Last week, one of my teachers (Wang Laoshi) invited me to meet with the family of one of her husband's colleagues who wanted to host an American student. The family (with last name also Wang but not related) has a 9-year-old son so they want someone to speak English to him and act like an older sibling. We all went to coffee together to get to know each other. The son's English name is Bob and he is simply adorable; he calls me older sister! Though shy at first, he soon started jabbering to me in Chinese--I couldn't understand most of it! Our conversations must be amusing to watch; hand motions, sound effects, and 2 languages combine to form an elaborate dance!
When the Wang family learned that my birthday was only 2 days away, they insisted on giving me an authentic Chinese birthday! This is after knowing me for only 15 minutes--what hospitality! We planned that they would call me Sunday morning and let me know about evening plans, which included a dinner with my friends.
On Sunday, I didn't get a call in the morning, but rather when they arrived at the gate in the afternoon! After hurrying to get ready, I left with no idea of what was happening and told my friends to be "on call." My family, Wang Laoshi and her husband, and I ended up spending the afternoon at the seaside. Then Wang Laoshi went back to the school to pick up my friends while the rest of us went to the restaurant.
It was a very nice restaurant with aquariums in the lobby where you can pick out frogs, sting rays and large goldfish. We thankfully bypassed that room and ended up in a large room with display dishes of everything you can order. Wang Shushu (Uncle Wang) picked out many, many traditional Chinese dishes, which I considered plenty for our group of 11. Then we were led to another room with even more dishes to choose from and we ordered many, many more! Then we were all seated in our own private room which had a large round table. According to tradition, Wang Shushu sat at the seat facing the door and I was seated as the guest of honor to his right.
I don't even know how many dishes there were. Noodles, chicken, wraps, tofu, stewed strawberries, sweet potatoes, pork something, onion something, etc, etc! We stuffed ourselves silly and probably only ate about 2/3 of the food. There was even Peking duck, which is quite a big deal in China, not to mention expensive. (Did I mention my family is rich?!) They come out with the whole duck on a tray so you can watch the waiter slice it in what I assumed was a special way. Then they whisk it away and bring it back on a platter. To eat Peking duck, you take thin tortilla like things and put the duck, sauce, and different vegetables in before rolling it up and eating it. For a super fancy, expensive dish, it sure is messy!
The Chinese think birthdays are very special and so everyone eats a lot and drinks a lot. We must have done 20 toasts! I was drinking Sprite but all the boys had Qingdao beer. And of course the host shows his hospitality by always refilling everyone's glass ALL THE TIME! I think one of the best parts about the dinner was watching Hunter's face when he realized they had refilled his glass yet again! haha. I eventually switched my glass for his so I could drink a little alcohol on my 21st, but then they just got him another glass and poured him more!
By the end of dinner, we were all stuffed but kept being urged to eat more! While drinking and nibbling some more, our table had wonderful conversation and lots of laughter. I sincerely enjoyed spending my birthday with people that are special to me.
When the Wang family learned that my birthday was only 2 days away, they insisted on giving me an authentic Chinese birthday! This is after knowing me for only 15 minutes--what hospitality! We planned that they would call me Sunday morning and let me know about evening plans, which included a dinner with my friends.
On Sunday, I didn't get a call in the morning, but rather when they arrived at the gate in the afternoon! After hurrying to get ready, I left with no idea of what was happening and told my friends to be "on call." My family, Wang Laoshi and her husband, and I ended up spending the afternoon at the seaside. Then Wang Laoshi went back to the school to pick up my friends while the rest of us went to the restaurant.
It was a very nice restaurant with aquariums in the lobby where you can pick out frogs, sting rays and large goldfish. We thankfully bypassed that room and ended up in a large room with display dishes of everything you can order. Wang Shushu (Uncle Wang) picked out many, many traditional Chinese dishes, which I considered plenty for our group of 11. Then we were led to another room with even more dishes to choose from and we ordered many, many more! Then we were all seated in our own private room which had a large round table. According to tradition, Wang Shushu sat at the seat facing the door and I was seated as the guest of honor to his right.
I don't even know how many dishes there were. Noodles, chicken, wraps, tofu, stewed strawberries, sweet potatoes, pork something, onion something, etc, etc! We stuffed ourselves silly and probably only ate about 2/3 of the food. There was even Peking duck, which is quite a big deal in China, not to mention expensive. (Did I mention my family is rich?!) They come out with the whole duck on a tray so you can watch the waiter slice it in what I assumed was a special way. Then they whisk it away and bring it back on a platter. To eat Peking duck, you take thin tortilla like things and put the duck, sauce, and different vegetables in before rolling it up and eating it. For a super fancy, expensive dish, it sure is messy!
The Chinese think birthdays are very special and so everyone eats a lot and drinks a lot. We must have done 20 toasts! I was drinking Sprite but all the boys had Qingdao beer. And of course the host shows his hospitality by always refilling everyone's glass ALL THE TIME! I think one of the best parts about the dinner was watching Hunter's face when he realized they had refilled his glass yet again! haha. I eventually switched my glass for his so I could drink a little alcohol on my 21st, but then they just got him another glass and poured him more!
By the end of dinner, we were all stuffed but kept being urged to eat more! While drinking and nibbling some more, our table had wonderful conversation and lots of laughter. I sincerely enjoyed spending my birthday with people that are special to me.
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