Mmm... chocolate fish!

This is a picture of a favourite snack around campus: chocolate fish! There is a tiny stall near the West Gate of BLCU which sells "fish" - batter poured into fish-shaped molds with yummy filling in the center. As the name implies, the chocolate fish has a gooey warm chocolate filling which tastes very much like Nutella. There are also apple fish but chocolate is the only one I’ve tried so far.

The best part is the price: 1 kuai or 12 US cents! There’s not much you can get in the US for 12 cents but you can get quite a few things in Beijing. I started thinking about other things you can purchase for 1 kuai, and about overall differences between here and North America. So I’ve started three lists. I’ll add to these over the year so I will perma-link to this entry in the sidebar under Archives for easy future reference.

Things you can purchase with 1 RMB (approx USD 0.12) or less
chocolate fish
bottle of water (depends on the 小卖部 xiaomaibu you buy it from)
a 烧饼 shaobing from 第一食堂 Dining Hall Number 1
bus ticket
newspaper (China Daily)
2 包子baozi for breakfast
bike parking

Things I love about China
everything on the 1 RMB or less list
Beijing parks (颐和园，北海公园)
bicycles
markets (潘家园 Panjiayuan, 秀水市场 Xiushuishichang etc.)
the ability to bargain for prices
Muslim flatbread
kebabs (肉串 rou chuanr)
hiking the Great Wall
DVDs for approx. 1 USD
dining hall 服务员 yelling "担担面好了!"
Paul's Diner
toffee ice cream
Friendship Stores
no sales tax
no need to tip
pay-as-you-go cell phones and the ability to text in Chinese
Coca-Cola (the one marketed here is less sweet)

Things I never realized I should be grateful for until I came to China
opening a packet of biscuits without a single one being crushed.
blue skies, fresh air (these are sorely lacking in Beijing)
people actually lining up
driving regulations and road safety
western sanitation (non-squat toilets, toilet paper in the stalls etc)
bagels. cream cheese.
chocolate pudding
donuts
set prices ie. the ability to buy something without haggling over the price or worrying about being cheated.
sufficiently air-conditioned subways
that english is based on an alphabet
whole grain bread