Apartment hunting, and escaping, in Hong Kong.

I look over at Serena, I catch her eye, and can barely contain a smile. She's also smiling with her eyes. I manage to control myself, and cast my eyes down to the floor, and replace the smile with a withdrawn expression.

"What are you going to do?!" The middle age women states, more than asks, in her sharp English.

It feels like we're two rambunctious 12 year olds who are being scolded by our school principal.

She continues...

"You won't be able to find anything like this for this price. Are you going to go back to Canada?"

"I don't know" I respond in the most pathetic voice I can muster, while I'm still struggling to suppress a smile. I feel bad about lying, but at the same time can't help but find humour in the situation.

It all started a week ago, when we first came to Hong Kong following an amazing, but exhausting, 6 week trip through mainland China. Apartment hunting can be stressful anywhere, but more so in Hong Kong's unbelievably inflated housing market, it becomes nearly unbearable when coupled with the intense 45+ degree July heat.

We wanted to find an apartment as soon as possible; desperate to leave our cramped hostel room, equipped with a 1 square meter washroom, and a bed that takes up 80% of the floorspace.

We found a place that was okay, decent price (for Hong Kong), a little older, a bit dirty, and kind of out of the way of the main transit lines, but maybe because it was 4 times the size of our current room, we were able to rationalize putting a deposit on it.

After sleeping on it, we began having second thoughts. It doesn't have a washing machine, it's going to tack on an additional 30 minutes to our morning commute, and the building is kind of sketchy (Serena isn't convinced that my idea of keeping a baseball bat bedside will provide adequate security).

But it does have a harbour view! Kind of, if you look out at a certain angle through one window.

The real estate agent phoned to inform us that the landlord wished to meet before authorizing the rent that we agreed upon.

This gives birth to our diabolical plan.

We realized that we both regretted putting down the deposit. The one problem is we don't want to walk away from the money, and we are unsure if we could get it back just by asking (In hindsight we likely could've).

So we decide to adopt the facade of a young couple unsure of their finances, who expected their parents to support their living expenses, but we're recently informed that would not be the case. The theory is that if they are not confident we can pay the rent, they will not rent to us, and therefore refund our deposit.

Now we are looking down at the floor in the real estate office, trying to avoid eye contact out of fear that laughing will ruin the act.

I briefly feel shame about carrying out the plan, but maybe it's the same july heat that caused us to accept a dingy apartment so quickly, that allows me to push any doubt to the back of my mind.

Suddenly, the abrasive real estate agent stops talking. She looks up at us with tired eyes, and reaches for the contract that we signed yesterday. She looks directly at me, I see the anger on having lost a sale, but also compassion for the poor young couple sitting in front of her. She tears up the contract, and hands me the envelope of cash that we had delivered the other day.

A wave of relief wells inside, but a twinge of pain is also present. Knowing that we successfully duped the woman into giving us our deposit back, I can't help but feel shame for having found, and played, with the human side of this seemingly money obsessed real estate agent.

The other discovery I have as we walk away from the office, envelope in hand, is my hidden talent for lying. Sure we almost blew it a few times, but in the end it worked perfectly.

I'm disconcerted by the fact I was able to take on a different persona so easily, but as we continue down the street, and the summer heat turns my brain to jello, these thoughts fade as my only concern becomes finding a cool place.

The Bowen Road 5K

"Should I pee one more time?" I think to myself. "No, no, I'll be okay. I just went.

I'm packed together with hundreds of other runners, most of whom are wearing spandex and running shorts, and look much more professional than me, in my basketball shorts and baggy surf T-shirt.

I signed up for the 5k race a few weeks ago, thinking it would encourage me to exercise regularly in preparation. Now that I am at the starting line, the spirit of competition has taken hold, along with nervousness and doubt.

When I woke up this morning, at 6 am, and looked out at the torrential downpour, I figured the race will be cancelled.

"There's no way we can run in this!" I thought to myself "I mean at the very least it isn't safe".

I hurriedly turned on my computer to check for weather arrangements. Found it!

"Race will be cancelled in the case of a black rainfall warning, or class 8 typhoon"

Unsure of what exactly a black rainfall looks like, I check the official Hong Kong government weather page for today's warnings.

My heart sinks as I read "Amber rainstorm warning in effect".

"Who decides on this, totally arbitrary, stupid, colour system!" I say to no one in particular. "No one can go out in this, let alone run a race, it's 5k, it's fast, someone could get hurt!".

I phone the race organizers, who only advise to "Bring your rain gear" as the race is indeed still on.

"Rain gear!?" I think to myself "What, rain gear?"

I have an umbrella, but I hardly think it is going to help my race time. I'm now resigned to two choices, either suck it up and go, or crawl into my warm bed and sleep for another couple hours before work. I'm seriously leaning towards the latter.

At this point Serena has shown signs of movement on the bed, likely due to my incessant cursing from the other side of the room.

"You should go, if it's still on. Comon! you've been talking about this for weeks" She said, her voice dreamlike.

Following another 30 minutes of self-deliberation, and complaining about the race conditions, I head out in the rain.

Now I'm shuffling backwards, like a penguin with three hundred, or so, other anxious runners, overlooking downtown Hong Kong. The Bowen road 5k has some breathtaking views, though you are hardly able to enjoy them during the race.

"Please move back from the start line!" A voice booms from a megaphone.

Fortunately for us, the rain stopped about 15 minutes ago, and now the only thing on my mind is whether I should have gone to the bathroom once more.

I don't hear the starting signal, but suddenly the mob moves slowly forward. I find myself doing an awkward high stepping run, which is slower than my walking pace, but I am afraid to step on anyone's heels.

My stereotypical Canadian politeness, is causing me to drift toward the rear of the pack. However, as the group begins to thin, I pick up pace, like a large boulder nearing the edge of a cliff, I take off.

I transform, I am an antelope bounding across the Serengeti. No! scratch that. I am a cheetah and the other runners are antelope, and I begin to count how many I can catch.

1...2,3,4...5,6...7,8,9...

Suddenly, one particular limber animal bounds past in the opposite direction. I am about to turn and give chase, when I am shook from my trance.

"Wait, no. This isn't the turn around spot, the race has just started!" I think to myself "There's no way...".

Suddenly another runner hops by. I now begin to count those going in the opposite direction.

1,2,3,4,5,6,...

There are too many to count.

Doubt creeps into my mind.

"What if I need to stop and take a rest? Maybe I didn't train enough, I don't want to be sick for work later, maybe this was a mistake"

I put my head down and think of nothing.

"Just breath" I say to myself, "Just breath".

I reach the halfway point, and head back to the start/finish line. I am feeling good, I've managed to find the void in my mind, and am resting while my body carries me forward.
Suddenly, I am shook from this comfortable state, and I begin to feel something stirring within.

"It's okay." I say to myself "10 more minutes and you can use a toilet, just tough it out".

While I was so obsessed with doing number 1 before the race, my ignorance of number 2, may cost me. I grit my teeth, and keep moving forward. Unfortunately, this has also dropped my pace, as my mind becomes aware of the pain.

I am now moving like a wounded zebra, and it takes everything I have to keep from walking. Lions are now passing me, as I move awkwardly ahead on a broken leg.

I reach the final stretch where event organizers are yelling encouragement. I am able to pick up the pace slightly, and as I am about to be passed by a group that I had preyed on earlier, I switch to an awkward three legged sprint, and as a wounded zebra, labour across the finish line, mouth wide open, gasping for air.

This was by far the longest 21 minutes of my life; I now have a deeper understanding of the physical and mental struggles of competitive running, and I am humbled.

I limp forward, unsure of my surroundings, following my late surge. I see a public restroom and half walk, half jog, towards it.

Relief!

The Wan Chai crab

The fish is struggling violently in the shallow water, splashing in it's desperate attempt to survive. Unfortunately for the fish, even if it were to escape the styrofoam container, it would only be able to flap, hopelessly, on the dry pavement below. It's just about impossible for it to reach the harbour, 500 or so meters away.

While I am considering the fish's slim odds of survival, a voice next to me snaps me to attention.

"Wallet!" demands Serena, my girlfriend. She has finished bartering with the seafood vendor. I zoned out, as I often do, when the conversation turned to Cantonese.  

We came to the wet market to get supplies for tonight's dinner, and have apparently settled on four crab. I've never eaten crab before; well at least not crab that actually looked like a crab, only dips and deep fried meat that I was told was crab.

It can be an intimidating experience, for a foreigner, shopping at the wet markets in Hong Kong. As soon as you enter you are assaulted by a fishy smell and vendors yelling desperately in Cantonese. If you are able to make it past the fish, you enter the pig zone where a freshly slaughtered hog's edible parts are all on display. Everything from it's ribs to it's organs are hung, as if to dry, in the steamy 45 degree heat.

While the seafood vendor busily gathers the crab, one has worked it's way to the edge, and as the vendor reaches for its nearby brother, her hand knocks the crab out of the container.  

The crab crashes to the ground, miraculously it is able to land on it's feet. Like an escaped convict who's improbable plan has somehow worked, it looks around unsure of itself, before quickly darting out of sight.

Serena is wondering about the best way to cook tonight's dinner, and asks the vendor for her advice. As the conversation again turns to Cantonese, my attention drifts to the escaped crab...

After darting between two styrofoam boxes, the crab looks around to ensure that no one is following. Then, after a few tense seconds, it cautiously climbs underneath a piece of cardboard.

There it waits, for the cover of night, when its chances of escape are greater.

However, just as the crab settles down for some much deserved rest, the world starts to shake, and the platform begins to roll forward.

A very tanned shirtless man pushes the cart, yelling at shoppers, cigarette in mouth, to get out of the way.

As the man continues, half of his load begins to slide, causing the crab to dangle precariously off the edge. As it desperately tries to get back on the platform, something catches it's attention. A small stream running into a crevasse on the side of the road, the crab releases its pincer grip, and splashes into the sewer below.

After a series of gentle slides and waterfalls, the crab finds itself in a large pool, where several streams have come together. It begins to hear a terrible rushing sound, and as it begins to question the safety of it's escape route, is suddenly sucked through a small tunnel and shot to the other side.

After regaining its composure, Crab looks around to find herself in a small pool of water which is lazily winding it's way to the sea.

The Sea!

Crab frantically kicks her legs, desperate to finish the improbably escape. Just as the harbour is within her grasp, a terrible shriek is heard from above. A great bird grasps Crab in its talons, and swoops away.

Crab struggles to get free, so close to freedom, she won't quit yet.

Crab manages to get a pincer loose, and uses it to pry out the rest of her body. Straining under the effort she knows it's now or never...

"Hey! Are you ready to go?" My girlfriend's voice snaps me back to the Wan Chai wet market.

"Oh, shit...Sorry?" I respond stunned.

"I'm all done, let's get going. What were you looking at?"

"Nothing, I mean...nothing. Yea, I'm good to go"

As we leave the market I look back over my shoulder, hoping to view a glimpse of the escaping crustacean. Nothing, the crab is already far away, to the sea.

A melodramatic account of my morning commute

"Shit, shit, shit". I mutter under my breath, while gathering the last of my things.

No matter how many times I vow to not be in a morning rush I still find myself in a panic.

I fly out the door, with the fleeting feeling that I am forgetting something, and take the agonizingly slow elevator down to the street.

I'm rushing down the road, but struggle to move past the hundreds of umbrellas floating in front of me. Some move agonizingly slow, others are as desperate as I am, but there is no order, just the random dance of jellyfish.

I turn the corner and can finally see the entrance to the underground. "It will be cool there" I say to myself "Must get there".

The weather report said it's 32 degrees, but with the humidity it feels like 45.

Within minutes of leaving my air-conditioned apartment, a thin layer of sweat settles on my skin, and I am grateful for the disguise offered by the light rain.

I'm going to make it, I will soon be in the comfort of the metro station air-conditioning, but suddenly the sea of umbrellas crashes to a halt.

I force my way through, only to see a red blur zoom past me. I can feel the wind off the taxi. A shiver crawls up my spine, but there is no time to process my near death experience.

I reorient myself, fainted paint on the asphalt informs me to look right, not left. I look both ways, all clear. I hurry across the road and into the safety of the cave.

Following a series of steps, I stumble down a long tunnel. It's nice and cool, and best of all there are no more umbrellas, which I escaped with only minor facial injuries.

I come to a series of gates, I hesitate, I know I'm supposed to do something. I watch as others move past me. That's it! I shove my hand in my pocket and fumble for something, anything. "Aha!" I proclaim proudly, as I take the card out of my pocket and thrust it forward.

Beep. I push past the rotating barrier to the other side.

I'm going to make it!

As I come to the top of the escalator, a wave rushes forward. I hesitate, worried about drowning in the mob, but then put my head down, in an attempt to swim to the other side.

Suddenly I am enveloped by suits, ties and designer fashion bags; there is no escape, the escalator is out of sight.

I panic, and push blindly through the crowd searching for a way out.

I turn around, and amidst the hordes of people moving upward, there is one escalator free. It's glowing, heavenly, and I hurry towards it.

As I float gently down, I observe the many figures moving in the opposite direction, looking down at their phones, all I can see is black hair rising slowly past me.

A train approaches as I make it to the tracks, and I narrowly miss being hit as people explode out the doors, like a shook can of pop.

As the last drop leaves the train, I slip on, I breath, and check the time on my phone. I'm going to be okay.

I relax, and turn off my lizard brain, until tomorrow.

Chasing sugar high children

"Excuse me sir, we have football practice on the other side of the gym, so you will have to control your kids"

Perfect, just what I needed to hear. I thought having my class moved to the gym would allow me to play games, and maybe, just maybe, tire the kids out so they will sit still long enough for me to explain the next activity.

Instead I am forced to run around collecting wayward children who are more interested in kicking soccer balls than they are about learning english words, such as "pencil" and "bus".

It's not that they are difficult to catch, but there are 10 of them and only one of me. Usually I can wrestle 3 of them back to their seats, but if 4 run away, it's a whole new game.

I'm not sure how I got myself into this situation in the first place, but apparently it's because I have a nice smile.

I've only been in Hong Kong for one week, and within an hour of applying for jobs I've scheduled two interviews. Things are looking good! I figured teaching English couldn't be too difficult, I speak it all the time.

Though I said only 5 words during the initial 30 minutes of the interview, my future boss announced "You have a nice big smile! So I think this will work out" Feeling uncomfortable, but pleased to have secured work so quickly, I agreed to start 3 days later, no training, just me and ten five year olds, for 3 hours each day.

Now, cursing under my breath, I am attempting to herd the children back to their seats, so that the soccer coach, who is having a much easier time engaging his kids, won't lose his cool.

It doesn't help that the kids' snacks were laced with enough sugar to turn the whole group into a flock of hummingbirds.

After seeing the packages of oreo cookies, and kit-kat chocolate bars, being flung enthusiastically from their back-packs, following my announcement of "Snack time!", I began to loosen up my muscles, by doing some light stretching, to get ready for the inevitable chase.

While my dietitian brain cringed when I saw what the kids were eating, what I really wondered was whether or not the children's parents were intentionally trying to punish the teacher.

"Okay, everybody listen to teacher Joshua!" I yell to the group, finally having them back within the vicinity of the table. "New rule, you may only eat while you are seated at the table, if you do not listen, I will take your snacks away until the end of class".

I've heard on numerous occasions that you shouldn't use food to bribe children, or as a reward; and while my new rule could hardly fit those two categories, I now understand why this is such a popular strategy.

The fear of having their snacks confiscated, snaps the children to attention, and they shuffle grudgingly to their seats.

I'm satisfied, but painfully aware of how short this will last. So I stand, observing their behaviour, and plot my next move.    

Dining in Xi'an

When I was asked if I would like to try the clear liqueur on offer, I didn't realize my acceptance would allow me to punch anyone I wanted in Xi'an.

Attending a dinner with 17 people, of which I am the only foreigner, is intimidating, especially since only two others can speak english.

At least the food is delicious, this is one of the most spectacular dinners I have been to, with tens of dishes being wheeled around the large table, and diners grabbing with their chopsticks as they go by.

It wouldn't have been intimidating if I had been able to eat my meal quietly in the company of the two english speakers on either side of me, but it would appear that most of the people at the table have taken special interest in the Lao Wai (foreigner) at the table.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that this hastily put together gathering was arranged especially for me.

The clear liquid tastes similar to Sambuca, and I've been assured it is of the best quality and won't give me a hangover. The first shot was tough, the drink burned all the way down, but I did a good job of hiding my discomfort.

After taking the first shot, a flurry of conversation was directed my way. I could only understand the odd word, my lovely girlfriend was kind enough to translate for me, but her translations seemed too brief to sum up what was really being said.

But maybe I'm just being paranoid, I'm sure they are not talking about me this much.

Feeling slightly drunk after the first drink, meant that the second and third shots went down much easier. However, it made it much more difficult to get up from my chair, when called upon to salute other diners.

The apparent ease with which I took down the first few shots seemed to intrigue many at the table, including the short man wearing the military uniform. He was kind enough to walk over to my side of the table, and offer consecutive drinks.

Clearly trying to test the foreigner's limits.

The Chinese custom to show respect, is to stand up during a meal and walk over to a person who you would like to honour, and take a drink. If the other person does not (or can not consume anymore alcohol), then the person that began the exchange loses face. To lose in face in China is unthinkable, and the last thing I wanted to do was piss anyone off.

Usually people lower on the social ladder are expected to salute those  that are higher, younger people should honour those that are older, if it is a business function, employees will salute those that are higher on the corporate ladder.
 
Since I was new, and oblivious to this custom, other diners walked over to greet me.

Many guests at the dinner introduced themselves to me, and asked the standard questions such as where are you from? And, what do you do for work? But two guests at the table, after several drinks, had more memorable introductions.

The first, after introducing himself as a police officer, informed me that I could go to the bell tower, which marks the centre of the old town in Xi'an, and punch anyone I wanted in the face.

The little man in the military uniform, not too be outdone, followed this up by saying I could punch anyone I want at the best military hospital in Xi'an.

Now this may seem like an odd offer, but really it's flattering. These connections, known as Guan Xi, are what connect society in China.

Later on, several such connections, or exchanges, between people at the table were pointed out to me.

One family was attempting to pave the way for their son, who is currently in medical school, to work at the aforementioned military hospital; while another family was trying to give their son a chance to work at the company, where other members of the dining party are in management positions.

While Guan Xi is often used for selfish reasons, it can also connect people who may have no similarities, other than who they know. It adds depth to social exchanges, and is a very important aspect of Chinese culture.

The type of gathering I found myself at that moment wouldn't happen in Norther America.

For an outsider, it was incredibly entertaining, and it provided insight into what I had previously seen, but not understood, in China.

Plus now I can punch anyone I want in the face.







 

Peking Duck

This past week in Beijing has been amazing. I never thought I would eat so many different parts of a duck. Chinese cuisine has continued to stretch and surprise me.

While in Beijing I wanted to have Peking duck. Along with the roast duck which is served with scallions and a sauce in a thin pancake, we had duck feet, which were rubbery though tasty, but the large serving of mustard that went with them made my nose feel like it was on fire; duck intestines, which I was hesitant to try, but ended up being my favourite; and a duck broth, which was incredibly rich.

Also on the menu, but didn't get a chance to try, were duck liver, heart, neck, and head. I guess there only so many parts you can have at one time.

I did try duck tongue, when my travel companion wanted to grab some snacks one afternoon. When I heard snacks, my mind didn't immediately go to duck tongue, but I gave them a shot and ended up eating a few.

There was a psychological barrier I had to get over before biting into it, I usually like to get to know someone before I allow their tongue in my mouth. They were spicy and savoury, but a bit of chore to eat with some inedible cartilage.

I'm starting to remove any limitations on the type of food and how it is prepared that I may have had in Canada. It has opened up a world of flavours, and I'm starting to understand how little I knew about Chinese food before I came to China.

Hutongs in Beijing

So I ran into some difficulty posting my blog, as it turns out the google blogger website is blocked, forcing me to send my posts to my sister in Canada to put them up. Just another interesting part of life in China.

In Beijing the hutong alleyways that are being slowly replaced by new developments, are full of small family run restaurants, many of which are packed at peak hours. The hutong restaurants often spill out onto the sidewalk where you find groups of people playing poker on their table following their meal.

I have never seen so much traffic on such tiny streets. You have to be aware of your surroundings or risk being hit by a scooter carrying a family of three, or a government issued Audi that may only give you a quick honk before running you over.

Once you've come to terms with the fact that you may have to risk your life to get to one of these tiny restaurants, it is amazing. The hutong have an old-school charm and the food is incredible. 

We found one little place near our hotel that serves Sichuan style food. We joined several other people outside that were waiting for a table, before finally being asked if we minded being seated at a table with two other people.  We were shown to our table, which was down another alley beside the restaurant, in a small room barely big enough to fit the two tables inside.

The meal was incredibly spicy. I think my tongue reached its breaking point, and just felt numb soon after we started eating. I was told that our meal was only the medium spice level, which was great but still painful. I couldn't imagine going up to the spiciest. I think it is a good warm up for when we travel to Sichuan.   

Chinese food 101

When we think of China, and Chinese food, we tend to think of a few dishes commonly found in North America. Sweet and sour pork, ginger beef, chow mein, and fried rice are the most common dishes, with a handful of sauces that can be used interchangeably. This is largely due to the North American palate, which is far from adventurous. What we don't realize, and I am excited to explore, is that China's culinary diversity is more similar to Europe than it is to North America.

The diversity of China's cuisine is impossible to summarize in this blog post, but briefly, there are four main regions of cooking.

The North: While we tend to think of rice when we think of Chinese food, rice paddies are only seen in the south of the country. In China's vast Northern Territory, wheat, maize, barley are much more common. Flat breads, noodles, and dumplings are characteristic of Northern style cooking. A sub-category of Northern cooking is the imperial style, which is found in China's capital Beijing. Traditionally the imperial style uses ingredients from all over China that make its way to the capital. The most famous imperial style dish is Peking duck, tender duck served in a pancake like piece of bread, with a number of toppings. Other influences in Northern cooking come from Mongolian, and Muslim groups. Mongolian hot pot, and lamb or beef kebabs from China's muslim population add a distinct flavour to China's North.

The Southern school of Chinese cooking is one we are much more accustomed to. This is due to the large number of Cantonese people that have immigrated to North America, and founded "Chinatowns" in cities all over North America. However, there is more to South China cooking than what we are familiar with. Dim sum, and it's dishes, are probably the most famous of Cantonese food. Often served with rice, South China cooking is distinguished by it's attention to freshness, and tend to have less salt, and flavour than other Chinese regions. That's not to say it is any less tasty, as anyone who has had good Dim sum can attest to.

Western China cuisine has been heavily influence by China's minority populations. While ~92% of Chinese people are of Han descent, a large portion of China's minority ethnic populations live in the Western provinces. Sichuan, and it's fiery flavour, is often what people think of when they refer to Western style Chinese food. One unique aspect of Sicuanese food is the use of huajiao, a "flower pepper", which actually numbs your tongue, and leaves your mouth tingling. I admit I was a little freaked out when I had huajiao for the first time. Another popular dish is Sichuanese style hot pot, comprised of meat and vegetables added to boiling water, which, of course, is also spicy.

The final region is the East. The dishes of this area often involve fish and rice, and tend to be more oily and sweet. Shanghai is the major city in the East, and is famous for its fried fish, and hairy crab, which are abundant from October to December. China's best soy sauce is also produced in this area, who's flavour is commonly found in stir-fried dishes.

While I've had some of these regional dishes. I'm sure the restaurants in Canada will fail in comparison to anything I have in China. My lovely personal tour guide, Bingqing, and I will be travelling from Beijing, working our way West to Xi'an, and south on to Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guanxi provinces before making it to our final destination of Hong Kong. I'm going to be blogging during the trip, mostly about food, to keep people informed, mostly my mother, about my whereabouts.

Food is central to Chinese culture, and I'm so excited to have a chance to explore the great culinary diversity, in such a vast country.

Last thoughts from the Factory

The three months I spent in Moose Factory were a great experience, and it is amazing how much my perception of the community changed since I first arrived. Admittedly I was nervous and timid at the beginning, but my comfort level grew over time.

My fear of the dogs definitely improved, to the point were I was gaving a few of them treats. I stopped that pretty quick though because it got to the point where a pack of them would follow me home, fighting each-other for my attention. But I was just happy to have reached the point were I'm not taking a 20 minute detour because I see an unfamiliar dog on the road.

As I write this, I am back on the Polar Bear express. The incredibly slow train that is the only land connection to Moosonee, outside of the winter months. It turned out that even reaching the train from Moose Factory was a bit of an adventure.

With the weather forecast predicting 30cm of blowing snow, which turned out to be true, I was unsure how I would get off the island if the helicopters were grounded. Fortunately, since it has been so cold, the ski-doo taxis were still running, allowing me to get over the river to Moosonee.

I had no idea what to expect out of a ski-doo taxi, but as you can see from the photo, it is just a crude box with benches inside, hooked onto the back of the ski-doo. It was a bumpy ride over, but I figured it was a fitting ending for my time in the community.

From a work perspective my time in Moose Factory was challenging, but well worth it. It is incredible how many challenges the community faces when it comes to food. As I mentioned in a previous post, as a dietitian you are working with so many limitations, due to the cost, quality, and availability of nutritious food.

I have to wonder how helpful the advice we give is. Even if someone is able to make positive changes to their diet in the short-term, how long will it last if they struggle to afford healthy food, or do not have a supportive home environment to sustain the change.

That is not to say the role of a dietitian in the community is not useful, just that healthcare services should be more involved with community initiatives to improve the community food environment. However, this is not an easy change, as hospitals and health services, tend to be oriented to treat the sick, not preventing illness.    

I'm going to continue this blog while I'm back in Saskatoon, and while I tour through China this summer. Focusing mainly on food issues, and anything else I find interesting along the way.

Cheers,

JK

The spring goose hunt

I’ve been warned that there will be significantly less people coming to appointments in the next few weeks. The spring goose hunt is just around the corner and is a major event in the community. As families hope to get enough geese, which is smoked, dried, and canned, to last the entire year.

Many families congregate at their camps, some just near the town, others a hundred or so kilometres away. The hunt offers more than just food for the community, as family members who don’t see each other often come together to live off the land, for a few weeks. Community members also share what they can with elders, and others who couldn’t take part in the hunt.

The hunt is more than just a ritual, many families rely on the food to supplement their diet for a good chunk of the year. One client bemoaned the poor output from last year’s hunt, as she found it difficult to feed her large family. Most of us in Canada aren’t used to experiencing seasonal food shortages; at least not anymore. Supermarkets seem unaware of the concept of seasons, as you can get pretty much anything year round. Relying on the local environment for food is a foreign concept for me, but it brings with it many positives, such as fresher food, better nutritional quality, and a connection to your surroundings. The uncertainty of the harvest is the downfall.

With the high cost of food in Northern communities, living off the land is crucial. But food procured through hunting is hardly free. People invest heavily, with their time, (a couple of weeks to a month), and money, including the cost of ammunition, camping supplies, fuel, and transportation. Many people snowmobile out, but on the way back it is no longer possible, as the ice has broken up. Either boat, or helicopter is then needed to transport your stuff back to town.

 Petty much everyone here is talking about getting their camp ready. The Geese usually come early to mid April. Though last year there were Geese sightings as early as mid March leaving many people unprepared. I've already heard many goose calls as people practice their best imitations.

I was also able to check out the traditional goose decoys used by the Cree people. They are made by fashioning stick together with twine. Once completed, they are placed in various positions in the field, when the migrating geese see the decoys, and hear the hunters’ goose call, they will fly down to the field. Once in shooting range…well you get the rest.

(Miniature Goose decoy)

Spring in the Factory

With Spring here in Moose Factory, the snow is beginning to melt, and everything is being covered in mud. The 7 ft. piles of snow are down to 5 ft, and the dirt roads are covered in water. There is now a lake on Hospital drive. As I walked by on the snow bank, I witnessed a van attempting to get to the hospital, determined to get through the water up to its bumper. Better hope you don't try to to get to the ER in a sedan.

Now that it is warming up it is also helicopter season. Meaning that the ice road is no longer passable, though even it's officially closed people will continue to use it by snow mobile, right until the ice breaks up. The closure of the road makes getting on and off the island expensive, as a helicopter trip to Moosonee is around $40 one way.

This also creates issues for getting supplies, food or whatever else. Most places stock up before the road closes, but in the case of food you can only do this for non-perishables. For the Northern grocery store, and the hospital food service, they rely on helicopters to deliver fresh food. The food is put into a sling, which dangles precariously under the chopper.

While using a helicopter is a much more exciting way to deliver goods, it's not without its problems. I've been told there have been times when the sling has snapped, leaving mail or whatever else, raining down onto Moose Factory. However, I've been reassured this has only happened a couple of times. To be honest I wouldn't mind the scavenger hunt, to find my missing mail.

I also had a chance encounter with Margeurite Wabano, known as Granny Wabano in Moosonee, she is the oldest survivor of Canada's residential schools. She is nearly 110 years old now, and I briefly introduced myself while we were on a home visit at a seniors' complex.

Margeurite Wabano was invited to Ottawa when Prime minister Harper issued the apology, on behalf of the federal government, on its residential school system. Apparently Harper offered his hand to Margeurite, as she walked up a set of stairs, and she promptly knocked his hand aside. Hand holding is not a part of First Nation culture, even between husband and wife. So it was more of a cultural misunderstanding then a slight, but entertaining nonetheless.

Demand for nutritious food in low income neighbourhoods

An explanation I often hear as to why there is so much processed and fast food available, whether it be here in Moose factory or in underserved neighbourhoods in cities, is that there is simply not a demand for fruits and vegetables. This is a phenomenon I have struggled to come to terms with for some time.

A recent report from the Food Ethics Council out of the UK, provides an explanation as to why sustainably grown food still represents the minority of products on grocery store shelves. The report also explains why processed food thrives and nutritious food struggles to find shelf space in some communities.

First of all, while there may be a perceived lack of demand for fresh produce in low income communities, it is likely more to do with purchasing power than there being a lack of desire to consume healthy foods.

Excerpts from the report in italics:

This is not to say that people don't want to buy sustainable products – they do, but they don't see why they should have to pay more money for them, and many cannot afford to do so. Society's attachment to, and dependence upon, cheap food is a critical barrier in moving towards a sustainable food system.

Looking at Northern communities in particular, the quality of fresh food adds another dimension to food choice. Fresh fruits and vegetables often arrive in poor quality, and are sometimes left to rot on the shelves.

The other issue, raised in the food ethics council's report, is that too much responsibility lies with the consumer. Consumers are relied upon to pick which foods are available, but most consumers are more interested in price, than sustainability or health. That is not to bash people's food choices, it's just that our current food system is tilted heavily towards cheap processed food.

As things stand, there simply isn't sufficient demand for sustainable food to drive the required transformation in the food system. Price, quality and value are still the most important determinants of food purchasing decisions. So there is a problem: business and government both look to consumers to lead the way on sustainable consumption, but consumers do not want to assume this responsibility.

A recent study suggests that purchases of fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy, and other healthy foods will increase by as much as 10%, following 25% price reduction. Making fruits and vegetables cost competitive with processed food may lead to increased consumption of healthier food.

What both business and the public need is a level playing field. A food system that internalizes the costs of food production and health outcomes. Unfortunately that is the role of neither. Government needs to step in to allow citizens to be able to pick healthy, sustainable food that doesn't make them ill.

Most damagingly, government has not provided the coherent, joined-up, long-term food policy that businesses – and other sectors of society – require in order to develop their own strategic responses to the challenges confronting the food system.

While increasing the availability and accessibility of nutritious food is an excellent place to start. It may not be enough to entice people to buy nutritious foods. If people are not accustomed to eating these foods, do not have proper cooking equipment/facilities, or cooking skills, then food may still lie untouched. No one solution is a panacea, but incorporating multiple strategies may increase the consumption of nutritious food.

The bottom line is people do not want to be sick. Unfortunately our food system gives some people no other option.

Diabetes and depression

This past few days being on diabetes "medication" has been a humbling experience. I did not realize the upkeep involved, and even for someone with a half-decent understanding of nutrition, it was not a walk in the park. I screwed up so badly on Saturday that I wrote the day off to start anew on Sunday. That's the fortunate part of only pretending to have diabetes. People really living with the disease can't just decide to do it tomorrow, it is a burden you live with everyday.

There were a few times I forgot to take my "Metformin", and carbohydrate counting, though I did get better, was a tedious experience. I found myself estimating a couple times, which may have been sloppy, but I was either in a rush or just didn't feel like doing the extra work.

I was actually really surprised that I grew more tired of doing a finger prick, than the insulin shot. Pricking my finger is not fun! While the insulin shot gave me the most angst the first time, it was the finger prick that I truly despised in the end. I was able to give myself the insulin shot relatively quickly and with less mess, while pricking my finger gave me more pain, and a few times I had to repeat it as the glucometer read an error.

All these issues of managing diabetes add up, and this all just in a few days. Living with the condition would reveal even more issues that I'm sure would cause a lot of anxiety and frustration for people.

 Studies have shown that depression is twice as likely to occur in diabetics than non-diabetics. This is related to physical, psychological, and genetic factors. The burden of managing a chronic disease on your own, is thought to be a contributing factor to depression in people with diabetes. This highlights the need for a strong social support network, to ease the burden of the person living with diabetes.

While depression can lead to poor diabetes control. Depression has also been shown to double the risk of developing diabetes, so it is difficult to determine how depression develops. Certainly it is not hard to believe that a diagnosis of diabetes would exacerbate depression. Either way it is a vicious relationship.

Understanding the burden of chronic disease is crucial for the delivery of quality healthcare that respects the client. People may struggle with managing their illness, but it does not necessarily mean they are a lost cause, just that they need care to be tailored differently.

Insulin dream

As part of an exercise to better understand what someone with diabetes has to go through in terms of managing the disease, I was set up this week with an insulin pen, blood sugar meter, and "medications" of someone with diabetes. I was also given a schedule to follow, and a chart to track how many grams of carbs I've eaten.

So my schedule looks like this:

-1 unit of Humalog (fast acting insulin), for every 10g of carbohydrate I eat, at meals.

-20 units of Lantus (long lasting insulin) at bedtime.

-1 "Metformin" (oral medication to increase the body's sensitivity to insulin) 3 times a day.

-Test blood sugar first thing every morning, and two hours after every meal.

So just to clarify I'm not actually taking insulin or any diabetes drugs, I'm injecting air into myself, and taking sugar pills. I must admit though it is a little freaky jabbing yourself in the side with a needle, even if it is only 4mm long. I usually have no problem with needles, I'm all screamed out from childhood. Checking my blood sugars also took some mental strength the first couple times. The first time I bent the needle, which didn't make me feel any better about drawing my own blood.

The most difficult part, however, has been taking my insulin based on what I'm eating. It has forced me to plan my meals, and how much I eat, ahead of time. Usually I don't pay much attention to meal times, and just eat and cook whenever I am hungry. To avoid a "low" blood sugar, I'm forced to eat soon after taking my insulin, this is something I am not used too.

In no way do I now understand what it's like to live with diabetes, I know that I'm going to go back to my usual routine in a couple of days, and I don't have the weight of an actual diagnosis on my shoulders, nothing will happen if I don't take my "insulin".

As a dietitian-to-be I'm struggling with some of the carbohydrate counting and meal planning, and I've had to ask my supervisor many questions; yet these expectations we have of our clients. While I would get better at managing with time, I could only imagine the stress the diagnosis would put on someone.

Also I'm not appreciating the red needle dots on my mid-section.

Traveling up the coast...

This past week I had the opportunity to travel up the coast to visit a couple other communities. Taking the flight up the coast seemed more like taking a train. Even though we were traveling all the way to Peawanuck, the furthest community up the coast, you still have stops at all the other communities. So to get to Peawanuck you’re going up and down 4 times with stops in Fort Albany (20min), Kashechewan (5 min), Attawapiskat (30min), and then 45 minutes to Peawanuck. Apparently the flight between Fort Albany and Kashechewan is the shortest commercial flight in the world, as it is only a 10 minute drive on the ice road.

Peawanuck has a different feel than the other communities. It is more isolated than the others, and people rely more on traditional food systems, such as fishing, trapping, and hunting. Unlike the other communities it seemed as if the community had their dog population under control, if you’ve read my blog post “It’s cold and there are dogs” you understand why this is one of the first things I noticed.

While the community has many positive attributes, delivering health care services to an isolated location still has its challenges. The nursing station has a high staff turnover, with nurses usually staying for only a couple weeks at a time. The current nurse in charge of the station had only been there for a few days, and only found out he was the charge nurse the day he left for Peawanuck. Physician services are few and far between, even though there is supposed to be a doctor in the community every month or so, it is rare when it is that frequent, and for anything beyond basic care people need to be flown south to Moose Factory, Timmins, or Kingston.

I had a chance to visit the grocery store in Peawanuck, which had a produce section slightly better than a 7-11 back home. Alongside the moldy limes and lemons, was a sad head of broccoli for $13, while instant noodles sold for 95 cents. Some people order directly from stores down south, to bypass the retail mark up, but the situation is far from ideal.

  

Another highlight of my trip up the coast was doing home visits in Fort Albany. This also provided me with the unique opportunity to counsel through a translator, as many of the elders speak Cree. At first it was an intimidating experience, but after realizing how unique and limiting the situation was, I started to relax. Using plain language is something you always keep in mind, but it is especially important when communicating through a translator, and you always wonder what has been lost in translation. I also felt pretty useless, offering someone who speaks Cree English language resources. 

What I found the most important was keeping in mind you should speak directly to the client and not with the translator, and secondly to keep a sense a humour about the situation. It is certainly not something I was trained for, but that’s what makes it fun, it forces you to stretch.

Why vitamin water sucks!

There have been a couple situations lately with vitamin water that have really irked me.

The first was from my supervisor who is part of the diabetes program. She mentioned a client had been drinking vitamin water not realizing it contained sugar. Now for most people this would not be a major issue, other than empty calories, but for someone with diabetes this a potentially dangerous situation.

The second was a client who had been feeling tired and ill, and she mentioned she was drinking vitamin water to help her feel better. The client asked about the claim on the bottle suggesting to drink 1 bottle a day for best results. The way vitamin water markets itself is as a health product, which is totally misleading.      

Vitamin water, which is made of  water, sugar, artificial flavour and colour, and fortified with vitamins, markets itself as a health product to great effect. Everything from the label, to the name itself is designed to resemble a prescription.




While vitamin water does contain water and vitamins, as you can see from the label above, it also contains sugar, flavour additives, and some varieties contain artificial colour. Vitamin water is essentially flat coca cola fortified with vitamins, but coke isn't drunk to relieve illness or to be healthier.

The other tricky thing with the vitamin water label is the serving size. For sugar and calories the nutrition information is based on an 8oz serving, where the bottle itself contains 20oz (2.5 "servings"). I think it is fair to say that most people will drink the entire bottle. While a 12oz can of Coke contains 42 grams (~8.5 teaspoons) of added sugar, a bottle of vitamin water contains 32.5g (6.5 teaspoons) of added sugar.

While it may seem obvious to some that vitamin water is not going to make you healthier, it has a subtle affect. Especially in our fast paced lifestyle where it is not uncommon to experience days when you may not eat nutritiously. So why not grab a bottle of liquid vitamins?

But the fact of the matter is you would be better off taking a multivitamin down with tap water. This would save you both money and calories. But really your body will survive one day of poor eating, and you really shouldn't be relying on added vitamins anyway. There is little to no evidence that taking vitamins, most of which have been extracted from corn, will make you any healthier. While there is plenty of research showing a healthy diet will reduce your risk for chronic disease and improve your well being.

My first rant. Feels good!

Community kitchens and the joy of working with kids.

This week I was able to participate in a community cooking class, my first time doing so. The class was geared towards children, with their parents accompanying them to help with anything beyond their skill level.

It turned out that most of the kids ran off and their parents ended up doing most of the cooking. There were a few kids that participated during the class, but it was difficult to engage children in the cooking process. Short attention spans make even the 10 minutes to cook ground beef feel like an eternity. Other kids disagreed about proper hand sanitizing, and deemed it acceptable to simply wipe their hands on their pants after handling raw meat. Fair enough!

There were moments that made it worthwhile. Watching kids getting involved with cooking, and developing cooking skills, even if at the most basic level, is an incredibly rewarding experience. You can't help but smile when watching a 6 year old peel a carrot for the first time, or watch in a trance his mother cutting up a pepper.

Basic cooking skills are so important to develop, yet are not commonly taught in the school system. I received no cooking or food education during school, and if it weren’t for my parents I would not have any sort of base to work with. Unfortunately not all children are as lucky to have parents that teach them to cook, either for lack of time or lack of cooking skills.

This is part of the reason why processed foods are so popular. Many people are growing up with cooking simply meaning reheating frozen products. That’s why cooking needs to be part of school’s core curriculum.

A recent article, by Thomas & Irwin (2013) in the Canadian journal of dietetic practice and research, looked at what aspects facilitate and act as barriers towards applying skills learned in a cooking class, among high risk youth in Toronto.

Four aspects that promoted the application of cooking skills were identified:

1) Aptitude, which is the possession of knowledge and skills to prepare food at home.

2) Food literacy, which is an understanding and knowledge of food preparation from start to finish, including food selection, purchasing, preparation, and preservation.

3) Local and fresh ingredients, which were identified as important to making healthy and delicious meals.

4) Connectedness, which is related to the youths’ connection to the food and the farmers that grew the food, and also their relationship with health, family, and culture.

Only one barrier was identified, and that was easy access to fast food restaurants, which deterred people away from making home cooked meals.

While the food industry has taken advantage of our desire to have quick meals that meet are busy lifestyle. These products are far from a necessity, and do not benefit our health. It is unlikely that we would starve if these products weren't  available, and more likely that it would force us to incorporate more time to prepare food. Unfortunately we have created a food system that promotes these types of convenience foods.

What we eat is dependant on many factors, including cost, availability etc., but if we want to give kids a chance to eat nutritiously, basic cooking skills are a must. Providing children cooking and nutrition classes from a young age will create a population that is able to choose between eating nutrient poor convenience foods, and cooking nutritious meals at home using fresh local ingredients, when available.

 A choice between health and illness.

JK



   

The Food Industry and You!

The New York Times recently published an article entitled "The extraordinary science of addictive junk food". The article, written by Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist Michael Moss, paints a frightening picture of how the food industry attempts to hook customers to their products, under the guise of "Giving the customer what they want".

A few passages that really caught my eye I have included below, while the full article can be found here.

The article features a section on Howard Moskowitz, who is a consultant for the food industry, and is hired by companies wishing to create the best possible product. In this case "best product" simply refers to a product that sells.

Ordinary consumers are paid to spend hours sitting in rooms where they touch, feel, sip, smell, swirl and taste whatever product is in question. Their opinions are dumped into a computer, and the data are sifted and sorted through a statistical method called conjoint analysis, which determines what features will be most attractive to consumers.

The mathematical model maps out the ingredients to the sensory perceptions these ingredients create,” Moskowitz said, “so I can just dial a new product. This is the engineering approach.”

Moskowitz describes the ultimate product as having a perfect sensory specific satiety level.

In lay terms, it is the tendency for big, distinct flavors to overwhelm the brain, which responds by depressing your desire to have more. Sensory-specific satiety also became a guiding principle for the processed-food industry. The biggest hits — be they Coca-Cola or Doritos — owe their success to complex formulas that pique the taste buds enough to be alluring but don’t have a distinct, overriding single flavor that tells the brain to stop eating.

An example of this may be a good quality chocolate, which is almost too rich. You can have a little bit, and it is amazing, but it is a hard food to eat in large quantities even though it tastes amazing. In this way cheap snack foods are actually designed to not overwhelm and instead encourage people to eat as much as possible.

Another food industry insider describes the idea of "vanishing caloric density".


This,” Witherly said, “is one of the most marvelously constructed foods on the planet, in terms of pure pleasure.” He ticked off a dozen attributes of the Cheetos that make the brain say more. But the one he focused on most was the puff’s uncanny ability to melt in the mouth. “It’s called vanishing caloric density,” Witherly said. “If something melts down quickly, your brain thinks that there’s no calories in it . . . you can just keep eating it forever.”

This design, coupled with the flavour design described above, represents a powerful attack on will power.

Food companies shave also been known to target ethnic minorities that traditionally consume more of their product. In the U.S this has often been African-American, and Hispanic populations. This practice has been the subject of much criticism lately, with Beyonce becoming the new face of Pepsi. Some suggest this is a merely a strategy to encourage Pepsi consumption among young African-American girls.

In an effort to control as much market share as possible, Coke extended its aggressive marketing to especially poor or vulnerable areas of the U.S., like New Orleans — where people were drinking twice as much Coke as the national average — or Rome, Ga., where the per capita intake was nearly three Cokes a day.

By targeting the most vulnerable, the for-profit food system is actually increasing food insecurity, by creating addiction to processed food, and encouraging their consumption. It is incredible the lengths companies will go to turn a profit, and then rationalize it by suggesting if it's not them someone else will do it.

As a dietitian it is important to keep in mind the affect the food industry has on what people eat. While we may encourage people to consume less processed food, and provide an understanding as to why, this may not be enough. You can't underestimate the role that advertising, convenience, taste, and even addiction have on what people eat.

This is why policy is so important. Clearly personal responsibility does not work, at least not at the population level. Restrictions on advertising (especially to children), salt, and trans fat are good places to start. Since we've grown up with processed food, seeing it on a regular basis seems normal, but their is nothing normal about processed food. It is designed purely for profit, with only enough quality to makes us crave more.

JK

Barriers to care

Since working in Moose Factory, one thing that has really stood out has been the high no show rates. I am doing considerably more outpatient counselling here than in Nova Scotia, but the 50% show rate for appointments has been surprising. As a practitioner it is frustrating because you feel that people could benefit by seeing you, and it tends to be the most complicated cases that do not show. I was interested in exploring this further, as it occurs not just in dietetics but also in other outpatient services. There must be some barriers that overwhelm people’s desire or ability to attend.

Barriers to accessing health care differ from one person or population group to another, and what we may think of as routine, may in fact be an insurmountable barrier for another. It tends to be the most vulnerable populations that face these barriers, as health care services are not designed to meet their needs.

The SOGC journal, has an excellent policy statement on recognizing barriers to care in Aboriginal communities. They list potential categories of barriers including: attitudinal, values and beliefs, socioeconomic, and language and communication.

Attitudinal barriers include racism and prejudice, which can be subtle yet incredibly damaging. Differences in values or beliefs can cause people to feel alienated in an unfamiliar environment; First Nation governance was traditionally based on non-interference, this stands in stark contrast to Western medicine featuring an “expert” practitioner who makes a diagnosis and controls the care process. Socioeconomic barriers may include poverty, inadequate housing, low education, and substance abuse; all of which are correlated and contribute as barriers to access. Finally language and communication can become a barrier, not just because of the need for direct translation, but also for interpretation of content to be culturally appropriate.

As Ensor & Cooper (2004) suggest the usual strategy to increase accessibility to health care services has been to supply more health care professionals or increase the quality of care to vulnerable populations, but this may not be the best strategy. More attention needs to be made to the barriers that affect people’s desire to seek care, these include the cultural barriers that hinder the relationship between the community and health care services/practitioners.

Providing traditional native healing in health care institutions is one way to overcome some of these barriers, this is a service that does exist at the hospital here in Moose Factory. However, as my supervisor has mentioned, some people within the community are strongly opposed to this type of care, which puts a whole new spin on cultural appropriateness. Other barriers include the high turnover of health care professionals. In the 6 weeks I have been here I think I have met at least a dozen people that are moving to jobs elsewhere, this lack of continuity does little to improve the community’s relationship with the health care system.

 While many issues exist to increase accessibility, there are no simple solutions. The most important thing is to create open channels of communication between the community and health care services. Culturally appropriate care will need to balance traditional and modern health care, while allowing input from community members.