I think one of the novelties of being in a foreign country is that I feel twice removed from my Chinese heritage. It is very a surreal and disorienting "out of body" "out of character" "out of comfort" state. It puts into perspective for me what it means to be Chinese. What it means to be the child of immigrant parents. What it means to be the child of Taiwanese-born Chinese parents. What it means to be American-born Chinese. What it means to be an American in a foreign country. A Chinese-American in a foreign country. A tri-lingual Chinese-American in a foreign country. And it makes me wonder how much or how little the people in that place understand this layered identity. How do they process me? All the nuances, the politics, the prejudices, the social constructs, my multi-cultural values, the pieces of my heritage that I choose to wear and the other pieces I've chosen to shed-- They can't they possibly understand any of that, but what do they see instead?

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sunny days, rainy days, and beautiful Berkeley days


Day 5: Sun


After a short stint at Breakfast at Tiffany's (where I discovered cinnamon apple Smucker's jam. not too shabby), we spent the majority of our day hiking on the Sawyer Camp Trail outside of SF. It was very peaceful, and a bit windy at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of beautiful greenery to distract from the strenuousness of a 10 mile hike. After, we had dinner at her other grandmother's house. More delicious Chinese food to fill my tummy.

Day 6: Rain



Rainy rainy day, means wet shoes and less-crowded streets. We started in downtown, stopping in at Boudin for clam chowder and turkey avocado sandwiches. Then a little exploring in Chinatown. We stopped in her dad's office for a bit, then scurried off to the Ferry Building, which is a sort of mini-Chelsea market. Several specialty food shops, cheese shops, chocolate/confectionary shops, a bread shop, and a few seemingly delicious restaurants. Then, I spent an hour-ish at the Intrax building, to say hello to all the coordinators/administrators face to face. Then after being lost, due to leaving my phone at home, we retraced our steps through Chinatown, stopping in at the man-to shop for a delish bite, and also at a madhouse grocery store to buy some mangos, and briefly paid homage to Yvette's middle school before quickly hurrying off to dinner at grandma's house (mom's side). I will never tire of a good, delicious home-cooked Chinese meal.

Day 7: Beautiful Berkeley, Fattiness, and Food

Today was the most beautiful weather and the most food I've experienced here so far. Sunny and a little breezy, just cool enough for a light cardigan, but never so hot that you're sweating. After a slow start in the morning, we headed down to the Mission to attack the triple threat burrito at Papalote's Mexican Grill ($20, as featured in Bobby Flay's throwdown). Definitely delicious shrimp, chicken, and steak, and splitting the burrito in half was the perfect portion, for feeling full and not sick.





We continued down Valencia to Anthony's cookies, where delicious cookies are born. Lots of flavors, and amazing cookie consistency, crispy but soft.

Then we BARTed to Downtown Berkeley, where the weather was even warmer. Next stop: Cheeseboard. Definitely pizza to remember. Good flavor, and one of the most satisfying thin crust pizza crusts of all time. Also, the whole operation is employee-owned, so the vibe is pretty unique, relaxed and dignified, in a way.


Then we met up with Aileen, long lost friend of the nerd camp days. Always lovely to catch up, I missed that girl!

Throughout the day we exercised our notorious gelato-sampling routine. Some of the fun flavors were: huckleberry white grape (Xanath ice cream- the Mission), avocado (Naia gelato- Berkeley), and brown sugar and banana dulce de leche (Lush gelato- Berkeley)

After wandering up and down Telegraph, swiping more samples from Yogurtland, shopping, and rekindling other long-lost friendships, we finally met up with Nghia and Scott. A short stop at Top Dog, which has way more hot dog flavors than I can handle.


Then we drove up to the Lawrence Laboratory, I think. Either way, spectacular view.


Now, for Zachary's--my first deepdish experience, ever! Had the mushroom & spinach and also the Zachary's special. I was partial to the mushroom & spinach. There was sooo much sauce! Can't say deepdish is my favorite, but it certainly wasn't bad.


Then, we headed to Fenton's Creamery, where I met my match. The gigantic Fenton's challenge sundae...


I went strong for the first two minutes. At six minutes, I was starting to feel full. Then, it slowly became more and more excruciating and in the end I basically gave up, I could feel my stomach rejecting the ice cream...besides, after a full day of eating, I certainly was in no shape to tackle this beast. The end was not pretty. My stomach has never been so impregnated by food, and I was shaking and shivering, maybe from the cold, or just from the discomfort. The final verdict: failure, but a good try, all things considered :) Had to spend a little time in the bathroom to spit up the ice cream that wasn't going down. (too much info? but it's the truth).

We drove back up to Lawrence Laboratory, for a night-time view of the city. Again, beautiful.

Good night San Francisco. Thank you for your sundrops, your rainrays, your delicious cityscapes and breathtaking food.

Hugs and food babies,
Angela
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