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!