May 19, 1933

Dear Mother and Dad,-

I was certainly glad to hear from you, and tickled that the trunk with our linens it it is on its way. So far I have not heard any news of it, and I hope that you had it insured. If you do we will surely get it. If at any time there is something you want me to be sure to get, register it and it will be delivered. As Stu said the mail service to Canton leaves a lot to be desired.

I have written a little description of Canton, and I am sending the same to Stu's folks and to Marie. So here goes.

It is more difficult than one would suppose to write a description of Canton, for the simple reason that there is very little to use as a basis for comparison. Hong Kong is a spot of England transplanted to China, but Canton is China. The first thing that struck me was that this is actually the land of upside down. The Chinese system of doing things is so different from ours, that at first it is impossible to find any system at all. Gradually you discover that the streets really lead some place and that the policemen on the corners have a purpose in waving their sticks.

Let me take the city apart. First imagine a filthy yellow river. The land on either side of the river picture as fertile, gently rolling, covered with a profuse and lovely foliage of a rich green color. The leaves of the plants are soft, long, and graceful. Flowers are not numerous, but what there are, are bright. Honeysuckle grows everywhere.

Now, onto this land put a city about the size of Glendale. It is really much larger than that, but to me the actual modern building space is about the same. The streets in the city and in the suburb where we live are not straight. You cannot see for more than four blocks ahead of you. There are only a main arteries, but they are paved the same as in California The main streets are not more than 30 feet wide. In your imagination, fill these curving streets with buildings very close together. They are tall, although they seldom are over three stories high. They are built for coolness. The downstairs of these buildings are left completely open, that is they look like California markets without the folding doors. The width of these open stalls is seldom over twenty feet. The sidewalks are shaded by protruding roofs.

Off the main arteries run countless and apparently aimless little streets which are also lined with stores, and which are about five or six feet wide. The buildings are made of brick and some are made of something that looks like stucco and adobe mixed. The roofs are both flat and slanting, and they are often covered with beautiful Chinese tile which is shiny green.

If in your mind you have left any space at all between the buildings or any place at all, for that matter, fill it at once with fifty million sheds of all kinds and description. Each little crevice houses a family and serves as a store of some kind. Those who have not found a cranny, carry their stores with them in two big baskets on a pole, and sleep on the streets at night. The whole town looks as if some one had tied a string around it and drawn it tight.

As you drive along the streets, and look into the shops, you cannot find any rhyme or reason in the displays. Things are just crammed into every available space and hung on the walls layers thick. How they can find anything is still a mystery to me. The other day Stu and I tried to buy a flower vase. They brought out everything from a grapefruit dish to a lamp, and after we personally inspected the entire stock we discovered they had no such thing. The things we have come to take for granted in America have to be found by a seasoned conniesure in this place. Paper for instance and pins.

And then the smells- no description would be complete without that. I swear- the stench of fifty thousand years out of some of these stores, and the dust of many more thousand years is on the buildings of Canton. But, believe it or not, the place is attractive, romantic, and lovely.

And the life- People teem through the streets. You cannot realize the significance of that until you see it. Christmas shopping in Los Angeles is an every day occurrence here. Thousands upon thousands in every walk of life, each with his peculiar type of dress- the white collar class in linens, the Chinese Bourgeois in long coat with high collar a la movie, the coolie with as little as possible which is plenty little, seldom a white face in the whole crowd.

The Bund which sort of Riverside Drive (heh heh) and on which are located the more modern stores, faces the river. As you know, hundreds of sandpans line the banks, and life is as thick and cheap on the river as it is on the land. The children run around on the boats with a sort of gourd tied to them, so that when they fall in the water the gourd marks the spot.

Just across the river is Shameen, the foreigners island. It lies cool and peaceful, and rise with a sort of dignity from the rabble at its feet. However the dignity is only outward. The people on the island are so close together, that they are at each others throats all the time.

Stu and I live in what is now known as the choice spot. Tungshan is on the outskirts of Canton. About as far as our house in Pasadena is from Colorado street. Here, as in all China there are some very amazing scents, but the honeysuckle predominates. In the evenings, we often take a walk along its quiet little byways and breathe deeply the scented cool air, and hold our noses when we reach the sign of the crescent.

As I read this over, I wonder what kind of picture you have in mind, and how close it is to the real thing. It is like nothing you have ever seen before.

From the heart of Canton to the place where we live, you hold your breath and wonder if you'll ever make it without killing someone. The Chinese cannot get used to automobiles. They wander out in front of you by the dozens- coolies with their stores on a pole, women taking the place of oxen drawing lumberous carts, children as thick as rats, rickshaws by the hundreds.

The road to the suburb is lined with schools, academies, military headquarters, dormitories, and from them is a continual parade of young and old in all kinds of costume and uniform.You never drive up or down the streets without seeing a parade, a wedding or a funeral of some kind. There are boy scouts, girl scouts, all kind of scouts out on parade every day.

The homes in Tungshan are lovely. They have lawns and flowers around them. Most of the houses in our section are built of brick, although a general has just put up a new home completely modernistic in tone- and I mean the real futuristic style.

When Mother sees the markets here she will collapse. I am going to take a picture of of the places our food comes from. At home you would walk a mile to avoid them. Everything we eat is cooked to a frazzle for sterilization purposes. We do get good meat however and good milk and butter and bread. The latter comes from the Dairy farm which is a scientifically cleaned place -- thank goodness. We drink only bottled water, and brush our teeth in a glass of the same. We are extremely fortunate in having a clean house boy. Most of the Chinese are filthy. Our coolie and Amah are neat too which is lucky, because when they are not and few are, there is not much you can do about it. I inspect their quarters and the kitchen daily and they are usually clean.

I am going to take pictures of everything and they will do until you see it all for yourselves.

The foreigners (white people are foreigners here) have been very nice to us. Captain and Mrs. Malley I already wrote about. They are English but very nice. They have done heaps for us. Everyone is anxious to help and generous with their invitations.

We had dinner at the American Consuls last week, and it rained so the boys had to take off their shoes and stockings and carry us out to the car. The water in our yard was four inches deep.

Ah Li is a splendid cook. He throws a wicked chicken and fish and in fact almost anything.

Tonight is Gwen's birthday. He is going to make a cake for her. The Chinese are often past masters at the art of decorating. We will initiate the cake frosting squeezer.

This business of furnishing a house as big as this one is no small task. We seem to buy furniture and more furniture and it never gets filled up. We rattle around like peas. However the spaciousness is a blessing because our house is cool even in the awful hot weather. In our bedroom we always have a light breeze at night. We have a nice big porch right off our bedroom and in the evening we sit out there.

The traveling salesman proposition must have originated in this country. Americans have just improved on it that's all. They come past by the dozens. They don't come to the door however, but instead stand out side the gate and sell their wares. They sing a song about them, and they are the weirdest songs you ever heard. They sound like these east Indian songs they play in Shandu. Imagine my surprise one evening to hear a right pretty song outside the gate. I went up stairs and looked out and almost fell over the balustrade when I saw that he was selling the family fertilizer. Can you tie that? It seems that the lower classes have a community toilet affair and at the close of the day they gather up the days profits and sell it nice and fresh. I've heard of selling one's shirt, but I never thought that people would go that far. We decided that if anything happened to Stu's and Crip's jobs we could still make a living in China.

Why wasn't I born a mathematician. Do you know that in this country I have to keep in mind three different money standards two of which change daily. There is Hong Kong, Canton, and Gold. One dollar gold will buy four dollars Hong Kong, and ten dollars Hong Kong will buy fourteen dollars Canton. The Hong Kong and Canton ratios change every day. Some of my bills I pay in Hong Kong, and some of them I pay in Canton. That seems as though money would go a long way here, but prices are higher. That is a pound of butter costs two dollars Hong Kong. I fork out 10 dollars Canton per day for our food alone.

The other day the man selling line[n]s came around. His things were similar to Florences, but cheaper of course. Still I thought he was too high so I only bought two lovely little doilies about a foot and a half in diameter and all embroidered for twelve cents apiece. (twelve cents gold)

This life is certainly making me lazy. All I have to do is tell someone else to do what I want them to.

During the intermission, we have been having some domestic troubles. Our boy has left and I have been trying to break another's head. I am getting to be hardboiled Hannah, but in this country if you are kind, they only think you are dumb.

Can you get a pamphlet showing all the parts of the Lady Diana silver set? I am having boulion spoons copied at the price of four for 12 dollars Canton which is about two dollars and twenty cents gold for the lot. They can copy pictures perfectly.

This is the 24th of May, and so far I have not heard from the trunk. Will you send me the name of the boat it came on. They tell me that crates sometimes take longer than letters.

Give my love to Wallace and Florence, and write often.

Love Jeannette.