A TURKEY TALE

(the rest of the story...)

A bright and sunny and warm day back in October, we (the other foreign teachers and I) were walking along near our favorite Korean restaurant when we saw this:

"Huh?!? Are those really turkeys in China?? in Harbin??" On closer inspection, we decided they most certainly were! The only other place I'd heard of turkey being spotted in Harbin (I haven't seen it myself) was in the frozen food aisle at Metro ... and people say it's been there for a long long time.

The low October sun cast cast dark shadows, shadows that you might say, foreshadowed this turkey's fate. Lindsay and I went inside the storefront to inquire about the turkeys. It was worth a shot! Having lived in China for 5 years, she did most of the talking, but together, we came to understand that the shopkeeper would sell it to us for some 300 kuai (a pricey deal, but well-worth it, we thought, as our mouths watered) He would butcher it, clean it etc. etc. He also told us that they were his pets; he liked to see them strut around with their feathers furled. He'd never eaten turkey before, but he didn't seem reluctant to sell it to us to eat. He was quiet the entrepreneur!

Over the course of the next couple of weeks we hemmed and hawed over whether or not to buy the turkey. We all agreed that it would be a grand adventure AND a grand feast if we did, but was it worth the 麻烦 (ma fan - "trouble")? The week before our Thanksgiving dinner ... we decided to go for it!

Sadly (Thankfully) I did not get to witness the next part of the story. My weekly teaching schedule didn't allow for many long blocks of time off of campus. (photos credit of Erika)

The day was gray and cold. A light dusting of snow covered the ground as Erika and one of her students returned to purchase the turkey. But the change in weather had meant a change in storefronts. Things looked different this time, and there were no turkeys in sight!


But they didn't give up. Into each store they went, inquiring: "Do you have turkey?" "Yesssss, of course!" was often the reply they got,but then the shopkeeper would point to the cigarette lighters. "No, not 火机 (huo ji - "lighter"), 火鸡 flap flap（huo ji - "fire bird")... do you have any?" "No." Store after store, there were plenty of lighters for sale, but no turkeys. Finally, one storekeeper told them that it was the one next door!
Little turkey prints dotted the snow outside ... they'd found the turkeys!


After Erika picked a turkey, agreed on a price per jin(unit of weight), the lady shopkeeper simply picked up the turkey (or 宝贝儿 bao ber "baby" as she called it) and put it in a bag to hand to Erika and her student. What happened to the butchering? Erika later related to us that at that point, she was beginning to wonder if there was a return policy. But after a bit more hard bargaining, the shopkeepers agreed to take it to be butchered the next morning for 10 kuai.

The next morning a larger contingent of students and teachers went to witness the deed (still no me ... I was teaching class!).
As soon as they arrived, the storekeeper grabbed his bike and and the turkey in a sack and was off with a quick "Follow me!"


They stopped walking when they arrived at this hair dressers, and it was here that our 宝贝儿 turkey breathed it's last!

There was an older couple that lived behind this hair dressers that expertly did the deed. It was over before he knew it!But he still had all his feathers on... those there started to worry again because of our general lack of experience when it comes to cleaning and gutting turkeys.


Thankfully, one feather was plucked by a little child who witnessed the scene ... and then the old couple de-feathered and cleaned the bird.


After less than thirty minutes, our bird was ready to come home to be cooked!


Well, not exactly ready to be cooked.
He didn't fit into our tiny ovens, so first he had to be hacked up into more manageable pieces. We soaked him in a brine over night and then divvied him up to be baked the next day. I took care of the legs.

We then reassembled him for a picture before we disassembled him onto our plates and into our stomachs at a gathering we had with some 40 friends and acquaintances.

A mighty-fine looking turkey, don't you think? He was quite tasty too! Not just the best turkey that I've ever had in China ... but one of the bests I've ever eaten. There wasn't much of anything but bones left by the time the 40 of us got done with him. So, in the end, you could definitely say he was worth the 麻烦!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOTSSS (many photos!)

I taught my last class on December 23rd and had two days off for Christmas, but since then it's been busy, getting exams ready and giving exams. I just gave my last final this past Friday (January 2nd). Here's a bit of what I've been up to as the term winds down ...


All the students at our university have to learn to ice skate. It seems like a Harbin tradition. Now that it's the end of the semester, many students are selling their ice skates back to the school store. I bought a used pair and I've gone twice at the ice rink on campus (a large flat field that they flood). I hope to skate on the Song Hua River sometime this winter.


Lindsay and I ice skating. Yes, it's as cold as it looks. Ice on my eyelashes and I think you can see our breath in this picture. But is good fun and good exercise.


第十届哈尔滨冰雪大世界。The 10th Harbin Ice and Snow World. The other foreign teachers at my school and I braved the cold to see this last Sunday evening. We lasted 2 hours. I think I wore the 4 pairs of pants! Good thing, because they had ice slides there!


Me at the 10th Harbin Ice and Snow World. A note about the fake fur on my hood. I had this jacket in the states, but never zipped on the fur. But here, it's worth it. It helps block the wind. And it's totally the style here!


We also treated some of our close mutual friends to a holiday dinner last week.

But it's hasn't been all fun this past week. End of the term means it's also time to grade exams ...

I'm done with my stack of 32 English second-majors. But now I need to tackle my 83 freshman English majors Oral English exams (pictured here: as thick as my Lonely Planet travel guide). Before I could grade the exams, I had to have a lesson from our Chinese teachers. This year, the foreign teachers have been asked to follow the same format as the Chinese teachers. It's meant that we've spent a lot of time in the English department office, but it also means that we've got to know the Chinese English teachers a whole lot better! Now ... I wonder how long it'll take me to grade these exams ...

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT

Merry Christmas!

I miss being home for Christmas, yet I was still filled me with joy as I celebrated with friends over here. I spent it with the other foreign teachers at my university and some other close foreign and Chinese friends. We went to a wonderful dinner at noon the Shangri La Hotel and then walked along the banks of the frozen Songhua River.


On the banks of the Songhua River.


Me and my friend, a student from Canada, ON the frozen Songhua River.

COOKIES, CARDS, & CAROLS

So... my apartment is a mess of card clippings, sugar, flour, and chocolate, and things are really hectic with planning finals, grading, teaching. But, since I don't have a class to teach tomorrow morning, I thought I'd share with you all a little bit of the fun that I've been having in the midst of all this busyness.

I've been throwing Christmas cookies, cards, and carols parties for my students last week and this week. ... Right now I've had 5 groups of 11 over (on 5 different nights). I've got 6 more parties to have before next week.

Here some students in the process of making and decorating cookies:

You can hear one student, frustrated with sticky icing, saying (in Chinese), "Chopsticks are better." ... Chopsticks actually do work well for icing cookies! We tried it last night.

Most have my students have never baked before, or cooked very much for that matter, but the cookies have turned out very well! As you can see from the picture.

Before we eat them, we must take a photo!

And this is what it look like 3 minutes later:


And now it's time once again to clean up. ... I guess I'll just HAVE to lick all the spoons covered in chocolate.

p.s. Is it just me, or was the turn-around between Thanksgiving and Christmas abnormally fast? I really feel like Christmas has snuck up on us this year!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT

Before Thanksgiving, I had one of my smaller classes (this class actually started at 30 something, but is now down to 8 because it is an ungraded course) over to my apartment to bake apple pie and apple turnovers.

Some reactions to apple pie: "It's so big!" "It's sort of like making a dumpling." (referring to the apple turnover) and of course... "Mmmmmmm."

And no, I have not forgotten about the turkey story yet. I don't think I'll be able to write it up until after the holidays though. These next two weeks are going to be a whirlwind of baking cookies, having parties with students, teaching, writing my finals and giving them. I'll be done with the majority of my classes on the 23rd, but I give one final on January 2nd.

I can't believe it's already December. Oh, and yah, it's cold here. Last Friday, the high temperature was 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius). Today it warmed up to 20, and it felt good. ... It's not even winter yet though. ... and I think the sun went down at 3:30 today. ... I sorta like the cold though, when you're wrapped up in layers and your down coat, you feel cozy. I'll post a picture soon of what I normally look like when I go outside.