In case I am not the only person who had to look up what exactly the difference between sushi and sashimi is, let me share what I found out: Sashimi is all about raw meat (mostly fish) and sushi is all about that sticky vinegary rice. So, anything that includes vinegared rice - fish, raw or cooked, no fish, meat, it doesn’t matter – is called sushi. Anything that is only raw meat is called sashimi. Sorry for the long explanation. Was I the only one who didn’t know the difference? Might be because I’m not a big fan of fish (unless it battered and fried like in London – but seriously, who wouldn’t like fish and chips from The Grapes?!). So, being the fussy picky eater I am, I steered clear of all that you see pictured below. Luckily the supermarket also had dumplings and fried noodles, so I was a happy camper as well I especially loved the dumplings with corn. So good! But more about that on another day…

In the meantime, if you want to read more about what people eat in China,c heck out more posts from my series What Do People Eat in China? The first two entries were braised pork belly and dragon fruit.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

Last week, I told you about one of the most unhealthy dishes you can possibly eat when you travel to China, braised pork belly. It’s also one of the most delicious, but to counteract all that delicious fattyness of the pork, maybe you can follow it up with this week’s Chinese treat of choice, a fruit.

What Do People Eat in China? Dragon Fruit

On our recent trip to Guangzhou, Marco’s brother and I took a break at Starbucks one afternoon. It was there that I had my first encounter with dragon fruit. It was part of a mixed fruit cup and it was so delicious. Not very intensly sweet like some other fruits can be sometimes, but very pleasant and refreshing. And I loved, loved, loved the look and texture of it. So fun! Kind of like a white kiwi I liked it so much that one evening I asked Marco’s mom to stop at a fruit stand on the way home so we could buy some more dragon fruit. And, go figure, it looks even cooler on the outside than on the inside: very dark, intense pink with a little bit of green. If I could only find some dragon fruit here in West Texas, I’d have a new favorite fruit. For now it will stay the exotic rare treat.

What’s your favorite fruit?

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

• Do Texans really all ride horses? No, they don’t – unless maybe they live on a farm. In fact, I’ve rarely seen people on a horse here. Well, if there’s a rodeo in town or some horse show, then of course all bets are off. We went to a chicken fried steak festival a while ago and there were calves and cows, and people warming up their horses for the show that afternoon. I felt like I was in a movie But in Lubbock for example, you actually have to drive quite a way out of town to even find a place where you can go horseback riding. So… sorry, this myth is busted: No people riding their horses to work or school here – at least none that I have seen.

• Are all Texans cowboys? No. However, it is not uncommon to see guys decked out in cowboy boots, hat, belt and buckle at the airport, on a university campus, and on the streets. Most of the girls seem to use this type of Western wear as much more of a fashion statement. Their boots tend to be less of the work boot and more of the dress boot. I have met one real cowboy since I moved here though. He was our guide at a dude ranch in Bandera and told me about his previous jobs that all had something to do with horses, his favorite horse back home, his son who went to school on a scholarship because he was on a wrangler team, … I swear, he was the real deal!
• Are Texans really all fat? No, not at all. Most people I have seen here are what would be considered average weight, or maybe a little above, I think. And since I work in a college town, I have seen my fair share of incredibly fit people. Seriously! Sometimes I think it’s kind of crazy how many guys and girls here have an actual six-pack stomach. I think Texans get that reputation of being fat because of the few incredibly big people that you see here once in a while. You know, the ones who ride the carts through Walmart?
• Do Texans all have huge trucks? Well, not all of them do, but you do see more than the average amount of big trucks around here. I’ve gotten kind of used to it, but I remember when I first bought my car here, a regular sedan that would probably be considered above-average-size in Germany, I started driving and was surprised that at traffic lights I was almost always in the smallest vehicle. In fact, it’s kind of weird when we fly to Europe and get in the little rentals that we use to get around. They are half the size of what people here drive And when we see an SUV that stands out as big in Europe, I remind myself that that same model tends to look small-ish when driving around in Texas.

• Do Texans really drive everywhere? Yes, pretty much. I have never seen so many packed drive-throughs at fast food chains as I have seen here around lunch or dinner time. And I have never seen a drive-through ATM anywhere else in the world at all. Is it to save time? To avoid a short walk? Convenience? I don’t know… This might be better in big cities, but in West Texas it is in fact somewhat difficult to walk places because streets are huge, traffic lights don’t give you a whole lot of time to cross streets, etc.
• Are Texans really that crazy about (American) football? Yes, totally! You know that series Friday Night Lights? So true. College sports in general are big here, but football takes the cake. Not only are the games really, really long (about 4 hours), but many people make it an all-day thing by either tailgating in front of the stadium or hosting a BBQ at their place and watching the game at a bar and hanging out before and/or after. I’ve actually seen people camp for a few nights in front of the stadium before a big game.
• What about this Southern hospitality everybody talks about? So true! Texans are crazy friendly. Everybody greets you and inquires how you’re doing. Mind you, that might not mean anything, but it does make for a nice atmosphere. And if you have out-of-town (or out-of-country) friends and family visiting, your Texan friends will really go out of their way to make them feel welcome – if my experience is any indication. Our friends all tried to invite us over when our family was in town and some came to our place to help prepare real Texan smoked ribs for them.
• Are Texans really all superficial and fake? No, but as a foreigner you do have to learn when their friendliness means something and when it is just there to create a nice atmosphere. This kind of goes along with the Texas cliche about Southern hospitality above. People go out of their way to be friendly, but, for better or worse, friendly here does not necessarily imply that you actually are friends.
• Do all Texans have a broad Texas accent? Well, not all of them do, but many people here do speak with that Southern twang Most Texans I have met are very proud that they are from Texas and they don’t mind letting their accents speak for themselves. It’s not only the pronunciation though. There are also quite a few Texas expressions that you’ll hear quite a bit when traveling around the state. 

I think these are the most common Texas cliches. Do you have any more? Share them in the comments as questions or additions. Or do you have a different answer than I gave above to the above myths about Texas? Feel free to say so below

And head over to some of the posts below to read more from other bloggers busting some of the myths, cliches, and stereotypes they have run into:

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but Valentine’s Day is just not a big deal to me. Never has been. I think there are other days in a couple’s life that are so much more important – like your anniversary for example. No, Marco and I don’t ignore Valentine’s completely, but a dinner is as far as we go. Could be at home or at a restaurant. Sometimes we’ve gone to the movies or the drive-in I think.

Growing up in Germany, Valentine’s Day was not a big deal. I wonder if that has changed by now… what do you expats living in Germany say? Is it as big as in Texas by now as well? Up until maybe seven years ago, there were a few commercials about it, flowers and chocolate on display, but not really a month ahead of time, and not really that big either. Guys were not expected to buy jewelry or expensive gifts. And there were for sure no heart-shaped arts and crafts all over kindergarten and school when I was growing up. They really start pushing it early here in Texas. Even kids give each other Valentine’s Day gifts and cards. I remember sort of chuckling about American high school movies where teenagers were sending candy hearts to each other in between classes…

Last night I went grocery shopping at Walmart and it was insane. Valentine’s Day specials were everywhere: greeting cards, flowers, chocolate, balloons, cupcakes, and cookies – preferably in pink or red and heart-shaped. The store was as packed as I’ve only seen it before Thanksgiving or Christmas. And almost everybody was buying Valentine’s Day stuff! Everybody! The young nurse in front of me had her half her cart filled with Valentine’s Day candy. And there were two bad-ass looking Hispanic dudes who were using the quick check-out lane holding heart-shaped balloons filled with helium. I really did wanna take a picture for you, but I was kind of scared, so I didn’t

Is Valentine’s Day big where you are?

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

Luckily our last trip fell in the colder months of South China (still balmy compared to Europe). I wouldn’t attempt to run in Guangzhou during the summer when even a small walk will make you sweat like a crazy person due to heat and humidity. But we were really lucky this time around. Except for a few rainy days, the weather was pretty good (60-70 F or so) for December/January and the Chinese smog wasn’t too terrible either.

A while back I already mentioned the South China Botanical Garden in Guangzhou as a great place for some nature and fresh air if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Well, it’s also a great place to get a workout in while still enjoying some exotic sights like huge bamboos and mango trees. I also learned something about trees strangulating other trees (I actually stopped briefly to take a picture, so you can read it yourself below). Even if you don’t run, you should still check it out if you’re in Guangzhou. It’s a little north of the city, but one of the only places with semi-fresh air. Plus, they are in the middle of a project extending Guangzhou’s subway network and soon, there will be a station close to the South China Botanical Garden. So, it’ll be easy to get there. Try going for a walk or rent one of the fun, four-wheel bicycles with a few friends. So much fun!

There are quite a few public parks in Guangzhou that are free of charge. However, the Southern China Botanical Garden was closest to where we were staying and the entrance fee is really small. I think the entrance fee also makes for a less people out and about. There were still quite a few families and even more older couples enjoying the day and taking a walk. Curiously enough, they didn’t seem too surprised by the crazy foreign lady jogging through their park. If you’ve ever been to China, you know that staring there isn’t considered as rude as it is in Western countries, so we’ve had plenty of people stop and stare in restaurants. So, the fact that people didn’t even really notice me, shows that working out is really considered part of daily life in China. I haven’t seen that many people running in China, but when we got up early enough we could spy quite a few people from our window practicing different poses with fans or swords and walking back and forth with their arms and legs swinging high. And that’s just in the little gardens between skyscrapers. I’ll try to dig up some pics, but I’m not even sure if we took any… usually these workouts happened so early that I was still half asleep.

In the meantime, enjoy some picture I took while running in the South China Botanical Garden.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

This post was submitted as part of Travel Photo Thursday. Please head over there to see some more travel shots from across the world.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

I love to eat as you might have gathered from my slew of food posts lately covering trip food like Christmas market foods in Germany, the braised pork belly we had in China, and the Texas waffles we’ve been feasting on at home. When we are at home, I generally try to follow a somewhat healthy diet and work out fairly often, so I can indulge in the less healthy, but delicious foods Texas has to offer without too bad of a conscience. All the working out used to stop abruptly the second we went on a trip. The indulging only increased since… well, who wants to watch what they eat when on the road?! Lately, we’ve done one month-long summer trip and one month-long winter trip a year and I used to come home with about 2-3 kilos extras after each. And I’m not talking about the goodies and souvenirs I stuffed in my luggage here…  You know how people always tell you that all the walking while sightseeing makes up for the extra food? Not true! So not true!

The problem isn’t that I don’t like working out. I actually enjoy it on most days… the problem on trips was that none of the workouts I would usually do at home were decent travel workouts. And I’m not workout-crazy enough to try and find a fitness studio that offers Zumba courses while I am on the road. Lately though, more and more of my friends have started to get into running. Running, as in the running I used to despise in high school when I couldn’t even run one lap around the dreaded track during gym class. Boy, did I used to hate summer when the fun workouts from winter gym class like volleyball or basketball or other fun games like that moved outside and we started doing track and field athletics. I hated it with a passion! But I digress… after years of expat life and always trying to lose weight after long trips around the world visiting family and friends, and never quite losing all the trip weight again, I was fed up.

I needed something that would easily translate into a workout on the road. So last May I decided to give running a shot. I just wanted one workout that I could easily do anywhere while travelling. I figured it probably wasn’t a good idea to start with the whole running business on a trip. So, very, very slowly and usually in a very bad mood I’d step on the treadmill about once a week to run two minutes/walk two minutes for about thirty minutes total. I slowly increased the increments over two or three months up to a point where I was able to run for twenty minutes. You have no idea how proud I was of myself. Mind you, I still hated every minute of it – even if I got better at timing my treadmill time to TV shows I liked. The time just wouldn’t pass. By August, the first long trip rolled around and I actually managed to run about twice a week and found myself enjoying being able to see the places we were visiting in a whole new light. I actually managed to run for 30 minutes straight! In Italy, it was so hot in August, yet I enjoyed running by the golf course and listening to the cicale (crickets) in the pine forest. In Germany, my home country, I noticed once again how beautiful all our forests are and how green everything is as I ran through the places I grew up in. In London, I caught a cold, so no running there, but I saw all the local runners speeding along the Thames and thought how fun that would be to feel like a part of them.. Don’t get me wrong, the running was fine and all, but I enjoyed all the pizza, pasta, potatoes, and sweets I could eat on that trip with a much better conscience even more

When we got back from that trip, I started running outside in Texas about once a week as well – just to keep it up and be able to do it on future trips without being horribly sore because my body forgot how to do it. Since it’s always similar routes and there’s much less new stuff to see, it does get kind of boring. I have found though that if I listen to some new silly pop songs with a good beat, I can do it. By the time Christmas rolled around, I packed my running shoes and some workout pants and was almost looking forward to discovering all the new places while running. And while some runs were more for the workout than for the sights, I did enjoy the novelty of the different places and all the food I could eat without my pants getting tighter and tighter as the trip progressed. I ran in a park in Cologne and got that feeling of blending in with the local runners. I ran in a forest outside of Cologne and enjoyed the green and fresh air of my hometown. I ran in the South China Botanical Garden in China. How cool is that?! I also got a cool new Android phone in China and downloaded a free app called RunKeeper that maps your runs. So, when we got to France and I ran at the beaches, I could actually look at my exact routes on the computer later. So much fun! And you know what? Despite all of my pigging out for five weeks, I only gained a pound and that was gone the following week.

Since it worked so well for me, I decided to share my experience with you guys. Maybe I can turn one of you non-runners into a runner as well? I’ve really turned a corner and think running is probably one of the best workouts on the road. You don’t need to add lots of weight to your luggage since you really only need some decent shoes and a pair of workout pants. You can do it anywhere. You get to experience life as a local a little more. You get to see a different side of the places you are visiting. And, let’s not forget, you get to eat without a bad conscience and sample more of the delicious local food of your destinations

So, instead of only showing you all the food I ate on my trips, I decided to also share some of my best running routes from my trips. New series anybody? I’ll call it “Workout on the Road: Running”. I’m already gathering some pics for you and in a few days I’ll post the first one about the South China Botanical Garden.

In the meantime, do you have a good travel workout? Something that translates well into a workout on the road? Have you run in cool places? Let me know, because who knows, maybe one of my next trips takes me there and I could go for a run!

Here’s a few pics of what I see when running in Texas. Not terrible, but way less fun than my trip runs.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

What Do People Eat in China? Braised Pork Belly = Hong Shao Rou

Why is it so famous? Well, it was Mao Tse-tung’s favorite dish. Basically, it’s pieces of pork belly glazed with sugar and rice wine and cooked until the fat and pig skin turn super soft – probably one of the fattiest dishes you have ever eaten. As you can see below, there is a tiny bit of meat at the bottom, a large chunk of fat in the middle, and the pig’s skin on top. Being a little bit of a finicky eater (ok, a lot of a finicky eater), I have to admit that this dish did sound kind of gross to me… Pork skin?! But, it is one of Marco’s favorites when we travel to China, so I gave it a try. I mean, I like bacon and it’s basically from the same cut of meat. Guess what… it actually tastes really good! It’s really juicy, full of flavor, and super soft. I wouldn’t advise eating a lot of it since it’s really heavy, but give this dish a try next time you’re in China. That is, if you are a meat eater… which I can probably assume given that you didn’t stop reading quite a few sentences back

On our recent trip to Guangzhou, our friends took us to one of their favorite places whose name unfortuntly escapes me at the moment. Here’s how they serve Mao’s ultimate favorite:

 By the way, did you see the noodles in the backround of the first pic? Remember how I mentioned communicating in China is not that easy if you don’t speak Chinese? I know, insert big duh here… Anyways, these were the noodles that I ordered as my “safe dish” based on the menu pictures. Well, they didn’t picture the fish eggs (which I detest) they were coated in Luckily, there were plenty of other delicious dishes for me to feast on.

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

Anybody who has ever been in Texas (or has met a Texan) knows that state pride runs deep here. Tattoos are popular in general – and not only the Christian Cross ones! I’ve seen countless tattoos of the Texas flag or the Texas state outline. That’s commitment, people! The newest trend: Texas waffles. When I first saw them at a hotel a few years ago, I thought they were a weirdly shaped bunny. My friend laughed and pointed out that it was actually the shape of Texas. Duh! In my defense, the outline of the hotel waffle was a lot less clear than the one below… At least that’s what I’ll go with. You won’t find me getting a Texas tattoo anytime soon, but waffles? I can totally get on board with that!

Ever since my first encounter with that delicious Texas waffle in San Angelo, I’ve seen Texas waffles pop up in many hotels and motels around the state. I am thrilled every time I mean, come on… it’s a Texas waffle! Apparently, I’ve been pretty obvious in my obsession, because Marco got me a Texas shaped waffle maker for Christmas  Since we’ve gotten back from our trip (waffle-free – except a delicious Belgian waffle at one of the Cologne Christmas markets), we’ve been trying different recipes on the weekends and I’m experimenting with homemade fruit syrups. So good! My favorite combination so far is a waffle that substitutes yogurt for milk (in the dough) topped with bananas, blueberries, and blueberry syrup. Guten Appetit!

© 2012, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.