Unlike most of the expat teachers at my husband’s school, we rarely ordered food delivered to our apartment for the first five or so months we lived here. Between the fact that most everything is deep fried, over-salted and flavored with MSG, we didn’t know enough Chinese to order food let alone explain – over the phone, no less – how to have it delivered to our home. And, since I work from home, I was happy to make our meals.

All of that changed recently when – after six weeks of over 100F. temperatures – we had a pizza delivered. I don’t want you to think I was a heroine in the league of Suzie Homemaker during the first month of this normal summer weather in this undeclared furnace of China. Jacob was ordering double meals at restaurants at lunchtime and bringing home the extra food for me so that I wouldn’t have to cook in our non-air-conditioned kitchen.

It always amazes me how you can have anything delivered here as there is no minimum that needs to be to be spent to qualify for “free delivery”. Think about it: what is the minimum you must spend to get your food delivered where you live? $10, $20, More? At a favorite Chinese (duh!) restaurant nearby you can get 10 dumplings for the equivalent of $1.50 delivered to your home. And they don’t expect tipping. Even for climbing seven flights of stair (we don’t have an elevator).

But first, you have to speak enough Chinese to order the food. Well, for your own survival the first words you learn in a new country usually involve: food, drink, bathroom – and not necessarily in that order.

Next you need to learn enough Chinese to be able to explain to the restaurant where you live. One way the expats have gotten around this is to have a local Chinese person write a text message into your phone with your address in Chinese. That way, when you order food over the phone, you can just text your address to the restaurant.

That’s the thing about being an expat: you always find a way to get things done.

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