Delicious Dining

         Last week I had the privilege of being invited for dinner by a Chinese family at a large restaurant in Beijing that they manage.   I was allowed to tag along to this dinner because I am acquainted with someone who is close friends with them (and because of a couple of other reasons that are too laborious to explain in this blog post).  We ate in a private room of the restaurant and were served some of the most delicious food I have yet tasted.  The reputation of Chinese hosting was met in this family as the dishes just kept coming out.  Since every bite seemed to be more delightful than the last, I ate my fill. Near the end of the meal as I was slowing down, my Chinese host said something to me and asked my friend to translate.  Much to my mortification, she did as he asked, saying, “He notices that you have eaten much.”  I flushed red, feeling like a fat pig.  As we got in the car to go home after the dinner, I told my friend how embarrassed I was that I had evidently eaten too much.  I was relieved when she explained, “No, to the contrary, you honored him by eating his food and enjoying it.  You gave him face by doing that.”  So again, I will stick with my mantra that I have much to learn.  In my short time here, I have learned that China is a society that highly values the idea of saving face.  Protecting someone else’s reputation and giving them public honor is so important in this society that it can trump doing the logical thing or even the “right” thing.  As Americans, this concept is so difficult to wrap our minds around.  In our Asian Culture and Communication class we are learning so much about the fundamentally different mindsets of Eastern and Western cultures.  In Spanish, the word for foreigner is directly translated as “alien”, which I think is pretty appropriate for how I feel here.   I may be from a different world, but I am intrigued by this culture and excited to experience all of what life is here with eyes wide open.  

Peking duck - it was delicious! 

 

Just relax and listen to the calming sound of... drilling?

Long before I had arrived in China, I had been told about the inexpensive massages you can get here.  I love massages so much that I had plans to go get one before I even got on the plane.  You can imagine my enthusiasm when I found out that there was a good massage place right across the street from our hotel and that massages cost only six dollars!  Eager to experience this, I dragged my Chinese-speaking roommate across the street with me to set up the deal.  My roommate helped me with the logistics and left.  I was led into a small room with six massage beds and instructed (through actions) to lie down.   No sooner did I put my head on the pillow than began the earsplitting sound of drilling about five feet above my head.  The massage therapist continued her work unfazed, and the drilling continued for about 20 minutes.  I just had to laugh as it seems you never know what to expect in China! 

Ancient Times Meet Neon Signs

Anyone who knows even a little about China is aware that it is a civilization that has spanned thousands of years; a country and a culture with rich history and heritage.  And anyone who has been to China is immediately assaulted by thousands of neon signs lighting up the city of Beijing as bright as Las Vegas on its most illuminated evening.  In preparation for coming here I read in one of our books that everything you’ve been told about China is true, and the opposite is also true.   Though ELIC did a great job preparing us for what life would be like in China, arrival here screams that I’m only at the very beginning of understanding just how little I know, and how very much I have to learn.  One such example of this occurred on my first real day in China.  We (Americans) were divided up into small groups and sent out into the city with student guides to complete a scavenger hunt type of activity.  This was a great opportunity to see the city a bit and interact with a Chinese student right away.  Our guide’s name was Chris, and we genuinely enjoyed spending the day with him.  The time with him was something that sparked my enthusiasm to begin getting to know more Chinese students.  We were assigned a specific area of town to go to, and tasks that we were to complete.  One task was to search for the most interesting flavor of chips we could find, so we went to the supermarket.  We found several unique flavors, but I decided that the “Coca-cola and chicken” flavor was just too intriguing to leave on the shelf, so I bought it.  I got in line to pay for my chips, but because it was only my first day and I had no idea which bills were worth what, I just naively handed the cashier everything I had.  Chris was amusedly watching the whole situation, unable to suppress laughter.  I finished paying and asked him if he was laughing at me, to which he responded: “Heh heh, you have much to learn.”   I’m pretty sure that this will be my mantra for quite some time as each day this statement has proved to be more and more accurate.  Before leaving, various people asked me what I was the most excited about, and besides some of the obvious reasons for why I’m here, I responded that I knew it would be an opportunity to learn so much.  Being in a place where I’m completely out of place offers an opportunity like no other to have my perspectives blown out of the water, to struggle with the conflict that presents, and to begin to reshape my understanding of the world.

Besides taking classes to prepare us for teaching in Asia, we have been using our free time here in Beijing to get out and see some of the sights.  I’ve been able to visit and go up one of the tallest towers in the world, explore a beautiful area that used to be the emperor’s summer home known as the Summer Palace, and visit the Great Wall.  All of these have been pretty incredible experiences and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to have some fun and get to know the country where we will be living and working.  One of the most incredible parts of being here, however, has been getting to know the other ELIC teachers.  I’ve been moved by others’ stories of how they were called here, what they left behind, and their reasons for being here.  It’s amazing how strangers from all over the country can come together and find deep solidarity, motivation, and unified vision.  Such a unity can only come from the One who is so much greater than all of us; the One who has the power to break every chain, give hope to the hopeless, and make all things new.