Eating Well in China
I thought I would share in this installment, an interesting dinner I attended this week. After a long day at work, the driver I have been using invited me to join him and his family for dinner at their favorite restaurant. I actually make this statement as if we had a conversation, but Ben and I have learned to communicate in entirely advanced levels. I consider it to be "Charades on Steroids". However, it is generally effective. On this evening, Ben and I were using a translator borrowed from a friend. The translator is almost entirely accurate. I think he was asking me where to go, but I liked his version better. When he handed me the translator it said" the male genital sees the sun in the evening". While we have had other similar communication disconnects, this validates why United Nations communication seems to struggle...
Upon arrival at the restaurant, we were greeted by goats blocking the front door. Once they were herded towards the back which I'm assuming was the kitchen, we were seated at a large round table in the center of the room. Based on the attention from the wait staff, and surrounding tables I was inferring they had rarely seen foreigners or I had something pretty gross stuck in my teeth. I can also normally infer this based on the number of people that stare and/or take pictures.
Ben's family was completely hospitable and gracious in every way. Ben served as a fantastic host, and ordered an incredible range of dishes. While there were only 10 of us, we had at least 6 what I consider to be appetizers, 8 main courses, and many plates of accompanying vegetables, soup for all, and continually flowing beverages. All dishes were served on a large "lazy Susan", and shared by all. Among the dishes were chicken, some type of pork, a glazed and what seemed to be broiled duck, fish, grilled shrimp, several types of noodles and rice. At one point I went out back to use the restrooms in a building adjacent to the restaurant. When I returned, the entire family had donned plastic gloves and was eating with their hands. While it took me a while to figure out, I finally surmised that they had noticed me struggling with the Chopsticks for a couple of the dishes, and therefore were looking to make me feel more comfortable and encourage me to eat with my hands. I swear my chopstick skills have improved somewhat, but obviously they thought otherwise. While this would normally have been minimally embarrassing, that concern was dulled by a healthy enjoyment of the local Chinese Beer. My glass was seemingly refilled with each drink that I took. With no less than 36 toasts presented by varying family members, I wondered if this was some sort of Chinese family pledging ritual. At one point in the evening, I thought I may wake up in the morning and be tattooed with a Chinese Mafia emblem on my backside.
Other notable events from the evening included a chicken wandering through the dining area and getting to pick the fish we were eating from the tank. I chose a cute little one that looked like Nemo.
Ben has a little brother who also drives for him. As I was unable to pronounce his Chinese name, his is now called BB. (Ben's Brother) I had started called him Little Ben, but he did not pronounce it properly. They have also given me a Chinese name which I cannot pronounce properly. I think it means "Chopstick Challenged".
More to come next week.
Upon arrival at the restaurant, we were greeted by goats blocking the front door. Once they were herded towards the back which I'm assuming was the kitchen, we were seated at a large round table in the center of the room. Based on the attention from the wait staff, and surrounding tables I was inferring they had rarely seen foreigners or I had something pretty gross stuck in my teeth. I can also normally infer this based on the number of people that stare and/or take pictures.
Ben's family was completely hospitable and gracious in every way. Ben served as a fantastic host, and ordered an incredible range of dishes. While there were only 10 of us, we had at least 6 what I consider to be appetizers, 8 main courses, and many plates of accompanying vegetables, soup for all, and continually flowing beverages. All dishes were served on a large "lazy Susan", and shared by all. Among the dishes were chicken, some type of pork, a glazed and what seemed to be broiled duck, fish, grilled shrimp, several types of noodles and rice. At one point I went out back to use the restrooms in a building adjacent to the restaurant. When I returned, the entire family had donned plastic gloves and was eating with their hands. While it took me a while to figure out, I finally surmised that they had noticed me struggling with the Chopsticks for a couple of the dishes, and therefore were looking to make me feel more comfortable and encourage me to eat with my hands. I swear my chopstick skills have improved somewhat, but obviously they thought otherwise. While this would normally have been minimally embarrassing, that concern was dulled by a healthy enjoyment of the local Chinese Beer. My glass was seemingly refilled with each drink that I took. With no less than 36 toasts presented by varying family members, I wondered if this was some sort of Chinese family pledging ritual. At one point in the evening, I thought I may wake up in the morning and be tattooed with a Chinese Mafia emblem on my backside.
Other notable events from the evening included a chicken wandering through the dining area and getting to pick the fish we were eating from the tank. I chose a cute little one that looked like Nemo.
Ben has a little brother who also drives for him. As I was unable to pronounce his Chinese name, his is now called BB. (Ben's Brother) I had started called him Little Ben, but he did not pronounce it properly. They have also given me a Chinese name which I cannot pronounce properly. I think it means "Chopstick Challenged".
More to come next week.
posted by Curt at 1:52 AM
2 Comments:
Hello all-
Just know that I'm bringing a translator back- I didn't know the male genetial ever sees the sun...
still trying to figure it all out.
My best to you all.
Hello my friend! What a surprize to hear from you guys! We rode the motorcycle to Edisto Island a couple of months ago and ran in to Marty. He was trolling for chicks I think. How neat it must be to be there and seeing all the sights. We are well, Kristin is done at COllege of Charleston and now works at Nucor with me. Danieele is my little Democrat and is a Senior at Clemson, and (don't faint) Brandon is a Cadet at the Citadel. He is doing real well. You all are in our thoughts. Keep in touch! Mike, Gina and Familey!
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