Who Wants to Be Rich?

written by Nathan

All across the world we try and catch a little TV. Television (the tube) offers a glimpse into the culture we are visiting, and locally produced TV often showcases differences in taste - dramatic, comedic, newsworthy.

I first started noticing this, when I began to split my life between the USA and Latin America. In Colombia, there is no featured or localized weather (it is close enough to the equator that seasons are relative) - but all of news is national, with a focus on local stories and issues from across the country. Violence is more honest - dead bodies shown are occasionally on the midday news. In Latin America, the favorite show is the ‘telenovella’ our version of a soap opera. A must see to understand ins and outs of dramatic tension.

But, since we have begun this long journey round the planet, I have come more to understand a value of TV for the traveler. In public, or in hotel lobbies, it is a great way to begin conversations with your hosts about what common interests you share. In this case, football (soccer) or the Olympics were universally appreciated, no verbal language needed beyond exclamations. As we travel, natural disasters around the globe and the upcoming World Cup have captured the attention of many.

From China to India, From Ghana to Egypt, we have been amused, entertained, and educated with a worldwide phenomenon of TV success. 

You probably already know the show, either from friends, from watercooler conversations, or, perhaps you are a fan yourself: “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” It's a game show of odd trivia, hard facts, science etc growing ever more popular across our planet. The game show has spawned an Oscar winning dramatic movie, “Slumdog Millionaire,” and is syndicated across the world on Fox and other networks. It also has many immitators… soe closer than others to the real thing.

In Ghana, Brittany became slightly addicted to the telanovela “Second Chance,” dubbed in English. It was fun to attempt lip reading in Spanish, while following the gripping drama. How are Salvador and Isabel coping with the ongoing saga of their twisted lives? Only a return to Ghana will answer these questions.

While in China, we adored a hilarious show that involved people matched against tricky shapes cut out of a quickly moving wall...called "Brain wall?"

 

Another television highlight that we encountered was the live taping of a show that involved an obstacle course of pygmy goats, geese, pigs dressed in biker outfits, humans dressed as giant pandas, and a wheelbarrow filled with bowling balls. After running around the obstacle course and catching one of each animal, contestants had to shoot a Big Bad Wolf with an airgun and then milk three balls from the udders of a giant plastic cow. Very few people managed to complete the course, needless to say. I don't know that it ever aired, but I had to physically old Brittany back from entering herself as a contestant.

“Who wants to be Rich?” is the Ghanian version of ’Millionaire’. It has a slightly different set up, most do, but has the same smart-aleck host who seems to play for and against the contestants. Instead of two levels of break points for gathering certain winnings it has three.

Here was our favorite question from “Who Wants to Be Rich:”

“Which of these is a type of fruit?”
A) Hanana
B) Manana
C) Ghanana
D) Banana

We were all duly impressed when the contestant correctly chose D) Banana.

Seriously, the questions were embarrassingly simple at first. But they certainly elevated in difficulty as the show progressed. We were quickly lost as trivia pointed to Ghanian history and truly stumped with a question about the correct periodic table number for the element of Chlorine.

Who’s laughing now?

Read more...

Culinary Epiphanies and Food in Nanjing

I like mushrooms! And I like eggplant too! Olives are still a no-go. I think...we haven't encountered many in china yet), but still! this is remarkable! Perhaps it is simply the fantastic variety, or the way in which these veggies are prepared in China, but my whole culinary world has just exploded.

Food has be the focus of many of our recent days; we are mad for the food we have been finding in both Shanghai and Nanjing - WOW!! As our ordering technique consists of staring at a long list of chinese characters and randomly selecting two dishes, we are consistently surprised by the delicious dishes that appear on our table. Our Chinese illiteracy has certainly expanded our culinary experiences!!

Thank goodness that the duck heads and pig feet seem to be of a higher caliber delicacy here (we usually choose moderately priced dishes). Most of the food we have been "ordering" ends up being mostly vegetables, with savory smidgens of pork or chicken, either mixed with noodles (all kinds!) or over rice. We have also been enjoying HUGE bowls (think "small pond") of savory soup.

Our first night in Nanjing we happened upon a Hui restaurant in the alley close to our first hotel (Hui are a Chinese ethnic group that practices Islam), which serves only mutton and beef. Here, a massive bowl of hot soup and noodles will only cost you about ¥6 ($0.80). We have eaten three meals there since, and plan to go again tonight. They serve a clear broth cinnamon-based soup before your entrée that is absolutely divine. The best part of this noteworthy noodle shop is your noodles are made to order in under a minute. Beginning with a ball of noodle dough on the counter, the cook cuts off a reasonable portion, then stretches, winds, bangs, stretches, winds, bangs, stretches, winds, snips and pops into the pot your perfect noodles. If you have ordered a spaghetti sized noodle, it is actually just one very, VERY long noodle that covers your plate, whereas if you have ordered more of a large linguini it is cut into manageable 6” long pieces. We love you noodle shop!!!



Some other food highlights thus far in China include:

* a street food item that we have begun calling "Chinese Pizza:" a crepe/omelet cooked with green onions and tiny bits of pork, and then slathered with a spicy, salty sauce before folded in half and served.
* incredible boiled dumplings of all kinds; the filling is unknown until that first anticipatory bite. A hot, sweet, bean curd dumpling was an unexpected and fabulous one!
* lamb shanks (see photos on shutterfly) at a mongolian resturaunt with Nan and Benson in Shanghai.
* dishes that have sichuan pepper, which is not hot like red or black pepper, but has an interesting numbing effect in the mouth.

Nathan is delighted by the Hunan-influenced dishes, which are spicier in flavor. He is looking forward with great anticipation to our imminent travels to the province (Changsha).

It's funny how I thought that our load would LIGHTEN as we traveled....we seem to be carrying more and more with each bite. :)

Still on the list is a "hot pot" restaurant and Nanjing BBQ, but I can sleep well knowing that tomorrow is another day.

xoxo

Read more...