During Thanksgiving, we went to the “big city” to enjoy time with foreign friends and to stock up our tiny refrigerator freezer with butter and cheese, two of the most missed food items that we can’t find in our city. I’m really good at adapting and even doing without. But butter and cheese seem to be our weaknesses. You’ve just got to have them.
I found a nice import shop that was willing to ship my $200 worth of cereal, cheese, and butter to my home which is a four hour bus ride away. I gave the clerk my home address, and she estimated the shipping costs would be around 40 RMB. That sounded very reasonable to me, and I was relieved I would not have to physically carry the items myself.
When my items didn’t arrive on Tuesday as expected, I gave the store a call. They informed me the package was shipped that day and would arrive Wednesday afternoon. Oh, and I needed to pay 30 RMB (less than $5). Fantastic!
Wednesday brought the inevitable call from the shipping company. Here’s our dialogue, translated of course.
me: Hello
shipping company: I’m from the shipping company [unintelligible]. Package [unintelligible].
me: Oh! My package from Big City is here! That’s wonderful! I’m at home. You can deliver it now.
shipping company: [unintelligible] package. What’s your address? [unintelligible]
me: I’m at Happy Valley Complex on Standling Road.
shipping company: [unintelligible] package.
me: I’m sorry. I don’t understand the local dialect. Could you speak Mandarin, please?
shipping company: [unintelligible] package….. [unintelligible]… address.
me: I’m at Happy Valley Complex on Standling Road.
shipping company: [unintelligible] package….. [unintelligible].
me: I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you just said. Is there anyone there who speaks Mandarin?
The speaker yells out to someone else and the phone changes hands.
shipping company: Hello!
me: Hi. You can deliver my package now. I’m at home.
shipping company: [unintelligible] package….. [unintelligible] fee.
me: Can you speak Mandarin?
shipping company: (in local dialect) I am speaking Mandarin. [unintelligible] package….. [unintelligible] fee.
me: Oh, I need to pay. Right! I know. I need to pay 30 RMB. No problem. I’ll pay the fees. You can deliver it now.
shipping company: What’s your address?
me: I’m at Happy Valley Complex on Standling Road.
shipping company: Harmonious Hill Complex on Spaulding Road? Where is that?
me: No, at Happy Valley Complex on Standling Road. It’s at the corner of Standling and Briggs.
shipping company: Harmonious Hill Complex on Briggs Road?
me: No. How about you give me your cell phone number? I’ll send you a text message with the full address.
I sent the message and waited. A few minutes later a man called.
shipping company: [unintelligible] deliver package….. [unintelligible].
me: Hi. Are you going to deliver my package?
shipping company: yes
me: Great! I’m home now. You can bring it immediately. I know I have to pay 30 RMB.
shipping company: What’s your address?
me: You really don’t know my address?
shipping company: We need your address.
me: I’ve already told two people at your company and sent a message. Isn’t it on the package itself?
[silence]
You really don’t know the address? (sigh) I’m at Happy Valley Complex on Standling Road.
The man mumbles something and hangs up on me. About thirty minutes later, the phone rings.
shipping company: I’m at your apartment complex.
me: Great! I’m in building 4, second floor, number 3.
shipping company: You need to come out and get the package.
me: Please bring it to my house. I’m in building 4, second floor, number 3.
shipping company: You need to come out and get the package. I don’t know where you are.
me: Just ask the security guard. He can tell you. It’s not a big complex. I’m in building 4, second floor, number 3.
I stand by the window and wait. Eventually I see a man carrying a package. I open the window and call to him that I’ll come down and open the door. (Our building’s security system is broken and the other residents won’t pay $8 each to fix it. So we have to go down and open the door manually.)
delivery man: You need to sign here.
me: (returning his form) Here is the 30 RMB.
delivery man: You have to pay 60 RMB. It’s 30 for the package to be delivered.
me: What do you mean? Why do I have to pay 30 twice?
delivery man: Didn’t you ask us to bring it to your house? We told you it was 30 RMB.
me: Oh, the store told me it was 30 RMB to ship the package to my house. Are you saying it’s 30 RMB to ship to my city and another 30 RMB to ship to my home?
delivery man: Yes.
me: Let me call the store. (to Big City import store) Does the 30 RMB include delivery to my door? Because the shipping company wants another 30 RMB just to bring it to my house.
store in Big City: Yes! It is included! Let me talk to the delivery man.
I hand the phone over. They talk, and the delivery man gives me back my phone and walks away. No explanation. Just walks away. I guess we didn’t have to pay the extra fees.
About fifteen minutes later the phone rings.
shipping company: We delivered a package.
me: Yes, thank you very much. I’ve got the package.
shipping company: [unintelligible] package…
me: Is there a problem? I’ve got the package.
shipping company: You are a foreigner, aren’t’ you?
me: Yes, I am. You are Chinese, aren’t you?
shipping company: What?
me: You are Chinese, aren’t you?
shipping company: Ha ha ha! That’s funny! We need your identity card number.
me: I’m so sorry. Foreigners do not have identity cards.
shipping company: Oh, is that right? We need your identity card number.
me: Well, that’s impossible. I don’t have one.
shipping company: Well, we need the name of your company.
me: I’m not a company. The package was shipped to an individual — to me.
shipping company: You’re not a company?
me: No. This is a personal residence.
shipping company: You bought things and had them delivered to your home? You’re not a company?
me: Right. Those are personal goods, not for a company.
shipping company: Oh.
They hang up on me.
And THAT is the story of my butter and cheese. It’s not easy. In fact, it can be quite infuriating at times. But bottom line is that my freezer is stocked with cheese and butter for the next few months. Christmas sugar cookies, here we come!
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Hi, I'm Jimmie, and this is my online collage -- a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but mostly homeschooling with a loosely Charlotte Mason style. You're welcome to poke around and leave a comment if you desire. 
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m tired just reading about it. LOL What an ordeal!
.-= Angie @ Many Little Blessings´s last blog ..Great Deal Alert: Nintendo DS Game Deal =-.
That is the best China story ever! Because it is totally so true!
.-= Sandy Fox´s last blog ..A Mock Wedding in China. =-.
Well not only did you get butter and cheese, you got an awesome story to go with it. LOL
.-= Stefanie´s last blog ..Weekly-Wrap Up =-.
How irritating! I hope it helped you to share your frustration. I’ll think of you the next time I buy butter and cheese (which we use in large quantities.)
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Not Me Monday =-.
I agree with Angie – that makes me tired just reading it! But, I’m glad it worked out well in the end and you can make cookies.
.-= Dana @ School For Us´s last blog ..Dickens on the Strand =-.
Whew! I’m glad you got your butter and cheese! I was beginning to worry!
.-= Nikki´s last blog ..10th Anniversary Trip to NYC =-.
I finished reading that and realized I was very tense until the end, when you got your goods! Wow, what an ordeal. Glad you get to make sugar cookies. We are probably going to make some today as well.
.-= Alli´s last blog ..(imaginary) shopping spree =-.
Oh Jimmie, I’m sorry! But that is hilarious!! Yikes! I can’t imagine doing that on a regular basis…you are a strong woman!!
Oh the challenges you face living in another country – I cannot think how I would deal with the differences in culture and language with a family to manage. Bravo to Jimmie! And enjoy your cookies and sweet treats … the foraging mission will make them that much sweeter. Happy Christmas!
.-= Pastiche´s last blog ..Christmas Printables Collection =-.
Wow! What an ordeal just for some cheese and butter……but if I was in that situation, I would do just about anything for cheese and butter. hahahaha
I have a question…Why do they not have cheese and butter in China?
.-= BlessedMomma´s last blog ..Drum roll please…………..the BIG announcement =-.
Wow! You were waaay more patient than I would have been. Hats off to you for hanging in there! And for double checking that shipping charge. 30RMB to take it from the gate to your house… who did he think he was dealing with??
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..TOS Review All About Spelling =-.
That is funny but I’m sure would be exhausting on a regular basis. I am amazed at the life you get to live in China. My oldest still loves what she has learned about squatty pottys from you! LOL. Enjoy the cookies.
And yes, why is there no butter and cheese made in China?
.-= Tristan´s last blog ..Weekly Weigh-In: Change it up! =-.
@ Tristan & BlessedMomma
Simple answer — Chinese people don’t eat butter or cheese.
But that’s not totally true; it’s a generalization. Actually butter is made in China, but we can’t find it in our city. We DID at one time. When I would find it, I would buy all there was, usually about 10 (1 cup) packages. But there has not been any butter for about nine months now. Cheese is even harder to find as Chinese people generally don’t care for it. It’s just not part of their regular, traditional diet as tofu and rabbit meat probably are not part of yours.
Wow! Kind of funny… when I lived in Germany I had more butter and cheese than you could shake a stick at!
But I didn’t have a freezer to put it in! LOL And waiting for those “care packages” from my mom would be a test of faith and patience for me. (Chocolate chips – that’s what I needed from the the USA during the holidays!).
Have fun making those cookies!
Hi,
My daughter, Sommer and I love your blog! We are moving to Xi’an next April or May along with my husband, Michael and the daughter we are adopting from China. We plan to call her Lucy Lei and we should travel to pick her up in Feb. hopefully. Right now we live in Tennessee. I am a teacher, Michael is a nurse and Sommer is in the 2nd grade.
In Xi’an we will homeschool the girls. We will be working with Starfish Foster Homes and living in the same building where they are now.
We can’t wait to get to China and your blog gives us some “reality stories” that will help us be better prepared. I hope we can be homeschooling friends in China. I am not sure where you live in China, but I would love to hear back from you. Well, Sommer is bugging me to check out your daughter’s page, so I guess thats goodbye for now.
Sylvia
I was rolling on the floor in laughter because I can so relate! We had the same problem when FedEx delivered our school books from the States several months ago. And that was in the big city! Glad you got your butter and cheese, those are two ingredients you just can’t substitute
.
.-= Paige´s last blog ..Weekly Report-Week 16 =-.
Well, I’ve had tofu and it’s not bad – I make a mean mayo with tofu instead of eggs, but I’ve not had rabbit meat yet, however, I’ve heard it is not too bad. Not that I’m likely to get it here in Ohio.
We actually lived for several years with no butter or cheese or milk products of any kind becuase my 2nd son was deathly allergic. So I learned to do some substitutes for things like cookies. I can make chocolate chip cookies and No-Bake cookies without butter or milk. So if you get desparate and out of butter sometime … just let me know…LOL. He outgrew that allergy so we’re just left with the egg allergy. I miss eggs, but honestly can not remember what they taste like, it’s been 5 years! Sigh.
.-= Tristan´s last blog ..Bethany House Book Review: Closer =-.
Oh, Jimmie, that was hilarious! You handled the whole situation with such grace! It sounds like you’ve been through it before and you know what to do.
You are a terrific storyteller, too!
Blessings,
Sandwich
.-= Sandwich in Wi´s last blog ..You Are All So Generous! =-.
Ah Jimmie… you do entertain us with these stories!! I don’t see how you manage to keep your cool so well! I would’ve LOST it completely!!!
It’s too bad it’s such an ordeal for you to get things as basic (to me!!) as butter & cheese. I just can’t fathom that at all!
They call me “the Butter Queen” around here, so um, yeah, just can’t imagine having to go through such, just to obtain that precious dairy!!!
I have struggled over the years to get some items from home……..however I will be very grateful the next time I walk in a store and pick up butter and eggs with no hassle! LOL! Enjoy your Christmas baking!! – Deedee
That is hilarious! It really would have made me mad to have people just walk away or hang up on me! Remind everyone when they are eating the baked cookies to be extra grateful for them : )
.-= Giovanna´s last blog ..Story Nory ~ something I hadn’t even thought of till today =-.
Oh, my! What craziness– sounds similar to the ordeals in the grocery stores here in AL when they announce “snow” in the weather forecast. LOL! I’m glad you were finally victorious, and I’m sure the spoils will be all the sweeter!
Although I am puzzled…You made your own wrapping paper recently, have you not considered just making your own butter and possibly cheese? I haven’t done either of these myself, so maybe they are more involved than I think…but you are so ingeniously crafty that I bet you could do it!
Too funny, and I’m sure you can laugh now that it is over. I would have been running in circles pulling my hair out by the fistful and mumbling incoherently after that experience! But at least you are in possession of the goods and I’m sure it was worth all the trouble. Right??? Maybe you should get a cow.
Your story reminds us to be grateful for the ease of shopping and finding what we need and want! I hope you will have loads of fun baking those cookies and that they’ll give pleasure to all! Thanks for the wonderful posts!
seriously laughing out loud. You’re a trooper…I would have given up and paid the extra 30, but you’re a smart cookie!
which brings me to my main point. WAHOO for Christmas cookies!
That is hysterical! How did you keep from pulling all of your hair out of your head?!? So glad to hear you have your butter and cheese. I say it was WELL-WORTH the hassle!
.-= Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog´s last blog ..Handmade Holidays — Easy No-Mess Snowflake Ornaments =-.
@Valerie — Oh, it’s hysterical, for sure. I omitted the parts in the story when I come out of the office and look at my husband with those huge, incredulous eyes saying, “They asked for our address. Again!”
Hmmm, I was thinking, (and then I saw that Briana above mentioned it) maybe you could make your own? At least the butter… we’ve made home-made butter…do you have cream available?? If so, butter is a snap to make~ and would be a great lesson for Sprite!! My dd and I did it as part of her “home economics” lessons.
As for cheese…well, we’ve made ricotta, cottage cheese and yogurt cheese~ very similar to cream cheese!! LOL. Nothing like cheddar or mozzarella though! (ricotta you can make from whole milk)
Very funny, glad you love our cheese and butter!!
Sandra – New Zealand!
@ Sandra, I do! I do love New Zealand cheese and butter!
@Lori & Briana — Oh, I’d have to find COWS — dairy cows even– to make my own cheese. You guys think too highly of me, really! Just finding cows somewhere in a 100 mile radius of my city (pop. 4 million) would be a challenge. Then I’d need rennin. I have considered it though. Cheese will drive you to do strange things. LOL!
But I have no idea where to start to find unpasteurized milk.
Nope on the cream too. Wah wah wah. Hey, there is this guy –Cheese in China. But at over $10 for half a pound (YIKES!), I just can’t afford it no matter how delicious it is.
And I have made something like cream cheese by first making homemade yogurt, draining it until it’s sour cream and then pressing that. It was good on bagels.
Everything has been said! I was stressing out with you. All I can think of is are you gonna send them some cookies? Just Kidding. I cannot imagine.
.-= Christie´s last blog ..Static Magic =-.
All i can say is “whew!” The ordeal/s we, expats, have to go through just to get something. We haven’t experienced it with butter and cheese though which is quite abundant here… happy Christmas baking!
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Sumptin’ egyptian: sweets! =-.
That is so funny, in an irritating sort of way! That really made me appreciate our Japanese postal and delivery systems – so careful, so friendly, so efficient… so Japanese!
.-= Sue´s last blog ..The Wonderful Blessing of Blog Friends! =-.