Last night was probably one of the most fun nights that I’ve had here in Chengde. The previous day, as I mentioned, Maggie’s friend (Sarina) called us to go for Chinese BBQ. At first, I was a little worried about going. The reason was that Matt, the foreign teacher who met up with us at the KTV, asked if he had been to Chinese BBQ yet. He laughed when we said no, then said that we have to go ASAP. That made me worried that there was something he wasn’t telling us.
So, last night around 6 we met Maggie at the Affiliated hospital (about 5 minute walk), because that is half way between Meghan and my apartments Sarinas. Chris, Megan and Travis came along, too. Maggie then hailed two cabs and we were on our way to the BBQ restaurant. The cab dropped us off of a very nice looking restaurant. The place met our standard…it had people in it.
When we walked in, we noticed that there were little grills in the middle of each table. It kind of reminded me of a Bennie Hanna (or any other restaurant where there is a chef cooking on a grill in the middle of a long table), however, there were no cooks throwing food and knives in the air! We, once again, were escorted to a private room. The waitress handed us a menu, and it was great because there were pictures on the menu. We ordered a few different kinds of beef (each beef dish had a different flavor and spice) and a couple chicken dishes. We also got some fried bread (will explain later), onions, mushroom and sweet potatoes. After a few minutes, the waitress brought it plates of the raw foods that we ordered. We then starting throwing it on the grill and letting the food cook. The only food that came to us prepared was the fried bred and mix rice dish. The fried bread was awesome! It tasted just like French toast, and they had their own version of syrup too. Meghan was very excited, and wants to come to this restaurant on Christmas morning for the French toast!
The food was absolutely wonderful. For anyone coming to China to visit, this is a restaurant that is on the list of places to go! Sarina’s mother also joined us halfway through dinner. Her mother is a very sweet lady who speaks no English, but loved trying to teach us some simple Chinese. We worked on our counting and colors. It was a very good time…she’s a good teacher.
After dinner, we decided that we could walk back. It is only a 20ish minute walk. On the way back, Sarina purchased a lotus flower for each of us. Then, she showed us how to eat the lotus seeds (the only edible part of the flower). It was very good. A lotus flower was something I thought I would never eat…but I totally will eat more. They seeds didn’t have much to them, but they were kind of a fun snack.
We then stopped at the People’s Park. This is a big open park with some flower beds and a giant TV that people were watching. On the giant tv was the opening ceremonies for the paraolympic games which were starting. Sarina then bought us a Chinese version of a hacky sack. It is a little ball on the end filled with rice, or seeds, then feathers on the top to help it float down easier. We formed a circle and tried to play. Sarina basically showed all of us up! We need some practice. It was great, though, because as we played for a half hour, some Chinese people (who were all awesome) came and joined in with us. It was great being able to interact with others this way.
Oh, and also while we were at the park, we saw five other foreigners (white people). It was awful, because we all found ourselves staring at them too, even though we hate the fact that we are stared at by the Chinese over here. As they were walking by, Chris said, “Look at the foreigners”, and two of them turned around and waved. It was very funny. This brings the total amount of foreigners I have seen here in Chengde to 9 (not including us teachers).
After that, we came home and that was about it. This was for sure one of the most fun nights that I’ve had here in Chengde. Sarina is really fun and we all liked hanging out with her. She is going to show us next month where to get bikes (once we get paid) and some other useful stuff around the city. She will be a very fun host and tour guide for us.
Well, I think that’s it. Nothing much on the agenda for today. All I have to do is figure out my washing machine and do some laundry. Gosh, where’s mom when you need her….
Saturday, September 6, 2008
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2 comments:
Hi Zach
Were there any BBQ chichen heads?
Dad
A couple of other comments. I told my friend at work who is from Thailand about your interesting soup experience. He laughed and said that chichen heads are a delicacy in Asian countries. It sounds like you are becoming immersed directly into the the "real" culture of China and not being treated like a tourist. That's great because that's what you said you wanted. However there is an old saying, "Be careful what you wish for because you may get it." I guess that includes chicken heads.
Also I believe you and your friends are being "looked at" not as something intensionally rude but because the Chinese people you are encountering have not had a chance to see or interact with Westerners. As a result you are novel and new to them and they find you interesting. Another friend of mine told me that he and his wife took a month long trip to China a couple of years back. His wife is very blond. As a result people came up to them wanting to touch his wife's hair. They had never seen hair that blond and they were fascinated. So you seem to be much more than just an English teacher. You are exposing the Chinese people to Westerners in a very real way. That is a great and wonderful thing because it is a step toward bringing our two cultures closers with a greater understanding of each other.
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