A seemingly simple task .....

On Sunday afternoon, I headed out to Metro to stock up on some pantry staples such as nuts, seeds, organic vegetables, smoked salmon and frozen berries (a new discovery!). I also decided to purchase a counter top oven, as my landlady was reluctant to install a regular oven. Sounds like a simple task, right? Not in China. There were about 15 different models to choose from and I spent a considerable amount of time deciding which one to purchase based on a few simple questions – How easy were the Chinese labels to interpret? Would the oven be able to cook fish, meat, toast and possibly puddings? How heavy was the oven, should I want to move it to my next international posting? After much deliberation, I decided upon a medium sized oven that seemed easy to use and was moderately priced ($100). Decision made, I asked one of the many shop assistants if I could have the oven in a box. “Mei you”……. “I don’t have”. Hmmm, it seemed that they did have the oven, after all it was sitting on the shelf in front of me. But no, it wasn’t available. The woman went to get someone else, who repeated that I couldn’t have this oven. I was persistent and communicated via basic Chinese and a lot of sign language that I wanted the oven and I wanted it in a box. By this stage, a crowd had gathered – who was this laowai, thinking she could buy an oven that was on the shelf?! Several staff members were now involved and after much hunting involving a forklift, a box materialised. Not the box for the oven, but a box for a large free standing fan. The oven would have taken up a third of the space in this box. Frustrated (but still smiling), I handed over my shopping bag and together, we pushed the oven into the bag. Mission accomplished! The next challenge came when I arrived at my apartment and I considered how I was going to get two bags of shopping, an oven, a tea set and a bucket filled with shopping up to the 26th floor by myself. Enter elderly Chinese man dozing in the back of his bike trailer. The kind old man loaded up my purchases, drove to the building and helped me to carry them up to my apartment. He left, happy with the bottle of beer that I pressed into his hands. Nothing is simple in China, but with some perseverance and patience, things happen. I can now cook a roast, toast bread and bake a chocolate pudding! (As you can see, I'm still unable to load pictures ...... Peter? Help!!!!!!)