Weather the Weather

Whether the weather be good
Whether the weather be cold
I'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether the weather be cold
Or whether the weather be cold!

In The Cold

My fingers are freezing in the Macao winter. I wonder why my body does not seem to remember how to respond to the cold anymore, considering the fact that it has survived the mercurial Melburnian weather for a year before. Looking into the mirror, I feel like my skin has actually pickled and aged several years over these past 6 days. It seems like no matter how much I am slathering on my moisturiser, the climate like a thirsty dessicant sucks it all up in a matter of minutes. I've gone past trying to conceal my eye-bags because my concealer seems to expose fine lines more than help hide flaws.

The Ritual of Routine

I spend almost an hour every morning getting myself ready before I can get out of my Macanese igloo. Before you think that the cold here has transformed me from the slacker dresser I was in Singapore into a vainpot, let me clarify. I spend a large bulk of the time preparing warm water to wash my face. We only have a gas heater that needs time to warm up. I've got to collect the hot water from the hot water tap in a basin and manually mix it with cold water to get warm water. For some reason that I have not figured out yet, the owners did not install a mixing tap at the wash basin. The hot and cold water taps are two separate taps.I'm serious - Two separate taps! Sigh.

Then, after preparing my warm water, I have to move that basin to another stable surface, which in my tiny apartment means the top of the WC, so that i can use a scoop to use the water to rinse off the soap without contaminating the rest of the supply. I repeat this same process for washing my hair because I have to use cool water to wash my hair to protect my scalp. And the ancient tap system here means that the shower heard spits out scalding hot water interspersed with skin-biting cold fluid. Turning the taps to get water flowing is also another learning journey. Remember those plastic roundish taps from the 70s? Those are what I have. The edges of the taps aren't exactly smooth but have these indentations that are to give you grip to make turning them easier. I have had to learn how to use my numb fingers to rotate them without cutting my fingers.

Giving Thanks

I have never appreciated the mixer taps that you can flick on and off as much as I have now. The good thing about these taps I have here is that they are helping me work my neglected finger muscles...so wait to be amazed with how easily my fingers will be able to pop open the stubborn jar caps!

Truly, the cold and apartment fittings here are teaching me to better appreciate the many simple things that I have taken for granted like hopping into a warm shower, brushing my teeth, washing my hands. Here, the performance of these simple routines have become like tests of my will and physical tenacity to me.

Becoming Cultured in the Cantonese Way of Life

The challenges of physical acclimitisation aside, cultural adjustments abound. Being a non-Cantonese speaker though I am Chinese attracts a certain, undesired prejudice. Most seem to understand Putonghua, Mandarin. But my standard of Mandarin is also rather appalling so that means that I often begin speaking in Mandarin alright but I end up with many 'Huhs?' because I cannot comprehend their responses comprised of vocabulary that is much more compex than mine.

This morning, I had the unpleasant experience of having two shop assistants express their exasperation with my lack of comprehension of what they were trying to say. Mental notes to self: Learn Cantonese. Be more patient with students learning English in the future - learning a language is NEVER easy and scolding doesn't help one learn it faster. One regret: Why didn't I study Chinese harder?

Beware Pinkerton!

Apparently, being Caucasian still draws certain privileges in this former colony as well. Roy and I experienced our first case of racism at a popular Portugese restaurant. We had visited it in the hopes of sampling authentic Portugese cuisine only to be told that they did not have tables for us. However, we found out from our Australian friends later that they had managed to get in without reservation on the same day half an hour later. We made a reservation for the next day and when we turned up 5 minutes early, the front door was locked and it was only when a portly Chinese businessman and his other business counterparts started to knock on the door that the Caucasian owner finally opened the door. Apparently, the businessman was a regular. He and his waitresses had ignored the other Chinese businessmen as well as us earlier when we knocked on the glass door.

When we enquired about our reservation, he unapologetically told us that he did not have any available tables but he promised that he would get it to us within 10 minutes. We then had to wait out in the cold. 10 minutes ticked by and no sign of our table. So we decided to head off for local fare instead.

Mana Macanese Macan Paradise?
Eating is another avenue to encounter culture. The popular and commonplace cha-chan-tengs here are the local versions of Singapore's kopitiams. But eating at cha-chan-tengs is an affair that parallels food courts on the cost scale though the environment is not as pristine. Cigarette smoke intertwines with wafts of boiling soup stock and food frying in fat. School students lunch at cha-chan-tengs where menu prices average S$7 - a price I find steep even as a working adult. Makes me wonder how the locals manage their finances given that the cost of living here is rather high. Even eating at the more dodgy of cha-chan-tengs can set one back by S$3 for a bowl of noodles with minimal ingredients. A more substantial meal of rice with a simple dish of luncheon meat stir-fried with egg costs S$4. Food court prices at kopitiam settings.

It is also strange to me that you have to pay a premium amount if you request for instant noodles in place of the chewy noodles that we so delight in in HK restaurants back in Singapore. With all the praises for fresh and cheap veggies I've heard, the locals seem to have very little greens in their fare. Greens are available for an additional cost but they seem to be limited to the light greens like cabbage. It is a wonder how all the local women have such flawless skin and lithe figures with the kind of oily, salty food here.

Treating Logorrhoea
Oh wow! I've just taken a record 4 hours to complete this blog. Looks like the cold has not just managed to numb and slow my physiological faculties but my neurological capacities as well. This gives me another thought - The cold sure has stopped me from being a rattling chatterbox!

I am going to sign off now and attempt to un-popsicle myself off the floor. Meanwhile, here is a gentle reminder to enjoy ALL the creature comforts of your home!