I closed the shop to give everyone a day off, and to get caught up on errands. Still chasing down a good legal status for myself.
I need a statement from my bank saying I have money and am changing $100 every day. Ridiculous! But that's the requirement for a tourist. Got to the bank around 11:20. It was closed for lunch. Bummer. Too far to go home, the bank is near my shop. I decided to drop in on my neighbor. They just opened a tea shop. Fabulous huge wood table, wood from Africa. Amazing, I'll just have to include a photo. We sat and drank different teas for an hour.
When I first arrived in China in 2001 I lived in Guangdong province. Tea culture is very big there. That is where I learned to sit in a tea shop for hours just sampling one tea after another, and making conversation. So this interlude was like a blast from the past. They have great black teas, as well, not just the usual green teas. Teas from Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon. And pu'er tea! I never knew it could taste like that. Pu'er may be like oolong that you may be familiar with. Smokey flavor. I usually steep it strong. They steeped it weak, and I discovered new flavors. They poured me a Ceylon tea mixed with mango, pineapple and I forget what other fruit. A spectacular tea, quite pleasant on the tongue.
I went back to the bank at 1:00. Nope, still closed, for another half hour at least. Now, this is no small branch with three tellers. This is a huge bank with back rooms for commercial accounts and international wires. I went off and finally grabbed a bite for lunch, before returning.
I discovered that I had given my U.S. bank the wrong SWIFT code. There's the Agricultural Bank of China, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China. This wire was sent on July 25, and I'm only now getting around to checking on it.
So I am up at 2 a.m., calling Seattle to straighten out my mess. They have to order a recall, and then resend the wire. Good thing I'm not destitute, waiting on that money. Had it arrived in a timely manner, however, I could easily have gotten a printout of my bank statement and taken it right back to the police station to process my visa. The visa expires on Aug. 11, so I can't put it off anymore. The bank I need to go to for the statement is a long bus ride away. No local branch can give me a statement. So I'll have to take more time off from the bakery.
My thinking is, the weekends are more important for the bakery business. Mid week trade is just for the locals, and they like the sweet things that Tina does so well. So if I spend Tuesday running around chasing a visa, no harm done.
I have a new worker starting Aug. 12. He has experience at one of the better bakery chains, called 85 degrees. I am eager to see what he knows, I suspect he can share a secret or two. But of course, my way of baking is totally different, so there's a lot for him to learn. His degree is in sports, he's currently wrapping up a job as swim instructor. He is tall, whereas Tina and I are short. He lives near enough so that, once he's trained, we can start opening the kitchen at 6 a.m., having bread on our shelves earlier in the day. I just hope he melds quickly with our growing little family. I suppose it takes a lot of luck to find a worker who actually stays.
Rye
I've not been pleased with the results from the rye flour. I've got a good sourdough started, so on Sunday I began an experiment with a new recipe from Peter's book.
Did I mention that I emailed Peter for some advice, and that he answered me? It was a thrill for me. He seems very personable.
This recipe calls for mixing some rye flour into the sourdough starter, and then adding a lot of saute'd onions! That mixture is still in the fridge, I should have used it yesterday but was too busy. So today, Tuesday, I'll let it warm to room temperature and begin to make it. Can't wait to see how it will taste.
While at the police station, I ran into two people. Usually when I go there, there is a foreigner and their Chinese helper. I seem to be the only one to walk in there on my own.
This foreigner is Italian. He had a certificate as a Foreign Owned Business. Wow! that's what I want. I asked him what his business was. He's opening an Italian restaurant downtown. His helper speaks really good English, so I took her number. I called her later, but she only referred me back to the agency whose number I already got three weeks ago. They don't speak English. Rachel has spoken with them for me, but so far I see no progress. I want a form to fill out! Instead I get a list of items, in Chinese, that I need. Rachel hasn't translated the list yet.
I feel like I'm back to square one. I think I need to call that woman again and see if I can't persuade her to help me more directly.
I need a statement from my bank saying I have money and am changing $100 every day. Ridiculous! But that's the requirement for a tourist. Got to the bank around 11:20. It was closed for lunch. Bummer. Too far to go home, the bank is near my shop. I decided to drop in on my neighbor. They just opened a tea shop. Fabulous huge wood table, wood from Africa. Amazing, I'll just have to include a photo. We sat and drank different teas for an hour.
When I first arrived in China in 2001 I lived in Guangdong province. Tea culture is very big there. That is where I learned to sit in a tea shop for hours just sampling one tea after another, and making conversation. So this interlude was like a blast from the past. They have great black teas, as well, not just the usual green teas. Teas from Assam, Darjeeling, Ceylon. And pu'er tea! I never knew it could taste like that. Pu'er may be like oolong that you may be familiar with. Smokey flavor. I usually steep it strong. They steeped it weak, and I discovered new flavors. They poured me a Ceylon tea mixed with mango, pineapple and I forget what other fruit. A spectacular tea, quite pleasant on the tongue.
I went back to the bank at 1:00. Nope, still closed, for another half hour at least. Now, this is no small branch with three tellers. This is a huge bank with back rooms for commercial accounts and international wires. I went off and finally grabbed a bite for lunch, before returning.
I discovered that I had given my U.S. bank the wrong SWIFT code. There's the Agricultural Bank of China, and the Agricultural Development Bank of China. This wire was sent on July 25, and I'm only now getting around to checking on it.
So I am up at 2 a.m., calling Seattle to straighten out my mess. They have to order a recall, and then resend the wire. Good thing I'm not destitute, waiting on that money. Had it arrived in a timely manner, however, I could easily have gotten a printout of my bank statement and taken it right back to the police station to process my visa. The visa expires on Aug. 11, so I can't put it off anymore. The bank I need to go to for the statement is a long bus ride away. No local branch can give me a statement. So I'll have to take more time off from the bakery.
My thinking is, the weekends are more important for the bakery business. Mid week trade is just for the locals, and they like the sweet things that Tina does so well. So if I spend Tuesday running around chasing a visa, no harm done.
I have a new worker starting Aug. 12. He has experience at one of the better bakery chains, called 85 degrees. I am eager to see what he knows, I suspect he can share a secret or two. But of course, my way of baking is totally different, so there's a lot for him to learn. His degree is in sports, he's currently wrapping up a job as swim instructor. He is tall, whereas Tina and I are short. He lives near enough so that, once he's trained, we can start opening the kitchen at 6 a.m., having bread on our shelves earlier in the day. I just hope he melds quickly with our growing little family. I suppose it takes a lot of luck to find a worker who actually stays.
Rye
I've not been pleased with the results from the rye flour. I've got a good sourdough started, so on Sunday I began an experiment with a new recipe from Peter's book.
Did I mention that I emailed Peter for some advice, and that he answered me? It was a thrill for me. He seems very personable.
This recipe calls for mixing some rye flour into the sourdough starter, and then adding a lot of saute'd onions! That mixture is still in the fridge, I should have used it yesterday but was too busy. So today, Tuesday, I'll let it warm to room temperature and begin to make it. Can't wait to see how it will taste.
While at the police station, I ran into two people. Usually when I go there, there is a foreigner and their Chinese helper. I seem to be the only one to walk in there on my own.
This foreigner is Italian. He had a certificate as a Foreign Owned Business. Wow! that's what I want. I asked him what his business was. He's opening an Italian restaurant downtown. His helper speaks really good English, so I took her number. I called her later, but she only referred me back to the agency whose number I already got three weeks ago. They don't speak English. Rachel has spoken with them for me, but so far I see no progress. I want a form to fill out! Instead I get a list of items, in Chinese, that I need. Rachel hasn't translated the list yet.
I feel like I'm back to square one. I think I need to call that woman again and see if I can't persuade her to help me more directly.
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