating guy (which is just so tiny, it’s about the size of my little nighttable the stand that he carries with him – on the back of his bike, of course). It’s absolutely nuts. I actually get quite accustomed to dodging them on my way out to dinner or to catch a later bus downtown, and really miss them when I come in at night and no-one’s there! Well that’s it for now, stay tuned tomorrow when I catch up on this week in one fell swoop. Sorry folks, it really isn’t the fact that the city it boring, just that i have so much freaking work to do that takes me away from doing cool stuff, but don’t worry, I’m getting to it.

posted by Jenn @ 10:52 a.m.