Eat first, talk later - Chinese Proverb

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted, and I’m feeling a recurring theme here with that opening line. I promise I will do better! Last weekend we went shopping and then one of my students, Cruise, had us over for dinner. His mother, Na Na, couldn’t speak very much English, but Cruise worked as a translator for us and we had a fantastic night! She made so much food for us, it was unbelievable. As soon as we came in, a feast of appetizers was waiting for us with an assortment of fruits and nuts. Cruise’s sister, Peach, and his grandmother were sitting beside a table making dumplings and they gave me a chance to try too! Her practiced fingers made it look so easy, but mine definitely did not look as pretty. As Na Na made dinner, we looked at family pictures and Peach’s wedding video. Her husband, Chun Li, was there as well and to watch the love between them brought tears to my eyes. It’s nice to know that even without the same language, love can still be felt so strongly.

It was so interesting to see the different customs to do with Chinese weddings. Traditionally, the bride would wear a red dress, but it is becoming more westernized so many women choose to wear white. Peach wore a white dress, but had red shoes, red flowers, and a great deal of red decorations all done Chinese-style. It was beautiful! At the beginning of their day, it was Chun Li’s duty to get into her bedroom at her current house and give her red envelopes with money in them. Kind of like a dowry I guess, but he has to work to get it to her. He then needed to find her shoes, which were hidden around the room somewhere. If he is having trouble, he is allowed to ask her family for a clue in exchange for more red envelopes. Once he found her shoes, he had to put them on her—this reminded me of Cinderella! The couple then gave tea to her parents and many red envelopes were exchanged between all of them and later at their new apartment, they gave tea to his parents and exchanged red envelopes. I found it very interesting that the groom was allowed to see the bride before the wedding and they thought it strange that we think it is bad luck! As well, the bride and groom had their friends involved (Peach’s friends held the door as Chun Li tried to break in to find her shoes), but they do not have official bridesmaids or groomsmen.

After talking a little more (Cruise really got a lot of practice speaking English as almost everyone spoke only Chinese), it was time for dinner—and boy, were we in for a treat! There was enough food for an army and only 7 of us to eat it, but I’ve learned that they loooove their food here. It is conventional for people to tell you to keep eating more and seriously, if I don’t put on a few pounds while I’m here I’ll be shocked. It will be worth it though, and I keep telling myself that it’s ok, because I may never get to have the chance to eat food like this again.

The menu for the night:

·         Beef – We told Cruise this was our favourite so Na Na looked up a recipe online

·         Pork – apparently this was Mao’s favourite dish, and one of my favourites too

·         Potato noodles with duck egg – another favourite

·         Dumplings with pork and green onion

·         Cabbage

·         Cucumber, ham, and onion salad

·         Soup with carrots, corn and chicken

·         Date soup

·         Bamboo shoot with chicken and hot peppers – very spicy, but Chenzhou is known for their spicy food and we wanted to taste and experience authentic Chinese dishes

After stuffing our faces, we sat down to have a cup of tea, took some pictures, and Na Na gave us presents for Christmas. I was feeling so overwhelmed with appreciation by this point and admittedly, shed a few tears because of how nice this was. Na Na had knit us each scarves the colour of “China Red” and they really are charming. They match the Canadian mittens I got in the mail from my parents! She also included dates, longas (like a nut on the outside and fruit on the inside), and green tea. Tea is one of my favourite things about China and my collection is growing more every week! Peach and Chun Li then invited us to their apartment to sing karaoke and so we spent a little time there. We sang Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, and some Savage Garden. Even Na Na hummed along with some. It’s lovely to see how music can be so universal and help us to feel closer even when our languages are so different. All in all, the night was unforgettable and though talking was difficult, it was easy to feel so good when our stomachs, hearts, and souls were so full.

PS. I will write another blog in the next couple days about this past weekend and our Christmas celebrations.. Hoping everyone is having an amazing holiday season at home and you are all spreading extra love and joy for me and Alethea! xo